Building a queer- and trans-inclusive microbiology conference.

Microbiology conferences can be powerful places to build collaborations and exchange ideas, but for queer and transgender (trans) scientists, they can also become sources of alienation and isolation. Many conference organizers would like to create welcoming and inclusive events but feel ill-equipped to make this vision a reality, and a historical lack of representation of queer and trans folks in microbiology means we rarely occupy these key leadership roles ourselves. Looking more broadly, queer and trans scientists are systematically marginalized across scientific fields, leading to disparities in career outcomes, professional networks, and opportunities, as well as the loss of unique scientific perspectives at all levels.

Taxonomy and Molecular Phylogeny of the Sea Anemone (Haddon, 1898) (Cnidaria, Actiniaria), with a Description of a New Species from Singapore.

Sea anemones (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) are a successful group of marine invertebrates found in a diverse range of environments globally. In spite of their ubiquity, identities for many sea anemones remain unverified, especially those from the Indo-West Pacific region. Here, we clarify the taxonomy of the poorly known , a shallow-water species first described from the Torres Straits in northern Australia.

Accumulation and exposure classifications of plastics in the different coastal habitats in the western Philippine archipelago.

Studies consistently ranked the Philippines as one of the top contributors of plastic wastes leaking into the ocean. However, most of these were based on probabilities and estimates due to lack of comprehensive ground-truth data, resulting also in the limited understanding of the contributing factors and drivers of local pollution. This makes it challenging to develop science-driven and locally-contextualized policies and interventions to mitigate the problem.

Data on the length-weight relationship of 161 species of commercially important coral reef fishes in Tawi-Tawi islands, Southern Philippines.

This article contains the data on the Length-weight relationship (LWR) parameters play a crucial role in fisheries management, particularly in fish stock monitoring methods like fish visual census, where biomass estimation relies on the measurement of individual fish lengths in situ. Localized LWR parameters provide more accurate assessments of local fish stocks due to the influence of environmental conditions, which vary across different locations. In this study, we present the LWR parameters for 161 species belonging to 60 genera and 21 families of commercially important coral reef-associated fishes found in the waters surrounding the Tawi-Tawi islands in Southern Philippines.

An enhanced LC-MRM-MS platform for sensitive and simultaneous quantification of cyclic imines in shellfish.

Cyclic imines (CIs) produced by microalgae species and accumulating in the food chain of marine organisms are novel biotoxins that do not belong to the classical group of marine biotoxins. In the past, CIs were found only in limited areas, but in recent years, rapid changes in marine ecosystems have led to widespread CIs, increasing exposure to toxic risks. Monitoring of CIs is therefore required, but still analytically challenging due to the presence of high levels of analogues and interference from other lipophilic substances.

A scaffolded and annotated reference genome of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera).

Macrocystis pyrifera (giant kelp), is a brown macroalga of great ecological importance as a primary producer and structure-forming foundational species that provides habitat for hundreds of species. It has many commercial uses (e.g.

Temperature affects predation of schistosome-competent snails by a novel invader, the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis.

The human burden of environmentally transmitted infectious diseases can depend strongly on ecological factors, including the presence or absence of natural enemies. The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a novel invasive species that can tolerate a wide range of ecological conditions and colonize diverse habitats. Marbled crayfish first appeared in Madagascar in 2005 and quickly spread across the country, overlapping with the distribution of freshwater snails that serve as the intermediate host of schistosomiasis-a parasitic disease of poverty with human prevalence ranging up to 94% in Madagascar.

Exploring novel alkane-degradation pathways in uncultured bacteria from the North Atlantic Ocean.

Petroleum pollution in the ocean has increased because of rapid population growth and modernization, requiring urgent remediation. Our understanding of the metabolic response of native microbial communities to oil spills is not well understood. Here, we explored the baseline hydrocarbon-degrading communities of a subarctic Atlantic region to uncover the metabolic potential of the bacteria that inhabit the surface and subsurface water.

Sustainable reference points for multispecies coral reef fisheries.

Sustainably managing fisheries requires regular and reliable evaluation of stock status. However, most multispecies reef fisheries around the globe tend to lack research and monitoring capacity, preventing the estimation of sustainable reference points against which stocks can be assessed. Here, combining fish biomass data for >2000 coral reefs, we estimate site-specific sustainable reference points for coral reef fisheries and use these and available catch estimates to assess the status of global coral reef fish stocks.

Ligand-independent signaling and migration of breast cancer cells expressing membrane androgen receptor, ZIP9 (SLC39A9).

Zinc transporter ZIP9 is also a membrane androgen receptor that mediates androgen-dependent zinc and G-protein signaling to modulate tumorigenic responses in cancer cells. It is unclear whether unliganded ZIP9 causes similar responses. ZIP9 overexpression in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (ZIP9 cells) increased zinc levels and cell migration/invasion which was mimicked with a zinc ionophore and attenuated with a zinc chelator, suggesting these tumorigenic responses are zinc-dependent.

Anti-Melanogenesis and Anti-Photoaging Effects of the Sulfated Polysaccharides Isolated from the Brown Seaweed .

Sulfated polysaccharides isolated from seaweeds are thought of as ideal ingredients in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetics industries. Our previous study isolated and characterized sulfated polysaccharides from . The sulfated polysaccharides of (PBP) were extracted, and the antioxidant activity of PBP was evaluated.

Sediment-driven plastisphere community assembly on plastic debris in tropical coastal and marine environments.

Coastal habitats have been suggested to serve as a sink for unaccounted plastic debris, i.e., "missing plastic" in the sea, and hence, a hotspot of plastic pollution in the marine and coastal environments.

Compliant Clients: Catechols Exhibit Enhanced Solubility and Stability in Diverse Complex Coacervates.

Polyelectrolyte coacervates, with their greater-than-water density, low interfacial energy, shear thinning viscosity, and ability to undergo structural arrest, mediate the formation of diverse load-bearing macromolecular materials in living organisms as well as in industrial material fabrication. Coacervates, however, have other useful attributes that are challenging to study given the metastability of coacervate colloidal droplets and a lack of suitable analytical methods. We adopt solution electrochemistry and nuclear magnetic resonance measurements to obtain remarkable insights about coacervates as solvent media for low-molecular-weight catechols.

Methylated cycloalkanes fuel a novel genus in the Porticoccaceae family (Ca. Reddybacter gen. nov).

Cycloalkanes are abundant and toxic compounds in subsurface petroleum reservoirs and their fate is important to ecosystems impacted by natural oil seeps and spills. This study focuses on the microbial metabolism of methylcyclohexane (MCH) and methylcyclopentane (MCP) in the deep Gulf of Mexico. MCH and MCP are often abundant cycloalkanes observed in petroleum and will dissolve into the water column when introduced at the seafloor via a spill or natural seep.

Molecular features, antioxidant potential, and immunological expression assessment of thioredoxin-like protein 1 (TXNL1) in yellowtail clownfish (Amphiprion clarkii).

Thioredoxin-like protein 1 (TXNL1) is a redox-active protein belonging to the thioredoxin family, which mainly controls the redox status of cells. The TXNL1 gene from Amphiprion clarkii (AcTXNL1) was obtained from a pre-established transcriptome database. The AcTXNL1 is encoded with 289 amino acids and is predominantly localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus.

Ablation of myd88 alters the immune gene expression and immune cell recruitment during VHSV infection in zebrafish.

Myeloid differentiation primary response protein-88 (MYD88) is an essential adaptor molecule in pathogen-related pattern recognition signaling pathways. Toll-like and interleukin receptors recognize numerous signals and are funneled through MyD88 to express genes responsible for the innate and adaptive immune systems. In the present study, the relevance of MyD88 in viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) was investigated by generating myd88 zebrafish.

Seaweed biogeochemistry: Global assessment of C:N and C:P ratios and implications for ocean afforestation.

Algal carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) and carbon-to-phosphorus (C:P) ratios are fundamental for understanding many oceanic biogeochemical processes, such as nutrient flux and climate regulation. We synthesized literature data (444 species, >400 locations) and collected original samples from Tasmania, Australia (51 species, 10 locations) to update the global ratios of seaweed carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) and carbon-to-phosphorus (C:P). The updated global mean molar ratio for seaweed C:N is 20 (ranging from 6 to 123) and for C:P is 801 (ranging from 76 to 4102).

Membrane progesterone receptors on the cell membrane: A review highlighting potential export motifs in mPRα regulating its trafficking to the cell surface.

Substantial progress has been made in our understanding of the nongenomic actions, ligand binding, intracellular signaling pathways, and functions of membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs) in reproductive and nonreproductive tissues since their discovery 20 years ago. The five mPRs are members of the progestin adipoQ receptor (PAQR) family which also includes adiponectin receptors (AdipoRs). However, unlike AdipoRs, the 3-D structures of mPRs are unknown, and their structural characteristics remain poorly understood.

A wide megafauna gap undermines China's expanding coastal ecosystem conservation.

To fulfill sustainable development goals, many countries are expanding efforts to conserve ecologically and societally critical coastal ecosystems. Although megafauna profoundly affect the functioning of ecosystems, they are neglected as a key component in the conservation scheme for coastal ecosystems in many geographic contexts. We reveal a rich diversity of extant megafauna associated with all major types of coastal ecosystems in China, including 218 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, cephalopods, and fish across terrestrial and marine environments.

New and rare deep-sea majoid crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura) from Papua New Guinea.

Additional spider crab (superfamily Majoidea) material from four major French-led expeditions to the Papua New Guinea region were examined in this study. One new genus and four new species from the families Inachidae and Oregoniidae are described. Dorhynchus profundus n.

On the identities of the sesarmid crabs, Sesarma villosum A. Milne-Edwards, 1869, and Clistocoeloma suvaense Edmondson, 1951, with the description of a new species from the West Pacific (Decapoda, Brachyura, Thoracotremata).

The identities of two sesarmid crabs, Clistocoeloma villosum (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869), and C. suvaense Edmondson, 1951, both currently in Clistocoeloma A.

Past climate-driven range shifts structuring intraspecific biodiversity levels of the giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) at global scales.

The paradigm of past climate-driven range shifts structuring the distribution of marine intraspecific biodiversity lacks replication in biological models exposed to comparable limiting conditions in independent regions. This may lead to confounding effects unlinked to climate drivers. We aim to fill in this gap by asking whether the global distribution of intraspecific biodiversity of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is explained by past climate changes occurring across the two hemispheres.