Do colonization by dark septate endophytes and elevated temperature affect pathogenicity of oomycetes?

Phialocephala subalpina is one of the most frequent dark septate root endophytes in tree roots but its function in forest ecosystems is largely unknown. A full-factorial infection experiment was performed, using six P.?subalpina isolates, two pathogenic oomycetes (Phytophthora plurivora [syn. Phytophthora citricola s.l.] and Elongisporangium undulatum [syn. Pythium undulatum]) and two temperature regimes (17.9 and 21.6?°C) to examine the ability of P.?subalpina to protect Norway spruce seedlings against root pathogens. Seedling survival, disease intensity and seedling growth were affected by P.?subalpina genotype, temperature and pathogen species. Some P.?subalpina isolates effectively reduced mortality and disease intensity caused by the two pathogens. Elevated temperature adversely affected seedling growth but did not aggravate the effect of the pathogens. Elongisporangium undulatum but not P.?plurivora significantly reduced plant growth. Colonization density of P.?subalpina measured by quantitative PCR was not affected by temperature or the presence of the pathogens. In conclusion, P.?subalpina confers an indirect benefit to its host and might therefore be tolerated in natural ecosystems, despite negative effects on plant health and plant growth.     

Circadian clocks: A cry in the dark?

Cryptochrome proteins are key components of the circadian systems of both Drosophila and mammals. In Drosophila, they appear to be responsible for the entrainment of the circadian clock by the light-dark cycle, while in mammals they perform an important role in rhythm generation itself.     

Dark septate endophytes – are they mycorrhizal?

Dark septate endophytes (DSE) are a miscellaneous group of ascomycetous anamorphic fungi that colonize root tissues intracellularly and intercellularly. The limited selection of studies quoted here exemplifies the range of host responses to symbiotic DSE fungi. Like mycorrhizal associations, DSE associations vary from negative to neutral and positive when measured by host performance or host tissue nutrient concentrations. This range of host responses is partially attributable to variation between different fungus taxa and strains. Similarly, hosts differ in their responses to a single DSE strain. Experimental conditions may also govern the nature of the symbiotic association. It is concluded that DSE are capable of forming mutualistic associations functionally similar to mycorrhizas. If the variation in host response to mycorrhizal fungi is considered to represent a continuum ranging from parasitism to mutualism, DSE symbiosis must be considered mycorrhizal, at least under some conditions.     

Sex differences in cannabinoid pharmacology: A reflection of differences in the endocannabinoid system?

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the U.S., and marijuana use by women is on the rise. Women have been found to be more susceptible to the development of cannabinoid abuse and dependence, have more severe withdrawal symptoms, and are more likely to relapse than men. The majority of research in humans suggests that women are more likely to be affected by cannabinoids than men, with reports of enhanced and decreased performance on various tasks. In rodents, females are more sensitive than males to effects of cannabinoids on tests of antinociception, motor activity, and reinforcing efficacy. Studies on effects of cannabinoid exposure during adolescence in both humans and rodents suggest that female adolescents are more likely than male adolescents to be deleteriously affected by cannabinoids. Sex differences in response to cannabinoids appear to be due to activational and perhaps organizational effects of gonadal hormones, with estradiol identified as the hormone that contributes most to the sexually dimorphic effects of cannabinoids in adults. Many, but not all sexually dimorphic effects of exogenous cannabinoids can be attributed to a sexually dimorphic endocannabinoid system in rodents, although the same has not yet been established firmly for humans. A greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying sexually dimorphic effects of cannabinoids will facilitate development of sex-specific approaches to treat marijuana dependence and to use cannabinoid-based medications therapeutically.     

Sex: Is Giardia Doing It in the Dark?

The protist Giardia has long been considered strictly asexual. Now genes specific for meiotic recombination have been found in the Giardia genome, but their consequences for genetics, epidemiology and evolution remain unknown.     

Plasmodium vivax in Africa: hidden in plain sight?

People who live in tropical Africa, south of the Sahara, are predominantly negative for the Duffy blood-group antigen, which mediates invasion of reticulocytes by Plasmodium vivax. Recent reports of a parasite that was molecularly diagnosed as P. vivax from populations who are suspected, or known, to be Duffy negative confound a large body of evidence that states that invasion of P. vivax requires the Duffy antigen. If confirmed, one of several possible explanations is that P. vivax, which originated in Asia, is now evolving to exploit alternate invasion receptors in Africa.     

A hidden translatome in tumors——the coding lncRNAs

Long noncoding RNAs(lncRNAs) have been extensively identified in eukaryotic genomes and have been shown to play critical roles in the development of multiple cancers. Through the application and development of ribosome analysis and sequencing technologies, advanced studies have discovered the translation of lncRNAs. Although lncRNAs were originally defined as noncoding RNAs, many lncRNAs actually contain small open reading frames that are translated into peptides. This opens a broad area for the...     

Sex in flies: what 'body--mind' dichotomy?

Sexual behavior in Drosophila results from interactions of multiple neural and genetic pathways. Male-specific fruitless (fruM) is a major component inducing male behaviors, but recent work indicates key roles for other sex-specific and sex-non-specific components. Notably, male-like courtship by retained (retn) mutant females reveals an intrinsic pathway for male behavior independent of fruM, while behavioral differences between males and females with equal levels of fruM expression indicate involvement of another sex-specific component. Indeed, sex-specific products of doublesex (dsxF and dsxM), that control sexual differentiation of the body, also contribute to sexual behavior and neural development of both sexes. In addition, the single product of the dissatisfaction (dsf) gene is needed for appropriate behavior in both sexes, implying additional complexities and levels of control. The genetic mechanisms controlling sexual behavior are similar to those controlling body sexual development, suggesting biological advantages of modifying an intermediate intrinsic pathway in generation of two substantially different behavioral or morphological states.     

Sex and death: what is the connection?

A cost of reproduction, where lifespan and fecundity are negatively correlated, is of widespread occurrence. Mutations in insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) pathways and dietary restriction (DR) can extend lifespan in model organisms but do not always reduce fecundity, suggesting that the link between lifespan and fecundity is not inevitable. Understanding the molecular basis of the cost of reproduction will be informed by elucidation of the mechanisms by which DR and IIS affect these two traits.     

Dark septate endophytes colonizing the roots of ‘non-mycorrhizal’ plants in a mine tailing pond and in a relatively undisturbed environment,Southwest China

Dark septate endophytes (DSEs), one of the most common fungal colonizers of roots, are considered to overlap in function with mycorrhizal fungi. However, there is little knowledge on the distribution and identity of DSEs in ‘non-mycorrhizal’ plants. In the current study, colonization and diversity of DSEs colonizing the roots of eight typically ‘non-mycorrhizal’ families were assessed. In total, 120 root samples of 31 plant species were all colonized by DSEs. Intensity of DSE colonization varied greatly among different plant species, with a range of 0.56–47.56%, 8.13% on average. Cladosporium, Cyphellophora and Phialophora were the dominant genera, with a relative abundance of more than 60% over a total of 90 isolates. Our results showed that diverse DSE species colonized the roots of ‘non-mycorrhizal’ plants, especially they were more common in degraded mine tailings than in the undisturbed site, but their integral roles to the functional roots are in need of further experimental demonstration.     

Climate change: is the dark Soay sheep endangered?

It was recently reported that the proportion of dark-coloured Soay sheep (Ovis aries) in the Hebrides has decreased, despite the fact that dark sheep tend to be larger than lighter sheep, and there exists a selective advantage to large body size. It was concluded that an apparent genetic linkage between loci for the coat colour polymorphism and loci with antagonistic effects on body size explained the decrease. Those results explain why the proportion of dark animals is not increasing, but not why it is decreasing. Between 1985 and 2005 there was a significant increase in mean ambient temperature near the islands. We suggest that, while in the past a dark coat has offset the metabolic costs of thermoregulation by absorbing solar radiation, the selective advantage of a dark coat may be waning as the climate warms in the North Atlantic. In parallel, Bergman''s rule may be operating, reducing the selective advantage of large body size in the cold. Either or both of these mechanisms can explain the decrease in the proportion of dark-coloured larger sheep in this population in which smaller (and light-coloured) sheep should be favoured by their lower gross energy demand. If environmental effects are the cause of the decline, then we can expect the proportion of dark-coloured Soay sheep to decrease further.     

Dinophysis blooms in the deep euphotic zone of the Baltic Sea: do they grow in the dark?

In situ growth rates of the toxin-producing dinoflagellate Dinophysis norvegica collected in the central Baltic Sea were estimated during the summers of 1998 and 1999. Flow cytometric measurements of the DNA cell cycle of D. norvegica yielded specific growth rates (μ) ranging between 0.1 and 0.4 per day, with the highest growth rates in stratified populations situated at 15–20 m depth. Carbon uptake rates, measured using ¹⁴C incubations followed by single-cell isolation, at irradiances corresponding to depths of maximum cell abundance were sufficient to sustain growth rates of 0.1–0.2 per day. The reason for D. norvegica accumulation in the thermocline, commonly at 15–20 m depth, is thus enigmatic. Comparison of depth distributions of cells with nutrient profiles suggests that one reason could be to sequester nutrients. Measurements of single-cell nutrient status of D. norvegica, using nuclear microanalysis, revealed severe deficiency of both nitrogen and phosphorus as compared to the Redfield ratio.It is also possible that suitable prey or substrate for mixotrophic feeding is accumulating in the thermocline. The fraction of cells containing digestive vacuoles ranged from 2 to 22% in the studied populations. Infection by the parasitic dinoflagellate Amoebophrya sp. was observed in D. norvegica in all samples analysed. The frequency of infected cells ranged from 1 to 3% of the population as diel averages, ranging from 0.2 to 6% between individual samples. No temporal trends in infection frequency were detected. Estimated loss rates based on observed infection frequencies were 0.5–2% of the D. norvegica population daily, suggesting that these parasites were not a major loss factor for D. norvegica during the periods of study.     

Cool Sex? Hibernation and Reproduction Overlap in the Echidna

During hibernation there is a slowing of all metabolic processes, and thus it is normally considered to be incompatible with reproduction. In Tasmania the egg-laying mammal, the echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) hibernates for several months before mating in mid-winter, and in previous studies we observed males with females that were still hibernating. We monitored the reproductive activity of radio-tracked echidnas by swabbing the reproductive tract for sperm while external temperature loggers provided information on the timing of hibernation. Additional information was provided by camera traps and ultrasound imaging. More than a third of the females found in mating groups were torpid, and the majority of these had mated. Some females re-entered deep torpor for extended periods after mating. Ultrasound examination showed a developing egg in the uterus of a female that had repeatedly re-entered torpor. The presence of fresh sperm in cloacal swabs taken from this female on three occasions after her presumed date of fertilization indicated she mated several times after being fertilized. The mating of males with torpid females is the result of extreme competition between promiscuous males, while re-entry into hibernation by pregnant females could improve the possibility of mating with a better quality male.