Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees.

Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate

Climate, host and geography shape insect and fungal communities of trees

13 Pág.Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate.We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project C15.0081) Grant 174644 and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment Grant 00.0418.PZ/P193-1077. This work was supported by COST Action “Global Warning” (FP1401). CABI is an international intergovernmental organisation, and R.E., M.K., H.L. and I.F. gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate General for International Cooperation), and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). See https://www.cabi.org/aboutcabi/who-we-work-with/key-donors/ for full details. M.B. and M.K.H. were financially supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (Project APVV-19-0116). H.B. would like to thank the botanist Jorge Capelo who helped with Myrtaceae identification and INIAV IP for supporting her contribution to this study. Contributions of M. de G. and B.P. were financed through Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0107) and by the Slovenian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (Public Forestry Service). G.C, C.B.E. and A.F.M. were supported by OTKA 128008 research grant provided by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office. Contributions of K.A. and R.D. were supported by the Estonian Research Council grants PSG136 and PRG1615. M.J.J., C.L.M. and H.P.R. were financially supported by the 15. Juni Fonden (Grant 2017-N-123). P.B., B.G. and M.Ka. were financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland for the University of Agriculture in Krakow (SUB/040013-D019). C.N. was financially supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (Grant APVV-15-0531). N.K. was partially supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant № 22-16-00075) [species identification] and the basic project of Sukachev Institute of Forest SB RAS (№ FWES-2021-0011) [data analysis]. R.OH. was supported by funding from DAERA, and assistance from David Craig, AFBI. T.P. thanks the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for funding noting that this publication does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of DFFE or its employees. In preparing the publication, materials of the bioresource scientific collection of the CSBG SB RAS “Collections of living plants indoors and outdoors” USU_440534 (Novosibirsk, Russia) were used. M.Z. was financially supported by Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia (contract no. 451-03-47/2023-01/200197). We acknowledge the Genetic Diversity Centre (GDC) at ETH Zurich for providing computational infrastructure and acknowledge the contribution of McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Center (Montréal, Quebec, Canada) for pair-end sequencing on Illumina MiSeq. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

The Occurrence of <i>Apiognomonia hystrix</i> and Its Pathogenicity towards <i>Acer pseudoplatanus</i> and <i>Fraxinus excelsior</i> under Field Conditions

Apiognomonia hystrix is an ascomycetous fungus within Diaporthales that is found on maples and to a lesser extent on other hardwood trees in Europe, Northern America and Asia. To date, varying opinions on the species’ status as a cause of plant diseases have been expressed. In this study, we present the results of analyses conducted from 2012–2017 at forest sites in Poland on the occurrence of A. hystrix on Acer pseudoplatanus and Fraxinus excelsior and the pathogenicity of this fungus towards both tree species. For the sycamore leaves, A. hystrix conidiomata were detected in connection with 19.2% of galls caused by Dasineura vitrina, 20.4% of galls caused by Drisina glutinosa and 67.9% of extensive vein-associated necroses. The A. hystrix colonization of galls caused by both midge species resulted in statistically significantly larger necroses. On European ash leaves, conidiomata of A. hystrix occurred in connection with 0.8% of Dasineura fraxinea galls. Perithecia of A. hystrix were detected on overwintered leaf petioles in 8.1% of A. pseudoplatanus and 1.2% of F. excelsior samples. Twelve representative cultures were characterized molecularly by barcoding three marker genes (ITS, ACT, CAL). Results of phylogenetic analyses indicate that A. hystrix isolates are genetically variable, and three lineages are distinguishable. Eight isolates, including four originating from sycamore and four from European ash, were used to determine A. hystrix pathogenicity. Among the 48 A. pseudoplatanus petioles inoculated with A. hystrix, 41 developed necrotic lesions after 8 weeks, with the average necrosis length caused by particular isolates ranging from 14.5 to 67.2 mm. None of the 48 inoculated F. excelsior petioles developed necrotic lesions. Finally, selected aspects of A. hystrix morphology on natural substrates and in vitro are discussed in this paper, as well as the species’ potential to cause disease symptoms

Antibiotics in groundwater and river water of Białka : a pristine mountain river

Antibiotics are emerging pollutants of great concern, due to detrimental effects of their sublethal concentrations on microbial communities. Monitoring of antibiotics’ presence and concentrations in the aquatic environment is of fundamental importance to the management of water resources. This study was aimed at filling the knowledge gap in terms of presence and concentration of antibiotics in surface water and groundwater in one of the mountain regions in southern Poland. The detailed aims included the assessment of whether there are spatial and/or temporal trends in antibiotic occurrence in water and the investigation of causes behind the changes in antibiotic concentrations. The study was conducted in seven sites (two groundwater and five river water) along the Białka river valley. Antibiotics were subjected to solid-phase extraction, followed by UHPLC/MS detection. Clindamycin, erythromycin, ofloxacin and trimethoprim were the most frequently detected, while the highest concentrations were observed for oxytetracycline and clindamycin. No antibiotics were detected in only one of the groundwater sites. Sewage treatment plant effluent was the hotspot of antibiotic contamination of the river downstream. The detection rates of antibiotics in the examined region seem to be driven mainly by the stability of antibiotics in the environment

The relationship between reorientational molecular motions and phase transitions in [Mg(H2O)6](BF4)2[Mg(H_2O)_6](BF_4)_2, studied with the use of 1H^{1}H and 19F^{19}F NMR and FT-MIR

A 1H and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance study of [Mg(H2O)6](BF4)2 has confirmed the existence of two phase transitions at T c1 ≈ 257 K and T c2 ≈ 142 K, detected earlier by the DSC method. These transitions were reflected by changes in the temperature dependences of both proton and fluorine of second moments M2 H and M2 F and of spin-lattice relaxation times T1 H and T1 F. The study revealed anisotropic reorientations of whole [Mg(H2O)6]2+ cations, reorientations by 180° jumps of H2O ligands, and aniso- and isotropic reorientations of BF4 − anions. The activation parameters for these motions were obtained. It was found that the phase transition at T c1 is associated with the reorientation of the cation as a whole unit around the C3 axis and that at T c2 with isotropic reorientation of the BF4 − anions. The temperature dependence of the full width at half maximum value of the infrared band of ρt (H2O) mode (at ∼596 cm−1) indicated that in phases I and II, all H2O ligands in [Mg(H2O)6]2+ perform fast reorientational motions (180° jumps) with a mean value of activation energy equal to ca 10 kJ mole−1, what is fully consistent with NMR results. The phase transition at T c1 is associated with a sudden change of speed of fast (τR ≈ 10−12 s) reorientational motions of H2O ligands. Below T c2 (in phase III), the reorientations of certain part of the H2O ligands significantly slow down, while others continue their fast reorientation with an activation energy of ca 2 kJ mole−1. This fast reorientation cannot be evidenced in NMR relaxation experiments. Splitting of certain IR bands connected with H2O ligands at the observed phase transitions suggests a reduction of the symmetry of the octahedral [Mg(H2O)6]2+ complex cation

Cytoimmune image of synovial fluid in rheumatoid arthritis. Evaluation of the impact of selected treatment methods

Publikacja recenzowana / Peer-reviewed publicationWprowadzenie: Pobranie płynu stawowego w reumatoidalnym zapaleniu stawów (RZS) umożliwia wgląd w miejscową aktywność zapalenia. W patogenezie zmian stawowych główną rolę pełnią komórki T, w tym dodatnie z ligandami receptorów śmierci: Ligand Fas (FasL) i TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand). W terapii RZS lekiem pierwszego rzutu jest metotreksat (MTX), w leczeniu uwzględnia się m.in. glikokortykosteroidy (metyloprednizolon) i niesteroidowe leki przeciwzapalne (NLPZ). Mało wiadomo o wpływie leczenia na profil immunologiczny płynu stawowego w RZS. Cel pracy: Scharakteryzowanie wpływu leczenia metyloprednizolonem i MTX na obraz cytoimmunologiczny płynu stawowego w RZS. Materiał i metody: Płyn stawowy pobrano od chorych z RZS leczonych metyloprednizolonem (n=11) i MTX (n=6). Grupę kontrolną stanowili chorzy przyjmujący tylko NLPZ (n=19). Zbadano całkowitą liczbę komórek (CLK), odsetek krwinek białych i fenotyp subpopulacji limfocytów płynu stawowego, w tym ekspresję FasL i TRAIL na komórkach Th i Tc. Wyniki: Stwierdzono spadek CLK płynu u chorych leczonych metyloprednizolonem lub MTX. W grupie MTX wzrosła wartość indeksu CD4/CD8 (mediany: 1,2 vs 0,7, p<0,05) w porównaniu z grupą NLPZ. Metyloprednizolon zmniejsza odsetek limfocytów T FasL+ i TRAIL+ (np. mediana CD8+TRAIL+ 12,0% u leczonych metyloprednizolonem, w porównaniu z 19,2% w grupie NLPZ, p<0,05; test U-Manna-Whitneya). Wnioski: W płynie stawowym chorych leczonych metyloprednizolonem wystąpiło obniżenie markerów cytotoksyczności limfocytów w porównaniu z grupą leczoną wyłącznie NLPZ. Równoległe zmiany grupy MTX nie były znamienne. Wysoka wartość indeksu CD4/CD8 w grupie leczonej MTX wynika prawdopodobnie z preferencyjnej eliminacji komórek cytotoksycznych. Badanie cytoimmunologiczne płynu stawowego może mieć znaczenie w ocenie skuteczności leczenia RZS.Introduction: Synovial fluid aspiration of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) provides important information on the activity of the local inflammation. Synovial T lymphocytes, including cells positive with ligands of death receptors, i.e. Fas ligand (FasL) and TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand), both of which play an important role in RA pathogenesis. The first-line treatment of RA is methotrexate (MTX), but glucocorticoids (as prednisone) and non-steroid anti-infl ammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are also used. The impact of treatment on the immune profile of synovial fluid in RA has not yet been cleared. Objective: Characteristics of the influence of prednisone and MTX treatment on the cytoimmunological pattern of synovial fluid in RA patients. Material and methods: Synovial fluid was harvested from RA patients treated with prednisone (n=11) and MTX (n=6). The control group consisted of patients receiving NSAIDs only (n = 19). The total cell number (TCN), the percentage of leukocyte populations and the phenotype of lymphocytes, including FasL and TRAIL expression on Th and Tc cells, was analyzed. Results: In the prednisone and MTX-treated groups, a decline in TCN was found. The increased value of the CD4/CD8 index in the MTX group was statistically significant, as compared to the NSAIDs-treated group (median: 1.2 vs 0.7, p<0.05). In prednisone-treated patients, a statistically signifi cant decrease in the percentage of lymphocytes T FasL+ and TRAIL+ was observed (i.e. median of CD8+TRAIL+ cells was 12.0% vs 19.2% in the NSAIDs-treated group, p<0.05, U-Mann-Whitney test). Conclusions: In the synovial fluid of patients treated with prednisone, there was a decrease in the lymphocyte cytotoxicity markers compared to the group treated only with NSAIDs. Parallel changes in the MTX group were non-signifi cant. MTX seems to increase the value of the CD4/CD8 index, which can be interpreted as a result of CD8+ cytotoxic cell elimination. Cytological and immunological analysis of synovial fl uid may be useful to assess the efficacy of local treatment