Revision of Entrophospora and description of Kuklospora and Intraspora, two new genera in the arbuscular mycorrhizal Glomeromycetes

Five mycorrhizal fungal species of the Glomeromycetes which were organized in the genus Entrophospora are revised. They all form their spores within the hyphal stalk directly beneath or in some distance of a sporiferous saccule formed intercalary or terminally in the mycelium. Based on differences respective similarities in spore morphologies and root infection characteristics only Entrophospora infrequens and Entrophospora baltica remain in this genus. The genus is the type genus for the new family Entrophosporaceae. The other three species are organized in two new genera. Kuklospora gen. nov. with Kuklospora colombiana and Kuklospora kentinensis (formerly Entrophospora colombiana and Entrophospora kentiniensis) is placed into the family of the Acaulosporaceae. Intraspora gen. nov. so far contains only Intraspora schenckii (the former Entrophospora schenckii) and is included into the family of the Archaeosporaceae. The morphological differences between the genera and the distribution of these fungal species in ecosystems are discussed

Diversity of mycorrhizal plant species and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in evergreen forest, deciduous forest and grassland ecosystems of Southern Chile

In the Valdivian rainforest region of the Southern Chilean Andes three main ecosystems are found: Primary evergreen forests, secondary deciduous forests, and grassland areas. The secondary forest and the grasslands are habitually the result of the clearance of the primary forest some 60 years ago. The secondary forest consists mainly of the deciduous tree species Nothofagus alpina; forest management practices such as crown thinning and clearance of the understorey are applied to the secondary forest to improve its economic value. The grasslands are used by extensive cattle grazing. Soils in this region are acid Andosols with high organic matter content, high exchangeable aluminum and low levels of available phosphorus. The main objective of this study was to investigate the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) plant species and of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in these three ecosystems. The highest diversity with 53 plant species was found in the evergreen forest with 77.4% of them AM, while in the grassland 91% of the 22 plant species were AM. The deciduous forest had 11 plant species only and the lowest proportion of AM plant species (55%). Thirty-nine AM fungal species were found in total, of which most are being reported for the first time from Southern Chile. Thirteen fungal species were of the Acaulospora genus, 10 of Glomus, 4 species each of Scutellospora and Archaeospora, 3 species each of Pacispora and Entrophospora, and one species each of Paraglomus and Diversispora. AMF species were more abundant in the grassland (29 spp.) than in the evergreen forest (20 spp.) which is likely related to a higher relative proportion of AM plant species in the grassland. Four AMF species were present in all the ecosystems, and 15 species were apparently quite specific as they were only found in one of the ecosystems. Noteworthy was the lack of Paraglomus and Scutellospora spp. in any of the forest ecosystems, and the relatively higher presence of Entrophospora spores in those ecosystems. It was concluded that the diversity of the AMF species in the ecosystems is strongly influenced by the proportion of AM plant species in each ecosystem and that their diversity is not related to soil chemical properties

Tracer particles for core-collapse supernova nucleosynthesis: The advantages of moving backward

After decades, the theoretical study of core-collapse supernova explosions is moving from parameterized, spherically symmetric models to increasingly realistic multi-dimensional simulations. Obtaining nucleosynthesis yields based on such multi-dimensional core-collapse supernova (CCSN) simulations, however, is not straightforward and frequently tracer particles are employed. Tracer particles may be tracked in situ during the simulation, but often they are reconstructed in a post-processing step based on the information saved during the hydrodynamics simulation. Reconstruction can be done in a number of ways and here we compare the approaches of backward and forward integration of the equations of motion to the results based on inline particle trajectories. We find that both methods agree reasonably well with the inline results for isotopes for which a large number of particles contribute. However, for rarer isotopes that are produced only by a small number of particle trajectories, deviations can be large. For our setup, we find that backward integration leads to a better agreement with the inline particles by more accurately reproducing the conditions following freeze-out from nuclear statistical equilibrium, because the establishment of nuclear statistical equilibrium erases the need for detailed trajectories at earlier times. Based on our results, if inline tracers are unavailable, we recommend backward reconstruction, to the point when nuclear statistical equilibrium last applied, with an interval between simulation snapshots of at most 1 ms for nucleosynthesis post-processing.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, sumitted to Ap

Comparison of the Core-Collapse Evolution of Two Nearly Equal Mass Progenitors

We compare the core-collapse evolution of a pair of 15.8 $M_\odot$ stars with significantly different internal structures, a consequence of bimodal variability exhibited by massive stars during their late evolutionary stages. The 15.78 and 15.79 $M_\odot$ progenitors have core masses of 1.47 and 1.78 $M_\odot$ and compactness parameters $\xi_{1.75}$ of 0.302 and 0.604. The core collapse simulations are carried out in 2D to nearly 3 s post-bounce and show substantial differences in the times of shock revival and explosion energies. The 15.78 $M_\odot$ model explodes promptly at 120 ms post-bounce when a strong density decrement at the Si--Si/O shell interface encounters the stalled shock. The 15.79 $M_\odot$ model, which lacks the density decrement, takes 100 ms longer to explode but ultimately produces a more powerful explosion. Larger mass accretion rate of the 15.79 $M_\odot$ model during the first 0.8 s post-bounce results in larger $\nu_{e}$/$\bar \nu_{e}$ luminosities and rms energies. The $\nu_{e}$/$\bar \nu_{e}$ luminosities and rms energies arising from the inner core are also larger in the 15.79 $M_\odot$ model throughout due to the larger negative temperature gradient of this core due to greater adiabatic compression. Larger luminosities and rms energies in the 15.79 $M_\odot$ model and a flatter and higher density heating region, result in more energy deposition behind the shock and more ejected matter with higher enthalpy. We find the ejected $^{56}$Ni mass of the 15.79 $M_\odot$ model is more than double that of the 15.78 $M_\odot$ model. Most of the ejecta in both models is moderately proton-rich, though counterintuitively the highest electron fraction ($Y_e=0.61$) ejecta in either model is in the less energetic 15.78 $M_\odot$ model while the lowest electron fraction ($Y_e=0.45$) ejecta in either model is in the 15.79 $M_\odot$ model.Comment: 24 pages; Submitted to Ap

The role of community and population ecology in applying mycorrhizal fungi for improved food security.

The global human population is expected to reach ∼9 billion by 2050. Feeding this many people represents a major challenge requiring global crop yield increases of up to 100%. Microbial symbionts of plants such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) represent a huge, but unrealized resource for improving yields of globally important crops, especially in the tropics. We argue that the application of AMF in agriculture is too simplistic and ignores basic ecological principals. To achieve this challenge, a community and population ecology approach can contribute greatly. First, ecologists could significantly improve our understanding of the determinants of the survival of introduced AMF, the role of adaptability and intraspecific diversity of AMF and whether inoculation has a direct or indirect effect on plant production. Second, we call for extensive metagenomics as well as population genomics studies that are crucial to assess the environmental impact that introduction of non-local AMF may have on native AMF communities and populations. Finally, we plead for an ecologically sound use of AMF in efforts to increase food security at a global scale in a sustainable manner

Mass Measurements of Neutron-Rich Gallium Isotopes Refine Production of Nuclei of the First r-Process Abundance Peak in Neutron Star Merger Calculations

We report mass measurements of neutron-rich Ga isotopes $^{80-85}$Ga with TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN). The measurements determine the masses of $^{80-83}$Ga in good agreement with previous measurements. The masses of $^{84}$Ga and $^{85}$Ga were measured for the first time. Uncertainties between $25-48$ keV were reached. The new mass values reduce the nuclear uncertainties associated with the production of A $\approx$ 84 isotopes by the \emph{r}-process for astrophysical conditions that might be consistent with a binary neutron star (BNS) merger producing a blue kilonova. Our nucleosynthesis simulations confirm that BNS merger may contribute to the first abundance peak under moderate neutron-rich conditions with electron fractions $Y_e=0.35-0.38$

Am I the right candidate? Self-ascribed fit of women and men to a leadership position

Women are assumed to show a self-ascribed lack-of-fit to leadership positions compared to men (Heilman, 1983). The present study examined whether this gender difference would diminish when agency is accounted for and whether a stimulus person’s gender would alter women’s self-ascribed fit. German management students (91 women, 95 men) received a fictitious recruitment advertisement for a leadership position that portrayed a man, a woman, or both a man and a woman. Participants indicated their perceptions of agency and suitability to the advertised position. As predicted, women judged themselves as less suitable for the leadership position than men and participants’ self-reported agency mediated this effect. Furthermore, all participants felt most suitable if a male and a female stimulus person were portrayed

Agronomic Management of Indigenous Mycorrhizas

Many of the advantages conferred to plants by arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) are associated to the ability of AM plants to explore a greater volume of soil through the extraradical mycelium. Sieverding (1991) estimates that for each centimetre of colonized root there is an increase of 15 cm3 on the volume of soil explored, this value can increase to 200 cm3 depending on the circumstances. Due to the enhancement of the volume of soil explored and the ability of the extraradical mycelium to absorb and translocate nutrients to the plant, one of the most obvious and important advantages resulting from mycorrhization is the uptake of nutrients. Among of which the ones that have immobilized forms in soil, such as P, assume particular significance. Besides this, many other benefits are recognized for AM plants (Gupta et al, 2000): water stress alleviation (Augé, 2004; Cho et al, 2006), protection from root pathogens (Graham, 2001), tolerance to toxic heavy metals and phytoremediation (Audet and Charest, 2006; Göhre and Paszkowski, 2006), tolerance to adverse conditions such as very high or low temperature, high salinity (Sannazzaro et al, 2006), high or low pH (Yano and Takaki, 2005) or better performance during transplantation shock (Subhan et al, 1998). The extraradical hyphae also stabilize soil aggregates by both enmeshing soil particles (Miller e Jastrow, 1992) and producing a glycoprotein, golmalin, which may act as a glue-like substance to adhere soil particles together (Wright and Upadhyaya, 1998). Despite the ubiquous distribution of mycorrhizal fungi (Smith and Read, 2000) and only a relative specificity between host plants and fungal isolates (McGonigle and Fitter, 1990), the obligate nature of the symbiosis implies the establishment of a plant propagation system, either under greenhouse conditions or in vitro laboratory propagation. These techniques result in high inoculum production costs, which still remains a serious problem since they are not competitive with production costs of phosphorus fertilizer. Even if farmers understand the significance of sustainable agricultural systems, the reduction of phosphorus inputs by using AM fungal inocula alone cannot be justified except, perhaps, in the case of high value crops (Saioto and Marumoto, 2002). Nurseries, high income horticulture farmers and no-agricultural application such as rehabilitation of degraded or devegetated landscapes are examples of areas where the use of commercial inoculum is current. Another serious problem is quality of commercial available products concerning guarantee of phatogene free content, storage conditions, most effective application methods and what types to use. Besides the information provided by suppliers about its inoculum can be deceiving, as from the usually referred total counts, only a fraction may be effective for a particular plant or in specific soil conditions. Gianinazzi and Vosátka (2004) assume that progress should be made towards registration procedures that stimulate the development of the mycorrhizal industry. Some on-farm inoculum production and application methods have been studied, allowing farmers to produce locally adapted isolates and generate a taxonomically diverse inoculum (Mohandas et al, 2004; Douds et al, 2005). However the inocula produced this way are not readily processed for mechanical application to the fields, being an obstacle to the utilization in large scale agriculture, especially row crops, moreover it would represent an additional mechanical operation with the corresponding economic and soil compaction costs. It is well recognized that inoculation of AM fungi has a potential significance in not only sustainable crop production, but also environmental conservation. However, the status quo of inoculation is far from practical technology that can be widely used in the field. Together a further basic understanding of the biology and diversity of AM fungi is needed (Abbott at al, 1995; Saito and Marumoto, 2002). Advances in ecology during the past decade have led to a much more detailed understanding of the potential negative consequences of species introductions and the potential for negative ecological consequences of invasions by mycorrhizal fungi is poorly understood. Schwartz et al, (2006) recommend that a careful assessment documenting the need for inoculation, and the likelihood of success, should be conducted prior to inoculation because inoculations are not universally beneficial. Agricultural practices such as crop rotation, tillage, weed control and fertilizer apllication all produce changes in the chemical, physical and biological soil variables and affect the ecological niches available for occupancy by the soil biota, influencing in different ways the symbiosis performance and consequently the inoculum development, shaping changes and upset balance of native populations. The molecular biology tools developed in the latest years have been very important for our perception of these changes, ensuing awareness of management choice implications in AM development. In this context, for extensive farming systems and regarding environmental and economic costs, the identification of agronomic management practices that allow controlled manipulation of the fungal community and capitalization of AM mutualistic effect making use of local inoculum, seem to be a wise option for mycorrhiza promotion and development of sustainable crop production