Cryptosporidium parvum mixed genotypes detected by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Combinations of 10 Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts, with various ratios of genotype I to genotype II, were isolated and subjected to PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Amplification of both genotypes in these samples ranged from 31 to 74% and yielded no information about the genotype proportions. In addition, since both genotypes were not always detected, amplification of a single genotype is not conclusive evidence that the sample contains only a single genotype.     

Shrub persistence and increased grass mortality in response to drought in dryland systems

Droughts in the southwest United States have led to major forest and grassland die‐off events in recent decades, suggesting plant community and ecosystem shifts are imminent as native perennial grass populations are replaced by shrub‐ and invasive plant‐dominated systems. These patterns are similar to those observed in arid and semiarid systems around the globe, but our ability to predict which species will experience increased drought‐induced mortality in response to climate change remains limited. We investigated meteorological drought‐induced mortality of nine dominant plant species in the Colorado Plateau Desert by experimentally imposing a year‐round 35% precipitation reduction for eight continuous years. We distributed experimental plots across numerous plant, soil, and parent material types, resulting in 40 distinct sites across a 4,500 km² region of the Colorado Plateau Desert. For all 8 years, we tracked c. 400 individual plants and evaluated mortality responses to treatments within and across species, and through time. We also examined the influence of abiotic and biotic site factors in driving mortality responses. Overall, high mortality trends were driven by dominant grass species, including Achnatherum hymenoides, Pleuraphis jamesii, and Sporobolus cryptandrus. Responses varied widely from year to year and dominant shrub species were generally resistant to meteorological drought, likely due to their ability to access deeper soil water. Importantly, mortality increased in the presence of invasive species regardless of treatment, and native plant die‐off occurred even under ambient conditions, suggesting that recent climate changes are already negatively impacting dominant species in these systems. Results from this long‐term drought experiment suggest major shifts in community composition and, as a result, ecosystem function. Patterns also show that, across multiple soil and plant community types, native perennial grass species may be replaced by shrubs and invasive annuals in the Colorado Plateau Desert.     

TheViral MetaGenome Annotation Pipeline(VMGAP):an automated tool for the functional annotation of viral Metagenomic shotgun sequencing data

In the past few years, the field of metagenomics has been growing at an accelerated pace, particularly in response to advancements in new sequencing technologies. The large volume of sequence data from novel organisms generated by metagenomic projects has triggered the development of specialized databases and tools focused on particular groups of organisms or data types. Here we describe a pipeline for the functional annotation of viral metagenomic sequence data. The Viral MetaGenome Annotation Pipeline (VMGAP) pipeline takes advantage of a number of specialized databases, such as collections of mobile genetic elements and environmental metagenomes to improve the classification and functional prediction of viral gene products. The pipeline assigns a functional term to each predicted protein sequence following a suite of comprehensive analyses whose results are ranked according to a priority rules hierarchy. Additional annotation is provided in the form of enzyme commission (EC) numbers, GO/MeGO terms and Hidden Markov Models together with supporting evidence.     

Dose dependency of time to death in single and mixed infections with a wildtype and egt deletion strain of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus

Recombinant insect nucleopolyhedroviruses lacking the egt gene generally kill their hosts faster than wild-type strains, but the response of insects to mixtures of virus genotypes is less well known. Here, we compared the survival time, lethal dose and occlusion body yield in third instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) after challenge with wild-type H. armigera SNPV (HaSNPV-wt), a strain with a deletion of the egt gene, HaSNPV-LM2, and a 1:1 mixture of these two virus strains. A range of doses was used to determine whether the total number of OBs influenced the response to challenge with a mixture of virus strains versus single strains. At high virus doses, HaSNPV-LM2 killed H. armigera larvae significantly faster (ca. 20 h) than HaSNPV-wt, but at low doses, there was no significant difference in survival time between the viruses. The survival time after challenge with mixed virus inoculum was significantly different from and intermediate between that of the single viruses at high doses, and not different from that of the single viruses at low doses. No differences in lethal dose were found between single and mixed infections or between virus genotypes. The number of occlusion bodies produced per larva increased with time to death and decreased with virus dose, but no significant differences among virus types were found.     

Metabolic effect of a LoBAG30 diet in men with type 2 diabetes

We recently reported that in subjects with untreated type 2 diabetes a 5-wk diet of 30:30:40 carbohydrate/protein/fat ratio resulted in a significant decrease in 24-h integrated glucose, total %glycohemoglobin, and total cholesterol compared with a control diet of 55:15:30 carbohydrate/protein/fat given at the beginning of the 5-wk period. Body weight was stable and insulin was unchanged. We now present data on other hormones and metabolites considered to be affected by dietary macronutrient changes. The test diet resulted in an elevated fasting plasma total IGF-I, but not growth hormone. Urinary free cortisol was increased. Serum renin and urinary aldosterone remained unchanged. Blood pressure was stable. Serum creatinine and uric acid were increased. Urinary microalbumin was decreased. Creatinine clearance, serum B(12), folate, homocysteine, TSH, and free thyroxine were unchanged. Total triiodothyronine was decreased. Plasma alpha-amino nitrogen, urea nitrogen, and serum albumin were increased. Urea production rate was increased such that a new steady state was present. The calculated urea production rate accounted for 84% of protein ingested on the control diet but only 68% on the test diet, suggesting net nitrogen retention on the latter. Overall, the lack of negative effects, the improved glucose control, and the positive nitrogen balance suggest such a diet will be beneficial for older subjects with type 2 diabetes. Nevertheless, the long-term effects and general applicability of the diet remain to be determined.