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Canine kobuvirus (CaKoV), a newly described virus, is the causative agent of gastroenteritis in dogs. In this study, 57 fecal samples from dogs with diarrhea in Anhui Province, eastern China, were collected. Among these, five samples were identified to be infected with CaKoV, by polymerase chain reaction targeting the CaKoV 3D gene. The five CaKoV strains were subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The sequences of VP1 from the five CaKoV strains were 93.6%–96.1% identical to each other and 91.75%–97.95% identical to other reported CaKoV VP1 sequences. In addition, the complete genome of one strain was successfully amplified and sequenced. The genome consisted of 8223 nucleotides and shared 94.6%–97.0% nucleotide and 93.1%–94.0% amino acid sequence identity with other CaKoV isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the CaKoV strain from Anhui Province was similar to other Chinese strains, and it was more closely related to feline and mouse kobuviruses than to sheep and bovine kobuviruses. Interestingly, all of the CaKoV-positive samples were coinfected with canine parvovirus. The finding of CaKoV infection in dogs with diarrhea and coinfection with canine parvovirus are a cause for concern and highlight the need for management and preventive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant functional traits reflect the responses and adaptations of plants to their immediate environment. In this study, 10 different sources of the Houttuynia cordata population in Anhui Province, China, were examined in terms of their leaf responses and adaptive mechanisms towards soil characteristics. Our study observed the leaf weight ratio depicted a significant negative correlation with leaf potassium content (r=-0.652, P < 0.05) and an extremely significant negative correlation with leaf saturated water content (r=-0.720, P < 0.01) in different H. cordata populations. The leaf mass per area, leaf weight ratio, leaf nitrogen content, leaf potassium content, and leaf saturated water content in H. cordatas showed a significant correlation with soil available phosphorus, available potassium, soil total porosity, soil volume weight, and pH. Lastly, a significant relationship between leaf potassium content in plants and soil volume weight was observed (R2=0.448, P < 0.01). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Proterozoic witnessed the emergence and rise of early eukaryotes and Proterozoic carbonaceous compression macrofossils provide a valuable window for our understanding of this ecological expansion. Among them, the discoidal Chuaria and tomaculate Tawuia , which often co-occur in the same bedding layer, are perhaps the most common fossil forms in Proterozoic successions with extremely long temporal and broad geographical distributions. However, their phylogenetic interpretations and the relationship between them have been debated for decades, due to their simple morphologies lacking phylogenetically diagnostic features. In this study, we used an integrated application of reflected and transmitted light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, biometric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy to characterize well-preserved carbonaceous compression macrofossils of Chuaria and Tawuia from the Tonian Liulaobei Formation in Huainan region, northern Anhui province, North China. The fossils are abundantly preserved in a ca. 1–2 cm thick homogeneous mudstone layer and can be considered to be closer to an ecological community than fossils from multiple different layers or localities. The comprehensive analysis shows that even Chuaria vesicles from the same layer may have a polyphyletic origin and three groups of Chuaria vesicles have been identified. Among them, small Chuaria vesicles with minimum diameter < 1.2 mm can be either related to the sphaeromorphic acritarch Leiosphaeridia or interpreted as multicellular aggregates. In contrast, large Chuaria vesicles with minimum diameter ≥ 1.2 mm are more comparable to the type material of Chuaria circularis from the Chuar Group and more closely related, either phylogenetically or ontogenetically, to Tawuia vesicles. This study takes a step on the path to solving the mystery of the most common and widely distributed Proterozoic macrofossil assemblage (i.e., Chuaria - Tawuia assemblage), and urges thorough and systematic evaluations to be taken on the possibility that Chuaria vesicles from the same Chuaria - Tawuia assemblages or sole Chuaria assemblages in other localities might also be polyphyletic. • Morphological and biometric features have been revealed for a Chuaria - Tawuia assemblage from the Tonian Liulaobei Formation. • Three groups of Chuaria vesicles have been identified from the same bedding layer, indicating a polyphyletic origin. • Chuaria with minimum diameter ≥ 1.2 mm are more closely related, either phylogenetically or ontogenetically, to Tawuia. • The possibility that Chuaria vesicles from other localities are polyphyletic warrants a thorough and systematic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]