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1. Paludicola gen. nov. and Revision of the Species Formerly in Batrachospermum Section  Turfosa (Batrachospermales, Rhodophyta)

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jpy.13001  

   Vis, Morgan L.; Lee, Janina; Eloranta, Pertti; Chapuis, Iara S.; Lam, Daryl W.; Necchi, Jr., Orlando; Oliveira, ed., M. C. (May 2020, Journal of Phycology)

   Since the first phylogenetic study of the order Batrachospermales,Batrachospermumwas shown to be paraphyletic. Subsequently, sections of the genus have been methodically investigated usingDNAsequences and morphology in order to propose new genera and delineate species.BatrachospermumsectionTurfosais the last section with multiple species yet to be examined. New sequence data of specimens from Europe and the United States were combined with the sparse sequence data already available. Phylogenetic analyses usingrbcL andCOI‐5P sequences showed this section to be a well‐supported clade, distinct fromBatrachospermumsectionBatrachospermumand its segregate genera. Section Turfosais raised to the generic rank asPaludicolagen. nov. Substantial genetic variation within the genus was discovered and 12 species are recognized based onDNAsequence data as well as morphological characters and geographic distribution. The following morphological characters were applied to distinguish species: branching pattern (pseudodichotomous or irregular), whorl size (reduced or well developed), primary fascicles (curved or straight), spermatangia origin (primary or secondary fascicles), and carposporophyte arrangement (loose or dense). Previously published species were transferred to the new genus:P. turfosa,P. keratophyta,P. orthosticha,P. phangiae,andP. periploca. Seven new species are proposed as follows:P. groenbladiifrom Europe;P. communis,P. johnhallii, andP. leafensisfrom North America; andP. aquanigra,P. diamantinensis, andP. turfosiformisfrom Brazil. In addition, three unsequenced species in the section,P. bakarensis,P. gombakensis, andP. tapirensis, were transferred to the new genus. 

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2. In silico screening of P , N -ligands facilitates optimization of Au( iii )-mediated S -arylation

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SC05920D  

   Treacy, Joseph W; Tilden, James_A R; Chao, Elaine Y; Fu, Zihuan; Spokoyny, Alexander M; Houk, K N; Maynard, Heather D (February 2025, Chemical Science)

   In silicoexamination of 13P,N-ligated Au(iii) OACs determined the key mechanistic factors governing Au(iii)-mediatedS-arylation. Three complexes were synthesized which exhibited bimolecular coordination rate constants as high as 20 200 M⁻¹s⁻¹. 

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3. Diversity of bla POM in carbapenem-resistant opportunistic pathogenic Pseudomonas otitidis in municipal wastewater

   https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2023.255  

   Di, Doris Yoong Wen; Cao, Guangxiang; Zhong, Chuanqing; Yan, Tao (May 2023, Journal of Water and Health)

   Abstract Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) encoding carbapenem resistance in wastewater are a well-known serious threat to human health. Twelve Pseudomonas otitidis isolates obtained from a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Hawaii were found to possess a subclass B3 MBL – POM (P. otitidis MBL), with a minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) range of 8–16 mg/L. The unrooted neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree showed that these blaPOM genes isolated in wastewater samples (n = 12) were distinctly different from other reference genes isolated from clinical, freshwater, animal, and soil samples except for isolates MR7, MR8, and MR11. MR7, MR8, and MR11 were found to have 4, 3, and 3 amino acid substitutions when compared to the type strain MC10330T and were closely clustered to the clinical reference genes. The meropenem hydrolysis experiment showed that isolates with multiple amino acid substitutions completely hydrolyzed 64 mg/L of meropenem in 7 h. The emergence of the opportunistic pathogen P. otitidis chromosomally encoding blaPOM in the treated municipal wastewater is an alarming call for the spread of this MBL in the environment. Further studies are required to understand the mechanism and regulation of this carbapenem-resistant β-lactamase in order to fill in the knowledge gap. 

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4. Range in the Use and Realization of BIN in African American English

   https://doi.org/10.1177/00238309221111201  

   Green, Lisa; Yu, Kristine M.; Neal, Anissa; Whitmal, Ayana; Powe, Tamira; Özyıldız, Deniz (July 2022, Language and Speech)

   This paper jointly considers syntactic, semantic, and phonological/phonetic factors in approaching an understanding of BIN, a remote past marker in African American English that has been described as “stressed.” It brings together data from the Corpus of Regional African American Language (CORAAL) and a production study in a small African American English-speaking community in southwest Louisiana to investigate the use and phonetic realization of BIN constructions. Only 20 instances of BIN constructions were found in CORAAL. This sparsity was not simply due to a dearth of semantic contexts for BIN in the interviews, since 122 instances of semantically equivalent been + temporal adverbial variants were also found. These results raise questions about the extent to which BIN constructions and been + temporal adverbial variants are used in different pragmatic and discourse contexts as well as in different speech styles. The production study elicited BIN and past participle been constructions in controlled syntactic and semantic environments. The phonetic realization of BIN was found to be distributed over the entire utterance rather than localized to BIN. BIN utterances were distinguished from past participle been utterances by having higher ratios of fundamental frequency (F0), intensity, and duration in BIN/ been relative to preceding and following material in the utterance. In both studies, BIN utterances were generally realized with a high F0 peak on BIN and a reduced F0 range in the post- BIN region, with variability in the presence and kinds of F0 movements utterance-initially and utterance-finally, as well as in F0 downtrends in the post- BIN region. 

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5. Hairpin in a haystack : In silico identification and characterization of plant-conserved microRNA in Rafflesiaceae

   https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2022-1033  

   Wicaksono, Adhityo; Meitha, Karlia; Wan, Kiew-Lian; Mat_Isa, Mohd Noor; Parikesit, Arli Aditya; Molina, Jeanmaire (January 2025, Open Life Sciences)

   Abstract Rafflesiaceae is a family of endangered plants whose members are solely parasitic to the tropical grape vineTetrastigma(Vitaceae). Currently, the genetics of their crosstalk with the host remains unexplored. In this study, we use homology-basedin silicoapproaches to characterize micro-RNAs (miRNAs) expressed bySapria himalayanaandRafflesia cantleyifrom published omics data. Derived from secondary structures or hairpins, miRNAs are small regulators of gene expression. We found that some plant-conserved miRNA still exists in Rafflesiaceae. Out of 9 highly conserved miRNA families in plants, 7 families (156/157, 159/319, 160, 165/166, 171, 172, 390) were identified with a total of 22 variants across Rafflesiaceae. Some miRNAs were missing endogenous targets and may have evolved to target host miRNA, though this requires experimental verification. Rafflesiaceae miRNA promoters are mostly inducible by ethylene that mediates stress response in the host but could be perceived by the parasites as a signal for growth. This study provides evidence that certain miRNAs with ancient origins in land plants still exist in Rafflesiaceae, though some may have been coopted by parasites to target host genes. 

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