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Virulence of banana wilt-causing fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum tropical race 4 is mediated by nitric oxide biosynthesis and accessory genes

Fusarium wilt of banana, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is one of the most damaging plant diseases known. Foc race 1 (R1) decimated the Gros Michel-based banana (Musa acuminata) trade, and now Foc tropical race 4 (TR4) threatens global production of its replacement, the Cavendish banana. Here population genomics revealed that all… [Read More]

In silico analysis of the expression profile of AA9 Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (LPMOs) and the CDH Cellobiose Dehydrogenase enzyme in wood-degrader Agaricomycetes. The Pleurotus ostreatus case

Lignocellulose, the Earth’s most abundant biopolymer, is degraded by wood-decaying fungi, specifically white rot fungi (WRF) and brown rot fungi (BRF), which use different strategies. This study examines the expression profiles of the AA9 and CDH enzymes of three WRF species (Heterobasidion annosum, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, and Pleurotus ostreatus) and two BRF species (Fomitopsis pinicola and… [Read More]

Functional plasticity of HCO3 – uptake and CO2 fixation in Cupriavidus necator H16

Despite its prominence, the ability to engineer Cupriavidus necator H16 for inorganic carbon uptake and fixation is underexplored. We tested the roles of endogenous and heterologous genes on C. necator inorganic carbon metabolism. Deletion of β-carbonic anhydrase can had the most deleterious effect on C. necator autotrophic growth. Replacement of this native uptake system with… [Read More]

Comparative genomic analysis of thermophilic fungi reveals convergent evolutionary adaptations and gene losses

Thermophily is a trait scattered across the fungal tree of life, with its highest prevalence within three fungal families (Chaetomiaceae, Thermoascaceae, and Trichocomaceae), as well as some members of the phylum Mucoromycota. We examined 37 thermophilic and thermotolerant species and 42 mesophilic species for this study and identified thermophily as the ancestral state of all… [Read More]

Metabolite release by nitrifiers facilitates metabolic interactions in the ocean

Microbial chemoautotroph-heterotroph interactions may play a pivotal role in the cycling of carbon in the deep ocean, reminiscent of phytoplankton-heterotroph associations in surface waters. Nitrifiers are the most abundant chemoautotrophs in the global ocean, yet very little is known about nitrifier metabolite production, release, and transfer to heterotrophic microbial communities. To elucidate which organic compounds… [Read More]

Phyllosticta paracitricarpa is synonymous with the EU quarantine fungus P. citricarpa based on phylogenomic analyses

Phyllosticta citricarpa is an important citrus-pathogen and a quarantine organism in the European Union. Its recently described relative, P. paracitricarpa, is very closely related and not listed as a quarantine organism. P. paracitricarpa is very difficult to distinguish from P. citricarpa, since its morphological features overlap and the barcoding gene sequences that were originally used… [Read More]

Stress responses in an Arctic microalga (Pelagophyceae) following sudden salinity change revealed by gene expression analysis

Marine microbes that have for eons been adapted to stable salinity regimes are confronted with sudden decreases in salinity in the Arctic Ocean. The episodic freshening is increasing due to climate change with melting multi-year sea-ice and glaciers, greater inflows from rivers, and increased precipitation. To investigate algal responses to lowered salinity, we analyzed the… [Read More]

Coassembly and binning of a twenty-year metagenomic time-series from Lake Mendota

The North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research (NTL-LTER) program has been extensively used to improve understanding of how aquatic ecosystems respond to environmental stressors, climate fluctuations, and human activities. Here, we report on the metagenomes of samples collected between 2000 and 2019 from Lake Mendota, a freshwater eutrophic lake within the NTL-LTER site. We utilized… [Read More]

Development and Assessment of SNP Genotyping Arrays for Citrus and Its Close Relatives

Rapid advancements in technologies provide various tools to analyze fruit crop genomes to better understand genetic diversity and relationships and aid in breeding. Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays offer highly multiplexed assays at a relatively low cost per data point. We report the development and validation of 1.4M SNP Axiom® Citrus HD Genotyping… [Read More]

Targeted hypermutation of putative antigen sensors in multicellular bacteria

Diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs) are used by bacteria, archaea, and viruses as a targeted mutagenesis tool. Through error-prone reverse transcription, DGRs introduce random mutations at specific genomic loci, enabling rapid evolution of these targeted genes. However, the function and benefits of DGR-diversified proteins in cellular hosts remain elusive. We find that 82% of DGRs from one… [Read More]