Peaceful Fungus Species Turned Into a Carnivorous Killer

     A common fungus is capable of turning into a formable predator almost instantly. Scientists have been studying this fungus (Arthrobotrys oligospora) ever since the 80's but still are trying to understand how it transforms a peaceful fungus into a carnivorous killer. This species survive and feed on organic matter that is already dead, but when their nitrogen supply is limited they do whatever it takes to survive. With this, this is one of the few fungi species that are able to do this. The fungus turns into it's "predator: mode when they sense roundworms are nearby. 

    Scientists found that once a fungus detects it's prey, DNA and also ribosome replication production is increased. With this, researchers were able to see an increase in the activity of genes involving building and operating traps. They were also able to identify a new class of proteins Called trap enriched proteins (TEP).  TEP proteins are critical for trap adhesion to nematodes. Once a fungus traps it's prey, it then penetrates the worm's body and digests it using filaments that are called hyphae. instead of chewing the hyphae fills the worm from the inside and breaks down nutrients to be absorbed. Researchers are further studying this case and understanding more on this fungus and it's potential. 

Links:

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-discover-genes-that-turn-a-peaceful-fungus-into-a-carnivorous-killer

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/arthrobotrys-oligospora

Epigenomics of Alzheimers Disease

     Alzheimer's disease is a very complex disease that not much is known about. There is no cure for Alzheimer's, it is a progressive brain disease that destroys the memories and the ability to think in the people it affects. Alzheimer's mostly affects people 65 and older, although in rare cases symptoms can appear anywhere from the age of 30 on.  Genetics plays a large role in Alzheimer's disease although it is likely that environmental factors are involved as well. It is said that damages to the brain can occur as early as a decade before symptoms become prevalent in an individual. Many studies have been done to try to shed some light on Alzheimer disease, one of which done by an interdisciplinary team at MIT and the Broad institute analyzed changes that occur in genes in regions that regulate the genes of Alzheimer's.

This study used mice that were engineered so that the gene for a protein called p25 would be overstimulated in the brain. This creates very similar symptoms to that of Alzheimer's in humans. With these mice they would be able to study changes that occur during early stages of Alzheimer's for the first time. The idea was that they would compare them to the later stages and symptoms. The study showed that "Neuronal plasticity processes that are involved in learning and memory were dampened, and immune and inflammatory pathways were activated." They found that microglia, a type of immune cell whose job it is to clear infected or damaged cells as well as secrete chemicals that produce inflammation, are a large part of the progression of Alzheimer's. They are still unsure of what exactly these cells do to further the development of Alzheimer's, however they play a large role in normal brain function and share a key cell surface marker with macrophages that infiltrate the brain during the progression of Alzheimer's.
   
     The results of this experiment showed that in both mice and humans the functional conversions were not restricted to protein coding genes, which opens up new doors for studying organs such as the brain in model organisms and how they respond to things such as disease. During this experiment they were able to map out the epigenome for Alzheimer's, this is a huge step for Alzheimer's, the research showed that genetic variants were associated with immune processes instead of neural processes. This means that Alzheimer's may not be a genetic predisposition to the repression of neural pathways, but a consequence of environmental factors as well as aging and altered immune pathways. This study will largely help the study of Alzheimer's and maybe one day help to prevent Alzheimer's progression.

Link to article: Epigenomics of Alzheimer's
Additional link: Alzheimer's Facts

Big Step Towards "Designer" Genes

A group of scientists, compiled from around the world were able to create the first successful gene synthesis in a eukaryotic organism. Up until this point, genes were only able to be synthesized and successfully reproduced in prokaryotic organisms like bacteria. As far as yeast's genetic milestones go, this is the biggest accomplishment since 1996 when yeast's genome was originally mapped. Within the last 7 years, scientists have put together 273,871 base pairs of DNA, which is still shorter than the typical yeast DNA of 316,667 base pairs. They made over 50,000 changes to the DNA, and the yeast not only lived, but reproduced. Researchers hope that this accomplishment will help them synthesize yeast quickly in order to help manufacture medicines for diseases like malaria. This is a great advancement for the field of synthetic biology.

For me, I tend to agree that this is a really great accomplishment, especially because of the potential of synthesizing other eukaryotic cells. For researchers to successfully write in genes, they are able to correct gene mutations and this could greatly help humans, obviously. While I am not a big supporter of "designer babies," where people pick certain physical traits that they want, I do believe that we should use our knowledge to create healthy babies. The potential for this research is unimaginable, and I look forward to learning of further advancements in the field of synthetic biology.

Link for the article: http://www.science20.com/news_articles/synthetic_biology_first_functional_designer_chromosome_in_yeast_synthesized-132812

Link for related: http://discovermagazine.com/2014/jan-feb/23-synthesizing-supply-for-malaria-drug