Ustilago maydis Nit2 Regulates Nitrate Utilisation During Biotrophy and Affects Amino Acid Metabolism of Galls Under Nitrogen Depletion.

In previous work, we have shown that the transcription factor Nit2 plays a major role in the utilisation of non-favoured nitrogen sources like nitrate, minor amino acids or nucleobases in saprotrophic sporidia of the basidiomycete corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis. Addressing the knowledge gap regarding how filamentous phytopathogens adapt to nitrogen limitation in the host plant, we employed Δnit2 mutants in the natural FB1 × FB2 background to identify Nit2-regulated genes during biotrophy. We further investigated the impact of Nit2 on the physiology of leaf galls in nitrogen-replete versus nitrogen-limited host plants by comparative RNA-Seq and metabolic steady state analysis.

Methods to Assess Genetic Risk Prediction.

It is recognized that traditional risk factors do not identify everyone who will develop cardiovascular disease. There is a growing interest in the discovery of novel biomarkers that will augment the predictive potential of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The era of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has resulted in the discovery of common genetic polymorphisms associated with a multitude of cardiovascular traits and raises the possibility that these variants can be used in clinical risk prediction.

Serum uric acid level, longitudinal blood pressure, renal function, and long-term mortality in treated hypertensive patients.

Uric acid may have a role in the development of hypertension and renal dysfunction. We explored the relationship among longitudinal blood pressure, renal function, and cardiovascular outcomes in a large cohort of patients with treated hypertension. We used data from the Glasgow Blood Pressure Clinic database.