Significant increase in natural disturbance impacts on European forests since 1950

Over the last decades, the natural disturbance is increasingly putting pressure on European forests. Shifts in disturbance regimes may compromise forest functioning and the continuous provisioning of ecosystem services to society, including their climate change mitigation potential. Although forests are central to many European policies, we lack the long-term empirical data needed for thoroughly understanding disturbance dynamics, modeling them, and developing adaptive management strategies. Here, we present a unique database of >170,000 records of ground-based natural disturbance observations in European forests from 1950 to 2019. Reported data confirm a significant increase in forest disturbance in 34 European countries, causing on an average of 43.8 million m³ of disturbed timber volume per year over the 70-year study period. This value is likely a conservative estimate due to under-reporting, especially of small-scale disturbances. We used machine learning techniques for assessing the magnitude of unreported disturbances, which are estimated to be between 8.6 and 18.3 million m³/year. In the last 20 years, disturbances on average accounted for 16% of the mean annual harvest in Europe. Wind was the most important disturbance agent over the study period (46% of total damage), followed by fire (24%) and bark beetles (17%). Bark beetle disturbance doubled its share of the total damage in the last 20 years. Forest disturbances can profoundly impact ecosystem services (e.g., climate change mitigation), affect regional forest resource provisioning and consequently disrupt long-term management planning objectives and timber markets. We conclude that adaptation to changing disturbance regimes must be placed at the core of the European forest management and policy debate. Furthermore, a coherent and homogeneous monitoring system of natural disturbances is urgently needed in Europe, to better observe and respond to the ongoing changes in forest disturbance regimes.     

Novel Miscanthus hybrids: Modelling productivity on marginal land in Europe using dynamics of canopy development determined by light interception

New biomass crop hybrids for bioeconomic expansion require yield projections to determine their potential for strategic land use planning in the face of global challenges. Our biomass growth simulation incorporates radiation interception and conversion efficiency. Models often use leaf area to predict interception which is demanding to determine accurately, so instead we use low-cost rapid light interception measurements using a simple laboratory-made line ceptometer and relate the dynamics of canopy closure to thermal time, and to measurements of biomass. We apply the model to project the European biomass potentials of new market-ready hybrids for 2020–2030. Field measurements are easier to collect, the calibration is seasonally dynamic and reduces influence of weather variation between field sites. The model obtained is conservative, being calibrated by crops of varying establishment and varying maturity on less productive (marginal) land. This results in conservative projections of miscanthus hybrids for 2020–2030 based on 10% land use conversion of the least (productive) grassland and arable for farm diversification, which show a European potential of 80.7–89.7 Mt year⁻¹ biomass, with potential for 1.2–1.3 EJ year⁻¹ energy and 36.3–40.3 Mt year⁻¹ carbon capture, with seeded Miscanthus sacchariflorus × sinensis displaying highest yield potential. Simulated biomass projections must be viewed in light of the field measurements on less productive land with high soil water deficits. We are attempting to model the results from an ambitious and novel project combining new hybrids across Europe with agronomy which has not been perfected on less productive sites. Nevertheless, at the time of energy sourcing issues, seed-propagated miscanthus hybrids for the upscaled provision of bioenergy offer an alternative source of renewable energy. If European countries provide incentives for growers to invest, seeded hybrids can improve product availability and biomass yields over the current commercial miscanthus variety.     

Somatic expansion of the (CAG) n repeat in Huntington disease brains

The mutation causing Huntington disease (HD) has been identified as an expansion of a polymorphic (CAG) _n repeat in the 5 part of the huntingtin gene. The specific neuropathology of HD, viz. selective neuronal loss in the caudate nucleus and putamen, cannot be explained by the widespread expression of the gene. Since somatic expansion is observed in affected tissue in myotonic dystrophy, we have studied the length of the (CAG) _n repeat in various regions of the brain. Although we have not found clear differences when comparing severely and mildly affected regions, we have observed a minor increase in repeat length upon comparison of affected brain samples with cerebellum or peripheral blood. Hence, although further somatic amplification seems to occur in affected areas of the brain, the differences between affected and unaffected regions are too small to make this mechanism an obvious candidate for the cause of differential neuronal degeneration in HD.     

Identification of para-Cresol as a Growth Factor for Methanoplanus endosymbiosus

Growth of the methanogenic bacterium Methanoplanus endosymbiosus is dependent on the presence of ruminal fluid. Ruminal fluid could be replaced by the eluate of a rumen-derived anaerobic digester. From the eluate of the digester, a growth-stimulatory component was purified and identified as p-cresol. Authentic p-cresol supported a half-maximal growth rate of the organism at 50 nM concentration.     

Intensity-based analysis of two-colour microarrays enables efficient and flexible hybridization designs

In two-colour microarrays, the ratio of signal intensities of two co-hybridized samples is used as a relative measure of gene expression. Ratio-based analysis becomes complicated and inefficient in multi-class comparisons. We therefore investigated the validity of an intensity-based analysis procedure. To this end, two different cRNA targets were hybridized together, separately, with a common reference and in a self-self fashion on spotted 65mer oligonucleotide microarrays. We found that the signal intensity of the cRNA targets was not influenced by the presence of a target labelled in the opposite colour. This indicates that targets do not compete for binding sites on the array, which is essential for intensity-based analysis. It is demonstrated that, for good-quality arrays, the correlation of signal intensity measurements between the different hybridization designs is high (R > 0.9). Furthermore, ratio calculations from ratio- and intensity-based analyses correlated well (R > 0.8). Based on these results, we advocate the use of separate intensities rather than ratios in the analysis of two-colour long-oligonucleotide microarrays. Intensity-based analysis makes microarray experiments more efficient and more flexible: It allows for direct comparisons between all hybridized samples, while circumventing the need for a reference sample that occupies half of the hybridization capacity.     

Comprehensive detection of genomic duplications and deletions in the DMD gene,by use of multiplex amplifiable probe hybridization

Duplications and deletions are known to cause a number of genetic disorders, yet technical difficulties and financial considerations mean that screening for these mutations, especially duplications, is often not performed. We have adapted multiplex amplifiable probe hybridization (MAPH) for the screening of the DMD gene, mutations in which cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy. MAPH involves the quantitative recovery of specifically designed probes following hybridization to immobilized genomic DNA. We have engineered probes for each of the 79 exons of the DMD gene, and we analyzed them by using a 96-capillary sequencer. We screened 24 control individuals, 102 patients, and 23 potential carriers and detected a large number of novel rearrangements, especially small, one- and two-exon duplications. A duplication of exon 2 alone was the most frequently occurring mutation identified. Our analysis indicates that duplications occur in 6% of patients with DMD. The MAPH technique as modified here is simple, quick, and accurate; furthermore, it is based on existing technology (i.e., hybridization, PCR, and electrophoresis) and should not require new equipment. Together, these features should allow easy implementation in routine diagnostic laboratories. Furthermore, the methodology should be applicable to any genetic disease, it should be easily expandable to cover >200 probes, and its characteristics should facilitate high-throughput screening.     

Inhibition of adhesion of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 by soya bean tempe

AIMS: Tempe is a traditional fungal fermented food made from soaked and cooked soya beans. It has been associated with antidiarrhoeal characteristics. This study investigated potential inhibitory effects of tempe on enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88. METHODS AND RESULTS: Soya beans were soaked, cooked and subsequently fermented using several Rhizopus spp. Water-soluble filter-sterile extracts were tested for their ability to inhibit growth of E. coli and several indicator microorganisms and to inhibit adhesion of ETEC K88. Antimicrobial activity was found against Bacillus stearothermophilus only. ETEC K88-induced haemagglutination of hamster red blood cells was strongly inhibited by a number of tempe extracts and hardly by the cooked soya bean extract. Furthermore, several tempe extracts were able to inhibit adhesion of ETEC K88 to piglet small intestinal brush-border membranes. CONCLUSIONS: Tempe appeared to interfere with ETEC K88 adhesion rather than showing growth inhibitory properties. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results indicate that tempe could exert an antagonistic effect against ETEC through inhibition of adhesion and might therefore have a protective effect against ETEC K88 infection in pigs. Hence, tempe could have potential to use as a feed supplement in the diet of weaned piglets.     

Fatty acid export from the chloroplast. Molecular characterization of a major plastidial acyl-coenzyme A synthetase from Arabidopsis

Acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetases (ACSs, EC 6.2.1.3) catalyze the formation of fatty acyl-CoAs from free fatty acid, ATP, and CoA. Essentially all de novo fatty acid synthesis occurs in the plastid. Fatty acids destined for membrane glycerolipid and triacylglycerol synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum must be first activated to acyl-CoAs via an ACS. Within a family of nine ACS genes from Arabidopsis, we identified a chloroplast isoform, LACS9. LACS9 is highly expressed in developing seeds and young rosette leaves. Both in vitro chloroplast import assays and transient expression of a green fluorescent protein fusion indicated that the LACS9 protein is localized in the plastid envelope. A T-DNA knockout mutant (lacs9-1) was identified by reverse genetics and these mutant plants were indistinguishable from wild type in growth and appearance. Analysis of leaf lipids provided no evidence for compromised export of acyl groups from chloroplasts. However, direct assays demonstrated that lacs9-1 plants contained only 10% of the chloroplast long-chain ACS activity found for wild type. The residual long-chain ACS activity in mutant chloroplasts was comparable with calculated rates of fatty acid synthesis. Although another isozyme contributes to the activation of fatty acids during their export from the chloroplast, LACS9 is a major chloroplast ACS.