Novel species of fungi described in the present study include the following from Malaysia: Castanediella eucalypti from Eucalyptus pellita, Codinaea acacia from Acacia mangium, Emarcea eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus brassiana, Myrtapenidiella eucalyptorum from Eucalyptus pellita, Pilidiella eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus brassiana and Strelitziana malaysiana from Acacia mangium. Furthermore, Stachybotrys sansevieriicola is described from Sansevieria ehrenbergii (Tanzania), Phacidium grevilleae from Grevillea robusta (Uganda), Graphium jumulu from Adansonia gregorii and Ophiostoma eucalyptigena from Eucalyptus marginata (Australia), Pleurophoma ossicola from bone and Plectosphaerella populi from Populus nigra (Germany), Colletotrichum neosansevieriae from Sansevieria trifasciata, Elsinoë othonnae from Othonna quinquedentata and Zeloasperisporium cliviae (Zeloasperisporiaceae fam. nov.) from Clivia sp. (South Africa), Neodevriesia pakbiae, Phaeophleospora hymenocallidis and Phaeophleospora hymenocallidicola on leaves of a fern (Thailand), Melanconium elaeidicola from Elaeis guineensis (Indonesia), Hormonema viticola from Vitis vinifera (Canary Islands), Chlorophyllum pseudoglobossum from a grassland (India), Triadelphia disseminata from an immunocompromised patient (Saudi Arabia), Colletotrichum abscissum from Citrus (Brazil), Polyschema sclerotigenum and Phialemonium limoniforme from human patients (USA), Cadophora vitícola from Vitis vinifera (Spain), Entoloma flavovelutinum and Bolbitius aurantiorugosus from soil (Vietnam), Rhizopogon granuloflavus from soil (Cape Verde Islands), Tulasnella eremophila from Euphorbia officinarum subsp. echinus (Morocco), Verrucostoma martinicensis from Danaea elliptica (French West Indies), Metschnikowia colchici from Colchicum autumnale (Bulgaria), Thelebolus microcarpus from soil (Argentina) and Ceratocystis adelpha from Theobroma cacao (Ecuador). Myrmecridium iridis (Myrmecridiales ord. nov., Myrmecridiaceae fam. nov.) is also described from Iris sp. (The Netherlands). Novel genera include (Ascomycetes): Budhanggurabania from Cynodon dactylon (Australia), Soloacrosporiella, Xenocamarosporium, Neostrelitziana and Castanediella from Acacia mangium and Sabahriopsis from Eucalyptus brassiana (Malaysia), Readerielliopsis from basidiomata of Fuscoporia wahlbergii (French Guyana), Neoplatysporoides from Aloe ferox (Tanzania), Wojnowiciella, Chrysofolia and Neoeriomycopsis from Eucalyptus (Colombia), Neophaeomoniella from Eucalyptus globulus (USA), Pseudophaeomoniella from Olea europaea (Italy), Paraphaeomoniella from Encephalartos altensteinii, Aequabiliella, Celerioriella and Minutiella from Prunus (South Africa). Tephrocybella (Basidiomycetes) represents a novel genus from wood (Italy). Morphological and culture characteristics along with ITS DNA barcodes are provided for all taxa.

Glutamate transporters play a key role in glutamate clearance and protect the central nervous system from glutamate excitotoxicity. Dysfunctional glutamate transporters contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD); however, the mechanisms that underlie the regulation of glutamate transporters in PD are still not well characterized. Here we report that Nedd4-2 mediates the ubiquitination of glutamate transporters in 1-methyl-4- phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-treated astrocytes and in the midbrain of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6- tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-constructed PD model mice. Nedd4-2-mediated ubiquitination induces abnormal glutamate transporter trafficking between the membrane and cytoplasm and consequently decreases the expression and function of glutamate transporters in the membrane. Conversely, Nedd4-2 knockdown decreases glutamate transporter ubiquitination, promotes glutamate uptake and increases glutamate transporter expression in vitro and in vivo. We report for the first time that Nedd4-2 knockdown ameliorates movement disorders in PD mice and increases tyrosine hydroxylase expression in the midbrain and striatum of PD mice; Nedd4-2 knockdown also attenuates astrogliosis and reactive microgliosis in the MPTP model that may be associated with glutamate excitotoxicity. Furthermore, the SGK/PKC pathway is regulated downstream of Nedd4-2 in MPTP-treated mice. These findings indicate that Nedd4-2 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of PD.

High soil salinity is a major abiotic stress in plant agriculture worldwide. Here, we report the characterization of a novel aquaporin gene TaNIP (Triticum asetivum L. nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein), which was involved in salt tolerance pathways in plants. TaNIP was identified and cloned through the gene chip expression analysis of a salt-tolerant wheat mutant RH8706-49 under salt stress. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (Q-RT-PCR) was used to detect TaNIP expression under salt, drought, cold and ABA treatment. The overexpression of TaNIP in transgenic Arabidopsis produced higher salt tolerance than wild-type plants. Localization analysis showed that TaNIP proteins tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) were localized to the cell plasma membrane. Under salt stress treatment, TaNIP-overexpressing Arabidopsis accumulated higher K(+), Ca(2+) and proline contents and lower Na(+) level than the wild-type plants. The overexpression of TaNIP in transgenic Arabidopsis also up-regulated the expression of a number of stress-associated genes. Our results suggest that TaNIP plays an important role in salt tolerance in Arabidopsis and can also enhance plants' tolerance to other abiotic stresses.

Modeling biophysical processes is a complex endeavor because of large data requirements and uncertainty in model parameters. Model predictions should incorporate, when possible, analyses of their uncertainty and sensitivity. The study incorporated uncertainty analysis on EPIC (Environmental Policy Impact Calculator) predictions of corn (Zea mays L.) yield and soil organic carbon (SOC) using generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE). An automatic parameter optimization procedure was developed at the conclusion of sensitivity analysis, which was conducted using the extended Fourier amplitude sensitivity test (FAST). The analyses were based on an experimental field under 34-year continuous corn with five N treatments at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in Wisconsin. The observed average annual yields per treatment during 1958 to 1991 fell well within the 90% confidence interval (CI) of the annually averaged predictions. The width of the 90% CI bands of predicted average yields ranged from 0.31 to 1.6 Mg ha −1. The predicted means per treatment over simulations were 3.26 to 6.37 Mg ha −1 , with observations from 3.28 to 6.4 Mg ha −1. The predicted means of yearly yield over simulations were 1.77 to 9.22 Mg ha −1 , with observations from 1.35 to 10.22 Mg ha −1. The 90% confidence width for predicted yearly SOC in the top 0.2 m soil was 285 to 625 g C m −2 , while predicted means were 5122 to 6564 g C m −2 and observations were 5645 to 6733 g C m −2. The optimal parameter set identified through the automatic parameter optimization procedure gave an R 2 of 0.96 for average corn yield predictions and 0.89 for yearly SOC. EPIC was dependable, from a statistical point of view, in predicting average yield and SOC dynamics.

Rapamycin protects mice against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced loss of dopaminergic neurons, which is an established model for Parkinson's disease. We demonstrated that rapamycin preserves astrocytic expression of glutamate transporters and glutamate reuptake. The protective effect was also observed in astrocyte cultures, indicating that rapamycin acts directly on astrocytes. In the MPTP model, rapamycin caused reduced expression of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2 (neuronal precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated 4-2) and reduced colocalization of glutamate transporters with ubiquitin. Rapamycin increased interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression, which was associated with reduced expression of inflammatory cytokines, indicating anti-inflammatory properties of IL-6 in the MPTP model. NF-κB was shown to be a key mediator for rapamycin, whereas Janus kinase 2, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and Akt partially mediated rapamycin effects in astrocytes. These results demonstrate for the first time in a Parkinson's disease animal model that the neuroprotective effects of rapamycin are associated with glial and anti-inflammatory effects.