Endemic mycoses: expansion of traditional geographic ranges and pitfalls in management

Abstract The Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is one of the most threatened marine mammals, with only 600–700 individuals restricted to three populations off the coast of Western Sahara and Madeira (North Atlantic) and between Greece and Turkey (eastern Mediterranean). Its original range was from the Black Sea (eastern Mediterranean) to Gambia (western African coast), but was drastically reduced by commercial hunting and human persecution since the early stages of marine exploitation. We here analyse 42 mitogenomes of Mediterranean monk seals, from across their present and historical geographic ranges to assess the species population dynamics over time. Our data show a decrease in genetic diversity in the last 200 years. Extant individuals presented an almost four-fold reduction in genetic diversity when compared to historical specimens. We also detect, for the first time, a clear segregation between the two North Atlantic populations, Madeira and Cabo Blanco, regardless of their geographical proximity. Moreover, we show the presence of historical gene-flow between the two water basins, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and the presence of at least one extinct maternal lineage in the Mediterranean. Our work demonstrates the advantages of using full mitogenomes in phylogeographic and conservation genomic studies of threatened species.

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Phylogeography in an “oyster” shell provides first insights into the genetic structure of an extinct Ostrea edulis population

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82020-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Hayer ◽

Dirk Brandis ◽

Alexander Immel ◽

Julian Susat ◽

Montserrat Torres-Oliva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Wadden Sea ◽

Atlantic Coast ◽

Phylogenetic Reconstruction ◽

Oyster Shell ◽

Glacial Refugia ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

Ostrea Edulis ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

The North

AbstractThe historical phylogeography of Ostrea edulis was successfully depicted in its native range for the first time using ancient DNA methods on dry shells from museum collections. This research reconstructed the historical population structure of the European flat oyster across Europe in the 1870s—including the now extinct population in the Wadden Sea. In total, four haplogroups were identified with one haplogroup having a patchy distribution from the North Sea to the Atlantic coast of France. This irregular distribution could be the result of translocations. The other three haplogroups are restricted to narrow geographic ranges, which may indicate adaptation to local environmental conditions or geographical barriers to gene flow. The phylogenetic reconstruction of the four haplogroups suggests the signatures of glacial refugia and postglacial expansion. The comparison with present-day O. edulis populations revealed a temporally stable population genetic pattern over the past 150 years despite large-scale translocations. This historical phylogeographic reconstruction was able to discover an autochthonous population in the German and Danish Wadden Sea in the late nineteenth century, where O. edulis is extinct today. The genetic distinctiveness of a now-extinct population hints at a connection between the genetic background of O. edulis in the Wadden Sea and for its absence until today.

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Geographic Distribution and Phylogeny of Soricine Shrew-Borne Seewis Virus and Altai Virus in Russia

Viruses ◽

10.3390/v13071286 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1286

Author(s):

Liudmila N. Yashina ◽

Sergey A. Abramov ◽

Alexander V. Zhigalin ◽

Natalia A. Smetannikova ◽

Tamara A. Dupal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Geographic Distribution ◽

Genomic Sequence ◽

Common Shrew ◽

The United States ◽

Eastern Siberia ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

Lena River ◽

Far Eastern Russia ◽

Far Eastern ◽

Eastern Russia

The discovery of genetically distinct hantaviruses (family Hantaviridae) in multiple species of shrews, moles and bats has revealed a complex evolutionary history involving cross-species transmission. Seewis virus (SWSV) is widely distributed throughout the geographic ranges of its soricid hosts, including the Eurasian common shrew (Sorex araneus), tundra shrew (Sorex tundrensis) and Siberian large-toothed shrew (Sorex daphaenodon), suggesting host sharing. In addition, genetic variants of SWSV, previously named Artybash virus (ARTV) and Amga virus, have been detected in the Laxmann’s shrew (Sorex caecutiens). Here, we describe the geographic distribution and phylogeny of SWSV and Altai virus (ALTV) in Asian Russia. The complete genomic sequence analysis showed that ALTV, also harbored by the Eurasian common shrew, is a new hantavirus species, distantly related to SWSV. Moreover, Lena River virus (LENV) appears to be a distinct hantavirus species, harbored by Laxmann’s shrews and flat-skulled shrews (Sorex roboratus) in Eastern Siberia and far-eastern Russia. Another ALTV-related virus, which is more closely related to Camp Ripley virus from the United States, has been identified in the Eurasian least shrew (Sorex minutissimus) from far-eastern Russia. Two highly divergent viruses, ALTV and SWSV co-circulate among common shrews in Western Siberia, while LENV and the ARTV variant of SWSV co-circulate among Laxmann’s shrews in Eastern Siberia and far-eastern Russia. ALTV and ALTV-related viruses appear to belong to the Mobatvirus genus, while SWSV is a member of the Orthohantavirus genus. These findings suggest that ALTV and ALTV-related hantaviruses might have emerged from ancient cross-species transmission with subsequent diversification within Sorex shrews in Eurasia.

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Seasonal Shifts in Cold Tolerance and the Composition of the Gut Microbiome of Dendroctonus valens LeConte Occur Concurrently

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12070888 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 888

Author(s):

Zehai Hou ◽

Yaxin Dong ◽

Fengming Shi ◽

Yabei Xu ◽

Sixun Ge ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antioxidant Enzyme ◽

Cold Tolerance ◽

Gut Microbiome ◽

Antioxidant Enzyme Activities ◽

Severe Damage ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

Dendroctonus Valens ◽

Different Seasons ◽

The Relationship ◽

Seasonal Shifts

Dendroctonus valens LeConte, an invasive bark beetle, has caused severe damage in pine forests and has the potential to disperse into new geographic ranges in China. Although the gut microbiota of D. valens and its fundamental role in host fitness have been investigated widely, little is known about the relationship between the seasonal shifts of both cold tolerance and the gut microbiome of D. valens during overwintering, which occurs at the larval stage. In this study, to examine seasonal variations in the composition of the microbiome, we collected D. valens larvae in September (autumn), January (winter), and May (spring), and then analyzed the bacterial and fungal communities of the gut via sequencing of partial 16S rRNA and ITS genes. In addition, changes in the supercooling capacity and antioxidant enzyme activities of D. valens larvae collected in the different seasons were evaluated. Overwintering resulted in changes to microbial communities. In particular, the abundances of Enterobacter, Serratia, Erwinia, and Klebsiella decreased during overwintering. Concurrent with these changes, the cold tolerance of D. valens larvae was enhanced during overwintering, and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and peroxidase were reduced. We hypothesize that seasonal shifts in the gut microbiome may be connected to changes in cold tolerance and antioxidant enzyme activity in D. valens. It will be worthwhile to confirm whether seasonal changes in the microbiome contribute to the success of host overwintering.

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Deep genetic structure at a small spatial scale in the endangered land snail Xerocrassa montserratensis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-87741-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cristina Català ◽

Vicenç Bros ◽

Xavier Castelltort ◽

Xavier Santos ◽

Marta Pascual

Keyword(s):

Genetic Structure ◽

Land Snail ◽

Snail Species ◽

Small Spatial Scale ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

Genetic Groups ◽

Species Of Conservation Concern ◽

Conservation Actions ◽

Conservation Concern ◽

Single Locality

AbstractSpecies with small geographic ranges do not tend to have a high genetic structure, but some land snail species seem to be an exception. Xerocrassa montserratensis, an endangered land snail endemic to Catalonia (northeastern Iberian Peninsula), is an excellent model to study the processes affecting the phylogeography of specialized species of conservation concern. This species is restricted to xerophilous stony slopes and occurs within a small and fragmented area of ca. 500 km2. We sequenced the COI barcode region of 152 individuals from eight sites covering the entire range of the species. We found four genetic groups mostly coincident with their geographic distribution: a central ancestral group containing shared haplotypes among five localities and three groups restricted to a single locality each. Two of these derived groups were geographically and genetically isolated, while the third and most differentiated group was not geographically isolated. Geomorphologic and paleoclimatic processes during the Pleistocene can explain the divergence found between populations of this low dispersal species with historical fragmentation and secondary contacts. Nonetheless, recent passive large dispersal through streams was also detected in the central group. Overall, our study uncovered four evolutionary units, partially matching morphologically described subspecies, which should be considered in future conservation actions.

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Expansion of Groundnut ringspot virus Host and Geographic Ranges in Solanaceous Vegetables in Peninsular Florida

Plant Health Progress ◽

10.1094/php-2011-0725-01-br ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 34 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Craig G. Webster ◽

William W. Turechek ◽

H. Charles Mellinger ◽

Galen Frantz ◽

Nancy Roe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Vegetable Production ◽

Viral Pathogen ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

First Report ◽

Geographic Spread ◽

Wide Range ◽

Production Areas ◽

Solanaceous Plants

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of GRSV infecting tomatillo and eggplant, and it is the first report of GRSV infecting pepper in the United States. This first identification of GRSV-infected crop plants in commercial fields in Palm Beach and Manatee Counties demonstrates the continuing geographic spread of the virus into additional vegetable production areas of Florida. This information indicates that a wide range of solanaceous plants is likely to be infected by this emerging viral pathogen in Florida and beyond. Accepted for publication 27 June 2011. Published 25 July 2011.

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