A new contribution to Megasporoporia sensu lato: Six new species and three new combinations.

Megasporoporia sensu lato has recently been intensively studied in China and South America, and four independent clades representing four genera have been recognized phylogenetically. In this study, more samples, mostly from subtropical and tropical Asia, Oceania, and East Africa, are analyzed. A phylogeny based on a 4-gene dataset of sequences (ITS + nLSU + mtSSU + tef) has confirmed the presence of four genera in Megasporoporia sensu lato: Jorgewrightia, Mariorajchenbergia, Megasporia, and Megasporoporia sensu stricto. Six new species, Jorgewrightia austroasiana, Jorgewrightia irregularis, Jorgewrightia tenuis, Mariorajchenbergia subleucoplaca, Megasporia olivacea, and Megasporia sinuosa, are described based on morphology and phylogenetic analysis. Three new combinations are proposed, viz. Jorgewrightia kirkii, Mariorajchenbergia epitephra, and Mariorajchenbergia leucoplaca. To date, 36 species of Megasporoporia sensu lato are accepted and an identification key to these species is provided. In addition, the identification of Dichomitus amazonicus, Dichomitus cylindrosporus, and Megasporoporia hexagonoides is discussed.

ABCA3 deficiency from birth to adulthood presenting as paediatric interstitial lung disease.

Paediatric disorders of pulmonary surfactant may occur due to mutations involving surfactant proteins B and C, and ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 3 (ABCA3) genes. Recessive frameshift or nonsense ABCA3 mutations are associated with respiratory failure and neonatal death but milder phenotypes of ABCA3 deficiency due to missense, splice site, and insertion/deletions may result in survival beyond infancy. To date, only one case report describes the clinical course from birth to age 21 years and there are less than 10 adult cases. No guidelines exist for medical therapy due to the rarity of this condition. We describe the clinical course of a patient over 39 years and her younger brother who were both diagnosed at birth with an unspecified paediatric interstitial lung disease (ILD) and were eventually diagnosed with ABCA3 mutation in their adulthood. Our report highlights the minimal progression of the ABCA3-related ILD without long-term medications, but the development of dyspnoea due to progressive pulmonary hypertension and airflow obstruction.

Characterization of the bioactivities of an ethanol extract and some of its constituents from the New Zealand native mushroom Hericium novae-zealandiae.

In this study, we investigated the potential bioactivities of an ethanol extract of Hericium novae-zealandiae and four of its constituents, namely hericenone C, hericene B, ergosterol and ergosterol peroxide. The proliferation of three prostate cancer cell lines, namely DU145, LNCaP and PC3, was evaluated after treatment with the extract and constituents. It was found that both the ethanol extract and ergosterol peroxide possess anti-proliferative activities to the three prostate cancer cell lines. Ergosterol peroxide was considered likely to be one of the major compounds responsible for the anti-proliferative effect of the ethanol extract. Subsequently, the results of RT-qPCR assay showed two possible mechanisms for these anti-proliferative activities. One is apoptosis, supported by the up-regulation of CASP3, CASP8, CASP9, and an increase in the ratio of Bax/Bcl2. The other is anti-inflammation, indicated by the down-regulation of IL6 and up-regulation of IL24. The ethanol extract also exhibited antioxidant and AChE inhibitory (though weak) activities. However, none of the four compounds were found to account for these latter two activities. This is the first report of the bioactivities, and the corresponding active ingredients of lipophilic constituents from H. novae-zealandiae.

Assessment of In Vitro Bioactivities of Polysaccharides Isolated from Hericium Novae-Zealandiae.

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential effect of the polysaccharides isolated from Hericium novae-zealandiae, a native New Zealand fungus, on the in vitro proliferation of prostate cancer cell lines, gene expression, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and oxidation. One water-soluble and two alkali-soluble polysaccharide fractions were isolated from H. novae-zealandiae. The proliferation of the prostate cancer cell lines DU145, LNCaP, and PC3 was evaluated following treatment with these polysaccharide fractions. It was found that the polysaccharides possess anti-proliferative activity on LNCaP and PC3 cells, with a 50% growth inhibition (IC50) value as low as 0.61 mg/mL in LNCaP. Subsequently, it was determined through via RT-qPCR assay that apoptosis was one of the possible mechanisms responsible for the anti-proliferative activity in LNCaP. This was supported by the up-regulation of CASP3, CASP8, and CASP9. An alternative, discovered in PC3, was revealed to be anti-inflammation, which was hinted at by the down-regulation of IL6 and up-regulation of IL24. The polysaccharides also exhibited antioxidant and weak AChE inhibitory activities. This is the first report on the potential health benefits of polysaccharides prepared from the New Zealand fungus, H. novae-zealandiae.

Megaphylogeny resolves global patterns of mushroom evolution.

Mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes) have the greatest morphological diversity and complexity of any group of fungi. They have radiated into most niches and fulfil diverse roles in the ecosystem, including wood decomposers, pathogens or mycorrhizal mutualists. Despite the importance of mushroom-forming fungi, large-scale patterns of their evolutionary history are poorly known, in part due to the lack of a comprehensive and dated molecular phylogeny. Here, using multigene and genome-based data, we assemble a 5,284-species phylogenetic tree and infer ages and broad patterns of speciation/extinction and morphological innovation in mushroom-forming fungi. Agaricomycetes started a rapid class-wide radiation in the Jurassic, coinciding with the spread of (sub)tropical coniferous forests and a warming climate. A possible mass extinction, several clade-specific adaptive radiations and morphological diversification of fruiting bodies followed during the Cretaceous and the Paleogene, convergently giving rise to the classic toadstool morphology, with a cap, stalk and gills (pileate-stipitate morphology). This morphology is associated with increased rates of lineage diversification, suggesting it represents a key innovation in the evolution of mushroom-forming fungi. The increase in mushroom diversity started during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic radiation event, an era of humid climate when terrestrial communities dominated by gymnosperms and reptiles were also expanding.

Addressing the diversity of Xylodon raduloides complex through integrative taxonomy.

In this study, the taxonomic diversity of the Xylodon raduloides species complex (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) is examined. Specimens were studied using an integrative taxonomic approach that includes molecular phylogenetic and morphological analyses, and environmental niche comparisons. Four different species were found inside the Xylodon raduloides complex, with a biogeographic distribution pattern bound by geographic regions: Europe, North America, Patagonia, and Australia-New Zealand. Molecular, morphological, and environmental evidences delimit two lineages within this complex: a Northern Hemisphere clade with longer basidiospores and wider ranges in temperature and precipitation tolerance, and a Southern Hemisphere clade with smaller and more spherical basidiospores, and an isothermal and more humid climate preference. The integrative taxonomic approach used in this study demonstrates congruence between data sets and shows how morphological and environmental characteristics contribute to the differentiation of fungal species complexes. By combining various sources of taxonomic information, three new species are described: Xylodon laurentianus, X. novozelandicus, and X. patagonicus.

Development and validation of an HPLC-DAD-MS method for determination of four nucleoside compounds in the New Zealand native mushroom Hericium sp.

To identify and quantify the content of nucleoside compounds in the New Zealand native edible mushroom Hericium sp., a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole detector mass method was developed and validated. Four nucleoside substitutes, namely cytidine, uridine, adenosine, and guanosine, were identified. Optimization was conducted to study the effect of extraction method type, solvent pH, and extraction time. The optimal conditions were obtained using ultrasonic treatment in water at pH 3.8 for 30 min. For chromatographic separation, a C18 column was applied using 0.1% formic acid (pH 3.4) as the mobile phase with detection at 260 nm. The total concentration of the four nucleoside compounds was high, at 10.7 mg/g dry weight, indicating a potential benefit for human health. The excellent validation results based on selectivity, linearity, precision, accuracy and robustness revealed the reliability of the newly developed analytical method, which could be applied routinely in research laboratories.

Priority effects are interactively regulated by top-down and bottom-up forces: evidence from wood decomposer communities.

Both top-down (grazing) and bottom-up (resource availability) forces can determine the strength of priority effects, or the effects of species arrival history on the structure and function of ecological communities, but their combined influences remain unresolved. To test for such influences, we assembled experimental communities of wood-decomposing fungi using a factorial manipulation of fungivore (Folsomia candida) presence, nitrogen availability, and fungal assembly history. We found interactive effects of all three factors on fungal species composition and wood decomposition 1 year after the fungi were introduced. The strength of priority effects on community structure was affected primarily by nitrogen availability, whereas the strength of priority effects on decomposition rate was interactively regulated by nitrogen and fungivores. These results demonstrate that top-down and bottom-up forces jointly determine how strongly assembly history affects community structure and function.

Supine awake oximetry as a screening tool for daytime hypercapnia in super-obese patients.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based screening tools are required for detection of daytime hypercapnia in high-risk patient populations. AIMS: To determine the validity of supine awake oximetry as a test for daytime hypercapnia and severe sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in super-obese patients. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional diagnostic test evaluation of super-obese adults (body mass index >50 kg/m2 ) presenting to Liverpool Hospital, Australia, between 2009 and 2015 for diagnostic polysomnography (PSG) and arterial blood gas measurement. Supine awake oxygen saturation (SpO2 ) was determined using oximetry measurements from the first three awake epochs of raw PSG data. Sensitivity and specificity of SpO2 for detecting patients with daytime hypercapnia (PaCO2 >45 mmHg) and severe SDB (respiratory disturbance index (RDI) >30 events/h) were assessed at various cut-off points and displayed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Area under the ROC curve and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) in the present patient population were derived. RESULTS: Of 52 patients, 23 (44%) had daytime hypercapnia. SpO2 measured awake in the supine position was associated with the presence of daytime hypercapnia but not with the presence of severe SDB. Overall, awake supine SpO2 <91.2% had 34.8% sensitivity, 96.6% specificity and 88.8% PPV, and SpO2 <96.7% had 87.0% sensitivity, 20.7% specificity and 66.7% NPV for the presence of daytime hypercapnia. CONCLUSION: Awake supine oximetry is an easily performed test that may have novel use in identifying patients at high risk of respiratory failure. Future studies are required to evaluate prospectively its role in screening patients at risk of daytime hypercapnia.

Sequencing orphan species initiative (SOS): Filling the gaps in the 16S rRNA gene sequence database for all species with validly published names.

High quality 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequences from the type strains of all species with validly published names, as defined by the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria, are a prerequisite for their accurate affiliations within the global genealogical classification and for the recognition of potential new taxa. During the last few years, the Living Tree Project (LTP) has taken care to create a high quality, aligned 16S and 23S rRNA gene sequence database of all type strains. However, the manual curation of the sequence dataset and type strain information revealed that a total of 552 "orphan" species (about 5.7% of the currently classified species) had to be excluded from the reference trees. Among them, 322 type strains were not represented by an SSU entry in the public sequence repositories. The remaining 230 type strains had to be discarded due to bad sequence quality. Since 2010, the LTP team has coordinated a network of researchers and culture collections in order to improve the situation by (re)-sequencing the type strains of these "orphan" species. As a result, we can now report 351 16S rRNA gene sequences of type strains. Nevertheless, 201 species could not be sequenced because cultivable type strains were not available (121), the cultures had either been lost or were never deposited in the first place (66), or it was not possible due to other constraints (14). The International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria provides a number of mechanisms to deal with the problem of missing type strains and we recommend that due consideration be given to the appropriate mechanisms in order to help solve some of these issues.

Do assembly history effects attenuate from species to ecosystem properties? A field test with wood-inhabiting fungi.

Assembly history, or the order of species arrival, can have wide-ranging effects on species, communities and ecosystems. However, it remains unclear whether assembly history primarily affects individual species, with effects attenuating at the level of communities and ecosystems or, alternatively, has consistent effect sizes across increasing levels of ecological organisation. We address this question using a field-based manipulation of assembly history of wood-inhabiting fungi. The largest effect sizes were observed for the frequency of some individual species, and mean effect sizes were lower for community metrics of fungi immigrating from the regional species pool. There was little evidence, however, of attenuation in effect sizes at the ecosystem level (carbon, nitrogen, decomposition) in comparison to the species or community level. These results indicate that assembly history can have strong effects on ecosystem properties even under natural levels of environmental variability.

The amsterdam declaration on fungal nomenclature.

The Amsterdam Declaration on Fungal Nomenclature was agreed at an international symposium convened in Amsterdam on 19-20 April 2011 under the auspices of the International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi (ICTF). The purpose of the symposium was to address the issue of whether or how the current system of naming pleomorphic fungi should be maintained or changed now that molecular data are routinely available. The issue is urgent as mycologists currently follow different practices, and no consensus was achieved by a Special Committee appointed in 2005 by the International Botanical Congress to advise on the problem. The Declaration recognizes the need for an orderly transitition to a single-name nomenclatural system for all fungi, and to provide mechanisms to protect names that otherwise then become endangered. That is, meaning that priority should be given to the first described name, except where that is a younger name in general use when the first author to select a name of a pleomorphic monophyletic genus is to be followed, and suggests controversial cases are referred to a body, such as the ICTF, which will report to the Committee for Fungi. If appropriate, the ICTF could be mandated to promote the implementation of the Declaration. In addition, but not forming part of the Declaration, are reports of discussions held during the symposium on the governance of the nomenclature of fungi, and the naming of fungi known only from an environmental nucleic acid sequence in particular. Possible amendments to the Draft BioCode (2011) to allow for the needs of mycologists are suggested for further consideration, and a possible example of how a fungus only known from the environment might be described is presented.

Assembly history dictates ecosystem functioning: evidence from wood decomposer communities.

Community assembly history is increasingly recognized as a fundamental determinant of community structure. However, little is known as to how assembly history may affect ecosystem functioning via its effect on community structure. Using wood-decaying fungi as a model system, we provide experimental evidence that large differences in ecosystem functioning can be caused by small differences in species immigration history during community assembly. Direct manipulation of early immigration history resulted in three-fold differences in fungal species richness and composition and, as a consequence, differences of the same magnitude in the rate of decomposition and carbon release from wood. These effects - which were attributable to the history-dependent outcome of competitive and facilitative interactions - were significant across a range of nitrogen availabilities observed in natural forests. Our results highlight the importance of considering assembly history in explaining ecosystem functioning.

The validity of wrist actimetry assessment of sleep with and without sleep apnea.

INTRODUCTION: It is unclear whether actimetry can be reliably used to measure sleep in severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. We compared polysomnography (PSG) with actimetric assessment of sleep on an epoch-by-epoch basis in subjects with and without OSA. METHODS: 21 subjects were recorded with simultaneous overnight standard PSG and actimetry. RESULTS: 10 subjects with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) <10 (6.5 +/- 2.8/h) were classified as non-OSA subjects and 11 subjects with AHI >10 (42.0 +/- 27.3/h) were classified as OSA subjects. Overall sensitivity and specificity for actimetry to identify sleep was 94.6% and 40.6%, respectively, with an overall mean sleep/wake simple agreement of 84.6% and kappa of 0.38. There was no difference in agreement between non-OSA and OSA subjects (simple agreement: 83% vs. 86%, p = 0.73; kappa: 0.35 vs. 0.40, p = 0.73). The kappa agreement did not correlate with PSG arousal index (r = -0.21, p = 0.36) but declined with reduced sleep efficiency (r = 0.66, p = 0.001). There was no systematic difference (all p > 0.40) between actimetry and PSG in sleep latency, total sleep time and sleep efficiency, although correlations between the measurements using the two techniques were generally poor. However, while actimetry systematically underestimated wake after sleep onset (WASO) (35.5 +/- 18.8 vs. 59.4 +/- 35.1, p = 0.009), fragmentation index measured by actimetry only underestimated arousal index measured by PSG in OSA patients (23.9 +/- 17.8 vs. 33.1 +/- 18.5, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to prior reports, epoch-by-epoch comparison of sleep/wake scoring showed similar fair agreement between actimetry and PSG in subjects with or without OSA. Fragmentation index by actimetry may underestimate arousals caused by respiratory events and offer misleading results in severe OSA patients.