and analyzed more than 1000 genes--approximately 20 percent of the entire yeast genome--from each of 23 yeast species. He quickly realized that the histories of the 1000-plus genes were all slightly different from each other as well as different from the genealogy constructed from a simultaneous analysis of all the
and analyzed more than 1000 genes--approximately 20 percent of the entire yeast genome--from each of 23 yeast species. He quickly realized that the histories of the 1000-plus genes were all slightly different from each other as well as different from the genealogy constructed from a simultaneous analysis of all the
which became functionally extinct after the introduction of an exotic fungus in the early 20th century.
The scientists also discovered transporters in plants and symbiotic soil fungi that allow crops to acquire phosphate--an element essential for plant growth
In both cases plants are surrounded by numerous organisms such as weeds pollinating insects fungi blights and diseases and their natural enemies all engaged in the struggle for existence.
In China there are even examples of a 90%reduction in diseases caused by fungi leading to increased overall production.'
At the same time the pathogens in wastewater such as viruses fungi and bacteria could destroy the algae themselves
The study published in the current edition of the journal Science examines how Ug99--new virulent forms of stem rust first found in Uganda in 1999--could continue its movement across Africa the Middle east and Southwest asia.
Several projects to develop resistance to Ug99 are under way including an international consortium known as the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative a $26 million five-year effort funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Spending on stem rust research has been inadequate for some time and increased research investment must be sustained over the long haul
and death of roots and their associated fungi he said. The study involved a reexamination of 46 research papers published between 1957 and 2010 as well as an analysis of 409 soil profiles from the National Soil Carbon Network database.
#Scientists map genome of fungus that causes Dutch elm diseaseresearchers from the University of Toronto and Sickkids Research Institute announced today that they have mapped successfully the genes in the fungus that causes Dutch elm disease.
The researchers believe this is the first time the 30 million DNA letters for the fungus Ophiostoma ulmi have been mapped.
The findings published in this week's online journal BMC Genomics could help scientists figure out how to prevent the fungus from destroying elm trees in the future.
Essentially Dutch elm disease is caused by a fungus that prevents the normal distribution of nutrients in the tree by blocking the flow of sap said Alan Moses an Assistant professor with the University of Toronto's department of Cell & Systems Biology one of the authors of the study.
The tree wilts and eventually dies. Relatively little is known about the fungus that causes Dutch elm disease
and it's a very distant relative of the fungi that are studied more often by researchers like bread mould or beer yeast.
We hope that the availability of the genome will encourage and speedup research on this fungus--it's only a matter of time before most the elm trees are gone.
Dutch elm disease is believed to have originated in The himalayas travelling to Europe from the Dutch east indies in the late 1800s.
More accurate, sensitive DNA test allows early identification of fungus causing white nose syndromeeven after researchers studying White Nose Syndrome (WNS) established that a fungus called Geomyces destructans is at the heart
Additionally this opens the door to examine the use of gene silencing as a control mechanism for this devastating fungus.
and guides us to controlling this fungus is needed critically. Daniel Lindner a research plant pathologist with the Forest Service's Northern Research Station led research that identified 35 species of Geomyces more than doubling the number of known species. Lindner
Developing a specific test for this fungus was difficult because we found that every sample from bats
and caves contained a huge diversity of unidentified unnamed fungi and these were interfering with detection.
Conclusively identifying the fungus either on a bat or in soil has been difficult and time consuming
Previous tests also lacked sensitivity making it possible to miss the fungus in some samples.
and can detect a single spore of the fungus. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by USDA Forest Service-Northern Research Station.
#Fungi may be able to replace plastics one dayfungi with the exception of shitake and certain other mushrooms tend to be something we associate with moldy bread or dank-smelling mildew.
But they really deserve more respect. Fungi have fantastic capabilities and can be grown under certain circumstances in almost any shape
and be totally biodegradable. And if this weren't enough they might have the potential to replace plastics one day.
Union College Biology Professor Steve Horton likens this mostly underground portion of fungi (the mushrooms that pop up are the reproductive structures) to a tiny biological chain of tubular cells.
and the fungus is able to grow as a result. When you think of fungi and their mycelia their function--ecologically--is really vital in degrading and breaking things down Horton added.
Without fungi and bacteria we'd be I don't know how many meters deep in waste both plant matter and animal tissue.
Looking something like extremely delicate white dental floss mycelia grow in through and around just about any organic substrate.
Ecovative uses several species of fungi to manufacture environmentally-friendly products. The process starts with farming byproducts like cotton gin waste;
Better yet the fungi can be propagated without sunlight or much human oversight in simple trays at room temperature--no immense greenhouses with costly temperature-control systems needed.
In Horton's lab he and his students are tinkering with a species of fungus Ecovative uses in its manufacturing.
if we can make versions of the fungus to suit certain applications the company has in mind Horton said.
and fungi potential threats to their crops these microbes can help wild plants adapt to extreme conditions according to a Penn State virologist.
and in the hot geothermal ground in Yellowstone national park viruses and fungi work together with plants to confer temperature hardiness said Roossinck.
Researchers found that fungi and a type of grass--tropical panic grass--found in Yellowstone national park grow together in temperatures above 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
If the plant and fungus are separated however both die in the same heat levels. Because viruses are often present in plant fungi Roossinck wondered
if viruses played a role in the reaction. I noticed that all of the samples from the geothermal soils had a virus
The researchers found that there was no heat tolerance without the virus. Once the researchers cured the fungus of the virus the plant was unable to withstand the heat.
If you cure the fungus of the virus you no longer have the thermal tolerance. While researchers do not entirely understand the role of viruses in helping plants withstand extreme conditions Roossinck said that future research may help the agricultural industry naturally develop hardier plants rather than rely on chemical solutions that threaten the environment.
viruses fungi and bacteria whereas in crops farmers try to eliminate the microbes. Perhaps there is a connection.
#Modern growing methods may be culprit of coffee rust fungal outbreaka shift away from traditional coffee-growing techniques may be increasing the severity of an outbreak of'coffee rust'fungus that has swept through plantations in Central america
Vandermeer and colleague Ivette Perfecto of the U-M School of Natural resources and Environment study the complex web of interactions between resident organisms there including various insects fungi birds and bats.
One element of that web is the white halo fungus which attacks insects and also helps keep coffee rust fungus in check.
Both the widespread use of pesticides and fungicides and the low level of biodiversity found at sun-coffee plantations have contributed likely to the decline of white halo fungus in recent years Vandermeer said.
Without white halo fungus to restrain it coffee rust also known as roya has been able to ravage coffee plantations from Colombia to Mexico he said.
What we feel has been happening is that gradually the integrity of this once-complicated ecosystem has been slowly breaking down
The rust mainly infects coffee leaves but also young fruit and buds. Coffee rust spores are spread by the wind and the rain from lesions on the underside of leaves.
A team of researchers at the University of California Riverside focused on Phytophthora the pathogen that triggered The irish Famine of the 19th century
The Genus phytophthora contains many notorious pathogens of crops. Phytophthora pathogens cause worldwide losses of more than $6 billion each year on potato (Phytophthora infestans) and about $2 billion each year on soybean (Phytophthora sojae.
The researchers led by Wenbo Ma an associate professor of plant pathology and microbiology focused their attention on a class of essential virulence proteins produced by a broad range of pathogens including Phytophthora called effectors.
The effectors are delivered to and function only in the cells of the host plants the pathogens attack.
The researchers found that Phytophthora effectors blocked the RNA silencing pathways in their host plants (such as potato tomato
Phytophthora has evolved a way to break the immunity of its host plants Ma explained. Its effectors are the first example of proteins produced by eukaryotic pathogens--nucleated single
and Phytophthora--to cause disease and shows too that RNA silencing is an important battleground during infection by pathogens across kingdoms.
Phytophthora effectors have a motif or signature--a specific protein code--that allows the proteins to be delivered into host cells Ma said.
and specifically to combat the impact of the Sclerotinia sclerotiorum pathogen which affects roots. In the experiment the effectiveness of other organic fertilizers like the bokashi type compost of Japanese origin will also be tested.
and slack flows and a holistic look at the plants fish fungi birds and other life inhabiting the river its banks and its marshes.
Discovery on how fungi avoid immune responses of plants leads to new generation of fungicidesplants that come under attack from pathogens have an automatic immune response.
Fungi get around this plant immunity by injecting proteins into the host plant cells. These'effector proteins'enable the fungi to escape the plant's immune system
and allow the fungal cells to enter the plant unrecognised. Exeter scientists have shown now that signalling organelles known as'early endosomes'act as long distance messengers in the fungi.
They travel rapidly along long tubelike cells between the plant-invading fungal cell tip and the fungal cell nucleus.
This rapid communication between the point of invasion and the fungal cell nucleus enables the fungus to produce the effector proteins that help evade the plant's immune response from the moment the fungus enters the host tissue.
when the fungi are most accessible to fungicide treatment. Disabling the process could result in a new generation of fungicides that are able to act before the fungus has damaged the plant.
Professor Gero Steinberg from the University of Exeter said: Pathogenic fungi are a major threat to our food security--they can devastate crops and cost billions of pounds worth of damage.
In fact losses of wheat rice and maize to fungal pathogens per year are the same as the annual spend by US Department of Homeland Security--some 60 billion US dollars.
As fast growing microbes fungi adapt rapidly to antifungal treatments and so we need to develop new fungicides all the time.
#An innovative way to increase flower, seed and fruit productiona scientist from UPM has developed a method to enhance crop yield by the contact of roots aerial parts or even the substratum of the plant fungus'Colletotrichum tofieldiae'.
Within the agriculture sector the Colletotrichum fungi are well known because they have a large amount of crop pathogen.
Researchers have found that by applying a composition that contains Colletotrichum tofieldiae a non-pathogenic fungus for the Arabidopsis thaliana model plant this plant can produce bigger seeds without substantially affecting its vegetative growth.
therefore a model organism to investigate how symbiosis evolved between plants and fungi. Truffles are also useful to study fungal smell and flavour.
Yeasts and bacteria which make cheese and wine have been researched in depth but little is known about how the flavour of other organisms including truffles is created.
When the genome of the black Perigord truffle was mapped in 2010 we thought that the fungus had sufficient genes to create its flavour on its own junior professor Richard Splivallo from the Institute for Molecular Life sciences at the Goethe University explained.
We are interested also in how the symbiosis between fungi and microorganisms has evolved and how this benefits both symbiotic partners.
Brown rot is caused by a fungus which significantly impacts the $150 million Australian cherry industry through costs of applying fungicide yield loss
The biological control agent contains spores of a parasitic fungus that prevents another fungus that causes the brown rot from colonising the flower.
but also for biofuels production since the same sugars can be fed to yeast to generate ethanol and other liquid fuels.
Rapidly identifying undescribed species in a commercial fungi packetfor lovers of wild foods autumn harks a season of bounty.
Fungi of dizzying variety erupt from wood and soil luring intrepid collectors to woodlands in search of elusive but delectable wild mushrooms.
The Fungi Kingdom is enormously diverse yet vastly underdocumented --although some estimates range up to 10 million species only about 100000 species have been described.
Mushrooms are one the most conspicuous and well known groups of Fungi and make up around 16000 named species
With estimated rates of Fungi extinction exceeding current rates of description the enormity and urgency of the task of accurate identification cannot be overstated.
Some of the most sought-after of wild mushrooms are the sweet and nutty Boletus edulis and allies often referred to by the Italian common name porcini.
To expedite the formal naming process required by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae fungi
The researchers named them with Chinese epithets referring to local common names for porcini (Boletus meiweiniuganjun Boletus bainiugan) and the Chinese word for'edible'(Boletus shiyong.
and naming of new Fungi species in this way others in the community will be inspired to continue the important work of identifying new Fungi species before they disappear.
and become more tolerant of stress including attack by common diseases like mildew and spot blotch.
The fungus is considered the world's most economically damaging wheat pathogen costing U s. farmers alone some $500 million in lost productivity in 2012.
and tested a fungus capable of feeding from the nematode therefore a biological pest control was achieved the use of chemicals ceased and agriculture on the region improved.
From the laboratory phase spent we went to the countryside where fungi were were tested until we found one that worked and
and a 15 liter bioreactor was acquired to reproduce the fungus that was used in the experiments.
Both of them--but especially Folsomia candida--might have difficulties to produce enough offspring to keep a population stable in dry soil says Cornelia Bandow an ecologist at ECT Ecotoxicology Gmbh who conducts research for the German Biodiversity
and ready availability In addition they are also a valuable target for researchers largely because of their high enzyme content fungi are ideal sources for potential studies of tyrosinase.
Streptomycin in addition to being used a drug to fight disease is used also as a pesticide in fruit to combat the growth of bacteria fungi and algae.
which led to a Mexican scientist to design a technology capable of degrading the product materials by the mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus. The project led by Rosa Marã a Espinosa Valdemar researcher at the Autonomous Metropolitan University Azcapotzalco (UAM-A is
(which the fungus also needs) from pasture grape pomace coffee or pineapple crown. This preparation where the mushrooms are to be developed is called substrate.
On the other hand we have to play the fungus and get what we call commercial seed which is the growth of the fungus spores on some wheat or sorghum.
The product obtained is spread on the substrate (contained in plastic bag) and held two to three weeks in the dark with controlled humidity and temperature then exposing them to a light phase he describes.
Moreover after the fungi grow remnants of the gel material that retain liquid can be recovered
and minerals are the same as that of commercial yeast. It shouldnâ##t have to be different mainly
#Synthesis produces new fungus-derived antibiotica fortuitous collaboration at Rice university has led to the total synthesis of a recently discovered natural antibiotic.
The laboratory recreation of a fungus-derived antibiotic viridicatumtoxin B may someday help bolster the fight against bacteria that evolve resistance to treatments in hospitals and clinics around the world.
The work reported this month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) focused on a tetracycline discovered in 2008 by scientists who isolated small amounts from penicillium fungi.
Crop pests include fungi bacteria viruses insects nematodes viroids and oomycetes. The research published in the journal Global Ecology
Blumeria graminis a fungus that causes powdery mildew on wheat and other cereals; and the Citrus tristeza virus (given its name meaning'sadness'in Portuguese and Spanish by farmers in the 1930s)
Fungi lead the worldwide invasion of crops and are the most widely dispersed group despite having the narrowest range of hosts.
Ancient conversation between plants, fungi and bacteriathe mechanical force that a single fungal cell or bacterial colony exerts on a plant cell may seem vanishingly small
In fact it may not be too much of a stretch to say that plants may have moved never onto land without the ability to respond to the touch of beneficial fungi according to a new study led by Jean-Michel Anã a professor of agronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
It's known that disease-causing fungi build a structure to break through the plant cell wall
but there is growing evidence that fungi and also bacteria in symbiotic associations use a mechanical stimulation to indicate their presence says Anã.
After the fungus announces its arrival the plant builds a tube in which the fungus can grow.
There is clearly a mutual exchange of signals between the plant and the fungus says Anã.
It's only when the path is completed that the fungus starts to penetrate. Mycorrhizae are the beneficial fungi that help virtually all land plants absorb the essential nutrients--phosphorus and nitrogen--from the soil.
Biologists believe this ubiquitous mechanism began about 450 million years ago when plants first moved onto land.
Mechanical signaling is only part of the story--microbes and plants also communicate with chemicals says Anã.
Beyond fungi some plants engage in symbiosis with bacteria called rhizobia that fix nitrogen from the atmosphere making it available to the plant.
and beneficial fungi Anã says. Indeed he says legumes have hijacked the mycorrhizae system. Plants used the symbiosis toolkit to develop this relationship with mycorrhizae
and fungi--a far cry indeed from their past much undeserved'weed'status. This paper is also a brilliant showcase of how useful is the brand new Phytokeys publishing platform for the advancement of taxonomy.
#Fungus deadly to AIDS patients found to grow on treesresearchers have pinpointed the environmental source of fungal infections that have been sickening HIV/AIDS patients in Southern California for decades.
and tree samples from areas around Los angeles hardest hit by infections of the fungus named Cryptococcus gattii (CRIP-to-cock-us GAT-ee-eye).
They decided it would be fun to send her out in search of fungi living in the greater Los angeles area.
and isolated the Cryptococcus fungus and then sent those specimens to Springer at Duke. Springer DNA-sequenced the samples from California
if other organisms such a bacteria and fungi also exchange information in a similar fashion.
and applied precisely in the part of the beer fermentation prepared with two hops yeast and wheat malt he adds.
which we believe was driven by reduced moisture at the forest edge impairing the activity of saprotrophic fungi--those that live
Wood decay and the recycling of other biological matter like leaf litter is driven by fungi
Saprotrophic fungi control the cycling of carbon and nutrients from wood in forests and their responses to changes in microclimate driven by fragmentation
#New hope for powdery mildew resistant barleynew research at the University of Adelaide has opened the way for the development of new lines of barley with resistance to powdery mildew.
Powdery mildew is one of the most important diseases of barley. Senior Research Scientist Dr Alan Little and team have discovered the composition of special growths on the cell walls of barley plants that block the penetration of the fungus into the leaf.
The research by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell walls in the University's School of Agriculture Food and Wine in collaboration with the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Germany will be presented at the upcoming
Powdery mildew is a significant problem wherever barley is grown around the world says Dr Little. Growers with infected crops can expect up to 25%reductions in yield
In recent times we've seen resistance in powdery mildew to the class of fungicide most commonly used to control the disease in Australia.
The discovery means researchers have new targets for breeding powdery mildew resistant barley lines. Powdery mildew feeds on the living plant says Dr Little.
The fungus spore lands on the leaf and sends out a tubelike structure which punches its way through cell walls penetrating the cells and taking the nutrients from the plant.
The plant tries to stop this penetration by building a plug of cell wall material--a papillae--around the infection site.
Effective papillae can block the penetration by the fungus. It has long been thought that callose is the main polysaccharide component of papilla.
#Moose drool inhibits growth of toxic fungussome sticky research out of York University shows a surprisingly effective way to fight against a certain species of toxic grass fungus:
(which hosts a fungus called epichloã festucae that produces the toxin ergovaline) results in slower fungus growth and less toxicity.
and in the case of certain types of grass by harbouring toxic fungus deep within them that can be dangerous
which they then smeared onto clipped samples of red fescue grass carrying the toxic fungus simulating the effect of grazing.
They found that the application of saliva produced rapid results inhibiting fungus growth within 12-36 hours.
We found that the saliva worked very quickly in slowing the growth of the fungus
and the fungus colonies says Bazely. In addition by applying multiple applications of saliva to the grass over the course of two months we found we could lower the concentration of ergovaline between 41 and 70 per cent.
'and slow down the growth of the fungus. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by York University.
and Genomics (CBGP) of Universidad Politã cnica de Madrid (UPM) conducted infection assays of commercial kiwis with Alternaria alternata spores which is a pathogenic fungus involved in chronic asthma
and they found that the infected kiwis had the major allergen of the fungus although symptoms of rot were seen not.
This could trigger the involuntary ingestion of the fungus found in this fruit causing an asthmatic crisis in people allergic to Alternaria.
Alternaria alternata is a fungus that proliferates in fruit and vegetables crops and also when are collected
A protein known as Alt a 1 and related to the virulence is found in the spores this protein is described as the major allergen of this fungus.
When a pathogen infects a plant the defense response is activated producing an increase of certain proteins related to the defense (known as protein 5). Likewise the fungus increases the production of the proteins involved in attacks or virulence.
All this can cause the involuntary ingestion of the fungus when eating the fruit. Researchers conducted tests by infecting commercial kiwifruit with spores of Alternaria alternata
Fourteen days after the infection the kiwifruits showed a regular aspect without apparent development of the fungus
but through tests conducted in lab (microscopy of specific staining fungus and Kiwi proteins) they detected the presence of Alt a 1 in the pulp.
Researchers did observed not development of the fungus in kiwifruit but they indeed detected the presence of its major allergen through specific staining.
Worrying link to fungal drug resistance in UK, warns scientistscrop spraying on British farms could be aiding a life-threatening fungus suffered by tens of thousand of people in the UK each year.
New research by British and Dutch scientists has found that Aspergillus--a common fungus that attacks the lungs
Although the link has been made before in The netherlands it's the first time its been made in the UK between drug resistance in Aspergillus
He believes merging antifungal resistance in human pathogenic fungi is causing a huge threat to patients especially to those with weaken immune systems
However the clear association with triazole fungicide usage is very worrisome as some unlucky people at risk will breathe in untreatable Aspergillus with potentially dire consequences.
Diseases caused by Aspergillus affect millions of people worldwide causing high morbidity and mortality. The only oral antifungal agents (triazoles) for human use are similar in structure to certain fungicides.
and some fungi are multi-resistant. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Manchester University.
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