Age‐related variation in the trophic characteristics of a marsupial carnivore,the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii

Age‐related changes in diet have implications for competitive interactions and for predator–prey dynamics, affecting individuals and groups at different life stages. To quantify patterns of variation and ontogenetic change in the diets of Tasmanian devils Sarcophilus harrisii, a threatened marsupial carnivore, we analyzed variation in the stable isotope composition of whisker tissue samples taken from 91 individual devils from Wilmot, Tasmania from December 2014 to February 2017. Both δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N decreased with increasing age in weaned Tasmanian devils, indicating that as they age devils rely less on small mammals and birds, and more on large herbivores. Devils <12 months old had broader group isotopic niches, as estimated by Bayesian standard ellipses (SEA_B mode = 1.042) than devils from 12 to 23 months old (mode = 0.541) and devils ≥24 months old (mode = 0.532). Devils <24 months old had broader individual isotopic niches (SEA_B mode range 0.492–1.083) than devils ≥24 months old (mode range 0.092–0.240). A decrease in δ¹⁵N from the older whisker sections to the more recently grown sections in devils <24 months old likely reflects the period of weaning in this species, as this pattern was not observed in devils ≥24 months old. Our data reveal changes in the isotopic composition of devil whiskers with increasing age, accompanied by a reduction in isotopic variation both among population age classes and within individuals, reflecting the effect of weaning in early life, and a likely shift from an initially diverse diet of small mammals, birds, and invertebrates towards increasing consumption of larger herbivores in adulthood.     

The -308 polymorphism in the promoter region of the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) gene and ex vivo lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-alpha expression in patients with aggressive periodontitis and/or type 1 diabetes mellitus

Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified in the TNF-alpha gene promoter. The transition G-->A at position -308 generates the TNF-alpha1 (G/G) and TNF-alpha2 (G/A or A/A) alleles, where the polymorphic TNF-alpha2 allele is associated with a high, in vitro TNF-alpha expression and an increased susceptibility to diverse illnesses. Here we study the association of the -308 TNF-alpha SNP with the susceptibility for developing aggressive periodontitis (AP), AP combined with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and DM. We also explore the TNF-alpha capability expression and the presence of the -308 polymorphism. For this purpose we recruited 27 individuals with AP (AP+ group), 27 individuals with AP combined with DM (AP+/DM+ group), and 27 individuals with DM without signs of periodontitis upon clinical examination (DM+ group). The control group was comprised of 30 subjects. Genotyping for TNF-alpha promoter was performed by PCR-RFLP analysis. For TNF-alpha expression we used a blood culture system.     

Evidence of substantial carbon isotope fractionation among substrate, inorganic carbon, and biomass during aerobic mineralization of 1, 2-dichloroethane by Xanthobacter autotrophicus

Carbon isotope fractionation during aerobic mineralization of 1, 2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) by Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 was investigated. A strong enrichment of (13)C in residual 1,2-DCA was observed, with a mean fractionation factor alpha +/- standard deviation of 0.968 +/- 0.0013 to 0.973 +/- 0.0015. In addition, a large carbon isotope fractionation between biomass and inorganic carbon occurred. A mechanistic model that links the fractionation factor alpha to the rate constants of the first catabolic enzyme was developed. Based on the model, it was concluded that the strong enrichment of (13)C in 1,2-DCA arises because the first irreversible step of the initial enzymatic transformation of 1,2-DCA consists of an S(N)2 nucleophilic substitution. S(N)2 reactions are accompanied by a large kinetic isotope effect. The substantial carbon isotope fractionation between biomass and inorganic carbon could be explained by the kinetic isotope effect associated with the initial 1,2-DCA transformation and by the metabolic pathway of 1,2-DCA degradation. Carbon isotope fractionation during 1,2-DCA mineralization leads to 1,2-DCA, inorganic carbon, and biomass with characteristic carbon isotope compositions, which may be used to trace the process in contaminated environments.     

B cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients show important alterations in the expression of CD86 and FcγRIIb,which are modulated by anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy

Introduction  

Several molecules help preserve peripheral B cell tolerance, but when altered, they may predispose to autoimmunity. This work studied the expression of the costimulatory molecule CD86 and the inhibitory receptor for IgG immune complexes FcγRIIb (CD32b), on B cells from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients, and the influence of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy.     

Vegetation composition,structure, and biomass of two unpolluted watersheds in the Cordillera de Piuchué, Chiloé Island,Chile

Research in pristine forests provides a necessary reference of energy and nutrient cycling in absence of anthropogenic influence. Therefore two unpolluted watersheds in the Cordillera de Piuchué of southern Chile (42 °30 S) were chosen for detailed ecosystem analysis. The goals of this study were to quantify the distribution of the living biomass in the research watershed and to document topographic gradients in the vegetation. Across a small spatial gradient from ravine bottom to ridgetop (approximately 60 m in elevation and < 300 m in length) in the Cordillera de Piuchué watersheds, there were significant shifts in vegetation composition, structure, and biomass. Based on sampling in 18, 100 m² plots, we identified three distinct community associations: a Fitzroya forest at the bottom of the watershed, a mid-slope Pilgerodendron-Tepualia transition zone, and a ridgetop moorland community. The Fitzroya forest was dominated by a cohort of approximately 400 year-old Fitzroya cupressoides trees. Both tree basal area (138 m²/ha) and total live biomass (656 Mg ha^–1) reached a maximum in this vegetation type. The Pilgerodendron-Tepualia forest consisted of smaller, shorter, and younger trees with dominance shared by Pilgerodendron uviferum, Tepualia stipularis, and to a lesser extent, F. cupressoides. Basal area and biomass were half that of the Fitzroya forest (69.5 m² ha^–1; 350 Mg ha^–1) but tree density was 65% greater. The moorland can best be described as an open community of mosses and cushion plants that included low stature individuals of P. uviferum, F. cupressoides, and T. stipularis. The size and age structure of F. cupressoides in the bottomland forest suggest that the current cohort of adult trees was established following a catastrophic disturbance and that F. cupressoides is unable to regenerate under its own canopy. In contrast, the size structure of the tree populations in the Pilgerodendron-Tepualia zone indicates that all the constituent tree species, except F. cupressoides, are able to reproduce at least at some microsites in the understory. The watershed-level means for live biomass were 306 Mg ha^–1 of aboveground tree biomass, 25 Mg ha^–1 of large root biomass (diameter ge 1 cm), and 46 Mg ha^–1 of small root biomass (diameter < 1 cm).     

Applauding with Closed Hands: Neural Signature of Action-Sentence Compatibility Effects

Background

Behavioral studies have provided evidence for an action–sentence compatibility effect (ACE) that suggests a coupling of motor mechanisms and action-sentence comprehension. When both processes are concurrent, the action sentence primes the actual movement, and simultaneously, the action affects comprehension. The aim of the present study was to investigate brain markers of bidirectional impact of language comprehension and motor processes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Participants listened to sentences describing an action that involved an open hand, a closed hand, or no manual action. Each participant was asked to press a button to indicate his/her understanding of the sentence. Each participant was assigned a hand-shape, either closed or open, which had to be used to activate the button. There were two groups (depending on the assigned hand-shape) and three categories (compatible, incompatible and neutral) defined according to the compatibility between the response and the sentence. ACEs were found in both groups. Brain markers of semantic processing exhibited an N400-like component around the Cz electrode position. This component distinguishes between compatible and incompatible, with a greater negative deflection for incompatible. Motor response elicited a motor potential (MP) and a re-afferent potential (RAP), which are both enhanced in the compatible condition.

Conclusions/Significance

The present findings provide the first ACE cortical measurements of semantic processing and the motor response. N400-like effects suggest that incompatibility with motor processes interferes in sentence comprehension in a semantic fashion. Modulation of motor potentials (MP and RAP) revealed a multimodal semantic facilitation of the motor response. Both results provide neural evidence of an action-sentence bidirectional relationship. Our results suggest that ACE is not an epiphenomenal post-sentence comprehension process. In contrast, motor-language integration occurring during the verb onset supports a genuine and ongoing brain motor-language interaction.     

Successional changes in soil nitrogen availability,non-symbiotic nitrogen fixation and carbon/nitrogen ratios in southern Chilean forest ecosystems

Vast areas of southern Chile are now covered by second-growth forests because of fire and logging. To study successional patterns after moderate-intensity, anthropogenic fire disturbance, we assessed differences in soil properties and N fluxes across a chronosequence of seven successional stands (2–130 years old). We examined current predictions of successional theory concerning changes in the N cycle in forest ecosystems. Seasonal fluctuations of net N mineralization (N_min) in surface soil and N availability (N_a; N_a=NH ₄ ⁺ –N+NO ₃ ^– –N) in upper and deep soil horizons were positively correlated with monthly precipitation. In accordance with theoretical predictions, stand age was positively, but weakly related to both N_a (r ²=0.282, P<0.001) and total N (N_tot; r ²=0.192, P<0.01), and negatively related to soil C/N ratios (r ²=0.187, P<0.01) in surface soils. A weak linear increase in soil N_min (upper plus deep soil horizons) was found across the chronosequence (r ²=0.124, P<0.022). N_min occurred at modest rates in early successional stands, suggesting that soil disturbance did not impair microbial processes. The relationship between N fixation (N_fix) in the litter layer and stand age best fitted a quadratic model (r ²=0.228, P<0.01). In contrast to documented successional trends for most temperate, tropical and Mediterranean forests, non-symbiotic N_fix in the litter layer is a steady N input to unpolluted southern temperate forests during mid and late succession, which may compensate for hydrological losses of organic N from old-growth ecosystems.     

Radial growth response to climate change along the latitudinal range of the world's southernmost conifer in southern South America

Aim

We examined whether and how tree radial‐growth responses to climate have changed for the world's southernmost conifer species throughout its latitudinal distribution following rapid climate change in the second half of the 20th century.

Location

Temperate forests in southern South America.

Methods

New and existing tree‐ring radial growth chronologies representing the entire latitudinal range of Pilgerodendron uviferum were grouped according to latitude and then examined for differences in growth trends and non‐stationarity in growth responses to a drought severity index (scPDSI) over the 1900–1993 AD period and also before and after significant shifts in climate in the 1950s and 1970s.

Results

The radial‐growth response of P. uviferum climate was highly variable across its full latitudinal distribution. There was a long‐term and positive association between radial growth and higher moisture at the northern and southern edges of the distribution of this species and the opposite relationship for the core of its distribution, especially following the climatic shifts of the 1950s and 1970s. In addition, non‐stationarity in moisture‐radial growth relationships was observed in all three latitudinal groups (southern and northern edges and core) for all seasons during the 20th century.

Main conclusions

Climate shifts in southern South America in the 1950s and 1970s resulted in different responses in the mean radial growth of P. uviferum at the southern and northern edges and at the core of its range. Dendroclimatic analyses document that during the first half of the 20th century climate‐growth relationships were relatively similar between the southern and northern range edges but diverged after the 1950s. Our findings imply that simulated projections of climate impacts on tree growth, and by implication on forest ecosystem productivity, derived from models of past climate‐growth relationships need to carefully consider different and non‐stationarity responses along the wide latitudinal distribution of this species.     

Drought response of flax accessions and identification of quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) governing agronomic and root traits by genome-wide association analysis

Molecular Breeding - L-Ascorbic acid (AsA) is an important nutrient in non-heading Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. chinensis). To understand the regulatory mechanism of AsA accumulation, we...