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.

• Klíčová slova
• ergot alkaloids, ergot fungi, gene divergence, gene diversity, indole diterpenes, phylogeny, secondary metabolites,
• MeSH
• Claviceps genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• geny hub genetika   MeSH
• indolové alkaloidy izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• molekulární evoluce MeSH
• multigenová rodina MeSH
• námelové alkaloidy biosyntéza   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
• Názvy látek
• indolové alkaloidy MeSH
• námelové alkaloidy 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.

• Klíčová slova
• Claviceps, cereals, ergochromes, ergot alkaloids, food safety, mycotoxins, secalonic acid, tetrahydroxanthones,
• MeSH
• apoptóza účinky léků   MeSH
• Claviceps chemie   MeSH
• HeLa buňky MeSH
• Jurkat buňky MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mitochondrie účinky léků   MeSH
• mykotoxiny analýza   farmakologie   toxicita   MeSH
• námelové alkaloidy analýza   toxicita   MeSH
• viabilita buněk účinky léků   MeSH
• xantheny analýza   toxicita   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• ergochromes MeSH Prohlížeč
• mykotoxiny MeSH
• námelové alkaloidy MeSH
• xantheny 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.

• Klíčová slova
• Eucalyptus, Poaceae, chromosome numbers, ergotism, pine pitch canker,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články 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 klasifikace   cytologie   genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• brouci mikrobiologie   MeSH
• DNA fingerprinting MeSH
• DNA fungální analýza   chemie   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• dub (rod) parazitologie   MeSH
• Fraxinus parazitologie   MeSH
• geny hub MeSH
• geny rRNA MeSH
• larva mikrobiologie   MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• ribozomální DNA chemie   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 18S genetika   MeSH
• sekvenční analýza DNA MeSH
• technika náhodné amplifikace polymorfní DNA MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA fungální MeSH
• ribozomální DNA MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 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
• benzopyrany metabolismus   MeSH
• biodegradace MeSH
• DNA fungální genetika   MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• dusík metabolismus   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• houby klasifikace   genetika   izolace a purifikace   metabolismus   MeSH
• oxid uhličitý metabolismus   MeSH
• počet mikrobiálních kolonií MeSH
• půda analýza   MeSH
• půdní mikrobiologie * MeSH
• rostliny metabolismus   mikrobiologie   MeSH
• sekvence nukleotidů MeSH
• životní prostředí MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Švýcarsko MeSH
• Názvy látek
• benzopyrany MeSH
• DNA fungální MeSH
• dusík MeSH
• fulvic acid MeSH Prohlížeč
• oxid uhličitý MeSH
• půda 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 genetika   MeSH
• DNA fungální chemie   genetika   MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• genom fungální MeSH
• klonování DNA MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• retroelementy genetika   MeSH
• sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
• sekvence nukleotidů MeSH
• sekvenční seřazení MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA fungální MeSH
• retroelementy MeSH