scholarly journals Belgica antarctica (Diptera: Chironomidae): A natural model organism for extreme environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iryna Kozeretska ◽  
Svitlana Serga ◽  
Pavlo Kovalenko ◽  
Volodymyr Gorobchyshyn ◽  
Peter Convey
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Belgica Antarctica

scholarly journals The hibernating 13-lined ground squirrel as a model organism for potential cold storage of platelets

2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (10) ◽  
pp. R1202-R1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott T. Cooper ◽  
Karl E. Richters ◽  
Travis E. Melin ◽  
Zhi-jian Liu ◽  
Peter J. Hordyk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cold Storage ◽  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Human Platelets ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
Prolonged Storage ◽  
Rapid Clearance

Hibernating mammals have developed many physiological adaptations to extreme environments. During hibernation, 13-lined ground squirrels ( Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) must suppress hemostasis to survive prolonged body temperatures of 4–8°C and 3–5 heartbeats per minute without forming lethal clots. Upon arousal in the spring, these ground squirrels must be able to quickly restore normal clotting activity to avoid bleeding. Here we show that ground squirrel platelets stored in vivo at 4–8°C were released back into the blood within 2 h of arousal in the spring with a body temperature of 37°C but were not rapidly cleared from circulation. These released platelets were capable of forming stable clots and remained in circulation for at least 2 days before newly synthesized platelets were detected. Transfusion of autologous platelets stored at 4°C or 37°C showed the same clearance rates in ground squirrels, whereas rat platelets stored in the cold had a 140-fold increase in clearance rate. Our results demonstrate that ground squirrel platelets appear to be resistant to the platelet cold storage lesions observed in other mammals, allowing prolonged storage in cold stasis and preventing rapid clearance upon spring arousal. Elucidating these adaptations could lead to the development of methods to store human platelets in the cold, extending their shelf life.

scholarly journals Tardigrades, Water Bears, Moss Piglets Tardigrada (Spallanzani 1777)

EDIS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (2) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Carrie Suen ◽  
Jennifer Lynn Gillett-Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Aquatic Environments ◽  
Mud Volcanoes ◽  
Vast Array ◽  
Water Bears

Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears, are a type of microscopic animal found across a vast array of moist and aquatic environments. Tardigrades are known for their extensive resilience due to the fact that they are also found in extreme environments such as Antarctica, deep sea vents, and mud volcanoes. They are commonly used as a model organism for scientific research. Also published on the Featured Creatures website at http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/tardigrade.html

Zebrafish as model organism for craniosynostosis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabea Bluemel ◽  
Eva Klopocki ◽  
Daniel Liedtke
Keyword(s):  
Model Organism

Genomic insights from Monoglobus pectinilyticus: a pectin-degrading specialist bacterium in the human colon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
CC Kim ◽  
GR Healey ◽  
WJ Kelly ◽  
ML Patchett ◽  
Z Jordens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Human Colon ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Pectate Lyases ◽  
Unusual Distribution ◽  
Degrading Bacteria ◽  
Acetyl Esterases

© 2019, International Society for Microbial Ecology. Pectin is abundant in modern day diets, as it comprises the middle lamellae and one-third of the dry carbohydrate weight of fruit and vegetable cell walls. Currently there is no specialized model organism for studying pectin fermentation in the human colon, as our collective understanding is informed by versatile glycan-degrading bacteria rather than by specialist pectin degraders. Here we show that the genome of Monoglobus pectinilyticus possesses a highly specialized glycobiome for pectin degradation, unique amongst Firmicutes known to be in the human gut. Its genome encodes a simple set of metabolic pathways relevant to pectin sugar utilization, and its predicted glycobiome comprises an unusual distribution of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) with numerous extracellular methyl/acetyl esterases and pectate lyases. We predict the M. pectinilyticus degradative process is facilitated by cell-surface S-layer homology (SLH) domain-containing proteins, which proteomics analysis shows are differentially expressed in response to pectin. Some of these abundant cell surface proteins of M. pectinilyticus share unique modular organizations rarely observed in human gut bacteria, featuring pectin-specific CAZyme domains and the cell wall-anchoring SLH motifs. We observed M. pectinilyticus degrades various pectins, RG-I, and galactan to produce polysaccharide degradation products (PDPs) which are presumably shared with other inhabitants of the human gut microbiome (HGM). This strain occupies a new ecological niche for a primary degrader specialized in foraging a habitually consumed plant glycan, thereby enriching our understanding of the diverse community profile of the HGM.

The Mechanisms Behind the Biological Activity of Flavonoids

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (39) ◽  
pp. 6976-6990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana María González-Paramás ◽  
Begoña Ayuda-Durán ◽  
Sofía Martínez ◽  
Susana González-Manzano ◽  
Celestino Santos-Buelga
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Biological Activity ◽  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Intracellular Signaling ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Stress Theory ◽  
Radical Scavenging Properties

: Flavonoids are phenolic compounds widely distributed in the human diet. Their intake has been associated with a decreased risk of different diseases such as cancer, immune dysfunction or coronary heart disease. However, the knowledge about the mechanisms behind their in vivo activity is limited and still under discussion. For years, their bioactivity was associated with the direct antioxidant and radical scavenging properties of phenolic compounds, but nowadays this assumption is unlikely to explain their putative health effects, or at least to be the only explanation for them. New hypotheses about possible mechanisms have been postulated, including the influence of the interaction of polyphenols and gut microbiota and also the possibility that flavonoids or their metabolites could modify gene expression or act as potential modulators of intracellular signaling cascades. This paper reviews all these topics, from the classical view as antioxidants in the context of the Oxidative Stress theory to the most recent tendencies related with the modulation of redox signaling pathways, modification of gene expression or interactions with the intestinal microbiota. The use of C. elegans as a model organism for the study of the molecular mechanisms involved in biological activity of flavonoids is also discussed.

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