A novel cellular automata approach: seed input/output of the alien species Leucaena leucocephala in the soil and the effects of climate changes

The potential impact of the soil seed bank of a given species and subsequent population persistence will depend on the robustness of the seeds against depletion. Invasiveness is frequently linked to this behavior and successful control of invasive species depends on reducing the size of their seed banks. We propose a hybrid model that simulates the seed bank dynamics in association with their physical dormancy (PD) based on experimental data on seed bank depletion of a Leucaena leucocephala population during the dispersal phase. The hybrid model uses cellular automata (CA) and Monte Carlo techniques. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the model delivers reproducible and reliable results. Then, we discuss the ability of the hybrid model to predict the effect of seasonal climate change. A 2.0 °C increase in temperature was enough to cause a considerable impact in the seed depletion curve, and after 1 year, ~?75% of the seeds had already disappeared from the seed bank. The proposed hybrid CA model can be used to study soil-stored seed banks with physical dormancy, and could be applied to other Fabaceae species with similar seed traits. We believe that this computational model contributes to a better understanding of seed bank dynamics and will aid in the control of invasive species and for testing different scenarios to reduce or eliminate seed banks that have already been formed.

     

Evolutionary history of the European free-tailed bat,a tropical affinity species spanning across the Mediterranean Basin

The Mediterranean Basin is a global biodiversity hotspot, hosting a number of native species belonging to families that are found almost exclusively in tropical climates. Yet, whether or not these taxa were able to survive in the Mediterranean region during the Quaternary climatic oscillations remains unknown. Focusing on the European free-tailed bat (Tadarida teniotis), we aimed to (a) identify potential ancient populations and glacial refugia; (b) determine the post-glacial colonization routes across the Mediterranean; and (c) evaluate current population structure and demography. Mitochondrial and nuclear markers were used to understand T. teniotis evolutionary and demographic history. We show that T. teniotis is likely restricted to the Western Palearctic, with mitochondrial phylogeny suggesting a split between an Anatolian/Middle East clade and a European clade. Nuclear data pointed to three genetic populations, one of which is an isolated and highly differentiated group in the Canary Islands, another distributed across Iberia, Morocco, and France, and a third stretching from Italy to the east, with admixture following a pattern of isolation by distance. Evolutionary and demographic reconstruction supports a pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) colonization of Italy and the Anatolian/Middle East, while the remaining populations were colonized from Italy after the Younger Dryas. We also found support for demographic expansion following the Iberian colonization. The results show that during the LGM T. teniotis persisted in Mediterranean refugia and has subsequently expanded to its current circum-Mediterranean range. Our findings raise questions regarding the physiological and ecological traits that enabled species with tropical affinities to survive in colder climates.     

Ecological specialization and niche overlap of subterranean rodents inferred from DNA metabarcoding diet analysis

Knowledge of how animal species use food resources available in the environment can increase our understanding of many ecological processes. However, obtaining this information using traditional methods is difficult for species feeding on a large variety of food items in highly diverse environments. We amplified the DNA of plants for 306 scat and 40 soil samples, and applied an environmental DNA metabarcoding approach to investigate food preferences, degree of diet specialization and diet overlap of seven herbivore rodent species of the genus Ctenomys distributed in southern and midwestern Brazil. The metabarcoding approach revealed that these species consume more than 60% of the plant families recovered in soil samples, indicating generalist feeding habits of ctenomyids. The family Poaceae was the most common food resource retrieved in scats of all species as well in soil samples. Niche overlap analysis indicated high overlap in the plant families and molecular operational taxonomic units consumed, mainly among the southern species. Interspecific differences in diet composition were influenced, among other factors, by the availability of resources in the environment. In addition, our results provide support for the hypothesis that the allopatric distributions of ctenomyids allow them to exploit the same range of resources when available, possibly because of the absence of interspecific competition.     

Factors associated with Diaphorina citri immigration into commercial citrus orchards in São Paulo State,Brazil

Seasonality often influences multiple aspects of vector-borne plant diseases. With respect to the management of plant disease vectors, an understanding of the factors driving seasonal changes in vector flight activity may improve management outcomes by facilitating more proactive application of control measures. One of the most challenging issues for citrus Huanglongbing management is to forecast when disease primary spread by bacteriliferous Diaphorina citri will occur. We monitored the temporal patterns of immigrating psyllids, using upwards of 1,200 traps spread among 9 citrus farms and checked on a weekly basis over 4 years. This dataset was analysed with a set of hierarchical models to estimate the effect of climatic variables on citrus foliage production (i.e. flush), and effects of climatic variables and citrus foliage dynamics on D. citri catches over the season. The results showed substantial seasonal variability in immigrating D. citri abundance, with the critical dispersal/migration period occurring between end of winter and spring. During this period, 65% of the total psyllids were collected on sticky traps. Seasonality of immigrating D. citri coincided with changes in certain climate variables, with negative effects of humidity and daily maximum temperatures, and a positive effect of rainfall amount in prior weeks. Maximum temperature and both daily minimum temperature and rainfall during prior weeks were also associated with new citrus flush production, which itself was positively related to immigrating D. citri abundance. Based on these results, citrus growers should be aware and intensify the frequency of psyllid control tactics (i.e. insecticide and/or kaolin sprays) during this period in order to prevent Ca. L. asiaticus transmission. These results are an important step towards developing the predictive framework needed to refine D. citri and huanglongbing management.     

Meta-omics analysis indicates the saliva microbiome and its proteins associated with the prognosis of oral cancer patients

Saliva is a biofluid that maintains the health of oral tissues and the homeostasis of oral microbiota. Studies have demonstrated that Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients have different salivary microbiota than healthy individuals. However, the relationship between these microbial differences and clinicopathological outcomes is still far from conclusive. Herein, we investigate the capability of using metagenomic and metaproteomic saliva profiles to distinguish between Control (C), OSCC without active lesion (L0), and OSCC with active lesion (L1) patients. The results show that there are significantly distinct taxonomies and functional changes in L1 patients compared to C and L0 patients, suggesting compositional modulation of the oral microbiome, as the relative abundances of Centipeda, Veillonella, and Gemella suggested by metagenomics are correlated with tumor size, clinical stage, and active lesion. Metagenomics results also demonstrated that poor overall patient survival is associated with a higher relative abundance of Stenophotromonas, Staphylococcus, Centipeda, Selenomonas, Alloscordovia, and Acitenobacter. Finally, compositional and functional differences in the saliva content by metaproteomics analysis can distinguish healthy individuals from OSCC patients. In summary, our study suggests that oral microbiota and their protein abundance have potential diagnosis and prognosis value for oral cancer patients. Further studies are necessary to understand the role of uniquely detected metaproteins in the microbiota of healthy and OSCC patients as well as the crosstalk between saliva host proteins and the oral microbiome present in OSCC.     

Reduced impact of ocean acidification on growth and swimming performance of newly hatched tropical sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum)

ABSTRACT

Sharks have been facing unprecedented pressure over the last decades, and ocean acidification may represent an additional threat, particularly during their most susceptible life stages. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of ocean acidification (control pCO₂ ~ 400 μatm; high pCO₂ ~ 900 μatm) on the growth, swimming performance and cholinergic system of juvenile white-spotted bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). After 45 days of exposure, we observed that high CO₂ did not affect most of the end-points studied. However, somatic growth rate and the percentage of time that sharks spent swimming was significantly reduced under high CO₂ conditions. Moreover, AChE activity decreased in two of the seven brain macroareas analyzed, the telencephalon and optic lobes. As this near-threatened shark species showed small sub-lethal effects to high CO₂ levels, we argue that within a longer time-frame they can potentially reduce individual performance with cascading consequences to shark population dynamics.     

Bone remodelling analysis of a bovine femur for a veterinary implant design

The response of bovine bone to the presence of an implant is analysed with the aim of simulating bone remodelling in a developing model of a polymeric intramedullary interlocking nail for veterinary use. A 3-D finite element model of the femur diaphysis is built based on computed tomography images and using a CAD-based modelling pipeline. The bone remodelling process after the surgery is analysed and compared with the healthy bone. The remodelling law assumes that bone adapts to the mechanical environment. For the analyses a consistent set of loads is determined for the bovine walk cycle. The remodelling results reproduce the morphologic features of bone and provide evidence of the difference on the bone behaviour when comparing metallic and polymeric nails. Our findings indicate that an intramedullary polymeric nail has the advantage over the metallic one of improving long-term bone healing and possibly avoiding the need of the implant removal.     

Which comes first: Renal inflammation or oxidative stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats?

The present study was undertaken to identify whether inflammation or oxidative stress is the primary abnormality in the kidney in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Renal inflammation and oxidative stress were evaluated in 2- and 3-week-old prehypertensive SHR and age-matched genetically normotensive control Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Blood pressure was similar in WKY and SHR rats at 2 and 3 weeks, of age. Renal inflammation (macrophage and nuclear factor-κB) was elevated in SHR at 3 weeks, but not at 2 weeks, of age compared with age-matched WKY rats. Renal oxidative stress (nitrotyrosine, 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine and p47phox) was also clearly elevated in 3-week-old SHR compared with age-matched WKY rats. Additionally, NADPH oxidase subunit p47phox was found elevated in 2-week-old SHR compared to age-matched WKY rats. Moreover, antioxidant (N-acetyl-l-cysteine and Tempol) treatment reduced renal inflammation in prehypertensive SHR. We therefore conclude that the oxidative stress appears before inflammation as a primary abnormality in the kidney in prehypertensive SHR.     

Diet supplementation with beta-carotene improves the serum lipid profile in rats fed a cholesterol-enriched diet

The present study investigated the underlying mechanism associated with the hypocholesterolemic activity of beta-carotene by examining its effects on the serum lipid profile, fecal cholesterol excretion, and gene expression of the major receptors, enzymes, and transporters involved in cholesterol metabolism. Female Fischer rats were divided into three groups and were fed either a control or a hypercholesterolemic diet supplemented or not supplemented with 0.2 % beta-carotene. After 6 weeks of feeding, blood, livers, and feces were collected for analysis, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed. Dietary supplementation with 0.2 % beta-carotene decreased serum total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, the atherogenic index, and hepatic total lipid and cholesterol contents. These changes were accompanied by an increase in the total lipid and cholesterol contents excreted in the feces. The qRT-PCR analyses demonstrated that the hypercholesterolemic diet promoted a decrease in the gene expression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase, and low-density lipoprotein receptor and an increase in the gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and cholesterol-7a-hydroxylase. The expression of these genes and gene expression of ATP-binding cassette subfamily G transporters 5and 8 were unaffected by beta-carotene supplementation. In conclusion, the decrease in serum cholesterol and the elevation of fecal cholesterol obtained following beta-carotene administration indicate that this substance may decrease cholesterol absorption in the intestine and increase cholesterol excretion into the feces without a direct effect on the expression of cholesterol metabolism genes.     

EPR detection of paramagnetic chromium in liver of fish (Anguilla anguilla) treated with dichromate(VI) and associated oxidative stress responses—Contribution to elucidation of toxicity mechanisms

The impact of chromium (Cr) on fish health has been the subject of numerous investigations, establishing a wide spectrum of toxicity, attributed particularly to the hexavalent form [Cr(VI)]. However, reports on the simultaneous assessment of Cr toxicity in fish and its toxico-kinetics, namely involving metal speciation, are scarce. Therefore, keeping in view the understanding of the mechanisms of Cr(VI) toxicity, this work intended to detect the formation of paramagnetic Cr species in liver of Anguilla anguilla following short-term dichromate(VI) intraperitoneal treatment (up to 180 min), assessing simultaneously the pro-oxidant properties. The formation of Cr(V) and Cr(III) was examined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), as an innovative approach in the context of fish toxicology, and related with the levels of total Cr. Cr(V) was successfully detected and quantified by EPR spectrometry, showing a transient occurrence, mostly between 15 and 90 min post-injection, with a peak at 30 min. The limitations of EPR methodology towards the detection and quantification of Cr(III) were confirmed. Although Cr(VI) exposure induced the antioxidant system in the eel's liver, the oxidative deterioration of lipids was not prevented. Overall, the results suggested that Cr(V), as a short-lived species, did not appear to be directly and primarily responsible for the cellular damaging effects observed, since stress responses persisted up to the end of exposure regardless Cr(V) drastic decay. Though further research is needed, ROS mediated pathways (suggested by superoxide dismutase and catalase activity induction) and formation of Cr(III) complexes emerged as the most plausible mechanisms involved in Cr(VI) toxicity.