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It’s hard to imagine a holiday table without bread, meat, vegetables, wine, beer or a board of French cheeses for those with more adventurous palates. Savoring these delicacies with family and friends is part of what makes the holidays so much fun.
These foods and drinks are courtesy of the domestication of several different animals, plants and microbes. Plant and animal domestication has been well studied, since it is thought to have been the most momentous change in recent human history.
Scientists know much less about the domestication of microbes, however, and as a result, society fails to appreciate their pivotal contributions to the foods and drinks that we enjoy all year long.
I am an evolutionary biologist studying fungi, a group of microbes whose domestication has given us many tasty products. I’ve long been fascinated by two questions: What are the genetic changes that led to their domestication? And how on Earth did our ancestors figure out how to domesticate them?
Curious too? Recent studies shed light on these questions, so grab some Camembert cheese and a beer, and keep on reading.
The hybrids in your lager
As far as domestication is concerned, it is hard to top the honing of brewer’s yeast. The cornerstone of the baking, brewing and wine-making industries, brewer’s yeast has the remarkable ability to turn the sugars of plant fruits and grains into alcohol. How did brewer’s yeast evolve this flexibility?
By discovering new yeast species and sequencing their genomes, scientists know that some yeasts used in brewing are hybrids; that is, they’re descendants of ancient mating unions of individuals from two different yeast species. Hybrids tend to resemble both parental species – think of wholpins (whale-dolphin) or ligers (lion-tiger).
For example, lager beer yeasts are hybrids of two closely related species: the brewer’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces eubayanus. Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces tasty beers, such as the British ales, but grows better at warmer temperatures. In contrast, Saccharomyces eubayanus grows better in the cold but produces compounds that taint the beer’s flavor. Lager yeast hybrids combine the best of both - good flavors from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and growth at colder temperatures, thanks to Saccharomyces eubayanus. This makes these hybrids great for brewing beer in the cold winters of Europe, where lagers were invented.
Researchers have also discovered natural hybrids from the union of other Saccharomyces species. What is still unknown is whether hybridization is the norm or the exception in the yeasts that humans have used for making fermented beverages for millennia.
To address this question, a team led by graduate student Quinn Langdon at the University of Wisconsin and another team led by postdoctoral fellow Brigida Gallone at the Universities of Ghent and Leuven in Belgium examined the genomes of hundreds of yeasts involved in brewing and wine making. Their bottom line? Hybrids rule.
For example, a quarter of yeasts collected from industrial environments, including beer and wine manufacturers, are hybrids.
Amazingly, some hybrids trace their origins to three or four different parental species. Why all this hybridization?, you may ask. Much like the lager hybrids, these newly discovered hybrids differ in what they like to eat and how quickly they grow. These preferences, which come courtesy of hybridization, influence not only how people use them in brewing but also the flavor profiles of the resulting brews.
The mutants in your cheese
Comparing the genomes of domesticated fungi to their wild relatives helps scientists understand the genetic changes that gave rise to some favorite foods and drinks. But how did our ancestors actually domesticate these wild fungi? None of us was there to witness how it all started. To solve this mystery, scientists are experimenting with wild fungi to see if they can evolve into organisms resembling those that we use to make our food today.
Benjamin Wolfe, a microbiologist at Tufts University, and his team addressed this question by taking wild Penicillium mold and growing the samples for one month in his lab on a substance that included cheese. That may sound like a short period for people, but it is one that spans many generations for fungi.
The wild fungi are very closely related to fungal strains used by the cheese industry in the making of Camembert cheese, but look very different from them. For example, wild strains are green and smell, well, moldy compared to the white and odorless industrial strains.
For Wolfe, the big question was whether he could experimentally recreate, and to what degree, the process of domestication. What did the wild strains look and smell like after a month of growth on cheese? Remarkably, what he and his team found was that, at the end of the experiment, the wild strains looked much more similar to known industrial strains than to their wild ancestor. For example, they were white in color and smelled much less moldy.
Fungi spend a lot of energy producing pigments and pungent compounds that enable them to compete and defend themselves. Living comfortably on a diet of cheese and safe from predators means that losing the ability to produce, say, pigments may actually be advantageous. That’s because the energy saved can instead be spent toward growth of the fungal colony.
But how did the wild strain turn into a domesticated version? Did it mutate? By sequencing the genomes of both the wild ancestors and the domesticated descendants, and measuring the activity of the genes while growing on cheese, Wolfe’s team figured out that these changes did not happen through mutations in the organisms’ genomes. Rather, they most likely occurred through chemical alterations that modify the activity of specific genes but don’t actually change the genetic code. Such so-called epigenetic modifications can occur much faster than mutations. The path toward domestication appears to be quicker than previously thought, which will perhaps encourage adventurous cheese makers to begin experimenting with domesticating wild fungi for new flavors.
While you savor your favorite foods and beverages this holiday season, spare a thought for these microscopic fungi, how they evolved their mighty powers and how much more bland our world would be without them.
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Antonis Rokas, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Registrar Catherine McMullen’s last day on the job will be Dec. 2, just five months after taking over the job. In social media posts she has called her job a “nightmare from day one,” and said that she’s experienced in Lake County a workplace where she and others are bullied.
McMullen’s interim deputy, Marcy Harrison, also has left the department but is moving to another department within the county, that of the auditor-controller/county clerk.
Last week, the board held an initial discussion of next steps, directing county staff to move forward with recruiting McMullen’s successor, as Lake County News has reported.
The most recent shakeup in leadership caps a year of major changes within the Registrar of Voters office, including the loss of an estimated 70 years of experience.
Longtime Registrar Diane Fridley retired in December. Then, in February, Fridley’s longtime deputy, Maria Valadez, left to take a job in Mendocino County after County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson apparently worked to prevent her from getting the registrar job on a permanent basis.
On Tuesday, Huchingson told the board that with McMullen’s last day falling on Dec. 2, and the board not scheduled to meet again until the following week, they needed to make an interim appointment.
Ultimately, the board decided to temporarily appoint Auditor-Controller/County Clerk Cathy Saderlund to temporarily oversee the elections office while a recruitment for a new registrar takes place.
Saderlund told the board during the discussion that she was less open to an interim appointment than taking over the elections office on a long-term basis.
However, the discussion revealed that even if Saderlund were to take over the elections function, if her department is ultimately consolidated with the treasurer-tax collector – which it now can be thanks to the passage and signing by the governor earlier this year of AB 632 – the county clerk and elections functions would need to be removed from that consolidated department.
In consolidating the Registrar of Voters Office with Saderlund’s, county officials such as Huchingson, who is pushing the move, have not provided any actual analysis of the benefits they claim that the move would bring.
After last week’s initial discussion by the board, in response to questions from Lake County News about the potential consolidation, Saderlund wrote in an email, “Whenever there is a department head resignation, the opportunity for efficiencies is considered. In the case of the Elections Department it was previously a division of the Auditor-Controller/County Clerk and prior to that the stand alone County Clerk. Those are important facts to future decisions regarding the current instability that having the two Elections Department managers depart at the same time has presented, once again.”
At that point, Saderlund said no fiscal analysis had been done on the proposed consolidation, nor had any work begun on consolidating her and the treasurer-tax collector, as allowed under AB 632.
Asked about how consolidating the Registrar of Voters Office with hers might impact the two departments, Saderlund replied, “This is an evolving process and I do not have an analysis at this time.”
Board discussions options, hears from public
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said he agreed an interim appointment was necessary. However, when it came to restructuring the department, “I don’t agree with the restructuring. I think that we are asking a lot from every single one of our departments,” he said.
Sabatier said that combining a department and asking a department head to take on many departments has an impact.
He said they need to look at how departments are structured and the workload, and if it works for the county.
Sabatier said he has looked at other departments the board has consolidated. “There is a juggling game that happens when you start consolidating and you’re at the top and you don’t have the people underneath you yet to be able to support that kind of consolidation.”
He also said questioned if the Registrar of Voters Office, if consolidated with the auditor-controller/county clerk, would get out of the tiny space it inhabits on the second floor of the courthouse. “I don’t see it as a positive setting when you’re that cramped.”
Sabatier said he would support the idea of placing the elections office under Saderlund’s oversight on an interim basis as they continue to look for a new registrar.
“I don’t disagree with that at all,” said Supervisor Rob Brown.
During public comment, Mary Borjon, an active volunteer with the elections office, said she wanted to see it remain separate.
“In the long term I’d like to see it remain independent for two reasons,” said Borjon.
She explained that she believes it promotes transparency if it’s not under an elected official, and she agreed with Sabatier about how far the county is stressing employees and diluting work with consolidation.
Michael Green, who has worked in the elections office, noted, “It’s a very critical function to the county.”
He offered support for staff members, who he said has been through dramatic change.
Green said the board needed to appoint an interim head, but he thought they could buy some time on the broader issue of how to structure it. He said he likes the idea of a department head that reports directly to the board but also recognized the challenges in handling overhead functions for a small department.
The county needs to get more workers in the department and let them know they have their backs, Green added.
Supervisor EJ Crandell said he was concerned about the timeline, with the fast-approaching March primary.
He said he also felt strongly about keeping the elections office a standalone department, adding it may not be feasible.
Brown said he wanted to see Saderlund’s office oversee the elections office on an interim basis and then the county can begin a recruitment process. “I think that’s a good way to start.”
He said he also wanted the county to reach out to Fridley to see if she would be willing to come back on a part-time basis. Brown said he believed that would give everyone a level of comfort to get through a series of upcoming election-related deadlines.
During the discussion, Huchingson handed out the eclections calendar that showed the long list of deadlines that have to be met. She said she had invited Saderlund to the discussion and hoped she would appear.
In the meantime, Vice Chair Moke Simon – acting as chair on Tuesday because of Tina Scott’s absence – said he supported consolidating the elections office with the Auditor-Controller/County Clerk’s Office. He called it an “opportunity” to give the department long-term stability.
Saderlund weighs in on short-term and long-term oversight
After Simon spoke Saderlund appeared, saying that Huchingson had called her down to the meeting and that she was only just seeing the election schedule for the first time. She added that she hadn’t heard the discussion or the board’s comments so far and so she wasn’t clear on their direction.
She said she was happy to assist wherever she can, but added that if the board wanted her to take over the elections function on a short-term basis, she didn’t feel she would be the right person, because she needed to time plan and include it in her department’s vision.
“It would be hard to have a good vision for that department if it was on an interim basis and Ii would not be able to plan,” she said.
Saderlund added, “I can’t take my current staff and have them buy into an interim support mechanism at this point,” because the training would be for nothing. “I think we need more of a vision on this, long-term.”
She said she would be happy to reach out to Fridley, adding both she and Brown had spoken to a former elections employee in preparation for whatever might come. She thought the board needed to hear from that person about what they think would be the appropriate movement forward.
As for the matter of accountability, Saderlund said she wasn’t going to address it. “That’s a non-issue,” she said. “It needs to be what makes sense for Lake County not who that specific person is at this very point in time.”
Huchingson said that the board will have a decision to make when Saderlund’s term ends in January 2023.
At that point, the board would have the opportunity to move forward with consolidating the treasurer-tax collector with the auditor-controller. However, Huchingson said they would then need to do something different with the county clerk and the elections offices, which can’t remain attached to the consolidated treasurer-tax collector and auditor-controller.
Saderlund agreed with Sabatier that the elections office is very cramped. She said she would look at moving it to a location that would better serve citizens. “There needs to be a better location and there has been for a very long time.”
Huchingson said her office had been looking to the Registrar of Voters Office to look at its office space with the goal of coming back to the county’s space committee with a recommendation which could then be forwarded to the supervisors.
Sabatier said he wanted to see if they could speak with Fridley about helping out on an interim basis. The elections office has 3.75 full-time equivalent jobs budgeted but is down to 1.75. Another staffer is due to join the department in December.
He voiced his concerns about putting additional burden on Saderlund, pointing to the elections calendar, which he said is added work.
Brown suggested making Saderlund the interim registrar to start. “I’m afraid we’re not completely looking outside the box,” he said, adding they have some options that are obvious but can look at others and then come back and continue the discussion next month.
Sabatier moved to place Saderlund as interim registrar of voters and to move forward with a recruitment of a registrar and reconvene the conversation on Dec. 10, which Crandell seconded.
Brown asked if a few board members could meet with Saderlund and come back with a recommendation based on her input. It was decided that Brown and Sabatier would meet with her.
At Saderlund’s request, Sabatier amended the motion to clarify that her interim oversight of the elections office initially would run from Dec. 3 to 10.
The board approved the motion and agreed to further discuss the matter on Dec. 10.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for Lake County in effect until 6 a.m. Wednesday along with a winter storm warning that expires at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Forecasters said the brunt of the storm took place on Tuesday night into early Wednesday, with storms in Lake County and elsewhere around the North State expected to continue throughout much of this week – with a brief break for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Tuesday started out overcast, and by early afternoon rain had begun to fall, as well as snow, which was falling on Bartlett Springs Road above Lucerne steadily by about 1 p.m.
Throughout the day, the California Highway Patrol reported crashes, some involving multiple vehicles and power poles. There also were reports of debris in the roadway.
In other parts of the North Coast, the CHP also reported issues with inclement weather.
Late Tuesday night, the CHP’s Humboldt Area office said it had been dealing with high winds, rain, ice and snow, which combined to create extremely hazardous driving conditions throughout Humboldt County, and extend into Del Norte, Trinity and Mendocino counties.
As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the CHP’s Humboldt Communications Center had received approximately 362 calls for service, compared to 134 calls for service on Monday. Most of the calls received Tuesday evening and Tuesday night were for debris – trees, limbs, rocks and poles – in the roadway.
The CHP asked all drivers to avoid traveling while the conditions still exist, unless it is necessary.
The National Weather Service reported the following 24-hour rain totals as of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday based on its network of observation stations in Lake County. Amounts are in inches:
– Bartlett Springs: 1.27
– Hidden Valley Lake: 0.82
– Indian Valley Reservoir: 0.60
– Knoxville Creek: 0.69
– Lakeport: 0.73
– Lower Lake: 0.71
– Soda Creek: 1.21
– Upper Lake: 0.12
– Whispering Pines: 0.96
The Lake County forecast calls for continuing rain showers on Wednesday, with chances of snow in the lower elevations on Wednesday night.
Party sunny conditions are forecast for Thanksgiving day and Friday is expected to be clear and sunny before the chances of showers return on Friday night, continuing through Tuesday.
Temperatures this week also are expected to drop, with daytime highs in the low 40s and nighttime lows dropping into the low 20s in some areas – including Lakeport – on Thursday night.
Like the CHP, the National Weather Service also is urging people not to travel to the mountains if they don’t have to.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The Hope Harbor Warming Center will open Monday, Dec. 2, at 5:45 p.m.
It is located at New Hope Fellowship Church, 305 Peckham Court in Lakeport, by Kmart.
Guests may begin to arrive at 5:30pm and may enter between 5:45 and 7:30 p.m. only. Late arrivals cannot be accommodated.
The mission of the Hope Harbor Warming Center is to provide a warm and safe place to sleep for unsheltered individuals during intemperate weather.
Hope Harbor aims to create a space that is physically and emotionally safe for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.
Hope Harbor will operate Monday through Friday evenings through the end of March 2020.
A standard evening at Hope Harbor begins with a hot meal at 6 p.m. provided by local restaurants, churches and volunteers.
Adventist Health will operate the Pop Up Care Shower Project at the Warming Center Monday through Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m. for guests of the warming center.
Guests may sign up for case management from 6 to 9 p.m. but are not required to do so. Case managers will work with guests two nights per week to find appropriate supportive programs and housing for which guests may qualify.
Cots are set up after the 7:30 p.m. announcements. Announcements include things like when free flu shots or haircuts will be offered.
Lake Transit offers guests "free" rides to and from the center. The Lakeport to Clearlake Route 4 bus drops off at 5:30 p.m. (westbound) and 6:08 p.m. (eastbound). Lakeport southbound Route 8 bus arrives at 5:42 p.m.
Lake Transit said warming center guests are given special passes that allow them to ride free from any Lake Transit stop in the county. Each pass is good for one trip.
During the Jan. 2018 Point In Time homeless count conducted by the Lake County Continuum of Care coalition, 612 people experiencing homelessness in Lake County were identified and a majority interviewed.
Of the 612, 108 of those experiencing homelessness in Lake County were under the age of 18.
These numbers are conservative, as the count only includes those actually found on the day of the count.
If you would like to volunteer in next year's count, please email this year’s PIT Coordinator Jordan O’Halloran from North Coast Opportunities at
Per county ordinance Hope Harbor Warming Center can accommodate only 24 people per night. This is on a first-come, first-served basis.
The center does not have space to accommodate pets but they have volunteers ready to work with guests to find a foster placement for pets.
Guests who live in their vehicles are welcome to have their pets with them in their cars in the parking lot and will have access to the full array of Hope Harbor’s services.
Donations for the Warming Center can be sent to the Kelseyville United Methodist Church, the center’s fiscal sponsor. Please make any checks payable to the church and put “warming center”on the memo line. Mail to P.O. Box 446 Kelseyville CA 95451. PayPal donations are also welcome at the Hope Harbor website www.hopeharborlakecounty.com .
This week, AAA estimates nearly 50 million Americans will travel by car for at least 50 miles. The California Office of Traffic Safety, or OTS, is asking everyone on the road to “Go Safely” and allow extra time to get to their destination.
“Thanksgiving traffic is inevitable, especially for those who travel the day before Thanksgiving to be with family and friends,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “We encourage all drivers to stay alert and be patient on the road in order to arrive safely at their destination.”
The OTS has the following tips to ensure your holiday starts and ends on a positive note:
• Drive a car that is road ready: Check the battery, brakes, windshield wipers, defroster, heater, headlights and taillights to make sure they are all working.
• Vehicle tires, including the spare, should not be worn and have the proper inflation.
• Always carry chains if you are driving through the mountains.
• When it is raining, foggy or snowing, slow down and keep a safe distance from the next car. It will take longer to stop the car in rain or snow.
• Pack an emergency kit that includes things such as a phone charger, flashlight, first aid supplies, jumper cables, chains, tire iron, emergency flares, and plenty of snacks and water.
• Minimize distractions and avoid using a cell phone while driving.
• Get adequate sleep. Take turns driving if traveling long distances.
• Never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs and marijuana can affect your ability to drive, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs.
Drivers can check road and traffic conditions, as well as find roadside rest areas, by using the Caltrans QuickMap at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov. There is also a free QuickMap app available on the App Store and Google Play.
The OTS administers funding for traffic safety programs statewide with the goal of reducing crashes that result in deaths, injuries, and economic losses. The OTS is a department under the California State Transportation Agency.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Saturday, Boy Scout Troop 39 completed its latest Eagle Scout project, making more improvements at the Lakeport Library.
Led by Scout Sayer Ford, the troop completed landscaping around the front of the library, located at 1425 N. High St.
Ford is a junior at Clear Lake High School.
The group’s scoutmaster is William Green, with Richard Ford the assistant scoutmaster.
Richard Ford, who also is Lake County’s assessor-recorder, said this is the third project Troop 39 has completed as part of efforts to beautify the library.
He said Quintin Scott led the project to build the children’s patio and William Green did the parking island and planter boxes.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
