Intrinsic competition between two European egg parasitoids of the brown marmorated stink bug

Following the accidental introduction and spread of the invasive polyphagous agricultural pest Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), the two European egg parasitoids Anastatus bifasciatus (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) and Ooencyrtus telenomicida (Vassiliev) (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) have been investigated for inundative biological control. Since the competititve outcome between the two generalist parasitoids is difficult to predict, intrinsic competition was investigated with a time-course development study. Both species readily oviposited in H. halys eggs containing eggs and early instar larvae of the competitor, but oviposition decreased when eggs contained late instar larvae and pupae. Ooencyrtus telenomicida offspring emergence from multiparasitized eggs was significantly lower than that from rearing controls, independent of the order of parasitization. Anastatus bifasciatus offspring emergence was not influenced by the presence of O. telenomicida when it parasitized as the first species, but emergence was decreased after oviposition in eggs containing O. telenomicida larvae and pupae. There was no indication that O. telenomicida can act as a facultative hyperparasitoid of A. bifasciatus. These results suggest that A. bifasciatus is the superior intrinsic competitor and no or minor negative implications for A. bifasciatus are expected if released in combination with O. telenomicida.     

Maternal predator‐exposure affects offspring size at birth but not telomere length in a live‐bearing fish

The perception of predation risk could affect prey phenotype both within and between generations (via parental effects). The response to predation risk could involve modifications in physiology, morphology, and behavior and can ultimately affect long‐term fitness. Among the possible modifications mediated by the exposure to predation risk, telomere length could be a proxy for investigating the response to predation risk both within and between generations, as telomeres can be significantly affected by environmental stress. Maternal exposure to the perception of predation risk can affect a variety of offspring traits but the effect on offspring telomere length has never been experimentally tested. Using a live‐bearing fish, the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), we tested if the perceived risk of predation could affect the telomere length of adult females directly and that of their offspring with a balanced experimental setup that allowed us to control for both maternal and paternal contribution. We exposed female guppies to the perception of predation risk during gestation using a combination of both visual and chemical cues and we then measured female telomere length after the exposure period. Maternal effects mediated by the exposure to predation risk were measured on offspring telomere length and body size at birth. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find a significant effect of predation‐exposure neither on female nor on offspring telomere length, but females exposed to predation risk produced smaller offspring at birth. We discuss the possible explanations for our findings and advocate for further research on telomere dynamics in ectotherms.     

Soil organic carbon fractions in the Great Plains of the United States: an application of mid-infrared spectroscopy

Biogeochemistry - Spectroscopy is a powerful means of increasing the availability of soil data necessary for understanding carbon cycling in a changing world. Here, we develop a calibration...     

The AutoDock suite at 30

The AutoDock suite provides a comprehensive toolset for computational ligand docking and drug design and development. The suite builds on 30 years of methods development, including empirical free energy force fields, docking engines, methods for site prediction, and interactive tools for visualization and analysis. Specialized tools are available for challenging systems, including covalent inhibitors, peptides, compounds with macrocycles, systems where ordered hydration plays a key role, and systems with substantial receptor flexibility. All methods in the AutoDock suite are freely available for use and reuse, which has engendered the continued growth of a diverse community of primary users and third‐party developers.     

Meta-Fish-Lib: A generalised,dynamic DNA reference library pipeline for metabarcoding of fishes

The accuracy and reliability of DNA metabarcoding analyses depend on the breadth and quality of the reference libraries that underpin them. However, there are limited options available to obtain and curate the huge volumes of sequence data that are available on public repositories such as NCBI and BOLD. Here, we provide a pipeline to download, clean and annotate mitochondrial DNA sequence data for a given list of fish species. Features of this pipeline include (a) support for multiple metabarcode markers; (b) searches on species synonyms and taxonomic name validation; (c) phylogeny assisted quality control for identification and removal of misannotated sequences; (d) automatically generated coverage reports for each new GenBank release update; and (e) citable, versioned DOIs. As an example we provide a ready-to-use curated reference library for the marine and freshwater fishes of the U.K. To augment this reference library for environmental DNA metabarcoding specifically, we generated 241 new MiFish-12S sequences for 88 U.K. marine species, and make available new primer sets useful for sequencing these. This brings the coverage of common U.K. species for the MiFish-12S fragment to 93%, opening new avenues for scaling up fish metabarcoding across wide spatial gradients. The Meta-Fish-Lib reference library and pipeline is hosted at https://github.com/genner-lab/meta-fish-lib .     

Actinidia arguta Pulp: Phytochemical Composition,Radical Scavenging Activity,and in Vitro Cells Effects

Hardy kiwifruit (Actinidia arguta) is a highly appreciated exotic fruit endowed with outstanding bioactive compounds. The present work proposes to characterize the pulp from A. arguta organic fruits, emphasizing its radicals scavenging capacity and effects on intestinal cells (Caco-2 and HT29-MTX). The physicochemical properties and phenolic profile were also screened. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents (TPC and TFC, respectively) of pulp were 12.21 mg GAE/g on dry weight (DW) and 5.92 mg CE/g DW, respectively. A high antioxidant activity was observed (FRAP: 151.41 μmol FSE/g DW; DPPH: 12.17 mg TE/g DW). Furthermore, the pulp did not induce a toxic effect on Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cells viability up to 1000 μg/mL. Regarding in vitro scavenging capacity, the pulp revealed the highest scavenging power against NO^. (IC₅₀=3.45 μg/mL) and HOCl (IC₅₀=12.77 μg/mL). These results emphasize the richness of A. arguta fruit pulp to be used in different food products.     

LPIAT1/MBOAT7 contains a catalytic dyad transferring polyunsaturated fatty acids to lysophosphatidylinositol

Human membrane bound O-acyltransferase domain-containing 7 (MBOAT7), also known as lysophosphatidylinositol acyltransferase 1 (LPIAT1), is an enzyme involved in the acyl-chain remodeling of phospholipids via the Lands' cycle. The MBOAT7 rs641738 variant has been associated with the entire spectrum of fatty liver disease (FLD) and neurodevelopmental disorders, but the exact enzymatic activity and the catalytic site of the protein are still unestablished.Human wild type MBOAT7 and three MBOAT7 mutants missing in the putative catalytic residues (N321A, H356A, N321A + H356A) were produced into Pichia pastoris, and purified using Ni-affinity chromatography. The enzymatic activity of MBOAT7 wild type and mutants was assessed measuring the incorporation of radiolabeled fatty acids into lipid acceptors.MBOAT7 preferentially transferred 20:4 and 20:5 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI). On the contrary, MBOAT7 showed weak enzymatic activity for transferring saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, regardless the lipid substrate. Missense mutations in the putative catalytic residues (N321A, H356A, N321A + H356A) result in a loss of O-acyltransferase activity.Thus, MBOAT7 catalyzes the transfer of PUFAs to lipid acceptors. MBOAT7 shows the highest affinity for LPI, and missense mutations at the MBOAT7 putative catalytic dyad inhibit the O-acyltransferase activity of the protein. Our findings support the hypothesis that the association between the MBOAT7 rs641738 variant and the increased risk of NAFLD is mediated by changes in the hepatic phosphatidylinositol acyl-chain remodeling. Taken together, the increased knowledge of the enzymatic activity of MBOAT7 gives insights into the understanding on the basis of FLD.