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Recently, the systematic status of Fortunella Swingle and its taxonomy has attracted much attention. Flora of China incorporates Fortunella into Citrus Linn. and treats all species of the traditional Fortunella as one species, namely Citrus japonica (Thunb.) Swingle. Furthermore, F. venosa (Champ. ex Benth.) C. C. Huang and F. hindsii (Champ. ex Benth.) Swingle are currently considered as synonyms of C. japonica. In this paper, morphological, palynological, and phylogenetic analyses were used to systematically explore the taxonomic status of traditional Fortunella. The key morphological features that differed among the Fortunella species were the leaf and the petiole hence could be key in its taxonomic classification of the species. Additionally, pollen morphological analysis based on the pollen size, germination grooves, polar, and equatorial axes also supported the separation of the species. The results of the phylogenetic analysis showed that each of the three species clustered separately, hence strongly supporting the conclusion of independent species. In addition, the phylogenetic analysis showed that the two genera clustered closely together hence our results support the incorporation of Fortunella into Citrus. Based on the above, this article has revised the classification of the traditional Fortunella and determined that this genus has three species, namely; F. venosa , F. hindsii , and F. japonica. F. venosa and F. hindsii are placed in the Citrus as separate species, and their species names still use the previous specific epithet. The revised scientific names of the new combinations of F. venosa and F. hindsii are as follows: Citrus venosa (Champ. ex Benth.) K. M. Liu, X. Z. Cai, and G. W. Hu, comb. nov. and Citrus hindsii (Champ. ex Benth.) K. M. Liu, G. W. Hu, and X. Z. Cai, comb. nov. F. venosa is the original species of Fortunella , F. venosa and F. hindsii are both listed as the second-class key protected wild plants in China. Therefore, the establishment of the taxonomic status of F. venosa and F. hindsii not only deepens our understanding, importance, and the complexity of the systematic classification of Fortunella , but is also significant for global biodiversity conservation, genetic resources for breeding purposes, and population genetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postharvest rot caused by various fungal pathogens is a damaging disease affecting kiwifruit production and quality, resulting in significant annual economic losses. This study focused on isolating the strain P3-1W, identified as Diaporthe eres , as the causal agent of 'Hongyang' postharvest rot disease in China. The investigation highlighted cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs) as crucial pathogenic factors. Specially, the enzymatic activities of cellulase, β-galactosidase, polygalacturonase, and pectin methylesterases peaked significantly on the second day after infection of D. eres P3-1W. To gain a comprehensive understanding of these CWDEs, the genome of this strain was sequenced using PacBio and Illumina sequencing technologies. The analysis revealed that the genome of D. eres P3-1W spans 58,489,835 bp, with an N50 of 5,939,879 bp and a GC content of 50.7%. A total of 15,407 total protein-coding genes (PCGs) were predicted and functionally annotated. Notably, 857 carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) were identified in D. eres P3-1W, with 521 CWDEs consisting of 374 glycoside hydrolases (GHs), 108 carbohydrate esterase (CEs) and 91 polysaccharide lyases (PLs). Additionally, 221 auxiliary activities (AAs), 91 glycosyltransferases (GTs), and 108 carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs) were detected. These findings offer valuable insights into the CAZymes of D. eres P3-1W., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Ling et al.)

Background: Abnormal peripheral immunological features are associated with the progression of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)., Methods: Clinical and laboratory data were retrieved in a cohort of 146 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients. Potential risk factors for the development of severe COVID-19 were evaluated., Results: On admission, lymphocytes, CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, eosinophils, and albumin and pre-albumin were dramatically lower, whereas neutrophils, and interleukin (IL)-10, C-reactive protein (CRP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) were significantly higher in severe cases. By the second week after discharge, all variables improved to normal levels. Covariate logistic regression results showed that the CD8+ cell count and CRP level were independent risk factors for severe COVID-19., Conclusion: Lower peripheral immune cell subsets in patients with severe disease recovered to normal levels as early as the second week after discharge. CD8+ T cell counts and CRP levels on admission are independent predictive factors for severe COVID-19., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A yellow-coloured bacterial strain, designated F-4 T , was isolated from a farmland soil sample from Qianshan, Anhui province, China. Strain F-4 T was Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, oval-shaped, motile (by gliding) and non-spore-forming. Growth occurred at 20-35 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 6.0-8.0 (pH 7.0) and with 0-1.0 % (w/v) NaCl (0 %). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain F-4 T belonged to the genus Taibaiella. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values between strain F-4 T and the type strains of the three recognized species of the genus Taibaiella, Taibaiella koreensis KACC 17171 T , Taibaiella soli KCTC 42277 T and Taibaiella chishuiensis JCM 19637 T , were 98.1, 96.4 and 95.9 %, respectively. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-7, with MK-8 as a minor component. The major polar lipids of strain F-4 T were three unidentified lipids, two unidentified aminolipids, three unidentified phospholipids, an unidentified aminophospholipid and phosphatidylethanolamine. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1 G and iso-C17 : 0. The G+C content of the genomic DNA based on total genome calculations was 51.3 mol%. The major polyamine of strain F-4 T was homospermidine. The average nucleotide identity and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values for draft genomes between strain F-4 T and strain THG-DT86 T were 79.8 and 22.6 %, respectively. On the basis of the genotypic and phenotypic data presented here, strain F-4 T represents a novel species of the genus Taibaiella, for which the name Taibaiella helva sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is F-4 T (=KCTC 62442 T =CGMCC 1.13562 T ).

A Gram-variable, short-rod-shaped, motile, spore-forming, strictly aerobic and alkaliresistant bacterium, designed strain J-3 T , was isolated from farmland soil sampled in Yancheng city, Jiangsu province, China. Optimal growth occurred at 30 °C, pH 7.0-8.0 and 0.5 % (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain J-3 T was most closely related to Paenibacillusripae HZ1 T (96.8 %), followed by Paenibacillussputi KIT00200-70066-1 T (94.7 %). The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 and C16 : 0. The dominant respiratory quinone was menaquinone-7 and the DNA G+C content was 41.2 mol%. The major polar lipids of strain J-3 T were aminolipid, phospholipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphoaminolipid and phosphatidylethanolamine. The diagnostic diamino acid of the cell-wall peptidoglycan was meso-diaminopimelic acid. On the basis of genotypic and phenotypic data, strain J-3 T represents a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus yanchengensis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is J-3 T (=KCTC 33926 T =CGMCC 1.16455 T ).

Background: Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae, an unculturable pathogen with an exceptionally eroded genome. The high level of inactivation of gene function in M. leprae, including many genes in its metabolic pathways, has led to a dependence on host energy production and nutritional products. We hypothesized that host cellular powerhouse--the mitochondria--may affect host susceptibility to M. leprae and the onset of clinical leprosy, and this may be reflected by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) background and mtDNA copy number., Methods: We analyzed the mtDNA sequence variation of 534 leprosy patients and 850 matched controls from Yunnan Province and classified each subject by haplogroup. mtDNA copy number, taken to be proportional to mtDNA content, was measured in a subset of these subjects (296 patients and 231 controls) and 12 leprosy patients upon diagnosis., Results: Comparison of matrilineal components of the case and control populations revealed no significant difference. However, measurement of mtDNA copy number showed that lepromatous leprosy patients had a significantly higher mtDNA content than controls (P = 0.008). Past medical treatments had no effect on the alteration of mtDNA copy number., Conclusions: Our results suggested that mtDNA content, but not haplogroup, affects leprosy and this influence is limited to the clinical subtype of lepromatous leprosy.