Coevolution of the Ess1-CTD axis in polar fungi suggests a role for phase separation in cold tolerance.

Most of the world's biodiversity lives in cold (-2° to 4°C) and hypersaline environments. To understand how cells adapt to such conditions, we isolated two key components of the transcription machinery from fungal species that live in extreme polar environments: the Ess1 prolyl isomerase and its target, the carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II. Polar Ess1 enzymes are conserved and functional in the model yeast, By contrast, polar CTDs diverge from the consensus (YSPTSPS) and are not fully functional in .

Multi-year dynamics of ranavirus, chytridiomycosis, and co-infections in a temperate host assemblage of amphibians.

Chytridiomycosis and ranavirosis are 2 emerging infectious diseases that have caused significant global amphibian decline. Although both have received much scrutiny, little is known about interactions between the 2 causative agents Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranavirus (Rv) at the individual host and population levels. We present the first longitudinal assessment of Bd, Rv, and co-infections of a temperate amphibian assemblage in North America.