The RefSeq project at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) maintains and curates a publicly available database of annotated genomic, transcript, and protein sequence records (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/refseq/). The RefSeq project leverages the data submitted to the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) against a combination of computation, manual curation, and collaboration to produce a standard set of stable, non-redundant reference sequences. The RefSeq project augments these reference sequences with current knowledge including publications, functional features and informative nomenclature. The database currently represents sequences from more than 55,000 organisms (>4800 viruses, >40,000 prokaryotes and >10,000 eukaryotes; RefSeq release 71), ranging from a single record to complete genomes. This paper summarizes the current status of the viral, prokaryotic, and eukaryotic branches of the RefSeq project, reports on improvements to data access and details efforts to further expand the taxonomic representation of the collection. We also highlight diverse functional curation initiatives that support multiple uses of RefSeq data including taxonomic validation, genome annotation, comparative genomics, and clinical testing. We summarize our approach to utilizing available RNA-Seq and other data types in our manual curation process for vertebrate, plant, and other species, and describe a new direction for prokaryotic genomes and protein name management.

Reference sequence (RefSeq) database at NCBI: current status, taxonomic expansion, and functional annotation

We redescribe the only previously known species of Myrsidea from bulbuls, M. pycnonoti Eichler. Sixteen new species are described; they and their type hosts are: M. phillipsi ex Pycnonotus goiavier goiavier (Scopoli), M. gieferi ex P. goiavier suluensis Mearns, M. kulpai ex P. flavescens Blyth, M. finlaysoni ex P. finlaysoni Strickland, M. kathleenae ex P. cafer (L.), M. warwicki ex Ixos philippinus (J. R. Forster), M. mcclurei ex Microscelis amaurotis (Temminck), M. zeylanici ex P. zeylanicus (Gmelin), M. plumosi ex P. plumosus Blyth, M. eutiloti ex P. eutilotus (Jardine and Selby), M. adamsae ex P. urostictus (Salvadori), M. ochracei ex Criniger ochraceus F. Moore, M. borbonici ex Hypsipetes borbonicus (J. R. Forster), M. johnsoni ex P. atriceps (Temminck), M. palmai ex C. ochraceus, and M. claytoni ex P. eutilotus. A key is provided for the identification of these 17 species.

A new species

https://backend.orbit.dtu.dk/ws/files/101356374/elsevier_8_.pdf

Phylogeny, identification and nomenclature of the genus Aspergillus

The question of how many species of Fungi there are has occasioned much speculation, with figures mostly posited from around half a million to 10 million, and in one extreme case even a sizable portion of the spectacular number of 1 trillion. Here we examine new evidence from various sources to derive an updated estimate of global fungal diversity. The rates and patterns in the description of new species from the 1750s show no sign of approaching an asymptote and even accelerated in the 2010s after the advent of molecular approaches to species delimitation. Species recognition studies of (semi-)cryptic species hidden in morpho-species complexes suggest a weighted average ratio of about an order of magnitude for the number of species recognized after and before such studies. New evidence also comes from extrapolations of plant:fungus ratios, with information now being generated from environmental sequence studies, including comparisons of molecular and fieldwork data from the same sites. We further draw attention to undescribed species awaiting discovery in biodiversity hot spots in the tropics, little-explored habitats (such as lichen-inhabiting fungi), and material in collections awaiting study. We conclude that the commonly cited estimate of 1.5 million species is conservative and that the actual range is properly estimated at 2.2 to 3.8 million. With 120,000 currently accepted species, it appears that at best just 8%, and in the worst case scenario just 3%, are named so far. Improved estimates hinge particularly on reliable statistical and phylogenetic approaches to analyze the rapidly increasing amount of environmental sequence data.

Fungal Diversity Revisited: 2.2 to 3.8 Million Species

The estimation of phylogenetic divergence times from sequence data is an important component of many molecular evolutionary studies. There is now a general appreciation that the procedure of divergence dating is considerably more complex than that initially described in the 1960s by Zuckerkandl and Pauling (1962, 1965). In particular, there has been much critical attention toward the assumption of a global molecular clock, resulting in the development of increasingly sophisticated techniques for inferring divergence times from sequence data. In response to the documentation of widespread departures from clocklike behavior, a variety of local- and relaxed-clock methods have been proposed and implemented. Local-clock methods permit different molecular clocks in different parts of the phylogenetic tree, thereby retaining the advantages of the classical molecular clock while casting off the restrictive assumption of a single, global rate of substitution (Rambaut and Bromham 1998; Yoder and Yang 2000).

Accounting for calibration uncertainty in phylogenetic estimation of evolutionary divergence times

Key words: Kaliuresis; natriuresis; traditional herbal antiypertensive drugs DOI: 10.4038/cmj.v51i3.1250 Ceylon Medical Journal 51(3) 2006 93-97

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Comparison of the diuretic effects of frusemide and the Karavi Panchaka Ayurveda decoction

Brown blight, a destructive foliar disease of tea, has become a highly limiting factor for tea cultivation in Taiwan. To understand the population composition of the causal agents, Colletotrichum spp., the fungal diversity in the main tea growing regions all over Taiwan was surveyed from 2017 to 2019. A collection of 139 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from 14 tea cultivars in 86 tea plantations. Phylogenic analysis using the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer, glutamine synthetase gene, the Apn2-Mat1-2 intergenic spacer, beta-tubulin, actin, calmodulin, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase genes together with morphological characterization revealed three species associated with brown blight of tea, namely Colletotrichum camelliae (95.6% of all isolates), Colletotrichum fructicola (3.7%), and Colletotrichum aenigma (0.7%). This is the first report of C. aenigma in Taiwan. The optimal growth temperatures were 25℃ for C. camelliae and 25℃ and 30℃ for C. fructicola and C. aenigma. Although C. fructicola and C. aenigma were more adapted to high temperature, C. camelliae was the most pathogenic across different temperatures. Regardless of whether spore suspensions or mycelial discs were used, significantly larger lesions and higher disease incidences were observed for wounded than for non-wounded inoculation and for the 3rd/4th leaves than for the 5th leaves. Wounded inoculation of detached 3rd/4th tea leaves with mycelial discs was found to be a reliable and efficient method for assessing the pathogenicity of Colletotrichum spp. within four days. Preventive application of fungicides or biocontrol agents immediately after tea pruning and at a young leaf stage would help control the disease.

Analysis of the pathogenicity and phylogeny of Colletotrichum species associated with brown blight of tea (Camellia sinensis) in Taiwan.

Garden nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus), belonging to the family Tropaeolaceae, is a widely used ornamental plant. In April 2020, a powdery mildew was observed on garden nasturtium in central Taiwan. Symptoms included angular chlorotic lesions which later became brown and necrotic on both leaf surfaces. The fungus was identified as Leveillula taurica s. str. based on the morphology and the molecular analysis of ITS sequence. The powdery mildew was found on both T. majus and sweet pepper in the meantime. This is the first report of L. taurica causing powdery mildew on T. majus in Taiwan.

Hiran A. Ariyawansa

Papers

Comparison of the diuretic effects of frusemide and the Karavi Panchaka Ayurveda decoction

Analysis of the pathogenicity and phylogeny of Colletotrichum species associated with brown blight of tea (Camellia sinensis) in Taiwan.

First report of Leveillula taurica causing powdery mildew on Tropaeolum majus in Taiwan

High-Quality Genome Assembly of Neopestalotiopsis rosae ML1664, the Pathogen Causing Strawberry Leaf Blight and Crown Rot.

WITHDRAWN: Keissleriella dactylidis, sp. nov., from Dactylis sp. and its phylogenetic placement