bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Insights into the identity and infectivity of the fungi causing Cercospora leaf spots on two ornamental aroids in Brazil
Authors: Pereira Caio Mattos , Furtado Eduardo Côrtes de Araujo , Barreto Robert Weingart 
Published: June 2024

AbstractTwo members of the Araceae broadly cultivated as ornamentals, namely Epipremnum aureum (common name golden pothos or, in Brazil, jiboia) and Zantedeschia aethiopica (common name arum lily or, in Brazil, copo‐de‐leite), were observed bearing Cercospora leaf spots. The former is a very common garden plant, whereas the latter is an important crop for the flower industry. An examination of the fungus associated with the disease on each plant revealed a very similar morphology which suggested that those might be conspecific. A polyphasic taxonomic study, including phylogenetic analyses based on act, cal and his3 sequences, was conducted. Both isolates from the two aroids were found to belong to the Cercospora apii complex, but were genetically distinct. Cercospora sp. Q was identified as the etiological agent of the leaf spots on E. aureum, whereas the fungus on Z. aethiopica was found to belong to Cercospora sp. G. Inoculations confirmed the pathogenicity of both isolates to their original hosts, and cross‐pathogenicity assessments revealed that both isolates were capable of infecting both E. aureum and Z. aethiopica. The limited morphological and pathological distinction between the fungi on these two hosts reflects the continued difficulty in the taxonomic treatment and species delimitation for Cercospora sp. G, Cercospora sp. Q, as well as other provisional code‐based Cercospora spp., and other components of the broad C. apii s. lat. complex. The name Cercospora richardiicola (as C. richardiaecola) was mistakenly used for the fungus on Z. aethiopica in earlier publications and this has been corrected herein.
The genomics of mimicry: Gene expression throughout development provides insights into convergent and divergent phenotypes in a Müllerian mimicry system
Authors: Stuckert Adam M. M. , Chouteau Mathieu , McClure Melanie , LaPolice Troy M. , Linderoth Tyler , Nielsen Rasmus , Summers Kyle , MacManes Matthew D. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractA common goal in evolutionary biology is to discern the mechanisms that produce the astounding diversity of morphologies seen across the tree of life. Aposematic species, those with a conspicuous phenotype coupled with some form of defence, are excellent models to understand the link between vivid colour pattern variations, the natural selection shaping it, and the underlying genetic mechanisms underpinning this variation. Mimicry systems in which species share a conspicuous phenotype can provide an even better model for understanding the mechanisms of colour production in aposematic species, especially if comimics have divergent evolutionary histories. Here we investigate the genetic mechanisms by which mimicry is produced in poison frogs. We assembled a 6.02‐Gbp genome with a contig N50 of 310 Kbp, a scaffold N50 of 390 Kbp and 85% of expected tetrapod genes. We leveraged this genome to conduct gene expression analyses throughout development of four colour morphs of Ranitomeya imitator and two colour morphs from both R. fantastica and R. variabilis which R. imitator mimics. We identified a large number of pigmentation and patterning genes differentially expressed throughout development, many of them related to melanophores/melanin, iridophore development and guanine synthesis. We also identify the pteridine synthesis pathway (including genes such as qdpr and xdh) as a key driver of the variation in colour between morphs of these species, and identify several plausible candidates for colouration in vertebrates (e.g. cd36, ep‐cadherin and perlwapin). Finally, we hypothesise that keratin genes (e.g. krt8) are important for producing different structural colours within these frogs.
Too hot to handle: temperature‐induced plasticity influences pollinator behaviour and plant fitness
Authors: Traine Juan , Rusman Quint , Schiestl Florian P. 
Published: June 2024

Summary

Increased temperature can induce plastic changes in many plant traits. However, little is known about how these changes affect plant interactions with insect pollinators and herbivores, and what the consequences for plant fitness and selection are.

We grew fast‐cycling Brassica rapa plants at two temperatures (ambient and increased temperature) and phenotyped them (floral traits, scent, colour and glucosinolates). We then exposed plants to both pollinators (Bombus terrestris) and pollinating herbivores (Pieris rapae). We measured flower visitation, oviposition of P. rapae, herbivore development and seed output.

Plants in the hot environment produced more but smaller flowers, with lower UV reflectance and emitted a different volatile blend with overall lower volatile emission. Moreover, these plants received fewer first‐choice visits by bumblebees and butterflies, and fewer flower visits by butterflies. Seed production was lower in hot environment plants, both because of a reduction in flower fertility due to temperature and because of the reduced visitation of pollinators. The selection on plant traits changed in strength and direction between temperatures.

Our study highlights an important mechanism by which global warming can change plant–pollinator interactions and negatively impact plant fitness, as well as potentially alter plant evolution through changes in phenotypic selection.
Sequential breakdown of the Cf‐9 leaf mould resistance locus in tomato by Fulvia fulva
Authors: de la Rosa Silvia , Schol Christiaan R. , Ramos Peregrina Ángeles , Winter David J. , Hilgers Anne M. , Maeda Kazuya , Iida Yuichiro , Tarallo Mariana , Jia Ruifang , Beenen Henriek G. , Rocafort Mercedes , de Wit Pierre J. G. M. , Bowen Joanna K. , Bradshaw Rosie E. , Joosten Matthieu H. A. J. , Bai Yuling , Mesarich Carl H. 
Published: June 2024

Summary

Leaf mould, caused by Fulvia fulva, is a devastating disease of tomato plants. In many commercial tomato cultivars, resistance to this disease is governed by the Cf‐9 locus, which encodes five paralogous receptor‐like proteins. Two of these proteins confer resistance: Cf‐9C recognises the previously identified F. fulva effector Avr9 and provides resistance during all plant growth stages, while Cf‐9B recognises the yet‐unidentified F. fulva effector Avr9B and provides mature plant resistance only. In recent years, F. fulva strains have emerged that can overcome the Cf‐9 locus, with Cf‐9C circumvented through Avr9 deletion. To understand how Cf‐9B is circumvented, we set out to identify Avr9B.

Comparative genomics, transient expression assays and gene complementation experiments were used to identify Avr9B, while gene sequencing was used to assess Avr9B allelic variation across a world‐wide strain collection.

A strict correlation between Avr9 deletion and resistance‐breaking mutations in Avr9B was observed in strains recently collected from Cf‐9 cultivars, whereas Avr9 deletion but no mutations in Avr9B were observed in older strains.

This research showcases how F. fulva has evolved to sequentially break down the Cf‐9 locus and stresses the urgent need for commercial tomato cultivars that carry novel, stacked resistance genes active against this pathogen.
Trans‐complementation of the viral movement protein mediates efficient expression of large target genes via a tobacco mosaic virus vector
Authors: Huang Weikuo , Zhang Yuman , Xiao Na , Zhao Wenhui , Shi Ying , Fang Rongxiang 
Published: June 2024

SummaryThe development of plant virus‐based expression systems has expanded rapidly owing to their potential applications in gene functional and disease resistance research, and industrial production of pharmaceutical proteins. However, the low yield of certain proteins, especially high‐molecular‐mass proteins, restricts the production scale. In this study, we observed that the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)‐mediated expression of a foreign protein was correlated with the amount of the movement protein (MP) and developed a TMV‐derived pAT‐transMP vector system incorporating trans‐complementation expression of MP. The system is capable of efficient expression of exogenous proteins, in particular those with a high molecular mass, and enables simultaneous expression of two target molecules. Furthermore, viral expression of competent CRISPR‐Cas9 protein and construction of CRISPR‐Cas9‐mediated gene‐editing system in a single pAT‐transMP construct was achieved. The results demonstrated a novel role for TMV‐MP in enhancing the accumulation of a foreign protein produced from the viral vector or a binary expression system. Further investigation of the mechanism underlying this role will be beneficial for optimization of plant viral vectors with broad applications.
Comments on Emotion and Virtue by Gopal Sreenivasan
Authors: Driver Julia 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThis essay provides a critical discussion of Gopal Sreenivasan's integral account of virtue in his book Emotion and Virtue. This discussion focuses on his account of the paradigm virtue of compassion, arguing that the view does not have most of the advantages Sreenivasan suggests it has when compared to competing models of virtue.
Photochemistry of N‐aryl and N‐alkyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximines
Authors: Throgmorton John C. , Iverson Alexis J. , McCulla Ryan D. 
Published: June 2024

AbstractN‐phenyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximine has been demonstrated to produce phenyl nitrene and dibenzothiophene S‐oxide upon irradiation with UV‐A light, and dibenzothiophene S‐oxide upon further irradiation releases triplet atomic oxygen. Thus, N‐phenyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximine exhibits a rare dual‐release capability in its photochemistry. In this work, N‐substituted dibenzothiophene sulfoximine derivatives are irradiated with UV‐A light to compare their photochemistry and quantum yield of dibenzothiophene S‐oxide production with that of N‐phenyl dibenzothiophene sulfoximine. Both N‐aryl and N‐alkyl derivatives of dibenzothiophene sulfoximine are examined to observe their effects on the quantum yield of the photolysis reaction. Adding electron withdrawing N‐aryl substituents is shown to increase the quantum yield of dibenzothiophene S‐oxide production, while adding electron donating N‐aryl substituents is shown to decrease the quantum yield. The quantum yield was slightly lowered or not increased by most N‐alkyl substituents. Furthermore, the quantum yield was not augmented by branching and steric hindrance effects associated with the N‐alkyl substituents. These results suggest that electronic modulation of the sulfoximine bonds affects the observed photolysis reaction.
Photobiomodulation of Na,K‐ATPase in native membrane fraction and reconstituted in DPPC:DPPE‐liposome
Authors: Scanavachi Gustavo , Yoneda Juliana S. , Sebinelli Heitor G. , Barbosa Leandro R. S. , Ciancaglini Pietro , Itri Rosangela 
Published: June 2024

AbstractStudies focusing on how photobiomodulation (PBM) can affect the structure and function of proteins are scarce in the literature. Few previous studies have shown that the enzymatic activity of Na,K‐ATPAse (NKA) can be photo‐modulated. However, the variability of sample preparation and light irradiation wavelengths have not allowed for an unequivocal conclusion about the PBM of NKA. Here, we investigate minimal membrane models containing NKA, namely, native membrane fraction and DPPC:DPPE proteoliposome upon laser irradiation at wavelengths 532, 650, and 780 nm. Interestingly, we show that the PBM on the NKA enzymatic activity has a bell‐shaped profile with a stimulation peak (~15% increase) at around 20 J.cm−2 and 6 J.cm−2 for the membrane‐bound and the proteoliposome samples, respectively, and are practically wavelength independent. Further, by normalizing the enzymatic activity by the NKA enzyme concentration, we show that the PBM response is related to the protein amount with small influence due to protein's environment. The stimulation decays over time reaching the basal level around 6 h after the irradiation for the three lasers and both NKA samples. Our results demonstrate the potential of using low‐level laser therapy to modulate NKA activity, which may have therapeutic implications and benefits.
Laparotomy‐assisted endoscopic removal of gastrointestinal foreign bodies: Evaluation of this technique and postoperative recovery in dogs and cats
Authors: Cola Veronica , Ferrari Chiara , Del Magno Sara , Foglia Armando , Zanardi Stefano , Ciammaichella Luca , Capitani Ombretta , Pietra Marco , Pisoni Luciano 
Published: June 2024

AbstractObjectiveTo compare the outcome of the laparotomy‐assisted endoscopic removal (LAER) of gastrointestinal foreign bodies (FBs) with traditional enterotomy, and to determine which factors affected the ability to remove FBs.Study designRetrospective observational study.Sample populationDogs and cats (n = 81) with gastrointestinal FBs.MethodsDogs and cats were divided into Group 1 (LAER, n = 40) and Group 2 (Enterotomy, n = 41). The localization and characteristics of the FBs (sharp or blunt; discrete or linear; single or multiple) were evaluated statistically to identify the factors that affected the ability of LAER to remove, partially or completely, the FBs (χ2 test). The length of the postoperative stay, postoperative analgesia, and resumption of spontaneous feeding were compared between groups (Mann–Whitney U‐test). Short‐term follow up (14 days) was recorded.ResultsLaparotomy‐assisted endoscopic removal allowed complete or partial removal of FBs in 35/40 dogs and cats, regardless of the characteristics or the localization of the FBs. The presence of intestinal wall damage (p = .043) was associated with the conversion to an enterotomy. Group 1 required a shorter postoperative hospital stay (p = .006), less need for analgesia (p < .001), and experienced a faster resumption of spontaneous feeding (p = .012), and similar complication rate to Group 2.ConclusionLaparotomy‐assisted endoscopic removal resulted in a faster postoperative recovery when compared with an enterotomy. The FBs’ characteristics or localization did not affect the efficacy of the technique to remove FBs.Clinical significanceLaparotomy‐assisted endoscopic removal allows the removal of a variety of FBs, avoiding intestinal incision and resulting in a fast postoperative recovery.
Characteristic foliations — A survey
Authors: Anella Fabrizio , Huybrechts Daniel 
Published: June 2024

AbstractThis is a survey article, with essentially complete proofs, of a series of recent results concerning the geometry of the characteristic foliation on smooth divisors in compact hyperkähler manifolds, starting with work by Hwang–Viehweg, but also covering articles by Amerik–Campana and Abugaliev. The restriction of the holomorphic symplectic form on a hyperkähler manifold to a smooth hypersurface leads to a regular foliation of rank 1, the characteristic foliation. The picture is complete in dimension 4 and shows that the behaviour of the leaves of on is determined by the Beauville–Bogomolov square of . In higher dimensions, some of the results depend on the abundance conjecture for .
Architecture Singularity Distance Computations for Linear Pentapods
Authors: Kapilavai Aditya , Nawratil Georg 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
The kinematic/robotic community is not only interested in measuring the closeness of a given robot configuration to its next singular one but also interested in a geometric meaningful index evaluating how far the robot design is away from being architecturally singular. Such an architecture singularity distance, which can be used by engineers as a criterion within the design process, is presented for a certain class of parallel manipulators called linear pentapods. Geometrically the architecture singular designs are well-understood and can be sub-classified into several cases, which allows for solving the optimization problem of computing the closest architecture singular design to a given linear pentapod with algorithms from numerical algebraic geometry.
Metatranscriptomic analysis of common mosquito vector species in the Canadian Prairies
Authors: Baril Cole , Cassone Bryan J. 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT

The microbiome plays vital roles in the life history of mosquitoes, including their development, immunity, longevity, and vector competence. Recent advances in sequencing technologies have allowed for detailed exploration into the diverse microorganisms harbored by these medically important insects. Although these meta-studies have cataloged the microbiomes of mosquitoes in several continents, much of the information currently available for North America is limited to the state of California. In this study, we collected >35,000 mosquitoes throughout Manitoba, Canada, over a 3-year period and then harnessed RNA sequencing and targeted reverse transcriptase-PCR to characterize the microbiomes of the eight most pervasive and important vector and pest species. The consensus microbiome of each species was overwhelmingly composed of viruses but also included fungi, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic invertebrates. The microbial assemblages were heterogeneous between species, even within the same genus. We detected notable pathogens, including the causal agents of Cache Valley Fever, avian malaria, and canine heartworm. The remaining microbiome consisted largely of putatively insect-specific viruses that are not well characterized, including 17 newly discovered viruses from 10 different families. Future research should focus on evaluating the potential application of these viruses in biocontrol, as biomarkers, and/or in disrupting mosquito vectorial capacity. Interestingly, we also detected viruses that naturally infect honeybees and thrips, which were presumably acquired indirectly through nectar foraging behaviors. Overall, we provide the first comprehensive catalog of the microorganisms harbored by the most common and important mosquito vectors and pests in the Canadian Prairies.

IMPORTANCE
Mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals on the planet, responsible for over 800,000 deaths per year globally. This is because they carry and transmit a plethora of human disease-causing microorganisms, such as West Nile virus and the malaria parasite. Recent innovations in nucleic acid sequencing technologies have enabled researchers unparalleled opportunities to characterize the suite of microorganisms harbored by different mosquito species, including the causal agents of disease. In our study, we carried out 3 years of intensive mosquito surveillance in Canada. We collected and characterized the microorganisms harbored by >35,000 mosquitoes, including the identification of the agents of Cache Valley fever, avian malaria, and canine heartworm. We also detected insect-specific viruses and discovered 17 new viruses that have never been reported. This study, which is the first of its kind in Canada and one of only a handful globally, will greatly aid in future infectious disease research.
Comparison of microbial diversity and metabolic activities in organic and conventional rice farms in Thailand
Authors: Charaslertrangsi Tumnoon , Arunrat Noppol , Sereenonchai Sukanya , Wongkamhang Patsarin R. 
Published: June 2024

ABSTRACT

Studies of the soil microbial community have revealed that several factors, both biotic and abiotic, can influence the community structure, diversity, and function. Human agricultural practice has been one of the key factors that affect microbial structure in soil. In this study, we examined the effect of two rice farming practices (i.e., conventional and organic) on soil microbial diversity and their metabolic activities. We proposed that the use of herbicides and chemical fertilizers in the conventional rice farming may decrease the soil microbial diversity and that it may lead to a decline in soil quality. However, our results show that there is no significant difference in the soil chemical properties, microbial diversity, and microbial metabolic activities between the two agricultural management systems. The wetland water cycling regime of rice agriculture in Thailand perhaps prevents the accumulation of chemicals in the soil, thus subdue the effect of these chemicals on soil microbes. Furthermore, our results showed that the key determinant of soil chemical properties as well as microbial community structure and diversity is the soil physical property, while the farming activity influences the microbial metabolic functions. These findings indicate the complex nature of the soil, microbes, and human farming interactions.

IMPORTANCE
Rice is a major export commodity in Thailand. As such, an understanding of the effect of conventional or organic farming approaches on soil microbial community could enable a suitable farming management. In this study, microbial communities were surveyed and compared between the two rice farming practices for their diversity and metabolic activities. Results showed no significant differences in microbial community structure and diversity between the two rice farming practices, but significant differences were observed due to the soil type, namely, clay, silty clay, silty clay loam, loam, and silty loam. Interestingly, significant differences in metabolic functions were also observed in different soil farming activities, such as land rest, period of growth, and post-burning, but not due to conventional or organic practices. These findings showed that the soil physical type and the farming activity impact the microbial community more than whether it is conventional or organically farmed.