Parrotfish sex ratios recover rapidly in Bermuda following a fishing ban

Parrotfishes are an ecologically and commercially important teleost group whose grazing contributes to maintaining coral-dominated states on hermatypic reefs. However, overfishing has skewed sex ratios of Atlantic parrotfishes because fishing has disproportionate impacts on larger individuals, and males are generally larger than females. Whether protection from fishing may allow sex ratios to return to equilibrium is unknown, as fishing can induce irreversible ecological and/or evolutionary shifts. Bermuda banned trap fishing in 1990, creating a unique opportunity to analyse long-term responses of Atlantic parrotfishes to release from fishing. We found that sex ratios of four common parrotfishes were initially skewed, with male proportions ranging from 0.04 to 0.18. However, male proportions rebounded within 3–4 yr, equilibrating at values ranging from 0.36 to 0.54, similar to those reported at unfished sites in the region. Our results are encouraging for regional efforts to recover lost grazing function by restoring overfished herbivore populations.     

Long-term use of high-efficiency vacuum cleaners and residential airborne fungal-spore exposure

Exposure to fungal allergens is an important contributor to allergic respiratory disease, but information on the efficacy of residential fungal allergen-avoidance in allergic-disease management is lacking. Using vacuum cleaners with high-efficiency exhaust filtration is one method recommended for reducing residential allergen exposure levels, but their use to reduce fungal-spore exposure levels has not been evaluated. To evaluate the effectiveness of high-efficiency vacuuming to control airborne fungal-spore levels, fungal bioaerosols were repeatedly assessed over the course of 10 months in homes randomly assigned to groups using either conventionally filtered (control) or high-efficiency-filtered vacuum cleaners for routine vacuum cleaning. Air samples were analyzed for three fungal-spore categories representing taxa with predominantly outdoor sources and one representing taxa that commonly have indoor sources. In a two-way analysis of variance, sampling period had a significant effect on mean levels of all fungal-spore categories. Vacuum cleaner type had a marginally significant effect on the indoor spore category, with one high-efficiency vacuum group mean (of three) significantly lower than one control mean. No effect was observed of vacuum cleaner type on outdoor spore categories. Including home-environment variables in analysis of covariance models strengthened the effect of the vacuum-type treatment on the indoor spore category, with no effect on the three outdoor spore categories. Decreased indoor spore levels vs. controls were only observed in high-efficiency vacuum groups during the last sampling period, at the end of the heating season. The results suggest that using a vacuum with high-efficiency filtered exhaust could have some modest effectiveness in controlling airborne fungal-spore exposure in homes when infiltration of outdoor air is very limited.     

ZAKβ antagonizes and ameliorates the cardiac hypertrophic and apoptotic effects induced by ZAKα

ZAK (sterile alpha motif and leucine zipper containing kinase AZK), a serine/threonine kinase with multiple biochemical functions, has been associated with various cell processes, including cell proliferation, cell differentiation, and cardiac hypertrophy. In our previous reports, we found that the activation of ZAKα signaling was critical for cardiac hypertrophy. In this study, we show that the expression of ZAKα activated apoptosis through both a FAS‐dependent pathway and a mitochondria‐dependent pathway by subsequently inducing caspase‐3. ZAKβ, an isoform of ZAKα, is dramatically expressed during cardiac hypertrophy and apoptosis. The interaction between ZAKα and ZAKβ was demonstrated here using immunoprecipitation. The results show that ZAKβ has the ability to diminish the expression level of ZAKα. These findings reveal an inherent regulatory role of ZAKβ to antagonize ZAKα and to subsequently downregulate the cardiac hypertrophy and apoptosis induced by ZAKα.     

Metabolic Basis for the Self-Referential Genetic Code

An investigation of the biosynthesis pathways producing glycine and serine was necessary to clarify an apparent inconsistency between the self-referential model (SRM) for the formation of the genetic code and the model of coevolution of encodings and of amino acid biosynthesis routes. According to the SRM proposal, glycine was the first amino acid encoded, followed by serine. The coevolution model does not state precisely which the first encodings were, only presenting a list of about ten early assignments including the derivation of glycine from serine—this being derived from the glycolysis intermediate glycerate, which reverses the order proposed by the self-referential model. Our search identified the glycine-serine pathway of syntheses based on one-carbon sources, involving activities of the glycine decarboxylase complex and its associated serine hydroxymethyltransferase, which is consistent with the order proposed by the self-referential model and supports its rationale for the origin of the genetic code: protein synthesis was developed inside an early metabolic system, serving the function of a sink of amino acids; the first peptides were glycine-rich and fit for the function of building the early ribonucleoproteins; glycine consumption in proteins drove the fixation of the glycine-serine pathway.     

Lectinomics I. Relevance of exogenous plant lectins in biomedical diagnostics

This review focuses on utilization of plant lectins as medical diagnostic reagents and tools. The lectin-related diagnostic is aimed at detection of several diseases connected to alteration of the glycosylation profiles of cells and at identification of microbial and viral agents in clinical microbiology. Certain lectins, proposed for or used as diagnostic tools could even recognize those cellular determinants, which are not detected by available antibodies. Broad information is presented on the lectinomics field, illustrating that lectin diagnostics might become practical alternative to antibody-based diagnostic products. In addition, the rising trend of lectin utilization in biomedical diagnostics might initiate a development of innovative methods based on better analytical technologies. Lectin microarray, a rapid and simple methodology, can be viewed as an example for such initiative. This technology could provide simple and efficient screening tools for analysis of glycosylation patterns in biological samples (cellular extracts, tissues and the whole cells), allowing thus personalized detection of changes associated with carbohydrate-related diseases.