Incongruence between EF-1α Phylogeny and Morphology of Metarhizium majus and Metarhizium guizhouense in Japan

In the phylogenetic analysis of Metarhizium anisopliae complex by NTRODUCTION Metarhizium anisopliae is an asexual entomopathogenic fungus, which has been recorded to naturally infect over 200 insect species, including economically significant insect pests Conidial morphology has been used to characterize M. anisopliae at variety level. There are two varieties in M. anisopliae, var. anisopliae with smaller conidia and var. majus, with larger conidia Phylogenetic analyses using DNA sequencing have been done for Metarhizium spp. and the two varieties of M. anisopliae have been taxonomically redefined. However, the two species became non-monophyletic when the sequence loci other than EF-1α were used, indicating the congruence between phylogeny and morphology was still in doubt. Thus, a phylogenetic study with additional sequence loci and increased taxon sampling is needed to evaluate the phylogenetic relation between M. guizhouense and M. majus. In Japan, the two morphological varieties of M. anisopliae have been isolated from soi

Is increased fat content of hindmilk due to the size or the number of milk fat globules?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is known that the fat content of breast milk is higher in hindmilk than in foremilk. However, it has not been determined if this increased fat content results from an increase in the number of milk fat globules (MFGs), an increase in the size of MFGs, or both. This study aims to determine which factor plays the most important role.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirteen breastfeeding mothers were enrolled in the study and we obtained 52 samples from 26 breasts before (foremilk) and after (hindmilk) a breastfeeding session. The fat content was evaluated by creamatocrit (CrCt) values. MFG size was measured with the laser light scattering method. We compared CrCt values and MFG size between foremilk and hindmilk.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Although the CrCt values were higher in the hindmilk (8.6 ± 3.6%) than in the foremilk (3.7 ± 1.7%), the MFG size did not change (4.2 ± 1.0 μm and 4.6 ± 2.1 μm, foremilk and hindmilk, respectively). There was no relationship between the changes in CrCt versus MFG size from foremilk to hindmilk.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results indicate that the increase in fat content results mainly from the increased number of MFGs, which may be released into the milk flow as the mammary lobe becomes progressively emptied.</p

Species associations and distributions of soil entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium spp. in Japan

Metarhizium Sorokīn (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) is a genus of facultative parasites of insects found in soils from various environments and is used for pest management. Understanding the habitat selection of Metarhizium spp. is critical to improve the efficacy and persistence of these fungi as microbial insecticides. This study sought to determine the habitat preferences of Metarhizium spp. in Japan. We identified 302 isolates of Metarhizium spp. as eight species by a combination of PCR–RFLP and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences. M. pingshaense was the predominant species in Japan and was most frequently isolated from both forest and agricultural environments. On the other hand, M. brunneum and M. pemphigi were comparatively restricted to forest environments. A similar species association was detected in a small area that was intensively investigated, where 7 species including 14 genotypes were isolated from soil. The results of this study have revealed different habitat preferences among Metarhizium spp. in Japan