Habitat selection in rock pool corixids: the effect of local density on dispersal

The corixid species breeding in temporary rock pools of Baltic archipelago live in a highly fragmented and unpredictable habitat. Shallow rock pools can dry out and be refilled repeatedly during a summer causing high mortality of immatures. In deeper pools, young nymphs face intense competition by older stages including cannibalism. The adult corixids move frequently between rock pools and are thus able to use currently available habitat for reproduction. In this dispersal behaviour, the ability to assess the local population density and hence select the more suitable low density patches would be advantageous. We studied the effect of local population density on the frequency of dispersive flights of Arctocorisa carinata (Sahlberg) and Callicorixa producta (Reuter) experimentally, using rock pools from which nymphs of both species were removed. The dispersal rates of marked C. producta adults were significantly lower from experimental rock pools than from normal density controls, leading to a concentration of C. producta adults in the experimental rock pools. Indications of immigration rate differences between the experimental and control pools were also observed. No clear differences were found in the superior competitor A. carinata.     

Habitat characteristics contributing to local occupancy and habitat use in rock pool <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daphnia</Emphasis> metapopulations

The effects of invasive macrophytes, water level fluctuations and predation on freshwater unionids Pyganodon grandis and Utterbackia imbecillis were studied in three small impoundments in Northeastern Texas in 2003–2005. Mussel density was sampled with quadrats. Mortality, associated with the water level fluctuations and predation, was estimated by collecting dead shells on the shore at about two month intervals. In two ponds, horizontal distribution of unionids was limited by dense beds of invasive and noxious macrophytes (mainly Eurasian watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum and American lotus Nelumbo lutea): mussel densities were significantly lower in these macrophyte beds (P < 0.001). In the third pond with the lowest density of macrophytes (stonewort Chara sp.), unionids were distributed more evenly, and the average unionid biomass was the highest among all ponds studied. Vertical distribution of unionids in all ponds was likely limited by low oxygen at depth >2 m. The total amount of shells found on the shore per year varied from 0.1% to 28% of the total population in the pond and was negatively correlated with water level (r = −0.72 to −0.81, P < 0.005). Mammalian predators consumed up to 19% of the total unionid population and predation was facilitated by water level fluctuations. Handling editor: K. Martens     

A new role for PGRP-S (Tag7) in immune defense: lymphocyte migration is induced by a chemoattractant complex of Tag7 with Mts1

PGRP-S (Tag7) is an innate immunity protein involved in the antimicrobial defense systems, both in insects and in mammals. We have previously shown that Tag7 specifically interacts with several proteins, including Hsp70 and the calcium binding protein S100A4 (Mts1), providing a number of novel cellular functions. Here we show that Tag7–Mts1 complex causes chemotactic migration of lymphocytes, with NK cells being a preferred target. Cells of either innate immunity (neutrophils and monocytes) or acquired immunity (CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ lymphocytes) can produce this complex, which confirms the close connection between components of the 2 branches of immune response.     

Alu-Alu recombination results in a duplication of seven exons in the lysyl hydroxylase gene in a patient with the type VI variant of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

The type VI variant of the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a recessively inherited connective-tissue disorder. The characteristic features of the variant are muscular hypotonia, kyphoscoliosis, ocular manifestations, joint hypermobility, skin fragility and hyperextensibility, and other signs of connective-tissue involvement. The biochemical defect in most but not all patients is a deficiency in lysyl hydroxylase activity. Lysyl hydroxylase is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of hydroxylysine in collagens and other proteins with collagen-like amino acid sequences. We have recently reported an apparently homozygous large-duplication rearrangement in the gene for lysyl hydroxylase, leading to the type VI variant of EDS in two siblings. We now report an identical, apparently homozygous large duplication in an unrelated 49-year-old female originally analyzed by Sussman et al. Our simple-sequence-repeat-polymorphism analysis does not support uniparental isodisomy inheritance for either of the two duplications. Furthermore, we indicate in this study that the duplication in the lysyl hydroxylase gene is caused by an Alu-Alu recombination in both families. Cloning of the junction fragment of the duplication has allowed synthesis of appropriate primers for rapid screening for this rearrangement in other families with the type VI variant of EDS.     

吐鲁番市胃食管反流病发生相关危险因素分析（附280例报道）

目的：探讨280例胃食管反流病（GERD）的分布特点及危险因素。方法：对临床诊断和胃镜确诊的280例GERD患者进行临床和风险因子相关性分析。结果：不论汉族还是维族,男性患者比例均明显高于女性;汉族患者高发年龄段早于维族患者（z=-2．939,P=0．003,）;汉族和维族患者占反流性食管炎和Barrett食管比例分别为42．4％、81_3％及56．5％、18．8％,其中汉族患者Barrett食管比例较高（X2=14．358,P=0．000）;肥胖、习惯性便秘、重体力活动者、饮食习惯不良在维族患者中的比例较高（P〈0．001）。结论：GERD与性别、年龄密切相关,男性多于女性,汉族患者发病年龄高峰旱于维族患者;汉族患者Barrett食管发生比例高于维族患者;肥胖、习惯性便秘、重体力活动、饮食习惯不良可能是GERD尤其是维族人群GERD的危险因素。     

Compositional differentiation,vegetation‐environment relationships and classification of willow‐characterised vegetation in the western Eurasian Arctic

Question: How does willow‐characterised tundra vegetation of western Eurasia vary, and what are the main vegetation types? What are the ecological gradients and climatic regimes underlying vegetation differentiation? Location: The dataset was collected across a wide spectrum of tundra habitats at 12 sites in subarctic and arctic areas spanning from NW Fennoscandia to West Siberia. Methods: The dataset, including 758 vegetation sample plots (relevés), was analysed using a TWINSPAN classification and NMDS ordination that also included analyses of vegetation‐environment correlations. Results: Based on the TWINSPAN classification, eight vegetation types characterised by willow (cover of upright willows >10%) were discerned: (1) Salix glauca‐Carex aquatilis type, (2) Aulacomnium‐Tomentypnum type, (3) Salix‐Betula‐Hylocomium type, (4) Salix lanata‐Brachythecium mildeanum type, (5) Salix‐Pachypleurum type, (6) S. lanata‐Myosotis nemorosa type, (7) Salix‐Trollius‐Geranium type and (8) Salix‐Comarum palustre‐Filipendula ulmaria type. Willow‐characterised vegetation types were compositionally differentiated from other tundra vegetation and were confined to relatively moist valley and sloping tundra sites, from mire to mineral soils. These vegetation types were encountered across a broad latitudinal zone in which July mean temperature ranged from 6 to 10°C. Conclusions: Willow‐characterised tundra vegetation forms a broad category of ecologically and geographically differentiated vegetation types that are linked to dwarf shrub tundra, shrub tundra or mire. Because of complex ecological gradients underlying compositional differentiation, predicting the responses of willow‐characterised tundra vegetation to a warming climate may be complicated.     

SNP discovery by mismatch-targeting of Mu transposition

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent a valuable resource for the mapping of human disease genes and induced mutations in model organisms. SNPs may become the markers of choice also for population ecology and evolutionary studies, but their isolation for non-model organisms with unsequenced genomes is often difficult. Here, we describe a rapid and cost-effective strategy to isolate SNPs that exploits the property of the bacteriophage Mu transposition machinery to target mismatched DNA sites and thereby to effectively detect polymorphic loci. To demonstrate the methodology, we isolated 164 SNPs from the unsequenced genome of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia), a much-studied species in population biology, and we validated 24 of them. The strategy involves standard molecular biology techniques as well as undemanding MuA transposase-catalyzed in vitro transposition reactions, and it is applicable to any organism.