A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Globins in Fungi

BACKGROUND: ALL GLOBINS BELONG TO ONE OF THREE FAMILIES: the F (flavohemoglobin) and S (sensor) families that exhibit the canonical 3/3 α-helical fold, and the T (truncated 3/3 fold) globins characterized by a shortened 2/2 α-helical fold. All eukaryote 3/3 hemoglobins are related to the bacterial single domain F globins. It is known that Fungi contain flavohemoglobins and single domain S globins. Our aims are to provide a census of fungal globins and to examine their relationships to bacterial globins. RESULTS: Examination of 165 genomes revealed that globins are present in >90% of Ascomycota and ∼60% of Basidiomycota genomes. The S globins occur in Blastocladiomycota and Chytridiomycota in addition to the phyla that have FHbs. Unexpectedly, group 1 T globins were found in one Blastocladiomycota and one Chytridiomycota genome. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on the fungal globins, alone and aligned with representative bacterial globins. The Saccharomycetes and Sordariomycetes with two FHbs form two widely divergent clusters separated by the remaining fungal sequences. One of the Saccharomycete groups represents a new subfamily of FHbs, comprising a previously unknown N-terminal and a FHb missing the C-terminal moiety of its reductase domain. The two Saccharomycete groups also form two clusters in the presence of bacterial FHbs; the surrounding bacterial sequences are dominated by Proteobacteria and Bacilli (Firmicutes). The remaining fungal FHbs cluster with Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The Sgbs cluster separately from their bacterial counterparts, except for the intercalation of two Planctomycetes and a Proteobacterium between the Fungi incertae sedis and the Blastocladiomycota and Chytridiomycota. CONCLUSION: Our results are compatible with a model of globin evolution put forward earlier, which proposed that eukaryote F, S and T globins originated via horizontal gene transfer of their bacterial counterparts to the eukaryote ancestor, resulting from the endosymbiotic events responsible for the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts

Forage Legume Persistence in Mixtures with Native and Introduced Grasses at a Semiarid Location on the Canadian Prairies

Cultivars of native grass species with adequate nutritive value for summer and early fall grazing by beef cattle are becoming available for seeding in the Canadian prairie region (Jefferson et al. 2004). Mixing native grass species with introduced legumes could improve forage quality but little information is available on legume persistence with these species. This experiment aimed to determine the persistence of 3 forage legumes when seeded with 3 native grasses compared to 3 introduced grasses

Including essential oils in lactating dairy cow diets: effects on methane emissions

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of dietary supplementation of garlic and juniper berry essential oils on methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from lactating dairy cows. Four ruminally cannulated, lactating Holstein cows were used in a 4 x 4 Latin square (21-day period; 11 days of adaptation). Cows were fed a total mixed ration (60 : 40 forage : concentrate ratio) without supplementation (no additive; negative control) or supplemented with monensin (330 mg/day; positive control), garlic oil (5 g/day) or juniper berry oil (2 g/day). Methane and CO2 emissions were measured using the sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique. Dietary supplementation of lactating cows with juniper berry oil or garlic oil did not affect (P > 0.05) CH4 or CO2 production, whether expressed as g/day, g/kg DMI, g/kg milk or as g/kg DMI/BW0.75. At the doses administered in this study, the anti-methanogenic effect of garlic and juniper berry oils previously observed in vitro were not confirmed in vivo

Harvest Date Effect on Forage Yield, Botanical Composition, and Nutritive Value of Novel Legume-Grass Mixtures

The potential for novel forage mixtures to address reduced herbage for late season grazing was investigated. Forage legumes, sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) (SF) cvs. AC Mountainview, Shoshone, and Nova (MountainSF, ShoshoneSF, and NovaSF), cicer milkvetch (Astragalus cicer L.) cv. AC Veldt (CMV), Canadian milkvetch (Astragalus canadensis L.) cv. Great Plains (CaMV), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cv. AC Yellowhead (ALF) were evaluated in binary mixtures with meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rehm.) cv. Admiral (MBG), hybrid bromegrass (B. riparius × B. inermis Leyss.) cv. AC Success (HBG) and Russian wildrye [Psathyrostachys junceus (Fisch.) Nevski.] cv. Tom (RWR) for yield, botanical composition, and nutritive value on July and September harvest dates at Saskatoon and Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada from 2016 to 2018. Hybrid bromegrass-legume mixture produced 16–38% greater forage compared to RWR-legume (7.5 vs. 5.6 Mg ha−1 in July and 6.1 vs. 5.1 Mg ha−1 in September at Saskatoon, and 3.2 vs. 2.0 Mg ha−1 in July at Swift Current). MountainSF and ALF had the greatest legume contribution to total yield at July harvest at Swift Current (67.7 ± 3.2%) and Saskatoon (62.1 ± 2.1%), respectively, while CaMV had lowest composition at Swift Current (20.2 ± 2.5%) and Saskatoon (12.6 ± 3.5%). The CMV and ALF-grass mixtures at Saskatoon and legume-RWR mixtures at both sites in July had greatest CP content. The July harvest had greatest yield, legume content and nutritive value compared to the September harvest at both sites. Study results suggest if yield is the objective, then either ALF or CMV with HBG may be considered. If nutritive value is the goal, any legume with RWR is an option. Finally, ALF or CMV in mixture with either HBG or RWR could be summer or fall stockpile forage in the Northern Great Plains of western Canada