Home at last: the enigmatic genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae, Mutisioideae, Mutisieae, Adenocaulinae)

The genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae) have distinct but complex histories and both have been placed in a number of tribes across the family. For the first time the two genera are included in a molecular study and the results show that they are best placed in the tribe Mutisieae s.s. and are the only genera in the re-instated subtribe Adenocaulinae. When described, this subtribe contained only Adenocaulon and was found in the Inuleae. The study also confirms one of the conclusions of a recent morphological study that Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon are sister taxa. Past difficulties in tribal assignment are attributed to the distinct and unusual morphology of each genus. Both genera and the subtribe are described and a key to separate the genera is provided.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Home at last: the enigmatic genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae, Mutisioideae, Mutisieae, Adenocaulinae)

The genera Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon (Compositae) have distinct but complex histories and both have been placed in a number of tribes across the family. For the first time the two genera are included in a molecular study and the results show that they are best placed in the tribe Mutisieae s.s. and are the only genera in the re-instated subtribe Adenocaulinae. When described, this subtribe contained only Adenocaulon and was found in the Inuleae. The study also confirms one of the conclusions of a recent morphological study that Eriachaenium and Adenocaulon are sister taxa. Past difficulties in tribal assignment are attributed to the distinct and unusual morphology of each genus. Both genera and the subtribe are described and a key to separate the genera is provided.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Identification of Contractile Vacuole Proteins in Trypanosoma cruzi

Contractile vacuole complexes are critical components of cell volume regulation and have been shown to have other functional roles in several free-living protists. However, very little is known about the functions of the contractile vacuole complex of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, other than a role in osmoregulation. Identification of the protein composition of these organelles is important for understanding their physiological roles. We applied a combined proteomic and bioinfomatic approach to identify proteins localized to the contractile vacuole. Proteomic analysis of a T. cruzi fraction enriched for contractile vacuoles and analyzed by one-dimensional gel electrophoresis and LC-MS/MS resulted in the addition of 109 newly detected proteins to the group of expressed proteins of epimastigotes. We also identified different peptides that map to at least 39 members of the dispersed gene family 1 (DGF-1) providing evidence that many members of this family are simultaneously expressed in epimastigotes. Of the proteins present in the fraction we selected several homologues with known localizations in contractile vacuoles of other organisms and others that we expected to be present in these vacuoles on the basis of their potential roles. We determined the localization of each by expression as GFP-fusion proteins or with specific antibodies. Six of these putative proteins (Rab11, Rab32, AP180, ATPase subunit B, VAMP1, and phosphate transporter) predominantly localized to the vacuole bladder. TcSNARE2.1, TcSNARE2.2, and calmodulin localized to the spongiome. Calmodulin was also cytosolic. Our results demonstrate the utility of combining subcellular fractionation, proteomic analysis, and bioinformatic approaches for localization of organellar proteins that are difficult to detect with whole cell methodologies. The CV localization of the proteins investigated revealed potential novel roles of these organelles in phosphate metabolism and provided information on the potential participation of adaptor protein complexes in their biogenesis

The classification of the Compositae: A tribute to Vicki Ann Funk (1947–2019)

The classification of the family Compositae (Asteraceae) has been much improved in the last decades by the application of molecular methods culminating in the recompilation published in 2009, Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of Compositae. Additional evidence of relationships has come from the use of high-throughput sequencing methods. Our late colleague Vicki Ann Funk (1947–2019) was a pioneer in this line of research. Together with her team, she contributed to the achievement of a mature classification of the family, which she left outlined. In this paper, we contribute this classification including all of the recent advances at the subtribal level and review in depth all contributions to Compositae classification made since the 2009 compilation

A phylogeny of the Gochnatieae: Understanding a critically placed tribe in the Compositae

Subfamily Gochnatioideae is the sister group of ~96% of the species in Compositae (Asteraceae). It is of particular interest not only because of its position in the phylogeny, but also because, in recent molecular studies, the node it occupies is not strongly supported making difficult any inferences on the direction of character evolution in the family. The recognition of tribe Gochnatieae was one of the results of a comprehensive molecular analysis of the family that showed the traditional cir-cumscription of the Mutisieae to be non-monophyletic. The four genera of Gochnatieae (Cnicothamnus, Cyclolepis, Gochnatia, Richterago) were defined by the presence of apiculate anther appendages and dorsally smooth style branches. Gochnatia, which contained about 70 species, was the largest and most complex genus and in the last decade some of its sections have been moved (or returned) to the rank of genus. This study includes a large selection of potential outgroups and over 60% of all species in the tribe, including all the genera and all but one of the sections of Gochnatia, to examine evolutionary relationships among the taxa. Both cpDNA and nrDNA were used in a phylogenetic analysis using parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian approaches. The results suggest a non-monophyletic Gochnatia that is here resolved by the recognition of segregate genera. Morphologi-cal characters support these new genera and allow the adoption of a new classification for the Gochnatieae. A biogeographic analysis shows a possible southern South American/Andean origin followed by movement in three directions: into the Central Andes, into central and northern Brazil, and into Mexico and the Caribbean. The dating analysis gives an age of the split of the core Gochnatieae from the Wunderlichieae-Cyclolepis clade, and hence the age of the tribe, of 36–45 Ma and an age of 23–25 Ma for the first split within the core Gochnatieae (Andean vs. Brazil-Mexico-Caribbean). Cnicothamnus remains in Gochnatieae but Cyclolepis is designated incertae sedis.Fil: Funk, Vicki. Smithsonian Institution. Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Sancho, Gisela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ArgentinaFil: Roque, Nadia. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Kelloff, Carol L.. Smithsonian Institution. Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Ventosa Rodriguez, Iralys. Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática. La Habana; CubaFil: Díaz Granados, Mauricio. Smithsonian Institution. Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Bonifacino, J. Mauricio. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Chan, Raymund. Smithsonian Institution. Washington; Estados Unido

The classification of the Compositae: A tribute to Vicki Ann Funk (1947–2019)

The classification of the family Compositae (Asteraceae) has been much improved in the last decades by the application of molecular methods culminating in the recompilation published in 2009, Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of Compositae. Additional evidence of relationships has come from the use of high-throughput sequencing methods. Our late colleague Vicki Ann Funk (1947–2019) was a pioneer in this line of research. Together with her team, she contributed to the achievement of a mature classification of the family, which she left outlined. In this paper, we contribute this classification including all of the recent advances at the subtribal level and review in depth all contributions to Compositae classification made since the 2009 compilation.Abstract Introduction Material and methods Classification of Compositae Discussion and conclusions New infrafamilial taxa Author contribution

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field