Ionomidotis mesophila (Ascomycota, Cordieritidaceae), a new species from tropical cloud forest in Mexico

Antecedentes y Objetivos: Ionomidotis es un género de Ascomicetos que se caracteriza por ascomas solitarios a cespitosos, discoides a espatulados de colores oliváceos a negros, que liberan pigmentos de color púrpura, violeta, oliváceos o verdes en KOH; se encuentra en el orden Helotiales de la clase Leotimycetes. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo describir a Ionomidotis mesophila por primera vez para la ciencia.Métodos: Los especímenes fueron recolectados en 2017 y 2019 en el municipio Honey, Puebla, México. Los ejemplares fueron estudiados de acuerdo con las técnicas tradicionales en micología y depositados en la colección de hongos del herbario de la Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Resultados clave: Se registra por primera vez para México al género Ionomidotis y se describe a I. mesophila como especie nueva que se caracteriza por formar apotecios espatulados a cupuliformes, con margen ondulado, de color marrón grisáceo, que en presencia de KOH al 5% libera pigmentos de color verde en fresco a marrón oliváceos; paráfisis con ápices redondeados a globosos y ascoporas elipsoides. Crece sobre troncos recién caídos de Quercus en bosque mesófilo de montaña. Conclusiones: Ionomidotis mesophila es una especie nueva para los inventarios del bosque de niebla en México, lo que nos lleva a acelerar esfuerzos por describir la diversidad fúngica del bosque mesófilo de montaña, actualmente definido como un ecosistema en peligro de extinción en el país.Background and Aims: The ascomycete genus Ionomidotis is characterized by solitary to caespitose ascomata, discoid to spathulate, olive to black, that release purple, violet, olive or green pigments in KOH. It is found in the order Helotiales of the class Leotimycetes. The present study aims to describe Ionomidotis mesophila as a new species for science.Methods: The specimens were collected in 2017 and 2019 in the municipality of Honey, Puebla, Mexico. The samples were studied and determined according to traditional techniques in mycology and were deposited in the fungus collection of the herbarium of the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional.Key results: The genus Ionomidotis is registered for the first time from Mexico and I. mesophila is decribed as a new species characterized by spathulate to cupuliform apothecia with a wavy, grayish brown margin that, in the presence of 5% KOH, releases fresh green to olive-brown pigments; paraphyses with rounded to globose apices and ellipsoid ascospores. It grows on recently fallen Quercus in cloud forest.Conclusions: Ionomidotis mesophila is a new species for cloud forest inventories in Mexico. It is necessary to accelerate efforts to inventory and describe the fungal diversity of tropical cloud forest, actually defined as an ecosystem in danger of extintion in the country.

Humaria setimarginata (Pyronemataceae, Ascomycota), una nueva especie de México

Background and Aims: Humaria (Pyronemataceae, Ascomycota) is an ectomycorrhizal genus of fungi, mainly distributed in temperate forest. It is characterized by cupuliform to discoid apothecia that are covered with abundant hairs throughout the exterior of the brown ascomata, and by ellipsoid, hyaline, warty ascospores. There are 66 accepted species of which only one has been recorded in Mexico. The present study aims to describe a new species of Humaria with morphological, ecological and molecular data, found in Quercus forests from Tamaulipas, Mexico. Methods: The specimens were collected in 2019 in the Victoria municipality, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Description and morphological studies were performed according to traditional mycological techniques. Studied material was deposited in the José Castillo Tovar Mycological Herbarium of the Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Victoria (ITCV) and the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas Herbarium (ENCB) of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using ITS and LSU sequences of the nuclear rDNA. Key results: Humaria setimarginata sp. nov. is described and illustrated. This species is well differentiated by its morphological, molecular and ecological characteristics. It forms typically cupuliform apothecia with straight margin, abundant dark brown colored short hairs at the margin, and a greyish-white hymenium. It presents a dextrinoid reaction in the ectal excipulum in contact with Melzer´s reagent. It grows around Quercus rysophylla and Q. polymorpha in oak forests. Conclusions: Humaria setimarginata is the second species of this genus reported in Mexico, after Humaria hemisphaerica. There are several collections under the name Humaria sp. that need a revision, to expand the diversity knowledge of this genus in this country. It is possible that several species exist, considering that this genus is ectomycorrhizal and the diversity of its potential hosts is high.Antecedentes y Objetivos: Humaria (Pyronemataceae, Ascomycota) es un género de hongos ectomicorrízicos, distribuidos generalmente en bosques templados. Se caracteriza por apotecios cupuliformes a discoides que están cubiertos con abundantes pelos en todo el exterior de los ascomas marrones, y por ascosporas elipsoides, hialinas y verrucosas. Son 66 especies aceptadas de las cuales solo una ha sido registrada en México. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo describir una nueva especie de Humaria, con datos morfológicos, ecológicos y moleculares, encontrada en el bosque de Quercus de Tamaulipas, México. Métodos: Los ejemplares fueron recolectados en 2019 en el municipio Victoria, Tamaulipas, México. La descripción y los estudios morfológicos se realizaron según las técnicas micológicas tradicionales. El material estudiado fue depositado en el Herbario Micológico José Castillo Tovar del Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Victoria (ITCV) y en el Herbario de la Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB) del Instituto Politécnico Nacional. Los análisis filogenéticos se realizaron utilizando secuencias ITS y LSU del ADNr nuclear. Resultados clave: Humaria setimarginata sp. nov. se describe e ilustra. Esta especie se diferencia bien por características morfológicas, moleculares y ecológicas. Forma un apotecio típicamente cupuliforme, con margen recto, abundantes pelos cortos color marrón oscuro en el margen y un himenio blanco grisáceo. Presenta una reacción dextrinoide en el excípulo ectal en contacto con el reactivo Melzer. Crece alrededor de Quercus rysophylla y Q. polymorpha en bosques de encino. Conclusiones: Humaria setimarginata es la segunda especie de este género que se reporta para México, después de Humaria hemisphaerica. Hay varias colecciones bajo el nombre de Humaria sp. que necesitan una revisión, para ampliar el conocimiento de la diversidad de este género en el país. Es posible que existan varias especies, considerando que este género es ectomicorrícico y la diversidad de sus hospedantes potenciales es alta

Essential role for telomerase in chronic myeloid leukemia induced by BCR-ABL in mice

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.The telomerase protein is constitutively activated in malignant cells from many patients with cancer, including the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but whether telomerase is essential for the pathogenesis of this disease is not known. Here, we used telomerase deficient mice to determine the requirement for telomerase in CML induced by BCR-ABL in mouse models of CML. Loss of one telomerase allele or complete deletion of telomerase prevented the development of leukemia induced by BCR-ABL. However, BCR-ABL was expressed and active in telomerase heterozygous and null leukemic hematopoietic stem cells. These results demonstrate that telomerase is essential for oncogene-induced reprogramming of hematopoietic stem cells in CML development and validate telomerase and the genes it regulates as targets for therapy in CML.Research in ISG group was partially supported by FEDER and by MICINN (SAF2009-08803 to ISG), by Junta de Castilla y León (REF. CSI007A11-2 and Proyecto Biomedicina 2009-2010), by MEC OncoBIO Consolider-Ingenio 2010 (Ref. CSD2007-0017), by NIH grant (R01 CA109335-04A1), by Sandra Ibarra Foundation, and the ARIMMORA project (FP7-ENV-2011, European Union Seventh Framework Program) and by Proyecto en Red de Investigación en Celulas Madre Tumorales en Cancer de Mama, supported by Obra Social Kutxa y Conserjería de Sanidad de la Junta de Castilla y Leon. All Spanish funding is co-sponsored by the European Union FEDER program. ISG is an API lab of the EuroSyStem project.Peer Reviewe

Effects of differential diffusion on nonpremixed-flame temperature

This numerical and analytical study investigates effects of differential diffusion on nonpremixed-flame temperatures. To focus more directly on transport effects the work considers a single irreversible reaction with an infinitely fast rate, with Schab-Zel'dovich coupling functions introduced to write the conservation equations of energy and reactants in a chemistry-free form accounting for non-unity values of the fuel Lewis number L-F. Different flow configurations of increasing complexity are analyzed, beginning with canonical flamelet models that are reducible to ordinary differential equations, for which the variation of the flame temperature with fuel-feed dilution and L-F is quantified, revealing larger departures from adiabatic values in dilute configurations with oxidizer-to-fuel stoichiometric ratios S of order unity. Marble&#39;s problem of an unsteady flame wrapped by a line vortex is considered next, with specific attention given to large-Peclet-number solutions. Unexpected effects of differential diffusion are encountered for S < 1 near the vortex core, including superadiabatic/subadibatic flame temperatures occurring for values of L-F larger/smaller than unity as well as temperature profiles peaking on the oxidizer side of the flame. Direct numerical simulations of diffusion flames in a temporal turbulent mixing layer are used to further investigate these unexpected differential- diffusion effects. The results, confirming and extending previous findings, underscore the nontrivial role of differential diffusion in nonpremixed-combustion systems

Reference ranges of lymphocyte subsets in non-frail older adults

ResumenXunta de Galicia; R2014/02

Lymphocyte subsets in a population of nonfrail elderly individuals

[Abstract] Age-related frailty is characterized by increased vulnerability to stress due to decline in homeostatic reserve, which results in increased risk of adverse health outcomes including disability, hospitalization, and death. The relationship between frailty and immunological system alterations is well established. Thus, analysis of immunological changes, such as alterations in lymphocyte subsets, during senescence may provide useful markers for frailty and associated pathologies. Since reference ranges currently used for lymphocyte subsets do not specifically differentiate the elderly group, the aim of this study was to (1) establish reference ranges in nonfrail elderly individuals and (2) assess the evolution of these parameters with age. Further, the influence of other physiological and lifestyle factors was also evaluated. The study was performed on 144 elderly individuals (aged 65–95) from Galicia (in northwestern Spain). Percentages of lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3+ T lymphocytes, CD4+ T-helper lymphocytes, CD8+ T-cytotoxic lymphocytes, CD19+ B lymphocytes, and CD56+16+ natural killer cells) were analyzed in peripheral blood by flow cytometry, and reference ranges were calculated. The individual status as nonfrail or prefrail did not markedly affect the immunological parameters, but an apparent influence of age was obtained for %CD3+, %CD4+, and %CD19+ cells, all of which fell with increasing age. Women showed higher levels of %CD19+ lymphocytes. No significant influence of smoking habits, physical activity, or drinking alcohol or caffeine beverages was observed. The results obtained may serve as a basis to establish comparisons between frail and nonfrail elderly individuals, in order to determine the usefulness of lymphocyte subsets as immunological biomarkers of frailty

Exploring genetic outcomes as frailty biomakers

[Abstract] Frailty has emerged as a reliable measure of the aging process. Because the early detection of frailty is crucial to prevent or even revert it, the use of biomarkers would allow an earlier and more objective identification of frail individuals. To improve the understanding of the biological features associated with frailty as well as to explore different biomarkers for its early identification, several genetic outcomes-mutagenicity, different types of genetic damage, and cellular repair capacity-were analyzed in a population of older adults classified into frail, prefrail, and nonfrail. Besides, influence of clinical parameters-nutritional status and cognitive status-was evaluated. No association of mutation rate or primary DNA damage with frailty was observed. However, DNA repair capacity showed a nonsignificant tendency to decrease with frailty, and persistent levels of phosphorylated H2AX, as indicative of DNA breakage, increased progressively with frailty severity. These results support the possible use of H2AX phosphorylation to provide information regarding frailty severity. Further investigation is necessary to determine the consistency of the current findings in different populations and larger sample sizes, to eventually standardize biomarkers to be used in clinics, and to fully understand the influence of cognitive impairment.Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2016/013Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2017/49Xunta de Galicia; IN607C 2016/08Xunta de Galicia; ED481B 2016/190Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (España); RYC-2015–1839

Serum cortisol but not oxidative stress biomarkers are related to frailty: results of a cross-sectional study in Spanish older adults

[Abstract] Frailty is a multidimensional geriatric syndrome of loss of reserves and increased vulnerability to negative health outcomes. Cortisol, the major hormone of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, and oxidative stress may be influenced by multiple endogenous and environmental factors throughout the lifespan, triggering changes in organism functioning. Association of elevated levels of cortisol and oxidative stress biomarkers with aging and several age-related diseases is well documented. However, the possible role of these factors on frailty status in older adults has not been extensively studied. Hence, the aim of this study was to conduct a cross-sectional study in 252 older adults (≥65 years old) classified according to their frailty status. Plasma cortisol and biomarkers related to oxidative stress including reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, oxidative DNA damage, and total antioxidant capacity were determined in non-frail, pre-frail, and frail subjects. Results showed significantly increasing cortisol concentrations with frailty burden, but no marked association between any oxidative stress biomarker and frailty status. In addition, dependence on activities of daily living and 10-year mortality risk were also correlated with elevated cortisol levels. Current results support the hypothesis that age-related HPA axis dysregulation is associated with frailty status, although further research is necessary to establish the role of cortisol in the pathophysiology of frailty.Xunta de Galicia; ED431B 2019/02Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2017/49Xunta de Galicia; IN607C 2016/08Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad; RYC-2015-18394Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; PRX19/0035

Primer registro de Unguiculariopsis ravenelii (Leotiomycetes, Ascomycota) en México

Background and Aims: The genus Unguiculariopsis of the class Leotimycetes within Ascomycota is characterized by forming inconspicuous apothecia up to 2 mm in diameter, with hook-shaped hairs on the external surface, inoperculate and inamyloid asci, and globose, subglobose to ellipsoid ascospores, which are hyaline with guttules. They are fungicolous fungi which are host-specific. The objective of this study is to report Unguiculariopsis ravenelii for the first time in Mexico.Methods: The specimens studied are deposited in the ENCB herbarium of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico. The material was reviewed in fresh and dry, and described macromorphologically using a stereomicroscope, based on pictures taken in situ, and micromorphological characters with an optical microscope. They were identified with specialized keys and literature.Key results: The description of Unguiculariopsis ravenelii of Mexico is presented. This is a species characterized by being mycoparasite and forming gregarious apothecia growing on Rhytidhysteron rufulum.Conclusions: This species is distributed in tropical dry forest and produces its sporomas during the rainy season in the states of Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Sonora, Tabasco and Tamaulipas in the Neotropical region of Mexico.Antecedentes y Objetivos: El género Unguiculariopsis de la clase Leotiomycetes dentro de Ascomycota se caracteriza por formar apotecios inconspicuos de hasta 2 mm de diámetro, con una superficie formada por pelos en forma de gancho, ascas inoperculadas, inamiloides y ascosporas globosas, subglobosas a elipsoidales, hialinas con gútulas. Son hongos fungícolas que presentan especificidad por el hospedero; en el presente estudio se tiene por objetivo reportar a Unguiculariopsis ravenelii por primera vez en México.Métodos: Los especímenes estudiados están depositados en el herbario ENCB del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México. Los materiales fueron revisados en fresco y en seco, se describieron macro morfológicamente usando un estereoscopio, fotografías tomadas in situ y micro morfológicamente con un microscopio óptico. Se identificaron con claves y literatura especializada.Resultados clave: Se presenta la descripción de Unguiculariopsis ravenelii de México, una especie que se caracteriza por ser micoparásita y por formar apotecios gregarios sobre Rhytidhysteron rufulum. Conclusiones: Esta especie se distribuye en bosque tropical caducifolio y produce sus esporomas durante la temporada de lluvias en los estados de Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Sonora, Tabasco y Tamaulipas en la región Neotropical de México