The future of bioenergy

Energy from biomass plays a large and growing role in the global energy system. Energy from biomass can make significant contributions to reducing carbon emissions, especially from difficult‐to‐decarbonize sectors like aviation, heavy transport, and manufacturing. But land‐intensive bioenergy often entails substantial carbon emissions from land‐use change as well as production, harvesting, and transportation. In addition, land‐intensive bioenergy scales only with the utilization of vast amounts of land, a resource that is fundamentally limited in supply. Because of the land constraint, the intrinsically low yields of energy per unit of land area, and rapid technological progress in competing technologies, land intensive bioenergy makes the most sense as a transitional element of the global energy mix, playing an important role over the next few decades and then fading, probably after mid‐century. Managing an effective trajectory for land‐intensive bioenergy will require an unusual mix of policies and incentives that encourage appropriate utilization in the short term but minimize lock‐in in the longer term.     

Combined ipilimumab and nivolumab first‐line and after BRAF‐targeted therapy in advanced melanoma

The combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab is a highly active systemic therapy for metastatic melanoma but can cause significant toxicity. We explore the safety and efficacy of this treatment in routine clinical practice, particularly in the setting of serine/threonine‐protein kinase B‐Raf (BRAF)‐targeted therapy. Consecutive patients with unresectable stage IIIC/IV melanoma commenced on ipilimumab and nivolumab across 10 tertiary melanoma institutions in Australia were identified retrospectively. Data collected included demographics, response and survival outcomes. A total of 152 patients were included for analysis, 39% were treatment‐naïve and 22% failed first‐line BRAF/MEK inhibitors. Treatment‐related adverse events occurred in 67% of patients, grade 3–5 in 38%. The overall objective response rate was 41%, 57% in treatment‐naïve and 21% in BRAF/MEK failure patients. Median progression‐free survival was 4.0 months (95% CI, 3.0–6.0) in the whole cohort, 11.0 months (95% CI, 6.0‐NR) in treatment‐naïve and 2.0 months (95% CI, 1.4–4.6) in BRAF/MEK failure patients. The combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab can be used safely and effectively in a real‐world population. While first‐line efficacy appears comparable to trial populations, BRAF‐mutant patients failing prior BRAF/MEK inhibitors show less response.     

Development and validation of genetic markers for sex and cannabinoid chemotype in Cannabis sativa L.

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an emerging dioecious crop grown primarily for grain, fiber, and cannabinoids. There is good evidence for medicinal benefits of the most abundant cannabinoid in hemp, cannabidiol (CBD). For CBD production, female plants producing CBD but not tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are desired. We developed and validated high‐throughput PACE (PCR Allele Competitive Extension) assays for C. sativa plant sex and cannabinoid chemotype. The sex assay was validated across a wide range of germplasm and resolved male plants from female and monoecious plants. The cannabinoid chemotype assay revealed segregation in hemp populations, and resolved plants producing predominantly THC, predominantly CBD, and roughly equal amounts of THC and CBD. Cultivar populations that were thought to be stabilized for CBD production were found to be segregating phenotypically and genotypically. Many plants predominantly producing CBD accumulated more than the current US legal limit of 0.3% THC by dry weight. These assays and data provide potentially useful tools for breeding and early selection of hemp.     

Broad diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains isolated from humans and cattle in Northern Algeria suggests a zoonotic transmission cycle

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) comprises closely related species responsible for human and animal tuberculosis (TB). Efficient species determination is useful for epidemiological purposes, especially for the elucidation of the zoonotic contribution. In Algeria, data on MTBC genotypes are largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the occurrence and diversity of MTBC genotypes causing human and bovine TB in Northern Algeria. During a two-year sampling period (2017–2019) in two regions of Northern Algeria, we observed an overall prevalence of 6.5% of tuberculosis (TB) among slaughtered cattle, which is higher than previous Algerian data yet comparable to neighboring countries. A total of 296 Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) isolates were genotyped by spoligotyping: 181 from tissues with TB-like lesions collected from 181 cattle carcasses and 115 from TB patients. In human isolates, we identified 107 M. tuberculosis, seven M. bovis and one “M. pinnipedii-like”, while for bovine samples, 174 isolates were identified as M. bovis, three as M. caprae, three as “M. pinnipedii-like” and one as “M. microti-like”. The majority of isolates (89.2%) belonged to 72 different known Shared International Types (SIT) or M. bovis spoligotypes (SB), while we also identified seven new SB profiles (SB2695 to SB2701). Twenty-eight of the SB profiles were new to Algeria. Our data suggest zoonotic transmission in Sétif, where significantly more TB was observed among cattle (20%) compared to the slaughterhouses from the three other regions (5.4%–7.3%) (p < 0.0001), with the isolation of the same M. bovis genotypes from TB patients. The present study showed a high genetic diversity of MTBC isolated from human and cattle in Northern Algeria. Even though relatively small in terms of numbers, our data suggest the zoonotic transmission of TB from cattle to humans, suggesting the need for stronger eradication strategies for bovine TB.     

Slr4, a newly identified S-layer protein from marine Gammaproteobacteria,is a major biofilm matrix component

S-layers are paracrystalline proteinaceous lattices that surround prokaryotic cells, forming a critical interface between the cells and their extracellular environment. Here, we report the discovery of a novel S-layer protein present in the Gram-negative marine organism, Pseudoalteromonas tunicata D2. An uncharacterized protein (EAR28894) was identified as the most abundant protein in planktonic cultures and biofilms. Bioinformatic methods predicted a beta-helical structure for EAR28894 similar to the Caulobacter S-layer protein, RsaA, despite sharing less than 20% sequence identity. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that purified EAR28894 protein assembled into paracrystalline sheets with a unique square lattice symmetry and a unit cell spacing of ~9.1 nm. An S-layer was found surrounding the outer membrane in wild-type cells and completely removed from cells in an EAR28894 deletion mutant. S-layer material also appeared to be “shed” from wild-type cells and was highly abundant in the extracellular matrix where it is associated with outer membrane vesicles and other matrix components. EAR28894 and its homologs form a new family of S-layer proteins that are widely distributed in Gammaproteobacteria including species of Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio, and found exclusively in marine metagenomes. We propose the name Slr4 for this novel protein family.     

Genetic assessment of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1.2) in Mangifera indica L. landraces

Mango (Mangifera indica) is one of the most important tropical fruits in the world. Twenty-two genotypes of native mangoes from different regions of southern Iran (Hormozgan and Kerman) were collected and analyzed for the ribosomal genes. GC content was found to be 55.5%. Fu and Li’s D* test statistic (0.437), Fu and Li’s F* test statistic (0.500) and Tajima’s D (1.801) were positive and nonsignificant. A total of 769 positions were identified (319 with insertion or deletion including 250 polymorphic and 69 monomorphic loci; 450 loci without any insertion or deletion including 35 Singletons and 22 haplotypes). Nucleotide diversity of 0.309 and a high genetic differentiation including Chi square of 79.8; P value of 0.3605 and df value of 76 was observed among mango genotypes studied. The numerical value of the ratio dN/dS (0.45) indicated a pure selection in the examined gene and the absence of any key changes. Cluster analysis differentiated the mango used in this research (M. indica L.) into two genotypes but could not differentiate their geographical locations. The results of this study indicated that a high genetic distance exists between HajiGholam (Manojan) and Arbabi (Rodan) genotypes and showed higher genetic diversity in mango of Rodan region. Results of present study suggested that for successful breeding, the genotypes of Rodan region mango especially Arbabi mango can be used as a gene donor and ITS can be a suitable tool for genetic evaluations of inter and intra species.     

Native drivers of fish life history traits are lost during the invasion process

Rapid adaptation to global change can counter vulnerability of species to population declines and extinction. Theoretically, under such circumstances both genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity can maintain population fitness, but empirical support for this is currently limited. Here, we aim to characterize the role of environmental and genetic diversity, and their prior evolutionary history (via haplogroup profiles) in shaping patterns of life history traits during biological invasion. Data were derived from both genetic and life history traits including a morphological analysis of 29 native and invasive populations of topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva coupled with climatic variables from each location. General additive models were constructed to explain distribution of somatic growth rate (SGR) data across native and invasive ranges, with model selection performed using Akaike's information criteria. Genetic and environmental drivers that structured the life history of populations in their native range were less influential in their invasive populations. For some vertebrates at least, fitness‐related trait shifts do not seem to be dependent on the level of genetic diversity or haplogroup makeup of the initial introduced propagule, nor of the availability of local environmental conditions being similar to those experienced in their native range. As long as local conditions are not beyond the species physiological threshold, its local establishment and invasive potential are likely to be determined by local drivers, such as density‐dependent effects linked to resource availability or to local biotic resistance.     

Optimization of the demineralization process for the extraction of chitin from Omani Portunidae segnis

Chitin is an organic polymer and it is the most frequent marine natural polysaccharide after cellulose. The main natural sources of chitin are exoskeletons of insects, mollusks, the cell walls of certain fungi and crustaceans such as crabs, shrimps and lobsters. The waste of these marine exoskeletons are pollutant for the environment, but these waste raw materials could be useful for production of commercial products like chitin. Chitin is an important raw material used for water treatment, agricultural, biomedical, biotechnological purposes, food and paper industry and cosmetics. Based on the variety of importance, the present targets of this study are to optimize the demineralization process for the removal of calcium and phosphate contents from the waste of Portunidae segnis (P. segnis) by using acid at ambient temperature and to characterize the isolated demineralized sample as well as the percentage of remaining calcium and phosphorus contents by using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The prepared waste carbs coarse powder samples of P. segnis were demineralized with seven different concentrations of hydrochloric acid at ambient temperature for 1 h. All the demineralization samples by the different concentrations were analyzed by using sensitive ICP-OES. The results based on ICP-OES showed that among the seven different concentrations used in the demineralization process for the isolation of chitin, the best was 2 M of HCl concentration for the production of chitin. The results also showed that the optimized concentration 2 M HCl gave the minimum concentration of calcium and phosphorus compared to other concentrations applied in this experiment. In conclusion, the optimized concentration for demineralization process could be used commercially for the isolation or commercial production of chitin for agricultural, biomedical and biotechnological purposes.     

Foliar Application of Phosphorus Enhances Photosynthesis and Biochemical Characteristics of Maize under Drought Stress

Water is essential for the growth period of crops; however, water unavailability badly affects the growth and physiological attributes of crops, which considerably reduced the yield and yield components in crops. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of foliar phosphorus (P) on morphological, gas exchange, biochemical traits, and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids grown under normal as well as water deficit situations at the Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan in 2014. Two different treatments (control and P @ 8 kg ha⁻¹ ) and four hybrids (Hycorn, 31P41, 65625, and 32B33) of maize were tested by using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Results showed that the water stress caused a remarkable decline in total soluble protein (9.7%), photosynthetic rate (9.4%) and transpiration rate (13.4%), stomatal conductance (10.2%), and internal CO₂ rate (20.4%) comparative to well-watered control. An increase of 37.1%, 36.8%, and 24.5% were recorded for proline, total soluble sugar, and total free amino acid, respectively. However, foliar P application minimized the negative impact of drought by improving plant growth, physio-biochemical attributes, and PUE in maize plants under water stress conditions. Among the hybrids tested, the hybrid 6525 performed better both under stress and non-stress conditions. These outcomes confirmed that the exogenous application of P improved drought stress tolerance by modulating growth, physio-biochemical attributes, and PUE of maize hybrids.