One of the factors affecting the security of a state is air threats. Their nature often exerts a negative impact on both the functioning of the state and using airspace. The purpose of this article ...is to define the term of air threats and characterize contemporary air threats, illustrated with numerous examples. The scientific deliberations lead to outlining possible development trends in this respect, in relation to technological progress. The article ends with several concluding statements with regard to an analysis of prospective air threats. It also shows possible development trends in the discussed matter. The final part of the article is devoted to conclusions regarding the transformation of contemporary air threats.
Fungi and oomycetes encompass many pathogens affecting crops worldwide. Their effective control requires screening pathogens across the local and international trade networks along with the ...monitoring of pathogen inocula in the field. Fundamentals to all of these concerns are their efficient detection, identification, and quantification. The use of molecular markers showed the best promise in the field of plant pathogen diagnostics. However, despite the unquestionable benefits of DNA-based methods, two significant limitations are associated with their use. The first limitation concerns the insufficient level of sensitivity due to the very low and uneven distribution of pathogens in plant material. The second limitation pertains to the inability of widely used diagnostic assays to detect cryptic species. Targeting mtDNA appears to provide a solution to these challenges. Its high copy number in microbial cells makes mtDNA an attractive target for developing highly sensitive assays. In addition, previous studies on different pathogen taxa indicated that mitogenome sequence variation could improve cryptic species delimitation accuracy. This review sheds light on the potential application of mtDNA for pathogen diagnostics. This paper covers a brief description of qPCR and DNA barcoding as two major strategies enabling the diagnostics of plant pathogenic fungi and oomycetes. Both strategies are discussed along with the potential use of mtDNA, including their strengths and weaknesses.
Fusarium graminearum is the main causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) disease in wheat in Europe. To reveal population structure and to pinpoint genetic targets of selection we studied genomes ...of 96 strains of F. graminearum using population genomics. Bayesian and phylogenomic analyses indicated that the F. graminearum emergence in Europe could be linked to two independently evolving populations termed here as East European (EE) and West European (WE) population. The EE strains are primarily prevalent in Eastern Europe, but to a lesser extent also in western and southern areas. In contrast, the WE population appears to be endemic to Western Europe. Both populations evolved in response to population-specific selection forces, resulting in distinct localized adaptations that allowed them to migrate into their environmental niche. The detection of positive selection in genes with protein/zinc ion binding domains, transcription factors and in genes encoding proteins involved in transmembrane transport highlights their important role in driving evolutionary novelty that allow F. graminearum to increase adaptation to the host and/or environment. F. graminearum also maintained distinct sets of accessory genes showing population-specific conservation. Among them, genes involved in host invasion and virulence such as those encoding proteins with high homology to tannase/feruloyl esterase and genes encoding proteins with functions related to oxidation-reduction were mostly found in the WE population. Our findings shed light on genetic features related to microevolutionary divergence of F. graminearum and reveal relevant genes for further functional research aiming at better control of this pathogen.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The period of adolescence includes biological, psychological and social maturation. All these processes complement and affect each other. The ultimate goal is the transition from childhood to ...adulthood which enables individuals to become socialized beings, who are psychologically mature and able to pass on their genetic inheritance. In the process of reaching full maturity, adolescents are exposed to both positive and negative stimuli the socio-cultural environment. In the process of socialization, the influence of peers, and the maturing into social roles is important. At the same time, adolescents mature biologically. A holistic understanding of the sequence of changes that occur during adolescence foregrounds the significance of biology in informing emotions and cognition. Research conducted on adolescents from Wrocław, Poland, showed the impact that physical development plays on social development within a school peer group. Adolescents with a slower pace of maturity, lower BMI, and lower body height achieved the lowest social status in the group’s hierarchy. These adolescents also became victims of peer rejection. The role of scapegoat assigned to them highlighted and completed the symptomatic rejection process, which highlighted negative social group behaviours. In contrast, their peers from the same classes, with higher biological parameters, became leaders in the school’s social groups. Furthermore, sociometric ‘stars’, leaders and gray eminences, compared to scapegoats, achieved maturity faster, and had greater body height and higher BMI among all age groups.
Recent improvements in microbiology and molecular epidemiology were largely stimulated by whole- genome sequencing (WGS), which provides an unprecedented resolution in discriminating highly related ...genetic backgrounds. WGS is becoming the method of choice in epidemiology of fungal diseases, but its application is still in a pioneer stage, mainly due to the limited number of available genomes. Fungal pathogens often belong to complexes composed of numerous cryptic species. Detecting cryptic diversity is fundamental to understand the dynamics and the evolutionary relationships underlying disease outbreaks. In this study, we explore the value of whole-genome SNP analyses in identification of the pandemic pathogen
Fusarium graminearum sensu stricto
(
F.g
.). This species is responsible for cereal diseases and negatively impacts grain production worldwide. The fungus belongs to the monophyletic fungal complex referred to as
F. graminearum
species complex including at least sixteen cryptic species, a few among them may be involved in cereal diseases in certain agricultural areas. We analyzed WGS data from a collection of 99
F.g.
strains and 33 strains representing all known cryptic species belonging to the FGSC complex. As a first step, we performed a phylogenomic analysis to reveal species-specific clustering. A RAxML maximum likelihood tree grouped all analyzed strains of
F.g.
into a single clade, supporting the clustering-based identification approach. Although, phylogenetic reconstructions are essential in detecting cryptic species, a phylogenomic tree does not fulfill the criteria for rapid and cost-effective approach for identification of fungi, due to the time-consuming nature of the analysis. As an alternative, analysis of WGS information by mapping sequence data from individual strains against reference genomes may provide useful markers for the rapid identification of fungi. We provide a robust framework for typing
F.g.
through the web-based PhaME workflow available at EDGE bioinformatics. The method was validated through multiple comparisons of assembly genomes to
F.g.
reference strain PH-1. We showed that the difference between intra- and interspecies variability was at least two times higher than intraspecific variation facilitating successful typing of
F.g
. This is the first study which employs WGS data for typing plant pathogenic fusaria.
Legumes are amongst the most promising crops to satisfy the increasing demand for protein-rich food and feed. Today, however, their cultivation in Europe is low, while European agriculture faces a ...deficit of protein-rich feed, of which the largest part is met by imported soybean. It has been suggested that some legumes can at least partially substitute for soybean in different types of feed. Despite their benefits, legumes may also remain a significant concern to human and animal health, especially regarding grain contamination with Fusaria and their mycotoxins. In this study, we determined the species composition of
field isolates recovered from diseased grains of various legumes. Our results showed that
was mainly responsible for grain deterioration of common vetch, faba bean, and blue lupine. Besides, we found that
also appeared to be a major pathogen of common vetch. This study is the first ever to report common vetch as a host for F.
, and
sensu stricto. Our results indicate that the composition of toxigenic Fusaria associated with grains of legumes is different than that previously observed in cereal grains.
Soybean is an important, high protein source of food and feed. However, like other agricultural grains, soybean may pose a risk to human and animal health due to contamination of the grains with ...toxigenic Fusaria and associated mycotoxins. In this study, we investigated the diversity of Fusaria on a panel of 104 field isolates obtained from soybean grains during the growing seasons in 2017-2020. The results of species-specific PCR analyses showed that
was the most common (
= 40) species associated with soybean grains in Poland, followed by
(
= 22) and
(11 isolates). A set of isolates, which was not determined based on PCR analyses, was whole genome sequenced. Multiple sequence analyses using
,
,
,
,
and
genes showed that most of them belonged to Equiseti clade. Three cryptic species from this clade:
and FIESC 31 (lacking Latin binomial) were found on soybean for the first time. This is the first report demonstrating the prevalence of Fusaria on soybean grains in Poland.
A recently presented taxonomical arrangement of the moss genus Orthotrichum Hedw. s.l. substantially changed the traditional view of the taxon that had been accepted throughout the twentieth century. ...This paper provides the results of mitogenomic studies that strongly support the new taxonomical concept. Comparative analyses presented in this study confirmed the stable structure of moss mitogenomes. Moreover, 17 complete mitogenome sequences were used to identify the major evolutionary groups, including 11 newly sequenced ones, for this study. The analysis of mitochondrial hotspots revealed intron 4 of the cox1 gene to be the most variable non-coding region. The most variable protein-coding genes in the tribe Orthotricheae were ccmFC and tatC. The intergenic and intronic hotspots of Orthotrichum s.l. identified in the present study do not correspond to those described in vascular plant mitogenomes.
PDF
