Feasibility of a liver transcriptomics approach to assess bovine treatment with the prohormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)

Background  

Within the European Union the use of growth promoting agents in animal production is prohibited. Illegal use of natural prohormones like dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is hard to prove since prohormones are strongly metabolized in vivo. In the present study, we investigated the feasibility of a novel effect-based approach for monitoring abuse of DHEA. Changes in gene expression profiles were studied in livers of bull calves treated orally (PO) or intramuscularly (IM) with 1000 mg DHEA versus two control groups, using bovine 44K DNA microarrays. In contrast to controlled genomics studies, this work involved bovines purchased at the local market on three different occasions with ages ranging from 6 to 14 months, thereby reflecting the real life inter-animal variability due to differences in age, individual physiology, season and diet.     

The effects of an experimental drought on the ecophysiology and fruiting phenology of a tropical rainforest palm

据预测,人为气候变化将季节性地增加平均温度和降雨。热带雨林物种将如何应对这种气候变化仍不确定。本研究分析了对澳大利 亚昆士兰北部丹特里雨林的一种澳大利亚特有棕榈(Normambya normanbyi)进行4年降雨实验的影响,目的是了解模拟降雨减少对物种生理 过程和果实物候的影响。我们考察了这种本地丰富的棕榈的果实物候和生理生态学特性,以确定该物种对干旱的生态响应。2015年5月, 通过排涝实验,降低了约30%的土壤水分有效性。我们总共监测了8年(2009–2018年)的月度果实活性,包括排涝实验开始之前的4年。在最 近几年的研究中,我们测量了干、湿两季幼嫩和成熟叶片的光合速率、气孔导度和碳稳定同位素等生理参数。研究结果表明,所有棕榈树 的月度果实活性主要受光周期、平均太阳辐射和平均温度的驱动。然而,暴露于较低土壤水分的植株,其果实活性、光合速率和气孔导度 均显著下降。我们还发现这些生理表现受到排涝实验、季节以及两者的相互作用的影响。2018年观察到排涝实验的棕榈的果实活力有所恢复,土壤浅层水分也有所增加(与前几年相比)。我们的研究结果表明,像N. normanbyi 这样的棕榈树对未来的气候变化非常敏感,建议对其 进行长期监测,以确定其对种群规模的影响。     

Habitat Fragmentation and Ecological Traits Influence the Prevalence of Avian Blood Parasites in a Tropical Rainforest Landscape

In the tropical rainforests of northern Australia, we investigated the effects of habitat fragmentation and ecological parameters on the prevalence of blood-borne parasites (Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in bird communities. Using mist-nets on forest edges and interiors, we sampled bird communities across six study sites: 3 large fragments (20–85 ha) and 3 continuous-forest sites. From 335 mist-net captures, we recorded 28 bird species and screened 299 bird samples with PCR to amplify and detect target DNA. Of the 28 bird species sampled, 19 were infected with Plasmodium and/or Haemoproteus and 9 species were without infection. Over one third of screened birds (99 individuals) were positive for Haemoproteus and/or Plasmodium. In forest fragments, bird capture rates were significantly higher than in continuous forests, but bird species richness did not differ. Unexpectedly, we found that the prevalence of the dominant haemosporidian infection, Haemoproteus, was significantly higher in continuous forest than in habitat fragments. Further, we found that ecological traits such as diet, foraging height, habitat specialisation and distributional ranges were significantly associated with blood-borne infections.     

Conservation successes at micro-, meso- and macroscales

Although large-scale biodiversity declines are ongoing, certain conservation actions have made a positive difference. Rates of extinction and endangerment of vertebrate species, for instance, have probably been reduced via conservation interventions. Such conservation actions operate at different spatial scales. Habitat preservation and endangered species recovery are examples of conservation successes at microscales. Mesoscale conservation includes regional cooperation among neighboring countries that has arrested population declines of endangered species, such as mountain gorillas. At macroscales, public pressure on multinational corporations has sometimes resulted in their abandoning environmentally damaging practices or suppliers with poor environmental records. Overall, conservation projects such as these need more long-term funding and greater political and popular support, and must also include provisions to evaluate and document their outcomes. As we discuss here, a focus on conservation successes achieved at different scales can help to promote these aims and guide future conservation victories.     

THE POTENTIATION OF RADIATION EFFECTS WITH 5-FLUORO-URACIL

A preliminary study of the response of various inoperable malignant diseases to simultaneously administered 5-fluoro-uracil and orthovolt x-ray was performed. The 5-fluoro-uracil was given intravenously at a relatively nontoxic dosage level. The x-ray tumor dose was limited to 2,000 roentgens in every patient.Pronounced and rapid tumor regression occurred in 12 of 18 evaluable patients. Significant objective response was obtained in each of eight patients with epidermoid carcinoma of the lung.Toxicity occurred in half of the patients, manifested by pharyngitis, esophagitis, proctitis, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia.     

Selective logging in tropical forests decreases the robustness of liana–tree interaction networks to the loss of host tree species

Selective logging is one of the major drivers of tropical forest degradation, causing important shifts in species composition. Whether such changes modify interactions between species and the networks in which they are embedded remain fundamental questions to assess the ‘health’ and ecosystem functionality of logged forests. We focus on interactions between lianas and their tree hosts within primary and selectively logged forests in the biodiversity hotspot of Malaysian Borneo. We found that lianas were more abundant, had higher species richness, and different species compositions in logged than in primary forests. Logged forests showed heavier liana loads disparately affecting slow-growing tree species, which could exacerbate the loss of timber value and carbon storage already associated with logging. Moreover, simulation scenarios of host tree local species loss indicated that logging might decrease the robustness of liana–tree interaction networks if heavily infested trees (i.e. the most connected ones) were more likely to disappear. This effect is partially mitigated in the short term by the colonization of host trees by a greater diversity of liana species within logged forests, yet this might not compensate for the loss of preferred tree hosts in the long term. As a consequence, species interaction networks may show a lagged response to disturbance, which may trigger sudden collapses in species richness and ecosystem function in response to additional disturbances, representing a new type of ‘extinction debt’.     

Deoxyfluoroketohexoses: 4-deoxy-4-fluoro- -sorbose and -tagatose and 5-deoxy-5-fluoro- -sorbose

4-Deoxy-4-fluoro-α- -sorbose (6) was prepared in crystalline form by the action of potassium hydrogen fluoride on 3,4-anhydro-1,2-O-isopropylidene-β- -psicopyranose (3) followed by deacetonation. Under identical conditions 3,4-anhydro-1,2-O-isopropylidene-β- -tagatopyranose (7) underwent epoxide migration to give 4,5-anhydro- 1,2-O-isopropylidene-β- -fructopyranose (12), which after deacetonation yielded 4-deoxy-4-fluoro- -tagatose (15) 5-deoxy-5-fluoro-α- -sorbopyranose (16) the latter as the crystalline free sugar. The action of glycol-cleavage reagents on the isopropylidene acetals of the deoxyfluoro sugars was consistent with the assigned structures. The structures were established by ¹³C n.m.r. studies of the free deoxyfluoro sugars 6 and 16 of the isopropylidene acetal 13, and by ¹H n.m.r. studies on the acetylated isopropylidene acetals 5 diacetate, 13 diacetate, and 14 diacetate. 5-Deoxy-5-fluoro- -sorbose (16) was biologically active producing in mice effects characteristic of deoxyfluorotrioses and of fluoroacetate. 4-Deoxy-4-fluoro- -tagatose (15) and 4-deoxy-4-fluoro- -sorbose (6) produced no apparent effects in mice up to a dose of 500 mg/kg. The implications of these findings with respect to transport phosphorylation, and the action of aldolase on ketohexoses are discussed.     

The ecology,distribution, conservation and management of large old trees

Large old trees are some of the most iconic biota on earth and are integral parts of many terrestrial ecosystems including those in tropical, temperate and boreal forests, deserts, savannas, agro‐ecological areas, and urban environments. In this review, we provide new insights into the ecology, function, evolution and management of large old trees through broad cross‐disciplinary perspectives from literatures in plant physiology, growth and development, evolution, habitat value for fauna and flora, and conservation management. Our review reveals that the diameter, height and longevity of large old trees varies greatly on an inter‐specific basis, thereby creating serious challenges in defining large old trees and demanding an ecosystem‐ and species‐specific definition that will only rarely be readily transferable to other species or ecosystems. Such variation is also manifested by marked inter‐specific differences in the key attributes of large old trees (beyond diameter and height) such as the extent of buttressing, canopy architecture, the extent of bark micro‐environments and the prevalence of cavities. We found that large old trees play an extraordinary range of critical ecological roles including in hydrological regimes, nutrient cycles and numerous ecosystem processes. Large old trees strongly influence the spatial and temporal distribution and abundance of individuals of the same species and populations of numerous other plant and animal species. We suggest many key characteristics of large old trees such as extreme height, prolonged lifespans, and the presence of cavities – which confer competitive and evolutionary advantages in undisturbed environments – can render such trees highly susceptible to a range of human influences. Large old trees are vulnerable to threats ranging from droughts, fire, pests and pathogens, to logging, land clearing, landscape fragmentation and climate change. Tackling such diverse threats is challenging because they often interact and manifest in different ways in different ecosystems, demanding targeted species‐ or ecosystem‐specific responses. We argue that novel management actions will often be required to protect existing large old trees and ensure the recruitment of new cohorts of such trees. For example, fine‐scale tree‐level conservation such as buffering individual stems will be required in many environments such as in agricultural areas and urban environments. Landscape‐level approaches like protecting places where large old trees are most likely to occur will be needed. However, this brings challenges associated with likely changes in tree distributions associated with climate change, because long‐lived trees may presently exist in places unsuitable for the development of new cohorts of the same species. Appropriate future environmental domains for a species could exist in new locations where it has never previously occurred. The future distribution and persistence of large old trees may require controversial responses including assisted migration via seed or seedling establishment in new locales. However, the effectiveness of such approaches may be limited where key ecological features of large old trees (such as cavity presence) depend on other species such as termites, fungi and bacteria. Unless other species with similar ecological roles are present to fulfil these functions, these taxa might need to be moved concurrently with the target tree species.