Generalized Subcutaneous Phaeohyphomycosis Caused by Phialophora verrucosa: Report of a Case and Review of Literature

We report a case of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis due to Phialophora verrucosa in a 64-year-old Chinese farmer suffering from CD4+ lymphopenia. He presented with diffuse and infiltrated plaques involving the entire face including the eyes, neck, occiput, and extending to the dorsal regions of his torso. The patient is notable for the discrete multifocal nature of the illness in the absence of disseminated infection and rarity of P. verrucosa as a cause of subcutaneous phaeohyphomycosis.     

Mate Choice and Mechanical Constraint on Size‐Assortative Paring Success in a Simultaneous Hermaphroditic Pond Snail Radix lagotis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) on the Tibetan Plateau

Body size is expected to affect the mating behaviour and mating patterns of simultaneous hermaphrodites, because it can influence fecundity, mate choice and mechanical constraints to mating. However, there is a lack of detailed research on size‐dependent mating patterns in hermaphroditic species, including aquatic pulmonates. We investigated mating patterns and mating success in the simultaneous hermaphroditic pond snail Radix lagotis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata). We found that fecundity increased with body size and we observed a strong pattern of size‐assortative mating across two breeding seasons. Sperm donors were more likely to inseminate large snails than small snails, and pairings between two large individuals were more likely to result in successful copulations than pairings of two small individuals or two individuals of differing sizes. Other possible explanations (mechanical constraint) for these patterns are also discussed.     

Development of a high-efficient transformation system of Bacillus pumilus strain DX01 to facilitate gene isolation via gfp-tagged insertional mutagenesis and visualize bacterial colonization of rice roots

A Tn5 transposition vector, pMOD-tet-egfp, was constructed and used for the random insertional mutagenesis of Bacillus pumilus. Various parameters were investigated to increase the transformation efficiency B. pumilus DX01 via Tn5 transposition complexes (transposome): bacterial growth phase, type of electroporation buffer, electric field strength, and recovery medium. Transformation efficiency was up to 3?×?10⁴?transformants/μg of DNA under the optimized electroporation conditions, and a total of 1,467 gfp-tagged transformants were obtained. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis showed that all gfp-tagged bacterial cells expressed GFP, indicating that foreign DNA has been successfully integrated into the genome of B. pumilus and expressed. Finally, flanking DNA sequences were isolated from several transformants and colonization of rice roots by B. pumilus DX01 was also studied. The method developed here will be useful for creating an insertion mutant library of gram-positive bacteria, thus facilitating their molecular genetic and cytological studies.     

Senecio changii (Asteraceae: Senecioneae), a New Species from Sichuan,China

Senecio changii (Asteraceae: Senecioneae), a new species from Muli, Sichuan, southwestern China, is described. It is distinguished in Chinese Senecio s.s. by having lyrate-pinnatisect to pinnatisect leaves and a single terminal large discoid capitulum which is somewhat nodding. Evidence from floral micromorphology, karyology and molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear ITS/ETS sequence data all support its membership within Senecio s.s.