A pivotal study has uncovered a genetic defense mechanism in lily plants against Botrytis cinerea, the fungus behind gray mold disease. Central to this defense is LlHSFA4, a transcription factor that, when activated, initiates a robust response against the pathogen. This discovery could transform strategies for protecting horticultural crops from severe fungal infections.

This February 9, 2013, handout photo courtesy of the US National Park Service shows a tricolored bat with signs of white-nose syndrome on its snout and both wings at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. — AFP

Standing at a woodland entrance to the world's longest cave...

Mingkun Yang
Nov 24, 2020; 0:RA120.002144v1-mcp.RA120.002144
Research

Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus), a pathogenic fungus, can produce carcinogenic and toxic aflatoxins that are a serious agricultural and medical threat worldwide. Attempts to decipher the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway have been hampered by the lack of a high-quality genome annotation for A. flavus. To address this gap, we performed a comprehensive proteogenomic analysis using high-accuracy mass spectrometry data for this pathogen. The resulting high-quality dataset confirmed the translation of 8,724 previously-predicted genes, and identified 732 novel proteins, 269 splice variants, 447 single amino acid variants, 188 revised genes. A subset of novel proteins was experimentally validated by RT-PCR and synthetic peptides. Further functional annotation suggested that a number of the identified novel proteins may play roles in aflatoxin biosynthesis and stress responses in A. flavus. This comprehensive strategy also identified a wide range of post-translational modifications (PTMs), including 3,461 modification sites from 1,765 proteins. Functional analysis suggested the involvement of these modified proteins in the regulation of cellular metabolic and aflatoxin biosynthetic pathways. Together, we provided a high quality annotation of A. flavus genome and revealed novel insights into the mechanisms of aflatoxin production and pathogenicity in this pathogen.

Sometimes, in fact, nature is stranger than fiction

Building captive colonies for eventual re-introduction to the wild, scientists from Atlanta rescue endangered frogs and other amphibians threatened with extinction by a fatal fungus spreading through South American forests

Title: California Trees Harbor Fungus Deadly to People With HIV
Category: Health News
Created: 8/28/2014 9:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/28/2014 12:00:00 AM

Phil wonders if you can pet the gator. Jason says that the wiener dog in a wheelchair is best companion. Kelley wishes there was CTRL+F in real life. Ryan wants a Trails of Cold Steel Wrestling Game.

The post RPG Cast – Episode 679: “Some People Call Me Toe Fungus” appeared first on RPGamer.

The pathogen takes over the brains of its hosts and controls them for its own sinister ends

When you think of biodiversity conservation, you probably think of the classic images: the polar bear, the lion, the elephant, the giraffe. The ecological community likes to call them charismatic megafauna, with only a hint of satire.

A new study published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society by scientists at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) found unique communities […]

The post Golden Frogs with Unique Skin Microbes Survive Frog-Killing Fungus appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A bat specimen collected in France at the end of World War I, since housed in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural […]

The post DNA on 100-year-old bat from France may help fight deadly fungus in North America appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In the dark recesses of an underground fungus garden, a Panamanian leaf-cutting ant plucks a tuft of mycelia, the wispy part of the basidiomycete fungus […]

The post Mystery solved? Ants Protect Young From Infection By Cocooning Them in Fungus appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

A new disease capable of devastating European salamander and newt populations was probably introduced via international wildlife trade, new research has found. The study shows that the disease is deadly for many European species of salamanders and its analysis of more than 5000 amphibians from across four continents suggests the pathogen spread from Asia to Europe via the pet trade.

A new study by Swiss researchers suggests that certain types of fungi could be bred that increase the growth of the crops. Rice plants injected with a specially bred mycorrhizal fungus grew two to five times larger than normal in the study's experiments, which may have important implications in the future for food security.

New research suggests that fungi could be used to control insect-borne diseases common in livestock. The study shows for the first time that a fungus can effectively kill adult midges in the family of insects that carry bluetongue virus (BTV). Bluetongue outbreaks have caused significant losses on European farms in recent years, and the study indicates that using the fungus as a means of biological control could help reduce reliance on chemical insecticides, in the absence of effective vaccines.

The find is roughly 2 billion years older than any other known fungus fossil.

An Armillaria gallica mushroom found in Michigan's Upper Peninsula is growing fast, and the secret to its phenomenal growth might hold the cure to cancer.

The fungus behind white-nose syndrome has few weaknesses to exploit, a new study suggests.

White-nose syndrome is obliterating American bats, but scientists may have found a ray of hope: bacteria that live on bat wings.

White-nose syndrome is obliterating bats across North America, but a new study suggests the fungus behind the plague has an Achilles' heel.

About the size of a pinky nail, the nest cups are filled with 'eggs.'

The devastating banana fungus Foc has spread to new parts of the globe.

Salamanders and newts in Europe are under siege by an invasive and deadly mycological disease. How can we stop it from reaching North America?

Nail disorders are rarely disabling or even painful. But they are a nuisance. One of the most common problems is toenail fungus (medical name onychomysosis)-about 15% of people have it, including nearly half of those over 70. This infection has received a great deal of press and advertisement time, as there are finally therapies that actually successfully eradicate these infections. A fast overview of the disease can really help us to get rid of it.

The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has potentially been detected on a fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes) at Grand Canyon National Park. The bat was captured and sampled for the fungus in April 2019 during routine surveillance by park biologists. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/bat-fungus-potentially-detected-at-grand-canyon-20191204.htm

The world's second-deadliest fungus, the poison fire coral, is found in Far North Queensland for the first time, a long way from its usual home in the mountains of Japan and Korea, and can cause a "horrifying array of symptoms".

The snails are an invasive crop pest that are known to eat more than just coffee rust

While diseases and ecosystem damages, caused by aerosol-borne bacteria, and viruses are widely studied, the effect of aerosolised fungal spread on human and ecosystem health is less understood.

Title: Airborne Fungus Expected to Spread in U.S.
Category: Health News
Created: 4/26/2010 10:57:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 4/26/2010 10:57:30 AM

If the harmful chemicals weren't bad enough, new research finds that many e-cigarettes also include unhealthy biological contaminants.

Since 2006, bat populations in the northeastern United States have been decimated by a mysterious condition known as "white-nose syndrome." Caused by a fungus,

Colombia has declared a state of emergency following discovery of Panama disease Tropical Race 4.

Stem rust, the worst of the three rusts that afflict wheat plants, has made a comeback. Wheat crops in Africa have been at its mercy and the fungus has already broken into the middle-east. India is directly in its path, scientists predict. Sudhirendar Sharma has more.

Dewey Library - HC428.T48 S85 2019

Rotch Library - N7433.35.U6 M37 no.6

It has already helped grow cereals and fodder in the desertland of Qatar, mangrove species along the highly saline Gujarat coastline, and a wide variety of plantation crops on wastelands covered with fly ash....

News intern Nala Rogers shares stories on mineral-mining microbes, mapping hurricane damage using social media, and the big takeaway from the latest human-versus-computer match up.   Hal Weaver joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss five papers from New Horizons Pluto flyby, including a special focus on Pluto’s smaller moons.   [Image: Saran_Poroong/iStockphoto]

The volatile compound replicates the aroma of hundreds of compounds in the real fruit

The volatile compound replicates the aroma of hundreds of compounds in the real fruit

Organogels made with essential oils could be used as drug delivery devices and food preservatives

Hane, James Kyawzwar