Author: "David J, Studholme" - Searchworks@Jio Institute Digital Library Search Results

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1. In field use of water samples for genomic surveillance of infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) infecting tilapia fish in Lake Volta, Ghana

Author: Shayma Alathari, Andrew Joseph, Luis M. Bolaños, David J. Studholme, Aaron R. Jeffries, Patrick Appenteng, Kwaku A. Duodu, Eric B. Sawyerr, Richard Paley, Charles R. Tyler, and Ben Temperton
Subjects: Genomic Surveillance, ISKNV, Aquaculture, Long-Read Sequencing, Medicine, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Viral outbreaks are a constant threat to aquaculture, limiting production for better global food security. A lack of diagnostic testing and monitoring in resource-limited areas hinders the capacity to respond rapidly to disease outbreaks and to prevent viral pathogens becoming endemic in fisheries productive waters. Recent developments in diagnostic testing for emerging viruses, however, offers a solution for rapid in situ monitoring of viral outbreaks. Genomic epidemiology has furthermore proven highly effective in detecting viral mutations involved in pathogenesis and assisting in resolving chains of transmission. Here, we demonstrate the application of an in-field epidemiological tool kit to track viral outbreaks in aquaculture on farms with reduced access to diagnostic labs, and with non-destructive sampling. Inspired by the “lab in a suitcase” approach used for genomic surveillance of human viral pathogens and wastewater monitoring of COVID19, we evaluated the feasibility of real-time genome sequencing surveillance of the fish pathogen, Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) in Lake Volta. Viral fractions from water samples collected from cages holding Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with suspected ongoing ISKNV infections were concentrated and used as a template for whole genome sequencing, using a previously developed tiled PCR method for ISKNV. Mutations in ISKNV in samples collected from the water surrounding the cages matched those collected from infected caged fish, illustrating that water samples can be used for detecting predominant ISKNV variants in an ongoing outbreak. This approach allows for the detection of ISKNV and tracking of the dynamics of variant frequencies, and may thus assist in guiding control measures for the rapid isolation and quarantine of infected farms and facilities.
Published: 2024
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2. Genome variation in the Batrachochytrium pathogens of amphibians.

Author: Theresa Wacker, Nicolas Helmstetter, David J Studholme, and Rhys A Farrer
Subjects: Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Published: 2024
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3. Manipulating multi-level selection in a fungal entomopathogen reveals social conflicts and a method for improving biocontrol traits.

Author: Zoltan Erdos, David J Studholme, Manmohan D Sharma, David Chandler, Chris Bass, and Ben Raymond
Subjects: Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Changes in parasite virulence are commonly expected to lead to trade-offs in other life history traits that can affect fitness. Understanding these trade-offs is particularly important if we want to manipulate the virulence of microbial biological control agents. Theoretically, selection across different spatial scales, i.e. between- and within-hosts, shapes these trade-offs. However, trade-offs are also dependent on parasite biology. Despite their applied importance the evolution of virulence in fungal parasites is poorly understood: virulence can be unstable in culture and commonly fails to increase in simple passage experiments. We hypothesized that manipulating selection intensity at different scales would reveal virulence trade-offs in a fungal pathogen of aphids, Akanthomyces muscarius. Starting with a genetically diverse stock we selected for speed of kill, parasite yield or infectivity by manipulating competition within and between hosts and between-populations of hosts over 7 rounds of infection. We characterized ancestral and evolved lineages by whole genome sequencing and by measuring virulence, growth rate, sporulation and fitness. While several lineages showed increases in virulence, we saw none of the trade-offs commonly found in obligately-killing parasites. Phenotypically similar lineages within treatments often shared multiple single-nucleotide variants, indicating strong convergent evolution. The most dramatic phenotypic changes were in timing of sporulation and spore production in vitro. We found that early sporulation led to reduced competitive fitness but could increase yield of spores on media, a trade-off characteristic of social conflict. Notably, the selection regime with strongest between-population competition and lowest genetic diversity produced the most consistent shift to early sporulation, as predicted by social evolution theory. Multi-level selection therefore revealed social interactions novel to fungi and showed that these biocontrol agents have the genomic flexibility to improve multiple traits-virulence and spore production-that are often in conflict in other parasites.
Published: 2024
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4. Mapping of the gene in tomato conferring resistance to root-knot nematodes at high soil temperature

Author: Zübeyir Devran, Tevfik Özalp, David J. Studholme, and Mahmut Tör
Subjects: high soil temperature, gene mapping, Meloidogyne incognita, RRKN1, SNP, Plant culture, SB1-1110
Abstract: Root-knot nematodes (RKNs, Meloidogyne spp.) can cause severe yield losses in tomatoes. The Mi-1.2 gene in tomato confers resistance to the Meloidogyne species M. incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica, which are prevalent in tomato growing areas. However, this resistance breaks down at high soil temperatures (>28°C). Therefore, it is imperative that new resistance sources are identified and incorporated into commercial breeding programmes. We identified a tomato line, MT12, that does not have Mi-1.2 but provides resistance to M. incognita at 32°C soil temperature. An F2 mapping population was generated by crossing the resistant line with a susceptible line, MT17; the segregation ratio showed that the resistance is conferred by a single dominant gene, designated RRKN1 (Resistance to Root-Knot Nematode 1). The RRKN1 gene was mapped using 111 Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) markers and characterized. Linkage analysis showed that RRKN1 is located on chromosome 6 and flanking markers placed the locus within a 270 kb interval. These newly developed markers can help pyramiding R-genes and generating new tomato varieties resistant to RKNs at high soil temperatures.
Published: 2023
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5. Phylogenomic Analysis Supports the Transfer of 20 Pathovars from Xanthomonas campestris into Xanthomonas euvesicatoria

Author: Jamie Harrison, Rana M. F. Hussain, Andrew Aspin, Murray R. Grant, Joana G. Vicente, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Xanthomonas campestris, pathovars, Xanthomonas euvesicatoria, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: The Gram-negative bacterial genus Xanthomonas includes numerous infra-specific taxa known as pathovars, which are defined primarily on host range and disease symptoms. With the advent of molecular sequence data, many pathovars have been transferred from X. campestris into other Xanthomonas species to better harmonise taxonomy and phylogeny. We performed whole-genome shotgun sequencing on pathotype strains of the following X. campestris pathovars: blepharidis, carissae, clerodendri, convolvuli, coriandri, daturae, euphorbiae, fici, heliotropii, ionidii, lawsoniae, mirabilis, obscurae, paulliniae, pennamericanum, spermacoces, uppalii, vernoniae, viegasii and zingibericola. These genomes showed more than 98% average nucleotide identity with the type-strain of X. euvesicatoria and less than 88% with the type-strain of X. campestris. We propose the transfer of these pathovars into X. euvesicatoria and present an emended species description for X. euvesicatoria.
Published: 2023
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6. Corrigendum to 'A highly specific tool for identification of Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum based on five Xvm-specific coding sequences' [Heliyon 4 (12) (December 2018) Article e01080]

Author: Gloria Valentine Nakato, Emmanuel Wicker, Teresa A. Coutinho, George Mahuku, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Science (General), Q1-390, Social sciences (General), H1-99
Published: 2023
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7. Chitosan induces differential transcript usage of chitosanase 3 encoding gene (csn3) in the biocontrol fungus Pochonia chlamydosporia 123

Author: Christine Sambles, Marta Suarez-Fernandez, Federico Lopez-Moya, Luis Vicente Lopez-Llorca, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Biotechnology, TP248.13-248.65, Genetics, QH426-470
Abstract: Abstract Background Pochonia chlamydosporia is an endophytic fungus used for nematode biocontrol that employs its cellular and molecular machinery to degrade the nematode egg-shell. Chitosanases, among other enzymes, are involved in this process. In this study, we improve the genome sequence assembly of P. chlamydosporia 123, by utilizing long Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) sequence reads. Combining this improved genome assembly with previous RNA-seq data revealed alternative isoforms of a chitosanase in the presence of chitosan. This study could open new insights into understanding fungal resistance to chitosan and root-knot nematode (RKN) egg infection processes. Results The P. chlamydosporia 123 genome sequence assembly has been updated using long-read PacBio sequencing and now includes 12,810 predicted protein-coding genes. Compared with the previous assembly based on short reads, there are 701 newly annotated genes, and 69 previous genes are now split. Eight of the new genes were differentially expressed in fungus interactions with Meloidogyne javanica eggs or chitosan. A survey of the RNA-seq data revealed alternative splicing in the csn3 gene that encodes a chitosanase, with four putative splicing variants: csn3_v1, csn3_v2, csn3_v3 and csn3_v4. When P. chlamydosporia is treated with 0.1 mg·mL− 1 chitosan for 4 days, csn3 is expressed 10-fold compared with untreated controls. Furthermore, the relative abundances of each of the four transcripts are different in chitosan treatment compared with controls. In controls, the abundances of each transcript are nil, 32, 55, and 12% for isoforms csn3_v1, csn3_v2, csn3_v3 and csn3_v4 respectively. Conversely, in chitosan-treated P. chlamydosporia, the abundances are respectively 80, 15%, 2—3%, 2—3%. Since isoform csn3_v1 is expressed with chitosan only, the putatively encoded enzyme is probably induced and likely important for chitosan degradation. Conclusions Alternative splicing events have been discovered and described in the chitosanase 3 encoding gene from P. chlamydosporia 123. Gene csn3 takes part in RKN parasitism process and chitosan enhances its expression. The isoform csn3_v1 would be related to the degradation of this polymer in bulk form, while other isoforms may be related to the degradation of chitosan in the nematode egg-shell.
Published: 2022
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8. An inter-laboratory study to investigate the impact of the bioinformatics component on microbiome analysis using mock communities

Author: Denise M. O’Sullivan, Ronan M. Doyle, Sasithon Temisak, Nicholas Redshaw, Alexandra S. Whale, Grace Logan, Jiabin Huang, Nicole Fischer, Gregory C. A. Amos, Mark D. Preston, Julian R. Marchesi, Josef Wagner, Julian Parkhill, Yair Motro, Hubert Denise, Robert D. Finn, Kathryn A. Harris, Gemma L. Kay, Justin O’Grady, Emma Ransom-Jones, Huihai Wu, Emma Laing, David J. Studholme, Ernest Diez Benavente, Jody Phelan, Taane G. Clark, Jacob Moran-Gilad, and Jim F. Huggett
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Abstract Despite the advent of whole genome metagenomics, targeted approaches (such as 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing) continue to be valuable for determining the microbial composition of samples. Amplicon microbiome sequencing can be performed on clinical samples from a normally sterile site to determine the aetiology of an infection (usually single pathogen identification) or samples from more complex niches such as human mucosa or environmental samples where multiple microorganisms need to be identified. The methodologies are frequently applied to determine both presence of micro-organisms and their quantity or relative abundance. There are a number of technical steps required to perform microbial community profiling, many of which may have appreciable precision and bias that impacts final results. In order for these methods to be applied with the greatest accuracy, comparative studies across different laboratories are warranted. In this study we explored the impact of the bioinformatic approaches taken in different laboratories on microbiome assessment using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing results. Data were generated from two mock microbial community samples which were amplified using primer sets spanning five different variable regions of 16S rRNA genes. The PCR-sequencing analysis included three technical repeats of the process to determine the repeatability of their methods. Thirteen laboratories participated in the study, and each analysed the same FASTQ files using their choice of pipeline. This study captured the methods used and the resulting sequence annotation and relative abundance output from bioinformatic analyses. Results were compared to digital PCR assessment of the absolute abundance of each target representing each organism in the mock microbial community samples and also to analyses of shotgun metagenome sequence data. This ring trial demonstrates that the choice of bioinformatic analysis pipeline alone can result in different estimations of the composition of the microbiome when using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data. The study observed differences in terms of both presence and abundance of organisms and provides a resource for ensuring reproducible pipeline development and application. The observed differences were especially prevalent when using custom databases and applying high stringency operational taxonomic unit (OTU) cut-off limits. In order to apply sequencing approaches with greater accuracy, the impact of different analytical steps needs to be clearly delineated and solutions devised to harmonise microbiome analysis results.
Published: 2021
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9. Intraspecific diversification of the crop wild relative Brassica cretica Lam. using demographic model selection

Author: Antonios Kioukis, Vassiliki A. Michalopoulou, Laura Briers, Stergios Pirintsos, David J. Studholme, Pavlos Pavlidis, and Panagiotis F. Sarris
Subjects: Brassica cretica Lam., Brassica oleracea, Crop wild relatives, Draft genome, de novo sequencing, Biotechnology, TP248.13-248.65, Genetics, QH426-470
Abstract: Abstract Background Crop wild relatives (CWRs) contain genetic diversity, representing an invaluable resource for crop improvement. Many of their traits have the potential to help crops to adapt to changing conditions that they experience due to climate change. An impressive global effort for the conservation of various CWR will facilitate their use in crop breeding for food security. The genus Brassica is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Brassica oleracea (or wild cabbage), a species native to southern and western Europe, has become established as an important human food crop plant because of its large reserves stored over the winter in its leaves. Brassica cretica Lam. (Bc) is a CWR in the brassica group and B. cretica subsp. nivea (Bcn) has been suggested as a separate subspecies. The species Bc has been proposed as a potential gene donor to brassica crops, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, oilseed rape, etc. Results We sequenced genomes of four Bc individuals, including two Bcn and two Bc. Demographic analysis based on our whole-genome sequence data suggests that populations of Bc are not isolated. Classification of the Bc into distinct subspecies is not supported by the data. Using only the non-coding part of the data (thus, the parts of the genome that has evolved nearly neutrally), we find the gene flow between different Bc population is recent and its genomic diversity is high. Conclusions Despite predictions on the disruptive effect of gene flow in adaptation, when selection is not strong enough to prevent the loss of locally adapted alleles, studies show that gene flow can promote adaptation, that local adaptations can be maintained despite high gene flow, and that genetic architecture plays a fundamental role in the origin and maintenance of local adaptation with gene flow. Thus, in the genomic era it is important to link the selected demographic models with the underlying processes of genomic variation because, if this variation is largely selectively neutral, we cannot assume that a diverse population of crop wild relatives will necessarily exhibit the wide-ranging adaptive diversity required for further crop improvement.
Published: 2020
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10. The Zymoseptoria tritici ORFeome: A Functional Genomics Community Resource

Author: Yogesh Chaudhari, Timothy C. Cairns, Yaadwinder Sidhu, Victoria Attah, Graham Thomas, Michael Csukai, Nicholas J. Talbot, David J. Studholme, and Ken Haynes
Subjects: ORFeome, Zymoseptoria tritici, Mycosphaerella graminicola, functional genomics, Microbiology, QR1-502, Botany, QK1-989
Abstract: Libraries of protein-encoding sequences can be generated by identification of open reading frames (ORFs) from a genome of choice that are then assembled into collections of plasmids termed ORFeome libraries. These represent powerful resources to facilitate functional genomic characterization of genes and their encoded products. Here, we report the generation of an ORFeome for Zymoseptoria tritici, which causes the most serious disease of wheat in temperate regions of the world. We screened the genome of strain IP0323 for high confidence gene models, identifying 4,075 candidates from 10,933 predicted genes. These were amplified from genomic DNA, were cloned into the Gateway entry vector pDONR207, and were sequenced, providing a total of 3,022 quality-controlled plasmids. The ORFeome includes genes predicted to encode effectors (n = 410) and secondary metabolite biosynthetic proteins (n = 171) in addition to genes residing at dispensable chromosomes (n = 122) or those that are preferentially expressed during plant infection (n = 527). The ORFeome plasmid library is compatible with our previously developed suite of Gateway destination vectors, which have various combinations of promoters, selection markers, and epitope tags. The Z. tritici ORFeome constitutes a powerful resource for functional genomics and offers unparalleled opportunities to understand the biology of Z. tritici.[Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.
Published: 2019
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11. The impact of viral mutations on recognition by SARS-CoV-2 specific T cells

Author: Thushan I. de Silva, Guihai Liu, Benjamin B. Lindsey, Danning Dong, Shona C. Moore, Nienyun Sharon Hsu, Dhruv Shah, Dannielle Wellington, Alexander J. Mentzer, Adrienn Angyal, Rebecca Brown, Matthew D. Parker, Zixi Ying, Xuan Yao, Lance Turtle, Susanna Dunachie, Mala K. Maini, Graham Ogg, Julian C. Knight, Yanchun Peng, Sarah L. Rowland-Jones, Tao Dong, David M. Aanensen, Khalil Abudahab, Helen Adams, Alexander Adams, Safiah Afifi, Dinesh Aggarwal, Shazaad S.Y. Ahmad, Louise Aigrain, Adela Alcolea-Medina, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Elias Allara, Roberto Amato, Tara Annett, Stephen Aplin, Cristina V. Ariani, Hibo Asad, Amy Ash, Paula Ashfield, Fiona Ashford, Laura Atkinson, Stephen W. Attwood, Cressida Auckland, Alp Aydin, David J. Baker, Paul Baker, Carlos E. Balcazar, Jonathan Ball, Jeffrey C. Barrett, Magdalena Barrow, Edward Barton, Matthew Bashton, Andrew R. Bassett, Rahul Batra, Chris Baxter, Nadua Bayzid, Charlotte Beaver, Angela H. Beckett, Shaun M. Beckwith, Luke Bedford, Robert Beer, Andrew Beggs, Katherine L. Bellis, Louise Berry, Beatrice Bertolusso, Angus Best, Emma Betteridge, David Bibby, Kelly Bicknell, Debbie Binns, Alec Birchley, Paul W. Bird, Chloe Bishop, Rachel Blacow, Victoria Blakey, Beth Blane, Frances Bolt, James Bonfield, Stephen Bonner, David Bonsall, Tim Boswell, Andrew Bosworth, Yann Bourgeois, Olivia Boyd, Declan T. Bradley, Cassie Breen, Catherine Bresner, Judith Breuer, Stephen Bridgett, Iraad F. Bronner, Ellena Brooks, Alice Broos, Julianne R. Brown, Giselda Bucca, Sarah L. Buchan, David Buck, Matthew Bull, Phillipa J. Burns, Shirelle Burton-Fanning, Timothy Byaruhanga, Matthew Byott, Sharon Campbell, Alessandro M. Carabelli, James S. Cargill, Matthew Carlile, Silvia F. Carvalho, Anna Casey, Anibolina Castigador, Jana Catalan, Vicki Chalker, Nicola J. Chaloner, Meera Chand, Joseph G. Chappell, Themoula Charalampous, Wendy Chatterton, Yasmin Chaudhry, Carol M. Churcher, Gemma Clark, Phillip Clarke, Benjamin J. Cogger, Kevin Cole, Jennifer Collins, Rachel Colquhoun, Thomas R. Connor, Kate F. Cook, Jason Coombes, Sally Corden, Claire Cormie, Nicholas Cortes, Marius Cotic, Seb Cotton, Simon Cottrell, Lindsay Coupland, MacGregor Cox, Alison Cox, Noel Craine, Liam Crawford, Aidan Cross, Matthew R. Crown, Dorian Crudgington, Nicola Cumley, Tanya Curran, Martin D. Curran, Ana da Silva Filipe, Gavin Dabrera, Alistair C. Darby, Rose K. Davidson, Alisha Davies, Robert M. Davies, Thomas Davis, Daniela de Angelis, Elen De Lacy, Leonardo de Oliveira Martins, Johnny Debebe, Rebecca Denton-Smith, Samir Dervisevic, Rebecca Dewar, Jayasree Dey, Joana Dias, Donald Dobie, Matthew J. Dorman, Fatima Downing, Megan Driscoll, Louis du Plessis, Nichola Duckworth, Jillian Durham, Kirstine Eastick, Lisa J. Easton, Richard Eccles, Jonathan Edgeworth, Sue Edwards, Kate El Bouzidi, Sahar Eldirdiri, Nicholas Ellaby, Scott Elliott, Gary Eltringham, Leah Ensell, Michelle J. Erkiert, Marina Escalera Zamudio, Sarah Essex, Johnathan M. Evans, Cariad Evans, William Everson, Derek J. Fairley, Karlie Fallon, Arezou Fanaie, Ben W. Farr, Christopher Fearn, Theresa Feltwell, Lynne Ferguson, Laia Fina, Flavia Flaviani, Vicki M. Fleming, Sally Forrest, Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko, Benjamin H. Foulkes, Luke Foulser, Mireille Fragakis, Dan Frampton, Sarah Francois, Christophe Fraser, Timothy M. Freeman, Helen Fryer, Marc Fuchs, William Fuller, Kavitha Gajee, Katerina Galai, Abbie Gallagher, Eileen Gallagher, Michael D. Gallagher, Marta Gallis, Amy Gaskin, Bree Gatica-Wilcox, Lily Geidelberg, Matthew Gemmell, Iliana Georgana, Ryan P. George, Laura Gifford, Lauren Gilbert, Sophia T. Girgis, Sharon Glaysher, Emily J. Goldstein, Tanya Golubchik, Andrea N. Gomes, Sónia Gonçalves, Ian G. Goodfellow, Scott Goodwin, Salman Goudarzi, Marina Gourtovaia, Clive Graham, Lee Graham, Paul R. Grant, Luke R. Green, Angie Green, Jane Greenaway, Richard Gregory, Martyn Guest, Rory N. Gunson, Ravi K. Gupta, Bernardo Gutierrez, Sam T. Haldenby, William L. Hamilton, Samantha E. Hansford, Tanzina Haque, Kathryn A. Harris, Ian Harrison, Ewan M. Harrison, Jennifer Hart, John A. Hartley, William T. Harvey, Matthew Harvey, Mohammed O. Hassan-Ibrahim, Judith Heaney, Thomas Helmer, John H. Henderson, Andrew R. Hesketh, Jessica Hey, David Heyburn, Ellen E. Higginson, Verity Hill, Jack D. Hill, Rachel A. Hilson, Ember Hilvers, Matthew T.G. Holden, Amy Hollis, Christopher W. Holmes, Nadine Holmes, Alison H. Holmes, Richard Hopes, Hailey R. Hornsby, Myra Hosmillo, Catherine Houlihan, Hannah C. Howson-Wells, Jonathan Hubb, Hannah Huckson, Warwick Hughes, Joseph Hughes, Margaret Hughes, Stephanie Hutchings, Giles Idle, Chris J. Illingworth, Robert Impey, Dianne Irish-Tavares, Miren Iturriza-Gomara, Rhys Izuagbe, Chris Jackson, Ben Jackson, Leigh M. Jackson, Kathryn A. Jackson, David K. Jackson, Aminu S. Jahun, Victoria James, Keith James, Christopher Jeanes, Aaron R. Jeffries, Sarah Jeremiah, Andrew Jermy, Michaela John, Rob Johnson, Kate Johnson, Ian Johnston, Owen Jones, Sophie Jones, Hannah Jones, Christopher R. Jones, Neil Jones, Amelia Joseph, Sarah Judges, Gemma L. Kay, Sally Kay, Jon-Paul Keatley, Alexander J. Keeley, Anita Kenyon, Leanne M. Kermack, Manjinder Khakh, Stephen P. Kidd, Maimuna Kimuli, Stuart Kirk, Christine Kitchen, Katie Kitchman, Bridget A. Knight, Cherian Koshy, Moritz U.G. Kraemer, Sara Kumziene-Summerhayes, Dominic Kwiatkowski, Angie Lackenby, Kenneth G. Laing, Temi Lampejo, Cordelia F. Langford, Deborah Lavin, Andrew I. Lawton, Jack Lee, David Lee, Stefanie V. Lensing, Steven Leonard, Lisa J. Levett, Thanh Le-Viet, Jonathan Lewis, Kevin Lewis, Jennifier Liddle, Steven Liggett, Patrick J. Lillie, Michelle M. Lister, Rich Livett, Stephanie Lo, Nicholas J. Loman, Matthew W. Loose, Stavroula F. Louka, Katie F. Loveson, Sarah Lowdon, Hannah Lowe, Helen L. Lowe, Anita O. Lucaci, Catherine Ludden, Jessica Lynch, Ronan A. Lyons, Katrina Lythgoe, Nicholas W. Machin, George MacIntyre-Cockett, Andrew Mack, Ben Macklin, Alasdair Maclean, Emily Macnaughton, Pinglawathee Madona, Mailis Maes, Laurentiu Maftei, Adhyana I.K. Mahanama, Tabitha W. Mahungu, Daniel Mair, Joshua Maksimovic, Cassandra S. Malone, Daniel Maloney, Nikos Manesis, Robin Manley, Anna Mantzouratou, Angela Marchbank, Arun Mariappan, Inigo Martincorena, Rocio T. Martinez Nunez, Alison E. Mather, Patrick Maxwell, Megan Mayhew, Tamyo Mbisa, Clare M. McCann, Shane A. McCarthy, Kathryn McCluggage, Patrick C. McClure, J.T. McCrone, Martin P. McHugh, James P. McKenna, Caoimhe McKerr, Georgina M. McManus, Claire L. McMurray, Claire McMurray, Alan McNally, Lizzie Meadows, Nathan Medd, Oliver Megram, Mirko Menegazzo, Ian Merrick, Stephen L. Michell, Michelle L. Michelsen, Mariyam Mirfenderesky, Jeremy Mirza, Julia Miskelly, Emma Moles-Garcia, Robin J. Moll, Zoltan Molnar, Irene M. Monahan, Matteo Mondani, Siddharth Mookerjee, Christopher Moore, Jonathan Moore, Nathan Moore, Catherine Moore, Helen Morcrette, Sian Morgan, Mari Morgan, Matilde Mori, Arthur Morriss, Samuel Moses, Craig Mower, Peter Muir, Afrida Mukaddas, Florence Munemo, Robert Munn, Abigail Murray, Leanne J. Murray, Darren R. Murray, Manasa Mutingwende, Richard Myers, Eleni Nastouli, Gaia Nebbia, Andrew Nelson, Charlotte Nelson, Sam Nicholls, Jenna Nichols, Roberto Nicodemi, Kyriaki Nomikou, Justin O’Grady, Sarah O'Brien, Mina Odedra, Natasha Ohemeng-Kumi, Karen Oliver, Richard J. Orton, Husam Osman, xeine O'Toole, Nicole Pacchiarini, Debra Padgett, Andrew J. Page, Emily J. Park, Naomi R. Park, Surendra Parmar, David G. Partridge, David Pascall, Amita Patel, Bindi Patel, Steve Paterson, Brendan A.I. Payne, Sharon J. Peacock, Clare Pearson, Emanuela Pelosi, Benita Percival, Jon Perkins, Malorie Perry, Malte L. Pinckert, Steven Platt, Olga Podplomyk, Manoj Pohare, Marcus Pond, Cassie F. Pope, Radoslaw Poplawski, Jessica Powell, Jennifer Poyner, Liam Prestwood, Anna Price, James R. Price, Jacqui A. Prieto, David T. Pritchard, Sophie J. Prosolek, Georgia Pugh, Monika Pusok, Oliver G. Pybus, Hannah M. Pymont, Michael A. Quail, Joshua Quick, Clara Radulescu, Jayna Raghwani, Manon Ragonnet-Cronin, Lucille Rainbow, Diana Rajan, Shavanthi Rajatileka, Newara A. Ramadan, Andrew Rambaut, John Ramble, Paul A. Randell, Paul Randell, Liz Ratcliffe, Veena Raviprakash, Mohammad Raza, Nicholas M. Redshaw, Sara Rey, Nicola Reynolds, Alex Richter, David L. Robertson, Esther Robinson, Samuel C. Robson, Fiona Rogan, Stefan Rooke, Will Rowe, Sunando Roy, Steven Rudder, Chris Ruis, Steven Rushton, Felicity Ryan, Kordo Saeed, Buddhini Samaraweera, Christine M. Sambles, Roy Sanderson, Theo Sanderson, Fei Sang, Thea Sass, Emily Scher, Garren Scott, Carol Scott, Jasveen Sehmi, Sharif Shaaban, Divya Shah, Jessica Shaw, Ekaterina Shelest, James G. Shepherd, Liz A. Sheridan, Nicola Sheriff, Lesley Shirley, John Sillitoe, Siona Silviera, David A. Simpson, Aditi Singh, Dawn Singleton, Timofey Skvortsov, Tim J. Sloan, Graciela Sluga, Ken Smith, Kim S. Smith, Perminder Smith, Darren L. Smith, Louise Smith, Colin P. Smith, Nikki Smith, Katherine L. Smollett, Luke B. Snell, Thomas Somassa, Joel Southgate, Karla Spellman, Michael H. Spencer Chapman, Lewis G. Spurgin, Moira J. Spyer, Rachael Stanley, William Stanley, Thomas D. Stanton, Igor Starinskij, Joanne Stockton, Susanne Stonehouse, Nathaniel Storey, David J. Studholme, Malur Sudhanva, Emma Swindells, Yusri Taha, Ngee Keong Tan, Julian W. Tang, Miao Tang, Ben E.W. Taylor, Joshua F. Taylor, Sarah Taylor, Ben Temperton, Kate E. Templeton, Claire Thomas, Laura Thomson, Emma C. Thomson, Alicia Thornton, Scott A.J. Thurston, John A. Todd, Rachael Tomb, Lily Tong, Gerry Tonkin-Hill, M. Estee Torok, Jaime M. Tovar-Corona, Amy Trebes, Alexander J. Trotter, Ioulia Tsatsani, Robyn Turnbull, Katherine A. Twohig, Helen Umpleby, Anthony P. Underwood, Edith E. Vamos, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, Sreenu Vattipally, Gabrielle Vernet, Barry B. Vipond, Erik M. Volz, Sarah Walsh, Dennis Wang, Ben Warne, Joanna Warwick-Dugdale, Elizabeth Wastnedge, Joanne Watkins, Louisa K. Watson, Sheila Waugh, Hermione J. Webster, Danni Weldon, Elaine Westwick, Thomas Whalley, Helen Wheeler, Mark Whitehead, Max Whiteley, Andrew Whitwham, Claudia Wierzbicki, Nicholas J. Willford, Lesley-Anne Williams, Rebecca Williams, Cheryl Williams, Chris Williams, Charlotte A. Williams, Rachel J. Williams, Thomas Williams, Catryn Williams, Kathleen A. Williamson, Eleri Wilson-Davies, Eric Witele, Karen T. Withell, Adam A. Witney, Paige Wolverson, Nick Wong, Trudy Workman, Victoria Wright, Derek W. Wright, Tim Wyatt, Sarah Wyllie, Li Xu-McCrae, Mehmet Yavus, Geraldine Yaze, Corin A. Yeats, Gonzalo Yebra, Wen C. Yew, Gregory R. Young, Jamie Young, Alex E. Zarebski, Peijun Zhang, J. Kenneth Baillie, Malcolm G. Semple, Peter J.M. Openshaw, Gail Carson, Beatrice Alex, Petros Andrikopoulos, Benjamin Bach, Wendy S. Barclay, Debby Bogaert, Kanta Chechi, Graham S. Cooke, Annemarie B. Docherty, Gonçalo dos Santos Correia, Marc-Emmanuel Dumas, Jake Dunning, Tom Fletcher, Christopher A. Green, William Greenhalf, Julian L. Griffin, Rishi K. Gupta, Ewen M. Harrison, Julian A. Hiscox, Antonia Ying Wai Ho, Peter W. Horby, Samreen Ijaz, Saye Khoo, Paul Klenerman, Andrew Law, Matthew R. Lewis, Sonia Liggi, Wei Shen Lim, Lynn Maslen, Laura Merson, Alison M. Meynert, Mahdad Noursadeghi, Michael Olanipekun, Anthonia Osagie, Massimo Palmarini, Carlo Palmieri, William A. Paxton, Georgios Pollakis, Nicholas Price, Clark D. Russell, Vanessa Sancho-Shimizu, Caroline J. Sands, Janet T. Scott, Louise Sigfrid, Tom Solomon, Shiranee Sriskandan, David Stuart, Charlotte Summers, Olivia V. Swann, Zoltan Takats, Panteleimon Takis, Richard S. Tedder, A.A. Roger Thompson, Ryan S. Thwaites, Maria Zambon, Hayley Hardwick, Chloe Donohue, Fiona Griffiths, Wilna Oosthuyzen, Cara Donegan, Rebecca G. Spencer, Jo Dalton, Michelle Girvan, Egle Saviciute, Stephanie Roberts, Janet Harrison, Laura Marsh, Marie Connor, Sophie Halpin, Clare Jackson, Carrol Gamble, Daniel Plotkin, James Lee, Gary Leeming, Murray Wham, Sara Clohisey, Ross Hendry, James Scott-Brown, Victoria Shaw, Sarah E. McDonald, Seán Keating, Katie A. Ahmed, Jane A. Armstrong, Milton Ashworth, Innocent G. Asiimwe, Siddharth Bakshi, Samantha L. Barlow, Laura Booth, Benjamin Brennan, Katie Bullock, Benjamin W.A. Catterall, Jordan J. Clark, Emily A. Clarke, Sarah Cole, Louise Cooper, Helen Cox, Christopher Davis, Oslem Dincarslan, Chris Dunn, Philip Dyer, Angela Elliott, Anthony Evans, Lorna Finch, Lewis W.S. Fisher, Terry Foster, Isabel Garcia-Dorival, Philip Gunning, Catherine Hartley, Rebecca L. Jensen, Christopher B. Jones, Trevor R. Jones, Shadia Khandaker, Katharine King, Robyn T. Kiy, Chrysa Koukorava, Annette Lake, Suzannah Lant, Diane Latawiec, Lara Lavelle-Langham, Daniella Lefteri, Lauren Lett, Lucia A. Livoti, Maria Mancini, Sarah McDonald, Laurence McEvoy, John McLauchlan, Soeren Metelmann, Nahida S. Miah, Joanna Middleton, Joyce Mitchell, Ellen G. Murphy, Rebekah Penrice-Randal, Jack Pilgrim, Tessa Prince, Will Reynolds, P. Matthew Ridley, Debby Sales, Victoria E. Shaw, Rebecca K. Shears, Benjamin Small, Krishanthi S. Subramaniam, Agnieska Szemiel, Aislynn Taggart, Jolanta Tanianis-Hughes, Jordan Thomas, Erwan Trochu, Libby van Tonder, Eve Wilcock, J. Eunice Zhang, Lisa Flaherty, Nicole Maziere, Emily Cass, Alejandra Doce Carracedo, Nicola Carlucci, Anthony Holmes, Hannah Massey, Lee Murphy, Nicola Wrobel, Sarah McCafferty, Kirstie Morrice, Alan MacLean, Kayode Adeniji, Daniel Agranoff, Ken Agwuh, Dhiraj Ail, Erin L. Aldera, Ana Alegria, Sam Allen, Brian Angus, Abdul Ashish, Dougal Atkinson, Shahedal Bari, Gavin Barlow, Stella Barnass, Nicholas Barrett, Christopher Bassford, Sneha Basude, David Baxter, Michael Beadsworth, Jolanta Bernatoniene, John Berridge, Colin Berry, Nicola Best, Pieter Bothma, David Chadwick, Robin Brittain-Long, Naomi Bulteel, Tom Burden, Andrew Burtenshaw, Vikki Caruth, Duncan Chambler, Nigel Chee, Jenny Child, Srikanth Chukkambotla, Tom Clark, Paul Collini, Catherine Cosgrove, Jason Cupitt, Maria-Teresa Cutino-Moguel, Paul Dark, Chris Dawson, Phil Donnison, Sam Douthwaite, Andrew Drummond, Ingrid DuRand, Ahilanadan Dushianthan, Tristan Dyer, Chi Eziefula, Chrisopher Fegan, Adam Finn, Duncan Fullerton, Sanjeev Garg, Atul Garg, Effrossyni Gkrania-Klotsas, Jo Godden, Arthur Goldsmith, Elaine Hardy, Stuart Hartshorn, Daniel Harvey, Peter Havalda, Daniel B. Hawcutt, Maria Hobrok, Luke Hodgson, Anil Hormis, Michael Jacobs, Susan Jain, Paul Jennings, Agilan Kaliappan, Vidya Kasipandian, Stephen Kegg, Michael Kelsey, Jason Kendall, Caroline Kerrison, Ian Kerslake, Oliver Koch, Gouri Koduri, George Koshy, Shondipon Laha, Steven Laird, Susan Larkin, Tamas Leiner, Patrick Lillie, James Limb, Vanessa Linnett, Jeff Little, Mark Lyttle, Michael MacMahon, Emily MacNaughton, Ravish Mankregod, Huw Masson, Elijah Matovu, Katherine McCullough, Ruth McEwen, Manjula Meda, Gary Mills, Jane Minton, Kavya Mohandas, Quen Mok, James Moon, Elinoor Moore, Patrick Morgan, Craig Morris, Katherine Mortimore, Mbiye Mpenge, Rohinton Mulla, Michael Murphy, Megan Nagel, Thapas Nagarajan, Mark Nelson, Lillian Norris, Matthew K. O'Shea, Igor Otahal, Marlies Ostermann, Mark Pais, Selva Panchatsharam, Danai Papakonstantinou, Hassan Paraiso, Brij Patel, Natalie Pattison, Justin Pepperell, Mark Peters, Mandeep Phull, Stefania Pintus, Jagtur Singh Pooni, Tim Planche, Frank Post, David Price, Rachel Prout, Nikolas Rae, Henrik Reschreiter, Tim Reynolds, Neil Richardson, Mark Roberts, Devender Roberts, Alistair Rose, Guy Rousseau, Bobby Ruge, Brendan Ryan, Taranprit Saluja, Matthias L. Schmid, Aarti Shah, Prad Shanmuga, Anil Sharma, Anna Shawcross, Jeremy Sizer, Manu Shankar-Hari, Richard Smith, Catherine Snelson, Nick Spittle, Nikki Staines, Tom Stambach, Richard Stewart, Pradeep Subudhi, Tamas Szakmany, Kate Tatham, Jo Thomas, Chris Thompson, Robert Thompson, Ascanio Tridente, Darell Tupper-Carey, Mary Twagira, Nick Vallotton, Rama Vancheeswaran, Lisa Vincent-Smith, Shico Visuvanathan, Alan Vuylsteke, Sam Waddy, Rachel Wake, Andrew Walden, Ingeborg Welters, Tony Whitehouse, Paul Whittaker, Ashley Whittington, Padmasayee Papineni, Meme Wijesinghe, Martin Williams, Lawrence Wilson, Stephen Winchester, Martin Wiselka, Adam Wolverson, Daniel G. Wootton, Andrew Workman, Bryan Yates, and Peter Young
Subjects: Phylogenetics, Molecular biology, Immunology, Immune response, Virology, Science
Abstract: Summary: We identify amino acid variants within dominant SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes by interrogating global sequence data. Several variants within nucleocapsid and ORF3a epitopes have arisen independently in multiple lineages and result in loss of recognition by epitope-specific T cells assessed by IFN-γ and cytotoxic killing assays. Complete loss of T cell responsiveness was seen due to Q213K in the A∗01:01-restricted CD8+ ORF3a epitope FTSDYYQLY207-215; due to P13L, P13S, and P13T in the B∗27:05-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope QRNAPRITF9-17; and due to T362I and P365S in the A∗03:01/A∗11:01-restricted CD8+ nucleocapsid epitope KTFPPTEPK361-369. CD8+ T cell lines unable to recognize variant epitopes have diverse T cell receptor repertoires. These data demonstrate the potential for T cell evasion and highlight the need for ongoing surveillance for variants capable of escaping T cell as well as humoral immunity.
Published: 2021
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12. Genomic-Assisted Marker Development Suitable for CsCvy-1 Selection in Cucumber Breeding

Author: Erdem Kahveci, Zübeyir Devran, Ercan Özkaynak, Yiguo Hong, David J. Studholme, and Mahmut Tör
Subjects: CVYV, cucumber, marker assisted selection, kompetitive allele-specific PCR genotyping, plant breeding, Plant culture, SB1-1110
Abstract: Cucumber is a widely grown vegetable crop plant and a host to many different plant pathogens. Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) causes economic losses on cucumber crops in Mediterranean countries and in some part of India such as West Bengal and in African countries such as Sudan. CVYV is an RNA potyvirus transmitted mechanically and by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) in a semipersistent manner. Control of this virus is heavily dependent on the management of the insect vector and breeding virus-resistant lines. DNA markers have been used widely in conventional plant breeding programs via marker-assisted selection (MAS). However, very few resistance sources against CVYV in cucumber exist, and also the lack of tightly linked molecular markers to these sources restricts the rapid generation of resistant lines. In this work, we used genomics coupled with the bulked segregant analysis method and generated the MAS-friendly Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers suitable for CsCvy-1 selection in cucumber breeding using a segregating F2 mapping population and commercial plant lines. Variant analysis was performed to generate single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based markers for mapping the population and genotyping the commercial lines. We fine-mapped the region by generating new markers down to 101 kb with eight genes. We provided SNP data for this interval, which could be useful for breeding programs and cloning the candidate genes.
Published: 2021
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13. Recurrent emergence of SARS-CoV-2 spike deletion H69/V70 and its role in the Alpha variant B.1.1.7

Author: Bo Meng, Steven A. Kemp, Guido Papa, Rawlings Datir, Isabella A.T.M. Ferreira, Sara Marelli, William T. Harvey, Spyros Lytras, Ahmed Mohamed, Giulia Gallo, Nazia Thakur, Dami A. Collier, Petra Mlcochova, Lidia M. Duncan, Alessandro M. Carabelli, Julia C. Kenyon, Andrew M. Lever, Anna De Marco, Christian Saliba, Katja Culap, Elisabetta Cameroni, Nicholas J. Matheson, Luca Piccoli, Davide Corti, Leo C. James, David L. Robertson, Dalan Bailey, Ravindra K. Gupta, Samuel C. Robson, Nicholas J. Loman, Thomas R. Connor, Tanya Golubchik, Rocio T. Martinez Nunez, Catherine Ludden, Sally Corden, Ian Johnston, David Bonsall, Colin P. Smith, Ali R. Awan, Giselda Bucca, M. Estee Torok, Kordo Saeed, Jacqui A. Prieto, David K. Jackson, William L. Hamilton, Luke B. Snell, Catherine Moore, Ewan M. Harrison, Sonia Goncalves, Derek J. Fairley, Matthew W. Loose, Joanne Watkins, Rich Livett, Samuel Moses, Roberto Amato, Sam Nicholls, Matthew Bull, Darren L. Smith, Jeff Barrett, David M. Aanensen, Martin D. Curran, Surendra Parmar, Dinesh Aggarwal, James G. Shepherd, Matthew D. Parker, Sharon Glaysher, Matthew Bashton, Anthony P. Underwood, Nicole Pacchiarini, Katie F. Loveson, Kate E. Templeton, Cordelia F. Langford, John Sillitoe, Thushan I. de Silva, Dennis Wang, Dominic Kwiatkowski, Andrew Rambaut, Justin O’Grady, Simon Cottrell, Matthew T.G. Holden, Emma C. Thomson, Husam Osman, Monique Andersson, Anoop J. Chauhan, Mohammed O. Hassan-Ibrahim, Mara Lawniczak, Alex Alderton, Meera Chand, Chrystala Constantinidou, Meera Unnikrishnan, Alistair C. Darby, Julian A. Hiscox, Steve Paterson, Inigo Martincorena, Erik M. Volz, Andrew J. Page, Oliver G. Pybus, Andrew R. Bassett, Cristina V. Ariani, Michael H. Spencer Chapman, Kathy K. Li, Rajiv N. Shah, Natasha G. Jesudason, Yusri Taha, Martin P. McHugh, Rebecca Dewar, Aminu S. Jahun, Claire McMurray, Sarojini Pandey, James P. McKenna, Andrew Nelson, Gregory R. Young, Clare M. McCann, Scott Elliott, Hannah Lowe, Ben Temperton, Sunando Roy, Anna Price, Sara Rey, Matthew Wyles, Stefan Rooke, Sharif Shaaban, Mariateresa de Cesare, Laura Letchford, Siona Silveira, Emanuela Pelosi, Eleri Wilson-Davies, Myra Hosmillo, Áine O’Toole, Andrew R. Hesketh, Richard Stark, Louis du Plessis, Chris Ruis, Helen Adams, Yann Bourgeois, Stephen L. Michell, Dimitris Gramatopoulos, Jonathan Edgeworth, Judith Breuer, John A. Todd, Christophe Fraser, David Buck, Michaela John, Gemma L. Kay, Steve Palmer, Sharon J. Peacock, David Heyburn, Danni Weldon, Esther Robinson, Alan McNally, Peter Muir, Ian B. Vipond, John Boyes, Venkat Sivaprakasam, Tranprit Salluja, Samir Dervisevic, Emma J. Meader, Naomi R. Park, Karen Oliver, Aaron R. Jeffries, Sascha Ott, Ana da Silva Filipe, David A. Simpson, Chris Williams, Jane A.H. Masoli, Bridget A. Knight, Christopher R. Jones, Cherian Koshy, Amy Ash, Anna Casey, Andrew Bosworth, Liz Ratcliffe, Li Xu-McCrae, Hannah M. Pymont, Stephanie Hutchings, Lisa Berry, Katie Jones, Fenella Halstead, Thomas Davis, Christopher Holmes, Miren Iturriza-Gomara, Anita O. Lucaci, Paul Anthony Randell, Alison Cox, Pinglawathee Madona, Kathryn Ann Harris, Julianne Rose Brown, Tabitha W. Mahungu, Dianne Irish-Tavares, Tanzina Haque, Jennifer Hart, Eric Witele, Melisa Louise Fenton, Steven Liggett, Clive Graham, Emma Swindells, Jennifer Collins, Gary Eltringham, Sharon Campbell, Patrick C. McClure, Gemma Clark, Tim J. Sloan, Carl Jones, Jessica Lynch, Ben Warne, Steven Leonard, Jillian Durham, Thomas Williams, Sam T. Haldenby, Nathaniel Storey, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Nadine Holmes, Christopher Moore, Matthew Carlile, Malorie Perry, Noel Craine, Ronan A. Lyons, Angela H. Beckett, Salman Goudarzi, Christopher Fearn, Kate Cook, Hannah Dent, Hannah Paul, Robert Davies, Beth Blane, Sophia T. Girgis, Mathew A. Beale, Katherine L. Bellis, Matthew J. Dorman, Eleanor Drury, Leanne Kane, Sally Kay, Samantha McGuigan, Rachel Nelson, Liam Prestwood, Shavanthi Rajatileka, Rahul Batra, Rachel J. Williams, Mark Kristiansen, Angie Green, Anita Justice, Adhyana I.K. Mahanama, Buddhini Samaraweera, Nazreen F. Hadjirin, Joshua Quick, Radoslaw Poplawski, Leanne M. Kermack, Nicola Reynolds, Grant Hall, Yasmin Chaudhry, Malte L. Pinckert, Iliana Georgana, Robin J. Moll, Alicia Thornton, Richard Myers, Joanne Stockton, Charlotte A. Williams, Wen C. Yew, Alexander J. Trotter, Amy Trebes, George MacIntyre-Cockett, Alec Birchley, Alexander Adams, Amy Plimmer, Bree Gatica-Wilcox, Caoimhe McKerr, Ember Hilvers, Hannah Jones, Hibo Asad, Jason Coombes, Johnathan M. Evans, Laia Fina, Lauren Gilbert, Lee Graham, Michelle Cronin, Sara Kumziene-Summerhayes, Sarah Taylor, Sophie Jones, Danielle C. Groves, Peijun Zhang, Marta Gallis, Stavroula F. Louka, Igor Starinskij, Chris Jackson, Marina Gourtovaia, Gerry Tonkin-Hill, Kevin Lewis, Jaime M. Tovar-Corona, Keith James, Laura Baxter, Mohammad T. Alam, Richard J. Orton, Joseph Hughes, Sreenu Vattipally, Manon Ragonnet-Cronin, Fabricia F. Nascimento, David Jorgensen, Olivia Boyd, Lily Geidelberg, Alex E. Zarebski, Jayna Raghwani, Moritz U.G. Kraemer, Joel Southgate, Benjamin B. Lindsey, Timothy M. Freeman, Jon-Paul Keatley, Joshua B. Singer, Leonardo de Oliveira Martins, Corin A. Yeats, Khalil Abudahab, Ben E.W. Taylor, Mirko Menegazzo, John Danesh, Wendy Hogsden, Sahar Eldirdiri, Anita Kenyon, Jenifer Mason, Trevor I. Robinson, Alison Holmes, James Price, John A. Hartley, Tanya Curran, Alison E. Mather, Giri Shankar, Rachel Jones, Robin Howe, Sian Morgan, Elizabeth Wastenge, Michael R. Chapman, Siddharth Mookerjee, Rachael Stanley, Wendy Smith, Timothy Peto, David Eyre, Derrick Crook, Gabrielle Vernet, Christine Kitchen, Huw Gulliver, Ian Merrick, Martyn Guest, Robert Munn, Declan T. Bradley, Tim Wyatt, Charlotte Beaver, Luke Foulser, Sophie Palmer, Carol M. Churcher, Ellena Brooks, Kim S. Smith, Katerina Galai, Georgina M. McManus, Frances Bolt, Francesc Coll, Lizzie Meadows, Stephen W. Attwood, Alisha Davies, Elen De Lacy, Fatima Downing, Sue Edwards, Garry P. Scarlett, Sarah Jeremiah, Nikki Smith, Danielle Leek, Sushmita Sridhar, Sally Forrest, Claire Cormie, Harmeet K. Gill, Joana Dias, Ellen E. Higginson, Mailis Maes, Jamie Young, Michelle Wantoch, Dorota Jamrozy, Stephanie Lo, Minal Patel, Verity Hill, Claire M. Bewshea, Sian Ellard, Cressida Auckland, Ian Harrison, Chloe Bishop, Vicki Chalker, Alex Richter, Andrew Beggs, Angus Best, Benita Percival, Jeremy Mirza, Oliver Megram, Megan Mayhew, Liam Crawford, Fiona Ashcroft, Emma Moles-Garcia, Nicola Cumley, Richard Hopes, Patawee Asamaphan, Marc O. Niebel, Rory N. Gunson, Amanda Bradley, Alasdair Maclean, Guy Mollett, Rachel Blacow, Paul Bird, Thomas Helmer, Karlie Fallon, Julian Tang, Antony D. Hale, Louissa R. Macfarlane-Smith, Katherine L. Harper, Holli Carden, Nicholas W. Machin, Kathryn A. Jackson, Shazaad S.Y. Ahmad, Ryan P. George, Lance Turtle, Elaine O’Toole, Joanne Watts, Cassie Breen, Angela Cowell, Adela Alcolea-Medina, Themoula Charalampous, Amita Patel, Lisa J. Levett, Judith Heaney, Aileen Rowan, Graham P. Taylor, Divya Shah, Laura Atkinson, Jack C.D. Lee, Adam P. Westhorpe, Riaz Jannoo, Helen L. Lowe, Angeliki Karamani, Leah Ensell, Wendy Chatterton, Monika Pusok, Ashok Dadrah, Amanda Symmonds, Graciela Sluga, Zoltan Molnar, Paul Baker, Stephen Bonner, Sarah Essex, Edward Barton, Debra Padgett, Garren Scott, Jane Greenaway, Brendan A.I. Payne, Shirelle Burton-Fanning, Sheila Waugh, Veena Raviprakash, Nicola Sheriff, Victoria Blakey, Lesley-Anne Williams, Jonathan Moore, Susanne Stonehouse, Louise Smith, Rose K. Davidson, Luke Bedford, Lindsay Coupland, Victoria Wright, Joseph G. Chappell, Theocharis Tsoleridis, Jonathan Ball, Manjinder Khakh, Vicki M. Fleming, Michelle M. Lister, Hannah C. Howson-Wells, Louise Berry, Tim Boswell, Amelia Joseph, Iona Willingham, Nichola Duckworth, Sarah Walsh, Emma Wise, Nathan Moore, Matilde Mori, Nick Cortes, Stephen Kidd, Rebecca Williams, Laura Gifford, Kelly Bicknell, Sarah Wyllie, Allyson Lloyd, Robert Impey, Cassandra S. Malone, Benjamin J. Cogger, Nick Levene, Lynn Monaghan, Alexander J. Keeley, David G. Partridge, Mohammad Raza, Cariad Evans, Kate Johnson, Emma Betteridge, Ben W. Farr, Scott Goodwin, Michael A. Quail, Carol Scott, Lesley Shirley, Scott A.J. Thurston, Diana Rajan, Iraad F. Bronner, Louise Aigrain, Nicholas M. Redshaw, Stefanie V. Lensing, Shane McCarthy, Alex Makunin, Carlos E. Balcazar, Michael D. Gallagher, Kathleen A. Williamson, Thomas D. Stanton, Michelle L. Michelsen, Joanna Warwick-Dugdale, Robin Manley, Audrey Farbos, James W. Harrison, Christine M. Sambles, David J. Studholme, Angie Lackenby, Tamyo Mbisa, Steven Platt, Shahjahan Miah, David Bibby, Carmen Manso, Jonathan Hubb, Gavin Dabrera, Mary Ramsay, Daniel Bradshaw, Ulf Schaefer, Natalie Groves, Eileen Gallagher, David Lee, David Williams, Nicholas Ellaby, Hassan Hartman, Nikos Manesis, Vineet Patel, Juan Ledesma, Katherine A. Twohig, Elias Allara, Clare Pearson, Jeffrey K.J. Cheng, Hannah E. Bridgewater, Lucy R. Frost, Grace Taylor-Joyce, Paul E. Brown, Lily Tong, Alice Broos, Daniel Mair, Jenna Nichols, Stephen N. Carmichael, Katherine L. Smollett, Kyriaki Nomikou, Elihu Aranday-Cortes, Natasha Johnson, Seema Nickbakhsh, Edith E. Vamos, Margaret Hughes, Lucille Rainbow, Richard Eccles, Charlotte Nelson, Mark Whitehead, Richard Gregory, Matthew Gemmell, Claudia Wierzbicki, Hermione J. Webster, Chloe L. Fisher, Adrian W. Signell, Gilberto Betancor, Harry D. Wilson, Gaia Nebbia, Flavia Flaviani, Alberto C. Cerda, Tammy V. Merrill, Rebekah E. Wilson, Marius Cotic, Nadua Bayzid, Thomas Thompson, Erwan Acheson, Steven Rushton, Sarah O’Brien, David J. Baker, Steven Rudder, Alp Aydin, Fei Sang, Johnny Debebe, Sarah Francois, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, Marina Escalera Zamudio, Bernardo Gutierrez, Angela Marchbank, Joshua Maksimovic, Karla Spellman, Kathryn McCluggage, Mari Morgan, Robert Beer, Safiah Afifi, Trudy Workman, William Fuller, Catherine Bresner, Adrienn Angyal, Luke R. Green, Paul J. Parsons, Rachel M. Tucker, Rebecca Brown, Max Whiteley, James Bonfield, Christoph Puethe, Andrew Whitwham, Jennifier Liddle, Will Rowe, Igor Siveroni, Thanh Le-Viet, Amy Gaskin, Rob Johnson, Irina Abnizova, Mozam Ali, Laura Allen, Ralph Anderson, Cristina Ariani, Siobhan Austin-Guest, Sendu Bala, Jeffrey Barrett, Andrew Bassett, Kristina Battleday, James Beal, Mathew Beale, Sam Bellany, Tristram Bellerby, Katie Bellis, Duncan Berger, Matt Berriman, Paul Bevan, Simon Binley, Jason Bishop, Kirsty Blackburn, Nick Boughton, Sam Bowker, Timothy Brendler-Spaeth, Iraad Bronner, Tanya Brooklyn, Sarah Kay Buddenborg, Robert Bush, Catarina Caetano, Alex Cagan, Nicola Carter, Joanna Cartwright, Tiago Carvalho Monteiro, Liz Chapman, Tracey-Jane Chillingworth, Peter Clapham, Richard Clark, Adrian Clarke, Catriona Clarke, Daryl Cole, Elizabeth Cook, Maria Coppola, Linda Cornell, Clare Cornwell, Craig Corton, Abby Crackett, Alison Cranage, Harriet Craven, Sarah Craw, Mark Crawford, Tim Cutts, Monika Dabrowska, Matt Davies, Joseph Dawson, Callum Day, Aiden Densem, Thomas Dibling, Cat Dockree, David Dodd, Sunil Dogga, Matthew Dorman, Gordon Dougan, Martin Dougherty, Alexander Dove, Lucy Drummond, Monika Dudek, Laura Durrant, Elizabeth Easthope, Sabine Eckert, Pete Ellis, Ben Farr, Michael Fenton, Marcella Ferrero, Neil Flack, Howerd Fordham, Grace Forsythe, Matt Francis, Audrey Fraser, Adam Freeman, Anastasia Galvin, Maria Garcia-Casado, Alex Gedny, Sophia Girgis, James Glover, Oliver Gould, Andy Gray, Emma Gray, Coline Griffiths, Yong Gu, Florence Guerin, Will Hamilton, Hannah Hanks, Ewan Harrison, Alexandria Harrott, Edward Harry, Julia Harvison, Paul Heath, Anastasia Hernandez-Koutoucheva, Rhiannon Hobbs, Dave Holland, Sarah Holmes, Gary Hornett, Nicholas Hough, Liz Huckle, Lena Hughes-Hallet, Adam Hunter, Stephen Inglis, Sameena Iqbal, Adam Jackson, David Jackson, Carlos Jimenez Verdejo, Matthew Jones, Kalyan Kallepally, Keely Kay, Jon Keatley, Alan Keith, Alison King, Lucy Kitchin, Matt Kleanthous, Martina Klimekova, Petra Korlevic, Ksenia Krasheninnkova, Greg Lane, Cordelia Langford, Adam Laverack, Katharine Law, Stefanie Lensing, Amanah Lewis-Wade, Jennifer Liddle, Quan Lin, Sarah Lindsay, Sally Linsdell, Rhona Long, Jamie Lovell, Jon Lovell, James Mack, Mark Maddison, Aleksei Makunin, Irfan Mamun, Jenny Mansfield, Neil Marriott, Matt Martin, Matthew Mayho, Jo McClintock, Sandra McHugh, Liz MapcMinn, Carl Meadows, Emily Mobley, Robin Moll, Maria Morra, Leanne Morrow, Kathryn Murie, Sian Nash, Claire Nathwani, Plamena Naydenova, Alexandra Neaverson, Ed Nerou, Jon Nicholson, Tabea Nimz, Guillaume G. Noell, Sarah O’Meara, Valeriu Ohan, Charles Olney, Doug Ormond, Agnes Oszlanczi, Yoke Fei Pang, Barbora Pardubska, Naomi Park, Aaron Parmar, Gaurang Patel, Maggie Payne, Sharon Peacock, Arabella Petersen, Deborah Plowman, Tom Preston, Michael Quail, Richard Rance, Suzannah Rawlings, Nicholas Redshaw, Joe Reynolds, Mark Reynolds, Simon Rice, Matt Richardson, Connor Roberts, Katrina Robinson, Melanie Robinson, David Robinson, Hazel Rogers, Eduardo Martin Rojo, Daljit Roopra, Mark Rose, Luke Rudd, Ramin Sadri, Nicholas Salmon, David Saul, Frank Schwach, Phil Seekings, Alison Simms, Matt Sinnott, Shanthi Sivadasan, Bart Siwek, Dale Sizer, Kenneth Skeldon, Jason Skelton, Joanna Slater-Tunstill, Lisa Sloper, Nathalie Smerdon, Chris Smith, Christen Smith, James Smith, Katie Smith, Michelle Smith, Sean Smith, Tina Smith, Leighton Sneade, Carmen Diaz Soria, Catarina Sousa, Emily Souster, Andrew Sparkes, Michael Spencer-Chapman, Janet Squares, Robert Stanley, Claire Steed, Tim Stickland, Ian Still, Mike Stratton, Michelle Strickland, Allen Swann, Agnieszka Swiatkowska, Neil Sycamore, Emma Swift, Edward Symons, Suzanne Szluha, Emma Taluy, Nunu Tao, Katy Taylor, Sam Taylor, Stacey Thompson, Mark Thompson, Mark Thomson, Nicholas Thomson, Scott Thurston, Dee Toombs, Benjamin Topping, Jaime Tovar-Corona, Daniel Ungureanu, James Uphill, Jana Urbanova, Philip Jansen Van, Valerie Vancollie, Paul Voak, Danielle Walker, Matthew Walker, Matt Waller, Gary Ward, Charlie Weatherhogg, Niki Webb, Alan Wells, Eloise Wells, Luke Westwood, Theo Whipp, Thomas Whiteley, Georgia Whitton, Sara Widaa, Mia Williams, Mark Wilson, and Sean Wright
Subjects: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, antibody escape, neutralizing antibodies, infectivity, spike mutation, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Summary: We report severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike ΔH69/V70 in multiple independent lineages, often occurring after acquisition of receptor binding motif replacements such as N439K and Y453F, known to increase binding affinity to the ACE2 receptor and confer antibody escape. In vitro, we show that, although ΔH69/V70 itself is not an antibody evasion mechanism, it increases infectivity associated with enhanced incorporation of cleaved spike into virions. ΔH69/V70 is able to partially rescue infectivity of spike proteins that have acquired N439K and Y453F escape mutations by increased spike incorporation. In addition, replacement of the H69 and V70 residues in the Alpha variant B.1.1.7 spike (where ΔH69/V70 occurs naturally) impairs spike incorporation and entry efficiency of the B.1.1.7 spike pseudotyped virus. Alpha variant B.1.1.7 spike mediates faster kinetics of cell-cell fusion than wild-type Wuhan-1 D614G, dependent on ΔH69/V70. Therefore, as ΔH69/V70 compensates for immune escape mutations that impair infectivity, continued surveillance for deletions with functional effects is warranted.
Published: 2021
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14. Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study

Author: Mark S Graham, PhD, Carole H Sudre, PhD, Anna May, MA, Michela Antonelli, PhD, Benjamin Murray, MSc, Thomas Varsavsky, MSc, Kerstin Kläser, MSc, Liane S Canas, PhD, Erika Molteni, PhD, Marc Modat, PhD, David A Drew, PhD, Long H Nguyen, MD, Lorenzo Polidori, MSc, Somesh Selvachandran, MSc, Christina Hu, MA, Joan Capdevila, PhD, Alexander Hammers, ProfPhD, Andrew T Chan, ProfMD, Jonathan Wolf, MA, Tim D Spector, ProfPhD, Claire J Steves, PhD, Sebastien Ourselin, ProfPhD, Cherian Koshy, Amy Ash, Emma Wise, Nathan Moore, Matilde Mori, Nick Cortes, Jessica Lynch, Stephen Kidd, Derek J Fairley, Tanya Curran, James P McKenna, Helen Adams, Christophe Fraser, Tanya Golubchik, David Bonsall, Mohammed O Hassan-Ibrahim, Cassandra S Malone, Benjamin J Cogger, Michelle Wantoch, Nicola Reynolds, Ben Warne, Joshua Maksimovic, Karla Spellman, Kathryn McCluggage, Michaela John, Robert Beer, Safiah Afifi, Sian Morgan, Angela Marchbank, Anna Price, Christine Kitchen, Huw Gulliver, Ian Merrick, Joel Southgate, Martyn Guest, Robert Munn, Trudy Workman, Thomas R Connor, William Fuller, Catherine Bresner, Luke B Snell, Amita Patel, Themoula Charalampous, Gaia Nebbia, Rahul Batra, Jonathan Edgeworth, Samuel C Robson, Angela H Beckett, David M Aanensen, Anthony P Underwood, Corin A Yeats, Khalil Abudahab, Ben EW Taylor, Mirko Menegazzo, Gemma Clark, Wendy Smith, Manjinder Khakh, Vicki M Fleming, Michelle M Lister, Hannah C Howson-Wells, Louise Berry, Tim Boswell, Amelia Joseph, Iona Willingham, Carl Jones, Christopher Holmes, Paul Bird, Thomas Helmer, Karlie Fallon, Julian Tang, Veena Raviprakash, Sharon Campbell, Nicola Sheriff, Victoria Blakey, Lesley-Anne Williams, Matthew W Loose, Nadine Holmes, Christopher Moore, Matthew Carlile, Victoria Wright, Fei Sang, Johnny Debebe, Francesc Coll, Adrian W Signell, Gilberto Betancor, Harry D Wilson, Sahar Eldirdiri, Anita Kenyon, Thomas Davis, Oliver G Pybus, Louis du Plessis, Alex E Zarebski, Jayna Raghwani, Moritz UG Kraemer, Sarah Francois, Stephen W Attwood, Tetyana I Vasylyeva, Marina Escalera Zamudio, Bernardo Gutierrez, M. Estee Torok, William L Hamilton, Ian G Goodfellow, Grant Hall, Aminu S Jahun, Yasmin Chaudhry, Myra Hosmillo, Malte L Pinckert, Iliana Georgana, Samuel Moses, Hannah Lowe, Luke Bedford, Jonathan Moore, Susanne Stonehouse, Chloe L Fisher, Ali R Awan, John BoYes, Judith Breuer, Kathryn Ann Harris, Julianne Rose Brown, Divya Shah, Laura Atkinson, Jack CD Lee, Nathaniel Storey, Flavia Flaviani, Adela Alcolea-Medina, Rebecca Williams, Gabrielle Vernet, Michael R Chapman, Lisa J Levett, Judith Heaney, Wendy Chatterton, Monika Pusok, Li Xu-McCrae, Darren L Smith, Matthew Bashton, Gregory R Young, Alison Holmes, Paul Anthony Randell, Alison Cox, Pinglawathee Madona, Frances Bolt, James Price, Siddharth Mookerjee, Manon Ragonnet-Cronin, Fabricia F. Nascimento, David Jorgensen, Igor Siveroni, Rob Johnson, Olivia Boyd, Lily Geidelberg, Erik M Volz, Aileen Rowan, Graham P Taylor, Katherine L Smollett, Nicholas J Loman, Joshua Quick, Claire McMurray, Joanne Stockton, Sam Nicholls, Will Rowe, Radoslaw Poplawski, Alan McNally, Rocio T Martinez Nunez, Jenifer Mason, Trevor I Robinson, Elaine O'Toole, Joanne Watts, Cassie Breen, Angela Cowell, Graciela Sluga, Nicholas W Machin, Shazaad S Y Ahmad, Ryan P George, Fenella Halstead, Venkat Sivaprakasam, Wendy Hogsden, Chris J Illingworth, Chris Jackson, Emma C Thomson, James G Shepherd, Patawee Asamaphan, Marc O Niebel, Kathy K Li, Rajiv N Shah, Natasha G Jesudason, Lily Tong, Alice Broos, Daniel Mair, Jenna Nichols, Stephen N Carmichael, Kyriaki Nomikou, Elihu Aranday-Cortes, Natasha Johnson, Igor Starinskij, Ana da Silva Filipe, David L Robertson, Richard J Orton, Joseph Hughes, Sreenu Vattipally, Joshua B Singer, Seema Nickbakhsh, Antony D Hale, Louissa R Macfarlane-Smith, Katherine L Harper, Holli Carden, Yusri Taha, Brendan AI Payne, Shirelle Burton-Fanning, Sheila Waugh, Jennifer Collins, Gary Eltringham, Steven Rushton, Sarah O'Brien, Amanda Bradley, Alasdair Maclean, Guy Mollett, Rachel Blacow, Kate E Templeton, Martin P McHugh, Rebecca Dewar, Elizabeth Wastenge, Samir Dervisevic, Rachael Stanley, Emma J Meader, Lindsay Coupland, Louise Smith, Clive Graham, Edward Barton, Debra Padgett, Garren Scott, Emma Swindells, Jane Greenaway, Andrew Nelson, Clare M McCann, Wen C Yew, Monique Andersson, Timothy Peto, Anita Justice, David Eyre, Derrick Crook, Tim J Sloan, Nichola Duckworth, Sarah Walsh, Anoop J Chauhan, Sharon Glaysher, Kelly Bicknell, Sarah Wyllie, Scott Elliott, Allyson Lloyd, Robert Impey, Nick Levene, Lynn Monaghan, Declan T Bradley, Tim Wyatt, Elias Allara, Clare Pearson, Husam Osman, Andrew Bosworth, Esther Robinson, Peter Muir, Ian B Vipond, Richard Hopes, Hannah M Pymont, Stephanie Hutchings, Martin D Curran, Surendra Parmar, Angie Lackenby, Tamyo Mbisa, Steven Platt, Shahjahan Miah, David Bibby, Carmen Manso, Jonathan Hubb, Meera Chand, Gavin Dabrera, Mary Ramsay, Daniel Bradshaw, Alicia Thornton, Richard Myers, Ulf Schaefer, Natalie Groves, Eileen Gallagher, David Lee, David Williams, Nicholas Ellaby, Ian Harrison, Hassan Hartman, Nikos Manesis, Vineet Patel, Chloe Bishop, Vicki Chalker, Juan Ledesma, Katherine A Twohig, Matthew T.G. Holden, Sharif Shaaban, Alec Birchley, Alexander Adams, Alisha Davies, Amy Gaskin, Amy Plimmer, Bree Gatica-Wilcox, Caoimhe McKerr, Catherine Moore, Chris Williams, David Heyburn, Elen De Lacy, Ember Hilvers, Fatima Downing, Giri Shankar, Hannah Jones, Hibo Asad, Jason Coombes, Joanne Watkins, Johnathan M Evans, Laia Fina, Laura Gifford, Lauren Gilbert, Lee Graham, Malorie Perry, Mari Morgan, Matthew Bull, Michelle Cronin, Nicole Pacchiarini, Noel Craine, Rachel Jones, Robin Howe, Sally Corden, Sara Rey, Sara Kumziene-SummerhaYes, Sarah Taylor, Simon Cottrell, Sophie Jones, Sue Edwards, Justin O'Grady, Andrew J Page, Alison E Mather, David J Baker, Steven Rudder, Alp Aydin, Gemma L Kay, Alexander J Trotter, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Leonardo de Oliveira Martins, Thanh Le-Viet, Lizzie Meadows, Anna Casey, Liz Ratcliffe, David A Simpson, Zoltan Molnar, Thomas Thompson, Erwan Acheson, Jane AH Masoli, Bridget A Knight, Sian Ellard, Cressida Auckland, Christopher R Jones, Tabitha W Mahungu, Dianne Irish-Tavares, Tanzina Haque, Jennifer Hart, Eric Witele, Melisa Louise Fenton, Ashok Dadrah, Amanda Symmonds, Tranprit Saluja, Yann Bourgeois, Garry P Scarlett, Katie F Loveson, Salman Goudarzi, Christopher Fearn, Kate Cook, Hannah Dent, Hannah Paul, David G Partridge, Mohammad Raza, Cariad Evans, Kate Johnson, Steven Liggett, Paul Baker, Stephen Bonner, Sarah Essex, Ronan A Lyons, Kordo Saeed, Adhyana I.K Mahanama, Buddhini Samaraweera, Siona Silveira, Emanuela Pelosi, Eleri Wilson-Davies, Rachel J Williams, Mark Kristiansen, Sunando Roy, Charlotte A Williams, Marius Cotic, Nadua Bayzid, Adam P Westhorpe, John A Hartley, Riaz Jannoo, Helen L Lowe, Angeliki Karamani, Leah Ensell, Jacqui A Prieto, Sarah Jeremiah, Dimitris Grammatopoulos, Sarojini Pandey, Lisa Berry, Katie Jones, Alex Richter, Andrew Beggs, Angus Best, Benita Percival, Jeremy Mirza, Oliver Megram, Megan Mayhew, Liam Crawford, Fiona Ashcroft, Emma Moles-Garcia, Nicola Cumley, Colin P Smith, Giselda Bucca, Andrew R Hesketh, Beth Blane, Sophia T Girgis, Danielle Leek, Sushmita Sridhar, Sally Forrest, Claire Cormie, Harmeet K Gill, Joana Dias, Ellen E Higginson, Mailis Maes, Jamie Young, Leanne M Kermack, Ravi Kumar Gupta, Catherine Ludden, Sharon J Peacock, Sophie Palmer, Carol M Churcher, Nazreen F Hadjirin, Alessandro M Carabelli, Ellena Brooks, Kim S Smith, Katerina Galai, Georgina M McManus, Chris Ruis, Rose K Davidson, Andrew Rambaut, Thomas Williams, Carlos E Balcazar, Michael D Gallagher, Áine O'Toole, Stefan Rooke, Verity Hill, Kathleen A Williamson, Thomas D Stanton, Stephen L Michell, Claire M Bewshea, Ben Temperton, Michelle L Michelsen, Joanna Warwick-Dugdale, Robin Manley, Audrey Farbos, James W Harrison, Christine M Sambles, David J Studholme, Aaron R Jeffries, Alistair C Darby, Julian A Hiscox, Steve Paterson, Miren Iturriza-Gomara, Kathryn A Jackson, Anita O Lucaci, Edith E Vamos, Margaret Hughes, Lucille Rainbow, Richard Eccles, Charlotte Nelson, Mark Whitehead, Lance Turtle, Sam T Haldenby, Richard Gregory, Matthew Gemmell, Claudia Wierzbicki, Hermione J Webster, Thushan I de Silva, Nikki Smith, Adrienn Angyal, Benjamin B Lindsey, Danielle C Groves, Luke R Green, Dennis Wang, Timothy M Freeman, Matthew D Parker, Alexander J Keeley, Paul J Parsons, Rachel M Tucker, Rebecca Brown, Matthew Wyles, Max Whiteley, Peijun Zhang, Marta Gallis, Stavroula F Louka, Chrystala Constantinidou, Meera Unnikrishnan, Sascha Ott, Jeffrey K.J. Cheng, Hannah E. Bridgewater, Lucy R. Frost, Grace Taylor-Joyce, Richard Stark, Laura Baxter, Mohammad T. Alam, Paul E Brown, Dinesh Aggarwal, Alberto C Cerda, Tammy V Merrill, Rebekah E Wilson, Patrick C McClure, Joseph G Chappell, Theocharis Tsoleridis, Jonathan Ball, David Buck, John A Todd, Angie Green, Amy Trebes, George MacIntyre-Cockett, Mariateresa de Cesare, Alex Alderton, Roberto Amato, Cristina V Ariani, Mathew A Beale, Charlotte Beaver, Katherine L Bellis, Emma Betteridge, James Bonfield, John Danesh, Matthew J Dorman, Eleanor Drury, Ben W Farr, Luke Foulser, Sonia Goncalves, Scott Goodwin, Marina Gourtovaia, Ewan M Harrison, David K Jackson, Dorota Jamrozy, Ian Johnston, Leanne Kane, Sally Kay, Jon-Paul Keatley, Dominic Kwiatkowski, Cordelia F Langford, Mara Lawniczak, Laura Letchford, Rich Livett, Stephanie Lo, Inigo Martincorena, Samantha McGuigan, Rachel Nelson, Steve Palmer, Naomi R Park, Minal Patel, Liam Prestwood, Christoph Puethe, Michael A Quail, Shavanthi Rajatileka, Carol Scott, Lesley Shirley, John Sillitoe, Michael H Spencer Chapman, Scott AJ Thurston, Gerry Tonkin-Hill, Danni Weldon, Diana Rajan, Iraad F Bronner, Louise Aigrain, Nicholas M Redshaw, Stefanie V Lensing, Robert Davies, Andrew Whitwham, Jennifier Liddle, Kevin Lewis, Jaime M Tovar-Corona, Steven Leonard, Jillian Durham, Andrew R Bassett, Shane McCarthy, Robin J Moll, Keith James, Karen Oliver, Alex Makunin, Jeff Barrett, and Rory N Gunson
Subjects: Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270
Abstract: Summary: Background: The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 was first identified in December, 2020, in England. We aimed to investigate whether increases in the proportion of infections with this variant are associated with differences in symptoms or disease course, reinfection rates, or transmissibility. Methods: We did an ecological study to examine the association between the regional proportion of infections with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant and reported symptoms, disease course, rates of reinfection, and transmissibility. Data on types and duration of symptoms were obtained from longitudinal reports from users of the COVID Symptom Study app who reported a positive test for COVID-19 between Sept 28 and Dec 27, 2020 (during which the prevalence of B.1.1.7 increased most notably in parts of the UK). From this dataset, we also estimated the frequency of possible reinfection, defined as the presence of two reported positive tests separated by more than 90 days with a period of reporting no symptoms for more than 7 days before the second positive test. The proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections with the B.1.1.7 variant across the UK was estimated with use of genomic data from the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium and data from Public Health England on spike-gene target failure (a non-specific indicator of the B.1.1.7 variant) in community cases in England. We used linear regression to examine the association between reported symptoms and proportion of B.1.1.7. We assessed the Spearman correlation between the proportion of B.1.1.7 cases and number of reinfections over time, and between the number of positive tests and reinfections. We estimated incidence for B.1.1.7 and previous variants, and compared the effective reproduction number, Rt, for the two incidence estimates. Findings: From Sept 28 to Dec 27, 2020, positive COVID-19 tests were reported by 36 920 COVID Symptom Study app users whose region was known and who reported as healthy on app sign-up. We found no changes in reported symptoms or disease duration associated with B.1.1.7. For the same period, possible reinfections were identified in 249 (0·7% [95% CI 0·6–0·8]) of 36 509 app users who reported a positive swab test before Oct 1, 2020, but there was no evidence that the frequency of reinfections was higher for the B.1.1.7 variant than for pre-existing variants. Reinfection occurrences were more positively correlated with the overall regional rise in cases (Spearman correlation 0·56–0·69 for South East, London, and East of England) than with the regional increase in the proportion of infections with the B.1.1.7 variant (Spearman correlation 0·38–0·56 in the same regions), suggesting B.1.1.7 does not substantially alter the risk of reinfection. We found a multiplicative increase in the Rt of B.1.1.7 by a factor of 1·35 (95% CI 1·02–1·69) relative to pre-existing variants. However, Rt fell below 1 during regional and national lockdowns, even in regions with high proportions of infections with the B.1.1.7 variant. Interpretation: The lack of change in symptoms identified in this study indicates that existing testing and surveillance infrastructure do not need to change specifically for the B.1.1.7 variant. In addition, given that there was no apparent increase in the reinfection rate, vaccines are likely to remain effective against the B.1.1.7 variant. Funding: Zoe Global, Department of Health (UK), Wellcome Trust, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK), National Institute for Health Research (UK), Medical Research Council (UK), Alzheimer's Society.
Published: 2021
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15. Endophytic Bacterial Isolates From Halophytes Demonstrate Phytopathogen Biocontrol and Plant Growth Promotion Under High Salinity

Author: Christos A. Christakis, Georgia Daskalogiannis, Anastasia Chatzaki, Emmanouil A. Markakis, Glykeria Mermigka, Angeliki Sagia, Giulio Flavio Rizzo, Vittoria Catara, Ilias Lagkouvardos, David J. Studholme, and Panagiotis F. Sarris
Subjects: halophytes, endophytes, stress tolerance, salinity tolerance, biofertilizers, biocontrol, Microbiology, QR1-502
Abstract: Halophytic endophytes potentially contribute to the host’s adaptation to adverse environments, improving its tolerance against various biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we identified the culturable endophytic bacteria of three crop wild relative (CWR) halophytes: Cakile maritima, Matthiola tricuspidata, and Crithmum maritimum. In the present study, the potential of these isolates to improve crop adaptations to various stresses was investigated, using both in vitro and in-planta approaches. Endophytic isolates were identified by their 16S rRNA gene sequence and evaluated for their ability to: grow in vitro in high levels of NaCl; inhibit the growth of the economically important phytopathogens Verticillium dahliae, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Clavibacter michiganensis and the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus; provide salt tolerance in-planta; and provide growth promoting effect in-planta. Genomes of selected isolates were sequenced. In total, 115 endophytic isolates were identified. At least 16 isolates demonstrated growth under increased salinity, plant growth promotion and phytopathogen antagonistic activity. Three showed in-planta suppression of Verticillium growth. Furthermore, representatives of three novel species were identified: two Pseudomonas species and one Arthrobacter. This study provides proof-of-concept that the endophytes from CWR halophytes can be used as “bio-inoculants,” for the enhancement of growth and stress tolerance in crops, including the high-salinity stress.
Published: 2021
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16. Genome sequencing data for wild and cultivated bananas, plantains and abacá

Author: Christine Sambles, Lakshmipriya Venkatesan, Olanrewaju M. Shittu, James Harrison, Karen Moore, Leena Tripathi, Murray Grant, Rachel Warmington, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Musa, Genome, Plant, Diversity, Sequence analysis, DNA, Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics, R858-859.7, Science (General), Q1-390
Abstract: We performed shotgun genome sequencing on a total of 19 different Musa genotypes including representatives of wild banana species Musa acuminata and M. balibisiana, allopolyploid bananas and plantains, Fe'i banana, pink banana (also known as hairy banana) and abacá (also known as hemp banana). We aligned sequence reads against a previously sequenced reference genome and assessed ploidy and, in the case of allopolyploids, the contributions of the A and B genomes; this provides important quality-assurance data about the taxonomic identities of the sequenced plant material. These data will be useful for phylogenetics, crop improvement, studies of the complex story of intergenomic recombination in AAB and ABB allotriploid bananas and plantains and can be integrated into resources such as the Banana Genome Hub.
Published: 2020
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17. Molecular and Pathogenic Characterization of Fusarium Species Associated with Corm Rot Disease in Saffron from China

Author: Seyed Ali Mirghasempour, David J. Studholme, Weiliang Chen, Weidong Zhu, and Bizeng Mao
Subjects: Crocus sativus, corm rot, Fusarium annulatum, F. commune, MLSA, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a commercial spice crop well-known throughout the world, valued for culinary, colorant, and pharmaceutical purposes. In China, Fusarium nirenbergiae was detected as causative agent of saffron corm rot, the most pervasive disease for the first time in 2020. In the present study, 261 Fusarium-like isolates were recovered from 120 rotted corms in four saffron producing fields at Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Yunnan provinces, China, in 2021. A combination of morpho-cultural features and multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) of the concatenated rpb2 (DNA-directed RNA polymerase II largest subunit) and tef1 (translation elongation factor 1-α) partial sequences showed that the isolates from saffron belong to Fusarium nirenbergiae as well as F. commune, and F. annulatum with isolation frequencies of 58.2%, 26.8%, and 14.9%, respectively. Notably, F. commune was more prevalent than F. annulatum in the collected samples. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that both species were pathogenic on saffron corm. This is the first report of F. annulatum and F. commune causing corm rot of saffron, globally. Outcomes of the current research demonstrate that Fusarium spp. associated with saffron corm rot are more diverse than previously reported. Furthermore, some plants were infected by two or more Fusarium species. Our findings broaden knowledge about Fusarium spp. that inflict corm rot and assist the development of control measures.
Published: 2022
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18. Genome Sequence Data Reveal at Least Two Distinct Incursions of the Tropical Race 4 Variant of Fusarium Wilt into South America

Author: Paula H. Reyes-Herrera, Eliana Torres-Bedoya, Diana Lopez-Alvarez, Diana Burbano-David, Sandra L. Carmona, Daniel P. Bebber, David J. Studholme, Monica Betancourt, and Mauricio Soto-Suarez
Subjects: Plant Science, Agronomy and Crop Science
Abstract: The global banana industry is threatened by one of the most devastating diseases: Fusarium wilt of banana. Fusarium wilt of banana is caused by the soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense ( Foc), which almost annihilated the banana production in the late 1950s. A new strain of Foc, known as tropical race 4 (TR4), attacks a wide range of banana varieties, including Cavendish clones, which are the source of 99% of banana exports. In 2019, Foc TR4 was reported in Colombia, and more recently (2021) in Peru. In this study, we sequenced three fungal isolates identified as Foc TR4 from La Guajira (Colombia) and compared them against 19 whole-genome sequences of Foc TR4 publicly available, including four genome sequences recently released from Peru. To understand the genetic relatedness of the Colombian Foc TR4 isolates and those from Peru, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on a genome-wide set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Additionally, we compared the genomes of the 22 available Foc TR4 isolates, looking for the presence-absence of gene polymorphisms and genomic regions. Our results reveal that (i) the Colombian and Peruvian isolates are genetically distant, which could be better explained by independent incursions of the pathogen to the continent, and (ii) there is a high correspondence between the genetic relatedness and geographic origin of Foc TR4. The profile of present/absent genes and the distribution of missing genomic regions showed a high correspondence to the clades recovered in the phylogenetic analysis, supporting the results obtained by SNP-based phylogeny.
Published: 2023

19. Campylobacter jejuni 11168H Exposed to Penicillin Forms Persister Cells and Cells With Altered Redox Protein Activity

Author: Helen Morcrette, Andrea Kovacs-Simon, Richard K. Tennant, John Love, Sariqa Wagley, Zheng R. Yang, David J. Studholme, Orkun S. Soyer, Olivia L. Champion, Clive S. Butler, and Richard W. Titball
Subjects: Campylobacter jejuni, proteomics, persister cell, antibiotic, electron transport, Microbiology, QR1-502
Abstract: The formation of persister cells is one mechanism by which bacteria can survive exposure to environmental stresses. We show that Campylobacter jejuni 11168H forms persister cells at a frequency of 10−3 after exposure to 100 × MIC of penicillin G for 24 h. Staining the cell population with a redox sensitive fluorescent dye revealed that penicillin G treatment resulted in the appearance of a population of cells with increased fluorescence. We present evidence, to show this could be a consequence of increased redox protein activity in, or associated with, the electron transport chain. These data suggest that a population of penicillin G treated C. jejuni cells could undergo a remodeling of the electron transport chain in order to moderate membrane hyperpolarization and intracellular alkalization; thus reducing the antibiotic efficacy and potentially assisting in persister cell formation.
Published: 2020
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20. Genome sequence data from 17 accessions of Ensete ventricosum, a staple food crop for millions in Ethiopia

Author: Zerihun Yemataw, Sadik Muzemil, Daniel Ambachew, Leena Tripathi, Kassahun Tesfaye, Alemayheu Chala, Audrey Farbos, Paul O’Neill, Karen Moore, Murray Grant, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics, R858-859.7, Science (General), Q1-390
Abstract: We present raw sequence reads and genome assemblies derived from 17 accessions of the Ethiopian orphan crop plant enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) using the Illumina HiSeq and MiSeq platforms. Also presented is a catalogue of single-nucleotide polymorphisms inferred from the sequence data at an average density of approximately one per kilobase of genomic DNA.
Published: 2018
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21. Genome sequences of 12 isolates of the EU1 lineage of Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus-like pathogen that causes extensive damage and mortality to a wide range of trees and other plants

Author: Judith Turner, Paul O'Neill, Murray Grant, Rick A. Mumford, Richard Thwaites, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Genetics, QH426-470
Abstract: Here we present genome sequences for twelve isolates of the invasive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum EU1. The assembled genome sequences and raw sequence data are available via BioProject accession number PRJNA177509. These data will be useful in developing molecular tools for specific detection and identification of this pathogen.
Published: 2017
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22. A highly specific tool for identification of Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum based on five Xvm-specific coding sequences

Author: Gloria Valentine Nakato, Emmanuel Wicker, Teresa A. Coutinho, George Mahuku, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: Bioinformatics, Microbiology, Molecular biology, Plant biology, Science (General), Q1-390, Social sciences (General), H1-99
Abstract: Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum (Xvm) is a bacterial pathogen responsible for the economically important Xanthomonas wilt disease on banana and enset crops in Sub-Saharan Africa. Given that the symptoms are similar to those of other diseases, molecular diagnosis is essential to unambiguously identify this pathogen and distinguish it from closely related strains not pathogenic on these hosts. Currently, Xvm identification is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with GspDm primers, targeting the gene encoding general secretory protein D. Experimental results and examination of genomic sequences revealed poor specificity of the GspDm PCR. Here, we present and validate five new Xvm-specific primers amplifying only Xvm strains.
Published: 2018
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23. Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Author: S. Cotton, M.P. McHugh, R. Dewar, J.G. Haas, K. Templeton, Samuel C. Robson, Thomas R. Connor, Nicholas J. Loman, Tanya Golubchik, Rocio T. Martinez Nunez, David Bonsall, Andrew Rambaut, Luke B. Snell, Rich Livett, Catherine Ludden, Sally Corden, Eleni Nastouli, Gaia Nebbia, Ian Johnston, Jacqui A. Prieto, Kordo Saeed, David K. Jackson, Catherine Houlihan, Dan Frampton, William L. Hamilton, Adam A. Witney, Giselda Bucca, Cassie F. Pope, Catherine Moore, Emma C. Thomson, Teresa Cutino-Moguel, Ewan M. Harrison, Colin P. Smith, Fiona Rogan, Shaun M. Beckwith, Abigail Murray, Dawn Singleton, Kirstine Eastick, Liz A. Sheridan, Paul Randell, Leigh M. Jackson, Cristina V. Ariani, Sónia Gonçalves, Derek J. Fairley, Matthew W. Loose, Joanne Watkins, Samuel Moses, Sam Nicholls, Matthew Bull, Roberto Amato, Darren L. Smith, David M. Aanensen, Jeffrey C. Barrett, Beatrix Kele, Dinesh Aggarwal, James G. Shepherd, Martin D. Curran, Surendra Parmar, Matthew D. Parker, Catryn Williams, Sharon Glaysher, Anthony P. Underwood, Matthew Bashton, Nicole Pacchiarini, Katie F. Loveson, Matthew Byott, Alessandro M. Carabelli, Kate E. Templeton, Sharon J. Peacock, Thushan I. de Silva, Dennis Wang, Cordelia F. Langford, John Sillitoe, Rory N. Gunson, Simon Cottrell, Justin O’Grady, Dominic Kwiatkowski, Patrick J. Lillie, Nicholas Cortes, Nathan Moore, Claire Thomas, Phillipa J. Burns, Tabitha W. Mahungu, Steven Liggett, Angela H. Beckett, Matthew TG. Holden, Lisa J. Levett, Husam Osman, Mohammed O. Hassan-Ibrahim, David A. Simpson, Meera Chand, Ravi K. Gupta, Alistair C. Darby, Steve Paterson, Oliver G. Pybus, Erik M. Volz, Daniela de Angelis, David L. Robertson, Andrew J. Page, Inigo Martincorena, Louise Aigrain, Andrew R. Bassett, Nick Wong, Yusri Taha, Michelle J. Erkiert, Michael H. Spencer Chapman, Rebecca Dewar, Martin P. McHugh, Siddharth Mookerjee, Stephen Aplin, Matthew Harvey, Thea Sass, Helen Umpleby, Helen Wheeler, James P. McKenna, Ben Warne, Joshua F. Taylor, Yasmin Chaudhry, Rhys Izuagbe, Aminu S. Jahun, Gregory R. Young, Claire McMurray, Clare M. McCann, Andrew Nelson, Scott Elliott, Hannah Lowe, Anna Price, Matthew R. Crown, Sara Rey, Sunando Roy, Ben Temperton, Sharif Shaaban, Andrew R. Hesketh, Kenneth G. Laing, Irene M. Monahan, Judith Heaney, Emanuela Pelosi, Siona Silviera, Eleri Wilson-Davies, Helen Fryer, Helen Adams, Louis du Plessis, Rob Johnson, William T. Harvey, Joseph Hughes, Richard J. Orton, Lewis G. Spurgin, Yann Bourgeois, Chris Ruis, Áine O'Toole, Marina Gourtovaia, Theo Sanderson, Christophe Fraser, Jonathan Edgeworth, Judith Breuer, Stephen L. Michell, John A. Todd, Michaela John, David Buck, Kavitha Gajee, Gemma L. Kay, David Heyburn, Themoula Charalampous, Adela Alcolea-Medina, Katie Kitchman, Alan McNal, David T. Pritch, Samir Dervisevic, Peter Muir, Esther Robinson, Barry B. Vipond, Newara A. Ramadan, Christopher Jeanes, Danni Weldon, Jana Catalan, Neil Jones, Ana da Silva Filipe, Chris Williams, Marc Fuchs, Julia Miskelly, Aaron R. Jeffries, Karen Oliver, Naomi R. Park, Amy Ash, Cherian Koshy, Magdalena Barrow, Sarah L. Buchan, Anna Mantzouratou, Gemma Clark, Christopher W. Holmes, Sharon Campbell, Thomas Davis, Ngee Keong Tan, Julianne R. Brown, Kathryn A. Harris, Stephen P. Kidd, Paul R. Grant, Li Xu-McCrae, Alison Cox, Pinglawathee Madona, Marcus Pond, Paul A. Randell, Karen T. Withell, Cheryl Williams, Clive Graham, Rebecca Denton-Smith, Emma Swindells, Robyn Turnbull, Tim J. Sloan, Andrew Bosworth, Stephanie Hutchings, Hannah M. Pymont, Anna Casey, Liz Ratcliffe, Christopher R. Jones, Bridget A. Knight, Tanzina Haque, Jennifer Hart, Dianne Irish-Tavares, Eric Witele, Craig Mower, Louisa K. Watson DipHE, Jennifer Collins, Gary Eltringham, Dorian Crudgington, Ben Macklin, Miren Iturriza-Gomara, Anita O. Lucaci, Patrick C. McClure, Matthew Carlile, Nadine Holmes, Christopher Moore, Nathaniel Storey, Stefan Rooke, Gonzalo Yebra, Noel Craine, Malorie Perry, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Stephen Bridgett, Kate F. Cook, Christopher Fearn, Salman Goudarzi, Ronan A. Lyons, Thomas Williams, Sam T. Haldenby, Jillian Durham, Steven Leonard, Robert M. Davies, Rahul Batra, Beth Blane, Moira J. Spyer, Perminder Smith, Mehmet Yavus, Rachel J. Williams, Adhyana IK. Mahanama, Buddhini Samaraweera, Sophia T. Girgis, Samantha E. Hansford, Angie Green, Charlotte Beaver, Katherine L. Bellis, Matthew J. Dorman, Sally Kay, Liam Prestwood, Shavanthi Rajatileka, Joshua Quick, Radoslaw Poplawski, Nicola Reynolds, Andrew Mack, Arthur Morriss, Thomas Whalley, Bindi Patel, Iliana Georgana, Myra Hosmillo, Malte L. Pinckert, Joanne Stockton, John H. Henderson, Amy Hollis, William Stanley, Wen C. Yew, Richard Myers, Alicia Thornton, Alexander Adams, Tara Annett, Hibo Asad, Alec Birchley, Jason Coombes, Johnathan M. Evans, Laia Fina, Bree Gatica-Wilcox, Lauren Gilbert, Lee Graham, Jessica Hey, Ember Hilvers, Sophie Jones, Hannah Jones, Sara Kumziene-Summerhayes, Caoimhe McKerr, Jessica Powell, Georgia Pugh, Sarah Taylor, Alexander J. Trotter, Charlotte A. Williams, Leanne M. Kermack, Benjamin H. Foulkes, Marta Gallis, Hailey R. Hornsby, Stavroula F. Louka, Manoj Pohare, Paige Wolverson, Peijun Zhang, George MacIntyre-Cockett, Amy Trebes, Robin J. Moll, Lynne Ferguson, Emily J. Goldstein, Alasdair Maclean, Rachael Tomb, Igor Starinskij, Laura Thomson, Joel Southgate, Moritz UG. Kraemer, Jayna Raghwani, Alex E. Zarebski, Olivia Boyd, Lily Geidelberg, Chris J. Illingworth, Chris Jackson, David Pascall, Sreenu Vattipally, Timothy M. Freeman, Sharon N. Hsu, Benjamin B. Lindsey, Keith James, Kevin Lewis, Gerry Tonkin-Hill, Jaime M. Tovar-Corona, MacGregor Cox, Khalil Abudahab, Mirko Menegazzo, Ben EW. Taylor, Corin A. Yeats, Afrida Mukaddas, Derek W. Wright, Leonardo de Oliveira Martins, Rachel Colquhoun, Verity Hill, Ben Jackson, J.T. McCrone, Nathan Medd, Emily Scher, Jon-Paul Keatley, Tanya Curran, Sian Morgan, Patrick Maxwell, Ken Smith, Sahar Eldirdiri, Anita Kenyon, Alison H. Holmes, James R. Price, Tim Wyatt, Alison E. Mather, Timofey Skvortsov, John A. Hartley, Martyn Guest, Christine Kitchen, Ian Merrick, Robert Munn, Beatrice Bertolusso, Jessica Lynch, Gabrielle Vernet, Stuart Kirk, Elizabeth Wastnedge, Rachael Stanley, Giles Idle, Declan T. Bradley, Nicholas F. Killough, Jennifer Poyner, Matilde Mori, Owen Jones, Victoria Wright, Ellena Brooks, Carol M. Churcher, Laia Delgado Callico, Mireille Fragakis, Katerina Galai, Andrew Jermy, Sarah Judges, Anna Markov, Georgina M. McManus, Kim S. Smith, Peter MD. Thomas-McEwen, Elaine Westwick, Stephen W. Attwood, Frances Bolt, Alisha Davies, Elen De Lacy, Fatima Downing, Sue Edwards, Lizzie Meadows, Sarah Jeremiah, Nikki Smith, Luke Foulser, Amita Patel, Louise Berry, Tim Boswell, Vicki M. Fleming, Hannah C. Howson-Wells, Amelia Joseph, Manjinder Khakh, Michelle M. Lister, Paul W. Bird, Karlie Fallon, Thomas Helmer, Claire L. McMurray, Mina Odedra, Jessica Shaw, Julian W. Tang, Nicholas J. Willford, Victoria Blakey, Veena Raviprakash, Nicola Sheriff, Lesley-Anne Williams, Theresa Feltwell, Luke Bedford, James S. Cargill, Warwick Hughes, Jonathan Moore, Susanne Stonehouse, Laura Atkinson, Jack CD. Lee, Divya Shah, Natasha Ohemeng-Kumi, John Ramble, Jasveen Sehmi, Rebecca Williams, Wendy Chatterton, Monika Pusok, William Everson, Anibolina Castigador, Emily Macnaughton, Kate El Bouzidi, Temi Lampejo, Malur Sudhanva, Cassie Breen, Graciela Sluga, Shazaad SY. Ahmad, Ryan P. George, Nicholas W. Machin, Debbie Binns, Victoria James, Rachel Blacow, Lindsay Coupland, Louise Smith, Edward Barton, Debra Padgett, Garren Scott, Aidan Cross, Mariyam Mirfenderesky, Jane Greenaway, Kevin Cole, Phillip Clarke, Nichola Duckworth, Sarah Walsh, Kelly Bicknell, Robert Impey, Sarah Wyllie, Richard Hopes, Chloe Bishop, Vicki Chalker, Ian Harrison, Laura Gifford, Zoltan Molnar, Cressida Auckland, Cariad Evans, Kate Johnson, David G. Partridge, Mohammad Raza, Paul Baker, Stephen Bonner, Sarah Essex, Leanne J. Murray, Andrew I. Lawton, Shirelle Burton-Fanning, Brendan AI. Payne, Sheila Waugh, Andrea N. Gomes, Maimuna Kimuli, Darren R. Murray, Paula Ashfield, Donald Dobie, Fiona Ashford, Angus Best, Liam Crawford, Nicola Cumley, Megan Mayhew, Oliver Megram, Jeremy Mirza, Emma Moles-Garcia, Benita Percival, Megan Driscoll, Leah Ensell, Helen L. Lowe, Laurentiu Maftei, Matteo Mondani, Nicola J. Chaloner, Benjamin J. Cogger, Lisa J. Easton, Hannah Huckson, Jonathan Lewis, Sarah Lowdon, Cassandra S. Malone, Florence Munemo, Manasa Mutingwende, Roberto Nicodemi, Olga Podplomyk FD, Thomas Somassa, Andrew Beggs, Alex Richter, Claire Cormie, Joana Dias, Sally Forrest, Ellen E. Higginson, Mailis Maes, Jamie Young, Rose K. Davidson, Kathryn A. Jackson, Alexander J. Keeley, Jonathan Ball, Timothy Byaruhanga, Joseph G. Chappell, Jayasree Dey, Jack D. Hill, Emily J. Park, Arezou Fanaie, Rachel A. Hilson, Geraldine Yaze, Stephanie Lo, Safiah Afifi, Robert Beer, Joshua Maksimovic, Kathryn McCluggage, Karla Spellman, Catherine Bresner, William Fuller, Angela Marchbank, Trudy Workma, Ekaterina Shelest, Johnny Debebe, Fei Sang, Sarah Francois, Bernardo Gutierrez, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, Flavia Flaviani, Manon Ragonnet-Cronin, Katherine L. Smollett, Alice Broos, Daniel Mair, Jenna Nichols, Kyriaki Nomikou, Lily Tong, Ioulia Tsatsani, Sarah O'Brien, Steven Rushton, Roy Sanderson, Jon Perkins, Seb Cotton, Abbie Gallagher, Elias Allara, Clare Pearson, David Bibby, Gavin Dabrer, Nicholas Ellaby, Eileen Gallagher, Jonathan Hubb, Angie Lackenby, David Lee, Nikos Manesis, Tamyo Mbisa, Steven Platt, Katherine A. Twohig, Mari Morgan, Alp Aydin, David J. Baker, Ebenezer Foster-Nyarko, Sophie J. Prosolek, Steven Rudder, Chris Baxter, Sílvia F. Carvalho, Deborah Lavin, Arun Mariappan, Clara Radulescu, Aditi Singh, Miao Tang, Helen Morcrette, Nadua Bayzid, Marius Cotic, Carlos E. Balcazar, Michael D. Gallagher, Daniel Maloney, Thomas D. Stanton, Kathleen A. Williamson, Robin Manley, Michelle L. Michelsen, Christine M. Sambles, David J. Studholme, Joanna Warwick-Dugdale, Richard Eccles, Matthew Gemmell, Richard Gregory, Margaret Hughes, Charlotte Nelson, Lucille Rainbow, Edith E. Vamos, Hermione J. Webster, Mark Whitehead, Claudia Wierzbicki, Adrienn Angyal, Luke R. Green, Max Whiteley, Emma Betteridge, Iraad F. Bronner, Ben W. Farr, Scott Goodwin, Stefanie V. Lensing, Shane A. McCarthy, Michael A. Quail, Diana Rajan, Nicholas M. Redshaw, Carol Scott, Lesley Shirley, Scott AJ. Thurston, Will Rowe, Amy Gaskin, Thanh Le-Viet, James Bonfield, Jennifier Liddle, Andrew Whitwham, University of St Andrews. School of Medicine, University of St Andrews. Infection and Global Health Division, and Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Subjects: Microbiology (medical), MCC, Introduction, SARS-CoV-2, NDAS, COVID-19, Care homes, General Medicine, NIS, Patient Discharge, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Infectious Diseases, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being, RA0421, RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine, Humans, Hospital discharge
Abstract: COG-UK is supported by funding from the MRC part of UK Research & Innovation, the National Institute of Health Research (Grant code MC_PC_19027), and Genome Research Limited, operating as the Welcome Sanger Institute. Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine. Publisher PDF
Published: 2023

24. Trends in Molecular Diagnosis and Diversity Studies for Phytosanitary Regulated Xanthomonas

Author: Vittoria Catara, Jaime Cubero, Joël F. Pothier, Eran Bosis, Claude Bragard, Edyta Đermić, Maria C. Holeva, Marie-Agnès Jacques, Francoise Petter, Olivier Pruvost, Isabelle Robène, David J. Studholme, Fernando Tavares, Joana G. Vicente, Ralf Koebnik, and Joana Costa
Subjects: Xanthomonas, molecular methods, quarantine pests, regulated non-quarantine pests, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Bacteria in the genus Xanthomonas infect a wide range of crops and wild plants, with most species responsible for plant diseases that have a global economic and environmental impact on the seed, plant, and food trade. Infections by Xanthomonas spp. cause a wide variety of non-specific symptoms, making their identification difficult. The coexistence of phylogenetically close strains, but drastically different in their phenotype, poses an added challenge to diagnosis. Data on future climate change scenarios predict an increase in the severity of epidemics and a geographical expansion of pathogens, increasing pressure on plant health services. In this context, the effectiveness of integrated disease management strategies strongly depends on the availability of rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnostic methods. The accumulation of genomic information in recent years has facilitated the identification of new DNA markers, a cornerstone for the development of more sensitive and specific methods. Nevertheless, the challenges that the taxonomic complexity of this genus represents in terms of diagnosis together with the fact that within the same bacterial species, groups of strains may interact with distinct host species demonstrate that there is still a long way to go. In this review, we describe and discuss the current molecular-based methods for the diagnosis and detection of regulated Xanthomonas, taxonomic and diversity studies in Xanthomonas and genomic approaches for molecular diagnosis.
Published: 2021
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25. Identification and Characterization of Fusarium nirenbergiae Associated with Saffron Corm Rot Disease

Author: S. Ali Mirghasempour, David J. Studholme, Weiliang Chen, Dongzhu Cui, and Bizeng Mao
Subjects: food and beverages, Plant Science, Agronomy and Crop Science
Abstract: Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is the most expensive spice plant and is distributed widely around the world. However, its production is limited by corm rot, a disastrous disease, attributed to Fusarium oxysporum in many regions of the world. In 2020, extensive surveys were carried out in Zhejiang, Shanghai, Anhui, and Guizhou provinces as saffron growing areas of China. Fourteen single-spore isolates were obtained from rotted corms and identified as F. nirenbergiae according to morphological appearance and multilocus phylogenetic analysis with translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1), DNA-directed RNA polymerase II largest subunit (rpb2), and β-tubulin (tub2). Results of the pathogenicity assay supported the conclusion that F. nirenbergiae is the pathogen responsible for corm rot. In this study, we obtained the whole genome sequence of two highly virulent F. nirenbergiae strains via the Illumina HiSeq platform. Genome sequence assemblies of approximately 52.7 and 52.2 Mb were generated for isolates WY5 and SH1, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of F. nirenbergiae causing C. sativus corm rot in China and indeed worldwide. Results from this research contribute to our understanding of genetic diversity, genomic information, and host determination, which will enable researchers to design appropriate management measures for this hazardous disease.
Published: 2022

26. Two-speed genome evolution drives pathogenicity in fungal pathogens of animals

Author: Theresa Wacker, Nicolas Helmstetter, Duncan Wilson, Matthew C. Fisher, David J. Studholme, and Rhys A. Farrer
Subjects: Multidisciplinary
Abstract: The origins and evolution of virulence in amphibian-infecting chytrids Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ( Bsal) are largely unknown. Here, we use deep nanopore sequencing of Bsal and comparative genomics against 21 high-quality genome assemblies that span the fungal Chytridiomycota. We discover that Bsal has the most repeat-rich genome of the Chytridiomycota, comprising 40.9% repetitive elements; this genome has expanded to more than 3× the length of its conspecific Bd , with autonomous and fully functional LTR/Gypsy elements contributing significantly to the expansion. The M36 metalloprotease virulence factors are highly expanded ( n = 177) in Bsal , most of which (53%) are flanked by transposable elements, suggesting they have a repeat-associated expansion. We find enrichment upstream of M36 metalloprotease genes of three novel repeat families belonging to the repeat superfamily of LINEs that are implicated with gene copy number variations. Additionally, Bsal has a highly compartmentalized genome architecture, with virulence factors enriched in gene-sparse/repeat-rich compartments, while core conserved genes are enriched in gene-rich/repeat-poor compartments. Genes upregulated during infection are primarily found in the gene-sparse/repeat-rich compartment in both Bd and Bsal . Furthermore, genes with signatures of positive selection in Bd are enriched in repeat-rich regions, suggesting these regions are a cradle for the evolution of chytrid pathogenicity. These are the hallmarks of two-speed genome evolution, and this study provides evidence of two-speed genomes in an animal pathogen, shedding light on the evolution of fungal pathogens of vertebrates driving global declines and extinctions.
Published: 2023

27. A Suppressor/Avirulence Gene Combination in Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis Determines Race Specificity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Author: Alison Woods-Tör, David J. Studholme, Volkan Cevik, Osman Telli, Eric B. Holub, and Mahmut Tör
Subjects: effector, avirulence inhibitor, suppressor, oomycete, Arabidopsis, downy mildew, Plant culture, SB1-1110
Abstract: The pathosystem of Arabidopsis thaliana and diploid biotrophic oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) has been a model for investigating the molecular basis of Flor's gene-for-gene hypothesis. The isolates Hpa-Noks1 and Hpa-Cala2 are virulent on Arabidopsis accession RMX-A02 whilst an F1 generated from a cross between these two isolates was avirulent. The F2 progeny segregated 3,1 (avirulent, virulent), indicating a single major effect AVR locus in this pathogen. SNP-based linkage mapping confirmed a single AVR locus within a 14 kb map interval containing two genes encoding putative effectors. The Hpa-Cala2 allele of one gene, designated H. arabidopsidiscryptic1 (HAC1), encodes a protein with a signal peptide and an RxLR/dEER motif, and triggers a defense response in RMX-A02. The second gene is heterozygous in Hpa-Cala2. One allele, designated Suppressor ofHAC1Cala2 (S-HAC1Cala2) encodes a protein with a signal peptide and a dKEE motif with no RxLR motif; the other allele (s-hac1Cala2) encodes a protein with a signal peptide, a dEEE motif and is divergent in sequence from the S-HAC1Cala2 allele. In selfed progeny from Hpa-Cala2, dominant S-HAC1Cala2 allele carrying progeny correlates with virulence in RMX-A02, whereas homozygous recessive s-hac1Cala2 carrying progeny were avirulent. Genetic investigations suggested other heterozygous suppressor loci might exist in the Hpa-Cala2 genome.
Published: 2018
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28. Draft genome sequences for ten strains of Xanthomonas species that have phylogenomic importance

Author: Jamie Harrison, Rana Muhammad Fraz Hussain, Shannon F. Greer, Vardis Ntoukakis, Andrew Aspin, Joana G. Vicente, Murray Grant, and David J. Studholme
Abstract: Here we report draft-quality genome sequences for pathotype strains of eight plant-pathogenic bacterial pathovars: Xanthomonas campestris pv. asclepiadis, X. campestris pv. cannae, X. campestris pv. esculenti, X. campestris pv. nigromaculans, X. campestris pv. parthenii, X. campestris pv. phormiicola, X. campestris pv. zinniae and X. dyei pv. eucalypti (= X. campestris pv. eucalypti). We also sequenced the type strain of species X. melonis and the unclassified Xanthomonas strain NCPPB 1067. These data will be useful for phylogenomic and taxonomic studies, filling some important gaps in sequence coverage of Xanthomonas phylogenetic diversity. We include representatives of previously under-sequenced pathovars and species-level clades. Furthermore, these genome sequences may be useful in elucidating the molecular basis for important phenotypes such as biosynthesis of coronatine-related toxins and degradation of fungal toxin cercosporin.
Published: 2022

29. Guidelines for the reliable use of high throughput sequencing technologies to detect plant pathogens and pests

Author: Sebastien Massart, Ian Adams, Maher Al Rwahnih, Steve Baeyen, Guillaume J. Bilodeau, Arnaud G. Blouin, Neil Boonham, Thierry Candresse, Anne Chandellier, Kris De Jonghe, Adrian Fox, Yahya Z.A. Gaafar, Pascal Gentit, Annelies Haegeman, Wellcome Ho, Oscar Hurtado-Gonzales, Wilfried Jonkers, Jan Kreuze, Denis Kutjnak, Blanca B. Landa, Mingxin Liu, François Maclot, Marta Malapi-Wight, Hans J. Maree, Francesco Martoni, Natasa Mehle, Angelantonio Minafra, Dimitre Mollov, Adriana G. Moreira, Mark Nakhla, Françoise Petter, Alexander M. Piper, Julien P. Ponchart, Robbie Rae, Benoit Remenant, Yazmin Rivera, Brendan Rodoni, Marleen Botermans, J.W. Roenhorst, Johan Rollin, Pasquale Saldarelli, Johanna Santala, Rose Souza-Richards, Davide Spadaro, David J. Studholme, Stefanie Sultmanis, René van der Vlugt, Lucie Tamisier, Charlotte Trontin, Ines Vazquez-Iglesias, Claudia S.L. Vicente, Bart T.L.H. van de Vossenberg, Marcel Westenberg, Thierry Wetzel, Heiko Ziebell, and Benedicte S. M. Lebas
Subjects: Biointeractions and Plant Health, fungi, food and beverages, Life Science, PE&RC
Abstract: High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies have the potential to become one of the most significant advances in molecular diagnostics. Their use by researchers to detect and characterize plant pathogens and pests has been growing steadily for more than a decade and they are now envisioned as a routine diagnostic test to be deployed by plant pest diagnostics laboratories. Nevertheless, HTS technologies and downstream bioinformatics analysis of the generated datasets represent a complex process including many steps whose reliability must be ensured. The aim of the present guidelines is to provide recommendations for researchers and diagnosticians aiming to reliably use HTS technologies to detect plant pathogens and pests. These guidelines are generic and do not depend on the sequencing technology or platform. They cover all the adoption processes of HTS technologies from test selection to test validation as well as their routine implementation. A special emphasis is given to key elements to be considered: undertaking a risk analysis, designing sample panels for validation, using proper controls, evaluating performance criteria, confirming and interpreting results. These guidelines cover any HTS test used for the detection and identification of any plant pest (viroid, virus, bacteria, phytoplasma, mycetes, nematodes, arthropods, plants) from any type of matrix. Overall, their adoption by diagnosticians and researchers should greatly improve the reliability of pathogens and pest diagnostics and foster the use of HTS technologies in plant health., Scientific publication adapted from the deliverable 2.2 of the Valitest project - www.valitest.eu
Published: 2022

30. Genome sequence data reveal at least two distinct incursions of the tropical race 4 (TR4) variant of Fusarium wilt into South America

Author: Paula H, Reyes-Herrera, Eliana, Torres Bedoya, Diana, Lopez-Alvarez, Diana, Burbano, Sandra Lorena, Carmona, Dan, Bebber, David J, Studholme, Monica, Betancourt, and Mauricio, Soto-Suarez
Abstract: The global banana industry is threatened by one of the most devastating diseases: Fusarium wilt (FWB). FWB is caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), which almost annihilated the banana production in the late 1950s. A new strain of Foc, known as tropical race 4 (TR4), attacks a wide range of banana varieties including Cavendish clones which are the source of 99% of banana exports. In 2019, Foc TR4 was reported in Colombia, and more recently (2021) in Peru. In this study, we sequenced three fungal isolates identified as Foc TR4 from La Guajira (Colombia) and compared them against 19 whole-genome sequences of Foc TR4 publicly available, including four genome sequences recently released from Peru. To understand the genetic relatedness of the Colombian Foc TR4 isolates and those from Peru, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on a genome-wide set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Additionally, we compared the genomes of the 22 available Foc TR4 isolates looking for the presence-absence of gene polymorphisms and genomic regions. Our results reveal that (i) the Colombian and Peruvian isolates are genetically distant, which could be better explained by independent incursions of the pathogen to the continent, and (ii) there is a high correspondence between the genetic relatedness and geographic origin of Foc TR4. The profile of present/absent genes and the distribution of missing genomic regions showed a high correspondence to the clades recovered in the phylogenetic analysis, supporting the results obtained by SNP-based phylogeny.
Published: 2022

31. Time Series Data Mining Algorithms for Identifying Short RNA in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Author: Anthony J. Bagnall, Simon Moxon, David J. Studholme, and Vincent Moulton
Published: 2008

32. Tpc1 is an important Zn(II)2Cys6 transcriptional regulator required for polarized growth and virulence in the rice blast fungus.

Author: Rita Galhano, Adriana Illana, Lauren S Ryder, Julio Rodríguez-Romero, Marie Demuez, Muhammad Badaruddin, Ana Lilia Martinez-Rocha, Darren M Soanes, David J Studholme, Nicholas J Talbot, and Ane Sesma
Subjects: Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: The establishment of polarity is a critical process in pathogenic fungi, mediating infection-related morphogenesis and host tissue invasion. Here, we report the identification of TPC1 (Transcription factor for Polarity Control 1), which regulates invasive polarized growth in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. TPC1 encodes a putative transcription factor of the fungal Zn(II)2Cys6 family, exclusive to filamentous fungi. Tpc1-deficient mutants show severe defects in conidiogenesis, infection-associated autophagy, glycogen and lipid metabolism, and plant tissue colonisation. By tracking actin-binding proteins, septin-5 and autophagosome components, we show that Tpc1 regulates cytoskeletal dynamics and infection-associated autophagy during appressorium-mediated plant penetration. We found that Tpc1 interacts with Mst12 and modulates its DNA-binding activity, while Tpc1 nuclear localisation also depends on the MAP kinase Pmk1, consistent with the involvement of Tpc1 in this signalling pathway, which is critical for appressorium development. Importantly, Tpc1 directly regulates NOXD expression, the p22phox subunit of the fungal NADPH oxidase complex via an interaction with Mst12. Tpc1 therefore controls spatial and temporal regulation of cortical F-actin through regulation of the NADPH oxidase complex during appressorium re-polarisation. Consequently, Tpc1 is a core developmental regulator in filamentous fungi, linking the regulated synthesis of reactive oxygen species and the Pmk1 pathway, with polarity control during host invasion.
Published: 2017
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33. Assessing the Accuracy of Quantitative Molecular Microbial Profiling

Author: Denise M. O'Sullivan, Thomas Laver, Sasithon Temisak, Nicholas Redshaw, Kathryn A. Harris, Carole A. Foy, David J. Studholme, and Jim F. Huggett
Subjects: molecular profiling, metagenomics, 16S rRNA gene, amplicon sequencing, whole genome shotgun sequencing, control material, Biology (General), QH301-705.5, Chemistry, QD1-999
Abstract: The application of high-throughput sequencing in profiling microbial communities is providing an unprecedented ability to investigate microbiomes. Such studies typically apply one of two methods: amplicon sequencing using PCR to target a conserved orthologous sequence (typically the 16S ribosomal RNA gene) or whole (meta)genome sequencing (WGS). Both methods have been used to catalog the microbial taxa present in a sample and quantify their respective abundances. However, a comparison of the inherent precision or bias of the different sequencing approaches has not been performed. We previously developed a metagenomic control material (MCM) to investigate error when performing different sequencing strategies. Amplicon sequencing using four different primer strategies and two 16S rRNA regions was examined (Roche 454 Junior) and compared to WGS (Illumina HiSeq). All sequencing methods generally performed comparably and in good agreement with organism specific digital PCR (dPCR); WGS notably demonstrated very high precision. Where discrepancies between relative abundances occurred they tended to differ by less than twofold. Our findings suggest that when alternative sequencing approaches are used for microbial molecular profiling they can perform with good reproducibility, but care should be taken when comparing small differences between distinct methods. This work provides a foundation for future work comparing relative differences between samples and the impact of extraction methods. We also highlight the value of control materials when conducting microbial profiling studies to benchmark methods and set appropriate thresholds.
Published: 2014
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34. Identification of Possible Virulence Marker from Campylobacter jejuni Isolates

Author: James W. Harrison, Tran Thi Ngoc Dung, Fariha Siddiqui, Sunee Korbrisate, Habib Bukhari, My Phan Vu Tra, Nguyen Van Minh Hoang, Juan Carrique-Mas, Juliet Bryant, James I. Campbell, David J. Studholme, Brendan W. Wren, Stephen Baker, Richard W. Titball, and Olivia L. Champion
Subjects: Campylobacter jejuni, Asia, chicken, type-six secretion system, food security, enteric infections, Medicine, Infectious and parasitic diseases, RC109-216
Abstract: A novel protein translocation system, the type-6 secretion system (T6SS), may play a role in virulence of Campylobacter jejuni. We investigated 181 C. jejuni isolates from humans, chickens, and environmental sources in Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom for T6SS. The marker was most prevalent in human and chicken isolates from Vietnam.
Published: 2014
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35. Genome Sequencing of Xanthomonas vasicola Pathovar vasculorum Reveals Variation in Plasmids and Genes Encoding Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis, Type-IV Pilus and Type-III Secretion Effectors

Author: Arthur Wasukira, Max Coulter, Noorah Al-Sowayeh, Richard Thwaites, Konrad Paszkiewicz, Jerome Kubiriba, Julian Smith, Murray Grant, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: gumming disease, sugarcane, banana Xanthomonas wilt, Medicine
Abstract: Xanthomonas vasicola pathovar vasculorum (Xvv) is the bacterial agent causing gumming disease in sugarcane. Here, we compare complete genome sequences for five isolates of Xvv originating from sugarcane and one from maize. This identified two distinct types of lipopolysaccharide synthesis gene clusters among Xvv isolates: one is similar to that of Xanthomonas axonopodis pathovar citri (Xac) and is probably the ancestral type, while the other is similar to those of the sugarcane-inhabiting species, Xanthomonas sacchari. Four of six Xvv isolates harboured sequences similar to the Xac plasmid, pXAC47, and showed a distinct Type-IV pilus (T4P) sequence type, whereas the T4P locus of the other two isolates resembled that of the closely related banana pathogen, Xanthomonas campestris pathovar musacearum (Xcm). The Xvv isolate from maize has lost a gene encoding a homologue of the virulence effector, xopAF, which was present in all five of the sugarcane isolates, while xopL contained a premature stop codon in four out of six isolates. These findings shed new light on evolutionary events since the divergence of Xvv and Xcm, as well as further elucidating the relationships between the two closely related pathogens.
Published: 2014
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36. A Draft Genome Sequence for Ensete ventricosum, the Drought-Tolerant 'Tree Against Hunger'

Author: James Harrison, Karen A. Moore, Konrad Paszkiewicz, Thomas Jones, Murray R. Grant, Daniel Ambacheew, Sadik Muzemil, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: enset, Ethiopia, drought-tolerance, Musaceae, Agriculture
Abstract: We present a draft genome sequence for enset (Ensete ventricosum) available via the Sequence Read Archive (accession number SRX202265) and GenBank (accession number AMZH01. Enset feeds 15 million people in Ethiopia, but is arguably the least studied African crop. Our sequence data suggest a genome size of approximately 547 megabases, similar to the 523-megabase genome of the closely related banana (Musa acuminata). At least 1.8% of the annotated M. acuminata genes are not conserved in E. ventricosum. Furthermore, enset contains genes not present in banana, including reverse transcriptases and virus-like sequences as well as a homolog of the RPP8-like resistance gene. We hope that availability of genome-wide sequence data will stimulate and accelerate research on this important but neglected crop.
Published: 2014
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37. SNP‐based genotyping and whole‐genome sequencing reveal previously unknown genetic diversity in Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum , causal agent of banana xanthomonas wilt, in its presumed Ethiopian origin

Author: Teresa A. Coutinho, Murray Grant, George Mahuku, Emmanuel Wicker, Evans Were, Guy Blomme, Gloria Valentine Nakato, and David J. Studholme
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Flétrissement, Banana Xanthomonas wilt, Population, Xanthomonas vasicola, Plant Science, Musa (bananes), Horticulture, Musa acuminata, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Maladie des plantes, Variation génétique, Xanthomonas, Musa balbisiana, Genetics, medicine, education, SB, Genotyping, H20 - Maladies des plantes, Bactérie pathogène, Whole genome sequencing, Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum [EN], education.field_of_study, Genetic diversity, biology, QH, QK, food and beverages, medicine.disease, biology.organism_classification, 030104 developmental biology, Banana Xanthomonas wilt [EN], Agronomy and Crop Science, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract: For decades, Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum (Xvm) has been an economically important bacterial pathogen on enset in Ethiopia. Since 2001, Xvm has also been responsible for significant losses to banana crops in several East and Central African countries, with devastating consequences for smallholder farmers. Understanding the genetic diversity within Xvm populations is essential for the smart design of transnationally reasoned, durable, and effective management practices. Previous studies have revealed limited genetic diversity in Xvm, with East African isolates from banana each falling into one of two closely related clades previously designated as sublineages SL 1 and SL 2, the former of which had also been detected on banana and enset in Ethiopia. Given the presumed origin of Xvm in Ethiopia, we hypothesized that both clades might be found in that country, along with additional genotypes not seen in Central and East African bananas. Genotyping of 97 isolates and whole‐genome sequencing of 15 isolates revealed not only the presence of SL 2 in Ethiopia, but additional diversity beyond SL 1 and SL 2 in four new clades. Moreover, SL 2 was detected in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where previously SL 1 was the only clade reported. These results demonstrate a greater range of genetic diversity among Xvm isolates than previously reported, especially in Ethiopia, and further support the hypothesis that the East/Central Africa xanthomonas wilt epidemic has been caused by a restricted set of genotypes drawn from a highly diverse pathogen pool in Ethiopia.\ud \ud
Published: 2020

38. A newly developed genetic sex marker and its application to understanding chemically induced feminisation in roach ( Rutilus rutilus )

Author: Taisen Iguchi, Charles R. Tyler, David J. Studholme, Anke Lange, Karim Gharbi, Shinichi Miyagawa, Josephine R. Paris, and Timothee Cezard
Subjects: Genetic Markers, Male, 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Population level, Cyprinidae, Disorders of Sex Development, Zoology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Chemical effects, 03 medical and health sciences, Rivers, Genetics, Animals, Feminization, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Phenotypic Sex, Base Sequence, biology, Estrogens, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Sex reversal, biology.organism_classification, Breed, 030104 developmental biology, %22">Fish , Female, Rutilus, Biotechnology
Abstract: Oestrogenic wastewater treatment works (WwTW) effluents discharged into UK rivers have been shown to affect sexual development, including inducing intersex, in wild roach (Rutilus rutilus). This can result in a reduced breeding capability with potential population level impacts. In the absence of a sex probe for roach it has not been possible to confirm whether intersex fish in the wild arise from genetic males or females, or whether sex reversal occurs in the wild, as this condition can be induced experimentally in controlled exposures to WwTW effluents and a steroidal oestrogen. Using restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq), we identified a candidate for a genetic sex marker and validated this marker as a sex probe through PCR analyses of samples from wild roach populations from nonpolluted rivers. We also applied the sex marker to samples from roach exposed experimentally to oestrogen and oestrogenic effluents to confirm suspected phenotypic sex reversal from males to females in some treatments, and also that sex-reversed males are able to breed as females. We then show, unequivocally, that intersex in wild roach populations results from feminisation of males, but find no strong evidence for complete sex reversal in wild roach at river sites contaminated with oestrogens. The discovered marker has utility for studies in roach on chemical effects, wild stock assessments, and reducing the number of fish used where only one sex is required for experimentation. Furthermore, we show that the marker can be applied nondestructively using a fin clip or skin swab, with animal welfare benefits.
Published: 2020

39. Genomics-Informed Molecular Detection of Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum Strains Causing Severe Bacterial Leaf Streak of Corn

Author: Beth Kasiborski, John Rascoe, Kirk Broders, Gary P. Munkvold, Mary Ortiz-Castro, David J. Studholme, Charles C. Block, Silvina L. Arias, Michael J. Stulberg, and Gem Santillana
Subjects: 0301 basic medicine, Whole genome sequencing, biology, 0206 medical engineering, Xanthomonas vasicola, food and beverages, 02 engineering and technology, Plant Science, biology.organism_classification, DNA extraction, Microbiology, 03 medical and health sciences, 030104 developmental biology, Xanthomonas, Pathovar, Propidium monoazide, TaqMan, Agronomy and Crop Science, 020602 bioinformatics, Bacterial leaf streak
Abstract: Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum (syn. X. campestris pv. vasculorum) was initially identified as the causal agent of bacterial leaf streak of corn in South Africa. The pathovar vasculorum causes disease on sugarcane and corn, but a subset of these strains was noted for its increased disease severity in corn. This subset was reclassified as X. campestris pv. zeae in the early 1990s and was found to have slightly different biochemical and genetic properties than isolates from sugarcane. There has been an emergence of X. campestris pv. zeae-like strains of X. vasicola pv. vasculorum in both the United States and Argentina since 2010. We performed whole genome sequencing on U.S. isolates to confirm their identity. Informed by comparative genomics, we then developed specific TaqMan qPCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays for the detection of this specific subset of X. vasicola pv. vasculorum strains. The qPCR 4909 assay was tested against 27 xanthomonads (diverse representation), 32 DNA extractions from corn leaves confirmed as positive or negative for the bacterium, 41 X. vasicola pv. vasculorum isolates from corn in the United States and Argentina, and 31 additional bacteria associated with corn, sugarcane, or sorghum. In all cases the assay was shown to be specific for the X. vasicola pv. vasculorum isolates that cause more severe disease on corn. We then tested the LAMP 166 assay against the 27 xanthomonads and 32 corn leaf DNA samples, and we found this assay was also specific for this subset of X. vasicola pv. vasculorum isolates. We also developed a live/dead cells distinction protocol using propidium monoazide prior to DNA extraction for analyzing seed washes using these assays. These two detection assays can be useful for both diagnosticians and researchers to specifically identify the X. vasicola pv. vasculorum isolates that cause more severe symptoms on corn.
Published: 2020

40. Transfer of Xanthomonas campestris pv. arecae and X. campestris pv. musacearum to X. vasicola (Vauterin) as X. vasicola pv. arecae comb. nov. and X. vasicola pv. musacearum comb. nov. and Description of X. vasicola pv. vasculorum pv. nov

Author: Murray Grant, Jillian M. Lang, George Mahuku, Andrew Aspin, Carolee T. Bull, J. Smith, Gloria Valentine Nakato, Teresa A. Coutinho, Kirk Broders, Sadik Muzemil Abrare, Zoë E. Dubrow, Emmanuel Wicker, Georgina Karamura, David J. Studholme, Jeffrey B. Jones, Adam J. Bogdanove, and Jan E. Leach
Subjects: Banana Xanthomonas wilt, Xanthomonas vasicola, food and beverages, Plant Science, Biology, medicine.disease, biology.organism_classification, Xanthomonas campestris, Xanthomonas, Botany, medicine, medicine.symptom, Agronomy and Crop Science, Tripsacum, Areca palm, Confusion
Abstract: We present an amended description of the bacterial species Xanthomonas vasicola to include the causative agent of banana Xanthomonas wilt, as well as strains that cause disease on Areca palm, Tripsacum grass, sugarcane, and maize. Genome-sequence data reveal that these strains all share more than 98% average nucleotide with each other and with the type strain. Our analyses and proposals should help to resolve the taxonomic confusion that surrounds some of these pathogens and help to prevent future use of invalid names. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license .
Published: 2020

41. Genome sequence data reveal at least two distinct incursions of the tropical race 4 (TR4) variant of Fusarium wilt into South America

Author: Paula H. Reyes-Herrera, Eliana Torres-Bedoya, Diana Lopez-Alvarez, Diana Burbano-David, Sandra L. Carmona, Daniel P. Bebber, David J. Studholme, Monica Betancourt, and Mauricio Soto-Suarez
Abstract: The global banana industry is threatened by one of the most devastating diseases: Fusarium wilt (FWB). FWB is caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), which almost annihilated the banana production in the late 1950s. A new strain of Foc, known as tropical race 4 (TR4), attacks a wide range of banana varieties including Cavendish clones which are the source of 99% of banana exports. In 2019, Foc TR4 was reported in Colombia, and more recently (2021) in Peru. In this study, we sequenced three fungal isolates identified as Foc TR4 from La Guajira (Colombia) and compared them against 19 whole-genome sequences of Foc TR4 publicly available, including four genome sequences recently released from Peru. To understand the genetic relatedness of the Colombian Foc TR4 isolates and those from Peru, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on a genome-wide set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Additionally, we compared the genomes of the 22 available Foc TR4 isolates looking for the presence-absence of gene polymorphisms and genomic regions. Our results reveal that (i) the Colombian and Peruvian isolates are genetically distant, which could be better explained by independent incursions of the pathogen to the continent, and (ii) there is a high correspondence between the genetic relatedness and geographic origin of Foc TR4. The profile of present/absent genes and the distribution of missing genomic regions showed a high correspondence to the clades recovered in the phylogenetic analysis, supporting the results obtained by SNP-based phylogeny.
Published: 2022

42. Hospital admission and emergency care attendance risk for SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) compared with alpha (B.1.1.7) variants of concern: a cohort study

Author: Harry D Wilson, Elaine O'Toole, Andrew Bassett, Moritz U. G. Kraemer, Beth Blane, Scott Goodwin, Giri Shankar, Joseph Hughes, Lucy R. Frost, Alicia Thornton, Scott Elliott, Tammy V Merrill, Sheila Waugh, Alexander Adams, Peter Muir, Graciela Sluga, Rebecca Williams, Hannah Dent, Christophe Fraser, Shavanthi Rajatileka, John C. Hartley, Luke B Snell, Benjamin J Cogger, Lance Turtle, Alex Makunin, John A. Todd, Victoria Wright, Daniela De Angelis, James McKenna, Dinesh Aggarwal, Jonathan K. Ball, Jillian Durham, Garren Scott, Thushan I de Silva, Veena Raviprakash, Hannah M Pymont, Jason Coombes, Anita Lucaci, Luke R. Green, Leigh M Jackson, Hermione J. Webster, Louis du Plessis, David A. Jackson, Minal Patel, Áine O'Toole, Ravi Gupta, Marc Niebel, Garry Scarlett, Rajiv Shah, Guy Mollett, Kathy Li, Rory Gunson, Matthew Bashton, Carl Jones, Sara Kumziene-Summerhayes, Zoltan Molnar, Siona Silveira, Malte L Pinckert, Catherine Ludden, Angeliki Karamani, Leanne Kane, Brendan A I Payne, Alan McNally, Clare M. McCann, Holli Carden, Mohammad Raza, Alison E. Mather, Kate B. Cook, Amy Gaskin, David J. Williams, Shaun R. Seaman, Christopher I. Jones, Gilberto Betancor, Matthew T. G. Holden, Jennifier Liddle, Meera Unnikrishnan, Angie Green, Ben Taylor, Kelly Bicknell, Alexander J. Trotter, Emma Meader, Leanne M Kermack, Nathaniel Storey, Michelle Cronin, Sally Forrest, Sarah Jeremiah, Asad Zaidi, M Morgan, Alasdair MacLean, Thomas R. Connor, Johnathan M Evans, Rachael Stanley, Ryan P George, Nadine Holmes, Richard H. Myers, Christine Sambles, Bernardo Gutierrez, Jeffrey K. J. Cheng, Tim Wyatt, Natasha Jesudason, Lindsay Coupland, Monika Pusok, Manon Ragonnet-Cronin, Jenifer Mason, Joshua Maksimovic, Russell Hope, Alison Holmes, David Simpson, Radoslaw Poplawski, Amelia Joseph, Erwan Acheson, James Bonfield, Mara K. N. Lawniczak, Sascha Ott, Lesley-Anne Williams, Jessica Lynch, Graham P. Taylor, Anita Kenyon, Elizabeth Wastenge, Megan Mayhew, Adhyana I K Mahanama, Stavroula F Louka, Chloe Bishop, Esther Robinson, Darren Smith, Anne M. Presanis, Matthew Carlile, Thomas D Stanton, Dennis Wang, Katerina Galai, Adam P Westhorpe, Flavia Flaviani, Michelle Wantoch, Max Whiteley, Yann Bourgeois, Matthew Gemmell, Mary Ramsay, A Lloyd, Simon Thelwall, Hannah C. Howson-Wells, Joseph G. Chappell, Steve Paterson, Gary Eltringham, Robert Impey, Siddharth Mookerjee, Steven Platt, Emma Swindells, Laura Letchford, Alex Alderton, Lee Graham, Safiah Afifi, David C. Lee, Cassie Breen, Melisa Louise Fenton, Benita Percival, Adrian W Signell, Tanya Golubchik, Ian B Vipond, Eleri Wilson-Davies, Angie Lackenby, Laura Atkinson, Sarojini Pandey, Nazreen F. Hadjirin, Michael A Chapman, Huw Gulliver, Joana Dias, Grant Hall, Antony D Hale, Hassan Hartman, Alp Aydin, Louise Smith, Ashok Dadrah, Johnny Debebe, Sarah Walsh, Stephanie W. Lo, Andrew Bosworth, Bridget Knight, Hannah E Bridgewater, Nadua Bayzid, Gemma L. Kay, Richard Gregory, Sally Kay, Ellena Brooks, Andre Charlett, Georgina M McManus, Riaz Jannoo, Victoria Blakey, Carol Scott, Rachel Nelson, Liz Ratcliffe, Gerry Tonkin-Hill, Verity Hill, Joanne D. Stockton, Danielle Leek, Steven Leonard, Stephanie Hutchings, Jonathan D. Moore, Kathryn Ann Harris, Sophie Jones, Venkat Sivaprakasam, Amy Plimmer, Tanzina Haque, Katherine L. Bellis, Khalil Abudahab, Dianne Irish-Tavares, Gaia Nebbia, Kathryn A Jackson, Stephen W Attwood, Daniel Mair, Sreenu Vattipally, Susanne Stonehouse, Ian Merrick, Lucille Rainbow, Mathew A. Beale, Angela Helen Beckett, Ember Hilvers, Thomas Helmer, Jenna Nichols, Giselda Bucca, Salman Goudarzi, Christopher Ruis, Surendra Parmar, Angela Cowell, Alberto C Cerda, Divya K. Shah, Judith Heaney, E. Thomson, Kyriaki Nomikou, Nicole Pacchiarini, Katherine L Harper, Fatima Downing, M. Estée Török, Michelle L Michelsen, Aaron R. Jeffries, Jennifer Collins, Christopher Williams, Katie F. Loveson, Steven Rudder, Theocharis Tsoleridis, Robert Davies, David Robertson, Katherine Smollett, Kathryn McCluggage, Liam Crawford, Inigo Martincorena, Charlotte Beaver, Oliver Megram, Karla Spellman, Sam Haldenby, Emma Betteridge, William D. Fuller, Will P. M. Rowe, Cherian Koshy, Tim E. A. Peto, Alison Cox, Natasha Johnson, Tanya Curran, Sharif Shaaban, Tamyo Mbisa, Cordelia Langford, Eric Witele, Andrew J. Page, Christoph Puethe, Nicola Reynolds, Paul W Bird, Louise Aigrain, Ronan Lyons, Amy Trebes, Sally Corden, Steven Rushton, Jack Cd Lee, Jane Greenaway, Hibo Asad, Amanda Bradley, Mohammed O Hassan-Ibrahim, Shane McCarthy, Fei Sang, Matthew Loose, Hannah Jones, Keith D. James, Chloe L Fisher, Chrystala Constantinidou, Alex G. Richter, Jane A. H. Masoli, Michael Gallagher, Vicki M. Fleming, Anna Price, Amy Ash, Michaela John, Alex Zarebski, Fenella D. Halstead, John Danesh, Christine Kitchen, Aminu S Jahun, Mark Whitehead, Julianne R Brown, Catherine Bresner, Marius Cotic, Stefanie V Lensing, Nick Levene, Louissa R Macfarlane-Smith, Wendy Hogsden, Cressida Auckland, Eleanor Drury, Richard Eccles, Jennifer Hart, Seema Nickbakhsh, Alisha Davies, David M. Aanensen, Shirelle Burton-Fanning, Ben Farr, Buddhini Samaraweera, Sarah Wyllie, Hannah Lowe, Richard J. Orton, Martin D. Curran, Carol Churcher, Karen Oliver, Elihu Aranday-Cortes, Wen Yew, Thanh Le-Viet, Matthew Parker, Katherine A Twohig, Shahjahan Miah, Samuel M. Nicholls, G MacIntyre-Cockett, Tranprit Saluja, Charlotte Nelson, Vicki Chalker, Roberto Amato, Ellen Higginson, Timothy M. Freeman, Christopher W Holmes, Yasmin Chaudhry, Elias Allara, Alec Birchley, Iraad Bronner, Emma Moles-Garcia, Angus I. Best, Anna L. Casey, Audrey Farbos, Nicholas W Machin, David W Eyre, Tim Boswell, Charlotte A Williams, Elen De Lacy, Matthew J. Bull, Matilde Mori, Carmen F. Manso, Peijun Zhang, Sahar Eldirdiri, Dimitris Grammatopoulos, Corin Yeats, Claudia Wierzbicki, David G Partridge, Kordo Saeed, Nichola Duckworth, David J. Studholme, Harmeet K Gill, Juan Ledesma, Thomas R. A. Davis, Sushmita Sridhar, Clive Graham, Husam Osman, Julian A. Hiscox, Helen Adams, Christopher Fearn, Fabrícia F. Nascimento, Ulf Schaefer, James W. Harrison, Andrew J. Nelson, Joshua Quick, Mohammad Tauqeer Alam, Liam Prestwood, Nikos Manesis, Julian Tang, Justin O'Grady, Sophia T Girgis, Louise Berry, Gemma Clark, Marina Escalera Zamudio, Karlie Fallon, Tim J Sloan, Joanne Watkins, Clare Pearson, Andrew D Beggs, Rachel Williams, Luke Bedford, Trevor Robinson, Nicholas M Redshaw, Richard Hopes, Mirko Menegazzo, Katherine Twohig, Gabrielle Vernet, Steven Liggett, Mariateresa de Cesare, Derrick W. Crook, Dominic P. Kwiatkowski, Mark Kristiansen, Miren Iturriza-Gomara, Christopher I. Moore, Claire Cormie, Olivia Boyd, Nikki Smith, Noel Craine, Kathleen A. Williamson, John Boyes, Sian Ellard, Cristina V. Ariani, Wendy Chatterton, David Bonsall, Kevin Lewis, David Jorgensen, Ian Harrison, Christopher Jackson, Martin P McHugh, Danni Weldon, Michael A. Quail, Amita Patel, Lily Geidelberg, Myra Hosmillo, Judith Breuer, Cariad Evans, Edward Barton, Trudy Workman, Derek Fairley, Vineet Patel, Daniel Bradshaw, Robin Manley, Scott Aj Thurston, John Sillitoe, Monique Andersson, Sharon J. Peacock, Jamie Lopez-Bernal, Thomas Thompson, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Ben Temperton, Paul Baker, Robin J Moll, Laura Gifford, Nicholas J. Loman, Jayna Raghwani, Jacqui Prieto, Andrew Hesketh, Oliver G. Pybus, Adela Alcolea-Medina, David Buck, Gregory R Young, Alistair C. Darby, Sónia Gonçalves, Aileen G. Rowan, Tabitha Mahungu, Nicholas Ellaby, Jon-Paul Keatley, Lily Tong, Robert Beer, Martyn Guest, Lisa J Levett, Ali R Awan, Iliana Georgana, Paul E Brown, Li Xu-McCrae, Stephen P. Kidd, Sara Rey, Shazaad Ahmad, Danielle C. Groves, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, David F. Bibby, Nathan Moore, Fiona Ashcroft, Igor Starinskij, Hannah Paul, Claire McMurray, Michael Spencer Chapman, Carlos Balcazar, Joanna Warwick-Dugdale, Pinglawathee Madona, Edith Vamos, Lesley Shirley, Kate Templeton, Luke Foulser, Igor Siveroni, Ewan M. Harrison, Sian Morgan, Diana Rajan, S Taylor, Laia Fina, Naomi Park, Sarah J. O'Brien, Alessandro M Carabelli, Angela Marchbank, Sunando Roy, Leonardo de Oliveira Martins, Steve Palmer, Jonathan Hubb, Alexander J Keeley, Francesc Coll, Malorie Perry, Paul J. Parsons, Anthony Underwood, Patawee Asamaphan, William L Hamilton, Tommy Nyberg, Sophie Palmer, Amanda Symmonds, Anoop Chauhan, Robert Johnson, Christopher J. R. Illingworth, James Shepherd, Wendy Smith, Rich Livett, Rachel Blacow, Margaret Hughes, Jeremy Mirza, Joanne Watts, Jonathan D. Edgeworth, Sarah François, Sue Edwards, Adrienn Angyal, Thomas N. Williams, Marta Gallis, Lauren Gilbert, Paul Randell, Kate Johnson, Eileen Gallagher, Nick Cortes, Yusri Taha, Leah Ensell, Emanuela Pelosi, Stefan Rooke, Michelle Lister, Ana da Silva Filipe, Cassandra S Malone, Themoula Charalampous, Benjamin B Lindsey, Natalie Groves, Colin Smith, Ross J Harris, Rebekah E Wilson, Stephen Bonner, Richard Stark, Sharon Campbell, Nicola Sheriff, Helen L Lowe, Rachel Jones, Ben Warne, Rose K Davidson, Declan Bradley, Ian Johnston, Jeffrey C. Barrett, Joshua B Singer, Shirin Aliabadi, Andrew Whitwham, Patrick McClure, Samuel Robson, Sharon Glaysher, Robert J. Munn, Emma L. Wise, Laura Baxter, Kim S Smith, Catherine Moore, Bree Gatica-Wilcox, Alice Broos, Sarah Essex, David Baker, Manjinder Khakh, Dorota Jamrozy, Rachel Tucker, Ian Goodfellow, S.E. Moses, Nicola Cumley, Robin Howe, Meera Chand, James I. Price, Marina Gourtovaia, Debra Padgett, Jaime Tovar-Corona, Stephen L. Michell, Matthew J. Dorman, Lizzie Meadows, David Heyburn, Iona Willingham, Rocio Martinez Nunez, Grace Taylor-Joyce, Claire M Bewshea, Anita Justice, Simon Cottrell, Rebecca C H Brown, Jamie Young, Gavin Dabrera, Matthew Wyles, Stephen Carmichael, Lisa Berry, Frances Bolt, Andrew Rambaut, Samir Dervisevic, Erik M. Volz, Rahul Batra, Caoimhe McKerr, Samantha McGuigan, Katie Jones, Mailis Maes, Rebecca Dewar, Mary Sinnathamby, Joel Southgate, and Lynn Monaghan
Subjects: medicine.medical_specialty, business.industry, Proportional hazards model, Public health, Hazard ratio, Attendance, C500, Vaccination, Infectious Diseases, Relative risk, Internal medicine, Cohort, medicine, business, Cohort study
Abstract: Background: \ud The SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant was first detected in England in March, 2021. It has since rapidly become the predominant lineage, owing to high transmissibility. It is suspected that the delta variant is associated with more severe disease than the previously dominant alpha (B.1.1.7) variant. We aimed to characterise the severity of the delta variant compared with the alpha variant by determining the relative risk of hospital attendance outcomes.\ud \ud Methods: \ud This cohort study was done among all patients with COVID-19 in England between March 29 and May 23, 2021, who were identified as being infected with either the alpha or delta SARS-CoV-2 variant through whole-genome sequencing. Individual-level data on these patients were linked to routine health-care datasets on vaccination, emergency care attendance, hospital admission, and mortality (data from Public Health England's Second Generation Surveillance System and COVID-19-associated deaths dataset; the National Immunisation Management System; and NHS Digital Secondary Uses Services and Emergency Care Data Set). The risk for hospital admission and emergency care attendance were compared between patients with sequencing-confirmed delta and alpha variants for the whole cohort and by vaccination status subgroups. Stratified Cox regression was used to adjust for age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation, recent international travel, area of residence, calendar week, and vaccination status.\ud \ud Findings: \ud Individual-level data on 43 338 COVID-19-positive patients (8682 with the delta variant, 34 656 with the alpha variant; median age 31 years [IQR 17–43]) were included in our analysis. 196 (2·3%) patients with the delta variant versus 764 (2·2%) patients with the alpha variant were admitted to hospital within 14 days after the specimen was taken (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2·26 [95% CI 1·32–3·89]). 498 (5·7%) patients with the delta variant versus 1448 (4·2%) patients with the alpha variant were admitted to hospital or attended emergency care within 14 days (adjusted HR 1·45 [1·08–1·95]). Most patients were unvaccinated (32 078 [74·0%] across both groups). The HRs for vaccinated patients with the delta variant versus the alpha variant (adjusted HR for hospital admission 1·94 [95% CI 0·47–8·05] and for hospital admission or emergency care attendance 1·58 [0·69–3·61]) were similar to the HRs for unvaccinated patients (2·32 [1·29–4·16] and 1·43 [1·04–1·97]; p=0·82 for both) but the precision for the vaccinated subgroup was low.\ud \ud Interpretation: \ud This large national study found a higher hospital admission or emergency care attendance risk for patients with COVID-19 infected with the delta variant compared with the alpha variant. Results suggest that outbreaks of the delta variant in unvaccinated populations might lead to a greater burden on health-care services than the alpha variant.\ud \ud Funding: \ud Medical Research Council; UK Research and Innovation; Department of Health and Social Care; and National Institute for Health Research.
Published: 2022

43. Facilitating the adoption of high-throughput sequencing technologies as a plant pest diagnostic test in laboratories : A step-by-step description

Author: Benedicte Lebas, Ian Adams, Maher Al Rwahnih, Steve Baeyen, Guillaume J. Bilodeau, Arnaud G. Blouin, Neil Boonham, Thierry Candresse, Anne Chandelier, Kris De Jonghe, Adrian Fox, Yahya Z. A. Gaafar, Pascal Gentit, Annelies Haegeman, Wellcome Ho, Oscar Hurtado‐Gonzales, Wilfried Jonkers, Jan Kreuze, Denis Kutjnak, Blanca Landa, Mingxin Liu, François Maclot, Martha Malapi‐Wight, Hano J. Maree, Francesco Martoni, Natasha Mehle, Angelantonio Minafra, Dimitre Mollov, Adriana Moreira, Mark Nakhla, Françoise Petter, Alexander M. Piper, Julien Ponchart, Robbie Rae, Benoit Remenant, Yazmin Rivera, Brendan Rodoni, Johanna W. Roenhorst, Johan Rollin, Pasquale Saldarelli, Johanna Santala, Rose Souza‐Richards, Davide Spadaro, David J. Studholme, Stefanie Sultmanis, René van der Vlugt, Lucie Tamisier, Charlotte Trontin, Ines Vazquez‐Iglesias, Claudia S. L. Vicente, Bart T. L. H. Vossenberg, Thierry Wetzel, Heiko Ziebell, Sebastien Massart, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech [Gembloux], Université de Liège, Fera Science Ltd, University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California (UC), Research Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Newcastle University [Newcastle], Biologie du fruit et pathologie (BFP), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), 1Walloon Agricultural Research Centre, Gembloux, Belgium 2The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL), Frick, Switzerland, Institute for Epidemiology and Pathogen Diagnostics, Julius Kühn-Institut - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Laboratoire de santé des végétaux (LSV Angers), Laboratoire de la santé des végétaux (LSV), Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES)-Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail (ANSES), Ministry for Primary Industries, Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS-USDA, Humble, Texas, 77338, USA., World Agroforestry Center [CGIAR, Pérou] (ICRAF), World Agroforestry Center [CGIAR, Kenya] (ICRAF), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR)-Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research [CGIAR] (CGIAR), National Institute of Biology [Ljubljana] (NIB), Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC), University of Tasmania [Hobart, Australia] (UTAS), Stellenbosch University, Citrus Research International, Partenaires INRAE, Agriculture Victoria (AgriBio), CNR Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile delle Piante [Torino, Italia] (IPSP), National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Horticultural Crops Research Unit, USDA-ARS : Agricultural Research Service, International Plant Protection Convention, European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization - Organisation Européenne et Méditerranéenne pour la Protection des Plantes (EPPO), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), Finnish Food Authority, International Seed Federation (ISF), Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin (UNITO), University of Exeter, Wageningen University and Research [Wageningen] (WUR), Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária = National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research [Oeiras, Portugal] (INIAV), Dienstleistungszentrum Ländlicher Raum DLR Rheinpfalz (DLR Rheinpfalz), Julius Kühn-Institute, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants-Institute for Biological Control, European Project: 773139,VALITEST, and European Commission
Subjects: plant pest diagnostic test, Biointeractions and Plant Health, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Life Science, high-throughput sequencing, Plant Science, Horticulture, PE&RC, Agronomy and Crop Science, [SDV.BV.PEP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Phytopathology and phytopharmacy
Abstract: High-throughput sequencing (HTS) is a powerful tool that enables the simultaneous detection and potential identification of any organisms present in a sample. The growing interest in the application of HTS technologies for routine diagnostics in plant health laboratories is triggering the development of guidelines on how to prepare laboratories for performing HTS testing. This paper describes general and technical recommendations to guide laboratories through the complex process of preparing a laboratory for HTS tests within existing quality assurance systems. From nucleic acid extractions to data analysis and interpretation, all of the steps are covered to ensure reliable and reproducible results. These guidelines are relevant for the detection and identification of any plant pest (e.g. arthropods, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, invasive plants or weeds, protozoa, viroids, viruses), and from any type of matrix (e.g. pure microbial culture, plant tissue, soil, water), regardless of the HTS technology (e.g. amplicon sequencing, shotgun sequencing) and of the application (e.g. surveillance programme, phytosanitary certification, quarantine, import control). These guidelines are written in general terms to facilitate the adoption of HTS technologies in plant pest routine diagnostics and enable broader application in all plant health fields, including research. A glossary of relevant terms is provided among the Supplementary Material., This article is based upon work from the work package 2 of the project VALITEST (https://www.valitest.eu/), supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 773139.
Published: 2022

44. Coping with Environmental Eukaryotes; Identification of Pseudomonas syringae Genes during the Interaction with Alternative Hosts or Predators

Author: Federico Dorati, Glyn A. Barrett, Maria Sanchez-Contreras, Tanya Arseneault, Mateo San José, David J. Studholme, Jesús Murillo, Primitivo Caballero, Nicholas R. Waterfield, Dawn L. Arnold, Liz J. Shaw, and Robert W. Jackson
Subjects: Pseudomonas syringae, rapid virulence annotation, RVA, pathogen, anti-predation, Caenorhabditis elegans, Acanthamoeba polyphaga, Galleria mellonella, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the ecological success of plant pathogens is critical to develop strategies for controlling diseases and protecting crops. Recent observations have shown that plant pathogenic bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas, exist in a range of natural environments away from their natural plant host e.g., water courses, soil, non-host plants. This exposes them to a variety of eukaryotic predators such as nematodes, insects and amoebae present in the environment. Nematodes and amoeba in particular are bacterial predators while insect herbivores may act as indirect predators, ingesting bacteria on plant tissue. We therefore postulated that bacteria are probably under selective pressure to avoid or survive predation and have therefore developed appropriate coping mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis that plant pathogenic Pseudomonas syringae are able to cope with predation pressure and found that three pathovars show weak, but significant resistance or toxicity. To identify the gene systems that contribute to resistance or toxicity we applied a heterologous screening technique, called Rapid Virulence Annotation (RVA), for anti-predation and toxicity mechanisms. Three cosmid libraries for P. syringae pv. aesculi, pv. tomato and pv. phaseolicola, of approximately 2000 cosmids each, were screened in the susceptible/non-toxic bacterium Escherichia coli against nematode, amoebae and an insect. A number of potential conserved and unique genes were identified which included genes encoding haemolysins, biofilm formation, motility and adhesion. These data provide the first multi-pathovar comparative insight to how plant pathogens cope with different predation pressures and infection of an insect gut and provide a foundation for further study into the function of selected genes and their role in ecological success.
Published: 2018
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45. Pseudomonas syringae Strains Naturally Lacking the Classical P. syringae hrp/hrc Locus Are Common Leaf Colonizers Equipped with an Atypical Type III Secretion System

Author: Christopher R. Clarke, Rongman Cai, David J. Studholme, David S. Guttman, and Boris A. Vinatzer
Subjects: Microbiology, QR1-502, Botany, QK1-989
Abstract: Pseudomonas syringae is best known as a plant pathogen that causes disease by translocating immune-suppressing effector proteins into plant cells through a type III secretion system (T3SS). However, P. syringae strains belonging to a newly described phylogenetic subgroup (group 2c) are missing the canonical P. syringae hrp/hrc cluster coding for a T3SS, flanking effector loci, and any close orthologue of known P. syringae effectors. Nonetheless, P. syringae group 2c strains are common leaf colonizers and grow on some tested plant species to population densities higher than those obtained by other P. syringae strains on nonhost species. Moreover, group 2c strains have genes necessary for the production of phytotoxins, have an ice nucleation gene, and, most interestingly, contain a novel hrp/hrc cluster, which is only distantly related to the canonical P. syringae hrp/hrc cluster. This hrp/hrc cluster appears to encode a functional T3SS although the genes hrpK and hrpS, present in the classical P. syringae hrp/hrc cluster, are missing. The genome sequence of a representative group 2c strain also revealed distant orthologues of the P. syringae effector genes avrE1 and hopM1 and the P. aeruginosa effector genes exoU and exoY. A putative life cycle for group 2c P. syringae is discussed.
Published: 2010
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46. Morphological Variation and Inter-Relationships of Quantitative Traits in Enset (Ensete ventricosum (welw.) Cheesman) Germplasm from South and South-Western Ethiopia

Author: Zerihun Yemataw, Alemayehu Chala, Daniel Ambachew, David J. Studholme, Murray R. Grant, and Kassahun Tesfaye
Subjects: landrace, phenotypic variation, in situ and ex situ genetic resource conservation, Botany, QK1-989
Abstract: Enset (Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman) is Ethiopia’s most important root crop. A total of 387 accessions collected from nine different regions of Ethiopia were evaluated for 15 quantitative traits at Areka Agricultural Research Centre to determine the extent and pattern of distribution of morphological variation. The variations among the accessions and regions were significant (p ≤ 0.01) for all the 15 traits studied. Mean for plant height, central shoot weight before grating, and fermented squeezed kocho yield per hectare per year showed regional variation along an altitude gradient and across cultural differences related to the origin of the collection. Furthermore, there were significant correlations among most of the characters. This included the correlation among agronomic characteristics of primary interest in enset breeding such as plant height, pseudostem height, and fermented squeezed kocho yield per hectare per year. Altitude of the collection sites also significantly impacted the various characteristics studied. These results reveal the existence of significant phenotypic variations among the 387 accessions as a whole. Regional differentiations were also evident among the accessions. The implication of the current results for plant breeding, germplasm collection, and in situ and ex situ genetic resource conservation are discussed.
Published: 2017
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47. A Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato T1 Reveals a Type III Effector Repertoire Significantly Divergent from That of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000

Author: Nalvo F. Almeida, Shuangchun Yan, Magdalen Lindeberg, David J. Studholme, David J. Schneider, Bradford Condon, Haijie Liu, Carlos J. Viana, Andrew Warren, Clive Evans, Eric Kemen, Dan MacLean, Aurelie Angot, Gregory B. Martin, Jonathan D. Jones, Alan Collmer, Joao C. Setubal, and Boris A. Vinatzer
Subjects: effector-triggered immunity, nonhost resistance, pyrosequencing, Solexa sequencing, Microbiology, QR1-502, Botany, QK1-989
Abstract: Diverse gene products including phytotoxins, pathogen-associated molecular patterns, and type III secreted effectors influence interactions between Pseudomonas syringae strains and plants, with additional yet uncharacterized factors likely contributing as well. Of particular interest are those interactions governing pathogen-host specificity. Comparative genomics of closely related pathogens with different host specificity represents an excellent approach for identification of genes contributing to host-range determination. A draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato T1, which is pathogenic on tomato but nonpathogenic on Arabidopsis thaliana, was obtained for this purpose and compared with the genome of the closely related A. thaliana and tomato model pathogen P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000. Although the overall genetic content of each of the two genomes appears to be highly similar, the repertoire of effectors was found to diverge significantly. Several P. syringae pv. tomato T1 effectors absent from strain DC3000 were confirmed to be translocated into plants, with the well-studied effector AvrRpt2 representing a likely candidate for host-range determination. However, the presence of avrRpt2 was not found sufficient to explain A. thaliana resistance to P. syringae pv. tomato T1, suggesting that other effectors and possibly type III secretion system–independent factors also play a role in this interaction.
Published: 2009
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48. Two-speed genome expansion drives the evolution of pathogenicity in animal fungal pathogens

Author: David J. Studholme, Matthew C. Fisher, Nicolas Helmstetter, Duncan Wilson, Rhys A. Farrer, and Theresa Wacker
Subjects: Comparative genomics, Genetics, Chytridiomycota, Genome evolution, medicine.drug_formulation_ingredient, biology, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, medicine, Virulence, Copy-number variation, biology.organism_classification, Genome, Gene
Abstract: The origins of virulence in amphibian-infecting chytrids Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) are largely unknown. Here, we use deep nanopore sequencing of Bsal and comparative genomics against 21 high-quality genome assemblies that span the fungal Chytridiomycota. Bsal has the most repeat-rich genome, comprising 40.9% repetitive elements, which has expanded to more than 3X the length of its conspecific Bd. M36 metalloprotease virulence factors are highly expanded in Bsal and 53% of the 177 unique genes are flanked by transposable elements, suggesting repeat-driven expansion. The largest M36 sub-family are mostly (84%) flanked upstream by a novel LINE element, a repeat superfamily implicated with gene copy number variations. We find that Bsal has a highly compartmentalized genome architecture, with virulence factors enriched in gene-sparse/repeat-rich compartments, while core conserved genes occur in gene-rich/repeat-poor compartments. This is a hallmark of two-speed genome evolution. Furthermore, genes with signatures of positive selection in Bd are enriched in repeat-rich regions, suggesting they are a cradle for chytrid pathogenicity evolution, and Bd also has a two-speed genome. This is the first evidence of two-speed genomes in any animal pathogen, and sheds new light on the evolution of fungal pathogens of vertebrates driving global declines and extinctions.
Published: 2021

49. Exponential growth, high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, and vaccine effectiveness associated with the Delta variant

Author: Mohammad Raza, Alison E. Mather, Gilberto Betancor, Ian Merrick, Ben Taylor, Mathew A. Beale, Helen Ward, Samir Dervisevic, Michelle Cronin, Aaron R. Jeffries, Louise Smith, Steven Rudder, Mara K. N. Lawniczak, Sascha Ott, Ashok Dadrah, Luke Bedford, Gabrielle Vernet, Erik M. Volz, Rahul Batra, Johnny Debebe, Caoimhe McKerr, Samantha McGuigan, Oliver Megram, Katie Jones, Mailis Maes, Rebecca Dewar, Emma Swindells, Robert E. Johnson, Myra Hosmillo, Wen C Yew, Vineet Patel, Scott Aj Thurston, Matthew Bashton, Luke B Snell, Lynn Monaghan, David Buck, Gregory R Young, Garren Scott, Louis du Plessis, Sara Kumziene-Summerhayes, David M. Aanensen, Carl Jones, Nadine Holmes, Bernardo Gutierrez, Elizabeth Wastenge, Stavroula F Louka, Dennis Wang, Richard I. Gregory, M. Estée Török, Alistair C. Darby, Ulf Schaefer, Marc Niebel, David Robertson, E. Thomson, Carol Churcher, Patrick C McClure, Scott Elliott, Sarah Jeremiah, Katerina Galai, Matthew W. Loose, Megan Mayhew, Adhyana I K Mahanama, Angeliki Karamani, Naomi R Park, David J. Williams, Lance Turtle, Lucy R. Frost, Alicia Thornton, Jennifier Liddle, M Morgan, Tim Wyatt, Paul W Bird, Chloe Bishop, Esther Robinson, Alasdair MacLean, Inigo Martincorena, Bridget A. Knight, Emma Meader, Thomas R. Connor, Hermione J. Webster, Peter Muir, Sarah Walsh, Stephanie W. Lo, Andrew Bosworth, Hannah E Bridgewater, David Simpson, Radoslaw Poplawski, Angus I. Best, David Baker, Laura Letchford, Cassie Breen, Yann Bourgeois, Matthew Gemmell, Nikki Smith, Alison Holmes, Iliana Georgana, Christophe Fraser, Natasha Jesudason, Johnathan M Evans, Rachael Stanley, Lesley-Anne Williams, Jessica Lynch, Hannah Lowe, Eleri Wilson-Davies, Paul A. Baker, Alex Makunin, James Bonfield, Helen Adams, Christopher Fearn, Peter J. Diggle, Harry D Wilson, Carmen F. Manso, Nichola Duckworth, D Haw, Anna L. Casey, Audrey Farbos, Sam Haldenby, Vicki Chalker, Roberto Amato, Elen De Lacy, Ben Farr, Eric Witele, Buddhini Samaraweera, G MacIntyre-Cockett, Husam Osman, Jane Greenaway, Justin O'Grady, Sally Forrest, Andrew Nelson, Monika Pusok, A Lloyd, Edward Barton, James W. Harrison, Sophie Palmer, Amanda Symmonds, James Shepherd, Nazreen F. Hadjirin, Stephen L. Michell, Mohammed O Hassan-Ibrahim, Fiona Ashcroft, Daniel Mair, Richard H. Myers, Dianne Irish-Tavares, Hannah C. Howson-Wells, Jacqui Prieto, Christine Sambles, Andrew Hesketh, Alp Aydin, Sónia Gonçalves, Tabitha Mahungu, Tanzina Haque, Nicholas Ellaby, Karen Oliver, Hannah Paul, Joanne Watts, Claire McMurray, Lisa J Levett, Darren Smith, Simon Cottrell, Joanna Warwick-Dugdale, Pinglawathee Madona, Matthew J. Dorman, Lizzie Meadows, Ali R Awan, Leanne M Kermack, Jennifer Hart, Angie Lackenby, Carol Scott, Michael Spencer Chapman, Lucille Rainbow, Kyriaki Nomikou, Julianne R Brown, Juan Ledesma, Adam P Westhorpe, Giri Shankar, Karlie Fallon, Tim J Sloan, Joanne Watkins, Robert Impey, Sue Edwards, Rebecca C H Brown, Robin J Moll, Karla Spellman, Laura Gifford, Jamie Young, Adrienn Angyal, Graham Phillip Taylor, Robin Manley, Gavin Dabrera, Michelle Wantoch, Rachel Williams, David Heyburn, Mirko Menegazzo, Derrick W. Crook, Gaia Nebbia, Rachel Nelson, Elaine O'Toole, Luke Foulser, Katherine L Harper, Fatima Downing, Hassan Hartman, Nathan Moore, Gemma L. Kay, Matthew Wyles, Thanh Le-Viet, Edith Vamos, John Sillitoe, Lesley Shirley, Nicholas J. Loman, Iona Willingham, Elihu Aranday-Cortes, Ian B Vipond, Jeremy Mirza, Alberto C Cerda, Michelle L Michelsen, Steven Riley, Alison Cox, Igor Siveroni, Nadua Bayzid, Shavanthi Rajatileka, Giselda Bucca, Benjamin J Cogger, Tim Boswell, Matthew J. Bull, Stephen Carmichael, Lisa Berry, Frances Bolt, Kylie E. C. Ainslie, Martyn Guest, Sarojini Pandey, Katherine L. Bellis, Shane A. McCarthy, Christopher Ruis, Fei Sang, David Bonsall, Danni Weldon, Alex Alderton, Lee Graham, Amy Trebes, Sally Corden, Adrian W Signell, Tanya Golubchik, Huw Gulliver, Rocio Martinez Nunez, Dinesh Aggarwal, Tanya Curran, Jonathan K. Ball, Sharif Shaaban, Paul Randell, Jillian Durham, Alec Birchley, Matilde Mori, Joana Dias, Katherine A Twohig, Grant Hall, Antony D Hale, Alan McNally, Jonathan D. Edgeworth, Safiah Afifi, Andrew Rambaut, Katherine Smollett, David N. Lee, Tamyo Mbisa, Shahjahan Miah, Steven Rushton, Grace Taylor-Joyce, Hannah M Pymont, Chloe L Fisher, Cordelia Langford, Alex G. Richter, Jane A. H. Masoli, Michael Gallagher, Vicki M. Fleming, Kathleen A. Williamson, Anna Price, Holli Carden, Khalil Abudahab, Joanne D. Stockton, Meera Unnikrishnan, Jennifer Collins, Emma Moles-Garcia, Michaela John, Christine Kitchen, Tranprit Saluja, Ian Harrison, Lily Tong, Thomas G. Thompson, Thomas Helmer, Amita Patel, Siona Silveira, Deborah Ashby, Claire M Bewshea, Anita Justice, Brendan A I Payne, Alexander J. Trotter, Nikos Manesis, Katie F. Loveson, Cristina V. Ariani, Wendy Chatterton, Robert J. Munn, Julian A. Hiscox, Robert Beer, Judith Breuer, Caroline E. Walters, Liam Crawford, Ara Darzi, Will P. M. Rowe, Cariad Evans, Matthew Parker, Tammy V Merrill, Louise Aigrain, Joshua Quick, Leigh M Jackson, Samuel M. Nicholls, Jonathan W. Moore, John A Hartley, Graham P. Taylor, Cherian Koshy, Shirelle Burton-Fanning, Sheila Waugh, Catherine Moore, Danielle C. Groves, Peijun Zhang, Sahar Eldirdiri, Derek Fairley, Tim E. A. Peto, Jack Cd Lee, Sharon Glaysher, Liam Prestwood, Hannah Dent, Anita Kenyon, Stephen P. Kidd, Nick Levene, Igor Starinskij, Joseph G. Chappell, Steve Paterson, Gary Eltringham, Laia Fina, Angela Marchbank, Daniel Bradshaw, Marina Escalera Zamudio, Scott Goodwin, Andrew D Beggs, Seema Nickbakhsh, Trevor Robinson, Christina Atchison, David K. Jackson, Kathy Li, Rory Gunson, Sunando Roy, Graham S Cooke, Steven Liggett, Yasmin Chaudhry, Anoop Chauhan, Ben Temperton, Mariateresa de Cesare, Paul E Brown, Li Xu-McCrae, Martin P McHugh, Catherine Ludden, Wendy Smith, Danielle Leek, Divya K. Shah, Judith Heaney, Dominic P. Kwiatkowski, Kate M. Johnson, Robin Howe, Malorie Perry, Tetyana I. Vasylyeva, David F. Bibby, Haowei Wang, Steve Palmer, Nicholas W Machin, Charlotte A Williams, Bree Gatica-Wilcox, Angie Green, John A. Todd, Paul Elliott, Noel Craine, Jeffrey K. J. Cheng, Kate Templeton, Jonathan Hubb, Joshua Maksimovic, Christl A. Donnelly, Monique Andersson, Christopher Holmes, Dimitris Grammatopoulos, Christopher B. Williams, David G Partridge, Aminu S Jahun, Alexander Adams, Marius Cotic, Sarah Essex, Christopher J. Moore, Trudy Workman, Nicola Sheriff, Helen L Lowe, Ewan M. Harrison, Dorota Jamrozy, Rachel Jones, Ellen Higginson, Erwan Acheson, Christopher R. Jones, Oliver G. Pybus, Francesc Coll, Sian Morgan, Paul J. Parsons, Patawee Asamaphan, Veena Raviprakash, Andrew R. Bassett, Declan Bradley, Laura Atkinson, Anthony Underwood, Graciela Sluga, Sally Kay, Ellena Brooks, Oliver Eales, Andrew Whitwham, Surendra Parmar, Angela Cowell, Nicole Pacchiarini, Theocharis Tsoleridis, Jason Coombes, Robert Davies, Flavia Flaviani, Benita Percival, Jenna Nichols, Natasha M. Johnson, Salman Goudarzi, Hibo Asad, Amanda Bradley, Hannah Jones, Chrystala Constantinidou, Georgina M McManus, Minal Patel, Steven Leonard, Rebecca Williams Bmbs, Andrew J. Page, Christoph Puethe, Nicola Reynolds, Amy Ash, John Danesh, Corin Yeats, Claudia Wierzbicki, Kordo Saeed, John Boyes, Michael A. Quail, Sharon J. Peacock, Nabil-Fareed Alikhan, Jon-Paul Keatley, Claudio Fronterre, Garry Scarlett, James McKenna, Thushan I de Silva, Malte L Pinckert, Kate B. Cook, Amy Gaskin, Rajiv Shah, Matthew T. G. Holden, Sophie J Prosolek, Nathaniel Storey, Ryan P George, Lindsay Coupland, Jenifer Mason, Matthew Carlile, Thomas D Stanton, Guy Mollett, Siddharth Mookerjee, Mary Ramsay, Steven Platt, Stephen W Attwood, Susanne Stonehouse, Sophie Jones, Venkat Sivaprakasam, Amy Plimmer, Mark Whitehead, Catherine Bresner, Stefanie V Lensing, Louissa R Macfarlane-Smith, Colin P. Smith, Wendy Hogsden, Charlotte Nelson, Ian Johnston, Jeffrey C. Barrett, Joshua B Singer, Samuel Robson, Zoltán Molnár, Emma L. Wise, Sian Ellard, Kim S Smith, Alice Broos, Manjinder Khakh, Kathryn A Jackson, Claire Cormie, Rachel Tucker, Ian Goodfellow, S.E. Moses, Nicola Cumley, Meera Chand, Debra Padgett, Cassandra S Malone, James V. Price, Themoula Charalampous, Ronan A Lyons, Natalie Groves, Stefan Rooke, Rebekah E Wilson, Stephen Bonner, Richard Stark, Sharon Campbell, Michelle Lister, Carlos Balcazar, Ana da Silva Filipe, Ben Warne, Thomas N. Williams, Marta Gallis, Lauren Gilbert, Rose K Davidson, Angela Helen Beckett, Ember Hilvers, Kathryn McCluggage, Eileen Gallagher, Charlotte Beaver, Nick Cortes, Alisha Davies, Yusri Taha, Leah Ensell, Emanuela Pelosi, Elias Allara, Cressida Auckland, Eleanor Drury, Richard Eccles, Adela Alcolea-Medina, William L Hamilton, Rich Livett, Rachel Blacow, Margaret Hughes, Sarah François, Melisa Louise Fenton, Liz Ratcliffe, Verity Hill, Stephanie Hutchings, Kathryn Ann Harris, Emma Betteridge, William D. Fuller, Sophia T Girgis, Louise Berry, Gemma Clark, Nicholas M Redshaw, Richard Hopes, Leonardo de Oliveira Martins, Alexander J Keeley, Beth Blane, Wendy S. Barclay, Victoria Wright, Anita Lucaci, Luke R. Green, Fenella D. Halstead, Sarah Wyllie, Iraad F. Bronner, Áine O'Toole, Ravi Gupta, Leanne Kane, Clare M. McCann, Michael R Chapman, David W Eyre, Kelly Bicknell, Aileen G. Rowan, Sara Rey, Shazaad Ahmad, Diana Rajan, S Taylor, Sarah J. O'Brien, Alessandro M Carabelli, Amelia Joseph, Max Whiteley, Riaz Jannoo, Victoria Blakey, Martin D. Curran, David J. Studholme, Harmeet K Gill, Thomas R. A. Davis, Sushmita Sridhar, Clive Graham, Julian Tang, Clare Pearson, Mark Kristiansen, Miren Iturriza-Gomara, National Institute for Health Research, and UK Research and Innovation
Subjects: Delta, Adult, Male, 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19 Vaccines, Vaccination Coverage, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Adolescent, General Science & Technology, Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Vaccine Efficacy, Biology, Young Adult, Exponential growth, Ethnicity, Prevalence, Humans, Child, Aged, Family Characteristics, Multidisciplinary, High prevalence, COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium11‡, SARS-CoV-2, Age Factors, COVID-19, Middle Aged, Virology, Hospitalization, England, Socioeconomic Factors, COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Testing, Child, Preschool, Female, Self Report
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections were rising during early summer 2021 in many countries as a result of the Delta variant. We assessed reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction swab positivity in the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission–1 (REACT-1) study in England. During June and July 2021, we observed sustained exponential growth with an average doubling time of 25 days, driven by complete replacement of the Alpha variant by Delta and by high prevalence at younger, less-vaccinated ages. Prevalence among unvaccinated people [1.21% (95% credible interval 1.03%, 1.41%)] was three times that among double-vaccinated people [0.40% (95% credible interval 0.34%, 0.48%)]. However, after adjusting for age and other variables, vaccine effectiveness for double-vaccinated people was estimated at between ~50% and ~60% during this period in England. Increased social mixing in the presence of Delta had the potential to generate sustained growth in infections, even at high levels of vaccination.
Published: 2021

50. Genomic-Assisted Marker Development Suitable for CsCvy-1 Selection in Cucumber Breeding

Author: Yiguo Hong, Ercan Ozkaynak, David J. Studholme, Mahmut Tör, Zübeyir Devran, and Erdem Kahveci
Subjects: Genetics, education.field_of_study, Population, Potyvirus, Bulked segregant analysis, CVYV, Plant culture, Genomics, Plant Science, Marker-assisted selection, Biology, biology.organism_classification, SB1-1110, Genetic marker, kompetitive allele-specific PCR genotyping, plant breeding, marker assisted selection, Plant breeding, education, Genotyping, cucumber, Original Research
Abstract: Cucumber is a widely grown vegetable crop plant and a host to many different plant pathogens. Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) causes economic losses on cucumber crops in Mediterranean countries and in some part of India such as West Bengal and in African countries such as Sudan. CVYV is an RNA potyvirus transmitted mechanically and by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) in a semipersistent manner. Control of this virus is heavily dependent on the management of the insect vector and breeding virus-resistant lines. DNA markers have been used widely in conventional plant breeding programs via marker-assisted selection (MAS). However, very few resistance sources against CVYV in cucumber exist, and also the lack of tightly linked molecular markers to these sources restricts the rapid generation of resistant lines. In this work, we used genomics coupled with the bulked segregant analysis method and generated the MAS-friendly Kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers suitable for CsCvy-1 selection in cucumber breeding using a segregating F2 mapping population and commercial plant lines. Variant analysis was performed to generate single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based markers for mapping the population and genotyping the commercial lines. We fine-mapped the region by generating new markers down to 101 kb with eight genes. We provided SNP data for this interval, which could be useful for breeding programs and cloning the candidate genes.
Published: 2021

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