Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Investigating genetic variation of Irish oak populations using chloroplast DNA analysis

Includes bibliographical referencesAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:5097. 0549(no 31) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Surviving in a warmer world: environmental and genetic responses

There are numerous reports in the literature of advancing trends in phenophases of plants, insects and birds attributed to rising temperature resulting from human-driven climate warming. One mechanism that enables a population to respond rapidly to changes in the environment is termed phenotypic plasticity. This plasticity grants a degree of flexibility to enable the timing of developmental stages to coincide with resource availability. If, however, environmental conditions exceed the plastic limits of an organism, evolutionary change may be necessary in order to ensure continued survival of their populations. We review evidence for phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation in phenological characteristics associated with climatic warming. We focus this review on examples from trees, insects and birds. We found many reports of direct observations of phenotypic plasticity but fewer studies providing conclusive evidence of genetic adaptation. Evidence for changes in genes linked with adaptive traits associated with a warming climate was stronger in insects, that have a relatively short life-cycle, than in longer-lived birds and trees. Further research is required to identify both appropriate long-term data sets for a range of species and traits and suitable analytical methods, which will permit the study of the complex interaction between phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation of organisms and their populations in response to climatic change

Climate warning results in phenotypic and evolutionary changes in spring events: a mini review

The impact of climate change, in particular increasing spring temperatures, on life-cycle events of plants and animals has gained scientific attention in recent years. Leafing of trees, appearance and abundance of insects, and migration of birds, across a range of species and countries, have been cited as phenotrends that are advancing in response to warmer spring temperatures. The ability of organisms to acclimate to variations in environmental conditions is known as phenotypic plasticity. Plasticity allows organisms to time developmental stages to coincide with optimum availability of environmental resources. There may, however, come a time when the limit of this plasticity is reached and the species needs to adapt genetically to survive. Here we discuss evidence of the impact of climate warming on plant, insect and bird phenology through examination of: (1) phenotypic plasticity in (a) bud burst in trees, (b) appearance of insects and (c) migration of birds; and (2) genetic adaptation in (a) gene expression during bud burst in trees, (b) the timing of occurrence of phenological events in insects and (c) arrival and breeding times of migratory birds. Finally, we summarise the potential consequences of future climatic changes for plant, insect and bird phenolog

Stratégie pan-européenne pour la conservation génétique des arbres forestiers et la mise en place d'un réseau central d'unités de conservation dynamique

A working group was established by the EUFORGEN Steering Committee to develop the pan-European genetic conservation strategy for forest trees. For each species, the strategy calls for a core network of dynamic conservation units. These units are not interconnected by geneflow, but together capture the current genetic diversity across the European continent. Method: The working group selected 14 pilot tree species representing four categories, depending on their geographical distribution (wide vs restricted) and their ecology (stand-forming vs scattered). The group also created a map of eight environmental zones by amalgamating some of the zones of an accepted environmental zoning classification for Europe. It then sought to identify at least one conservation unit per country for each environmental zone in that country, using a set of criteria to determine the most appropriate unit. This process resulted in the identification of 1836 dynamic conservation units, covering a total area of 205,803 ha and encompassing 2173 populations. Gaps in conservation efforts: To identify gaps in existing conservation efforts, the group compared species distribution maps in each environmental zone in each country with the location of the conservation units. Any species with no unit in an appropriate environmental zone in that country was recorded as a gap, and units were also noted where there was an information gap in the EUFGIS database. Genetic Conservation Strategy: The EUFORGEN Steering Committee will promote implementation, identify additional units once gaps have been filled and will monitor progress. A particular concern is the effect of climate change on phenology, but the detailed effects on long-lived tree species are likely to be variable, complex and difficult to predict. As a result, conservation should focus on the most vulnerable populations and species, for example those near the edge of their environmental limits, which often harbour high genetic diversity. Monitoring such populations should help to reveal key changes in a timely fashion, and management may then be needed to mitigate the effects of climate change

Sites and kinetics of HLA-associated immune escape in HIV-1 integrase

Background: Acute-phase CTL responses, and the virus' ability to escape from them, shape the clinical course of HIV-1 disease. Elucidating early within-host viral evolution is key to our understanding of HIV pathogenesis. Using population-level data, the locations and kinetics of HLA-associated escape mutations in Gag, protease/RT and Nef have been identified. Here we extend these observations by characterizing sites and kinetics of escape and reversion in integrase. Methods: HLA-associated integrase polymorphisms were defined in a cross-sectional analysis of >1200 antiretroviral naïve, chronically HIV-1 subtype B-infected individuals. Using Kaplan-Meier methods, rates of HLA-associated escape and reversion at these sites were calculated in a seroconverter cohort (N=98) for whom longitudinal plasma RNA genotyping of integrase was performed in the first year of infection. CTL recognition frequencies of optimally-described epitopes and integrase-wide overlapping peptides (OLP) were assessed by IFN-γ ELISpot in independent cohorts of acute/early (N=289) and chronically-infected (N=372) individuals, respectively. Results: We identified >100 HLA-associated polymorphisms occurring at 62 integrase codons. Of these, >45% fell within published or putative epitopes (identified by OLP responses and bioinformatic predictions). Over 400 pairwise amino acid associations were identified, illuminating potential compensatory pathways. Longitudinal data from seroconverters revealed evidence of escape within ~50% of published and putative epitopes within the first year of infection. Epitope B*57-SW10 escaped most rapidly, at a rate comparable to B*57-TW10-Gag, despite a lower recognition frequency in acute/early infection. B*44-QW11, B*58-SW10, B*51-LI9 and putative B*27-KY10 also escaped relatively rapidly. Overall, a minimum of ~20-30% of integrase substitutions in the first year post-infection were attributable to escape/reversion. Conclusions: Immune escape occurs in integrase in the first year of infection, confirming this protein as an early target by CTL. These results extend our understanding of the earliest immune-driven viral adaptation events occurring in vivo