Antifungal activities of wood extractives N Valette, T Perrot, R Sormani, E Gelhaye, M Morel-Rouhier. Fungal Biology Reviews

Abstract

Extractives are non-structural wood molecules that represent a minor fraction in wood. However, they are source of diverse molecules putatively bioactive. Inhibition of fungal growth is one of the most interesting properties of wood extractives in a context of wood preservation, crop protection or medical treatments. The antifungal effect of molecules isolated from wood extractives has been mainly attributed to various mechanisms such as metal and free radical scavenging activity, direct interaction with enzymes, disruption of membrane integrity and perturbation of ionic homeostasis. Lignolytic fungi, which are microorganisms adapted to wood substrates, have developed various strategies to protect themselves against this toxicity. A better knowledge of these strategies could help both developing new systems for extractive removal in biomass valorization processes and using these molecules as antifungal agents

The transcriptional landscape of basidiosporogenesis in mature Pisolithus microcarpus basidiocarp M de Freitas Pereira, AN da Rocha Campos, TC Anastacio, E Morin, …BMC genomics 18 (1), 157

The Identification of Phytohormone Receptor Homologs in Early Diverging Fungi Suggests a Role for Plant Sensing in Land Colonization by Fungi A Hérivaux, TD de Bernonville, C Roux, M Clastre, V Courdavault, … mBio 8 (1), e01739-16

ABSTRACT

Histidine kinases (HKs) are among the most prominent sensing proteins studied in the kingdom Fungi. Their distribution and biological functions in early diverging fungi (EDF), however, remain elusive. We have taken advantage of recent genomic resources to elucidate whether relationships between the occurrence of specific HKs in some EDF and their respective habitat/lifestyle could be established. This led to the unexpected discovery of fungal HKs that share a high degree of similarity with receptors for plant hormones (ethylene and cytokinin). Importantly, these phytohormone receptor homologs are found not only in EDF that behave as plant root symbionts or endophytes but also in EDF species that colonize decaying plant material. We hypothesize that these particular sensing proteins promoted the interaction of EDF with plants, leading to the conquest of land by these ancestral fungi.

Identification, distribution, and quantification of biominerals in a deciduous forest C Krieger, C Calvaruso, C Morlot, S Uroz, L Salsi, MP Turpault Geobiology

Abstract

Biomineralization is a common process in most vascular plants, but poorly investigated for trees. Although the presence of calcium oxalate and silica accumulation has been reported for some tree species, the chemical composition, abundance, and quantification of biominerals remain poorly documented. However, biominerals may play important physiological and structural roles in trees, especially in forest ecosystems, which are characterized by nutrient-poor soils. In this context, our study aimed at investigating the morphology, distribution, and relative abundance of biominerals in the different vegetative compartments (foliage, branch, trunk, and root) of Fagus sylvatica L. and Acer pseudoplatanus L. using a combination of scanning electron microscopy and tomography analyses. Biomineral crystallochemistry was assessed by X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray analyses, while calcium, silicon, and oxalic acid were quantified in the compartments and at the forest scale. Our analyses revealed that biominerals occurred as crystals or coating layers mostly in bark and leaves and were identified as opal, whewellite, and complex biominerals. In both tree species, opal was mostly found in the external tissues of trunk, branch, and leaves, but also in the roots of beech. In the stand, opal represents around 170 kg/ha. Whewellite was found to suit to conductive tissues (i.e., axial phloem parenchyma, vascular bundles, vessel element) in all investigated compartments of the two tree species. The shape of whewellite was prismatic and druses in beech, and almost all described shapes were seen in sycamore maple. Notably, the amount of whewellite was strongly correlated with the total calcium in all investigated compartments whatever the tree species is, suggesting a biologic control of whewellite precipitation. The amount of whewellite in the aboveground biomass of Montiers forest was more important than that of opal and was around 1170 kg/ha. Therefore, biominerals contribute in a substantial way to the biogeochemical cycles of silicon and calcium.

New Insights into the Complex Relationship between Weight and Maturity of Burgundy Truffles (Tuber aestivum) U Büntgen, I Bagi, O Fekete, V Molinier, M Peter, R Splivallo, … PLOS ONE 12 (1), e0170375

Abstract

Despite an increasing demand for Burgundy truffles (Tuber aestivum), gaps remain in our understanding of the fungus’ overall lifecycle and ecology. Here, we compile evidence from three independent surveys in Hungary and Switzerland. First, we measured the weight and maturity of 2,656 T. aestivum fruit bodies from a three-day harvest in August 2014 in a highly productive orchard in Hungary. All specimens ranging between 2 and 755 g were almost evenly distributed through five maturation classes. Then, we measured the weight and maturity of another 4,795 T. aestivum fruit bodies harvested on four occasions between June and October 2015 in the same truffière. Again, different maturation stages occurred at varying fruit body size and during the entire fruiting season. Finally, the predominantly unrelated weight and maturity of 81 T. aestivum fruit bodies from four fruiting seasons between 2010 and 2013 in Switzerland confirmed the Hungarian results. The spatiotemporal coexistence of 7,532 small-ripe and large-unripe T. aestivum, which accumulate to ~182 kg, differs from species-specific associations between the size and ripeness that have been reported for other mushrooms. Although size-independent truffle maturation stages may possibly relate to the perpetual belowground environment, the role of mycelial connectivity, soil property, microclimatology, as well as other abiotic factors and a combination thereof, is still unclear. Despite its massive sample size and proof of concept, this study, together with existing literature, suggests consideration of a wider ecological and biogeographical range, as well as the complex symbiotic fungus-host interaction, to further illuminate the hidden development of belowground truffle fruit bodies.

Comparative genomics and expression levels of hydrophobins from eight mycorrhizal genomes. F Rineau, H Lmalem, D Ahren, F Shah, T Johansson, L Coninx, J Ruytinx, … Mycorrhiza, 1-14

Abstract

Hydrophobins are small secreted proteins that are present as several gene copies in most fungal genomes. Their properties are now well understood: they are amphiphilic and assemble at hydrophilic/hydrophobic interfaces. However, their physiological functions remain largely unexplored, especially within mycorrhizal fungi. In this study, we identified hydrophobin genes and analysed their distribution in eight mycorrhizal genomes. We then measured their expression levels in three different biological conditions (mycorrhizal tissue vs. free-living mycelium, organic vs. mineral growth medium and aerial vs. submerged growth). Results confirmed that the size of the hydrophobin repertoire increased in the terminal orders of the fungal evolutionary tree. Reconciliation analysis predicted that in 41% of the cases, hydrophobins evolved from duplication events. Whatever the treatment and the fungal species, the pattern of expression of hydrophobins followed a reciprocal function, with one gene much more expressed than others from the same repertoire. These most-expressed hydrophobin genes were also among the most expressed of the whole genome, which suggests that they play a role as structural proteins. The fine-tuning of the expression of hydrophobin genes in each condition appeared complex because it differed considerably between species, in a way that could not be explained by simple ecological traits. Hydrophobin gene regulation in mycorrhizal tissue as compared with free-living mycelium, however, was significantly associated with a calculated high exposure of hydrophilic residues.