Modelling the potential impact of climate variability and change on species regeneration potential in the temperate forests of South‐Eastern Australia

The sensitivity of early plant regeneration to environmental change makes regeneration a critical stage for understanding species response to climate change. We investigated the spatial and temporal response of eucalypt trees in the Central Highland region of south eastern Australia to high and low climate change scenarios. We developed a novel mechanistic model incorporating germination processes, TACA‐GEM, to evaluate establishment probabilities of five key eucalypt species, Eucalyptus pauciflora, Eucalyptus delegatensis, Eucalyptus regnans, Eucalyptus nitens and Eucalyptus obliqua. Changes to regeneration potential at landscape and site levels were calculated to determine climate thresholds. Model results demonstrated that climate change is likely to impact plant regeneration. We observed increases and decreases in regeneration potential depending on the ecosystem, indicating that some species will increase in abundance in some forest types, whilst other forest types will become inhabitable. In general, the dry forest ecosystems were most impacted, whilst the wet forests were least impacted. We also observed that species with seed dormancy mechanisms, like E. pauciflora and E. delegatensis, are likely to be at higher risk than those without. Landscape‐ and site‐level analysis revealed heterogeneity in species response at different scales. On a landscape scale, a 4.3 °C mean temperature increase and 22% decline in precipitation (predicted for 2080) is predicted to be a threshold for large spatial shifts in species regeneration niches across the study region, while a 2.6 °C increase and 15% decline in precipitation (predicted for 2050) will likely result in local site‐level shifts. Site‐level analysis showed that considerable declines in regeneration potential for E. delegatensis, E. pauciflora and E. nitens were modelled to occur in some ecosystems by 2050. While overall model performance and accuracy was good, better understanding of effects from extreme events and other underlying processes on regeneration will improve modelling and development of species conservation strategies.     

Hwanggeumchal sorghum induces cell cycle arrest, and suppresses tumor growth and metastasis through Jak2/STAT pathways in breast cancer xenografts

Background

Cancer is one of the highly virulent diseases known to humankind with a high mortality rate. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Sorghum is a principal cereal food in many parts of the world, and is critical in folk medicine of Asia and Africa. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of HSE in metastatic breast cancer.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Preliminary studies conducted on MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7 xenograft models showed tumor growth suppression by HSE. Western blotting studies conducted both in vivo and in vitro to check the effect of HSE in Jak/STAT pathways. Anti-metastatic effects of HSE were confirmed using both MDA-MB 231 and MCF-7 metastatic animal models. These studies showed that HSE can modulate Jak/STAT pathways, and it hindered the STAT5b/IGF-1R and STAT3/VEGF pathways not only by down-regulating the expression of these signal molecules and but also by preventing their phosphorylation. The expression of angiogenic factors like VEGF, VEGF-R2 and cell cycle regulators like cyclin D, cyclin E, and pRb were found down-regulated by HSE. In addition, it also targets Brk, p53, and HIF-1α for anti-cancer effects. HSE induced G1 phase arrest and migration inhibition in MDA-MB 231 cells. The metastasis of breast cancer to the lungs also found blocked by HSE in the metastatic animal model.

Conclusions/Significance

Usage of HS as a dietary supplement is an inexpensive natural cancer therapy, without any side effects. We strongly recommend the use of HS as an edible therapeutic agent as it possesses tumor suppression, migration inhibition, and anti-metastatic effects on breast cancer.     

Association of anurans with pathogenic fungi

In a study of 450 Amazonian anurans, we isolated yeasts and yeast-like fungi from 54 animals (Bufo granulosus, B. marinus, Dendrophrynyscus sp., Hyla geographica, H. lanciformes, Ololygon rubra, Adenomera hylaedactyla, Eleutherodactylus fenestratus, Leptodactylus fuscus, L. ocellatus, L. pentadactylus). The internal organs of these animals did not show any macroscopic anomaly nor histopathology. We recovered 105 fungal isolates from the anuran liver, lung, kidney, spleen, heart and gonad. The isolates were made up of 30 fungal species, 9 of which (48 isolates, 46%) were fungi with known pathogenic potentials, namely: Candida guilliermondii, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, C. glabrata, Geotrichum candidum, Aureobasidium pullulans, Wangiella dermatitidis, Trichosporon cutaneum and Exophiala werneckii. Eleven animals harbored identical fungi in more than one of their internal organs; seven animals had more than one fungal species colonizing a single organ. Our findings indicated probable natural subclinical infections of candidiasis, geotrichosis or phaeohyphomycosis, and also symbiotic presence of non-pathogenic fungi among neotropical anurans.     

Study on the ophthalmic diseases in ICR mice and BALB/c mice.

In pharmaceutical companies and research institutes, many toxicity tests are performed with laboratory animals. This study was performed to produce reference data for eye toxicity tests and to investigate the ophthalmic diseases of 408 ICR mice and 119 BALB/c mice, which are commonly used as subjects in toxicity tests. The experimental animals without clinical disorders were selected regardless of sex. The ophthalmic diseases were examined by using special ophthalmic instruments: direct ophthalmoscope, indirect ophthalmoscope, slit-lamp biomicroscope and focal illuminator. The most prevalent ocular variation within normal limits was hyaloid vessel remnant (ICR mice, 28.2%; BALB/c mice, 31.9%) and the incidence gradually decreased with age. The ocular diseases found in ICR mice were retinal degeneration (9.8%), corneal scar (4.2%), focal cataract (2.2%), anisocoria (1.2%), corneal ulcer (0.2%) and uveitis (0.2%). In BALB/c mice, corneal scar (9.2%), focal cataract (1.7%) and corneal ulcer (0.8%) were the ocular diseases found.     

The amyloid beta-protein precursor of Alzheimer's disease is degraded extracellularly by a Kunitz protease inhibitor domain-sensitive trypsin-like serine protease in cultures of chick sympathetic neurons.

The amyloid beta-protein precursor (APP) of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is cleaved either by alpha-secretase to generate an N-terminally secreted fragment, or by beta- and gamma-secretases to generate the beta-amyloid protein (Abeta). The accumulation of Abeta in the brain is an important step in the pathogenesis of AD. Alternative mRNA splicing can generate isoforms of APP which contain a Kunitz protease inhibitor (KPI) domain. However, little is known about the physiological function of this domain. In the present study, the metabolic turnover of APP was examined in cultured chick sympathetic neurons. APP was labelled by incubating neurons for 5 h with [35S]methionine and [35S]cysteine. Intracellular labelled APP decayed in a biphasic pattern suggesting that trafficking occurs through two metabolic compartments. The half-lives for APP in each compartment were 1.5 and 5.7 h, respectively. A small fraction (10%) of the total APP was secreted into the culture medium where it was degraded with a half-life of 9 h. Studies using specific protease inhibitors demonstrated that this extracellular breakdown was due to cleavage by a trypsin-like serine protease that was secreted into the culture medium. Significantly, this protease was inhibited by a recombinant isoform of APP (sAPP751), which contains a region homologous to the Kunitz protease inhibitor (KPI) domain. These results suggest that KPI forms of APP regulate extracellular cleavage of secreted APP by inhibiting the activity of a secreted APP-degrading protease.     

中国疫霉属异宗配合种的交配型

在疫霉属真菌中,很多种是重要的经济植物的病原菌,寄主范围广泛,包括乔木、灌木和各种农作物;为害性大,常带来严重的经济损失。本文主要研究疫霉异宗配合种的交配型。根据疫霉在纯培养和成对培养(dual culture)中产生有性器官的能力,疫霉属可分为同宗配合种和异宗配合种两大类群。异宗配合种的A~1交配型与同一种或其它种的A~2交配型进行成对培养时,可以形成有性器官。两个可亲合菌系配合而形成有性器官时,可能发生基因重组,其结果将使病原菌具有更强的生存能力、致病力以及更广泛的寄主范围。因此,研究疫霉两种不同的交配型的分布,不仅对认识病害的发生发展规律,进一步设计防治措施有着重要意义,而且对疫霉属的起源、演化和移栖也有着深远的理论意义。作者对收集到的7个异宗配合种:Phytophthora capsici,P.cinnamomi,P.citrophthora,P.colocasiae,P.infestans,P.nicotianae,P.palmivora的38个分离物进行了交配型的研究,测定工作使用澄清的Campbell蔬菜汁琼脂培养基(V8C),用于确定交配型的菌系有P.nicotianae var.parasitica A~1,P.nicotianae var.parasitica A~2,P.cinnamomi A~1,P.cinnamomi A~2,P.palmivora A~1,P.palmivora A~2.每个分离物分别与已知种的A~1和A~2两个菌系成对接种于同一V8C平板上,放入25℃温箱中培养,2周后在两个菌落的连线上检查有性器官的产生情况。实验结果表明,中国疫霉属异宗配合种的这些分离物的交配型与寄主或地理分布似无相关性,同一种植物上分离到的同种疫霉可以是A~1交配型,也可以为A~2交配型;同一地区可以出现两种交配型,不同地区又有相同的交配型。云南西双版纳橡胶园中的分离物(P.citrophthora,P.colocasiae,P.palmivora)都表现为中性。