Ergot fungi (Claviceps spp.) are infamous for producing sclerotia containing a wide spectrum of ergot alkaloids (EA) toxic to humans and animals, making them nefarious villains in the agricultural and food industries, but also treasures for pharmaceuticals. In addition to three classes of EAs, several species also produce paspaline-derived indole diterpenes (IDT) that cause ataxia and staggers in livestock. Furthermore, two other types of alkaloids, i.e., loline (LOL) and peramine (PER), found in Epichloë spp., close relatives of Claviceps, have shown beneficial effects on host plants without evidence of toxicity to mammals. The gene clusters associated with the production of these alkaloids are known. We examined genomes of 53 strains of 19 Claviceps spp. to screen for these genes, aiming to understand the evolutionary patterns of these genes across the genus through phylogenetic and DNA polymorphism analyses. Our results showed (1) varied numbers of eas genes in C. sect. Claviceps and sect. Pusillae, none in sect. Citrinae, six idt/ltm genes in sect. Claviceps (except four in C. cyperi), zero to one partial (idtG) in sect. Pusillae, and four in sect. Citrinae, (2) two to three copies of dmaW, easE, easF, idt/ltmB, itd/ltmQ in sect. Claviceps, (3) frequent gene gains and losses, and (4) an evolutionary hourglass pattern in the intra-specific eas gene diversity and divergence in C. purpurea.

• Keywords
• ergot alkaloids, ergot fungi, gene divergence, gene diversity, indole diterpenes, phylogeny, secondary metabolites,
• MeSH
• Claviceps genetics   metabolism   MeSH
• Phylogeny MeSH
• Genes, Fungal genetics   MeSH
• Indole Alkaloids isolation & purification   MeSH
• Evolution, Molecular MeSH
• Multigene Family MeSH
• Ergot Alkaloids biosynthesis   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Indole Alkaloids MeSH
• Ergot Alkaloids MeSH

Ergot, fungal genus Claviceps, are worldwide distributed grass pathogens known for their production of toxic ergot alkaloids (EAs) and the great agricultural impact they have on both cereal crop and farm animal production. EAs are traditionally considered as the only factor responsible for ergot toxicity. Using broad sampling covering 13 ergot species infecting wild or agricultural grasses (including cereals) across Europe, USA, New Zealand, and South Africa we showed that the content of ergochrome pigments were comparable to the content of EAs in sclerotia. While secalonic acids A-C (SAs), the main ergot ergochromes (ECs), are well known toxins, our study is the first to address the question about their contribution to overall ergot toxicity. Based on our and published data, the importance of SAs in acute intoxication seems to be negligible, but the effect of chronic exposure needs to be evaluated. Nevertheless, they have biological activities at doses corresponding to quantities found in natural conditions. Our study highlights the need for a re-evaluation of ergot toxicity mechanisms and further studies of SAs' impact on livestock production and food safety.

• Keywords
• Claviceps, cereals, ergochromes, ergot alkaloids, food safety, mycotoxins, secalonic acid, tetrahydroxanthones,
• MeSH
• Apoptosis drug effects   MeSH
• Claviceps chemistry   MeSH
• HeLa Cells MeSH
• Jurkat Cells MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mitochondria drug effects   MeSH
• Mycotoxins analysis   pharmacology   toxicity   MeSH
• Ergot Alkaloids analysis   toxicity   MeSH
• Cell Survival drug effects   MeSH
• Xanthenes analysis   toxicity   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• ergochromes MeSH Browser
• Mycotoxins MeSH
• Ergot Alkaloids MeSH
• Xanthenes MeSH

This genome announcement includes draft genomes from Claviceps purpurea s.lat., including C. arundinis, C. humidiphila and C. cf. spartinae. The draft genomes of Davidsoniella eucalypti, Quambalaria eucalypti and Teratosphaeria destructans, all three important eucalyptus pathogens, are presented. The insect associate Grosmannia galeiformis is also described. The pine pathogen genome of Fusarium circinatum has been assembled into pseudomolecules, based on additional sequence data and by harnessing the known synteny within the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex. This new assembly of the F. circinatum genome provides 12 pseudomolecules that correspond to the haploid chromosome number of F. circinatum. These are comparable to other chromosomal assemblies within the FFSC and will enable more robust genomic comparisons within this species complex.

• Keywords
• Eucalyptus, Poaceae, chromosome numbers, ergotism, pine pitch canker,
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH

Phaeoacremonium is a recently described genus (Crous et al. 1996) associated with decline diseases of woody hosts and with human infections. During a study of surface mycobiota of the oak bark beetles, the hyphomycetous microfungus Phaeoacremonium rubrigenum was isolated from larvae of Scolytus intricatus (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) and their galleries on Quercus robur and also from an adult of Leperisinus fraxini found under the bark of Fraxinus excelsior. The species determination was confirmed by rDNA (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) comparison. P. rubrigenum was recorded for the first time in Czechia. The records on oak are considered to be the first ones in the world. A description of morphological features and figures of the fungus are given. Representative strains are maintained in the Culture Collection of Fungi (CCF), Faculty of Science, Charles University (Prague, Czechia).

• MeSH
• Ascomycota classification   cytology   genetics   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Coleoptera microbiology   MeSH
• DNA Fingerprinting MeSH
• DNA, Fungal analysis   chemistry   isolation & purification   MeSH
• Quercus parasitology   MeSH
• Fraxinus parasitology   MeSH
• Genes, Fungal MeSH
• Genes, rRNA MeSH
• Larva microbiology   MeSH
• Molecular Sequence Data MeSH
• DNA, Ribosomal chemistry   isolation & purification   MeSH
• RNA, Ribosomal, 18S genetics   MeSH
• Sequence Analysis, DNA MeSH
• Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA, Fungal MeSH
• DNA, Ribosomal MeSH
• RNA, Ribosomal, 18S MeSH

The response of the cenosis composition of soil saprotrophic microfungi able to utilize the fulvic fraction of soil organic matter to increased concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, plant species cover quality and different levels of nitrogen fertilization was determined under field conditions in a free-air carbon dioxide enrichment experiment. Twenty-nine species of microfungi were isolated from the tested soil. The effects of CO2 enrichment and plant species cover were not significant. Nitrogen fertilization was identified as the only significant factor inducing changes in the abundance of soil microorganisms. This was reflected in a relatively low value of quantitative Sørensen similarity index on comparing fertilized and unfertilized treatments and in 2-way ANOVA of total CFU counts. Some differences were observed in species diversity between the two variants of all treatments. No association between microfungi and the factors under study was found by using the Monte Carlo Permutation test in redundancy analysis.

• MeSH
• Benzopyrans metabolism   MeSH
• Biodegradation, Environmental MeSH
• DNA, Fungal genetics   MeSH
• Species Specificity MeSH
• Nitrogen metabolism   MeSH
• Ecosystem MeSH
• Fungi classification   genetics   isolation & purification   metabolism   MeSH
• Carbon Dioxide metabolism   MeSH
• Colony Count, Microbial MeSH
• Soil analysis   MeSH
• Soil Microbiology * MeSH
• Plants metabolism   microbiology   MeSH
• Base Sequence MeSH
• Environment MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Geographicals
• Switzerland MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Benzopyrans MeSH
• DNA, Fungal MeSH
• Nitrogen MeSH
• fulvic acid MeSH Browser
• Carbon Dioxide MeSH
• Soil MeSH

Truncated copy of reverse transcriptase of Ty1/copia retroelement (Purcopia) was found as part of the species-specific RAPD 257(540) marker of Claviceps purpurea. A region of 94 bp with 78.9% identity to an unannotated region of the genomic clone of the rice blast fungus Pyricularia grisea (accession no. AQ162050) was found at the 5' end of the pseudogene. Comparison with database sequences revealed that Purcopia is close to the plant retroelements represented by Tto1, Ta1-3 and Bare-1, whereas the other fungal elements of the Ty1/copia type grouped with Hopscotch elements. Restriction patterns obtained by hybridization of the labeled marker to HindIII digested genomic DNA of various C. purpurea isolates contained multiple bands. The banding was individual and did not yield any species- or population-specific fragments or patterns.

• MeSH
• Claviceps genetics   MeSH
• DNA, Fungal chemistry   genetics   MeSH
• Phylogeny MeSH
• Genome, Fungal MeSH
• Cloning, Molecular MeSH
• Molecular Sequence Data MeSH
• Polymerase Chain Reaction MeSH
• Retroelements genetics   MeSH
• Amino Acid Sequence MeSH
• Base Sequence MeSH
• Sequence Alignment MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA, Fungal MeSH
• Retroelements MeSH