Genomic Introgression Between Critically Endangered and Stable Species of Darwin's Tree Finches on the Galapagos Islands.

Natural hybridisation among rare or endangered species and stable congenerics is increasingly topical for the conservation of species-level diversity under anthropogenic impacts. Evidence for beneficial genes being introgressed into or selected for in hybrids raises concurrent questions about its evolutionary significance. In Darwin's tree finches on the island of Floreana (Galapagos Islands, Ecuador), the Critically Endangered medium tree finch () undergoes introgression with the stable small tree finch (), and hybrids regularly backcross with Earlier studies in 2005-2013 documented an increase in the frequency of hybridisation on Floreana using field-based and microsatellite data.

Arthropod Food Webs in the Foreland of a Retreating Greenland Glacier: Integrating Molecular Gut Content Analysis With Structural Equation Modelling.

The Arctic has warmed nearly four times faster than the global average since 1979, resulting in rapid glacier retreat and exposing new glacier forelands. These forelands offer unique experimental settings to explore how global warming impacts ecosystems, particularly for highly climate-sensitive arthropods. Understanding these impacts can help anticipate future biodiversity and ecosystem changes under ongoing warming scenarios.

Cytokine expression and cytokine-mediated cell-cell communication during skeletal muscle regeneration revealed by integrative analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data.

Skeletal muscles undergo self-repair upon injury, owing to the resident muscle stem cells and their extensive communication with the microenvironment of injured muscles. Cytokines play a critical role in orchestrating intercell communication to ensure successful regeneration. Immune cells as well as other types of cells in the injury site, including muscle stem cells, are known to secret cytokines.

Sustainable synthesis of carbon dots via bio-waste recycling for biomedical imaging.

Bio-waste is a side product of biomedical research containing carbon, which can be utilized for developing carbon dots (CDs). CDs are known to be useful for a variety of applications because of their unique photoluminescence, low toxicity, and straightforward synthesis. In this paper, we employed a one-step hydrothermal method to prepare CDs from bio-waste as the only reactant.

Bibacillin 1: a two-component lantibiotic from .

Here we describe bibacillin 1 - a two-component lantibiotic from . The peptides that comprise bibacillin 1 are modified by a class II lanthipeptide synthetase Bib1M producing two peptides with non-overlapping ring patterns that are reminiscent of cerecidin and the short component of the enterococcal cytolysin (CylL''), a virulence factor associated with human disease. Stereochemical analysis demonstrated that each component contains ll-methyllanthionine and dl-lanthionine.

Probing the formation of a hetero-dimeric membrane transport complex with dual and mutagenesis.

The reversible association of transmembrane helices is a fundamental mechanism in how living cells convey information and respond to physiological events. The cardiac calcium transport regulator phospholamban (PLN) is an example of a single-span transmembrane protein that populates a variety of reversible and competing oligomeric states. PLN primarily forms monomers and pentamers in the membrane, where the PLN pentamer is a storage form and the PLN monomer forms a hetero-dimeric inhibitory complex with SERCA.

Comparison of soil eDNA to camera traps for assessing mammal and bird community composition and site use.

Species detections often vary depending on the survey methods employed. Some species may go undetected when using only one approach in community-level inventory and monitoring programs, which has management and conservation implications. We conducted a comparative study of terrestrial mammal and bird detections in the spring and summer of 2021 by placing camera traps at 30 locations across a large military installation in northern Michigan, USA and testing replicate soil samples from these sites for environmental DNA (eDNA) using an established vertebrate metabarcoding assay.

Designing eco-evolutionary experiments for restoration projects: Opportunities and constraints revealed during stickleback introductions.

Eco-evolutionary experiments are typically conducted in semi-unnatural controlled settings, such as mesocosms; yet inferences about how evolution and ecology interact in the real world would surely benefit from experiments in natural uncontrolled settings. Opportunities for such experiments are rare but do arise in the context of restoration ecology-where different "types" of a given species can be introduced into different "replicate" locations. Designing such experiments requires wrestling with consequential questions.

Embryonic heart rate is higher in species that experience greater nest predation risk during incubation.

Avian eggs develop outside of the female body, and therefore embryonic development is subject to multiple internal (physiological) and external (ecological) factors. Embryonic developmental rate has important consequences for survival. Within species, embryos that develop too quickly often experience deformities, disorders, or mortality, while embryos that develop slowly risk inviability and increase the time they are exposed to various sources of mortality in the nest.

Successful dietary changes correlate with weight-loss outcomes in a new dietary weight-loss program.

Background: Currently available behavioral and dietary weight-loss programs lack magnitude and sustainability compared with bariatric surgery. A novel dietary weight-loss program was developed to assist participants in achieving sustainable diet changes by building knowledge and skills in food self-selection. Although the approach worked, a large variation was observed in outcome among participants.

Reversal of Chemoresistance via Staged Liberation of Chemodrug and siRNA in Hierarchical Response to ROS Gradient.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR) often leads to the failure of antitumor chemotherapy, and codelivery of chemodrug with P-gp siRNA (siP-gp) represents a promising approach for treating chemoresistant tumors. To maximize the antitumor efficacy, it is desired that the chemodrug be latently released upon completion of siP-gp-mediated gene silencing, which however, largely remains an unmet demand. Herein, core-shell nanocomplexes (NCs) are developed to overcome MDR via staged liberation of siP-gp and chemodrug (doxorubicin, Dox) in hierarchical response to reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration gradients.

RGB tri-luminescence in organic-inorganic zirconium halide perovskites.

Materials with two or more fluorescence features under different excitation sources have great potential in optical applications, but luminous materials with three emission characteristics have been largely undeveloped. Here, we report a novel zero-dimensional (0D) organic-inorganic hybrid ((CH)N)ZrCl perovskite with multiple emissions. The zirconium-based perovskite exhibits a red emission around 620 nm, a green emission at 527 nm, and a blue emission around 500 nm.

Acoustic monitoring yields informative bat population density estimates.

Bat population estimates are typically made during winter, although this is only feasible for bats that aggregate in hibernacula. While it is essential to measure summer bat population sizes for management, we lack a reliable method. Acoustic surveys should be less expensive and more efficient than capture surveys, and acoustic activity data are already used as indices of population size.

Sexual dichromatism in the fur of a bat: An exploration of color differences and potential signaling functions.

Sex differences in body color (i.e., sexual dichromatism) are rare in bats and, more broadly, in mammals.

Significant phenotypic variability in a multigenerational family with an missense mutation: Case series and review of the literature.

We report the first multigenerational family with -related disorder from a missense variant. This case highlights the condition's phenotypic variability and the need for genetic testing when an initial diagnosis fails to explain all symptoms.

Effects of time spent in pregnancy or brooding on immunocompetence.

Sexes of a species may show different characteristics beyond the differences in their sexual organs and such sexual dimorphism often occurs in the level of immune response when exposed to pathogens (immunocompetence). In general, females have increased longevity relative to males, which is associated with higher immunocompetence. However, males have higher immunocompetence in some species, such as pipefishes and seahorses.

The Dietary Fiber Inulin Slows Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease-Mineral Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD) in a Rat Model of CKD.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD)-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) leads to fractures and cardiovascular disease. Observational studies suggest beneficial effects of dietary fiber on both bone and cardiovascular outcomes, but the effect of fiber on CKD-MBD is unknown. To determine the effect of fiber on CKD-MBD, we fed the Cy/+ rat with progressive CKD a casein-based diet of 0.

Molecular constraints on tolerance-resistance trade-offs: Is there a cost?

Plants possess myriad defenses against their herbivores, including constitutive and inducible chemical compounds and regrowth strategies known as tolerance. Recent studies have shown that plant tolerance and resistance are positively associated given they are co-localized in the same molecular pathway, the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway. However, given that both defensive strategies utilize carbon skeletons from a shared resource pool in the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway there are likely costs in maintaining both resistance-tolerance strategies.

Conserved cellular patterning in the mesophyll of rice leaves.

The mesophyll cells of grass leaves, such as rice, are traditionally viewed as displaying a relatively uniform pattern, in contrast to the clear distinctions of palisade and spongy layers in typical eudicot leaves. This quantitative analysis of mesophyll cell size and shape in rice leaves reveals that there is an inherent pattern in which cells in the middle layer of the mesophyll are larger and less circular and have a distinct orientation of their long axis compared to mesophyll cells in other layers. Moreover, this pattern was observed in a range of rice cultivars and species.

Differential gene expression during floral transition in pineapple.

Pineapple () and ornamental bromeliads are commercially induced to flower by treatment with ethylene or its analogs. The apex is transformed from a vegetative to a floral meristem and shows morphological changes in 8 to 10 days, with flowers developing 8 to 10 weeks later. During eight sampling stages ranging from 6 h to 8 days after treatment, 7961 genes were found to exhibit differential expression (DE) after the application of ethylene.

Bioinformatics-guided discovery of biaryl-linked lasso peptides.

Lasso peptides are a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) that feature an isopeptide bond and a distinct lariat fold. A growing number of secondary modifications have been described that further decorate lasso peptide scaffolds. Using genome mining, we have discovered a pair of lasso peptide biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that include cytochrome P450 genes.

DONOR VARIABILITY IN HUMAN MESENCHYMAL STEM CELL OSTEOGENIC RESPONSE AS A FUNCTION OF PASSAGE CONDITIONS AND DONOR SEX.

Contemporary tissue engineering efforts often seek to use mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) due to their potential to differentiate to various tissue-specific cells and generate a pro-regenerative secretome. While MSC differentiation and therapeutic potential can differ as a function of matrix environment, it may also be widely influenced as a function of donor-to-donor variability. Further, effects of passage number and donor sex may further convolute the identification of clinically effective MSC-mediated regeneration technologies.

detection of reactive oxygen species spontaneously generated on lead acid battery anodes: a pathway for degradation and self-discharge at open circuit.

Prospects for refurbishing and recycling energy storage technologies such as lead acid batteries (LABs) prompt a better understanding of their failure mechanisms. LABs suffer from a high self-discharge rate accompanied by deleterious hard sulfation processes which dramatically decrease cyclability. Furthermore, the evolution of H, CO, and CO also poses safety risks.

Local and Environmental Reservoirs of After Hurricane Florence Flooding.

In many regions of the world, including the United States, human and animal fecal genetic markers have been found in flood waters. In this study, we use high-resolution whole genomic sequencing to examine the origin and distribution of after the 2018 Hurricane Florence flooding. We specifically asked whether isolated from water samples collected near swine farms in North Carolina shortly after Hurricane Florence had evidence of swine origin.