Identification of bacteria and fungi inhabiting fruiting bodies of Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum Vittad.)

Tuber species may be regarded as complex microhabitats hosting diverse microorganisms inside their fruiting bodies. Here, we investigated the structure of microbial communities inhabiting the gleba of wild growing (in stands) T. aestivum, using Illumina sequencing and culture-based methods. The two methods used in combination allowed to extract more information on complex microbiota of Tuber aestivum gleba. Analysis of the V3–V4 region of 16S rDNA identified nine phyla of bacteria present in the gleba of T. aestivum ascomata, mostly Proteobacteria from the family Bradyrhizobiaceae. Our results ideally match the earlier data for other Tuber species where the family Bradyrhizobiaceae was the most represented. The ITS1 region of fungal rDNA represented six alien fungal species belonging to three phyla. To complement the metagenomic analysis, cultivable fungi and bacteria were obtained from the gleba of the same T. aestivum fruiting bodies. The identified fungi mostly belong to the phylum Basidiomycota and same to Ascomycota. Analysis of cultivable bacteria revealed that all the specimens were colonized by different strains of Bacillus. Fungal community inhabiting T. aestivum fruiting bodies was never shown before

Pathways to economic well-being among teenage mothers in Great Britain

The present study examines pathways to independence from social welfare among 738 teenage mothers, participants of the 1970 British Cohort Study, who were followed up at age 30 years. Using a longitudinal design, a pathway model is tested, examining linkages between family social background, cognitive ability, school motivation, and individual investments in education, as well as work- and family-related roles. The most important factors associated with financial independence by age 30 are continued attachment to the labor market as well as a stable relationship with a partner (not necessarily the father of the child). Pathways to financial independence, in turn, are predicted through own cognitive resources, school motivation, and family cohesion. Implications of findings for policy making are discussed.© 2010 Hogrefe Publishing

PbTi1-xPdxO3: A New Room-temperature Magnetoelectric Multiferroic Device Material

There have been a large number of papers on bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) over the past few years, trying to exploit its room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic properties. Although these are attractive, BiFeO3 is not the ideal multiferroic, due to weak magnetization and the difficulty in limiting leakage currents. Thus there is an ongoing search for alternatives, including such materials as gallium ferrite (GaFeO3). In the present work we report a comprehensive study of the perovskite PbTi1-xPdxO3 with 0 < x < 0.3. Our study includes dielectric, impedance and magnetization measurements, conductivity analysis and study of crystallographic phases present in the samples with special attention paid to minor phases, identified as PdO, PbPdO2, and Pd3Pb. The work is remarkable in two ways: Pd is difficult to substitute into ABO3 perovskite oxides (where it might be useful for catalysis), and Pd is magnetic under only unusual conditions (under strain or internal electric fields). The new material, as a PZT derivative, is expected to have much stronger piezoelectric properties than BiFeO3

Markers of low field NMR relaxation features of tissues

Peer reviewe

High-speed domain wall racetracks in a magnetic insulator

Recent reports of current-induced switching of ferrimagnetic oxides coupled to a heavy metal layer have opened realistic prospects for implementing magnetic insulators into electrically addressable spintronic devices. However, key aspects such as the configuration and dynamics of magnetic domain walls driven by electrical currents in insulating oxides remain unexplored. Here, we investigate the internal structure of the domain walls in Tm3Fe5O12 (TmIG) and TmIG/Pt bilayers and demonstrate their efficient manipulation by spin-orbit torques with velocities of up to 400 m s$^{-1}$ and minimal current threshold for domain wall flow of 5 x 10$^{6}$ A cm$^{-2}$. Domain wall racetracks embedded in TmIG are defined by the deposition of Pt current lines, which allow us to control the domain propagation and magnetization switching in selected regions of an extended magnetic layer. Scanning nitrogen-vacancy magnetometry reveals that the domain walls of thin TmIG films are N\'eel walls with left-handed chirality, with the domain wall magnetization rotating towards an intermediate N\'eel-Bloch configuration upon deposition of Pt. These results indicate the presence of a sizable interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in TmIG, which leads to novel possibilities to control the formation of chiral spin textures in magnetic insulators. Ultimately, domain wall racetracks provide an efficient scheme to pattern the magnetic landscape of TmIG in a fast and reversible wa

Macrophages sense and kill bacteria through carbon monoxide-dependent inflammasome activation

Microbial clearance by eukaryotes relies on complex and coordinated processes that remain poorly understood. The gasotransmitter carbon monoxide (CO) is generated by the stress-responsive enzyme heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1, encoded by Hmox1), which is highly induced in macrophages in response to bacterial infection. HO-1 deficiency results in inadequate pathogen clearance, exaggerated tissue damage, and increased mortality. Here, we determined that macrophage-generated CO promotes ATP production and release by bacteria, which then activates the Nacht, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NALP3) inflammasome, intensifying bacterial killing. Bacterial killing defects in HO-1-deficient murine macrophages were restored by administration of CO. Moreover, increased CO levels enhanced the bacterial clearance capacity of human macrophages and WT murine macrophages. CO-dependent bacterial clearance required the NALP3 inflammasome, as CO did not increase bacterial killing in macrophages isolated from NALP3-deficient or caspase-1-deficient mice. IL-1β cleavage and secretion were impaired in HO-1-deficient macrophages, and CO-dependent processing of IL-1β required the presence of bacteria-derived ATP. We found that bacteria remained viable to generate and release ATP in response to CO. The ATP then bound to macrophage nucleotide P2 receptors, resulting in activation of the NALP3/IL-1β inflammasome to amplify bacterial phagocytosis by macrophages. Taken together, our results indicate that macrophage-derived CO permits efficient and coordinated regulation of the host innate response to invading microbes.NIH grants: (HL-071797, HL-076167, HL-106227), American Heart Association grants: (10SDG2640091 and NIH R21CA169904-01), Julie Henry Fund, Transplant Center of the BIDMC, FCT grants: (SFRH/BPD/25436/2005, PTDC/BIO/70815/2006, PTDC/BIA-BCM/101311/2008, PTDC/SAU-FCF/100762/2008), the European Community, 6th Framework grant LSH-2005-1.2.5-1 and ERC-2011-AdG, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Increased activity of the sterol branch of the mevalonate pathway elevates glycosylation of secretory proteins and improves antifungal properties of Trichoderma atroviride.

Some Trichoderma spp. have an ability to inhibit proliferation of fungal plant pathogens in the soil. Numerous compounds with a proven antifungal activity are synthesized via the terpene pathway. Here, we stimulated the activity of the mevalonate pathway in T. atroviride P1 by expressing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae ERG20 gene coding for farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) synthase, a key enzyme of this pathway. ERG20-expressing Trichoderma strains showed higher activities of FPP synthase and squalene synthase, the principal recipient of FPP in the mevalonate pathway. We also observed activation of dolichyl phosphate mannose (DPM) synthase, an enzyme in protein glycosylation, and significantly increased O- and N-glycosylation of secreted proteins. The hyper-glycosylation of secretory hydrolases could explain their increased activity observed in the ERG20 transformants. Analysis of the antifungal properties of the new strains revealed that the hydrolases secreted by the transformants inhibited growth of a plant pathogen, Pythium ultimum more efficiently compared to the control strain. Consequently, the biocontrol activity of the transgenic strains, determined as their ability to protect bean seeds and seedlings against harmful action of P. ultimum, was also improved substantially