Review
Environmental Sciences
Francois Audrezet, Anastasija Zaiko, Gavin Lear, Susanna A. Wood, Louis A. Tremblay, Xavier Pochon
Summary: This manuscript highlights critical knowledge gaps and research priorities towards a better understanding of the biosecurity implications of marine plastic debris, advocating for future research to investigate plastisphere community succession, assess the presence of specific taxa, and thoroughly characterize the biodiversity associated with MPD.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Thomas Steuber, Hannes Löser, Joerg Mutterlose, Mariano Parente
Summary: We have compiled the stratigraphic ranges of various taxa of carbonate producers in the Cretaceous period and summarized their ecological and physiological controls on calcification and carbonate production. The observed diversity patterns are compared with proxy data of Cretaceous climate and seawater chemistry to elucidate the effect of environmental change on carbonate production and sedimentation. Two characteristic patterns are recognized: the diversity of certain taxa trace the evolution of Cretaceous sea level, while the diversity of other taxa show significant reductions at the level of oceanic anoxic events (OAEs). Our findings highlight the vulnerability of benthic carbonate producers to environmental changes and the importance of high sea level and high temperatures in controlling diversity in certain taxa. Aragonitic or aragonite-dominated carbonate producers are most affected during extinction events related to OAEs, and there is a trend of decreasing aragonite dominance throughout the Cretaceous.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alexander Fedosov, Guillaume Achaz, Andrey Gontchar, Nicolas Puillandre
Summary: DNA data have great potential in taxonomy, but the robustness of DNA diagnoses has been a concern. This study developed a new program, mold, to identify diagnostic DNA features for taxa. Testing with various data sets showed that diagnostic DNA characters based on sampled genetic diversity are often unreliable. To address this, a new type of DNA diagnosis, redundant DNC (rDNC), was proposed to consider unsampled genetic diversity. Mold program demonstrated high efficiency and reliability in large DNA data sets, making it the only software that meets predefined criteria for DNA diagnoses.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Guan Pang, Xuesong Li, Mingyue Ding, Siqi Jiang, Peijie Chen, Zheng Zhao, Renwei Gao, Bin Song, Xiaowei Xu, Qirong Shen, Feng M. Cai, Irina S. Druzhinina
Summary: Research on plastic-degrading bacteria and fungi is crucial for understanding their potential in addressing plastic pollution and developing sustainable waste management and bioplastics production. In this study, a total of 55 bacterial and 184 fungal strains capable of degrading polycaprolactone (PCL) were isolated from plastic waste samples in Dafeng coastal salt marshes, China. Metabarcoding analysis revealed the presence of a distinct plastisphere ecological niche, enriched with 27 bacterial and 29 fungal amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), including species belonging to Alternaria (Ascomycota, Fungi) and Pseudo-monas (Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteria). Further analysis showed that environmental factors such as carbon content, pH, and cation content play a significant role in shaping the plastisphere communities. The unique microbiome of the plastisphere in the terrestrial-marine ecotone provides a valuable resource for screening plastic biodegraders.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Yaru Zhao, Ying Li, Zhiqi Liu
Summary: The Chinese species of Conwentzia Enderlein have been revised by integrating morphological characters and molecular data. Two junior synonyms have been proposed, and a key to adult males of Conwentzia from China as well as DNA barcodes have been provided.
Article
Biology
Svetlana Maslakova, Christina Ellison, Terra C. Hiebert, Frances Conable, Maureen C. Heaphy, Dagoberto E. Venera-Ponton, Jon L. Norenburg, Megan L. Schwartz, Nicole D. Moss, Michael J. Boyle, Amy C. Driskell, Kenneth S. Macdonald, Eduardo E. Zattara, Rachel Collin
Summary: Biodiversity assessments in marine ecosystems should give more attention to sampling planktonic larvae, as it can rapidly document diversity and significantly increase biodiversity estimates compared to sampling adults alone.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Mariano Martinez, Lars Harms, Doris Abele, Christoph Held
Summary: The species delimitation of Aequiyoldia eightsii in South America and Antarctica is complicated by mitochondrial heteroplasmy and amplification bias in molecular barcoding. Different data sources suggest that cross-Drake populations belong to different species, but the situation is not clear within Antarctic populations. Standard barcoding procedures lead to amplification bias and overestimate the species richness. Nuclear SNPs show no differentiation, suggesting that the Antarctic populations represent a single species. Multiple data sources and quality control measures are important to increase the accuracy of species delimitation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jessica A. Schultz, Paul D. N. Hebert
Summary: This study quantifies the occurrence and attributes of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (NUMTs) in marine animal genomes, which can inflate diversity. Short amplicons pose the greatest interpretational risk, but considering both amplicon length and position can minimize the effects of NUMTs on operational taxonomic unit (OTU) counts and barcode variation.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christophe Vieira, Antoine De Ramon N'Yeurt, Faravavy A. Rasoamanendrika, Sofie D'Hondt, Lan-Anh Thi Tran, Didier Van den Spiegel, Hiroshi Kawai, Olivier De Clerck
Summary: The floristic survey of marine algal biodiversity in Antsiranana Bay, northern Madagascar, identified a total of 110 species, with 72 new records for Madagascar. The updated catalogue includes 442 taxa of marine benthic macroalgae, with 29 endemic species to Madagascar. The study highlights the increasing threats to biodiversity on Madagascar's coastal reefs and emphasizes the need for integrated land-sea management for conservation.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Heidy Q. Dias, Soniya Sukumaran
Summary: Ecological assessments are currently conducted using time-consuming and often inaccurate morpho-taxonomical identification techniques. A more rapid and efficient DNA barcoding approach known as gAMBI is being increasingly used in biomonitoring programs. This study compared the congruency of morphotaxonomic and genomic benthic indices in assessing ecological quality status and found that gAMBI is a superior alternative to AMBI in monitoring studies.
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonathan W. Lawley, Edgar Gamero-Mora, Maximiliano M. Maronna, Luciano M. Chiaverano, Sergio N. Stampar, Russell R. Hopcroft, Allen G. Collins, Andre C. Morandini
Summary: This study reveals morphological overlap in Aurelia medusae across distant geographic locations, with a lack of regional geographic dissimilarities. Differences in morphology were also found when comparing lab-cultured Aurelia coerulea medusae with diagnostic features.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yun-He Wu, Shao-Bing Hou, Zhi-Yong Yuan, Ke Jiang, Ru-Yi Huang, Kai Wang, Qin Liu, Zhong-Bin Yu, Hai-Peng Zhao, Bao-Lin Zhang, Jin-Min Chen, Li-Jun Wang, Bryan L. Stuart, E. Anne Chambers, Yu-Fan Wang, Wei Gao, Da-Hu Zou, Fang Yan, Gui-Gang Zhao, Zhong-Xiong Fu, Shao-Neng Wang, Ming Jiang, Liang Zhang, Jin-Long Ren, Ya-Yong Wu, Lu-Yang Zhang, Dian-Cheng Yang, Jie-Qiong Jin, Ting-Ting Yin, Jia-Tang Li, Wen-Ge Zhao, Robert W. Murphy, Song Huang, Peng Guo, Ya-Ping Zhang, Jing Che
Summary: DNA barcoding has provided a reliable tool for studying taxonomy, biodiversity, biological conservation, and ecology of Chinese snakes. The establishment of a comprehensive DNA barcoding library has revealed hidden diversity and provided a standardized tool for conservation management.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Victoria G. Mason, Martin W. Skov, Jan Geert Hiddink, Mark Walton
Summary: This study used meta-analysis to reveal the negative impacts of microplastics on seabed invertebrates, including feeding, survival, and energetics. The organisms exposed to microplastics showed negative responses compared to control groups, with embryos being the most strongly affected. Six out of seven biological processes were negatively impacted, and survival decreased significantly. The findings indicate that plastic pollution could have significant and enduring effects on the functioning of the ocean.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cindy Bessey, Yuan Gao, Yen Bach Truong, Haylea Miller, Simon Neil Jarman, Oliver Berry
Summary: Passive collection is an emerging sampling method for environmental DNA (eDNA) in aquatic systems. This study compares the effectiveness of nine membrane materials for passively collecting fish eDNA and finds that most materials can collect comparable amounts of eDNA and species richness to that of conventional filtering within short periods of submersion. The collected eDNA particles show a diversity in size and structure. This passive approach is cost-effective, time-efficient, and suitable for biological surveys in remote areas or with limited equipment.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Ancuta Cristina Raclariu-Manolica, Quentin Mauvisseau, Hugo J. de Boer
Summary: Although herbal medicines and preparations are widely used in healthcare systems globally, there are concerns about their quality and safety. The introduction of new herbal products under varying regulatory frameworks, with no global consensus on their definition or characterization, creates concerns about contamination and profit-driven adulteration. Collaboration between industry, academia, and regulatory bodies is necessary to develop innovative strategies for identification and authentication of botanicals and their preparations to ensure quality control.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)