Remarkable nutritional diversity of basidiomycetes in the Corticiales, including a new foliicolous species of Marchandiomyces (anamorphic Basidiomycota, Corticiaceae) from Australia

Fungi in the basidiomycete order Corticiales are remarkably diverse nutritionally, including a variety of saprotrophs, plant and fungal pathogens, and lichen-forming fungi. Tracing the origin of this diversity depends on a clearer understanding of the phylogenetic relationships of fungi in the order. One of its core members is the genus Marchandiomyces, originally established for lichen pathogens that form orange or coral bulbils. We describe here a new species in the genus, M. marsonii sp. nov., which is unusual in its appearance, habit, and geographic provenance. It is foliicolous on leaves of Pandanus (screw pines, Pandanaceae) and produces flattened, coral bulbils resembling apothecia of the ascomycete genus Orbilia. It is also the first member of the genus to be collected from Australia. An isolate of the new fungus and several additional cultures of related plant pathogenic fungi were obtained and investigated phylogenetically using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian analyses of nuclear small and large subunit ribosomal sequences. Our phylogeny makes clear that Marchandiomyces species and their close relatives contribute significantly to the ecological diversity of the Corticiales and that this diversity is derived mainly from lignicolous ancestors.     

Optimization of Influencing Parameters on Phenanthrene Removal Efficiency in Soil Washing Process by Using Response Surface Methodology

Response surface methodology (RSM) under Box–Behnken design (BBD) was applied to evaluate the effect of the influencing parameters including surfactant concentration, liquid/soil ratio, Humic Acid concentration, and washing time on phenanthrene removal efficiency in soil washing process by using the nonionic surfactant Tween 80 and find an optimal operational conditions to achieve the highest removal efficiency. A polynomial quadratic model was used to correlate phenanthrene removal efficiency and four independent variables (R² = 0.9719). Based on the obtained results the most influential parameter on phenanthrene removal efficiency was surfactant concentration with an impact value of 69.519%. Liquid/soil ratio was also another factor that significantly influenced on removal efficiency with an impact value of 25.014%. The interaction between surfactant concentration and liquid/soil ratio was also shown to have a positive significant effect on removal efficiency (p_value = 0.0027). However, the other independent variables Humic Acid concentration and time were not significant in the ranges selected in this study. Based on the optimization results maximum removal efficiency of 70.692 ± 3.647% was achieved under the conditions of surfactant concentration 5000 mg L^?1, liquid/soil ratio 30 v/w, HA concentration 9.88 mg L^?1, and washing time 2 h, which was in good agreement with predicted value (66.643%).     

Maintenance of membrane integrity and increase of taxanes production in hazel (Corylus avellana L.) cells induced by low-intensity ultrasound

Suspension-cultured hazel cells were ultrasonicated at power densities of 4 and 455 mW for 4–40 min. Both treatments stimulated the production of major taxanes: Taxol, 10-deacetylbaccatin, and baccatin III. The highest amounts of these taxanes (0.46, 0.26, and 0.07 mg/l, respectively) were obtained at 8 and 20 min of the treatment at 455 mW. Ultrasound had no adverse effects on cell viability, growth, or membrane integrity. Increased release of taxanes by ultrasound resulted not from increased membrane permeability but more likely from stimulation of taxanes biosynthesis.     

Colonic microbiome is altered in alcoholism

Several studies indicate the importance of colonic microbiota in metabolic and inflammatory disorders and importance of diet on microbiota composition. The effects of alcohol, one of the prominent components of diet, on colonic bacterial composition is largely unknown. Mounting evidence suggests that gut-derived bacterial endotoxins are cofactors for alcohol-induced tissue injury and organ failure like alcoholic liver disease (ALD) that only occur in a subset of alcoholics. We hypothesized that chronic alcohol consumption results in alterations of the gut microbiome in a subgroup of alcoholics, and this may be responsible for the observed inflammatory state and endotoxemia in alcoholics. Thus we interrogated the mucosa-associated colonic microbiome in 48 alcoholics with and without ALD as well as 18 healthy subjects. Colonic biopsy samples from subjects were analyzed for microbiota composition using length heterogeneity PCR fingerprinting and multitag pyrosequencing. A subgroup of alcoholics have an altered colonic microbiome (dysbiosis). The alcoholics with dysbiosis had lower median abundances of Bacteroidetes and higher ones of Proteobacteria. The observed alterations appear to correlate with high levels of serum endotoxin in a subset of the samples. Network topology analysis indicated that alcohol use is correlated with decreased connectivity of the microbial network, and this alteration is seen even after an extended period of sobriety. We show that the colonic mucosa-associated bacterial microbiome is altered in a subset of alcoholics. The altered microbiota composition is persistent and correlates with endotoxemia in a subgroup of alcoholics.     

Homozygosity mapping in consanguineous families reveals extreme heterogeneity of non-syndromic autosomal recessive mental retardation and identifies 8 novel gene loci

Autosomal recessive gene defects are arguably the most important, but least studied genetic causes of severe cognitive dysfunction. Homozygosity mapping in 78 consanguineous Iranian families with nonsyndromic autosomal recessive mental retardation (NS-ARMR) has enabled us to determine the chromosomal localization of at least 8 novel gene loci for this condition. Our data suggest that in the Iranian population NS-ARMR is very heterogeneous, and they argue against the existence of frequent gene defects that account for more than a few percent of the cases. Mohammad Mahdi Motazacker and Masoud Garshasbi have contributed equally to this work.     

Mixture of fibroblast, epithelial and endothelial cells conditioned media induce monocyte-derived dendritic cell maturation

Fully matured DCs with large amount cytoplasm and copious dendritic projections were visible at the end of culturing period in the presence of MCM, TNF-α and poly (I:C), with or without FEECM. Thus, DCs generated with these maturation factors are nonadherent and have typical satellite morphology. Flow cytometric analysis using anti-CD14, -CD80, -CD86, -HLA-DR and -CD83 revealed that expression of CD14 is decreased in particular in FEECM treated DCs, on day 5 and expression of CD80, CD86 and HLA-DR was the higher when FEECM are added to maturation factor. Functionally, when DCs matured in the presence of FEECM elicited stronger MLR, reduced phagocytic activity. These results support the use of the FEECM with MCM, TNF-α and poly (I–C) as maturation factor in DC generation that could result in functionally mature monocyte-derived DCs in comparison to either alone.     

Climate, human palaeoecology and the use of fuel in Wadi Sana, Southern Yemen

This study integrates analysis of wood charcoal assemblages with climate proxies, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data sets in hyper-arid Wadi Sana, Yemen, to address the availability and use of wood fuels by South Arabian hunter-herder groups from the Early Holocene (8000–7700 cal. b.p.) to Middle Holocene (6900–4800 cal. b.p.) periods. The Early Holocene environment, regulated by a stronger Southwest Asian monsoon, was moister than the present, providing a marshy winter grazing area for cattle herders, whose construction of hearths and food preparation strategies changed over time. This study provides an insight into long term stability of land cover and use as well as the dynamics of human contributions to landscape change. We suggest that complex environmental and cultural processes affect species availability, fuel choice and land use management. Despite environmental and economic changes in Wadi Sana, our dataset does not show changes in fuel choice from the Early to Middle Holocene.