Frontiers news briefs: June 13
Frontiers in Microbiology
Insights into fungal communities in composts revealed by 454-pyrosequencing: Implications for human health and safety
Composting is a process for converting waste into materials beneficial for plant growth through the action of microbes, especially of fungi which can break down large molecules. But fungi involved in composting are not always harmless. Vidya De Gannes and colleagues show that composts can contain more fungi that are potentially harmful to humans than was previously realized. Using intensive DNA-sequencing to analyze fungal communities in three different composts of tropical agricultural plant waste, the authors found many fungal species not previously known to occur in composts. These include 15 species of opportunistic pathogens that can cause a variety of diseases, especially in people whose immune system has been weakened. Intensive DNA-sequencing can therefore serve as a "sentinel" technology to identify a potential health risk, conclude the authors.
Researcher contact:
Prof. William Hickey
O.N. Allen Laboratory for Soil Microbiology, Department of Soil Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
E-mail: wjhickey@wisc.edu
Ms. Vidya de Gannes
Department of Food Production
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
E-mail: vidyadegannes@gmail.com
URL: http://www.frontiersin.org/Microbiotechnology,_Ecotoxicology_and_Bioremediation/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00164/abstract
Frontiers in Oncology
The role of microRNAs in the tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer
Despite intensive research on epithelial ovarian cancer over the last decade, there is still an urgent need to develop new genetic markers and treatments to detect, treat and cure the disease. It was recently discovered that so-called microRNAs, short RNA molecules that are not translated into protein, play a major role in the origin and the progression of ovarian cancer. Carlo Croce and Gianpiero Di Leva from the Ohio State University here review the most recent evidence on this subject. After discussing the essentials of microRNA activity in human cancer, the authors show that the measurement of the expression profile of microRNAs within the ovary can be used to identify neoplastic tissues, to distinguish between subtypes of ovarian cancers, and to predict the response to chemotherapy. Croce and di Leva conclude that microRNAs are a powerful avenue for the detection and diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Researcher contacts:
Dr. Carlo Croce and Dr. Gianpiero Di Leva
Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics
Ohio State University, USA
Email: carlo.croce@osumc.edu, gianpiero.dileva@osumc.edu
URL: http://www.frontiersin.org/Women%27s_Cancer/10.3389/fonc.2013.00153/abstract
Frontiers in Neuroscience
On the nature of extraversion: variation in conditioned contextual activation of dopamine-facilitated affective, cognitive, and motor processes
The difference between extroverts and introverts comes down to a person's sensitivity to the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. When we encounter "rewards", dopamine activates positive emotions, such as, euphoria and elation, and motivational feelings like desire and craving. Richard Depue and Yu Fu from Cornell University, USA, here explain why extroverts consistently seek out rewarding environments: in extroverts, dopamine has a stronger capacity to promote the formation of mental associations between environmental stimuli and rewards. Over four consecutive days, Depue and Yu gave methylphenidate, a drug that activates dopamine, to volunteers to increase their perception of subjective reward. They found that extroverts more readily associated stimuli with reward, as shown by an increase of those motor, affective, and cognitive processes that are regulated by dopamine. These results suggest that extraversion is associated with individual variation in the capacity to encode rewarding stimuli in memory.
Researcher contact:
Prof. Richard A. Depue
Department of Human development
Cornell University, USA
Email: rad5@cornell.edu
URL: http://www.frontiersin.org/Human_Neuroscience/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00288/abstract
Also of interest, published in Frontiers in Microbiology last month (not under embargo):
Epidemiology of criniviruses, an emerging problem in world agriculture
The genus Crinivirus includes the whitefly-transmitted members of the family Closteroviridae. Criniviruses emerged as major agricultural threats at the end of the twentieth century with the establishment and naturalization of their whitefly vectors, members of the genera Trialeurodes and Bemisia, in temperate climates around the globe. These viruses are responsible for diseases that lead to losses measured in the billions of dollars annually, many through single infections; whereas other criniviruses remain asymptomatic alone but interact with other viruses during mixed infections that cause disease. This article discusses the emerging significance of criniviruses to global production agriculture, and provides a detailed review on each member of the genus Crinivirus, addressing factors influencing virus epidemiology, disease etiology, transmission by whiteflies, and the role of mixed virus infections in disease severity.
Researcher contact:
Dr. William M. Wintermantle
Agricultural Research Service
United States Department of Agriculture, USA
Email: bill.wintermantel@ars.usda.gov
URL: http://www.frontiersin.org/Virology/10.3389/fmicb.2013.00119/abstract
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