Ebola virus can trigger a release of pro-inflammatory cytokines with subsequent vascular leakage and impairment of clotting finally leading to multiorgan failure and shock after entering and infecting patients. Ebola virus is known to directly target endothelial cells and macrophages, even without infecting them, through direct interactions with viral proteins. These interactions affect cellular mechanics and immune processes,...

Key message We evaluate self-organizing maps (SOM) to identify adaptation zones and visualize multi-environment genotypic responses. We apply SOM to multiple traits and crop growth model output of large-scale European sunflower data. Abstract Genotype-by-environment interactions (G × E) complicate the selection of well-adapted varieties. A possible solution is to group trial locations into adaptation zones with G × E occurring...

Summary Colletotrichum higginsianum is an important fungal pathogen causing anthracnose disease of cruciferous plants. In this study, we characterized a putative orthologue of yeast SPE1 in C . higginsianum , named ChODC. Deletion mutants of ChODC were defective in hyphal and conidial development. Importantly, deletion of ChODC significantly affected appressorium‐mediated penetration in C . higginsianum . However, polyamines p...

Summary Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in biological processes but regulation and function of lncRNAs remain largely unelucidated, especially in fungi. Ustilaginoidea virens is an economically important fungus causing a devastating disease of rice. By combining microscopic and RNA‐seq analyses, we comprehensively characterized lncRNAs of this fungus in infection and developmental processes and defined fo...

Key message Climate change and Genotype-by-Environment-by-Management interactions together challenge our strategies for crop improvement. Research to advance prediction methods for breeding and agronomy is opening new opportunities to tackle these challenges and overcome on-farm crop productivity yield-gaps through design of responsive crop improvement strategies. Abstract Genotype-by-Environment-by-Management (G × E × M) inte...

Summary Ustilaginoidea virens is an economically important fungus causing a devastating grain disease, rice false smut. An insertional mutagenesis screen was used to explore biological mechanisms underlying infection process of U . virens . T184, a new mutant was identified, with abnormal conidial morphology and deficient virulence. Analysis of the T‐DNA inserted gene UvPal1 in the mutant confirmed it as a putative homologue o...