Seasonal Changes of the Airborne Microbiome in a Large Urban Area

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.21203/rs.3.rs-113340/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andrés Núñez ◽

Diego A Moreno ◽

Ana M García ◽

Raul Guantes

Keyword(s):

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Minor Role ◽

Near Surface ◽

Surface Atmosphere ◽

Ecological Importance ◽

Bacteria And Fungi ◽

A Minor

Abstract Background Compared to soil or aquatic ecosystems, the atmosphere is still an underexplored environment for microbial diversity. Besides its ecological importance, the spatial and temporal characterization of aerosolized microorganisms is relevant for understanding allergy and disease outbreaks, especially in highly populated cities. Results In this study, we surveyed the composition, variability and sources of microbes (bacteria and fungi) in the near surface atmosphere of a highly populated area, spanning ~ 4,000 Km 2 around the city center of Madrid (Spain), in different seasonal periods along two years. We found a core of abundant bacterial genera robust across space and time, most of soil origin, while fungi were more sensitive to environmental conditions. Microbial communities showed clear seasonal patterns driven by variability of environmental factors, mainly temperature and accumulated rain, while local sources played a minor role. We also identified taxa in both kingdoms characteristic of seasonal periods, but not of specific sampling sites or plant coverage. Conclusions The present study suggests that the near surface atmosphere of urban environments constitutes a stable ecosystem, with a relatively homogenous composition, modulated by climatic variations. As such, it contributes to our understanding of the long-term changes associated to the human exposome in the air of highly populated areas.

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Seasonal changes dominate long term variability of the urban air microbiome across space and time.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-113340/v2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrés Núñez ◽

Diego A Moreno ◽

Ana M García ◽

Raul Guantes

Keyword(s):

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Minor Role ◽

Near Surface ◽

Space And Time ◽

Surface Atmosphere ◽

Ecological Importance ◽

Bacteria And Fungi ◽

A Minor

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NgCAM and VAMP2 Reveal that Direct Delivery and Dendritic Degradation Maintain Axonal Polarity

Molecular Biology of the Cell ◽

10.1091/mbc.e21-08-0425 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alec T. Nabb ◽

Marvin Bentley

Keyword(s):

Membrane Proteins ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Minor Role ◽

Axonal Membrane ◽

Quantitative Analyses ◽

Direct Delivery ◽

Novel Strategy ◽

Extreme Scale ◽

A Minor

Neurons are polarized cells of extreme scale and compartmentalization. To fulfill their role in electrochemical signaling, axons must maintain a specific complement of membrane proteins. Despite being subject of considerable attention, the trafficking pathway of axonal membrane proteins is not well understood. Two pathways, direct delivery and transcytosis, have been proposed. Previous studies reached contradictory conclusions about which of these mediates delivery of axonal membrane proteins to their destination, in part because they evaluated long-term distribution changes and not vesicle transport. We developed a novel strategy to selectively label vesicles in different trafficking pathways and determined the trafficking of two canonical axonal membrane proteins, NgCAM and VAMP2. Results from detailed quantitative analyses of transporting vesicles differed substantially from previous studies and found that axonal membrane proteins overwhelmingly undergo direct delivery. Transcytosis plays only a minor role in axonal delivery of these proteins. In addition, we identified a novel pathway by which wayward axonal proteins that reach the dendritic plasma membrane are targeted to lysosomes. These results redefine how axonal proteins achieve their polarized distribution, a crucial requirement for elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text]

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Aldehyde dehydrogenase is essential for both adult and larval ethanol resistance in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics Research ◽

10.1017/s0016672306008032 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 87 (2) ◽

pp. 87-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

JAMES D. FRY ◽

MOLLY SAWEIKIS

Keyword(s):

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase ◽

Ethanol Metabolism ◽

Minor Role ◽

Ethanol Sensitivity ◽

Fruit Breeding ◽

Structural Locus ◽

Ethanol Resistance ◽

A Minor

The enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is essential for ethanol metabolism in mammals, converting the highly toxic intermediate acetaldehyde to acetate. The role of ALDH in Drosophila has been debated, with some authors arguing that, at least in larvae, acetaldehyde detoxification is carried out mainly by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), the enzyme responsible for converting ethanol to acetaldehyde. Here, we report the creation and characterization of four null mutants of Aldh, the putative structural locus for ALDH. Aldh null larvae and adults are poisoned by ethanol concentrations easily tolerated by wild-types; their ethanol sensitivity is in fact comparable to that of Adh nulls. The results refute the view that ALDH plays only a minor role in ethanol detoxification in larvae, and suggest that Aldh and Adh may be equally important players in the evolution of ethanol resistance in fruit-breeding Drosophila.

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Occurrence of L1014F and L1014S mutations in insecticide resistant Culex quinquefasciatus from filariasis endemic districts of West Bengal, India

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases ◽

10.1371/journal.pntd.0010000 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. e0010000

Author(s):

Priyanka Rai ◽

Dhiraj Saha

Keyword(s):

Culex Quinquefasciatus ◽

West Bengal ◽

Economic Status ◽

Minor Role ◽

Resistance Development ◽

Vector Population ◽

A Minor ◽

First Time

Introduction Lymphatic filariasis causes long term morbidity and hampers the socio-economic status. Apart from the available treatments and medication, control of vector population Culex quinquefasciatus Say through the use of chemical insecticides is a widely applied strategy. However, the unrestrained application of these insecticides over many decades has led to resistance development in the vectors. Methods In order to determine the insecticide susceptibility/resistance status of Cx. quinquefasciatus from two filariasis endemic districts of West Bengal, India, wild mosquito populations were collected and assayed against six different insecticides and presence of L1014F; L1014S kdr mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene was also screened along with the use of synergists to evaluate the role of major detoxifying enzymes in resistance development. Results The collected mosquito populations showed severe resistance to insecticides and the two synergists used–PBO (piperonyl butoxide) and TPP (triphenyl phosphate), were unable to restore the susceptibility status of the vector thereupon pointing towards a minor role of metabolic enzymes. kdr mutations were present in the studied populations in varying percent with higher L1014F frequency indicating its association with the observed resistance to pyrethroids and DDT. This study reports L1014S mutation in Cx. quinquefasciatus for the first time.

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Variation in the recruitment behaviour of seagrass seeds: implications for population dynamics and resource management

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc000251 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 251 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Graeme J. Inglis

Keyword(s):

Field Studies ◽

Clonal Plants ◽

Minor Role ◽

Spatial And Temporal Scales ◽

Local Populations ◽

Seed Supply ◽

Seed Reserves ◽

A Minor ◽

Effective Conservation

Effective conservation of marine organisms requires an understanding of the processes that affect the establishment, persistence and extinction of local populations. Our knowledge of the recruitment of seagrasses comes largely from studies done at small spatial and temporal scales within extant meadows. Descriptions of the demography of local populations, therefore, typically emphasize prolific ramet production and only a minor role for sexual propagules. Recent genetic and field studies, however, have shown greater variation in recruitment behaviour than previously suspected. In this paper, I review what is known about the seeds of seagrasses ? including their dormancy, dispersability and requirements for germination and establishment ? and examine the utility of recent conceptual models, developed for terrestrial clonal plants, to explain the long-term dynamics of seagrass populations. Sizable variation among species in seed size and dispersal strategy appears to be related predictably to variation in life-history and rates of recruitment. Species with small, poorly-dispersed fruits (e.g., Halophila, Halodule) are more likely to form persistent seed reserves and be rapid colonizers of disturbances within established meadows. Genera with large, buoyant fruits, capable of moderate dispersal (e.g., Thalassia, Posidonia), in contrast, appear to recruit rarely within existing meadows of conspecifics. Our ability to model long-term changes in demography and community structure is likely to benefit from a better knowledge of the importance of seed supply and microsite availability to recruitment.

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Tudor Nuclease Genes and Programmed DNA Rearrangements in Tetrahymena thermophila

Eukaryotic Cell ◽

10.1128/ec.00192-07 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 6 (10) ◽

pp. 1795-1804 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Rachel A. Howard-Till ◽

Meng-Chao Yao

Keyword(s):

Sexual Reproduction ◽

Small Rna ◽

Tetrahymena Thermophila ◽

Minor Role ◽

Dna Deletion ◽

Genome Defense ◽

Rna Pathways ◽

A Minor

ABSTRACT Proteins containing a Tudor domain and domains homologous to staphylococcal nucleases are found in a number of eukaryotes. These “Tudor nucleases” have been found to be associated with the RNA-induced silencing complex (A. A. Caudy, R. F. Ketting, S. M. Hammond, A. M. Denli, A. M. Bathoorn, B. B. Tops, J. M. Silva, M. M. Myers, G. J. Hannon, and R. H. Plasterk, Nature 425:411-414, 2003). We have identified two Tudor nuclease gene homologs, TTN1 and TTN2, in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, which has two distinct small-RNA pathways. Characterization of single and double KOs of TTN1 and TTN2 shows that neither of these genes is essential for growth or sexual reproduction. Progeny of TTN2 KOs and double knockouts occasionally show minor defects in the small-RNA-guided process of DNA deletion but appear to be normal in hairpin RNA-induced gene silencing, suggesting that Tudor nucleases play only a minor role in RNA interference in Tetrahymena. Previous studies of Tetrahymena have shown that inserted copies of the neo gene from Escherichia coli are often deleted from the developing macronucleus during sexual reproduction (Y. Liu, X. Song, M. A. Gorovsky, and K. M. Karrer, Eukaryot. Cell 4:421-431, 2005; M. C. Yao, P. Fuller, and X. Xi, Science 300:1581-1584, 2003). This transgene deletion phenomenon is hypothesized to be a form of genome defense. Analysis of the Tudor nuclease mutants revealed exceptionally high rates of deletion of the neo transgene at the TTN2 locus but no deletion at the TTN1 locus. When present in the same genome, however, the neo gene is deleted at high rates even at the TTN1 locus, further supporting a role for trans-acting RNA in this process. This deletion is not affected by the presence of the same sequence in the macronucleus, thus providing a counterargument for the role of the macronuclear genome in specifying all sequences for deletion.

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PHOTOSYNTHETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF A MUTANT OF NANNOCHLOROPSIS DEFICIENT IN THE SYNTHESIS OF EICOSAPENTAENOIC ACID

Israel Journal of Plant Sciences ◽

10.1080/07929978.1998.10676716 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 46 (2) ◽

pp. 101-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Assaf Sukenik ◽

Jane Schneider C. ◽

Paul Roessler G. ◽

Alexander Livne ◽

Tamar Berner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acid ◽

Eicosapentaenoic Acid ◽

Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽

Photosynthetic Electron Transport ◽

Photosynthetic Performance ◽

Minor Role ◽

Wild Type ◽

Higher Temperature ◽

A Minor

Photosynthetic performance of an eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5ω3) deficient mutant of the eustigmatophyte Nannochloropsis sp. was compared to the wild type (Wt) strain in order to evaluate the effect of fatty acid composition on the function of the photosynthetic apparatus. Cellular photosynthetic capacity and the cellular pool of pigments and of reaction centers were reduced in the mutant concomitant with a reduction in the amount of thylakoid membranes and their volume-specific density. Despite the changes observed in photosynthetic activity, the fluorescence properties of the mutant were virtually the same as those of the wild type, although the phase transition of thylakoid membrane was recorded at higher temperature in the mutant than in the Wt. The results suggest that the change in one double bond in a very long chain fatty acid of the thylakoid lipids plays a minor role in regulating photosynthetic electron transport, but that the mutation modified the ability of the mutant to acclimate to low-irradiance conditions.

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Characterization of a focal adhesion protein, Hic-5, that shares extensive homology with paxillin

Journal of Cell Science ◽

10.1242/jcs.112.2.181 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 112 (2) ◽

pp. 181-190 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

S.M. Thomas ◽

M. Hagel ◽

C.E. Turner

Keyword(s):

Focal Adhesion ◽

Focal Adhesions ◽

Adaptor Protein ◽

Negative Regulator ◽

Scaffolding Protein ◽

Minor Role ◽

Lim Domains ◽

Focal Adhesion Protein ◽

A Minor

Paxillin is a focal adhesion scaffolding protein which was originally identified as a substrate of the oncogenic tyrosine kinase, v-src. Paxillin has been proposed to be involved in regulation of focal adhesion dynamics. Two alternatively spliced mouse paxillin cDNAs were cloned and in the process, a paxillin-related protein, Hic-5, was also identified. Cloning and characterization of Hic-5 indicates that this protein shares extensive homology with paxillin. Although Hic-5 was originally characterized as a TGF-beta-inducible gene and proposed to be a transcription factor involved in senescence, the studies here demonstrate that Hic-5 is localized to focal adhesion in REF52 cells and can interact with the focal adhesion proteins, Fak, Frnk, and vinculin. In addition, like paxillin, Hic-5 can bind to a negative regulator of Src PTKs, csk but does not bind to the adaptor protein Crk. Like paxillin, localization of this protein to focal adhesions is mediated primarily by the LIM domains; however, sequences outside the LIM domains also play a minor role in focal adhesion targeting. These results suggest that Hic-5 like paxillin could be involved in regulation of focal adhesion dynamics and raise the possibility that Hic-5 and paxillin could have overlapping or opposing functions in the overall regulation of cell growth and differentiation.

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Towards the Understanding of Hydrogeochemical Seismic Responses in Karst Aquifers: A Retrospective Meta-Analysis Focused on the Apennines (Italy)

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min10121058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1058

Author(s):

Gilberto Binda ◽

Andrea Pozzi ◽

Alessandro M. Michetti ◽

Paula J. Noble ◽

Michael R. Rosen

Keyword(s):

Meta Analysis ◽

Monitoring Network ◽

Solute Concentration ◽

Minor Role ◽

Published Data ◽

Permeability Enhancement ◽

Set Up ◽

Different Response ◽

A Minor

Earthquakes are known to affect groundwater properties, yet the mechanisms causing chemical and physical aquifer changes are still unclear. The Apennines mountain belt in Italy presents a rich literature of case studies documenting hydrogeochemical response to seismicity, due to the high frequency of seismic events and the presence of different regional aquifers in the area. In this study, we synthesize published data from the last 30 years in the Apennine region in order to shed light on the main mechanisms causing earthquake induced water changes. The results suggest the geologic and hydrologic setting specific to a given spring play an important role in spring response, as well as the timing of the observed response. In contrast to setting, the main focal mechanisms of earthquake and the distance between epicenter and the analyzed springs seems to present a minor role in defining the response. The analysis of different response variables, moreover, indicates that an important driver of change is the degassing of CO2, especially in thermal springs, whereas a rapid increase in solute concentration due to permeability enhancement is observable in different cold and shallow springs. These findings also leave open the debate regarding whether earthquake precursors can be recognized beyond site-specific responses. Such responses can be understood more comprehensively through the establishment of a regional long-term monitoring system and continuous harmonization of data and sampling strategies, achievable in the Apennine region through the set-up of a monitoring network.

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