Woody or not woody? Evidence for early angiosperm habit from the Early Cretaceous fossil wood record of Europe

The important question of early angiosperm growth habit (i.e., trees, shrubs or herbs?) remains unanswered. Various theories have been based on data from both living and fossil plants. The Early Cretaceous fossil wood record, however, was seldom used to investigate early angiosperm habit. We set up a database for the Early Cretaceous and Cenomanian of Europe, as this area has the most complete and stratigraphically well-constrained record. The database has 170 entries, based on a bibliographical survey and on the examination of more than 600 new fossil wood specimens from a wide range of palaeoenvironments. In our record the woody characteristic in angiosperms appeared during the Albian, whereas most of the angiosperm's early evolution took place earlier, during the earliest Cretaceous. From the European fossil wood record for the Early Cretaceous and Cenomanian, the global extension and dominance of angiosperms in the Cenomanian is concomitant with a sharp increase in heteroxylous wood diversity. It appears that small stature and weak wood limited the angiosperm ecological radiation for some time.     

Phenoptosis,another specialized neologism,or the mark of a widespread revolution?

The classical approach of evolutionism is based on the concept of the survival of the fittest individuals. More and more data indicate that natural selection often acts with supra-individual mechanisms favoring genes and actions harmful for the individual. The most striking type of cases is when an individual kills himself or his offspring by actions genetically determined or favored. The neologism “phenoptosis” describes these events and implicates that they are not evolutionary anomalies but physiological phenomena determined by natural selection. The most important and familiar kind of phenoptosis, the “slow phenoptosis” or aging, which is currently considered an inevitable and scarcely changeable event, is transformed by this different interpretation into a function, in principle modifiable and manageable. Perhaps, the neologism “phenoptosis” will represent, together with the term supra-individual selection, the mark of a vital enrichment of evolutionism, conceived in broader terms of which the individual selection is just a particular case, and will be referred to as the brand and the standard for the start of a new era.     

Cellular binding proteins for fatty acids and retinoids: similar or specialized functions?

The cellular fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP) and cellular retinoid (retinol, retinoic acid)-binding proteins (CRtBP) are structurally and functionally-defined groups within an evolutionarily conserved gene family. CRtBP are expressed in both fully differentiated and developing tissues in a manner that supports a relationship to the action of retinoic acid in morphogenesis and cellular differentiation. The FABP are, by contrast, expressed only in fully differentiated tissues in a manner compatible with a major function in the metabolism of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) for energy production or storage. The precise function(s) of FABP and CRtBP remain imperfectly understood, while subspecialization of function(s) within the two groups is suggested by the complex diversity in both of structurally distinct members that display striking tissue and temporal specificity of expression in addition to ligand specificity. Notwithstanding this considerable apparent functional diversity among the FABP and CRtBP, available evidence supports a dual set of generic functions for both protein groups in a) promoting cellular flux of poorly water-soluble ligands and their subsequent metabolic utilization or transformation, and b) sequestration of ligands in a manner that limits their association with alternative binding sites within the cell, of which members of the steroid hormone nuclear receptor superfamily (HNR) are a potentially important category. Theoretical as well as experimental models probing diffusional fluxes of LCFAin vitro and in living cells have provided support for a function for FABP in intracellular LCFA transport. Protein-bound ligand also appears to provide the substrate for metabolic transformation of retinoids bound to CRtBP, but convincing evidence is lacking for an analogous mechanism in the direct facilitation of fatty acid utilization by FABP. An emerging relationship between FABP and CRtBP function centers on their binding of, and induction by, ligands which activate or transform specific HNR-the retinoic acid receptors and the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor in the case of CRtBP and FABP, respectively. Evidence consistent with both a promotive role (provision of ligands for HNR) and a protective role (limiting availability of free ligand for HNR association) has been advanced for CRtBP. Available data supports a protective function for cellular retinoic acid-binding proteins (CRABP) and liver FABP (L-FABP) and points to the existence of ligand-defined, lipid-binding-protein-HNR relationships in which CRABP serve to attenuate the induction of gene expression by retinoic acid, and in which L-FABP may modulate a cellular adaptive multigene response to increased LCFA flux or compromised LCFA utilization. Furthermore, the emerging role of LCFA in the regulation of gene expression combined with the complex interplay between heterologous HNR-ligand associations and gene cross-regulation implies an important potential interaction between FABP, CRtBP, and their respective ligands in gene regulation.Abbreviations A-FABP Adipocyte Fatty Acid-Binding Protein - CRABP Cellular Retinoic Acid-Binding Protein(s) - CRABP I Cellular Retinoic Acid-Binding Protein type I - CRABP II Cellular Retinoic Acid-Binding Protein type II - CRBP Cellular Retinol-Binding Protein(s) - CRBP Cellular Retinol-Binding Protein typy I - CRBP II Cellular Retinol-Binding Protein type II - CRtBP Cellular Retinoid-Binding Proteins - FABP Fatty Acid-Binding Protein - H-FABP Heart Fatty Acid-Binding Protein - HNR steroid Hormone-type Nuclear Receptor - I-FABP Intestinal Fatty Acid-Binding Protein - LCFA Long-Chain Fatty Acids - L-FABP Liver Fatty Acid-Binding Protein - NBD-stearate 12-(N-methyl)-N-(7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3,-diazol-4-yl)amino)-octadecanoic acid - PPAR Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor - RAR Retinoic Acid Receptor(s) - RARE Retinoic Acid Response Element - RXR Retinoic acid X Receptors(s) - RXRE Retinoic acid X Response Element     

Invasive treatment of ACS: early or later on?

In a recent online publication in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 30 December 2009, Damman from the group of de Winter (AMC, Amsterdam) published the five-year clinical outcome in the Invasive versus Conservative Treatment in Unstable coronary Syndromes (ICTUS) The ICTUS trial was supported by the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands (ICIN), the Working Group on Cardiovascular Research of the Netherlands (WCN), and educational grants form Eli Lilly, Sanofi/Synthelabo, Sanofi-Aventis, Medtronic, and Roche Diagnostics.     

Sclerotic plates or circumorbital bones in early jawed fishes?

Abstract: Circumorbital dermal bones are found in most groups of early vertebrates that have dermal bony plates on the head. Taxonomic distribution of dermal sclerotic plates on the eye itself is less clear, partly because the eyeball is rarely preserved and sometimes because sclerotic bones have been misinterpreted as circumorbital bones. Based on the examination of climatiid Climatius plus mesacanthid, cheiracanthid and acanthodid acanthodiform acanthodians, we conclude that most, if not all, acanthodiforms and climatiids had sclerotic rings. Presence and number of these elements should be included as a character in phylogenetic analyses of early jawed vertebrates.     

Giardia: highly evolved parasite or early branching eukaryote?

The phylogeny of the commonest protozoal agent of intestinal disease, Giardia, is unclear. Although recent intensive research suggests this important human parasite is an early branching eukaryote that evolved before the endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria, there is also evidence to suggest that, as a highly evolved parasite, it has lost many of its ancestral characteristics. In this case, these organisms might have arisen much more recently from aerobic free-living flagellates.     

What makes a specialized endophyte special?

Fungal plant symbionts can be highly specialized on a limited range of host genotypes and species. Understanding the genetic basis of this specialization, the mechanisms governing its establishment and the relationship between specialization and speciation is a major challenge for evolutionary biologists (Timms & Read, 1999 ). A deeper knowledge of evolutionary plant–microbe interactions could be exploited to improve agricultural management, by bringing fungal biodiversity and fungal biomass under greater and more durable human control. Previous studies on pathogens have shown that effectors, that is, small secreted proteins that modulate plant physiology to favour host colonization, play a key role in infection of novel hosts (e.g., Inoue et al., 2017 ) or in host specialization (e.g., Liao et al. ( 2016 )). Like pathogens, endophytes also manipulate the physiology of their hosts and colonize novel hosts to which they specialize (Hardoim et al., 2015 ). These biological characteristics of endophytes raise the question of similarities in the protein arsenal contributing to the specialization of pathogens and endophytes. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Schirrmann et al. ( 2018 ) used a combination of divergence genome scans and tests for positive selection to investigate the genetic basis of specialization of two subspecies of the symbiont Epichloë typhina occurring on two different grass hosts. Their analyses suggest a key role of effectors as determinants of host specialization. This study paves the way towards the comparative analysis of the genomics of speciation among plant symbionts.     

Aspects of early arthritis. Biological therapy in early arthritis--overtreatment or the way to go?

The availability of newer, and more expensive, therapies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis has changed treatment beyond recognition. Disease remission is the goal for all new patients. Studies have shown that a combination of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-blocking drugs and methotrexate produces superior outcomes over monotherapy alone; however, use is limited by cost and potential side-effects. Currently, anti-TNF therapy is normally reserved for patients who have failed traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. The question that remains is whether TNF-blocking drugs are better used if given early; the high direct costs are countered by both direct and indirect savings in healthcare costs from optimal control of disease, and the benefits of early control outweigh the increased risk of infection and malignancy.     

The evolution of early animal embryos: conservation or divergence?

There is a remarkable similarity in the appearance of groups of animal species during periods of their embryonic development. This classic observation has long been viewed as an emphatic realization of the principle of common descent. Despite the importance of embryonic conservation as a unifying concept, models seeking to predict and explain different patterns of conservation have remained in contention. Here, we focus on early embryonic development and discuss several lines of evidence, from recent molecular data, through developmental networks to life-history strategies, that indicate that early animal embryos are not highly conserved. Bringing this evidence together, we argue that the nature of early development often reflects adaptation to diverse ecological niches. Finally, we synthesize old and new ideas to propose a model that accounts for the evolutionary process by which embryos have come to be conserved.     

Cucumber: a model angiosperm for mitochondrial transformation?

Plants possess three major genomes, carried in the chloroplast, mitochondrion, and nucleus. The chloroplast genomes of higher plants tend to be of similar sizes and structure. In contrast both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes show great size differences, even among closely related species. The largest plant mitochondrial genomes exist in the genus Cucumis at 1500 to 2300 kilobases, over 100 times the sizes of the yeast or human mitochondrial genomes. Biochemical and molecular analyses have established that the huge Cucumis mitochondrial genomes are due to extensive duplication of short repetitive DNA motifs. The organellar genomes of almost all organisms are maternally transmitted and few methods exist to manipulate these important genomes. Although chloroplast transformation has been achieved, no routine method exists to transform the mitochondrial genome of higher plants. A mitochondrial-transformation system for a higher plant would allow geneticists to use reverse genetics to study mitochondrial gene expression and to establish the efficacy of engineered mitochondrial genes for the genetic improvement of the mitochondrial genome. Cucumber possesses three unique attributes that make it a potential model system for mitochondrial transformation of a higher plant. Firstly, its mitochondria show paternal transmission. Secondly, microspores possess relatively few, huge mitochondria. Finally, there exists in cucumber unique mitochondrial mutations conditioning strongly mosaic (msc) phenotypes. The msc phenotypes appear after regeneration of plants from cell culture and sort with specific rearranged and deleted regions in the mitochondrial genome. These mitochondrial deletions may be a useful genetic tool to develop selectable markers for mitochondrial transformation of higher plants.     

Aspects of early arthritis. Biological therapy in early arthritis – overtreatment or the way to go?

The availability of newer, and more expensive, therapies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis has changed treatment beyond recognition. Disease remission is the goal for all new patients. Studies have shown that a combination of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-blocking drugs and methotrexate produces superior outcomes over monotherapy alone; however, use is limited by cost and potential side-effects. Currently, anti-TNF therapy is normally reserved for patients who have failed traditional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. The question that remains is whether TNF-blocking drugs are better used if given early; the high direct costs are countered by both direct and indirect savings in healthcare costs from optimal control of disease, and the benefits of early control outweigh the increased risk of infection and malignancy.     

Barrett's esophagus: treatment or observation of a major precursor factor of esophageal cancer?

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a major precursor factor of esophageal cancer (EC). The appropriate management of patients with BE depends on the presence or not of dysplasia and the type of dysplasia that occurs. Due to the small proportion of BE patients that progress to cancer, the value of surveillance programs are a matter of debate. On the contrary, in high risk group of patients surveillance programs have significant impact. Large prospective trials are needed to define the optimal management strategy. Elucidation of carcinogenesis' steps and signal transduction pathways could reveal potential biomarkers in the order of early prediction for a highly malignant neoplasm with dismal prognosis. An efficacious tailored-made manner focusing to the safety profile and associated costs should be practised for less severe disease. In this review a thorough investigation of all available methods dealing with the clinical management of BE is provided.     

Invading Europe: did climate or geography trigger early Eocene primate dispersals?

The Palaeocene-Eocene transition is characterized by a significant turnover of mammalian taxa in the fossil record of the northern continents, and primates are among the groups that make their first appearance at this time. One of the many questions that remain to be answered with regard to the earliest evolution of primates is the reason for their sudden and virtually simultaneous appearance in the fossil records of Asia, Europe and North America. The most obvious environmental correlate of the Palaeocene-Eocene transition is a sharp but relatively short-lived warming event leading up to the Palaeocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) and evidenced in the stratigraphic record by a negative delta(13)C excursion. It remains unclear, however, whether or how this warming event may have influenced Palaeocene-Eocene faunal turnovers. This paper explores the hypothesis that environmental changes associated with the PETM facilitated an invasion of Western Europe by primates by comparing the ecological structure of local mammalian fauna immediately before and following the Palaeocene-Eocene transition. The results suggest that changes to the ecological profile of local mammalian fauna were relatively small and did not favour an invasion by primates, although a major uncertainty remains with respect to the availability of arboreal niches. At present it seems more likely that the invasion of western Europe by primates was due to the breakdown of one or more dispersal barriers close to the end of the Palaeocene.     

The early lithic productions of Island Southeast Asia: Traditions or convergences?

Island Southeast Asia has been the subject of intense prehistoric investigations since the seminal work of Eugene Dubois in the late XIX^th century. This has resulted in several discoveries of a very diverse type of lithic productions of oftentimes debated age. Recent and old excavations have now secured the production of stone artefacts as early as 1 million years on Flores Island, 800,000 years on Java Island, 700,000 on Luzon Island and at least 118,000 years on Sulawesi Island. Along with these findings, several surface collections which most certainly date back to the Lower Palaeolithic are known, and adds to the diversity of the lithic productions. In this paper, we report what is at stake regarding our current knowledge over the early lithic productions of Island Southeast Asia, without giving more importance to one type of artefact over another. After describing the findings from each islands taken one by one, we compare the similarities and dissimilarities between these sometimes isolated and sometimes connected geographic entities. It appears that each of these islands might have had its own evolutionary trend with its own rhythm.     

Are the early holocene cattle in the eastern sahara domestic or wild?

Questions relating to the antiquity of domestic cattle in the Sahara are among the most controversial in North African prehistory. It is generally believed that cattle were first domesticated in southwest Asia, particularly Anatolia, or in southeast Europe, where their remains have been found in several sites dated between 9,000 and 8,000 years ago.1 The discovery, in several small sites in the Western Desert of Egypt, of large bovid bones identified as domestic cattle and having radiocarbon dates ranging between 9,500 and 8,000 B.P. has raised the possibility that there was a separate, independent center for cattle domestication in northeast Africa (Fig. 1).^2–4 However, it has not been universally accepted that these bones are from cattle or, if so, that the cattle were domestic.     

Glicentin: A precursor of glucagon?

The relationships between glucagon and gut-glucagon like immunoreactants (gut-GLIs) have been investigated by immunofluorescence in canine gut mucosa. The R64 antiserum, raised against the purified gut-GLI-l glicentin, and which does not react with porcine glucagon, revealed immunofluorescent cells in the gastric and intestinal mucosa. Glicentin positive cells of the stomach oxyntic glands were also stained by N- and C- terminally directed antiglucagon sera, corresponding to the gastric A-cell. In the small and large intestine, glicentin immunoreactive cells reacted solely with the cross-reacting (N-terminal) glucagon antiserum, belonging to the L-cells. Based on chemical and immunochemical data, it has been suggested that glicentin could represent an intermediate in the glucagon biosynthesis. Therefore, the results of this immunofluorescence study, showing glicentin and glucagon immunodeterminants in the A-cell, strongly support such an hypothesis. In addition the presence of glicentin like material in the A- and L-cells suggests that these two cell types synthesize their secretory product via a common precursor.