Complete telomere-to-telomere genomes uncover virulence evolution conferred by chromosome fusion in oomycete plant pathogens.

Variations in chromosome number are occasionally observed among oomycetes, a group that includes many plant pathogens, but the emergence of such variations and their effects on genome and virulence evolution remain ambiguous. We generated complete telomere-to-telomere genome assemblies for Phytophthora sojae, Globisporangium ultimum, Pythium oligandrum, and G. spinosum.

Phase-specific transcriptional patterns of the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora sojae unravel genes essential for asexual development and pathogenic processes.

Oomycetes are filamentous microorganisms easily mistaken as fungi but vastly differ in physiology, biochemistry, and genetics. This commonly-held misconception lead to a reduced effectiveness by using conventional fungicides to control oomycetes, thus it demands the identification of novel functional genes as target for precisely design oomycetes-specific microbicide. The present study initially analyzed the available transcriptome data of the model oomycete pathogen, Phytophthora sojae, and constructed an expression matrix of 10,953 genes across the stages of asexual development and host infection.

Transformation Based on the CRISPR/Cas9 System.

is a model species for the study of plant pathogenic oomycetes. The initial research on gene function using Phytophthora was mainly based on gene silencing technology. Recently, the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing technology was successfully established in and widely used in oomycetes.

[Experimental research in sex glands of SD rats after n-hexane inhalation].

Objective: To observe the pathological changes in ovary or testis of the SD rats after n-hexane inhalation, and to investigate the effects of n-hexane to sexual glands.

Methods: Forty-eight adult healthy rats were selected and randomizedly divided into four groups control group and three n-hexane groups (1, 3 and 7 d) six rats for each group. After inhalation, SD rats were killed and n-hexane concentration of blood from celiac artery were detected.