The Value of Forests to World Food Security

We assembled information on the contribution and value of forests to world food security. An assessment was made of the role of forests and non-timber products in the food system of developing countries. We estimated that upwards of 300 million people annually earn part or all of their livelihood and food from forests. A total of about $90 billion in non-timber products are harvested each year. Forests also help to protect land, water, and biological resources, and they play an important role in maintaining the productivity of agricultural and environmental systems.     

Identification and characterization of a novel calcium-activated apyrase from Cryptosporidium parasites and its potential role in pathogenesis

Herein, we report the biochemical and functional characterization of a novel Ca(2+)-activated nucleoside diphosphatase (apyrase), CApy, of the intracellular gut pathogen Cryptosporidium. The purified recombinant CApy protein displayed activity, substrate specificity and calcium dependency strikingly similar to the previously described human apyrase, SCAN-1 (soluble calcium-activated nucleotidase 1). CApy was found to be expressed in both Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts and sporozoites, and displayed a polar localization in the latter, suggesting a possible co-localization with the apical complex of the parasite. In vitro binding experiments revealed that CApy interacts with the host cell in a dose-dependent fashion, implying the presence of an interacting partner on the surface of the host cell. Antibodies directed against CApy block Cryptosporidium parvum sporozoite invasion of HCT-8 cells, suggesting that CApy may play an active role during the early stages of parasite invasion. Sequence analyses revealed that the capy gene shares a high degree of homology with apyrases identified in other organisms, including parasites, insects and humans. Phylogenetic analysis argues that the capy gene is most likely an ancestral feature that has been lost from most apicomplexan genomes except Cryptosporidium, Neospora and Toxoplasma.     

Effect of light exposure on in vitro germination and germ tube growth of eight species of rust fungi

The effects of light on urediniospore germination and germ tube elongation was studied with eight species of rust fungi that infect ornamental plants or row crops. Exposure of six species of fungi to cool white fluorescent light at 400 or 600 micromol s(-1) m(-2) for 24 h significantly reduced germination with largest decreases typically observed at 600 micromol s(-1) m(-2). Germination and germ tube elongation did not recover during 24 h dark incubation after 18 h exposure to fluorescent light at 600 micromol s(-1) m(-2), indicating the effects were not reversible. Germ tube elongation of all fungi was negatively affected by increased length of exposure to fluorescent light. Increased exposure to fluorescent light differentially affected germination of the fungi with Puccinia hemerocallidis, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, Pucciniastrum vaccinii and Puccinia menthae negatively affected and Puccinia sorghi, Puccinia triticina, Puccinia pelargonii-zonalis and Puccinia iridis relatively unaffected in 10 h incubation. Exposure of Ph. pachyrhizi and P. triticina urediniospores to sunlight rapidly reduced germination and germ tube elongation with no germination observed for Ph. pachyrhizi after 2.5 h. Germ tube elongation but not germination of hydrated urediniospores of Ph. pachyrhizi and P. triticina was significantly reduced compared to dry urediniospores exposed to 10 h fluorescent light followed by 24 h dark incubation. Exposure to fluorescent light (all fungi) or sunlight (two fungi) negatively affected urediniospore germ tube elongation. Differences observed in urediniospore germination between fungi suggest some species have co-evolved with their host for differing light conditions. Our data suggests exposure of urediniospores to strong light could inactivate rust fungi on plant surfaces or in the atmosphere.     

Constraining local structure can speed up folding by promoting structural polarization of the folding pathway

The pathway which proteins take to fold can be influenced from the earliest events of structure formation. In this light, it was both predicted and confirmed that increasing the stiffness of a beta hairpin turn decreased the size of the transition state ensemble (TSE), while increasing the folding rate. Thus, there appears to be a relationship between conformationally restricting the TSE and increasing the folding rate, at least for beta hairpin turns. In this study, we hypothesize that the enormous sampling necessary to fold even two-state folding proteins in silico could be reduced if local structure constraints were used to restrict structural heterogeneity by polarizing folding pathways or forcing folding into preferred routes. Using a Gō model, we fold Chymotrypsin Inhibitor 2 (CI-2) and the src SH3 domain after constraining local sequence windows to their native structure by rigid body dynamics (RBD). Trajectories were monitored for any changes to the folding pathway and differences in the kinetics compared with unconstrained simulations. Constraining local structure decreases folding time two-fold for 41% of src SH3 windows and 45% of CI-2 windows. For both proteins, folding times are never significantly increased after constraining any window. Structural polarization of the folding pathway appears to explain these rate increases. Folding rate enhancements are consistent with the goal to reduce sampling time necessary to reach native structures during folding simulations. As anticipated, not all constrained windows showed an equal decrease in folding time. We conclude by analyzing these differences and explain why RBD may be the preferred way to constrain structure.     

Effect of foliar disease on the epiphytic yeast communities of creeping bentgrass and tall fescue

The effect of mechanical wounding or foliar diseases caused by Sclerotinia homoeocarpa or Rhizoctonia solani on the epiphytic yeast communities on creeping bentgrass and tall fescue were determined by leaf washing and dilution plating. Total yeast communities on healthy bentgrass and tall fescue leaves ranged from 7.9 x 103 to 1.4 x 105 CFU.cm-2 and from 2.4 x 103 to 1.6 x 104 CFU.cm-2, respectively. Mechanically wounded leaves (1 of 2 trials) and leaves with disease lesions (11 of 12 trials) supported significantly larger communities of phylloplane yeasts. Total yeast communities on S. homoeocarpa infected or R. solani infected bentgrass leaves were 3.6-10.2 times and 6.2-6.4 times larger, respectively, than the communities on healthy leaves. In general, healthy and diseased bentgrass leaves supported larger yeast communities than healthy or diseased tall fescue leaves. We categorized the majority of yeasts as white-pigmented species, including Cryptococcus laurentii, Cryptococcus flavus, Pseudozyma antarctica, Pseudozyma aphidis, and Pseudozyma parantarctica. The percentage of pink yeasts in the total yeast community ranged from 2.6% to 9.9% on healthy leaves and increased to 32.0%-44.7% on S. homoeocarpa infected leaves. Pink-pigmented yeasts included Rhodotorula glutinis, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Sakaguchia dacryoidea, and Sporidiobolus pararoseus. Foliar disease significantly affected community size and composition of epiphytic yeasts on bentgrass and tall fescue.     

Community response to experimental soil disturbance in a midsuccessional,abandoned pasture

To determine whether soil disturbance by digging and burrowing mammals altered community structure and the rate of succession in a midsuccessional abandoned pasture, species richness, composition and relative abundance were monitored over a two year period both on and off artificially created earth mounds (100, 900, 8100 cm²). Mean species richness increased by up to two species per small mound (100 cm²) and by up to four species per large mound (8100 cm²). However, increased species richness was evident for less than two years. Initially, up to sixteen of the twenty species present occurred more often on earth mounds than off mounds, with two of these species found only on large mounds (8100 cm²). After two years, there was little or no significant difference in species composition and relative frequency on and off earth mounds. Experimental soil disturbance temporarily altered community structure simply by increasing space available for colonization since light, nutrient and water supply did not increase significantly on mounds. Soil disturbance can increase species richness and change species' relative frequency in disturbances as small as 100 cm² but such changes were likely too small and short lived to alter permanently the structure and rate of succession in the abandoned pasture studied here.     

Daphnia magna microRNAs respond to nutritional stress and ageing but are not transgenerational

Maternal effects, where the performance of offspring is determined by the condition of their mother, are widespread and may in some cases be adaptive. The crustacean Daphnia magna shows strong maternal effects: offspring size at birth and other proxies for fitness are altered when their mothers are older or when mothers have experienced dietary restriction. The mechanisms for this transgenerational transmission of maternal experience are unknown, but could include changes in epigenetic patterning. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulators of gene expression that have been shown to play roles in intergenerational information transfer, and here, we test whether miRNAs are involved in D. magna maternal effects. We found that miRNAs were differentially expressed in mothers of different ages or nutritional state. We then examined miRNA expression in their eggs, their adult daughters and great granddaughters, which did not experience any treatments. The maternal (treatment) generation exhibited differential expression of miRNAs, as did their eggs, but this was reduced in adult daughters and lost by great granddaughters. Thus, miRNAs are a component of maternal provisioning, but do not appear to be the cause of transgenerational responses under these experimental conditions. MicroRNAs may act in tandem with egg provisioning (e.g., with carbohydrates or fats), and possibly other small RNAs or epigenetic modifications.