Integrating systemic and molecular levels to infer key drivers sustaining metabolic adaptations

Metabolic adaptations to complex perturbations, like the response to pharmacological treatments in multifactorial diseases such as cancer, can be described through measurements of part of the fluxes and concentrations at the systemic level and individual transporter and enzyme activities at the molecular level. In the framework of Metabolic Control Analysis (MCA), ensembles of linear constraints can be built integrating these measurements at both systemic and molecular levels, which are expressed as relative differences or changes produced in the metabolic adaptation. Here, combining MCA with Linear Programming, an efficient computational strategy is developed to infer additional non-measured changes at the molecular level that are required to satisfy these constraints. An application of this strategy is illustrated by using a set of fluxes, concentrations, and differentially expressed genes that characterize the response to cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 inhibition in colon cancer cells. Decreases and increases in transporter and enzyme individual activities required to reprogram the measured changes in fluxes and concentrations are compared with down-regulated and up-regulated metabolic genes to unveil those that are key molecular drivers of the metabolic response.     

Jelly-falls historic and recent observations: a review to drive future research directions

The biological pump describes the transport of particulate matter from the sea surface to the ocean’s interior including the seabed. The contribution by gelatinous zooplankton bodies as particulate organic matter (POM) vectors (“jelly-falls”) has been neglected owing to technical and spatiotemporal sampling limitations. Here, we assess the existing evidence on jelly-falls from early ocean observations to present times. The seasonality of jelly-falls indicates that they mostly occur after periods of strong upwelling and/or spring blooms in temperate/subpolar zones and during late spring/early summer. A conceptual model helps to define a jelly-fall based on empirical and field observations of biogeochemical and ecological processes. We then compile and discuss existing strategic and observational oceanographic techniques that could be implemented to further jelly-falls research. Seabed video- and photography-based studies deliver the best results, and the correct use of fishing techniques, such as trawling, could provide comprehensive regional datasets. We conclude by considering the possibility of increased gelatinous biomasses in the future ocean induced by upper ocean processes favouring their populations, thus increasing jelly-POM downward transport. We suggest that this could provide a “natural compensation” for predicted losses in pelagic POM with respect to fuelling benthic ecosystems.     

Distribution and habitat associations of billfish and swordfish larvae across mesoscale features in the Gulf of Mexico

Ichthyoplankton surveys were conducted in surface waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM) over a three-year period (2006-2008) to determine the relative value of this region as early life habitat of sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus), blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), white marlin (Kajikia albida), and swordfish (Xiphias gladius). Sailfish were the dominant billfish collected in summer surveys, and larvae were present at 37.5% of the stations sampled. Blue marlin and white marlin larvae were present at 25.0% and 4.6% of the stations sampled, respectively, while swordfish occurred at 17.2% of the stations. Areas of peak production were detected and maximum density estimates for sailfish (22.09 larvae 1000 m(-2)) were significantly higher than the three other species: blue marlin (9.62 larvae 1000 m(-2)), white marlin (5.44 larvae 1000 m(-2)), and swordfish (4.67 larvae 1000 m(-2)). The distribution and abundance of billfish and swordfish larvae varied spatially and temporally, and several environmental variables (sea surface temperature, salinity, sea surface height, distance to the Loop Current, current velocity, water depth, and Sargassum biomass) were deemed to be influential variables in generalized additive models (GAMs). Mesoscale features in the NGoM affected the distribution and abundance of billfish and swordfish larvae, with densities typically higher in frontal zones or areas proximal to the Loop Current. Habitat suitability of all four species was strongly linked to physicochemical attributes of the water masses they inhabited, and observed abundance was higher in slope waters with lower sea surface temperature and higher salinity. Our results highlight the value of the NGoM as early life habitat of billfishes and swordfish, and represent valuable baseline data for evaluating anthropogenic effects (i.e., Deepwater Horizon oil spill) on the Atlantic billfish and swordfish populations.     

Effects of heterogeneous interaction strengths on food web complexity

Using a bioenergetic model we show that the pattern of foraging preferences greatly determines the complexity of the resulting food webs. By complexity we refer to the degree of richness of food-web architecture, measured in terms of some topological indicators (number of persistent species and links, connectance, link density, number of trophic levels, and frequency of weak links). The poorest food-web architecture is found for a mean-field scenario where all foraging preferences are assumed to be the same. Richer food webs appear when foraging preferences depend on the trophic position of species. Food-web complexity increases with the number of basal species. We also find a strong correlation between the complexity of a trophic module and the complexity of entire food webs with the same pattern of foraging preferences.     

Enteroviral and Mumps Meningitis in Toronto, 1963

Virological investigations of 115 children with the aseptic meningitis syndrome during 1963 resulted in the isolation of enteroviruses from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and/or feces of 21 of 48 children who had no association with mumps. For the third successive year, Echo 9 was the dominant enterovirus in cases of aseptic meningitis in Toronto children, but no rashes were associated with Echo 9 meningitis during 1963, in contradistinction to previous years. Mumps virus was isolated from CSF of 25 patients by inoculation of rhesus monkey kidney cultures, and rising or elevated mumps antihemagglutinin titres in paired sera from a further 33 cases provided laboratory evidence of infection with mumps virus in 58 of 67 patients with mumps meningoencephalitis. No enlargement of salivary glands was noted in 20 laboratory-proved cases of mumps meningoencephalitis. Enteroviral meningitis occurred principally during summer, but the peak of mumps meningoencephalitis occurred during late winter.     

Pneumococcal Carriage in Children under Five Years in Uganda-Will Present Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines Be Appropriate?

BackgroundPneumonia is the major cause of death in children globally, with more than 900,000 deaths annually in children under five years of age. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes most deaths, most often in the form of community acquired pneumonia. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are currently being implemented in many low-income countries. PCVs decrease vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage, a prerequisite for invasive pneumococcal disease, and thereby affects pneumococcal disease and transmission. In Uganda, PCV was launched in 2014, but baseline data is lacking for pneumococcal serotypes in carriage.ObjectivesTo study pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage and serotype distribution in children under 5 years of age prior to PCV introduction in UgandaMethodsThree cross-sectional pneumococcal carriage surveys were conducted in 2008, 2009 and 2011, comprising respectively 150, 587 and 1024 randomly selected children aged less than five years from the Iganga/Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site. The caretakers were interviewed about illness history of the child and 1723 nasopharyngeal specimens were collected. From these, 927 isolates of S. pneumoniae were serotyped.ResultsOverall, the carriage rate of S. pneumoniae was 56% (957/1723). Pneumococcal carriage was associated with illness on the day of the interview (OR = 1.50, p = 0.04). The most common pneumococcal serotypes were in descending order 19F (16%), 23F (9%), 6A (8%), 29 (7%) and 6B (7%). One percent of the strains were non-typeable. The potential serotype coverage rate for PCV10 was 42% and 54% for PCV13.ConclusionAbout half of circulating pneumococcal serotypes in carriage in the Ugandan under-five population studied was covered by available PCVs.     

Defining the importance of landscape metrics for large branchiopod biodiversity and conservation: the case of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

The deficiency in the distributional data of invertebrate taxa is one of the major impediments acting on the bias towards the low awareness of its conservation status. The present study sets a basic framework to understand the large branchiopods distribution in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Since the extensive surveys performed in the late 1980s, no more studies existed updating the information for the whole studied area. The present study fills the gap, gathering together all available information on large branchiopods distribution since 1995, and analysing the effect of human population density and several landscape characteristics on their distribution, taking into consideration different spatial scales (100 m, 1 km and 10 km). In overall, 28 large branchiopod taxa (17 anostracans, 7 notostracans and 4 spinicaudatans) are known to occur in the area. Approximately 30% of the sites hosted multiple species, with a maximum of 6 species. Significant positive co-occurring species pairs were found clustered together, forming 4 different associations of large branchiopod species. In general, species clustered in the same group showed similar responses to analysed landscape characteristics, usually showing a better fit at higher spatial scales.     

Landscape context modulates alien plant invasion in Mediterranean forest edges

Natural habitats in human-altered landscapes are especially vulnerable to biological invasions, especially in their edges. We aim to understand the influence of landscape and local characteristics on biological invasions by exploring the level of plant invasion and alien species traits in forest edges in highly urbanized landscapes. We identified all plant species in 73 paired plots in the edge and 50 m towards the interior of the forest. We explored the association between alien species richness and similarity in species composition between edge and interior plots with landscape and local variables, using generalized linear models and variance partitioning techniques. Then, we performed Fourth-corner analyses to explore the association between alien plant traits and local and landscape variables. In contrast to native species richness, alien species richness was more affected by the surrounding landscape than by the local characteristics of the edge. Road proximity was positively associated with alien species richness and proportion and was its most important correlate, whereas disturbance was negatively associated with native species richness and was its most influential factor. Alien plant traits were also primarily associated with landscape characteristics. For instance, species of Mediterranean origin and introduced for agriculture were associated with higher agriculture use in the landscape. Our findings suggest that risk analyses of habitat vulnerability to invasion must consider the landscape context in order to successfully predict highly invaded areas and identify potentially successful invaders.