Coupling physiological analysis with proteomic profile to understand the photosynthetic responses of young Euterpe oleracea palms to drought

Photosynthesis Research - This study examined whether drought sensitivity in açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) is associated with reductions in photosynthesis and increasing oxidative stress...     

Occurrence of Atlantic salmon in the Douro River: Recent evidence

Two adult Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, were netted in 2015 and 2017 during a study conducted in the terminal stretch of the Douro River, after more than 20 years without confirmed records of the species occurrence in the southern limit of its European range. According to professional fisherman operating in the area, a few adult Atlantic salmon are caught every year in this river stretch. Further work should be conducted to assess if the species is reproducing in the Douro River and the overall status of its populations in the North of Iberia.     

Differential temporal beta‐diversity patterns of native and non‐native arthropod species in a fragmented native forest landscape

An important factor that hinders the management of non‐native species is a general lack of information regarding the biogeography of non‐natives, and, in particular, their rates of turnover. Here, we address this research gap by analysing differences in temporal beta‐diversity (using both pairwise and multiple‐time dissimilarity metrics) between native and non‐native species, using a novel time‐series dataset of arthropods sampled in native forest fragments in the Azores. We use a null model approach to determine whether temporal beta‐diversity was due to deterministic processes or stochastic colonisation and extinction events, and linear modelling selection to assess the factors driving variation in temporal beta‐diversity between plots. In accordance with our predictions, we found that the temporal beta‐diversity was much greater for non‐native species than for native species, and the null model analyses indicated that the turnover of non‐native species was due to stochastic events. No predictor variables were found to explain the turnover of native or non‐native species. We attribute the greater turnover of non‐native species to source‐sink processes and the close proximity of anthropogenic habitats to the fragmented native forest plots sampled in our study. Thus, our findings point to ways in which the study of turnover can be adapted for future applications in habitat island systems. The implications of this for biodiversity conservation and management are significant. The high rate of stochastic turnover of non‐native species indicates that attempts to simply reduce the populations of non‐native species in situ within native habitats may not be successful. A more efficient management strategy would be to interrupt source‐sink dynamics by improving the harsh boundaries between native and adjacent anthropogenic habitats.     

Diabetic gut microbiota dysbiosis as an inflammaging and immunosenescence condition that fosters progression of retinopathy and nephropathy

The increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and life expectancy of diabetic patients fosters the worldwide prevalence of retinopathy and nephropathy, two major microvascular complications that have been difficult to treat with contemporary glucose-lowering medications. The gut microbiota (GM) has become a lively field research in the last years; there is a growing recognition that altered intestinal microbiota composition and function can directly impact the phenomenon of ageing and age-related disorders. In fact, human GM, envisaged as a potential source of novel therapeutics, strongly modulates host immunity and metabolism. It is now clear that gut dysbiosis and their products (e.g. p-cresyl sulfate, trimethylamine?N?oxide) dictate a secretory associated senescence phenotype and chronic low-grade inflammation, features shared in the physiological process of ageing (“inflammaging”) as well as in T2DM (“metaflammation”) and in its microvascular complications. This review provides an in-depth look on the crosstalk between GM, host immunity and metabolism. Further, it characterizes human GM signatures of elderly and T2DM patients. Finally, a comprehensive scrutiny of recent molecular findings (e.g. epigenetic changes) underlying causal relationships between GM dysbiosis and diabetic retinopathy/nephropathy complications is pinpointed, with the ultimate goal to unravel potential pathophysiological mechanisms that may be explored, in a near future, as personalized disease-modifying therapeutic approaches.     

Follow-up assessment of patients with Pure Neural Leprosy in a reference center in Rio de Janeiro—Brazil

IntroductionPure Neural Leprosy (PNL) is a rare clinical form of leprosy in which patients do not present with the classical skin lesions but have a high burden of the disability associated with the disease. Clinical characteristics and follow up of patients in PNL are still poorly described in the literature.ObjectiveThis paper aims to describe the clinical, electrophysiological and histopathological characteristics of PNL patients, as well as their evolution after multidrug therapy (MDT).MethodsFifty-two PNL patients were selected. Clinical, nerve conduction studies (NCS), histopathological and anti-PGL-1serology were evaluated. Patients were also assessed monthly during the MDT. At the end of the MDT, all of the patients had a new neurological examination and 44 were submitted to another NCS.ResultsParesthesia was the complaint most frequently reported by patients, and in the neurological examination the most common pattern observed was impairment in sensory and motor examination and a mononeuropathy multiplex. Painful nerve enlargement, a classical symptom of leprosy neuropathy, was observed in a minority of patients and in the motor NCS axonal injuries, alone or in combination with demyelinating features, were the most commonly observed. 88% of the patients did not present any leprosy reaction during MDT. There was no statistically significant difference between the neurological examinations, nor the NCS pattern, performed before and after the MDT.DiscussionThe classical hallmarks of leprosy neuropathy are not always present in PNL making the diagnosis even more challenging. Nerve biopsy is an important tool for PNL diagnosis as it may guide therapeutic decisions. This paper highlights unique characteristics of PNL in the spectrum of leprosy in an attempt to facilitate the diagnosis and management of these patients.     

Heterogeneous glycosylation of Musca domestica arylphorin

Two distinct fractions of Musca domestica arylphorin were isolated by affinity chromatography on Concanavalin A-Sepharose column. The results show that in the hexameric arylphorin that do not bind to the lectin there is no Concanavalin A binding subunit and in the majority of the hexamers that bind to the lectin there is only one subunit with Concanavalin A binding site. The results indicate that the carbohydrate moiety of the arylphorin is not involved in its specific uptake by the fat bodies and integument.     

Energetic and endocrine mediation of natal dispersal behavior in Belding's ground squirrels

Natal dispersal, the permanent departure of an individual from its birth site, is sex biased in most mammals, with males dispersing at higher rates or over greater distances than do female conspecifics. Because dispersal movements may be energetically expensive, their occurrence should theoretically be influenced by energy availability. Moreover, the male bias typical of mammalian dispersal suggests that this behavior might be mediated by gonadal androgens. Using free-living Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) as subjects, we provisioned juveniles with extra food to evaluate energetic influences on male dispersal behavior. Provisioning increased body mass and body fat of juvenile males and caused them to disperse at younger ages, but did not affect blood glucose levels. Dispersing males were fatter than same-aged males that had not yet dispersed. Moreover, body fat of provisioned and unprovisioned males did not differ when evaluated relative to the week during which they dispersed, suggesting that there may be a fat threshold for dispersal. In a second experiment, we measured plasma concentrations of testosterone (T) in provisioned and unprovisioned, free-living juveniles to evaluate the hypothesis that male dispersal behavior is activated by concurrent high levels of T. We observed no increase in plasma T associated with dispersal by juvenile males, no sex differences in circulating T among juveniles, and no effects of food provisioning on juvenile T levels. In a third experiment with free-living S. beldingi, we concurrently altered early androgen exposure by treating females with T at birth and manipulated energy availability by food provisioning. Perinatal T-treatment increased the likelihood of dispersal among juvenile females. Provisioning increased body mass and body fat of juveniles and caused males and T-treated females to disperse at significantly younger ages than either their unprovisioned counterparts or the few provisioned control females that dispersed. These results suggest that early T exposure in this species determines the probability of dispersal, whereas the amount of energy an individual has stored as fat strongly influences the timing of dispersal. Early T exposure also appears to cause the timing of dispersal to respond to energy availability and body fat in a male-typical way, possibly by organizing masculine mass and fat thresholds for dispersal.     

Dermatomycoses Caused by Nattrassia Mangiferae in São Paulo,Brazil

Nattrassia mangiferae formerly known as Hendersonula toruloidea,is a phaeoid coelomycete described by Nattrass in 1933. We report five casesof N. mangiferae infections in São Paulo, Brazil. This fungus wasisolated from interdigital lesions on the feet in one patient, toenails in threecases and fingernails in the other one. The infections were initially consideredto be caused by a dermatophyte. Although there are only a few cases describedin the medical literature, the five cases reported suggest that N. mangiferaeshould be taken into consideration in the differential diagnosis of tinea pedisinfections.     

The genome sequence of the gram-positive sugarcane pathogen Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli

The genome sequence of Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli, which causes ratoon stunting disease and affects sugarcane worldwide, was determined. The single circular chromosome of Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli CTCB07 was 2.6 Mb in length with a GC content of 68% and 2,044 predicted open reading frames. The analysis also revealed 307 predicted pseudogenes, which is more than any bacterial plant pathogen sequenced to date. Many of these pseudogenes, if functional, would likely be involved in the degradation of plant heteropolysaccharides, uptake of free sugars, and synthesis of amino acids. Although L. xyli subsp. xyli has only been identified colonizing the xylem vessels of sugarcane, the numbers of predicted regulatory genes and sugar transporters are similar to those in free-living organisms. Some of the predicted pathogenicity genes appear to have been acquired by lateral transfer and include genes for cellulase, pectinase, wilt-inducing protein, lysozyme, and desaturase. The presence of the latter may contribute to stunting, since it is likely involved in the synthesis of abscisic acid, a hormone that arrests growth. Our findings are consistent with the nutritionally fastidious behavior exhibited by L. xyli subsp. xyli and suggest an ongoing adaptation to the restricted ecological niche it inhabits.