Being user-oriented: convergences, divergences, and the potentials for systematic dialogue between disciplines and between researchers, designers, and providers

The challenge this panel addresses is drawn from intersecting literature reviews and critical commentaries focusing on: 1) user studies in multiple fields; and 2) the difficulties of bringing different disciplines and perspectives to bear on user‐oriented research, design, and practice. 1 The challenge is that while we have made some progress in collaborative work, we have some distance to go to become user‐oriented in inter‐disciplinary and inter‐perspective ways. The varieties of our approaches and solutions are, as some observers suggest, an increasing cacophony. One major difficulty is that most discussions are solution‐oriented, offering arguments of this sort ‐‐ if only we addressed users in this way… Each solution becomes yet another addition to the cacophony. This panel implements a central approach documented for its utility by communication researchers and long used by communication mediators and negotiators ‐‐ that of focusing not on communication but rather on meta‐communication: communicating about communication. The intent in the context of this panel is to help us refocus attention from too frequent polarizations between alternative solutions to the possibility of coming to understand what is behind the alternatives and where they point to experientially‐based convergences and divergences, both of which might potentially contribute to synergies. The background project for this panel comes from a series of in‐depth interviews with expert researchers, designers, and providers in three field groupings ‐‐ library and information science; human computer interaction/information technology; and communication and media studies. One set of interviews involved 5‐hour focus groups with directors of academic and public libraries serving 44 colleges and universities in central Ohio; the second involved one‐on‐one interviews averaging 50 minutes with 81 nationally‐internationally known experts in the 3 fields, 25‐27 interviews per field. Using Dervin\u27s Sense‐Making Methodological approach to interviewing, the expert interviews of both kinds asked each interviewee: what he/she considered to be the big unanswered questions about users and what explained why the questions have not been answered; and, what he/she saw as hindering versus helping in attempts to communicate about users across disciplinary and perspective gaps. 2 The panel consists of six teams, two from each field. Prior to the panel presentation at ASIST, each team will have read the set of interviews and completed impressionistic essays of what patterns and themes they saw as emerging. At this stage, team members will purposively not homogenize their differences and most will write solo‐authored essays that will be placed on a web‐site accessible to ASIST members prior to the November meeting. In addition, at least one systematic analysis will be completed and available online. 3 At the ASIST panel, each team\u27s leader will present a brief and intentionally provocative impressionist account of what his/her team came to understand about our struggles communicating across fields and perspectives about users. Again, each team will purposively not homogenize its own differences in viewpoints, but rather highlight them as fodder for discussion. A major purpose will be to invite audience members to join the panel in discussion. At least 20 minutes will be left open for this purpose

Paleogene Radiation of a Plant Pathogenic Mushroom

Background: The global movement and speciation of fungal plant pathogens is important, especially because of the economic losses they cause and the ease with which they are able to spread across large areas. Understanding the biogeography and origin of these plant pathogens can provide insights regarding their dispersal and current day distribution. We tested the hypothesis of a Gondwanan origin of the plant pathogenic mushroom genus Armillaria and the currently accepted premise that vicariance accounts for the extant distribution of the species. Methods: The phylogeny of a selection of Armillaria species was reconstructed based on Maximum Parsimony (MP), Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian Inference (BI). A timeline was then placed on the divergence of lineages using a Bayesian relaxed molecular clock approach. Results: Phylogenetic analyses of sequenced data for three combined nuclear regions provided strong support for three major geographically defined clades: Holarctic, South American-Australasian and African. Molecular dating placed the initial radiation of the genus at 54 million years ago within the Early Paleogene, postdating the tectonic break-up of Gondwana. Conclusions: The distribution of extant Armillaria species is the result of ancient long-distance dispersal rather than vicariance due to continental drift. As these finding are contrary to most prior vicariance hypotheses for fungi, our result

Cladonia rangiferina F. H. Wigg

<i>3.3. Proposed polyketide synthesis in Cladonia rangiferina</i> <p> A pervious study (Elshobary et al., 2016) showed that <i>CrPKS1</i> and <i>CrPKS16</i> may be genes that encode non-reducing enzymes and <i>CrPKS3</i> may encode a reducing enzyme. Furthermore, <i>CrPKS1</i> was most closely related to the putative <i>PKS</i> from <i>Pyrenophora tritici-repentis</i> (Diedicke) Drechsler and <i>Macrophomina phaseolina</i> (Tassi) Goidanich (both with maximum identity of 78 and 79%, respectively), which were responsible for production of 6-methylsalicylic acid synthase. The 6-methylsalicylic acid is considered the first cyclic compound in the polyketide pathway and a common precursor for the cyclic polyketide compounds (Legaz et al., 2011). Alternatively, the <i>C. grayi PKS1</i> (<i>CgPKS1</i>) (similarity with <i>CrPKS1</i> was 99% identity) was shown to fall within a phylogenetic clade that had a methyltransferase domain (Armaleo et al., 2011) suggesting it may produce the first cyclic compound (methyl-3-orsellinate) in the atranorin and fumarprotocetraric acid pathway (Fig. 4). Accordingly, <i>CrPKS1</i> is expected to be highly expressed in the thallus outer layer where the acetate/malonate and cyclisation presumably occur after transportation of algal sugars.</p> <p> <i>CrPKS16</i> was most closely related to the putative <i>PKS</i> from <i>C. grayi</i> (<i>CgPKS16</i>; maximum identity of 100%) which was hypothesized to be responsible for the synthesis and linking of two cyclic compounds <b>(</b> Methyl-3-orsellinate and sphaerophorolcarboxylic acid) to produce the grayanic acid precursor (4-O-demethylsphaerophorin; Fig. 5A) (Armaleo et al., 2011). Both 4-O-demethylsphaerophorin and atranorin are similar depsides except in the side chain at C 16 and the methylated carboxyl group (Fig. 5). Accordingly, <i>CrPKS16</i> may be involved in the linkage of two cyclic compounds (Methyl-3-orsellinate and Haemmatomoyl alcohol) to form atranorin (Fig. 5B). <i>CrPKS16</i> was expressed in both the outer and inner thallus tissue, which was consistent with the TLC data showing atranorin in both layers. However, the transformation of depsides to depsidones requires cytochrome P450 to form grayanic acid from depside precursors (Armaleo et al., 2011). In this context, Elix and Stocker-Wörgötter (2008) and Millot et al. (2009) suggested that a depsidone could be formed from the oxidation of a para-depside by dioxygenase. If depsides can be converted to depsidones (Seshadri, 1944; Culberson, 1964), the production of fumarprotocetraric acid in <i>C. rangiferina</i> may initially require the production of atranorin (Fig. 6) (de Armas et al., 2016). In this study, grayanic acid was not produced by <i>C. rangiferina</i>, so <i>CrPKS16</i> likely does not have a role in grayanic acid production. It may, instead, contribute to the biosynthesis of the depside, atranorin. This agreed, in part, with our TLC results which showed fumarprotocetraric acid present in the inner thallus layer with atranorin. If atranorin was formed in the outer layer and then transformed to fumarprotocetraric acid in the inner layer by dioxygenase (YQE1), which was upregulated in this layer, atranorin would appear to be present in both layers, and only fumarprotocetraric acid would appear to be present in the inner layer. However, the absence of <i>YQE1</i> expression in the apical inner layer does not support this hypothesis. <i>CrPKS3</i> was closely related to a reducing PKS gene from <i>Usnea longissima</i> Ach. (maximum identity of 74%) which may be responsible for the biosynthesis of depside side chains (Wang et al., 2011). This agreed with our results which showed that <i>CrPKS3</i> was more highly expressed in the outer than inner thallus layers where depside synthesis occurred.</p> <p> The Mass Spectrum analysis of atranorin (pure and in the extract) was consistent with previous reports (Musharraf et al., 2015) displaying the deprotonated molecular ion [M− H]− at m/z 373 with daughter ions observed at m/z 195 and 177 (Supplementary Fig. 1A, insert). Similarly, fumarprotocetraric acid had a [M− H]− precursor m/z 471 (both pure and in extract) in agreement with MoNA (MoNA ID: NP_C1_297_p3_F03_NEG_iTree_11), with the daughter ion observed at m/z 355 (Splash: splash10-0a4i-0009000000-6d53e7820a534e1cad6a) (Fig. 1B, insert). The analysis of both standards and published data strongly suggest the presence of atranorin and fumarprotocetraric acid as the two major compounds produced by <i>Cladonia rangiferina</i>.</p> <p> <b>4. Conclusion</b></p> <p> In conclusion, the three PKS genes (<i>CrPKS1</i>, <i>CrPKS3, CrPKS16)</i>, <i>MFSUG2</i>, and C 2 H 2 transcription factors were upregulated in the outer apical portion more than the other thallus portions. These findings are consistent with more metabolic activity where the ribitol sugar from the alga (<i>Asterochloris</i> sp.) is transferred to the fungus for polyketide production. However, the C 2 H 2 transcription factor was upregulated in both apical portions where polyketides were synthesized. In contrast, <i>PacC</i> was upregulated in the basal portion distal from polyketide synthesis. <i>YQE1</i> was upregulated in the basal inner layer where fumarprotocetraric acid biosynthesis may occur by oxidation of depsides. <i>CAT</i> was expressed in the outer layers of the thallus where polyketide biosynthesis initiated, which was thought to reduce the oxidative stress from polyketide biosynthesis. In contrast, the apothecia showed low expression levels of all genes. The results in this study are validated by current knowledge of sugar transport in lichens and the location of polyketide production consistent with known function. The utility of performing the LMD technique on sections of <i>C. rangiferina</i> has implications for further tissue-specific expression studies such as nitrogen mobilization in cyanobacterial lichens and it illustrates a different approach for examining activity of hydrophobins or other proteins in the lichen thallus.</p> 5. Materials and methods <p> <i>5.1. Lichen material</i></p> <p> The mat-forming lichen, <i>C. rangiferina</i> (L.) F. H. Wigg. (KP001201) was collected June 2014 from Sandilands Provincial Forest, Manitoba, Canada (N49̊ 22 <i>′</i> 37 <i>″</i>, W96̊ 6 <i>′</i> 31 <i>″</i>), cleaned from debris, and stored in a plastic bag at 4 ̊C. The collection site was a Jack pine (<i>Pinus banksiana</i> Lamb.) dominated ridge underlain by sandy glacial till on the Precambrian Shield. Other species present include black spruce (<i>Picea mariana</i> (Mill.) Britton, Sterns &Poggenb.), <i>Alnus</i> sp., <i>Prunus pensylvanica</i> L. in open areas, mosses (<i>Pleurozium schreberi</i> (Brid.) Mitt., <i>Hylocomium splendens</i> (Hedw.) Schimp., <i>Dicranum</i> spp.) in protected depressions, and other lichens (<i>Cladonia</i> spp., <i>Peltigera</i> spp.). See Kotelko et al. (2008) for a more detailed list of the common lichens and bryophytes in the area. The area was moist to dry with moisture retention because of the forest cover. The upper apical and lower basal portions of the lichen thallus were cut in cross section and separated into two layers: the outer layer with loose fungal hyphae surrounding algal cells and the innermost layer with compact fungal hyphae with no algal cells. The apothecia, containing only fungal tissue, were separated from the thallus at the base of the apothecium.</p>Published as part of <i>Elshobary, Mostafa E., Becker, Michael G., Kalichuk, Jenna L., Chan, Ainsley C., Belmonte, Mark F. & Piercey-Normore, Michele D., 2018, Tissue-specific localization of polyketide synthase and other associated genes in the lichen, Cladonia rangiferina, using laser microdissection, pp. 142-150 in Phytochemistry 156</i> on pages 145-147, DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2018.09.011, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10484507">http://zenodo.org/record/10484507</a&gt