Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker candidates associated with human WNV neuroinvasive disease

During the last decade, the epidemiology of WNV in humans has changed in the southern regions of Europe, with high incidence of West Nile fever (WNF) cases, but also of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND). The lack of human vaccine or specific treatment against WNV infection imparts a pressing need to characterize indicators associated with neurological involvement. By its intimacy with central nervous system (CNS) structures, modifications in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition could accurately reflect CNS pathological process. Until now, few studies investigated the association between imbalance of CSF elements and severity of WNV infection. The aim of the present study was to apply the iTRAQ technology in order to identify the CSF proteins whose abundances are modified in patients with WNND. Forty-seven proteins were found modified in the CSF of WNND patients as compared to control groups, and most of them are reported for the first time in the context of WNND. On the basis of their known biological functions, several of these proteins were associated with inflammatory response. Among them, Defensin-1 alpha (DEFA1), a protein reported with anti-viral effects, presente

Global and local sea level during the Last Interglacial: A probabilistic assessment

The Last Interglacial (LIG) stage, with polar temperatures likely 3-5 C warmer than today, serves as a partial analogue for low-end future warming scenarios. Based upon a small set of local sea level indicators, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) inferred that LIG global sea level (GSL) was about 4-6 m higher than today. However, because local sea levels differ from GSL, accurately reconstructing past GSL requires an integrated analysis of globally distributed data sets. Here we compile an extensive database of sea level indicators and apply a novel statistical approach that couples Gaussian process regression of sea level to Markov Chain Monte Carlo modeling of geochronological errors. Our analysis strongly supports the hypothesis that LIG GSL was higher than today, probably peaking at 6-9 m. Our results highlight the sea level hazard associated with even relatively low levels of sustained global warming.Comment: Preprint version of what has since been published in Natur

The roles of vicariance and isolation by distance in shaping biotic diversification across an ancient archipelago: evidence from a Seychelles caecilian amphibian

© 2020 The Authors. Published by BMC. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-020-01673-wBackground Island systems offer excellent opportunities for studying the evolutionary histories of species by virtue of their restricted size and easily identifiable barriers to gene flow. However, most studies investigating evolutionary patterns and processes shaping biotic diversification have focused on more recent (emergent) rather than ancient oceanic archipelagos. Here, we focus on the granitic islands of the Seychelles, which are unusual among island systems because they have been isolated for a long time and are home to a monophyletic radiation of caecilian amphibians that has been separated from its extant sister lineage for ca. 65–62 Ma. We selected the most widespread Seychelles caecilian species, Hypogeophis rostratus, to investigate intraspecific morphological and genetic (mitochondrial and nuclear) variation across the archipelago (782 samples from nine islands) to identify patterns and test processes that shaped their evolutionary history within the Seychelles. Results Overall a signal of strong geographic structuring with distinct northern- and southern-island clusters were identified across all datasets. We suggest that these distinct groups have been isolated for ca. 1.26 Ma years without subsequent migration between them. Populations from the somewhat geographically isolated island of Frégate showed contrasting relationships to other islands based on genetic and morphological data, clustering alternatively with northern-island (genetic) and southern-island (morphological) populations. Conclusions Although variation in H. rostratus across the Seychelles is explained more by isolation-by-distance than by adaptation, the genetic-morphological incongruence for affinities of Frégate H. rostratus might be caused by local adaptation over-riding the signal from their vicariant history. Our findings highlight the need of integrative approaches to investigate fine-scale geographic structuring to uncover underlying diversity and to better understand evolutionary processes on ancient, continental islands.Funding for this research was provided by two grants from the National Science Foundation (BSR 88–17453, BSR 90–24505) [funding for fieldwork and lab work], two grants from the National Geographic Society (Grants 1977: 1633, 1743) [funding for fieldwork], three grants from the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Research, and a Research Partnership Award from the University of Michigan to RAN [morphology work]; a joint NHM-UCL IMPACT studentship [to fund STM’s PhD, lab work and fieldwork], Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund [funding for fieldwork] and Systematics Research Fund [funding for fieldwork] to STM; an Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Grant #P20GM103408 to LL [funding for lab work]; a NERC/BBSRC SynTax grant [funding for fieldwork and collaboration], and Darwin Initiative (grant 19–002) [funding for fieldwork, lab work and capacity building] with partners Bristol University, Islands Conservation Society, Seychelles Islands Foundation, Seychelles Ministry of Environment, Seychelles National Parks Authority, Seychelles Natural History Museum, University of Kent, Zoological Society of London to MW, DJG, JJD. The funding bodies played no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.Published onlin

A 300000 years coral reef record of sea level changes, Mururoa atoll (Tuamotu archipelago, French Polynesia)

The accurate dating of fossil coral reefs is of prime importance in determining the timing of deglaciation events and thus understanding the mechanisms driving glacial–interglacial cycles. So far, the most useful coral reef records of past sea level changes are those related to the last deglaciation and the Last Interglacial period. U/Th ages for older isotopic stages are more limited, due to the scarcity of datable material, reflecting diagenetic alteration. Most data are from emergent parts of reefs and reef terraces in active subduction zones where relative sea level records may be biased by variations in rates of tectonic uplift. New constraints on sea level changes over the past 300 000 yr are based on high-precision U-series age measurements of successive reef units on Mururoa. These have been cored in four continuous 300-m-long drill holes with seaward inclinations of 30 to 45° on the northeastern rim of the atoll. Past sea level positions have been calculated from the radiometric ages of corals by correcting the present depth of subsurface horizons both for thermal subsidence and for depositional palaeodepth. The location of this atoll at a considerable distance from former ice sheets (‘far field’) minimises the influence of glacio–isostatic rebound. Prominent units formed during four periods of relative sea level highstands, including the Holocene and stages 5 (∼125 ka), 7 (∼212 ka) and 9 (∼332 ka). These are primarily composed of coralgal frameworks that grew in very shallow water. Three periods of relative low stand correspond to stages 2 (∼17–23 ka), 4 (∼60 ka) and 8 (∼270 ka) during which small reefs developed in association with large bioclastic accumulations. Good agreement with the timing of sea level changes based on oxygen isotope measurements in deep-sea cores is noted for most of the dated reef units. We report here the first accurate coral record of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Pacific, 135–143 m below the present sea surface, suggesting that sea level may have been lower than expected during this period

Illuminating Earth's Past, Present and Future The Science Plan for the International Ocean Discovery Program 2013 - 2023

Planning for the International Ocean Discovery Program began in early 2009 with the solicitation of input from the international community on scientific topics that could be addressed by a new ocean drilling program. In September 2009, approximately 600 scientists from 21 nations gathered at the INVEST conference in Bremen, Germany, to discuss and refine a set of scientific questions that require drilling and associated capabilities deep below the ocean floor (go to http://www.marum.de/Page7894.html to download a full copy of the INVEST report). Subsequent to this meeting, a science plan writing team was assembled, consisting of scientific leaders from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program member countries or consortia having expertise in geology, geophysics, geobiology, paleoclimatology, climate modeling, and geochemistry. This writing committee circulated an early draft of the science plan for community review and comment in late 2010. In early 2011, an external panel reviewed a revised draft, and additional comments and discussions contributed to substantive revision as the final document was prepared. This process demonstrates the foundational strength of scientific ocean drilling: the community’s ability to think big, challenge itself, and incorporate diverse ideas through a rigorous process of peer review and prioritization