Complementarity and other key criteria in the conservation of herb-rich forests in Finland

Complementarity of the nature reserve network in southernmost Finlandwas examined using a simple heuristic algorithm and occurrence data of 75characteristic herb-rich forest vascular plant species in 126 protected and 120non-protected sites. Three different minimum sets were selected to represent 1,5, or 10 occurrences of each species. In each minimum set there weresignificantly more protected than non-protected sites. Thus, although efficiencyis not maximal in the existing reserve network, the network does provide arepresentative basis for the conservation of herb-rich forest plants. However,some deficiencies were also noticed, particularly new reserves in floristicallydiverse herb-rich forests along watercourses would supplement the existingreserve network. On the other hand, the growing concern over the shortcomings ofreserve selection studies using presence/absence data is echoed here, becausemany of the protected forests not included in the minimum sets harbour importantnature conservation values. With regard to the five biological reserve selectioncriteria (e.g. occurrences of threatened species) considered here, theperformance of the existing reserve network is rather good. However, examinationof five reserve design criteria revealed some deficiencies, particularlyvulnerability of many reserves to potential edge effects.     

Community structure, survival and mortality factors in arctic populations of Eupontania leaf gallers

We studied survival, mortality factors, and community structure of nine species of leaf-galling sawflies, Eupontania spp., living on ten willow species (Salix spp.) at six sites on the Russian arctic tundra. The sawfly species represented two different gall types: the viminalis-type, which forms pea-shaped galls on the underside of leaf blades, and the vesicator-type, which forms bean-shaped galls on both sides of the leaf blade. Gall communities in the northernmost site had only one parasitoid species, but up to six parasitoids were found at the southernmost site. Inquiline parasitoids were encountered only in the two southern sites. Survival of the larvae varied between 20.0 and 82.8% among galler species at different sites. Parasitoids were the most important mortality factor for the sawflies. They caused mortality of 7.8-65.4%, depending on galler species and site, and it was highest in the northernmost site. Plant-specific mortality varied from 1.7 to 28.4% by galler species and it tended to decrease towards the north. Mortality from parasitoids was greater in the vesicator-type gallers than in the viminalis-type gallers. The total mortality caused by parasitoids in the arctic communities does not appear to differ from that in the diverse southern communities of Eupontania in Middle Europe, Scandinavia and North America, despite the assemblage having only a few members in the Arctic. The largest difference between the southern and the northern communities was the lack of inquiline parasitoids in the north. Our data do not support the hypothesis that abiotic, rather than biotic, factors would be more important in determining the abundance of populations of herbivorous insects in the harsh arctic environment.     

Diet variation of common buzzards in Finland supports the alternative prey hypothesis

The regional synchrony of short-term population fluctuations of small rodents and small game has usually been explained by varying impacts of generalist predators subsisting on both voles and small game (the "alternative prey hypothesis" APH). APH says that densities of predators increase as a response to increasing vole densities and then these predators shift their diet from the main prey to the alternative prey when the main prey decline and vice versa. We studied the diet composition of breeding common buzzards Buteo buteo during 1985-92 in western Finland. Microtus voles were the main prey and water voles, shrews, forest grouse, hares and small birds the most important alternative prey. Our data from the between-year variation in the diet composition of buzzards fulfilled the main predictions of APH. The yearly proportion of main prey (Microtus voles) in the diet was higher in years of high than low vole abundance. The proportion of grouse in the diet of buzzards was negatively related to the abundance of Microtus voles in the field and was nearly independent of grouse abundance in the field. In addition, buzzards mainly took grouse chicks and young hares which is consistent with the prediction of APH. Therefore, we conclude that buzzards are able to shift their diet in the way predicted by the APH and that buzzards, together with other generalist predators, may reduce the breeding success of small game in the decline phase of the vole cycle, and thus substantially contribute to the existence of short-term population cycles of small game.     

You eat what you find – Local patterns in vegetation structure control diets of African fungus‐growing termites

Fungus‐growing termites and their symbiotic Termitomyces fungi are critically important carbon and nutrient recyclers in arid and semiarid environments of sub‐Saharan Africa. A major proportion of plant litter produced in these ecosystems is decomposed within nest chambers of termite mounds, where temperature and humidity are kept optimal for the fungal symbionts. While fungus‐growing termites are generally believed to exploit a wide range of different plant substrates, the actual diets of most species remain elusive. We studied dietary niches of two Macrotermes species across the semiarid savanna landscape in the Tsavo Ecosystem, southern Kenya, based on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotopes in Termitomyces fungus combs. We applied Bayesian mixing models to determine the proportion of grass and woody plant matter in the combs, these being the two major food sources available for Macrotermes species in the region. Our results showed that both termite species, and colonies cultivating different Termitomyces fungi, occupied broad and largely overlapping isotopic niches, indicating no dietary specialization. Including laser scanning derived vegetation cover estimates to the dietary mixing model revealed that the proportion of woody plant matter in fungus combs increased with increasing woody plant cover in the nest surroundings. Nitrogen content of fungus combs was positively correlated with woody plant cover around the mounds and negatively correlated with the proportion of grass matter in the comb. Considering the high N demand of large Macrotermes colonies, woody plant matter seems to thus represent a more profitable food source than grass. As grass is also utilized by grazing mammals, and the availability of grass matter typically fluctuates over the year, mixed woodland‐grasslands and bushlands seem to represent more favorable habitats for large Macrotermes colonies than open grasslands.     

Pinniped phylogeny and a new hypothesis for their origin and dispersal

The relationships and the zoogeography of the three extant pinniped families, Otariidae (sea lions and fur seals), Odobenidae (one extant species, the walrus), and Phocidae (true seals), have been contentious. Here, we address these topics in a molecular study that includes all extant species of true seals and sea lions, four fur seals and the walrus. Contrary to prevailing morphological views the analyses conclusively showed monophyletic Pinnipedia with a basal split between Otarioidea (Otariidae+Odobenidae) and Phocidae. The northern fur seal was the sister to all remaining otariids and neither sea lions nor arctocephaline fur seals were recognized as monophyletic entities. The basal Phocidae split between Monachinae (monk seals and southern true seals) and Phocinae (northern true seals) was strongly supported. The phylogeny of the Phocinae suggests that the ancestors of Cystophora (hooded seal) and the Phocini (e.g. harp seal, ringed seal) adapted to Arctic conditions and ice-breeding before 12 MYA (million years ago) as supported by the white natal coat of these lineages. The origin of the endemic Caspian and Baikal seals was dated well before the onset of major Pleistocene glaciations. The current findings, together with recent advances in pinniped paleontology, allow the proposal of a new hypothesis for pinniped origin and early dispersal. The hypothesis posits that pinnipeds originated on the North American continent with early otarioid and otariid divergences taking place in the northeast Pacific and those of the phocids in coastal areas of southeast N America for later dispersal to colder environments in the N Atlantic and the Arctic Basin, and in Antarctic waters.     

Metabolite changes in BT4C rat gliomas undergoing ganciclovir-thymidine kinase gene therapy-induced programmed cell death as studied by 1H NMR spectroscopy in vivo,ex vivo,and in vitro

Programmed cell death was induced by HSV-tk gene therapy in rat BT4C glioma cells, and metabolite changes associated with cell damage were monitored in vivo by 1H NMR spectroscopy and ex vivo by high resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) 1H NMR, and in vitro in perchloric acid extracts of tumors. Metabolite concentrations, as quantified in vivo using water as an internal reference and in vitro in extracts, were correlated with cell density. The results showed that both in vivo and in vitro glycine and creatine concentrations followed volume-averaged cell density, whereas that of total choline-containing compounds was unaffected by a cell loss approaching 60%. Meanwhile, both saturated and unsaturated 1H NMR visible lipids increased. HRMAS 1H NMR spectroscopy of the tumor samples at 14.1 tesla demonstrated the presence of nucleotide peaks from adenosine and uridine nucleotides in glioma samples ex vivo. The assignment of a doublet at 7.95 ppm to UDP was confirmed by spiking experiments of tumor extracts in conjunction with 1H and 31P NMR spectroscopy. HRMAS also resolved the choline-containing peak at 3.2 ppm in vivo into resonances from choline (3.20 ppm), phosphocholine (3.22 ppm), glycerophosphocholine (3.24 ppm), and taurine (3.26 ppm). These resonances were uncorrelated with temporal progression through programmed cell death. Our results show that 1H NMR-detected lipids and some of the small molecular weight metabolites respond to gene therapy. However, the choline-containing compounds are unaffected by severe decline in cell density. The latter observation supports the idea that triacylglycerols, rather than membrane phospholipids, are the key components of 1H NMR visible lipids, and it also casts doubt on the validity of resonance of choline-containing compounds as a diagnostic marker of programmed cell death in vivo.     

Human-mediated lineage admixture in an expanding Ponto-Caspian crustacean species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paramysis lacustris</Emphasis> created a novel genetic stock that now occupies European waters

Identifying the origins and colonization routes of alien species is critical to understanding the mechanisms, consequences and management of invasions. This study aims to demonstrate and explain conflicting genetic signals in a widespread invasive Ponto-Caspian mysid Paramysis lacustris using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers. Native Black Sea populations of P. lacustris are divided into three distinct phylogeographic groups: Danube–Dniester region, coastal Danube lakes, and Dnieper River delta. In the 1950s–1970s the species has been extensively used for relatively well documented transplantations in Eastern Europe. However, the populations in the newly established distribution area do not match any of the known native groups, and their genetic signal does not correspond with the recorded transplantation history. Using Bayesian Approximate Computation we explore alternative scenarios that could explain the unexpected mitochondrial and nuclear signals in the introduced populations. We suggest that reservoir construction and break-up of natural dispersal barriers on the River Dnieper have brought about a novel stock, probably admixed from a previously isolated and unknown “relict” population in the middle Dnieper and the genetically distinct Dnieper delta lineage. Through further intentional transfers this new P. lacustris lineage is now widely present in Eastern Europe and is likely to have new gene and trait combinations. The conflicting mitochondrial-nuclear signal in non-native populations also highlights the importance of using multiple genetic markers when tracing invasion sources and pathways.     

Rapid and Accurate Detection of Urinary Pathogens by Mobile IMS-Based Electronic Nose: A Proof-of-Principle Study

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common disease with significant morbidity and economic burden, accounting for a significant part of the workload in clinical microbiology laboratories. Current clinical chemisty point-of-care diagnostics rely on imperfect dipstick analysis which only provides indirect and insensitive evidence of urinary bacterial pathogens. An electronic nose (eNose) is a handheld device mimicking mammalian olfaction that potentially offers affordable and rapid analysis of samples without preparation at athmospheric pressure. In this study we demonstrate the applicability of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) –based eNose to discriminate the most common UTI pathogens from gaseous headspace of culture plates rapidly and without sample preparation. We gathered a total of 101 culture samples containing four most common UTI bacteries: E. coli, S. saprophyticus, E. faecalis, Klebsiella spp and sterile culture plates. The samples were analyzed using ChemPro 100i device, consisting of IMS cell and six semiconductor sensors. Data analysis was conducted by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and logistic regression (LR). The results were validated by leave-one-out and 5-fold cross validation analysis. In discrimination of sterile and bacterial samples sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 97% were achieved. The bacterial species were identified with sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 96% using eNose as compared to urine bacterial cultures. In conclusion: These findings strongly demonstrate the ability of our eNose to discriminate bacterial cultures and provides a proof of principle to use this method in urinanalysis of UTI.     

The vascular E-selectin binds to the leukocyte integrins CD11/CD18

Leukocyte adhesion involves at least three molecular familiesof adhesion proteins: the leukocyte integrins CD11/CD18, theintercellular adhesion molecules (ICAMs) and the carbohydrate-bindingL-, E- and P-selectins. The intercellular adhesion moleculesare well-known ligands for the CD11/CD18 integrins. We now showthat E-selectin specifically binds to the sialyl Le^x carbohydrateepitopes of leukocyte integrins. Thus, the different familiesof leukocyte adhesion molecules form an integrated adhesionnetwork. adhesion integrins leukocyte selectin     

Detection of Mobile Proteins by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in the Guinea Pig Brain Ex Vivo and Their Partial Purification

Abstract: Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) spectroscopy was used to study metabolites of the brain cortex ex vivo. The superfused brain cortex preparation was judged to be metabolically viable on the basis of the ³¹P NMR spectrum (intracellular pH of 7.23 ± 0.03 and phosphocreatine/ ATP ratio of 1.21 ± 0.09). Using'H NMR a group of previously unidentified signals was detectable at 0.94, 1.22, and 1.40 ppm with a water-suppressed spin-echo sequence. These signals had shorter spin-spin relaxation times (51-54 ms) than TV-acetylaspartate and lactate (84-93 ms) and also smaller saturation factors, an indication of shorter spin-lattice relaxation times than the latter two low-molecular-weight metabolites. The unidentified signals also displayed homo-nuclear coupling to other spins in the methine region of the spectrum. Acid extraction of the brain slices or cortex from animals that were killed yielded a mixture of proteins that exhibited NMR properties matching the ¹H NMR signals in the brain cortex. The molecular mass of these thermoresistant, "mobile' proteins, which contained proline plus hydroxy-proline (9-16% of all amino acids), ranged between 8 and 40 kDa. These "new' assigμMents of¹H NMR-detectable compounds may influence interpretation of NMR data of some metabolites, as their signals are in the vicinity of the -CH3 ¹H NMR peaks of lactate and alanine.