Trophic organization of the benthic communities off the South Italian coasts: A review with a modelistic approach.

Limited data are available about the coastal ecology of the Calabria region, in the southern Italy. As well, data about the levels of biodiversity and the structure of food webs in these environments are totally missing. However, considering the wide range of physical and ecological conditions distinguishing these ecosystems, a remarkable spread of biodiversity is expected.

Polystyrene Microplastics Exacerbate Infection Ability In Vitro and In Vivo.

Plastic pollution is an important environmental problem, and microplastics have been shown to have harmful effects on human and animal health, affecting immune and metabolic physiological functions. Further, microplastics can interfere with commensal microorganisms and exert deleterious effects on exposure to pathogens. Here, we compared the effects of 1 µm diameter polystyrene microplastic (PSMPs) on infection in both in vitro and in vivo models by using HT29 cells and larvae, respectively.

Evolutionary Plasticity in Insular Lizard, Adapting over Reproduction, Metabolism, and Color Variation.

The Italian wall lizard () living on islets exhibits a melanic skin coloration and a suite of adaptive traits lacking in nearby mainland populations. On islets, the unpredictable environmental conditions and highly fluctuating population densities are believed to have produced reversed island syndrome (RIS). Several physiological, behavioral, and life-history changes based on the RIS could result from positive selection on increased activity of melanocortins.

The Use of Isoflurane and Adjunctive Magnesium Chloride Provides Fast, Effective Anaesthetization of .

A wide variety of substances have been used to anaesthetise invertebrates, but many are not anaesthetics and merely incapacitate animals rather than preventing pain. In essence, the role of an ideal general anaesthetic is to act as a muscle relaxant, an analgesic, an anaesthetic, and an amnesic. To achieve all these properties with a single substance is difficult, and various adjuvants usually need to be administered, resulting in a cocktail of drugs.

Effects of the Rho GTPase-activating toxin CNF1 on fibroblasts derived from Rett syndrome patients: A pilot study.

The bacterial product CNF1, through its action on the Rho GTPases, is emerging as a modulator of crucial signalling pathways involved in selected neurological diseases characterized by mitochondrial dysfunctions. Mitochondrial impairment has been hypothesized to have a key role in paramount mechanisms underlying Rett syndrome (RTT), a severe neurologic rare disorder. CNF1 has been already reported to have beneficial effects in mouse models of RTT.

Identification and Characterization of a Rhodopsin Kinase Gene in the Suckers of : Looking around Using Arms?

In their foraging behavior octopuses rely on arm search movements outside the visual field of the eyes. In these movements the environment is explored primarily by the suckers that line the entire length of the octopus arm. In this study, for the first time, we report the complete characterization of a light-sensing molecule, Ov-GRK1, in the suckers, skin and retina of .

Correction: Fixation of genetic variation and optimization of gene expression: The speed of evolution in isolated lizard populations undergoing Reverse Island Syndrome.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

The Membranotropic Peptide to Combat Mixed / Biofilm: Correlation between In Vitro Anti-Biofilm Activity and In Vivo Antimicrobial Protection.

The antibiofilm activity of a gH625 analogue was investigated to determine the in vitro inhibition and eradication of a dual-species biofilm of and , two leading opportunistic pathogens responsible for several resistant infections. The possibility of effectively exploiting this peptide as an alternative anti-biofilm strategy in vivo was assessed by the investigation of its efficacy on the larvae model. Results on larvae survival demonstrate a prophylactic efficacy of the peptide towards the infection of each single microorganism but mainly towards the co-infection.

Contribution to the ecology of the Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus).

The Italian hare (Lepus corsicanus) is endemic to Central-Southern Italy and Sicily, classified as vulnerable due to habitat alterations, low density and fragmented populations and ecological competition with the sympatric European hare (Lepus europaeus). Despite this status, only few and local studies have explored its ecological features. We provided some key traits of the ecological niche of the Italian hare as well as its potential distribution in the Italian peninsula.

Cognitive Stimulation Induces Differential Gene Expression in : The Key Role of Protocadherins.

Octopuses are unique invertebrates, with sophisticated and flexible behaviors controlled by a high degree of brain plasticity, learning, and memory. Moreover, in , it has been demonstrated that animals housed in an enriched environment show adult neurogenesis in specific brain areas. Firstly, we evaluated the optimal acclimatization period needed for an before starting a cognitive stimulation experiment.

OctoPartenopin: Identification and Preliminary Characterization of a Novel Antimicrobial Peptide from the Suckers of .

Microorganism resistance to conventional antibiotics represents one of the major global health concerns. This paper focuses on a peptide (OctoPartenopin) extracted from suckers of bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation was used to identify this sequence, which holds significant antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. OctoPartenopin is encrypted within the calponin sequence and was associated with the high levels of proteolytic activity already reported in octopus arm suckers.

Sensorial Hierarchy in s Food Choice: Chemical vs. Visual.

possesses highly sophisticated sense organs, processed by the nervous system to generate appropriate behaviours such as finding food, avoiding predators, identifying conspecifics, and locating suitable habitat. Octopus uses multiple sensory modalities during the searching and selection of food, in particular, the chemosensory and visual cues. Here, we examined food choice in in two ways: (1) We tested octopus's food preference among three different kinds of food, and established anchovy as the preferred choice (66.

Fixation of genetic variation and optimization of gene expression: The speed of evolution in isolated lizard populations undergoing Reverse Island Syndrome.

The ecological theory of island biogeography suggests that mainland populations should be more genetically divergent from those on large and distant islands rather than from those on small and close islets. Some island populations do not evolve in a linear way, but the process of divergence occurs more rapidly because they undergo a series of phenotypic changes, jointly known as the Island Syndrome. A special case is Reversed Island Syndrome (RIS), in which populations show drastic phenotypic changes both in body shape, skin colouration, age of sexual maturity, aggressiveness, and food intake rates.

Author Correction: Selection for background matching drives sympatric speciation in Wall Gecko.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Selection for background matching drives sympatric speciation in Wall Gecko.

The Wall Gecko shows heterogeneous colour pattern, which may vary among individuals, depending on the time of day and on the habitat segregation. Nocturnal pale geckos live exclusively on walls. Diurnal dark geckos preferentially live on olive tree trunks, demonstrating an ability to change skin colour that is superior to that of the pale gecko and allows diurnal geckos becoming camouflaged on the diverse substrates occupied during the day.

Corrigendum: A Novel Approach to Primary Cell Culture for Neurons.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.

Octopus vulgaris: An Alternative in Evolution.

Octopus vulgaris underwent a radical modification to cope with the benthic lifestyle. It diverged from other cephalopods in terms of body plan, anatomy, behavior, and intelligence. It independently evolved the largest and most complex nervous system and sophisticated behaviors among invertebrates in a separate evolutionary lineage.

Efficiency of gold nanoparticles coated with the antimicrobial peptide indolicidin against biofilm formation and development of spp. clinical isolates.

Background: This article examines the use of a novel nano-system, gold nanoparticles coated with indolicidin (AuNPs-indolicidin), against pathogenic biofilms. species cause frequent infections owing to their ability to form biofilms, primarily on implant devices.

Materials And Methods: We used an integrated approach, evaluating the effect of AuNPs-indolicidin on prevention and eradication of biofilms formed in multi-well polystyrene plates, with relative gene expression assays.

A Novel Approach to Primary Cell Culture for Neurons.

is a unique model system for studying complex behaviors in animals. It has a large and centralized nervous system made up of lobes that are involved in controlling various sophisticated behaviors. As such, it may be considered as a model organism for untangling the neuronal mechanisms underlying behaviors-including learning and memory.

Genotoxicity of gold nanoparticles functionalized with indolicidin towards Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The toxic effects of gold nanoparticles surface-functionalized with the antimicrobial peptide indolicidin (AuNPs-indolicidin) towards the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one of the major eukaryotic model organisms, have been evaluated. Growth and survival, genotoxicity, as measured by comet assay, and expression of the YCA1, an apoptosis indicating gene, following 72hr exposure of yeast to AuNPs-indolicidin, and to AuNPs and indolicidin alone have been examined. The gold nanoparticles exerted toxicity with DNA damage, accompanied by reactive oxygen species production (ROS), but they do not inhibit yeast growth and viability.