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1. Draft genome of Conoideocrella luteorostrata ARSEF 14590 (Clavicipitaceae), an entomopathogenic fungus with a wealth of biosynthetic and biocontrol potential

   https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.01273-24  

   Lovett, Brian; Stajich, Jason E; Barrett, Hana; Kasson, Lindsay R; Panaccione, Daniel G; Reiter, Cecilia A; Fuss, Jessica L; Biddle, Gregory; Kasson, Matt T (August 2025, Microbiology Resource Announcements)

   Bruno, Vincent Michael (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT The fungusConoideocrella luteorostratais a recently discovered pathogen of invasive elongate hemlock scale insects (EHS;Fiorinia externa) in Christmas tree farms in the eastern U.S. Here, we report a scaffold-level genome and assembly along with an initial survey of biosynthetic gene clusters for strain ARSEF 14590 from EHS. 

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2. Possible Limitations in the Management of a Small Ant Pest Species ( Plagiolepis alluaudi ) Using Gel Baits

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.13411  

   Gordon, Johnalyn M; Timar, Asher; Lucky, Andrea; Oi, Faith M; Chouvenc, Thomas (May 2025, Journal of Applied Entomology)

   ABSTRACT Alluaud's little yellow ant,Plagiolepis alluaudiEmery 1894, (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is an emerging nuisance species in floriculture and residential areas around the globe. Originally described from Madagascar, it ranks among the smallest widespread formicine pests. To date, no evaluations of management protocols for this species have been reported. In ants, feeding preference is related to ant body size and viscosity and nutritional content of the food source. Optimizing these factors could lead to improved bait performance. To assess population management implications of various bait parameters on a small pest ant species, four commercial ant baits of varying viscosities, active ingredient (AI) group and concentration, and nutritional content were evaluated in laboratory and field assays againstP. alluaudi. All four products negatively affectedP. alluaudisurvival compared to the untreated control, and all products were associated with greater visitation compared to the control, suggesting all AIs tested are viable candidates forP. alluaudimanagement. However, their direct use for population management in the field may be limited, as feeding cessation was eventually observed on all four baits. When baits were diluted with water, viscosity was reduced and survival was initially higher compared to with undiluted baits. However, similarly low levels of survival were maintained over time. Most importantly, we found in a 2‐year observational field study involving sustained baiting within an infested structure that only the bait formulation with the lowest overall viscosity was able to alleviateP. alluaudinuisance indoors. Our results suggest that diluting baits may be a viable strategy for targeting very small pest ant species, and the greater time to lethality of diluted baits, resulting from reduced toxicant concentration, may be a reasonable trade‐off allowing smaller ant species to continue feeding for a sufficient duration on a bait formulation. 

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3. Synthesis of Menthol Glycinates and Their Potential as Cooling Agents

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b03624  

   Klumpp, Douglas A.; Sobel, Robert M.; Kokkinidou, Smaro G.; Osei-Badu, Brian; Liveris, Zachary; Klumpp, Rachel A.; Stentzel, Michael R. (March 2020, ACS Omega)

   null (Ed.)
4. Ionic Fluoropolyphosphazenes as Potential Adhesive Agents for Dental Restoration Applications

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s40883-020-00192-w  

   Weir, Michael D.; Kaner, Papatya; Marin, Alexander; Andrianov, Alexander K. (March 2021, Regenerative Engineering and Translational Medicine)

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5. Synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole containing compounds as potential antimicrobial agents

   https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj-ochem.10  

   Bezold, Elise L; Kempton, Robert J; Green, Keith D; Hensley, Ramey W; Gilliam, Olivia K; Garneau-Tsodikova, Sylvie; Onorato, Amber J (July 2024, PeerJ Organic Chemistry)

   Invasive fungal infections are increasing worldwide due to an expanding number of immunocompromised patients as well as an increase in drug-resistant fungi. While fungal resistance has increased, this resistance has not been accompanied by the development of new antifungals. A common class of antifungal agents that are prescribed are the azoles, which contain either a triazole or an imidazole group. Unfortunately, current azoles, like fluconazole, have been shown to be less effective with the increase in resistant fungal pathogens. Therefore, the development of novel azole antifungal compounds is of urgent need. The objective of this research was to synthesize triazole-containing small molecules with potent antifungal activity. The scaffold of the synthesized compounds contains a triazole moiety and was synthesized via a copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne click reaction (CuAAC) between the appropriate alkyne and azide intermediates. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of these compounds were determined using standard broth microdilution assays against opportunistic bacteria and fungi associated with life-threatening invasive fungal infections. Although the synthesized compounds possessed no antimicrobial activity, these results can be used to further the long-term goal of developing and optimizing lead compounds with potentin vitroantifungal activity. 

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