TY  - JOUR
A1  - Gupta, Shishir K.
A1  - Srivastava, Mugdha
A1  - Osmanoglu, Özge
A1  - Xu, Zhuofei
A1  - Brakhage, Axel A.
A1  - Dandekar, Thomas
T1  - Aspergillus fumigatus versus genus Aspergillus: conservation, adaptive evolution and specific virulence genes
JF  - Microorganisms
N2  - Aspergillus is an important fungal genus containing economically important species, as well as pathogenic species of animals and plants. Using eighteen fungal species of the genus Aspergillus, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of conserved genes and their evolution. This also allows us to investigate the selection pressure driving the adaptive evolution in the pathogenic species A. fumigatus. Among single-copy orthologs (SCOs) for A. fumigatus and the closely related species A. fischeri, we identified 122 versus 50 positively selected genes (PSGs), respectively. Moreover, twenty conserved genes of unknown function were established to be positively selected and thus important for adaption. A. fumigatus PSGs interacting with human host proteins show over-representation of adaptive, symbiosis-related, immunomodulatory and virulence-related pathways, such as the TGF-β pathway, insulin receptor signaling, IL1 pathway and interfering with phagosomal GTPase signaling. Additionally, among the virulence factor coding genes, secretory and membrane protein-coding genes in multi-copy gene families, 212 genes underwent positive selection and also suggest increased adaptation, such as fungal immune evasion mechanisms (aspf2), siderophore biosynthesis (sidD), fumarylalanine production (sidE), stress tolerance (atfA) and thermotolerance (sodA). These genes presumably contribute to host adaptation strategies. Genes for the biosynthesis of gliotoxin are shared among all the close relatives of A. fumigatus as an ancient defense mechanism. Positive selection plays a crucial role in the adaptive evolution of A. fumigatus. The genome-wide profile of PSGs provides valuable targets for further research on the mechanisms of immune evasion, antimycotic targeting and understanding fundamental virulence processes.
KW  - molecular evolution
KW  - phylogenetic analysis
KW  - adaptation
KW  - recombination
KW  - positive selection
KW  - human pathogenic fungi
KW  - genus Aspergillus
KW  - Aspergillus fumigatus
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-246318
SN  - 2076-2607
VL  - 9
IS  - 10
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Scheiner, Ricarda
A1  - Lim, Kayun
A1  - Meixner, Marina D.
A1  - Gabel, Martin S.
T1  - Comparing the appetitive learning performance of six European honeybee subspecies in a common apiary
JF  - Insects
N2  - The Western honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) is one of the most widespread insects with numerous subspecies in its native range. How far adaptation to local habitats has affected the cognitive skills of the different subspecies is an intriguing question that we investigate in this study. Naturally mated queens of the following five subspecies from different parts of Europe were transferred to Southern Germany: A. m. iberiensis from Portugal, A. m. mellifera from Belgium, A. m. macedonica from Greece, A. m. ligustica from Italy, and A. m. ruttneri from Malta. We also included the local subspecies A. m. carnica in our study. New colonies were built up in a common apiary where the respective queens were introduced. Worker offspring from the different subspecies were compared in classical olfactory learning performance using the proboscis extension response. Prior to conditioning, we measured individual sucrose responsiveness to investigate whether possible differences in learning performances were due to differential responsiveness to the sugar water reward. Most subspecies did not differ in their appetitive learning performance. However, foragers of the Iberian honeybee, A. m. iberiensis, performed significantly more poorly, despite having a similar sucrose responsiveness. We discuss possible causes for the poor performance of the Iberian honeybees, which may have been shaped by adaptation to the local habitat.
KW  - adaptation
KW  - Apis mellifera
KW  - olfactory learning
KW  - proboscis extension response
KW  - sucrose responsiveness
KW  - genetic diversity
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-245180
SN  - 2075-4450
VL  - 12
IS  - 9
ER  -