Transmission, localization, and infectivity of seedborne maize chlorotic mottle virus.

Maize lethal necrosis is a destructive virus disease of maize caused by maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) in combination with a virus in the family Potyviridae. Emergence of MLN is typically associated with the introduction of MCMV or its vectors and understanding its spread through seed is critical for disease management. Previous studies suggest that although MCMV is detected on seed, the seed transmission rate of this virus is low.

The macronuclear genome of anaerobic ciliate Entodinium caudatum reveals its biological features adapted to the distinct rumen environment.

Entodinium caudatum is an anaerobic binucleated ciliate representing the most dominant protozoal species in the rumen. However, its biological features are largely unknown due to the inability to establish an axenic culture. In this study, we primally sequenced its macronucleus (MAC) genome to aid the understanding of its metabolism, physiology, ecology.

Inflorescence Development and Floral Organogenesis in .

Rubber dandelion ( Rodin; TK) has received attention for its natural rubber content as a strategic biomaterial, and a promising, sustainable, and renewable alternative to synthetic rubber from fossil carbon sources. Extensive research on the domestication and rubber content of TK has demonstrated TK's potential in industrial applications as a relevant natural rubber and latex-producing alternative crop. However, many aspects of its biology have been neglected in published studies.

Superinfection Exclusion by p28 of Turnip Crinkle Virus Is Separable from Its Replication Function.

We recently reported that the p28 auxiliary replication protein encoded by turnip crinkle virus (TCV) is also responsible for eliciting superinfection exclusion (SIE) against superinfecting TCV. However, it remains unresolved whether the replication function of p28 could be separated from its ability to elicit SIE. Here, we report the identification of two single amino acid mutations that decouple these two functions.

Deep-Subsurface Pressure Stimulates Metabolic Plasticity in Shale-Colonizing spp.

Bacterial strains become the dominant persisting microbial community member in produced fluids across geographically distinct hydraulically fractured shales. is believed to be inadvertently introduced into this environment during the drilling and fracturing process and must therefore tolerate large changes in pressure, temperature, and salinity. Here, we used a strain isolated from a natural gas well in the Utica Point Pleasant formation to investigate metabolic and physiological responses to growth under high-pressure subsurface conditions.

A Comparison of sun, ovate, fs8.1 and Auxin Application on Tomato Fruit Shape and Gene Expression.

Elongated tomato fruit shape is the result of the action of the fruit shape genes possibly in coordination with the phytohormone auxin. To investigate the possible link between auxin and the fruit shape genes, a series of auxin (2,4-D) treatments were performed on the wild-type and the fruit shape near-isogenic lines (NILs) in Solanum pimpinellifolium accession LA1589 background. Morphological and histological analyses indicated that auxin application approximately 3 weeks before anthesis led to elongated pear-shaped ovaries and fruits, which was mainly attributed to the increase of ovary/fruit proximal end caused by the increase of both cell number and cell size.

Viruses control dominant bacteria colonizing the terrestrial deep biosphere after hydraulic fracturing.

The deep terrestrial biosphere harbours a substantial fraction of Earth's biomass and remains understudied compared with other ecosystems. Deep biosphere life primarily consists of bacteria and archaea, yet knowledge of their co-occurring viruses is poor. Here, we temporally catalogued viral diversity from five deep terrestrial subsurface locations (hydraulically fractured wells), examined virus-host interaction dynamics and experimentally assessed metabolites from cell lysis to better understand viral roles in this ecosystem.

A common genetic mechanism underlies morphological diversity in fruits and other plant organs.

Shapes of edible plant organs vary dramatically among and within crop plants. To explain and ultimately employ this variation towards crop improvement, we determined the genetic, molecular and cellular bases of fruit shape diversity in tomato. Through positional cloning, protein interaction studies, and genome editing, we report that OVATE Family Proteins and TONNEAU1 Recruiting Motif proteins regulate cell division patterns in ovary development to alter final fruit shape.

Deletion of both the Tyrosine-Based Endocytosis Signal and the Endoplasmic Reticulum Retrieval Signal in the Cytoplasmic Tail of Spike Protein Attenuates Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus in Pigs.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes high mortality in neonatal piglets. The PEDV spike (S) protein contains two intracellular sorting motifs, YxxΦ (tyrosine-based motif YEVF or YEAF) and KVHVQ at the cytoplasmic tail, yet their functions have not been fully elucidated. Some Vero cell-adapted and/or attenuated PEDV variants contain ablations in these two motifs.

Comparative genomics and physiology of the genus Methanohalophilus, a prevalent methanogen in hydraulically fractured shale.

About 60% of natural gas production in the United States comes from hydraulic fracturing of unconventional reservoirs, such as shales or organic-rich micrites. This process inoculates and enriches for halotolerant microorganisms in these reservoirs over time, resulting in a saline ecosystem that includes methane producing archaea. Here, we survey the biogeography of methanogens across unconventional reservoirs, and report that members of genus Methanohalophilus are recovered from every hydraulically fractured unconventional reservoir sampled by metagenomics.

Sonchus yellow net virus core particles form on ring-like nuclear structure enriched in viral phosphoprotein.

The phosphoprotein (P) of the nucleorhabdovirus sonchus yellow net virus has been shown to accumulate in ring-shaped structures in virus-infected nuclei. Further examination by live-cell imaging, in combination with structural examination by transmission electron microscopy and immunolocalization demonstrated that P-rings do not form in association with nucleoli. Furthermore, viral cores were shown to condense on the nucleoplasm-contacting surface of the rings.

Tissue Distribution and Visualization of Internalized Human Norovirus in Leafy Greens.

Lettuce has been implicated in human norovirus (HuNoV) outbreaks. The virus is stable on the leaf surface for at least 2 weeks; however, the dynamics of virus internalization have not been fully investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the internalization and distribution of HuNoV and two surrogate viruses, porcine sapovirus (SaV) and Tulane virus (TV), in lettuce and spinach.

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles attenuate influenza virus-induced acute lung injury in a pig model.

Background: Mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells (MSCs) mediate their immunoregulatory and tissue repair functions by secreting paracrine factors, including extracellular vesicles (EVs). In several animal models of human diseases, MSC-EVs mimic the beneficial effects of MSCs. Influenza viruses cause annual outbreaks of acute respiratory illness resulting in significant mortality and morbidity.

Corrigendum: Inhibition of the Rumen Ciliate by Antibiotics.

[This corrects the article on p. 1189 in vol. 8, PMID: 28702015.

Inhibition of the Rumen Ciliate by Antibiotics.

Axenic cultures of free-living aerobic ciliates, such as and , have been established and routinely used in laboratory research, greatly facilitating, or enabling characterization of their metabolism, physiology, and ecology. Ruminal protozoa are anaerobic ciliates, and they play important roles in feed digestion and fermentation. Although, repeatedly attempted, no laboratory-maintainable axenic culture of ruminal ciliates has been established.

A self-perpetuating repressive state of a viral replication protein blocks superinfection by the same virus.

Diverse animal and plant viruses block the re-infection of host cells by the same or highly similar viruses through superinfection exclusion (SIE), a widely observed, yet poorly understood phenomenon. Here we demonstrate that SIE of turnip crinkle virus (TCV) is exclusively determined by p28, one of the two replication proteins encoded by this virus. p28 expressed from a TCV replicon exerts strong SIE to a different TCV replicon.

Random Plant Viral Variants Attain Temporal Advantages During Systemic Infections and in Turn Resist other Variants of the Same Virus.

Infection of plants with viruses containing multiple variants frequently leads to dominance by a few random variants in the systemically infected leaves (SLs), for which a plausible explanation is lacking. We show here that SL dominance by a given viral variant is adequately explained by its fortuitous lead in systemic spread, coupled with its resistance to superinfection by other variants. We analyzed the fate of a multi-variant turnip crinkle virus (TCV) population in Arabidopsis and N.

Candidate gene selection and detailed morphological evaluations of fs8.1, a quantitative trait locus controlling tomato fruit shape.

fs8.1 is a major quantitative trait locus (QTL) that controls the elongated shape of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit. In this study, we fine-mapped the locus from a 47Mb to a 3.

Habitat visualization and genomic analysis of "Candidatus Pantoea carbekii," the primary symbiont of the brown marmorated stink bug.

Phytophagous pentatomid insects can negatively impact agricultural productivity and the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) is an emerging invasive pest responsible for damage to many fruit crops and ornamental plants in North America. Many phytophagous stink bugs, including H. halys, harbor gammaproteobacterial symbionts that likely contribute to host development, and characterization of symbiont transmission/acquisition and their contribution to host fitness may offer alternative strategies for managing pest species.

RNA-sequencing reveals early, dynamic transcriptome changes in the corollas of pollinated petunias.

Background: Pollination reduces flower longevity in many angiosperms by accelerating corolla senescence. This response requires hormone signaling between the floral organs and results in the degradation of macromolecules and organelles within the petals to allow for nutrient remobilization to developing seeds. To investigate early pollination-induced changes in petal gene expression, we utilized high-throughput sequencing to identify transcripts that were differentially expressed between corollas of pollinated Petunia × hybrida flowers and their unpollinated controls at 12, 18, and 24 hours after opening.

Cell culture isolation and sequence analysis of genetically diverse US porcine epidemic diarrhea virus strains including a novel strain with a large deletion in the spike gene.

The highly contagious and deadly porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) first appeared in the US in April 2013. Since then the virus has spread rapidly nationwide and to Canada and Mexico causing high mortality among nursing piglets and significant economic losses. Currently there are no efficacious preventive measures or therapeutic tools to control PEDV in the US.

Chaperone function of two small heat shock proteins from maize.

Small heat shock proteins (sHsps) are molecular chaperones that protect cells from the effect of heat and other stresses. Some sHsps are also expressed at specific stages of development. In plants different classes of sHsps are expressed in the various cellular compartments.

Profiling mRNAs of two Cuscuta species reveals possible candidate transcripts shared by parasitic plants.

Dodders are among the most important parasitic plants that cause serious yield losses in crop plants. In this report, we sought to unveil the genetic basis of dodder parasitism by profiling the trancriptomes of Cuscuta pentagona and C. suaveolens, two of the most common dodder species using a next-generation RNA sequencing platform.

Failure of propagation of human norovirus in intestinal epithelial cells with microvilli grown in three-dimensional cultures.

Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are a leading cause of acute gastroenteritis. Establishment of a cell culture system for in vitro HuNoV growth remains challenging. Replication of HuNoVs in human intestinal cell lines (INT-407 and Caco-2) that differentiate to produce microvilli in rotation wall vessel (RWV) three-dimensional cultures has been reported (Straub et al.