Community profiling and gene expression of fungal assimilatory nitrate reductases in agricultural soil

Although fungi contribute significantly to the microbial biomass in terrestrial ecosystems, little is known about their contribution to biogeochemical nitrogen cycles. Agricultural soils usually contain comparably high amounts of inorganic nitrogen, mainly in the form of nitrate. Many studies focused on bacterial and archaeal turnover of nitrate by nitrification, denitrification and assimilation, whereas the fungal role remained largely neglected. To enable research on the fungal contribution to the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle tools for monitoring the presence and expression of fungal assimilatory nitrate reductase genes were developed. To the ∼100 currently available fungal full-length gene sequences, another 109 partial sequences were added by amplification from individual culture isolates, representing all major orders occurring in agricultural soils. The extended database led to the discovery of new horizontal gene transfer events within the fungal kingdom. The newly developed PCR primers were used to study gene pools and gene expression of fungal nitrate reductases in agricultural soils. The availability of the extended database allowed affiliation of many sequences to known species, genera or families. Energy supply by a carbon source seems to be the major regulator of nitrate reductase gene expression for fungi in agricultural soils, which is in good agreement with the high energy demand of complete reduction of nitrate to ammonium

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Brazilian cave heritage under siege

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Search for electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos in multilepton final states in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the direct electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos in signatures with either two or more leptons (electrons or muons) of the same electric charge, or with three or more leptons, which can include up to two hadronically decaying tau leptons. The results are based on a sample of protonproton collision data collected at p s = 13TeV, recorded with the CMS detector at the LHC, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb1. The observed event yields are consistent with the expectations based on the standard model. The results are interpreted in simpli ed models of supersymmetry describing various scenarios for the production and decay of charginos and neutralinos. Depending on the model parameters chosen, mass values between 180GeV and 1150 GeV are excluded at 95% CL. These results signi cantly extend the parameter space probed for these particles in searches at the LHC. In addition, results are presented in a form suitable for alternative theoretical interpretations.Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physic