White-Toothed Shrews (Genus ): Potential Reservoirs for Zoonotic spp. and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens?

Three species of white-toothed shrews of the order Eulipotyphla are present in central Europe: the bicolored (), greater () and lesser () white-toothed shrews. Their precise distribution in Germany is ill-defined and little is known about them as reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens ( spp., , spp.

On the phenology of protists: recurrent patterns reveal seasonal variation of protistan (Rhizaria: Cercozoa and Endomyxa) communities in tree canopies.

Tree canopies are colonized by billions of highly specialized microorganisms that are well adapted to the highly variable microclimatic conditions, caused by diurnal fluctuations and seasonal changes. In this study, we investigated seasonality patterns of protists in the tree canopies of a temperate floodplain forest via high-throughput sequencing with group-specific primers for the phyla Cercozoa and Endomyxa. We observed consistent seasonality, and identified divergent spring and autumn taxa.

To the canopy and beyond: Air dispersal as a mechanism of ubiquitous protistan pathogen assembly in tree canopies.

Cercozoa and Oomycota contain a huge biodiversity and important pathogens of forest trees and other vegetation. We analyzed air dispersal of these protistan phyla with an air sampler near-ground (~2 m) and in tree crowns (~25 m) of three tree species (oak, linden and ash) in a temperate floodplain forest in March (before leafing) and May (after leaf unfolding) 2019 with a cultivation-independent high-throughput metabarcoding approach. We found a high diversity of Cercozoa and Oomycota in air samples with 122 and 81 OTUs, respectively.

From Forest Soil to the Canopy: Increased Habitat Diversity Does Not Increase Species Richness of Cercozoa and Oomycota in Tree Canopies.

Tree canopies provide habitats for diverse and until now, still poorly characterized communities of microbial eukaryotes. One of the most general patterns in community ecology is the increase in species richness with increasing habitat diversity. Thus, environmental heterogeneity of tree canopies should be an important factor governing community structure and diversity in this subsystem of forest ecosystems.

Green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) are commonly associated with a diversity of rickettsial endosymbionts.

Background: Bacterial symbionts transmitted from mothers to offspring are found in the majority of arthropods. Numerous studies have illustrated their wide impact on host biology, such as reproduction, behavior, and physiology One of the most common inherited symbionts is spp. (Alphaproteobacteria, Rickettsiales), which are found in about one-quarter of terrestrial arthropods, as well as in other invertebrates.

High genetic structuring of Tula hantavirus.

Tula virus (TULV) is a vole-associated hantavirus with low or no pathogenicity to humans. In the present study, 686 common voles (Microtus arvalis), 249 field voles (Microtus agrestis) and 30 water voles (Arvicola spec.) were collected at 79 sites in Germany, Luxembourg and France and screened by RT-PCR and TULV-IgG ELISA.

Tula virus infections in the Eurasian water vole in Central Europe.

Recent reports of novel hantaviruses in shrews and moles and the detection of rodent-borne hantaviruses in different rodent species raise important questions about their host range and specificity, evolution, and host adaptation. Tula virus (TULV), a European hantavirus, is believed to be slightly or non-pathogenic in humans and was initially detected in the common vole Microtus arvalis, the East European vole M. levis (formerly rossiaemeridionalis), and subsequently in other Microtus species.

Mitochondrial genomes reveal slow rates of molecular evolution and the timing of speciation in beavers (Castor), one of the largest rodent species.

Background: Beavers are one of the largest and ecologically most distinct rodent species. Little is known about their evolution and even their closest phylogenetic relatives have not yet been identified with certainty. Similarly, little is known about the timing of divergence events within the genus Castor.