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Plant health depends not only on the condition of the plant itself but also on its diverse community of microbes, or microbiota. Just like the better-studied angiosperms, bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, and hornworts) harbor diverse communities of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and other microbial eukaryotes. Bryophytes are increasingly recognized as important model systems for understanding plant evolution, development, physiology, and symbiotic interactions. Much of the work on bryophyte microbiota in the past focused on specific symbiont types for each bryophyte group, but more recent studies are taking a broader view acknowledging the coexistence of diverse microbial communities in bryophytes. Therefore, this review integrates studies of bryophyte microbes from both perspectives to provide a holistic view of the existing research for each bryophyte group and on key themes. The systematic search also reveals the taxonomic and geographic biases in this field, including a severe under-representation of the tropics, very few studies on viruses or eukaryotic microbes beyond fungi, and a focus on mycorrhizal fungi studies in liverworts. Such gaps may have led to errors in conclusions about evolutionary patterns in symbiosis. This analysis points to a wealth of future research directions that promise to reveal how the distinct life cycles and physiology of bryophytes interact with their microbiota.

Grasses harbor diverse fungi, including some that produce mycotoxins or other secondary metabolites. Recently, Florida cattle farmers reported cattle illness, while the cattle were grazing on warm-season grass pastures, that was not attributable to common causes, such as nutritional imbalances or nitrate toxicity. To understand correlations between grass mycobiome and mycotoxin production, we investigated the mycobiomes associated with five prominent, perennial forage and weed grasses [Paspalum notatum Flügge, Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Paspalum nicorae Parodi, Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br., and Andropogon virginicus (L.)] collected from six Florida pastures actively grazed by livestock. Black fungal stromata of Myriogenospora and Balansia were observed on P. notatum and S. indicus leaves and were investigated. High-throughput amplicon sequencing was applied to delineate leaf mycobiomes. Mycotoxins from P. notatum leaves were inspected using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Grass species, cultivars, and geographic localities interactively affected fungal community assemblies of asymptomatic leaves. Among the grass species, the greatest fungal richness was detected in the weed S. indicus. The black fungal structures of P. notatum leaves were dominated by the genus Myriogenospora, while those of S. indicus were codominated by the genus Balansia and a hypermycoparasitic fungus of the genus Clonostachys. When comparing mycotoxins detected in P. notatum leaves with and without M. atramentosa, emodin, an anthraquinone, was the only compound which was significantly different (P

Small genes (40,000 small-gene families in ~2.3 million phage genome contigs. We find that small genes in phage genomes are approximately 3-fold more prevalent than in host prokaryotic genomes. Our approach enriches for small genes that are translated in microbiomes, suggesting the small genes identified are coding. More than 9,000 families encode potentially secreted or transmembrane proteins, more than 5,000 families encode predicted anti-CRISPR proteins, and more than 500 families encode predicted antimicrobial proteins. By combining homology and genomic-neighborhood analyses, we reveal substantial novelty and diversity within phage biology, including small phage genes found in multiple host phyla, small genes encoding proteins that play essential roles in host infection, and small genes that share genomic neighborhoods and whose encoded proteins may share related functions.

Fungal members of Colletotrichum (Ascomycota) were found to be associated with Chordodes formosanus, one of the three currently known horsehair worm (Nematomorpha) species in Taiwan. The fungi were identified as Colletotrichum fructicola, which is mostly known as a plant pathogen, through the use of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and partial large subunit (nrITS + nrLSU) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) DNA sequences. To our knowledge, this report represents both the first records for Colletotrichum associated with hairworms and for fungi on Nematomorpha. These findings expand the knowledge on the ecological relationships of both clades.

Mosses harbor fungi whose interactions within their hosts remain largely unexplored. Trophic ranges of fungal endophytes from the moss Dicranum scoparium were hypothesized to encompass saprotrophism. This moss is an ideal host to study fungal trophic lability because of its natural senescence gradient, and because it can be grown axenically. Dicranum scoparium was co-cultured with each of eight endophytic fungi isolated from naturally occurring D. scoparium. Moss growth rates, and gene expression levels (RNA sequencing) of fungi and D. scoparium, were compared between axenic and co-culture treatments. Functional lability of two fungal endophytes was tested by comparing their RNA expression levels when colonizing living vs dead gametophytes. Growth rates of D. scoparium were unchanged, or increased, when in co-culture. One fungal isolate (Hyaloscyphaceae sp.) that promoted moss growth was associated with differential expression of auxin-related genes. When grown with living vs dead gametophytes, Coniochaeta sp. switched from having upregulated carbohydrate transporter activity to upregulated oxidation-based degradation, suggesting an endophytism to saprotrophism transition. However, no such transition was detected for Hyaloscyphaceae sp. Individually, fungal endophytes did not negatively impact growth rates of D. scoparium. Our results support the long-standing hypothesis that some fungal endophytes can switch to saprotrophism.

Fungal members of Colletotrichum (Ascomycota) were found to be associated with Chordodesformosanus, one of the three currently known horsehair worm (Nematomorpha) species in Taiwan. The fungi were identified as Colletotrichumfructicola, which is mostly known as a plant pathogen, through the use of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and partial large subunit (nrITS + nrLSU) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) DNA sequences. To our knowledge, this report represents both the first records for Colletotrichum associated with hairworms and for fungi on Nematomorpha. These findings expand the knowledge on the ecological relationships of both clades.

Bryophytes harbour microbiomes, including diverse communities of fungi. The molecular mechanisms by which perennial mosses interact with these fungal partners along their senescence gradients are unknown, yet this is an ideal system to study variation in gene expression associated with trophic state transitions. We investigated differentially expressed genes of fungal communities and their host Dicranum scoparium across its naturally occurring senescence gradient using a metatranscriptomic approach. Higher activity of fungal nutrient-related (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur) transporters and Carbohydrate-Active enZyme (CAZy) genes was detected toward the bottom, partially decomposed, layer of the moss. The most prominent variation in the expression levels of fungal nutrient transporters was from inorganic nitrogen-related transporters, whereas the breakdown of organonitrogens was detected as the most enriched gene ontology term for the host D. scoparium, for those transcripts having higher expression in the partially decomposed layer. The abundance of bacterial rRNA transcripts suggested that more living members of Cyanobacteria are associated with the photosynthetic layer of D. scoparium, while members of Rhizobiales are detected throughout the gametophytes. Plant genes for specific fungal-plant communication, including defense responses, were differentially expressed, suggesting that different genetic pathways are involved in plant-microbe crosstalk in photosynthetic tissues compared to partially decomposed tissues.

Aims: In cancer patients with cardiomyopathy related to anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab, data on late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) on cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) are conflicting, with a prevalence of 0-100%. The patterns of LGE are also poorly described. We aimed to investigate these topics in a large cohort of consecutive cancer patients with suspected cardiotoxicity from anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab. Methods and Results: We studied 298 patients, analyzed the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of LGE, and identified their causes. We compared the findings with those from 100 age-matched cancer patients who received neither anthracyclines nor trastuzumab. Overall, 31 (10.4%) patients who received anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab had LGE. The LGE had widely varying extents (3.9-34.7%) and locations (all 17 left ventricular segments were involved). It was in an ischemic pattern in 20/31 (64.5%) patients. There was an alternative explanation for the non-ischemic LGE in 7/11 (63.6%) patients. In the patients who received neither anthracyclines nor trastuzumab, the prevalence of LGE was higher at 27.0%, while the extent of LGE and the proportion with ischemic LGE were not different. Conclusions: Treatment with anthracyclines and/or trastuzumab is unlikely to be associated with LGE because LGE was present in only a minority, the LGE did not fit into a single profile that could be attributed to cancer treatment-related cardiotoxicity, the LGE had alternative explanations in almost all cases, and LGE was also present in cancer patients who received neither anthracyclines nor trastuzumab. Absence of LGE can differentiate anthracycline- or trastuzumab-related cardiomyopathy from unrelated cardiomyopathies.

Introduction: Cardiac sarcoidosis is increasingly recognized as a cause of cardiomyopathy and mortality. However, there are no data on sex differences in patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that sex differences exist in the clinical presentation, cardiac involvement, and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study to examine sex differences in presenting features, CMR findings, and the long-term incidence of adverse clinical outcomes among consecutive patients with histologically proven sarcoidosis and suspected cardiac involvement investigated by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). The primary composite clinical endpoint was all-cause mortality or significant ventricular arrhythmia. The secondary endpoints were all-cause mortality and significant ventricular arrhythmia. Results: Among 324 patients, 163 (50.3%) were women and 161 (49.7%) were men. Women reported a greater prevalence of chest pain and palpitations than men, but not dyspnea, presyncope, or syncope. Women were less likely to have LGE or meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis, indicating lesser cardiac involvement. The long-term incidence of the primary composite endpoint (hazard ratio for women 1.36; 95% confidence interval 0.77-2.43; p = 0.29; Figure 1 ) or the cause of death between women and men (p = 0.62). However, women had a significantly lower cumulative incidence of significant ventricular arrhythmia compared with men (4.3% vs. 13.0%; log-rank p = 0.022). Conclusions: There were distinct sex differences in patients with histologically proven sarcoidosis and suspected cardiac involvement. A paradox was noted wherein women had a greater prevalence of chest pain and palpitations than men, but had lesser cardiac involvement, and a similar long-term incidence of all-cause death or significant ventricular arrhythmia.

Introductions and invasions by fungi, especially pathogens and mycorrhizal fungi, are widespread and potentially highly consequential for native ecosystems, but may also offer opportunities for linking microbial traits to their ecosystem functions. In particular, treating ectomycorrhizal (EM) invasions, i.e., co-invasions by EM fungi and their EM host plants, as natural experiments may offer a powerful approach for testing how microbial traits influence ecosystem functions. Forests dominated by EM symbiosis have unique biogeochemistry whereby the secretions of EM plants and fungi affect carbon (C) and nutrient cycling; moreover, particular lineages of EM fungi have unique functional traits. EM invasions may therefore alter the biogeochemistry of the native ecosystems they invade, especially nitrogen (N) and C cycling. By identifying “response traits” that favor the success of fungi in introductions and invasions (e.g., spore dispersal and germination) and their correlations with “effect traits” (e.g., nutrient-cycling enzymes) that can alter N and C cycling (and affect other coupled elemental cycles), one may be able to predict the functional consequences for ecosystems of fungal invasions using biogeochemistry models that incorporate fungal traits. Here, we review what is already known about how EM fungal community composition, traits, and ecosystem functions differ between native and exotic populations, focusing on the example of EM fungi associated with species of Pinus introduced from the Northern into the Southern Hemisphere. We develop hypotheses on how effects of introduced and invasive EM fungi may depend on interactions between soil N availability in the exotic range and EM fungal traits. We discuss how such hypotheses could be tested by utilizing Pinus introductions and invasions as a model system, especially when combined with controlled laboratory experiments. Finally, we illustrate how ecosystem modeling can be used to link fungal traits to their consequences for ecosystem N and C cycling in the context of biological invasions, and we highlight exciting avenues for future directions in understanding EM invasion., Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 3, ISSN:2624-893X

Premise of the study The Hymenochaetales are dominated by lignicolous saprotrophic fungi involved in wood decay. However, the group also includes bryophilous and terricolous taxa, but their modes of nutrition are not clear. Here, we investigate patterns of carbon and nitrogen utilization in numerous non-lignicolous Hymenochaetales and provide a phylogenetic context in which these non-canonical ecological guilds arose. Methods We combined stable isotope analyses of δ13 C and δ15 N and phylogenetic analyses to explore assignment and evolution of nutritional modes. Clustering procedures and statistical tests were performed to assign trophic modes to Hymenochaetales and test for differences between varying ecologies. Genomes of Hymenochaetales were mined for presence of enzymes involved in plant cell wall and lignin degradation and sucrolytic activity. Key results Three different trophic clusters were detected - biotrophic, saprotrophic, and a second biotrophic cluster including many bryophilous Hymenochaetales and mosses. Non-lignicolous Hymenochaetales are generally biotrophic. All lignicolous Hymenochaetales clustered as saprotrophic and most terricolous Hymenochaetales clustered as ectomycorrhizal. Overall, at least 15 species of Hymenochaetales are inferred as biotrophic. Bryophilous species of Rickenella can degrade plant cell walls and lignin, and cleave sucrose to glucose consistent with a parasitic or endophytic life style. Conclusions Most non-lignicolous Hymenochaetales are biotrophic. Stable isotope values of many bryophilous Hymenochaetales cluster as ectomycorrhizal or in a biotrophic cluster indicative of parasitism or an endophytic life style. Overall, trophic mode diversity in the Hymenochaetales is greater than anticipated, and non-lignicolous ecological traits and biotrophic modes of nutrition are evolutionarily derived features.

Myriogenospora atramentosa is an epibiont fungus that produces black, linear stromata on the leaves of warm-season grasses including Paspalum and Andropogon. Because M. atramentosa is in the family Clavicipitaceae containing several ergot alkaloid-producing fungi, its mycotoxin production and the potential risk to cattle health are of concern. Limpograss (Hemarthria altissima) is a warm-season perennial grass that plays a key role in the cattle industry of the southeastern United States. Limpograss plants with tangletop signs and symptoms were collected in October 2018 from Osceola County, Florida, U.S.A. M. atramentosa was confirmed. M. atramentosa is reported to be associated with the plant genus Hemarthria for the first time, through morphological and molecular investigations. Because of the increasing human usage, animal consumption, and global distribution of H. altissima, understanding its codistribution with M. atramentosa and the potential mycotoxin content is critical to protect plants and animals.

Plant root-associated microbial symbionts comprise the plant rhizobiome. These microbes function in provisioning nutrients and water to their hosts, impacting plant health and disease. The plant microbiome is shaped by plant species, plant genotype, soil and environmental conditions, but the contributions of these variables are hard to disentangle from each other in natural systems. We used bioassay common garden experiments to decouple plant genotype and soil property impacts on fungal and bacterial community structure in the Populus rhizobiome. High throughput amplification and sequencing of 16S, ITS, 28S and 18S rDNA was accomplished through 454 pyrosequencing. Co-association patterns of fungal and bacterial taxa were assessed with 16S and ITS datasets. Community bipartite fungal-bacterial networks and PERMANOVA results attribute significant difference in fungal or bacterial communities to soil origin, soil chemical properties and plant genotype. Indicator species analysis identified a common set of root bacteria as well as endophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Populus in different soils. However, no single taxon, or consortium of microbes, was indicative of a particular Populus genotype. Fungal-bacterial networks were over-represented in arbuscular mycorrhizal, endophytic, and ectomycorrhizal fungi, as well as bacteria belonging to the orders Rhizobiales, Chitinophagales, Cytophagales, and Burkholderiales. These results demonstrate the importance of soil and plant genotype on fungal-bacterial networks in the belowground plant microbiome.

Introduction: In patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis, a definitive diagnosis of the condition can only be made in the presence of non-caseating granuloma on histological examination of myocardial tissue with no alternative cause identified. However, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) has a low sensitivity - attributed to the focal nature of the disease - with a reported yield of Methods: We studied 52 patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis that underwent both CMR and EMB and investigated associations between the EMB yield and LGE CMR characteristics: presence of LGE, presence of LGE in the septum, presence of LGE on the right ventricular (RV) side of the septum, extent of LGE, and extent of LGE on the RV side of the septum. The extent of LGE was measured using the 5SD method. The extent of LGE on the RV side of the septum was measured by tracing the RV border of the septum on all short-axis LGE images, and expressed as a percent of the total RV border with LGE. Results: Of 52 patients, non-caseating granulomas were noted in 9 (17.3%). Comparison of the markers between patients with and without positive EMB is provided. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses showed the largest area under the curve (AUC) for the extent of LGE on the RV side of the septum (0.92). A cut-off of >14.7% of LGE on the RV side of the septum had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 79% to predict the yield of EMB. Conclusions: In patients with suspected cardiac sarcoidosis undergoing EMB, the presence of LGE has 100% sensitivity but a low specificity for predicting the yield of EMB. Among LGE characteristics, the extent of LGE on the RV side of the septum has the highest AUC, and a cut-off of >14.7% predicts a positive EMB with 100% sensitivity and 79% specificity. LGE CMR characteristics can help improve the yield of EMB in patients with suspected CS.

Plant root-associated microbial symbionts comprise the plant rhizobiome. These microbes function in provisioning nutrients and water to their hosts, impacting plant health and disease. The plant microbiome is shaped by plant species, plant genotype, soil and environmental conditions, but the contributions of these variables are hard to disentangle from each other in natural systems. We used bioassay common garden experiments to decouple plant genotype and soil property impacts on fungal and bacterial community structure in the Populus rhizobiome. High throughput amplification and sequencing of 16S, ITS, 28S and 18S rDNA was accomplished through 454 pyrosequencing. Co-association patterns of fungal and bacterial taxa were assessed with 16S and ITS datasets. Community bipartite fungal-bacterial networks and PERMANOVA results attribute significant difference in fungal or bacterial communities to soil origin, soil chemical properties and plant genotype. Indicator species analysis identified a common set of root bacteria as well as endophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Populus in different soils. However, no single taxon, or consortium of microbes, was indicative of a particular Populus genotype. Fungal-bacterial networks were over-represented in arbuscular mycorrhizal, endophytic, and ectomycorrhizal fungi, as well as bacteria belonging to the orders Rhizobiales, Chitinophagales, Cytophagales, and Burkholderiales. These results demonstrate the importance of soil and plant genotype on fungal-bacterial networks in the belowground plant microbiome.

Cancer patients are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) after potentially cardiotoxic cancer treatment. Preexisting coronary artery disease (CAD) is an important risk factor for such CVD. Many cancer patients undergo computed tomography (CT) imaging for cancer staging prior to

Symbiotic fungi living in plants as endophytes, and in lichens as endolichenic fungi, cause no apparent symptoms to their hosts. They are ubiquitous, ecologically important, hyperdiverse, and represent a rich source of secondary compounds for new pharmaceutical and biocontrol products. Due in part to the lack of visible reproductive structures and other distinctive phenotypic traits for many species, the diversity and phylogenetic affiliations of these cryptic fungi are often poorly known. The goal of this study was to determine the phylogenetic placement of representative endophytes within the Eurotiomycetes (Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota), one of the most diverse and evolutionarily dynamic fungal classes, and to use that information to infer processes of macroevolution in trophic modes. Sequences of a single locus marker spanning the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (nrITS) and 600 base pairs at the 5' end of the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (nrLSU) were obtained from previous studies of >6000 endophytic and endolichenic fungi from diverse biogeographic locations and hosts. We conducted phylum-wide phylogenetic searches using this marker to determine which fungal strains belonged to Eurotiomycetes and the results were used as the basis for a class-wide, seven-locus phylogenetic study focusing on endophytic and endolichenic Eurotiomycetes. Our cumulative supermatrix-based analyses revealed that representative endophytes within Eurotiomycetes are distributed in three main clades: Eurotiales, Chaetothyriales and Phaeomoniellales ord. nov., a clade that had not yet been described formally. This new order, described herein, is sister to the clade including Verrucariales and Chaetothyriales. It appears to consist mainly of endophytes and plant pathogens. Morphological characters of endophytic Phaeomoniellales resemble those of the pathogenic genus Phaeomoniella. This study highlights the capacity of endophytic and endolichenic fungi to expand our understanding of the ecological modes associated with particular clades, and provides a first estimation of their phylogenetic relationships in the Eurotiomycetes.