Escherichia hermannii

Escherichia hermannii is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped species of bacterium. Strains of this species were originally isolated from human wounds, sputum, and stool. The species is named for American microbiologists George J. Hermann and Lloyd G. Herman.
A 2016 publication proposed reclassifying "E. hermannii" as a species of a new genus within the Enterobacteriaceae, "Atlantibacter", a change which would rename the species to "Atlantibacter hermannii".
Pathogenicity.
"E. hermannii" is generally considered nonpathogenic but has been isolated from human wounds, eye infections, and blood.


Entophlyctis

Entophlyctis is a genus of fungi currently classified in the family Chytriomycetaceae. The genus, widespread in temperate regions and contains about 20 species.


Pediastrum

Pediastrum is a genus of green algae, in the family Hydrodictyaceae. It is a photoautotrophic, nonmotile coenobial (fixed number of cells) green algae that inhabits freshwater environments.
Reproduction.
"Pediastrum" reproduces asexually by producing autocolonies. The protoplast of each parent cell gives rise to a biflagellate zoospore for each cell in the parent colony. The zoospores are freed from the parent cell within a vesicle and then arrange themselves into the cellular arrangement for that particular species. The cells then enlarge until they reach full size. Each cell can generate a daughter autocolony with exactly the same number and arrangement of cells as the parent colony.
"Pediastrum" reproduces sexually via the fusion of small, biflagellate gametes that are released from the parent cell. The zygotes germinate into zoospores, which turn into thick-walled polyeders that generate the new coenobia. These polyeders can also result from asexual reproduction.


Idelisa Bonnelly

Idelisa Bonnelly de Calventi (born 10 September 1931) is a Dominican marine biologist who is considered the "mother of marine conservation in the Caribbean". She was the founder of the study of biology in the Dominican Republic, as well as the founder of the Institute of Marine Biology and the Dominican Foundation for Marine Research. She was instrumental in the creation of the first Humpback Whale Sanctuary of the North Atlantic and has won numerous awards, including induction into the UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour, Unesco's Marie Curie Medal and the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella. The BBC has called her one of the most important women scientists in Latin America.
Biography.
Bonnelly was born on 10 September 1931 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. Because she wanted to study marine biology and there were no schools teaching biology in the Dominican Republic, she pursued her university studies in New York. In 1953, she enrolled at Columbia University, graduating with a BS in marine biology in 1956. She went on to attain a master's degree from New York University in 1961. After completion of her schooling, Bonnelly began her first job at the New York Aquarium as a research assistant to Ross Nigrelli. In 1962, she returned to the Dominican Republic and began teaching at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD), founding the first institution for the study of biology in the country. In 1966, she founded the Institute of Marine Biology, which later became the Research Center of Marine Biology () (CIBIMA), at which she taught from 1967 to 1986 and then until 1992 served as the coordinator of graduate studies.
In 1974, Bonnelly founded the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic and began publishing works which became widely influential for those managing and concerned with conservation of marine resources. In 1986, she was instrumental in the creation of the first protected area for the humpback whale, originally called the Humpback Whale Sanctuary on the Silver Bank ( but today known as . For her contribution, she was awarded the Medal of Merit of Dominican Women in Science by the Government of the Dominican Republic (1986), the National Science Prize from the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic (1987), and was inducted into the Global 500 Roll of Honour by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1987.
She became a Professor Meritorious at (UASD) in 1990 and in 1991 she created the Dominican Foundation for Marine Research, () (FUNDEMAR), an institution which coordinates the marine management plan, studies marine life and the coral reef, and manages the Marine Mammal Sanctuary. That same year, Bonnelly joined the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (TWOWS) and served in the First General Assembly. She continued publishing and her works have been utilized for influencing marine and coastal Environmental Law. Bonnelly was made an academic laureate of the Academy of Sciences in 2007, received a National Ecology Award from the Fundación Corripio in 2008, and was awarded the Marie Curie Medal from UNESCO in 2009. In 2010, the Society for the Conservation of Biology of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, honored her with a Distinguished Service Award in Biology and in 2011, the Government of the Dominican Republic granted her the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella. In 2013, she was recognized by the BBC as one of the ten most important women scientists in Latin America.


Akkermansia muciniphila

Akkermansia muciniphila is a species of human intestinal mucin-degrading bacterium, the type species for a new genus, "Akkermansia", proposed in 2004 by Muriel Derrien and Willem de Vos. Extensive research is being undertaken to understand its association with obesity, diabetes, and inflammation.
Biology and Biochemistry.
"A. muciniphila" is a Gram-negative, strictly anaerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming, oval-shaped bacterium. Its type strain is MucT (=ATCC BAA-835T =CIP 107961T). "A. muciniphila" is able to use mucin as its sole source of carbon and nitrogen, is culturable under anaerobic conditions on medium containing gastric mucin, and is able to colonize the gastrointestinal tracts of a number of animal species.
Recently, "A. muciniphila" strain Urmite became the first (evidently) unculturable bacterial strain to be sequenced in its entirety entirely from a human stool sample.
Human metabolism.
"A. muciniphila" is believed to have anti-inflammatory effects in humans, and studies have shown inverse relationships between "A. muciniphila" colonization and inflammatory conditions such as appendicitis or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In one study, reduced levels of "A. muciniphila" correlated with increased severity of appendicitis. In a separate study, IBD patients were found to have lower levels "A. muciniphila" in their intestinal tract than individuals without IBD.
Researchers have discovered that "A. muciniphila" could be used to combat obesity and type 2 diabetes. The first study was carried out with mice, overfed to contain three times more fat than their lean cousin. The obese mice were then fed the bacteria, which were shown to reduce the fat burden of the mice by half without any change to the mice's diet. This effect was associated with a restoration of a proper gut barrier function, which means the absence of leakage of inflammatory bacterial compounds in the blood. Interestingly, in the same study, the authors found that if the bacteria was killed by very high temperature (autoclaving), the bacteria was unable to improve the metabolic response. A study published in June 2015 showed an association between "A. muciniphila" abundance, insulin sensitivity, and healthier metabolic status in overweight/obese adults. The healthier subjects were those with high "A. muciniphila" abundance and gut microbial richness. In addition, this study showed that having higher abundance of "A. muciniphila" at baseline was associated with greater clinical benefits after weight loss. The bacterium is naturally present in the human digestive tract at 3-5%, but has been seen to fall with obesity.
In August 2015, additional research demonstrated that dietary fats influence the growth of "Akkermansia muciniphilia" relative to other bacterium in the dietary tract. Researchers conducted a study in which mice were fed diets which varied in fat composition but were otherwise identical: one group received lard, while the other received fish oil. After 11 weeks, the group receiving a fish oil diet had increased levels of "A. muciniphila" and bacterium of genus "Lactobacillus", while the group receiving a lard diet had decreased levels of "A. muciniphila" and "Lactobacillus". Additionally, fecal material from mice on the fish oil diet or the lard based diet was transplanted into a new group of mice which had their native gut flora eradicated by antibiotics. All of these mice were then fed a lard based diet. Despite receiving the same lard-based diet for 3 weeks, recipients of transplants from lard-fed donor mice showed increased levels of "Lactobacillus" and increased levels of inflammation, while recipients of transplants from fish oil-fed donors showed increased levels of "A. muciniphila" and decreased levels of inflammation. Researchers concluded that the increase in "A. muciniphila" corresponded to a reduction in inflammation, indicating a link between dietary fats, gut flora composition, and inflammation levels. In 2017, it was discovered that pasteurizing (70 °C 30min) the bacteria increased the beneficial effects of the bacteria by a mechanism likely associated with the presence of a protein present on the outer membrane of "Akkermansia muciniphila" and called Amuc_1100. Then in 2019, the same team of Belgian researchers from the UCLouvain tested for the first time in humans the impact of an oral supplementation with either "A. muciniphila" alive or pasteurized versus a placebo for 3 months. In this double-blind placebo-controlled proof-of-concept study, they found that the overweight or obese insulin resistant subjects displayed an improved metabolism with lower blood insulin, lower insulin resistance, lower inflammation and better cardiometabolic profile. More recently, they have linked this effect with the possible increased production of some endocannabinoids acting on the receptor PPAR-a.
Effects in cancer immunotherapy treatment.
One study looked at 249 patients with lung or kidney cancer, "A. muciniphila" was in 69% of patients that did respond compared with just a third of those who did not. Boosting levels of "A. muciniphila" in mice seemed to also boost their response to immunotherapy.
Effects in ALS in a mouse model.
Researchers discovered that a mouse model of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis suffers from an abnormal gut microbiome, and that supplementing these mice with "Akkermansia muciniphila" improved their symptoms, slowed the progression of their disease, and increased their survival. Moreover, they found that "A. muciniphila" produce the vitamin nicotinamide, which when injected into the diseased mice improved their motor symptoms, although it did not increase their lifespan as the bacteria had. They also found lower levels of nicotinamide in the circulation and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a small sample human ALS patients compared to their family members, and lower levels of "A. muciniphila" in their stool. In addition, ALS patients with lower levels of nicotinamide in their blood tended to have worse symptoms than patients with higher levels.


Spinellus fusiger

Spinellus fusiger, commonly known as the bonnet mold, is a species of fungus in the Zygomycota phylum. It is a pin mold that is characterized by erect sporangiophores (specialized hyphae that bear a sporangium) that are simple in structure, brown or yellowish-brown in color, and with branched aerial filaments that bear the zygospores. It grows as a parasitic mold on mushrooms, including several species from the genera "Mycena", including "M. haematopus", "M. pura", "M. epipterygia", "M. leptocephala", and various "Collybia" species, such as "C. alkalivirens", "C. luteifolia", "C. dryophila", and "C. butyracea". It has also been found growing on agaric species in "Amanita", "Gymnopus", and "Hygrophorus".
Taxonomy.
The species was first described by German naturalist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1818 as "Mucor rhombosporus", but he later conceded to making a mistake in examining the spores. Link later suggested the name "Mucor fusiger" for the species, and it has been known under a variety of names, such as "Mucor macrocarpus", "Phycomyces agaricicola", "Spinellus macrocarpus", and "Spinellus rhombosporus". It was assigned its current name by French botanist Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem in 1875.
Description.
During the reproductive phase of its life cycle, "Spinellus fusiger" grows throughout the cap of the mushroom host, eventually breaking through to produce radiating reproductive stalks (sporangiophores) bearing minute, spherical, terminal spore-containing structures called sporangia. Ultimately, the spores in the sporangia are released after the breakdown of the outer sporangial wall, becoming passively dispersed to new locations via wind, water, and insects. The sporangia contain non-motile mitospores known as aplanospores. Like other "Spinellus" species, "S. fusiger" is homothallic, and sexual spores known as zygospores are produced following the union of branches called gametangia, that arise from the same mycelium.


Bleeding milkcap

The term bleeding milkcap is used to describe at least two mushrooms of the genus "Lactarius":


Starmerella

Starmerella is a genus of fungi within the Saccharomycetales order. The relationship of this taxon to other taxa within the order is unknown ("incertae sedis"), and it has not yet been placed with certainty into any family.
Several members of the "Starmerella" clade are associated with flowers and flower-visiting insects like bees and bumblebees; these yeasts cope well with high sugar niches. Many strains (species) of the "Starmerella" clade, including "Starmerella bombicola" and "Candida apicola" are known to produce sophorolipids which are carbohydrate-based, amphiphilic biosurfactants.


Stereonema


Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii

""Candidatus" Bartonella merieuxii" is a candidatus bacteria from the genus of "Bartonella" "Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii" is named after Charles Mérieux.


List of invasive fungi

Some fungi are considered invasive species in certain parts of the world:


Pluralibacter pyrinus

Pluralibacter pyrinus (formerly Enterobacter pyrinus) is a Gram-negative, motile, facultatively-anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium. "P. pyrinus" is the causitive agent of brown leaf spot disease of pear trees.
Background.
The cause of brown leaf spot disease affecting pear trees in South Korea was first identified as a novel bacterial infection in 1990. The proposed name for the species was "Erwinia pirina", but this name was not validly published. In 1993, further research grouped the organism in the genus "Enterobacter" as "E. pyrinus." Later studies of the genus "Enterobacter" lead to the species being reclassified into the novel genus "Pluralibacter" in 2013. The species name is derived from the Greek word "pŷr", which means pear.


Enrichment culture

Enrichment culture is the use of certain growth media to favor the growth of a particular microorganism over others, enriching a sample for the microorganism of interest. This is generally done by introducing nutrients or environmental conditions that only allow the growth of an organism of interest. Enrichment cultures are used to increase a small number of desired organisms to detectable levels. This allows for the detection and identification of microorganisms with a variety of nutritional needs. Enrichment cultures are often used for soil and fecal samples.
History.
The microbiologist (and botanist) Martinus Beijerinck is credited with developing the first enrichment cultures. Sergei Winogradsky also experimented on bacteria using different cultures.
Examples.
Media with a high salt concentration will select for halophiles.
Selenite broth is used to selectively isolate Salmonella species. Alkaline Peptone Water is used for the cultivation of vibrio. Both these examples are clinically relevant for clinical microbiology relating to stool samples.


Nocardia brasiliensis

Nocardia brasiliensis is a species of "Nocardia". As with most members of Actinobacteria, they contain high guanine and cytosine content.
It can cause nocardiosis.


Pisolithus

Pisolithus is a genus of fungi within the family Sclerodermataceae (suborder Sclerodermatineae). The type species, "P. arenarius", is now known to be synonymous with "P. arhizus".


Acaulosporaceae

The Acaulosporaceae are a family of fungi in the order Diversisporales. Species in this family are widespread in distribution, and form arbuscular mycorrhiza and vesicles in roots. The family contains two genera and 31 species.


Nigel Savery

Prof. Nigel Savery is Professor of Molecular Biologist at the University of Bristol.
During his time researching and lecturing at the University of Bristol, Dr Savery has made significant contributions to the field of transcription and DNA-damage recognition and repair.
Understanding how proteins interact with DNA is an important first step to developing novel methods to study genetics. Dr Savery's group has recently made advances in the study of the "E. coli" protein MFD ( a transcription-repair coupling factor, a bacterial protein involved in repair of damaged DNA).


Brachybacterium alimentarium

Brachybacterium alimentarium is a species of Gram positive, facultatively anaerobic, yellow-pigmented bacterium. The cells are coccoid during the stationary phase, and irregular rods during the exponential phase. It was first isolated from the surfaces of Beaufort and Gruyère cheeses in 1978. Further work led to the proposal of the new species in 1996, and the name is derived from the Latin "alimentanium" (pertaining to food).
The optimum growth temperature for "B. alimentarium" is 30 °C, but can grow in the 20-37 °C range. The optimum pH is 7.3.


Mycobacterium avium avium

Mycobacterium avium is a species of the phylum Actinobacteria (Gram-positive bacteria with high guanine and cytosine content, one of the dominant phyla of all bacteria), belonging to the genus "Mycobacterium".
The type strain is ATCC 25291 = CCUG 20992 = CIP 104244 = DSM 44156 = NCTC 13034.
The subspecies name "Mycobacterium avium "subsp." avium" Chester 1901 is automatically created by the valid publication of "Mycobacterium avium "subsp." paratuberculosis" (Bergey et al. 1923) and the valid publication of "Mycobacterium avium "subsp." silvaticum" Thorel et al. 1990.
Based on differences in IS1245 RFLP, 16S-23S rDNA ITS and growth temperature, Mijs et al. 2002 propose to reserve the designation "Mycobacterium avium "subsp." avium" for bird-type isolates. These authors suggest, but do not formally propose, the designation ""Mycobacterium avium "subsp." hominissuis"" for the isolates from humans and pigs.
Epidemiology.
Present mainly in cattle and humans with an immunocompromised disorder, e.g. AIDS, it is transmitted to man by drinking unpasteurized cow milk. Pigs are susceptible to "M. avium avium ", "M. bovis", and "M. tuberculosis", with "M. avium" being most common. Lesions are typically lymphoid, gastrointestinal, or rapidly progressive disseminated forms. Intradermal testing is the diagnostic test of choice. Isolation of purified protein derivatives is useful for "M. bovis" and "M. tuberculosis". However, cross-reaction between "M. avium avium, M. tuberculosis," or "M. avium paratuberculosis" is a disadvantage.
Dogs, cats, deer, mink, cattle, birds (serotypes 1, 2, and 3) and some cold-blooded animals are all also susceptible to "M. avium".
False-negative tuberculin tests are common in dogs. Radiographs and a thorough history are useful in diagnosis. Affected dogs should be euthanized because of public health concerns.
References.
J.P. Euzéby: List of Prokaryotic Names with Standing in Nomenclature - genus "Mycobacterium"


Acaulopage

Acaulopage is a genus in the former Zygomycota that preys on amoeba.
Morphology.
Species of "Acaulopage" are characterized by coenocytic hyphae that have patches of yellowish adhesive patches used to capture amoeba. Conidia are borne directly on the hyphae and vary widely in morphology. Many bear one to many empty appendages. For example, "A. marantia" conidia have a single appendage; "A. tetraceros" conidia have an average of four appendages; and, "A. lasiospora" conidia are covered in appendages. Zygospores are globose with ornamented walls.
Ecology.
Species are often recovered from soil or leaf litter placed on agar in Petri dishes. "Acaulopage tetroceros" is the most commonly reported species.
Species.
According to Gerald L. Benny, there are 27 species of "Acaulopage".


Metschnikowiaceae

The Metschnikowiaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales that reproduce by budding. It contains the genera "Clavispora" and "Metschnikowia". Species in the family have a widespread distribution, especially in tropical areas.


Symbiosis in lichens

Symbiosis in lichens is the mutually helpful symbiotic relationship of green algae and/or blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) living among filaments of a fungus, forming lichen.
Living as a symbiont in a lichen appears to be a successful way for a fungus to derive essential nutrients, as about 20% of all fungal species have acquired this mode of life. The autotrophic symbionts occurring in lichens are a wide variety of simple, photosynthetic organisms commonly and traditionally known as “algae”. These symbionts include both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.
Overview of lichens.
A lichen is a combination of fungus and/or algae and/or cyanobacteria that has a very different form (morphology), physiology, and biochemistry than any of the constituent species growing separately. The algae or cyanobacteria benefit their fungal partner by producing organic carbon compounds through photosynthesis. In return, the fungal partner benefits the algae or cyanobacteria by protecting them from the environment by its filaments, which also gather moisture and nutrients from the environment, and (usually) provide an anchor to it.
The majority of the lichens contain eukaryotic autotrophs belonging to the Chlorophyta (green algae) or to the Xanthophyta (yellow-green algae). About 90% of all known lichens have a green alga as a symbiont. Among these, "Trebouxia" is the most common genus, occurring in about 20% of all lichens. The second most commonly represented green alga genus is "Trentepohlia". Overall, about 100 species are known to occur as autotrophs in lichens. All the algae and cyanobacteria are believed to be able to survive separately, as well as within the lichen; that is, at present no algae or cyanobacteria are known which can only survive naturally as part of a lichen. Common algal partners are "Trebouxia", "Pseudotrebouxia", or "Myrmecia".
The prokaryotes belong to the Cyanobacteria, which are often called by their old name “"bluegreen algae"”. Bluegreen algae occur as symbionts only in about 8% of known lichens. The most commonly occurring genera of symbiotic cyanobacteria are "Nostoc" and "Scytonema".
Nomenclature.
Both the lichen and the fungus partner bear the same scientific name, and the lichens are being integrated into the classification schemes for fungi. Depending on context, the taxonomic name can be meant to refer to the entire lichen, or just the fungus that is part of the lichen.
The alga or cyanobacterim bears its own scientific name, which bears no relationship to either the name of the lichen or the fungus.
Fungus component.
About 20% of all fungal species are able to form lichens. The fungal partner may be an Ascomycete or Basidiomycete. Overall, about 98% of lichens have an ascomycetous mycobiont. Next to the Ascomycota, the largest number of lichenized fungi occur in the unassigned fungi imperfecti. Comparatively few Basidiomycetes are lichenized, but these include agarics, such as species of "Lichenomphalia", clavarioid fungi, such as species of "Multiclavula", and corticioid fungi, such as species of "Dictyonema".
The largest number of lichenized fungi occur in the Ascomycota, with about 40% of species forming such an association. Some of these lichenized fungi occur in orders with nonlichenized fungi that live as saprotrophs or plant parasites (for example, the Leotiales, Dothideales, and Pezizales).
Other lichen fungi occur in only five orders in which all members are engaged in this habit (Orders Graphidales, Gyalectales, Peltigerales, Pertusariales, and Teloschistales). Lichenized and nonlichenized fungi can even be found in the same genus or species.
Photosynthetic component.
The photosynthetic component of a lichen is called the photobiont or phycobiont. The layer of tissue containing the cells of the photobiont is called the “photobiontic layer”.
Approximately 100 species of photosynthetic partners from 40 genera and 5 distinct classes (prokaryotic: Cyanophyceae; eukaryotic: Trebouxiophyceae, Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyceae) have been found to associate with the lichen-forming fungi.
A particular fungus species and algal species are not necessarily always associated together in a lichen. One fungus, for example, can form lichens with a variety of different algae. The thalli produced by a given fungal symbiont with its differing partners will be similar, and the secondary metabolites identical, indicating that the fungus has the dominant role in determining the morphology of the lichen. Further, the same algal species can occur in association with different fungal partners. Lichens are known in which there is one fungus associated with two or even three algal species. Rarely, the reverse can occur, and two or more fungal species can interact to form the same lichen.
Green algae.
About 90% of all known lichens have a green alga as a symbiont. “Clorococcoid” means a green alga (Chlorophyta) that has single cells that are globose, which is common in lichens. This was once classified in the order Chlorococcales, which one may find stated in older literature, but new DNA data shows many independent lines of evolution exist among this formerly large taxonomic group. Chlorococcales is now a relatively small order and may no longer include any lichen photobionts.
The term “Trebouxioid” refers to members of the Trebouxia algae or other algae that resemble them: a clorococcoid green algae photobiont in the genus "Trebouxia". Algae that resemble members of the Trebouxia are presumed to be in the class Trebouxiophyceae and go by the same descriptive name ("Trebouxioid"). Trebouxia was once included here, but is now considered to be in a separate class Trebouxiophyceae.
Cyanolichens.
Although the photobionts are almost always green algae (chlorophyta), sometimes the lichen contains a blue-green alga instead (cyanobacteria, not really an alga), and sometimes both types of photobionts are found in the same lichen.
A cyanolichen is a lichen with a cyanobacterium as its main photosynthetic component (photobiont).
Many cyanolichens are small and black, and have limestone as the substrate.
Another cyanolichen group, the jelly lichens ( e.g., from the genera "Collema" or "Leptogium") are large and foliose (e.g., species of "Peltigera", "Lobaria", and "Degelia". These lichen species are grey-blue, especially when dampened or wet. Many of these characterize the Lobarion communities of higher rainfall areas in western Britain, e.g., in the Celtic Rainforest.
Parasitic fungi are separate.
Some fungi can only be found living on lichens as obligate parasites; They are not considered part of the lichen. These are referred to as “lichenolous fungi”.


Muborak Mansurova

Muborak Umarovna Mansurova () (born September 11, 1920) was a Tajikistani biologist.
Born in Bukhara, Mansurova graduated in 1942 with a degree in biology from the Central Asian Institute in Tashkent; she returned to Bukhara after graduation, and for a time worked on a silkworm farm. In 1946 she became Director of Silkworm Production. Later she became instructor of anatomy and zoology at the Institute of Agriculture of Tajikistan. In 1969 she became director of the Department of Anatomy and Histology of the same institution. She received a doctorate in biology in 1973, with a dissertation entitled "Changes in the Specifics of the Anatomy, Histology, Chemistry, and Physiology of the Skeletal Frame of Hisari Sheep with Respect to Aging", and the following year was named professor. Her primary field of research is the morphology of domesticated animals; among her other publications is "The Chemical Bone Structure of the Various Types of Sheep Raised in Tajikistan" (Dushanbe, 1960), and in 1974 she began work on a study of the Pamiri bison. For many years she chaired the Council of Women at the university, beginning at its formation. During her career Mansurova received a number of awards for her work, among them the Order of the Badge of Honour.


Coniocybe

Coniocybe is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Coniocybaceae.
The species of this genus are found in Europe, America and Australia.
Species.
Species:


Ilarvirus

Ilarvirus is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family "Bromoviridae". Plants serve as natural hosts. There are 22 species in this genus.
Structure.
Viruses in the genus "Ilarvirus" are non-enveloped, with icosahedral and quasi-spherical geometries, and T=3 symmetry. The diameter is around 29 nm. Genomes are linear and have three segments.
Life cycle.
Viral replication is cytoplasmic and lysogenic. Entry into the host cell is achieved by penetration into the host cell. Replication follows the positive-strand RNA virus replication model in the cytoplasm. Positive strand RNA virus transcription, using the internal initiation model of subgenomic RNA transcription is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by tubule-guided viral movement. Plants serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are mechanical inoculation by insects and plant to plant contact.
Taxonomy.
The following species are assigned to the genus:


Benjaminiella

Benjaminiella is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Mucoraceae.
Species:


Neocallimastigales


Riodina lysippus

Riodina lysippus is a species of Neotropical metalmark butterfly. It is the type species of its genus and of the entire family Riodinidae. It is found throughout northern parts of South America and the Caribbean.
Description.
Upperside. The wings are chocolate black. On the anterior is an orange-coloured line, which, rising about the middle of the anterior edge, crosses the wing towards the anal angle, where it suddenly bends, and terminates at the posterior edge. The posterior wings, which are angulated, have a circular orange line, rising at the anterior edge, near the corner, crossing the wings, and meeting near the anal angle.
Underside. The wings are of the same colour as on the upperside, with the same orange line, whereon, in the anterior pair, are some white spots. Between this and the base are several faint, dirty grey, oblong spots, namely, four on the anterior, and about twenty on the posterior wing. The base of the anterior margin of the fore wings, and the anal margin of the posterior wings, are of a red colour.


Lamina (algae)

The lamina or blade in macroscopic algae like seaweed is a generally flattened structure that typically forms the principal bulk of the thallus. It is often developed into specialised organs such as flotation bladders and reproductive organs.
The lamina is typically an expansion of the stipe which in term is attached to the substrate by the holdfast.


BMC Structural Biology

BMC Structural Biology is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal that covers research in structural biology. The journal was established in 2001 and is published by BioMed Central. The editor-in-chief is Simon Harold.


Hymenelia

Hymenelia is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Hymeneliaceae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species.
Species:


Sargachromanol

Sargachromanols are a group of related chemical compounds isolated from the brown alga "Sargassum siliquastrum". At least 20 members of the class have been identified, named sargachromanol A through T. Sargachromanol G has "in vitro" anti-inflammatory effects in isolated mouse macrophage cells.


Moorella mulderi

Moorella mulderi is a Gram-positive, thermophilic, homoacetogenic, anaerobic and spore-forming bacterium from the genus "Moorella", which has been isolated from a sulfate reducing bioreactor in Wageningen in the Netherlands.
References.


Phaeothamniales

Phaeothamniales is an order of alga in the Ochrophyta.


ParABS system

The parABS system is a broadly conserved molecular mechanism for plasmid partitioning and chromosome segregation in bacteria. Originally identified as a genetic element required for faithful partitioning of low-copy-number plasmids, it consists of three components: the ParA ATPase, the ParB DNA-binding protein, and the cis-acting "parS" sequence. The "parA" and "parB" genes are typically found in the same operon, with "parS" elements located within or adjacent to this operon. Collectively, these components function to ensure accurate partitioning of plasmids or whole chromosomes between bacterial daughter cells prior to cell division.
Mechanism.
Based on chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments, ParB has the ability to bind not only to high-affinity "parS" sites but also to adjacent nonspecific DNA, a behavior known as "spreading". The ParB-DNA complex is thought to be translocated by a Brownian ratchet mechanism involving the ParA ATPase: ParA binds DNA nonspecifically in its ATP-bound state but much more weakly in its ADP-bound state. The ParB-DNA complex binds to ATP-bound ParA, stimulating its ATPase activity and its dissociation from DNA. In this way, the ParB-DNA complex can be translocated by chasing a receding wave. This translocation mechanism has been observed by fluorescence microscopy both "in vivo" and more recently "in vitro" with purified components.


Veronica Bekoe

Veronica Bekoe is a Biological Scientist from Ghana. She is known for her impact in the invention and discovery of the Veronica Bucket used to reduce the spread of communicable diseases.
Education.
Veronica attended Aburi Girls SHS. She later furthered her education at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where she obtained Bachelor of Science in Biological Science/Biology between 1968 – 1972.
Career.
Her career in the Ghana Health Service (GHS) spanned from 1972-2008, working at the Public Health and Reference Laboratory, worked as a prime person for the National AIDS/STI Control Program and also has over 30 years' experience in medical laboratory practice. She has experience in Laboratory Management, Development of training manuals, Mentorship, Development of guidelines for laboratory diagnostics among others.
Achievement.
Veronica is noted for her invention of the Veronica Bucket. The bucket was invented to curb or reduce Cholera, Diarrhoea among other diseases. In 2020, the bucket was widely used in the African continent and the global community to fight the novel pandemic Coronavirus (COVID-19) or SARS-COV-2. Her discovery and invention of the veronica bucket was as a result of a problem or gap she identified in her field of work, she noticed that there was a challenge with running water and they had to use a bowl of water in turns to wash their hands after medical work which was very dangerous to their health because everyone had to use the same water until it becomes dirty, seeing the health implications she created a prototype bucket with a tap attached to an aluminium utensils used in selling Hausa koko, popularly known as Akorlaa gyae su which has now become the veronica bucket recognized globally.
Awards.
She was given an award by Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo for her social innovation in combating infectious diseases using soap under running water.


Marnaviridae

Marnaviridae is a family of positive-stranded RNA viruses in the order "Picornavirales". The first species of this family that was isolated is "Heterosigma akashiwo RNA virus" (HaRNAV) in the genus "Marnavirus", that infects the toxic bloom-forming Raphidophyte alga, "Heterosigma akashiwo". Using a sequence-based framework an additional twenty marine RNA viruses have been added to the family.
HaRNAV was isolated from water collected in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, Canada, from a concentrated virus assemblage using the host "Heterosigma akashiwo" (NEPCC 522). It must not be confused with two other unrelated viruses that infect this host, "Heterosigma akashiwo virus 01" (HaV-1, isolate: HaV53) in the genus "Raphidovirus", and "Heterosigma akashiwo Nuclear Inclusion Virus" (HaNIV).
Taxonomy.
The family contains the following seven genera:
Structure.
Virions in "Marnaviridae" are non-enveloped, with icosahedral geometries, and T=pseudo3 symmetry. The diameter is around 25 nm. Genomes are linear and non-segmented (monopartit), around 8.6 kb in length. The capsid consists of three major capsid proteins (MCPs: VP1, VP2, VP3), each having a Jelly roll fold and a minor capsid protein (mCP) that is located around the five-fold axes on the inside of the capsid.
Life cycle.
Entry into the host cell is achieved by penetration into the host cell. Replication follows the positive stranded RNA virus replication model. Positive stranded RNA virus transcription is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by tubule-guided viral movement.
Marine phytoplankton serve as the natural hosts of the only known member of the family "Marnaviridae".


Echinochlamydosporium

Echinochlamydosporium is a fungal genus in the Mortierellaceae family of the Zygomycota. The genus is monotypic, containing the single species Echinochlamydosporium variabile, found in China. The fungus grows on juvenile individuals of the soybean cyst nematode ("Heterodera glycines").


Charles W. Howard

Charles Willis "Charlie" Howard (June 15, 1896 – May 1, 1966) was an American actor and teacher most famous for portraying Santa Claus in department stores and parades. In 1937, he established the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School which today is the oldest continuously-run Santa school in the world.
Early life.
Howard was born in Albion, New York to William Asa Howard and Martha Haight. As a young boy he showed exceptional creative ability and was provided with a coping saw by his aunt. At the age of seven, he used this tool to fashion toy furniture and wagons for friends and neighbors to purchase as gifts. Around this time, his mother sewed a Santa Claus suit for him as he was a "short fat boy." He was given a "false face" and as a result, was deemed quite proficient in playing the role of Santa. Although his blue eyes were always merry, the false face frightened fellow children and he stopped wearing it.
As he grew older, Howard observed other men portraying Santa Claus in local stores and decided that he would like to attempt this as well. One day, he finished his farm chores and ventured off to John B. Merrill's Furniture Store in downtown Albion and suggested that they hire him to play the role of Santa. Merrill suggested that Howard set up shop in the storefront window and manufacture toys. Although he did not like the window idea, he agreed to the job at $15.00 per week. He would construct a workbench and provide his own tools to complete the work. As he worked in the front window, a line of children would gather to watch Santa make toys, giving him time to interact with the observers. Howard would wake early in the morning to complete his farm chores, take several cans of milk to a dealer in town, then don his Santa suit until noon. He would then venture home, eat a quick lunch, complete his noon farm chores, and hurry back to the store for more work as Santa.
One snowy morning, Howard was driving his Model T Ford, which he had converted into a pickup truck. While approaching a horse-drawn sleigh, a young boy jumped off the back and darted in front of Howard's truck. He slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel to avoid the child, striking a curb, and overturning the vehicle. The young man let out a wail as he was knocked out of the way by the truck. Howard later remarked, "I knew if he could shout he was alive and that was more than I expected." Frightened half-to-death, he climbed out of the truck to check on the boy, who was frightened but unharmed. Bystanders quickly came to assist Howard, but when he directed them to check on the child, the boy was nowhere to be found. One of the truck wheels was crushed and the bystanders assisted him in turning the truck upright. He continued to his work at Merrill's, distraught over the incident. The friendly smiles of children placed him at ease relatively quickly. He later recalled that the only thought running through his head was the fear of newspapers running a story with the headline "SANTA KILLS BOY."
After a short time at Merrill's, Howard wrote to McCurdy's Department Store in Rochester, New York inquiring about a position as Santa Claus. When he received word that the sales manager, Mr. Carl Skare, was interested, he packed up his suit and left for Rochester. When he entered the store office dressed as Santa, Skare took one look at him and asked, "When can you start?" No other questions were asked. On his first day of work, he was so frightened that store workers could not coax him out of the dressing room. When they pounded on the door, he finally emerged quite timidly. Soon, the smiling faces of young children melted his fears away and the day passed so quickly that he forgot to break for lunch. To commute from Albion to Rochester, Howard would awake between 3:30am and 4:00am, complete his chores on the farm, and get ready for work. Then his wife would drive him to the train station. At the end of the day, he would return home to finish his chores and tumble into bed.
Knowing very little about the meaning of Santa Claus, Howard later recalled an interaction with a young child that helped him understand the true role of Santa:
One morning a little girl came in an watched him work. She stood there for some time before she ventured closer. Then a step at a time she walked up to him and very timidly asked, 'Santa, will you promise me something?' Santa looked at the child and said, 'What is it you want me to promise?' He had already learned that promises sometimes meant heartaches. He did not want to make any mistakes. However this child seemed so sincere, so earnest, he took her little hand in his. The child drew closer, looked up into his face with all the love and trust that a five year old could and whispered, 'Will you promise me you will never shave?' It wasn't what he had expected but all at once he realized that if Santa meant that much to that child it must mean just as much to hundreds of others. Who was this old fellow who meant so much to the children? Where did he come from? What did he stand for? Why did he wear that red suit? Why was it trimmed with white fur? Why this? And why that?
Howard spent years reading about the history of Santa Claus, picking up just about every book on the subject. As his knowledge increased, so did the requests from stores seeking an experienced Santa. Other men portraying Santa started to seek out his expertise, eventually leading to the development of the Santa Claus School.
The Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School.
Following a suggestion made by Roy Fess of the Buffalo Courier Express, Howard started the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in 1937. The first class consisted of three men, the first being Frederick Wise, an unmarried welder from New Jersey. The other two pupils include Howard's personal friend and a neighbor. Wise was the only pupil to pay the $15.00 tuition. The lack of success was a hard learned business lesson for Howard as store owners remarked that if a lesson on how to become Santa only cost $15.00, then it must not be worth much. Howard gradually increased the tuition, first to $25.00, then $40.00, and eventually to $50.00. As enrollment jumped to more than forty, a grocery store chain asked him to visit Chicago in order to conduct a school for their Santas.
Howard had no dedicated schoolhouse, but he remarked that "...Santa originated in the home. It was best to keep him there." So the school was conducted in Howard's home at Phipps Road and Gaines Basin Road in Albion. He convinced his wife to cook noon meals for the men. As a home economics teacher at the Western House of Refuge in Albion, she served meals that "Santa Claus-type men" enjoyed. To increase the prestige of the school, Howard sought out Charles Newton Hood of Medina, New York, an old time showman, to teach the showmanship angle of Santa Claus. Ed Butters of Coldwater, Michigan was an expert on reindeer and was called in to instruct the students on working with reindeer. Howard continued to add other experts as the school continued to grow.
When World War II started in 1941, finding men to fill the role of Santa became increasingly difficult. Some stores selected women with deep voices to play the part. Howard recalled one woman who was quite successful until customers started complaining about Santa's visits to the ladies' restroom. In an effort to supplement his school, he created a mail order course that failed miserably. Without Howard's physical presence to instill the Christmas spirit, it would not work. Men from across the country, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border, California to the east coast, ventured to Albion for training. If one store sent their Santas to school, it was almost guaranteed that their competitors would as well. When one particular chain store in Washington, D.C. sent their Santas four straight years, Howard asked the owner why they kept sending them each year. "I can't teach them any more." The owner replied that attending the Santa Claus School energized the men with the Christmas spirit, which became infectious throughout their stores.
To add to the character of Santa, Howard designed his own suit that was "worthy of the character as he knew him." He was criticized for manufacturing an outfit that was double the price of any other and was told he would never sell them. The suits were made from the original pattern from 1937 made with French rabbit fur and had yak beards for the price of $85. By the 1960s, he was providing the biggest and best stores in the nation with Santa Suits.
In 1944, Howard left McCurdy's Department Store in Rochester and entered the employ of Adam, Meldrum & Anderson in Buffalo, New York. He remained in that role until he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1948, collapsing on the job.
From 1948 to 1965, he was the featured Santa Claus in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, perhaps the most visible Santa in the United States.
Death and legacy.
Howard died in 1966 near his home in Albion. Christmas Park, which had attracted 80,000 visitors yearly at its peak, closed, and his Santa Claus School was moved to Midland, Michigan.
Today, the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School continues running in Midland, Michigan, under Tom and Holly Valent, who themselves have portrayed Santa and Mrs. Claus for over thirty years. An attraction called "Santa House" is near the School and is themed as Santa's workshop.
Orleans County, New York held a special event, Charles W. Howard Day, on September 25, 2010 (three months before Christmas), with the hopes of making it a yearly event.


Umbelopsis

Umbelopsis is a genus of fungi, belonging to the family Umbelopsidaceae.
The genus was described in 1966 by Raymond E. Amos and Horace L. Barnett.
Species:


Phycomycetes

Phycomycetes is an obsolete polyphyletic taxon for certain fungi with aseptate hyphae. It is used in the Engler system.
The class Phycomycetes has been abolished and in its place exists Zygomycetes, Chytridiomycetes, Plasmodiophoromycetes, Hyphochytridiomycetes, Trichomycetes (including Harpellales, Asellariales, Eccrinales and Amoebidiales) and Oomycetes. Still, "Phycomycetes" can be used to refer to all the above-mentioned classes as a whole.
The members of this group are found in aquatic habitats and on decaying wood in moist and damp places or as obligate parasites on plants. The mycelium is aseptate and coenocytic. Asexual reproduction by zoospore or by aplanospore. A zygospore is formed by the fusion of two gametes. Examples are "Mucor", "Rhizopus", "Albugo", "Saprolegnia", "Phythinum".


Raphidiophrys drakena

Raphidiophrys drakena is a species of protist in the genus of Raphidiophrys. It is a unicellular eukaryote with a cell diameter of 26.7±0.39 μm and several cell surface features like axopodia, kinecysts and a tangential scale layer. The scales have a length of 6.0±0.18 μm and a width of 3.5±0.14 μm. R. drakena differs from other morphologically studied members of the genus Rhaphidiophrys by lacking spicules on its surface.


Hesseltinella

Hesseltinella is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Cunninghamellaceae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:


List of brood parasitic passerines

This is the list of the brood parasites in order Passeriformes, the perching birds. Instead of making nests of their own, and feeding their young, brood parasites deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds.
Note that the vampire finch is a parasite, but is not brood parasitic.


Collodictyonidae

Collodictyonidae (also Diphylleidae) is a group of aquatic, unicellular eukaryotic organisms with two to four terminal flagella. They feed by phagocytosis, ingesting other unicellular organisms like algae and bacteria. The most remarkable fact of this clade is its uncertain position in the tree of life.
Recent molecular analyses place Collodictyonids (e.g. Collodictyon) in a clade also containing Rigifilida and Mantamonadidae. This clade has been name CRuMs and is sister to Amorphea.


Up from the Ashes (song)

"Up from the Ashes" is an upcoming song by American rapper Kanye West from his upcoming tenth studio album, "Donda". The song was initially intended for West's ninth studio album "Jesus Is King" (2019) and previewed during listening parties in September and October 2019. The original track name was "Glade". West's singing on the song has been compared to his fourth studio album "808s & Heartbreak" (2008). The song was leaked online in February 2020 alongside an alternate version featuring production done by Dr. Dre.
Background and recording.
In June 2019, fellow Canadian rapper and song writer Sean Leon was recording and writing for Daniel Caesar's album "Case Study 01" in Los Angeles and went to Sunday Service with him. While there, he ended up linking with West. After a studio session, Daniel Caesar suggested Leon should have played West "The Glade". A week later, Leon went to Sunday Service again and played the record for West. The song ended up on an early track listing of "Jesus is King" as "Glade", later being renamed to "Up from the Ashes". Sean Leon would also write for the songs "Selah", "Use This Gospel" and "Jesus Is Lord" on "Jesus is King".
In August 2019, American recording artist Kanye West's wife, American media personality Kim Kardashian, announced that her husband's ninth studio would be titled "Jesus Is King". On September 27, 2019, West held a listening party for the album at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. Kardashian shared a track list via Twitter that included "Up from the Ashes" as the album's introduction. During a listening party in New York City on September 29, 2019, the track was renamed "Beauty from Ashes". The same day, a phone recording of one of the "Jesus Is King" listening sessions was uploaded online, which included "Up from the Ashes". The final track list revealed in October 2019 didn't include "Up from the Ashes". "Every Hour", a triumphant song performed by the Sunday Service Choir, served as the album's introduction instead. "Jesus Is King" was released on October 25, 2019.
On November 18, 2019, West announced on Twitter that he was working with American recording artist Dr. Dre on a sequel collaborative project "Jesus Is King Part II". On January 16, 2020, a snippet of "Up from the Ashes" featuring production from Dr. Dre was leaked online. This track would later be leaked in full on February 28, 2020. Another "Jesus Is King Part II" track, "LA Monster", would later leak in March 2020.
Composition and lyrics.
The song's title refers to the phrase "rise from the ashes", which invokes the legend of the phoenix resurrecting from destruction. Remy Gelenidza of "Southpawer" wrote that the song also invokes the resurrection of Jesus, connecting to the overall Christian theme present on "Jesus Is King". Michael Saponara of "Billboard" wrote that West "seems to shed his ego" by highlighting the lyrics "I come to you empty, free of my pride." West uses heavy auto-tune similar to the style used on his fourth studio album "808s & Heartbreak" (2008). Danilo Castro of Heavy.com also compared West's singing to his melodies on "808s & Heartbreak", along with certain moments from his seventh studio album "The Life of Pablo" (2016). The "Jesus Is King" version of the song featured minimal production.
Critical reception.
After attending the September 2019 listening party for "Jesus Is King" in New York, Michael Saponara of "Billboard" called the track a "fulfilling album opener". Gary Graff, also writing for "Billboard", described the song as a "brassy opener". Kiana Fitzgerald of "Vibe" stated the song seemed like a track that Chance the Rapper would have included on his third mixtape "Coloring Book" (2016). Sam Murphy of "Cool Accidents" wrote that the song was gentle and flowering, thus it wasn't "an indication of the rest of the album ["Jesus Is King"] which reaches for something larger."


Olga Guramishvili-Nikoladze

Olga Guramishvili-Nikoladze (, 29 July 1855 – 24 May 1940) was a Georgian biologist and educator. One of the first women to study abroad, she earned a degree in pedagogy and brought advanced teaching methods to Georgia. In 1886, she founded a girls' school, and later a women's gymnasium, in Didi Jikhaishi. At the school, she introduced sericulture to the country and taught her students mechanical knitting and weaving. In her later career, she served as the chair of the school board in Poti from 1894 to 1912. She is remembered for her contributions to education and a street in Tbilisi bears her name.
Early life.
Olga asuli Alexander Guramishvili was born on 29 July 1855 Lower Avchala, a northern suburb of Tiflis (known after 1936 as Tblisi), in the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire to Ketevan Tumanishvili (daughter of Revazi) and Alexander Guramishvili. She was related to the Georgian poet Davit Guramishvili, and a relative and god-daughter of , a Georgian literary figure, married to Ilia Chavchavadze. After completing her secondary education, Guramishvili attended the Tiflis Women's Gymnasium. Hoping to become an agronomy teacher, upon completing her high school studies, she attended biology lectures with Professor Tarkhnishvili. At the time, there were few opportunities for university study for women in the Russian Empire, and Guramishvili dreamed of going abroad to further her education in Switzerland. Her father was against the plan, but her mother encouraged Guramishvili, who obtained the passport of Ephrosine Nikoladze, older sister of Niko Nikoladze, and made her way to Zurich in 1872.
In the early 1870s, Switzerland was a gathering place for Russian revolutionaries who were preaching the socialist doctrine. Guramishvili, one of the first Georgian women to study abroad, became involved in the student movement and became active with other Georgian women students like Fefo Eliozishvili, Ekaterine Melikishvili, Pelagia Natsvlishvili, Ekaterine "Kato" and Olympiad Nikoladze, Mariam Tsereteli. When Giorgi Tsereteli founded an organization known as the "" (Yoke Society), supported by and Niko Nikoladze in 1873, Guramishvili became a member of the group. Its stated purpose was for students abroad to study socialist doctrine to liberate their homeland and form a republican state. In 1874, the Tsarist regime issued a decree requiring woman students to leave the University of Zurich and return to their homelands. Instead, Guramishvili left with Niko to study at the University of Geneva, where members of the Yoke became more closely aligned with radical philosophies the intelligentsia in Western Europe and Russia.
Though Niko was interested in Guramishvili romantically, she was enjoying her freedom and studies. Niko left Geneva and went to Paris, where he married a Polish woman, Bogumila Zemianskaia (also Bogumiła Ziemiańska), who had lived for a while in his hometown, Kutaisi. They had three children — a son who died young, and two daughters, Nino and Elizabeth, known as "Lolo". He and Guramishvili began a correspondence at this period, which would last throughout their lives. Becoming a socialist, Guramishvili regularly attended the International Workingmen's Association section meetings where they discussed such issues as communalism, nationalism vs. internationalism, women's suffrage and equality, as well as the socio-economic and political policies of the Paris Commune. Many of the lectures focused on the doctrine of Karl Marx. In his memoir, revolutionary figure, Nikolai Morozov, wrote that Kato Nikoladze, Mashiko Tsereteli and Guramishvili were to be found as a trio at almost every gathering of Geneva's international community or French communists. After completing her degree in pedagogy, Guramishvili briefly lived in Saint Petersburg, but was expelled from Russia for her involvement with Nikolay Mikhaylovsky and the Narodniks.
Career.
Returning to Georgia in 1875, Guramishvili began working at the boys' gymnasium operated by Iakob Gogebashvili. Initially, the other instructors opposed the hiring of a woman, but her training soon earned her admiration. Around the same time, Niko, who had been living between Paris and Tiflis since 1871, establishing and writing for a number of revolutionary periodicals, returned to Georgia. After teaching at the gymnasium for five years, Guramishvili left in 1880 and accompanied Niko when he was arrested and exiled to Stavropol, though he did not refrain from his radical publishing activities. In 1881, they relocated to Saint Petersburg, though they were unable to marry. Divorce was a difficult process in the period and required permission from the Holy Synod. Niko and Zemianskaia were formally separated in the early summer of 1883, and on 29 July, he and Guramishvili married at the Kashveti Church in Tiflis. The following year, their daughter (1884–1981) was born in Saint Petersburg.
In 1886 or 1887, the family moved to Didi Jikhaishi, (sometimes known as Didi-Dzhikhaishi), in the Imereti region of western Georgia. Guramishvili opened a girls' school which introduced new teaching methods, bringing in teachers from Tiflis to help advance her ideas. One of these was Nino Tkeshelashvili, who she hired as a teacher for Russian language. The couples' other children, (1888–1931) and Tamar (1892–1939) were born during this time. In 1894, she opened a women's gymnasium, which focused on agricultural sciences. Bringing in silk worms from Lyon, France, she taught sericulture as well as machine knitting and weaving to her students. Later that year, they moved to Poti, where Niko served as mayor until 1912. While they were living in Poti, Guramishvili continued her focus on education, serving as the chair of the school board.
By 1916, Niko was working in Saint Petersburg, having taken a post on the board of "Russkaia volia" (Russian Liberty), a leading left-leaning journal. When the February Revolution began, the family immediately supported the creation of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma and both daughters began working as telephone operators for the new Soviet leadership. In the spring, Niko and Guramishvili returned to Tiflis, where he became one of the founders of the National Democratic Party. On 5 September, Rusudan left newly-renamed Petrograd with her son to return to the family home in Didi Jikhaishi and avoid the turmoil of the revolution. She began working as a teacher at the gymnasium her mother had founded. When Georgia gained its independence in 1918, Niko became a member of the Constituent Assembly and served until 1921. When the Soviets invaded Georgia, the family moved to London for three years, before returning to Tiflis, where Niko died in 1928.
Death and legacy.
Guramishvili died on 24 May 1940 in Tbilisi. In 1957, her remains were moved to the Mtatsminda Pantheon where her husband Niko had been buried. She is remembered as one of the first Georgian women to study abroad and introduce pedagogy to Georgia. More than 7,000 of the letters exchanged by Guramishvili and Nikoladze are extant and housed in an archive in the United States. A small portion of them was published as "პიშუ ტებე" by I. A. Meskhi. In 2018, the Tbilisi City Council renamed a section of Theodore Afanasiev Street in the Isani District of the city in her honor. Her daughter Rusudan became a chemist and married Russian historian Mikhail Polievktov. Giorgi became a well-known mathematician. Tamar, an academic, physiologist and one of the first women in Georgia to participate in international sporting events, married one of Giorgi's colleagues, Nikoloz Muskhelishvili.


Tymovirus coat protein

In molecular biology, the Tymovirus coat protein refers to the protein coat of a virus order, named "Tymovirales". More specifically this protein signature is found only in coat proteins from the related tymoviruses. The coat protein (CP) is also known as the virion protein. The virus coat is composed of 180 copies of the coat protein arranged in an icosahedral shell.
Function.
Fundamentally, the viral coat protein functions as protection for the genetic material inside the virus, and as an aid to infecting the host cell with virus DNA. Essentially, the coat protein (CP) is a link between the genetic material and infecting the host. Since the genetic material in the virus consists of RNA the coat protein contains RNA binding sites. Additionally, the coat protein contains conserved histadine amino acid residues which help the virus to spread.
Structure.
There are three subunits named, A, B and C. It contains a beta-jelly roll motif which consists of 9 beta-strands.


Jingchuvirales

Jingchuvirales is an order of viruses.
Taxonomy.
The order contains the following families:


List of common household pests

This is a list of common household pests – undesired animals that have a history of living, invading, causing damage, eating human foods, acting as disease vectors or causing other harms in human habitation.


Mycobacterium parafortuitum

Mycobacterium parafortuitum is a species of "Mycobacterium".


Corynebacterium diphtheriae

Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. It is also known as the Klebs-Löffler bacillus, because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich Löffler (1852–1915).
Classification.
Four subspecies are recognized: "C. d. mitis", "C. d. intermedius", "C. d. gravis", and "C. d. belfanti". The four subspecies differ slightly in their colonial morphology and biochemical properties, such as the ability to metabolize certain nutrients, but all may be toxigenic (and therefore cause diphtheria) or not toxigenic. "C. diphtheriae" produces diphtheria toxin which alters protein function in the host by inactivating the elongation factor EF-2. This causes pharyngitis and 'pseudomembrane' in the throat. The diphtheria toxin gene is encoded by a bacteriophage found in toxigenic strains, integrated into the bacterial chromosome.
To accurately identify "C. diphtheriae", a Gram stain is performed to show Gram-positive, highly pleomorphic organisms with no particular arrangement. Special stains like Albert's stain and Ponder's stain are used to demonstrate the metachromatic granules formed in the polar regions. The granules are called polar granules, Babes Ernst granules, volutin granules etc. An enrichment medium, such as Löffler's medium, is used to preferentially grow "C. diphtheriae". After that, a differential plate known as tellurite agar, allows all "Corynebacteria" (including "C. diphtheriae") to reduce tellurite to metallic tellurium. The tellurite reduction is colorimetrically indicated by brown colonies for most "Cornyebacterium" species or by a black halo around the "C. diphtheriae" colonies.
A low concentration of iron is required in the medium for toxin production. At high iron concentrations, iron molecules bind to an aporepressor on the beta bacteriophage, which carries the "Tox" gene. When bound to iron, the aporepressor shuts down toxin production. Elek's test for toxigenicity is used to determine whether the organism is able to produce the diphtheria toxin.
Pathogen and disease.
"Corynebacterium diphtheriae" is the bacterium that causes the disease diphtheria. "Corynebacterium diphtheriae" is a rod-shaped, Gram positive, non spore-forming, and nonmotile bacterium. The disease occurs primarily in tropical regions and underdeveloped countries but has been known to appear throughout the world. Immunocompromised individuals, poorly immunized adults, and unvaccinated children are at the greatest risk for contracting diphtheria. During the typical course of disease, the only affected body region is the upper respiratory system. A thick gray coating accumulates in the nasopharyngeal region, making it difficult for the individual to breathe and swallow. The disease remains contagious for at least two weeks following disappearance of symptoms but has been known to last for up to a month. The most common routes of entry for "C. diphtheriae" are the nose, tonsils, and throat. Individuals suffering from the disease may experience sore throat, weakness, fever, and swollen glands. Mode of transmission is person to person contact via respiratory droplets (i.e., coughing or sneezing) and, less commonly, by touching open sores or contaminated surfaces. If left untreated, diphtheria toxin may enter the bloodstream causing damage to the kidneys, nerves, and heart. Extremely rare complications include suffocation and partial paralysis. A vaccine, DTap, effectively prevents the disease and is mandatory in the United States for participation in public education and some professions (exceptions apply).
Pathogenesis.
In areas where diphtheria is endemic, "C. diphtheriae" in the nasopharyngeal passageways is common. The exotoxin of "Corynebacterium diphtheriae" is absorbed in the blood which in turn kills heart, kidney, and nerve cells by blocking protein synthesis. Toxigenic strains in susceptible individuals can cause disease by multiplying and secreting diphtheria toxin into either skin or nasopharyngeal lesions. The diphtheritic lesion is often covered by a pseudomembrane composed of fibrin, bacteria, and inflammatory cells. Diphtheria toxin can be proteolytically cleaved into two fragments: an N-terminal fragment A (catalytic domain), and fragment B (transmembrane and receptor binding domain). Fragment A catalyzes the NAD+ -dependent ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2, thereby inhibiting protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. Fragment B binds to the cell surface receptor and facilitates the delivery of fragment A to the cytosol.
Sensitivity.
The bacterium is sensitive to the majority of antibiotics, such as the penicillins, ampicillin, cephalosporins, quinolones, chloramphenicol, tetracyclines, cefuroxime, and trimethoprim.
Genetics.
The genome of "C. diphtheriae" consists of a single circular chromosome of 2.5 Mbp, with no plasmids. The genome shows an extreme compositional bias, being noticeably higher in G+C near the origin than at the terminus.


Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

The Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in August 1887. Originally set up to provide members of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom with "notes and reports concerning the work of the Association" along with "brief records of observations relating to the marine biology and fisheries of the coasts of the United Kingdom". Since 1937 the journal has been published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the association. According to the "Journal Citation Reports", the journal has a 2017 impact factor of 1.403.


Gastrosporium

Gastrosporium is the sole genus in the fungal family Gastrosporiaceae. It contains two truffle-like species, the type "G. simplex", and "G. asiaticum". Both the family and genus were circumscribed by Italian mycologist Oreste Mattirolo in 1903.


Dermocystida

Dermocystida is an order of parasitic eukaryotes.


Bdellovibrio

Bdellovibrio is a genus of Gram-negative, obligate aerobic bacteria. One of the more notable characteristics of this genus is that members can prey upon other Gram-negative bacteria and feed on the biopolymers, e.g. proteins and nucleic acids, of their hosts. They have two lifestyles: a host-dependent, highly mobile phase, the "attack phase", in which they form "bdelloplasts" in their host bacteria; and a slow-growing, irregularly shaped, host-independent form.
Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.
The most well studied of these is "Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus", which is found almost exclusively in host dependent growth in nature. In this free swimming attack form after searching for prey using its pili, it burrows through the host outer membrane/ peptidoglycan cell wall and enters the periplasmic space. The "Bdellovibrio" bacterium then forms a structure called a bdelloplast. This bdelloplast is created as the host cell is modified to become spherical in shape. Inside the bdelloplast, the singular large flagellum of the predatory Bdellovibrio is lost. The host cell is then rapidly killed allowing the passage of molecules from the interior of the host cytoplasm through to the periplasm freely, and the periplasm dwelling "Bdellovibrio" to feed. Using some of these molecules the "Bdellovibrio" creates a protective environment by reinforcing the peptidoglycan cell wall of the host in which it now dwells using amidases and transpeptidases. After around 4hrs, depending on ambient temperature, the "Bdellovibrio" has increased in size dramatically through this nourishment. It divides to replicate and then leaves via a final lysis of the host's cell wall and membranes. The newly emerging "Bdellovibrio" use their newly grown powerful flagella to swim away and find the next suitable host. Because of this intermittent bdelloplast stage, and momentary parasitic phase (15-20 mins), "Bdellovibrio" could be considered bacterial predators or parasites.
"Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus" was first described by Stolp and Petzold in 1962. In 2012 another member of the Bdellovibrio species was identified "Bdellovibrio tiberius" of the River tiber. This species is more capable of host-independent growth.
Little is known of "Bdellovibrio exovorus", an extra-parasitic bdellovibrio, which cannot enter its prey, and does not form Bdelloplasts.
Appearance.
Under a light microscope, host-dependent "Bdellovibrio" appears to be a comma-shaped motile rod that is about 0.3–0.5 by 0.5–1.4 µm in size with a barely discernible flagellum. "Bdellovibrio" show up as a growing clear plaque in an "E. coli" “lawn”. Notably, "Bdellovibrio" has a sheath that covers its flagellum – a rare feature for bacteria. Flagellar motion stops once "Bdellovibrio" has penetrated its prey, and the flagella is then shed.
Host-independent Bdellovibrio appear amorphous, and larger than the predatory phase.
Culture conditions.
"B. bacteriovorus" appears to be ubiquitous in nature and manmade habitats. They have been found in soil samples, rhizosphere of plant roots, rivers, oceans, sewage, intestines and feces of birds and mammals, and even in oyster shells and the gills of crabs. "B. bacteriovorus" are able to thrive in almost any habitat, the general requirements are that there needs to be oxygen and some other Gram-negative bacteria present in its environment. Its optimal temperature is between 28-30°C, making "B. bacteriovorus" a mesophile. "Bdellovibrio" is grown in the laboratory in its stationary HI (host-independent) phase at 29°C on yeast peptone broth agar. Host-dependent (predatory) cultures are grown with a population of "E. coli" S-17 at 29°C for 16 hrs. They may also be cultured using YPSC (yeast extract, peptone, sodium acetate, calcium chloride) overlays or prey lysates.
Life cycle and parasitism.
"Bdellovibrio" cells can swim as fast as 160 µm/s, or over 100 times their body-length per second. It swims using a single sheathed polar flagellum with a characteristic dampened filament waveform. "Bdellovibrio" attacks other Gram-negative bacteria by attaching itself to the prey cell's outer membrane and peptidoglycan layer, after which it creates a small hole in the outer membrane. The "Bdellovibrio" cell then enters the host periplasmic space. It remains reversibly attached to it for a short "recognition" period.
After the recognition period, it becomes irreversibly attached via the pole opposite the flagellum. Once inside the periplasm, the "Bdellovibrio" cell seals the membrane hole and converts the host cell to a spherical morphology, this is due to secretion of L,D transpeptidases which breaks the peptidoglycan apart, and therefore causes the cell to become amorphous. The two-cell complex formed is called a bdelloplast. The "Bdellovibrio" cell uses hydrolytic enzymes to break down the host cell molecules, which it uses to grow filamentously. When the host cell nutrients are exhausted, the filament septates to form progeny "Bdellovibrios". The progeny become motile before they lyse the host cell and are released into the environment. The entire life cycle takes three to four hours, and produces an average of 3–6 progeny cells from a single "E. coli", or up to 90 from larger prey such as filamentous "E. coli".
Targets of "Bdellovibrio" species, including "Vibrio vulnificus", may undergo co-infection by "Bdellovibrio" and bacteriophage. Although the "Bdellovibrio" rounding of prey is thought to be evolved to reduce co-infection of multiple "Bdellovibrio", larger prey that do not round may be infected by multiple Bdello's.
Genomics.
The genome of "Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus" HD100 was sequenced in 2004. The HD100 genome is nucleotides long, larger than expected given its small size.


Pneumocystidomycetes

The Pneumocystidomycetes are a class of ascomycete fungi. It includes the single order Pneumocystidales, which contains the single monotypic family Pneumocystidaceae, which in turn contains the genus Pneumocystis, causative agent of "Pneumocystis" pneumonia.


Diederik cuckoo

The diederik cuckoo ("Chrysococcyx caprius"), formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.
Taxonomy.
The diederik cuckoo was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1780 in his "Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux" from a specimen collected in the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the "Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle" which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name "Cuculus caprius" in his catalogue of the "Planches Enluminées". The diederik cuckoo is now placed in the genus "Chrysococcyx" that was erected by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1826. The species is monotypic.
The generic name "Chrysococcyx " combines the Ancient Greek "khrusos" meaning "gold" and "kokkux" meaning "cuckoo". The specific epithet "caprius" is from the Latin "cupreus" meaning "coppery". The common name "diederik" is from Afrikaans "diedrik", an onomatopoeic rendition of the bird's call.
Description.
The diederik cuckoo is a smallish cuckoo at 18 to 20 cm. Adult males are glossy green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eye-stripe and a short, green malar stripe. All remiges have three to four white spots on the inner vanes. The four green outer tail feathers are tipped white, and the outermost pair are spotted white on both vanes.
Females show more copper above, and have coppery barring on the flanks. The underparts are often washed brownish.
Juveniles have a red bill, streaky throat and a white wing-bar. They are more copper-coloured above and browner below than the females, and the flank markings are brown blotches.
Behaviour.
Breeding.
The diederik cuckoo is a brood parasite. It lays a single egg mostly in the nests of weavers, especially the village weaver and the bishops in the genus "Euplectes". For example, it has been recorded in red-collared widowbirds.
Feeding.
The diederik cuckoo takes a variety of insects and caterpillars. It is a noisy species, with the persistent and loud "deed-deed-deed-deed-er-ick" call from which it gets its name. Usually four clear, roughly identical, notes followed by a little twitter.
Distribution and habitat.
It is a common resident breeder in Sub-Saharan Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. It has been recorded as far north as Cyprus (1982). It is a short-distance seasonal migrant, moving with the rains. It is a solitary bird, found in open woodland, savanna and riverside bushes.


Mycobacterium heidelbergense

Mycobacterium heidelbergense is a Gram-positive, nonmotile, acid-fast coccobacillus. It is a species of the phylum Actinobacteria (Gram-positive bacteria with high guanine and cytosine content, one of the dominant phyla of all bacteria), belonging to the genus "Mycobacterium".
Description.
Dimensions: 0.5-0.8 µm x 2.0-3.0 µm
Colony characteristics: Smooth, dome-like and nonpigmented colonies on Löwenstein-Jensen media at 35 °C (0.5–1 mm in diameter).
Physiology: Slow growth on Löwenstein-Jensen medium at 35 °C within 3–4 weeks, optimal growth at a range from 33 to 35 °C, but also growth at 30 and 37 °C, growth at neither 25 nor at 45 °C, susceptible to isoniazid, rifampicin and ethambutol, resistant to pyrazinamide and cycloserine
Differential characteristics: Differentiation from "M. malmoense", (bearing a strong phenotypic resemblance to "M. heidelbergense"), by its wider range of susceptibility to antituberculous drugs, (including isoniazid), and by its inability to grow on Löwenstein-Jensen medium at 25 °C, differentiation of "M. triplex" from "M. heidelbergense" by its positive nitrate reduction test and by its characteristic HPLC profile (triple-mycolate pattern).
Pathogenesis occurs in cervical lymph nodes (lymphadenitis) in immunocompetent patients. Its
biosafety level is not known. The type strain was first isolated from an immunocompetent paediatric patient with cervical lymphadenitis with recurrent fistula formation, in Heidelberg, Germany.
It is strain 2554/91 = ATCC 51253 = CIP 105424 = DSM 44471.


Clitocybe amarescens

Clitocybe amarescens is a species of agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae. Widely distributed in northwestern Europe, it was described as new to science in 1969 by Finnish mycologist Harri Harmaja. It fruits in groups or in fairy rings in grasslands. "Amarescens" signifies "tending to bitterness".


Onslowiaceae

Onslowiaceae is the only family in order Onslowiales in the brown algae (class Phaeophyceae). The family contains only the genera "Onslowia" and "Verosphacela".


Clavulina geoglossoides

Clavulina geoglossoides is a species of coral fungus in the family Clavulinaceae. It occurs in New Zealand.


Entomophthoromycetes


Candidatus Accumulibacter

""Candidatus" Accumulibacter" is an unclassified group of Betaproteobacteria that currently contains only a single member, ""Candidatus" Accumulibacter phosphatis". ""Ca." A. phosphatis" is a common bacterial community member of wastewater treatment plants performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal and is a polyphosphate-accumulating organism. There are currently no cultured representatives, however due to the importance of ""Ca." A. phosphatis" in the biotechnology industry there has been much research into the physiology of these bacteria.


Fodinibacter

Fodinibacter is a genus of Gram positive, nonmotile, non-sporeforming bacteria. The bacteria are strictly aerobic and mesophilic. Cells of the genus are irregular rods and grow very poorly in the absence of NaCl. The genus name is derived from Latin "fodina" (mine), referring to the salt mine from which the type species was isolated.
The type species of the genus, "Fodinibacter luteus", was originally isolated from a salt mine in Yunnan, China. The genus is monospecific, with "F. luteus" as the only species.


Acaulospora capsicula

Acaulospora capsicula is a species of fungi in the family Acaulosporaceae. It forms arbuscular mycorrhiza and vesicles in roots. It can be distinguished easily from other species of the same genus by spore color and wall structure.


Farysia

Farysia is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Farysiaceae.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species.
Species:


Synurophyceae


Marasmius oreades

Marasmius oreades, also known as the fairy ring mushroom or fairy ring champignon, is a mushroom native to North America and Europe. Its common names can cause some confusion, as many other mushrooms grow in fairy rings, such as the edible "Agaricus campestris" and the poisonous "Chlorophyllum molybdites".
Distribution and habitat.
"Marasmius oreades" grows extensively throughout North America and Europe in the summer and autumn (fall) (June–November in the UK), or year-round in warmer climates. It loves grassy areas such as lawns, meadows, and even dunes in coastal areas.
Description.
"Marasmius oreades" grows gregariously in troops, arcs, or rings (type II, which causes the grass to grow and become greener). The cap is across; bell-shaped with a somewhat inrolled margin at first, becoming broadly convex with an even or uplifted margin, but usually retaining a slight central bump- an "umbo"; dry; smooth; pale tan or buff, occasionally white, or reddish tan; usually changing color markedly as it dries out; the margin sometimes faintly lined.
The bare, pallid stem grows up to about tall and in diameter.
The gills are attached to the stem or free from it, fairly distant (rather a distinctive character), and white or pale tan, dropping a white spore-print. The spores measure 7–10 μm × 4–6 μm; they are smooth, elliptical, and inamyloid. Cystidia absent. Pileipellis without broom cells.
This mushroom can be mistaken for the toxic "Clitocybe rivulosa" which lacks an umbo, is white to grey in color, and has closely spaced decurrent gills.
Edibility.
"Marasmius oreades" is a choice edible mushroom. Its sweet taste lends it to baked goods such as cookies. It is also used in foods such as soups, stews, etc. Traditionally, the stems (which tend to be fibrous and unappetizing) are cut off and the caps are threaded and dried in strings. A possible reason why this mushroom is so sweet-tasting is due to the presence of trehalose, a type of sugar that allows "M. oreades" to resist death by desiccation. When exposed to water after being completely dried out, the trehalose is digested as the cells completely revive, causing cellular processes, including the creation of new spores, to begin again.
Ecological uses.
"Marasmius oreades" can be used for the biological remediation of bismuth in polluted soils.


Rat Genome Database

The Rat Genome Database (RGD) is a database of rat genomics, genetics, physiology and functional data, as well as data for comparative genomics between rat, human and mouse. RGD is responsible for attaching biological information to the rat genome via structured vocabulary, or ontology, annotations assigned to genes and quantitative trait loci (QTL), and for consolidating rat strain data and making it available to the research community. RGD is working with groups such as the Programs for Genomic Applications at MCW and the National BioResource Project for the Rat (NBPR-Rat) in Japan to collect and make available comprehensive physiologic data for a variety of rat strains. They are also developing a suite of tools for mining and analyzing genomic, physiologic and functional data for the rat, and comparative data for rat, mouse and human.
RGD began as a collaborative effort between research institutions involved in rat genetic and genomic research. Its goal, as stated in RFA: HL-99-013, was the establishment of a Rat Genome Database to collect, consolidate, and integrate data generated from ongoing rat genetic and genomic research efforts and make these data widely available to the scientific community. A secondary, but critical goal was to provide curation of mapped positions for quantitative trait loci, known mutations and other phenotypic data.
The rat continues to be extensively used by researchers as a model organism for investigating pharmacology, toxicology, general physiology and the biology and pathophysiology of disease. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in rat genetic and genomic data. In addition to this, the Rat Genome Database has become a central point for information on the rat for research and now features information on not just genetics and genomics, but physiology and molecular biology as well. There are tools and data pages available for all of these fields that are curated by RGD staff.
Data.
RGD's Data page lists eight types of data stored in the database: Genes, QTLs, Markers, Maps, Strains, Ontologies, Sequences and References. Of these, six are actively used and regularly updated. The RGD "Maps" datatype refers to legacy genetic and radiation hybrid maps. This data has been largely supplanted by the rat whole genome sequence. The "Sequences" data type is not a full list of either genomic, transcript or protein sequences, but rather mostly contains PCR primer sequences which define simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP) and expressed sequence tag (EST) Markers. Such sequences are useful primarily for researchers still using these markers for genotyping their animals and for distinguishing between markers of the same name. The six major data types in RGD are as follows:
Genome tools.
RGD's Genome tools include both software tools developed at RGD and tools from third party sources.
Genome tools developed at RGD.
RGD develops web-based tools designed to use the data stored in the RGD database for analyses in rat and across species. These include:
Third party genome tools adapted for use with RGD data.
RGD offers several "third party" software tools that have been adapted for use on the website utilizing data stored in the RGD database. These include:
Additional data and tools.
Phenotypes and Models portal.
RGD's Phenotypes and Models portal focuses on strains, phenotypes and the rat as a model organism for physiology and disease. The Phenotypes and Models portal has five sections: "Phenotypes", "Strains & Models", "Meet Joe Rat", "PhenoMiner" and "Strain Medical Records".
Diseases.
As of July 2015, RGD had nine disease portals:
Disease portals consolidate the data in RGD for a specific disease category and present it in a single group of pages. Genes, QTLs and strains annotated to any disease in the category are listed, with genome-wide views of their locations in rat, human and mouse (see "Genome Viewer" in Genome tools developed at RGD). Additional sections of the portal display data for phenotypes, biological processes and pathways related to the disease category. Pages are also supplied to give users access to information about rat strains used as models for one or more diseases in the category, tools that could be used to analyze the data and additional resources related to the disease category.
Pathways.
RGD's Pathway resources include an ontology of pathway terms (encompassing not only metabolic pathways but also disease, drug, regulatory and signaling pathways), as well as interactive diagrams of the components and interactions of selected pathways; "Pathway Suites and Suite Networks", i.e. groupings of related pathways which all contribute to a larger process such as glucose homeostasis or gene expression regulation; and Physiological Pathway diagrams which display networks of organs, tissues, cells and molecular pathways at the whole animal or systems level.
Knockouts.
Until recently, direct, specific genomic manipulations in the rat were not possible. However, with the rise of technologies such as Zinc finger nuclease- and CRISPR -based mutagenesis techniques, that is no longer the case. Groups producing rat gene knockouts and other types of genetically modified rats include the Human and Molecular Genetics Center at MCW. RGD links to information about the rat strains produced in these studies via pages about the "PhysGen Knockout project" and the "MCW Gene Editing Rat Resource Center (GERRC)", accessed from RGD page headers. Funding for both the PhysGenKO project and the GERRC came from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The stated goal of both projects was to produce rats with alterations in one or more specific genes related to the mission of the NHLBI. Genes were nominated by rat researchers. Nominations were adjudicated by an External Advisory Board. In the case of the PhysGenKO project, many of the rats produced by the group were phenotyped using a standardized high-throughput phenotyping protocol and the data is available in RGD's PhenoMiner tool.
Community outreach and education.
RGD reaches out to the rat research community in a variety of ways including an email forum, a news page, a Facebook page, and regular attendance and presentations at scientific meetings and conferences. Additional educational activities include the production of tutorial videos, both outlining how to use RGD tools and data, and on more general topics such as biomedical ontologies and biological (i.e. gene, QTL and strain) nomenclature. These videos are hosted on a number of online video hosting sites including YouTube.
Funding.
RGD is funded by grant HL64541 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) on behalf of the NIH. The grant includes some additional funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). As of July 2015, the principal investigator of the grant was Mary E. Shimoyama, PhD who took over this leadership position from Howard J. Jacob, PhD in early 2015.
Accession numbers and genome assembly.
As of July 2015, the most current genomic sequence for rat is available under accession numbers AABR07000001-AABR07073554 in the international sequence databases (GenBank, DDBJ and EMBL). The most current assembly is Rnor_6.0. The assembly level is "chromosome" and the genome representation is "full", including a sequence of the Y chromosome (missing from all previous assemblies).


Hemipenthes

Hemipenthes is a large genus of flies belonging to the family Bombyliidae (bee-flies). There are many described species, distributed throughout the Holarctic realm. These are small to large robust flies with a body length of 5–14 mm. They can be distinguished from similar genera ("Villa") by their wing venation.
Larvae are hyperparasites on parasitic Hymenoptera.
Species.
Includes fossil species.


Pneumatocyst

In phycology, a pneumatocyst is a floating structure that contains gas found on brown seaweed. A seaweed's thallus may have more than one. They provide buoyancy to lift the blades toward the surface, allowing them to receive more sunlight for photosynthesis.
The proportion of gases in the pneumatocysts varies depending on the physiological status of the alga and the partial pressure of gases in the surrounding air or water. The pneumatocyst can hold O2, CO2, N2, and CO.


Corynebacterium jeikeium

Corynebacterium jeikeium is a rod-shaped, catalase-positive, aerobic species of actinobacteria in the genus "Corynebacterium". "C. jeikeium" is pathogenic, typically causing an opportunistic infection seen most frequently in bone marrow transplant patients.
"C. jeikeium" is usually susceptible to vancomycin and tetracycline. Resistance to macrolide antibiotics is often encountered.
It can be acquired in hospitals. Its genome has been sequenced.


COPI

COPI is a coatomer, a protein complex that coats vesicles transporting proteins from the "cis" end of the Golgi complex back to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they were originally synthesized, and between Golgi compartments. This type of transport is "retrograde transport", in contrast to the "anterograde transport" associated with the COPII protein. The name "COPI" refers to the specific coat protein complex that initiates the budding process on the "cis"-Golgi membrane. The coat consists of large protein subcomplexes that are made of seven different protein subunits, namely α, β, β', γ, δ, ε and ζ.
Coat proteins.
Coat protein, or COPI, is an ADP ribosylation factor (ARF)-dependent protein involved in membrane traffic. COPI was first identified in retrograde traffic from the "cis"-Golgi to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is the most extensively studied of ARF-dependent adaptors. COPI consists of seven subunits which compose the heteroheptameric protein complex.
The primary function of adaptors is the selection of cargo proteins for their incorporation into nascent carriers. Cargo containing the sorting motifs KKXX and KXKXX interact with COPI to form carriers which are transported from the cis-Golgi to the ER. Current views suggest that ARFs are also involved in the selection of cargo for incorporation into carriers.
Budding process.
ADP ribosylation factor (ARF) is a GTPase involved in membrane traffic. There are 6 mammalian ARFs which are regulated by over 30 guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) and GTPase activating proteins (GAPs). ARF is post-translationally modified at the N-terminus by the addition of the fatty acid myristate.
ARF cycles between GTP and GDP-bound conformations. In the GTP-bound form, ARF conformation changes such that the myristate and hydrophobic N-terminal become more exposed and associate with the membrane. The interconversion between GTP and GDP bound states is mediated by ARF GEFs and ARF GAPs. At the membrane, ARF-GTP is hydrolyzed to ARF-GDP by ARF GAPs. Once in the GDP-bound conformation, ARF converts to a less hydrophobic conformation and dissociates from the membrane. Soluble ARF-GDP is converted back to ARF-GTP by GEFs.
Membrane deformation and carrier budding occurs following the collection of interactions described above. The carrier then buds off of the donor membrane, in the case of COPI this membrane is the cis-Golgi, and the carrier moves to the ER where it fuses with the acceptor membrane and its content is expelled.
Structure.
On the surface of a vesicle COPI molecules form symmetric trimers ("triads"). The curved triad structure positions the Arf1 molecules and cargo binding sites proximal to the membrane. The β′- and α-COP subunits form an arch over the γζβδ-COP subcomplex, orienting their N-terminal domains such that the K(X)KXX cargo-motif binding sites are optimally positioned against the membrane. Thus β′- and α-COP do not form a cage or lattice as in COPII and clathrin coats as previously suggested; instead, they are linked to one another via the γζβδ-COP subcomplexes, forming an interconnected assembly. The triads are linked together with contacts of variable valence making up four different types of contacts.


Mycoplasma spumans

Mycoplasma spumans is a species of bacteria in the genus "Mycoplasma". This genus of bacteria lacks a cell wall around their cell membrane. Without a cell wall, pathogenic species in this genus are unaffected by many antibiotics such as penicillin or other beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis. Mycoplasma are the smallest bacterial cells yet discovered, can survive without oxygen and are typically about 0.1 μm in diameter.
The etymology of the name of the species comes from the Latiny: L. part. adj. spumans, foaming, presumably alluding to thick dark markings that suggest the presence of globules inside the coarsely reticulated colonies. The type strain is ATCC 19526 = IFO (now NBRC) 14849 = NCTC 10169. Its genome has been determined.
It is associated with respiratory infections in dogs. "M. spumans" is Gram-negative and appears round or coccobacillary in form. Individual cells vary in diameter from 300 to 600 nm, and each is surrounded by a three-layered cytoplasmic membrane. The cell has a 'fried-egg' resemblance on a variety of growth media. It is anaerobic.


Osmostat

The osmostat is the regulatory center in the hypothalamus that controls the osmolality of the extracellular fluid. The area in the anterior region of the hypothalamus contains the osmoreceptors, cells that control osmolality via the secretion of antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
In neurological conditions such as epilepsy or paraplegia, the osmostat can be pathologically reset, secreting ADH at a lower osmolality, which may cause hyponatremia. A "reset osmostat" is also a feature of SIADH.