The Covid-19 pandemic in the winter and spring of 2020 represents a major challenge to the world health care system that has not been seen perhaps since the influenza pandemic in 1918. The virus has ...spread across the world, claiming lives on all continents with the exception of Antarctica. Since its arrival in the United States, attention has been paid to how Covid-19 cases and deaths have been distributed across varying socioeconomic and ethnic groups. The goal of this study was to examine this issue during the early weeks of the pandemic, with the hope of shedding some light on how the number of cases and the number of deaths were, or were not related to poverty. Results of this study revealed that during the early weeks of the pandemic more disadvantaged counties in the United States had a larger number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, but that over time this trend changed so that by the beginning of April, 2020 more affluent counties had more confirmed cases of the virus. The number of deaths due to Covid-19 were associated with poorer and more urban counties. Discussion of these results focuses on the possibility that testing for the virus was less available in more disadvantaged counties later in the pandemic than was the case earlier, as the result of an overall lack of adequate testing resources across the nation.
Many molecular mechanisms that regulate dormancy have been identified individually in controlled laboratory studies. However, little is known about how the seed employs this complex suite of ...mechanisms during dormancy cycling in the variable environment of the soil seed bank. Nevertheless, this behaviour is essential to ensure germination takes place in a favourable habitat and climate space, and in the correct season for the resulting plant to complete its life cycle. During their time in the soil seed bank, seeds continually adjust their dormancy status by sensing a range of environmental signals. Those related to slow seasonal change (e.g. temperature) are used for temporal sensing to determine the time of year and depth of dormancy. This alters their sensitivity to signals related to their spatial environment (e.g. light, nitrate, and water potential) that indicate that conditions are suitable for germination, and so trigger the termination of dormancy. We review work on the physiological, molecular, and ecological aspects of seed dormancy in Arabidopsis and interpret it in the context of dormancy cycling in the soil seed bank. This approach has provided new insight into the co-ordination of mechanisms and signalling networks, and the multidimensional sensing that regulates dormancy cycling in a variable environment.
Humans have evolved much longer lifespans than the great apes, which rarely exceed 50 years. Since 1800, lifespans have doubled again, largely due to improvements in environment, food, and medicine ...that minimized mortality at earlier ages. Infections cause most mortality in wild chimpanzees and in traditional forager-farmers with limited access to modern medicine. Although we know little of the diseases of aging under premodern conditions, in captivity, chimpanzees present a lower incidence of cancer, ischémie heart disease, and neurodegeneration than current human populations. These major differences in pathology of aging are discussed in terms of genes that mediate infection, inflammation, and nutrition. Apolipoprotein E alleles are proposed as a prototype of pleiotropic genes, which influence immune responses, arterial and Alzheimer's disease, and brain development.
The
gene alleles modify human aging and the response to the diet at many levels with diverse pleotropic effects from gut to brain. To understand the interactions of
isoforms and diet, we analyze how ...cellular trafficking of apoE proteins affects energy metabolism, the immune system, and reproduction. The age-accelerating
allele alters the endosomal trafficking of cell surface receptors that mediate lipid and glucose metabolism. The
allele is the ancestral human allele, joined by
and then
in the human species. Under conditions of high infection, uncertain food, and shorter life expectancy,
may be adaptive for reducing mortality. As humans transitioned into modern less-infectious environments and longer life spans,
increased risks of aging-related diseases, particularly impacting arteries and the brain. The association of
with glucose dysregulation and body weight promotes many aging-associated diseases. Additionally, the
gene locus interacts with adjacent genes on chromosome 19 in haplotypes that modify neurodegeneration and metabolism, for which we anticipate complex gene-environment interactions. We summarize how diet and Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk are altered by
genotype in both animal and human studies and identify gaps. Much remains obscure in how
alleles modify nutritional factors in human aging. Identifying risk variant haplotypes in the
gene complex will clarify homeostatic adaptive responses to environmental conditions.
Although microRNAs are being extensively studied for their involvement in cancer and development, little is known about their roles in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we used microarrays for ...the first joint profiling and analysis of miRNAs and mRNAs expression in brain cortex from AD and age-matched control subjects. These data provided the unique opportunity to study the relationship between miRNA and mRNA expression in normal and AD brains. Using a non-parametric analysis, we showed that the levels of many miRNAs can be either positively or negatively correlated with those of their target mRNAs. Comparative analysis with independent cancer datasets showed that such miRNA-mRNA expression correlations are not static, but rather context-dependent. Subsequently, we identified a large set of miRNA-mRNA associations that are changed in AD versus control, highlighting AD-specific changes in the miRNA regulatory system. Our results demonstrate a robust relationship between the levels of miRNAs and those of their targets in the brain. This has implications in the study of the molecular pathology of AD, as well as miRNA biology in general.
Seed dormancy is an innate seed property that defines the environmental conditions in which the seed is able to germinate. It is determined by genetics with a substantial environmental influence ...which is mediated, at least in part, by the plant hormones abscisic acid and gibberellins. Not only is the dormancy status influenced by the seed maturation environment, it is also continuously changing with time following shedding in a manner determined by the ambient environment. As dormancy is present throughout the higher plants in all major climatic regions, adaptation has resulted in divergent responses to the environment. Through this adaptation, germination is timed to avoid unfavourable weather for subsequent plant establishment and reproductive growth. In this review, we present an integrated view of the evolution, molecular genetics, physiology, biochemistry, ecology and modelling of seed dormancy mechanisms and their control of germination. We argue that adaptation has taken place on a theme rather than via fundamentally different paths and identify similarities underlying the extensive diversity in the dormancy response to the environment that controls germination.
Seed dormancy cycling plays a crucial role in the lifecycle timing of many plants. Little is known of how the seeds respond to the soil seed bank environment following dispersal in spring into the ...short‐term seed bank before seedling emergence in autumn. Seeds of the winter annual Arabidopsis ecotype Cvi were buried in field soils in spring and recovered monthly until autumn and their molecular eco‐physiological responses were recorded. DOG1 expression is initially low and then increases as dormancy increases. MFT expression is negatively correlated with germination potential. Abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellin (GA) signalling responds rapidly following burial and adjusts to the seasonal change in soil temperature. Collectively these changes align germination potential with the optimum climate space for seedling emergence. Seeds naturally dispersed to the soil in spring enter a shallow dormancy cycle dominated by spatial sensing that adjusts germination potential to the maximum when soil environment is most favourable for germination and seedling emergence upon soil disturbance. This behaviour differs subtly from that of seeds overwintered in the soil seed bank to spread the period of potential germination in the seed population (existing seed bank and newly dispersed). As soil temperature declines in autumn, deep dormancy is re‐imposed as seeds become part of the persistent seed bank.
Aquaporins influence water flow in plants, yet little is known of their involvement in the water‐driven process of seed germination. We therefore investigated their role in seeds in the laboratory ...and under field and global warming conditions. We mapped the expression of tonoplast intrinsic proteins (TIPs) during dormancy cycling and during germination under normal and water stress conditions. We found that the two key tonoplast aquaporins, TIP3;1 and TIP3;2, which have previously been implicated in water or solute transport, respectively, act antagonistically to modulate the response to abscisic acid, with TIP3;1 being a positive and TIP3;2 a negative regulator. A third isoform, TIP4;1, which is normally expressed upon completion of germination, was found to play an earlier role during water stress. Seed TIPs also contribute to the regulation of depth of primary dormancy and differences in the induction of secondary dormancy during dormancy cycling. Protein and gene expression during annual cycling under field conditions and a global warming scenario further illustrate this role. We propose that the different responses of the seed TIP contribute to mechanisms that influence dormancy status and the timing of germination under variable soil conditions.
Aquaporins influence water flow in plants, yet little is known of their involvement in the water‐driven process of seed germination. We therefore investigated their role in seeds, both in the laboratory and field. We mapped the expression of tonoplast intrinsic proteins during germination in normal and water stress conditions. We found that the two key tonoplast aquaporins, TIP3;1 and TIP3;2, act antagonistically to modulate the response to ABA, with TIP3;1 being a positive and TIP3;2 a negative regulator. A third isoform, TIP4;1, which is normally expressed upon completion of germination, was found to play an earlier role during water stress. Seed TIPs also regulate the depth of primary dormancy and differences in the induction of secondary dormancy in a similar manner. We propose that the different responses of the seed TIP constitute a mechanism to influence germination under water stress and dormancy cycling in variable soil conditions.
• Seedling emergence timing is crucial in competitive plant communities and so contributes to species fitness. To understand the mechanistic basis of variation in seedling emergence timing, we ...exploited the contrasting behaviour of two Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes: Cape Verde Islands (Cvi) and Burren (Bur-0).
• We used RNA-Seq analysis of RNA from exhumed seeds and quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses on a mapping population from crossing the Cvi and Bur-0 ecotypes.
• We determined genome-wide expression patterns over an annual dormancy cycle in both ecotypes, identifying nine major clusters based on the seasonal timing of gene expression, and variation in behaviour between them. QTL were identified for depth of seed dormancy and seedling emergence timing (SET).
• Both analyses showed a key role for DOG1 in determining depth of dormancy, but did not support a direct role for DOG1 in generating altered seasonal patterns of seedling emergence. The principle QTL determining SET (SET1: dormancy cycling) is physically close on chromosome 5, but is distinct from DOG1. We show that SET1 and two other SET QTLs each contain a candidate gene (AHG1, ANAC060, PDF1 respectively) closely associated with DOG1 and abscisic acid signalling and suggest a model for the control of SET in the field.
Summary
Seed vigour is a key trait essential for the production of sustainable and profitable crops. The genetic basis of variation in seed vigour has recently been determined in Brassica oleracea, ...but the relative importance of the interaction with parental environment is unknown. We produced seeds under a range of maternal environments, including global warming scenarios. Lines were compared that had the same genetic background, but different alleles (for high and low vigour) at the quantitative trait loci responsible for determining seed vigour by altering abscisic acid (ABA) content and sensitivity. We found a consistent effect of beneficial alleles across production environments; however, environmental stress during production also had a large impact that enhanced the genetic difference in seed performance, measured as germination speed, resistance to controlled deterioration and induction of secondary dormancy. Environmental interaction with allelic differences in key genes that determine ABA content and sensitivity develops a continuity in performance from rapid germination through to failure to complete germination, and increasing depths of seed dormancy. The genetic–environmental interaction revealed provides a robust mechanism of bet‐hedging to minimize environmental risk during subsequent germination, and this could have facilitated the rapid change in seed behaviour (reduced dormancy and rapid germination) observed during crop domestication.
Significance Statement
There is heightened interest in the importance of the seed production environment on crop seed performance driven by potential climate change impacts and the central economic importance of this trait. We show that the production environment interaction with allelic variation in key vigour genes that determine abscisic acid content and sensitivity develops a continuity in performance from rapid germination through to non‐germination and increasing depths of seed dormancy.
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