Publications by authors named "M Groenewald"
The Saccharomycotina fungi have evolved to inhabit a vast diversity of habitats over their 400-million-year evolution. There are, however, only a few known fungal pathogens of plants in this subphylum, primarily belonging to the genera and . We compared the genomes of 12 plant-pathogenic Saccharomycotina strains to 360 plant-associated strains to identify features unique to the phytopathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dolutegravir dispersible tablets (DTG-DT) are approved for infants ≥4 weeks and ≥3 kg but their suitability for neonates remains unknown.
Methods: PETITE-DTG is a Phase I/II, open-label, single center, two-stage trial in South Africa to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety of DTG in term neonates of pregnant individuals receiving DTG-based therapy. In Stage 1, neonates on standard antiretroviral prophylaxis received a single dose of 5 mg DTG-DT between ≥14 and <28 days of life (Cohort 1A); or <14 days of life (Cohort 1B), followed by PK and safety assessments.
Article Synopsis
- Distantly related organisms, like cactophilic yeasts, can evolve similar traits and lifestyles to survive in comparable environments, with this study analyzing over 1,000 yeast species to understand their convergent evolution.
- Researchers found that cactophily (association with cacti) evolved independently about 17 times and could be predicted with 76% accuracy using genomic and phenotypic data, with thermotolerance being the most significant factor.
- The study also revealed horizontal gene transfer and duplications in genes related to plant cell wall degradation, indicating that these adaptive traits arose from different molecular pathways, and highlighted a potential link between cactophilic lifestyles and yeast becoming human pathogens.
Yeasts in the subphylum Saccharomycotina are found across the globe in disparate ecosystems. A major aim of yeast research is to understand the diversity and evolution of ecological traits, such as carbon metabolic breadth, insect association, and cactophily. This includes studying aspects of ecological traits like genetic architecture or association with other phenotypic traits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- - The study examines yeast-like fungi linked to dairy, cosmetics, fruit decay, and human infections, highlighting a need to update their taxonomic classification according to new naming guidelines.
- - Phylogenetic analysis of these fungi reveals two distinct groups, prompting reclassification into one genus each, using the names based on publication priority.
- - Five new species of these fungi were discovered from strains collected in China, each being formally introduced with the designation "sp. nov." next to their names.