Low species turnover of upland Amazonian birds in the absence of physical barriers

Aim

One of the oldest and most powerful ways for ecologists to explain distinct biological communities is to invoke underlying environmental differences. But in hyper-diverse systems, which often display high species richness and low species abundance, these sorts of community comparisons are especially challenging. The classic view for Amazonian birds posits that riverine barriers and habitat specialization determine local and regional community composition. We test the tacit, complementary assumption that similar bird communities should therefore permeate uniform habitat between major rivers, regardless of distance.

Location

Upland (terra firme) rainforests of central Amazonia.

Methods

We conducted intensive whole-community surveys of birds in three pairs of 100-ha plots, separated by 40–60 km. We then used dissimilarity indices, cluster analysis, and ordination to characterize differences among the six avian communities.

Results

In all, we detected 244 forest-dependent birds, with an average of 190 species (78%) per plot. Species turnover was negligible, no unique indicator species were found among plot pairs, and all documented species were already known from a complete inventory at one of the three sites.

Main Conclusions

Our study corroborates the classic biogeographical pattern and suggests that turnover contributes little to regional avian diversity within upland forests. Using a grain size of 100 ha, this implies that upland birds perceive the environment as uniform, at least over distances of ~60 km. Therefore, to maximize both local species richness and population persistence, our findings support the conservation of very large tracts of upland rainforest. Our analyses also revealed that the avifauna at Reserva Ducke, encroached by urban sprawl from the city of Manaus, shows the hallmarks of a disturbed community, with fewer vulnerable insectivores. This defaunation signals that even an enormous preserve (10 × 10 km) in lowland Amazonia is not insulated from anthropogenic degradation within the surrounding landscape.     

Study of quercetin and fisetin synergistic effect on breast cancer and potentially involved signaling pathways

Naturally-derived drugs have drawn much attention in recent decades. Efficiency, lower toxicity, and economic reasons are some of their advantages that justify this broad range of administration for different diseases, including cancer. If we can find a specific combination that boosts the effects of their single therapy, leading to synergism effect, increased efficiency, and decreased toxicity, they can act even better. Quercetin and fisetin, two well-known flavonoids, have been used to fight against various cancers. In this study, we investigated their possible synergism quercetin and fisetin on MCF7, MDA-MB-231, BT549, T47D, and 4T1 breast cancer cell lines. Then the optimum combined dose was used to study their impacts on wound healing abilities and clonogenic properties. The real-time qPCR was used to study the expression of their validated downstream effectors in predicted pathways. A significant synergism effect (p < .01, combination index: <1) was observed for all cell lines. Combination therapy was significantly more effective in colony formation (p < .0001) and wound healing assays (p < .001) compared to single therapies. The expression level of potential effectors was also showed a greater change. In vivo study confirmed the in vitro results and showed how significantly (p < .001) their synergism promotes their singular function in inhibiting cancer progression. The breast cancer mouse models receiving combined therapy lived longer with higher average body weight and smaller tumor sizes. These results exhibit that quercetin and fisetin inhibit cancer cell proliferation, migration and colony formation synergistically, and matrix metalloproteinase signaling and apoptotic pathways are relatively responsible for inhibitory activities.     

Selenium in combination with a tomato lipid extract as a therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia and its alterations in rats with induced BPH

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common adenoma in old men. Tomatoes are a rich source of bioactive compounds that, as well as selenium (Se), possess antioxidant and antiproliferative activity. The aim was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of Se in combination with a tomato extract in aged rats with BPH. Aged male Wistar rats were divided in the following groups (n = 10 rats/group): Control (C), BPH, BPH + Finasteride (BPH + F), BPH + Tomato Lipidic Extract (BPH + E), BPH + Selenium (BPH + S) and BPH plus E plus S (BPH + E + S). After 4 weeks of treatment, prostate weight, diuresis, antioxidants enzymes, prooxidants and inflammatory markers, growth factors and androgens were determined. BPH + E + S reduced prostate weight by 59.29% and inhibited growth by 99.35% compared to BPH + F which only decreased weight and inhibited growth by 15.31% and 57.54%, respectively. Prooxidant markers were higher with BPH + F (49.4% higher vs. BPH), but BPH + E + S decreased these markers (94.27% vs. BPH) and increased antioxidant activity. Finally, diuresis was higher with the BPH + E + S combination and markers of inflammation and growth factors were significantly lower with respect to BPH + F. Our findings provide a beneficial and protective therapeutic option of E + S directed against androgens, oxidative stress and inflammation that regulates cell proliferation in the prostate gland.     

Environmental influences on local amphibian diversity: the role of floods on river basins

We tested two hypotheses about boundary units and seven about environmental control of species diversity in order to explain geographical trends in the richness of amphibian species in the Mediterranean watershed of the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The number of amphibian species tends to decrease from west to east. The longitudinal trend in the richness of amphibian species actually occurs on passing from one basin to another, but there is not any longitudinal trend within the basins. Multivariate analyses confirmed that the disturbances of episodic river-basin floodings were the principal factor which controls the richness of amphibian species. They explained 94.8% of the observed variations in the richness of amphibian species in this area, according to the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.We propose hydrographic basins as suitable geographical units for further biogeographical analysis and for considering the role of disturbances produced by floods in the environmental control of species diversity.     

A robust approach to estimate relative phytoplankton cell abundances from metagenomes

Phytoplankton account for >45% of global primary production, and have an enormous impact on aquatic food webs and on the entire Earth System. Their members are found among prokaryotes (cyanobacteria) and multiple eukaryotic lineages containing chloroplasts. Genetic surveys of phytoplankton communities generally consist of PCR amplification of bacterial (16S), nuclear (18S) and/or chloroplastic (16S) rRNA marker genes from DNA extracted from environmental samples. However, our appreciation of phytoplankton abundance or biomass is limited by PCR-amplification biases, rRNA gene copy number variations across taxa, and the fact that rRNA genes do not provide insights into metabolic traits such as photosynthesis. Here, we targeted the photosynthetic gene psbO from metagenomes to circumvent these limitations: the method is PCR-free, and the gene is universally and exclusively present in photosynthetic prokaryotes and eukaryotes, mainly in one copy per genome. We applied and validated this new strategy with the size-fractionated marine samples collected by Tara Oceans, and showed improved correlations with flow cytometry and microscopy than when based on rRNA genes. Furthermore, we revealed unexpected features of the ecology of these ecosystems, such as the high abundance of picocyanobacterial aggregates and symbionts in the ocean, and the decrease in relative abundance of phototrophs towards the larger size classes of marine dinoflagellates. To facilitate the incorporation of psbO in molecular-based surveys, we compiled a curated database of >18,000 unique sequences. Overall, psbO appears to be a promising new gene marker for molecular-based evaluations of entire phytoplankton communities.     

Angiotensinase activity in hypothalamus and pituitary of hypothyroid, euthyroid and hyperthyroid adult male rats.

A local renin-angiotensin system (RAS) that may be involved in their regulatory functions has been identified in hypothalamus and pituitary. Altered thyroid status induces modifications in the secretory function of hypothalamus and pituitary. However, few studies have analyzed the role of the RAS in hypothalamus and, to our knowledge, there is no data on the pituitary RAS during thyroid dysfunction. In the present study, angiotensinase activities (glutamyl, aspartyl and alanyl aminopeptidase: GluAP, AspAP and AlaAP, respectively) were studied in hypothalamus and in the anterior and posterior lobes of pituitary of euthyroid, hypothyroid and hyperthyroid adult male rats. In the anterior pituitary, compared with euthyroid and hyperthyroid rats, hypothyroid animals showed a highly significant increase of GluAP and AspAP activities; the percentage increase in GluAP was markedly higher than the percentage increase in AspAP. This suggests an increased metabolism of angiotensin (Ang) I and Ang II to des-Asp 1-Ang I and Ang III, respectively. We also observed an increase of Ang III-degrading activity (AlaAP) in the hypothalamus of hyperthyroid rats in soluble fraction. Increased Ang I and Ang II metabolism in the anterior pituitary of hypothyroid rats and increased metabolism of Ang III in the hypothalamus of hyperthyroid animals may be related to alterations in the secretory function of hypothalamus and pituitary in these thyroid dysfunctions.     

Identification and cellular localization of the actin-binding protein ABP-120 from Entamoeba histolytica

Several actin-binding proteins participate in the morphological changes that occur during amoeboid movement. The gene encoding one of these proteins, the gelation factor ABP-120, was identified and characterized from trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica . The sequence contains 2574 nucleotides, with an open reading frame of 858 amino acids, giving a protein of 93 kDa belonging to the spectrin family. The N-terminal domain of ABP-120 from E. histolytica revealed a consensus site for actin binding homologous to the actin-binding sites of ABP-120 of Dictyostelium discoideum , α-actinin and spectrin. Analysis of the central domain revealed the presence of four repeats of a 73-amino-acid motif constituting 31% of the protein. In addition, a stretch of 105 amino acids was highly divergent when compared with the C-terminal domain of D. discoideum ABP-120. This sequence showed short motifs that are homologous to microtubule-binding domains. We found that ABP-120 from E. histolytica binds to F-actin. In addition, upon motility of the parasite, this protein localized in the pseudopod and the uroid region, implying a role for ABP-120 in movement and capping of surface receptors in E. histolytica .     

A linkage map with RFLP and isozyme markers for almond

Inheritance and linkage studies were conducted with seven isozyme genes and 120 RFLPs in the F₁ progeny of a cross between almond cultivars Ferragnes and Tuono. RFLPs were detected using 57 genomic and 43 cDNA almond clones. Eight of the cDNA probes corresponded to known genes (extensin, prunin (2), -tubulin, endopolygalacturonase, oleosin, actin depolymerizing factor and phosphoglyceromutase). Single-copy clones were found more frequently in the cDNA (65%) than in the genomic libraries (26%). Two maps were elaborated, one with the 93 loci heterozygous in Ferragnes and another with the 69 loci heterozygous in Tuono. Thirty-five loci were heterozygous in both parents and were used as bridges between both maps. Most of the segregations (91%) were of the 11 or 1111 types, and data were analyzed as if they derived from two backcross populations. Eight linkage groups covering 393 cM in Ferragnes and 394 in Tuono were found for each map. None of the loci examined in either map was found to be unlinked. Distorted segregation ratios were mainly concentrated in two linkage groups of the Ferragnes map.     

Polysaccharides from the seeds of Senna multijuga

The seeds of Senna multijuga were extracted with water or 1% acetic acid and treated with ethanol, resulting in two insoluble fractions. After purification, the major one (FIA, 23%) was shown to be a galactomannan (Man:Gal 2.3:1;[] = + 54.6;[η]=1340mlg⁻¹). It consists of a main chain of (1 → 4)-linked β-d-mannopyranosyl residues substituted at 06 by single-unit -d-galactopyranosyl side chains. The second fraction (FIB, 2.5%) was an O-acetyl-glucuronoarabinoxylan from the seed coats (O-acetyl 8.3 mol%; glucuronic acid 11.7%, Xyl:Ara ratio 20:1), which showed a predominance of 4-O-substituted Xylp units (84.4%), branched at 03 with non-reducing end units of Xylp, Araf and glucuronic acid. The O-acetyl positions in d-xylosyl units are at 02 (4.8%), 03 (4.4%) and 02,3 (0.9%). The ratio between 03 and 02 determined by ¹³C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is 1.5:1.     

Biosorption of uranium by Myxococcus xanthus

This paper deals with uranium biosorption by Myxococcus xanthus biomass in which dry biomass, accumulating up to 2.4 mM of uranium g⁻¹, is demonstrated to be a more efficient biosorbent than wet biomass. For uranium concentrations of 0.1–0.3 mM, between 95.79% and 95.99% of the uranium was taken up from the solution. Dry biomass biosorption was found to be relatively rapid, reaching equilibrium after 5–10 min. In addition, the pH influenced biosorption, pH 4.5 promoting maximum uptake. It was also established that the biosorbed uranium is located on the cellular wall and within the extracellular mucopolysaccharide of this microorganism. Furthermore, using sodium carbonate as a desorbent agent, 80.82% of the biosorbed uranium could be recovered. The results obtained indicate the possible utilization of M. xanthus biomass to solve some problems of the water contaminated by uranium.