Identification of a common secondary mutation in the knockout collection conferring a cell fusion-defective phenotype.

Gene-deletion mutants represent a powerful tool to study gene function. The filamentous fungus is a well-established model organism, and features a comprehensive gene knockout strain collection. While these mutant strains have been used in numerous studies, resulting in the functional annotation of many Neurospora genes, direct confirmation of gene-phenotype relationships is often lacking, which is particularly relevant given the possibility of background mutations, sample contamination, and/or strain mislabeling.

Genome-Wide Characterization of Light-Regulated Gene Expression in Reveals Underlying Complex Photobiology.

is a necrotrophic fungus characterized mainly by its wide host range of infected plants. The deletion of the gene (), which encodes for a blue-light receptor/transcription factor, causes a decrease in virulence, particularly when assays are conducted in the presence of light or photocycles. However, despite ample characterization, the extent of the light-modulated transcriptional responses regulated by BcWCL1 remains unknown.

The Gene Expression Browser.

For comprehensive gene expression analyses of the phytopathogenic fungus , which infects a number of plant taxa and is a cause of substantial agricultural losses worldwide, we developed BEB, a web-based gene Expression Browser. This computationally inexpensive web-based application and its associated database contain manually curated RNA-Seq data for . BEB enables expression analyses of genes of interest under different culture conditions by providing publication-ready heatmaps depicting transcript levels, without requiring advanced computational skills.

Circadian oscillations in and the role of core clock components in secondary metabolism, development, and mycoparasitism against the phytopathogen .

Circadian clocks are important for an individual's fitness, and recent studies have underlined their role in the outcome of biological interactions. However, the relevance of circadian clocks in fungal-fungal interactions remains largely unexplored. We sought to characterize a functional clock in the biocontrol agent to assess its importance in the mycoparasitic interaction against the phytopathogen .

Interactions between Core Elements of the Circadian Clock Are Modulated by Light and Different Protein Domains.

possesses a complex light-sensing system composed of eleven photoreceptors. In , encodes for the BcWCL1 protein, the orthologue of the blue-light photoreceptor WC-1 from . The functional partner of BcWCL1 is the BcWCL2 protein, both interacting in the nucleus and forming the white collar complex (BcWCC).

Use of Popular Opinion Leader Models to Disseminate Information About Clinical Trials to Black Individuals With Lupus in Two US Cities.

Objective: Clinical trials for systemic lupus erythematosus ("lupus") under enroll Black individuals despite higher disease prevalence, morbidity, and mortality among Black compared to White individuals. To begin to address this disparity, we leveraged community-academic partnerships in 2 US cities (Boston and Chicago) to train popular opinion leaders (POLs) to disseminate information about clinical trials in predominantly Black communities.

Methods: The team of community and academic partners collaboratively developed a 5-module curriculum about clinical trials, barriers, facilitators, and structural racism in research.

A comprehensive transcription factor and DNA-binding motif resource for the construction of gene regulatory networks in and .

and are two relevant fungi in agricultural systems. To gain insights into these organisms' transcriptional gene regulatory networks (GRNs), we generated a manually curated transcription factor (TF) dataset for each of them, followed by a GRN inference utilizing available sequence motifs describing DNA-binding specificity and global gene expression data. As a proof of concept of the usefulness of this resource to pinpoint key transcriptional regulators, we employed publicly available transcriptomics data and a newly generated dual RNA-seq dataset to build context-specific and GRNs under two different biological paradigms: exposure to continuous light and confrontation assays.

Uncovering Divergence in Gene Expression Regulation in the Adaptation of Yeast to Nitrogen Scarcity.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae rewires its transcriptional output to survive stressful environments, such as nitrogen scarcity under fermentative conditions. Although divergence in nitrogen metabolism among natural yeast populations has been reported, the impact of regulatory genetic variants modulating gene expression and nitrogen consumption remains to be investigated. Here, we employed an F1 hybrid from two contrasting S.

Community-Engaged Research: Leveraging Community-Academic Partnerships to Reduce Disparities and Inequities in Lupus Care.

Community-engaged research is an effective tool to address health care disparities and inequities in lupus care. Community-based participatory research allows the highest degree of community engagement, but may be limited by the challenges associated with long-term funding and implementation. Community-academic partnerships are a feasible way to allow for varying degrees of community engagement and develop sustainable infrastructure.

Assessment of interferon-γ in pleural fluid as a prognostic factor of survival in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Backgound: Literature reports suggest that the host immune system may control Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma (MPM) growth, although its activity is limited by regulatory mechanisms. In this retrospective study, we analyzed the levels of pro-inflammatory (IL-1, IL-6, TNF), immune-regulatory (IL-10) and Th1/CTL-related cytokines (IL-12p70, IFN-γ) in the pleural exudate and their relationship with overall survival (OS) in MPM.

Methods: Cytokines were quantified by multiplexed immunoassay.

Using Critical Race Theory to Understand Trial Participation Among Black Individuals With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Qualitative Study of Patients and Caregivers.

Objective: Black patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) experience greater disease incidence and severity than White patients, and yet they are underrepresented in SLE clinical trials. We applied Critical Race Theory to qualitatively explore the influence of racism on the underrepresentation of Black patients in SLE clinical trials and to develop a framework for future intervention.

Methods: We conducted focus group sessions in Chicago and Boston with Black adults (ages ≥18 years) with SLE and their caregivers.

Potential role of serum mesothelin in predicting survival of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumor with poor survival rates. Therefore, it is essential to have effective biological markers predicting the course of the disease and prognosis. The aim of the present study was to highlight the prognostic significance of serum soluble mesothelin-related protein (Se-SMRP) in patients with MPM at diagnosis.

Characterization of soluble PD-L1 in pleural effusions of mesothelioma patients: potential implications in the immune response and prognosis.

Purpose: Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) protein plays a central role in the antitumor immune response, and appears to be a predictor of prognosis and efficacy for PD-L1 and programmed death 1 (PD-1) blockade therapy. The immunoregulatory role and prognostic impact of PD-L1 soluble form (sPD-L1) have been investigated in biological fluids of patients with different tumors. In malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), circulating sPD-L1 has been recently reported in patients' sera, but no data are available in pleural effusions (PE).

Salinity impairs photosynthetic capacity and enhances carotenoid-related gene expression and biosynthesis in tomato ( L. cv. Micro-Tom).

Carotenoids are essential components of the photosynthetic antenna and reaction center complexes, being also responsible for antioxidant defense, coloration, and many other functions in multiple plant tissues. In tomato, salinity negatively affects the development of vegetative organs and productivity, but according to previous studies it might also increase fruit color and taste, improving its quality, which is a current agricultural challenge. The fruit quality parameters that are increased by salinity are cultivar-specific and include carotenoid, sugar, and organic acid contents.

Defects in the Ferroxidase That Participates in the Reductive Iron Assimilation System Results in Hypervirulence in .

The plant pathogen is responsible for gray-mold disease, which infects a wide variety of species. The outcome of this host-pathogen interaction, a result of the interplay between plant defense and fungal virulence pathways, can be modulated by various environmental factors. Among these, iron availability and acquisition play a crucial role in diverse biological functions.

Implementation and dissemination of an African American popular opinion model to improve lupus awareness: an academic-community partnership.

Objective: Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects African Americans. We adapted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Popular Opinion Leader model to implement an intervention tailored for African American individuals that leverages an academic-community partnership and community-based social networks to disseminate culturally appropriate lupus education.

Methods: Academic rheumatologists, social scientists, and researchers in Boston, MA and Chicago, IL partnered with local lupus support groups, community organizations, and churches in neighborhoods with higher proportions of African Americans to develop curriculum and recruit community leaders with and without lupus (Popular Opinion Leaders; POLs).

Determination of Mesothelin Levels in Pleural Effusion Does Not Help Predict Survival of Patients With Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Aim: This study evaluated the prognostic value of soluble mesothelin-related protein (SMRP) levels in pleural effusions (PE) from patients with pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Patients And Methods: SMRP level in PE was tested using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 109 patients with MPM at diagnosis before any treatment. The Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox regression were applied to compare overall survival probabilities across tertile categories of SMRP level.

WRKY7, -11 and -17 transcription factors are modulators of the bZIP28 branch of the unfolded protein response during PAMP-triggered immunity in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plants must defend themselves against pathogens. The defense response requires greater protein synthesis, which generates endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, yet failure to attenuate this stress has detrimental effects. WRKY7/11/17 transcription factors (TFs) are negative regulators of immunity since mutants are more resistant to Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato (Pst) infection.

Addressing Lupus Health Disparities: The MONARCAS Community and Academic Collaborative Program.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Popular Opinion Leader (POL) model was implemented in a lupus education program (MONARCAS) for the Latino community. The program aim was to increase lupus awareness by training high school students, community health workers, and parents. A curriculum was developed training POLs to disseminate concepts about lupus signs and symptoms.

The Clock Keeps on Ticking: Emerging Roles for Circadian Regulation in the Control of Fungal Physiology and Pathogenesis.

Tic-tac, tic-tac, the sound of time is familiar to us, yet, it also silently shapes daily biological processes conferring 24-hour rhythms in, among others, cellular and systemic signaling, gene expression, and metabolism. Indeed, circadian clocks are molecular machines that permit temporal control of a variety of processes in individuals, with a close to 24-hour period, optimizing cellular dynamics in synchrony with daily environmental cycles. For over three decades, the molecular bases of these clocks have been extensively described in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, yet, there have been few molecular studies in fungi other than Neurospora, despite evidence of rhythmic phenomena in many fungal species, including pathogenic ones.

Spontaneous circadian rhythms in a cold-adapted natural isolate of Aureobasidium pullulans.

Circadian systems enable organisms to synchronize their physiology to daily and seasonal environmental changes relying on endogenous pacemakers that oscillate with a period close to 24 h even in the absence of external timing cues. The oscillations are achieved by intracellular transcriptional/translational feedback loops thoroughly characterized for many organisms, but still little is known about the presence and characteristics of circadian clocks in fungi other than Neurospora crassa. We sought to characterize the circadian system of a natural isolate of Aureobasidium pullulans, a cold-adapted yeast bearing great biotechnological potential.