The comparative effect of propolis and chlorhexidine mouthwash on oral nitrite-producing bacteria and blood pressure regulation.

Background: Propolis mouthwash (PROP-M) has demonstrated antibacterial properties like those of chlorhexidine mouthwash (CHX-M). However, its impact on the abundance of oral nitrite-producing species (NPS) and nitrite-producing activity (NPA) remains unexplored.

Methods: Forty-five healthy individuals were randomised into 2 groups to rinse their mouth twice a day for seven days with either CHX-M ( = 21) or PROP-M ( = 24).

Reconstructing the last common ancestor of all eukaryotes.

Understanding the origin of eukaryotic cells is one of the most difficult problems in all of biology. A key challenge relevant to the question of eukaryogenesis is reconstructing the gene repertoire of the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA). As data sets grow, sketching an accurate genomics-informed picture of early eukaryotic cellular complexity requires provision of analytical resources and a commitment to data sharing.

Acquired amphotericin B resistance leads to fitness trade-offs that can be mitigated by compensatory evolution in Candida auris.

Candida auris is a growing concern due to its resistance to antifungal drugs, particularly amphotericin B (AMB), detected in 30 to 60% of clinical isolates. However, the mechanisms of AMB resistance remain poorly understood. Here we investigated 441 in vitro- and in vivo-evolved C.

Chromosome level assemblies of Nakaseomyces (Candida) bracarensis uncover two distinct clades and define its adhesin repertoire.

Background: The Nakaseomyces clade is formed by at least nine described species among which three can be pathogenic to humans, namely Nakaseomyces glabratus (Candida glabrata), the second most-common cause of candidiasis worldwide, and two rarer emerging pathogens: Nakaseomyces (Candida) nivarensis and Nakaseomyces (Candida) bracarensis. Early comparative genomics analyses identified parallel expansions of subtelomeric adhesin genes in N. glabratus and N.

Gelada genomes highlight events of gene flow, hybridisation and local adaptation that track past climatic changes.

Theropithecus gelada, the last surviving species of this genus, occupy a unique and highly specialised ecological niche in the Ethiopian highlands. A subdivision into three geographically defined populations (Northern, Central and Southern) has been tentatively proposed for this species on the basis of genetic analyses, but genomic data have been investigated only for two of these groups (Northern and Central). Here we combined newly generated whole genome sequences of individuals sampled from the population living south of the East Africa Great Rift Valley with available data from the other two gelada populations to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the species.

Long-term stability of acquired drug resistance and resistance associated mutations in the fungal pathogen ().

The limited number of available antifungal drugs and the increasing number of fungal isolates that show drug or multidrug resistance pose a serious medical threat. Several yeast pathogens, such as (), show a remarkable ability to develop drug resistance during treatment through the acquisition of genetic mutations. However, how stable this resistance and the underlying mutations are in non-selective conditions remains poorly characterized.

Symmetric and asymmetric DNA N6-adenine methylation regulates different biological responses in Mucorales.

DNA N6-adenine methylation (6mA) has recently gained importance as an epigenetic modification in eukaryotes. Its function in lineages with high levels, such as early-diverging fungi (EDF), is of particular interest. Here, we investigated the biological significance and evolutionary implications of 6mA in EDF, which exhibit divergent evolutionary patterns in 6mA usage.

The Catalan initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project: contributing local data to global biodiversity genomics.

The Catalan Initiative for the Earth BioGenome Project (CBP) is an EBP-affiliated project network aimed at sequencing the genome of the >40 000 eukaryotic species estimated to live in the Catalan-speaking territories (Catalan Linguistic Area, CLA). These territories represent a biodiversity hotspot. While covering less than 1% of Europe, they are home to about one fourth of all known European eukaryotic species.

The Effect of Dietary Nitrate on the Oral Microbiome and Salivary Biomarkers in Individuals with High Blood Pressure.

Background: Green leafy vegetables (GLV) contain inorganic nitrate, an anion with potential prebiotic effects on the oral microbiome. However, it remains unclear whether GLV and pharmacological supplementation [potassium nitrate (PN)] with a nitrate salt induce similar effects on the oral microbiome.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effect of GLV with PN supplementation on the oral microbiome composition and salivary biomarkers in individuals with high blood pressure.

Assessing Diagnosis of Infections: A Study on Species Prevalence and Antifungal Resistance in Northern Morocco.

The incidence of infections has increased in the last decade, posing a serious threat to public health. Appropriately facing this challenge requires precise epidemiological data on species and antimicrobial resistance incidence, but many countries lack appropriate surveillance programs. This study aims to bridge this gap for Morocco by identifying and phenotyping a year-long collection of clinical isolates (n = 93) from four clinics in Tetouan.

Proof of Concept Study: Comparability of Microbiome Diversity in Self- and Physician-Collected HPV-Positive and HPV-Negative Cervicovaginal Samples.

Recent studies have revealed the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections on the cervicovaginal microbiome; however, few have explored the utility of self-collected specimens (SCS) for microbiome detection, obtained using standardised methods for HPV testing. Here, we present a proof-of-concept analysis utilising Oxford Nanopore sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in paired samples collected either by the patient using an Evalyn Brush or collected by a physician using liquid-based cytology (LBC). We found no significant differences in the α-diversity estimates between the SCS and LBC samples.

Several secondary metabolite gene clusters in the genomes of ten Penicillium spp. raise the risk of multiple mycotoxin occurrence in chestnuts.

Penicillium spp. produce a great variety of secondary metabolites, including several mycotoxins, on food substrates. Chestnuts represent a favorable substrate for Penicillium spp.

Noncontiguous operon atlas for the genome.

Bacteria synchronize the expression of genes with related functions by organizing genes into operons so that they are cotranscribed together in a single polycistronic messenger RNA. However, some cellular processes may benefit if the simultaneous production of the operon proteins coincides with the inhibition of the expression of an antagonist gene. To coordinate such situations, bacteria have evolved noncontiguous operons (NcOs), a subtype of operons that contain one or more genes that are transcribed in the opposite direction to the other operon genes.

Functional characterization of archaic-specific variants in mitonuclear genes: insights from comparative analysis in S. cerevisiae.

Neanderthal and Denisovan hybridisation with modern humans has generated a non-random genomic distribution of introgressed regions, the result of drift and selection dynamics. Cross-species genomic incompatibility and more efficient removal of slightly deleterious archaic variants have been proposed as selection-based processes involved in the post-hybridisation purge of archaic introgressed regions. Both scenarios require the presence of functionally different alleles across Homo species onto which selection operated differently according to which populations hosted them, but only a few of these variants have been pinpointed so far.

Probing RNA structural landscapes across yeast genomes.

Understanding the intricate roles of RNA molecules in virulence and host-pathogen interactions can provide valuable insights into combatting infections and improving human health. Although much progress has been achieved in understanding transcriptional regulation during host-pathogen interactions in diverse species, more is needed to know about the structure of pathogen RNAs. This is particularly true for fungal pathogens, including pathogenic yeasts of the genus, which are the leading cause of hospital-acquired fungal infections.

Genomics of the expanding pine pathogen reveals patterns of ongoing genetic admixture.

Unlabelled: is the causal agent for brown spot needle blight that affects pine trees across the northern hemisphere. Based on marker genes and microsatellite data, two distinct lineages have been identified that were introduced into Europe on two separate occasions. Despite their overall distinct geographic distribution, they have been found to coexist in regions of northern Spain and France.

Performance of a Shotgun Prediction Model for Colorectal Cancer When Using 16S rRNA Sequencing Data.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most common cancer globally, has shown links to disturbed gut microbiota. While significant efforts have been made to establish a microbial signature indicative of CRC using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, the challenge lies in validating this signature with 16S ribosomal RNA (16S) gene sequencing. The primary obstacle is reconciling the differing outputs of these two methodologies, which often lead to divergent statistical models and conclusions.

Recent gene selection and drug resistance underscore clinical adaptation across Candida species.

Understanding how microbial pathogens adapt to treatments, humans and clinical environments is key to infer mechanisms of virulence, transmission and drug resistance. This may help improve therapies and diagnostics for infections with a poor prognosis, such as those caused by fungal pathogens, including Candida. Here we analysed genomic variants across approximately 2,000 isolates from six Candida species (C.

JLOH: Inferring loss of heterozygosity blocks from sequencing data.

Heterozygosity is a genetic condition in which two or more alleles are found at a genomic locus. Individuals that are the offspring of genetically divergent yet still interfertile parents (e.g.

Comparison of gene clustering criteria reveals intrinsic uncertainty in pangenome analyses.

Background: A key step for comparative genomics is to group open reading frames into functionally and evolutionarily meaningful gene clusters. Gene clustering is complicated by intraspecific duplications and horizontal gene transfers that are frequent in prokaryotes. In consequence, gene clustering methods must deal with a trade-off between identifying vertically transmitted representatives of multicopy gene families, which are recognizable by synteny conservation, and retrieving complete sets of species-level orthologs.