Catastrophizing mediates the relationship between the personal belief in a just world and pain outcomes among chronic pain support group attendees

Health-related research suggests the belief in a just world can act as a personal resource that protects against the adverse effects of pain and illness. However, currently, little is known about how this belief, particularly in relation to one’s own life, might influence pain. Consistent with the suggestions of previous research, the present study undertook a secondary data analysis to investigate pain catastrophizing as a mediator of the relationship between the personal just world belief and chronic pain outcomes in a sample of chronic pain support group attendees. Partially supporting the hypotheses, catastrophizing was negatively correlated with the personal just world belief and mediated the relationship between this belief and pain and disability, but not distress. Suggestions for future research and intervention development are made

Grapevines escaping trunk diseases in New Zealand vineyards have a distinct microbiome structure

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are a substantial challenge to viticulture, especially with a lack of available control measures. The lack of approved fungicides necessitates the exploration of alternative controls. One promising approach is the investigation of disease escape plants, which remain healthy under high disease pressure, likely due to their microbiome function. This study explored the microbiome of grapevines with the disease escape phenotype. DNA metabarcoding of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and 16S ribosomal RNA gene was applied to trunk tissues of GTD escape and adjacent diseased vines. Our findings showed that the GTD escape vines had a significantly different microbiome compared with diseased vines. The GTD escape vines consistently harbored a higher relative abundance of the bacterial taxa Pseudomonas and Hymenobacter. Among fungi, Aureobasidium and Rhodotorula were differentially associated with GTD escape vines, while the GTD pathogen, Eutypa, was associated with the diseased vines. This is the first report of the link between the GTD escape phenotype and the grapevine microbiome

DNA metabarcoding reveals high relative abundance of trunk disease fungi in grapevines from Marlborough, New Zealand

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs) are a threat to grape production worldwide, with a diverse collection of fungal species implicated in disease onset. Due to the long-term and complex nature of GTDs, simultaneous detection of multiple microbial species can enhance understanding of disease development. We used DNA metabarcoding of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) sequences, supported by specific PCR and microbial isolation, to establish the presence of trunk pathogens across 11 vineyards (11–26 years old) over three years in Marlborough, the largest wine producing region in New Zealand. Using a reference database of trunk pathogen sequences, species previously associated with GTD, such as Cadophora luteo-olivacea, Diplodia seriata, Diplodia mutila, Neofusicoccum australe, and Seimatosporium vitis, were identified as highly represented across the vineyard region. The well-known pathogens Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and Eutypa lata had especially high relative abundance across the dataset, with P. chlamydospora reads present between 22 and 84% (average 52%) across the vineyards. Screening of sequences against broader, publicly available databases revealed further fungal species within families and orders known to contain pathogens, many of which appeared to be endemic to New Zealand. The presence of several wood-rotting basidiomycetes (mostly Hymenochaetales) was detected for the first time in the Marlborough vineyard region, notably, the native Inonotus nothofagii which was present at 1–2% relative abundance in two vineyards

Evolutionary Convergence on Highly-Conserved 3′ Intron Structures in Intron-Poor Eukaryotes and Insights into the Ancestral Eukaryotic Genome

The presence of spliceosomal introns in eukaryotes raises a range of questions about genomic evolution. Along with the fundamental mysteries of introns' initial proliferation and persistence, the evolutionary forces acting on intron sequences remain largely mysterious. Intron number varies across species from a few introns per genome to several introns per gene, and the elements of intron sequences directly implicated in splicing vary from degenerate to strict consensus motifs. We report a 50-species comparative genomic study of intron sequences across most eukaryotic groups. We find two broad and striking patterns. First, we find that some highly intron-poor lineages have undergone evolutionary convergence to strong 3′ consensus intron structures. This finding holds for both branch point sequence and distance between the branch point and the 3′ splice site. Interestingly, this difference appears to exist within the genomes of green alga of the genus Ostreococcus, which exhibit highly constrained intron sequences through most of the intron-poor genome, but not in one much more intron-dense genomic region. Second, we find evidence that ancestral genomes contained highly variable branch point sequences, similar to more complex modern intron-rich eukaryotic lineages. In addition, ancestral structures are likely to have included polyT tails similar to those in metazoans and plants, which we found in a variety of protist lineages. Intriguingly, intron structure evolution appears to be quite different across lineages experiencing different types of genome reduction: whereas lineages with very few introns tend towards highly regular intronic sequences, lineages with very short introns tend towards highly degenerate sequences. Together, these results attest to the complex nature of ancestral eukaryotic splicing, the qualitatively different evolutionary forces acting on intron structures across modern lineages, and the impressive evolutionary malleability of eukaryotic gene structures

Catching-up in the global factory: analysis and policy implications

MNEs shape the location of activities in the world economy, linking diverse regions in what has been called the global factory. This study portrays the evolution of incomes and employment in the global factory using a quantitative input–output approach. We find emerging economies forging ahead relative to advanced economies in income derived from fabrication activities, handling the physical transformation process of goods. In contrast, convergence in income derived from knowledge-intensive activities carried out in pre- and post-fabrication stages is much slower. We discuss possible barriers to catching-up and policy implications for emerging economies in developing innovation capabilities, stressing the pivotal role of MNEs

Grapevine trunk disease symptomology data to identify individual grapevines as candidates for the “disease escape” phenotype

Grapevine trunk diseases (GTDs), caused by a complex of fungal pathogens, pose significant challenges to viticulture in New Zealand and globally. There are few effective controls for these fungal pathogens, with most management aimed at preventing new infections via wound treatments. Recent research has demonstrated that mature vines thriving in areas of high disease can contain distinctive trunk microbiomes. These vines have been termed “disease escape” vines. Further research has shown that reintroduction of microbial taxa recovered from such vines into young grapevine canes can confer some resistance to the causal agents of GTD. However, selection of “disease escape” vines is difficult and labour intensive, requiring the application of clear criteria such as vine age, and lack of symptoms. In New Zealand, manual surveys of vines in commercial vineyards have been undertaken over time to understand the effectiveness of current, limited, GTD management methods. We investigated if symptom expression over time coupled with relative chlorophyll measurements in a 34-year-old commercial block of Sauvignon blanc vines could be used to detect putative “disease escape” vines. The vines were surveyed six times between 2018 and 2024. The trunk material of individual vines, with and without GTD symptoms (short shoots, cankers, half-head, re-worked, replacements, gaps and dead vines), in areas mapped with high disease pressure were biopsied. Vines from other areas of the same block without symptoms and surrounded by other asymptomatic vines were also collected. DNA metabarcoding of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and 16S ribosomal RNA gene was applied to the trunk samples. The identification of distinctive microbiomes in putative “disease escape” vines, and their correlation with the symptomology mapping, spatial proximity of “healthy” vines and chlorophyll measurements is presented

Generation of spontaneous rifampicin-resistant Pseudomonas mutants

Plants are colonised by numerous microorganisms collectively termed the microbiome. Globally efforts are being made to engineer the microbiomes of plants to enhance the traits delivered by microorganisms. Synthetic communities or ‘SynComs’ are formulations of selected microbial strains that are prepared in the laboratory and designed to mimic natural microbial ecosystems. The research presented here is part of a study aimed to monitor the colonisation dynamics of a synthetic bacterial community (Syncom) composed of Pseudomonas strains with antagonistic potential against grapevine trunk disease (GTD). We describe the production of rifampicin resistance strains (rif+) to enable the quantitative tracking bacteria when introduced into plants and to allow for clear differentiation from the native microflora. Spontaneous rif⁺ mutants were generated from previously identified Pseudomonas isolates with known biocontrol activity against the GTD causal agent Eutypa lata. Genetic stability was assessed and only mutants that retained resistance were considered stable and heritably resistant. The inhibitory activity of rifampicin-resistant Pseudomonas mutants towards E. lata was evaluated using a dual plate assay. Assays were conducted in parallel with non-mutant (wild-type) Pseudomonas isolates to verify that their biocontrol efficacy had been maintained. PCR sequencing targeting the rpoB gene (RNA polymerase βsubunit) was used to identify rif+ mutations. This method is a cost-effective and reliable strategy for studying the behaviour and stability of applied microbial consortia in planta. These rif⁺ mutants will be used to explore the persistence and distribution of the bacteria in planta with the goal of engineering Syncoms that enhance plant defence against pathogens

Microbiome-engineered grapevines – A novel solution for healthy future vineyards

Grapevine trunk disease (GTD) is one of the most destructive threats to vineyards, with its ongoing spread posing a major challenge to the long-term sustainability of viticulture worldwide. Mitigation is difficult due to the disease's complex etiology. It is caused by multiple fungal pathogens, has a long and variable latency period, and there are no curative treatments. While there is some variation in susceptibility among grapevine cultivars, no variety is fully resistant. Notably, Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand’s flagship variety, is the most susceptible and accounts for 78% of the national yield. Preliminary data show that certain grapevines thriving in GTD hotspots possess distinct microbiomes. This finding suggests that the microbiome may serve as a genetic reservoir for disease resistance. We analysed metabarcoding data from over 300 vines, phenotyped for GTD symptoms across 10 vineyards, to identify microbial taxa uniquely associated with disease-free vines. The taxa identified from metabarcoding analyses and those recovered as live cultures will be screened using in vitro functional testing (e.g., secretion of antagonistic or volatile compounds, siderophore production) to understand their modes of action. Compatible microbial taxa, including spontaneous rifampicin-resistant mutants, will be grouped using pairwise analysis to form three synthetic microbial communities (SynComs), which will be infiltrated into 1-year-old canes, to study their movement and dynamics in planta. These SynCom-augmented vines will be challenged with GTD pathogens and transcriptome analysis combined with symptom analysis will be used to examine their effect on disease expression over time. This research aims to enhance grapevine resistance to GTD by introducing beneficial microbiomes during the nursery propagation stage