Network bypasses sustain complexity.

Real-world networks are neither regular nor random, a fact elegantly explained by mechanisms such as the Watts-Strogatz or the Barabási-Albert models, among others. Both mechanisms naturally create shortcuts and hubs, which while enhancing the network's connectivity, also might yield several undesired navigational effects: They tend to be overused during geodesic navigational processes-making the networks fragile-and provide suboptimal routes for diffusive-like navigation. Why, then, networks with complex topologies are ubiquitous? Here, we unveil that these models also entropically generate network bypasses: alternative routes to shortest paths which are topologically longer but easier to navigate.

Self-organized sulfide-driven traveling pulses shape seagrass meadows.

Seagrasses provide multiple ecosystem services and act as intense carbon sinks in coastal regions around the globe but are threatened by multiple anthropogenic pressures, leading to enhanced seagrass mortality that reflects in the spatial self-organization of the meadows. Spontaneous spatial vegetation patterns appear in such different ecosystems as drylands, peatlands, salt marshes, or seagrass meadows, and the mechanisms behind this phenomenon are still an open question in many cases. Here, we report on the formation of vegetation traveling pulses creating complex spatiotemporal patterns and rings in Mediterranean seagrass meadows.

The trajectory in catalytic evolution of Rubisco in Posidonia seagrass species differs from terrestrial plants.

The CO2-fixing enzyme Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco) links the inorganic and organic phases of the global carbon cycle. In aquatic systems, the catalytic adaptation of algae Rubiscos has been more expansive and followed an evolutionary pathway that appears distinct to terrestrial plant Rubisco. Here, we extend this survey to differing seagrass species of the genus Posidonia to reveal how their disjunctive geographical distribution and diverged phylogeny, along with their CO2 concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) effectiveness, have impacted their Rubisco kinetic properties.

Learning takes time: Biotic resistance by native herbivores increases through the invasion process.

As invasive species spread, the ability of local communities to resist invasion depends on the strength of biotic interactions. Evolutionarily unused to the invader, native predators or herbivores may be initially wary of consuming newcomers, allowing them to proliferate. However, these relationships may be highly dynamic, and novel consumer-resource interactions could form as familiarity grows.

In-Depth Characterization of Tomato Mutants Obtained by CRISPR/Cas9 Editing: A Case Study With Implications for Breeding and Regulation.

Gene editing has already proved itself as an invaluable tool for the generation of mutants for crop breeding, yet its ultimate impact on agriculture will depend on how crops generated by gene editing technologies are regulated, and on our ability to characterize the impact of mutations on plant phenotype. A starting operational strategy for evaluating gene editing-based approaches to plant breeding might consist of assessing the effect of the induced mutations in a crop- and locus-specific manner: this involves the analysis of editing efficiency in different cultivars of a crop, the assessment of potential off-target mutations, and a phenotypic evaluation of edited lines carrying different mutated alleles. Here, we targeted the () locus in two tomato cultivars ('MoneyMaker' and 'San Marzano') and evaluated the efficiency, specificity and mutation patterns associated with CRISPR/Cas9 activity for this gene.

Leaf water potential measurements using the pressure chamber: Synthetic testing of assumptions towards best practices for precision and accuracy.

Leaf water potential (ψ ), typically measured using the pressure chamber, is the most important metric of plant water status, providing high theoretical value and information content for multiple applications in quantifying critical physiological processes including drought responses. Pressure chamber measurements of ψ (ψ ) are most typical, yet, the practical complexity of the technique and of the underlying theory has led to ambiguous understanding of the conditions to optimize measurements. Consequently, specific techniques and precautions diversified across the global research community, raising questions of reliability and repeatability.

The role of competition and herbivory in biotic resistance against invaders: a synergistic effect.

Invasive species pose a major threat to global diversity, and once they are well established their eradication typically becomes unfeasible. However, certain natural mechanisms can increase the resistance of native communities to invaders and can be used to guide effective management policies. Both competition and herbivory have been identified as potential biotic resistance mechanisms that can limit plant invasiveness, but it is still under debate to what extent they might be effective against well-established invaders.

Influence of weather types on the hydrosedimentary response in three small catchments on the Island of Mallorca, Spain.

The influence of the sea and topography are vital factors in the atmospheric processes affecting any island, as they introduce peculiarities in the hydrosedimentary response of fluvial systems. In view of that, the relationship between the surface atmospheric conditions (weather types, WTs), rainfall, runoff and erosion dynamics in three small catchments located in Mallorca were analysed. The catchments are representative in terms of geomorphology and land use but also due to their location within the major rainfall areas previously identified in the island by (Sumner et al.

Acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year university students in Spain.

The theory of evolution is one of the greatest scientific achievements in the intellectual history of humankind, yet it is still contentious within certain social groups. Despite being as robust and evidence-based as any other notable scientific theory, some people show a strong reluctance to accept it. In this study, we used the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) and Knowledge of Evolution Exam (KEE) questionnaires with university students from four academic degree programs (Chemistry, English, History, and Biology) of ten universities from Spain to measure, respectively, acceptance and knowledge of evolutionary theory among third-year undergraduate students (nMATE = 978; nKEE = 981).

Mitogenome phylogenetics in the genus Palaemon (Crustacea: Decapoda) sheds light on species crypticism in the rockpool shrimp P. elegans.

The genus Palaemon comprises worldwide marine and freshwater shrimps and prawns, and some of them are ecologically or commercially important species. Palaemon is not currently a monophyletic group, so phylogenetics and systematics are constantly changing. Species crypticism has been pointed out in several Palaemon species, being the clearest evidence in the European rockpool shrimp P.

Different theta frameworks coexist in the rat hippocampus and are coordinated during memory-guided and novelty tasks.

Hippocampal firing is organized in theta sequences controlled by internal memory processes and by external sensory cues, but how these computations are coordinated is not fully understood. Although theta activity is commonly studied as a unique coherent oscillation, it is the result of complex interactions between different rhythm generators. Here, by separating hippocampal theta activity in three different current generators, we found epochs with variable theta frequency and phase coupling, suggesting flexible interactions between theta generators.

Prokaryotic Capability to Use Organic Substrates Across the Global Tropical and Subtropical Ocean.

Prokaryotes play a fundamental role in decomposing organic matter in the ocean, but little is known about how microbial metabolic capabilities vary at the global ocean scale and what are the drivers causing this variation. We aimed at obtaining the first global exploration of the functional capabilities of prokaryotes in the ocean, with emphasis on the under-sampled meso- and bathypelagic layers. We explored the potential utilization of 95 carbon sources with Biolog GN2 plates in 441 prokaryotic communities sampled from surface to bathypelagic waters (down to 4,000 m) at 111 stations distributed across the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.

Collective sinking promotes selective cell pairing in planktonic pennate diatoms.

Finding a partner in an inherently unsteady 3-dimensional system, such as the planktonic marine environment, is a difficult task for nonswimming organisms with poor control over their orientation. We experimentally investigate the process of cell pairing in pennate marine diatoms and present field evidence of its occurrence in the ocean. We describe the mechanism as a 3-step process in which pennate diatoms () vertically reorient while sinking from surface turbulent waters to a more stable environment (i.

TransFlow: a modular framework for assembling and assessing accurate de novo transcriptomes in non-model organisms.

Background: The advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies are allowing more and more de novo assembling of transcriptomes from many new organisms. Some degree of automation and evaluation is required to warrant reproducibility, repetitivity and the selection of the best possible transcriptome. Workflows and pipelines are becoming an absolute requirement for such a purpose, but the issue of assembling evaluation for de novo transcriptomes in organisms lacking a sequenced genome remains unsolved.

Neorhizobium tomejilense sp. nov., first non-symbiotic Neorhizobium species isolated from a dryland agricultural soil in southern Spain.

We describe for the first time a non-symbiotic species of the recently described genus Neorhizobium, lacking nodulation or nitrogen fixation genes. The strains were isolated from a dryland agricultural soil in southern Spain where no record of legume cultivation is available, thus we propose the name Neorhizobium tomejilense sp. nov.

Geography and island geomorphology shape fish assemblage structure on isolated coral reef systems.

We quantify the relative importance of multi-scale drivers of reef fish assemblage structure on isolated coral reefs at the intersection of the Indian and Indo-Pacific biogeographical provinces. Large (>30 cm), functionally-important and commonly targeted species of fish, were surveyed on the outer reef crest/front at 38 coral reef sites spread across three oceanic coral reef systems (i.e.

A comparative experimental and theoretical investigation of hydrogen-bond, halogen-bond and π-π interactions in the solid-state supramolecular assembly of 2- and 4-formylphenyl arylsulfonates.

To explore the operational role of noncovalent interactions in supramolecular architectures with designed topologies, a series of solid-state structures of 2- and 4-formylphenyl 4-substituted benzenesulfonates was investigated. The compounds are 2-formylphenyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate, CHOS, 3a, 2-formylphenyl 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate, CHClOS, 3b, 2-formylphenyl 4-bromobenzenesulfonate, CHBrOS, 3c, 4-formylphenyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate, CHOS, 4a, 4-formylphenyl 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate, 4b, CHClOS, and 4-formylphenyl 4-bromobenzenesulfonate, CHBrOS, 4c. The title compounds were synthesized under basic conditions from salicylaldehyde/4-hydroxybenzaldehydes and various aryl sulfonyl chlorides.

The Microbial Genomes Atlas (MiGA) webserver: taxonomic and gene diversity analysis of Archaea and Bacteria at the whole genome level.

The small subunit ribosomal RNA gene (16S rRNA) has been successfully used to catalogue and study the diversity of prokaryotic species and communities but it offers limited resolution at the species and finer levels, and cannot represent the whole-genome diversity and fluidity. To overcome these limitations, we introduced the Microbial Genomes Atlas (MiGA), a webserver that allows the classification of an unknown query genomic sequence, complete or partial, against all taxonomically classified taxa with available genome sequences, as well as comparisons to other related genomes including uncultivated ones, based on the genome-aggregate Average Nucleotide and Amino Acid Identity (ANI/AAI) concepts. MiGA integrates best practices in sequence quality trimming and assembly and allows input to be raw reads or assemblies from isolate genomes, single-cell sequences, and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs).

Deciphering the Interdependence between Ecological and Evolutionary Networks.

Biological systems consist of elements that interact within and across hierarchical levels. For example, interactions among genes determine traits of individuals, competitive and cooperative interactions among individuals influence population dynamics, and interactions among species affect the dynamics of communities and ecosystem processes. Such systems can be represented as hierarchical networks, but can have complex dynamics when interdependencies among levels of the hierarchy occur.

Metatranscriptomics and Amplicon Sequencing Reveal Mutualisms in Seagrass Microbiomes.

Terrestrial plants benefit from many well-understood mutualistic relationships with root- and leaf-associated microbiomes, but relatively little is known about these relationships for seagrass and other aquatic plants. We used 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metatranscriptomics to assess potential mutualisms between microorganisms and the seagrasses and collected from mixed beds in Netarts Bay, OR, United States. The phylogenetic composition of leaf-, root-, and water column-associated bacterial communities were strikingly different, but these communities were not significantly different between plant species.

Genetic diversity and kelp forest vulnerability to climatic stress.

Genetic diversity confers adaptive capacity to populations under changing conditions but its role in mediating impacts of climate change remains unresolved for most ecosystems. This lack of knowledge is particularly acute for foundation species, where impacts may cascade throughout entire ecosystems. We combined population genetics with eco-physiological and ecological field experiments to explore relationships among latitudinal patterns in genetic diversity, physiology and resilience of a kelp ecosystem to climate stress.