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American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) is an alien invasive species in southwest China native to the central and eastern United States and southeastern Canada. After the 19th century, they extensively appear in aquaculture and natural environments worldwide as a delicious food but also creating a serious threat to the survival and development of native species. In the early rainy season, dead American bullfrog larvae floating on the water of unnamed ponds in Qujing Normal University, Yunnan Province, China were collected and brought to the mycology laboratory, and three interesting fungal strains were isolated from their intestinal contents. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on the resultant isolates based on multiple gene sequences (ITS, LSU, rpb2, tub2, tef1-α), and results confirmed that the three strains belong to three species, namely; Boothiella tetraspora, Sordaria macrospora and Trichoderma virens. The morphological characteristics were also used to describe the fungal taxa. Photographic plates, descriptions, and phylogenetic trees that show the placements of the fungal species are reported herein.

Yunnan Province (China) is one of the most bamboo-rich regions in the world. In this study, a saprophytic fungus was collected from dead bamboo in Yunnan Province. Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses of combined LSU, SSU, and tef1-α sequence data, our collections grouped within Linocarpon and formed a separate clade with high statistical support. The morphological comparison showed that our collections has some characteristics such as semi-immersed ascomata, fusiform asci, and ascospores with 28–30 septa, which are different from other species in Linocarpon. Therefore, based on morpho-phylogenetic evidence, our collection is identified as a new bambusicolous species in China and named Linocarpon bambusina sp. nov. A full description, photo plate, and a phylogenetic tree are provided for the new species.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare mesenchymal spindle cell tumor. SFT in the central nervous system (CNS) is rare. This case reports rare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of intracranial SFT (ISFT).We report a 47-year-old female patient who was found to have weakness in her right limb with walking instability 2 months before the visit.Based on imaging, the provisional diagnosis was meningioma. Postsurgical histopathological diagnosis confirmed World Health Organization (WHO) grade I SFT/hemangiopericytoma (HPC).The lesion was totally excised. The patient improved remarkably after the operation, without any signs of associated limb movement disorder.No local recurrence or metastases were observed in the follow-up 3 months after the surgery.Intracranial SFT is a rare mesenchymal tumor. Due to different tumor components, imaging manifestations are diverse and lack of characteristics, so preoperative diagnosis is challenging. Our case provides a rare ISFT with significantly decreased signal intensity in T2 weighted images (T2WI), which is an important supplement to the rare imaging findings of intracranial SFT.

We describe a new fungal species of the genus Lentithecium, collected from dead culms of Artemisia sp. in Songhua Reservoir at Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses of LSU, ITS, SSU, and tef1-α sequence data showed that our new fungal strain belongs to Lentithecium and is well separated from all other extant species of Lentithecium. Lentithecium yunnanensis sp. nov. is compared with all the extant species by morphological characteristics, culture characteristics, host, and location information and is the first report of Lentithecium from China on Artemisia. A comprehensive description, a color photo plate of microcharacteristics, and a phylogenetic tree to show the position of the new species are provided.

Two Pseudoberkleasmium taxa were obtained from decaying leaves and culms of Cocos nucifera and Zea mays in northern Thailand. Pseudoberkleasmium collections were compared with closely related taxa based on morphological characteristics and combined ITS, LSU, SSU, TEF1-α, and RPB2 DNA sequence data. Pseudoberkleasmium chiangraiense sp. nov. and a new host record, P. chiangmaiense are presented with full descriptions, photo plates, and a phylogenetic tree showing the placements of taxa.

A dead Asian House Gecko, infected with multiple species of fungi, was found floating in a jug of water inside a building in Kunming, China. The dead gecko was taken to the mycology laboratory at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences and different fungal species were isolated. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out on the resultant isolates based on multiple gene sequences (ITS, LSU, mtSSU, rpb1, rpb2, tub2, Bloc, CAL, CHS-1, GAPDH, tef1-α). In addition to the phylogenetic analyses, morphological characteristics were also used to describe the fungal taxa. The entomopathogenic fungus Basidiobolus ranarum was isolated from the gecko’s inflamed right forelimb, while Beauveria bassiana was isolated from the gecko’s forehead. In addition, the neck skin yielded a common and important plant pathogen Colletotrichum jianxiense. Full descriptions, color plates of macro and micro structures of fungal taxa, and phylogenetic trees to show the placements of fungal taxa are provided. These findings represent either new host records or new country records for the three fungal species.

Domesticated species represent unique systems in which the evolutionary genomic consequences of intensive selective breeding and adaptation can be thoroughly investigated. Amorphophallus albus occurs naturally and is in cultivation throughout the downstream region of the Jinshajiang River in Southwest China. This species is characterised by high konjac glucomannan content, and has been cultivated in China for nearly 2,000 years. To study genetic differentiation and local adaption of A. albus, we sampled 13 distinct local cultivated populations of this species. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing was conducted with 87 samples, resulting in 24,225 SNPs. The population structure analyses suggest two main genetic groups: one in the relatively upstream region, and one downstream. We found evidence of additional sub-structure within the upstream group, demonstrating the statistical power of genomic SNPs in discovering subtle genetic structure. The environmental and geographic factors were all identified as significant in shaping the genetic differentiation of this species. Notably, the proportion of environmental factors was larger than geographic factors in influencing the population genetic patterns of A. albus. We also discovered loci that were associated with local adaptation. These findings will help us understand the genetic differentiation of this newly domesticated species, thereby informing future breeding programs of A. albus.

As osmolytes and signaling molecules, soluble sugars participate in the response and adaptation of plants to environmental stresses. In the present study, we measured the effect of chilling (12 °C) stress on the contents of eight soluble sugars in the leaves, cotyledons, stems, and roots of Jatropha curcas seedlings, as well as on the activities of eight rate-limiting enzymes that are critical to the metabolism of those soluble sugars. Chilling stress promoted both starch hydrolysis and soluble sugar accumulation. The soluble sugar contents of the leaves and cotyledons were affected more than that of the stems and roots. Meanwhile, the activities of the corresponding metabolic enzymes (e.g., β-amylase, uridine diphosphate glucose phosphorylase, and sucrose phosphate synthase) also increased in some organs. The gradual increase of soluble neutral alkaline invertase activity in the four studied organs suggested that sucrose catabolic production, such as glucose and fructose, was especially important in determining resistance to chilling stress and hexose signal transduction pathway. In addition, the substantial accumulation of raffinose family oligosaccharides and increase in corresponding metabolic enzyme activity suggested that galactinol and raffinose play an important role in determining the chilling resistance of J. curcas. Together, these findings establish a foundation for determining the relationship between the chilling resistance and soluble sugar accumulation of J. curcas and for investigating the mechanisms underlying sugar signaling transduction and stress responses.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are fundamental signal transduction modules in all eukaryotic organisms, controlling cell division, growth, development, and hormone signaling. Additionally, they can be activated in response to a variety of biotic and abiotic stressors. Although the evolution and expression patterns of MAPK cascade families have been systematically investigated in several model plants (e.g., Arabidopsis, rice, and poplar), we still know very little about MAPK, MAPKK, and MAPKKK families in Jatropha curcas, an economically important species. Therefore, this study performed genome-wide identification and transcriptional expression analysis of these three families in J. curcas. We identified 12 J. curcas MAPK (JcMAPKs), 5 JcMAPKKs, and 65 JcMAPKKKs. Phylogenetic analysis classified all JcMAPKs and JcMAPKKs into four subgroups, whereas JcMAPKKKs were grouped into three subfamilies (MEKK, RAF, and ZIK). Similarities in exon/intron structures supported the evolutionary relationships within subgroups and subfamilies. Conserved motif analysis indicated that all J. curcas MAPK cascades possessed typical, 200–300 amino-acid protein kinase domains. MAPK cascade genes were presented throughout all 11 chromosomes. Gene duplication analysis suggested that after JcMAPK and JcMAPKKK diverged, 3 and 19 tandem duplicates occurred under strong purifying selection. Furthermore, RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses revealed that some MAPK cascade genes are predominantly expressed in specific tissues. Moreover, their expression levels significantly increased under cold treatment. Our results should provide insight into the roles of MAPK cascade genes in regulating J. curcas stress responses and in hormonal signal transduction. Furthermore, these data have important applications in the genetic improvement of J. curcas.

Hexokinase, the key rate-limiting enzyme of plant respiration and glycolysis metabolism, has been found to play a vital role in plant sugar sensing and sugar signal transduction. Using Jatropha curcas genome database and bioinformatics method, J. curcas HXK gene family (JcHXK) was identified and its phylogenetic evolution, functional domain, signal peptide at the N-terminal, and expression analysis were conducted. The results showed that a total of 4 HXK genes (JcHXK1, JcHXK2, JcHXK3, and JcHKL1) with 9 exons were systematically identified from J. curcas. JcHXK1, JcHXK3, and JcHKL1 with putative transmembrane domain at the N-terminal belonged to the type of secretory pathway protein, and JcHXK2 contained putative chloroplast targeting peptide. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that all the four JcHXKs were expressed in different tissues of the leaves, roots, and seeds; however, JcHXK1 and JcHKL1 expression were higher in the roots, whereas JcHXK2 and JcHXK3 showed over-expression in the leaves and seeds, respectively. Furthermore, all the four JcHXKs were up-regulated in the leaves after cold stress at 12 °C; however, only JcHXK3 remarkably demonstrated cold-induced expression in the roots, which reached the highest expression level at 12 h (2.28-fold). According to the cis-acting element analysis results, JcHXK2 contained the most low temperature responsive elements, which was closely related to the cold resistance in J. curcas. A pET-28a-JcHXK2 prokaryotic recombinant expression vector was successfully constructed and a 57.0 kDa protein was obtained, JcHXK2 revealed catalytic activity towards glucose and fructose, with a higher affinity for glucose than fructose. The subcellular localization assays revealed that JcHXK2 was localized in the chloroplast. The results of this study might provide theoretical foundation for further studies on gene cloning and functional verification of HXK family in J. curcas.

Background Bombax ceiba L. (the red silk cotton tree) is a large deciduous tree that is distributed in tropical and sub-tropical Asia as well as northern Australia. It has great economic and ecological importance, with several applications in industry and traditional medicine in many Asian countries. To facilitate further utilization of this plant resource, we present here the draft genome sequence for B. ceiba. Findings We assembled a relatively intact genome of B. ceiba by using PacBio single-molecule sequencing and BioNano optical mapping technologies. The final draft genome is approximately 895 Mb long, with contig and scaffold N50 sizes of 1.0 Mb and 2.06 Mb, respectively. Conclusions The high-quality draft genome assembly of B. ceiba will be a valuable resource enabling further genetic improvement and more effective use of this tree species.

As osmolytes and signaling molecules, soluble sugars participate in the response and adaptation of plants to environmental stresses. In the present study, we measured the effect of chilling (12 °C) stress on the contents of eight soluble sugars in the leaves, cotyledons, stems, and roots of Jatropha curcas seedlings, as well as on the activities of eight rate-limiting enzymes that are critical to the metabolism of those soluble sugars. Chilling stress promoted both starch hydrolysis and soluble sugar accumulation. The soluble sugar contents of the leaves and cotyledons were affected more than that of the stems and roots. Meanwhile, the activities of the corresponding metabolic enzymes (e.g., β-amylase, uridine diphosphate glucose phosphorylase, and sucrose phosphate synthase) also increased in some organs. The gradual increase of soluble neutral alkaline invertase activity in the four studied organs suggested that sucrose catabolic production, such as glucose and fructose, was especially important in determining resistance to chilling stress and hexose signal transduction pathway. In addition, the substantial accumulation of raffinose family oligosaccharides and increase in corresponding metabolic enzyme activity suggested that galactinol and raffinose play an important role in determining the chilling resistance of J. curcas. Together, these findings establish a foundation for determining the relationship between the chilling resistance and soluble sugar accumulation of J. curcas and for investigating the mechanisms underlying sugar signaling transduction and stress responses.

The effect of Ca-doping on the structural, magnetic, electrical, and thermal transport properties has been investigated in Dy1−xCaxVO3 (0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.2) ceramics. Substituting Ca2+ for Dy3+ leads to a shrinkage of lattice due to the introduction of V4+ with a smaller ionic radius. The parent compound DyVO3 undergoes three spin/orbital ordering (OO/SO) transitions with decreasing temperature at TOO, TSO1 and TSO2, respectively. Increasing the doping level of Ca decreases TSO1, the magnetization above TSO1 and below 50 K, whereas increases TSO2, indicating the Ca-doping has a suppressing effect on the ordering state in DyVO3 system. The thermopower of DyVO3 decreases sharply near TOO while it is not observed in the Ca-doped samples. The result shows that the x = 0.05 Ca-doping is sufficient to melt the OO state in DyVO3 system. Both the thermopower and resistivity decrease significantly with increasing the Ca-doping content. The decreased thermopower is suggested to originate from the combined effect of the increased carrier concentration and decreased spin/orbital degeneracies.

The structural, magnetic, electrical and thermal transport properties of the Cl-doped Ca 3 Co 4 O 9− x Cl x ( x = 0, 0.225, 0.45, 0.675, 0.9) ceramics have been investigated systematically. The degree of orientation of grains increases with increasing Cl-doping content. Obvious shoulder is observed in the d χ −1 ( T )/d T versus T curve for the Cl-doped samples and the shoulder shifts to lower temperature as Cl-doping content increases, indicating the long-range spin-density-wave state becomes unstable in these Cl-doped samples. Cl-doping also has a suppression effect on the ferrimagnetic state. The resistivity ρ of the Cl-doped samples is lower than that of Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 in whole measured temperature range, which is suggested to be related to the increased carrier mobility induced by Cl-doping. The power factor P of the x = 0.9 sample is about 1.6 times larger and ZT is 1.3 times larger than that of the un-doped sample Ca 3 Co 4 O 9 .