Effect of oceanographic barriers and overfishing on the population genetic structure of the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas)

Defining population structure and genetic diversity levels is of the utmost importance for developing efficient conservation strategies. Overfishing has caused mean annual catches of the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas) to decrease alarmingly along its distribution area. In this context, there is a need for comprehensive studies aiming to evaluate the genetic health of the exploited populations. The present study is based on a set of ten nuclear markers amplified in 331 individuals from ten different localities covering most of P. elephas distribution area. Samples from Atlantic and Mediterranean basins showed small but significant differences, indicating that P. elephas populations do not behave as a single panmictic unit but form two partially‐overlapping groups. Despite intense overfishing, our dataset did not recover a recent bottleneck signal, and instead showed a large and stable historical effective size. This result could be accounted for by specific life‐history traits (reproduction and longevity) and the limitations of molecular markers in covering recent timescales for nontemporal samples. The findings of the present study emphasize the need to integrate information on effective population sizes and life‐history parameters when evaluating population connectivity levels from genetic data. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 104 , 407–418.     

Moderating mycorrhizas: arbuscular mycorrhizas modify rhizosphere chemistry and maintain plant phosphorus status within narrow boundaries

Pastures often experience a pulse of phosphorus (P) when fertilized. We examined the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the uptake of P from a pulse. Five legumes (Kennedia prostrata, Cullen australasicum, Bituminaria bituminosa, Medicago sativa and Trifolium subterraneum) were grown in a moderate P, sterilized field soil, either with (+AMF) or without (?AMF) addition of unsterilized field soil. After 9–10 weeks, half the pots received 15 mg P kg^?1 of soil. One week later, we measured: shoot and root dry weights; percentage of root length colonized by AMF; plant P, nitrogen and manganese (Mn) concentrations; and rhizosphere carboxylates, pH and plant‐available P. The P pulse raised root P concentration by a similar amount in uncolonized and colonized plants, but shoot P concentration increased by 143% in uncolonized plants and 53% in colonized plants. Inoculation with AMF decreased the amount of rhizosphere carboxylates by 52%, raised rhizosphere pH by ～0.2–0.7 pH units and lowered shoot Mn concentration by 38%. We conclude that AMF are not simply a means for plants to enhance P uptake when P is limiting, but also act to maintain shoot P within narrow boundaries and can affect nutrient uptake through their influence on rhizosphere chemistry.     

Wood properties of Populus and Betula in long‐term exposure to elevated CO2 and O3

We studied the interactive effects of elevated concentrations of CO₂ and O₃ on radial growth and wood properties of four trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) clones and paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) saplings. The material for the study was collected from the Aspen FACE (free‐air CO₂ enrichment) experiment in Rhinelander (WI, USA). Trees had been exposed to four treatments [control, elevated CO₂ (560 ppm), elevated O₃ (1.5 times ambient) and combined CO₂ + O₃] during growing seasons 1998–2008. Most treatment responses were observed in the early phase of experiment. Our results show that the CO₂‐ and O₃‐exposed aspen trees displayed a differential balance between efficiency and safety of water transport. Under elevated CO₂, radial growth was enhanced and the trees had fewer but hydraulically more efficient larger diameter vessels. In contrast, elevated O₃ decreased radial growth and the diameters of vessels and fibres. Clone‐specific decrease in wood density and cell wall thickness was observed under elevated CO₂. In birch, the treatments had no major impacts on wood anatomy or wood density. Our study indicates that short‐term impact studies conducted with young seedlings may not give a realistic view of long‐term ecosystem responses.     

Mercator: a fast and simple web server for genome scale functional annotation of plant sequence data

Next‐generation technologies generate an overwhelming amount of gene sequence data. Efficient annotation tools are required to make these data amenable to functional genomics analyses. The Mercator pipeline automatically assigns functional terms to protein or nucleotide sequences. It uses the MapMan ‘BIN’ ontology, which is tailored for functional annotation of plant ‘omics’ data. The classification procedure performs parallel sequence searches against reference databases, compiles the results and computes the most likely MapMan BINs for each query. In the current version, the pipeline relies on manually curated reference classifications originating from the three reference organisms (Arabidopsis, Chlamydomonas, rice), various other plant species that have a reviewed SwissProt annotation, and more than 2000 protein domain and family profiles at InterPro, CDD and KOG. Functional annotations predicted by Mercator achieve accuracies above 90% when benchmarked against manual annotation. In addition to mapping files for direct use in the visualization software MapMan, Mercator provides graphical overview charts, detailed annotation information in a convenient web browser interface and a MapMan‐to‐GO translation table to export results as GO terms. Mercator is available free of charge via http://mapman.gabipd.org/web/guest/app/Mercator .     

Biochemical and physiological mechanisms underlying effects of Cucumber mosaic virus on host‐plant traits that mediate transmission by aphid vectors

The transmission of insect‐vectored diseases entails complex interactions among pathogens, hosts and vectors. Chemistry plays a key role in these interactions; yet, little work has addressed the chemical ecology of insect‐vectored diseases, especially in plant pathosystems. Recently, we documented effects of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) on the phenotype of its host (Cucurbita pepo) that influence plant‐aphid interactions and appear conducive to the non‐persistent transmission of this virus. CMV reduces host‐plant quality for aphids, causing rapid vector dispersal. Nevertheless, aphids are attracted to the elevated volatile emissions of CMV‐infected plants. Here, we show that CMV infection (1) disrupts levels of carbohydrates and amino acids in leaf tissue (where aphids initially probe plants and acquire virions) and in the phloem (where long‐term feeding occurs) in ways that reduce plant quality for aphids; (2) causes constitutive up‐regulation of salicylic acid; (3) alters herbivore‐induced jasmonic acid biosynthesis as well as the sensitivity of downstream defences to jasmonic acid; and (4) elevates ethylene emissions and free fatty acid precursors of volatiles. These findings are consistent with previously documented patterns of aphid performance and behaviour and provide a foundation for further exploration of the genetic mechanisms responsible for these effects and the evolutionary processes that shape them.     

Chilling to zero degrees disrupts pollen formation but not meiotic microtubule arrays in Triticum aestivum L.

Throughout the wheat‐growing regions of Australia, chilling temperatures below 2 °C occur periodically on consecutive nights during the period of floral development in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, wheat plants showed significant reductions in fertility when exposed to prolonged chilling temperatures in controlled environment experiments. Among the cultivars tested, the Australian cultivars Kite and Hartog had among the lowest levels of seed set due to chilling and their responses were investigated further. The developmental stage at exposure, the chilling temperature and length of exposure all influenced the level of sterility. The early period of booting, and specifically the +4 cm auricle distance class, was the most sensitive and corresponded to meiosis within the anthers. The response of microtubules to chilling during meiosis in Hartog was monitored, but there was little difference between chilled and control plants. Other abnormalities, such as plasmolysis and cytomixis increased in frequency, were associated with death of developing pollen cells, and could contribute to loss of fertility. The potential for an above‐zero chilling sensitivity in Australian spring wheat varieties could have implications for exploring the tolerance of wheat flower development to chilling and freezing conditions in the field.     

Mouthpart evolution in adults of the basal, 'symphytan', hymenopteran lineages

We review feeding biology and mouthpart structure generally among adults of the basal hymenopteran, or ‘symphytan’, lineages (sawflies, woodwasps, horntails and their relatives). These insects feed on a wide range of materials: floral and extrafloral nectar, pollen, plant (floral and leaf) tissues, plant (angiosperm) sap, the juice of ripe fruit, die spermatial fluid of rust fungi, sternorrhynchan bug honeydew, and insect tissues. Adults show feeding‐related mouthpart specialization either for consuming pollen (the Xyelidae only) or for consuming ‘concealed’ floral nectar (several families). Seven functional types of elongated proboscis or ‘concealed‐nectar extraction apparatus (GNEA)’ have previously been recognized among Hymenoptera. We identify an additional type, which appears to be unique among Hy‐menoptera and has probably evolved direcdy from unspecialized mouthparts (labiomaxillary complex). In total, three types of CNEA are known to occur in ‘Symphyta’. Type 1 occurs in Pamphiliidae, Megalodontesidae, Argidae, Pergidae, Tenthredinidae, Cimbicidae and Cephidae. Type 5 occurs in Pergidae (in two unidentified species of Euryinae). Type 8 occurs in Tenthredinidae (in the genus Nipponorhynchus Takeuchi). CNEA of some type or other has arisen at least twice within the family Tenthredinidae and at least twice widiin die pergid subfamily Euryinae. Evolutionary parallelism in CNEA structure has occurred between the basal, ‘symphytan’, hymenopteran lineages and die Apocrita, a phenomenon hitherto not mentioned in the literature. Within the ‘Symphyta’, possession of Type 1 CNEA appears to be a ground plan feature of each of the following taxa: the pergid genus Eurys Newman, the megalodontesid genus Megalodontes Latreille (the only extant representative of the Megalodontesidae) and the tenthredinid genus Cuneala Zirngiebl, while possession of Type 8 appears to be a ground plan feature of die tenthredinid genus Mpponorhynchus Takeuchi. However, in general among ‘Symphyta’, possession of CNEA is characteristic of only small and taxonomically subordinate groups, suggesting that CNEA has evolved independendy many times within the basal hymenopteran lineages rather than being inherited from a common ancestor early in the evolutionary history of the Hymenoptera. In other words, ecological expediency radier than phylogenetic history mainly accounts for its distribution pattern within the basal lineages. The results of a morphological survey of ‘Symphyta’ indicate that the habit of exploiting ‘concealed nectar’, by means of CNEA, is fairly     

FLUXNET and modelling the global carbon cycle

Measurements of the net CO₂ flux between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere using the eddy covariance technique have the potential to underpin our interpretation of regional CO₂ source–sink patterns, CO₂ flux responses to forcings, and predictions of the future terrestrial C balance. Information contained in FLUXNET eddy covariance data has multiple uses for the development and application of global carbon models, including evaluation/validation, calibration, process parameterization, and data assimilation. This paper reviews examples of these uses, compares global estimates of the dynamics of the global carbon cycle, and suggests ways of improving the utility of such data for global carbon modelling. Net ecosystem exchange of CO₂ (NEE) predicted by different terrestrial biosphere models compares favourably with FLUXNET observations at diurnal and seasonal timescales. However, complete model validation, particularly over the full annual cycle, requires information on the balance between assimilation and decomposition processes, information not readily available for most FLUXNET sites. Site history, when known, can greatly help constrain the model‐data comparison. Flux measurements made over four vegetation types were used to calibrate the land‐surface scheme of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies global climate model, significantly improving simulated climate and demonstrating the utility of diurnal FLUXNET data for climate modelling. Land‐surface temperatures in many regions cool due to higher canopy conductances and latent heat fluxes, and the spatial distribution of CO₂ uptake provides a significant additional constraint on the realism of simulated surface fluxes. FLUXNET data are used to calibrate a global production efficiency model (PEM). This model is forced by satellite‐measured absorbed radiation and suggests that global net primary production (NPP) increased 6.2% over 1982–1999. Good agreement is found between global trends in NPP estimated by the PEM and a dynamic global vegetation model (DGVM), and between the DGVM and estimates of global NEE derived from a global inversion of atmospheric CO₂ measurements. Combining the PEM, DGVM, and inversion results suggests that CO₂ fertilization is playing a major role in current increases in NPP, with lesser impacts from increasing N deposition and growing season length. Both the PEM and the inversion identify the Amazon basin as a key region for the current net terrestrial CO₂ uptake (i.e. 33% of global NEE), as well as its interannual variability. The inversion's global NEE estimate of −1.2 Pg [C] yr⁻¹ for 1982–1995 is compatible with the PEM‐ and DGVM‐predicted trends in NPP. There is, thus, a convergence in understanding derived from process‐based models, remote‐sensing‐based observations, and inversion of atmospheric data. Future advances in field measurement techniques, including eddy covariance (particularly concerning the problem of night‐time fluxes in dense canopies and of advection or flow distortion over complex terrain), will result in improved constraints on land‐atmosphere CO₂ fluxes and the rigorous attribution of mechanisms to the current terrestrial net CO₂ uptake and its spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Global ecosystem models play a fundamental role in linking information derived from FLUXNET measurements to atmospheric CO₂ variability. A number of recommendations concerning FLUXNET data are made, including a request for more comprehensive site data (particularly historical information), more measurements in undisturbed ecosystems, and the systematic provision of error estimates. The greatest value of current FLUXNET data for global carbon cycle modelling is in evaluating process representations, rather than in providing an unbiased estimate of net CO₂ exchange.