Biological Effects of Trichoderma harzianum Peptaibols on Mammalian Cells

Trichoderma species isolated from water-damaged buildings were screened for toxicity by using boar sperm cells as indicator cells. The crude methanolic cell extract from Trichoderma harzianum strain ES39 inhibited the boar sperm cell motility at a low exposure concentration (50% effective concentration, 1 to 5 μg [dry weight] ml of extended boar semen⁻¹). The same exposure concentration depleted the boar sperm cells of NADH₂. Inspection of the exposed boar sperm cells by transmission electron microscopy revealed damage to the plasma membrane. By using the black lipid membrane technique, it was shown that the semipurified metabolites (eluted from a SepPak C₁₈ cartridge) of T. harzianum strain ES39 induced voltage-dependent conductivity. The high-performance liquid chromatography-purified metabolites of T. harzianum strain ES39 dissipated the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ_m) of human lung epithelial carcinoma cells (cell line A549). The semipurified metabolites (eluted from a SepPak C₁₈ cartridge) of T. harzianum strain ES39 were analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization and nanoflow electrospray ionization MS revealed five major peptaibols, each of which contained 18 residues and had a mass ranging from 1,719 to 1,775 Da. Their partial amino acid sequences were determined by collision-induced dissociation tandem MS.     

Effects of landscape composition on farmland and red-listed birds in boreal agricultural-forest mosaics

Farmland birds have declined in large areas of western and northern Europe. This decline has been connected with changes in the agricultural landscape. We studied the effects of landscape composition on birds in a boreal agricultural-forest mosaic in SW Finland. This study was carried out with a grid-based approach: bird pairs were counted in 105 grid squares of 25 ha within an area of 26.25 km². The total density of farmland birds and density of red-listed species were related to the land cover variables using generalized linear modelling (GLM). Farmland birds consist of a variable group of species either breeding or feeding in agricultural land. The model explained a moderate proportion (49%) of the variation in the total density of farmland birds in the landscape. In a regression analysis cover of non-arable agricultural land (semi-natural grasslands, built-up areas) explained a much higher proportion (r²=0.49) of the variation in farmland bird density than that of arable land (cultivated fields and set-aside fields, r²=0.04). Semi-natural grasslands, which have drastically declined throughout NW Europe, and built-up areas (mainly farmyards) had the most significant positive effects on the density of red-listed species. The results emphasize the significance of semi-natural grasslands for the declining red-listed farmland bird species. Birds are usually not restricted to certain patches of habitat but use several patches in their home range. Thus, when studying bird-landscape relations for land use planning, we also recommend grid-based approaches covering the whole landscape variation.     

Birds on the move in the face of climate change: High species turnover in northern Europe

Species richness is predicted to increase in the northern latitudes in the warming climate due to ranges of many southern species expanding northwards. We studied changes in the composition of the whole avifauna and in bird species richness in a period of already warming climate in Finland (in northern Europe) covering 1,100 km in south–north gradient across the boreal zone (over 300,000 km²). We compared bird species richness and species‐specific changes (for all 235 bird species that occur in Finland) in range size (number of squares occupied) and range shifts (measured as median of area of occupancy) based on bird atlas studies between 1974–1989 and 2006–2010. In addition, we tested how the habitat preference and migration strategy of species explain species‐specific variation in the change of the range size. The study was carried out in 10 km squares with similar research intensity in both time periods. The species richness did not change significantly between the two time periods. The composition of the bird fauna, however, changed considerably with 37.0% of species showing an increase and 34.9% a decrease in the numbers of occupied squares, that is, about equal number of species gained and lost their range. Altogether 95.7% of all species (225/235) showed changes either in the numbers of occupied squares or they experienced a range shift (or both). The range size of archipelago birds increased and long‐distance migrants declined significantly. Range loss observed in long‐distance migrants is in line with the observed population declines of long‐distance migrants in the whole Europe. The results show that there is an ongoing considerable species turnover due to climate change and due to land use and other direct human influence. High bird species turnover observed in northern Europe may also affect the functional diversity of species communities.     

Importance of soil calcium for composition of understory vegetation in boreal forests of Finnish Lapland

To focus conservation efforts into forest areas with high biodiversity, more information is needed about soil-vegetation dependencies in Finnish Lapland. We studied understory vegetation and soil variables along a transect across a felsic?Cmafic lithological sequence in central Finnish Lapland. At 119 northern boreal forest sites, coverages of understory vegetation, several mineral soil chemical elements, soil electrical conductivity, pH, and dielectric permittivity, as a measure of soil volumetric water content, were measured. We found that soil Ca concentration and Ca:Al ratio were the main variables determining vegetation composition and diversity. Ca-rich soils were characterised by high electrical conductivity, pH, and Mg concentration, and by low concentration of Al, S, Zn, and low C:N ratio. Soil Ca concentration is a diagnostic measure of plant diversity as concentration higher than 100 mg kg^?1 resulted in a considerable increase in plant diversity. Sites with Ca concentration this high were rare, and probably important in maintaining high biodiversity. The median soil Ca:Al ratio was only 0.02, suggesting, according to general theory, a considerable risk for aluminium stress. We found Geranium sylvaticum and Rubus saxatilis to be good indicators for Ca-rich regimes and high plant diversity.     

North by north‐west: climate change and directions of density shifts in birds

There is increasing evidence that climate change shifts species distributions towards poles and mountain tops. However, most studies are based on presence–absence data, and either abundance or the observation effort has rarely been measured. In addition, hardly any studies have investigated the direction of shifts and factors affecting them. Here, we show using count data on a 1000 km south–north gradient in Finland, that between 1970–1989 and 2000–2012, 128 bird species shifted their densities, on average, 37 km towards the north north‐east. The species‐specific directions of the shifts in density were significantly explained by migration behaviour and habitat type. Although the temperatures have also moved on average towards the north north‐east (186 km), the species‐specific directions of the shifts in density and temperature did not correlate due to high variation in density shifts. Findings highlight that climate change is unlikely the only driver of the direction of species density shifts, but species‐specific characteristics and human land‐use practices are also influencing the direction. Furthermore, the alarming results show that former climatic conditions in the north‐west corner of Finland have already moved out of the country. This highlights the need for an international approach in research and conservation actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.     

Different expression and subcellular localization of Phosphoinositide-specific Phospholipase C enzymes in differently polarized macrophages

Macrophages’ phenotypic and functional diversity depends on differentiating programs related to local environmental factors. Recent interest was deserved to the signal transduction pathways acting in macrophage polarization, including the phosphoinositide (PI) system and related phospholipase C (PLC) family of enzymes. The expression panel of PLCs and the subcellular localization differs in quiescent cells compared to the pathological counterpart. We analyzed the expression of PLC enzymes in unpolarized (M0), as well as in M1 and M2 macrophages to list the expressed isoforms and their subcellular localization. Furthermore, we investigated whether inflammatory stimulation modified the basal panel of PLCs’ expression and subcellular localization. All PLC enzymes were detected within both M1 and M2 cells, but not in M0 cells. M0, as well as M1 and M2 cells own a specific panel of expression, different for both genes’ mRNA expression and intracellular localization of PLC enzymes. The panel of PLC genes’ expression and PLC proteins’ presence slightly changes after inflammatory stimulation. PLC enzymes might play a complex role in macrophages during inflammation and probably also during polarization.