Origins of xyloglucan-degrading enzymes in fungi.

The origin story of land plants - the pivotal evolutionary event that paved the way for terrestrial ecosystems of today to flourish - lies within their closest living relatives: the streptophyte algae. Streptophyte cell wall composition has evolved such that profiles of cell wall polysaccharides can be used as taxonomic markers. Since xyloglucan is restricted to the streptophyte lineage, we hypothesized that fungal enzymes evolved in response to xyloglucan availability in streptophyte algal or land plant cell walls.

F ST between haploids and diploids in species with discrete ploidy phases.

Many organisms alternate between distinct haploid and diploid phases, which generates population structure according to ploidy level. In this research, we consider a haploid-diploid population using statistical approaches developed for spatially subdivided populations, where haploids represent one "patch" and diploids another "patch". In species with alternating generations, sexual reproduction causes movement from diploids to haploids (by meiosis with recombination) and from haploids to diploids (by syngamy).

Spiny dogfish, , shows a good tolerance for hypoxia but need long recovery times.

Pacific spiny dogfish, , move to shallow coastal waters during critical reproductive life stages and are thus at risk of encountering hypoxic events which occur more frequently in these areas. For effective conservation management, we need to fully understand the consequences of hypoxia on marine key species such as elasmobranchs. Because of their benthic life style, we hypothesized that are hypoxia tolerant and able to efficiently regulate oxygen consumption, and that anaerobic metabolism is supported by a broad range of metabolites including ketones, fatty acids and amino acids.

Association studies of salinity tolerance in sunflower provide robust breeding and selection strategies under climate change.

Phytotoxic soil salinity is a global problem, and in the northern Great Plains and western Canada, salt accumulates on the surface of marine sediment soils with high water tables under annual crop cover, particularly near wetlands. Crop production can overcome saline-affected soils using crop species and cultivars with salinity tolerance along with changes in management practices. This research seeks to improve our understanding of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) genetic tolerance to high salinity soils.

Variations in touch representation in the hummingbird and zebra finch forebrain.

Somatosensation is essential for animals to perceive the external world through touch, allowing them to detect physical contact, temperature, pain, and body position. Studies on rodent vibrissae have highlighted the organization and processing in mammalian somatosensory pathways. Comparative research across vertebrates is vital for understanding evolutionary influences and ecological specialization on somatosensory systems.

Fungal endophytes can modulate plant invasion.

Symbiotic organisms may contribute to a host plant's success or failure to grow, its ability to maintain viable populations, and potentially, its probability of establishment and spread outside its native range. Intercellular and intracellular microbial symbionts that are asymptomatic in their plant host during some or all of their life cycle - endophytes - can form mutualistic, commensal, or pathogenic relationships, and sometimes novel associations with alien plants. Fungal endophytes are likely the most common endosymbiont infecting plants, with life-history, morphological, physiological, and plant-symbiotic traits that are distinct from other endophytic guilds.

Are reactive oxygen species always bad? Lessons from hypoxic ectotherms.

Oxygen (O2) is required for aerobic energy metabolism but can produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are a wide variety of oxidant molecules with a range of biological functions from causing cell damage (oxidative distress) to cell signalling (oxidative eustress). The balance between the rate and amount of ROS generated and the capacity for scavenging systems to remove them is affected by several biological and environmental factors, including oxygen availability. Ectotherms, and in particular hypoxia-tolerant ectotherms, are hypothesized to avoid oxidative damage caused by hypoxia, although it is unclear whether this translates to an increase in ecological fitness.

Parallel functional reduction in the mitochondria of apicomplexan parasites.

Extreme functional reduction of mitochondria has taken place in parallel in many distantly related lineages of eukaryotes, leading to a number of recurring metabolic states with variously lost electron transport chain (ETC) complexes, loss of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and/or loss of the mitochondrial genome. The resulting mitochondria-related organelles (MROs) are generally structurally reduced and in the most extreme cases barely recognizable features of the cell with no role in energy metabolism whatsoever (e.g.

A diversity of novel type-2 innate lymphoid cell subpopulations revealed during tumour expansion.

Type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) perform vital functions in orchestrating humoral immune responses, facilitating tissue remodelling, and ensuring tissue homeostasis. Additionally, in a role that has garnered considerably less attention, ILC2s can also enhance Th1-related cytolytic T lymphocyte immune responses against tumours. Studies have thus far generally failed to address the mystery of how one ILC2 cell-type can participate in a multiplicity of functions.

Cardiorespiratory reflexes in white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus): Lack of cardiac baroreflex response to blood pressure manipulation?

Arterial pressure (Pa) regulation is essential to adequately distribute nutrients to metabolizing tissues, remove wastes and avoid lesions associated with hypertension. In vertebrates, short-term Pa regulation is achieved through the baroreflex, which elicits inversely proportional changes in heart rate (f) and vascular resistance to restore Pa. The cardiac limb of this reflex has been reported in all vertebrate groups studied to date: teleosts, amphibians, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, birds and mammals - which led to the suggestion that the baroreflex is an ancient trait present in all vertebrate species.

Wounding Triggers Wax Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis Leaves in an Abscisic Acid-Dependent and Jasmonoyl-Isoleucine-Dependent Manner.

Wounding caused by insects or abiotic factors such as wind and hail can cause severe stress for plants. Intrigued by the observation that wounding induces expression of genes involved in surface wax synthesis in a jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile)-independent manner, the role of wax biosynthesis and respective genes upon wounding was investigated. Wax, a lipid-based barrier, protects plants both from environmental threats and from an uncontrolled loss of water.

Species-Specific Responses to Human Trampling Indicate Alpine Plant Size Is More Sensitive than Reproduction to Disturbance.

Human disturbance, such as trampling, is an integral component of global change, yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of its effects on alpine ecosystems. Many alpine systems are seeing a rapid increase in recreation and in understudied regions, such as the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, yet disturbance impacts on alpine plants remain unclear. We surveyed disturbed (trail-side) and undisturbed (off-trail) transects along elevational gradients of popular hiking trails in the T'ak't'ak'múy'in tl'a In'inyáxa7n region (Garibaldi Provincial Park), Canada, focusing on dominant shrubs (, ) and graminoids ( spp).

Hydrothermal impacts of water release on early life stages of white sturgeon in the Nechako river, B.C. Canada.

Water temperature plays a crucial role in the physiology of aquatic species, particularly in their survival and development. Thus, resource programs are commonly used to manage water quality conditions for endemic species. In a river system like the Nechako River system, central British Columbia, a water management program was established in the 1980s to alter water release in the summer months to prevent water temperatures from exceeding a 20 °C threshold downstream during the spawning season of Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka).

Outside-in signaling through the major histocompatibility complex class-I cytoplasmic tail modulates glutamate receptor expression in neurons.

The interplay between AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) and major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) proteins in regulating synaptic signaling is a crucial aspect of central nervous system (CNS) function. In this study, we investigate the significance of the cytoplasmic tail of MHC-I in synaptic signaling within the CNS and its impact on the modulation of synaptic glutamate receptor expression. Specifically, we focus on the Y321 to F substitution (Y321F) within the conserved cytoplasmic tyrosine YXXΦ motif, known for its dual role in endocytosis and cellular signaling of MHC-I.

Identification of upper thermal thresholds during development in the endangered Nechako white sturgeon with management implications for a regulated river.

Climate change-induced warming effects are already evident in river ecosystems, and projected increases in temperature will continue to amplify stress on fish communities. In addition, many rivers globally are impacted by dams, which have many negative effects on fishes by altering flow, blocking fish passage, and changing sediment composition. However, in some systems, dams present an opportunity to manage river temperature through regulated releases of cooler water.

Genomic determination of breeding systems and trans-specific evolution of HD MAT genes in suilloid fungi.

Studying the signatures of evolution can help to understand genetic processes. Here, we demonstrate how the existence of balancing selection can be used to identify the breeding systems of fungi from genomic data. The breeding systems of fungi are controlled by self-incompatibility loci that determine mating types between potential mating partners, resulting in strong balancing selection at the loci.

The role of salinity in recovery of white sturgeon () from stimulated angling stress.

White sturgeon () in the Lower Fraser River are the focus of a catch-and-release angling fishery in British Columbia, Canada. However, the lower region of the catch area includes areas where tidal waters invade, and the consequence of salinity levels on recovery from an angling challenge are not characterized in sturgeon, despite theoretical implications of its import. We acclimated white sturgeon to various salinities (0, 10 and 20‰ (parts per thousand)) to investigate the effects of acclimation on recovery from stimulated angling stress that was induced through manual chasing.

Pleiotropic opposing dominance within a color gene block contributes to a nascent species boundary via its influence on hybrid male territorial behavior.

The divergence of plumage color genes contributes to songbird radiation. However, the mechanisms by which color gene divergence counteracts gene flow to maintain reproductive isolation during the formation of new species boundaries remain elusive. The hybrid zone between (SOCC) and (STOW) in the Cascade Range provides a natural observatory to investigate potential behavioral mechanisms underlying divergent selection on color genes.

Subgenome-dominant expression and alternative splicing in response to Sclerotinia infection in polyploid Brassica napus and progenitors.

Polyploidy has played an extensive role in the evolution of flowering plants. Allopolyploids, with subgenomes containing duplicated gene pairs called homeologs, can show rapid transcriptome changes including novel alternative splicing (AS) patterns. The extent to which abiotic stress modulates AS of homeologs is a nascent topic in polyploidy research.