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Seeds acquire fungal endophytes either from the environment or from their progenitors. These transmission modes are central in shaping the microbiome because they affect species composition and balance. We studied fungal endophyte communities (FECs) in three plant species: bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), wild emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum dicoccoides), and wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum). We conducted two experiments to test seed-to-seed transmission: (i) we compared FECs in stems and seeds collected from agricultural and natural habitats and (ii) we grew plants under greenhouse conditions to isolate the effect of vertical transmission on the plant FECs. The analysis of seed communities revealed differences in FEC composition and diversity among plant species; however, Alternaria infectoria dominated FECs in all plant species. In field-collected plants, the number of taxa in the seeds was less than half the number in stems, and close to 90% of the seed taxa were found in stems. The FECs from stems and seeds of greenhouse-grown plants were more diverse than the FECs of original seeds; they lacked a single dominant taxon, and the FECs in the new seeds had a similar richness and diversity to stem FECs, with only 40% overlap. The controlled-environment experiment confirmed vertical transmission of certain species but also showed that external infection of the seeds is the main source for specific taxa. Our results show that many taxa can reach the seeds internally, albeit in different abundance, that both infection sources affect seed FEC composition, and that external conditions affect the balance between FECs within the plant.

ABSTRACT Plants harbor complex and highly diverse fungal endophyte communities (FECs), making it difficult to evaluate the functional role of individual taxa, subsets of the community, or the FEC as a whole. To reduce the complexity of this system, we aimed to produce fungi-null wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants. To this end, we treated seeds with heat and fungicides and generated plants from rescued embryos and callus tissue. A culture-based approach and reverse transcription PCR analysis were negative, indicating that all treatments produced plants apparently free of fungi. However, the analysis of DNA using digital droplet PCR and next-generation sequencing revealed that tissues from all treatments retained low levels but diversity-rich FECs. While the FECs varied in composition across treatments and tissues, they all included core taxa of the mycobiome. The reduced fungal biomass, along with the changes in FEC composition, negatively affected plant development, supporting a FEC contribution to proper plant development and fitness. Our discovery that a large part of the FEC cannot be separated from plants and can be transmitted through seeds and tissue culture calls for reevaluation of particular microbiome paradigms, such as core taxa concepts, transmission modes, and functional species.IMPORTANCEThe native microbiome in a given plant must be considered when evaluating the effect of a single taxon or synthetic community. The pre-existing microbiome can interact with artificially added microbial cargo, which affects the final outcome. Such issues can be at least partially solved by the use of endophyte-free plants, which provide a clean background that should be useful in determining the effect of a single taxon, taxa combinations, or the entire microbiome on plant performance. Previous reports regarded plants as endophyte-free or axenic by the lack of fungal growth on culture media or the generation of plants from tissue cultures. We showed here that while fungi could not be isolated from fungicide-treated or tissue culture-regenerated plants, nevertheless, all plants contained rich fungal endophyte communities; namely, it was impossible to create fungi-free wheat plants. Our results call for rethinking fundamental microbiome-related concepts, such as core taxa, transmission mode, and functional species.

ABSTRACT Botrytis cinerea causes gray mold disease in leading crop plants. The disease develops only at cool temperatures, but the fungus remains viable in warm climates and can survive periods of extreme heat. We discovered a strong heat priming effect in which the exposure of B. cinerea to moderately high temperatures greatly improves its ability to cope with subsequent, potentially lethal temperature conditions. We showed that priming promotes protein solubility during heat stress and discovered a group of priming-induced serine-type peptidases. Several lines of evidence, including transcriptomics, proteomics, pharmacology, and mutagenesis data, link these peptidases to the B. cinerea priming response, highlighting their important roles in regulating priming-mediated heat adaptation. By imposing a series of sub-lethal temperature pulses that subverted the priming effect, we managed to eliminate the fungus and prevent disease development, demonstrating the potential for developing temperature-based plant protection methods by targeting the fungal heat priming response. IMPORTANCE Priming is a general and important stress adaptation mechanism. Our work highlights the importance of priming in fungal heat adaptation, reveals novel regulators and aspects of heat adaptation mechanisms, and demonstrates the potential of affecting microorganisms, including pathogens through manipulations of the heat adaptation response.

The rust diseases, including leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina (Pt), stem rust caused by P. graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt), and stripe rust caused by P. striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), are major limiting factors in wheat production worldwide. Identification of novel sources of rust resistance genes is key to developing cultivars resistant to rapidly evolving pathogen populations. Aegilops longissima is a diploid wild grass native to the Levant and closely related to the modern bread wheat D subgenome. To explore resistance genes in the species, we evaluated a large panel of Ae. longissima for resistance to several races of Pt, Pgt, and Pst, and conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to map rust resistance loci in the species. A panel of 404 Ae. longissima accessions, mostly collected from Israel, were screened for seedling-stage resistance to four races of Pt, four races of Pgt, and three races of Pst. Out of the 404 accessions screened, two were found that were resistant to all 11 races of the three rust pathogens screened. The percentage of all accessions screened that were resistant to a given rust pathogen race ranged from 18.5% to 99.7%. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) was performed on 381 accessions of the Ae. longissima panel, wherein 125,343 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained after alignment to the Ae. longissima reference genome assembly and quality control filtering. Genetic diversity analysis revealed the presence of two distinct subpopulations, which followed a geographic pattern of a northern and a southern subpopulation. Association mapping was performed in the genotyped portion of the collection (n = 381) and in each subpopulation (n = 204 and 174) independently via a single-locus mixed-linear model, and two multi-locus models, FarmCPU, and BLINK. A large number (195) of markers were significantly associated with resistance to at least one of 10 rust pathogen races evaluated, nine of which are key candidate markers for further investigation due to their detection via multiple models and/or their association with resistance to more than one pathogen race. The novel resistance loci identified will provide additional diversity available for use in wheat breeding.

ABSTRACT Endophytic fungi form a significant part of the plant mycobiome. Defining core members is crucial to understanding the assembly mechanism of fungal endophytic communities (FECs) and identifying functionally important community members. We conducted a meta-analysis of FECs in stems of wheat and five wild cereal species and generated a landscape of the fungal endophytic assemblages in this group of plants. The analysis revealed that several Ascomycota members and basidiomycetous yeasts formed an important compartment of the FECs in these plants. We observed a weak spatial autocorrelation at the regional scale and high intrahost variations in the FECs, suggesting a space-related heterogeneity. Accordingly, we propose that the heterogeneity among subcommunities should be a criterion to define the core endophytic members. Analysis of the subcommunities and meta-communities showed that the core and noncore members had distinct roles in various assembly processes, such as stochasticity, universal dynamics, and network characteristics, within each host. The distinct features identified between the community partitions of endophytes aid in understanding the principles that govern the assembly and function of natural communities. These findings can assist in designing synthetic microbiomes. IMPORTANCE This study proposes a novel method for diagnosing core microbiotas based on prevalence of community members in a meta-community, which could be determined and supported statistically. Using this approach, the study found stratification in community assembly processes within fungal endophyte communities (FECs) in the stems of wheat and cereal-related wild species. The core and noncore partitions of the FECs exhibited certain degrees of determinism from different aspects. Further analysis revealed abundant and consistent interactions between rare taxa, which might contribute to the determinism process in noncore partitions. Despite minor differences in FEC compositions, wheat FECs showed distinct patterns in community assembly processes compared to wild species, suggesting the effects of domestication on FECs. Overall, our study provided a new approach for identifying core microbiota and provides insights into the community assembly processes within FECs in wheat and related wild species.

Detection of moving sources over a complicated background is important for several reasons. First is measuring the astrophysical motion of the source. Second is that such motion resulting from atmospheric scintillation, color refraction, or astrophysical reasons is a major source of false alarms for image-subtraction methods. We extend the Zackay, Ofek, and Gal-Yam image-subtraction formalism to deal with moving sources. The new method, named the translient (translational transient) detector, applies hypothesis testing between the hypothesis that the source is stationary and that the source is moving. It can be used to detect source motion or to distinguish between stellar variability and motion. For moving source detection, we show the superiority of translient over the proper image subtraction, using the improvement in the receiver-operating characteristic curve. We show that in the small translation limit, translient is an optimal detector of point-source motion in any direction. Furthermore, it is numerically stable, fast to calculate, and presented in a closed form. Efficient transient detection requires both the proper image-subtraction statistics and the translient statistics: When the translient statistic is higher, then the subtraction residual is likely due to motion. We test our algorithm both on simulated data and on real images obtained by the Large Array Survey Telescope. We demonstrate the ability of translient to distinguish between motion and variability, which has the potential to reduce the number of false alarms in transients detection. We provide the translient implementation in Python and MATLAB.

We present the discovery and analysis of SN 2022oqm, a Type Ic supernova (SN) detected

Aegilops sharonensis is a wild diploid relative of wheat. Here, the authors assemble the genome of Ae. sharonensis and use the assembly as an aid to clone the Ae. sharonensis-derived stem rust resistance gene Sr62 in the allohexaploid genome of wheat.

Background: Low serum magnesium (sMg) is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerotic disease. Objective: To evaluate the association between sMg levels on admission and clinical outcomes in hospitalized non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis of all patients admitted to a single tertiary center with a primary diagnosis of NSTEMI. Patients with advanced chronic kidney disease were excluded. Clinical data were collected and compared between lower sMg quartile patients (Q1; sMg < 1.9 mg/dL) and all other patients (Q2–Q4; sMg ≥ 1.9 mg/dL). Results: The study cohort included 4552 patients (70% male, median age 69 [IQR 59–79]) who were followed for a median of 4.4 (IQR 2.4–6.6) years. The median sMg level in the low sMg group was 1.7 (1.6–1.8) and 2.0 (2.0–2.2) mg/dL in the normal/high sMg group. The low sMg group was older (mean of 72 vs. 67 years), less likely to be male (64% vs. 72%), and had higher rates of comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation (59% vs. 29%, 92% vs. 85%, and 6% vs. 5%; p < 0.05 for all). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis demonstrated significantly higher cumulative death probability at 4 years in the low sMg group (34% vs. 22%; p log rank p < 0.001). Conclusions: Low sMg is independently associated with higher risk of long-term mortality among patients recovering from an NSTEMI event.

ABSTRACT Botrytis cinerea is an agriculturally notorious plant-pathogenic fungus with a broad host range. During plant colonization, B. cinerea secretes a wide range of plant-cell-wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) that help in macerating the plant tissue, but their role in pathogenicity has been unclear. Here, we report on the identification of a transcription factor, BcXyr1, that regulates the production of (hemi-)cellulases and is necessary for fungal virulence. Deletion of the bcxyr1 gene led to impaired spore germination and reduced fungal virulence and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in planta. Secreted proteins collected from the bcxyr1 deletion strain displayed a weaker cell-death-inducing effect than the wild-type secretome when infiltrated to Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed 41 genes with reduced expression in the Δbcxyr1 mutant compared with those in the wild-type strain, of which half encode secreted proteins that are particularly enriched in carbohydrate-active enzyme (CAZyme)-encoding genes. Among them, we identified a novel putative expansin-like protein that was necessary for fungal virulence, supporting the involvement of BcXyr1 in the regulation of extracellular virulence factors. IMPORTANCE PCWDEs are considered important components of the virulence arsenal of necrotrophic plant pathogens. However, despite intensive research, the role of PCWDEs in the pathogenicity of necrotrophic phytopathogenic fungi remains ambiguous. Here, we demonstrate that the transcription factor BcXyr1 regulates the expression of a specific set of secreted PCWDE-encoding genes and that it is essential for fungal virulence. Furthermore, we identified a BcXyr1-regulated expansin-like gene that is required for fungal virulence. Our findings provide strong evidence for the importance of PCWDEs in the pathogenicity of B. cinerea and highlight specific PCWDEs that might be more important than others.

Crh proteins catalyze crosslinking of chitin and glucan polymers in fungal cell walls. Here, Bi et al. show that a Crh protein from the phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea acts as a cytoplasmic effector and elicitor of plant defense, and plants expressing this gene exhibit reduced sensitivity to the pathogen.

Abstract Background Leaf and stripe rusts are two major wheat diseases, causing significant yield losses. The preferred way for protecting wheat from rust pathogens is by introgression of rust resistance traits from wheat-related wild species. To avoid genetic drag due to replacement of large wheat chromosomal segments by the alien chromatin, it is necessary to shorten the alien chromosome segment in primary recombinants. Results Here we report on shortening of an alien chromosome segment in wheat that carries leaf and stripe rust resistance from Sharon goatgrass (Aegilops sharonensis). Rust resistant wheat introgression lines were selected and the alien region was mapped using genotyping by sequencing. Single polymorphic nucleotides (SNP) were identified and used to generate diagnostic PCR markers. Shortening of the alien fragment was achieved by induced homoeologous pairing and lines with shortened alien chromosome were identified using the PCR markers. Further reduction of the segment was achieved in tertiary recombinants without losing the rust resistance. Conclusions Alien chromatin in wheat with novel rust resistance genes was characterized by SNP markers and shortened by homoeologous recombination to avoid deleterious traits. The resulting wheat lines are resistant to highly virulent races of leaf and stripe rust pathogens and can be used as both resistant wheat in the field and source for gene transfer to other wheat lines/species.

Elucidating the biology of yeast in its full complexity has major implications for science, medicine and industry. One of the most critical processes determining yeast life and physiology is cellular demise. However, the investigation of yeast cell death is a relatively young field, and a widely accepted set of concepts and terms is still missing. Here, we propose unified criteria for the definition of accidental, regulated, and programmed forms of cell death in yeast based on a series of morphological and biochemical criteria. Specifically, we provide consensus guidelines on the differential definition of terms including apoptosis, regulated necrosis, and autophagic cell death, as we refer to additional cell death routines that are relevant for the biology of (at least some species of) yeast. As this area of investigation advances rapidly, changes and extensions to this set of recommendations will be implemented in the years to come. Nonetheless, we strongly encourage the authors, reviewers and editors of scientific articles to adopt these collective standards in order to establish an accurate framework for yeast cell death research and, ultimately, to accelerate the progress of this vibrant field of research.

Abstract This is a second study of chiral anomaly-induced transport within a holographic model consisting of anomalous $$U(1)_V\times U(1)_A$$ U ( 1 ) V × U ( 1 ) A Maxwell theory in Schwarzschild–AdS $$_5$$ 5 spacetime. In the first part, chiral magnetic/separation effects (CME/CSE) are considered in the presence of a static spatially inhomogeneous external magnetic field. Gradient corrections to CME/CSE are analytically evaluated up to third order in the derivative expansion. Some of the third order gradient corrections lead to an anomaly-induced negative $$B^2$$ B 2 -correction to the diffusion constant. We also find modifications to the chiral magnetic wave nonlinear in B. In the second part, we focus on the experimentally interesting case of the axial chemical potential being induced dynamically by a constant magnetic and time-dependent electric fields. Constitutive relations for the vector/axial currents are computed employing two different approximations: (a) derivative expansion (up to third order) but fully nonlinear in the external fields, and (b) weak electric field limit but resuming all orders in the derivative expansion. A non-vanishing nonlinear axial current (CSE) is found in the first case. The dependence on magnetic field and frequency of linear transport coefficient functions is explored in the second.

It has long been known that hormones affect the interaction of a phytopathogen with its host plant. The pathogen can cause changes in plant hormone homeostasis directly by affecting biosynthesis or metabolism in the plant or by synthesizing and secreting the hormone itself. We previously demonstrated that pathogenic fungi of the Fusarium species complex are able to produce three major types of hormones: auxins, cytokinins, and gibberellins. In this work, we explore changes in the levels of these hormones in maize and mango plant tissues infected with Fusarium. The ability to produce individual phytohormones varies significantly across Fusarium species and such differences likely impact host specificity inducing the unique responses noted in planta during infection. For example, the production of gibberellins by F. fujikuroi leads to elongated rice stalks and the suppression of gibberellin biosynthesis in plant tissue. Although all Fusarium species are able to synthesize auxin, sometimes by multiple pathways, the ratio of its free form and conjugates in infected tissue is affected more than the total amount produced. The recently characterized unique pathway for cytokinin de novo synthesis in Fusarium appears silenced or non-functional in all studied species during plant infection. Despite this, a large increase in cytokinin levels was detected in F. mangiferae infected plants, caused likely by the up-regulation of plant genes responsible for their biosynthesis. Thus, the accumulation of active cytokinins may contribute to mango malformation of the reproductive organs upon infection of mango trees. Together, our findings provide insight into the complex role fungal and plant derived hormones play in the fungal–plant interactions.

Endophytic bacteria and fungi colonize plants that grow in various types of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Our study investigates the communities of endophytic bacteria and fungi of halophyte Kalidium schrenkianum growing in stressed habitats with ionizing radiation. The geochemical factors and radiation (at low, medium, high level and control) both affected the structure of endophytic communities. The bacterial class Actinobacteria and the fungal class Dothideomycetes predominated the endophytic communities of K. schrenkianum. Aerial tissues of K. schrenkianum had higher fungal diversity, while roots had higher bacterial diversity. Radiation had no significant effect on the abundance of bacterial classes. Soil pH, total nitrogen, and organic matter showed significant effects on the diversity of root endophytes. Radiation affected bacterial and fungal community structure in roots but not in aerial tissues, and had a strong effect on fungal co-occurrence networks. Overall, the genetic diversity of both endophytic bacteria and fungi was higher in radioactive environments, however negative correlations were found between endophytic bacteria and fungi in the plant. The genetic diversity of both endophytic bacteria and fungi was higher in radioactive environments. Our findings suggest that radiation affects root endophytes, and that the endophytes associated with aerial tissues and roots of K. schrenkianum follow different mechanisms for community assembly and different paradigms in stress response.

Towards the identification of entophytic fungal taxa with potential for crop improvement, we characterized and compared fungal endophyte communities (FECs) from domesticated bread wheat and two wheat ancestors, Aegilopssharonensis and Triticumdicoccoides. Data generated by next generation sequencing identified a total of 1666 taxa. The FECs in the three plant species contained high proportions of random taxa with low abundance. At plant species level, the majority of abundant taxa were common to all host plants, and the collective FECs of each of the three plant species had similar diversity. However, FECs from the wild plants in specific sites were more diverse and had greater richness than wheat FECs from corresponding specific fields. The wild plants also had higher numbers of differentially abundant fungal taxa than wheat, with Alternaria infectoria being the most abundant species in wild plants and Candida sake the most abundant in wheat. Network analysis on co-occurrence association revealed a small number of taxa with a relatively high number of co-occurrence associations, which might be important in community assembly. Our results show that the actual endophytic cargo in cultivated wheat plants is limited relative to wild plants, and highlight putative functional and hub fungal taxa with potential for wheat improvement.

ABSTRACT Can accumulation of a normally transient metabolite affect fungal biology? UDP-4-keto-6-deoxyglucose (UDP-KDG) represents an intermediate stage in conversion of UDP-glucose to UDP-rhamnose. Normally, UDP-KDG is not detected in living cells, because it is quickly converted to UDP-rhamnose by the enzyme UDP-4-keto-6-deoxyglucose-3,5-epimerase/-4-reductase (ER). We previously found that deletion of the er gene in Botrytis cinerea resulted in accumulation of UDP-KDG to levels that were toxic to the fungus due to destabilization of the cell wall. Here we show that these negative effects are at least partly due to inhibition by UDP-KDG of the enzyme UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM), which reversibly converts UDP-galactopyranose (UDP-Galp) to UDP-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf). An enzymatic activity assay showed that UDP-KDG inhibits the B. cinerea UGM enzyme with a Ki of 221.9 µM. Deletion of the ugm gene resulted in strains with weakened cell walls and phenotypes that were similar to those of the er deletion strain, which accumulates UDP-KDG. Galf residue levels were completely abolished in the Δugm strain and reduced in the Δer strain, while overexpression of the ugm gene in the background of a Δer strain restored Galf levels and alleviated the phenotypes. Collectively, our results show that the antifungal activity of UDP-KDG is due to inhibition of UGM and possibly other nucleotide sugar-modifying enzymes and that the rhamnose metabolic pathway serves as a shunt that prevents accumulation of UDP-KDG to toxic levels. These findings, together with the fact that there is no Galf in mammals, support the possibility of developing UDP-KDG or its derivatives as antifungal drugs. IMPORTANCE Nucleotide sugars are donors for the sugars in fungal wall polymers. We showed that production of the minor sugar rhamnose is used primarily to neutralize the toxic intermediate compound UDP-KDG. This surprising finding highlights a completely new role for minor sugars and other secondary metabolites with undetermined function. Furthermore, the toxic potential of predicted transition metabolites that never accumulate in cells under natural conditions are highlighted. We demonstrate that UDP-KDG inhibits the UDP-galactopyranose mutase enzyme, thereby affecting production of Galf, which is one of the components of cell wall glycans. Given the structural similarity, UDP-KDG likely inhibits additional nucleotide sugar-utilizing enzymes, a hypothesis that is also supported by our findings. Our results suggest that UDP-KDG could serve as a template to develop antifungal drugs.

Apoptosis-like programmed cell death (A-PCD) is a universal process common to all types of eukaryotic organisms. Because A-PCD-associated processes are conserved, it is possible to define A-PCD by a standard set of markers. Many of the popular methods to measure A-PCD make use of fluorescent ligands that change in intensity or cellular localization during A-PCD. In single cell organisms, it is possible to quantify levels of A-PCD by scoring the number of apoptotic cells using flow cytometry instruments. In a multicellular organism, quantification of A-PCD is more problematic due to the complex nature of the tissue. The situation is further complicated in filamentous fungi, in which nuclei are divided between compartments, each containing a number of nuclei, which can also migrate between the compartments. We developed SCAN©, a System for Counting and Analysis of Nuclei, and used it to measure A-PCD according to two markers – chromatin condensation and DNA strand breaks. The package includes three modules designed for counting the number of nuclei in multi-nucleated domains, scoring the relative number of nuclei with condensed chromatin, and calculating the relative number of nuclei with DNA strand breaks. The method provides equal or better results compared with manual counting, the analysis is fast and can be applied on large data sets. While we demonstrated the utility of the software for measurement of A-PCD in fungi, the method is readily adopted for measurement of A-PCD in other types of multicellular specimens.

Rice blast, caused by Magnaporthe grisea, is a devastating disease of rice throughout the world. Many recent molecular studies have focused on the early infection stages, but our knowledge about molecular events at the infectious hyphae stage is limited. In this study, 750 hygromycin-resistant transformants were isolated by transforming M. grisea Guy11 with a promoterless enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) construct. In one of the transformants, L1320, EGFP signals were observed in the nuclei of infectious hyphae. The transforming vector was inserted in a predicted gene named MIR1 and resulted in a Mir11–107-EGFP fusion. Mir1 is a low-complexity protein with no known protein domain and has no homolog in GenBank or other sequenced fungal genomes. Quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis and expression assays of MIR1-EGFP fusion constructs indicated that the expression of MIR1 was highly induced during plant infection. Deletion analyses identified a 458-bp region that was sufficient for the MIR1 promoter activity. Further characterization revealed that a 96-bp sequence was essential for the enhanced in planta expression. MIR1 is an M. grisea-specific gene that is highly conserved among the field isolates belonging to the M. grisea species complex. The mir1 mutants had no obvious defects in appressorial penetration and rice infection. When overexpressed with the RP27 promoter, nuclear localization of the Mir1-EGFP fusion was observed in conidia and vegetative hyphae. These data suggest that the expression but not the nuclear localization of MIR1 is specific to infectious hyphae and that reporter genes based on MIR1 may be suitable for monitoring infectious growth in M. grisea.

Ethylene production by infected plants is an early resistance response leading to activation of plant defense pathways. However, plant pathogens also are capable of producing ethylene, and ethylene might have an effect not only on the plant but on the pathogen as well. Therefore, ethylene may play a dual role in fungus—plant interactions by affecting the plant as well as the pathogen. To address this question, we studied the effects of ethylene on the gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea and the disease it causes on Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Exposure of B. cinerea to ethylene inhibited mycelium growth in vitro and caused transcriptional changes in a large number of fungal genes. A screen of fungal signaling mutants revealed a Gα null mutant (Δbcg1) which was ethylene insensitive, overproduced ethylene in vitro, and showed considerable transcriptional changes in response to ethylene compared with the wild type. Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG)-treated, ethylene-nonproducing N. benthamiana plants developed much larger necroses than ethylene-producing plants, whereas addition of ethylene to AVG-treated leaves restricted disease spreading. Ethylene also affected fungal gene expression in planta. Expression of a putative pathogenicity fungal gene, bcspl1, was enhanced 24 h after inoculation in ethylene-producing plants but only 48 h after inoculation in ethylene-nonproducing plants. Our results show that the responses of B. cinerea to ethylene are partly mediated by a G protein signaling pathway, and that ethylene-induced plant resistance might involve effects of plant ethylene on both the plant and the fungus.

Late wilt of maize, caused by the fungus Harpophora maydis, is one of the most important fungal diseases in Egypt. The disease has also been reported from India, Hungary, Spain and Portugal. The pathogen survives for long periods in soil. Late wilt is currently controlled using maize varieties with reduced sensitivity, but virulent variants of the fungus may threaten these varieties. Common disease symptoms have been documented over 20 years in Upper Galilee (northern Israel), particularly the Hula Valley. Recently, prevalence of the disease has increased. This is the first confirmed report of the direct and primary cause of the disease in Israel. Isolates of the pathogen obtained from wilting maize plants were morphologically identical to those of strains found in Egypt and India. We modified a molecular method as a diagnostic assay of disease progress in an infested field in northern Israel. The assay identified the pathogen 50 d after seeding, before the emergence of disease symptoms, both in susceptible and partially resistant host plants. DNA assessment was consistent with the disease progress in a susceptible maize variety, and the pathogen also spread in partially resistant plants that showed no symptoms. Seeds of apparently healthy, partially resistant plants may therefore also spread the disease. A modified molecular method presented here is a preliminary step in developing a seed health assay.

Necrotrophic fungi are unable to occupy living plant cells. How such pathogens survive first contact with living host tissue and initiate infection is therefore unclear. Here, we show that the necrotrophic grey mold fungus Botrytis cinerea undergoes massive apoptotic-like programmed cell death (PCD) following germination on the host plant. Manipulation of an anti-apoptotic gene BcBIR1 modified fungal response to PCD-inducing conditions. As a consequence, strains with reduced sensitivity to PCD were hyper virulent, while strains in which PCD was over-stimulated showed reduced pathogenicity. Similarly, reduced levels of PCD in the fungus were recorded following infection of Arabidopsis mutants that show enhanced susceptibility to B. cinerea. When considered together, these results suggest that Botrytis PCD machinery is targeted by plant defense molecules, and that the fungal anti-apoptotic machinery is essential for overcoming this host-induced PCD and hence, for establishment of infection. As such, fungal PCD machinery represents a novel target for fungicides and antifungal drugs.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Botrytis cinerea are closely related necrotrophic plant pathogenic fungi notable for their wide host ranges and environmental persistence. These attributes have made these species models for understanding the complexity of necrotrophic, broad host-range pathogenicity. Despite their similarities, the two species differ in mating behaviour and the ability to produce asexual spores. We have sequenced the genomes of one strain of S. sclerotiorum and two strains of B. cinerea. The comparative analysis of these genomes relative to one another and to other sequenced fungal genomes is provided here. Their 38-39 Mb genomes include 11,860-14,270 predicted genes, which share 83% amino acid identity on average between the two species. We have mapped the S. sclerotiorum assembly to 16 chromosomes and found large-scale co-linearity with the B. cinerea genomes. Seven percent of the S. sclerotiorum genome comprises transposable elements compared to

Septic abortion can lead to severe maternal morbidity and mortality. The management of septic abortion can be complicated by a history of radical trachelectomy and transabdominal cerclage placement. A 33-year-old G1P0 at 17 weeks and 6 days gestation presented in severe septic shock after being diagnosed 6 days prior with previable rupture of membranes at an outside hospital and managed expectantly. History was notable for cervical adenocarcinoma status post radical trachelectomy and transabdominal cerclage placement. Due to uterine occlusion from the cerclage, the patient underwent emergent uterine evacuation via an abdominal approach. The risks and benefits of expectant management of pre-viable rupture of membranes in patients with abdominal cerclage should be weighed very cautiously. Among women with abdominal cerclage for whom uterine evacuation is indicated, a transabdominal approach may be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies how three prominent Israeli online newspapers frame gay Members of Knesset (Israeli parliament) and cabinet ministers. 2019 was chosen since the number of gay MKs reached a historic milestone of representation. The study employed a mixed-methods design, combining descriptive statistics, based on a quantitative content analysis, with a thematic qualitative analysis. 1015 retrieved news items constituted the initial database. They were divided into two categories: "Gay relevant" (items explicitly referring to, or mentioning the politician's sexual orientation); or "Gay irrelevant" (all other items), to thematically focus on the Gay relevant items (N = 159). Six themes were then identified: Novelty; LGBTQ Political Representation; Private Sphere; Homophobia; Community Recognition and Rights; and Incongruity. Findings revealed that elite newspaper coverage is similar to popular ones; cabinet ministers' framing is more neutral compared to junior MKs; and liberal MKs are framed differently than conservative ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiotherapists have been urged to implement evidence-based practice for the management of low back pain (LBP). However, recent evidence suggests that many fail to do so, specifically in accordance with eliciting and addressing psychosocial factors that impact pain. The Enhanced Transtheoretical Model Intervention (ETMI) for the Treatment of patients with LBP was developed in Israel according to the clinical guidelines and demonstrated clinically and cost-effectiveness. This study's purpose is to explore physiotherapists' perceptions of implementing evidence-based practice through the ETMI approach. Qualitative study. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 physiotherapists. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed thematically to identify prevalent themes. Three main themes were identified from the transcripts, consisting of barriers and facilitators of implementing the intervention, and a meta-theme referring to shifts in the perceptions of professional role and identity. The findings suggest that physiotherapists believed that implementing ETMI and adopting a psychosocial approach to LBP can be achieved by overcoming issues around communication skills, patient reassurance, and inter-professional collaboration. Therapists also highlighted the need for physiotherapy training to gain skills in combined physical and psychological approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]