The future of the SPS injection channel

The SPS accelerator will be used as injector for the LHC and has to be adapted to the LHC requirements. The tight specification on beam blow-up in the SPS requires a reduction of the magnetic field ripple of the SPS injection kicker magnets to less than ±0.5 %. The bunch spacing of the LHC ion beam requires a reduction of the kicker magnets' rise time from 145 ns to less than 115 ns. To obtain the shorter rise time the existing kicker magnets have to be reduced in length and the characteristic impedance has to be increased. The resulting loss in magnetic field has to be compensated by the installation of additional magnets. Results of studies on the required kicker strengths and physical apertures for the different types of beam and corresponding operational modes are shown. Changes to the Pulse Forming Network (PFN) and the option of using Pulse Forming Lines (PFL) are presented. Results of first magnet measurements are shown

Seiridium (Sporocadaceae) : an important genus of plant pathogenic fungi

The genus Seiridium includes multiple plant pathogenic fungi well-known as causal organisms of cankers on Cupressaceae. Taxonomically, the status of several species has been a topic of debate, as the phylogeny of the genus remains unresolved and authentic ex-type cultures are mostly absent. In the present study, a large collection of Seiridium cultures and specimens from the CBS and IMI collections was investigated morphologically and phylogenetically to resolve the taxonomy of the genus. These investigations included the type material of the most important Cupressaceae pathogens, Seiridium cardinale, S. cupressi and S. unicorne. We constructed a phylogeny of Seiridium based on four loci, namely the ITS rDNA region, and partial translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF), β-tubulin (TUB) and RNA polymerase II core subunit (RPB2). Based on these results we were able to confirm that S. unicorne and S. cupressi represent different species. In addition, five new Seiridium species were described, S. cupressi was lectotypified and epitypes were selected for S. cupressi and S. eucalypti.http://www.persoonia.orghttp://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/nhn/pimjam2019Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)Microbiology and Plant Patholog

Fungal endophytes vary by species, tissue type, and life cycle stage in intertidal macroalgae

Fungal symbionts of terrestrial plants are among the most widespread and well-studied symbioses, relatively little is known about fungi that are associated with macroalgae. To fill the gap in marine fungal taxonomy, we combined simple culture methods with amplicon sequencing to characterize the fungal communities associated with three brown (Sargassum muticum, Pelvetia canaliculata, and Himanthalia elongata) and two red (Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus) macroalgae from one intertidal zone. In addition to characterizing novel fungal diversity, we tested three hypotheses: fungal diversity and community composition vary (i) among species distributed at different tidal heights, (ii) among tissue types (apices, mid-thallus, and stipe), and (iii) among “isomorphic” C. crispus life cycle stages. Almost 70% of our reads were classified as Ascomycota, 29% as Basidiomycota, and 1% that could not be classified to a phylum. Thirty fungal isolates were obtained, 18 of which were also detected with amplicon sequencing. Fungal communities differed by host and tissue type. Interestingly, P. canaliculata, a fucoid at the extreme high intertidal, did not show differences in fungal diversity across the thallus. As found in filamentous algal endophytes, fungal diversity varied among the three life cycle stages in C. crispus. Female gametophytes were also compositionally more dispersed as compared to the fewer variable tetrasporophytes and male gametophytes. We demonstrate the utility of combining relatively simple cultivation and sequencing approaches to characterize and study macroalgal–fungal associations and highlight the need to understand the role of fungi in near-shore marine ecosystems

Environmental regulation of individual body size contributes to geographic variation in clonal life cycle expression

Clonal behavior has been hypothesized to provide an escape from allometric metabolic scaling that limits the maximum mass achieved by a single individual. Here, we demonstrate the capacity of a wide-spread, non-native sea anemone to buffer its colony biomass accumulation rate across environments by modulating ramet body size through environmentally dependent growth, fission, and catabolism. In 2015, thermal reaction norms for growth and fission behavior were constructed using clonal lines of the sea anemone Diadumene lineata. In 2018, variation in growth patterns under a factorial cross of temperature level and oxygen availability was examined to test the hypothesis that individual ramet size is regulated by oxygen limitation in accordance with optimal size theory. Across a wide range of temperatures, colonies accumulated a similar amount of biomass despite a radical shift from unitary to clonal growth, supporting fission as a mechanism to buffer growth rates over a range of conditions. Individual body size appears to be regulated by the environment with increased temperature and reduced oxygen modifying fission and mass-specific growth patterns, leading to the production of smaller-bodied ramets in warm conditions. However, whether anemones in common garden conditions reduce individual body size through catabolism or fission depends on the region of origin and may relate to differences in seasonal temperature patterns among coastlines, which influence the energetic benefits of fission rate plasticity

Genera of phytopathogenic fungi: GOPHY 3

This paper represents the third contribution in the Genera of Phytopathogenic Fungi (GOPHY) series. The series provides morphological descriptions, information about the pathology, distribution, hosts and disease symptoms for the treated genera, as well as primary and secondary DNA barcodes for the currently accepted species included in these. This third paper in the GOPHY series treats 21 genera of phytopathogenic fungi and their relatives including: Allophoma, Alternaria, Brunneosphaerella, Elsinoe, Exserohilum, Neosetophoma, Neostagonospora, Nothophoma, Parastagonospora, Phaeosphaeriopsis, Pleiocarpon, Pyrenophora, Ramichloridium, Seifertia, Seiridium, Septoriella, Setophoma, Stagonosporopsis, Stemphylium, Tubakia and Zasmidium. This study includes three new genera, 42 new species, 23 new combinations, four new names, and three typifications of older names

Bio-optical properties of the cyanobacterium <i>Nodularia spumigena</i>

In the last century, an increasing number of extreme weather events have been experienced across the globe. These events have also been linked to changes in water quality, especially due to heavy rains, flooding, or droughts. In terms of blue economic activities, harmful algal bloom events can pose a major threat, especially when they become widespread and last for several days. We present and discuss advanced measurements of a bloom dominated by the cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena conducted by hyperspectral optical technologies via experiments of opportunity. Absorption coefficients, absorbance and fluorescence were measured in the laboratory, and these data are available at https://doi.org/10.4121/21610995.v1 (Wollschläger et al., 2022), https://doi.org/10.4121/21822051.v1 (Miranda et al., 2023) and https://doi.org/10.4121/21904632.v1 (Miranda and Garaba, 2023). Data used to derive the above-water reflectance are available from https://doi.org/10.4121/21814977.v1 (Garaba, 2023) and https://doi.org/10.4121/21814773.v1 (Garaba and Albinus, 2023). Additionally, hyperspectral fluorescence measurements of the dissolved compounds in the water were carried out. These hyperspectral measurements were conducted over a wide spectrum (200–2500 nm). Diagnostic optical features were determined using robust statistical techniques. Water clarity was inferred from Secchi disc measurements (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.951239, Garaba and Albinus, 2022). Identification of the cyanobacterium was completed via visual analysis under a microscope. Full sequences of the 16S rRNA and rbcL genes were obtained, revealing a very strong match to N. spumigena; these data are available via GenBank: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/OP918142/ (Garaba and Bonthond, 2022b) and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/OP925098 (Garaba and Bonthond, 2022a). The chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin levels determined are available from https://doi.org/10.4121/21792665.v1 (Rohde et al., 2023). Our experiments of opportunity echo the importance of sustainable, simplified, coordinated and continuous water quality monitoring as a way to thrive with respect to the targets set in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. 6, 11, 12 and 14) or the European Union Framework Directives (e.g. the Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive).</p

Sporocadaceae, a family of coelomycetous fungi with appendage-bearing conidia

Species of Sporocadaceae are endophytic, plant pathogenic or saprobic, and associated with a wide range of host plants. Recent molecular studies that have attempted to address familial and generic boundaries of fungi belonging to Sporocadaceae were based on a limited number of samples and DNA loci. The taxonomy of this group of fungi is therefore still not fully resolved. The aim of the present study is to provide a natural classification for the Sporocadaceae based on multi-locus phylogenetic analyses, using LSU, ITS, tef-1α tub2 and rpb2 loci, in combination with morphological data. A total of 30 well-supported monophyletic clades in Sporocadaceae are recognised, representing 23 known and seven new genera. Typifications are proposed for the type species of five genera (Diploceras, Discosia, Monochaetia, Sporocadus and Truncatella) to stabilise the application of these names. Furthermore, Neotruncatella and Dyrithiopsis are synonymised under Hymenopleella, and the generic circumscriptions of Diploceras, Disaeta, Hymenopleella, Monochaetia, Morinia, Pseudopestalotiopsis, Sarcostroma, Seimatosporium, Synnemapestaloides and Truncatella are emended. A total of 51 new species, one nomina nova and 15 combinations are introduced.</p