Sea level changes during the last and present interglacials in Sal Island (Cape Verde archipelago)

Last interglacial and Holocene deposits are particularly well developed in the southern parts of Sal Island (Cape Verde Archipelago). They primarily consist of low-elevation (≤2 m above sea level [a.s.l.]) marine deposits made of a basal conglomerate embedded in carbonate mud, passing upwards to calcarenites. All deposits contain an abundant fauna with corals, algae and molluscs with Strombus latus Gmelin and accompanying warm water species of the “Senegalese” fauna. Small scale geomorphological mapping with detailed morphosedimentary analysis revealed lateral facies changes and imbricate (offlapping) structures that suggest small-scale oscillations of paleo-sealevels during high sea stand intervals. U-series measurements (in coral fragments) allowed unequivocal identification of Marine Isotope Substage (MIS) 5.5 units, but were not precise enough to date the sea level oscillations of the interval. However, geomorphological data and sedimentary facies analysis suggest a double sea level highstand during the peak of the last interglacial. MIS 5.5 age deposits occur at Sal and the Canary Islands at low topographic elevations, between 1 and 2 masl. However, these values are lower than the elevations measured for the correlative terraces outcropping at the western tropical Atlantic islands, widely considered to be tectonically stable. Combining the results in this paper with earlier investigations of the “Senegalese” fauna distribution as far north as the Mediterranean basin, it is suggested that the last-interglacial oceanic temperatures in this basin, as well as the temperatures in other islands of the Eastern Atlantic and the coasts of Morocco, were warmer than modern temperatures

The Oceanic Variability Spectrum and Transport Trends

Oceanic meridional transports evaluated over the width of the Pacific Ocean from altimetric observations become incoherent surprisingly rapidly with meridional separation. Even with 15 years of data, surface slopes show no significant coherence beyond 5◦ of latitude separation at any frequency. An analysis of the frequency/zonal-wavenumber spectral density shows a broad continuum of motions at all time and space scales, with a significant excess of energy along a “non-dispersive” line extending between the simple barotropic and first baroclinic mode Rossby waves. It is speculated that much of that excess energy lies with coupled barotropic and first mode Rossby waves. The statistical significance of apparent oceanic transport trends depends upon the existence of a reliable frequency/wavenumber spectrum and for which only a few observational elements now exist.Jet Propulsion Laboratory (U.S.).United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Jason-1 program)National Oceanographic Partnership Program (U.S.

Oceanic hindcast simulations at high resolution suggest that the Atlantic MOC is bistable

All climate models predict a freshening of the North Atlantic at high latitude that may induce an abrupt change of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (hereafter AMOC) if it resides in the bistable regime, where both a strong and a weak state coexist. The latter remains uncertain as there is no consensus among observations and ocean reanalyses, where the AMOC is bistable, versus most climate models that reproduce a mono-stable strong AMOC. A series of four hindcast simulations of the global ocean at 1/12° resolution, which is presently unique, are used to diagnose freshwater transport by the AMOC in the South Atlantic, an indicator of AMOC bistability. In all simulations, the AMOC resides in the bistable regime: it exports freshwater southward in the South Atlantic, implying a positive salt advection feedback that would act to amplify a decreasing trend in subarctic deep water formation as projected in climate scenarios

Sex and virulence in Escherichia coli: an evolutionary perspective

Pathogenic Escherichia coli cause over 160 million cases of dysentery and one million deaths per year, whereas non-pathogenic E. coli constitute part of the normal intestinal flora of healthy mammals and birds. The evolutionary pathways underlying this dichotomy in bacterial lifestyle were investigated by multilocus sequence typing of a global collection of isolates. Specific pathogen types [enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, K1 and Shigella] have arisen independently and repeatedly in several lineages, whereas other lineages contain only few pathogens. Rates of evolution have accelerated in pathogenic lineages, culminating in highly virulent organisms whose genomic contents are altered frequently by increased rates of homologous recombination; thus, the evolution of virulence is linked to bacterial sex. This long-term pattern of evolution was observed in genes distributed throughout the genome, and thereby is the likely result of episodic selection for strains that can escape the host immune response

Role of Intraspecies Recombination in the Spread of Pathogenicity Islands within the Escherichia coli Species

Horizontal gene transfer is a key step in the evolution of bacterial pathogens. Besides phages and plasmids, pathogenicity islands (PAIs) are subjected to horizontal transfer. The transfer mechanisms of PAIs within a certain bacterial species or between different species are still not well understood. This study is focused on the High-Pathogenicity Island (HPI), which is a PAI widely spread among extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli and serves as a model for horizontal transfer of PAIs in general. We applied a phylogenetic approach using multilocus sequence typing on HPI-positive and -negative natural E. coli isolates representative of the species diversity to infer the mechanism of horizontal HPI transfer within the E. coli species. In each strain, the partial nucleotide sequences of 6 HPI–encoded genes and 6 housekeeping genes of the genomic backbone, as well as DNA fragments immediately upstream and downstream of the HPI were compared. This revealed that the HPI is not solely vertically transmitted, but that recombination of large DNA fragments beyond the HPI plays a major role in the spread of the HPI within E. coli species. In support of the results of the phylogenetic analyses, we experimentally demonstrated that HPI can be transferred between different E. coli strains by F-plasmid mediated mobilization. Sequencing of the chromosomal DNA regions immediately upstream and downstream of the HPI in the recipient strain indicated that the HPI was transferred and integrated together with HPI–flanking DNA regions of the donor strain. The results of this study demonstrate for the first time that conjugative transfer and homologous DNA recombination play a major role in horizontal transfer of a pathogenicity island within the species E. coli

Cryptic species in a well-known habitat: applying taxonomics to the amphipod genus Epimeria (Crustacea, Peracarida)

Taxonomy plays a central role in biological sciences. It provides a communication system for scientists as it aims to enable correct identification of the studied organisms. As a consequence, species descriptions should seek to include as much available information as possible at species level to follow an integrative concept of ‘taxonomics’. Here, we describe the cryptic species Epimeria frankei sp. nov. from the North Sea, and also redescribe its sister species, Epimeria cornigera. The morphological information obtained is substantiated by DNA barcodes and complete nuclear 18S rRNA gene sequences. In addition, we provide, for the first time, full mitochondrial genome data as part of a metazoan species description for a holotype, as well as the neotype. This study represents the first successful implementation of the recently proposed concept of taxonomics, using data from highthroughput technologies for integrative taxonomic studies, allowing the highest level of confidence for both biodiversity and ecological research

Type II Heat-Labile Enterotoxins from 50 Diverse Escherichia coli Isolates Belong Almost Exclusively to the LT-IIc Family and May Be Prophage Encoded

Some enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) produce a type II heat-labile enterotoxin (LT-II) that activates adenylate cyclase in susceptible cells but is not neutralized by antisera against cholera toxin or type I heat-labile enterotoxin (LT-I). LT-I variants encoded by plasmids in ETEC from humans and pigs have amino acid sequences that are ≥95% identical. In contrast, LT-II toxins are chromosomally encoded and are much more diverse. Early studies characterized LT-IIa and LT-IIb variants, but a novel LT-IIc was reported recently. Here we characterized the LT-II encoding loci from 48 additional ETEC isolates. Two encoded LT-IIa, none encoded LT-IIb, and 46 encoded highly related variants of LT-IIc. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the predicted LT-IIc toxins encoded by these loci could be assigned to 6 subgroups. The loci corresponding to individual toxins within each subgroup had DNA sequences that were more than 99% identical. The LT-IIc subgroups appear to have arisen by multiple recombinational events between progenitor loci encoding LT-IIc1- and LT-IIc3-like variants. All loci from representative isolates encoding the LT-IIa, LT-IIb, and each subgroup of LT-IIc enterotoxins are preceded by highly-related genes that are between 80 and 93% identical to predicted phage lysozyme genes. DNA sequences immediately following the B genes differ considerably between toxin subgroups, but all are most closely related to genomic sequences found in predicted prophages. Together these data suggest that the LT-II loci are inserted into lambdoid type prophages that may or may not be infectious. These findings raise the possibility that production of LT-II enterotoxins by ETEC may be determined by phage conversion and may be activated by induction of prophage, in a manner similar to control of production of Shiga-like toxins by converting phages in isolates of enterohemmorhagic E. coli

Sea level and climate changes during OIS 5e in the Western Mediterranean

Palaeontological, geomorphological and sedimentological data supported by isotopic dating on Oxygen Isotopic Stage (OIS) 5e deposits from the Spanish Mediterranean coast, are interpreted with the aim of reconstructing climatic instability in the Northern Hemisphere. Data point to marked climatic instability during the Last Interglacial (OIS 5e), with a change in meteorological conditions and, consequently, in the sedimentary environment. The oolitic facies generated during the first part of OIS 5e (ca. 135 kyr) shift into reddish conglomeratic facies during the second part (ca. 117 kyr). Sea surface Temperature (SST) and salinity are interpreted mainly on the basis of warm Senegalese fauna, which show chronological and spatial differential distribution throughout the Western Mediterranean. Present hydrological and meteorological conditions are used also as modern analogues to reconstruct climatic variability throughout the Last Interglacial, and this variability is interpreted within the wider framework of the North Atlantic record. All the available data indicate an increase in storminess induced by an increase in the influence of northwesterlies, a slight drop of SST in the northern Western Mediterranean, and an important change in meteorological conditions at the end of OIS 5e (117 kyr). These changes correlate well with the decrease in summer insolation and with the climatic instability recorded in North Atlantic high latitudes