Phylogeny, morphology, virulence, ecology, and host range of (Ordosporidae), a microsporidian symbiont of spp.

Unlabelled: The impacts of microsporidia on host individuals are frequently subtle and can be context dependent. A key example of the latter comes from a recently discovered microsporidian symbiont of , the net impact of which was found to shift from negative to positive based on environmental context. Given this, we hypothesized low baseline virulence of the microsporidian; here, we investigated the impact of infection on hosts in controlled conditions and the absence of other stressors.

Major impacts of widespread structural variation on sorghum.

Genetic diversity is critical to crop breeding and improvement, and dissection of the genomic variation underlying agronomic traits can both assist breeding and give insight into basic biological mechanisms. Although recent genome analyses in plants reveal many structural variants (SVs), most current studies of crop genetic variation are dominated by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The extent of the impact of SVs on global trait variation, as well as their utility in genome-wide selection, is not yet understood.

Transposition of HOPPLA in siRNA-deficient plants suggests a limited effect of the environment on retrotransposon mobility in Brachypodium distachyon.

Long terminal repeat retrotransposons (LTR-RTs) are powerful mutagens regarded as a major source of genetic novelty and important drivers of evolution. Yet, the uncontrolled and potentially selfish proliferation of LTR-RTs can lead to deleterious mutations and genome instability, with large fitness costs for their host. While population genomics data suggest that an ongoing LTR-RT mobility is common in many species, the understanding of their dual role in evolution is limited.

Extraordinary preservation of gene collinearity over three hundred million years revealed in homosporous lycophytes.

Homosporous lycophytes (Lycopodiaceae) are a deeply diverged lineage in the plant tree of life, having split from heterosporous lycophytes ( and ) ~400 Mya. Compared to the heterosporous lineage, Lycopodiaceae has markedly larger genome sizes and remains the last major plant clade for which no chromosome-level assembly has been available. Here, we present chromosomal genome assemblies for two homosporous lycophyte species, the allotetraploid and the diploid .

Convergent reductive evolution and host adaptation in Mycoavidus bacterial endosymbionts of Mortierellaceae fungi.

Intimate associations between fungi and intracellular bacterial endosymbionts are becoming increasingly well understood. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that bacterial endosymbionts of Mucoromycota fungi are related either to free-living Burkholderia or Mollicutes species. The so-called Burkholderia-related endosymbionts or BRE comprise Mycoavidus, Mycetohabitans and Candidatus Glomeribacter gigasporarum.

T-Toxin Virulence Genes: Unconnected Dots in a Sea of Repeats.

In 1970, the Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic ravaged U.S. fields to great economic loss.

Sodalis ligni Strain 159R Isolated from an Anaerobic Lignin-Degrading Consortium.

Novel bacterial isolates with the capabilities of lignin depolymerization, catabolism, or both, could be pertinent to lignocellulosic biofuel applications. In this study, we aimed to identify anaerobic bacteria that could address the economic challenges faced with microbial-mediated biotechnologies, such as the need for aeration and mixing. Using a consortium seeded from temperate forest soil and enriched under anoxic conditions with organosolv lignin as the sole carbon source, we successfully isolated a novel bacterium, designated 159R.

A large accessory genome and high recombination rates may influence global distribution and broad host range of the fungal plant pathogen Claviceps purpurea.

Pangenome analyses are increasingly being utilized to study the evolution of eukaryotic organisms. While pangenomes can provide insight into polymorphic gene content, inferences about the ecological and adaptive potential of such organisms also need to be accompanied by additional supportive genomic analyses. In this study we constructed a pangenome of Claviceps purpurea from 24 genomes and examined the positive selection and recombination landscape of an economically important fungal organism for pharmacology and agricultural research.

Fungi Modulate the Switchgrass Root Transcriptome to Circumvent Host Defenses and Establish a Symbiotic Relationship.

The fungal family Serendipitaceae encompasses root-associated lineages with endophytic, ericoid, orchid, and ectomycorrhizal lifestyles. Switchgrass is an important bioenergy crop for cellulosic ethanol production owing to high biomass production on marginal soils otherwise unfit for food crop cultivation. The aim of this study was to investigate the host plant responses to spp.

Genetic dissection of natural variation in oilseed traits of camelina by whole-genome resequencing and QTL mapping.

Camelina [Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz] is an oilseed crop in the Brassicaceae family that is currently being developed as a source of bioenergy and healthy fatty acids. To facilitate modern breeding efforts through marker-assisted selection and biotechnology, we evaluated genetic variation among a worldwide collection of 222 camelina accessions.

BdERECTA controls vasculature patterning and phloem-xylem organization in Brachypodium distachyon.

Background: The vascular system of plants consists of two main tissue types, xylem and phloem. These tissues are organized into vascular bundles that are arranged into a complex network running through the plant that is essential for the viability of land plants. Despite their obvious importance, the genes involved in the organization of vascular tissues remain poorly understood in grasses.

Comparative genomics of pyrophilous fungi reveals a link between fire events and developmental genes.

Forest fires generate a large amount of carbon that remains resident on the site as dead and partially 'pyrolysed' (i.e. burnt) material that has long residency times and constitutes a significant pool in fire-prone ecosystems.

Genome Sequence of the Chestnut Blight Fungus EP155: A Fundamental Resource for an Archetypical Invasive Plant Pathogen.

is the causal agent of chestnut blight, a fungal disease that almost entirely eliminated mature American chestnut from North America over a 50-year period. Here, we formally report the genome of EP155 using a Sanger shotgun sequencing approach. After finishing and integration with simple-sequence repeat markers, the assembly was 43.

Mutations in the predicted DNA polymerase subunit POLD3 result in more rapid flowering of Brachypodium distachyon.

The timing of reproduction is a critical developmental decision in the life cycle of many plant species. Fine mapping of a rapid-flowering mutant was done using whole-genome sequence data from bulked DNA from a segregating F2 mapping populations. The causative mutation maps to a gene orthologous with the third subunit of DNA polymerase δ (POLD3), a previously uncharacterized gene in plants.

Genetic basis for the cooperative bioactivation of plant lignans by Eggerthella lenta and other human gut bacteria.

Plant-derived lignans, consumed daily by most individuals, are thought to protect against cancer and other diseases; however, their bioactivity requires gut bacterial conversion to enterolignans. Here, we dissect a four-species bacterial consortium sufficient for all five reactions in this pathway. A single enzyme (benzyl ether reductase, encoded by the gene ber) was sufficient for the first two biotransformations, variable between strains of Eggerthella lenta, critical for enterolignan production in gnotobiotic mice and unique to Coriobacteriia.

Variation and Inheritance of Small RNAs in Maize Inbreds and F1 Hybrids.

Small RNAs (sRNAs) regulate gene expression, play important roles in epigenetic pathways, and are hypothesized to contribute to hybrid vigor in plants. Prior investigations have provided valuable insights into associations between sRNAs and heterosis, often using a single hybrid genotype or tissue, but our understanding of the role of sRNAs and their potential value to plant breeding are limited by an incomplete picture of sRNA variation between diverse genotypes and development stages. Here, we provide a deep exploration of sRNA variation and inheritance among a panel of 108 maize () samples spanning five tissues from eight inbred parents and 12 hybrid genotypes, covering a spectrum of heterotic groups, genetic variation, and levels of heterosis for various traits.

Insights into an unusual Auxiliary Activity 9 family member lacking the histidine brace motif of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases.

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are redox-enzymes involved in biomass degradation. All characterized LPMOs possess an active site of two highly conserved histidine residues coordinating a copper ion (the histidine brace), which are essential for LPMO activity. However, some protein sequences that belong to the AA9 LPMO family display a natural N-terminal His to Arg substitution (Arg-AA9).

Towards optimized viral metagenomes for double-stranded and single-stranded DNA viruses from challenging soils.

Soils impact global carbon cycling and their resident microbes are critical to their biogeochemical processing and ecosystem outputs. Based on studies in marine systems, viruses infecting soil microbes likely modulate host activities via mortality, horizontal gene transfer, and metabolic control. However, their roles remain largely unexplored due to technical challenges with separating, isolating, and extracting DNA from viruses in soils.