Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees.

Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate.

Taxonomic review of the genus Tarika Moore with descriptions of six new species from Nepal, China and Indochina (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae).

The Asiatic footman moth genus Tarika Moore, 1878, which used to be considered as monotypic is reviewed. Six new species are described: T. annapurna sp. n. (Сentral Nepal), T. erlanga sp. n. (China: Sichuan), T. reducta sp. n. (North Thailand), T. danieli sp. n. (China: Yunnan, Sichuan, Fujian, Shandong), T. kinha sp. n. (North Vietnam and China: Yunnan), and T. biserratula sp. n. (China: Hunan). Lectotypes are designated for Lithosia varana Moore, 1865 and Tarika nivea Moore, 1878. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

Upgraded Cherenkov time-of-flight detector for the AFP project.

We present the results of our performance studies of the upgraded Cherenkov time-of-flight (ToF) detector for the AFP (ATLAS Forward Proton) project. The latest version consists of solid L-shaped fused silica bars, new customized ALD-coated micro-channel plate photomultipliers (MCP-PMTs) miniPlanacon XPM85112-S-R2D2 with an extended lifetime which operate at low gains (order of 103), and an updated construction. The improvements were aimed to increase the efficiency, the lifetime as well as the radiation hardness of the detector which has been designed to operate in high radiation areas (above 400 kGy/year). The detector was finally tested at the CERN-SPS test-beam facility (120 GeV π+ particles) in August 2021 prior to its installation at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Measurements proved the detector kept its inner timing resolution of 20 ps despite the rather low gain of its photodetector and reduced optical throughput caused by inevitable changes in the detector geometry.

First Report of Phytophthora occultans Causing Dieback of Buxus sempervirens in the Czech Republic.

In Nov 2011, and then recurrently since Sep 2020, an extensive decline has been recorded in boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), sometimes with several dozens of damaged individuals planted in private gardens and public areas and purchased in amateur markets in the Czech Republic. The leaves of the plants first showed orange-bronze discoloration, then dried and fell off, and the affected plants died. The roots, collars and stems of these plants had dark brown to black necrotic lesions. Phytophthora occultans Man in 't Veld & K. Rosend. was consistently isolated on selective medium PARPNH (Jung et al. 1996) directly from segments of symptomatic collar tissues and from rhododendron leaf pieces used to bait excised roots. On 20% V8 agar (V8A) and on carrot agar (CA), colonies had a stellate pattern. Radial growth at 25°C was 9.4 mm/day on V8A and 5.3 mm/day on CA. The cardinal growth temperatures were min. 7°C, optimum 25 to 27°C, and max. 32°C. The isolates were homothallic and produced on CA colorless globose oogonia ranging from 25.4 to 36.4 µm (n = 40) in diam. Oospores were slightly aplerotic and measured (n = 40) 22.5 to 31.9 µm in diam., with a 0.9 to 1.5 µm thick wall. The antheridia were predominantly paragynous and averaged 11.5 × 9.9 µm (height × width, n = 40). Noncaducous sporangia were obpyriform, ovoid, elongated to irregular and semipapillate, sometimes bipapillate and measured (n = 40) 31.4 to 73.4 × 17.8 to 32.1 µm, and the L:B ratio was 1.9 to 2.0. Chlamydospores and hyphal swellings were not observed. The morphological characteristics resembled those described for P. occultans (Man in't Veld et al. 2015). The isolates were deposited in the Czech Collection of Phytopathogenic Oomycetes (CCPO) under accession nos. 551.11, 1158.20, 1176.21, 1201.21, 1218.21, 1236.21 and 1261.22. For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (COX1), and translation elongation factor-1α (EF) gene from all isolates were amplified and sequenced using the primer pairs ITS4/ITS5 (White et al. 1990), COXF-CIT/COXR-CIT (Man in't Veld et al. 2015), and ELONGF1/ELONGR1 (Kroon et al. 2004), respectively. The resulting sequences of representative isolates P1158.20 and P1176.21 were deposited in GenBank (accession nos. MW750576 and OP326036 for ITS, ON862131 and OP313505 for COX1 and MW762616 and ON862132 for EF). BLASTn searches of GenBank, using the partial ITS, COX1, and EF sequences, revealed 100, 100, and 99% sequence identity, respectively, to P. occultans ex-holotype culture CBS101557 accessions JX978155, JX978156 and KF650770 (Man in't Veld et al. 2015). Concatenated sequences of the three genes were used to conduct a phylogenetic analysis using the maximum likelihood method in MEGA 11 (Tamura et al. 2021). The isolates were identified as P. occultans based on morphology and a multigene phylogenetic analysis. Koch´s postulates were confirmed by a soil infestation test. Healthy 2-year-old B. sempervirens plants were inoculated (9 plants per isolate and control, isolates no. 1158.20, 1176.21, 1261.22) with three 5-mm-diam. V8A mycelial plugs by inserting into the substrate near the collar. Control plants were treated with sterile agar plugs. All plants were kept in a greenhouse at 25°C and exposed to 24 h of flooding up to collar once a week. All inoculated plants showed wilting, collar lesions and root rot occurred after 21 days, while control plants remained healthy. The pathogen was reisolated from infected plants and confirmed by molecular identification. P. occultans was found for the first time in 1998 on Buxus sempervirens in the Netherlands and later in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany and Romania (Man in´t Veld et al. 2015, Nechwatal et al. 2014), as well as in the USA (Reeser et al. 2015, Gitto et al. 2018). This is the first report of P. occultans in the Czech Republic. This pathogen likely poses another significant threat to boxwood cultivation in addition to the previously invaded Cydalima perspectalis and Calonectria pseudonaviculata.

Worldwide diversity of endophytic fungi and insects associated with dormant tree twigs.

International trade in plants and climate change are two of the main factors causing damaging tree pests (i.e. fungi and insects) to spread into new areas. To mitigate these risks, a large-scale assessment of tree-associated fungi and insects is needed. We present records of endophytic fungi and insects in twigs of 17 angiosperm and gymnosperm genera, from 51 locations in 32 countries worldwide. Endophytic fungi were characterized by high-throughput sequencing of 352 samples from 145 tree species in 28 countries. Insects were reared from 227 samples of 109 tree species in 18 countries and sorted into taxonomic orders and feeding guilds. Herbivorous insects were grouped into morphospecies and were identified using molecular and morphological approaches. This dataset reveals the diversity of tree-associated taxa, as it contains 12,721 fungal Amplicon Sequence Variants and 208 herbivorous insect morphospecies, sampled across broad geographic and climatic gradients and for many tree species. This dataset will facilitate applied and fundamental studies on the distribution of fungal endophytes and insects in trees.

Churingosia, a new subgenus of the genus Manulea Wallengren with descriptions of four new species from the Oriental realm (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae).

A new subgenus of the genus Manulea Wallengren, 1863, Churingosia subgen. n. (type species: Ilema nigripes Hampson, 1900) is described and subdivided into two species groups. Two new combinations are introduced: Manulea (Churingosia) chrysophleps (Hampson, 1895), comb. n. and Manulea (Churingosia) nigripes (Hampson, 1900), comb. n. Four new species are described: Manulea (Churingosia) fardyftera sp. n. from Northeast India, Manulea (Churingosia) reducta sp. n. from northern Myanmar and Northeast India, Manulea (Churingosia) mikrotera sp. n. from northern Myanmar and Northeast India, and Manulea (Churingosia) mavropoda sp. n. from northern Indochina. Lectotypes for Lithosia chrysophleps Hampson, 1895 and Ilema nigripes Hampson, 1900 are designated. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

Setteleia, a New Genus for Four New Species from the Philippines (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae).

We describe a new Lithosiini genus Setteleia gen. nov. for four new species from the Philippines: S. witti sp. nov. (Mindanao Island), S. carota sp. nov. (northern Luzon Island), S. lourensi sp. nov. (eastern Luzon Island) and S. bakunawa sp. nov. (northern Luzon Island). The new genus belongs to the Asura Walker, 1854 /Miltochrista Hübner, [1819] generic complex and is related to the genera Moorasura Volynkin & Huang, 2019, Sarbine Volynkin, 2019, Ammatho Walker, 1855 and Cyme Felder, 1861 and also shares some genital characters with such genera as Integrivalvia Volynkin & Huang, 2019, Fossia Volynkin, Ivanova & Huang, 2019 and Asuridia Hampson, 1900, but is characterized by a number of autapomorphic features in both male and female genitalia.

MALDI-TOF MS as a method for rapid identification of Phytophthora de Bary, 1876.

The number of described species of the oomycete genus Phytophthora is growing rapidly, highlighting the need for low-cost, rapid tools for species identification. Here, a collection of 24 Phytophthora species (42 samples) from natural as well as anthropogenic habitats were genetically identified using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) regions. Because genetic identification is time consuming, we have created a complementary method based on by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Both methods were compared and hypothesis that the MALDI-TOF MS method can be a fast and reliable method for the identification of oomycetes was confirmed. Over 3500 mass spectra were acquired, manually reviewed for quality control, and consolidated into a single reference library using the Bruker MALDI Biotyper platform. Finally, a database containing 144 main spectra (MSPs) was created and published in repository. The method presented in this study will facilitate the use of MALDI-TOF MS as a complement to existing approaches for fast, reliable identification of Phytophthora isolates.

On the taxonomy of the Prabhasa / Zadadra generic complex with descriptions of two new genera and two new species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini).

In the present paper, two new genera of the Prabhasa Moore, 1878 / Zadadra Moore, 1878 generic complex are described: Dentadra gen. nov. (Type species: Prabhasa flavicosta Moore, 1878) and Prabadra gen. nov. (Type species: Prabadra occidentalis sp. nov.). Additionally, two new species are described: Prabadra occidentalis sp. nov. (NE India and N Thailand) and Zadadra confusa sp. nov. (Nepal, NE India, Bhutan and W China). The new synonymy is established: Zadadra distorta Moore, 1872 = Zadadra neodistorta Joshi, Kirti N. Singh, 2015, syn. nov. Two new combinations are established: Dentadra flavicosta (Moore, 1878), comb. nov. and Prabadra monastyrskii (Dubatolov, 2012), comb. nov. The lectotype is designated for Lithosia distorta Moore, 1872. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated. A checklist of the Prabhasa / Zadadra generic complex is provided.

Taxonomic review of the genus Sicciaemorpha van Eecke (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae), with descriptions of six new species from Malaysia and the Philippines.

Six new species of the genus Sicciaemorpha van Eecke, 1920 which was previously considered to be monotypic are described: S. yumun sp. n. (Malaysia: northern Borneo Island), S. langgona sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island), S. nebulibia sp. n. (the Philippines: Luzon Island), S. pleiadina sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island), S. danepan sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island), and S. reducta sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island). Lectotype is designated for the type species of the genus, Sicciaemorpha ivyalba van Eecke, 1920. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

Cabardites, a new genus for the "Adites" maculata (Poujade, 1886) species-group, with descriptions of five new species from northern Indochina and eastern China (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini).

The new genus Cabardites gen. n. is erected for the Adites maculata (Poujade, 1886) species-group with Asura limbata Wileman, 1911 as the type species. Four new species are described: Cabardites phifa Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (North Thailand), C. auco Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (North Vietnam), C. guanyin Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (East China), C. tiendung Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (North Vietnam) and C. varanagara Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (North Thailand). Cabardites pica (Wileman, 1911), stat. comb. n. is excluded from the synonymy with C. limbata stat. rev. comb. n. and raised to the species level. Parasiccia fuscipennis Hampson, 1914 is synonymized with C. pica. Parasiccia karenkonis Matsumura, 1930 is excluded from the synonymy with C. maculata (Poujade, 1886), comb. n. and its belonging to the genus Metaemene Hampson (Erebidae, Boletobiinae) proposed by Poole (1989) is confirmed: Metaemene karenkonis (Matsumura, 1930), comb. rev. A new combination is established: Cabardites maculata (Poujade, 1886), comb. n. The lectotypes are designated for Parasiccia maculata var. formosibia Strand, 1917 and Asura limbata Wileman, 1911. Adults, male and female genitalia of all species of the genus are illustrated.

Stool metabolome-microbiota evaluation among children and adolescents with obesity, overweight, and normal-weight using 1H NMR and 16S rRNA gene profiling.

Characterization of metabolites and microbiota composition from human stool provides powerful insight into the molecular phenotypic difference between subjects with normal weight and those with overweight/obesity. The aim of this study was to identify potential metabolic and bacterial signatures from stool that distinguish the overweight/obesity state in children/adolescents. Using 1H NMR spectral analysis and 16S rRNA gene profiling, the fecal metabolic profile and bacterial composition from 52 children aged 7 to 16 was evaluated. The children were classified into three groups (16 with normal-weight, 17 with overweight, 19 with obesity). The metabolomic analysis identified four metabolites that were significantly different (p < 0.05) among the study groups based on one-way ANOVA testing: arabinose, butyrate, galactose, and trimethylamine. Significantly different (p < 0.01) genus-level taxa based on edgeR differential abundance tests were genus Escherichia and Tyzzerella subgroup 3. No significant difference in alpha-diversity was detected among the three study groups, and no significant correlations were found between the significant taxa and metabolites. The findings support the hypothesis of increased energy harvest in obesity by human gut bacteria through the growing observation of increased fecal butyrate in children with overweight/obesity, as well as an increase of certain monosaccharides in the stool. Also supported is the increase of trimethylamine as an indicator of an unhealthy state.

Professor Jaroslav Hlava and his successors - a remembrance on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Hlava institute.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Hlava institute, which was ceremoniously held on April 18, 1921. The opening of the institute was the result of many years of Professor Hlava´s efforts to provide a dignified space for pathology at the Czech university. Hlava fundamentally influenced Czech pathology and was undoubtedly one of the most important personalities of not only Czech and European pathology, but the entire field of Czech medicine of the period. His influence on pathology and microbiology is indisputable and widely known, but he has also fundamentally influenced other fields, especially oncology. On the occasion of this important anniversary the following entry offers a look at the personality of Professor Jaroslav Hlava and provides an overview of his research activities, as well as a complete list of his publications. The successors of Professor Hlava in the position of the head of institute are also briefly listed.

Huangilene, a new genus for the Miltochrista alikangiae (Strand, 1917) br /species-group, with descriptions of three new species from Indochina, br /continental China and Taiwan (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini).

The new genus Huangilene Volynkin Cerný, gen. n. is erected for the Miltochrista alikangiae (Strand, 1917) species-group with Lyclene kepica Dubatolov Bucsek, 2013 as the type species. Three new species are described: H. odontotilepida Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos), H. kutzscheri Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (continental China and Taiwan Isl.) and H. apoklinousa Volynkin Cerný, sp. n. (Vietnam). Four new combinations are established: Huangilene kepica (Dubatolov Bucsek, 2013), comb. n., H. pseudolutara (N. Singh Kirti, 2016), comb. n., H. alikangiae alikangiae (Strand, 1917), comb. n. H. alikangiae intermedia (Marumo, 1923), comb. n. The lectotype is designated for Asura obsoleta Form alikangiae Strand, 1917, the species' type locality is fixed as "Karapin" (Taiwan, Chiayi County, Chaoliping).

A review of the genus Barsaurea Volynkin amp; Huang, 2019, with a description of new species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini).

The genus Barsaurea Volynkin Huang, 2019 is reviewed. The genus is excluded from the Asura / Miltochrista generic complex and provisionally placed in the Eugoa generic complex. One new species is described: Barsaurea ketiga Volynkin, Cerný Huang, sp. n. (W Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and SW China). Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

A new species and four new records of Diduga Moore (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae) from Thailand.

One new species, Diduga sphaeracephalus n. sp., is described from Thailand along with four newly recorded species, D. alternota Bucsek, 2014, D. bispinosa Bayarsaikhan Bae, 2018, D. dubatolovi Bayarsaikhan Bae, 2018 and D. allodubatolovi Bayarsaikhan, Li Bae, 2020. Illustrations of adults and genitalia of examined species are provided.

Four new species and one new subspecies of the Ghoria albocinerea Moore, 1878 species-group from northern Indochina and China (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini).

The Ghoria albocinerea Moore, 1878 species-group is established for a complex of species having the characteristic silver whitish forewing coloration and pattern presented mostly by a broad longitudinal shade along the anal wing margin. Four new species and one new subspecies of the species-group are described: Ghoria nanlingica dytiko ssp. n. (China: Sichuan), Ghoria dammay sp. n. (North Vietnam), Ghoria longivesica sp. n. (China: Yunnan and North Thailand), Ghoria mubupa sp. n. (China: Yunnan) and Ghoria synnefo sp. n. (North Vietnam). Adults, male and female genitalia of the new taxa and the related Ghoria albocinerea (the central and eastern Himalayas), Ghoria nanlingica Dubatolov, Kishida Wang, 2012 (China: Guangdong) and Ghoria sinotibetica Dubatolov, Kishida Wang, 2012 (China: Sichuan) are illustrated.

Revision of the Miltochrista obliquilinea species-group, with descriptions of four new species (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini).

The Miltochrista obliquilinea (Swinhoe, 1901) species-group is revised. Four new species are described: M. konta Volynkin, Cerný N. Singh, sp. n. (Thailand, Laos and Vietnam), M. adelfika Volynkin, N. Singh, Cerný, Kirti Datta, sp. n. (India, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam), M. stenovalva Volynkin, N. Singh, Cerný, Kirti Datta, sp. n. (India and Thailand) and M. lavides Volynkin, Cerný N. Singh, sp. n. (Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam). The lectotype for Lyclene obliquilinea Swinhoe, 1901 is designated. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

Performance studies of new optics for the time-of-flight detector of the AFP project.

We present the results of performance studies of the upgraded optical part of the time-of-flight subdetector prototype for the AFP (ATLAS Forward Proton) detector obtained during the test campaign in a synchrotron test-beam facility with 5 GeV electrons at the DESY laboratory (Hamburg, Germany) in June 2019. The detection of the particle arrival time is based on generation of Cherenkov light in an L-shaped fused silica bar. In the previous version of the ToF, all bars were made of two pieces (radiator and light guide) glued together with a dedicated glue (Epotek 305). This solution suffers from additional radiation damage of glue. We adopted a new technique of bar production without the need of glue. The new bars have a higher optical throughput by a factor of 1.6, reduced fragility, and better geometrical precision.

Patterns of Genetic Diversification in the Invasive Hybrid Plant Pathogen Phytophthora × alni and Its Parental Species P. uniformis.

In pathogenic fungi and oomycetes, interspecific hybridization may lead to the formation of new species having a greater impact on natural ecosystems than the parental species. From the early 1990s, a severe alder (Alnus spp.) decline due to an unknown Phytophthora species was observed in several European countries. Genetic analyses revealed that the disease was caused by the triploid hybrid P. × alni, which originated in Europe from the hybridization of P. uniformis and P. × multiformis. Here, we investigated the population structure of P. × alni (158 isolates) and P. uniformis (85 isolates) in several European countries using microsatellite markers. Our analyses confirmed the genetic structure previously observed in other European populations, with P. uniformis populations consisting of at most two multilocus genotypes (MLGs) and P. × alni populations dominated by MLG Pxa-1. The genetic structure of P. × alni populations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Sweden seemed to reflect the physical isolation of river systems. Most rare P. × alni MLGs showed a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at one or a few microsatellite loci compared with other MLGs. This LOH may allow a stabilization within the P. × alni genome or a rapid adaptation to stress situations. Alternatively, alleles may be lost because of random genetic drift in small, isolated populations, with no effect on fitness of P. × alni. Additional studies would be necessary to confirm these patterns of population diversification and to better understand the factors driving it.