\u3ci\u3eFicotylus laselvae\u3c/i\u3e n. sp. (Tylenchomorpha: Anguinidae) associated with \u3ci\u3eFicus colubrinae\u3c/i\u3e in Costa Rica

Ficotylus laselvae n. sp. was recovered from under the bracts of figs (syconia) of Ficus colubrinae from La Selva, Costa Rica, during a survey of nematode rainforest biodiversity and is described herein. This is only the second report of an association between the nematode suborder Tylenchina and the sycones of figs. Previous reports of most nematode associates of the sycones of figs have been from the lumen and involved transmission by female fig wasp pollinators (Agaonidae) during pollination/oviposition (e.g., Schistonchus and Parasitodiplogaster spp.). The association between F. laselvae n. sp. and Ficus colubrinae may involve an invertebrate host, but none was recovered from dissections of the bracts during this study. It is also possible that this is a rainforest understory nematode that feeds ectoparasitically in protected areas on the aerial parts of F. colubrinae. Molecular analysis using near-full-length sequences of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA and D2-D3 expansion segments of the large subunit (LSU) rRNA genes of Ficotylus laselvae n. sp. suggests that it is a member of the suborder Tylenchina (infraorder: Tylenchomorpha; family: Anguinidae) and that the closest sequenced species is F. congestae from the lumen of sycones of Ficus congesta from Queensland, Australia. Although both nematode species are associated with figs, they are morphologically divergent, suggesting that the different micro-niches that they fill provide different selective pressures for evolution of differing morphological characters or they represent different life history morphotypes of a dicyclic genus

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Molecular Characterisation and Diagnosis of Root-Knot Nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) from Turfgrasses in North Carolina, USA.

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are the most common and destructive plant-parasitic nematode group worldwide and adversely influence both crop quality and yield. In this study, a total of 51 root-knot nematode populations from turfgrasses were tested, of which 44 were from North Carolina, 6 from South Carolina and 1 from Virginia. Molecular characterisation was performed on these samples by DNA sequencing on the ribosomal DNA 18S, ITS and 28S D2/D3. Species-specific primers were developed to identify turfgrass root-knot nematode through simplex or duplex PCR. Four species were identified, including M. marylandi Jepson & Golden in Jepson, 1987, M. graminis (Sledge & Golden, 1964) Whitehead, 1968, M. incognita (Kofoid & White, 1919) Chitwood, 1949 and M. naasi Franklin, 1965 through a combined analysis of DNA sequencing and PCR by species-specific primers. M. marylandi has been reported from North Carolina and South Carolina for the first time. Molecular diagnosis using PCR by species-specific primers provides a rapid and cheap species identification approach for turfgrass root-knot nematodes

The 10001st Bayesian tree inferred from 18S under GTR+I+G model (-lnL = 7750.8096; AIC = 15521.6191; freqA = 0.2618; freqC = 0.2096; freqG = 0.2649; freqT = 0.2638; R(a) = 1.6485; R(b) = 3.5003; R(c) = 2.7135; R(d) = 0.5616; R(e) = 5.9174; R(f) = 1; Pinvar = 0.5043; Shape = 0.5848).

<p>Posterior probability values exceeding 50% are given on appropriate clades.</p

Primers used for polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing.

<p>Primers used for polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing.</p

Nematode simplex and/or duplex PCR results.

<p>Nematode simplex and/or duplex PCR results.</p

The 10001st Bayesian tree inferred from 28S D2/D3 under TVM+I+G model (-lnL = 4970.2949; AIC = 9958.5898; freqA = 0.2484; freqC = 0.1933; freqG = 0.2727; freqT = 0.2855; R(a) = 0.5776; R(b) = 2.9297; R(c) = 1.8072; R(d) = 0.228; R(e) = 2.9297; R(f) = 1; Pinvar = 0.2661; Shape = 0.6378)

<p>. Posterior probability values exceeding 50% are given on appropriate clades.</p

Prime map for PCR amplification and DNA sequencing on ribosomal DNA of <i>Meloidogyne</i> species.

<p>Primers on the top are the forward primers and primers on the bottom are the reverse primers.</p