Research Keyword: adaptive evolution

Investigation of Efficient Pullulan Synthesis Utilizing Huangjiu Lees as a Substrate

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Scientists have discovered a way to use Huangjiu lees, the waste material left over from making Chinese rice wine, to produce pullulan, a valuable biopolymer used in food and medicine. By evolving a special fungal strain through repeated exposure to these lees, they created a strain that produces pullulan much more efficiently. Using optimized fermentation conditions and a two-stage process with different microorganisms, they achieved significantly higher pullulan yields, making this previously discarded byproduct into a valuable resource.

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Mitochondrial heterogeneity drives the evolution of fungicide resistance in Phytophthora sojae, with associated fitness trade-offs

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Researchers studied how a plant pathogen called Phytophthora sojae develops resistance to the fungicide ametoctradin. They found that resistance builds up gradually through changes in mitochondrial DNA, where a single mutation accumulates over generations. While this mutation helps the fungus survive the fungicide, it damages its mitochondria and reduces its overall fitness, though the organism can partially compensate through increased expression of a protein called TFAM1.

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Dermatophytes adaptation to the human host exemplified by Microsporum canis

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Researchers studied how fungi that normally infect cats and dogs are adapting to infect humans. By comparing the genes of zoophilic (animal-loving) and anthropophilic (human-loving) Microsporum species, they found that human-adapted strains have developed specific proteins that help them survive in the acidic environment of human skin. These fungi have evolved special enzymes for breaking down keratin and tolerating the lipid-rich, acidic conditions of human skin better than their animal-loving relatives.

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Adaptive laboratory evolution of Blakeslea trispora under acetoacetanilide stress leads to enhanced β-carotene biosynthesis

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Scientists used a technique called adaptive laboratory evolution to make a fungus called Blakeslea trispora produce much more beta-carotene, a natural compound that converts to vitamin A in the body and has health benefits. By gradually exposing the fungus to increasing levels of a chemical stressor over 16 months, they helped it evolve to produce 45% more beta-carotene. The adapted fungus showed changes in its genes, physical structure, and fat composition that helped it thrive under stress while making more of this valuable compound.

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