Constructing age-structured matrix population models for all fishes.

Matrix population models are essential tools in conservation biology, offering key metrics to guide species management and conservation planning. However, the development of these models is often limited by insufficient life history data, particularly for non-charismatic species. This study addresses this gap by using life history data from FishBase and the FishLife R package, complemented by size-dependent natural mortality estimates, to parameterize age-structured matrix population models applicable to most fish species.

Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Genetic Differences Between Symbiodiniaceae Populations Among Reproductively and Geographically Isolated Colonies in Western Australia.

Significant genetic differentiation between Symbiodiniaceae populations in coral hosts can be induced by a range of factors including geography, latitude, depth, temperature and light utilisation. The conventional method of measuring Symbiodiniaceae diversity involving the ITS2 region of rDNA has several limitations, stemming from insufficient genetic resolution and the multi-copy nature of the marker. This could be improved by using higher throughput whole genome sequencing to identify fine-scale population genetic differences and provide new insight into factors influencing coral-Symbiodiniaceae associations.

Land Use Change Consistently Reduces α- But Not β- and γ-Diversity of Bees.

Land use change threatens global biodiversity and compromises ecosystem functions, including pollination and food production. Reduced taxonomic α-diversity is often reported under land use change, yet the impacts could be different at larger spatial scales (i.e.

Evidence for microbially-mediated tradeoffs between growth and defense throughout coral evolution.

Background: Evolutionary tradeoffs between life-history strategies are important in animal evolution. Because microbes can influence multiple aspects of host physiology, including growth rate and susceptibility to disease or stress, changes in animal-microbial symbioses have the potential to mediate life-history tradeoffs. Scleractinian corals provide a biodiverse, data-rich, and ecologically-relevant host system to explore this idea.

Two decades of bacterial ecology and evolution in a freshwater lake.

Ecology and evolution are considered distinct processes that interact on contemporary time scales in microbiomes. Here, to observe these processes in a natural system, we collected a two-decade, 471-metagenome time series from Lake Mendota (Wisconsin, USA). We assembled 2,855 species-representative genomes and found that genomic change was common and frequent.

Unravelling viral ecology and evolution over 20 years in a freshwater lake.

As freshwater lakes undergo rapid anthropogenic change, long-term studies reveal key microbial dynamics, evolutionary shifts and biogeochemical interactions, yet the vital role of viruses remains overlooked. Here, leveraging a 20 year time series from Lake Mendota, WI, USA, we characterized 1.3 million viral genomes across time, seasonality and environmental factors.

Aspartate signalling drives lung metastasis via alternative translation.

Lung metastases occur in up to 54% of patients with metastatic tumours. Contributing factors to this high frequency include the physical properties of the pulmonary system and a less oxidative environment that may favour the survival of cancer cells. Moreover, secreted factors from primary tumours alter immune cells and the extracellular matrix of the lung, creating a permissive pre-metastatic environment primed for the arriving cancer cells.

Wolbachia-based mosquito control: Environmental perspectives on population suppression and replacement strategies.

Mosquito-borne diseases pose a significant threat to global health, and traditional mosquito control methods often fall short of effectiveness. A promising alternative is the biological control strategy of transinfecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia, a bacterium capable of outcompeting harmful pathogens and reducing the ability of mosquitoes to transmit diseases. However, Wolbachia infections are sensitive to abiotic environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, which can affect their densities in mosquitoes and, consequently, their ability to block pathogens.

Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving Sr/Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the Sr/Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression.

A Genetic Variant of Delta-9 Desaturase Is Associated With Latitudinal Adaptation in a Coral from the Great Barrier Reef.

Coral populations across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) could rapidly adapt to the warming climate if they have standing genetic variation for thermal tolerance. Here, we describe a locus likely involved in latitudinal adaptation of Acropora millepora. This locus shows a steep latitudinal gradient of derived allele frequency increasing at higher latitudes, and harbours a cluster of eight tandemly repeated Δ9-desaturase genes adjacent to a region in the genome where a hard selective sweep likely occurred.

Correction: Avena et al. 27-Hydroxycholesterol Binds GPER and Induces Progression of Estrogen Receptor-Negative Breast Cancer. 2022, , 1521.

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Rapid Sex Chromosome Turnover in African Clawed Frogs (Xenopus) and the Origins of New Sex Chromosomes.

Sex chromosomes of some closely related species are not homologous, and sex chromosome turnover is often attributed to mechanisms that involve linkage to or recombination arrest around sex-determining loci. We examined sex chromosome turnover and recombination landscapes in African clawed frogs (genus Xenopus) with reduced representation genome sequences from 929 individuals from 19 species. We recovered extensive variation in sex chromosomes, including at least eight nonhomologous sex-associated regions-five newly reported here, with most maintaining female heterogamety, but two independent origins of Y chromosomes.

MIBiG 4.0: advancing biosynthetic gene cluster curation through global collaboration.

Specialized or secondary metabolites are small molecules of biological origin, often showing potent biological activities with applications in agriculture, engineering and medicine. Usually, the biosynthesis of these natural products is governed by sets of co-regulated and physically clustered genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). To share information about BGCs in a standardized and machine-readable way, the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG) data standard and repository was initiated in 2015.

Key to sessile gnesiotrochan rotifers: Floscularia (Monogononta; Flosculariidae).

Correct identification of species is necessary if we are to understand their biology, ecology, and evolutionary history, as well as to catalog their global biodiversity. This is acutely critical for many micrometazoans like rotifers, which are often difficult to identify because of their small size and complicated morphologies. Rotifers are ubiquitous micrometazoans that are found worldwide in fresh, brackish, and some marine waters.

Guidelines for species descriptions of free-living aquatic nematodes: characters, measurements and their presentation in taxonomic publications.

Free-living aquatic nematodes are abundant, diverse and of general environmental importance. However, knowledge of species distributions of both marine and freshwater nematodes is sparse. Species distribution data are crucial for evaluating environmental impacts from human activities and to conduct integrated nematode community assessments.

Energetic savings of bow-riding dolphins.

Bow-riding occurs when dolphins swim in the pressure waves at the front of a vessel. Bow-riding is hypothesized to be "fun" for dolphins or to save them energy although the energetics have not been explored. An UAS (Unoccupied Aerial System) was used to follow and video-record adult dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) bow-riding in front of a research vessel or free-swimming off Kaikoura, New Zealand.

Probiotic significance of strains: a comprehensive review on health impacts, research gaps, and future prospects.

A rising corpus of research has shown the beneficial effects of probiotic on human health, contributing to the growing popularity of these microorganisms in recent decades. The gastrointestinal and urinary tracts are home to these bacteria, which play a vital role in the microbial flora of both humans and animals. The probiotic, i.

Pattern-Based Genome Mining Guides Discovery of the Antibiotic Indanopyrrole A from a Marine Streptomycete.

Terrestrial actinomycetes in the genus have long been recognized as prolific producers of small-molecule natural products, including many clinically important antibiotics and cytotoxic agents. Although can also be isolated from marine environments, their potential for natural product biosynthesis remains underexplored. The MAR4 clade of largely marine-derived has been a rich source of novel halogenated natural products of diverse structural classes.

The effect of a harmful algal bloom (Karenia selliformis) on the benthic invertebrate community and the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) diet in eastern Hokkaido.

In recent decades, the locally extinct sea otter (Enhydra lutris lutris) has been recolonizing the coast of eastern Hokkaido. Their diet includes benthic invertebrates such as bivalves, sea urchins, snails, and chitons. In the fall of 2021, a harmful algal bloom (HAB) of Karenia selliformis occurred across Hokkaido's northern and eastern coasts, leading to a massive mortality of sea urchins.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of and (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae).

The Leuciscidae (minnows, shiners and relatives) is a diverse family of freshwater fishes with many species endangered due to anthropogenic stressors. and are two shiners found only in the upper Brazos River basin in Texas, USA and listed as endangered due to contracted habitat. The complete mitochondrial genome was sequenced for two vouchered specimens for each species; having a total mitogenome length of 16,711 bp and having a total mitogenome length 16685-16686 bp, with both including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs genes, and 2 ribosomal RNA genes.