Available data

Assembled EST-SSR sequences, single-copy gene sequences and 3,126 gene sequences with Ka value, Ks value and Ka/Ks ratio. The files (alignment file,tree file,script file) for PAML estimates were included in the datasets

The delay diversity for different pre-fetch windows.

<p>(a) delay diversity for <i>Zipf</i>(0.8). (b) delay diversity for <i>Zipf</i>(1.2).</p

Example of pre-fetch operation.

<p>Example of pre-fetch operation.</p

Simulation topology.

<p>Simulation topology.</p

Average hops.

<p>Average hops.</p

Host-to-Pathogen Gene Transfer Facilitated Infection of Insects by a Pathogenic Fungus

<div><p><i>Metarhizium robertsii</i> is a plant root colonizing fungus that is also an insect pathogen. Its entomopathogenicity is a characteristic that was acquired during evolution from a plant endophyte ancestor. This transition provides a novel perspective on how new functional mechanisms important for host switching and virulence have evolved. From a random T-DNA insertion library, we obtained a pathogenicity defective mutant that resulted from the disruption of a sterol carrier gene (<i>Mr-npc2a</i>). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that <i>Metarhizium</i> acquired <i>Mr-npc2a</i> from an insect by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Mr-NPC2a binds to cholesterol, an animal sterol, rather than the fungal sterol ergosterol, indicating it retains the specificity of insect NPC2 proteins. Mr-NPC2a is an intracellular protein and is exclusively expressed in the hemolymph of living insects. The disruption of <i>Mr-npc2a</i> reduced the amount of sterol in cell membranes of the yeast-like hyphal bodies that facilitate dispersal in the host body. These were consequently more susceptible to insect immune responses than the wild type. Transgenic expression of Mr-NPC2a increased the virulence of <i>Beauveria bassiana</i>, an endophytic insect-pathogenic fungus that lacks a Mr-NPC2a homolog.</p></div

Is CD133 Expression a Prognostic Biomarker of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

<div><p>Background</p><p>The clinical and prognostic significance of CD133 in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains controversial. To clarify a precise determinant of the clinical significance of CD133, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association of CD133 with prognosis and clinicopathological features of NSCLC patients.</p><p>Methods</p><p>The electronic and manual searches were performed through the database of Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Chinese CNKI (from January 1, 1982 to January 1, 2014) for titles and abstracts by using the following keywords: “CD133”, “ac133” or “Prominin-1”, and “lung cancer” to identify the studies eligible for our analysis. Meta-analysis was performed by using Review Manager 5.0 and the outcomes included the overall survival and various clinicopathological features.</p><p>Results</p><p>A total of 23 studies were finally included, and our results showed that CD133 level was significantly correlated with the overall survival (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.24–4.07, <i>P</i> = 0.008) of NSCLC patients but not with the disease free survival (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 0.77–2.30, <i>P</i> = 0.31). With respect to clinicopathological features, CD133 level was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis (OR = 1.99, 95%CI = 1.06–3.74, <i>P</i> = 0.03), but not correlated with the histological classification (OR = 1.00, 95%CI = 0.81–1.23, <i>P</i> = 0.99(ac), OR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.61–1.24, <i>P</i> = 0.45(sc)), or differentiation (OR = 0.94, 95%CI 0.53–1.68, Z = 0.20, <i>P</i> = 0.84 random-effect) of NSCLC patients.</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>High level of CD133 expression trends to correlate with a worse prognosis and a higher rate of lymph node metastasis in NSCLC patients, revealing CD133 as a potential pathological prognostic marker for NSCLC patients.</p></div

Meta-analysis of overall survival between CD133 positive and CD133 negative in NSCLC patients.

<p>Meta-analysis of overall survival between CD133 positive and CD133 negative in NSCLC patients.</p

Meta-analysis of correlation between CD133 expression and differentiation in NSCLC patients.

<p>Meta-analysis of correlation between CD133 expression and differentiation in NSCLC patients.</p

Kinetics of insect survivorship in bioassays with <i>B. bassiana</i>.

<p>Wax worm larvae (<i>G. mellonella</i>) were inoculated with <i>B. bassiana</i> conidial suspensions (1×10⁷ spores/mL). Blue: the wild type <i>B. bassiana</i>; Purple: a <i>B. bassiana</i> transformant (Bb-Mr-NPC2a) expressing Mr-NPC2a; Green: control insects that were treated with 0.05% Tween-80.</p