Laterally transferred elements and high pressure adaptation in Photobacterium profundum strains

BACKGROUND: Oceans cover approximately 70% of the Earth's surface with an average depth of 3800 m and a pressure of 38 MPa, thus a large part of the biosphere is occupied by high pressure environments. Piezophilic (pressure-loving) organisms are adapted to deep-sea life and grow optimally at pressures higher than 0.1 MPa. To better understand high pressure adaptation from a genomic point of view three different Photobacterium profundum strains were compared. Using the sequenced piezophile P. profundum strain SS9 as a reference, microarray technology was used to identify the genomic regions missing in two other strains: a pressure adapted strain (named DSJ4) and a pressure-sensitive strain (named 3TCK). Finally, the transcriptome of SS9 grown under different pressure (28 MPa; 45 MPa) and temperature (4°C; 16°C) conditions was analyzed taking into consideration the differentially expressed genes belonging to the flexible gene pool. RESULTS: These studies indicated the presence of a large flexible gene pool in SS9 characterized by various horizontally acquired elements. This was verified by extensive analysis of GC content, codon usage and genomic signature of the SS9 genome. 171 open reading frames (ORFs) were found to be specifically absent or highly divergent in the piezosensitive strain, but present in the two piezophilic strains. Among these genes, six were found to also be up-regulated by high pressure. CONCLUSION: These data provide information on horizontal gene flow in the deep sea, provide additional details of P. profundum genome expression patterns and suggest genes which could perform critical functions for abyssal survival, including perhaps high pressure growth

Monitoring of Insects with Public Participation. Layman’s Report

Although Italy hosts a very important part of Europe’s biodiversity, at the same time however many species are threatened. The Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), one of the pillars of European nature conservation, safeguards biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. It imposes to maintain or restore a favourable conservation status of habitats and populations. A further important obligation deriving from this Directive is the set-up of a European ecological network of special areas of conservation, entitled Natura 2000. Additionally, the Habitats Directive requires the Member States to carry out monitoring to determine the conservation status of the protected habitats and species. The Directive lists a total of 117 species of insects; of these 49 species are present in Italy. However, there is still no nationally accepted and widely applied monitoring system for these insects. In addition, for many insect species listed in the Habitats Directive, the current knowledge of their distribution in Italy is fragmentary and many records are outdated

Monitoraggio di Insetti con la Partecipazione Pubblica. Layman’s Report

L’Italia possiede un immenso patrimonio naturale, ma molte specie si trovano in condizioni di criticità. La Direttiva Habitat (92/43/CEE), uno dei pilastri della politica Europea per la conservazione della natura, ha come scopo la salvaguardia della biodiversità mediante la tutela degli habitat naturali, nonché della flora e della fauna selvatiche. A tal fine la Direttiva ha istituito una rete ecologica europea, chiamata Rete Natura 2000, e stabilisce che ogni Stato deve assicurare il mantenimento o il ripristino, in uno stato di conservazione soddisfacente, degli habitat e delle specie elencati nei suoi allegati. Per accertare lo stato di conservazione di questi habitat e specie la Direttiva richiede agli Stati membri di garantire il loro monitoraggio. A livello Europeo, la Direttiva ha elencato 117 specie di insetti; di queste, 49 sono presenti in Italia. Tuttavia, non esiste ancora un sistema di monitoraggio per questi insetti, accettato e applicato su scala nazionale. Inoltre per molte specie di insetti elencati nella Direttiva Habitat anche l’attuale conoscenza della loro distribuzione in Italia è molto lacunosa perché molte segnalazioni sono storiche

Guidelines for the monitoring of Cerambyx cerdo

Cerambyx cerdo is a longhorn beetle widely distributed in southern and central Europe. This saproxylic beetle is generally associated with oak forests where there are mature or partially dead and sun-exposed trees. Its populations are currently threatened by forest practices such as the removal of partially dead trees and the decline in the number of old oak trees situated in open or semi-open landscapes. Thus, C. cerdo has been included in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive. The present paper is part of a special issue on monitoring of saproxylic beetles which are protected in Europe, based on the research carried out during the LIFE-MIPP project, with a revision of the current knowledge on systematics, ecology and conservation of C. cerdo. The main aim of the present paper is to test different monitoring methods in order to develop a quick and reproducible protocol for the conservation of this species. The methods tested were: artificial sap attracting the adults, baited traps, VES (visual encounter survey) and collecting remains of predation along transects. Based on these results, a detailed monitoring method for C. cerdo using baited trap is proposed in this paper, together with a discussion on its constraints, spatial validity and possible interferences. In order to assess the conservation status of populations of C. cerdo in Europe and to compare populations over time, a method for the calculation of a reference value, based on the monitoring method, is provided