Detection and quantification of a mycorrhization helper bacterium and a mycorrhizal fungus in plant-soil microcosms at different levels of complexity

BACKGROUND: Host plant roots, mycorrhizal mycelium and microbes are important and potentially interacting factors shaping the performance of mycorrhization helper bacteria (MHB). We investigated the impact of a soil microbial community on the interaction between the extraradical mycelium of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Piloderma croceum and the MHB Streptomyces sp. AcH 505 in both the presence and the absence of pedunculate oak microcuttings. RESULTS: Specific primers were designed to target the internal transcribed spacer of the rDNA and an intergenic region between two protein encoding genes of P. croceum and the intergenic region between the gyrA and gyrB genes of AcH 505. These primers were used to perform real-time PCR with DNA extracted from soil samples. With a sensitivity of 10 genome copies and a linear range of 6 orders of magnitude, these real-time PCR assays enabled the quantification of purified DNA from P. croceum and AcH 505, respectively. In soil microcosms, the fungal PCR signal was not affected by AcH 505 in the absence of the host plant. However, the fungal signal became weaker in the presence of the plant. This decrease was only observed in microbial filtrate amended microcosms. In contrast, the PCR signal of AcH 505 increased in the presence of P. croceum. The increase was not significant in sterile microcosms that contained plant roots. CONCLUSIONS: Real-time quantitative PCR assays provide a method for directly detecting and quantifying MHB and mycorrhizal fungi in plant microcosms. Our study indicates that the presence of microorganisms and plant roots can both affect the nature of MHB-fungus interactions, and that mycorrhizal fungi may enhance MHB growth

Metropolis versus necropolis: Polarity in the relationship between the city and the cemetery in history

The evolution of the city and the cemetery have always been running parallel in history, one couldn't exist without the other their relationship has always been strongly intertwined, yet strongly polarised. The aim of this report is to analyse key historical examples, relating to particular historical events, which in my opinion, may help to open - at least a partial view - on the evolution of the relationship between the city and the cemetery, affected by the shifting and changing balance of religious, political and socio-cultural components. In ancient times, the human body was taken as a reference to design the city first developing the metaphor of the city as a living organism - a metaphor which will be largely used through history, as will we see later. In the Greek and Roman cultures, the dead were not allowed to pollute the space of the living and the cemetery and the city were two separate entities. The advent of Christianity in Medieval times, saw the introduction of churchyards within the city walls, which also along with poor heath conditions of the then cities, facilitated the spread of epidemic diseases such as cholera. The Renaissance brought with it the desire to start afresh new cities and towns. The many projects of ideal cities left behind by architects such as Filarete or Scamozzi, were primarily concerned with the aesthetic and the security of the city rather than the real issues- health and hygiene and the spread epidemic diseases issues that finally urbanists had to address with the expansion of the cities due to the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Work forces during this particular historical moment moved from the countryside to city centres. The absence of any burial regulation and health issues urged the introduction of legislations which moved the cemeteries out of the city. In England, the Burial Act (which came to force in 1851) marked the introduction of suburban necropolises in the Victorian era, to resolve the issues of crowed inner city burial grounds, and guarantee city inhabitants a healthier life in the city centres. This also facilitated the condition for the development of a new strong architectural language specific to the cemetery in the Victorian era, which mostly came from cultures with strong past records of funerary traditions, like the Egyptians or the Romans. The new suburban necropolis in Victorian England, was the starting point of a new type of cemetery, which was also perceived as a public civic space, like a park. From now on we will see that the city and the cemetery will be almost completely separated: the city - growing into the metropolis, a complex, sometimes chaotic large urban development, and the cemetery - The Renaissance brought with it the desire to start afresh new cities and towns. The many projects of ideal cities left behind by architects such as Filarete or Scamozzi, were primarily concerned with the aesthetic and the security of the city rather than the real issues health and hygiene and the spread epidemic diseases issues that finally urbanists had to address with the expansion of the cities due to the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Work forces during this particular historical moment moved from the countryside to city centres. The absence of any burial regulation and health issues urged the introduction of legislations which moved the cemeteries out of the city. In England, the Burial Act (which came to force in 1851) marked the introduction of suburban necropolises in the Victorian era, to resolve the issues of crowed inner city burial grounds, and guarantee city inhabitants a healthier life in the city centres. This also facilitated the condition for the development of a new strong architectural language specific to the cemetery in the Victorian era, which mostly came from cultures with strong past records of funerary traditions, like the Egyptians or the Romans. The new suburban necropolis in Victorian England, was the starting point of a new type of cemetery, which was also perceived as a public civic space, like a park. From now on we will see that the city and the cemetery will be almost completely separated: the city - growing into the metropolis, a complex, sometimes chaotic large urban development, and the cemetery

Differential transcriptional responses to Ebola and Marburg virus infection in bat and human cells

The unprecedented outbreak of Ebola in West Africa resulted in over 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths, underlining the need for a better understanding of the biology of this highly pathogenic virus to develop specific counter strategies. Two filoviruses, the Ebola and Marburg viruses, result in a severe and often fatal infection in humans. However, bats are natural hosts and survive filovirus infections without obvious symptoms. The molecular basis of this striking difference in the response to filovirus infections is not well understood. We report a systematic overview of differentially expressed genes, activity motifs and pathways in human and bat cells infected with the Ebola and Marburg viruses, and we demonstrate that the replication of filoviruses is more rapid in human cells than in bat cells. We also found that the most strongly regulated genes upon filovirus infection are chemokine ligands and transcription factors. We observed a strong induction of the JAK/STAT pathway, of several genes encoding inhibitors of MAP kinases (DUSP genes) and of PPP1R15A, which is involved in ER stress-induced cell death. We used comparative transcriptomics to provide a data resource that can be used to identify cellular responses that might allow bats to survive filovirus infections.Additional co-authors: Andreas J. Gruber, Franziska Hufsky, Henrike Indrischek, Sabina Kanton, Jörg Linde, Nelly Mostajo, Roman Ochsenreiter, Konstantin Riege, Lorena Rivarola-Duarte, Abdullah H. Sahyoun, Sita J. Saunders, Stefan E. Seemann, Andrea Tanzer, Bertram Vogel, Michael T. Wolfinger, Rolf Backofen, Jan Gorodkin, Ivo Grosse, Ivo Hofacker, Steve Hoffmann, Christoph Kaleta, Peter F. Stadler, Stephan Becker, and Manja Marz

Cultural adaptation of internet- and mobile-based interventions for mental disorders: a systematic review

Providing accessible and effective healthcare solutions for people living in low- and middle-income countries, migrants, and indigenous people is central to reduce the global mental health treatment gap. Internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMI) are considered scalable psychological interventions to reduce the burden of mental disorders and are culturally adapted for implementation in these target groups. In October 2020, the databases PsycInfo, MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science were systematically searched for studies that culturally adapted IMI for mental disorders. Among 9438 screened records, we identified 55 eligible articles. We extracted 17 content, methodological, and procedural components of culturally adapting IMI, aiming to consider specific situations and perspectives of the target populations. Adherence and effectiveness of the adapted IMI seemed similar to the original IMI; yet, no included study conducted a direct comparison. The presented taxonomy of cultural adaptation of IMI for mental disorders provides a basis for future studies investigating the relevance and necessity of their cultural adaptation.PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019142320

Streptomyces-Elicited Defence Response of Oak (Quercus robur) To Powdery Mildew Infection

Streptomyces can be favourable to plant growth in several ways. In their presence, the formation and functioning of mycorrhiza, a mutually beneficial plant-fungus symbiosis, may be promoted. In contrast, production of secondary metabolites can repress fungal growth at plant roots, thus preventing root colonisation. Most interestingly however, root colonisation with streptomycetes can trigger a response that is detectable in distal plant parts, i.e. in the leaves. Here we show that inoculation of roots of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) with the Mycorrhiza Helper Bacterium Streptomyces sp. AcH 505 can be observed in oak leaves as a specific modulation of gene expression. Concomitantly, the plants’ defence response against the leaf pathogenic fungus Microsphaera alphitoides (oak powdery mildew) is increased, alleviating the detrimental effect of the fungal infection. Quercus robur clone DF159, the clonal tree model of the platform TrophinOak [1], was used to investigate how oak coordinates these biotrophic interactions.The analysis of gene expression patterns based on RNA-seq in the oak- Streptomyces AcH 505-powdery mildew interaction suggests that Streptomyces AcH 505 not only activates the jasmonic acid / ethylene dependent defence response, as it has previously been described in plant-bacterium interactions that result in increased resistance. Instead, Streptomyces AcH 505 also modulates salicylic acid and abscisic acid dependent signalling, even in the absence of the fungal pathogen. These signalling pathways may be activated as part of a direct defence against pathogen attack, suggesting that Streptomyces AcH 505 is perceived by the plant as a potential pathogen. This view was further substantiated following the comparison of gene expression patterns in single inoculations with powdery mildew and Streptomyces AcH 505, respectively. Here we were surprised to recognise that the systemic responses of oak to the fungus and to Streptomyces AcH 505 share patterns of gene expression [2]. This study provides novel insights into the molecular mechanisms of priming in plants for enhanced defence and may be instrumental in understanding actinobacteria elicited defence responses. In the case of Streptomyces AcH 505, priming acts in concert with proven antibiotics production and exudation of stimulators of mycorrhiza formation, and underlines the versatility of Streptomyces bacteria upon interactions with eukaryotes.References[1] Herrmann et al. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 2016, 19:40-48[2] Kurth et al. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. 2014, 27:891-90

Additional file 3: of Transcriptome analysis in oak uncovers a strong impact of endogenous rhythmic growth on the interaction with plant-parasitic nematodes

Title: Dry weight of plant tissues. Description: Table of the dry weight of plant tissues at different growth stages (Root and Shoot flushes) for the respective treatments: control, P. penetrans, P. croceum and co-inoculation of P. penetrans and P. croceum. ANOVA with *, ** and *** with P < 0.05, 0.01 and 0.001 respectively. Data with the same or no letters are not significantly different according to Tukey HSD at P < 0.05. (DOCX 15 kb

Polygonum hastato-auriculatum Makino

原著和名: ホソバノウナギツカミ科名: タデ科 = Polygonaceae採集地: 三重県 北牟婁郡 海山町 船津 (紀伊 北牟婁郡 海山町 船津 )採集日: 1980/8/6採集者: 萩庭丈壽整理番号: JH008360国立科学博物館整理番号: TNS-VS-95836

Ectomycorrhizal fungus supports endogenous rhythmic growth and corresponding resource allocation in oak during various below- and aboveground biotic interactions

Endogenous rhythmic growth (ERG) is displayed by many tropical and some major temperate tree species and characterized by alternating root and shoot flushes (RF and SF). These flushes occur parallel to changes in biomass partitioning and in allocation of recently assimilated carbon and nitrogen. To address how biotic interactions interplay with ERG, we cross-compared the RF/SF shifts in oak microcuttings in the presence of pathogens, consumers and a mycorrhiza helper bacterium, without and with an ectomycorrhizal fungus (EMF), and present a synthesis of the observations. The typical increase in carbon allocation to sink leaves during SF did not occur in the presence of root or leaf pathogens, and the increase in nitrogen allocation to lateral roots during RF did not occur with the pathogens. The RF/SF shifts in resource allocation were mostly restored upon additional interaction with the EMF. Its presence led to increased resource allocation to principal roots during RF, also when the oaks were inoculated additionally with other interactors. The interactors affected the alternating, rhythmic growth and resource allocation shifts between shoots and roots. The restoring role of the EMF on RF/SF changes in parallel to the corresponding enhanced carbon and nitrogen allocation to sink tissues suggests that the EMF is supporting plants in maintaining the ERG

The oak gene expression atlas: insights into Fagaceae genome evolution and the discovery of genes regulated during bud dormancy release

Background Many northern-hemisphere forests are dominated by oaks. These species extend over diverse environmental conditions and are thus interesting models for studies of plant adaptation and speciation. The genomic toolbox is an important asset for exploring the functional variation associated with natural selection. Results The assembly of previously available and newly developed long and short sequence reads for two sympatric oak species, Quercus robur and Quercus petraea, generated a comprehensive catalog of transcripts for oak. The functional annotation of 91 k contigs demonstrated the presence of a large proportion of plant genes in this unigene set. Comparisons with SwissProt accessions and five plant gene models revealed orthologous relationships, making it possible to decipher the evolution of the oak genome. In particular, it was possible to align 9.5 thousand oak coding sequences with the equivalent sequences on peach chromosomes. Finally, RNA-seq data shed new light on the gene networks underlying vegetative bud dormancy release, a key stage in development allowing plants to adapt their phenology to the environment. Conclusion In addition to providing a vast array of expressed genes, this study generated essential information about oak genome evolution and the regulation of genes associated with vegetative bud phenology, an important adaptive traits in trees. This resource contributes to the annotation of the oak genome sequence and will provide support for forward genetics approaches aiming to link genotypes with adaptive phenotypes