The influence of temporal variation on relationships between ecosystem services

A growing literature aims to identify areas of congruence in the provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services. However, little attention has been paid to the effect that temporal variation in the provision of such services may have on understanding of these relationships. Due to a lack of temporally and spatially replicated monitoring surveys, such relationships are often assessed using data from disparate time periods. Utilising temporally replicated data for indices of freshwater quality and agricultural production we demonstrate that through time the biophysical values of ecosystem services may vary in a spatially non-uniform way. This can lead to differing conclusions being reached about the strength of relationships between services, which in turn has implications for the prioritisation of areas for management of multiple services. We present this first analysis to illustrate the effect that the use of such temporally disparate datasets may have, and to highlight the need for further research to assess under what circumstances temporal variation of this sort will have the greatest impact.     

A multiple watershed field test of hydrogeomorphic functional assessment of headwater streams—Variability in field measurements between independent teams

Ephemeral and intermittent headwater streams are under increasing pressure from disturbance and development. Rapid, repeatable assessment techniques are needed in order to gauge the condition of these stream systems. Several attributes of these headwater streams constrain the use of the most widely used macroinvertebrate or water quality stream assessment techniques. The hydrogeomorphic (HGM) functional assessment is a reference-based alternative technique. To evaluate this alternative, repeated assessments were conducted in eight high-gradient headwaters in West Virginia by four independent teams. Across-site and measurement variance among teams was assessed using a coefficient of variation (CV, expressed as percent). A variability of >50% CV, which suggests less repeatable results, occurred in only 13.8% of measurements, primarily associated with 2 of the 9 variables examined (snag density and substrate size). Between site measurement variance was the greatest at more highly disturbed sample locations, particularly with regard to the large woody debris, tree species richness, and channel bank erosion variables. Variables with the lowest CV were tree diameter, detrital cover, canopy cover, and channel embeddedness. Based on these results, measurements included when applying HGM approach to these streams should focus on direct measurements or directed estimates that yield a large response range across a spectrum of sites while maintaining consistent repeatability among different teams, with special attention paid to their use in highly disturbed sites.     

High levels of cryptic species diversity uncovered in Amazonian frogs

One of the greatest challenges for biodiversity conservation is the poor understanding of species diversity. Molecular methods have dramatically improved our ability to uncover cryptic species, but the magnitude of cryptic diversity remains unknown, particularly in diverse tropical regions such as the Amazon Basin. Uncovering cryptic diversity in amphibians is particularly pressing because amphibians are going extinct globally at an alarming rate. Here, we use an integrative analysis of two independent Amazonian frog clades, Engystomops toadlets and Hypsiboas treefrogs, to test whether species richness is underestimated and, if so, by how much. We sampled intensively in six countries with a focus in Ecuador (Engystomops: 252 individuals from 36 localities; Hypsiboas: 208 individuals from 65 localities) and combined mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA, morphological, and bioacoustic data to detect cryptic species. We found that in both clades, species richness was severely underestimated, with more undescribed species than described species. In Engystomops, the two currently recognized species are actually five to seven species (a 150-250% increase in species richness); in Hypsiboas, two recognized species represent six to nine species (a 200-350% increase). Our results suggest that Amazonian frog biodiversity is much more severely underestimated than previously thought.     

Detecting overlapping coding sequences in virus genomes

Background  

Detecting new coding sequences (CDSs) in viral genomes can be difficult for several reasons. The typically compact genomes often contain a number of overlapping coding and non-coding functional elements, which can result in unusual patterns of codon usage; conservation between related sequences can be difficult to interpret – especially within overlapping genes; and viruses often employ non-canonical translational mechanisms – e.g. frameshifting, stop codon read-through, leaky-scanning and internal ribosome entry sites – which can conceal potentially coding open reading frames (ORFs).     

Seasonal dynamics of shallow-hyporheic-zone microbial community structure along a heavy-metal contamination gradient

Heavy metals contaminate numerous freshwater streams and rivers worldwide. Previous work by this group demonstrated a relationship between the structure of hyporheic microbial communities and the fluvial deposition of heavy metals along a contamination gradient during the fall season. Seasonal variation has been documented in microbial communities in numerous terrestrial and aquatic environments, including the hyporheic zone. The current study was designed to assess whether relationships between hyporheic microbial community structure and heavy-metal contamination vary seasonally by monitoring community structure along a heavy-metal contamination gradient for more than a year. No relationship between total bacterial abundance and heavy metals was observed (R(2) = 0.02, P = 0.83). However, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis pattern analysis indicated a strong and consistent linear relationship between the difference in microbial community composition (populations present) and the difference in the heavy metal content of hyporheic sediments throughout the year (R(2) = 0.58, P < 0.001). Correlations between heavy-metal contamination and the abundance of four specific phylogenetic groups (most closely related to the alpha, beta, and gamma-proteobacteria and cyanobacteria) were apparent only during the fall and early winter, when the majority of organic matter is deposited into regional streams. These seasonal data suggest that the abundance of susceptible populations responds to heavy metals primarily during seasons when the potential for growth is highest.     

High titer production of tetracenomycins by heterologous expression of the pathway in a Streptomyces cinnamonensis industrial monensin producer strain

Streptomyces cinnamonensis C730.1 and C730.7, are industrially mutagenized strains that produce moderate and high levels of the polyketide polyether antibiotic monensin A, respectively, in an oil-based fermentation medium. The possibility that these strains could be used for high titer production of a heterologous polyketide product was investigated by expression of the entire tetracenomycin (TCM) biosynthetic pathway using an integrative plasmid, pSET154. Expression in C730.1 led to stable production of ~0.44 g/l TCM C (the final biosynthetic product) and ~2.69 g/l TCM A2 (the penultimate biosynthetic product), and resulted in a 40% decrease in monensin production. Expression in the C730.7 led to higher levels of TCMs, ~0.6 g/l TCM C and ~4.35 g/l TCM A2, without any detectable decrease in the higher titer monensin production. Abrogation of monensin production in this strain through deletion of the corresponding biosynthetic genes did not lead to higher levels of TCM products. In the case of the C730.7 host, 85% of the TCM C and virtually all of the TCM A2 were intracellular, suggesting feedback inhibition leads to the accumulation of the final pathway intermediate. These observations contrast those made for the native producer Streptomyces glaucescens where the predominant product is TCM C and TCM titers are significantly lower levels (~0.3 g/l), and demonstrate the potential utility of S. cinnamonensis strains as heterologous hosts for high level expression of a variety of polyketide synthase derived products.     

Ligand-Induced Translocation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor to the Nucleus of NR6/HER Fibroblasts Is Serum Dependent

Ligand-induced translocation of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGF-R) to the nucleus of NR6/HER fibroblasts has been studied by immunoelectron microscopy. Following treatment of NR6/HER cells with epidermal growth factor (EGF) for 1 h, there was a decrease in EGF-R labeling at the plasma membrane and a corresponding increase in EGF-R in the nucleus. This was preceded by a rapid and sustained increase in nuclear phosphotyrosine content, detectable within 2 min of EGF treatment. EGF-R translocation into the nucleus was completely prevented by 18 h serum starvation prior to treatment with EGF. These results indicate that translocation of EGF-R to the nucleus is a controlled process and they suggest theft EGF-R may directly influence nuclear function.     

Transgenic Fluorescent Plasmodium cynomolgi Liver Stages Enable Live Imaging and Purification of Malaria Hypnozoite-Forms

A major challenge for strategies to combat the human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is the presence of hypnozoites in the liver. These dormant forms can cause renewed clinical disease after reactivation through unknown mechanisms. The closely related non-human primate malaria P. cynomolgi is a frequently used model for studying hypnozoite-induced relapses. Here we report the generation of the first transgenic P. cynomolgi parasites that stably express fluorescent markers in liver stages by transfection with novel DNA-constructs containing a P. cynomolgi centromere. Analysis of fluorescent liver stages in culture identified, in addition to developing liver-schizonts, uninucleate persisting parasites that were atovaquone resistant but primaquine sensitive, features associated with hypnozoites. We demonstrate that these hypnozoite-forms could be isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. The fluorescently-tagged parasites in combination with FACS-purification open new avenues for a wide range of studies for analysing hypnozoite biology and reactivation.     

Rapid sympatric ecological differentiation of crater lake cichlid fishes within historic times

Background  

After a volcano erupts, a lake may form in the cooled crater and become an isolated aquatic ecosystem. This makes fishes in crater lakes informative for understanding sympatric evolution and ecological diversification in barren environments. From a geological and limnological perspective, such research offers insight about the process of crater lake ecosystem establishment and speciation. In the present study we use genetic and coalescence approaches to infer the colonization history of Midas cichlid fishes (Amphilophus cf. citrinellus) that inhabit a very young crater lake in Nicaragua-the ca. 1800 year-old Lake Apoyeque. This lake holds two sympatric, endemic morphs of Midas cichlid: one with large, hypertrophied lips (~20% of the total population) and another with thin lips. Here we test the associated ecological, morphological and genetic diversification of these two morphs and their potential to represent incipient speciation.     

Arylphthalazines as potent,and orally bioavailable inhibitors of VEGFR-2

A series of arylphthalazine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as antagonists of VEGF receptor II (VEGFR-2). IM-094482 57, which was prepared in two steps from commercially available starting materials, was found to be a potent inhibitor of VEGFR-2 in enzymatic, cellular and mitogenic assays (comparable activity to ZD-6474). Additionally, 57 inhibited the related receptor, VEGF receptor I (VEGFR-1), and showed excellent exposure when dosed orally to female CD-1 mice.