Stonerodgers1835
Identifying effective sources of disease resistance is an important aspect of an effective plant protection strategy. Wild species related to cultivars constitute a rich reservoir of resistance genes. Studies conducted in oat have shown that wild species are donors of resistance genes to crown and stem rust, powdery mildew or fusarium head blight. The aim of the present study was to prove whether A. fatua could be a source of effective resistance genes to powdery mildew. This species is widespread all over the world due to its very good adaptability and can be regarded as a potential source of resistance to fungal diseases, including powdery mildew. The conducted research has shown that A. fatua is a species with a low level of resistance to powdery mildew when compared to other wild species of the genus Avena L. A total of 251 accessions were evaluated, and only 23 were identified as resistant to the individual isolates used in the host-pathogen tests. It follows that resistance to powdery mildew is not common among wild Avena species, and its good environmental adaptation is not associated to resistance to powdery mildew.Animal models have been used in preclinical research to examine potential new treatments for spinal cord injury (SCI), including mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation. MSC transplants have been studied in early human trials. Whether the animal models represent the human studies is unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis has examined the effects of MSC transplants in human and animal studies. Following searches of PubMed, Clinical Trials and the Cochrane Library, published papers were screened, and data were extracted and analysed. MSC transplantation was associated with significantly improved motor and sensory function in humans, and significantly increased locomotor function in animals. However, there are discrepancies between the studies of human participants and animal models, including timing of MSC transplant post-injury and source of MSCs. Additionally, difficulty in the comparison of functional outcome measures across species limits the predictive nature of the animal research. These findings have been summarised, and recommendations for further research are discussed to better enable the translation of animal models to MSC-based human clinical therapy.Low temperature stress represents a major threat to the lives of both farmed and wild fish species. However, biological pathways determining the development of cold resistance in fish remain largely unknown. Zebrafish larvae at 96 hpf were exposed to lethal cold stress (10 °C) for different time periods to evaluate the adverse effects at organism, tissue and cell levels. Time series RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments were performed to delineate the transcriptomic landscape of zebrafish larvae under cold stress and during the subsequent rewarming phase. The genes regulated by cold stress were characterized by progressively enhanced or decreased expression, whereas the genes associated with rewarming were characterized by rapid upregulation upon return to normal temperature (28 °C). Genes such as trib3, dusp5 and otud1 were identified as the representative molecular markers of cold-induced damages through network analysis. Biological pathways involved in cold stress responses were mined from the transcriptomic data and their functions in regulating cold resistance were validated using specific inhibitors. The autophagy, FoxO and MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathways were revealed to be survival pathways for enhancing cold resistance, while apoptosis and necroptosis were the death pathways responsible for cold-induced mortality. Functional mechanisms of the survival-enhancing factors Foxo1, ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) and p38 MAPK were further characterized by inhibiting their activities upon cold stress and analyzing gene expression though RNA-seq. These factors were demonstrated to determine the cold resistance of zebrafish through regulating apoptosis and p53 signaling pathway. These findings have provided novel insights into the stress responses elicited by lethal cold and shed new light on the molecular mechanisms underlying cold resistance of fish.Candida auris is a multidrug-resistant pathogen that represents a serious public health threat due to its rapid global emergence, increasing incidence of healthcare-associated outbreaks, and high rates of antifungal resistance. Whole-genome sequencing and genomic surveillance have the potential to bolster C. SQ22536 auris surveillance networks moving forward. Laboratories conducting genomic surveillance need to be able to compare analyses from various national and international surveillance partners to ensure that results are mutually trusted and understood. Therefore, we established an empirical outbreak benchmark dataset consisting of 23 C. auris genomes to help validate comparisons of genomic analyses and facilitate communication among surveillance networks. Our outbreak benchmark dataset represents a polyclonal phylogeny with three subclades. The genomes in this dataset are from well-vetted studies that are supported by multiple lines of evidence, which demonstrate that the whole-genome sequencing data, phylogenetic tree, and epidemiological data are all in agreement. This C. auris benchmark set allows for standardized comparisons of phylogenomic pipelines, ultimately promoting effective C. auris collaborations.Color can enhance the perception of relevant stimuli by increasing their salience and guiding visual search towards stimuli that match a task-relevant color. Using Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS), the current study investigated whether color facilitates the discrimination of targets that are difficult to perceive due to interocular suppression. Gabor patterns of two or four cycles per degree (cpd) were shown as targets to the non-dominant eye of human participants. CFS masks were presented at a rate of 10 Hz to the dominant eye, and participants had the task to report the target's orientation as soon as they could discriminate it. The 2-cpd targets were robustly suppressed and resulted in much longer response times compared to 4-cpd targets. Moreover, only for 2-cpd targets, two color-related effects were evident. First, in trials where targets and CFS masks had different colors, targets were reported faster than in trials where targets and CFS masks had the same color. Second, targets with a known color, either cyan or yellow, were reported earlier than targets whose color was randomly cyan or yellow.