All Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Function articles
-
News
Early challenges to the immune system disrupt oral health
Researchers identified changes over time in the oral microbiome of children living with HIV, offering insights into how early immune challenges shape not only oral health but also systemic health.
-
News
Assisted by sniffer dogs and DNA sequencing, researchers discover three new truffle species
Biologists studying fungal evolution and ecology have discovered three new truffle species, including one capable of commanding hundreds of dollars per pound within culinary circles.
-
News
Tiny artificial cells can keep time, study finds
A team of researchers has shown that tiny artificial cells can accurately keep time, mimicking the daily rhythms found in living organisms like cyanobacteria. Their findings shed light on how biological clocks stay on schedule despite the inherent molecular noise inside cells.
-
News
Gut morphology, not just diet or phylogeny, shapes mammalian gut microbiomes
Diet and evolutionary history have long been viewed as the main drivers of the mammalian gut microbiome. However, a new study offers the first systematic evidence that gut morphology significantly influences both the structure and function of gut microbial communities.
-
News
Version 4 update to Human Oral Microbiome Database includes expanded whole-genome sequence info
A recent update to the Human Oral Microbiome Database (HOMD) database includes a greatly expanded set of whole-genome sequences, reflecting a significant advancement in taxonomy of bacterial species and the study of microbial states in disease and health.
-
News
Scientists strive to place tens of thousands of previously unknown fungi in the evolution tree
Scientists have received a grant to systematise and describe members of the 95% majority of previously unclassified microscopic fungi, and other eukaryotic organisms not yet included in the current tree of life system.
-
Features
Genome sleuths: using DNA to trace the evolution of animal-to-human pathogens
Zoonotic spillovers have become a significant focus of global health, with outbreaks like SARS and COVID-19 underscoring how quickly these events can escalate into worldwide crises. Genomics is crucial in tracing the origins and predicting the emergence of zoonotic threats.
-
News
Researchers pinpoint fungal hotspots of ‘dark taxa’ across Earth’s underground ecosystems
A new study finds that 83% of ectomycorrhizal fungi are known only by their DNA sequences that can’t be linked to named or described species, posing problems for conservation.
-
News
Scientists report well-preserved fossil blue-stain fungus from the Jurassic
A research team has found well-preserved fossil fungal hyphae preserved within a Jurassic petrified wood from northeastern China, dating back 160 million years.
-
News
Study resolves diatom tree of life - and could offer clues to Earth’s puzzle
A new study finds that diatoms evolved slowly for the first 100 million years of their existence. Then, 170 million years ago, they reached an inflection point characterized by a burst of rapid speciation orders of magnitude faster than anything that had preceded it.
-
News
Ten new microfungal taxa and nine new species found in Tibet
Researchers conducting a microfungal survey in the Xizang Autonomous Region reported the discovery of ten new taxa and clarified the phylogenetic relationships of these fungi. They proposed one new genus, Neotriplosphaeria, and nine new species.
-
News
Ancient remains reveal how a pathogen began to use lice – not ticks – to infect humans
Researchers have analysed ancient DNA from Borrelia recurrentis, a type of bacteria that causes relapsing fever, pinpointing when it evolved to spread through lice rather than ticks, and how it gained and lost genes in the process.
-
News
Genomic data shows widespread mpox transmission in West Africa prior to 2022 global outbreak
Mpox was transmitted among humans in Nigeria for eight years before sparking the international outbreak in 2022. Using genomic tracing, the researchers estimate that the virus’s ancestor first emerged in southern Nigeria in August 2014.
-
Features
What is eating my rocks? A possible novel biological niche inside limestone
“It seems something biological has once lived inside rocks in Namibia.” Read the story of this unusual discovery…
-
News
Shaken and stirred: why Klebsiella pneumoniae strain 007 poses a deadly threat
A new study has uncovered the secrets of a particular strain of the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae, revealing a potentially deadly genetic capacity for both antimicrobial resistance and virulence.
-
News
Researchers develop innovative solution for tracking antibiotic resistance genes
Scientists have developed a computational tool, Argo, designed to accurately track ARGs in environmental samples, providing insights into their dissemination and associated risks.
-
News
New ‘shy’ fungus found in old-growth forest
Although fungi of the genus Piloderma are common, scientists have now discovered five previously unknown species. One of these is one of the most widely distributed species in Northern Europe, while another is found only in old-growth forests.
-
News
New method uncovers dynamic microbial community in coastal sediments
Scientists utilises single celll genomics and cell staining approaches to investigate the respiratory rates and metabolic activities of the diverse microbial communities in low biomass aqautic environments, such as Maine’s coastal sediments.
-
News
Scietnists probe Rhytismataceae on twigs of Rhododendron
Following a study of fungal specimens collected from the twigs of Rhododendron species in China, three new genera were proposed and 21 species residing in 11 genera of Rhytismataceae were delimited, which include 18 new species and three new combinations.
-
News
Novel insights into Candida glabrata in pregnant women’s reproductive tracts in Hainan
A study of Candida glabrata in pregnant women with vaginal discomfort at Haikou Maternal and Child Health Hospital found that 64.5% of the 594 yeast isolates (383 isolates) showed resistance (R) or intermediate (I) phenotypes to at least one of four commonly used antifungals.