Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maryam Nouri-Aiin, Josef H. Gorres
Summary: Invasive species, including pheretimoid earthworms, have caused significant economic costs to the U.S. economy. The use of the commercial entomopathogenic fungal isolate BotaniGard (R) has shown effectiveness in reducing pheretimoid earthworm populations, with potential for further research to improve efficacy.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Maryam Nouri-Aiin, Samantha Connolly, Cheryl Keough, Annie Jean Smigelsky, Yiyi Wen, Jeremy Howland, Jos. J. Schall, Josef H. Gorres
Summary: Invasive Asian earthworms have caused significant damage to North American forests. This study investigated the genetic population structure, diversity, and reproductive system of these worms. The findings revealed both clonal reproduction and genetic diversity, indicating a potential switch from sexual to asexual reproduction in recent times. The study also identified a large number of microsatellite loci for these species.
Article
Environmental Sciences
X. Z. Zhu, Z. P. Xiong, S. P. Zhou, S. D. Xie, H. J. Li, Q. S. Li, G. B. Yang
Summary: This study investigated the reproductive damage caused by cypermethrin exposure in earthworms. It was found that earthworms could absorb and accumulate cypermethrin in soil, and their activities helped degrade cypermethrin in soil. The accumulation of cypermethrin in earthworms induced sperm damage, affecting calcium homeostasis, acrosome reaction, and energy supply in earthworm sperm. This damage hindered fertilization and reduced cocoon production. The reproductive toxicity of cypermethrin decreased over time, possibly due to reduced absorption and accumulation in earthworms, and improved sperm capacitation.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Carly D. Ziter, Bradley M. Herrick, Marie R. Johnston, Monica G. Turner
Summary: Asian pheretimoid earthworms of the genera Amynihas and Metaphire (jumping worms) are spreading into Northeastern and Midwestern states in the United States, with potential impacts on native organisms and ecosystem processes. A participatory field campaign led in Madison, Wisconsin, quantified the distribution and abundance of jumping worms across different urban land-cover types, highlighting the importance of community science in researching invasive species and engaging the public in conservation efforts.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chika Sato, Noriko Nendai, Nobuaki Nagata, Yutaka Okuzaki, Hiroshi Ikeda, Yukio Minamiya, Teiji Sota
Summary: This study investigated the phylogenetic relationships of megascolecid earthworms in the Amynthas group in Japan. It found that the genus Amynthas can include several other genera, and identified three major lineages that led to four groups of endemic species in Japan. The study contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary relationships among diversified megascolecid earthworms in Japan and adjacent regions.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
J. B. Richardson, M. R. Johnston, B. M. Herrick
Summary: Pheretimoid earthworms of the family Megascolecidae are invading deciduous forests in the northern and northeastern United States, and this study found that they are altering soil nutrient dynamics. Amynthas earthworms likely add nutrients through litter decomposition. However, it remains unclear whether differences in feeding, digestion, and mineralization among species will facilitate co-invasion or bring about long-term changes in ecosystem soil pools.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
L. Tucker Serniak, Samuel S. Chan, Kate Lajtha
Summary: This study utilized citizen science projects and species distribution modeling to track and predict the occurrence of invasive Amynthas worms. It found that precipitation, isothermality, precipitation seasonality, and soil properties are important predictors of suitable habitat for these worms. By building multiple predictive models, targeted outreach and prevention efforts can be implemented in specific regions.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Akira Seto, Hayato Endo, Yukio Minamiya, Masaru Matsuda
Summary: This study presents the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two Japanese earthworms, Metaphire hilgendorfi and Amynthas yunoshimensis, belonging to the Pheretima complex within the Megascolecidae family, revealing them to be sister species. The findings will contribute to further phylogenetic and genetic diversity analyses of Megascolecidae earthworms.
MITOCHONDRIAL DNA PART B-RESOURCES
(2021)
Article
Forestry
H. Baris Tecimen, Josef H. Gorres, Ryan D. S. Melnichuk
Summary: The study found that invasive earthworms may increase pH and nitrate concentrations in northern hardwood forests, potentially serving as an alternative buffering agent for nitrogen deposition in forests.
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Donald F. McAlpine, John W. Reynolds, Lawrence R. Manzer, Kristin Elton
Summary: This study documented the presence of pheretimoid earthworms in a suburban site in south-central New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada. The study identified the dominant species and reported the first occurrence of A. minimus in Canada. The researchers suggest that pheretimoid earthworms may be more widespread in the region than previously thought.
BIOINVASIONS RECORDS
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Gilbert Neuner, Othmar Buchner
Summary: Climate change increases the severity and duration of heatwaves, which has a significant impact on plants. The current method of determining heat limits for plants is based on a 30-minute test, which fails to consider the effect of heat-dose (intensity x exposure-duration) on heat limits. This study measured heat limits for dysfunction and damage in alpine species after exposure to various heat-doses, and found that exposure-duration had a significant impact on these heat limits. The findings suggest the need for a more comprehensive approach to assessing plants' heat tolerance.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Chih-Han Chang, Marie L. C. Bartz, George Brown, Mac A. Callaham, Erin K. Cameron, Andrea Davalos, Annise Dobson, Josef H. Gorres, Bradley M. Herrick, Hiroshi Ikeda, Samuel W. James, Marie R. Johnston, Timothy S. McCay, Damhnait McHugh, Yukio Minamiya, Maryam Nouri-Aiin, Marta Novo, Jaime Ortiz-Pachar, Rebecca A. Pinder, Tami Ransom, Justin B. Richardson, Bruce A. Snyder, Katalin Szlavecz
Summary: The invasion of jumping worms has significant ecological impacts on soil biodiversity and plant communities.
BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Sergei V. Shekhovtsov, Ekaterina A. Zelentsova, Nina A. Bulakhova, Ekaterina N. Meshcheryakova, Ksenia I. Shishikina, Yuri P. Tsentalovich, Daniil I. Berman
Summary: This study used H-1 NMR to investigate the metabolomic changes in freeze-tolerant earthworm species. The researchers found high concentrations of glucose in the frozen tissues of both species, but no other cryoprotectants were detected. They also observed elevated levels of glycolysis end products and succinate, indicating the activation of glycolysis. Additionally, concentrations of many other substances significantly increased, especially in the specimens of Eisenia sp. aff. nordenskioldi f. pallida, which showed signs of nucleotide degradation.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Sandhya Yadav, Suvajit Basu, Akanksha Srivastava, Subhankar Biswas, Raju Mondal, Vishal Kumar Jha, Sushil Kumar Singh, Yogesh Mishra
Summary: Model organisms are commonly used in research to study various biological processes. While Arabidopsis thaliana is a powerful model for plant genetics, other model organisms such as Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Physcomitrium patens have been developed to study unique processes in different species. Bryophytes, with their low cellular complexity and dominant haploid phase, have become modern model plants for functional genomics research and understanding plant evolution.
JOURNAL OF PLANT GROWTH REGULATION
(2023)
Review
Agronomy
Erna Karalija, Chiara Vergata, Marcos Fernando Basso, Miriam Negussu, Michele Zaccai, Maria Fatima Grossi-de-Sa, Federico Martinelli
Summary: The global increase in temperature and associated meteorological disruptions are severely limiting factors in crop cultivation. Chickpea, as a cool season crop, is directly influenced by heat and drought stress, affecting its podding stage and now also earlier stages such as flowering. Research has identified genes correlated to higher stress tolerance and strategies have been developed to develop more tolerant varieties.