Variation in growth and defence traits among plant populations at different elevations: Implications for adaptation to climate change

Alpine plants occurring at high elevation are vulnerable to ongoing climate change, yet relatively little is known about the potential for high-elevation species to adapt to changing environmental conditions. In particular, the extent to which high-elevation plants will be able to resist predicted increases in the intensity of biotic interactions, such as herbivory, remains unclear. Species distributed across broad elevational ranges provide an opportunity to investigate evolutionary mechanisms and traits involved in adaptation to varying abiotic and biotic environments. This study focused on the perennial alpine plant Arabis alpina and combined field surveys and climate chamber experiments to test for intraspecific genetic divergence in traits related to growth and defence against herbivores. We screened multiple populations from low, intermediate and high elevations across a broad geographic area, characterising differences in growth form, leaf structural traits, palatability for herbivores and defensive chemistry. We then quantified the proportion of variation explained by elevation and population-level effects. Our results document within-species genetic divergence in multiple traits relevant for adaptation to the different abiotic and biotic pressures experienced at low and high elevations. Rates of herbivore damage declined with increasing elevation in the field, but plants from high- and intermediate-elevation populations were generally more palatable for specialist herbivores than those from low-elevation populations in feeding assays. Elevational clines were also observed in several glucosinolate defence compounds, and leaf herbivory more strongly induced glucosinolates in plants from high-elevation populations than in those from low-elevation populations. Leaf trichome density and growth form also diverged among populations contributing to growth–defence phenotypes associated with different elevations. However, populations from similar elevations often differed significantly in both growth- and defence-related traits, with trait variation often better explained by population-level effects than by elevation alone. Synthesis. Arabis alpina exhibits patterns of genetic variation in growth and defence traits consistent with adaptation to different elevations. However, populations from similar elevations also diverge in many of these ecologically relevant traits. Together, the extent of the observed trait variation suggests that this alpine species has considerable potential to adapt to a changing biotic environment

Yrityksen Tekes-rahoitteisen projektin tilintarkastus

Innovaatiorahoituskeskus Tekes rahoitti vuonna 2016 suomalaisten yritysten toteuttamia projekteja noin 467 miljoonalla eurolla. Useimpien Tekesin tarjoamien rahoituspalvelujen ehtona on rahoituksen tilityksen tarkistuttaminen auktorisoidulla tilintarkastajalla. Työn tavoitteena on tuottaa Tekes-rahoitteisten projektien tarkastusta varten osin tarkastusta ohjaava dokumentaatiopohja, tarjota opinnäytetyön raporttiosalla dokumentaatiopohjaa tukeva katsaus Tekes-rahoitteisten projektien tarkastukseen ja syventää kirjoittajan vielä kapeaa osaamista projektitarkastuksista. Opinnäytetyössä keskitytään Tekesin yrityksille tarjoamien rahoitusmuotojen tarkastuksen erityispiirteisiin eikä raporttia tai dokumentaatiopohjaa voida soveltaa julkisten toimijoiden projektien tarkastuksiin. Työ toteutettiin laatien teoriapohja tilintarkastuksen tavoitteista ja eri toimeksiannoista, julkisen rahoituksen ja Tekesin rooleista rahoittajana sekä niistä normeista ja sääntelyistä, jotka koskevat julkisen rahoituksen tilitysten tarkastusta. Teoriapohjan lisäksi tuotettiin luku Tekes-rahoitteisen projektin tarkastuksen teknisestä toteutuksesta osin Tekesin vuoden 2017 yleisten rahoitusehtojen ja tarkastusraporttipohjien sekä auktorisoidun tilintarkastajan ja Tekesin maksatuspalvelujohtajan haastattelujen pohjalta. Tämän osion rinnalla tuotettiin Tekes-rahoitteisten projektien tarkastuksia varten dokumentaatiopohja, joka koottiin kokonaisuudeksi raportin liitteisiin. Tekesin maksatuspalvelujohtaja Anne Kleemolan haastattelun tuloksena todettiin, etteivät Tekesin nykyiset tarkastusraporttipohjat huomioi erityisehtojen tarkastusta yhtä yksityiskohtaisesti, kuin tarkastusraporttipohjalla olevat muut tarkastuksessa huomioitavat seikat on huomioitu. Kleemola totesi tämän olevan hyödyllinen huomio ja tarkastusraporttipohjiin mahdollisesti kehitettävä asia. Koska toimeksiantajalle tuotetusta dokumentaatiopohjasta syntyi selkeä runko Tekes-rahoitteisen projektin tarkastukselle, projektitarkastuksien osalta koettiin oman osaamisen syventyneen ja yhteydenotto Tekesiin koettiin myös heidän osaltaan hyödylliseksi, opinnäytetyön voidaan todeta täyttäneen tavoitteensa

Experimental warming increases the vulnerability of high‐elevation plant populations to a specialist herbivore

Ongoing climate change may impact alpine plant populations via both direct effects of increased temperature and climate-driven changes in interactions between plants and other organisms, such as insect herbivores. Rates of herbivory in high-elevation environments are predicted to increase with warmer temperatures, which may also lead to changes in morphological and physiological traits that influence plant resistance. Yet, we currently know little about how temperature-mediated changes in traits will impact alpine plant vulnerability to herbivores, as well as the extent to which populations from high-elevation environments might need to rapidly adapt to increasing herbivore pressure with rising temperatures. We assessed the effect of experimental warming on the relative vulnerability of populations of the alpine plant Arabis alpina from different elevations to a specialist herbivore. Herbivore performance was measured on plants from nine populations grown in climate chambers at two temperatures, representing low (warm) and high (cold) elevations. We also measured changes in putative drivers of performance: plant phenological, chemical and defence traits. Assuming populations would be adapted to local climates and levels of herbivory, we predicted that low-elevation populations would be more resistant to herbivores under warmer temperatures than high-elevation populations. We found reduced performance of a specialist herbivore on A. alpina grown under warm rather than cold conditions, though this effect varied with elevation. Larvae grew faster on high-elevation populations than low-elevation populations when grown under warm temperatures, whereas similar growth rates were observed for plants grown under colder temperatures, consistent with plant adaptation to the lower existing herbivore pressure in cold, high-elevation environments. Regression analyses suggested that polar metabolite variation explained more variance in larval performance than changes in defensive glucosinolates or morphological traits. Our results suggest that although physiological responses to warming may increase the resistance of cold-adapted plants to herbivory, populations from different elevations may differ in their interactions with herbivores under climate warming. Without genetic adaptation, existing physiological responses of high-elevation populations to warmer temperatures may leave these populations vulnerable to the increases in herbivore pressure predicted under climate change

Pulmonary ORMDL3 is critical for induction of Alternaria -induced allergic airways disease

Genome-wide association studies have identified the ORM (yeast)-like protein isoform 3 (ORMDL3) gene locus on human chromosome 17q to be a highly significant risk factor for childhood-onset asthma. Objective We sought to investigate in vivo the functional role of ORMDL3 in disease inception. Methods An Ormdl3-deficient mouse was generated and the role of ORMDL3 in the generation of allergic airways disease to the fungal aeroallergen Alternaria alternata was determined. An adeno-associated viral vector was also used to reconstitute ORMDL3 expression in airway epithelial cells of Ormdl3 knockout mice. Results Ormdl3 knockout mice were found to be protected from developing allergic airways disease and showed a marked decrease in pathophysiology, including lung function and airway eosinophilia induced by Alternaria. Alternaria is a potent inducer of cellular stress and the unfolded protein response, and ORMDL3 was found to play a critical role in driving the activating transcription factor 6–mediated arm of this response through Xbp1 and downstream activation of the endoplasmic reticulum–associated degradation pathway. In addition, ORMDL3 mediated uric acid release, another marker of cellular stress. In the knockout mice, reconstitution of Ormdl3 transcript levels specifically in the bronchial epithelium resulted in reinstatement of susceptibility to fungal allergen–induced allergic airways disease. Conclusions This study demonstrates that ORMDL3, an asthma susceptibility gene identified by genome-wide association studies, contributes to key pathways that promote changes in airway physiology during allergic immune responses

Ecological and methodological drivers of species' distribution and phenology responses to climate change

Climate change is shifting species’ distribution and phenology. Ecological traits, such as mobility or reproductive mode, explain variation in observed rates of shift for some taxa. However, estimates of relationships between traits and climate responses could be influenced by how responses are measured. We compiled a global data set of 651 published marine species’ responses to climate change, from 47 papers on distribution shifts and 32 papers on phenology change. We assessed the relative importance of two classes of predictors of the rate of change, ecological traits of the responding taxa and methodological approaches for quantifying biological responses. Methodological differences explained 22% of the variation in range shifts, more than the 7.8% of the variation explained by ecological traits. For phenology change, methodological approaches accounted for 4% of the variation in measurements, whereas 8% of the variation was explained by ecological traits. Our ability to predict responses from traits was hindered by poor representation of species from the tropics, where temperature isotherms are moving most rapidly. Thus, the mean rate of distribution change may be underestimated by this and other global syntheses. Our analyses indicate that methodological approaches should be explicitly considered when designing, analysing and comparing results among studies. To improve climate impact studies, we recommend that (1) reanalyses of existing time series state how the existing data sets may limit the inferences about possible climate responses; (2) qualitative comparisons of species’ responses across different studies be limited to studies with similar methodological approaches; (3) meta-analyses of climate responses include methodological attributes as covariates; and (4) that new time series be designed to include the detection of early warnings of change or ecologically relevant change. Greater consideration of methodological attributes will improve the accuracy of analyses that seek to quantify the role of climate change in species’ distribution and phenology changes

Early rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by a distinct and transient synovial fluid cytokine profile of T cell and stromal cell origin

Pathological processes involved in the initiation of rheumatoid synovitis remain unclear. We undertook the present study to identify immune and stromal processes that are present soon after the clinical onset of rheumatoid arthritis ( RA) by assessing a panel of T cell, macrophage, and stromal cell related cytokines and chemokines in the synovial fluid of patients with early synovitis. Synovial fluid was aspirated from inflamed joints of patients with inflammatory arthritis of duration 3 months or less, whose outcomes were subsequently determined by follow up. For comparison, synovial fluid was aspirated from patients with acute crystal arthritis, established RA and osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid factor activity was blocked in the synovial fluid samples, and a panel of 23 cytokines and chemokines measured using a multiplex based system. Patients with early inflammatory arthritis who subsequently developed RA had a distinct but transient synovial fluid cytokine profile. The levels of a range of T cell, macrophage and stromal cell related cytokines ( e. g. IL-2, IL-4, IL-13, IL-17, IL-15, basic fibroblast growth factor and epidermal growth factor) were significantly elevated in these patients within 3 months after symptom onset, as compared with early arthritis patients who did not develop RA. In addition, this profile was no longer present in established RA. In contrast, patients with non-rheumatoid persistent synovitis exhibited elevated levels of interferon-gamma at initiation. Early synovitis destined to develop into RA is thus characterized by a distinct and transient synovial fluid cytokine profile. The cytokines present in the early rheumatoid lesion suggest that this response is likely to influence the microenvironment required for persistent RA

Plant volatiles induced by herbivore eggs prime defences and mediate shifts in the reproductive strategy of receiving plants

Plants can detect cues associated with the risk of future herbivory and modify defence phenotypes accordingly; however, our current understanding is limited both with respect to the range of early warning cues to which plants respond and the nature of the responses. Here we report that exposure to volatile emissions from plant tissues infested with herbivore eggs promotes stronger defence responses to subsequent herbivory in two Brassica species. Furthermore, exposure to these volatile cues elicited an apparent shift from growth to reproduction in Brassica nigra, with exposed plants exhibiting increased flower and seed production, but reduced leaf production, relative to unexposed controls. Our results thus document plant defence priming in response to a novel environmental cue, oviposition-induced plant volatiles, while also showing that plant responses to early warning cues can include changes in both defence and life-history traits.</p

The impact of paratracheal lymph node metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx

The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence and prognostic importance of paratracheal lymph nodes in squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx. A retrospective review of 64 previously untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the hypopharynx that underwent surgery was performed. Ipsilateral paratracheal lymph node metastases occurred in 22% (14 out of 64) and the mean number of paratracheal lymph nodes dissected per side was 2.3 (range 1–6). Contralateral paratracheal lymph node metastases were present in 2% (1 out of 42). Sixty-seven percent with postcricoid SCC and 22% with pyriform sinus SCC developed clinical node-positive ipsilateral paratracheal lymph node metastases, whereas 11% with posterior pharyngeal wall SCC developed paratracheal metastases. There was a significant correlation between paratracheal lymph node metastasis and cervical metastasis (p = 0.005), and the primary tumor site (postcricoid, 57.1%; pyriform sinus, 20.0%; posterior pharyngeal wall, 8.3%) (p = 0.039). Patients with no evidence of paratracheal lymph node metastasis may have a survival benefit (5-year disease-specific survival rate, 60 vs. 29%). However, this result did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.071). The patients with SCC of the postcricoid and/or pyriform sinus were at risk for ipsilateral paratracheal lymph node metastasis; furthermore, patients with paratracheal node metastasis had a high frequency of cervical metastasis and a poorer prognosis. Therefore, routine ipsilateral paratracheal node dissection is recommended during the surgical treatment of patients with SCC of the postcricoid and/or pyriform sinus with clinical node metastases

Identifying Archaeological Bone via Non-Destructive ZooMS and the Materiality of Symbolic Expression: Examples from Iroquoian Bone Points.

Today, practical, functional and symbolic choices inform the selection of raw materials for worked objects. In cases where we can discern the origin of worked bone, tooth, ivory and antler objects in the past, we assume that similar choices are being made. However, morphological species identification of worked objects is often impossible due to the loss of identifying characteristics during manufacture. Here, we describe a novel non-destructive ZooMS (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry) method which was applied to bone points from Pre-Contact St. Lawrence Iroquoian village sites in southern Quebec, Canada. The traditional ZooMS technique requires destructive analysis of a sample, which can be problematic when dealing with artefacts. Here we instead extracted proteins from the plastic bags in which the points had been stored. ZooMS analysis revealed hitherto unexpected species, notably black bear (Ursus americanus) and human (Homo sapiens sapiens), used in point manufacture. These surprising results (confirmed through genomic sequencing) highlight the importance of advancing biomolecular research in artefact studies. Furthermore, they unexpectedly and exceptionally allow us to identify and explore the tangible, material traces of the symbolic relationship between bears and humans, central to past and present Iroquoian cosmology and mythology