Counting rare endosymbionts using digital droplet PCR.

is the most widespread animal-associated intracellular microbe, living within the cells of over half of insect species. Since they can suppress pathogen replication and spread rapidly through insect populations, is at the vanguard of public health initiatives to control mosquito-borne diseases. 's abilities to block pathogens and spread quickly are closely linked to their abundance in host tissues.

Rapid host switching of and even more rapid turnover of their phages and incompatibility-causing loci.

About half of all insect species carry maternally inherited alphaproteobacteria, making the most common endosymbionts known in nature. Often spread to high frequencies within populations due to cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a -induced sperm modification caused by prophage-associated genes () that kill embryos without . Several variants also block viruses, including Mel from when transinfected into the mosquito .

Practical Guide to Measuring Wetland Carbon Pools and Fluxes.

Unlabelled: Wetlands cover a small portion of the world, but have disproportionate influence on global carbon (C) sequestration, carbon dioxide and methane emissions, and aquatic C fluxes. However, the underlying biogeochemical processes that affect wetland C pools and fluxes are complex and dynamic, making measurements of wetland C challenging. Over decades of research, many observational, experimental, and analytical approaches have been developed to understand and quantify pools and fluxes of wetland C.

A male-killing Wolbachia endosymbiont is concealed by another endosymbiont and a nuclear suppressor.

Bacteria that live inside the cells of insect hosts (endosymbionts) can alter the reproduction of their hosts, including the killing of male offspring (male killing, MK). MK has only been described in a few insects, but this may reflect challenges in detecting MK rather than its rarity. Here, we identify MK Wolbachia at a low frequency (around 4%) in natural populations of Drosophila pseudotakahashii.

Twenty-Seven Year Response of South Carolina Coastal Plain Forests Affected by Hurricane Hugo.

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo inflicted catastrophic damage on approximately 1.8 million ha of forested land in South Carolina. The purpose of this study was to monitor species compositional shifts and structural changes in several forest types following the hurricane's disturbance.