Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Lenka Stenclova, Susan B. Wilde, Markus Schwark, Jeffrey L. Cullen, Seth A. McWhorter, Timo H. J. Niedermeyer, W. Matthew Henderson, Jan Mares
Summary: Cyanobacteria are bacteria that produce bioactive metabolites, including the recently discovered neurotoxin Aetokthonotoxin (AETX) produced by the cyanobacterium Aetokthonos hydrillicola on invasive water thyme. Researchers developed a PCR protocol to detect AETX-producers in plant-cyanobacterium consortia samples, confirming the presence of Aetokthonos through genetic analysis and microscopy. The production of AETX was confirmed using LC-MS.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Manuel G. Ricardo, Markus Schwark, Dayma Llanes, Timo H. J. Niedermeyer, Bernhard Westermann
Summary: Aetokthonotoxin has been identified as the cyanobacterial neurotoxin causing Vacuolar Myelinopathy, a fatal neurologic disease affecting birds of prey such as the bald eagle in the USA. The total synthesis of this specialized metabolite was achieved in five steps with an overall yield of 29% through key steps like the Somei-type Michael reaction.
CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maria Jos Mantas, Peter B. Nunn, Geoffrey A. Codd, Daniel Barker
Summary: Cyanobacteria are a type of ancient clade of photosynthetic prokaryotes found in various habitats worldwide, including water resources. They may pose health hazards due to the production of cyanotoxins, including the neurotoxin BMAA. The biosynthetic pathways for BMAA in cyanobacteria are not well understood, with potential connections to iron-scavenging and unclear taxonomic distribution.
Article
Biology
M. J. Hansen, S. Krause, F. Dhellemmes, K. Pacher, R. H. J. M. Kurvers, P. Domenici, J. Krause
Summary: Many terrestrial group-hunters cooperate to kill prey but then compete for their share. In contrast, little is known about prey division in group-hunting marine predators, such as striped marlin. A study found that competition for prey access led to an unequal division of prey among the predators, with a few individuals capturing the majority of the fish. Newly arrived groups of marlin had more access to prey, suggesting hunger and motivation may play a role. However, social hierarchies seemed less important in prey division.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Gabriella Petra Juhasz, Sandor Keki, Anita Dekany-Adamoczky, Csongor Freytag, Gabor Vasas, Csaba Mathe, Tamas Garda
Summary: Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, the effects of the cyanobacterial toxin MCY-LR on the tonoplast of Arabidopsis were investigated. The PP2A mutants were found to be more sensitive to MCY-LR and diquat treatments. MCY-LR affected the mitochondria and increased the frequency of stromules appearing on chloroplasts.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Di Wang, Claudia D. P. Lagos, Scott M. Croom, Ruby J. Wright, Yannick M. Bahe, Julia J. Bryant, Jesse van de Sande, Sam P. Vaughan
Summary: We investigate the environmental quenching of satellite galaxies in galaxy groups and clusters using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations and observational data. The simulations and observations both show a higher fraction of low C-index galaxies in denser environments, indicating a longer quenching time-scale and consistent with 'outside-in' environmental quenching. However, these trends weaken at higher redshifts and disappear at z = 1-2.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Christopher C. Lovell, Stephen M. Wilkins, Peter A. Thomas, Matthieu Schaller, Carlton M. Baugh, Giulio Fabbian, Yannick Bahe
Summary: This study introduces a new method using a machine learning framework to explore the relationship between galaxies and dark matter halos in the universe, enabling predictions of galaxy properties at a lower computational cost. By training the model in different environments, researchers can infer the bias of galaxy evolution, allowing application to larger volumes of dark-matter-only simulations.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alejandra Guillen-Garcia, Savannah E. R. Gibson, Caleb J. C. Jordan, Venkata K. Ramaswamy, Victoria L. Linthwaite, Elizabeth H. C. Bromley, Adrian P. Brown, David R. W. Hodgson, Tim R. Blower, Jan R. R. Verlet, Matteo T. Degiacomi, Lars-Olof Palsson, Martin J. Cann
Summary: CO2 regulates electronic energy transfer in cyanobacteria by binding to and enhancing the activity of the light-harvesting complex. This finding provides important insights into the regulation of photosynthesis.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Ibrahim Alsaidan, Mohamed A. M. Shaheen, Hany M. Hasanien, Muhannad Alaraj, Abrar S. Alnafisah
Summary: A novel optimization algorithm is used to estimate the design variables of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, aiming to minimize the sum of squared errors. The proposed algorithm is verified and its effectiveness is confirmed through comparisons with existing optimization algorithms.
AIN SHAMS ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Olivia K. Travis, Cedar Baik, Geilda A. Tardo, Lorena Amaral, Carmilya Jackson, Mallory Greer, Chelsea Giachelli, Tarek Ibrahim, Owen T. Herrock, Jan M. Williams, Denise C. Cornelius
Summary: The study demonstrated that adoptive transfer of RUPP NKs into Sham rats resulted in elevated NK activation, UARI, placental oxidative stress, and preproendothelin expression, leading to maternal hypertension and IUGR. On the other hand, RUPP recipients of Sham NKs showed normalized NK activation, sFlt-1, circulating and placental VEGF, and UARI, which led to improved maternal blood pressure and normal fetal growth. These findings suggest a direct role for cNKs in causing preeclampsia pathophysiology and a potential for normal NKs to improve maternal outcomes and IUGR during late gestation.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF REPRODUCTIVE IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yevgeni Yegorov, Eleonora Sendersky, Shaul Zilberman, Elad Nagar, Hiba Waldman Ben-Asher, Eyal Shimoni, Ryan Simkovsky, Susan S. Golden, Andy LiWang, Rakefet Schwarz
Summary: This study identifies novel components of cyanobacterial biofilm regulation and suggests that cyanobacteria may use the same complex for the assembly of motility appendages and protein secretion. This broadens the understanding of pilus assembly/secretion in diverse bacteria and aims to control the formation of cyanobacterial biofilms.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Indrani Banerjee, Sumanta Chakraborty, Soumitra SenGupta
Summary: Our study shows that the observed angular diameter of the shadow of the ultracompact object Sgr A* supports the existence of an extra spatial dimension. This result remains consistent regardless of whether Sgr A* is a wormhole or a black hole mimicker, as both have an extra dimensional origin. Furthermore, this result holds true for mass and distance measurements obtained from both Keck and Gravity collaborations, and whether the observed image or the observed shadow diameter is used. Specifically, the central value of the observed shadow or image diameter predicts the presence of nonzero hairs inherited from the extra dimensions.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Aya Inoue-Shibui, Tetsuya Niihori, Michio Kobayashi, Naoki Suzuki, Rumiko Izumi, Hitoshi Warita, Kenju Hara, Matsuyuki Shirota, Ryo Funayama, Keiko Nakayama, Ichizo Nishino, Masashi Aoki, Yoko Aoki
Summary: A novel frameshift variant in the HSPB8 gene was identified in a large Japanese family with RVM, leading to severe respiratory failure and muscle atrophy in the paraspinal muscles. The frameshift mutation results in a predicted ILV sequence, which is associated with protein aggregation and may play a role in the pathogenesis of HSPB8-related RVM.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Paolo Varuzza, Marco Lombardini, Valerio Toscano, Felice Argenio, Nicola D'Alessio, Vincenzo Caputo, Vincenzo Veneziano, Alessandro Fioretti
Summary: Wild boar populations in Europe have increased dramatically, but hunting has limited effectiveness in reducing their numbers. This study examines the impact of hunting efforts on hunting rates in collective drive hunts in southern Italy. The results indicate a low hunting rate and suggest that adjusting the hunting calendar and reorganizing collective hunts can improve hunting efficiency.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Joanie van de Walle, Fanie Pelletier, Andreas Zedrosser, Jon E. Swenson, Stephanie Jenouvrier, Richard Bischof
Summary: The intensity and regulation of harvest often result in selection on female reproductive traits, which can have demographic consequences on population dynamics. Changes in litter size and the probability to reproduce have the greatest potential to affect population growth rate, with protecting mothers leading to the most increase in population growth rate. Protection on offspring can reduce population growth by increasing hunting pressure on nonprotected individuals. Changes in reproductive traits can dampen population declines at high hunting quotas, especially when mothers are protected.
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Martina Beckova, Roman Sobotka, Josef Komenda
Summary: The repair of photosystem II is crucial for the functionality of oxygenic photosynthesis. The study shows that the existence of a stable no reaction centre complex (NRC) is not supported, as each unassembled module remains separate and does not form a mutual complex.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrew Hitchcock, Christopher Neil Hunter, Roman Sobotka, Josef Komenda, Marcel Dann, Dario Leister
Summary: The Perspective article discusses the plans of the PhotoRedesign consortium funded by the European Research Council to enhance photosynthesis by redesigning the light reactions. The goal is to improve the efficiency and resilience of photosynthesis by combining synthetic biology approaches and adaptive laboratory evolution to create a mechanism that can better utilize solar energy.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pu Qian, Alastair T. Gardiner, Ivana Simova, Katerina Naydenova, Tristan Croll, Philip J. Jackson, Nupur, Miroslav Kloz, Petra Cubakova, Marek Kuzma, Yonghui Zeng, Pablo Castro-Hartmann, Bart van Knippenberg, Kenneth N. Goldie, David Kaftan, Pavel Hrouzek, Jan Hajek, Jon Agirre, C. Alistair Siebert, David Bina, Kasim Sader, Henning Stahlberg, Roman Sobotka, Christopher J. Russo, Tomas Polivka, C. Neil Hunter, Michal Koblizek
Summary: Phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes have evolved the ability to use solar energy through horizontal gene transfer. The study reveals the unique solar energy harvesting and trapping architecture of Gemmatimonas phototrophica, as well as the flow of energy within the complex.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kumar Saurav, Alessia Caso, Petra Urajova, Pavel Hrouzek, Germana Esposito, Katerina Delawska, Marketa Macho, Jan Hajek, Jose Cheel, Subhasish Saha, Petra Divoka, Sila Arsin, Kaarina Sivonen, David P. Fewer, Valeria Costantino
Summary: PUW and MIN are structurally homologous cyclic lipopeptides with antifungal and cytotoxic activities, where the variation in fatty acid substitutions influences the cytotoxicity of the compounds. Different substitutions on the fatty acid moiety of PUW/MIN variants lead to varying degrees of cytotoxicity. A 63 kb puwainaphycin biosynthetic gene cluster was identified in the N. harveyana strain UHCC-0300, indicating the presence of specific lipoinitiation mechanisms and enzymes for modifying the fatty acid moiety.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Daniela Barcenas-Perez, Martin Lukes, Pavel Hrouzek, Jakub Zapal, Marek Kuzma, Jiri Kopecky, David Kubac, Bertha O. Arredondo-Vega, Jose Cheel
Summary: In this study, pure EPA ethyl ester was efficiently produced from Nanofrustulum shiloi biomass using high performance countercurrent chromatography. The process achieved high purity and recovery of the EPA fraction, making it a useful model for the efficient production of pure EPA from microalgae.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tomas Besta, Jan Mares, Katerina Capkova, Emil Janecek, Lenka Stenclova, Andreja Kust, Milan Riha, Eliska Konopacova, Klara Rehakova
Summary: Hydric recultivation by flooding abandoned mining pits creates a new habitat for aquatic organisms. The periphyton in the littoral zone of post-mining lakes showed a high diversity, with different species compositions and successional patterns. Calcium ions were found to be correlated with the periphytic mats and should be investigated further.
Review
Plant Sciences
Otakar Strunecky, Anna Pavlovna Ivanova, Jan Mares
Summary: Cyanobacterial taxonomy is undergoing rapid changes due to advancements in 16S rRNA gene sequencing and new classification workflows. A study has reconstructed a robust phylogenomic tree using genomic sequences and established a polyphasic classification system for Cyanobacteria. This system incorporates both phylogenomic and phenotypic data to provide useful information for professionals in the field. However, the study also highlights the need for integrating genomic data to conclusively classify a large number of cyanobacterial genera in the future.
JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Lenka Stenclova, Susan B. Wilde, Markus Schwark, Jeffrey L. Cullen, Seth A. McWhorter, Timo H. J. Niedermeyer, W. Matthew Henderson, Jan Mares
Summary: Cyanobacteria are bacteria that produce bioactive metabolites, including the recently discovered neurotoxin Aetokthonotoxin (AETX) produced by the cyanobacterium Aetokthonos hydrillicola on invasive water thyme. Researchers developed a PCR protocol to detect AETX-producers in plant-cyanobacterium consortia samples, confirming the presence of Aetokthonos through genetic analysis and microscopy. The production of AETX was confirmed using LC-MS.
Correction
Plant Sciences
Minna M. Konert, Anna Wysocka, Peter Konik, Roman Sobotka
PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yvette Roske, Florian Lindemann, Anne Diehl, Nils Cremer, Victoria A. Higman, Brigitte Schlegel, Martina Leidert, Kristina Driller, Kursad Turgay, Peter Schmieder, Udo Heinemann, Hartmut Oschkinat
Summary: Studying bacterial biofilm generation is important for understanding cell-cell communication, cohabitation principles, and antibiotic resistance. Bacillus subtilis biofilms are a model system with potential applications, and their major matrix proteins are TasA and TapA. This study presents the structure of TapA and reveals its role in promoting the growth of nonamyloidic TasA filaments.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jaroslav Nisler, Zuzana Kucerova, Radoslav Koprna, Roman Sobotka, Jana Slivkova, Stephen Rossall, Martina Spundova, Alexandra Husickova, Jan Pilny, Danuse Tarkowska, Ondrej Novak, Maria Skrabisova, Miroslav Strnad
Summary: Increasing crop productivity and mitigating yield losses under stressful conditions are major challenges in agriculture. A recently discovered compound, MTU, delays senescence and enhances the growth of wheat plants. Multiyear field trials demonstrate that treatment with MTU increases average grain yields of wheat and barley by 5-8%. This compound acts independently of cytokinins or other phytohormones and appears to be the only chemical known to affect the stability and activity of PSI.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Leonie Kurz, Peter Schmieder, Nicolas Veiga, Dorothea Fiedler
Summary: Inositol poly- and pyrophosphates (InsPs and PP-InsPs) are crucial eukaryotic messengers that can exist in two conformations. Environmental factors strongly influence their conformational equilibrium, and the transition from the equatorial to the axial conformation is an exothermic process. The speciation of InsPs and PP-InsPs also affects their interaction with protein binding partners, suggesting they may act as environment-responsive molecular switches.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Patric Bourceau, Benedikt Geier, Vincent Suerdieck, Tanja Bien, Jens Soltwisch, Klaus Dreisewerd, Manuel Liebeke
Summary: Label-free molecular imaging techniques can directly map hundreds of metabolites in biological tissues, but it is difficult to localize microbes and assign metabolites to host or microbiome members in host-microbe interactions. To solve this problem, we developed a correlative imaging approach combining MALDI-MSI with FISH to identify and localize microbial cells on the same section.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jacob Gorenflos L. Lopez, Peter Schmieder, Kristin Kemnitz-Hassanin, Hatice Ceyda Asikoglu, Arif Celik, Christian E. Stieger, Dorothea Fiedler, Stephan Hinderlich, Christian P. R. Hackenberger
Summary: This study introduces a real-time assay to monitor different enzymatic steps of sialic acid biosynthesis. The NMR techniques used in this study allow for the identification of characteristic signals and suggest that MNK phosphorylation reaction is exclusive for N-acetylmannosamine generated by GNE. Competition experiments reveal the preference of an N-acetylglucosamine-preferring kinase in the phosphorylation process.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Benedikt Geier, Esther Gil-Mansilla, Zita Liutkeviciute, Roland Hellinger, Jozef Vanden Broeck, Janina Oetjen, Manuel Liebeke, Christian W. Gruber
Summary: By integrating high-resolution mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) with microtomography, we successfully conducted multiplexed mapping of neuropeptides in two ant species. We compared the three-dimensional distributions of neuropeptides in the brains of these species and found that integrating 3D MSI data into high-resolution anatomy models is critical for studying organs with high plasticity.