Search results for " Virology"
showing 10 items of 127 documents
Next-generation biological control
2020
Biological control is widely successful at controlling pests, but effective biocontrol agents are now more difficult to import from countries of origin due to more restrictive international trade laws (the Nagoya Protocol). Coupled with increasing demand, the efficacy of existing and new biocontrol agents needs to be improved with genetic and genomic approaches. Although they have been underutilised in the past, application of genetic and genomic techniques is becoming more feasible from both technological and economic perspectives. We review current methods and provide a framework for using them. First, it is necessary to identify which biocontrol trait to select and in what direction. Nex…
Morphological traits predict host-tree specialization in wood-inhabiting fungal communities
2020
Tree species is one of the most important determinants of wood-inhabiting fungal community composition, yet its relationship with fungal reproductive and dispersal traits remains poorly understood. We studied fungal communities (total of 657 species) inhabiting broadleaved and coniferous dead wood (total of 192 logs) in 12 semi-natural boreal forests. We utilized a trait-based hierarchical joint species distribution model to examine how the relationship between dead wood quality and species occurrence correlates with reproductive and dispersal morphological traits. Broadleaved trees had higher species richness than conifers, due to discomycetoids and pyrenomycetoids specializing in them. Re…
Do plant-based biogeographical regions shape aphyllophoroid fungal communities in Europe?
2018
Aim: Aphyllophoroid fungi are associated with plants, either using plants as a resource (as parasites or decomposers) or as symbionts (as mycorrhizal partners). In spite of their strong association with plants, it is unknown how much plant distributions determine their biogeographical patterns compared with environmental factors such as climate and human land use. In this study, our aims are to (1) describe the spatial diversity patterns of aphyllophoroid fungi in Europe and (2) identify the factors shaping these patterns. Location: Europe, as well as the adjacent Subarctic to Arctic islands (Greenland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Svalbard), Palestine and the south-east coast of the Caspian Sea…
Cognate HLA absence in trans diminishes human NK cell education
2016
NK cells are innate lymphocytes with protective functions against viral infections and tumor formation. Human NK cells carry inhibitory killer cell Ig-like receptors (KIRs), which recognize distinct HLAs. NK cells with KIRs for self-HLA molecules acquire superior cytotoxicity against HLA– tumor cells during education for improved missing-self recognition. Here, we reconstituted mice with human hematopoietic cells from donors with homozygous KIR ligands or with a mix of hematopoietic cells from these homozygous donors, allowing assessment of the resulting KIR repertoire and NK cell education. We found that co-reconstitution with 2 KIR ligand–mismatched compartments did not alter the frequenc…
Effect of resource availability on evolution of virulence and competition in an environmentally transmitted pathogen
2018
Understanding ecological and epidemiological factors driving pathogen evolution in contemporary time scales is a major challenge in modern health management. Pathogens that replicate outside the hosts are subject to selection imposed by ambient environmental conditions. Increased nutrient levels could increase pathogen virulence by pre-adapting for efficient use of resources upon contact to a nutrient rich host or by favouring transmission of fast-growing virulent strains. We measured changes in virulence and competition in Flavobacterium columnare, a bacterial pathogen of freshwater fish, under high and low nutrient levels. To test competition between strains in genotype mixtures, we devel…
Dynamics of Torque Teno virus plasma DNAemia in allogeneic stem cell transplant recipients
2017
Abstract Background Torque Teno virus (TTV) plasma DNA load directly correlate with the level of immunosuppresion in different clinical settings. It is uncertain whether this may be the case in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients (allo-HSCT). Objectives We characterized the dynamics of TTV DNAemia in patients undergoing T-cell replete allo-SCT. Study design Retrospective single-center observational study including 72 allo-HSCT patients. Plasma TTV DNA loads were quantified before initiating the conditioning regimen and at different time-points after transplant by real-time PCR. White blood cells (WBC) and absolute lymphocyte counts (ALC) were measured by flow cytometry.…
Evolution of major non-HIV-related comorbidities in HIV-infected patients in the Italian Cohort of Individuals, Naïve for Antiretrovirals (ICONA) Fou…
2018
Objectives: The management of HIV disease is complicated by the incidence of a new spectrum of comorbid noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). It is important to document changes in the prevalence of NCDs over time. The aim of the study was to describe the impact of ageing on HIV markers and on the prevalence of NCDs in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in the Italian Cohort of Individuals, Naïve for Antiretrovirals (ICONA) seen for care in 2004–2014. Methods: Analyses were conducted separately for a closed cohort (same people seen at both times) and an open cohort (all people under follow-up). We used the χ2 test for categorical factors and the Wilcoxon test for quantitative factors to compare pro…
Application of guidelines for the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in three prospective cohorts of HIV-monoinfected patients
2020
Objectives: Current guidelines recommend use of a diagnostic algorithm to assess disease severity in cases of suspected nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We applied this algorithm to HIV-monoinfected patients. Methods: We analysed three prospective screening programmes for NAFLD carried out in the following cohorts: the Liver Disease in HIV (LIVEHIV) cohort in Montreal, the Modena HIV Metabolic Clinic (MHMC) cohort and the Liver Pathologies in HIV in Palermo (LHivPa) cohort. In the LIVEHIV and LHivPa cohorts, NAFLD was diagnosed if the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) was ≥ 248 dB/m; in the MHMC cohort, it was diagnosed if the liver/spleen Hounsfield unit (HU) ratio on abdomin…
Virus found in a boreal lake links ssDNA and dsDNA viruses.
2017
Viruses have impacted the biosphere in numerous ways since the dawn of life. However, the evolution, genetic, structural, and taxonomic diversity of viruses remain poorly understood, in part because sparse sampling of the virosphere has concentrated mostly on exploring the abundance and diversity of dsDNA viruses. Furthermore, viral genomes are highly diverse, and using only the current sequence-based methods for classifying viruses and studying their phylogeny is complicated. Here we describe a virus, FLiP (Flavobacterium-infecting, lipid-containing phage), with a circular ssDNA genome and an internal lipid membrane enclosed in the icosahedral capsid. The 9,174-nt-long genome showed limite…
The importance of transmembrane domain interactions in the viral control of apoptosis
2021
Viral control of apoptosis occurs through the expression of viral encoded anti-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) analogs. These proteins are thought to restrain apoptosis by interacting with cellular BCL2 family members. We identified that protein-protein interactions between cellular and viral BCL2 transmembrane domains are crucial for the viral protein’s function.