Assessing influence in biofuel production and ecosystem services when environmental changes affect plant–pest relationships

Climate change is currently affecting both biodiversity and human activities; land use change and greenhouse gas emissions are the main drivers. Many agricultural services are affected by the change, which in turn reflects on the basic provisioning services, which supply food, fibre and biofuels. Biofuels are getting increasing interest because of their sustainability potential. Jatropha curcas gained popularity as a biodiesel crop, due to its ease of cultivation even in harsh environmental conditions. Notwithstanding its high economic importance, few studies are available about its co‐occurrence with pests of the genus Aphthona in sub‐Saharan Africa, where these insects feed on J. curcas, leading to relevant economic losses. Using ecological niche modelling and GIS post‐modelling analyses, we infer the current and future suitable territories for both these taxa, delineating areas where J. curcas cultivations may occur without suffering the presence of Aphthona, in the context of future climate and land use changing. We introduce an area‐normalized index, the ‘Potential‐Actual Cultivation Index’, to better depict the ratio between the suitable areas shared both by the crop and its pest, and the number of actual cultivations, in a target country. Moreover, we find high economic losses (~?50%) both in terms of carbon sequestration and in biodiesel production when J. curcas co‐occur with the Aphthona cookei species group.     

The latest Ordovician Hirnantia brachiopod fauna of Myanmar: Significance of new data from the Mandalay Region

A new, latest Ordovician brachiopod fauna is systematically described from the Hwe Mawng Purple Shale Member (Hirnantian) of the Naungkangyi Group of the Pa-thin area, Mandalay Region, Myanmar, revealing one of the most diverse representatives of the typical Hirnantia Fauna. Rhynchonelliformean, craniiformean and linguliformean brachiopods studied belong to 23 genera and a few indeterminate taxa, among which the most abundant genus Kinnella, along with the four common genera (Paromalomena, Pseudopholidops, Fardenia, and Dalmanella), and other genera (such as Cliftonia, Draborthis, Hindella, Hirnantia, Leptaena, Mirorthis, Plectothyrella, Skenidioides, and Xenocrania) are recorded for the first time. This high diversity Hirnantia Fauna represents an ecological differentiation within the benthos of the Sibumasu Terrane during the end Ordovician global crisis. The palaeoeco-unit named herein as the Kinnella-Paromalomena Association is assigned to lower BA3. This paper includes a taxonomic revision with the following conclusions: 1) Sinomena Zeng et al. and Yichangomena Zeng et al. are treated as junior synonyms of Eostropheodonta Bancroft; 2) Hubeinomena Zeng et al. is regarded as a juvenile form of Coolinia Bancroft; 3) Paramirorthis Zeng et al. is considered an immature growth stage of Mirorthis Zeng; 4) Shanomena Cocks and Fortey is treated as a junior synonym of Paromalomena Rong; 5) Scenidium? medlicotti Reed is redesignated as the type species of Kinnella Bergström to replace Hirnantia? kielanae Temple. The distribution of the Hirnantia Fauna in Myanmar, Thailand and western Yunnan of the Sibumasu Terrane highlights the distinctive nature of the Mandalay fauna, and the analyses of the Hirnantia Fauna and others of Sibumasu shows that Sibumasu was not located far from the South China and Lhasa palaeoplates during late Middle and Late Ordovician.     

The historical context of contemporary climatic adaptation: a case study in the climatically dynamic and environmentally complex southwestern United States

The process of adaptation can be highly dependent upon historical and contemporary factors, especially in environmentally and topographically complex regions affected by Pleistocene glaciations. Here, we investigate Hilaria jamesii (Poaceae), a dryland C₄ graminoid, to test how patterns of adaptive genetic variation are linked to its glacial and post-glacial history. We show that the species persisted in a single, southern refugium during the last glacial period and subsequently migrated throughout its current distribution concurrent with post-glacial warming. The species’ putative adaptive genetic variation correlates with climatic gradients (e.g. monsoon precipitation and mean diurnal temperature range) that covary with the species’ probable route of demographic expansion. The short timescale and multiple climatic dimensions of adaptation imply that natural selection acted primarily upon standing genetic variation. These findings suggest that restoration and conservation practices should prioritize the maintenance of standing genetic variation to ensure that species have the capacity to respond to future environmental changes.     

A comparison of diversity estimators applied to a database of host–parasite associations

Understanding the drivers of biodiversity is important for forecasting changes in the distribution of life on earth. However, most studies of biodiversity are limited by uneven sampling effort, with some regions or taxa better sampled than others. Numerous methods have been developed to account for differences in sampling effort, but most methods were developed for systematic surveys in which all study units are sampled using the same design and assemblages are sampled randomly. Databases compiled from multiple sources, such as from the literature, often violate these assumptions because they are composed of studies that vary widely in their goals and methods. Here, we compared the performance of several popular methods for estimating parasite diversity based on a large and widely used parasite database, the Global Mammal Parasite Database (GMPD). We created artificial datasets of host–parasite interactions based on the structure of the GMPD, then used these datasets to evaluate which methods best control for differential sampling effort. We evaluated the precision and bias of seven methods, including species accumulation and nonparametric diversity estimators, compared to analyzing the raw data without controlling for sampling variation. We find that nonparametric estimators, and particularly the Chao2 and second-order jackknife estimators, perform better than other methods. However, these estimators still perform poorly relative to systematic sampling, and effect sizes should be interpreted with caution because they tend to be lower than actual effect sizes. Overall, these estimators are more effective in comparative studies than for producing true estimates of diversity. We make recommendations for future sampling strategies and statistical methods that would improve estimates of global parasite diversity.     

Brenneria alni,causal agent bark canker of Alnus subcordata

In 2014, bark cankers were observed on Caucasian alder (Alnus subcordata) trees in Iran. The disease was characterized by a dark watery liquid often exuding from longitudinal cankers in the bark of the tree trunks which stained the surface. Symptomatic tissue from A. subcordata was sampled from a number of sites in the Mazandaran province. Isolations were performed on nutrient agar supplemented with sucrose (SNA) and yielded bacterial colonies that were uniform, round and whitish. The bacterial strains isolated from alder trees in Iran were similar to Brenneria alni based on phenotypic and genotypic (nucleotide sequences of the 16S rRNA, and housekeeping genes gyrB, and infB) characteristics. The pathogenicity of the representative strains was determined by inoculating stem pieces of A. subcordata. All tested strains caused longitudinal necrotic lesions 30 days after inoculation and were re-isolated from this tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of B. alni in Iran, and on A. subcordata globally.     

BacStalk: A comprehensive and interactive image analysis software tool for bacterial cell biology

Prokaryotic cells display a striking subcellular organization. Studies of the underlying mechanisms in different species have greatly enhanced our understanding of the morphological and physiological adaptation of bacteria to different environmental niches. The image analysis software tool BacStalk is designed to extract comprehensive quantitative information from the images of morphologically complex bacteria with stalks, flagella, or other appendages. The resulting data can be visualized in interactive demographs, kymographs, cell lineage plots, and scatter plots to enable fast and thorough data analysis and representation. Notably, BacStalk can generate demographs and kymographs that display fluorescence signals within the two-dimensional cellular outlines, to accurately represent their subcellular location. Beyond organisms with visible appendages, BacStalk is also suitable for established, non-stalked model organisms with common or uncommon cell shapes. BacStalk, therefore, contributes to the advancement of prokaryotic cell biology and physiology, as it widens the spectrum of easily accessible model organisms and enables highly intuitive and interactive data analysis and visualization.     

Sensitive monitoring of riboflavin in commercial multivitamins using poly (chitosan)‐based nanocomposite

The rapid and sensitive determination of riboflavin (RF) is important for the treatment of seborrheic and glossitis dermatitis, sunlight sensitivity, mucosal, and skin disorders. In this work, an electrochemical sensor was developed by electrodes modification using poly (chitosan) to sensitive detection of RF in commercial multivitamin. Electrodeposition of chitosan on the surface of glass carbon electrode was performed using cyclic voltammetry technique in the range of ?1 to +1 V. The modified electrode surface morphology was characterized using a high‐resolution field emission scanning electron microscope. The modified electrode was used as an effective electrical interface for the detection of RF using cyclic, differential pulse, and square wave voltammetry techniques. Finally, the sensor was applied to determine RF in commercial multivitamins. In optimum conditions, the linear range for the standard sample of RF and commercial multivitamins 94 to 333μM and 24.6 to 176μM were obtained, respectively. Low limit of quantification (LLOQ) were obtained as 24.6μM.     

Model‐assisted identification of metabolic engineering strategies for Jatropha curcas lipid pathways

Efficient approaches to increase plant lipid production are necessary to meet current industrial demands for this important resource. While Jatropha curcas cell culture can be used for in vitro lipid production, scaling up the system for industrial applications requires an understanding of how growth conditions affect lipid metabolism and yield. Here we present a bottom‐up metabolic reconstruction of J. curcas supported with labeling experiments and biomass characterization under three growth conditions. We show that the metabolic model can accurately predict growth and distribution of fluxes in cell cultures and use these findings to pinpoint energy expenditures that affect lipid biosynthesis and metabolism. In addition, by using constraint‐based modeling approaches we identify network reactions whose joint manipulation optimizes lipid production. The proposed model and computational analyses provide a stepping stone for future rational optimization of other agronomically relevant traits in J. curcas.     

Variation in phosphorus and sulfur content shapes the genetic architecture and phenotypic associations within the wheat grain ionome

Dissection of the genetic basis of wheat ionome is crucial for understanding the physiological and biochemical processes underlying mineral accumulation in seeds, as well as for efficient crop breeding. Most of the elements essential for plants are metals stored in seeds as chelate complexes with phytic acid or sulfur‐containing compounds. We assume that the involvement of phosphorus and sulfur in metal chelation is the reason for strong phenotypic correlations within ionome. Adjustment of element concentrations for the effect of variation in phosphorus and sulfur seed content resulted in drastic change of phenotypic correlations between the elements. The genetic architecture of wheat grain ionome was characterized by quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis using a cross between durum and wild emmer wheat. QTL analysis of the adjusted traits and two‐trait analysis of the initial traits paired with either P or S considerably improved QTL detection power and accuracy, resulting in the identification of 105 QTLs and 617 QTL effects for 11 elements. Candidate gene search revealed some potential functional associations between QTLs and corresponding genes within their intervals. Thus, we have shown that accounting for variation in P and S is crucial for understanding of the physiological and genetic regulation of mineral composition of wheat grain ionome and can be implemented for other plants.