Understanding spatio-temporal complexity of vegetation using drones, what could we improve?

Unraveling the intricate spatial and temporal complexities of vegetation represents a crucial key to understanding ecosystem functioning. Drones, as cutting-edge technology, hold immense potential in bridging the gap between on-ground measurements and satellite remote sensing data. Nonetheless, a multitude of challenges still looms, with one of the foremost being the nuanced identification of scales that strike a balance between capturing maximum complexity while minimizing measurement errors.

Effect of information intervention on enhancing the public payment scheme for agricultural plastic waste management.

Information intervention has been verified to be effective in influencing individual behavior. Thus, can information intervention reverse the common discrepancy of high intention but poor action among the public about participating in environmental management? Clarifying the issue is critical to facilitating the public payment scheme for agricultural plastic waste management (APWM) to evolve from idea to reality, as well as harnessing potential contributions from the public to promote the sustainability of APWM. In light of these inquiries, the study seeks to reinforce the public's payment for APWM by employing an information strategy based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and to verify the effect of information intervention on the respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) by a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

A comprehensive two-hybrid analysis to explore the effector-effector interactome.

Unlabelled: uses over 300 translocated effector proteins to rewire host cells during infection and create a replicative niche for intracellular growth. To date, several studies have identified effectors that indirectly and directly regulate the activity of other effectors, providing an additional layer of regulatory complexity. Among these are "metaeffectors," a special class of effectors that regulate the activity of other effectors once inside the host.

Interactions between soil and other environmental variables modulate forest expansion and ecotone dynamics in humid savannas of Central Africa.

Forest expansion into savanna is a pervasive phenomenon in West and Central Africa, warranting comparative studies under diverse environmental conditions. We collected vegetation data from the woody and grassy components within 73 plots of 0.16 ha distributed along a successional gradient from humid savanna to forest in Central Africa.

The structure of lipopeptides impacts their antiviral activity and mode of action against SARS-CoV-2 .

Unlabelled: Microbial lipopeptides are synthesized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases and are composed of a hydrophobic fatty acid chain and a hydrophilic peptide moiety. These structurally diverse amphiphilic molecules can interact with biological membranes and possess various biological activities, including antiviral properties. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and antiviral activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) of 15 diverse lipopeptides to understand their structure-activity relationships.

Formate from THF-C1 metabolism induces the AOX1 promoter in formate dehydrogenase-deficient Komagataella phaffii.

In Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris), formate is a recognized alternative inducer to methanol for expression systems based on the AOX1 promoter (pAOX1). By disrupting the formate dehydrogenase encoding FDH1 gene, we converted such a system into a self-induced one, as adding any inducer in the culture medium is no longer requested for pAOX1 induction. In cells, formate is generated from serine through the THF-C1 metabolism, and it cannot be converted into carbon dioxide in a FdhKO strain.

Dietary supplementation with calcitriol or quercetin improved eggshell and bone quality by modulating calcium metabolism.

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of dietary calcitriol or quercetin supplementation on eggshell and bone quality of laying hens. In trial 1, 72 Hy-Line Brown layers (80-week-old) with weak-shelled strength (25 to 30 N) were assigned into 4 dietary treatments with 6 replicates of 3 birds and fed a basal diet (4% calcium level) or basal diets supplemented with 0.5% calcium, 5 μg/kg calcitriol or 500 mg/kg quercetin for 4 weeks.

Improving an Alternative Glycerol Catabolism Pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica to Enhance Erythritol Production.

Engineering the glycerol-3-phosphate pathway could enhance erythritol production by accelerating glycerol uptake. However, little work has been conducted on the alternative dihydroxyacetone (DHA) pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica. Herein, this route was identified and characterized in Y.

Dinoflagellate-Bacteria Interactions: Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution.

Dinoflagellates and heterotrophic bacteria are two major micro-organism groups within marine ecosystems. Their coexistence has led to a co-evolutionary relationship characterized by intricate interactions that not only alter their individual behaviors but also exert a significant influence on the broader biogeochemical cycles. Our review commenced with an analysis of bacterial populations, both free-living and adherent to dinoflagellate surfaces.

The genome of Eleocharis vivipara elucidates the genetics of C-C photosynthetic plasticity and karyotype evolution in the Cyperaceae.

Eleocharis vivipara, an amphibious sedge in the Cyperaceae family, has several remarkable properties, most notably its alternate use of C photosynthesis underwater and C photosynthesis on land. However, the absence of genomic data has hindered its utility for evolutionary and genetic research. Here, we present a high-quality genome for E.

Inbreeding depression affects the growth of seedlings of an African timber species with a mixed mating reproductive system, Pericopsis elata (Harms) Meeuwen.

Selfing or mating between related individuals can lead to inbreeding depression (ID), which can influence the survival, growth and evolution of populations of tree species. As selective logging involves a decrease in the density of congeneric partners, it could lead to increasing biparental inbreeding or self-fertilization, exposing the population to higher ID. We assessed the influence of inbreeding on the growth of a commercial timber species, Pericopsis elata (Fabaceae), which produced about 54% of self-fertilized seedlings in a natural population of the Congo basin.

Disrupted Microbiota of Colon Results in Worse Immunity and Metabolism in Low-Birth-Weight Jinhua Newborn Piglets.

The Jinhua pig is well known in China due to its delicious meat. However, because of large litter size, low birth weight always happens. This experiment used this breed as a model to research bacterial evidence leading to growth restriction and provide a possible solution linked to probiotics.

Assessing the impact of hatching system and body weight on the growth performance, caecal short-chain fatty acids, and microbiota composition and functionality in broilers.

Background: Variations in body weight (BW) remain a significant challenge within broiler flocks, despite uniform management practices. Chicken growth traits are influenced by gut microbiota, which are in turn shaped by early-life events like different hatching environments and timing of first feeding. Chicks hatched in hatcheries (HH) experience prolonged feed deprivation, which could adversely impact early microbiota colonization.

Rapid selection of milk mid-infrared spectra for creating a dairy cow population world representative spectral database.

The advantage of employing mid-infrared spectrometry for milk analysis in breeding lies in its ability to quickly generate millions of records. However, these records may be biased if the calibration process does not account for their spectral variability when constructing the predictive model. Therefore, this study introduces a novel method for developing a world representative spectral database (WRSD) to reduce the risks of spectral extrapolation when predicting dairy traits in new samples.

Water-fertilizer regulation drives microorganisms to promote iron, nitrogen and manganese cycling: A solution for arsenic and cadmium pollution in paddy soils.

The co-contamination of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in rice fields presents a global imperative for resolution. However, understanding the complex microbially driven geochemical processes and network connectivity crucial for As and Cd bioavailability under the frequent redox transitions in rice fields remains limited. Here, we conducted a series of microcosm experiments, using flooding and drainage, alongside fertilization treatments to emulate different redox environment in paddy soils.

Adapted molecular methods to unravel the recalcitrant mycorrhizal associations of Aucoumea klaineana Pierre.

Understanding the role of root microbiota is crucial in sustainable forest management but remains challenging, especially for tropical trees. We developed an efficient and low-toxicity method to extract and amplify the fungal DNA associated with Aucoumea klaineana Pierre fine roots. To improve DNA quality, we optimized a commercial extraction kit by incorporating activated charcoal and modifying incubation periods.

Deciphering the mechanisms involved in reduced sensitivity to azoles and fengycin lipopeptide in Venturia inaequalis.

Apple scab, caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Venturia inaequalis, is currently the most common and damaging disease in apple orchards. Two strains of V. inaequalis (S755 and Rs552) with different sensitivities to azole fungicides and the bacterial metabolite fengycin were compared to determine the mechanisms responsible for these differences.

Characterization of a methyltransferase for iterative N-methylation at the leucinostatin termini in Purpureocillium lilacinum.

N-methyltransferase (NMT)-catalyzed methylation at the termini of nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) has rarely been reported. Here, we discover a fungal NMT LcsG for the iterative terminal N-methylation of a family of NRPs, leucinostatins. Gene deletion results suggest that LcsG is essential for leucinostatins methylation.

Effect of an organic acid blend as an antibiotic alternative on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, intestinal barrier function, and fecal microbiota in weaned piglets.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary organic acid blend on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, intestinal barrier function, and fecal microbiota in weaned piglets compared with antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs). A total of 90 weaned crossbred barrows (24 ± 1 d of age) with an initial body weight of 7.40 kg were allocated into three experimental treatments.

Growth periodicity in semi-deciduous tropical tree species from the Congo Basin.

In the tropics, more precisely in equatorial dense rainforest, xylogenesis is driven by a little distinct climatological seasonality, and many tropical trees do not show clear growth rings. This makes retrospective analyses and modeling of future tree performance difficult. This research investigates the presence, the distinctness, and the periodicity of growth ring for dominant tree species in two semi-deciduous rainforests, which contrast in terms of precipitation dynamics.

Deciphering the distinct biocontrol activities of lipopeptides fengycin and surfactin through their differential impact on lipid membranes.

Lipopeptides produced by beneficial bacilli present promising alternatives to chemical pesticides for plant biocontrol purposes. Our research explores the distinct plant biocontrol activities of lipopeptides surfactin (SRF) and fengycin (FGC) by examining their interactions with lipid membranes. Our study shows that FGC exhibits a direct antagonistic activity against Botrytis cinerea and no marked immune-eliciting activity in Arabidopsis thaliana while SRF only demonstrates an ability to stimulate plant immunity.

Unique feather color characteristics and transcriptome analysis of hair follicles in Liancheng White ducks.

Avian feather color is a fascinating trait, and the genetic mechanism of duck plumage formation is still in the preliminary stage. In this study, feather color of Liancheng White ducks was analyzed by determination of melanin content and RNA-seq analysis. In this research, 9 ducks from Mallards (n = 3), Liancheng White (n = 3) and Pekin ducks (n = 3) were used by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Masson-Fontana staining to reveal the difference of feather melanin content.

The puzzling ecology of African Marantaceae forests.

Marantaceae forests are tropical rainforests characterized by a continuous understory layer of perennial giant herbs and a near absence of tree regeneration. Although widespread in West-Central Africa, Marantaceae forests have rarely been considered in the international literature. Yet, they pose key challenges and opportunities for theoretical ecology that transcend the borders of the continent.