Proteolytic release of transmembrane proteins from the cell surface, the so called ectodomain shedding, is a key process in inflammation. Inactive rhomboid 2 (iRhom2) plays a crucial role in this ...context, in that it guides maturation and function of the sheddase ADAM17 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase 17) in immune cells, and, ultimately, its ability to release inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). Yet, the macrophage sheddome of iRhom2/ADAM17, which is the collection of substrates that are released by the proteolytic complex, is only partly known. In this study, we applied high-resolution proteomics to murine and human iRhom2-deficient macrophages for a systematic identification of substrates, and therefore functions, of the iRhom2/ADAM17 proteolytic complex. We found that iRhom2 loss suppressed the release of a group of transmembrane proteins, including known (e.g. CSF1R) and putative novel ADAM17 substrates. In the latter group, shedding of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC-I) was consistently reduced in both murine and human macrophages when iRhom2 was ablated. Intriguingly, it emerged that in addition to its shedding, iRhom2 could also control surface expression of MHC-I by an undefined mechanism. We have demonstrated the biological significance of this process by using an in vitro model of CD8
+
T-cell (CTL) activation. In this model, iRhom2 loss and consequent reduction of MHC-I expression on the cell surface of an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed lymphoblastoid cell line dampened activation of autologous CTLs and their cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Taken together, this study uncovers a new role for iRhom2 in controlling cell surface levels of MHC-I by a dual mechanism that involves regulation of their surface expression and ectodomain shedding.
The chemical composition of the inflorescences from four
L. monoecious cultivars (Ferimon, Uso-31, Felina 32 and Fedora 17), recently introduced in the Lazio Region, was monitored over the season ...from June to September giving indications on their sensorial, pharmaceutical/nutraceutical proprieties. Both untargeted (NMR) and targeted (GC/MS, UHPLC, HPLC-PDA/FD and spectrophotometry) analyses were carried out to identify and quantify compounds of different classes (sugars, organic acids, amino acids, cannabinoids, terpenoids, phenols, tannins, flavonoids and biogenic amines). All cultivars in each harvesting period showed a THC content below the Italian legal limit, although in general THC content increased over the season. Citric acid, malic acid and glucose showed the highest content in the late flowering period, whereas the content of proline drastically decreased after June in all cultivars. Neophytadiene, nerolidol and chlorogenic acid were quantified only in Felina 32 cultivar, characterized also by a very high content of flavonoids, whereas alloaromadendrene and
-cinnamic acid were detected only in Uso-31 cultivar. Naringenin and naringin were present only in Fedora 17 and Ferimon cultivars, respectively. Moreover, Ferimon had the highest concentration of biogenic amines, especially in July and August. Cadaverine was present in all cultivars but only in September. These results suggest that the chemical composition of
L. inflorescences depends on the cultivar and on the harvesting period. Producers can use this information as a guide to obtain inflorescences with peculiar chemical characteristics according to the specific use.
Soil microbial communities (SMCs) are important drivers of forest ecosystem functions and services. To optimize afforestation practices, it is important to understand how pure and mixed plantations ...can affect SMCs and their functioning. Therefore, the objective of this work was to investigate the SMC structure and function of six Mediterranean woody species grown as monocultures, and of six selected 1:1 combinations. SMC structure was assessed through the abundance estimation of different culturable heterotrophic microbial populations (i.e. bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Pseudomoas spp. and aerobic spore-forming bacteria) and the Biolog community level physiological profile, while soil biochemical functioning was estimated by quantifying soil dehydrogenase (DHG) activity.
Species richness (SR) did not increase the abundance of culturable heterotrophic microbial populations, nor the number of carbon sources metabolized by the microbial communities (Biolog richness) or DHG activity. However, SR significantly decreased the potential metabolic activity (Biolog AWCD) of soil microbial populations. Leaf type significantly affected soil microbial and biochemical features, particularly for monocultures where conifer plots were characterized by a significantly higher fungal/bacterial ratio, reduced AWCD and richness as well as reduced DHG values. Significant interactions between tree species in mixed plots were noticed as well as significant correlations between plant community weighted mean (CWM) traits and soil microbial and biochemical features. Both SMC structure and function were clearly influenced by tree plantations and, importantly, microbial populations of monocultures and mixed plantations, and their functioning, were governed by different CWM traits.
•Species richness (SR) did not increase soil microbial abundance.•SR did not increase Biolog richness and soil dehydrogenase activity.•SR significantly reduced the potential metabolic activity of microbial communities.•Leaf type significantly affected soil microbial and biochemical features (SM&BF).•SM&BF were governed by different community weighted mean traits.
► A bottom-up approach to urban metabolism based on energy, water, carbon, pollutants. ► Combining environmental observations and simulations with socio-economic data. ► Developing a Decision Support ...System to evaluate urban planning alternatives. ► Aiding the evaluation of the sustainability of urban planning interventions. ► A step towards integration of scientific knowledge into sustainable urban planning.
Urban metabolism considers a city as a system with flows of energy and material between it and the environment. Recent advances in bio-physical sciences provide methods and models to estimate local scale energy, water, carbon and pollutant fluxes. However, good communication is required to provide this new knowledge and its implications to endusers (such as urban planners, architects and engineers). The FP7 project BRIDGE (sustainaBle uRban plannIng Decision support accountinG for urban mEtabolism) aimed to address this gap by illustrating the advantages of considering these issues in urban planning. The BRIDGE Decision Support System (DSS) aids the evaluation of the sustainability of urban planning interventions. The Multi Criteria Analysis approach adopted provides a method to cope with the complexity of urban metabolism. In consultation with targeted end-users, objectives were defined in relation to the interactions between the environmental elements (fluxes of energy, water, carbon and pollutants) and socioeconomic components (investment costs, housing, employment, etc.) of urban sustainability. The tool was tested in five case study cities: Helsinki, Athens, London, Florence and Gliwice; and sub-models were evaluated using flux data selected. This overview of the BRIDGE project covers the methods and tools used to measure and model the physical flows, the selected set of sustainability indicators, the methodological framework for evaluating urban planning alternatives and the resulting DSS prototype.
Extra-virgin olive oil (383 samples; EVOOs) of three consecutive harvesting years from nine Italian regions were collected and submitted to an ¹H NMR-chemometric protocol to characterize the samples ...according to their origin (geographical area and variety). A more complete assignment of the olive oil ¹H spectrum in CDCl₃ and DMSO
₆ was reported identifying 24-methylencycolartanol. A single classification model provided the discrimination of EVOOs among the three geographical macro-areas (North, Islands, Center-South), whereas a hierarchical approach based on breaking the overall classification problem into a series of smaller linear discriminant analysis (LDA) sub-models was tested to differentiate olive oils according to their geographical regions. Specific compounds responsible for olive oil characterization were identified.
Shrublands constitute significant and important parts of European landscapes providing a large number of important ecosystem services. Biogeochemical cycles in these ecosystems have gained little ...attention relative to forests and grassland systems, but data on such cycles are required for developing and testing ecosystem models. As climate change progresses, the potential feedback from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere through changes in carbon stocks, carbon sequestration, and general knowledge on biogeochemical cycles becomes increasingly important. Here we present carbon and nitrogen balances of six shrublands along a climatic gradient across the European continent. The aim of the study was to provide a basis for assessing the range and variability in carbon storage in European shrublands. Across the sites the net carbon storage in the systems ranged from 1,163 g C m−2 to 18,546 g C m−2, and the systems ranged from being net sinks (126 g C m−2 a−1) to being net sources (−536 g C m−2 a−1) of carbon with the largest storage and sink of carbon at wet and cold climatic conditions. The soil carbon store dominates the carbon budget at all sites and in particular at the site with a cold and wet climate where soil C constitutes 95% of the total carbon in the ecosystem. Respiration of carbon from the soil organic matter pool dominated the carbon loss at all sites while carbon loss from aboveground litter decomposition appeared less important. Total belowground carbon allocation was more than 5 times aboveground litterfall carbon which is significantly greater than the factor of 2 reported in a global analysis of forest data. Nitrogen storage was also dominated by the soil pools generally showing small losses except when atmospheric N input was high. The study shows that in the future a climate‐driven land cover change between grasslands and shrublands in Europe will likely lead to increased ecosystem C where shrublands are promoted and less where grasses are promoted. However, it also emphasizes that if feedbacks on the global carbon cycle are to be predicted it is critically important to quantify and understand belowground carbon allocation and processes as well as soil carbon pools, particularly on wet organic soils, rather than plant functional change as the soil stores dominate the overall budget and fluxes of carbon.
The fire danger (FD) defines the conditions less or more favourable for a fire ignition success and its propagation. FD indexes, that integrates environmental variables related to FD in more or less ...complex equations and systems, are widely used in wildfire prone countries for both scientific and operational purposes. Assessing the performance of FD indexes is challenging and this issue is quite debated within the fire community, which has been trying to apply several methodologies to evaluate FD indexes. The main aim of this work is to give a contribution to this effort. The analysis was conducted using data from a fire-prone Mediterranean area (Sardinia island, Italy), where 8 FD indexes were evaluated and compared using different statistical approaches. We calculated the daily FD values for the period 2000-2007 over the study area. A set of statistical tools (namely Spearman rank correlation, Index Value Distribution and Percentile Analysis, and Logistic Regression) were applied to evaluate the performance of each FD index by comparing FD values with fire occurrence indicators. The statistical tests revealed a large variability in FD indexes performance, depending also on fire activity conditions. Our results showed that two of the tested FD indexes reached a good overall performance. Findings from this study can help both the scientific community and local fire managers, supporting the evaluation of early warning systems and fire prevention strategies in the Mediterranean Basin.
We used a nonintrusive field experiment carried out at six sites - Wales (UK), Denmark (DK), the Netherlands (NL), Hungary (HU), Sardinia (Italy - IT), and Catalonia (Spain - SP) - along a climatic ...and latitudinal gradient to examine the response of plant species richness and primary productivity to warming and drought in shrubland ecosystems. The warming treatment raised the plot daily temperature by ca. 1 °C, while the drought treatment led to a reduction in soil moisture at the peak of the growing season that ranged from 26% at the SP site to 82% in the NL site. During the 7 years the experiment lasted (1999-2005), we used the pin-point method to measure the species composition of plant communities and plant biomass, litterfall, and shoot growth of the dominant plant species at each site. A significantly lower increase in the number of species pin-pointed per transect was found in the drought plots at the SP site, where the plant community was still in a process of recovering from a forest fire in 1994. No changes in species richness were found at the other sites, which were at a more mature and stable state of succession and, thus less liable to recruitment of new species. The relationship between annual biomass accumulation and temperature of the growing season was positive at the coldest site and negative at the warmest site. The warming treatment tended to increase the aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) at the northern sites. The relationship between annual biomass accumulation and soil moisture during the growing season was not significant at the wettest sites, but was positive at the driest sites. The drought treatment tended to reduce the ANPP in the NL, HU, IT, and SP sites. The responses to warming were very strongly related to the Gaussen aridity index (stronger responses the lower the aridity), whereas the responses to drought were not. Changes in the annual aboveground biomass accumulation, litterfall, and, thus, the ANPP, mirrored the interannual variation in climate conditions: the most outstanding change was a decrease in biomass accumulation and an increase in litterfall at most sites during the abnormally hot year of 2003. Species richness also tended to decrease in 2003 at all sites except the cold and wet UK site. Species-specific responses to warming were found in shoot growth: at the SP site, Globularia alypum was not affected, while the other dominant species, Erica multiflora, grew 30% more; at the UK site, Calluna vulgaris tended to grow more in the warming plots, while Empetrum nigrum tended to grow less. Drought treatment decreased plant growth in several studied species, although there were some species such as Pinus halepensis at the SP site or C. vulgaris at the UK site that were not affected. The magnitude of responses to warming and drought thus depended greatly on the differences between sites, years, and species and these multiple plant responses may be expected to have consequences at ecosystem and community level. Decreases in biodiversity and the increase in E. multiflora growth at the SP site as a response to warming challenge the assumption that sensitivity to warming may be less well developed at more southerly latitudes; likewise, the fact that one of the studied shrublands presented negative ANPP as a response to the 2003 heat wave also challenges the hypothesis that future climate warming will lead to an enhancement of plant growth and carbon sequestration in temperate ecosystems. Extreme events may thus change the general trend of increased productivity in response to warming in the colder sites.
Dormancy is commonly separated into a rest period, when the buds remain dormant due to growth-arresting physiological conditions, and a quiescent period, when the buds remain dormant due to ...unfavourable environmental conditions. A sequential model predicting the number of days during dormancy based on accumulation of chill days during rest and anti-chill days during quiescence is described. Chill days and anti-chill days are calculated using the single triangle method to estimate degree days relative to a threshold temperature. The temperature threshold for calculating the chill and anti-chill days and the chilling requirement to determine when rest is broken are found by trial and error to minimize the root mean square error of predicted and observed bud-burst dates. Using several years of weather and phenological data for cherry, pear, kiwifruit and olive orchards and nine forest species from locations in Sardinia, Italy, the Chill days model performed better than four classical chill unit models and two chilling hour models. The classical chill unit and chilling hour models failed to predict bud-burst in some years depending on the species and climate, whereas the Chill days model always gave good results. The classical chill unit and chilling hour models start to accumulate chilling when temperatures fall below the threshold in autumn, whereas the Chill days model begins to accumulate chilling at a phenological stage (i.e. leaf fall or harvest). Moreover, the classical chill unit and chilling hour models do not separate dormancy into rest and quiescent periods. These factors may partially explain the better performance of the Chill days model. When compared with the null model (using the mean calendar date), the Chill days model gave better results except for the cherry trees and four of the forest species.
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