Single nucleus RNA-sequencing: how it's done, applications and limitations.

Single nuclei RNA-sequencing (sNuc-Seq) is a methodology which uses isolated nuclei instead of whole cells to profile gene expression. By using droplet microfluidic technologies, users are able to profile thousands of single transcriptomes at high throughput from their chosen tissue. This article aims to introduce sNuc-Seq as a method and its utility in multiple tissue types.

Chromatin mapping identifies BasR, a key regulator of bacteria-triggered production of fungal secondary metabolites.

The eukaryotic epigenetic machinery can be modified by bacteria to reprogram the response of eukaryotes during their interaction with microorganisms. We discovered that the bacterium triggered increased chromatin acetylation and thus activation of the silent secondary metabolism gene cluster in the fungus . Using this model, we aim understanding mechanisms of microbial communication based on bacteria-triggered chromatin modification.

The terpenes of leaves, pollen, and nectar of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) inhibit growth of bee disease-associated microbes.

Honey bees are highly prone to infectious diseases, causing colony losses in the worst case. However, they combat diseases through a combination of their innate immune system and social defence behaviours like foraging for health-enhancing plant products (e.g.

Regulation and Role of Fungal Secondary Metabolites.

Fungi have the capability to produce a tremendous number of so-called secondary metabolites, which possess a multitude of functions, e.g., communication signals during coexistence with other microorganisms, virulence factors during pathogenic interactions with plants and animals, and in medical applications.

Efficacy of selected anthelmintic drugs against cyathostomins in horses in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany.

Cyathostomins are currently the most common internal parasites of horses. With the intensive use of anthelmintic drugs over the past decades, resistance of cyathostomins to anthelmintics is becoming a growing problem in many countries. The aim of this study was to assess the current situation on horse farms in the German federal state of Brandenburg.

Microbial communication leading to the activation of silent fungal secondary metabolite gene clusters.

Microorganisms form diverse multispecies communities in various ecosystems. The high abundance of fungal and bacterial species in these consortia results in specific communication between the microorganisms. A key role in this communication is played by secondary metabolites (SMs), which are also called natural products.

Substrate flexibility and reaction specificity of tropinone reductase-like short-chain dehydrogenases.

Annotations of protein or gene sequences from large scale sequencing projects are based on protein size, characteristic binding motifs, and conserved catalytic amino acids, but biochemical functions are often uncertain. In the large family of short-chain dehydrogenases/reductases (SDRs), functional predictions often fail. Putative tropinone reductases, named tropinone reductase-like (TRL), are SDRs annotated in many genomes of organisms that do not contain tropane alkaloids.

Evolution of the key alkaloid enzyme putrescine N-methyltransferase from spermidine synthase.

Putrescine N-methyltransferases (PMTs) are the first specific enzymes of the biosynthesis of nicotine and tropane alkaloids. PMTs transfer a methyl group onto the diamine putrescine from S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAM) as coenzyme. PMT proteins have presumably evolved from spermidine synthases (SPDSs), which are ubiquitous enzymes of polyamine metabolism.

Distinct amino acids of histone H3 control secondary metabolism in Aspergillus nidulans.

Chromatin remodelling events play an important role in the secondary metabolism of filamentous fungi. Previously, we showed that a bacterium, Streptomyces rapamycinicus, is able to reprogram the histone-modifying Spt-Ada-Gcn5-acetyltransferase/ADA (SAGA/ADA) complex of the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Consequently, the histone H3 amino acids lysine 9 and lysine 14 at distinct secondary metabolism genes were specifically acetylated during the bacterial fungal interaction, which, furthermore, was associated with the activation of the otherwise silent orsellinic acid gene cluster.