scholarly journals Light modulates important physiological features of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum during the colonization of tomato plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josefina Tano ◽  
María Belén Ripa ◽  
María Laura Tondo ◽  
Analía Carrau ◽  
Silvana Petrocelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
In Silico Analysis ◽  
Plant Colonization ◽  
External Signal ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Light Sensing ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ralstonia Pseudosolanacearum ◽  
Colonization Process

AbstractRalstonia pseudosolanacearum GMI1000 (Rpso GMI1000) is a soil-borne vascular phytopathogen that infects host plants through the root system causing wilting disease in a wide range of agro-economic interest crops, producing economical losses. Several features contribute to the full bacterial virulence. In this work we study the participation of light, an important environmental factor, in the regulation of the physiological attributes and infectivity of Rpso GMI1000. In silico analysis of the Rpso genome revealed the presence of a Rsp0254 gene, which encodes a putative blue light LOV-type photoreceptor. We constructed a mutant strain of Rpso lacking the LOV protein and found that the loss of this protein and light, influenced characteristics involved in the pathogenicity process such as motility, adhesion and the biofilms development, which allows the successful host plant colonization, rendering bacterial wilt. This protein could be involved in the adaptive responses to environmental changes. We demonstrated that light sensing and the LOV protein, would be used as a location signal in the host plant, to regulate the expression of several virulence factors, in a time and tissue dependent way. Consequently, bacteria could use an external signal and Rpsolov gene to know their location within plant tissue during the colonization process.

scholarly journals Identification of Putative Virulence Genes by DNA Methylation Studies in the Cereal Pathogen Fusarium graminearum

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1192
Author(s):  
Francesco Tini ◽  
Giovanni Beccari ◽  
Gianpiero Marconi ◽  
Andrea Porceddu ◽  
Micheal Sulyok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Virulent Strain ◽  
Fungal Virulence ◽  
Wheat Seedlings ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Conidia Production ◽  
Natural Hosts

DNA methylation mediates organisms’ adaptations to environmental changes in a wide range of species. We investigated if a such a strategy is also adopted by Fusarium graminearum in regulating virulence toward its natural hosts. A virulent strain of this fungus was consecutively sub-cultured for 50 times (once a week) on potato dextrose agar. To assess the effect of subculturing on virulence, wheat seedlings and heads (cv. A416) were inoculated with subcultures (SC) 1, 23, and 50. SC50 was also used to re-infect (three times) wheat heads (SC50×3) to restore virulence. In vitro conidia production, colonies growth and secondary metabolites production were also determined for SC1, SC23, SC50, and SC50×3. Seedling stem base and head assays revealed a virulence decline of all subcultures, whereas virulence was restored in SC50×3. The same trend was observed in conidia production. The DNA isolated from SC50 and SC50×3 was subject to a methylation content-sensitive enzyme and double-digest, restriction-site-associated DNA technique (ddRAD-MCSeEd). DNA methylation analysis indicated 1024 genes, whose methylation levels changed in response to the inoculation on a healthy host after subculturing. Several of these genes are already known to be involved in virulence by functional analysis. These results demonstrate that the physiological shifts following sub-culturing have an impact on genomic DNA methylation levels and suggest that the ddRAD-MCSeEd approach can be an important tool for detecting genes potentially related to fungal virulence.

scholarly journals Microglial Pruning: Relevance for Synaptic Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Experimental Models

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 686
Author(s):  
Maria Concetta Geloso ◽  
Nadia D’Ambrosi
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Neuronal Death ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Experimental Models ◽  
Synaptic Dysfunction ◽  
Synapse Elimination ◽  
Neurodegenerative Process ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Demyelinating Lesions

Microglia, besides being able to react rapidly to a wide range of environmental changes, are also involved in shaping neuronal wiring. Indeed, they actively participate in the modulation of neuronal function by regulating the elimination (or “pruning”) of weaker synapses in both physiologic and pathologic processes. Mounting evidence supports their crucial role in early synaptic loss, which is emerging as a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) and its preclinical models. MS is an inflammatory, immune-mediated pathology of the white matter in which demyelinating lesions may cause secondary neuronal death. Nevertheless, primitive grey matter (GM) damage is emerging as an important contributor to patients’ long-term disability, since it has been associated with early and progressive cognitive decline (CD), which seriously worsens the quality of life of MS patients. Widespread synapse loss even in the absence of demyelination, axon degeneration and neuronal death has been demonstrated in different GM structures, thus raising the possibility that synaptic dysfunction could be an early and possibly independent event in the neurodegenerative process associated with MS. This review provides an overview of microglial-dependent synapse elimination in the neuroinflammatory process that underlies MS and its experimental models.

Dynamics of fungal pathogens in host plant tissues

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1275-1283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigehito Takenaka
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Fungal Biomass ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Molecular Methods ◽  
Plant Colonization ◽  
Fungal Colonization ◽  
Plant Tissues

To develop efficient control measures against fungal plant pathogens, the dynamics of host plant colonization during disease development and the interactions among fungi within host plant tissues need to be clarified. These studies require accurate quantitative estimation of specific fungal biomass in plant tissues. This has been approached by direct-microscopic methods, cultural methods, chemical determinations of fungal components, serological methods, and molecular methods. Among these methods, serological and molecular methods provide rapid, specific, and sensitive quantitative measures of fungal biomass in host plant tissues. Therefore, studies on fungal dynamics of host plant colonization using these two methods are presented. Some examples of species interactions among pathogenic fungi within host plants, such as synergism and competition, are reviewed and the usefulness of serological and molecular methods for studies on these interactions is presented. These quantitative methods will provide helpful information for understanding the ecology of plant pathogenic fungi, such as the dynamics of host plant colonization and species interactions. Key words: quantitative methods, fungal biomass, ELISA, PCR, fungal colonization, species interaction.

scholarly journals Enhancing the resilience of coupled human and natural systems of alpine rangelands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. i ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikui Dong ◽  
Ruth Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Rangeland Management ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Science Policy Interface

This special issue covers a wide range of topics on the protection and sustainable management of alpine rangelands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), including Indigenous knowledge of sustainable rangeland management, science-policy interface for alpine rangeland biodiversity conservation, adaptations of local people to social and environmental changes and policy design for managing coupled human-natural systems of alpine rangelands.

The Research and Application of Artificial Intelligence in the Field of Intelligent Robot

2014 ◽  
Vol 898 ◽  
pp. 763-766
Author(s):  
Zhi Hao Li
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Vision System ◽  
Mineral Exploration ◽  
Intelligent Robot ◽  
Application Range ◽  
Intelligent Robots ◽  
External Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Application

The research and application of artificial intelligence has a very wide range in intelligent robot field. Intelligent robot can not only make use of artificial intelligence gain access to external data, information, (such as stereo vision system, face recognition and tracking, etc.), and then deal with it so as to exactly describe external environment, and complete a task independently, owing the ability of learning knowledge, but also have self-many kinds of artificial intelligence like judgment and decision making, processing capacity and so on. It can make corresponding decision according to environmental changes. Its application range is expanding. In deep sea exploration, star exploration, mineral exploration, heavy pollution, domestic service, entertainment clubs, health care and so on, the figure of intelligent robots artificial intelligence application can all be seen.

scholarly journals New kid on the block: Research of alpine-lake macroinvertebrates in the Tatra Mountains enhanced by DNA barcoding and metabarcoding

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ondrej Vargovčík ◽  
Zuzana Čiamporová-Zaťovičová ◽  
Fedor Čiampor Jr
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Sampling Error ◽  
Alpine Lakes ◽  
Alpine Lake ◽  
Tatra Mountains ◽  
Aquatic Communities ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Tatra Mountains

State of ecosystems and biodiversity protection are becoming the key interests for modern society due to climate change and negative human impacts (Leese 2018). Environmental changes in freshwaters are indicated also by benthic communities, especially in sensitive ecosystems like alpine lakes (Fjellheim 2009). Moreover, remoteness and isolation of alpine lakes make them a source of biodiversity, which is worth conserving (Hamerlík 2014). A promising tool for efficient large-scale monitoring of aquatic communities is DNA metabarcoding (Leese 2018). In this study, we applied metabarcoding to analyse macrozoobenthos of 12 lakes in the Tatra Mountains, using benthic bulk samples and eDNA filtered from water (Fig. 1). In compliance with recent publications, eDNA amplified with BF3/BR2 primers resulted in high percentage of non-invertebrate reads (Leese 2021). Based on in silico tests with the obtained sequences, we confirm that the recently developed EPTDr2n primer enables minimizing non-target amplification even with eDNA filtered from alpine-lake water (Elbrecht and Leese 2017). This ability is facilitated by 3’ end of the primer and we observed the two important mismatches in non-target sequences from our study (Leese 2021). Thus, our future analyses of eDNA (and bulk-sample fixative) will benefit from the new primer. Concerning bulk samples, a wide range of invertebrate taxa was assigned to the OTUs and they showed good congruence with previous studies using morphological determination (e.g. Krno 2006). Certain differences with (and among) the previous records per lake were observed, which could suggest ecological changes, but at the moment the influence of sampling error cannot be excluded. In eDNA, several taxa were congruent with the previous records, but their amount and read abundance was considerably lower due to non-target amplification. Apart from that, filling gaps in barcoding databases remains one of our priorities, as identification to species or genus level was not yet possible for some invertebrate OTUs. In addition, we subjected the NGS data to denoising and abundance-filtering in order to explore haplotype-level diversity (Andújar 2021). Although more comprehensive conclusions will be possible only after obtaining data from more lakes and years, already the two metabarcoding experiments presented here enabled us to efficiently detect within-species genetic diversity and identify a large variety of taxa, including groups that would otherwise be omitted or very challenging to identify. This underlines the potential of DNA methods to provide valuable ecological and biodiversity data across the tree of life for modern biomonitoring. This study was realized with support from VEGA 2/0030/17 and VEGA 2/0084/21.

scholarly journals Neuropeptides and Behaviors: How Small Peptides Regulate Nervous System Function and Behavioral Outputs

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umer Saleem Bhat ◽  
Navneet Shahi ◽  
Siju Surendran ◽  
Kavita Babu
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Synaptic Activity ◽  
Small Peptides ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Nervous System Function ◽  
Insight Into

One of the reasons that most multicellular animals survive and thrive is because of the adaptable and plastic nature of their nervous systems. For an organism to survive, it is essential for the animal to respond and adapt to environmental changes. This is achieved by sensing external cues and translating them into behaviors through changes in synaptic activity. The nervous system plays a crucial role in constantly evaluating environmental cues and allowing for behavioral plasticity in the organism. Multiple neurotransmitters and neuropeptides have been implicated as key players for integrating sensory information to produce the desired output. Because of its simple nervous system and well-established neuronal connectome, C. elegans acts as an excellent model to understand the mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity. Here, we critically review how neuropeptides modulate a wide range of behaviors by allowing for changes in neuronal and synaptic signaling. This review will have a specific focus on feeding, mating, sleep, addiction, learning and locomotory behaviors in C. elegans. With a view to understand evolutionary relationships, we explore the functions and associated pathophysiology of C. elegans neuropeptides that are conserved across different phyla. Further, we discuss the mechanisms of neuropeptidergic signaling and how these signals are regulated in different behaviors. Finally, we attempt to provide insight into developing potential therapeutics for neuropeptide-related disorders.

scholarly journals An Interactive Regulatory Network Controls Stress Response in Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (22) ◽  
pp. 7039-7049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldert Zomer ◽  
Matilde Fernandez ◽  
Breda Kearney ◽  
Gerald F. Fitzgerald ◽  
Marco Ventura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Response ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Regulatory Network ◽  
In Silico Analysis ◽  
Sos Response ◽  
Probiotic Properties ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Functional Ingredients ◽  
Gram Positive Bacteria ◽  
Silico Analysis

ABSTRACT Members of the genus Bifidobacterium are gram-positive bacteria that commonly are found in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of mammals, including humans. Because of their perceived probiotic properties, they frequently are incorporated as functional ingredients in food products. From probiotic production to storage and GIT delivery, bifidobacteria encounter a plethora of stresses. To cope with these environmental challenges, they need to protect themselves through stress-induced adaptive responses. We have determined the response of B. breve UCC2003 to various stresses (heat, osmotic, and solvent) using transcriptome analysis, DNA-protein interactions, and GusA reporter fusions, and we combined these with results from an in silico analysis. The integration of these results allowed the formulation of a model for an interacting regulatory network for stress response in B. breve UCC2003 where HspR controls the SOS response and the ClgR regulon, which in turn regulates and is regulated by HrcA. This model of an interacting regulatory network is believed to represent the paradigm for stress adaptation in bifidobacteria.

scholarly journals Metagenomic Signatures of Bacterial Adaptation to Life in the Phyllosphere of a Salt-Secreting Desert Tree

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (9) ◽  
pp. 2854-2861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omri M. Finkel ◽  
Tom O. Delmont ◽  
Anton F. Post ◽  
Shimshon Belkin
Keyword(s):  
High Salinity ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Metagenomic Data ◽  
Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
Contig Assembly ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Light Sensing ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Globally Distributed

ABSTRACTThe leaves ofTamarix aphylla, a globally distributed, salt-secreting desert tree, are dotted with alkaline droplets of high salinity. To successfully inhabit these organic carbon-rich droplets, bacteria need to be adapted to multiple stress factors, including high salinity, high alkalinity, high UV radiation, and periodic desiccation. To identify genes that are important for survival in this harsh habitat, microbial community DNA was extracted from the leaf surfaces of 10Tamarix aphyllatrees along a 350-km longitudinal gradient. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, contig assembly, and binning yielded 17 genome bins, six of which were >80% complete. These genomic bins, representing three phyla (Proteobacteria,Bacteroidetes, andFirmicutes), were closely related to halophilic and alkaliphilic taxa isolated from aquatic and soil environments. Comparison of these genomic bins to the genomes of their closest relatives revealed functional traits characteristic of bacterial populations inhabiting theTamarixphyllosphere, independent of their taxonomic affiliation. These functions, most notably light-sensing genes, are postulated to represent important adaptations toward colonization of this habitat.IMPORTANCEPlant leaves are an extensive and diverse microbial habitat, forming the main interface between solar energy and the terrestrial biosphere. There are hundreds of thousands of plant species in the world, exhibiting a wide range of morphologies, leaf surface chemistries, and ecological ranges. In order to understand the core adaptations of microorganisms to this habitat, it is important to diversify the type of leaves that are studied. This study provides an analysis of the genomic content of the most abundant bacterial inhabitants of the globally distributed, salt-secreting desert treeTamarix aphylla. Draft genomes of these bacteria were assembled, using the culture-independent technique of assembly and binning of metagenomic data. Analysis of the genomes reveals traits that are important for survival in this habitat, most notably, light-sensing and light utilization genes.

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