The infamous seaweed invader Codium fragile ssp. fragile, distributed on rocky shores worldwide, is officially listed as one of the 100 worst invading species in Europe. As it is prone to crypsis, ...the application of genetic molecular data is needed to support species identification. Codium spp. are recorded in a checklist of the benthic flora in the Cantabrian Sea (North of Spain) but detailed biogeographical distributions, origins, ecological mechanisms explaining their successful establishment and genetic structuring data from existing species are scarce. In this work, the main aim was to assess the Codium species distribution along the central southern area of the Bay of Biscay, supporting these data with DNA -- based identifications using sequencing of the RuBisCO and plastids elongation factor TU (tufA) genes. The primary results indicate differences in a winter and summer sampling of invasive Codium fragile ssp. fragile and native Codium species along Cantabrian coast.
The anglerfish species Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa are among the most valuable fishes sought after by bottom fisheries in western and southern European waters. It is currently believed ...that there are two stocks for each of the two species, north and south, which determine their assessment and management. A genetic analysis using eight polymorphic microsatellite markers was carried out on samples collected from western European waters and the south-western Mediterranean Sea. The results strongly suggest that the boundary between northern and southern stocks is not genetically supported. However, populations were not genetically homogeneous. Besides a pattern of genetic differentiation between Mediterranean and the rest of the samples, the L. budegassa samples taken from the Spain Atlantic zone and from the Portugal Atlantic zone were genetically distinct, whereas the samples taken in the French Atlantic zone for the L. piscatorius species seem to be different from the rest of the samples under study. This can be indicative of a more subtle genetic structure that deserves more study for guaranteeing adequate fishery management of these species.
Integument biopsy is a nondestructive method for sampling free-ranging cetaceans, which allows for the determination of both contaminant concentrations and biomarker responses. Cytochrome P450 1A1 ...(CYP1A1) expression is induced by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as the non-ortho and mono-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). CYP1A induction has been used extensively as a biomarker of exposure to such compounds in vertebrates. We measured PCB concentrations and CYP1A1 expression in integument biopsies from bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) resident in Sarasota Bay, FL. This population of dolphins has been the subject of long-term population and health assessment, affording the opportunity to evaluate the influence of age, sex, and reproductive status on CYP1A1 expression. CYP1A1 expression was seen in endothelial cells, vascular smooth muscle, and nerve cells in the dermis, similar to what has been observed in other cetacean species. Endothelial CYP1A1 expression varied along the length of the biopsy, which could be related to differences in the structure and functionality of the blubber in different parts of the integument. Neither age nor sex was related to CYP1A1 expression in these biopsies, and reproductive status did not relate to levels of CYP1A1 in females. Total PCB and toxic equivalent quotient concentrations in blubber were positively correlated with dermal endothelial CYP1A1 expression, although Σmono-ortho PCBs concentrations did not show this relationship. Contaminant concentrations appear to be stronger determinants of CYP1A1 expression in integument of these dolphins, than are age, sex, or reproductive status.
The acquisition of a stock should be considered the single most important aspect of broodstock management because it determines the maximum amount of genetic variance and how much inbreeding will be ...produced via future matings. Using a set of eleven microsatellite markers, we have screened two samples from a captive sea bream population (
Sparus aurata) (
n
=
661) from which three hatchery broodstocks will be established. We have estimated the relatedness coefficients between all the possible candidates to form those new broodstocks (−
0.3803
<
r
<
+
0.8450) and finally we have used a stochastic search technique to solve, using a combinatorial optimization approach, the problem of ensuring that the three new broodstocks will contain the maximum possible genetic variance. The two starting samples revealed high levels of genetic variation (
H
e
≈
0.800 and
N
A
>
17) and the microsatellite loci showed high PIC values (over 0.700). The searching method was not only appropriate but also very efficient. All three new broodstocks (60 individuals each) keep almost all the genetic variance previously assessed. Means of 17 alleles per locus, values of 0.80 as expected heterozygosities and, in addition, higher PIC values (0.84 as a mean) in these groups with respect to the original samples ensuring long term genetic response if necessary and guarantees a minimal inbreeding risk under our culture conditions since we have limited the relatedness distributions to −
0.3416
<
r
<
+
0.1604.
Background and aims Variations in root-associated fungal communities contribute to the so-called 'crop rotation benefit' on soil productivity. We assessed the effects of chickpea, lentil, and pea in ...wheat-based rotations, as compared to wheat monoculture, on the structure of root-associated fungal communities, and described the legacy of pulses on a following wheat crop. Methods The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 18S rRNA gene markers, and 454 amplicon pyrosequencing were used to describe the fungal communities of crop roots and rhizosphere soil in a field experiment and agronomic data were collected. Results Pulses influenced only the structure of the nonmycorrhizal fungal community of roots. Fusarium tricinctum, Clonostachys rosea, Fusarium redolens, and Cryptococcus sp. were specific to certain crops. Despite the absence of selective effects of pulses on their associated arbuscular myconhizal (AM) fungal community, pea had a legacy effect on the structure of the AM fungal community associated with the roots of the following wheat crop, in one of the two year/sites examined. Species of Mortierella, Cryptococcus, and Paraglomus in wheat rhizosphere soil may benefit yield, whereas species of Fusarium, Davidiella, Lachnum, Sistotrema and Podospora may reduce yield. Conclusion The effect of pulse crops on root fungal communities varied with rotation crop species. Pulses had various effects on the physiology of the following wheat crop, including increased productivity.
Targeting the kinases MNK1 and MNK2 has emerged as a valuable strategy in oncology. However, most of the advanced inhibitors are acting in an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-competitive mode, precluding ...the evaluation of different binding modes in preclinical settings. Using rational design, we identified and validated the 4,6-diaryl-pyrazolo3,4-
pyridin-3-amine scaffold as the core for MNK inhibitors. Signaling pathway analysis confirmed a direct effect of the hit compound
on MNKs, and in line with the reported function of these kinases,
only affects the growth of tumor but not normal cells. Molecular modeling revealed the binding of
to the inactive conformation of MNK1 and the interaction with the specific DFD motif. This novel mode of action appears to be superior to the ATP-competitive inhibitors, which render the protein in a pseudo-active state. Overcoming this paradoxical activation of MNKs by
represents therefore a promising starting point for the development of a novel generation of MNK inhibitors.
To investigate the relationship between genetic composition and some physiological traits of interest (age at smoltification, precocious maturation in male parr) in early and late first feeding ...Atlantic salmon, genetic variation at 6 isozyme and 8 microsatellite loci was examined. Early and late first feeding salmon showed different allelic and genotypic distributions at both isozyme and microsatellite loci. A positive relation between enzymatic loci heterozygosity and precocious active alimentation and earlier smoltification (S1 cf. S2) were also found.
In the USA, genetically admixed populations have the highest asthma prevalence and severe asthma exacerbations rates. This could be explained not only by environmental factors but also by genetic ...variants that exert ethnic-specific effects. However, no admixture mapping has been performed for severe asthma exacerbations.
We sought to identify genetic variants associated with severe asthma exacerbations in Hispanic/Latino subgroups by means of admixture mapping analyses and fine mapping, and to assess their transferability to other populations and potential functional roles.
We performed an admixture mapping in 1124 Puerto Rican and 625 Mexican American children with asthma. Fine-mapping of the significant peaks was performed via allelic testing of common and rare variants. We performed replication across Hispanic/Latino subgroups, and the transferability to non-Hispanic/Latino populations was assessed in 1001 African Americans, 1250 Singaporeans and 941 Europeans with asthma. The effects of the variants on gene expression and DNA methylation from whole blood were also evaluated in participants with asthma and in silico with data obtained through public databases.
Genomewide significant associations of Indigenous American ancestry with severe asthma exacerbations were found at 5q32 in Mexican Americans as well as at 13q13-q13.2 and 3p13 in Puerto Ricans. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1144986 (
) showed consistent effects for severe asthma exacerbations across Hispanic/Latino subgroups, but it was not validated in non-Hispanics/Latinos. This SNP was associated with
DNA methylation and
gene expression levels.
Admixture mapping study of asthma exacerbations revealed a novel locus that exhibited Hispanic/Latino-specific effects and regulated
and
.
The white shrimp Penaeus (Litopenaeus) schmitti Burkenroad, M.D., 1936. A new species of Penaeus from the American.Atlantic. Anais Acad. Brasil. Cienc. Rio de Janeiro 8, 315–318. has been part of ...commercial fisheries in Cuba since 1953. Over exploitation led to a serious decline of the captures in the early 1980s until the fishery was finally closed due to a population crash and captures were reduced to the extraction of only some breeders for the Cuban hatcheries. Previous population genetic studies in this species had shown that wild populations are genetically diverse over geographic distances as small as a few hundred kilometres providing useful information for managers. The present study provides new evidences on the spatial (and also temporal) variation of the genetic diversity and population structure in P. schmitti Cuban wild populations using both allozymes and microsatellites. It is highly probable that low effective population size of P. schmitti in Cuba results in genetic changes through time as a result of genetic drift. Two likelihood-based methods used in this work to estimated effective population size Ne revealed concordant low effective numbers taking into account the species characteristics.
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