Aerobiology: An ecological indicator for early detection and control of fungal outbreaks in caves

Aerobiology of caves is still in its infancy. At present, no clear information has been generated on the limits of acceptance of fungal spores in air which permit classification of the atmosphere of a cave as not dangerous for the conservation of rock-art paintings. We had the unique opportunity to visit and sample different caves in Spain and France, under different managements. We obtained a collection of data related with contamination episodes that permitted the formulation of a tentative index of fungal hazard in show caves. This is supported by the concentration of fungal spores in the cave air, the knowledge of the cave history and management, and a detailed survey of the different halls of the caves. The index classifies the risks into five categories: category 1 identifies a cave without fungal problems, category 2 is an alarm signal for caves, category 3 is a cave threatened by fungi, category 4 is assigned to a cave already affected by fungi, and category 5 is a cave with an irreversible ecological disturbance. This index, a working hypothesis, is launched to promote interest and forum discussion and should be validated by the scientific community after being updated with more surveys and cave analyses carried out under different managements and with different contamination episodes.     

Cellular Changes in Blood Indicate Severe Respiratory Disease during Influenza Infections in Mice

Influenza A infection is a serious threat to human and animal health. Many of the biological mechanisms of the host-pathogen-interactions are still not well understood and reliable biomarkers indicating the course of the disease are missing. The mouse is a valuable model system enabling us to study the local inflammatory host response and the influence on blood parameters under controlled circumstances. Here, we compared the lung and peripheral changes after PR8 (H1N1) influenza A virus infection in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice using virus variants of different pathogenicity resulting in non-lethal and lethal disease. We monitored hematological and immunological parameters revealing that the granulocyte to lymphocyte ratio in the blood represents an early indicator of severe disease progression already two days after influenza A infection in mice. These findings might be relevant to optimize early diagnostic options of severe influenza disease and to monitor successful therapeutic treatment in humans.     

MAGI: Methylation analysis using genome information

By incorporating annotation information into the analysis of next-generation sequencing DNA methylation data, we provide an improvement in performance over current testing procedures. Methylation analysis using genome information (MAGI) is applicable for both unreplicated and replicated data, and provides an effective analysis for studies with low sequencing depth. When compared with current tests, the annotation-informed tests provide an increase in statistical power and offer a significance-based interpretation of differential methylation.     

New Insights into the Role of DNA Shape on Its Recognition by p53 Proteins

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First record of the non-indigenous jellyfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Blackfordia virginica</Emphasis> (Mayer, 1910) in the Baltic Sea

Marine invasions are of increasing concern for biodiversity conservation worldwide. Gelatinous macrozooplankton contain members, which have become globally invasive, for example the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi or the hydromedusae Blackfordia virginica. B. virginica is characterised by a large salinity tolerance, with a brackish-water habitat preference, and by a metagenic life history strategy with an alternation between sexually reproducing planktonic medusae and asexually reproducing benthic polyps to complete the life cycle. In this study we analysed 8 years of ichthyoplankton survey data (2010–2017) from the Kiel Canal and 14 ichthyoplankton summer surveys in the central Baltic Sea (2008–2017). We report the first presence of B. virginica in northern Europe, namely from the southwestern Baltic Sea and the Kiel Canal. In the Kiel Canal, B. virginica was first sporadically sighted in 2014 and 2015 and has developed persistent populations since summer 2016. Changes in size-frequency distributions during summer 2016 indicate active recruitment in the Kiel Canal at salinities between 7 and 13 and temperatures?>?14 °C. Close vicinity to and direct connection with the southwestern Baltic Sea, where B. virginica was observed during 2017, indicate that the Baltic Sea and other brackish-water habitats of Northern Europe are at risk for colonisation of this non-indigenous species. Our results highlight that monitoring activities should consider gelatinous macrozooplankton for standard assessments to allow for the detection of non-indigenous species at an early stage of their colonisation.     

Nitrogen fixation and diversity of benthic cyanobacterial mats on coral reefs in Curaçao

Coral Reefs - Benthic cyanobacterial mats (BCMs) have increased in abundance on coral reefs worldwide. However, their species diversity and role in nitrogen fixation are poorly understood. We...     

Inborn Errors of RNA Lariat Metabolism in Humans with Brainstem Viral Infection

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