BackgroundPowdery mildew (PM) is one of the most important and widespread plant diseases caused by biotrophic fungi. Notably, while monocot (grass) PM fungi exhibit high-level of host-specialization, many dicot PM fungi display a broad host range. To understand such distinct modes of host-adaptation, we sequenced the genomes of four dicot PM biotypes belonging to Golovinomyces cichoracearum or Oidium neolycopersici.ResultsWe compared genomes of the four dicot PM together with those of Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei (both DH14 and RACE1 isolates), B. graminis f.sp. tritici, and Erysiphe necator infectious on barley, wheat and grapevine, respectively. We found that despite having a similar gene number (6620–6961), the PM genomes vary from 120 to 222 Mb in size. This high-level of genome size variation is indicative of highly differential transposon activities in the PM genomes. While the total number of genes in any given PM genome is only about half of that in the genomes of closely related ascomycete fungi, most (~ 93%) of the ascomycete core genes (ACGs) can be found in the PM genomes. Yet, 186 ACGs were found absent in at least two of the eight PM genomes, of which 35 are missing in some dicot PM biotypes, but present in the three monocot PM genomes, indicating remarkable, independent and perhaps ongoing gene loss in different PM lineages. Consistent with this, we found that only 4192 (3819 singleton) genes are shared by all the eight PM genomes, the remaining genes are lineage- or biotype-specific. Strikingly, whereas the three monocot PM genomes possess up to 661 genes encoding candidate secreted effector proteins (CSEPs) with families containing up to 38 members, all the five dicot PM fungi have only 116–175 genes encoding CSEPs with limited gene amplification.ConclusionsCompared to monocot (grass) PM fungi, dicot PM fungi have a much smaller effectorome. This is consistent with their contrasting modes of host-adaption: while the monocot PM fungi show a high-level of host specialization, which may reflect an advanced host-pathogen arms race, the dicot PM fungi tend to practice polyphagy, which might have lessened selective pressure for escalating an with a particular host.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-5069-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The World Health Organization classified Taiwan as a serious epidemic-stricken area when the extent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan became clear. As of 11 July 2003, 671 probable SARS cases had been identified in Taiwan and 7 healthcare workers had died from the disease. Radiographers were easily infected by SARS because they had close contact with suspected or probable cases while conducting chest X-ray examinations. Three radiographers had been infected by the end of May 2003. Because of the impact of SARS on the Radiology Department, the department established a SARS emergency infection control team and re-designed the department's infection-control and emergency-management procedures based on the concept of risk-grade protection. This effort included installing a radiographic room at the fever-screening station, re-allocating human resources in the Radiology Department, training the department staff in infection control, and drafting new operational procedures for radiographers conducting X-ray examinations on SARS patients. The goal of this program was to reduce the infection rate and distribute materials efficiently in the department. This article introduces the emergency-management procedure of the Radiology Department during the SARS outbreak and the infection-protection experience of the department staff.

Abstract. Protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) is a G-proteincoupled receptor and its activation has been associated with the pathogenetic progress in certain cancers. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), one member of Toll-like receptors family, is mainly contributed to the innate immune response. However, recent studies have shown that TLR4 is aberrantly expressed in various types of carcinomas and may correlate with tumor progression. Previously, we reported that PAR2 could be expressed in human colon cancer cell line (SW620) and its activation by some stimulants was able to facilitate cell proliferation and migration. In our recent preliminary experiment, it was found that SW620 cells also had TLR4 expression. Thus, we considered that PAR2 and TLR4 could have some collaborative roles in SW620 cells. In the current study, the cross-inducible expression of PAR2 and TLR4 on SW620 cells was investigated, and the functional roles of their activation on the behavior of SW620 cells were evaluated. It was found that activation of PAR2 with PAR2-AP (PAR2 agonist, 100 μM) enhanced TLR4 releasement and vice versa. The activation of PAR2 or TLR4 (with LPS, 100 ng/ml) could promote SW620 cell proliferation and migration, and the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 but not p38MAPK, as well as the expression of interleukin 8 (IL-8) and tissue factor (TF). Whereas the caspase-7 expression was decreased under PAR2 or TLR4 activation. Furthermore, ERK1/2 inhibitor (U0126, at 10 μM) could intervene in all regulating effects of PAR2 or/and TLR4. Collectively, this study demonstrated that both PAR2 and TLR4 activation on SW620 cells can trigger the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, regulate the expression of IL-8, TF and caspase-7, thereby promote the proliferation and migration of cells.