Mitochondrial Genomes, Phylogenetic Associations, and SNP Recovery for the Key Invasive Ponto-Caspian Amphipods in Europe

The Ponto-Caspian region is the main donor of invasive amphipods to freshwater ecosystems, with at least 13 species successfully established in European inland waters. Dikerogammarus spp. and Pontogammarus robustoides are among the most successful, due to their strong invasive impact on local biota. However, genomic knowledge about these invaders is scarce, while phylogeography and population genetics have been based on short fragments of mitochondrial markers or nuclear microsatellites. In this study, we provide: (i) a reconstruction of six mitogenomes for four invasive gammarids (D. villosus, D. haemobaphes, D. bispinosus, and P. robustoides); (ii) a comparison between the structure of the newly obtained mitogenomes and those from the literature; (iii) SNP calling rates for individual D. villosus and D. haemobaphes from different invasion sites across Europe; and (iv) the first time-calibrated full mitogenome phylogeny reconstruction of several Ponto-Caspian taxa. We found that, in comparison to other gammarids, the mitogenomes of Ponto-Caspian species show a translocation between the tRNA-E and tRNA-R positions. Phylogenetic reconstruction using the mitogenomes identified that Ponto-Caspian gammarids form a well-supported group that originated in the Miocene. Our study supports paraphyly in the family Gammaridae. These provided mitogenomes will serve as vital genetic resources for the development of new markers for PCR-based identification methods and demographic studies

Mitochondrial genomes of the key zooplankton copepods Arctic Calanus glacialis and North Atlantic Calanus finmarchicus with the longest crustacean non-coding regions

We determined the nearly complete mitochondrial genomes of the Arctic Calanus glacialis and its North Atlantic sibling Calanus finmarchicus, which are key zooplankton components in marine ecosystems. The sequenced part of C. glacialis mitogenome is 27,342 bp long and consists of two contigs, while for C. finmarchicus it is 29,462 bp and six contigs, what makes them the longest reported copepod mitogenomes. The typical set of metazoan mitochondrial genes is present in these mitogenomes, although the non-coding regions (NCRs) are unusually long and complex. The mitogenomes of the closest species C. glacialis and C. finmarchicus, followed by the North Pacific C. sinicus, are structurally similar and differ from the much more typical of deep-water, Arctic C. hyperboreus. This evolutionary trend for the expansion of NCRs within the Calanus mitogenomes increases mitochondrial DNA density, what resulted in its similar density to the nuclear genome. Given large differences in the length and structure of C. glacialis and C. finmarchicus mitogenomes, we conclude that the species are genetically distinct and thus cannot hybridize. The molecular resources presented here: the mitogenomic and rDNA sequences, and the database of repetitive elements should facilitate the development of genetic markers suitable in pursuing evolutionary research in copepods.Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education [Iuventus Plus] [IP2014 050573]; FCT-CCMAR Portugal [Multi/04326/2013

The Urogynecology Section of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians Guideline for the diagnostic assessment of stress urinary incontinence in women

Objectives: The aim of the Urogynecology Section of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (PSGO) was to develop an updated Guideline for the diagnostic assessment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women. Material and methods: Earlier PSGO guidelines and the literature about the diagnostic assessment of SUI, including current international guidelines, were reviewed. Results: As in the earlier guidelines, the diagnostic process was subdivided into the initial and the specialized diagnostics. Patients who required specialized diagnostic testing were identified. Functional diagnostic tests, performed by physiotherapists, were included. Attention was paid to new diagnostic possibilities. Conclusions: Initial diagnostic assessment is sufficient to devise the optimal treatment plan in a number of patients. It also allows to identify which patients will require specialized diagnostics, whose scope is individually tailored to the patient needs and depends on symptom complexity, surgical history, treatment plan, experience of the physician, availability of the equipment, and cost-effectiveness ratio

The Urogynecology Section of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians Guidelines for the diagnostic assessment of pelvic organ prolapse

Objectives: The aim of the team appointed by the Board of the Urogynecology Section of the Polish Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (PSGO) was to develop this interdisciplinary Guideline for the diagnostic assessment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in women, based on the available literature, expert knowledge and opinion, as well as everyday practice. Material and methods: A review of the literature, including current international guidelines and earlier PSGO recommendations (2010-2020) about POP, was conducted. Results: The steps of the diagnostic assessment for patients with POP, subdivided into initial and specialized diagnostics, have been presented. Indications for specialized diagnostic assessment have also been listed. In case of surgical treatment, the patient may be referred solely based on the initial diagnostics or after certain elements of the specialized diagnostics have been completed. Conclusions: Due to inconclusive data, the scope of the diagnostic process for POP is individualized for each patient and depends on patient-reported symptoms, initial diagnostic findings, surgical history, management plan, availability of the equipment, and cost

<i>De novo</i> assembly of the sea trout (<i>Salmo trutta</i> m. <i>trutta</i>) skin transcriptome to identify putative genes involved in the immune response and epidermal mucus secretion

<div><p>In fish, the skin is a multifunctional organ and the first barrier against pathogens. Salmonids differ in their susceptibility to microorganisms due to varied skin morphology and gene expression patterns. The brown trout is a salmonid species with important commercial and ecological value in Europe. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the genes involved in the immune response and mucus secretion in the skin of this fish. Thus, we characterized the skin transcriptome of anadromous brown trout using next-generation sequencing (NGS). A total of 1,348,306 filtered reads were obtained and assembled into 75,970 contigs. Of these contigs 48.57% were identified using BLAST tool searches against four public databases. KEGG pathway and Gene Ontology analyses revealed that 13.40% and 34.57% of the annotated transcripts, respectively, represent a variety of biological processes and functions. Among the identified KEGG Orthology categories, the best represented were signal transduction (23.28%) and immune system (8.82%), with a variety of genes involved in immune pathways, implying the differentiation of immune responses in the trout skin. We also identified and transcriptionally characterized 8 types of mucin proteins–the main structural components of the mucosal layer. Moreover, 140 genes involved in mucin synthesis were identified, and 1,119 potential simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected in 3,134 transcripts.</p></div

Classification of the mucins identified in skin transcriptome, according to the BLASTX and BLASTN searches.

<p>Classification of the mucins identified in skin transcriptome, according to the BLASTX and BLASTN searches.</p

Statistical summary of sea trout skin transcriptome data.

<p>Statistical summary of sea trout skin transcriptome data.</p

Gene Ontology comparative classification of the sea trout skin transcriptome (black) and multi-tissue transcriptome from the River Hayle and River Teign in southwest England (orange).

<p>Gene Ontology comparative classification of the sea trout skin transcriptome (black) and multi-tissue transcriptome from the River Hayle and River Teign in southwest England (orange).</p

List of the immune pathways identified in the sea trout skin transcriptome.

<p>List of the immune pathways identified in the sea trout skin transcriptome.</p