scholarly journals Forest Tree Microbiomes and Associated Fungal Endophytes: Functional Roles and Impact on Forest Health

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eeva Terhonen ◽  
Kathrin Blumenstein ◽  
Andriy Kovalchuk ◽  
Fred O. Asiegbu
Keyword(s):  
Close Association ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Potential Impact

Terrestrial plants including forest trees are generally known to live in close association with microbial organisms. The inherent features of this close association can be commensalism, parasitism or mutualism. The term “microbiota” has been used to describe this ecological community of plant-associated pathogenic, mutualistic, endophytic and commensal microorganisms. Many of these microbiota inhabiting forest trees could have a potential impact on the health of, and disease progression in, forest biomes. Comparatively, studies on forest tree microbiomes and their roles in mutualism and disease lag far behind parallel work on crop and human microbiome projects. Very recently, our understanding of plant and tree microbiomes has been enriched due to novel technological advances using metabarcoding, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics approaches. In addition, the availability of massive DNA databases (e.g., NCBI (USA), EMBL (Europe), DDBJ (Japan), UNITE (Estonia)) as well as powerful computational and bioinformatics tools has helped to facilitate data mining by researchers across diverse disciplines. Available data demonstrate that plant phyllosphere bacterial communities are dominated by members of only a few phyla (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes). In bulk forest soil, the dominant fungal group is Basidiomycota, whereas Ascomycota is the most prevalent group within plant tissues. The current challenge, however, is how to harness and link the acquired knowledge on microbiomes for translational forest management. Among tree-associated microorganisms, endophytic fungal biota are attracting a lot of attention for their beneficial health- and growth-promoting effects, and were preferentially discussed in this review.

scholarly journals New R-Based Methodology to Optimize the Identification of Root Endophytes against Heterobasidion parviporum.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Rigerte ◽  
Kathrin Blumenstein ◽  
Eeva Terhonen
Keyword(s):  
Root Rot ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
Root Endophytes ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Antagonistic Potential ◽  
Fungal Root Endophytes ◽  
Potential Impact

Many root fungal endophytes inhabiting forest trees have potential impact on the health and disease progression of certain tree species. Hence, the screening of root endophytes for their biocontrol abilities is relevant for their potential to protect their hosts against invaders. The aim of this research is to screen for the potential inhibitory effects of selected conifer root endophytes during interaction, in vitro, with the root rot pathogen, Heterobasidion parviporum. Here, we introduce a guideline that facilitates the use of root fungal endophytes as biocontrol agents. We isolated fungal root endophytes from eight different conifers. These root fungal endophytes were evaluated for their antagonism against the root rot pathogen, H. parviporum, by means of paired-culture antagonism assays. We determined the antagonism of the isolated root fungal endophytes to elucidate potential biocontrol applications. For the analysis, a software package in R was developed. Endophyte candidates with antagonistic potential were identified.

Greenhouse gas fluxes from an oil palm plantation on mineral soil in Indonesia undergoing riparian restoration 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella White ◽  
Ribka Sionita Tarigan ◽  
Anak Agung Ketut Aryawan ◽  
Edgar Turner ◽  
Sarah Luke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Riparian Restoration ◽  
Enrichment Planting ◽  
Mineral Soils ◽  
Ghg Fluxes

<p>Oil palm (OP) growers are under pressure to reduce their environmental impact. Ecosystem function and biodiversity are at the forefront of the issue, but what effect do changes in management practices have on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from plantations? </p><p>The Riparian Ecosystem Restoration in Tropical Agriculture (RERTA) Project is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the SMART Research Institute in Riau, Indonesia. This project explores the ecological changes resulting from the restoration of riparian margins between plantations and watercourses. Four management strategies were applied on both sides of a river to create 50m riparian buffers, 400m in length: (1) A control treatment of no restoration, the removal of mature OP and replanting of young OP to the river margin; (2) Little to no agricultural management of mature OP; (3) Clearance of mature OP and enrichment planting with native forest trees; (4) Little or no agricultural management of mature OP and enrichment planting with native forest trees. Here we present a specific objective to investigate the effect of riparian restoration – and related changes in soil characteristics, structure and vegetation cover – on fluxes of N<sub>2</sub>O, CH<sub>4</sub> and CO<sub>2</sub> from mineral soils.</p><p>The experimental site began as a mature OP plantation, with monthly background measurements taken between January and April 2019. Palms were felled in April 2019 and monthly sampling was resumed when replanting and restoration began, in October 2019. We measured GHGs using static chambers; 6 in each riparian treatment and 16 in the actual OP plantation, 40 chambers in total. Samples were analysed using GC-FID/µECD.</p><p>Background measurements before felling showed high variability, but indicated no difference between the four experimental plots and the rest of the plantation. Fluxes measured following replanting were also highly variable, with no significant differences observed between treatments. N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes were relatively low before felling as the mature palms were no longer fertilised. Higher emissions were seen in the disturbed immature OP and forest tree treatments following replanting. Though the sites appeared to recover quickly and emission fluxes decreased after a few months, presumably as the soil settled and new vegetation began to grow. CH<sub>4</sub> uptake was seen in the immature OP treatment immediately after replanting. In subsequent months no clear trends of CH<sub>4</sub> uptake or emission were observed, with the greatest variability generally seen in the forest tree treatment. CH<sub>4</sub> emissions increased in October 2020 with the beginning of the rainy season, most notably in mature OP and mature OP with forest tree treatments. Following restoration CO<sub>2</sub> emissions were higher in treatments with established plant communities – mature OP and mature OP with forest trees.</p><p>These results suggest that riparian restoration had no significant effect on GHG fluxes from mineral soils, and would not alter the overall GHG budget of a plantation. If there is no additional GHG burden and riparian restoration results in enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services as well as improving water quality, it will be a viable management option to improve the environmental impact of an OP plantation.</p>

Interaction of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.G. Goetz ◽  
I.R. Nabi
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Close Association ◽  
Cytosolic Calcium ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Motility Factor ◽  
Calcium Sequestration ◽  
Multiple Domains ◽  
The Relationship

The ER (endoplasmic reticulum) is composed of multiple domains including the nuclear envelope, ribosome-studded rough ER and the SER (smooth ER). The SER can also be functionally segregated into domains that regulate ER–Golgi traffic (transitional ER), ERAD (ER-associated degradation), sterol and lipid biosynthesis and calcium sequestration. The last two, as well as apoptosis, are critically regulated by the close association of the SER with mitochondria. Studies with AMFR (autocrine motility factor receptor) have defined an SER domain whose integrity and mitochondrial association can be modulated by ilimaquinone as well as by free cytosolic calcium levels in the normal physiological range. AMFR is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets its ligand directly to the SER via a caveolae/raft-dependent pathway. In the present review, we will address the relationship between the calcium-dependent morphology and mitochondrial association of the SER and its various functional roles in the cell.

scholarly journals The Prenatal Microbiome: A New Player for Human Health

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria D’Argenio
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Fetal Development ◽  
Reproductive Medicine ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Umbilical Blood ◽  
Technological Advances

The last few years have featured an increasing interest in the study of the human microbiome and its correlations with health status. Indeed, technological advances have allowed the study of microbial communities to reach a previously unthinkable sensitivity, showing the presence of microbes also in environments usually considered as sterile. In this scenario, microbial communities have been described in the amniotic fluid, the umbilical blood cord, and the placenta, denying a dogma of reproductive medicine that considers the uterus like a sterile womb. This prenatal microbiome may play a role not only in fetal development but also in the predisposition to diseases that may develop later in life, and also in adulthood. Thus, the aim of this review is to report the current knowledge regarding the prenatal microbiome composition, its association with pathological processes, and the future perspectives regarding its manipulation for healthy status promotion and maintenance.

scholarly journals Revealing Protein-Level Functional Redundancy in the Human Gut Microbiome using Ultra-deep Metaproteomics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyuan Li ◽  
Zhibin Ning ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
James Butcher ◽  
Caitlin Simopoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiome ◽  
Protein Level ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Functional Redundancy ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Human Gut Microbiome ◽  
Metagenomics Data ◽  
Network Approaches

Functional redundancy is a key property of ecosystems and represents the fact that phylogenetically unrelated taxa can play similar functional roles within an ecosystem. The redundancy of potential functions of human microbiome has been recently quantified using metagenomics data. Yet, the redundancy of functions which are actually expressed within the human microbiome remains largely unexplored. Here, we quantify the protein-level functional redundancy in the human gut microbiome using metaproteomics and network approaches. In particular, our ultra-deep metaproteomics approach revealed high protein-level functional redundancy and high nestedness in proteomic content networks - bipartite graphs that connect taxa with their expressed functions. We further examined multiple metaproteomics datasets and showed that various environmental factors, including individuality, biogeography, xenobiotics, and disease, significantly altered the protein-level functional redundancy. Finally, by projecting the bipartite proteomic content networks into unipartite weighted genus networks, functional hub genera across individual microbiomes were discovered, suggesting that there may be a universal principle of functional organization in microbiome assembly.

scholarly journals External Environmental Analysis For Small And Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather C. Banham
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Customer Expectations ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Medium Enterprises

<p style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; mso-pagination: none;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face unique challenges in the business environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>SMEs need to successfully deal with the prevalent forces for change if they are to survive and grow and meet the expectations to create investment and employment opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Successfully adapting to change from technological advances, customer expectations, supplier requirements, the regulatory environment and increasing competition requires successful implementation of organizational change. The &lsquo;Degrees of Turbulence&rsquo; Model is proposed as a self assessment tool to aid SMEs in their environmental scan and to assist in assessing the potential impact and adjusting to the impending changes in the external environment to ensure continued viability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span></strong><strong><span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></strong></p>

scholarly journals Advances and Perspectives of Transgenic Technology and Biotechnological Application in Forest Trees

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiyi Yin ◽  
Chun Wang ◽  
Dandan Xiao ◽  
Yanting Liang ◽  
Yanwei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Transformation ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Breeding Cycle ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Transgenic Technology ◽  
Forest Tree Breeding ◽  
Exogenous Dna ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Gm Trees

Transgenic technology is increasingly used in forest-tree breeding to overcome the disadvantages of traditional breeding methods, such as a long breeding cycle, complex cultivation environment, and complicated procedures. By introducing exogenous DNA, genes tightly related or contributed to ideal traits—including insect, disease, and herbicide resistance—were transferred into diverse forest trees, and genetically modified (GM) trees including poplars were cultivated. It is beneficial to develop new varieties of GM trees of high quality and promote the genetic improvement of forests. However, the low transformation efficiency has hampered the cultivation of GM trees and the identification of the molecular genetic mechanism in forest trees compared to annual herbaceous plants such as Oryza sativa. In this study, we reviewed advances in transgenic technology of forest trees, including the principles, advantages and disadvantages of diverse genetic transformation methods, and their application for trait improvement. The review provides insight into the establishment and improvement of genetic transformation systems for forest tree species. Challenges and perspectives pertaining to the genetic transformation of forest trees are also discussed.

A DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL INTERSPECIFIC HYBRIDS IN NORTH AMERICAN FOREST-TREE GENERA

1939 ◽  
Vol 17c (12) ◽  
pp. 411-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. P. V. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Interspecific Hybrids ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Forest Trees ◽  
Tabular Form

Over 400 hybrids involving 28 North American genera of forest trees are described in tabular form with the object, primarily, of providing useful information for the forest-tree breeder. The genera involved are: Abies, Acer, Aesculus, Alnus, Arbutus, Betula, Carya, Castanea, Catalpa, Cyprus, Crataegus, Cupressus, Gleditsia, Ilex, Juglans, Larix, Magnolia, Picea, Pinus, Platanus, Populus, Quercus, Robinia, Salix, Taxus, Tilia, Tsuga, and Ulmus.

The Genetics and Genomics of Asthma

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saffron A.G. Willis-Owen ◽  
William O.C. Cookson ◽  
Miriam F. Moffatt
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Variation ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Genetics And Genomics ◽  
The Individual

Asthma is a common, clinically heterogeneous disease with strong evidence of heritability. Progress in defining the genetic underpinnings of asthma, however, has been slow and hampered by issues of inconsistency. Recent advances in the tools available for analysis—assaying transcription, sequence variation, and epigenetic marks on a genome-wide scale—have substantially altered this landscape. Applications of such approaches are consistent with heterogeneity at the level of causation and specify patterns of commonality with a wide range of alternative disease traits. Looking beyond the individual as the unit of study, advances in technology have also fostered comprehensive analysis of the human microbiome and its varied roles in health and disease. In this article, we consider the implications of these technological advances for our current understanding of the genetics and genomics of asthma.

Walk to work systems as an enabler of reduced maintenance and manning

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 799
Author(s):  
David B. McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Work Systems ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
System Requirements ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Transfer Method ◽  
Remote Operations ◽  
Safety And Environment

Recent technological advances in the areas of personnel transfers and remote operations have opened opportunities for new and existing facilities to move towards minimum manning operating philosophies. This paper will discuss the benefits and challenges of moving from a permanently manned model with helicopter transfers to an unmanned or minimally manned facility with vessel-based support and walk to work transfers. Potential impact on manning and accommodation philosophy will be addressed, focusing on an operator’s typical decision criteria, including: workability of transfer operations; emergency response capability; maintenance workload; health, safety and environment risk; marine support vessel requirements; and compliance with safety regulations. While assessments can be made of each operating philosophy change in isolation – reduced manning, remote operations and personnel transfer method – this paper will seek to address a holistic approach potentially providing greater impact than the sum of each change. This is possible through the interdependence of manning, life support system requirements and maintenance workload; reduced manning allows reduced number and complexity of systems, which reduces maintenance workload and, in turn, further reduces manning requirements, potentially allowing a step change in operating and manning philosophy to one of a not normally manned with vessel-based accommodation.

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