Fungal Planet description sheets: 1436-1477

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Argentina, Colletotrichum araujiae on leaves, stems and fruits of Araujia hortorum. Australia, Agaricus pateritonsus on soil, Curvularia fraserae on dying leaf of Bothriochloa insculpta, Curvularia millisiae from yellowing leaf tips of Cyperus aromaticus, Marasmius brunneolorobustus on well-rotted wood, Nigrospora cooperae from necrotic leaf of Heteropogon contortus, Penicillium tealii from the body of a dead spider, Pseudocercospora robertsiorum from leaf spots of Senna tora, Talaromyces atkinsoniae from gills of Marasmius crinis-equi and Zasmidium pearceae from leaf spots of Smilaxglyciphylla. Brazil, Preussia bezerrensis from air. Chile, Paraconiothyrium kelleni from the rhizosphere of Fragaria chiloensis subsp. chiloensis f. chiloensis. Finland, Inocybe udicola on soil in mixed forest with Betula pendula, Populus tremula, Picea abies and Alnus incana. France, Myrmecridium normannianum on dead culm of unidentified Poaceae. Germany, Vexillomyces fraxinicola from symptomless stem wood of Fraxinus excelsior. India, Diaporthe limoniae on infected fruit of Limonia acidissima, Didymella naikii on leaves of Cajanus cajan, and Fulvifomes mangroviensis on basal trunk of Aegiceras corniculatum. Indonesia, Penicillium ezekielii from Zea mays kernels. Namibia, Neocamarosporium calicoremae and Neocladosporium calicoremae on stems of Calicorema capitata, and Pleiochaeta adenolobi on symptomatic leaves of Adenolobus pechuelii. Netherlands, Chalara pteridii on stems of Pteridium aquilinum, Neomackenziella juncicola (incl. Neomackenziella gen. nov.) and Sporidesmiella junci from dead culms of Juncus effusus. Pakistan, Inocybe longistipitata on soil in a Quercus forest. Poland, Phytophthora viadrina from rhizosphere soil of Quercus robur, and Septoria krystynae on leaf spots of Viscum album. Portugal (Azores), Acrogenospora stellata on dead wood or bark. South Africa, Phyllactinia greyiae on leaves of Greyia sutherlandii and Punctelia anae on bark of Vachellia karroo. Spain, Anteaglonium lusitanicum on decaying wood of Prunus lusitanica subsp. lusitanica, Hawksworthiomyces riparius from fluvial sediments, Lophiostoma carabassense endophytic in roots of Limbarda crithmoides, and Tuber mohedanoi from calcareus soils. Spain (Canary Islands), Mycena laurisilvae on stumps and woody debris. Sweden, Elaphomyces geminus from soil under Quercus robur. Thailand, Lactifluus chiangraiensis on soil under Pinus merkusii, Lactifluus nakhonphanomensis and Xerocomus sisongkhramensis on soil under Dipterocarpus trees. Ukraine, Valsonectria robiniae on dead twigs of Robinia hispida. USA, Spiralomyces americanus (incl. Spiralomyces gen. nov.) from office air. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes. Citation: Tan YP, Bishop-Hurley SL, Shivas RG, et al. 2022. Fungal Planet description sheets: 1436-1477. Persoonia 49: 261-350. https://doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2022.49.08.

Circadian regulation of mammalian target of rapamycin signaling in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus

Circadian (24-h) rhythms influence virtually every aspect of mammalian physiology. The main rhythm generation center is located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, and work over the past several years has revealed that rhythmic gene transcription and post-translational processes are central to clock timing. In addition, rhythmic translation control has also been implicated in clock timing; however the precise cell signaling pathways that drive this process are not well known. Here we report that a key translation activation cascade, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, is under control of the circadian clock in the SCN. Using phosphorylated S6 ribosomal protein (pS6) as a marker of mTOR activity, we show that the mTOR cascade exhibits maximal activity during the subjective day, and minimal activity during the late subjective night. Importantly, expression of S6 was not altered as a function of circadian time. Rhythmic S6 phosphorylation was detected throughout the dorsoventral axis of the SCN, thus suggesting that rhythmic mTOR activity was not restricted to a subset of SCN neurons. Rather, rhythmic pS6 expression appeared to parallel the expression pattern of the clock gene period1 (per1). Using a transgenic per1 reporter gene mouse strain, we found a statistically significant cellular level correlation between pS6 and per1 gene expression over the circadian cycle. Further, photic stimulation triggered a coordinate upregulation of per1 and mTOR activation in a subset of SCN cells. Interestingly, this cellular level correlation between mTOR activity and per1 expression appears to be specific, since a similar expression profile for pS6 and per2 or c-FOS was not detected. Finally, we show that mTOR activity is downstream of the ERK/MAPK signal transduction pathway. Together these data reveal that mTOR pathway activity is under the control of the SCN clock, and suggests that mTOR signaling may contribute to distinct aspects of the molecular clock timing process.

Symphony of rhythms in the Xenopus laevis retina

The photoreceptor layer in the retina of Xenopus laevis harbors a circadian clock. Many molecular components known to drive the molecular clock in other organisms have been identified in Xenopus, such as XClock, Xper2, and Xcrys, demonstrating phylogenetic conservation. This model system displays a wide array of rhythms, including melatonin release, ERG rhythms, and retinomotor movements, suggesting that the ocular clock is important for proper retinal function. A flow-through culture system allows measurements of retinal rhythms such as melatonin release in vitro over time from a single eyecup. This system is suited for pharmacological perturbations of the clock, and has led to important observations regarding the circadian control of melatonin release, the roles of light and dopamine as entraining agents, and the circadian mechanisms regulating retinomotor movements. The development of a transgenic technique in Xenopus allows precise and reliable molecular perturbations. Since it is possible to follow rhythms in eyecups obtained from adults or tadpoles, the combination of the flow-through culture system and the transgenic technique leads to the fast generation of transgenic tadpoles to monitor the effects of molecular perturbations on the clock.

Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the loliginid squids (Mollusca: cephalopoda) based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data

The cephalopod taxon Loliginidae (Cephalopoda: Myopsida) is a species-rich group of tropical and temperate shallow-water squids, many of which are commercial fisheries objects and neurophysiological research organisms. The worldwide distribution of these squids could make Loliginidae a useful case study in shallow-water marine biogeography, but the phylogeny of the group is unknown. To clarify loliginid phylogeny, regions of two mitochondrial genes (the 16S rRNA and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I genes) were sequenced for members of 19 loliginid species and several outgroups. Maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses were performed on a combined data set, as well as on each data set individually. Analyses of the combined data support loliginid monophyly and reveal four clades-one consisting primarily of species in American waters from two genera, one composed of 3 east Atlantic species, one consisting of the bioluminescent loliginids (Uroteuthis sensu Vecchione et al., 1998) plus Loliolus japonica, and one represented by a Loligo (Alloteuthis) subulata-Lolliguncula mercatoris pair. The likelihood of the unconstrained maximum-likelihood tree is not significantly better than the likelihoods of the best trees constrained to Sepioteuthis monophyly or Uroteuthis monophyly, but there is significant support for Lolliguncula polyphyly. Tests of alternative hypotheses of loliginid cladogenesis suggest that cladogenesis within Loliginidae is correlated with the widening of the Atlantic and the closure of the Tethys Sea, although dispersal from the Indo-West Pacific is a reasonable explanation for the origin of the clade of American loliginines.