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Wildfires, as a key disturbance in forest ecosystems, are shaping the world's boreal landscapes. Changes in fire regimes are closely linked to a wide array of environmental factors, such as vegetation composition, climate change, and human activity. Arctic and boreal regions and, in particular, Siberian boreal forests are experiencing rising air and ground temperatures with the subsequent degradation of permafrost soils leading to shifts in tree cover and species composition. Compared to the boreal zones of North America or Europe, little is known about how such environmental changes might influence long-term fire regimes in Russia. The larch-dominated eastern Siberian deciduous boreal forests differ markedly from the composition of other boreal forests, yet data about past fire regimes remain sparse. Here, we present a high-resolution macroscopic charcoal record from lacustrine sediments of Lake Khamra (southwest Yakutia, Siberia) spanning the last ca. 2200 years, including information about charcoal particle sizes and morphotypes. Our results reveal a phase of increased charcoal accumulation between 600 and 900 CE, indicative of relatively high amounts of burnt biomass and high fire frequencies. This is followed by an almost 900-year-long period of low charcoal accumulation without significant peaks likely corresponding to cooler climate conditions. After 1750 CE fire frequencies and the relative amount of biomass burnt start to increase again, coinciding with a warming climate and increased anthropogenic land development after Russian colonization. In the 20th century, total charcoal accumulation decreases again to very low levels despite higher fire frequency, potentially reflecting a change in fire management strategies and/or a shift of the fire regime towards more frequent but smaller fires. A similar pattern for different charcoal morphotypes and comparison to a pollen and non-pollen palynomorph (NPP) record from the same sediment core indicate that broad-scale changes in vegetation composition were probably not a major driver of recorded fire regime changes. Instead, the fire regime of the last two millennia at Lake Khamra seems to be controlled mainly by a combination of short-term climate variability and anthropogenic fire ignition and suppression.
Semi-natural habitats (SNHs) are becoming increasingly scarce in modern agricultural landscapes. This may reduce natural ecosystem services such as pest control with its putatively positive effect on crop production. In agreement with other studies, we recently reported wheat yield reductions at field borders which were linked to the type of SNH and the distance to the border. In this experimental landscape-wide study, we asked whether these yield losses have a biotic origin while analyzing fungal seed and fungal leaf pathogens, herbivory of cereal leaf beetles, and weed cover as hypothesized mediators between SNHs and yield. We established experimental winter wheat plots of a single variety within conventionally managed wheat fields at fixed distances either to a hedgerow or to an in-field kettle hole. For each plot, we recorded the fungal infection rate on seeds, fungal infection and herbivory rates on leaves, and weed cover. Using several generalized linear mixed-effects models as well as a structural equation model, we tested the effects of SNHs at a field scale (SNH type and distance to SNH) and at a landscape scale (percentage and diversity of SNHs within a 1000-m radius). In the dry year of 2016, we detected one putative biotic culprit: Weed cover was negatively associated with yield values at a 1-m and 5-m distance from the field border with a SNH. None of the fungal and insect pests, however, significantly affected yield, neither solely nor depending on type of or distance to a SNH. However, the pest groups themselves responded differently to SNH at the field scale and at the landscape scale. Our findings highlight that crop losses at field borders may be caused by biotic culprits; however, their negative impact seems weak and is putatively reduced by conventional farming practices.
Background
Subjective Social Status is used as an important predictor for psychological and physiological findings, most commonly measured with the MacArthur Scale (Ladder Test). Previous studies have shown that this test fits better in Western cultures. The idea of a social ladder itself and ranking oneself “higher” or “lower” is a concept that accords to the Western thinking.
Objectives
We hypothesize that in a culture where only the elites have adapted to a Western lifestyle, the test results reflect a higher level of accuracy for this stratum. We also expect that self-perception differs per sex.
Sample and Methods
We implemented the Ladder Test in a study of Indonesian schoolchildren aged between 5 and 13 years (boys N = 369, girls N= 364) from non-private and private schools in Kupang in 2020.
Results
Our analysis showed that the Ladder Test results were according to the Western expectations only for the private school, as the Ladder Scores significantly decreased with age (LM: p = 0.04). The Ladder Test results are best explained by “Education Father” for the non-private school pupils (p = 0.01) and all boys (p = 0.04), by “School Grades” for the private school cohort (p = 0.06) and by “Household Score” for girls (p =0.09).
Conclusion
This finding indicates that the concept of ranking oneself “high” or “low” on a social ladder is strongly implicated with Western ideas. A ladder implies social movement by “climbing” up or down. According to that, reflection of self-perception is influenced by culture.
Secretory Wnt trafficking can be studied in the polarized epithelial monolayer of Drosophila wing imaginal discs (WID). In this tissue, Wg (Drosophila Wnt-I) is presented on the apical surface of its source cells before being internalized into the endosomal pathway. Long-range Wg secretion and spread depend on secondary secretion from endosomal compartments, but the exact post-endocytic fate of Wg is poorly understood. Here, we summarize and present three protocols for the immunofluorescencebased visualization and quantitation of different pools of intracellular and extracellular Wg in WID: (1) steady-state extracellular Wg; (2) dynamic Wg trafficking inside endosomal compartments; and (3) dynamic Wg release to the cell surface. Using a genetic driver system for gene manipulation specifically at the posterior part of the WID (EnGal4) provides a robust internal control that allows for direct comparison of signal intensities of control and manipulated compartments of the same WID. Therefore, it also circumvents the high degree of staining variability usually associated with whole-tissue samples. In combination with the genetic manipulation of Wg pathway components that is easily feasible in Drosophila, these methods provide a tool-set for the dissection of secretory Wg trafficking and can help us to understand how Wnt proteins travel along endosomal compartments for short-and long-range signal secretion.
Ecological niche models (ENMs) are often used to investigate how climatic variables from known occurrence records can estimate potential species range distribution. Although climate-based ENMs provide critical baseline information, the inclusion of non-climatic predictors related to vegetation cover might generate more realistic scenarios. This assumption is particularly relevant for species with life-history traits related to forest habitats and sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation. Here, we developed ENMs for 36 Atlantic Forest endemic birds considering two sets of predictor variables: (i) climatic variables only and (ii) climatic variables combined with the percentage of remaining native vegetation. We hypothesized that the inclusion of native vegetation data would decrease the potential range distribution of forest-dependent species by limiting their occurrence in regions harboring small areas of native vegetation habitats, despite otherwise favorable climatic conditions. We also expected that habitat restriction in the climate-vegetation models would be more pronounced for highly forest-dependent birds. The inclusion of vegetation data in the modeling procedures restricted the final distribution ranges of 22 out of 36 modeled species, while the 14 remaining presented an expansion of their ranges. We observed that species with high and medium forest dependency showed higher restriction in range size predictions between predictor sets than species with low forest dependency, which showed no alteration or range expansion. Overall, our results suggest that ENMs based on climatic and landscape variables may be a useful tool for conservationists to better understand the dynamic of bird species distributions in threatened and highly fragmented regions such as the Atlantic Forest hotspot.(c) 2021 Associacao Brasileira de Cie circumflex accent ncia Ecol ogica e Conservacao. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).
Relationships between climate, species composition, and species richness are of particular importance for understanding how boreal ecosystems will respond to ongoing climate change. This study aims to reconstruct changes in terrestrial vegetation composition and taxa richness during the glacial Late Pleistocene and the interglacial Holocene in the sparsely studied southeastern Yakutia (Siberia) by using pollen and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) records. Pollen and sedaDNA metabarcoding data using the trnL g and h markers were obtained from a sediment core from Lake Bolshoe Toko. Both proxies were used to reconstruct the vegetation composition, while metabarcoding data were also used to investigate changes in plant taxa richness. The combination of pollen and sedaDNA approaches allows a robust estimation of regional and local past terrestrial vegetation composition around Bolshoe Toko during the last similar to 35,000 years. Both proxies suggest that during the Late Pleistocene, southeastern Siberia was covered by open steppe-tundra dominated by graminoids and forbs with patches of shrubs, confirming that steppe-tundra extended far south in Siberia. Both proxies show disturbance at the transition between the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene suggesting a period with scarce vegetation, changes in the hydrochemical conditions in the lake, and in sedimentation rates. Both proxies document drastic changes in vegetation composition in the early Holocene with an increased number of trees and shrubs and the appearance of new tree taxa in the lake's vicinity. The sedaDNA method suggests that the Late Pleistocene steppe-tundra vegetation supported a higher number of terrestrial plant taxa than the forested Holocene. This could be explained, for example, by the "keystone herbivore" hypothesis, which suggests that Late Pleistocene megaherbivores were able to maintain a high plant diversity. This is discussed in the light of the data with the broadly accepted species-area hypothesis as steppe-tundra covered such an extensive area during the Late Pleistocene.
Plastic pollution is an increasing environmental problem, but a comprehensive understanding of its effect in the environment is still missing. The wide variety of size, shape, and polymer composition of plastics impedes an adequate risk assessment. We investigated the effect of differently sized polystyrene beads (1-, 3-, 6-µm; PS) and polyamide fragments (5–25 µm, PA) and non-plastics items such as silica beads (3-µm, SiO2) on the population growth, reproduction (egg ratio), and survival of two common aquatic micro invertebrates: the rotifer species Brachionus calyciflorus and Brachionus fernandoi. The MPs were combined with food quantity, limiting and saturating food concentration, and with food of different quality. We found variable fitness responses with a significant effect of 3-µm PS on the population growth rate in both rotifer species with respect to food quantity. An interaction between the food quality and the MPs treatments was found in the reproduction of B. calyciflorus. PA and SiO2 beads had no effect on fitness response. This study provides further evidence of the indirect effect of MPs in planktonic rotifers and the importance of testing different environmental conditions that could influence the effect of MPs.
TusA is a versatile protein that links translation efficiency to cell division in Escherichia coli
(2021)
To enable accurate and efficient translation, sulfur modifications are introduced posttranscriptionally into nucleosides in tRNAs. The biosynthesis of tRNA sulfur modifications involves unique sulfur trafficking systems for the incorporation of sulfur atoms in different nucleosides of tRNA. One of the proteins that is involved in inserting the sulfur for 5-methylaminomethyl-2-thiouridine (mnm(5)s(2)U34) modifications in tRNAs is the TusA protein. TusA, however, is a versatile protein that is also involved in numerous other cellular pathways. Despite its role as a sulfur transfer protein for the 2-thiouridine formation in tRNA, a fundamental role of TusA in the general physiology of Escherichia coli has also been discovered. Poor viability, a defect in cell division, and a filamentous cell morphology have been described previously for tusA-deficient cells. In this report, we aimed to dissect the role of TusA for cell viability. We were able to show that the lack of the thiolation status of wobble uridine (U-34) nucleotides present on Lys, Gln, or Glu in tRNAs has a major consequence on the translation efficiency of proteins; among the affected targets are the proteins RpoS and Fis. Both proteins are major regulatory factors, and the deregulation of their abundance consequently has a major effect on the cellular regulatory network, with one consequence being a defect in cell division by regulating the FtsZ ring formation. <br /> IMPORTANCE More than 100 different modifications are found in RNAs. One of these modifications is the mnm(5)s(2)U modification at the wobble position 34 of tRNAs for Lys, Gln, and Glu. The functional significance of U34 modifications is substantial since it restricts the conformational flexibility of the anticodon, thus providing translational fidelity. We show that in an Escherichia coli TusA mutant strain, involved in sulfur transfer for the mnm(5)s(2)U34 thio modifications, the translation efficiency of RpoS and Fis, two major cellular regulatory proteins, is altered. Therefore, in addition to the transcriptional regulation and the factors that influence protein stability, tRNA modifications that ensure the translational efficiency provide an additional crucial regulatory factor for protein synthesis.
Background
Secondary endosymbionts of aphids provide benefits to their hosts, but also impose costs such as reduced lifespan and reproductive output. The aphid Aphis fabae is host to different strains of the secondary endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa, which encode different putative toxins. These strains have very different phenotypes: They reach different densities in the host, and the costs and benefits (protection against parasitoid wasps) they confer to the host vary strongly.
Results
We used RNA-Seq to generate hypotheses on why four of these strains inflict such different costs to A. fabae. We found different H. defensa strains to cause strain-specific changes in aphid gene expression, but little effect of H. defensa on gene expression of the primary endosymbiont, Buchnera aphidicola. The highly costly and over-replicating H. defensa strain H85 was associated with strongly reduced aphid expression of hemocytin, a marker of hemocytes in Drosophila. The closely related strain H15 was associated with downregulation of ubiquitin-related modifier 1, which is related to nutrient-sensing and oxidative stress in other organisms. Strain H402 was associated with strong differential regulation of a set of hypothetical proteins, the majority of which were only differentially regulated in presence of H402.
Conclusions
Overall, our results suggest that costs of different strains of H. defensa are likely caused by different mechanisms, and that these costs are imposed by interacting with the host rather than the host's obligatory endosymbiont B. aphidicola.
We investigate the transition from incoherence to global collective motion in a three-dimensional swarming model of agents with helical trajectories, subject to noise and global coupling. Without noise this model was recently proposed as a generalization of the Kuramoto model and it was found that alignment of the velocities occurs discontinuously for arbitrarily small attractive coupling. Adding noise to the system resolves this singular limit and leads to a continuous transition, either to a directed collective motion or to center-of-mass rotations.
Trait means or variance
(2021)
One of the few laws in ecology is that communities consist of few common and many rare taxa. Functional traits may help to identify the underlying mechanisms of this community pattern, since they correlate with different niche dimensions. However, comprehensive studies are missing that investigate the effects of species mean traits (niche position) and intraspecific trait variability (ITV, niche width) on species abundance. In this study, we investigated fragmented dry grasslands to reveal trait-occurrence relationships in plants at local and regional scales. We predicted that (a) at the local scale, species occurrence is highest for species with intermediate traits, (b) at the regional scale, habitat specialists have a lower species occurrence than generalists, and thus, traits associated with stress-tolerance have a negative effect on species occurrence, and (c) ITV increases species occurrence irrespective of the scale. We measured three plant functional traits (SLA = specific leaf area, LDMC = leaf dry matter content, plant height) at 21 local dry grassland communities (10 m × 10 m) and analyzed the effect of these traits and their variation on species occurrence. At the local scale, mean LDMC had a positive effect on species occurrence, indicating that stress-tolerant species are the most abundant rather than species with intermediate traits (hypothesis 1). We found limited support for lower specialist occurrence at the regional scale (hypothesis 2). Further, ITV of LDMC and plant height had a positive effect on local occurrence supporting hypothesis 3. In contrast, at the regional scale, plants with a higher ITV of plant height were less frequent. We found no evidence that the consideration of phylogenetic relationships in our analyses influenced our findings. In conclusion, both species mean traits (in particular LDMC) and ITV were differently related to species occurrence with respect to spatial scale. Therefore, our study underlines the strong scale-dependency of trait-abundance relationships.
Water-deficits can cause lethal damage to organisms, which is rooted in cellular dehydration. Many plant species, but also other organisms have developed mechanisms to tolerate such stresses, such as the expression of LEA proteins. Many studies report on physiological protective functions of LEA proteins but lack information about their precise mechanisms on a molecular level. Most LEA proteins are intrinsically disordered in dilute solution but may adopt a distinct secondary structure upon changes in solvent conditions. Understanding the molecular mechanism of how LEA proteins contribute to the counteraction of cellular damage during water-deficits may in the long-term pave the way for breeding crops that are resistant to the effects of global warming. The objective of the work at hand is to improve the biophysical understanding of the sequencestructure-function relationship of LEA proteins as membrane stabilizers, based on the LEA_4 family of the model plant A. thaliana. This is pursued by using a combination of spectroscopic and scattering techniques, supported by bioinformatics and computational analyses. Eight out of the 18 LEA_4 proteins are experimentally assessed revealing that a coil-helix transition in response to water-deficit is a common feature, as predicted for the entire family. In addition, they all stabilize simple membrane models during a freeze/ thaw cycle. Three-dimensional structure prediction of representative members suggests that their completely folded states are represented by a sequential arrangement of alpha-helical segments connected by unstructured linkers, which is experimentally verified for the LEA_4 protein COR15A. The unstructured linker region of COR15A represents a conserved motif among its closest homologs and is, therefore, of particular interest. Facilitating a set of seven designed and investigated COR15A mutants uncovers a complex interplay of transient interactions between the amphipathic alpha-helical segments, mediated by the linker, which fine-tunes folding transitions and structural ensembles upon reduced water-availability. Finally, alpha-helicity is also induced in COR15A upon temperature decrease, which is enhanced in the presence of osmolytes. In addition, high solution osmolarity induced secondary structure is followed by oligomerization of COR15A. Interestingly, the functionality of COR15A, in terms of liposome stabilization, strongly correlates with its alpha-helix ratio in the folded state. The present work significantly improves the understanding of the sequence-structure-function relationship for LEA_4 proteins and offers novel findings on folding mechanisms and oligomerization of COR15A.
The Upper Indus Basin (UIB), which covers a wide range of climatic and topographic settings, provides an ideal venue to explore the relationship between climate and topography. While the distribution of snow and glaciers is spatially and temporally heterogeneous, there exist regions with similar elevation-snow relationships. In this work, we construct elevation-binned snow-cover statistics to analyze 3415 watersheds and 7357 glaciers in the UIB region. We group both glaciers and watersheds using a hierarchical clustering approach and find that (1) watershed clusters mirror large-scale moisture transport patterns and (2) are highly dependent on median watershed elevation. (3) Glacier clusters are spatially heterogeneous and are less strongly controlled by elevation, but rather by local topographic parameters that modify solar insolation. Our clustering approach allows us to clearly define self-similar snow-topographic regions. Eastern watersheds in the UIB show a steep snow cover-elevation relationship whereas watersheds in the central and western UIB have moderately sloped relationships, but cluster in distinct groups. We highlight this snow-cover-topographic transition zone and argue that these watersheds have different hydrologic responses than other regions. Our hierarchical clustering approach provides a potential new framework to use in defining climatic zones in the cyrosphere based on empirical data.
It is well known that functional diversity strongly affects ecosystem functioning. However, even in rather simple model communities consisting of only two or, at best, three trophic levels, the relationship between multitrophic functional diversity and ecosystem functioning appears difficult to generalize, because of its high contextuality. In this study, we considered several differently structured tritrophic food webs, in which the amount of functional diversity was varied independently on each trophic level. To achieve generalizable results, largely independent of parametrization, we examined the outcomes of 128,000 parameter combinations sampled from ecologically plausible intervals, with each tested for 200 randomly sampled initial conditions. Analysis of our data was done by training a random forest model. This method enables the identification of complex patterns in the data through partial dependence graphs, and the comparison of the relative influence of model parameters, including the degree of diversity, on food-web properties. We found that bottom-up and top-down effects cascade simultaneously throughout the food web, intimately linking the effects of functional diversity of any trophic level to the amount of diversity of other trophic levels, which may explain the difficulty in unifying results from previous studies. Strikingly, only with high diversity throughout the whole food web, different interactions synergize to ensure efficient exploitation of the available nutrients and efficient biomass transfer to higher trophic levels, ultimately leading to a high biomass and production on the top level. The temporal variation of biomass showed a more complex pattern with increasing multitrophic diversity: while the system initially became less variable, eventually the temporal variation rose again because of the increasingly complex dynamical patterns. Importantly, top predator diversity and food-web parameters affecting the top trophic level were of highest importance to determine the biomass and temporal variability of any trophic level. Overall, our study reveals that the mechanisms by which diversity influences ecosystem functioning are affected by every part of the food web, hampering the extrapolation of insights from simple monotrophic or bitrophic systems to complex natural food webs.
How different are the results of constant-rate resetting of anomalous-diffusion processes in terms of their ensemble-averaged versus time-averaged mean-squared displacements (MSDs versus TAMSDs) and how does stochastic resetting impact nonergodicity? We examine, both analytically and by simulations, the implications of resetting on the MSD- and TAMSD-based spreading dynamics of particles executing fractional Brownian motion (FBM) with a long-time memory, heterogeneous diffusion processes (HDPs) with a power-law space-dependent diffusivity D(x) = D0|x|gamma and their "combined" process of HDP-FBM. We find, inter alia, that the resetting dynamics of originally ergodic FBM for superdiffusive Hurst exponents develops disparities in scaling and magnitudes of the MSDs and mean TAMSDs indicating weak ergodicity breaking. For subdiffusive HDPs we also quantify the nonequivalence of the MSD and TAMSD and observe a new trimodal form of the probability density function. For reset FBM, HDPs and HDP-FBM we compute analytically and verify by simulations the short-time MSD and TAMSD asymptotes and long-time plateaus reminiscent of those for processes under confinement. We show that certain characteristics of these reset processes are functionally similar despite a different stochastic nature of their nonreset variants. Importantly, we discover nonmonotonicity of the ergodicitybreaking parameter EB as a function of the resetting rate r. For all reset processes studied we unveil a pronounced resetting-induced nonergodicity with a maximum of EB at intermediate r and EB similar to(1/r )-decay at large r. Alongside the emerging MSD-versus-TAMSD disparity, this r-dependence of EB can be an experimentally testable prediction. We conclude by discussing some implications to experimental systems featuring resetting dynamics.
Three mitochondrial genomes of early-winged insects (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae and Leptophlebiidae)
(2021)
Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) are a semi-aquatic insect order with comparatively few genomic data available despite their phylogenetic position at the root of the winged-insects and possession of ancestral traits.
Here, we provide three mitochondrial genomes (mtgenomes) from representatives of the two most species-rich families, Baetis rutilocylindratus and Cloeon dipterum (Baetidae), and Habrophlebiodes zijinensis (Leptophlebiidae).
All mtgenomes had a complete set of 13 protein-coding genes and a conserved orientation except for two inverted tRNAs in H. zijinensis.
Phylogenetic reconstructions using 21 mayfly mtgenomes and representatives of seven additional orders recovered both Baetidae and Leptophlebiidae as well supported monophyletic clades, with Ephemeroptera as the sister-taxon to all other winged insects (i.e. Odonata and Neoptera).
Shape-memory hydrogels (SMH) are multifunctional, actively-moving polymers of interest in biomedicine. In loosely crosslinked polymer networks, gelatin chains may form triple helices, which can act as temporary net points in SMH, depending on the presence of salts. Here, we show programming and initiation of the shape-memory effect of such networks based on a thermomechanical process compatible with the physiological environment. The SMH were synthesized by reaction of glycidylmethacrylated gelatin with oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) alpha,omega-dithiols of varying crosslinker length and amount. Triple helicalization of gelatin chains is shown directly by wide-angle X-ray scattering and indirectly via the mechanical behavior at different temperatures. The ability to form triple helices increased with the molar mass of the crosslinker. Hydrogels had storage moduli of 0.27-23 kPa and Young's moduli of 215-360 kPa at 4 degrees C. The hydrogels were hydrolytically degradable, with full degradation to water-soluble products within one week at 37 degrees C and pH = 7.4. A thermally-induced shape-memory effect is demonstrated in bending as well as in compression tests, in which shape recovery with excellent shape-recovery rates R-r close to 100% were observed. In the future, the material presented here could be applied, e.g., as self-anchoring devices mechanically resembling the extracellular matrix.
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is a cytokine best known for affecting systemic energy metabolism through its anorectic action. GDF15 expression and secretion from various organs and tissues is induced in different physiological and pathophysiological states, often linked to mitochondrial stress, leading to highly variable circulating GDF15 levels.
In skeletal muscle and the heart, the basal expression of GDF15 is very low compared to other organs, but GDF15 expression and secretion can be induced in various stress conditions, such as intense exercise and acute myocardial infarction, respectively. GDF15 is thus considered as a myokine and cardiokine. GFRAL, the exclusive receptor for GDF15, is expressed in hindbrain neurons and activation of the GDF15-GFRAL pathway is linked to an increased sympathetic outflow and possibly an activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis.
There is also evidence for peripheral, direct effects of GDF15 on adipose tissue lipolysis and possible autocrine cardiac effects. Metabolic and behavioral outcomes of GDF15 signaling can be beneficial or detrimental, likely depending on the magnitude and duration of the GDF15 signal.
This is especially apparent for GDF15 production in muscle, which can be induced both by exercise and by muscle disease states such as sarcopenia and mitochondrial myopathy.
The aim of this study was to assess the ability of the FFQ to describe reliable and valid dietary pattern (DP) scores. In a total of 134 participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Potsdam study aged 35-67 years, the FFQ was applied twice (baseline and after 1 year) to assess its reliability. Between November 1995 and March 1997, twelve 24-h dietary recalls (24HDR) as reference instrument were applied to assess the validity of the FFQ. Exploratory DP were derived by principal component analyses. Investigated predefined DP were the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and two Mediterranean diet indices. From dietary data of each FFQ, two exploratory DP were retained, but differed in highly loading food groups, resulting in moderate correlations (r 0 center dot 45-0 center dot 58). The predefined indices showed higher correlations between the FFQ (r(AHEI) 0 center dot 62, r(Mediterranean Diet Pyramid Index (MedPyr)) 0 center dot 62 and r(traditional Mediterranean Diet Score (tMDS)) 0 center dot 51). From 24HDR dietary data, one exploratory DP retained differed in composition to the first FFQ-based DP, but showed similarities to the second DP, reflected by a good correlation (r 0 center dot 70). The predefined DP correlated moderately (r 0 center dot 40-0 center dot 60). To conclude, long-term analyses on exploratory DP should be interpreted with caution, due to only moderate reliability. The validity differed extensively for the two exploratory DP. The investigated predefined DP showed a better reliability and a moderate validity, comparable to other studies. Within the two Mediterranean diet indices, the MedPyr performed better than the tMDs in this middle-aged, semi-urban German study population.
Patterning along the apical-basal (A-B) axis is a crucial step during the early stages of plant embryogenesis and leads to the establishment of two poles of which each will develop their own stem cell niches. The activity of these meristems is responsible for post-embryonic growth, with the shoot apical meristem (SAM) generating the above-ground organs and the root apical meristem (RAM) producing the subterranean structures of the plant. While several transcriptional regulators governing A-B patterning have been identified, precisely how their regulatory function is orchestrated remains elusive. This study focuses on transcriptional co-regulators LEUNIG (LUG) and closely related LEUNIG_HOMOLOG (LUH) and their role in the formation of A-B patterning during embryogenesis as well as their post-embryonic maintenance. A link between the LUG regulatory complex and SAM formation and maintenance comes from the observation that lug mutants heterozygous for the luh allele (lug luh+/-) often have enlarged SAMs resulting from misregulated cell divisions. A more severe phenotype is observed in lug luh double mutants which are embryonically lethal. In this study, a detailed characterisation of lug luh embryo phenotype reveals that these mutants display aberrant cell divisions along the A-B axis, which correlates with defects in auxin distribution, complete loss of apical identity, and altered expression of transcription factors determining basal fate. Like other co-regulators, LUG and LUH lack intrinsic DNA-binding domains and instead must interact with DNA-binding cofactors to ensure recruitment to regulatory elements of target genes. This either involves direct contact between the co-regulators and transcription factors (TFs) or the formation of higher-order complexes with adaptor proteins such as SEUSS (SEU) or related SEUSS-LIKEs (SLKs), which facilitate binding to specific TFs. Results presented in this study provide insight into the molecular framework for the LUG regulatory complex activity during embryogenesis. Both yeast and in planta assays showed that LUG/LUH and SEU/SLKs physically associate with a variety of WUSCHEL-RELATED HOMEOBOX (WOX) TFs including members of the WOX2-module. Furthermore, genetic interactions between members of the WOX2-module and the LUG regulatory complex, support their mutual action during embryogenesis. Based on the reduced activity of HOMEODOMAIN LEUCINE-ZIPPER CLASS III (HD-ZIPIII) promoters in lug luh embryos, a model is proposed in which the LUG regulatory complex functions together with WOX2-module to promote apical identity and subsequent SAM initiation through regulation of the HD-ZIPIIIs. The activity of the LUG complex in promoting basal embryo identity through positive regulation of microRNA165/166 suggests that this complex also has functions that are independent of the WOX2-module. Preliminary work reported in this study further uncovered the role of the LUG regulatory complex in post-embryonic development. While the fasciated inflorescence meristems of lug luh+/- plants displayed defects in auxin transport and altered activity of stem cell markers, embryonically rescued lug luh mutants formed flat and differentiated SAMs. In addition, rescued lug luh mutants exhibited severely disorganised RAM and defects in quiescent center (QC) specification, supporting the involvement of the LUG complex in post-embryonic RAM maintenance.
Nonribosomal peptides (NRP) are crucial molecular mediators in microbial ecology and provide indispensable drugs. Nevertheless, the evolution of the flexible biosynthetic machineries that correlates with the stunning structural diversity of NRPs is poorly understood. Here, we show that recombination is a key driver in the evolution of bacterial NRP synthetase (NRPS) genes across distant bacterial phyla, which has guided structural diversification in a plethora of NRP families by extensive mixing andmatching of biosynthesis genes. The systematic dissection of a large number of individual recombination events did not only unveil a striking plurality in the nature and origin of the exchange units but allowed the deduction of overarching principles that enable the efficient exchange of adenylation (A) domain substrates while keeping the functionality of the dynamic multienzyme complexes. In the majority of cases, recombination events have targeted variable portions of the A(core) domains, yet domain interfaces and the flexible A(sub) domain remained untapped. Our results strongly contradict the widespread assumption that adenylation and condensation (C) domains coevolve and significantly challenge the attributed role of C domains as stringent selectivity filter during NRP synthesis. Moreover, they teach valuable lessons on the choice of natural exchange units in the evolution of NRPS diversity, which may guide future engineering approaches.
Rising temperatures in the Arctic affect soil microorganisms, herbivores, and peatland vegetation, thus directly and indirectly influencing microbial CH4 production. It is not currently known how methanotrophs in Arctic peat respond to combined changes in temperature, CH4 concentration, and vegetation. We studied methanotroph responses to temperature and CH4 concentration in peat exposed to herbivory and protected by exclosures. The methanotroph activity was assessed by CH4 oxidation rate measurements using peat soil microcosms and a pure culture of Methylobacter tundripaludum SV96, qPCR, and sequencing of pmoA transcripts. Elevated CH4 concentrations led to higher CH4 oxidation rates both in grazed and exclosed peat soils, but the strongest response was observed in grazed peat soils. Furthermore, the relative transcriptional activities of different methanotroph community members were affected by the CH4 concentrations. While transcriptional responses to low CH4 concentrations were more prevalent in grazed peat soils, responses to high CH4 concentrations were more prevalent in exclosed peat soils. We observed no significant methanotroph responses to increasing temperatures. We conclude that methanotroph communities in these peat soils respond to changes in the CH4 concentration depending on their previous exposure to grazing. This "conditioning " influences which strains will thrive and, therefore, determines the function of the methanotroph community.
The dictyostelium centrosome
(2021)
The centrosome of Dictyostelium amoebae contains no centrioles and consists of a cylindrical layered core structure surrounded by a corona harboring microtubule-nucleating gamma-tubulin complexes. It is the major centrosomal model beyond animals and yeasts. Proteomics, protein interaction studies by BioID and superresolution microscopy methods led to considerable progress in our understanding of the composition, structure and function of this centrosome type. We discuss all currently known components of the Dictyostelium centrosome in comparison to other centrosomes of animals and yeasts.
Indolactam alkaloids are activators of protein kinase C (PKC) and are of pharmacological interest for the treatment of pathologies involving PKC dysregulation. The marine cyanobacterial nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) pathway for lyngbyatoxin biosynthesis, which we previously expressed in E. coli, was studied for its amenability towards the biosynthesis of indolactam variants. Modification of culture conditions for our E. coli heterologous expression host and analysis of pathway products suggested the native lyngbyatoxin pathway NRPS does possess a degree of relaxed specificity. Site-directed mutagenesis of two positions within the adenylation domain (A-domain) substrate-binding pocket was performed, resulting in an alteration of substrate preference between valine, isoleucine, and leucine. We observed relative congruence of in vitro substrate activation by the LtxA NRPS to in vivo product formation. While there was a preference for isoleucine over leucine, the substitution of alternative tailoring domains may unveil the true in vivo effects of the mutations introduced herein.
Synthesis and Characterization of Upconversion Nanaparticles for Applications in Life Sciences
(2021)
Combining high hydrophilicity with charge neutrality, polyzwitterions are intensely explored for their high biocompatibility and low-fouling properties. Recent reports indicated that in addition to charge neutrality, the zwitterion's segmental dipole orientation is an important factor for interacting with the environment. Accordingly, a series of polysulfobetaines with a novel architecture was designed, in which the cationic and anionic groups of the zwitterionic moiety are placed at equal distances from the backbone. They were investigated by in vitro biofouling assays, covering proteins of different charges and model marine organisms. All polyzwitterion coatings reduced the fouling effectively compared to model polymer surfaces of poly(butyl methacrylate), with a nearly equally good performance as the reference polybetaine poly(3-(N-(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl)-N,N-dimethylammonio)propanesulfonate). The specific fouling resistance depended on the detailed chemical structure of the polyzwitterions. Still, while clearly affecting the performance, the precise dipole orientation of the sulfobetaine group in the polyzwitterions seems overall to be only of secondary importance for their antifouling behavior.
Strong as a Hippo’s Heart: Biomechanical Hippo Signaling During Zebrafish Cardiac Development
(2021)
The heart is comprised of multiple tissues that contribute to its physiological functions. During development, the growth of myocardium and endocardium is coupled and morphogenetic processes within these separate tissue layers are integrated. Here, we discuss the roles of mechanosensitive Hippo signaling in growth and morphogenesis of the zebrafish heart. Hippo signaling is involved in defining numbers of cardiac progenitor cells derived from the secondary heart field, in restricting the growth of the epicardium, and in guiding trabeculation and outflow tract formation. Recent work also shows that myocardial chamber dimensions serve as a blueprint for Hippo signaling-dependent growth of the endocardium. Evidently, Hippo pathway components act at the crossroads of various signaling pathways involved in embryonic zebrafish heart development. Elucidating how biomechanical Hippo signaling guides heart morphogenesis has direct implications for our understanding of cardiac physiology and pathophysiology.
Starch is a natural storage carbohydrate in plants and algae. It consists of two relatively simple homo-biopolymers, amylopectin and amylose, with only alpha-1,4 and alpha-1,6 linked glucosyl units. Starch is an essential source of nutrition and animal food, as well as an important raw material for industry. However, despite increasing knowledge, detailed information about its structure and turnover are largely lacking. In the last decades, most data were generated using bulk experiments, a method which obviously presents limitations regarding a deeper understanding of the starch metabolism. Here, we discuss some unavoidable questions arising from the existing data. We focus on a few examples related to starch biosynthesis, degradation, and structure where these limitations strongly emerge. Closing these knowledge gaps will also be extremely important for taking the necessary steps in order to set up starch-providing crops for the challenges of the ongoing climate changes, as well as for increasing the usability of starches for industrial applications by biotechnology.
Transitory starch granules result from complex carbon turnover and display specific situations during starch synthesis and degradation. The fundamental mechanisms that specify starch granule characteristics, such as granule size, morphology, and the number per chloroplast, are largely unknown. However, transitory starch is found in the various cells of the leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana, but comparative analyses are lacking. Here, we adopted a fast method of laser confocal scanning microscopy to analyze the starch granules in a series of Arabidopsis mutants with altered starch metabolism. This allowed us to separately analyze the starch particles in the mesophyll and in guard cells. In all mutants, the guard cells were always found to contain more but smaller plastidial starch granules than mesophyll cells. The morphological properties of the starch granules, however, were indiscernible or identical in both types of leaf cells.
The initiation of starch granule formation and the mechanism controlling the number of granules per plastid have been some of the most elusive aspects of starch metabolism. This review covers the advances made in the study of these processes. The analyses presented herein depict a scenario in which starch synthase isoform 4 (SS4) provides the elongating activity necessary for the initiation of starch granule formation. However, this protein does not act alone; other polypeptides are required for the initiation of an appropriate number of starch granules per chloroplast. The functions of this group of polypeptides include providing suitable substrates (maltooligosaccharides) to SS4, the localization of the starch initiation machinery to the thylakoid membranes, and facilitating the correct folding of SS4. The number of starch granules per chloroplast is tightly regulated and depends on the developmental stage of the leaves and their metabolic status. Plastidial phosphorylase (PHS1) and other enzymes play an essential role in this process since they are necessary for the synthesis of the substrates used by the initiation machinery. The mechanism of starch granule formation initiation in Arabidopsis seems to be generalizable to other plants and also to the synthesis of long-term storage starch. The latter, however, shows specific features due to the presence of more isoforms, the absence of constantly recurring starch synthesis and degradation, and the metabolic characteristics of the storage sink organs.
Insulin is the main anabolic hormone secreted by 13-cells of the pancreas stimulating the assimilation and storage of glucose in muscle and fat cells. It modulates the postprandial balance of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins via enhancing lipogenesis, glycogen and protein synthesis and suppressing glucose generation and its release from the liver. Resistance to insulin is a severe metabolic disorder related to a diminished response of peripheral tissues to the insulin action and signaling. This leads to a disturbed glucose homeostasis that precedes the onset of type 2 diabetes (T2D), a disease reaching epidemic proportions. A large number of studies reported an association between elevated circulating fatty acids and the development of insulin resistance. The increased fatty acid lipid flux results in the accumulation of lipid droplets in a variety of tissues. However, lipid intermediates such as diacylglycerols and ceramides are also formed in response to elevated fatty acid levels. These bioactive lipids have been associated with the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. More recently, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), another bioactive sphingolipid derivative, has also been shown to increase in T2D and obesity. Although many studies propose a protective role of S1P metabolism on insulin signaling in peripheral tissues, other studies suggest a causal role of S1P on insulin resistance. In this review, we critically summarize the current state of knowledge of S1P metabolism and its modulating role on insulin resistance. A particular emphasis is placed on S1P and insulin signaling in hepatocytes, skeletal muscle cells, adipocytes and pancreatic 13-cells. In particular, modulation of receptors and enzymes that regulate S1P metabolism can be considered as a new therapeutic option for the treatment of insulin resistance and T2D.
Spectral detection enables multi-color fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy studies in living cells
(2021)
Various studies have been performed to quantify silicon (Si) stocks in plant biomass and related Si fluxes in terrestrial biogeosystems. Most studies are deliberately designed on the plot scale to ensure low heterogeneity in soils and plant composition, hence similar environmental conditions. Due to the immanent spatial soil variability, the transferability of results to larger areas, such as catchments, is therefore limited. However, the emergence of new technical features and increasing knowledge on details in Si cycling lead to a more complex picture at landscape and catchment scales. Dynamic and static soil properties change along the soil continuum and might influence not only the species composition of natural vegetation but also its biomass distribution and related Si stocks. Maximum likelihood (ML) classification was applied to multispectral imagery captured by an unmanned aerial system (UAS) aiming at the identification of land cover classes (LCCs). Subsequently, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and ground-based measurements of biomass were used to quantify aboveground Si stocks in two Si-accumulating plants (Calamagrostis epige-jos and Phragmites australis) in a heterogeneous catchment and related corresponding spatial patterns of these stocks to soil properties. We found aboveground Si stocks of C. epige-jos and P. australis to be surprisingly high (maxima of Si stocks reach values up to 98 g Sim(-2)), i.e. comparable to or markedly exceeding reported values for the Si storage in aboveground vegetation of various terrestrial ecosystems. We further found spatial patterns of plant aboveground Si stocks to reflect spatial heterogeneities in soil properties. From our results, we concluded that (i) aboveground biomass of plants seems to be the main factor of corresponding phytogenic Si stock quantities, and (ii) a detection of biomass heterogeneities via UAS-based remote sensing represents a promising tool for the quantification of lifelike phytogenic Si pools at landscape scales.
Northern range margin populations of the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) have rapidly declined during recent decades. Extensive agricultural land use has fragmented the landscape, leading to habitat disruption and loss, as well as eutrophication of ponds. In Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and Southern Sweden (Skåne), this population decline resulted in decreased gene flow from surrounding populations, low genetic diversity, and a putative reduction in adaptive potential, leaving populations vulnerable to future environmental and climatic changes. Previous studies using mitochondrial control region and nuclear transcriptome-wide SNP data detected introgressive hybridization in multiple northern B. bombina populations after unreported release of toads from Austria. Here, we determine the impact of this introgression by comparing the body conditions (proxy for fitness) of introgressed and nonintrogressed populations and the genetic consequences in two candidate genes for putative local adaptation (the MHC II gene as part of the adaptive immune system and the stress response gene HSP70 kDa). We detected regional differences in body condition and observed significantly elevated levels of within individual MHC allele counts in introgressed Swedish populations, associated with a tendency toward higher body weight, relative to regional nonintrogressed populations. These differences were not observed among introgressed and nonintrogressed German populations. Genetic diversity in both MHC and HSP was generally lower in northern than Austrian populations. Our study sheds light on the potential benefits of translocations of more distantly related conspecifics as a means to increase adaptive genetic variability and fitness of genetically depauperate range margin populations without distortion of local adaptation.
High crystallization rate and thermomechanical stability make polylactide stereocomplexes effective nanosized physical netpoints. Here, we address the need for soft, form-stable degradable elastomers for medical applications by designing such blends from (co)polyesters, whose mechanical properties are ruled by their nanodimensional architecture and which are applied as single components in implants. By careful controlling of the copolymer composition and sequence structure of poly[(L-lactide)-co-(epsilon-caprolactone)], it is possible to prepare hyperelastic polymer blends formed through stereocomplexation by adding poly(D-lactide) (PDLA). Low glass transition temperature T-g <= 0 degrees C of the mixed amorphous phase contributes to the low Young's modulus E. The formation of stereocomplexes is shown in DSC by melting transitions T-m > 190 degrees C and in WAXS by distinct scattering maxima at 2 theta = 12 degrees and 21 degrees. Tensile testing demonstrated that the blends are soft (E = 12-80 MPa) and show an excellent hyperelastic recovery R-rec = 66-85% while having high elongation at break epsilon(b) up to >1000%. These properties of the blends are attained only when the copolymer has 56-62 wt% lactide content, a weight average molar mass >140 kg center dot mol(-1), and number average lactide sequence length >= 4.8, while the blend is formed with a content of 5-10 wt% of PDLA. The devised strategy to identify a suitable copolymer for stereocomplexation and blend formation is transferable to further polymer systems and will support the development of thermoplastic elastomers suitable for medical applications.
Background
There is a recurring and seamless interaction between the biology of human development and the social-economic-political-emotional (SEPE) environment. The SEPE environment influences the quality of the material conditions for human biology and, simultaneously, human growth in height and other dimensions provide social and moral signals that provide information to community networks.
Objectives
This article reviews the role of SEPE factors in human growth, especially skeletal growth.
Sample and Methods
The meaning of SEPE is defined and shown to be related to individual and group prestige, to social identity, and to ego and task motivation. These influence dominance or subordination of communities and the material and moral conditions of societies. Historical and contemporary examples of SEPE effects on skeletal size are presented.
Results
Membership in a SEPE community impacts skeletal size in height and breadth. Higher SEPE classes are taller, lower SEPE classes are broader. In elite level sport the winners have more growth stimulation via the hormone IGF-1 even before the contest. These findings are explained in terms of dominance versus subordination and the Community Effect in Height hypothesis.
Conclusions
SEPE factor regulation of human growth is shown to be a more comprehensive explanation for plasticity in height than traditional concepts such as socioeconomic status and simple-minded genetic determinism. People belonging to upper SEPE class communities, the elites, know that they are superior and are treated as such by the non-elites. The material and moral condition for life operating through these community social networks provide positive stimulation for the elites and negative stimulation for the lower SEPE classes. These differences maintain the gradients in height between SEPE communities in human societies.
Settings Perspective
(2021)
Sequential data assimilation of the stochastic SEIR epidemic model for regional COVID-19 dynamics
(2021)
Newly emerging pandemics like COVID-19 call for predictive models to implement precisely tuned responses to limit their deep impact on society. Standard epidemic models provide a theoretically well-founded dynamical description of disease incidence. For COVID-19 with infectiousness peaking before and at symptom onset, the SEIR model explains the hidden build-up of exposed individuals which creates challenges for containment strategies. However, spatial heterogeneity raises questions about the adequacy of modeling epidemic outbreaks on the level of a whole country. Here, we show that by applying sequential data assimilation to the stochastic SEIR epidemic model, we can capture the dynamic behavior of outbreaks on a regional level. Regional modeling, with relatively low numbers of infected and demographic noise, accounts for both spatial heterogeneity and stochasticity. Based on adapted models, short-term predictions can be achieved. Thus, with the help of these sequential data assimilation methods, more realistic epidemic models are within reach.
Sensing and responding of cardiomyocytes to changes of tissue stiffness in the diseased heart
(2021)
Cardiomyocytes are permanently exposed to mechanical stimulation due to cardiac contractility. Passive myocardial stiffness is a crucial factor, which defines the physiological ventricular compliance and volume of diastolic filling with blood. Heart diseases often present with increased myocardial stiffness, for instance when fibrotic changes modify the composition of the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM). Consequently, the ventricle loses its compliance, and the diastolic blood volume is reduced. Recent advances in the field of cardiac mechanobiology revealed that disease-related environmental stiffness changes cause severe alterations in cardiomyocyte cellular behavior and function. Here, we review the molecular mechanotransduction pathways that enable cardiomyocytes to sense stiffness changes and translate those into an altered gene expression. We will also summarize current knowledge about when myocardial stiffness increases in the diseased heart. Sophisticated in vitro studies revealed functional changes, when cardiomyocytes faced a stiffer matrix. Finally, we will highlight recent studies that described modulations of cardiac stiffness and thus myocardial performance in vivo. Mechanobiology research is just at the cusp of systematic investigations related to mechanical changes in the diseased heart but what is known already makes way for new therapeutic approaches in regenerative biology.
Self-organised formation of spatial patterns is known from a variety of different ecosystems, yet little is known about how these patterns affect the diversity of communities. Here, we use a food chain model in which autotroph diversity is described by a continuous distribution of a trait that affects both growth and defence against heterotrophs. On isolated patches, diversity is always lost over time due to stabilising selection, and the local communities settle on one of two alternative stable community states that are characterised by a dominance of either defended or undefended species. In a metacommunity context, dispersal can destabilise these states and complex spatio-temporal patterns in the species' abundances emerge. The resulting biomass-trait feedback increases local diversity by an order of magnitude compared to scenarios without self-organised pattern formation, thereby maintaining the ability of communities to adapt to potential future changes in biotic or abiotic environmental conditions.
Seed traits matter
(2021)
Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
Seed traits matter
(2021)
Although many plants are dispersed by wind and seeds can travel long distances across unsuitable matrix areas, a large proportion relies on co-evolved zoochorous seed dispersal to connect populations in isolated habitat islands. Particularly in agricultural landscapes, where remaining habitat patches are often very small and highly isolated, mobile linkers as zoochorous seed dispersers are critical for the population dynamics of numerous plant species. However, knowledge about the quali- or quantification of such mobile link processes, especially in agricultural landscapes, is still limited. In a controlled feeding experiment, we recorded the seed intake and germination success after complete digestion by the European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and explored its mobile link potential as an endozoochoric seed disperser. Utilizing a suite of common, rare, and potentially invasive plant species, we disentangled the effects of seed morphological traits on germination success while controlling for phylogenetic relatedness. Further, we measured the landscape connectivity via hares in two contrasting agricultural landscapes (simple: few natural and semi-natural structures, large fields; complex: high amount of natural and semi-natural structures, small fields) using GPS-based movement data. With 34,710 seeds of 44 plant species fed, one of 200 seeds (0.51%) with seedlings of 33 species germinated from feces. Germination after complete digestion was positively related to denser seeds with comparatively small surface area and a relatively slender and elongated shape, suggesting that, for hares, the most critical seed characteristics for successful endozoochorous seed dispersal minimize exposure of the seed to the stomach and the associated digestive system. Furthermore, we could show that a hare's retention time is long enough to interconnect different habitats, especially grasslands and fields. Thus, besides other seed dispersal mechanisms, this most likely allows hares to act as effective mobile linkers contributing to ecosystem stability in times of agricultural intensification, not only in complex but also in simple landscapes.
The PNPLA3 reference single-nucleotide polymorphism rs738409 has been identified as a predisposing factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A simple method based on PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis had been published to detect the nonpathogenic allele PNPLA3 rs738409 variant. The presence of the pathogenic variant was deduced by the indigestibility of the corresponding PCR product with BtsCI recognizing the nonpathogenic allele. However, one cannot exclude that an enzymatic reaction does not occur for other, more trivial, reasons. For safe and secure detection of the pathogenic PNPLA3 rs738409, we have further developed the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism method by adding a second restriction enzyme digest, clearly identifying the correct PNPLA3 alleles and in particular the pathogenic variant. <br /> METHOD SUMMARY <br /> The method presented here represents an improved genetic diagnosis of the PNPLA3 rs738409 alleles based on conventional and inexpensive molecular biological methods. We used methodology based on PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphisms and clearly identified both described alleles by the use of two restriction enzymes. Digestion of individuals' specific PNPLA3 PCR fragments with both enzymes in independent reactions clearly showed the PNPLA3 rs738409 genotype.
The imagination of clearly separated core-shell structures is already outdated by the fact, that the nanoparticle core-shell structures remain in terms of efficiency behind their respective bulk material due to intermixing between core and shell dopant ions. In order to optimize the photoluminescence of core-shell UCNP the intermixing should be as small as possible and therefore, key parameters of this process need to be identified. In the present work the Ln(III) ion migration in the host lattices NaYF4 and NaGdF4 was monitored. These investigations have been performed by laser spectroscopy with help of lanthanide resonance energy transfer (LRET) between Eu(III) as donor and Pr(III) or Nd(III) as acceptor. The LRET is evaluated based on the Forster theory. The findings corroborate the literature and point out the migration of ions in the host lattices. Based on the introduced LRET model, the acceptor concentration in the surrounding of one donor depends clearly on the design of the applied core-shell-shell nanoparticles. In general, thinner intermediate insulating shells lead to higher acceptor concentration, stronger quenching of the Eu(III) donor and subsequently stronger sensitization of the Pr(III) or the Nd(III) acceptors. The choice of the host lattice as well as of the synthesis temperature are parameters to be considered for the intermixing process.
Generalized (non-Markovian) diffusion equations with different memory kernels and subordination schemes based on random time change in the Brownian diffusion process are popular mathematical tools for description of a variety of non-Fickian diffusion processes in physics, biology, and earth sciences. Some of such processes (notably, the fluid limits of continuous time random walks) allow for either kind of description, but other ones do not. In the present work we discuss the conditions under which a generalized diffusion equation does correspond to a subordination scheme, and the conditions under which a subordination scheme does possess the corresponding generalized diffusion equation. Moreover, we discuss examples of random processes for which only one, or both kinds of description are applicable.
The mammalian system of energy balance regulation is intrinsically rhythmic with diurnal oscillations of behavioral and metabolic traits according to the 24 h day/night cycle, driven by cellular circadian clocks and synchronized by environmental or internal cues such as metabolites and hormones associated with feeding rhythms. Mitochondria are crucial organelles for cellular energy generation and their biology is largely under the control of the circadian system. Whether mitochondrial status might also feed-back on the circadian system, possibly via mitokines that are induced by mitochondrial stress as endocrine-acting molecules, remains poorly understood. Here, we describe our current understanding of the diurnal regulation of systemic energy balance, with focus on fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), two well-known endocrine-acting metabolic mediators. FGF21 shows a diurnal oscillation and directly affects the output of the brain master clock. Moreover, recent data demonstrated that mitochondrial stress-induced GDF15 promotes a day-time restricted anorexia and systemic metabolic remodeling as shown in UCP1-transgenic mice, where both FGF21 and GDF15 are induced as myomitokines. In this mouse model of slightly uncoupled skeletal muscle mitochondria GDF15 proved responsible for an increased metabolic flexibility and a number of beneficial metabolic adaptations. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying energy balance regulation by mitokines are just starting to emerge, and more data on diurnal patterns in mouse and man are required. This will open new perspectives into the diurnal nature of mitokines and action both in health and disease.
Plants have evolved numerous molecular strategies to cope with perturbations in environmental temperature, and to adjust growth and physiology to limit the negative effects of extreme temperature. One of the strategies involves alternative splicing of primary transcripts to encode alternative protein products or transcript variants destined for degradation by nonsense-mediated decay. Here, we review how changes in environmental temperature-cold, heat, and moderate alterations in temperature-affect alternative splicing in plants, including crops. We present examples of the mode of action of various temperature-induced splice variants and discuss how these alternative splicing events enable favourable plant responses to altered temperatures. Finally, we point out unanswered questions that should be addressed to fully utilize the endogenous mechanisms in plants to adjust their growth to environmental temperature. We also indicate how this knowledge might be used to enhance crop productivity in the future.
Rapid screening of infected people plays a crucial role in interrupting infection chains. However, the current methods for identification of bacteria are very tedious and labor intense. Fast on-site screening for pathogens based on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) could help to differentiate between healthy and potentially infected subjects. As a first step towards this, the feasibility of differentiating between seven different bacteria including resistant strains was assessed using IMS coupled to multicapillary columns (MCC-IMS). The headspace above bacterial cultures was directly drawn and analyzed by MCC-IMS after 90 min of incubation. A cluster analysis software and statistical methods were applied to select discriminative VOC clusters. As a result, 63 VOC clusters were identified, enabling the differentiation between all investigated bacterial strains using canonical discriminant analysis. These 63 clusters were reduced to 7 discriminative VOC clusters by constructing a hierarchical classification tree. Using this tree, all bacteria including resistant strains could be classified with an AUC of 1.0 by receiver-operating characteristic analysis. In conclusion, MCC-IMS is able to differentiate the tested bacterial species, even the non-resistant and their corresponding resistant strains, based on VOC patterns after 90 min of cultivation. Although this result is very promising, in vivo studies need to be performed to investigate if this technology is able to also classify clinical samples. With a short analysis time of 5 min, MCC-IMS is quite attractive for a rapid screening for possible infections in various locations from hospitals to airports. Key Points center dot Differentiation of bacteria by MCC-IMS is shown after 90-min cultivation. center dot Non-resistant and resistant strains can be distinguished. center dot Classification of bacteria is possible based on metabolic features.
Reliably modelling the demographic and distributional responses of a species to environmental changes can be crucial for successful conservation and management planning. Process-based models have the potential to achieve this goal, but so far they remain underused for predictions of species' distributions. Individual-based models offer the additional capability to model inter-individual variation and evolutionary dynamics and thus capture adaptive responses to environmental change. We present RangeShiftR, an R implementation of a flexible individual-based modelling platform which simulates eco-evolutionary dynamics in a spatially explicit way. The package provides flexible and fast simulations by making the software RangeShifter available for the widely used statistical programming platform R. The package features additional auxiliary functions to support model specification and analysis of results. We provide an outline of the package's functionality, describe the underlying model structure with its main components and present a short example. RangeShiftR offers substantial model complexity, especially for the demographic and dispersal processes. It comes with elaborate tutorials and comprehensive documentation to facilitate learning the software and provide help at all levels. As the core code is implemented in C++, the computations are fast. The complete source code is published under a public licence, making adaptations and contributions feasible. The RangeShiftR package facilitates the application of individual-based and mechanistic modelling to eco-evolutionary questions by operating a flexible and powerful simulation model from R. It allows effortless interoperation with existing packages to create streamlined workflows that can include data preparation, integrated model specification and results analysis. Moreover, the implementation in R strengthens the potential for coupling RangeShiftR with other models.
RangeShiftR
(2021)
Reliably modelling the demographic and distributional responses of a species to environmental changes can be crucial for successful conservation and management planning. Process-based models have the potential to achieve this goal, but so far they remain underused for predictions of species' distributions. Individual-based models offer the additional capability to model inter-individual variation and evolutionary dynamics and thus capture adaptive responses to environmental change. We present RangeShiftR, an R implementation of a flexible individual-based modelling platform which simulates eco-evolutionary dynamics in a spatially explicit way. The package provides flexible and fast simulations by making the software RangeShifter available for the widely used statistical programming platform R. The package features additional auxiliary functions to support model specification and analysis of results. We provide an outline of the package's functionality, describe the underlying model structure with its main components and present a short example. RangeShiftR offers substantial model complexity, especially for the demographic and dispersal processes. It comes with elaborate tutorials and comprehensive documentation to facilitate learning the software and provide help at all levels. As the core code is implemented in C++, the computations are fast. The complete source code is published under a public licence, making adaptations and contributions feasible. The RangeShiftR package facilitates the application of individual-based and mechanistic modelling to eco-evolutionary questions by operating a flexible and powerful simulation model from R. It allows effortless interoperation with existing packages to create streamlined workflows that can include data preparation, integrated model specification and results analysis. Moreover, the implementation in R strengthens the potential for coupling RangeShiftR with other models.