Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( ), also known as Bd or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians.
Since its discovery in 1998 by Lee Berger, the disease devastated amphibian populations around the world, in a global decline towards multiple extinctions, part of the Holocene extinction. A recently described second species, "B. salamandrivorans", also cause chytridiomycosis and death in salamanders.
The fungal pathogens that cause the disease chytridiomycosis ravage the skin of frogs, toads, and other amphibians, throwing off their balance of water and salt and eventually causing heart failure, Nature reports. Some amphibian species appear to have an innate capacity to withstand chytridiomycosis infection due to symbiosis with "Janthinobacterium lividum". Even within species that generally succumb, some populations survive, possibly demonstrating that these traits or alleles of species are being subjected to evolutionary selection.
Etymology.
The generic name is derived from the Greek words "batrachos" (frog) and "chytra" (earthen pot), while the specific epithet is derived from the genus of frogs from which the original confirmation of pathogenicity was made ("Dendrobates"), "dendrobatidis" is from the Greek "dendron", "tree" and "bates", "one who climbs", referring to a genus of poison dart frogs.
Systematics.
"Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis" was until recently considered the single species of the genus "Batrachochytrium". The initial classification of the pathogen as a chytrid was based on zoospore ultrastructure. DNA analysis of the SSU-rDNA has corroborated the view, with the closest match to "Chytridium confervae". A second species of "Batrachochytrium" was discovered in 2013: "B. salamandrivorans", which mainly affects salamanders and also causes chytridiomycosis. "B. salamandrivorans" differs from "B. dendrobatidis" primarily in the formation of germ tubes "in vitro", the formation of colonial thalli with multiple sporangia in vivo, and a lower thermal preference.
Morphology.
"B. dendrobatidis" infects the keratinized skin of amphibians. The fungus in the epidermis has a thallus bearing a network of rhizoids and smooth-walled, roughly spherical, inoperculate (without an operculum) sporangia. Each sporangium produces a single tube to discharge spores.
Zoospore structure.
Zoospores of "B. dendrobatidis", which are typically 3–5 µm in size, have an elongate–ovoidal body with a single, posterior flagellum (19–20 µm long), and possess a core area of ribosomes often with membrane-bound spheres of ribosomes within the main ribosomal mass. A small spur has been observed, located at the posterior of the cell body, adjacent to the flagellum, but this may be an artifact in the formalin-fixed specimens. The core area of ribosomes is surrounded by a single cisterna of endoplasmic reticulum, two to three mitochondria, and an extensive microbody–lipid globule complex. The microbodies closely appose and almost surround four to six lipid globules (three anterior and one to three laterally), some of which appear bound by a cisterna. Some zoospores appear to contain more lipid globules (this may have been a result of a plane-of-sectioning effect, because the globules were often lobed in the zoospores examined). A rumposome has not been observed.
Flagellum structure.
A nonfunctioning centriole lies adjacent to the kinetosome. Nine interconnected props attach the kinetosome to the plasmalemma, and a terminal plate is present in the transitional zone. An inner ring-like structure attached to the tubules of the flagellar doublets within the transitional zone has been observed in transverse section. No roots associated with the kinetosome have been observed. In many zoospores, the nucleus lies partially within the aggregation of ribosomes and was invariably situated laterally. Small vacuoles and a Golgi body with stacked cisternae occurred within the cytoplasm outside the ribosomal area. Mitochondria, which often contain a small number of ribosomes, are densely staining with discoidal cristae.
Life cycle.
"B. dendrobatidis" has two primary life stages: a sessile, reproductive zoosporangium and a motile, uniflagellated zoospore released from the zoosporangium. The zoospores are known to be active only for a short period of time, and can travel short distances of one to two centimeters. However, the zoospores are capable of chemotaxis, and can move towards a variety of molecules that are present on the amphibian surface, such as sugars, proteins and amino acids. "B. dendrobatidis" also contains a variety of proteolytic enzymes and esterases that help it digest amphibian cells and use amphibian skin as a nutrient source. Once the zoospore reaches its host, it forms a cyst underneath the surface of the skin, and initiates the reproductive portion of its life cycle. The encysted zoospores develop into zoosporangia, which may produce more zoospores that can reinfect the host, or be released into the surrounding aquatic environment. The amphibians infected with these zoospores are shown to die from cardiac arrest.
Besides amphibians "B. dendrobatidis" also infects crayfish ("Procambarus alleni", "P. clarkii", "Orconectes virilis", and "O. immunis") but not mosquitofish ("Gambusia holbrooki").
Physiology.
"B. dendrobatidis" can grow within a wide temperature range (4-25 °C), with optimal temperatures being between 17 and 25 °C. The wide temperature range for growth, including the ability to survive at 4 °C gives the fungus the ability to overwinter in its hosts, even where temperatures in the aquatic environments are low. The species does not grow well above temperatures of 25 °C, and growth is halted above 28 °C. Infected red-eyed treefrogs ("Litoria chloris") recovered from their infections when incubated at a temperature of 37 °C.
Varying forms.
"B. dendrobatidis" has occasionally been found in forms distinct from its traditional zoospore and sporangia stages. For example, before the 2003 European heat wave that decimated populations of the water frog "Rana lessonae" through chytridiomycosis, the fungus existed on the amphibians as spherical, unicellular organisms, confined to minute patches (80–120 micrometers across). These organisms, unknown at the time, were subsequently identified as "B. dendrobatidis". Characteristics of the organisms were suggestive of encysted zoospores; they may have embodied a resting spore, a saprobe, or a parasitic form of the fungus that is non-pathogenic.
Habitat and relationship to amphibians.
The fungus grows on amphibian skin and produces aquatic zoospores. It is widespread and ranges from lowland forests to cold mountain tops. It is sometimes a non-lethal parasite and possibly a saprophyte. The fungus is associated with host mortality in highlands or during winter, and becomes more pathogenic at lower temperatures.
Geographic distribution.
It has been suggested that "B. dendrobatidis" originated in Africa or Asia and subsequently spread to other parts of the world by trade in African clawed frogs ("Xenopus laevis"). In this study, 697 archived specimens of three species of "Xenopus", previously collected from 1879 to 1999 in southern Africa, were examined. The earliest case of chytridiomycosis was found in a "X. laevis" specimen from 1938. The study also suggests that chytridiomycosis had been a stable infection in southern Africa from 23 years prior to finding any infected outside of Africa. There is more recent information that the species originated on the Korean peninsular and was spread by the trade in frogs.
American bullfrogs ("Lithobates catesbeianus"), also widely distributed, are also thought to be carriers of the disease due to their inherent low susceptibility to "B. dendrobatidis" infection. The bullfrog often escapes captivity and can establish feral populations where it may introduce the disease to new areas. It has also been shown that "B. dendrobatidis" can survive and grow in moist soil and on bird feathers, suggesting that "B. dendrobatidis" may also be spread in the environment by birds and transportation of soils.
Infections have been linked to mass mortalities of amphibians in North America, South America, Central America, Europe and Australia. "B. dendrobatidis" has been implicated in the extinction of the sharp-snouted day frog ("Taudactylus acutirostris") in Australia.
A wide variety of amphibian hosts have been identified as being susceptible to infection by "B. dendrobatidis", including wood frogs ("Lithobates sylvatica"), the mountain yellow-legged frog ("Lithobates muscosa"), the southern two-lined salamander ("Eurycea cirrigera"), San Marcos Salamander ("Eurycea nana"), Texas Salamander ("Eurycea neotenes"), Blanco River Springs Salamander ("Eurycea pterophila"), Barton Springs Salamander ("Eurycea sosorum"), Jollyville Plateau Salamander ("Eurycea tonkawae"), "Ambystoma jeffersonianum", the western chorus frog ("Pseudacris triseriata"), the southern cricket frog ("Acris gryllus"), the eastern spadefoot toad ("Scaphiopus holbrooki"), the southern leopard frog ("Lithobates sphenocephala"), the Rio Grande Leopard frog ("Lithobates berlandieri"), and the Sardinian newt ("Euproctus platycephalus"). and endemic frog species, the Beysehir frog in Turkey ("Pelophylax caralitanus").
Southeast Asia.
While most studies concerning "B. dendrobatidis" have been performed in various locations across the world, the presence of the fungus in Southeast Asia remains a relatively recent development. The exact process through which the fungus was introduced to Asia is not known, however, as mentioned above, it has been suggested transportation of asymptomatic carrier species (e.g. "Lithobates catesbeianus", the American Bullfrog) may be a key component in the dissemination of the fungus, at least in China. Initial studies demonstrated the presence of the fungus on island states/countries such as Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Japan. Soon thereafter, mainland Asian countries such as Thailand, South Korea, and China reported incidences of "B. dendrobatidis" among their amphibian populations. Much effort has been put into classifying herpetofauna in countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos where new species of frogs, toads, and other amphibians and reptiles are being discovered on a frequent basis. Scientists simultaneously are swabbing herpetofauna in order to determine if these newly discovered animals possess traces of the fungus.
In Cambodia, a study showed "B. dendrobatidis" to be prevalent throughout the country in areas near Phnom Penh (in a village <5 km), Sihanoukville (frogs collected from the local market), Kratie (frogs collected from streets around the town), and Siem Reap (frogs collected from a national preserve: Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity). Another study in Cambodia questioned the potential anthropological impact in the dissemination of "B. dendrobatidis" on local amphibian populations in 3 different areas in relation to human interaction: low (an isolated forest atop a mountain people rarely visit), medium (a forest road ~15 km from a village that is used at least once a week), and high (a small village where humans interact with their environment on a daily basis). Using quantitative PCR, evidence of "B. dendrobatidis" was found in all 3 sites with the highest percentage of amphibians positive for the fungus from the forest road (medium impact; 50%), followed by the mountain forest (low impact; 44%) and village (high impact; 36%). Human influence most likely explains detection of the fungus in the medium and high areas, however it does not provide an adequate explanation why even isolated amphibians were positive for "B. dendrobatidis". This may go unanswered until more research is performed on transmission of the fungus across landscapes. However, recent evidence suggests mosquitoes may be a possible vector which may help spread "B. dendrobatidis." Another study in French Guiana reports widespread infection, with 8 of 11 sites sampled being positive for "B. dendrobatidis" infection for at least one species. This study suggests that "Bd" is more widespread than previously thought.
Effect on amphibians.
Worldwide amphibian populations have been on a steady decline due to an increase in the disease Chytridiomycosis, caused by this "Bd" fungus. "Bd" can be introduced to an amphibian primarily through water exposure, colonizing the digits and ventral surfaces of the animal's body most heavily and spreading throughout the body as the animal matures. Potential effects of this pathogen are hyperkeratosis, epidermal hyperplasia, ulcers, and most prominently the change in osmotic regulation often leading to cardiac arrest. The death toll on amphibians is dependent on a variety of factors but most crucially on the intensity of infection. Some amphibian species have been found to adapt to infection after an initial die-off with survival rates of infected and non-infected individuals being equal.
According to a study by the Australian National University estimates that the Bd fungus has caused the decline of 501 amphibian species—about 6.5 percent of the world known total. Of these, 90 have been entirely wiped out and another 124 species have declined by more than 90 percent, and their odds of the effected species recovering to a healthy population are doubtful. However, these conclusions were criticized by later studies, which proposed that "Bd" was not as primary a driver of amphibian declines as found by the previous study.


Demequinaceae

Demequinaceae is Actinomycete family.
Phylogeny.
The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) and National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
and the phylogeny is based on 16S rRNA-based LTP release 106 by The All-Species Living Tree Project


Corynebacterium

Corynebacterium () is a genus of bacteria that are Gram-positive and aerobic. They are bacilli (rod-shaped), and in some phases of life they are, more particularly, club-shaped, which inspired the genus name ("coryneform" means "club-shaped").
They are widely distributed in nature in the microbiota of animals (including the human microbiota) and are mostly innocuous, most commonly existing in commensal relationships with their hosts. Some are useful in industrial settings such as "C. glutamicum". Others can cause human disease, including most notably diphtheria, which is caused by "C. diphtheriae". As with various species of a microbiota (including their cousins in the genera "Arcanobacterium" and "Trueperella"), they usually are not pathogenic but can occasionally opportunistically capitalize on atypical access to tissues (via wounds) or weakened host defenses.
Taxonomy.
The genus "Corynebacterium" was created by Lehmann and Neumann in 1896 as a taxonomic group to contain the bacterial rods responsible for causing diphtheria. The genus was defined based on morphological characteristics. Based on studies of 16S-rRNA, they have been grouped into the subdivision of gram-positive eubacteria with high G:C content, with close phylogenetic relationship to "Arthrobacter", "Mycobacterium", "Nocardia", and "Streptomyces".
The term comes from Greek κορύνη, ' 'club, mace, staff, knobby plant bud or shoot' and βακτήριον, ' 'little rod'. The term "diphtheroids" is used to represent corynebacteria that are non-pathogenic; for example, "C. diphtheriae" would be excluded. The term diphtheroid comes from Greek διφθέρα, "" 'prepared hide, leather'.
Genomics.
Comparative analysis of corynebacterial genomes has led to the identification of several conserved signature indels which are unique to the genus. Two examples of these conserved signature indels are a two-amino-acid insertion in a conserved region of the enzyme phosphoribose diphosphate:decaprenyl-phosphate phosphoribosyltransferase and a three-amino-acid insertion in acetate kinase, both of which are found only in "Corynebacterium" species. Both of these indels serve as molecular markers for species of the genus "Corynebacterium". Additionally, 16 conserved signature proteins, which are uniquely found in "Corynebacterium" species, have been identified. Three of the conserved signature proteins have homologs found in the genus "Dietzia", which is believed to be the closest related genus to "Corynebacterium". In phylogenetic trees based on concatenated protein sequences or 16S rRNA, the genus "Corynebacterium" forms a distinct clade, within which is a distinct subclade, cluster I. The cluster is made up of the species "C. diphtheriae, C. pseudotuberculosis, C. ulcerans, C. aurimucosum, C. glutamicum," and "C. efficiens". This cluster is distinguished by several conserved signature indels, such as a two-amino-acid insertion in LepA and a seven- or eight-amino-acid insertions in RpoC. Also, 21 conserved signature proteins are found only in members of cluster I. Another cluster has been proposed, consisting of "C. jeikeium" and "C. urealyticum", which is supported by the presence of 19 distinct conserved signature proteins which are unique to these two species. Corynebateria have a high G+C content ranging from 46-74 mol%.
Characteristics.
The principal features of the genus "Corynebacterium" were described by Collins and Cummins in 1986. They are gram-positive, catalase-positive, non-spore-forming, non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria that are straight or slightly curved. Metachromatic granules are usually present representing stored phosphate regions. Their size falls between 2 and 6 μms in length and 0.5 μm in diameter. The bacteria group together in a characteristic way, which has been described as the form of a "V", "palisades", or "Chinese characters". They may also appear elliptical. They are aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, chemoorganotrophs. They are pleomorphic through their lifecycles, they occur in various lengths, and they frequently have thickenings at either end, depending on the surrounding conditions.
Cell wall.
The cell wall is distinctive, with a predominance of mesodiaminopimelic acid in the murein wall and many repetitions of arabinogalactan, as well as corynemycolic acid (a mycolic acid with 22 to 26 carbon atoms), bound by disaccharide bonds called L-Rha"p"-(1 → 4)--D-GlcNAc-phosphate. These form a complex commonly seen in "Corynebacterium" species: the mycolyl-AG–peptidoglican (mAGP).
Culture.
Corynebacteria grow slowly, even on enriched media. In terms of nutritional requirements, all need biotin to grow. Some strains also need thiamine and PABA. Some of the "Corynebacterium" species with sequenced genomes have between 2.5 and 3.0 million base pairs. The bacteria grow in Loeffler's medium, blood agar, and trypticase soy agar (TSA). They form small, grayish colonies with a granular appearance, mostly translucent, but with opaque centers, convex, with continuous borders. The color tends to be yellowish-white in Loeffler's medium. In TSA, they can form grey colonies with black centers and dentated borders that look similar to flowers ("C. gravis"), or continuous borders ("C. mitis"), or a mix between the two forms ("C. intermedium").
Habitat.
"Corynebacterium" species occur commonly in nature in the soil, water, plants, and food products. The nondiphtheiroid "Corynebacterium" species can even be found in the mucosa and normal skin flora of humans and animals. Unusual habitats, such as the preen gland of birds have been recently reported for "Corynebacterium uropygiale". Some species are known for their pathogenic effects in humans and other animals. Perhaps the most notable one is "C. diphtheriae", which acquires the capacity to produce diphtheria toxin only after interacting with a bacteriophage. Other pathogenic species in humans include: "C. amycolatum", "C. striatum", "C. jeikeium", "C. urealyticum", and "C. xerosis"; all of these are important as pathogens in immunosuppressed patients. Pathogenic species in other animals include "C. bovis" and "C. renale". This genus has been found to be part of the human salivary microbiome.
Role in disease.
The most notable human infection is diphtheria, caused by "C. diphtheriae". It is an acute and contagious infection characterized by pseudomembranes of dead epithelial cells, white blood cells, red blood cells, and fibrin that form around the tonsils and back of the throat. In developed countries, it is an uncommon illness that tends to occur in unvaccinated individuals, especially school-aged children, elderly, neutropenic or immunocompromised patients, and those with prosthetic devices such as prosthetic heart valves, shunts, or catheters. It is more common in developing countries It can occasionally infect wounds, the vulva, the conjunctiva, and the middle ear. It can be spread within a hospital. The virulent and toxigenic strains are lysogenic, and produce an exotoxin formed by two polypeptide chains, which is itself produced when a bacterium is transformed by a gene from the β prophage.
Several species cause disease in animals, most notably "C. pseudotuberculosis", which causes the disease caseous lymphadenitis, and some are also pathogenic in humans. Some attack healthy hosts, while others tend to attack the immunocompromised. Effects of infection include granulomatous lymphadenopathy, pneumonitis, pharyngitis, skin infections, and endocarditis. Corynebacterial endocarditis is seen most frequently in patients with intravascular devices. Several species of "Corynebacterium" can cause trichomycosis axillaris. "C. striatum" may cause axillary odor. "C. minutissimum" causes erythrasma.
Industrial uses.
Nonpathogenic species of "Corynebacterium" are used for very important industrial applications, such as the production of amino acids, nucleotides, and other nutritional factors (Martín, 1989); bioconversion of steroids; degradation of hydrocarbons; cheese aging; and production of enzymes. Some species produce metabolites similar to antibiotics: bacteriocins of the corynecin-linocin type, antitumor agents, etc. One of the most studied species is "C. glutamicum", whose name refers to its capacity to produce glutamic acid in aerobic conditions. This is used in the food industry as monosodium glutamate in the production of soy sauce and yogurt.
Species of "Corynebacterium" have been used in the mass production of various amino acids including glutamic acid, a food additive that is made at a rate of 1.5 million tons/ year. The metabolic pathways of "Corynebacterium " have been further manipulated to produce lysine and threonine.
L-Lysine production is specific to "C. glutamicum" in which core metabolic enzymes are manipulated through genetic engineering to drive metabolic flux towards the production of NADPH from the pentose phosphate pathway, and L-4-aspartyl phosphate, the commitment step to the synthesis of L-lysine, lysC, dapA, dapC, and dapF. These enzymes are up-regulated in industry through genetic engineering to ensure adequate amounts of lysine precursors are produced to increase metabolic flux. Unwanted side reactions such as threonine and asparagine production can occur if a buildup of intermediates occurs, so scientists have developed mutant strains of" C. glutamicum" through PCR engineering and chemical knockouts to ensure production of side-reaction enzymes are limited. Many genetic manipulations conducted in industry are by traditional cross-over methods or inhibition of transcriptional activators.
Expression of functionally active human epidermal growth factor has been brought about in "C. glutamicum", thus demonstrating a potential for industrial-scale production of human proteins. Expressed proteins can be targeted for secretion through either the general secretory pathway or the twin-arginine translocation pathway.
Unlike gram-negative bacteria, the gram-positive "Corynebacterium" species lack lipopolysaccharides that function as antigenic endotoxins in humans.
Species.
Most species of corynebacteria are not lipophilic.
Nonlipophilic.
The nonlipophilic bacteria may be classified as fermentative and nonfermentative:


Chamonixia caespitosa

Chamonixia caespitosa is a species of secotioid fungus in the family Boletaceae. It was described as new to science in 1899 by French mycologist Léon Louis Rolland.


Afroboletus

Afroboletus is a genus of fungi in the family Boletaceae. The genus, circumscribed in 1981, contains seven species found in tropical Africa.
Taxonomy.
When defining the genus, Pegler and Young placed it in the family Strobilomycetaceae, and considered "Afroboletus" to be a "primitive" and possibly ancestral member of the group because of the form of its basidia and spores, the reticulation of the stem, tropical distribution, and non-mycorrhizal requirements of its species.
Description.
Fruit bodies of "Afroboletus" species have fleshy caps that are hemispherical or convex to applanate (horizontally flattened). As it ages, the cap surface becomes fuliginous (sooty) and black, developing pustules or scales. The cap margin is appendiculate, meaning that partial veil remnants hang along the cap margin. On the cap underside, the pore surface comprises tubes that are adnately attached to the stipe. The pore surface appears swollen, and is initially white before turning greyish or pale pinkish. The tubes are relatively long, measuring , and there are typically 1–2 pores per millimeter. Stipes are slender, cylindrical, firm, and solid (i.e., not hollow). The colour of the stipe surface is similar to that of the cap, and also eventually turns blackish. The veil is persistent, fluffy, and sometimes leaves a ring on the stipe. The flesh is whitish, discoloring black on exposure.
Spore prints are dark fuscous brown. Spores are short-ellipsoid with a deep yellowish-brown colour. Their surface features an intricate ornamentation of 8–12 large, winged, longitudinal costae interspersed with ridges, and a thickened rim at the base. Basidia (spore-bearing cells) are pear-shaped and bear four sterigmata. Cystidia are club-shaped to lance-shaped, thin-walled, and have a brown pigment contained within vacuoles. The hymenophoral tissue is bilaterally divergent, and contains gelatinized layers. The cap cuticle is arranged in a trichodermial palisade (erect, roughly parallel chains of closely packed cells) consisting of short cylindrical or sac-like, thick-walled cells with brown contents. The hyphae lack clamp connections.
Species.
There are seven species recognized in "Afroboletus", all from tropical Africa:
Uses.
Both "Afroboletus costatisporus" and "A. luteolus" are used as food.


Prasiola crispa

Prasiola crispa is a small green marine or terrestrial seaweed.
Taxonomy.
The species, first described as "Ulva crispa" Lightfoot, is the type of the genus "Prasiola" .
A lectotype was nominated for the species, the type location of which was provided in accompanying notation as walls that faced north and were favoured as urinals.
The specific epithet is said to translate as "crisped", a reference to the irregular convolutions of the species.
Description.
This is a small green alga growing to about 6 cm long. The frond is round in shape, flattened. Generally one cell thick, the cells arranged in rows or in groups of four.
Reproduction.
Reproduction is by akinetes and aplanospores.
Distribution.
Recorded from Iceland the British Isles including the Isle of Man, Mediterranean, New Zealand, Japan and the Atlantic shores of North America.
Conservation status.
In Iceland, it is red listed as a vulnerable species (VU).


Soil life

Soil life table.
This table is a résumé of soil life,
coherent with prevalent taxonomy as used in the linked Wikipedia articles.


Azotobacter salinestris

Azotobacter salinestris is a Gram-negative, nitrogen-fixing bacterium; its specific name, "salinestris", comes from the Latin words "salinus" meaning saline and "estris" which means "living in". It can be found living in soil or marine habitats as single cells or in chains of six to eight cells. This organism is motile at younger stages, but loses its flagella at older stages. This species is known for its potential use in bioremediation.
Isolation.
William J. Page and Shailaja Shivprasad isolated "A. salinestris" from saline soils. The colonies used for their study were first taken from air-dried surface soil from Alberta, Canada. The soil was inoculated into a Burk nitrogen-free mineral-salt medium, which contained 1% glucose and 0.25 micrograms of copper chloride per milliliter of solution. The medium was incubated at 30 °C and stored at 4 °C. Colony formation was noted after 2–3 days of incubation. The same soil samples were also used to inoculate slant cultures, which were stored at room temperature. "A. salinestris" was found to lose viability in the slant cultures when stored at 4 °C. Through these cultures and characterization tests, "A. salinestris" was found to share many of the general characteristics specific to the species "Azotobacter." Originally, "A. salinestris" colonies were classified as "Azotobacter chroococcum", but were later identified as a separate species based on their salt-dependent growth.
Characteristics.
Morphology.
"Azotobacter salinestris" is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped organism. This organism's cells are about 2 x 4 μm in size when they are 18 hours old and can grow up to 5 μm in diameter. Older cells can also form cysts. "A. salinestris" colonies appear to be brown-black in color because they produce water-soluble catechol melanin.
Physiology.
The bacteria that performed the most efficient atmospheric nitrogen fixation were from samples grown in 0.05% to 0.10% saline concentration soils. Nitrogen fixation rates were not affected by the presence of oxygen. "A. salinestris" that grows in soils is a facultative anaerobe. Colonies growing in aquatic habitats were determined to be microaerophilic and very sensitive to the presence of hydrogen peroxide since they do not produce a catalase enzyme.
Metabolism.
"A. salinestris" can use melibiose, galactose, mannitol, sucrose, glucose, and fructose as primary carbon sources. They prefer to use sodium ions as their electron acceptor, but also use rubidium. Strains that do not have access to sodium ions produce acid as a product of the metabolism of their growth-promoting carbon substrate.
Ecology.
All known "A. salinestris" samples were isolated from soils that had a neutral or slightly basic pH. The optimal growth pH of this species is 7.2-7.5. Soils must have at least one millimolar concentration of saline for this organism to grow. Unlike other "Azotobacter" species, iron was absolutely required for growth. While most "Azotobacter" species are commonly found in soil, "A. salinestris" is unique due to being found in soils with high salt content and requiring the presence of iron to grow. These organisms can survive in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. It is dependent on, so can also be found in marine environments.
"A. chroococcum" is the most common species from "Azotobacter" to be isolated from soil samples. It is also a close relative to "A. salinestris". All growth conditions used to isolate and determine optimum living conditions for "A. salinestris" were based on the optimal living conditions for "A." "chroococcum". The defining factor between these two species was the dependence on sodium ions to live. "A. salinestris" displayed a stronger dependence on sodium to live than "A. chroococcum".
Genetics.
While Page and Shivprasad are credited with the discovery and characterization of "A. salinestris," Eydne and Wachter are credited with the sequencing of the bacterium’s 5S rRNA in 1987.
Although the results were never published, sequencing data placed this bacterial strain in the genus" Azotobacter". The bacterium’s DNA has a melting point of 96.68 to 97.08 °C and the GC content was 67.73-67.8%. A separate sequencing of the 16S rRNA sequence, conducted by Moore "et al." confirmed that "A. salinestris" was indeed a separate species of that genus.
Importance.
"A. salinestris" was the first prokaryote to show Na+/succinic acid efflux. It can tolerate up to 5% glyphosate, which is a pesticide used to kill weeds that compete with crops. Because the species is a common nitrogen fixer, it is important to the agricultural industry for the species to be able to survive in the presence of such a common pesticide. It can degrade endosulfan, which is an insecticide that is highly hazardous to human, mammal, and fish health. Endosulfan use was banned in 2012 by the United States, following a precedent established by New Zealand and the European Union. The decision to ban endosulfan use came after a study that showed the health risks to humans and wildlife were much higher than expected. It is similar to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, causes birth defects, and is an estrogen analog. Therefore, the ability of "A. salinestris" to break down endosulfan is important for bioremediation to the environments where the substance was used.


Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum

Brachybacterium paraconglomeratum is a species of Gram positive, facultatively anaerobic, pale brown pigmented bacterium. The cells are coccoid during the stationary phase, and irregular rods during the exponential phase. The species was identified when a strain of "Brachybacterium faecium" was found to be a different species of "Brachybacterium". The name is derived from Latin "para" (alongside of, resembling) and "conglomeratum" (rolled together). "B. paraconglomeratum" resembles "Brachybacterium conglomeratum" phenotypically, and but are separate species based on DNA–DNA hybridization. "B. paraconglomeratum" and "B. conglomeratum" were first proposed as species in the same paper in 1995, along with "B. rhamnosum".


Pseudoxanthomonas broegbernensis

Pseudoxanthomonas broegbernensis is a yellow-pigmented bacteria the type species of its genus. Its type strain is B1616/1T (= DSM 12573T).


Mycobacterium poriferae

Mycobacterium poriferae is a species of "Mycobacterium".


Effusibacillus pohliae

Effusibacillus pohliae is a species of Gram positive, aerobic, thermophilic bacterium. The cells are rod-shaped and form spores. It was first isolated from Mount Melbourne, Antarctica. The species is named after the genus of "Pohlia nutans", a species of moss that was colonizing the area where the type strain was isolated. "E. pohliae" has also been isolated from a geothermal heat pump in South Korea.
The species was originally grouped with genus "Alicyclobacillus". However, further research found that "A. pohliae" and "Alicyclobacillus consociatus" belonged in a newly described genus "Effusibacillus", and were renamed accordingly.
The optimum growth temperature for "E. pohliae" is 55 °C, and can grow in the 42-60 °C range. Its optimum pH is 5.0, and grows in pH range 4.5-7.5.


Rhabdochlamydia

Candidatus" Rhabdochlamydia is a genus of intracellular bacteria; a separate family, Candidatus" Rhabdochlamydiaceae, has been proposed for this genus. "Candidatus" Rhabdochlamydia species have not been cultured in vitro and have not been deposited in culture collections.
Two "Rhabdochlamydia" species have been characterized and validly proposed. Their ribosomal RNA genes are 96.3% identical. These gene sequences are 82%–87% identical to those of most Chlamydiales. These data and "Rhabdochlamydia" morphology indicate that these species will belong to the order Chlamydiales, class Chlamydiae, phylum Chlamydiae, domain Bacteria.
"Candidatus" Rhabdochlamydia porcellionis was identified in the hepatopancreas of the woodlouse "Porcellio scaber" (Crustacea: Isopoda).
The second "Rhabdochlamydia" species is "Candidatus" Rhabdochlamydia crassificans, which was identified in the cockroach "Blatta orientalis" (Insecta: Blattodea).


Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum

Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum is an indole and notably butanol-producing bacterium, with the type strain N1-4 (HMT) (= ATCC 27021T). Its genome has been sequenced.


Syzygites

"Syzygites" is a monotypic genus in Zygomycota. The sole described species is Syzygites megalocarpus, which was the first fungus for which sex was reported and the main homothallic representative in the research that allowed for the classification of fungi as homothallic or heterothallic. It is also the fungus from which the term "zygospore" was coined.
Morphology.
"Syzygites megalocarpus" produces phototropic, repeatedly dichotomously branched sporangiophores that terminate in globose, apophysate sporangia. Sporangiospores have a spinose wall, which is rare in Mucorales. Zygospores are pigmented, ornamented, and produced on equally sized suspendors. Due to the presence of carotenoids, the myceliuem can appear yellowish, though mature sporangia darken giving it a brownish appearance.
Ecology.
"S. megalocarpus" is a necrotrophic parasite of mushrooms in temperate regions, though there are reports of it from ascomycetes. It can parasitize at least 98 different species and is itself parasitized by "Piptocephalis virginiana". "Syzygites megalocarpus" is likely a faculative parasite as it can be grown on a variety of media, including bread, in the laboratory. Development of asexual sporangia and zygospores are highly dependent upon environmental conditions. In the laboratory, growth occurs between 5-30 degrees Celsius. Alternating light and dark increases the formation of sporangiophores and continual darkness increases the production of zygospores. Lower temperatures favor zygospore formation and higher temperatures favor sporangiophore production. Media with high quality carbon sources favors formation of zygospores, while media with high nitrogen favors formation of sporangiophores. High humidity increases zygospore formation and low humidity increases sporangiophore formation.
Sexuality.
"Syzygites megalocarpus" is a homothallic fungus, which means each individual contains both mating loci and can therefore self-fertilize to form zygospores. The genes identified in the Mucoromyoctina fungi Phycomyces and Rhizopus are named "sexM" and "sexP" for the minus (-) and plus (+) mating types which these gene define. The genes are members of the HMG high-mobility group gene family. As in other members of Mucorales, these genes are flanked by an RNA helicase and glutathione oxidoreductase.
Taxonomy.
Ehrenberg described "Syzygites megalocarpus" in 1818 based on its zygospores and provided illustrations for the fungus in 1829. In 1824, Link described "Sporodinia grandis" based on the asexual state of "Syzygites megalocarpus". In 1832, Fries considered "S. megalocarpus" and "S. grandis" to be the same species, though this was not observed until 1855 by Tulasne. Hesseltine summarized the taxonomy of the genus in his 1957 monograph and synonymized 14 species with "Syzygites megalocarpus". In a molecular phylogeny, "Syzygites megalocarpus" is placed sister to "Sporodinella umbellata", albeit in a clade with "Rhizopus".


Devosia pacifica

Devosia pacifica is a Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, motile bacteria from the genus of Devosia with a single lateral flagellum which was isolated from sediments of the South China Sea.


Vesper mouse

Vesper mice are rodents belonging to a genus "Calomys". They are widely distributed in South America. Some species are notable as the vectors of Argentinian hemorrhagic fever and Bolivian hemorrhagic fever.
The genus was originally named "Hesperomys", but was changed to "Calomys" since 1962.
History.
"Hesperomys" was introduced by George Robert Waterhouse in 1839 for the American rodents with cusps arranged in two series. The name combines the Greek ἑσπερος "west" and μυς "mouse". He considered it possible that species of "Hesperomys" would be found in the Old World, but did not doubt that the Americas were their chief abode. He included as species "Mus bimaculatus" (="Calomys laucha"), "Mus griseo-flavus" (="Graomys griseoflavus"), "Mus Darwinii" (="Phyllotis darwini"), "Mus zanthopygus" (="Phyllotis xanthopygus"), "Mus galapagoensis" (="Aegialomys galapagoensis"), "Symidon hispidum" (="Sigmodon hispidus"), "Mus leucopus" (="Peromyscus leucopus"), and the woodrats ("Neotoma").
In following years, authors like Johann Andreas Wagner and Spencer Fullerton Baird expanded the genus to include additional American species, such as those placed now in "Scapteromys", "Oxymycterus", "Abrothrix", and "Peromyscus". In 1874, Elliott Coues designated "Mus bimaculatus" Waterhouse as the type species of "Hesperomys". In 1888, Herluf Winge used "Hesperomys" in a sense similar to modern "Calomys" (but confusingly placed species related to what is now known as "Oryzomys" in "Calomys"), but in the same year Oldfield Thomas argued that "Hesperomys" could not be separated from the hamsters ("Cricetus"). In 1896, however, he united it with "Eligmodontia" instead, where it remained until he reinstated it for modern "Calomys" in 1916. He did not use "Calomys" (introduced by Waterhouse in 1837 for "Mus bimaculatus"), because he thought it to be preoccupied by an earlier name "Callomys" d'Orbigny and Geoffroy, 1830. In 1962, Philip Hershkovitz noted that the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature mandates that a name cannot be considered preoccupied even when it differs by only one letter from another, so "Callomys" cannot invalidate "Calomys". As "Calomys" Waterhouse, 1837, and "Hesperomys" Waterhouse, 1839, both had "Mus bimaculatus" as their type species, the two are objective synonyms and the older name, "Calomys", prevails; since then, "Hesperomys" has no longer been in use as a valid name.


Abisara gerontes

Abisara gerontes, the dark banded Judy, is a butterfly in the family Riodinidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The habitat consists of tropical humid forests and lowland forests in hilly terrain.
Description.
Upperside. Antennae, thorax, and abdomen black. Anterior wings next the body nearly black, a third next the tips greyish brown, with a circular eyespot thereon; the iris being black and yellow, the pupil blue. A white streak rises on these wings, which crossing the posterior edges, ends at the middle of the posterior ones in a sharp point. Posterior wings blackish brown, the upper corners being greyish brown, where is a yellow mark, not unlike a human ear, the inner part being tinged with a shining blue colour. These wings are furnished with two broad tails, which suddenly become narrow and short, the tips white, and along the edges streaked with blue.
Underside. Palpi wanting. Feet yellow. Breast white. Anterior wings lighter coloured than on the upperside. The white streaks are very conspicuous, and near the tips is another streak of ash colour. The eye at the tips is very discernible. Posterior wings lighter coloured on this side, being chiefly ash colour, with a brown streak longitudinally placed, verged at the bottom with yellow and blue streaks. The ear-like mark is also very plain on this side. Wingspan inches (44 mm).


Iotapapillomavirus

Iotapapillomavirus is a genus of viruses, in the family "Papillomaviridae". Rodents serve as natural hosts. There are two species in this genus. Diseases associated with this genus include: cutaneous lesions and benign skin tumours, such as papillomas and keratoacanthomas.
Taxonomy.
The following two species are assigned to the genus:
Structure.
Viruses in "Iotapapillomavirus" are non-enveloped, with icosahedral geometries, and T=7 symmetry. The diameter is around 60 nm. Genomes are circular, around 8kb in length.
Life cycle.
Viral replication is nuclear. Entry into the host cell is achieved by attachment of the viral proteins to host receptors, which mediates endocytosis. Replication follows the dsDNA bidirectional replication model. DNA-templated transcription, with some alternative splicing mechanism is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by nuclear envelope breakdown.
Rodents serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are contact.


Podaxis pistillaris

Podaxis pistillaris is a very distinctive relative of the puffballs. It grows to 15 cm high and has a hard, woody stem. The large cap, which protects the blackish spore-bearing tissue, splits, and usually falls away at maturity, allowing the spores to be dispersed by wind. Large numbers may appear after soaking rains. It thrives in deserts and semi-deserts of Australia and other countries, often found on termite mounds in South Africa. In the Hawaiian Islands, it is frequently encountered along roadsides and in disturbed areas on the dry sides of the islands, especially in the Kona area of Hawaii and the Kihei area of Maui.
Older synonyms for this species include "Lycoperdon pistillare" L. (1771) and "Scleroderma pistillare" (L.) Pers. (1801).
Spores.
The spores are usually 10–14 (–16) by (8–) 9–12 µm broadly oval to sub-globose, smooth yellow to deep reddish-brown with a double wall, truncate base, and apical pore. Older spore measurements have varied considerably. Species from Australian collections appear to be more subglobose than those seen from the United States, raising the possibility that the latter are not the same species.
Organisation.
It is an agaric, though it has lost hymenophoral organization and the ability to forcibly discharge its basidiospores and become "secotioid". Although considered by many to be a "stalked puffball", "Podaxis pistillaris" is more closely allied with the shaggy mane ("Coprinus comatus") than with puffballs.
Uses.
In Australia, it was used by many desert tribes to darken the white hair in old men's whiskers and for body painting. The fungus was presumably used by many desert Aborigines due to its distribution around drier areas of Australia. There are reports of its also being used as a fly repellent. Apart from the more common, ground-inhabiting "Podaxis pistillaris", there is one other "Podaxis" species in Australia – "Podaxis beringamensis", found on termite mounds; presumably both species were used.
The species is inedible.


Jamesdicksonia

Jamesdicksonia is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Georgefischeriaceae.
The genus was first described by Mandayani Jeersannidhi Thirumalachar, Pavgi and Payak in 1961.
The genus has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:


Agaricales

The fungal order Agaricales, also known as gilled mushrooms (for their distinctive gills) or euagarics, contains some of the most familiar types of mushrooms. The order has 33 extant families, 413 genera, and over 13,000 described species, along with six extinct genera known only from the fossil record. They range from the ubiquitous common mushroom to the deadly destroying angel and the hallucinogenic fly agaric to the bioluminescent jack-o-lantern mushroom.
History, classification and phylogeny.
In his three volumes of "Systema Mycologicum" published between 1821 and 1832, Elias Fries put almost all of the fleshy, gill-forming mushrooms in the genus "Agaricus". He organized the large genus into "tribes", the names of many of which still exist as common genera of today. Fries later elevated several of these tribes to generic level, but later authors—including Gillet, Karsten, Kummer, Quélet, and Staude—made most of the changes. Fries based his classification on macroscopic characters of the fruit bodies and color of the spore print. His system had been widely used as it had the advantage that many genera could be readily identified based on characters observable in the field. Fries's classification was later challenged when microscopic studies of basidiocarp structure, initiated by Fayod and Patouillard, demonstrated several of Fries's groupings were unnatural. In more recent history, Rolf Singer's influential work "The Agaricales in Modern Taxonomy", published in four editions spanning from 1951 to 1986, used both Fries's macroscopic characters and Fayod's microscopic characters to reorganize families and genera; his most recent classification included 230 genera within 18 families. Singer treated three major groups within the Agaricales "sensu lato": the Agaricales "sensu stricto", Boletineae, and Russulales. These groups are still accepted by modern treatments based on DNA analysis, as the euagarics clade, bolete clade, and russuloid clade.
Molecular phylogenetics research has demonstrated that the euagarics clade is roughly equivalent to Singer's Agaricales "sensu stricto". A recent (2006) large-scale study by Brandon Matheny and colleagues used nucleic acid sequences representing six gene regions from 238 species in 146 genera to explore the phylogenetic grouping within the Agaricales. The analysis showed that most of the species tested could be grouped into six clades that were named the Agaricoid, Tricholomatoid, Marasmioid, Pluteoid, Hygrophoroid and Plicaturopsidoid clades.
Some notable fungi with gill-like structures, such as chanterelles, have long been recognized as being substantially different from usual Agaricales. Molecular studies are showing more groups of agarics as being more divergent than previously thought, such as the genera "Russula" and "Lactarius" belonging to a separate order Russulales, and other gilled fungi, including such species as "Paxillus involutus" and "Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca" showing a closer affinity with Boletes in the order Boletales.
Also, some other quite distinctive fungi, the puffballs, and some clavaroid fungi, e.g. "Typhula", and the Beefsteak fungus have been recently been shown to lie within the Agaricales.
The term agaric had traditionally referred to Agaricales, which were defined as exactly those fungi with gills. Given the discoveries described above, those two categories are not synonymous (although there is a very large overlap between the two groups).
Distribution and habitat.
Agarics are ubiquitous, being found across all continents. Most are terrestrial, their habitats including all types of woodland and grassland, varying largely from one genus to another. Agarics were long thought to be solely terrestrial, until the 2005 discovery of "Psathyrella aquatica", the only gilled mushroom known to fruit underwater.
Agaricals are known from six monotypic fossil genera mostly found fossilized in amber. The oldest records are from three Cretaceous age genera; the late Aptian "Gondwanagaricites magnificus" from the Crato Formation (Brazil), the Albian age (approximately 100 Ma) "Palaeoagaracites antiquus" from Burmese amber and the slightly younger Turonian New Jersey Amber species "Archaeomarasmius leggeti". The three other species, "Aureofungus yaniguaensis", "Coprinites dominicana" and "Protomycena electra" are known from single specimens found in the Dominican amber mines of Hispaniola.
Characteristics.
Basidiocarps of the agarics are typically fleshy, with a stipe, often called a stem or stalk, a pileus (or cap) and lamellae (or gills), where basidiospores are produced. This is the stereotypical structure of a mushroom.
Different types of mushrooms include the polypores, they have pores (tubes) rather than gills, and the hydnoid fungi that form tooth-like or spine-like projections.
Life cycle.
The fungus fruit body is the spore-producing stage of the life cycle. Most fungi reproduce by spores and the fruit bodies are developed specifically for the production and dispersal of spores. The spores produced by fruit bodies are usually the result of sexual reproduction.
The fruit body is the visible part of the growing fungus. It is supported by and develops from an extensive network of thread-like filaments called hyphae. Hyphae are often collectively termed the mycelium; the food-absorbing part of the fungus—as opposed to the spore-producing fruit body of the fungus—is called the vegetative mycelium. The individual hyphae that compose the mycelium absorb nutrients and water from the substratum in which they are growing. When the nutrient supply is adequate and environmental conditions are favorable, some fungi may grow in the same location for several years. Fungi cannot make their own food, namely carbohydrates, as can green plants. Some species are saprobic, obtaining nutrients from dead organic material, whereas others are parasitic on living plants or animals or even on other fungi. Many fungi, especially gilled mushroomes and boletes, have an extensive mycelium that lives in association with the roots of woody plants. This association, which is beneficial to both the fungus and host plant, is termed a mycorrhiza.
When the environmental conditions are favorable and the mycelium is at the proper stage of development, one or more fruit bodies are produced by the fungus. The actual conditions necessary for fruit body formation and spore production are not clearly understood. Humidity, light, temperature, aeration, and nutrition are all factors thought to be important in fruit body formation. The genetic makeup and the general physiology of the fungus hyphae are also important in the initiation and formation of young fruit bodies and their development to a mature stage. The spores produced by a fruit body are released when it is mature. When they land in a suitable environment, the spores germinate and the hyphae grow to initiate the life cycle anew.
Genera "Incertae sedis".
There are several genera classified in the Agaricales that are i) poorly known, ii) have not been subjected to DNA analysis, or iii) if analysed phylogenetically do not group with as yet named or identified families, and have not been assigned to a specific family (i.e., "Incertae sedis" with respect to familial placement). These include:


Angel of Justice

Angel of Justice may refer to:


Alicyclobacillus aeris

Alicyclobacillus aeris is a species of Gram positive/Gram variable, strictly aerobic, bacterium. The bacteria are acidophilic and produced endospores. It was first isolated from a copper mine in Inner Mongolia, China. The species was first described in 2009, and the name is derived from the Latin "aeris" (of ore).
The optimum growth temperature for "A. aeris" is 30 °C, and can grow in the 25-35 °C range. The optimum pH is 3.5, and can grow in pH 2.0-6.0.
"A. aeris" can oxidize iron and sulfur, as can "Alicyclobacillus disulfidooxidans", "A. ferrooxydans", and "A. tolerans". "Alicyclobacillus fodiniaquatilis" was isolated from a different copper mine.


Mycobacterium boenickei

Mycobacterium boenickei is a member of the "Mycobacterium fortuitum" third biovariant complex. They are rapidly growing ubiquitous environmental organisms that normally inhabit soil, dust and water. These organisms frequently are human pathogens that cause a wide spectrum of clinically significant disease. It is important for practitioners to be aware of these organisms as possible etiological agents, as they are resistant to most first-line anti-tuberculous agents.
Description.
Microscopy
Colony characteristics
Physiology
Differential characteristics
References.
Schinsky, M. F., et Al. Taxonomic variation in the Mycobacterium fortuitum third biovariant complex: description of Mycobacterium boenickei sp. nov., Mycobacterium houstonense sp. nov., Mycobacterium neworleansense sp. nov. and Mycobacterium brisbanense sp. nov. and recognition of Mycobacterium porcinum from human clinical isolates. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 2004, 54, 1653-1667.


Spironemataceae


Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator

"Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator" is a monospecific genus of bacteria that lives in groundwater at depths from below the Earth's surface.
Etymology.
The name comes from a quotation from Jules Verne's novel "Journey to the Center of the Earth," where the hero, Professor Lidenbrock, finds a secret inscription in Latin: "Descende, audax viator, et terrestre centrum attinges" (Descend, bold traveller, and you will attain the center of the Earth).
Biology.
"Desulforudis audaxviator" is the only bacterium found in water samples obtained underground in the Mponeng gold mine in South Africa. Approximately four micrometres in length, it survives on chemical food sources derived from the radioactive decay of minerals in the surrounding rock. This makes it one of the few known organisms that does not depend on sunlight for nourishment, and the only species known to be alone in its ecosystem. It has genes for extracting carbon from dissolved carbon dioxide and for nitrogen fixation. It may also have acquired genes from a species of archaea by horizontal gene transfer.
Analyses of water from the bacteriums' habitat show that the water is very old and has not been diluted by surface water, indicating the bacterium have been isolated from Earth's surface for several million years.
As the environment at that depth is so much like the early Earth, it may indicate what types of creatures existed before there was an oxygen atmosphere. Billions of years ago, some of the planet's first bacteria may have thrived in similar conditions. The newly discovered microbes could shed light on the origins of life on Earth.
""Ca." D. audaxviator" is a Gram positive sulfate-reducing bacterium (making it the first complete such genome). The genome contains an unusual transposon and possesses many sites of insertion. Its complete intolerance of oxygen suggests long-term isolation. The hydrocarbons in that environment do not come from living organisms. The source of the hydrogen needed for their respiration comes from the decomposition of water by radioactive decay of uranium, thorium and potassium. The radiation allows for the production of sulphur compounds the bacteria can use as a high-energy food source.
""Ca." D. audaxviator" not only survives in a complete absence of organic compounds, light, and oxygen, but also in temperatures as high as and a pH of 9.3. The physiology that enables it to live in these extreme conditions is a tribute to its unusually large genome, consisting of 2157 genes instead of the 1500 of its peers. If conditions become unfavorable for normal life, ""Ca." D. audaxviator" is able to encyst, safeguarding its DNA from heat, extreme pH, and the lack of water.


Epsilonpapillomavirus

Epsilonpapillomavirus is a genus of viruses, in the family "Papillomaviridae". Cattle serve as natural hosts and it is one of the bovine papillomaviruses. There are two species in this genus. Diseases associated with this genus include: fibropapillomas and true epithelial papillomas of the skin.
Taxonomy.
The following two species are assigned to the genus:
Structure.
Viruses in "Epsilonpapillomavirus" are non-enveloped, with icosahedral geometries, and T=7 symmetry. The diameter is around 60 nm. Genomes are circular, around 8kb in length. The genome codes for 6 proteins.
Life cycle.
Viral replication is nuclear. Entry into the host cell is achieved by attachment of the viral proteins to host receptors, which mediates endocytosis. Replication follows the dsDNA bidirectional replication model. Dna templated transcription, with some alternative splicing mechanism is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by nuclear envelope breakdown.
Bovine serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are contact.


Chaperone-assisted selective autophagy

Chaperone-assisted selective autophagy is a cellular process for the selective, ubiquitin-dependent degradation of chaperone-bound proteins in lysosomes.
Autophagy (Greek: ‘self-eating’) was initially identified as a catabolic process for the unselective degradation of cellular content in lysosomes under starvation conditions. However, autophagy also comprises selective degradation pathways, which depend on ubiquitin conjugation to initiate sorting to lysosomes. In the case of chaperone-assisted selective autophagy, dysfunctional, nonnative proteins are recognized by molecular chaperones and become ubiquitinated by chaperone-associated ubiquitin ligases. The ubiquitinated proteins are enclosed in autophagosomes, which eventually fuse with lysosomes, leading to the degradation of the dysfunctional proteins. Chaperone-assisted selective autophagy is a vital part of the cellular protein quality control system. It is essential for protein homeostasis (proteostasis) in neurons and in mechanically strained cells and tissues such as skeletal muscle, heart and lung.
Components and mechanism.
The chaperone-assisted selective autophagy complex comprises the molecular chaperones HSPA8 and HSPB8, and the cochaperones BAG3 and STUB1. BAG3 facilitates the cooperation of HSPA8 and HSPB8 during the recognition of nonnative client proteins. STUB1 mediates the ubiquitination of the chaperone-bound client, which induces the recruitment of the autophagic ubiquitin adaptor SQSTM1. The adaptor simultaneously interacts with the ubiquitinated client and autophagosome membrane precursors, thereby inducing the autophagic engulfment of the client. Autophagosome formation during chaperone-assisted selective autophagy depends on an interaction of BAG3 with SYNPO2, which triggers the cooperation with a VPS18-containing protein complex that mediates the fusion of autophagosome membrane precursors. The formed autophagosomes finally fuse with lysosomes, resulting in client degradation.
Clients and physiological role.
Proteins that are degraded by chaperone-assisted selective autophagy include pathogenic forms of the Huntingtin protein, which cause Huntington's disease. Furthermore, the expression of the cochaperone BAG3 is upregulated in aged neuronal cells, which correlates with an increased necessity to dispose oxidatively damaged proteins through autophagy. Chaperone-assisted selective autophagy is thus essential for proteostasis in neurons.
In mechanically strained cells and tissues, chaperone-assisted selective autophagy mediates the degradation of the actin-crosslinking protein filamin. Mechanical tension results in unfolding of filamin, leading to recognition by the chaperone complex and to the autophagic degradation of damaged filamin. This is a prerequisite for the maintenance of the actin cytoskeleton in mechanically strained cells and tissues. Impairment of chaperone-assisted selective autophagy in patients and animal models causes muscle dystrophy and cardiomyopathy.


Bullavirinae

Bullavirinae is a subfamily of viruses in the family "Microviridae". Enterobacteria serve as natural hosts. There are 14 species in this subfamily, organized into three genera.
Taxonomy.
The following genera and species are recognized:
Structure.
Viruses in Bullavirinae are non-enveloped, with icosahedral and round geometries, and T=1 symmetry. The diameter is around 30 nm. Genomes are circular, around 6.1kb in length.
Life cycle.
Viral replication is cytoplasmic. Entry into the host cell is achieved by pilus-mediated adsorption into the host cell. Replication follows the ssDNA rolling circle model. DNA-templated transcription is the method of transcription. The virus exits the host cell by bacteria lysis.
Enterobacteria serve as the natural host. Transmission routes are passive diffusion.


Synurid

The synurids (Synurales) are a small group of heterokont algae, found mostly in fresh water.
Characteristics.
They are covered in silicate scales and spines. In "Synura", these are formed on the surface of the chloroplasts, two of which are usually present, but sometimes only one divided into two lobes is seen. The cells have two heterokont flagella, inserted parallel to one another at the anterior, whose ultrastructure is a distinguishing characteristic of the group. Both asexual and isogamous sexual reproduction occur.
Genera.
Two major genera are included here, divided into species mainly based on the structure of the scales.
Both are common plankton in lakes and ponds.
To reproduce the parent cell splits into two daughter cells which get half of the parent cells scales. The new cells can regrow the scales and grow back into their original form.
History.
The genus "Synura" was proposed in 1834 by the German microscopist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg (1795–1876).
The synurids were originally included among the golden algae in the order Ochromonadales as the family Mallomonadaceae. They were formally defined as a separate group by Andersen in 1987, who placed them in their own class Synurophyceae, based on an earlier suggestion by Cavalier-Smith.
The Chrysophyceae and Synurophyceae are part of a common clade.


Journal of Marine Research

The Journal of Marine Research is an American journal, first published by Yale University in 1937, that covers peer-reviewed scientific articles and is still published today. The academic journal publishes articles that deal with biological processes, as well as those that report significant observations. A supplement, The Sea is occasionally published.


Devosia yakushimensis

Devosia yakushimensis is a Gram-negative, obligately aerobic, motile bacteria from the genus of Devosia with a polar flagellum which was isolated from the plant "Pueraria montana" var. "lobata" in Japan.


Sagedia

Sagedia is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Megasporaceae.
The species of this genus are found in Northern Hemisphere.
Species.
Species:


Howard Nelson (ecologist)

Howard Nelson, Ph.D. is a Trinidadian ecologist and wildlife biologist. Nelson earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of the West Indies and his doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the guidance of Stanley Temple. For his MPhil degree he conducted an ecological study of the mammalian community of Trinidad, including the first camera trapping study of the ocelot ("Leopardus pardalis") on Trinidad and the first survey of game mammals. For his doctoral work Nelson completed a re-classification of the vegetation communities of Trinidad and Tobago, a massive undertaking which updates John Stanley Beard's 1946 classification.
He was the CEO and Conservation Manager at the Asa Wright Nature Centre located in the Arima Valley in Trinidad's Northern Range between 2003 and 2008. He went on to help establish and become the programme lead of a regional masters programme at the University of the West Indies, the MSc Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean. Since 2014 he has worked at the University of Chester, where he is currently a senior lecturer in conservation.
While working as the Environmental Biologist in the Ministry of the Environment between 2000-2001 and 2008-2009, Nelson played an important role in the drafting of laws to establish a National Parks and Wildlife Authority which, had it been implemented, would have radically altered the responsibility for environmental management in Trinidad and Tobago. Subsequently, as a member of cabinet appointed committees, he co-led the writing of the new National Wildlife, National Forest and National Protected Areas Policies for Trinidad and Tobago.


Unicellular organism

A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism that consists of a single cell, unlike a multicellular organism that consists of multiple cells. Unicellular organisms fall into two general categories: prokaryotic organisms and eukaryotic organisms. All prokaryotes are unicellular and are classified into bacteria and archaea. Many eukaryotes are multicellular, but many are unicellular such as protozoa, unicellular algae, and unicellular fungi. Unicellular organisms are thought to be the oldest form of life, with early protocells possibly emerging 3.8–40 billion years ago.
Although most prokaryotes live in colonies, they are specialised cells with differing functions. These organisms live together, and each cell must carry out all life processes to survive. In contrast, even the simplest multicellular organisms have cells that depend on each other to survive.
Most multicellular organisms have a unicellular life-cycle stage. Gametes, for example, are reproductive unicells for multicellular organisms. Additionally, multicellularity appears to have evolved independently many times in the history of life.
Some organisms are partially unicellular, like "Dictyostelium discoideum". Additionally, unicellular organisms can be multinucleate, like "Caulerpa", "Plasmodium", and Myxogastria.
Evolutionary hypothesis.
Primitive protocells were the precursors to today's unicellular organisms. Although the origin of life is largely still a mystery, in the currently prevailing theory, known as the RNA world hypothesis, early RNA molecules would have been the basis for catalyzing organic chemical reactions and self-replication.
Compartmentalization was necessary for chemical reactions to be more likely as well as to differentiate reactions with the external environment. For example, an early RNA replicator ribozyme may have replicated other replicator ribozymes of different RNA sequences if not kept separate. Such hypothetic cells with an RNA genome instead of the usual DNA genome are called 'ribocells' or 'ribocytes'.
When amphiphiles like lipids are placed in water, the hydrophobic (water fearing) tails aggregate to form micelles and vesicles, with the hydrophilic (water loving) ends facing outwards. Primitive cells likely used self-assembling fatty-acid vesicles to separate chemical reactions and the environment. Because of their simplicity and ability to self-assemble in water, it is likely that these simple membranes predated other forms of early biological molecules.
Prokaryotes.
Prokaryotes lack membrane-bound organelles, such as mitochondria or a nucleus. Instead, most prokaryotes have an irregular region that contains DNA, known as the nucleoid. Most prokaryotes have a single, circular chromosome, which is in contrast to eukaryotes, which typically have linear chromosomes. Nutritionally, prokaryotes have the ability to utilize a wide range of organic and inorganic material for use in metabolism, including sulfur, cellulose, ammonia, or nitrite. Prokaryotes as a whole are ubiquitous in the environment and exist in extreme environments as well.
Bacteria.
Bacteria are one of the world's oldest forms of life, and are found virtually everywhere in nature. Many common bacteria have plasmids, which are short, circular, self-replicating DNA molecules that are separate from the bacterial chromosome. Plasmids can carry genes responsible for novel abilities, of current critical importance being antibiotic resistance. Bacteria predominantly reproduce asexually through a process called binary fission. However, about 80 different species can undergo a sexual process referred to as natural genetic transformation. Transformation is a bacterial process for transferring DNA from one cell to another, and is apparently an adaptation for repairing DNA damage in the recipient cell. In addition, plasmids can be exchanged through the use of a pilus in a process known as conjugation.
The photosynthetic cyanobacteria are arguably the most successful bacteria, and changed the early atmosphere of the earth by oxygenating it. Stromatolites, structures made up of layers of calcium carbonate and trapped sediment left over from cyanobacteria and associated community bacteria, left behind extensive fossil records. The existence of stromatolites gives an excellent record as to the development of cyanobacteria, which are represented across the Archaean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago), Proterozoic (2.5 billion to 540 million years ago), and Phanerozoic (540 million years ago to present day) eons. Much of the fossilized stromatolites of the world can be found in Western Australia. There, some of the oldest stromatolites have been found, some dating back to about 3,430 million years ago.
Clonal aging occurs naturally in bacteria, and is apparently due to the accumulation of damage that can happen even in the absence of external stressors.
Archaea.
Hydrothermal vents release heat and hydrogen sulfide, allowing extremophiles to survive using chemolithotrophic growth.
Archaea are generally similar in appearance to bacteria, hence their original classification as bacteria, but have significant molecular differences most notably in their membrane structure and ribosomal RNA. By sequencing the ribosomal RNA, it was found that the Archaea most likely split from bacteria and were the precursors to modern eukaryotes, and are actually more phylogenetically related to eukaryotes. As their name suggests, Archaea comes from a Greek word "archaios," meaning original, ancient, or primitive.
Some archaea inhabit the most biologically inhospitable environments on earth, and this is believed to in some ways mimic the early, harsh conditions that life was likely exposed to. Examples of these Archaean extremophiles are as follows:
Methanogens are a significant subset of archaea and include many extremophiles, but are also ubiquitous in wetland environments as well as the ruminant and hindgut of animals. This process utilizes hydrogen to reduce carbon dioxide into methane, releasing energy into the usable form of adenosine triphosphate. They are the only known organisms capable of producing methane. Under stressful environmental conditions that cause DNA damage, some species of archaea aggregate and transfer DNA between cells. The function of this transfer appears to be to replace damaged DNA sequence information in the recipient cell by undamaged sequence information from the donor cell.
Eukaryotes.
Eukaryotic cells contain membrane bound organelles, such as mitochondria, a nucleus, and chloroplasts. Prokaryotic cells probably transitioned into eukaryotic cells between 2.0 and 1.4 billion years ago. This was an important step in evolution. In contrast to prokaryotes, eukaryotes reproduce by using mitosis and meiosis. Sex appears to be a ubiquitous and ancient, and inherent attribute of eukaryotic life. Meiosis, a true sexual process, allows for efficient recombinational repair of DNA damage and a greater range of genetic diversity by combining the DNA of the parents followed by recombination. Metabolic functions in eukaryotes are more specialized as well by sectioning specific processes into organelles.
The endosymbiotic theory holds that mitochondria and chloroplasts have bacterial origins. Both organelles contain their own sets of DNA and have bacteria-like ribosomes. It is likely that modern mitochondria were once a species similar to "Rickettsia", with the parasitic ability to enter a cell. However, if the bacteria were capable of respiration, it would have been beneficial for the larger cell to allow the parasite to live in return for energy and detoxification of oxygen. Chloroplasts probably became symbiants through a similar set of events, and are most likely descendants of cyanobacteria. While not all eukaryotes have mitochondria or chloroplasts, mitochondria are found in most eukaryotes, and chloroplasts are found in all plants and algae. Photosynthesis and respiration are essentially the reverse of one another, and the advent of respiration coupled with photosynthesis enabled much greater access to energy than fermentation alone.
Protozoa.
Protozoa are largely defined by their method of locomotion, including flagella, cilia, and pseudopodia. While there has been considerable debate on the classification of protozoa caused by their sheer diversity, in one system there are currently seven phyla recognized under the kingdom Protozoa: Euglenozoa, Amoebozoa, Choanozoa "sensu" Cavalier-Smith, Loukozoa, Percolozoa, Microsporidia and Sulcozoa. Protozoa, like plants and animals, can be considered heterotrophs or autotrophs. Autotrophs like "Euglena" are capable of producing their energy using photosynthesis, while heterotrophic protozoa consume food by either funneling it through a mouth-like gullet or engulfing it with pseudopods, a form of phagocytosis. While protozoa reproduce mainly asexually, some protozoa are capable of sexual reproduction. Protozoa with sexual capability include the pathogenic species "Plasmodium falciparum", "Toxoplasma gondii", "Trypanosoma brucei", "Giardia duodenalis" and "Leishmania" species.
Ciliophora, or ciliates, are a group of protists that utilize cilia for locomotion. Examples include "Paramecium", "Stentors", and "Vorticella". Ciliates are widely abundant in almost all environments where water can be found, and the cilia beat rhythmically in order to propel the organism. Many ciliates have trichocysts, which are spear-like organelles that can be discharged to catch prey, anchor themselves, or for defense. Ciliates are also capable of sexual reproduction, and utilize two nuclei unique to ciliates: a macronucleus for normal metabolic control and a separate micronucleus that undergoes meiosis. Examples of such ciliates are "Paramecium" and "Tetrahymena" that likely employ meiotic recombination for repairing DNA damage acquired under stressful conditions.
The Amebozoa utilize pseudopodia and cytoplasmic flow to move in their environment. "Entamoeba histolytica" is the cause of amebic dysentery. "Entamoeba histolytica" appears to be capable of meiosis.
Unicellular algae.
Unicellular algae are plant-like autotrophs and contain chlorophyll. They include groups that have both multicellular and unicellular species:
Unicellular fungi.
Unicellular fungi include the yeasts. Fungi are found in most habitats, although most are found on land. Yeasts reproduce through mitosis, and many use a process called budding, where most of the cytoplasm is held by the mother cell. "Saccharomyces cerevisiae" ferments carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol, and is used in the making of beer and bread. "S. cerevisiae" is also an important model organism, since it is a eukaryotic organism that's easy to grow. It has been used to research cancer and neurodegenerative diseases as well as to understand the cell cycle. Furthermore, research using "S. cerevisiae" has played a central role in understanding the mechanism of meiotic recombination and the adaptive function of meiosis. Candida spp. are responsible for candidiasis, causing infections of the mouth and/or throat (known as thrush) and vagina (commonly called yeast infection).
Macroscopic unicellular organisms.
Most unicellular organisms are of microscopic size and are thus classified as microorganisms. However, some unicellular protists and bacteria are macroscopic and visible to the naked eye. Examples include:


Mycenastrum

Mycenastrum is a fungal genus in the family Agaricaceae. The genus is monotypic, containing one widely distributed species, Mycenastrum corium, known by various common names: the giant pasture puffball, leathery puffball, or tough puffball. The roughly spherical to turnip-shaped puffball-like fruit bodies grow to a diameter of . Initially covered by a thick, felted, whitish layer, the puffballs develop a characteristic checkered skin (peridium) in age. When the internal spore mass, the gleba, is firm and white, the puffball is edible, although some individuals may suffer mild gastrointestinal symptoms after eating it. As the spores mature, the gleba turns first yellowish then purplish brown. Spores are released when the peridium eventually splits open into irregularly shaped sections. Microscopically, the gleba consists of spherical, dark brown spores with rounded bumps on their surfaces, and a capillitium—intricately branched fibers that form long thorn-like spines. The puffball grows on or in the ground in prairie or desert habitats. Although widely distributed, it is not commonly encountered. "Mycenastrum corium" is a threatened species in Europe.
Taxonomy.
The species was originally described in 1805 as "Lycoperdon corium" in the second volume of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's "Flore Française". They attributed authorship to French botanist Louis Ben Guersent, who discovered it in an alfalfa field between the town of La Sotte and Rouen in northern France. Synonyms include "Scleroderma corium" published by Arthur Harmount Graves in 1830, and "Steerbekia corium" published by Elias Magnus Fries in 1849. The species was given its current name by Nicaise Auguste Desvaux in 1842, who circumscribed the genus "Mycenastrum" to contain it. Generic synonyms are Vassiliĭ Matveievitch Czernajew's 1845 "Endonevrum" and Stephan Schulzer von Müggenburg's 1876 "Pachyderma".
In 1948, Sanford Myron Zeller circumscribed the new family Mycenastraceae, containing both "Mycenastrum" as the type genus, and "Bovista". A 2001 molecular study supported the inclusion of "Mycenastrum corium" in the Lycoperdales, where it was traditionally placed. In a more recent (2008) cladistic analysis, "Mycenastrum" was shown to be a sister group to the Lycoperdaceae; authors Larsson and Jeppson agreed with Zeller (1949) and Pilat's (1958) decision to regard "Mycenastrium" as a monotypic genus in the separate family Mycenastraceae. Despite this, several taxonomic authorities prefer to fold Mycenastraceae into the Agaricaceae.
It is commonly known as the "leathery puffball", the "tough puffball", or the "giant pasture puffball".
María Homrich & Jorge E. Wright published the variety "Mycenastrum corium" var. "diabolicum" in 1973 from South America. "M. corium" subspecies "ferrugineum" was described in 2005 from Jefferson County, Colorado, by Orson K. Miller.
Former "Mycenastrum".
Most species historically named as "Mycenastrum" have since been transferred to other genera, usually "Scleroderma", but also "Glyptoderma", "Bovista", and "Gastropila". Many, including those species that have not been reclassified are poorly known; the nomenclatural authority Index Fungorum considers only four of these former "Mycenastrum" species to be currently valid: "Bovista bovistoides", "B. lycoperdoides", "Gastropila fragilis", and "Glyptoderma coelatum".
Description.
The fruit body usually grows to a diameter of , although extremes of and have been reported. Its shape ranges from roughly spherical, to obovate (egg-shaped) or pyriform (pear-shaped), sometimes plicate (crumpled, wrinkled) around a somewhat fibrous, persistent tuft of mycelium. The puffball is initially covered by a thick, felted, whitish layer (the exoperidium). This is continuous at first but eventually cracks and peels away in thin flakes, exposing a leathery to corky, nearly smooth, light brown to dark pinkish-brown surface. This tough layer of tissue (the endoperidium) measures about 2 mm thick, encloses the gleba. In maturity, the endoperidium opens by irregular splits that eventually extend towards the base in a star-shaped manner. These torn segments of endoperidium sometimes turn inside out, sometimes drying rigid, exposing a felt-like internal surface. The gleba is white when young and has a cheesy appearance and consistency. As the puffball matures, it undergoes a lytic process involving water loss. Subsequently, the gleba becomes olivaceous, olive-brown, and finally, dark olive when dry, and then develops a characteristic pungent smell. Fruit bodies that grow underground have a conspicuously different morphology–a smooth, chocolate-brown coloured surface that lacks the patches characteristic of above-ground fruit bodies, and their capillitia are bifurcate with stumpy spines. The fungus is edible when the gleba is white. Its odor and taste have been described as pungent or earthy and its taste astringent.
Its spores are spherical, measuring 8–13 µm, and have a surface of irregular, coarse warts. The capillitium refers to late-maturing, thick-walled cells in the gleba. The main axes of these branched cells are 20–30 µm thick, and they are covered with numerous spines.
"Mycenastrum corium" subsp. "ferrugineum" has a deep rusty red to reddish orange gleba, clearly distinguishing it from the glebal coloring of the main subspecies. "M. corium" var. "diabolicum" has an extremely spiny capillitium.
Uses.
The puffball is edible when the gleba is still firm and white. They are reportedly consumed by the tribal people of Madhya Pradesh. In Mexico, a large collection was consumed by several people who confused the species with "Calvatia", a puffball genus containing popular edible members. Of the five who ate the fungus, two had gastrointestinal symptoms including stomachache, flatulence, and diarrhea; the other three did not have symptoms. The large European bird great bustard ("Otis tarda") has been recorded feeding on the puffball.
Because of their thick outer peridium, "Mycenastrum corium" puffballs can withstand hard blows without breaking, and children have used them as replacements for balls. The puffballs have also been used medicinally in Mexico as a hemostatic, as a throat and lung tonic, and for their purported anti-inflammatory properties.
Puffball maturation.
The manner in which the puffball splits open (dehisces) has been described by 19th-century American mycologist William Henry Long. The thick and leathery peridium of the mature puffball remains unopened for several months without splitting. After several alternating cycles of wetting and drying, fissures develop across the top. These fissures usually radiate from a common center near the top of the fruit body and finally produce very irregular star-like teeth. In time, the entire upper half of the puffball is open and exposed during dry weather. In this condition, the spores are blown out by the wind and widely distributed. During every rainy spell the puffball promptly closes only to open again when dry weather returns. At each alternate opening and closing the peridium is split more and more, until finally it is expanded into a flat shape, or even curls backward. In the puffball, the outer layer of the peridium comprises cells arranged so that when wet they adsorb water and expand, thus closing the top of the puffball. Upon drying, these outer cells lose water and gradually shrink, thus producing an unequal tension between the outer and inner cells of the peridium. This tension causes the irregular star-like pieces of the peridium to gradually separate and curve outward, thus opening the top of the puffball during dry weather.
Ecology and distribution.
"Mycenastrum corium" is a saprobic species, consuming dead organic debris. It is usually found fruiting on the ground singly, scattered, in rings, or in clusters, but is can also grow underground. Fruiting occurs at low elevations in groups in open habitats dominated by sagebrush and saltbrush, or in grassy or shrubby wet areas in dry prairie. Other reported habitats include old haystacks, on silage, and roadsides. Mature fruit bodies can be broken loose from attachment to the substrate and be rolled around by wind, similar to some "Bovista" puffballs. Although the species is not frequently encountered, it has been suggested that this is because it grows in locations "rather seldom visited by mycologists". "M. corium" could be a useful indicator species for climate change.
The puffball is widely distributed, and has been recorded in Africa (Zimbabwe), Asia (China, India, Iran, Mongolia, and Yemen), South America (Argentina, Chile and Uruguay), North America, Australia, and New Zealand. In Europe it is found in southern Scandinavia and is widespread to the south of the continent. Although it was reported in Scotland in 2010 (its first appearance on the British mainland), the grassland habitat where it was found has since become heavily eroded, and may be unsuitable for future appearances of the species. "Mycenastrum corium" is a threatened species in Europe, and is listed as vulnerable in the Regional Red List of Poland. In North America, it is most common in western regions of the United States and Canada, but it has also been recorded in eastern Canada. Poorly known in Mexico, it has been recorded from Baja California, Chihuahua, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi, Sonora, Mexico City. The variety "M. corium" var. "diabolicum" occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, tropical Asia, the Caribbean, and South America.


Philip Hedrick

Philip W. Hedrick (born November 21, 1942) is an American emeritus professor at Arizona State University (ASU). From 1992 until his retirement, Hedrick was Ullman Professor of Conservation Biology at ASU. Hedrick has published over 200 articles on the topics of population genetics and conservation biology. Among other organisms, he has published extensively on wolves and bighorn sheep.
Hedrick previously served as president of the American Society of Naturalists and the American Genetic Association, and in 1987 was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.


Briscal Formation

The Briscal Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period.


Acaulospora tuberculata

Acaulospora tuberculata is a species of fungus in the family Acaulosporaceae. It forms arbuscular mycorrhiza and vesicles in roots. Found growing in forest soil in Panama, the species was described as new to science in 1982.


Protogaster

Protogastraceae is a family of fungi in the order Boletales that contains the single genus Protogaster. The genus in turn contains the single species Protogaster rhizophilus, found on the roots of "Viola" in the USA. The family was described by American mycologist Sanford Myron Zeller in 1934, the genus and species by Roland Thaxter.


Bonomyces

Bonomyces is a genus of fungi with unknown family.
The genus was first described by Vizzini in 2014.
Species:


Journal of Electrical Bioimpedance

The Journal of Electrical Bioimpedance is an open access scientific journal that was established in 2010 and is published by the Oslo Bioimpedance Group with assistance of the University of Oslo Library. The editor-in-chief is Ørjan G. Martinsen (University of Oslo). The journal publishes reviews, articles, and educational material covering research on all aspects of bioimpedance. It is abstracted and indexed in Scopus.


Epixenosoma ejectans


Ancyromonas

Ancyromonas is a basal Eukaryote. It is a flagellate.
It includes the species "Ancyromonas sigmoides".
"Planomonas" has been described as a junior synonym of "Ancyromonas". They appear more basal than Malawimonas, placing them in Loukouzoa, possibly as stem podiates, and depending on the placement of the root position of the Eukaryotes.


Systematics

Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phylogenies have two components: branching order (showing group relationships) and branch length (showing amount of evolution). Phylogenetic trees of species and higher taxa are used to study the evolution of traits (e.g., anatomical or molecular characteristics) and the distribution of organisms (biogeography). Systematics, in other words, is used to understand the evolutionary history of life on Earth.
The word systematics is derived from Latin word `systema', which means systematic arrangement of organisms. Carl Linnaeus used 'Systema Naturae' as the title of his book.
Branches and applications.
In the study of biological systematics, researchers use the different branches to further understand the relationships between differing organisms. These branches are used to determine the applications and uses for modern day systematics.
Biological systematics classifies species by using three specific branches. "Numerical systematics", or "biometry", uses biological statistics to identify and classify animals. "Biochemical systematics" classifies and identifies animals based on the analysis of the material that makes up the living part of a cell—such as the nucleus, organelles, and cytoplasm. "Experimental systematics" identifies and classifies animals based on the evolutionary units that comprise a species, as well as their importance in evolution itself. Factors such as mutations, genetic divergence, and hybridization all are considered evolutionary units.
With the specific branches, researchers are able to determine the applications and uses for modern-day systematics. These applications include:
Definition and relation with taxonomy.
John Lindley provided an early definition of systematics in 1830, although he wrote of "systematic botany" rather than using the term "systematics".
In 1970 Michener "et al." defined "systematic biology" and "taxonomy" (terms that are often confused and used interchangeably) in relationship to one another as follows:
Systematic biology (hereafter called simply systematics) is the field that (a) provides scientific names for organisms, (b) describes them, (c) preserves collections of them, (d) provides classifications for the organisms, keys for their identification, and data on their distributions, (e) investigates their evolutionary histories, and (f) considers their environmental adaptations. This is a field with a long history that in recent years has experienced a notable renaissance, principally with respect to theoretical content. Part of the theoretical material has to do with evolutionary areas (topics e and f above), the rest relates especially to the problem of classification. Taxonomy is that part of Systematics concerned with topics (a) to (d) above.
The term "taxonomy" was coined by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle while the term "systematic" was coined by Carl Linnaeus the father of taxonomy.
Taxonomy, systematic biology, systematics, biosystematics, scientific classification, biological classification, phylogenetics: At various times in history, all these words have had overlapping, related meanings. However, in modern usage, they can all be considered synonyms of each other.
For example, Webster's 9th New Collegiate Dictionary of 1987 treats "classification", "taxonomy", and "systematics" as synonyms. According to this work, the terms originated in 1790, c. 1828, and in 1888 respectively. Some claim systematics alone deals specifically with relationships through time, and that it can be synonymous with phylogenetics, broadly dealing with the inferred hierarchy of organisms. This means it would be a subset of taxonomy as it is sometimes regarded, but the inverse is claimed by others.
Europeans tend to use the terms "systematics" and "biosystematics" for the study of biodiversity as a whole, whereas North Americans tend to use "taxonomy" more frequently. However, taxonomy, and in particular alpha taxonomy, is more specifically the identification, description, and naming (i.e. nomenclature) of organisms,
while "classification" focuses on placing organisms within hierarchical groups that show their relationships to other organisms. All of these biological disciplines can deal with both extinct and extant organisms.
Systematics uses taxonomy as a primary tool in understanding, as nothing about an organism's relationships with other living things can be understood without it first being properly studied and described in sufficient detail to identify and classify it correctly. Scientific classifications are aids in recording and reporting information to other scientists and to laymen. The systematist, a scientist who specializes in systematics, must, therefore, be able to use existing classification systems, or at least know them well enough to skilfully justify not using them.
Phenetics was an attempt to determine the relationships of organisms through a measure of overall similarity, making no distinction between plesiomorphies (shared ancestral traits) and apomorphies (derived traits). From the late-20th century onwards, it was superseded by cladistics, which rejects plesiomorphies in attempting to resolve the phylogeny of Earth's various organisms through time. systematists generally make extensive use of molecular biology and of computer programs to study organisms.
Taxonomic characters.
Taxonomic characters are the taxonomic attributes that can be used to provide the evidence from which relationships (the phylogeny) between taxa are inferred. Kinds of taxonomic characters include: