Suppression of root-endogenous fungi in persistently inundated Typha roots

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Mycologia in 2019, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/umyc20/currentWetland soils are defined by anoxic and reducing conditions that impose biogeochemically hostile conditions on plant roots and their endogenous fungal communities. The cosmopolitan wetland plant Typha L. mitigates root-zone anoxia efficiently, such that roots of these plants may constitute fungal habitats similar to roots in subaerially-exposed soils. Alternatively, fungi may compete with plant cells for limited oxygen in inundated roots. We hypothesized that extrinsic environmental factors may reduce fungal incidence and affect fungal community structure within inundated roots as compared to those in subaerially-exposed soils. We sampled roots of Typha spp. plants across inundation gradients in constructed reservoirs; root subsamples were microscopically examined for fungal structures, and morphologically-distinct fungal endophytes were cultured and isolated from surface sterilized subsamples. We found that the incidence of fungal hyphae was suppressed for all types of vegetative mycelia when roots were inundated, regardless of depth, but that there were no obvious differences in community composition of fungi cultured from roots growing in inundated vs subaerially-exposed soils. This suggests that the suppression of hyphae we observed in root samples did not result from changes in community composition. Instead, low hyphal incidence in inundated Typha roots may reflect germinal inhibition or unsuccessful initial colonization, possibly owing to plant-mediated redox dynamism in the surrounding soil. No variation was seen in the incidence of asexual spores, or chytridiomycetes, nor were there significant differences between geographically disparate sampling sites. Communities of root-endogenous fungi may therefore be influenced more strongly by external environmental factors, than by the environments that plant roots comprise

До проблематики удосконалення обліку витрат операційної діяльності підприємства

В роботі окреслено окремі аспекти проблематики удосконалення обліку витрат від операційної діяльності підприємства

Microbiological insights into ecology and taphonomy of prehistoric wetlands.

In the course of this dissertation, I present investigations of the microbial constituents of fossil plants preserved at an anatomical level of detail, and detail the results of an ecological survey of root-endogenous fungi within the cosmopolitan emergent macrophyte, Typha. These studies together elucidate processes in the taphonomy of fossil plants. Biostratinomy is addressed through descriptions of saprotrophic communities within the Eocene Princeton Chert mire assemblage, and within a Carboniferous fern which previous studies had suggested contained fossilized actinobacteria. Re-investigation of the ‘actinobacteria’ suggests instead that the structures are disordered ferrous dolomites, raising implications for the contribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria to the early-diagenesis mineralization of plants preserved in carbonaceous concretions. The fossilized remains of saprotrophic and putatively endophytic fungi within roots of in-situ plants from the Princeton Chert also provide insight into early diagenesis. Some of the fungi described herein are preserved in several co-occurring developmental phases, providing evidence that early phases of silicification in this assemblage were rapid. As the Princeton Chert is not a hot-spring sinter deposit, these data conflict with prior hypotheses for the preservation of this peat-forming wetland assemblage. Understanding the microbial paleoecology of this system, and other wetland assemblages that constitute paleobotanical Konservat-lagerstätten, will provide important foundations upon which to improve hypotheses of plant-microbe interactions in the fossil record. Research into fossil plant-microbe interactions must, however, be conducted with reference to appropriate biogeochemical analogues. The concluding component of this dissertation establishes that endogenous fungi in contemporary wetland plant roots are affected by persistent inundation. Although the constituents of root-endogenous communities do not appear to change between inundated roots and those growing in subaerially-exposed soils, their incidence within roots does differ. These data offer clear implications for assessing the probable ecology of in-situ fossil plants that hosted endogenous microbial communities during life

Three previously characterized resistances to yellow rust are encoded by a single locus Wtk1.

The wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides; WEW) yellow (stripe) rust resistance genes Yr15, YrG303, and YrH52 were discovered in natural populations from different geographic locations. They all localize to chromosome 1B but were thought to be non-allelic based on differences in resistance response. We recently cloned Yr15 as a Wheat Tandem Kinase 1 (WTK1) and show here that these three resistance loci co-segregate in fine-mapping populations and share an identical full-length genomic sequence of functional Wtk1. Independent ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized susceptible yrG303 and yrH52 lines carried single nucleotide mutations in Wtk1 that disrupted function. A comparison of the mutations for yr15, yrG303, and yrH52 mutants showed that while key conserved residues were intact, other conserved regions in critical kinase subdomains were frequently affected. Thus, we concluded that Yr15-, YrG303-, and YrH52-mediated resistances to yellow rust are encoded by a single locus, Wtk1. Introgression of Wtk1 into multiple genetic backgrounds resulted in variable phenotypic responses, confirming that Wtk1-mediated resistance is part of a complex immune response network. WEW natural populations subjected to natural selection and adaptation have potential to serve as a good source for evolutionary studies of different traits and multifaceted gene networks

Genomic, biochemical and expressional properties reveal strong conservation of the CLCA2 gene in birds and mammals

Recent studies have revealed the dynamic and complex evolution of CLCA1 gene homologues in and between mammals and birds with a particularly high diversity in mammals. In contrast, CLCA2 has only been found as a single copy gene in mammals, to date. Furthermore, CLCA2 has only been investigated in few mammalian species but not in birds. Here, we established core genomic, protein biochemical and expressional properties of CLCA2 in several bird species and compared them with mammalian CLCA2. Chicken, turkey, quail and ostrich CLCA2 were compared to their mammalian orthologues using in silico, biochemical and expressional analyses. CLCA2 was found highly conserved not only at the level of genomic and exon architecture but also in terms of the canonical CLCA2 protein domain organization. The putatively prototypical galline CLCA2 (gCLCA2) was cloned and immunoblotting as well as immunofluorescence analyses of heterologously expressed gCLCA2 revealed protein cleavage, glycosylation patterns and anchoring in the plasma membrane similar to those of most mammalian CLCA2 orthologues. Immunohistochemistry found highly conserved CLCA2 expression in epidermal keratinocytes in all birds and mammals investigated. Our results suggest a highly conserved and likely evolutionarily indispensable role of CLCA2 in keratinocyte function. Its high degree of conservation on the genomic, biochemical and expressional levels stands in contrast to the dynamic structural complexities and proposed functional diversifications between mammalian and avian CLCA1 homologues, insinuating a significant degree of negative selection of CLCA2 orthologues among birds and mammals. Finally, and again in contrast to CLCA1, the high conservation of CLCA2 makes it a strong candidate for studying basic properties of the functionally still widely unresolved CLCA gene family

Paleomycology of the Princeton Chert II. Dark-septate fungi in the aquatic angiosperm Eorhiza arnoldii indicate a diverse assemblage of root-colonizing fungi during the Eocene

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.mycologia.org/content/105/5/1100Tissues of the extinct aquatic or emergent angiosperm, Eorhiza arnoldii incertae sedis, were extensively colonized by microfungi, and in this study we report the presence of several types of sterile mycelia. In addition to inter- and intracellular proliferation of regular septate hyphae, the tissues contain monilioid hyphae with intercalary branching. These filamentous mycelia are spatially associated with two distinct morphotypes of intracellular microsclerotia. These quiescent structures are morphologically similar to loose and cerebriform microsclerotia found within the living tissues of some plants, which have been attributed to an informal assemblage of dematiaceous ascomycetes, the dark-septate endophytes. While there are significant challenges to interpreting the ecology of fossilized fungi, these specimens provide evidence for asymptomatic endophytic colonization of the rooting structures of a 48.7 million year old aquatic angiosperm

Paleomycology of the Princeton Chert I. Fossil hyphomycetes associated with the early Eocene aquatic angiosperm, Eorhiza arnoldii

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.mycologia.org/content/105/3/521The Eocene (~ 48.7 Ma, Ypresian–Lutetian) Princeton Chert of British Columbia, Canada, has long been recognized as a significant paleobotanical locality, and a diverse assemblage of anatomically preserved fossil plants has been extensively documented. Co-occurring fossil fungi also have been observed, but the full scope of their diversity has yet to be comprehensively assessed. Here, we present the first of a series of investigations of fossilized fungi associated with the silicified plants of the Princeton Chert. This report focuses on saprotrophic, facultative-aquatic hyphomycetes observed in cortical aerenchyma tissue of an enigmatic angiosperm, Eorhiza arnoldii. Our use of paleontological thin sections provides the opportunity to observe and infer developmental features, making it possible to more accurately attribute two hyphomycetes that were observed in previous studies. These comprise multiseptate, holothallic, chlamydospore-like phragmoconidia most similar to extant Xylomyces giganteus and basipetal phragmospore-like chains of amerospores like those of extant Thielaviopsis basicola. We also describe a third hyphomycete that previously has not been recognized from this locality; biseptate, chlamydosporic phragmoconidia are distinguished by darkly melanized, inflated apical cells and are morphologically similar to Brachysporiella rhizoidea or Culcitalna achraspora

Tailored Pig Models for Preclinical Efficacy and Safety Testing of Targeted Therapies

Despite enormous advances in translational biomedical research, there remains a growing demand for improved animal models of human disease. This is particularly true for diseases where rodent models do not reflect the human disease phenotype. Compared to rodents, pig anatomy and physiology are more similar to humans in cardiovascular, immune, respiratory, skeletal muscle, and metabolic systems. Importantly, efficient and precise techniques for genetic engineering of pigs are now available, facilitating the creation of tailored large animal models that mimic human disease mechanisms at the molecular level. In this article, the benefits of genetically engineered pigs for basic and translational research are exemplified by a novel pig model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and by porcine models of cystic fibrosis. Particular emphasis is given to potential advantages of using these models for efficacy and safety testing of targeted therapies, such as exon skipping and gene editing, for example, using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated system. In general, genetically tailored pig models have the potential to bridge the gap between proof-of-concept studies in rodents and clinical trials in patients, thus supporting translational medicine

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC BASES OF THE FUNCTIONING OF STATE EXECUTIVE BODIES: PAST, PRESENT AND PROSPECTS OF IMPROVEMENT

The aim of the article is to analyse legal regulations and perspectives available in the specialized literature concerning financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies, which should be strengthened and formed according to one of the areas of administrative reform in Ukraine. The subject of the study is financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies: past, present, and prospects of improvement. Methodology. The study is based on the use of general scientific and special-scientific methods and techniques of scientific knowledge. The historical and legal method enabled to analyse the legal regulations of administrative and financial law on past, present, and prospects of improvement of financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies. The comparative legal method was used to improve the system of executive bodies and their authorities’ exercise. The system-structural method enabled to consider and identify the most negative effects of the insufficient financing of executive branch activities and the exercise of their authorities. The methods of grouping and classifying were the basis for the author’s approach to the identification of forms of financing state executive bodies. The technical legal method enabled to interrogate the state of affairs in financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies. The results of the study enabled to highlight the drivers of the improvement of forms of financing state executive bodies. Practical implications. In the study, scientific sources and legal regulations of administrative and financial law on past, present, and prospects of improvement of financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies are interrogated. The article highlights that strengthening and forming new financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies have been provided for by one of the areas of the Concepts of Administrative Reform, which nowadays is implemented both at the legislative and law enforcement levels. It was concluded that the formation of new financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies failed. There is only modelling of certain forms of financing of state executive bodies, familiar to the history of the origin and development of these bodies. Therefore, financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies should be interrogated by representatives of both administrative and financial law not only from a historical perspective or from a modern perspective but also with a view to the future. Relevance/originality. The original author’s approach to the definition of financial and economic bases of the functioning of state executive bodies is the basis for developing the most promising areas of improvement of domestic legislation in this sphere