A mass mortality of fishes caused by receding water levels in the vegetated littoral zone of the West Kleinemonde Estuary,South Africa

On 15 November 2017 the mouth of the West Kleinemonde Estuary breached following heavy catchment rains and increased river flow. The water level in the estuary following mouth opening decreased by 1.65 m within 24 h, resulting in an almost complete draining of the littoral zone where large beds of the aquatic macrophyte Ruppia cirrhosa and mats of the associated filamentous algae were present. As the water depth within the plant beds decreased, the macrophytes, together with the algal filaments, created an increasingly dense mat, trapping fish that were resident, foraging or passing through the littoral zone. By 16 November 2017 large numbers of fishes belonging to at least 20 species were trapped in pools and depressions within the littoral, as well as within the R. cirrhosa beds and filamentous algal mats in the lower reaches of this system. Other affected taxa included crustaceans, especially isopods, and large numbers of small bivalves attached to macrophyte vegetation. Beneficiaries of the fish kill, in terms of unexpected food availability, included a variety of piscivorous bird species and the Cape clawless otter Aonyx capensis. This is the first documented account of a diverse species fish kill associated with estuary mouth breaching.     

Trends in Malaria in Odisha,India—An Analysis of the 2003–2013 Time-Series Data from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program

Background

Although Odisha is the largest contributor to the malaria burden in India, no systematic study has examined its malaria trends. Hence, the spatio-temporal trends in malaria in Odisha were assessed against the backdrop of the various anti-malaria strategies implemented in the state.

Methods

Using the district-wise malaria incidence and blood examination data (2003–2013) from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program, blood examination-adjusted time-trends in malaria incidence were estimated and predicted for 2003–2013 and 2014–2016, respectively. An interrupted time series analysis using segmented regression was conducted to compare the disease trends between the pre (2003–2007) and post-intensification (2009–2013) periods. Key-informant interviews of state stakeholders were used to collect the information on the various anti-malaria strategies adopted in the state.

Results

The state annual malaria incidence declined from 10.82/1000 to 5.28/1000 during 2003–2013 (adjusted annual decline: -0.54/1000, 95% CI: -0.78 to -0.30). However, the annual blood examination rate remained almost unchanged from 11.25% to 11.77%. The keyinformants revealed that intensification of anti-malaria activities in 2008 led to a more rapid decline in malaria incidence during 2009–2013 as compared to that in 2003–2007 [adjusted decline: -0.83 (-1.30 to -0.37) and -0.27 (-0.41 to -0.13), respectively]. There was a significant difference in the two temporal slopes, i.e., -0.054 (-0.10 to -0.002, p = 0.04) per 1000 population per month, between these two periods, indicating almost a 200% greater decline in the post-intensification period. Although, the seven southern high-burden districts registered the highest decline, they continued to remain in that zone, thereby, making the achievement of malaria elimination (incidence <1/1000) unlikely by 2017.

Conclusion

The anti-malaria strategies in Odisha, especially their intensification since 2008, have helped improve its malaria situation in recent years. These successful measures need to be sustained and perhaps intensified further for eliminating malaria from Odisha.     

Multiple factors interact to produce responses resembling spectrum of human disease in Campylobacter jejuni infected C57BL/6 IL-10-/- mice

Background  

Campylobacter jejuni infection produces a spectrum of clinical presentations in humans - including asymptomatic carriage, watery diarrhea, and bloody diarrhea - and has been epidemiologically associated with subsequent autoimmune neuropathies. This microorganism is genetically variable and possesses genetic mechanisms that may contribute to variability in nature. However, relationships between genetic variation in the pathogen and variation in disease manifestation in the host are not understood. We took a comparative experimental approach to explore differences among different C. jejuni strains and studied the effect of diet on disease manifestation in an interleukin-10 deficient mouse model.     

Phosphorylation-dependent ubiquitination of cyclin D1 by the SCF(FBX4-alphaB crystallin) complex

Growth factor-dependent accumulation of the cyclin D1 proto-oncogene is balanced by its rapid phosphorylation-dependent proteolysis. Degradation is triggered by threonine 286 phosphorylation, which promotes its ubiquitination by an unknown E3 ligase. We demonstrate that Thr286-phosphorylated cyclin D1 is recognized by a Skp1-Cul1-F box (SCF) ubiquitin ligase where FBX4 and alphaB crystallin govern substrate specificity. Overexpression of FBX4 and alphaB crystallin triggered cyclin D1 ubiquitination and increased cyclin D1 turnover. Impairment of SCF(FBX4-alphaB crystallin) function attenuated cyclin D1 ubiquitination, promoting cyclin D1 overexpression and accelerated cell-cycle progression. Purified SCF(FBX4-alphaB crystallin) catalyzed polyubiquitination of cyclin D1 in vitro. Consistent with a putative role for a cyclin D1 E3 ligase in tumorigenesis, FBX4 and alphaB crystallin expression was reduced in tumor-derived cell lines and a subset of primary human cancers that overexpress cyclin D1. We conclude that SCF(FBX4-alphaB crystallin) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that promotes ubiquitin-dependent degradation of Thr286-phosphorylated cyclin D1.     

Heat tolerance as a function of membrane lipid remodeling in the major US oilseed crops (soybean and peanut)

With a steadily increasing population, the demand for crops to feed the world population and satisfy the energy needs is also increasing. The diminishing land resources and changing environmental conditions, specifically global warming, have further exacerbated these problems. Developing heat-tolerant crops that maintain yield under stress is one way to keep pace with future demands. Heat stress tolerance is a complex trait; hence it is vital to identify major contributors to heat stress tolerance and develop molecular markers to breed for them. The present communication reviews the recent progress made in this direction in oilseed crops soybean and peanuts, where heat-induced membrane lipid unsaturation was identified as an indicator of heat tolerance and the heat-induced changes in the expression pattern of the fatty acid desaturase gene as a marker to select for this trait. The further efforts underway and the future research needed in this direction are discussed.

     

Detecting and targeting mesenchymal-like subpopulations within squamous cell carcinomas

Curative eradication of all cells within carcinomas is seldom achievable with chemotherapy alone. This limitation may be partially attributable to tumor cell subpopulations with intrinsic resistance to current drugs. Within squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines, we previously characterized a subpopulation of mesenchymal-like cells displaying phenotypic plasticity and increased resistance to both cytotoxic and targeted agents. These mesenchymal-like (Ecad-lo) cells are separable from epithelial-like (Ecad-hi) cells based on loss of surface E-cadherin and expression of vimentin. Despite their long-term plasticity, both Ecad-lo and Ecad-hi subsets in short-term culture maintained nearly uniform phenotypes after purification. This stability allowed testing of segregated subpopulations for relative sensitivity to the cytotoxic agent cisplatin in comparison to salinomycin, a compound with reported activity against CD44⁺CD24⁻ stem-like cells in breast carcinomas. Salinomycin showed comparable efficacy against both Ecad-hi and Ecad-lo cells in contrast to cisplatin, which selectively depleted Ecad-hi cells. An in vivo correlate of these mesenchymal-like Ecad-lo cells was identified by immunohistochemical detection of vimentin-positive malignant subsets across a part of direct tumor xenografts (DTXs) of advanced stage SCC patient samples. Cisplatin treatment of mice with established DTXs caused enrichment of vimentin-positive malignant cells in residual tumors, but salinomycin depleted the same subpopulation. These results demonstrate that mesenchymal-like SCC cells, which resist current chemotherapies, respond to a treatment strategy developed against a stem-like subset in breast carcinoma. Further, they provide evidence of mesenchymal-like subsets being well-represented across advanced stage SCCs, suggesting that intrinsic drug resistance in this subpopulation has high clinical relevance.Key words: EMT, squamous cell carcinoma, head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, chemotherapy resistance, salinomycin, tumor heterogeneity