Unveiling fungal community structure along different levels of anthropic disturbance in a South American subtropical lagoon

Studies of fungal communities through amplicon metagenomics in aquatic environments, particularly in freshwater ecosystems, are still relatively recent. Unfortunately, many of these water bodies are facing growing threats from human expansion, such as effluent discharge from various human activities. As a result, these effluents have the potential to significantly alter the characteristics of water bodies and, subsequently, impact the diversity of their resident microorganisms. In this context, our objective was to investigate whether the fungal community structure varies according to the presence of different anthropic disturbances. We expect (i) the diversity of fungi will be greater and (ii) more specific unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to each ecotonal system will be found compared to other sites of a lagoon. The study was conducted in the Tramandaí Lagoon (subtropical southern Brazil) at four distinct sampling points (estuary, middle of the lagoon, crop field area, and near a residential area where the Tramandaí River flows into the lagoon). As expected, the estuary and residential zones, which are ecotones, exhibited greater fungal diversity and more specific OTUs compared to the middle of the lagoon and crop field area. Moreover, a substantial proportion of fungal taxa could not be identified at the genus level, with many only classified at the phylum level, indicating potential new lineages. These findings underscore our limited understanding of the subtropical freshwater mycobiota

Multiple Scenario Generation of Subsurface Models:Consistent Integration of Information from Geophysical and Geological Data throuh Combination of Probabilistic Inverse Problem Theory and Geostatistics

Neutrinos with energies above 1017 eV are detectable with the Surface Detector Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory. The identification is efficiently performed for neutrinos of all flavors interacting in the atmosphere at large zenith angles, as well as for Earth-skimming \u3c4 neutrinos with nearly tangential trajectories relative to the Earth. No neutrino candidates were found in 3c 14.7 years of data taken up to 31 August 2018. This leads to restrictive upper bounds on their flux. The 90% C.L. single-flavor limit to the diffuse flux of ultra-high-energy neutrinos with an E\u3bd-2 spectrum in the energy range 1.0 7 1017 eV -2.5 7 1019 eV is E2 dN\u3bd/dE\u3bd < 4.4 7 10-9 GeV cm-2 s-1 sr-1, placing strong constraints on several models of neutrino production at EeV energies and on the properties of the sources of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays

Hybrid Assembly Improves Genome Quality and Completeness of Trametes villosa CCMB561 and Reveals a Huge Potential for Lignocellulose Breakdown

Trametes villosa is a wood-decaying fungus with great potential to be used in the bioconversion of agro-industrial residues and to obtain high-value-added products, such as biofuels. Nonetheless, the lack of high-quality genomic data hampers studies investigating genetic mechanisms and metabolic pathways in T. villosa, hindering its application in industry. Herein, applying a hybrid assembly pipeline using short reads (Illumina HiSeq) and long reads (Oxford Nanopore MinION), we obtained a high-quality genome for the T. villosa CCMB561 and investigated its genetic potential for lignocellulose breakdown. The new genome possesses 143 contigs, N50 of 1,009,271 bp, a total length of 46,748,415 bp, 14,540 protein-coding genes, 22 secondary metabolite gene clusters, and 426 genes encoding Carbohydrate-Active enzymes. Our CAZome annotation and comparative genomic analyses of nine Trametes spp. genomes revealed T. villosa CCMB561 as the species with the highest number of genes encoding lignin-modifying enzymes and a wide array of genes encoding proteins for the breakdown of cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. These results bring to light the potential of this isolate to be applied in the bioconversion of lignocellulose and will support future studies on the expression, regulation, and evolution of genes, proteins, and metabolic pathways regarding the bioconversion of lignocellulosic residues

Hybrid Genomic Analysis of <i>Salmonella enterica</i> Serovar Enteritidis SE3 Isolated from Polluted Soil in Brazil

In Brazil, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a significant health threat. Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis SE3 was isolated from soil at the Subaé River in Santo Amaro, Brazil, a region contaminated with heavy metals and organic waste. Illumina HiSeq and Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencing were used for de novo hybrid assembly of the Salmonella SE3 genome. This approach yielded 10 contigs with 99.98% identity with S. enterica serovar Enteritidis OLF-SE2-98984-6. Twelve Salmonella pathogenic islands, multiple virulence genes, multiple antimicrobial gene resistance genes, seven phage defense systems, seven prophages and a heavy metal resistance gene were encoded in the genome. Pangenome analysis of the S. enterica clade, including Salmonella SE3, revealed an open pangenome, with a core genome of 2137 genes. Our study showed the effectiveness of a hybrid sequence assembly approach for environmental Salmonella genome analysis using HiSeq and MinION data. This approach enabled the identification of key resistance and virulence genes, and these data are important to inform the control of Salmonella and heavy metal pollution in the Santo Amaro region of Brazil

Unraveling the Secrets of a Double-Life Fungus by Genomics: <i>Ophiocordyceps australis</i> CCMB661 Displays Molecular Machinery for Both Parasitic and Endophytic Lifestyles

Ophiocordyceps australis (Ascomycota, Hypocreales, Ophiocordycipitaceae) is a classic entomopathogenic fungus that parasitizes ants (Hymenoptera, Ponerinae, Ponerini). Nonetheless, according to our results, this fungal species also exhibits a complete set of genes coding for plant cell wall degrading Carbohydrate-Active enZymes (CAZymes), enabling a full endophytic stage and, consequently, its dual ability to both parasitize insects and live inside plant tissue. The main objective of our study was the sequencing and full characterization of the genome of the fungal strain of O. australis (CCMB661) and its predicted secretome. The assembled genome had a total length of 30.31 Mb, N50 of 92.624 bp, GC content of 46.36%, and 8,043 protein-coding genes, 175 of which encoded CAZymes. In addition, the primary genes encoding proteins and critical enzymes during the infection process and those responsible for the host–pathogen interaction have been identified, including proteases (Pr1, Pr4), aminopeptidases, chitinases (Cht2), adhesins, lectins, lipases, and behavioral manipulators, such as enterotoxins, Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases (PTPs), and Glycoside Hydrolases (GHs). Our findings indicate that the presence of genes coding for Mad2 and GHs in O. australis may facilitate the infection process in plants, suggesting interkingdom colonization. Furthermore, our study elucidated the pathogenicity mechanisms for this Ophiocordyceps species, which still is scarcely studied

Draft genome sequence of Trametes villosa (Sw.) Kreisel CCMB561, a tropical white-rot Basidiomycota from the semiarid region of Brazil

Herein, we present the draft genome of Trametes villosa isolate CCMB561, a wood-decaying Basidiomycota commonly found in tropical semiarid climate. The genome assembly was 57.98 Mb in size with an L50 of 691. A total of 16,711 putative protein-encoding genes was predicted, including 590 genes coding for carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZy), directly involved in the decomposition of lignocellulosic materials. This is the first genome of this species of high interest in bioenergy research. The draft genome of Trametes villosa isolate CCMB561 will provide an important resource for future investigations in biofuel production, bioremediation and other green technologies

Unveiling Fungal Community Structure along Different Levels of Anthropic Disturbance in a South American Subtropical Lagoon

Studies of fungal communities through amplicon metagenomics in aquatic environments, particularly in freshwater ecosystems, are still relatively recent. Unfortunately, many of these water bodies are facing growing threats from human expansion, such as effluent discharge from various human activities. As a result, these effluents have the potential to significantly alter the characteristics of water bodies and, subsequently, impact the diversity of their resident microorganisms. In this context, our objective was to investigate whether the fungal community structure varies according to the presence of different anthropic disturbances. We expect (i) the diversity of fungi will be greater and (ii) more specific unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) related to each ecotonal system will be found compared to other sites of a lagoon. The study was conducted in the Tramandaí Lagoon (subtropical southern Brazil) at four distinct sampling points (estuary, middle of the lagoon, crop field area, and near a residential area where the Tramandaí River flows into the lagoon). As expected, the estuary and residential zones, which are ecotones, exhibited greater fungal diversity and more specific OTUs compared to the middle of the lagoon and crop field area. Moreover, a substantial proportion of fungal taxa could not be identified at the genus level, with many only classified at the phylum level, indicating potential new lineages. These findings underscore our limited understanding of the subtropical freshwater mycobiota