Climate change reduces resilience to fire in subalpine rainforests

Climate change is affecting the distribution of species and the functioning of ecosystems. For species that are slow growing and poorly dispersed, climate change can force a lag between the distributions of species and the geographic distributions of their climatic envelopes, exposing species to the risk of extinction. Climate also governs the resilience of species and ecosystems to disturbance, such as wildfire. Here we use species distribution modelling and palaeoecology to assess and test the impact of vegetation–climate disequilibrium on the resilience of an endangered fire‐sensitive rainforest community to fires. First, we modelled the probability of occurrence of Athrotaxis spp. and Nothofagus gunnii rainforest in Tasmania (hereon “montane rainforest”) as a function of climate. We then analysed three pollen and charcoal records spanning the last 7,500 cal year BP from within both high (n = 1) and low (n = 2) probability of occurrence areas. Our study indicates that climatic change between 3,000 and 4,000 cal year bp induced a disequilibrium between montane rainforests and climate that drove a loss of resilience of these communities. Current and future climate change are likely to shift the geographic distribution of the climatic envelopes of this plant community further, suggesting that current high‐resilience locations will face a reduction in resilience. Coupled with the forecast of increasing fire activity in southern temperate regions, this heralds a significant threat to this and other slow growing, poorly dispersed and fire sensitive forest systems that are common in the southern mid to high latitudes.     

Natural and Regenerated Saltmarshes Exhibit Similar Soil and Belowground Organic Carbon Stocks,Root Production and Soil Respiration

Ecosystems - Saltmarshes provide many valuable ecosystem services including storage of a large amount of ‘blue carbon’ within their soils. To date, up to 50% of the world’s...     

PPARgamma activation primes human monocytes into alternative M2 macrophages with anti-inflammatory properties

Th1 cytokines promote monocyte differentiation into proatherogenic M1 macrophages, while Th2 cytokines lead to an "alternative" anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage phenotype. Here we show that in human atherosclerotic lesions, the expression of M2 markers and PPARgamma, a nuclear receptor controlling macrophage inflammation, correlate positively. Moreover, PPARgamma activation primes primary human monocytes into M2 differentiation, resulting in a more pronounced anti-inflammatory activity in M1 macrophages. However, PPARgamma activation does not influence M2 marker expression in resting or M1 macrophages, nor does PPARgamma agonist treatment influence the expression of M2 markers in atherosclerotic lesions, indicating that only native monocytes can be primed by PPARgamma activation to an enhanced M2 phenotype. Furthermore, PPARgamma activation significantly increases expression of the M2 marker MR in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These data demonstrate that PPARgamma activation skews human monocytes toward an anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype.     

Characterization of a novel GDP-mannose:Serine-protein mannose-1-phosphotransferase from Leishmania mexicana

Protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania secrete a number of glycoproteins and mucin-like proteoglycans that appear to be important parasite virulence factors. We have previously proposed that the polypeptide backbones of these molecules are extensively modified with a complex array of phosphoglycan chains that are linked to Ser/Thr-rich domains via a common Manalpha1-PO4-Ser linkage (Ilg, T., Overath, P., Ferguson, M. A. J., Rutherford, T., Campbell, D. G., and McConville, M. J. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269, 24073-24081). In this study, we show that Leishmania mexicana promastigotes contain a peptide-specific mannose-1-phosphotransferase (pep-MPT) activity that adds Manalpha1-P to serine residues in a range of defined peptides. The presence and location of the Manalpha1-PO4-Ser linkage in these peptides were determined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and chemical and enzymatic treatments. The pep-MPT activity was solubilized in non-ionic detergents, was dependent on Mn2+, utilized GDP-Man as the mannose donor, and was expressed in all developmental stages of the parasite. The pep-MPT activity was maximal against peptides containing Ser/Thr-rich domains of the endogenous acceptors and, based on competition assays with oligosaccharide acceptors, was distinct from other leishmanial MPTs involved in the initiation and elongation of lipid-linked phosphoglycan chains. In subcellular fractionation experiments, pep-MPT was resolved from the endoplasmic reticulum marker BiP, but had an overlapping distribution with the cis-Golgi marker Rab1. Although Man-PO4 residues in the mature secreted glycoproteins are extensively modified with mannose oligosaccharides and phosphoglycan chains, similar modifications were not added to peptide-linked Man-PO4 residues in the in vitro assays. Similarly, Man-PO4 residues on endogenous polypeptide acceptors were also poorly extended, although the elongating enzymes were still active, suggesting that the pep-MPT activity and elongating enzymes may be present in separate subcellular compartments.     

Regulated degradation of an endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein in a tubular lysosome in Leishmania mexicana

The cell surface of the human parasite Leishmania mexicana is coated with glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored macromolecules and free GPI glycolipids. We have investigated the intracellular trafficking of green fluorescent protein- and hemagglutinin-tagged forms of dolichol-phosphate-mannose synthase (DPMS), a key enzyme in GPI biosynthesis in L. mexicana promastigotes. These functionally active chimeras are found in the same subcompartment of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as endogenous DPMS but are degraded as logarithmically growing promastigotes reach stationary phase, coincident with the down-regulation of endogenous DPMS activity and GPI biosynthesis in these cells. We provide evidence that these chimeras are constitutively transported to and degraded in a novel multivesicular tubule (MVT) lysosome. This organelle is a terminal lysosome, which is labeled with the endocytic marker FM 4-64, contains lysosomal cysteine and serine proteases and is disrupted by lysomorphotropic agents. Electron microscopy and subcellular fractionation studies suggest that the DPMS chimeras are transported from the ER to the lumen of the MVT via the Golgi apparatus and a population of 200-nm multivesicular bodies. In contrast, soluble ER proteins are not detectably transported to the MVT lysosome in either log or stationary phase promastigotes. Finally, the increased degradation of the DPMS chimeras in stationary phase promastigotes coincides with an increase in the lytic capacity of the MVT lysosome and changes in the morphology of this organelle. We conclude that lysosomal degradation of DPMS may be important in regulating the cellular levels of this enzyme and the stage-dependent biosynthesis of the major surface glycolipids of these parasites.     

Dissecting interdomain communication within cAPK regulatory subunit type IIbeta using enhanced amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (DXMS)

cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cAPK) is a heterotetramer containing a regulatory (R) subunit dimer bound to two catalytic (C) subunits and is involved in numerous cell signaling pathways. The C-subunit is activated allosterically when two cAMP molecules bind sequentially to the cAMP-binding domains, designated A and B (cAB-A and cAB-B, respectively). Each cAMP-binding domain contains a conserved Arg residue that is critical for high-affinity cAMP binding. Replacement of this Arg with Lys affects cAMP affinity, the structural integrity of the cAMP-binding domains, and cAPK activation. To better understand the local and long-range effects that the Arg-to-Lys mutation has on the dynamic properties of the R-subunit, the amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange in the RIIbeta subunit was probed by electrospray mass spectrometry. Mutant proteins containing the Arg-to-Lys substitution in either cAMP-binding domain were deuterated for various times and then, prior to mass spectrometry analysis, subjected to pepsin digestion to localize the deuterium incorporation. Mutation of this Arg in cAB-A (Arg230) causes an increase in amide hydrogen exchange throughout the mutated domain that is beyond the modest and localized effects of cAMP removal and is indicative of the importance of this Arg in domain organization. Mutation of Arg359 (cAB-B) leads to increased exchange in the adjacent cAB-A domain, particularly in the cAB-A domain C-helix that lies on top of the cAB-B domain and is believed to be functionally linked to the cAB-B domain. This interdomain communication appears to be a unidirectional pathway, as mutation of Arg230 in cAB-A does not effect dynamics of the cAB-B domain.     

Characteristics of action potentials in Helianthus annuus

The action potentials induced by nondamaging electrical stimuli in 16- to 22-day-old plants of Helianthus annuus were examined. Typical recordings are presented. Mean values of their amplitudes and conduction velocities in the stem, the strength-duration relation, the 'all-or-none' law and the refractory periods have been determined. The amplitude and velocity of propagation were essentially identical in the upward and downward direction, but greater in the upper than in the lower half. In 'electrically active' plants, the rheobase value is 2 V, the minimum period for stimulation is 1.8 s. and the chronaxie 2.3 s. It is noted that the excitability level between similar plants on the same day and in the same plant on different days is highly variable and undergoes periodic changes.     

An orally bioavailable positive allosteric modulator of the mGlu4 receptor with efficacy in an animal model of motor dysfunction

A high-throughput screening campaign identified 4-((E)-styryl)-pyrimidin-2-ylamine (11) as a positive allosteric modulator of the metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor subtype 4. An evaluation of the structure–activity relationships (SAR) of 11 is described and the efficacy of this compound in a haloperidol-induced catalepsy rat model following oral administration is presented.     

Extra- and intracellular measurements of action potentials in the liverwort Conocephalum conicum

Action potentials induced by electrical stimuli were recorded from the thalli of tfie liverwort, Conocephalum conicum L. An analysis of an equivalent circuit of Conocephalum conicum thallus in situ has shown that the multiphasic time course of extracellular recordings is caused by a branching of extracellular conduction layers and by an overlapping of action currents. As compared to the velocity of excitation propagation without short-circuiting, more than 10 times higher rates of action potential conduction have been recorded when the plants are immersed in a low resistaace solution. Furthermore, simultaneous extra- and intracellular recordings from thalli in situ are presented.