The ACE1 secondary metabolite gene cluster is a pathogenicity factor of wheat blast fungus.

Wheat blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae pathotype Triticum is now becoming a very serious threat to global food security. Here, we report an essential pathogenicity factor of the wheat blast fungus that is recognized and may be targeted by a rice resistance gene. Map-based cloning of Pwt2 showed that its functional allele is the ACE1 secondary metabolite gene cluster of the wheat blast fungus required for its efficient penetration of wheat cell walls.

, a Novel Wheat Blast Resistance Gene Derived from .

Wheat blast, caused by (syn. ) pathotype (MoT), is a devastating disease that can result in up to 100% yield loss in affected fields. To find new resistance genes against wheat blast, we screened 199 accessions of , the D genome progenitor of common wheat (), by seedling inoculation assays with Brazilian MoT isolate Br48 and found 14 resistant accessions.

Identification of in Tetraploid Wheat as a New Blast Resistance Gene with Tolerance to High Temperature.

Wheat blast caused by pathotype has spread to Asia (Bangladesh) and Africa (Zambia) from the endemic region of South America. Wheat varieties with durable resistance are needed, but very limited resistance resources are currently available. After screening tetraploid wheat accessions, we found an exceptional accession St19 (, KU-114).

Loss of , Located on a Supernumerary Chromosome, Is Associated with Parasitic Specialization of on Wheat.

, a blast fungus of gramineous plants, is composed of various host genus-specific pathotypes. The avirulence of an isolate on wheat is conditioned by and . We isolated the third avirulence gene from the isolate and designated it as .

The immunogenicity of plant-based COE-GCN4pII protein in pigs against the highly virulent porcine epidemic diarrhea virus strain from genotype 2.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a serious infectious causative agent in swine, especially in neonatal piglets. PEDV genotype 2 (G2) strains, particularly G2a, were the primary causes of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) outbreaks in Vietnam. Here, we produced a plant-based CO-26K-equivalent epitope (COE) variant from a Vietnamese highly virulent PEDV strain belonging to genotype 2a (COE/G2a) and evaluated the protective efficacy of COE/G2a-GCN4pII protein (COE/G2a-pII) in piglets against the highly virulent PEDV G2a strain following passive immunity.

Plant crude extracts containing oligomeric hemagglutinins protect chickens against highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus after one dose of immunization.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) have been responsible for causing several severe outbreaks across the world. To protect poultry farms and to prevent the possible spread of new influenza pandemics, vaccines that are both efficacious and low-cost are in high demand. We produced stable, large hemagglutinin H5 oligomers in planta by the specific interaction between S•Tag and S•Protein.

Effects of Size and Surface Properties of Nanodiamonds on the Immunogenicity of Plant-Based H5 Protein of A/H5N1 Virus in Mice.

Nanodiamond (ND) has recently emerged as a potential nanomaterial for nanovaccine development. Here, a plant-based haemagglutinin protein (H5.c2) of A/H5N1 virus was conjugated with detonation NDs (DND) of 3.

Origin and Dynamics of , a Wheat Gene for Resistance to Nonadapted Pathotypes of .

Avirulence of isolates of on common wheat is conditioned by at least five avirulence genes. One is corresponding to resistance gene located on chromosome 1D. We identified a resistance gene corresponding to a second avirulence gene, , and named it ().

Correlation of Genomic Compartments with Contrastive Modes of Functional Losses of Host Specificity Determinants During Pathotype Differentiation in .

The specificity between pathotypes of and genera of gramineous plants is governed by gene-for-gene interactions. Here, we show that avirulence genes involved in this host specificity have undergone different modes of functional losses dependent on or affected by genomic compartments harboring them. The avirulence of an pathotype on wheat is controlled by five genes, including , which played a key role in the evolution of the pathotype (the wheat blast fungus).

Effectiveness of the Wheat Blast Resistance Gene in Bangladesh Suggested by Distribution of an Allele in the Population.

Wheat blast caused by the pathotype of was first reported in 1985 in Brazil and recently spread to Bangladesh. We tested whether and , recently identified resistance genes, were effective against Bangladeshi isolates of the pathogen. Common wheat accessions carrying alone (IL191) or both and (GR119) were inoculated with Brazilian isolates (Br48, Br5, and Br116.

Suppression of wheat blast resistance by an effector of Pyricularia oryzae is counteracted by a host specificity resistance gene in wheat.

Wheat blast caused by the Triticum pathotype of Pyricularia oryzae poses a serious threat to wheat production in South America and Asia and is now becoming a pandemic disease. Here, we show that Rmg8, a promising wheat gene for resistance breeding, is suppressed by PWT4, an effector gene of P. oryzae, and in turn that the suppression is counteracted by Rwt4, a wheat gene recognizing PWT4.

Conformational rearrangements in the N-domain of FepA during ferric enterobactin transport.

The outer membrane receptor FepA transports ferric enterobactin (FeEnt) by an energy- and TonB-dependent, but otherwise a mechanistically undetermined process involving its internal 150-residue N-terminal globular domain (N-domain). We genetically introduced pairs of Cys residues in different regions of the FepA tertiary structure, with the potential to form disulfide bonds. These included Cys pairs on adjacent β-strands of the N-domain (intra-N) and Cys pairs that bridged the external surface of the N-domain to the interior of the C-terminal transmembrane β-barrel (inter-N-C).

Developmental expression of human tau in Drosophila melanogaster glial cells induces motor deficits and disrupts maintenance of PNS axonal integrity, without affecting synapse formation.

Tauopathies are a class of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the abnormal phosphorylation and accumulation of the microtubule-associated protein, tau, in both neuronal and glial cells. Though tau pathology in glial cells is a prominent feature of many of these disorders, the pathological contribution of these lesions to tauopathy pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Moreover, while tau pathology is predominantly found in the central nervous system, a role for tau in the cells of the peripheral nervous system has been described, though not well characterized.

Evolution of an -Specific Subgroup of Through a Gain of an Avirulence Gene.

isolates (members of the pathotype) of are divided into two subgroups, EC-I and EC-II, differentiated by molecular markers. A multilocus phylogenetic analysis revealed that these subgroups are very close to isolates. EC-II and isolates were exclusively virulent on finger millet and weeping lovegrass, respectively, while EC-I isolates were virulent on both.

A New Resistance Gene in Combination with Rmg8 Confers Strong Resistance Against Triticum Isolates of Pyricularia oryzae in a Common Wheat Landrace.

The wheat blast fungus (Triticum pathotype of Pyricularia oryzae) first arose in Brazil in 1985 and has recently spread to Asia. Resistance genes against this new pathogen are very rare in common wheat populations. We screened 520 local landraces of common wheat collected worldwide with Br48, a Triticum isolate collected in Brazil, and found a highly resistant, unique accession, GR119.

Rmg8 and Rmg7, wheat genes for resistance to the wheat blast fungus, recognize the same avirulence gene AVR-Rmg8.

Rmg8 and Rmg7 are genes for resistance to the wheat blast fungus (Pyricularia oryzae), located on chromosome 2B in hexaploid wheat and chromosome 2A in tetraploid wheat, respectively. AVR-Rmg8, an avirulence gene corresponding to Rmg8, was isolated from a wheat blast isolate through a map-based strategy. The cloned fragment encoded a small protein containing a putative signal peptide.

Evolution of the wheat blast fungus through functional losses in a host specificity determinant.

Wheat blast first emerged in Brazil in the mid-1980s and has recently caused heavy crop losses in Asia. Here we show how this devastating pathogen evolved in Brazil. Genetic analysis of host species determinants in the blast fungus resulted in the cloning of avirulence genes and , whose gene products elicit defense in wheat cultivars containing the corresponding resistance genes and Studies on avirulence and resistance gene distributions, together with historical data on wheat cultivation in Brazil, suggest that wheat blast emerged due to widespread deployment of wheat (susceptible to isolates), followed by the loss of function of This implies that the wheat served as a springboard for the host jump to common wheat.

Rmg8, a New Gene for Resistance to Triticum Isolates of Pyricularia oryzae in Hexaploid Wheat.

Blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae, is one of the major diseases of wheat in South America. We identified a new gene for resistance to Triticum isolates of P. oryzae in common wheat 'S-615', and designated it "resistance to Magnaporthe grisea 8" (Rmg8).

Concerted loop motion triggers induced fit of FepA to ferric enterobactin.

Spectroscopic analyses of fluorophore-labeled Escherichia coli FepA described dynamic actions of its surface loops during binding and transport of ferric enterobactin (FeEnt). When FeEnt bound to fluoresceinated FepA, in living cells or outer membrane fragments, quenching of fluorophore emissions reflected conformational motion of the external vestibular loops. We reacted Cys sulfhydryls in seven surface loops (L2, L3, L4, L5, L7 L8, and L11) with fluorophore maleimides.

Identification of a hidden resistance gene in tetraploid wheat using laboratory strains of Pyricularia oryzae produced by backcrossing.

In the process (BC3F1 generation) of backcrossing an Avena isolate of Pyricularia oryzae with a Triticum isolate, color mutants with white mycelia were obtained. These white mutants lacked virulence on all (31/31) hexaploid and most (28/32) tetraploid wheat lines tested. In a BC4F1 population, white and black cultures segregated in a 1:1 ratio, suggesting that the mutant phenotype is controlled by a single gene.

Identification of a novel locus Rmo2 conditioning resistance in barley to host-specific subgroups of Magnaporthe oryzae.

Barley cultivars show various patterns of resistance against isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae and M. grisea. Genetic mechanisms of the resistance of five representative barley cultivars were examined using a highly susceptible barley cultivar, 'Nigrate', as a common parent of genetic crosses.

PWT1, an avirulence gene of Magnaporthe oryzae tightly linked to the rDNA Locus, is recognized by two staple crops, common wheat and barley.

The pathogenicity to wheat (Pwt1) locus conditions host species specificity of Magnaporthe oryzae on wheat. GFSI1-7-2 (Setaria isolate) carries the avirulence allele (PWT1) at this locus while Br48 (Triticum isolate) carries the virulence allele (pwt1). An F(1) culture derived from a cross between GFSI1-7-2 and Br48 was backcrossed with Br48 to produce a tester population in which PWT1 alone segregated.

Direct measurements of the outer membrane stage of ferric enterobactin transport: postuptake binding.

When Gram-negative bacteria acquire iron, the metal crosses both the outer membrane (OM) and the inner membrane, but existing radioisotopic uptake assays only measure its passage through the latter bilayer, as the accumulation of the radionuclide in the cytoplasm. We devised a methodology that exclusively observes OM transport and used it to study the uptake of ferric enterobactin (FeEnt) by Escherichia coli FepA. This technique, called postuptake binding, revealed previously unknown aspects of TonB-dependent transport reactions.

Fluoresceination of FepA during colicin B killing: effects of temperature, toxin and TonB.

We studied the reactivity of 35 genetically engineered Cys sulphydryl groups at different locations in Escherichia coli FepA. Modification of surface loop residues by fluorescein maleimide (FM) was strongly temperature-dependent in vivo, whereas reactivity at other sites was much less affected. Control reactions with bovine serum albumin showed that the temperature dependence of loop residue reactivity was unusually high, indicating that conformational changes in multiple loops (L2, L3, L4, L5, L7, L8, L10) transform the receptor to a more accessible form at 37 degrees C.

Comparison of on-chip and off-chip microfluidic kinase assay formats.

Kinases represent an important class of targets for pharmaceutical drug development. Microfluidic devices capable of running kinase assays with either an on-chip or an off-chip enzymatic reaction have been developed. For the on-chip assay, reagent addition, mixing, enzymatic reaction, and electrophoretic separation and detection of substrate and product all take place in the channels of the microfluidic chip.