Midpoint attractors and species richness: Modelling the interaction between environmental drivers and geometric constraints

We introduce a novel framework for conceptualising, quantifying and unifying discordant patterns of species richness along geographical gradients. While not itself explicitly mechanistic, this approach offers a path towards understanding mechanisms. In this study, we focused on the diverse patterns of species richness on mountainsides. We conjectured that elevational range midpoints of species may be drawn towards a single midpoint attractor – a unimodal gradient of environmental favourability. The midpoint attractor interacts with geometric constraints imposed by sea level and the mountaintop to produce taxon‐specific patterns of species richness. We developed a Bayesian simulation model to estimate the location and strength of the midpoint attractor from species occurrence data sampled along mountainsides. We also constructed midpoint predictor models to test whether environmental variables could directly account for the observed patterns of species range midpoints. We challenged these models with 16 elevational data sets, comprising 4500 species of insects, vertebrates and plants. The midpoint predictor models generally failed to predict the pattern of species midpoints. In contrast, the midpoint attractor model closely reproduced empirical spatial patterns of species richness and range midpoints. Gradients of environmental favourability, subject to geometric constraints, may parsimoniously account for elevational and other patterns of species richness.     

Micropropagation and molecular characterization of Thymus sibthorpii Benth. (Lamiaceae), an aromatic-medicinal thyme with ornamental value and conservation concern

Thymus sibthorpii Benth. (Lamiaceae), with accession number 01,1796-22, is a biotype of native Greek thyme with ascending stems and potential use as a new medicinal-aromatic crop and ornamental plant. An efficient and reliable protocol for in vitro clonal propagation of T. sibthorpii from nodes and meristem tip explants was developed. Shoot proliferation succeeded on a new basal medium (BB) without plant growth regulators, as prior experiments with 6-benzyladenine generated hyperhydricity. Eight different basal media were compared; on two formulations using the new BB 5.9 and 5.6 shoots per explant were produced. Regenerated single shoots were rooted in the BB medium, supplemented with 5 μM of indole-3-butyric acid, and produced 3.1 roots along with 2.5 adventitious shoots. Three types of acclimatization were assessed: in vitro, using two different systems (no significant differences); ex vitro, using eight soil substrates under greenhouse and outdoor nursery conditions (in two of them, 100% of plantlets survived); and in field cultivations, established at eight geographically distant areas of Greece (100% survival rate at all locations). Molecular characterization of T. sibthorpii was evaluated with one nuclear ribosomal DNA and seven chloroplast DNA markers, followed by DNA sequence comparisons with a total of 30 different Thymus species, subspecies, and varieties. The trnH/psbA, trnL/trnF, and matK genes were the most efficient markers for molecular characterization of T. sibthorpii. The molecular markers rpoC1 and petB/petD did not match to any Thymus species and therefore, these DNA sequences provide new sequence information for entire Thymus taxa.

     

Antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects of the monocarbonyl curcumin analogs B2BRBC and C66 in monocrotaline‐induced right ventricular hypertrophy

For 22 days after monocrotaline injection two groups of rats received either of the monocarbonyl curcumin analogs (2E,6E)‐2,6‐bis(2‐bromobenzylidene)cycloxehanone (B2BrBC) and (2E,6E)‐2,6‐bis([2‐tri?uoromethyl]benzylidene)cyclohexanone (C66), and their right ventricle parameters were compared to those from the control and the monocrotaline injected animals. B2BrBC and C66 treatments did not prevent the monocrotaline‐induced right ventricular hypertrophy but attenuated the changes in antioxidant enzyme activities and reduced inflammation. The level of thiol‐based nonenzymatic antioxidants did not change in the function of monocrotaline or curcumin analogs treatment. However, due to its stronger antioxidant properties, only B2BrBC treatment was effective in the reduction of monocrotaline‐associated lipid peroxidation. The obtained results suggest that increasing the levels of antioxidant enzymes may not be sufficient to reduce oxidative stress and chronic inflammation optimally and our current study supports the potential of compounds with more than one beneficial biological activity as a promising treatment against the progression of cardiac hypertrophy.     

Anaerobic fungal communities differ along the horse digestive tract

Anaerobic fungi are potent fibre degrading microbes in the equine hindgut, yet our understanding of their diversity and community structure is limited to date. In this preliminary work, using a clone library approach we studied the diversity of anaerobic fungi along six segments of the horse hindgut: caecum, right ventral colon (RVC), left ventral colon (LVC), left dorsal colon (LDC), right dorsal colon (RDC) and rectum. Of the 647 ITS1 clones, 61.7 % were assigned to genus level groups that are so far without any cultured representatives, and 38.0 % were assigned to the cultivated genera Neocallimastix (35.1 %), Orpinomyces (2.3 %), and Anaeromyces (0.6 %). AL1 dominated the group of uncultured anaerobic fungi, particularly in the RVC (88 %) and LDC (97 %). Sequences from the LSU clone library analysis of the LDC, however, split into two distinct phylogenetic clusters with low sequence identity to Caecomyces sp. (94–96 %) and Liebetanzomyces sp. (92 %) respectively. Sequences belonging to cultured Neocallimastix spp. dominated in LVC (81 %) and rectum (75.5 %). Quantification of anaerobic fungi showed significantly higher concentrations in RVC and RDC compared to other segments, which influenced the interpretation of the changes in anaerobic fungal diversity along the horse hindgut. These preliminary findings require further investigation.     

Endothelial expression of endoglin in normocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic C57BL/6J mice before and after atorvastatin treatment

Endoglin (CD105) is a homodimeric transmembrane glycoprotein strongly related to transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta signaling and many pathological states. In this study, we wanted to evaluate whether endoglin is expressed in normocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic C57BL/6J mice as well as whether it is affected by atorvastatin treatment in these mice. C57BL/6J mice were fed with chow diet or an atherogenic diet for 12 weeks after weaning. In 2 atorvastatin-treated groups, mice were fed the same diets (chow or atherogenic) as described above except atorvastatin was added at the dosage of 10 mg x kg(-1) x day(-1) for the last 8 weeks before euthanasia. Biochemical analysis of blood samples revealed that administration of atherogenic diet significantly increased levels of total cholesterol, VLDL, LDL, and decreased levels of HDL. Atorvastatin treatment resulted in a significant decrease in total cholesterol and VLDL only in mice fed by atherogenic diet. Quantitative stereological analysis revealed that atorvastatin significantly decreased endothelial expression of endoglin in C57BL/6J mice fed the atherogenic diet. In conclusion, we demonstrated that endothelial expression of endoglin is upregulated by hypercholesterolemia and decreased by the hypolipidemic effect of atorvastatin in C57BL/6J mice, suggesting that endoglin expression could be involved in atherogenesis.     

Estimation of ABCB1 concentration in plasma membrane

The interaction between ABCB1 transporter and its substrates takes place in cell membranes but the available data precludes quantitative analysis of the interaction between transporter and substrate molecules. Further, the amount of transporter is usually expressed as a number of ABCB1 molecules per cell. In contrast, the substrate concentration in cell membranes is estimated by determination of substrate-lipid partition coefficient, as examples. In this study, we demonstrate an approach, which enables us to estimate the concentration of ABCB1 molecules within plasma membranes. For this purpose, human leukemia K562 cells with varying expression levels of ABCB1 were used: drug selected K562/Dox and K562/HHT cells with very high transporter expression, and K562/DoxDR2, K562/DoxDR1, and K562/DoxDR05 cells with gradually decreased expression of ABCB1 derived from K562/Dox cells using RNA interference technology. First, we determined the absolute amount of ABCB1 in cell lysates using immunoblotting and recombinant ABCB1 as a standard. We then determined the relative portion of transporter residing in the plasma membrane using immunohistochemistry in nonpermeabilized and permeabilized cells. These results enabled us to estimate the concentration of ABCB1 in the plasma membrane in resistant cells. The ABCB1 concentrations in the plasma membrane of drug selected K562/Dox and K562/HHT cells containing the highest amount of transporter reached millimolar levels. Concentrations of ABCB1 in the plasma membrane of resistant K562/DoxDR2, K562/DoxDR1, and K562/DoxDR05 cells with lower transporter expression were proportionally decreased.     

Prefrontal cortex in humans and apes: a comparative study of area 10

Area 10 is one of the cortical areas of the frontal lobe involved in higher cognitive functions such as the undertaking of initiatives and the planning of future actions. It is known to form the frontal pole of the macaque and human brain, but its presence and organization in the great and lesser apes remain unclear. It is here documented that area 10 also forms the frontal pole of chimpanzee, bonobo, orangutan, and gibbon brains. Imaging techniques and stereological tools are used to characterize this area across species and provide preliminary estimates of its absolute and relative size. Area 10 has similar cytoarchitectonic features in the hominoid brain, but aspects of its organization vary slightly across species, including the relative width of its cortical layers and the space available for connections. The cortex forming the frontal pole of the gorilla appears highly specialized, while area 10 in the gibbon occupies only the orbital sector of the frontal pole. Area 10 in the human brain is larger relative to the rest of the brain than it is in the apes, and its supragranular layers have more space available for connections with other higher-order association areas. This suggests that the neural substrates supporting cognitive functions associated with this part of the cortex enlarged and became specialized during hominid evolution.