Biochemical analysis of the multifunctional vaccinia mRNA capping enzyme encoded by a temperature sensitive virus mutant.

Prior biochemical analysis of the heterodimeric vaccinia virus mRNA capping enzyme suggests roles not only in mRNA capping but also in early viral gene transcription termination and intermediate viral gene transcription initiation. Prior phenotypic characterization of Dts36, a temperature sensitive virus mutant affecting the large subunit of the capping enzyme was consistent with the multifunctional roles of the capping enzyme in vivo. We report a biochemical analysis of the capping enzyme encoded by Dts36. Of the three enzymatic activities required for mRNA capping, the guanylyltransferase and methyltransferase activities are compromised while the triphosphatase activity and the D12 subunit interaction are unaffected. The mutant enzyme is also defective in stimulating early gene transcription termination and intermediate gene transcription initiation in vitro. These results confirm that the vaccinia virus mRNA capping enzyme functions not only in mRNA capping but also early gene transcription termination and intermediate gene transcription initiation in vivo.

Unlocking the black box of feather louse diversity: A molecular phylogeny of the hyper-diverse genus Brueelia.

Songbirds host one of the largest, and most poorly understood, groups of lice: the Brueelia-complex. The Brueelia-complex contains nearly one-tenth of all known louse species (Phthiraptera), and the genus Brueelia has over 300 species. To date, revisions have been confounded by extreme morphological variation, convergent evolution, and periodic movement of lice between unrelated hosts. Here we use Bayesian inference based on mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (EF-1α) gene fragments to analyze the phylogenetic relationships among 333 individuals within the Brueelia-complex. We show that the genus Brueelia, as it is currently recognized, is paraphyletic. Many well-supported and morphologically unified clades within our phylogenetic reconstruction of Brueelia were previously described as genera. These genera should be recognized, and the erection of several new genera should be explored. We show that four distinct ecomorphs have evolved repeatedly within the Brueelia-complex, mirroring the evolutionary history of feather-lice across the entire order. We show that lice in the Brueelia-complex, with some notable exceptions, are extremely host specific and that the host family associations and geographic distributions of these lice are significantly correlated with our understanding of their phylogenetic history. Several ecological phenomena, including phoresis, may be responsible for the macroevolutionary patterns in this diverse group.

Data supporting a molecular phylogeny of the hyper-diverse genus Brueelia.

Data is presented in support of a phylogenetic reconstruction of one of the largest, and most poorly understood, groups of lice: the Brueelia-complex (Bush et al., 2015[1]). Presented data include the voucher information and molecular data (GenBank accession numbers) of 333 ingroup taxa within the Brueelia-complex and 30 outgroup taxa selected from across the order Phthiraptera. Also included are phylogenetic reconstructions based on Bayesian inference analyses of combined COI and EF-1α sequences for Brueelia-complex species and outgroup taxa.