A phylogenetic supertree of the bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

We present the first estimate of the phylogenetic relationships among all 916 extant and nine recently extinct species of bats Mammalia: Chiroptera), a group that accounts for almost one-quarter of extant mammalian diversity. This phylogeny was derived by combining 105 estimates of bat phylogenetic relationships published since 1970 using the supertree construction technique of Matrix Representation with Parsimony (MRP). Despite the explosive growth in the number of phylogenetic studies of bats since 1990, phylogenetic relationships in the order have been studied non-randomly. For example, over one-third of all bat systematic studies to date have locused on relationships within Phyllostomidae, whereas relationships within clades such as Kerivoulinae and Murinae have never been studied using cladistic methods. Resolution in the supertree similarly differs among clades: overall resolution is poor (46.4%, of a fully bifurcating solution) but reaches 100% in some groups (e.g. relationships within Mormoopidae). The supertree analysis does not support a recent proposal that Microchiroptera is paraphyletic with respect to Megachiroptera, as the majority of source topologies support microbat monophyly. Although it is not a substitute for comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of primary molecular and morphological data, the bat supertree provides a useful tool for future phylogenetic comparative and macroevolutionary studies. Additionally, it identifies clades that have been little studied, highlights groups within which relationships are controversial, and like all phylogenetic studies, provides preliminary hypotheses that can form starting points for future phylogenetic studies of bats.     

Eastern spread of the invasive <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemia franciscana</Emphasis> in the Mediterranean Basin,with the first record from the Balkan Peninsula

Long-term (1987–2015) monitoring data from Lake Lugano (Switzerland/Italy) were used to examine the effects of winter weather, solar radiation and mixing regime on the recovery of the trophic state of a lake undergoing nutrient management. Main hypotheses were that (H1) trends in trophic state were influenced not only by nutrient management, but also by winter weather and solar radiation, and (H2) the effects of management were more pronounced in the holomictic South basin than in the meromictic North basin of the lake. External loadings of phosphorus were strongly reduced during the study period, but key indicators of trophic state, including phosphorous concentration, primary production, chlorophyll a and deep-water oxygenation, showed inconsistent responses. Supporting H1, winter weather (parameterized using an index of the East Atlantic pattern) influenced temporal variation in phosphorus concentration and primary production in the North basin. Supporting H2, the effects of management on trophic state were clearer in the South basin, where most trophic-state indicators declined. Meromixis affected the restoration of the North basin lake by transmitting effects of climatic variation on trophic state. The added variability obscured the effects of restoration and caused sudden deteriorations in water quality, indicating that the restoration of meromictic lakes presents unique challenges.     

A Simple Isothermal DNA Amplification Method to Screen Black Flies for Onchocerca volvulus Infection

Onchocerciasis is a debilitating neglected tropical disease caused by infection with the filarial parasite Onchocerca volvulus. Adult worms live in subcutaneous tissues and produce large numbers of microfilariae that migrate to the skin and eyes. The disease is spread by black flies of the genus Simulium following ingestion of microfilariae that develop into infective stage larvae in the insect. Currently, transmission is monitored by capture and dissection of black flies and microscopic examination of parasites, or using the polymerase chain reaction to determine the presence of parasite DNA in pools of black flies. In this study we identified a new DNA biomarker, encoding O. volvulus glutathione S-transferase 1a (OvGST1a), to detect O. volvulus infection in vector black flies. We developed an OvGST1a-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay where amplification of specific target DNA is detectable using turbidity or by a hydroxy naphthol blue color change. The results indicated that the assay is sensitive and rapid, capable of detecting DNA equivalent to less than one microfilaria within 60 minutes. The test is highly specific for the human parasite, as no cross-reaction was detected using DNA from the closely related and sympatric cattle parasite Onchocerca ochengi. The test has the potential to be developed further as a field tool for use in the surveillance of transmission before and after implementation of mass drug administration programs for onchocerciasis.     

Beyond the EDGE with EDAM: Prioritising British Plant Species According to Evolutionary Distinctiveness,and Accuracy and Magnitude of Decline

Conservation biologists have only finite resources, and so must prioritise some species over others. The EDGE-listing approach ranks species according to their combined evolutionary distinctiveness and degree of threat, but ignores the uncertainty surrounding both threat and evolutionary distinctiveness. We develop a new family of measures for species, which we name EDAM, that incorporates evolutionary distinctiveness, the magnitude of decline, and the accuracy with which decline can be predicted. Further, we show how the method can be extended to explore phyogenetic uncertainty. Using the vascular plants of Britain as a case study, we find that the various EDAM measures emphasise different species and parts of Britain, and that phylogenetic uncertainty can strongly affect the prioritisation scores of some species.     

The clinicopathological and gene expression patterns associated with ulceration of primary melanoma

Ulceration of primary melanomas is associated with poor prognosis yet is reported to predict benefit from adjuvant interferon. To better understand the biological processes involved, clinicopathological factors associated with ulceration were determined in 1804 patients. From this cohort, 348 primary tumor blocks were sampled to generate gene expression data using a 502‐gene cancer panel and 195 blocks were used for immunohistochemistry to detect macrophage infiltration and vessel density. Gene expression results were validated using a whole genome array in two independent sample sets. Ulceration of primary melanomas was associated with more proliferative tumors, tumor vessel invasion, and increased microvessel density. Infiltration of tumors with greater number of macrophages and gene expression pathways associated with wound healing and up‐regulation of pro‐inflammatory cytokines suggests that ulceration is associated with tumor‐related inflammation. The relative benefit from interferon reported in patients with ulcerated tumors may reflect modification of signaling pathways involved in inflammation.     

Fitness reduction and potential extinction of wild populations of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, as a result of interactions with escaped farm salmon

The high level of escapes from Atlantic salmon farms, up to two million fishes per year in the North Atlantic, has raised concern about the potential impact on wild populations. We report on a two-generation experiment examining the estimated lifetime successes, relative to wild natives, of farm, F(1) and F(2) hybrids and BC(1) backcrosses to wild and farm salmon. Offspring of farm and "hybrids" (i.e. all F(1), F(2) and BC(1) groups) showed reduced survival compared with wild salmon but grew faster as juveniles and displaced wild parr, which as a group were significantly smaller. Where suitable habitat for these emigrant parr is absent, this competition would result in reduced wild smolt production. In the experimental conditions, where emigrants survived downstream, the relative estimated lifetime success ranged from 2% (farm) to 89% (BC(1) wild) of that of wild salmon, indicating additive genetic variation for survival. Wild salmon primarily returned to fresh water after one sea winter (1SW) but farm and 'hybrids' produced proportionately more 2SW salmon. However, lower overall survival means that this would result in reduced recruitment despite increased 2SW fecundity. We thus demonstrate that interaction of farm with wild salmon results in lowered fitness, with repeated escapes causing cumulative fitness depression and potentially an extinction vortex in vulnerable populations.     

Late‐moulting Black‐necked Grebes Podiceps nigricollis show greater body mass in the face of failing food supply

From August to December, thousands of Black‐necked Grebes Podiceps nigricollis concentrate during the flightless moult period in salt ponds in the Odiel Marshes, southern Spain, where they feed on the brine shrimp Artemia parthenogenetica. We predicted that because Black‐necked Grebes moulted in a food‐rich, predator‐free environment, there would be no net loss of body mass caused by the use of fat stored to meet energy needs during remigial feather replacement (as is the case for some other diving waterbirds). However, because the food resource disappears in winter, we predicted that grebes moulting later in the season would put on more body mass prior to moult because of the increasing risk of an Artemia population crash before the moult period is completed. Body mass determinations of thousands of birds captured during 2000–2010 showed that grebes in active wing‐moult showed greater mass with date of capture. Early‐moulting grebes were significantly lighter at all stages than late‐moulting birds. Grebes captured with new feathers post‐moult were significantly lighter than those in moult. This is the first study to support the hypothesis that individual waterbirds adopt different strategies in body mass accumulation according to timing of moult: early‐season grebes were able to acquire an excess of energy over expenditure and accumulate fat stores while moulting. Delayed moulters acquired greater fat stores in advance of moult to contribute to energy expenditure for feather replacement and retained extra stores later, most likely as a bet hedge against the increasing probability of failing food supply and higher thermoregulatory demands late in the season. An alternative hypothesis, that mass change is affected by a trophically transmitted cestode using brine shrimps as an intermediate host and Black‐necked Grebes as final host, was not supported by the data.     

Enhanced regional terrestrial carbon uptake over Korea revealed by atmospheric CO2 measurements from 1999 to 2017

Understanding changes in terrestrial carbon balance is important to improve our knowledge of the regional carbon cycle and climate change. However, evaluating regional changes in the terrestrial carbon balance is challenging due to the lack of surface flux measurements. This study reveals that the terrestrial carbon uptake over the Republic of Korea has been enhanced from 1999 to 2017 by analyzing long‐term atmospheric CO₂ concentration measurements at the Anmyeondo Station (36.53°N, 126.32°E) located in the western coast. The influence of terrestrial carbon flux on atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (ΔCO₂) is estimated from the difference of CO₂ concentrations that were influenced by the land sector (through easterly winds) and the Yellow Sea sector (through westerly winds). We find a significant trend in ΔCO₂ of ?4.75 ppm per decade (p < .05) during the vegetation growing season (May through October), suggesting that the regional terrestrial carbon uptake has increased relative to the surrounding ocean areas. Combined analysis with satellite measured normalized difference vegetation index and gross primary production shows that the enhanced carbon uptake is associated with significant nationwide increases in vegetation and its production. Process‐based terrestrial model and inverse model simulations estimate that regional terrestrial carbon uptake increases by up to 18.9 and 8.0 Tg C for the study period, accounting for 13.4% and 5.7% of the average annual domestic carbon emissions, respectively. Atmospheric chemical transport model simulations indicate that the enhanced terrestrial carbon sink is the primary reason for the observed ΔCO₂ trend rather than anthropogenic emissions and atmospheric circulation changes. Our results highlight the fact that atmospheric CO₂ measurements could open up the possibility of detecting regional changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle even where anthropogenic emissions are not negligible.     

[Zn(phen)(O,N,O)(H2O)] and [Zn(phen)(O,N)(H2O)] with O,N,O?is?2,6-dipicolinate and N,O?is?l-threoninate: synthesis, characterization, and biomedical properties

Two ternary Zn(II) complexes, with 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) as the main ligand and a carboxylate-containing ligand [dipicolinate (dipico) or L-threoninate (L-Thr)] as the subsidiary ligand, were prepared and characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform IR, UV, and fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, molar conductivity, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. X-ray structure analysis shows that both [Zn(phen)(dipico)(H(2)O)]·H(2)O (1) and [Zn(phen)(L-Thr)(H(2)O)Cl]·2H(2)O (2) have octahedral geometry about the Zn(II) atom. Both complexes can inhibit topoisomerase I, and have better anticancer activity than cisplatin against nasopharyngeal cancer cell lines, HK1 and HONE-1, with concentrations causing 50?% inhibition of cell proliferation (IC(50)) in the low micromolar range. Complex 2 has the highest therapeutic index for HK1. Both Zn(II) complexes can induce cell death by apoptosis. Changing the subsidiary ligand in the Zn(II) complexes affects the UV-fluorescence spectral properties of the coordinated phen ligand, the binding affinity for some DNA sequences, nucleobase sequence-selective binding, the phase at which cell cycle progression was arrested for treated cancer cells, and their therapeutic index.     

Comparative study of myocytes from normal and mdx mice iPS cells

Recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) have been derived from various techniques and show great potential for therapy of human diseases. Furthermore, the iPS technique can be used to provide cell models to explore pathological mechanisms of many human diseases in vitro, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is a severe recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy without effective treatment. In this study, we try to determine whether there are different characteristics of myocytes from mdx iPS cells and C57BL/10 iPS cells. Our results showed that both of mdx and C57BL/10 cells could be induced into iPS cells in vitro, whereas colony-forming ability of mdx iPS cells was much weaker than that of C57BL/10 iPS cells. Meanwhile, mdx iPS cells could be induced to differentiate into myocytes, whereas their differentiation efficiency was much lower than that of C57BL/10 iPS cells. And, the number of apoptotic cells in differentiated myocytes from mdx iPS cells was significantly higher than that from C57BL/10 iPS cells. More importantly, treatment of a pan-caspase inhibitor (Z-VAD) produced a significant decrease in apoptotic cells. This study might add some insight to the biology study of dystrophin gene.