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An increasing number of sarcomas displaying a primitive, monomorphic spindle cell phenotype have been shown to harbor recurrent gene fusions, including biphenotypic sinonasal sarcoma (SNS). Occurring in the sinonasal area of middle-aged patients, SNS is a locally aggressive tumor harboring in 90% of cases recurrent gene fusions involving the PAX3 gene, in which the chimeric transcription factor induces an aberrant dual myogenic and neural phenotype. Here, we report an unusual oropharyngeal monomorphic spindle cell sarcoma in a 53-year-old man that revealed a novel RREB1-MKL2 gene fusion by RNA sequencing with the Illumina TruSight RNA Fusion Panel. The gene fusion was validated by RT-PCR. Although the tumor location is unusual (but head and neck seated), most of the other clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic (focal combined expression of S100 protein, SMA, desmin, and myogenin) and oncogenic data suggest that this biphenotypic "oropharyngeal" sarcoma is closely related to the biphenotypic SNS spectrum. Notably, the RREB1-MKL2 chimeric transcription factor encoded by this fusion gene produced an increase in MKL2 expression, which regulates both neural and myogenic differentiation, mimicking the crucial role of PAX3 reported in SNS oncogenesis. NGS and especially RNA sequencing may be used to identify new candidate fusion oncogenes in soft tissue tumors, which would help in updating the existing classification. In turn, this would lead to better therapeutic management of patients.

In biofilms, the competition between microorganisms for light, nutrients and space is extreme. Moreover, planktonic algae can be considered as competitors insofar as they decrease the available light for the benthic algae. One of the strategies employed by microorganisms to eliminate competitors is the release of inhibiting compounds, a process known as allelopathy. Here we demonstrate that a benthic/epiphytic alga, Uronema confervicolum, produces allelopathic compounds that induce oxidative stress and growth inhibition in the planktonic Desmodesmus quadrispina. Some of these compounds can also trigger the formation of colony in D. quadrispina. As colonies have higher sedimentation rates than unicells, their induction by U. confervicolum might decrease shading. This study is the first report of colony induction in the context of alga-alga interaction. Our results also suggest the implication of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases in the transduction of the signal leading to the formation of reactive oxygen species in the cells. A comparison with allelochemicals from another planktonic green alga, Monoraphidium aff. dybowski, emphasizes the specificity of colony induction by U. confervicolum, in contrast with oxidative stress which is induced by several compounds. The reciprocal production of inhibiting compounds by D. quadrispina makes this interaction an interesting example of co-evolution between two microorganisms belonging to different compartments of the ecosystem.