Draft genome sequence of the Tremellomycetes yeast 5307AH, isolated from aircraft.

5307AH was isolated from an aircraft polymer-coated surface. The genome size is 19,510,785 bp with a G + C content of 56%. The genome harbors genes encoding oxygenases, cutinases, lipases, and enzymes for styrene degradation, all of which could play a critical role in survival on xenobiotic surfaces.

Identification and recombinant expression of a cutinase from that hydrolyzes natural and synthetic polyesters.

Given the multitude of extracellular enzymes at their disposal, many of which are designed to degrade nature's polymers (lignin, cutin, cellulose, etc.), fungi are adept at targeting synthetic polyesters with similar chemical composition. Microbial-influenced deterioration of xenobiotic polymeric surfaces is an area of interest for material scientists as these are important for the conservation of the underlying structural materials.

Genome Dynamics and Temperature Adaptation During Experimental Evolution of Obligate Intracellular Bacteria.

Evolution experiments with free-living microbes have radically improved our understanding of genome evolution and how microorganisms adapt. Yet there is a paucity of such research focusing on strictly host-associated bacteria, even though they are widespread in nature. Here, we used the Acanthamoeba symbiont Protochlamydia amoebophila, a distant relative of the human pathogen Chlamydia trachomatis and representative of a large group of protist-associated environmental chlamydiae, as a model to study how obligate intracellular symbionts evolve and adapt to elevated temperature, a prerequisite for the pivotal evolutionary leap from protist to endothermic animal hosts.

Acquisition of host-derived carbon in biomass of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus microcarpus is correlated to fungal carbon demand and plant defences.

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are key players in forest carbon (C) sequestration, receiving a substantial proportion of photosynthetic C from their forest tree hosts in exchange for plant growth-limiting soil nutrients. However, it remains unknown whether the fungus or plant controls the quantum of C in this exchange, nor what mechanisms are involved. Here, we aimed to identify physiological and genetic properties of both partners that influence ECM C transfer.

Lignin deconstruction by anaerobic fungi.

Lignocellulose forms plant cell walls, and its three constituent polymers, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, represent the largest renewable organic carbon pool in the terrestrial biosphere. Insights into biological lignocellulose deconstruction inform understandings of global carbon sequestration dynamics and provide inspiration for biotechnologies seeking to address the current climate crisis by producing renewable chemicals from plant biomass. Organisms in diverse environments disassemble lignocellulose, and carbohydrate degradation processes are well defined, but biological lignin deconstruction is described only in aerobic systems.

Genomic Signatures of a Major Adaptive Event in the Pathogenic Fungus Melampsora larici-populina.

The recent availability of genome-wide sequencing techniques has allowed systematic screening for molecular signatures of adaptation, including in nonmodel organisms. Host-pathogen interactions constitute good models due to the strong selective pressures that they entail. We focused on an adaptive event which affected the poplar rust fungus Melampsora larici-populina when it overcame a resistance gene borne by its host, cultivated poplar.

Persistence and plasticity in bacterial gene regulation.

Organisms orchestrate cellular functions through transcription factor (TF) interactions with their target genes, although these regulatory relationships are largely unknown in most species. Here we report a high-throughput approach for characterizing TF-target gene interactions across species and its application to 354 TFs across 48 bacteria, generating 17,000 genome-wide binding maps. This dataset revealed themes of ancient conservation and rapid evolution of regulatory modules.

Gene family expansions and transcriptome signatures uncover fungal adaptations to wood decay.

Because they comprise some of the most efficient wood-decayers, Polyporales fungi impact carbon cycling in forest environment. Despite continuous discoveries on the enzymatic machinery involved in wood decomposition, the vision on their evolutionary adaptation to wood decay and genome diversity remains incomplete. We combined the genome sequence information from 50 Polyporales species, including 26 newly sequenced genomes and sought for genomic and functional adaptations to wood decay through the analysis of genome composition and transcriptome responses to different carbon sources.

Genome-wide role of codon usage on transcription and identification of potential regulators.

Codon usage bias is a fundamental feature of all genomes and plays an important role in determining gene expression levels. The codon usage was thought to influence gene expression mainly due to its impact on translation. Recently, however, codon usage was shown to affect transcription of fungal and mammalian genes, indicating the existence of a gene regulatory phenomenon with unknown mechanism.

Resolving the Mortierellaceae phylogeny through synthesis of multi-gene phylogenetics and phylogenomics.

Early efforts to classify Mortierellaceae were based on macro- and micromorphology, but sequencing and phylogenetic studies with ribosomal DNA (rDNA) markers have demonstrated conflicting taxonomic groupings and polyphyletic genera. Although some taxonomic confusion in the family has been clarified, rDNA data alone is unable to resolve higher level phylogenetic relationships within Mortierellaceae. In this study, we applied two parallel approaches to resolve the Mortierellaceae phylogeny: low coverage genome (LCG) sequencing and high-throughput, multiplexed targeted amplicon sequencing to generate sequence data for multi-gene phylogenetics.

Comparative genomics reveals dynamic genome evolution in host specialist ectomycorrhizal fungi.

While there has been significant progress characterizing the 'symbiotic toolkit' of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, how host specificity may be encoded into ECM fungal genomes remains poorly understood. We conducted a comparative genomic analysis of ECM fungal host specialists and generalists, focusing on the specialist genus Suillus. Global analyses of genome dynamics across 46 species were assessed, along with targeted analyses of three classes of molecules previously identified as important determinants of host specificity: small secreted proteins (SSPs), secondary metabolites (SMs) and G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Molecular causes of an evolutionary shift along the parasitism-mutualism continuum in a bacterial symbiont.

Symbiosis with microbes is a ubiquitous phenomenon with a massive impact on all living organisms, shaping the world around us today. Theoretical and experimental studies show that vertical transmission of symbionts leads to the evolution of mutualistic traits, whereas horizontal transmission facilitates the emergence of parasitic features. However, these studies focused on phenotypic data, and we know little about underlying molecular changes at the genomic level.

Draft Genome Assemblies of Ionic Liquid-Resistant Yarrowia lipolytica PO1f and Its Superior Evolved Strain, YlCW001.

Adaptive laboratory evolution of PO1f in the benchmark ionic liquid (IL; 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) produced a superior IL-tolerant microorganism, strain YlCW001. Here, we report the genome sequences of PO1f and YlCW001 to study the robustness of and its potential use as a microbial platform for producing fuels and chemicals.

An ectomycorrhizal fungus alters sensitivity to jasmonate, salicylate, gibberellin, and ethylene in host roots.

The phytohormones jasmonate, gibberellin, salicylate, and ethylene regulate an interconnected reprogramming network integrating root development with plant responses against microbes. The establishment of mutualistic ectomycorrhizal symbiosis requires the suppression of plant defense responses against fungi as well as the modification of root architecture and cortical cell wall properties. Here, we investigated the contribution of phytohormones and their crosstalk to the ontogenesis of ectomycorrhizae (ECM) between grey poplar (Populus tremula x alba) roots and the fungus Laccaria bicolor.

Draft Genome Assemblies of Five Robust Yarrowia lipolytica Strains Exhibiting High Lipid Production, Pentose Sugar Utilization, and Sugar Alcohol Secretion from Undetoxified Lignocellulosic Biomass Hydrolysates.

Screening the genetic diversity of 45 Yarrowia lipolytica strains identified five candidates with unique metabolic capability and robustness in undetoxified switchgrass hydrolysates, including superior lipid production and efficient pentose sugar utilization. Here, we report the genome sequences of these strains to study their robustness and potential to produce fuels and chemicals.

Secretome Analysis from the Ectomycorrhizal Ascomycete .

is an ectomycorrhizal fungus with global distribution in numerous habitats and associates with a large range of host species including gymnosperm and angiosperm trees. Moreover, is the unique ectomycorrhizal species within the clade Dothideomycetes, the largest class of Ascomycetes containing predominantly saprotrophic and many devastating phytopathogenic fungi. Recent studies highlight that mycorrhizal fungi, as pathogenic ones, use effectors in form of Small Secreted Proteins (SSPs) as molecular keys to promote symbiosis.

Methanogenic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria co-cultured on acetate: teamwork or coexistence?

Acetate is a major product of fermentation processes and an important substrate for sulfate reducing bacteria and methanogenic archaea. Most studies on acetate catabolism by sulfate reducers and methanogens have used pure cultures. Less is known about acetate conversion by mixed pure cultures and the interactions between both groups.

Uncultured Desulfobacteraceae and Crenarchaeotal group C3 incorporate 13C-acetate in coastal marine sediment.

Stable isotope probing (SIP) of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was used to identify microbes incorporating (13) C-labeled acetate in sulfate-reducing sediment from Aarhus Bay, Denmark. Sediment was incubated in medium containing 10 mM sulfate and different (13) C-acetate (10, 1, 0.1 mM) concentrations.

Introducing EzTaxon-e: a prokaryotic 16S rRNA gene sequence database with phylotypes that represent uncultured species.

Despite recent advances in commercially optimized identification systems, bacterial identification remains a challenging task in many routine microbiological laboratories, especially in situations where taxonomically novel isolates are involved. The 16S rRNA gene has been used extensively for this task when coupled with a well-curated database, such as EzTaxon, containing sequences of type strains of prokaryotic species with validly published names. Although the EzTaxon database has been widely used for routine identification of prokaryotic isolates, sequences from uncultured prokaryotes have not been considered.

Comparative approach to capture bacterial diversity of coastal waters.

Despite the revolutionary advancements in DNA sequencing technology and cultivation techniques, few studies have been done to directly compare these methods. In this study, a 16S rRNA gene-based, integrative approach combining culture-independent techniques with culture-dependent methods was taken to investigate the bacterial community structure of coastal seawater collected from the Yellow Sea, Korea. For culture-independent studies, we used the latest model pyrosequencer, Roche/454 Genome Sequencer FLX Titanium.

Marinifilum fragile gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediment.

A facultatively anaerobic, moderately halophilic, Gram-negative, filamentous bacterium, designated JC2469T, was isolated from tidal flat sediment in Korea. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate belonged to the phylum Bacteroidetes and its closest taxonomic relative was Cytophaga fermentans NCIMB 2218T (89.6% sequence similarity).