Abstract Filamentous fungi are the organisms of choice for most industrial biotechnology. Some species can produce a variety of secondary metabolites and enzymes of commercial interest, and the production of valuable molecules has been enhanced through different molecular tools. Methods for genetic manipulation and transformation have been essential for the optimization of these organisms. The genus Simplicillium has attracted increased attention given several potential biotechnological applications. The Simplicillium genus harbors several entomopathogenic species and some isolates have been explored for bioremediation of heavy metal contaminants. Furthermore, the myriad of secondary metabolites isolated from Simplicillium spp. render these organisms as ideal targets for deep exploration and further biotechnological mining possibilities. However, the lack of molecular tools hampered the exploration of this genus. Thus, an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method was established for Simplicillium subtropicum, employing the far-red fluorescent protein TURBOFP635/Katushka, as a visual marker, and the selection marker SUR gene, that confers resistance to chlorimuron ethyl. Notably, one round of transformation using the established method yielded almost 400 chlorimuron resistant isolates. Furthermore, these transformants displayed mitotic stability for, at least, five generations. We anticipate that this method can be useful for deep molecular exploration and improvement of strains in the Simplicillium genus.

Abstract The clinical utility of serum ferritin as a biomarker of disease severity and prognosis in Gaucher disease (GD) is still debated. Here, we aimed to evaluate ferritin and its relation to clinicolaboratory parameters of GD patients seen at the Reference Center for Gaucher Disease of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, so as to gather evidence on the utility of ferritin as a biomarker of this condition. A retrospective chart review was performed collecting pre-and posttreatment data from GD patients. Eighteen patients with ferritin levels available before and after treatment were included in the study. Nine of these participants were males, and seventeen had type I GD. All patients were given either enzyme replacement (n = 16) or substrate reduction therapy (n = 2), and ferritin was found to decrease from 756 [318-1441] ng/mL at baseline to 521 [227-626] ng/mL (p=0.025) after 28.8 month soft treatment. Serum ferritin levels did not correlate with measures of disease severity, but showed an association with age at onset of treatment (ρ= 0.880; n = 18; p < 0.001). In conclusion, although serum ferritin did not correlate with disease severity, after a median 28.8 months of treatment, clinical outcomes had clearly improved, and ferritin levels had decreased.