Codon Usage of Chloroplast Gene rbcL in Laurencia sensu lato (Rhodophyta) species

Recent advances in molecular biology make it possible to sequence not only genes or genomes, but also to understand codon dynamics. For the organelle genes of these organisms, a small set of preferred codons are used for encoding proteins. For the first time, this paper treats the divergence of synonymous codon usage and its bias in the rbcL gene within the Laurencia complex of red algae. We observed that the synonymous codon preference biases in rbcL are large and differ among species. A clear distinction in codon usage between genera is evident: the genera Dasya and Delesseria use a set that fluctuated between 53 and 58 codons. Whereas, in the genera Ceramium, Chondrophycus, Chlamydomonas, Chlorella, Laurencia s.s, Osmundea, and Palisada codon usage indicates a higher restriction fluctuating between 40 to 51 codons. Laurencia complex genera and other representative algae showed a defined composition pattern, with lower percentage values of NNC/G (7-24.9%). Dasya and Delesseria showed a selective pattern tendency because of high percentage values of NNC/G (54-55%). The estimated codon bias parameters were tested to infer systematic relationships and match suitable codons with the NNC / G codon percentages. Cluster analysis based on Codon Usage supports phylogenetic relationships between Chondrophycus, Palisada, Laurencia, Osmundea, and Yuzurua species.

Short-term effects of passive restoration in springs habitats in Southern Brazil

ABSTRACT: This study analyzed natural regeneration floristic patterns in spring habitats submitted to different ecological restoration actions in the seasonal forest in Atlantic Forest biome, Rio Grande do Sul. We assessed floristic composition in six springs before restoration actions and 12 months later. We identified and counted all regenerating individuals with height greater than or equal to 30 cm and diameter at breast height less than or equal to 5 cm in eight plots in each spring. The richness and abundance of each spring and assessment were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis test (P<0.05). Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) was performed to verify floristic patterns and association between species. Results showed an increase in richness and abundance after ecological restoration implementation. The DCA showed a distinct floristic composition between springs. The springs remaining natural vegetation and the successional stage of these vegetation influenced the natural regeneration floristic composition pattern. Passive restoration, which was effective by enclosure, favored natural regeneration recruitment.

KOREOGRAFI GARONTO’ EANAN: VISUALISASI KERBAU DALAM KEHIDUPAN MASYARAKAT TORAJA

Garonto’ Eanan adalah karya tari yang terinspirasi tentang hewan kerbau dalam kehidupan masyarakat Toraja, terkhusus dalam upacara pemakaman Rambu Solo’. Kerbau merupakan hewan yang sangat penting bagi masyarakat Toraja untuk menandai status sosial seseorang. Dalam upacara Rambu Solo’ kerbau wajib dikurbankan untuk memberikan penghormatan terakhir serta menjadi bekal kubur dan harta bagi orang yang meninggal. Tema tari Garonto’ Eanan adalah kekuatan dan kebersamaan. Koreografi ini disajikan dengan pola large group composition, ditarikan tujuh penari laki-laki sebagai presentasi hewan kerbau, dan 12 penari Ma’badong. Gerak yang disajikan berpijak pada gerak tari tradisional Toraja, dikembangkan sesuai dengan ketubuhan penata tari. Karya tari Garonto’Eanan menyajikan tiga bagian. Bagian pertama menghadirkan satu penari laki-laki sebagai pengantar karya yang menyajikan bentuk gerak tradisional Toraja serta bentuk simbolis dari hewan Kerbau. Bagian kedua menyajikan hasil eksplorasi gerak terhadap makna dan nilai Kerbau dalam masyarakat Toraja. Bagian ketiga sekaligus bagian akhir dalam karya ini, memvisualisasikan suasana Rambu Solo’ dan gambaran Kerbau saat tengah beradu, digarap dalam pola garap duet. Bagian ini juga menghadirkan penari Ma’badong. Musik pengiring koreografi ini disajikan dalam format musik live. Rias Busana yang digunakan dalam tari “Garonto’ Eanan” yakni rias karakter, sedangkan desain kostum, baju tanpa lengan dan celana pendek. Garonto’ Eanan is the title of traditional dance telling a story about buffalos in the Toraja community life, especially during the funeral ceremony Rambu Solo’. Buffalos are functioned to mark someone’s social status, making it as one of the most notable animals for the Toraja community. It is obligatory to make buffalos as one of the offerings for the ceremony Rambu Solo’. Buffalo offering aims to express the last admiration and tribute for the dead. The traditional dance Garonto’ Eanan recites power and togetherness as the themes. The choreography is performed by seven male dancers as the buffalo representation and twelve Ma’badong dancers by applying a large group composition pattern. Furthermore, the choreography was arranged by referring to the traditional dancing choreography of Toraja and developed according to the intention of choreographers. The traditional dance Garonto’ Eanan presents three segments. The first segment presents one male dancer performing the dance introduction. He presents traditional choreography of Toraja and portrays buffalos symbolically. The second segment presents the results of choreographic explorations in both meaning and values of buffalos for the Toraja community. The third or the last segment visualizes the atmosphere of Rambu Solo’ and illustrates fighting buffaloes performed by the dancers in pairs. The segment also presents Ma’badong dancers. Moreover, there is a live musical performance accompanying the dance performance. Meanwhile, the Garonto’ Eanan dancers apply the character makeup style; whereas for their costume, they wear a sleeveless shirt and short pants.

Organic Contaminants in Zooplankton of Italian Subalpine Lakes: Patterns of Distribution and Seasonal Variations

Zooplankton is a key node in many trophic webs, both for food that for persistent organic contaminants that can accumulate in biota. Zooplankton of different size was seasonally sampled for two years in three deep Italian subalpine lakes (Maggiore, Como, Iseo) with the aim of determining the concentrations of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), DDT, and PCB, and assessing the seasonality impacts on contaminants concentrations. In general, Lake Maggiore showed the highest concentrations for each group of contaminants, with mean values of 7.6 ng g−1 ww for PFAS, 65.0 ng g−1 dw for DDT, and 65.5 ng g−1 dw for PCB. When considering the composition pattern, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was detected in 96% of the samples and it was the predominant PFAS compound in all of the lakes. pp’ DDE was the most detected congener among DDTs and their metabolites, while for PCBs, the prevalent group was hexa-CB that constituted 35.4% of the total PCB contamination. A seasonal trend was highlighted for all contaminant groups with concentrations in colder months greater than in spring and summer; it was evident that the contaminant concentrations were more dependent from seasonality than from size, trophic levels, and taxa composition of zooplankton. Principal component analysis showed that one of the main driver for the accumulation of most of the studied contaminants is their lipophilicity, except for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and octachlorobiphenyl.