Latest Publications
New fungal primers reveal the diversity of Mucoromycotinian arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their response to nitrogen application
Mirjam Seeliger, Sally Hilton, George Muscatt, Christopher Walker, David Bass, Felipe Albornoz, Rachel J Standish, Neil D Gray, Louis Mercy, Leonidas Rempelos, Carolin Schneider, Megan H Ryan, Paul E Bilsborrow, Gary D Bending
Arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) are the most widespread terrestrial symbiosis and are both a key determinant of plant health and a major contributor to ecosystem processes through their role in biogeochemical cycling. Until recently, it was assumed that the fungi which form AM comprise the subphylum Glomeromycotina (G-AMF), and our understanding of the diversity and ecosystem roles of AM is based almost exclusively on this group. However recent evidence shows that fungi which form the distinctive 'fine root endophyte’ (FRE) AM morphotype are members of the subphylum Mucoromycotina (M-AMF), so that AM symbioses are actually formed by two distinct groups of fungi. We investigated the influence of nitrogen (N) addition and wheat variety on the assembly of AM communities under field conditions. The results demonstrate the need to consider both G-AMF and M-AMF when investigating AM communities, and highlight the importance of primer choice when investigating AMF community dynamics.
Establishment of single-cell transcriptional states during seed germination
Lim Chee Liew, Yue You, Lucas Auroux, Marina Oliva, Marta Peirats-Llobet, Sophia Ng, Muluneh Tamiru-Oli, Oliver Berkowitz, Uyen Vu Thuy Hong, Asha Haslem, Tim Stuart, Matthew E. Ritchie, George W. Bassel, Ryan Lister, James Whelan, Quentin Gouil & Mathew G. Lewsey
Here we describe a temporal analysis of the germinating Arabidopsis thaliana embryo at single-cell resolution. We define the highly dynamic cell type-specific patterns of gene expression and how these relate to changing cellular function as germination progresses. Underlying these are unique gene regulatory networks and transcription factor activity. We unexpectedly discover that most embryo cells transition through the same initial transcriptional state early in germination, even though cell identity has already been established during embryogenesis. Cells later transition to cell type-specific gene expression patterns. Furthermore, our analyses support previous findings that the earliest events leading to the induction of seed germination take place in the vasculature. Overall, our study constitutes a general framework with which to characterize Arabidopsis cell transcriptional states through seed germination, allowing investigation of different genotypes and other plant species whose seed strategies may differ. Nature Plants. September 2024
A Pan Plasmodium lateral flow recombinase polymerase amplification assay for monitoring malaria parasites in vectors and human populations
Matthew Higgins, Mojca Kristan, Emma L. Collins, Louisa A. Messenger, Jamille G. Dombrowski, Leen N. Vanheer, Debbie Nolder, Christopher J. Drakeley, William Stone, Almahamoudou Mahamar, Teun Bousema, Michael Delves, Janvier Bandibabone, Sévérin N’Do, Chimanuka Bantuzeko, Bertin Zawadi, Thomas Walker, Colin J. Sutherland, Claudio R. F. Marinho, Mary M. Cameron, Taane G. Clark & Susana Campino
Malaria caused by neglected Plasmodium parasites is often underestimated due to the lack of rapid diagnostic tools that can accurately detect these species. Here, we present a Pan Plasmodium recombinase polymerase amplification lateral flow (RPA–LF) assay, capable of detecting all six human infecting Plasmodium species in low resource settings.. When combined with crude nucleic acid extraction, the assay can serve as a point-of-need tool for molecular xenomonitoring. This utility was demonstrated by screening laboratory-reared Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes fed with Plasmodium-infected blood, as well as field samples of An. funestus s.l. and An. gambiae s.l. collected from central Africa. Overall, our proof-of-concept Pan Plasmodium diagnostic tool has the potential to be applied for clinical and xenomonitoring field surveillance, and after further evaluation, could become an essential tool to assist malaria control and elimination.
Hendrik Schafer publications-
Overview of the MOSAiC expedition: Ecosystem
The international and interdisciplinary sea-ice drift expedition “The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate” (MOSAiC) was conducted from October 2019 to September 2020. The aim of MOSAiC was to study the interconnected physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and processes from the atmosphere to the deep sea of the central Arctic system. The ecosystem team addressed current knowledge gaps and explored unknown biological properties over a complete seasonal cycle focusing on three major research areas: biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, and linkages to the environment. This article provides a detailed overview of the sampling approaches used to address the three main science objectives. It highlights the core sampling program and provides examples of habitat- or process-specific sampling. The initial results presented include high biological activities in wintertime and the discovery of biological hotspots in underexplored habitats. The unique interconnectivity of the coordinated sampling efforts also revealed insights into cross-disciplinary interactions like the impact of biota on Arctic cloud formation. This overview further presents both lessons learned from conducting such a demanding field campaign and an outlook on spin-off projects to be conducted over the next years.
Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. August 2024
Microbial assimilatory sulfate reduction-mediated H2S: an overlooked role in Crohn's disease development
H2S imbalances in the intestinal tract trigger Crohn's disease (CD), a chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal disorder characterized by microbiota dysbiosis and barrier dysfunction. However, a comprehensive understanding of H2S generation in the gut, and the contributions of both microbiota and host to systemic H2S levels in CD, remain to be elucidated. This investigation aimed to enhance comprehension regarding the sulfidogenic potential of both the human host and the gut microbiota. The study significantly advances understanding of microbial sulfur metabolism in the human gut, elucidating the complex interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and host sulfur metabolism. We highlight the microbial ASR pathway as an overlooked endogenous H2S producer and a potential therapeutic target for managing CD. Microbiome. August 2024
Modelling bluetongue and African horse sickness vector (Culicoides spp.) distribution in the Western Cape in South Africa using random forest machine learning
de Klerk, Joanna N., Tildesley, Michael J., Labuschagne, Karien and Gorsich, Erin E
Culicoides biting midges exhibit a global spatial distribution and are the main vectors of several viruses of veterinary importance, including bluetongue (BT) and African horse sickness (AHS). The aim of this study was to model distributions for two primary vectors for BT and AHS (Culicoides imicola and Culicoides bolitinos) using random forest (RF) machine learning and explore the relative importance of environmental and anthropological factors in a region of South Africa with frequent AHS and BT outbreaks. This study yielded novel insight into the spatial abundance and drivers of abundance of competent vectors of BT and AHS. It also provided valuable data to inform mathematical models exploring disease outbreaks so that Culicoides-transmitted diseases in South Africa can be further analysed.
Self-organization of mortal filaments and its role in bacterial division ring formation
Christian Vanhille-Campos, Kevin D. Whitley, Philipp Radler, Martin Loose, Seamus Holden & Anđela Šarić
Filaments in the cell commonly treadmill. Driven by energy consumption, they grow on one end while shrinking on the other, causing filaments to appear motile even though individual proteins remain static. This process is characteristic of cytoskeletal filaments and leads to collective filament self-organization. Here we show that treadmilling drives filament nematic ordering by dissolving misaligned filaments. Taking the bacterial FtsZ protein involved in cell division as an example, we show that this mechanism aligns FtsZ filaments in vitro and drives the organization of the division ring in living Bacillus subtilis cells. We find that ordering via local dissolution also allows the system to quickly respond to chemical and geometrical biases in the cell, enabling us to quantitatively explain the ring formation dynamics in vivo. Beyond FtsZ and other cytoskeletal filaments, our study identifies a mechanism for self-organization via constant birth and death of energy-consuming filaments.