TY - JOUR AU - Gebrehaweria Kidane, Reda AU - Ndunguru, Sawadi Fransisco AU - Csernus, Brigitta AU - Knop, Renáta AU - Lugata, James Kachungwa AU - Szabó, Csaba AU - Czeglédi, Levente AU - Lendvai, Ádám Zoltán TI - Dietary restriction reveals sex-specific expression of the mTOR pathway genes in Japanese quails JF - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS J2 - SCI REP VL - 14 PY - 2024 IS - 1 PG - 14 SN - 2045-2322 DO - 10.1038/s41598-024-58487-9 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34786100 ID - 34786100 AB - Limited resources affect an organism’s physiology through the conserved metabolic pathway, the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). Males and females often react differently to nutritional limitation, but whether it leads to differential mTOR pathway expression remains unknown. Recently, we found that dietary restriction (DR) induced significant changes in the expression of mTOR pathway genes in female Japanese quails ( Coturnix japonica ). We simultaneously exposed 32 male and female Japanese quails to either 20%, 30%, 40% restriction or ad libitum feeding for 14 days and determined the expression of six key genes of the mTOR pathway in the liver to investigate sex differences in the expression patterns. We found that DR significantly reduced body mass, albeit the effect was milder in males compared to females. We observed sex-specific liver gene expression. DR downregulated mTOR expression more in females than in males. Under moderate DR, ATG9A and RPS6K1 expressions were increased more in males than in females. Like females, body mass in males was correlated positively with mTOR and IGF1, but negatively with ATG9A and RS6K1 expressions. Our findings highlight that sexes may cope with nutritional deficits differently and emphasise the importance of considering sexual differences in studies of dietary restriction. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Gebrehaweria Kidane, Reda AU - Ndunguru, Sawadi Fransisco AU - Csernus, Brigitta AU - Tóthné Gulyás, Gabriella AU - Knop, Renáta AU - Szabó, Csaba AU - Czeglédi, Levente AU - Lendvai, Ádám Zoltán TI - Dietary restriction and life-history trade-offs: insights into mTOR pathway regulation and reproductive investment in Japanese quails JF - JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY J2 - J EXP BIOL PY - 2024 SN - 0022-0949 DO - 10.1242/jeb.247064 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34785047 ID - 34785047 AB - Resources are needed for growth, reproduction and survival, and organisms must trade-off limited resources among competing processes. Nutritional availability in organisms is sensed and monitored by nutrient-sensing pathways that can trigger physiological changes or alter gene expression. Previous studies have proposed that one such signalling pathway, the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), underpins a form of adaptive plasticity when individuals encounter constraints in their energy budget. Despite the fundamental importance of this process in evolutionary biology, how nutritional limitation is regulated through the expression of genes governing this pathway and its consequential effects on fitness remains understudied, particularly in birds. We used dietary restriction to simulate resource depletion and examined its effects on body mass, reproduction and gene expression in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica). Quails were subjected to feeding 20%, 30%, 40% restriction levels or ad libitum for two weeks. All restricted groups exhibited reduced body mass, whereas reductions in the number and mass of eggs were observed only under more severe restrictions. Additionally, dietary restriction led to decreased expression of mTOR and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), whereas the ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1 (RPS6K1) and autophagy-related genes (ATG9A and ATG5) were upregulated. The pattern in which mTOR respond to restriction was similar to what has been seen in body mass. Regardless of the treatment, proportionally higher reproductive investment was associated with individual variation in mTOR expression. These findings reveal the connection between dietary intake and the expression of mTOR and related genes in this pathway. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Magura, Tibor AU - Lövei, Gábor TI - Edge history modulates the depth of edge influence: Evidence from ground beetles with different feeding traits JF - FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT J2 - FOREST ECOL MANAG VL - 561 PY - 2024 PG - 8 SN - 0378-1127 DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121874 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34782505 ID - 34782505 LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Nagy, Nikoletta Andrea AU - Tóth, Gábor Endre AU - Kurucz, Kornélia AU - Kemenesi, Gábor AU - Laczkó, Levente TI - The updated genome of the Hungarian population of Aedes koreicus JF - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS J2 - SCI REP VL - 14 PY - 2024 IS - 1 PG - 12 SN - 2045-2322 DO - 10.1038/s41598-024-58096-6 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34762677 ID - 34762677 AB - Vector-borne diseases pose a potential risk to human and animal welfare, and understanding their spread requires genomic resources. The mosquito Aedes koreicus is an emerging vector that has been introduced into Europe more than 15 years ago but only a low quality, fragmented genome was available. In this study, we carried out additional sequencing and assembled and characterized the genome of the species to provide a background for understanding its evolution and biology. The updated genome was 1.1 Gbp long and consisted of 6099 contigs with an N50 value of 329,610 bp and a BUSCO score of 84%. We identified 22,580 genes that could be functionally annotated and paid particular attention to the identification of potential insecticide resistance genes. The assessment of the orthology of the genes indicates a high turnover at the terminal branches of the species tree of mosquitoes with complete genomes, which could contribute to the adaptation and evolutionary success of the species. These results could form the basis for numerous downstream analyzes to develop targets for the control of mosquito populations. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Ndunguru, Sawadi Fransisco AU - Gebrehaweria Kidane, Reda AU - Csernus, Brigitta AU - Knop, Renáta AU - Tóthné Gulyás, Gabriella AU - Szabó, Csaba AU - Czeglédi, Levente AU - Lendvai, Ádám Zoltán TI - Embryonic methionine triggers post-natal developmental programming in Japanese quail JF - JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY J2 - J COMP PHYSIOL B PY - 2024 SN - 0174-1578 DO - 10.1007/s00360-024-01542-8 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34756167 ID - 34756167 AB - Embryonic development is one of the most sensitive and critical stages when maternal effects may influence the offspring’s phenotype. In birds and other oviparous species, embryonic development is confined to the eggs, therefore females must deposit resources into the eggs to prepare the offspring for the prevailing post-natal conditions. However, the mechanisms of such phenotypic adjustments remain poorly understood. We simulated a maternal nutritional transfer by injecting 1 mg of l -methionine solution into Japanese quail eggs before the onset of incubation. The increase in early methionine concentration in eggs activated the insulin/insulin-like signalling and mechanistic target of rapamycin (IIS/mTOR) signalling pathways and affected post-natal developmental trajectories. Chicks from methionine-supplemented eggs had higher expression of liver IGF1 and mTOR genes at hatching but were similar in size, and the phenotypic effects of increased growth became apparent only a week later and remained up to three weeks. Circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and expression of ribosomal protein serine 6 kinase 1 ( RPS6K1), the mTOR downstream effector, were elevated only three weeks after hatching. These results show that specific nutritional cues may have phenotypic programming effects by sequentially activating specific nutrient-sensing pathways and achieving transgenerational phenotypic plasticity. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - CONF AU - Imre, Alexandra AU - Kovács, Renátó AU - Ibrahim, Al’ Abri AU - Nathan, Crook AU - Pfliegler, Valter Péter TI - Specific high effect mutations in clinical and experimentally evolved Saccharomyces ‘boulardii’ isolates show that genes involved in chemical response might have a role during the adaptation to the human host T2 - The Allied Genetics Conference 2024 Abstract Book PY - 2024 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34753304 ID - 34753304 LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - JOUR AU - Jones, William AU - Tóth, Zsófia AU - Khursanov, Viacheslav AU - Kisliakova, Nastassia AU - Krüger, Oliver AU - Székely, Tamás AU - Karlionova, Natalia AU - Pinchuk, Pavel AU - Chakarov, Nayden TI - Haemosporidian infections are more common in breeding shorebirds than in migrating shorebirds JF - IBIS J2 - IBIS VL - - PY - 2024 PG - 14 SN - 0019-1019 DO - 10.1111/ibi.13318 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34752419 ID - 34752419 AB - Migrating animals are thought to be important spillover sources for novel pathogens. Haemosporidians (malaria‐related parasites) are one such group of pathogens that commonly spillover into novel host communities if competent vectors are present. In birds, shorebirds (sandpipers, plovers and allies) perform some of the longest avian migrations, yet they are traditionally perceived as relatively free from haemosporidians. Although low prevalence fits several theories, such as effective immune responses or low exposure to vectors, few studies have been carried out in freshwater inland sites, where the vectors of haemosporidians (e.g. mosquitoes) are abundant, with a mixture of actively migrating (staging) and breeding hosts. Here we report the prevalence of three haemosporidian parasites, Haemoproteus , Leucocytozoon and Plasmodium , screened in 214 shorebirds from 15 species sampled in a freshwater marshland, southern Belarus. Contrary to most previous studies, we found that haemosporidians were frequent, with an overall prevalence in the community of 16.36%, including the locally breeding shorebirds (23.13%, 134 individuals of 10 species). However, actively migrating shorebirds had much lower prevalence (0.05%, 55 individuals of five species). We suggest that blood parasite infections are more common in shorebirds than currently acknowledged. Yet, actively migrating species may be free from haemosporidians or carry suppressed infections, leading to lower prevalence or even apparent absence in some species. Taken together, we theorize that a combination of sampling biases has driven our understanding of haemosporidian prevalence in shorebirds and future studies should take the migratory status of individuals into account when reporting prevalence. Furthermore, we argue that birds undergoing active migration may be less likely sources of spillover events than previously assumed. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - CONF AU - Karaffa, Levente AU - Flipphi, Michel Johannes Anthonie AU - Márton, Alexandra AU - Bíró, Vivien AU - Bakondi-Kovács, István AU - Ág-Rácz, Viktória AU - Ág, Norbert AU - Fekete, Erzsébet TI - Second Alternative Oxidase Genes in Aspergillaceae: Genesis, Loss and Mutations T2 - The 20th International Aspergillus Meeting,Asperfest20 Program and Abstract Book PY - 2024 SP - 26 EP - 27 PG - 2 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34751176 ID - 34751176 AB - Alternative oxidase (Aox) is a terminal oxidase in branched mitochondrial electron transport that provides a non-electrogenic alternative to canonical cytochrome-mediated electron flow, bypassing the proton- pumping complexes III and IV. The consequence of the direct transfer of electrons from ubiquinol to oxygen without concomitant build up of proton motive force is the uncoupling of ATP synthesis via oxidative phosporylation from NADH reoxidation, to allow carbon catabolism to continue unabated even when ATP demand is low or when non-carbon nutrients become limiting. Thus, Aox plays an important role in the energetics of overflow metabolism-based bioprocesses such as Aspergillus niger citric acid fermentation and Aspergillus terreus itaconate production. Aox (aoxA gene) is near ubiquitous in the fungal kingdom, but coexistence of multiple aox genes is rare. However, a second aox gene (aoxB) is present in some taxa of Aspergillaceae. Paralogous genes generally originate from duplication and inherit vertically; we provide evidence for four independent duplication events at different points in evolution that resulted in aoxB paralogs in contemporary Aspergilli and Penicillia. The paralog in A. niger has a different origin than the paralog in A. terreus, while a third independently formed paralog is found in A. wentii. All paralogous clades arise from original aoxA parent genes but never replace them. Few species have accumulated three co-expressed aox genes. Therefore, loss of once acquired paralogs co-determines contemporary aox gene content in individual species. For instance, section Fumigati has lost all its transient paralogs. In the subgenus Nidulantes, we identified seven independent occasions of aoxB gene loss and two gains. In A. calidoustus, both more ancient aoxB paralogs present in the last common ancestor of the subgenus have been substituted by two other aoxB genes of completely distinct origins. We found that the paralogous aoxB gene in some 75 genome-sequenced A. niger strains features variation at a level not detected for the ubiquitous aoxA gene. Five mutations were identified that plausibly affect transcription, function, or terminally modify the gene product. A full-length AoxB is encoded in the acid producer ATCC 1015. Hence, the A. niger sensu stricto complex can be subdivided into six taxa according to the resident aoxB allele. To date, confident separation could only be accomplished after comparative analyses of whole genome sequences. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - GEN AU - Karaffa, Levente AU - Flipphi, Michel Johannes Anthonie AU - Márton, Alexandra AU - Bíró, Vivien AU - Bakondi-Kovács, István AU - Ág-Rácz, Viktória AU - Ág, Norbert AU - Fekete, Erzsébet TI - Second Alternative Oxidase Genes in Aspergillaceae: Genesis, Loss and Mutations CY - Asperfest20 PY - 2024 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34751163 ID - 34751163 AB - Alternative oxidase (Aox) is a terminal oxidase in branched mitochondrial electron transport that provides a non-electrogenic alternative to canonical cytochrome-mediated electron flow, bypassing the proton- pumping complexes III and IV. The consequence of the direct transfer of electrons from ubiquinol to oxygen without concomitant build up of proton motive force is the uncoupling of ATP synthesis via oxidative phosporylation from NADH reoxidation, to allow carbon catabolism to continue unabated even when ATP demand is low or when non-carbon nutrients become limiting. Thus, Aox plays an important role in the energetics of overflow metabolism-based bioprocesses such as Aspergillus niger citric acid fermentation and Aspergillus terreus itaconate production. Aox (aoxA gene) is near ubiquitous in the fungal kingdom, but coexistence of multiple aox genes is rare. However, a second aox gene (aoxB) is present in some taxa of Aspergillaceae. Paralogous genes generally originate from duplication and inherit vertically; we provide evidence for four independent duplication events at different points in evolution that resulted in aoxB paralogs in contemporary Aspergilli and Penicillia. The paralog in A. niger has a different origin than the paralog in A. terreus, while a third independently formed paralog is found in A. wentii. All paralogous clades arise from original aoxA parent genes but never replace them. Few species have accumulated three co-expressed aox genes. Therefore, loss of once acquired paralogs co-determines contemporary aox gene content in individual species. For instance, section Fumigati has lost all its transient paralogs. In the subgenus Nidulantes, we identified seven independent occasions of aoxB gene loss and two gains. In A. calidoustus, both more ancient aoxB paralogs present in the last common ancestor of the subgenus have been substituted by two other aoxB genes of completely distinct origins. We found that the paralogous aoxB gene in some 75 genome-sequenced A. niger strains features variation at a level not detected for the ubiquitous aoxA gene. Five mutations were identified that plausibly affect transcription, function, or terminally modify the gene product. A full-length AoxB is encoded in the acid producer ATCC 1015. Hence, the A. niger sensu stricto complex can be subdivided into six taxa according to the resident aoxB allele. To date, confident separation could only be accomplished after comparative analyses of whole genome sequences. LA - English DB - MTMT ER - TY - CONF AU - Karaffa, Levente AU - Bíró, Vivien AU - Márton, Alexandra AU - Bakondi-Kovács, István AU - Nicholas, Geoffrion AU - Adrian, Tsang AU - Christian, P. Kubicek AU - Fekete, Erzsébet TI - Transcriptome analysis of manganese(II) ion depletion during high-yield citric acid fermentation in Aspergillus niger T2 - The 20th International Aspergillus Meeting,Asperfest20 Program and Abstract Book PY - 2024 SP - 27 EP - 27 PG - 1 UR - https://m2.mtmt.hu/api/publication/34751135 ID - 34751135 AB - Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, 3Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria Citric acid (citrate) is amongst the most important bulk products of industrial biotechnology. The discovery of its accumulation by the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger led to the development of a large-scale submerged fermentation process employing stirred tank reactors, which today accounts for 95% of the world’s production. High-yield citric acid production requires a combination of unusual nutritional conditions, of which establishing a low (<5 ppb) manganese(II) ion concentration at the onset of the fermentation is a key feature. Changes in the metabolism of A. niger prompted by Mn(II)-deficiency has not been investigated on a functional genomics level so far. In order to get an insight into how Mn(II) deficiency triggers citric acid accumulation, we compared the transcriptome of the citric acid hyperproducer A. niger NRRL 2270 strain at three time points (24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour) at Mn(II)-deficient (=5 ppb) and Mn(II)-sufficient (=100 ppb) fermentation conditions. This experimental design emanates from our previous observation that the effect of Mn(II) ions on citric acid accumulation is dependent on the cultivation time: it has the strongest effect at the onset of the cultivation and then gradually decreases (Fekete et al., 2022). Comparison of the transcriptomes of Mn(II)-deficient and Mn(II)-sufficient fermentation conditions revealed that 1436 transcripts are differentially regulated (log2> 2 at p <0.05). Of these, 629 transcripts are upregulated and 807 transcripts are downregulated under Mn(II)-deficient condition. Of the transcripts that displayed differential regulation only at the 24-hour timepoint, 101 transcripts were upregulated and 101 were downregulated. Among the 133 transcripts that were upregulated at all three timepoints under Mn(II)-deficient condition, the majority (= 97) transcripts are predicted to encode secreted or membrane-bound proteins. Notably, cexA, encoding the major citrate exporter in A. niger (Reinfurt et al., 2023), was upregulated 75-, 15- and 2-fold at the three respective timepoints of cultivation under Mn(II)-deficient condition. LA - English DB - MTMT ER -