Analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rRNA genes in fungal communities in a southeastern U.S. salt marsh

The ascomycete community colonizing decaying Spartina alterniflora blades in a southeastern U.S. salt marsh was characterized by analysis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of fungal rRNA genes. ITS sequences were amplified with ascomycete-specific primers from DNA extracted from S. alterniflora blades at two stages of decay (early and late) and were identified based on sequence analysis of a companion ascomycete culture collection. The S. alterniflora ITS libraries were dominated by clones from three species of ascomycetes: Mycosphaerella sp. 2, Phaeosphaeria spartinicola, and Phaeosphaeria halima. ITS sequences from five other less abundant ascomycete species were also found in the clone libraries, only two of which could be identified based on the culture collection, Hydropisphaera erubescens and a new species nicknamed '4clt'. Ascospore expulsion assays indicated dominance by the same three species as the ITS analysis, although this non-molecular approach differed from the molecular method in relative ranking of the dominant species and in characterization of minor species. Analysis of ITS amplicons from three replicate plots by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis showed significant spatial homogeneity in ascomycete community composition for both early- and late-stage decay. ITS sequence analysis identified morphologically cryptic subgroups for two of the three dominant salt marsh ascomycetes.     

Epigenetic mechanisms in health and disease: BCEC 2017

The Barcelona Conference on Epigenetics and Cancer (BCEC) entitled “Epigenetic Mechanisms in Health and Disease” was held in Barcelona, October 26-26, 2017. The 2017 BCEC was the fifth and last edition of a series of annual conferences organized as a joint effort of five leading Barcelona research institutes together with B-Debate. This edition was organized by Albert Jordan from the Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) and Marcus Bushbeck from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC). Jordi Bernués, Marian Martínez-Balbás, and Ferran Azorín were also part of the scientific committee. In 22 talks and 51 posters, researchers presented their latest results in the fields of histone variants, epigenetic regulation, and chromatin 3D organization to an audience of around 250 participants from 16 countries. This year, a broad number of talks focused on the epigenetic causes and possible related treatments of complex diseases such as cancer. Participants at the 2017 BCEC elegantly closed the series, discussing progress made in the field of epigenetics and highlighting its role in human health and disease.     

Residual effect of BNI by Brachiaria humidicola pasture on nitrogen recovery and grain yield of subsequent maize

Plant and Soil - The forage grass Brachiaria humidicola (Bh) has been shown to reduce soil microbial nitrification. However, it is not known if biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) also has an...