Overexpression of RYBP inhibits proliferation,invasion, and chemoresistance to cisplatin in anaplastic thyroid cancer cells via the EGFR pathway

Ring1 and YY1 binding protein (RYBP), a new member of the polycomb group protein family, has been reported to play an important role in various biological processes. Recently, more and more studies have demonstrated an implication of RYBP in cancer development. However, the specific role of RYBP in anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) remains unknown. In this study, we investigated for the first time the expression pattern and biological functions of RYBP in ATC. We showed that RYBP was lowly expressed in ATC tissues and cell lines. We also found that overexpression of RYBP inhibited ATC cell proliferation, invasion, and cisplatin resistance. Furthermore, we observed that upregulation of RYBP decreased the phosphorylation of EGFR and ERK1/2 in ATC cells. Taken together, our data indicated that RYBP might be considered as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of ATC.     

Identifying climatic niche shifts using coarse‐grained occurrence data: a test with non‐native freshwater fish

Aim We tested whether coarse‐grained occurrence data can be used to detect climatic niche shifts between native and non‐native ranges for a set of widely introduced freshwater fishes. Location World‐wide. Methods We used a global database of freshwater fish occurrences at the river basin scale to identify native and non‐native ranges for 18 of the most widely introduced fish species. We also examined climatic conditions within each river basin using fine‐grained climate data. We combined this information to test whether climatic niche shifts have occurred between native and non‐native ranges. We defined climatic niche shifts as instances where the ranges of a climatic variable within native and non‐native basins exhibit zero overlap. Results We detected at least one climatic niche shift for each of the 18 studied species. However, we did not detect common patterns in the thermal preference or biogeographic origin of the non‐native fish, hence suggesting a species‐specific response. Main conclusions Coarse‐grained occurrence data can be used to detect climatic niche shifts. They also enable the identification of the species experiencing niche shifts, although the mechanisms responsible for these shifts (e.g. local adaptation, dispersal limitation or physiological constraints) have yet to be determined. Furthermore, the coarse‐grained approach, which highlights regions where climatic niche shifts have occurred, can be used to select specific river basins for more detailed, fine‐grained studies.     

Climate change alters plant biogeography in Mediterranean prairies along the West Coast,USA

Projected changes in climate are expected to have widespread effects on plant community composition and diversity in coming decades. However, multisite, multifactor climate manipulation studies that have examined whether observed responses are regionally consistent and whether multiple climate perturbations are interdependent are rare. Using such an experiment, we quantified how warming and increased precipitation intensity affect the relative dominance of plant functional groups and diversity across a broad climate gradient of Mediterranean prairies. We implemented a fully factorial climate manipulation of warming (+2.5–3.0 °C) and increased wet‐season precipitation (+20%) at three sites across a 520‐km latitudinal gradient in the Pacific Northwest, USA. After seeding with a nearly identical mix of native species at all sites, we measured plant community composition (i.e., cover, richness, and diversity), temperature, and soil moisture for 3 years. Warming and the resultant drying of soils altered plant community composition, decreased native diversity, and increased total cover, with warmed northern communities becoming more similar to communities further south. In particular, after two full years of warming, annual cover increased and forb cover decreased at all sites mirroring the natural biogeographic pattern. This suggests that the extant climate gradient of increasing heat and drought severity is responsible for a large part of the observed biogeographic pattern of increasing annual invasion in US West Coast prairies as one moves further south. Additional precipitation during the rainy season did little to relieve drought stress and had minimal effects on plant community composition. Our results suggest that the projected increase in drought severity (i.e., hotter, drier summers) in Pacific Northwest prairies may lead to increased invasion by annuals and a loss of forbs, similar to what has been observed in central and southern California, resulting in novel species assemblages and shifts in functional composition, which in turn may alter ecosystem functions.     

Competition and facilitation between Australian and Spanish legumes in seven Australian soils

This paper evaluates the relative performance and competitive ability of seven legumes from the Iberian Peninsula, Spain (one already invasive in Australia), grown singly or pairwise with seven legumes from south‐western Australia in their own soils. Indices of growth used were root, shoot and total mass and shoot dimensions. Water content, xylem water potential during drying and nodule production were also measured. The index of competition used was the intensity of competition coefficient (ICC), which is suitable for additive designs. The Australian species usually grew larger than the Spanish species, in their presence or absence, although the results were sensitive to the index of growth or resource capture used. The Australian legumes usually possessed greater total water content than the co‐occurring Spanish legumes. At least five Australian species were less reduced or not affected at all by inter‐regional competition compared with growth in isolation. Two Australian legumes performed relatively poorly in the presence of at least four Spanish legumes. The ICC identified many instances of growth promotion (facilitation) of the Australian species, which we attribute to extra nitrogen obtained through enhanced nodulation of both cohabiting species. Five of the seven Spanish species were outcompeted by the Australian species, whereas the growth of two was sometimes facilitated. Although the Spanish legumes had greater competitive ability in the more fertile Australian soils, they remained competitively inferior to the Australian legumes in their first season of growth and none is likely to displace the native legumes at this stage of growth. Longer‐term field studies are needed to fully evaluate the potential invasiveness of perennial legumes.     

崇明东滩湿地不同潮汐带入侵植物互花米草根际细菌的多样性

为了调查崇明东滩湿地入侵植物互花米草(Spartina Alterniflora)在不同潮汐带和季节根际细菌的多样性与丰富度,以本地植物芦苇、海三棱藨草(P. australis和 S.mariqueter)和光滩为对照实验研究,在崇明东滩湿地10样点采集根际土壤和光滩土壤,通过PCR-DGGE分子生物学等技术并结合传统培养方法对土壤细菌进行分析研究。研究表明:东滩湿地不同潮汐带的植物根际细菌群落丰富度和多样性不同,在夏季中潮带的根际细菌丰富度(P=0.021<0.05)较高,各个潮带的植物根际细菌在夏秋季有高多样性,其中中潮带的植物根际细菌平均多样性指数最高(H=4.20)。在中潮带入侵物种互花米草根际细菌的丰富度和多样性要显著高于本地植物芦苇和海三棱藨草,其中海三棱藨草的根际细菌在夏季略高。崇明东滩湿地入侵植物互花米草根际细菌与本地植物相比较具有较高的多样性,而且外来种互花米草对湿地土壤微生物群落结构有着较强影响;入侵种互花米草根际细菌的高丰富度和多样性可能是其成功入侵东滩湿地的一个重要因素。     

Feral cat diet and impact on sooty terns at Juan de Nova Island, Mozambique Channel

Feral cat Felis catus predation on seabirds has been well documented; however, details regarding shifts in feral cat diet in relation to seabird availability, seabird predation rate and impact on seabird population dynamics are scarce. Here, we present data documenting a seasonal shift in feral cat diet at Juan de Nova Island, Mozambique Channel. We also quantify sooty tern Sterna fuscata predation by feral cats and examine the impact on sooty terns over both the short term (by removing individual cats from sub-colonies) and over the longer term by highlighting their influence on population growth rate ( λ ) using a deterministic matrix model. Cat diet shifted dramatically from insects, rats and mice outside the tern breeding season to primarily terns when terns were breeding. The predation rate of sooty terns at Juan de Nova was estimated at 5.94 terns cat⁻¹ day⁻¹, with a proportion of these (22%) being killed without being consumed ('surplus kills'). When only one cat was removed from each sub-colony, tern predation declined tenfold in the short term. From our matrix model, the annual growth rate for sooty terns was 1.01 in the absence of cat predation. It remained above one until a predation impact equivalent to approximately three times the estimated cat density (12.04 per km²) was incorporated. Our results demonstrate that cats preferentially predate and have an impact on breeding sooty terns at Juan de Nova, and that an increase in cat density could lead to negative effects on population growth, despite the large breeding tern population.     

外来木本植物入侵的生态预测与风险评价综述

外来植物引种导致的入侵已经成为当前生物多样性保育和引种工作面临的一个紧要研究课题。综述了木本植物入侵的生态预测和生态风险评价方面的国内外相关研究进展。首先介绍了目前国内外木本植物引种的概况,对木本植物入侵的生态预测基本原理做了较为详细的总结。目前比较被认可的生态预测途径主要包括编辑入侵植物名录利用入侵历史纪录预测、物种特征作为入侵的预测指标、繁殖体压力作为建群概率的决定性因素、环境匹配作为入侵潜力的预测工具及专家意见等,并对物种特征进行了归类和分析。物种特征指标主要包括物种的繁殖和快速生长性状指标、对入侵地区局部条件和干扰体系的适应性指标、生物地理分布指标等,并指出在生态预测中单独使用这些指标是不严谨的,而应当多途径互相结合验证。同时还简介了WRA等几个应用较为广泛的实用性植物入侵风险评价系统。分析了目前国内外在木本植物入侵的生态预测方面面临的一些困难,包括入侵机理的复杂性导致的预测难度增大和可信性下降,所用数据库标准的不统一和更新的困难等,指出在进行木本植物引种的生态预测和风险评价研究的同时,必须加强相关法律法规建设,重视入侵机理研究,完善相关的数据库。出于实际情况的限制,可以借鉴国际上实用性杂草风险分析和有害生物风险分析的方法,逐步建立我国的入侵风险评价系统,以满足目前对木本植物入侵的预测和风险评价的需求。     

Effects of Degradation and Replacement of Southern Brazilian Coastal Sandy Vegetation on the Dung Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

In this paper we address the effects of anthropogenic disturbance and replacement of Brazilian Coastal sandy vegetation (restingas) on dung beetles communities. We sampled dung beetles in the four main vegetative physiognomies of Guriri Island, Espírito Santo State: forest restinga, restinga Clusia, disturbed restinga (from burning events), and pastures. We placed four sets of two pitfall traps (baited with horse and human dung) in four independent areas of each vegetation type, and collected 14,534 individuals of 13 dung beetle species. Neither log₁₀ of individuals nor log₁₀ of species richness were good predictors of restinga disturbance. However, a significant amount of variation in dung beetle abundance and richness could be explained by bait type. Ordination of these sites using hybrid multidimensional scaling revealed a gradient of habitat disturbance from undisturbed restinga samples to pasture. Dung beetle communities along this gradient demonstrated a complete turnover in species composition, from restinga‐specialists to invasive and generalists species respectively. This complete turnover signals the local extirpation of forest‐adapted species in disturbed and converted areas. Only a single dung beetle species in preserved restingas is protected by Brazilian law (Dichotomius schiffleri). Given the extent of the clearing of restinga habitat, the conservation status of dung beetles associated with restinga forest gives cause for concern.