•XylA showed a role on F. graminearum virulence during host colonization.•XylA was important for fungal growth on heads during the first FHB infection stages.•Two genes encoding other xylanases did ...not show an overexpression in the absence of XylA.
Fusarium graminearum is the main causal agent of fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and barley. This filamentous fungus is able to produce hydrolytic enzymes, such as xylanases, that cause cell wall degradation, permitting host colonization. This study investigated the role of the F. graminearum XylA (FGSG_10999) gene during infection, using a knockout mutant in strain CS3005. Assays were carried out on common wheat, durum wheat and barley to compare virulence of a XylA knockout to that of wild type strain. These assays were conducted on wheat and barley seedling roots, seedling stem bases and heads. Furthermore, additional in vitro experiments were conducted to investigate the role of XylA gene in the utilisation of D-xylose, the main component of cereals cell wall. In planta assays showed the importance of XylA gene for F. graminearum virulence towards its main hosts. A positive correlation between symptom incidence and fungal biomass development was also observed for both the wild type and the knockout strains. Finally, gene expression studies performed in a liquid medium enriched with D-xylose, a known xylanase inducer in other fungi, showed that the absence of the gene in the FGSG_10999 locus was not compensated by two other F. graminearum xylanase encoding genes analysed (loci FGSG_06445 and FGSG_11478).
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Stars in globular clusters are generally believed to have all formed at the same time, early in the Galaxy's history. 'Blue stragglers' are stars massive enough that they should have evolved into ...white dwarfs long ago. Two possible mechanisms have been proposed for their formation: mass transfer between binary companions and stellar mergers resulting from direct collisions between two stars. Recently the binary explanation was claimed to be dominant. Here we report that there are two distinct parallel sequences of blue stragglers in M 30. This globular cluster is thought to have undergone 'core collapse', during which both the collision rate and the mass transfer activity in binary systems would have been enhanced. We suggest that the two observed sequences are a consequence of cluster core collapse, with the bluer population arising from direct stellar collisions and the redder one arising from the evolution of close binaries that are probably still experiencing an active phase of mass transfer.
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DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present the chemical abundance analysis of 33 red giant stars belonging to the complex stellar system Terzan 5. We confirm the discovery of two stellar populations with distinct iron abundances: a ...relatively metal-poor component with Fe/H = --0.25 ? 0.07 rms and another component with Fe/H = +0.27 ? 0.04 rms, exceeding in metallicity any known Galactic globular cluster (GC). The two populations also show different Delta *a/Fe abundance ratios. The metal-poor component has an average Delta *a/Fe =+0.34 ? 0.06 rms, consistent with the canonical scenario for rapid enrichment by core collapse supernovae (SNe). The metal-rich component has Delta *a/Fe =+0.03 ? 0.04 rms, suggesting that the gas from which it formed was polluted by both type II and type Ia SNe on a longer timescale. Neither of the two populations shows evidence of the Al/Fe over O/Fe anti-correlation that is typically observed in Galactic GCs. Because these chemical abundance patterns are unique, we propose that Terzan 5 is not a true GC, but a stellar system with a much more complex history of star formation and chemical enrichment.
We use a combination of data acquired with the Advanced Camera for Survey on board the Hubble Space Telescope and the Large Binocular Camera (LBC-blue) mounted on the Large Binocular Telescope to ...sample the main sequence (MS) stars of the globular cluster (GC) NGC 5466 in the mass range 0.3 < M/M sub(middot in circle) < 0.8. We derive the cluster's Luminosity Function (LF) in several radial regions, from the center of the cluster out to the tidal radius. After corrections for incompleteness and field contamination, this was compared to theoretical LFs, obtained by multiplying a simple power-law mass function in the form dN/dm proportional, variant m super(alpha) by the derivative of the mass- luminosity relationship of the best-fit isochrone. We find that alpha varies from -0.6 in the core region to -1.9 in the outer region. This fact allows us to prove by observation that the stars in NGC 5466 have experienced the effects of mass segregation. We compare the radial variation of alpha from the center out to 5 core radii (r sub(c)) in NGC 5466 and the GC M10, finding that the gradient of alpha in the first 5r sub(c) is more than a factor of 2 shallower in NGC 5466 than in M10, in line with the differences in the clusters' relaxation timescales. NGC 5466 is dynamically younger than M10, with two-body relaxation processes only recently starting to shape the distribution of MS stars. This result fully agrees with the conclusion obtained in our previous works on the radial distribution of blue straggler stars, further confirming that this can be used as an efficient clock to measure the dynamical age of stellar systems.
We present new optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry and spectroscopy of the Type IIP supernova (SN), SN 2004et. In combination with already published data, this provides one of the most ...complete studies of optical and NIR data for any Type IIP SN from just after explosion to +500 d. The contribution of the NIR flux to the bolometric light curve is estimated to increase from 15 per cent at explosion to around 50 per cent at the end of the plateau and then declines to 40 per cent at 300 d. SN 2004et is one of the most luminous IIP SNe which has been well studied and characterized, and with a luminosity of log L= 42.3 erg s−1 and a 56Ni mass of 0.06 ± 0.04 M⊙, it is two times brighter than SN 1999em. We provide parametrized bolometric corrections as a function of time since explosion for SN 2004et and three other IIP SNe that have extensive optical and NIR data. These can be used as templates for future events in optical and NIR surveys without full wavelength coverage. We compare the physical parameters of SN 2004et with those of other well-studied IIP SNe and find that the kinetic energies span a range of 1050–1051 erg. We compare the ejected masses calculated from hydrodynamic models with the progenitor masses and limits derived from pre-discovery images. Some of the ejected mass estimates are significantly higher than the progenitor mass estimates, with SN 2004et showing perhaps the most serious mass discrepancy. With the current models, it appears difficult to reconcile 100 d plateau lengths and high expansion velocities with the low ejected masses of 5–6 M⊙ implied from 7–8 M⊙ progenitors. The nebular phase is studied using very late-time Hubble Space Telescope photometry, along with optical and NIR spectroscopy. The light curve shows a clear flattening at 600 d in the optical and the NIR, which is likely due to the ejecta impacting on circumstellar material. We further show that the O i 6300, 6364 Å line strengths in the nebular spectra of four Type IIP SNe imply ejected oxygen masses of 0.5–1.5 M⊙.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
We present results from a wide-area photometric survey of the Phoenix dwarf galaxy, one of the rare dwarf irregular/dwarf spheroidal transition-type galaxies (dTs) of the Local Group (LG). ...These objects offer the opportunity to study the existence of possible evolutionary links between the late- and early-type LG dwarf galaxies, since the properties of dTs suggest that they may be dwarf irregulars in the process of transforming into dwarf spheroidals.
Using FORS at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), we have acquired VI photometry of Phoenix. The data reach a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) ∼ 10 just below the horizontal branch of the system and consist of a mosaic of images that covers an area of 26 × 26 arcmin2 centred on the coordinates of the optical centre of the galaxy.
Examination of the colour-magnitude diagram and luminosity function revealed the presence of a bump above the red clump, consistent with being a red giant branch bump.
The deep photometry combined with the large area covered allows us to put on a secure ground the determination of the overall structural properties of the galaxy and to derive the spatial distribution of stars in different evolutionary phases and age ranges, from 0.1 Gyr to the oldest stars. The best-fitting profile to the overall stellar population is a Sérsic profile of Sérsic radius R
S= 1.82 ± 0.06 arcmin and m= 0.83 ± 0.03.
We confirm that the spatial distribution of stars is found to become more and more centrally concentrated the younger the stellar population, as reported in previous studies. This is similar to the stellar population gradients found for close-by Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We quantify such spatial variations by analysing the surface number density profiles of stellar populations in different age ranges; the parameters of the best-fitting profiles are derived, and these can provide useful constraints to models exploring the evolution of dwarf galaxies in terms of their star formation.
The disc-like distribution previously found in the central regions in Phoenix appears to be present mainly among stars younger than 1 Gyr, and absent for the stars ≳5 Gyr old, which on the other hand show a regular distribution also in the centre of the galaxy. This argues against a disc-halo structure of the type found in large spirals such as the Milky Way.
Aims. We present the characteristics and some early scientific results of the first instrument at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT), the Large Binocular Camera (LBC). Each LBT telescope unit will ...be equipped with similar prime focus cameras. The blue channel is optimized for imaging in the $UV-B$ bands and the red channel for imaging in the VRIz bands. The corrected field-of-view of each camera is approximately 30 arcmin in diameter, and the chip area is equivalent to a 23$\times$23 arcmin2 field. In this paper we also present the commissioning results of the blue channel. Methods. The scientific and technical performance of the blue channel was assessed by measurement of the astrometric distortion, flat fielding, ghosts, and photometric calibrations. These measurements were then used as input to a data reduction pipeline applied to science commissioning data. Results. The measurements completed during commissioning show that the technical performance of the blue channel is in agreement with original expectations. Since the red camera is very similar to the blue one we expect similar performance from the commissioning that will be performed in the following months in binocular configuration. Using deep UV image, acquired during the commissioning of the blue camera, we derived faint UV galaxy-counts in a ~ 500 sq. arcmin sky area to U(Vega) = 26.5. These galaxy counts imply that the blue camera is the most powerful UV imager presently available and in the near future in terms of depth and extent of the field-of-view. We emphasize the potential of the blue camera to increase the robustness of the UGR multicolour selection of Lyman break galaxies at redshift z ~ 3.
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FMFMET, NUK, UL, UM, UPUK
We present the results of VLT-MUSE (Very Large Telescope-Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) integral field spectroscopy of SECCO 1, a faint, star-forming stellar system recently discovered as the ...stellar counterpart of an ultracompact high-velocity cloud (HVC 274.68+74.0), very likely residing within a substructure of the Virgo cluster of galaxies. We have obtained the radial velocity of a total of 38 individual compact sources identified as H II regions in the main and secondary bodies of the system, and derived the metallicity for 18 of them. We provide the first direct demonstration that the two stellar bodies of SECCO 1 are physically associated and that their velocities match the H I velocities. The metallicity is quite uniform over the whole system, with a dispersion lower than the uncertainty on individual metallicity estimates. The mean abundance, <12 + log(O/H)> = 8.44, is much higher than the typical values for local dwarf galaxies of similar stellar mass. This strongly suggests that the SECCO 1 stars were born from a pre-enriched gas cloud, possibly stripped from a larger galaxy. Using archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, we derive a total stellar mass of ...1.6 x 10... M... for SECCO 1, confirming that it has a very high H I-to-stellar mass ratio for a dwarf galaxy, MHIMHI/M* ~ 100. The star formation rate, derived from the Ha flux, is a factor of more than 10 higher than in typical dwarf galaxies of similar luminosity. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
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