A Novel Pathway Regulates Thyroid Hormone Availability in Rat and Human Hypothalamic Neurosecretory Neurons

Hypothalamic neurosecretory systems are fundamental regulatory circuits influenced by thyroid hormone. Monocarboxylate-transporter-8 (MCT8)-mediated uptake of thyroid hormone followed by type 3 deiodinase (D3)-catalyzed inactivation represent limiting regulatory factors of neuronal T3 availability. In the present study we addressed the localization and subcellular distribution of D3 and MCT8 in neurosecretory neurons and addressed D3 function in their axons. Intense D3-immunoreactivity was observed in axon varicosities in the external zone of the rat median eminence and the neurohaemal zone of the human infundibulum containing axon terminals of hypophysiotropic parvocellular neurons. Immuno-electronmicroscopy localized D3 to dense-core vesicles in hypophysiotropic axon varicosities. N-STORM-superresolution-microscopy detected the active center containing C-terminus of D3 at the outer surface of these organelles. Double-labeling immunofluorescent confocal microscopy revealed that D3 is present in the majority of GnRH, CRH and GHRH axons but only in a minority of TRH axons, while absent from somatostatin-containing neurons. Bimolecular-Fluorescence-Complementation identified D3 homodimers, a prerequisite for D3 activity, in processes of GT1-7 cells. Furthermore, T3-inducible D3 catalytic activity was detected in the rat median eminence. Triple-labeling immunofluorescence and immuno-electronmicroscopy revealed the presence of MCT8 on the surface of the vast majority of all types of hypophysiotropic terminals. The presence of MCT8 was also demonstrated on the axon terminals in the neurohaemal zone of the human infundibulum. The unexpected role of hypophysiotropic axons in fine-tuned regulation of T3 availability in these cells via MCT8-mediated transport and D3-catalyzed inactivation may represent a novel regulatory core mechanism for metabolism, growth, stress and reproduction in rodents and humans

A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants

The World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and easy to implement approach to evaluate antibiotic resistance in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) by targeting cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) coliforms as indicators. The rationale for this approach was: i) coliform quantification methods are internationally accepted as indicators of fecal contamination in recreational waters and are therefore routinely applied in analytical labs; ii) CTX-R coliforms are clinically relevant, associated with extended-spectrum ?-lactamases (ESBLs), and are rare in pristine environments. We analyzed 57 WWTPs in 22 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. CTX-R coliforms were ubiquitous in raw sewage and their relative abundance varied significantly (< 0.1% to 38.3%), being positively correlated (p < 0.001) with regional atmospheric temperatures. Although most WWTPs removed large proportions of CTX-R coliforms, loads over 103 colony-forming units per mL were occasionally observed in final effluents. We demonstrate that CTX-R coliform monitoring is a feasible and affordable approach to assess wastewater antibiotic resistance status

Climate change goes underground: effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on microbial community structure and activities in the rhizosphere.

General concern about climate change has led to growing interest in the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to elevated concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere. Experimentation during the last two to three decades using a large variety of approaches has provided sufficient information to conclude that enrichment of atmospheric CO2 may have severe impact on terrestrial ecosystems. This impact is mainly due to the changes in the organic C dynamics as a result of the effects of elevated CO2 on the primary source of organic C in soil, i.e., plant photosynthesis. As the majority of life in soil is heterotrophic and dependent on the input of plant-derived organic C, the activity and functioning of soil organisms will greatly be influenced by changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentration. In this review, we examine the current state of the art with respect to effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil microbial communities, with a focus on microbial community structure. On the basis of the existing information, we conclude that the main effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on soil microbiota occur via plant metabolism and root secretion, especially in C3 plants, thereby directly affecting the mycorrhizal, bacterial, and fungal communities in the close vicinity of the root. There is little or no direct effect on the microbial community of the bulk soil. In particular, we have explored the impact of these changes on rhizosphere interactions and ecosystem processes, including food web interactions

L’approccio sistemico per la gestione energetica: il caso del Comune di Udine

Political institutions play a significant role in the logic of environmental sustainability, in particular for the contribution they can make to the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement for a global action plan aimed at limiting global warming to well below 2°C. Municipal governments can develop specific actions and initiatives that can considerably foster a local sustainable development, where the dialogue and cooperation between political and socio-economic actors become a key element. For municipalities, an effective way for supporting the Local Agenda 21 projects and environmental performance improvement is derived from the introduction of a systemic approach for environmental management. By implementing an environmental management system (EMS), municipalities not only can improve the management effectiveness and efficiency, but they can also meet their legal obligations specifically related to the development of local environmental policies and action plans, and improve the transparency to the public about the natural environment quality and environmental protection initiatives. The integration of an Energy Management System (EnMS) can strengthen the actions for a continuous improvement of energy efficiency and, consequently, the attainment of specific energy saving targets in line with the national energy saving targets. The focus of the present paper is aimed at defining the possible actions needed to integrate an EnMS into an implemented and certified EMS. The results of a step-by-step analysis carried out by taking into account the case study of the Municipality of Udine are here presented

Trading carbon between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their hyphae-associated microbes

With the mycorrhizal hyphae on one side connected to plant roots and from the rhizosphere extending to the soil, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi colonize and interconnect simultaneously two environments: specifically the roots of a host plant and the rhizosphere. Whereas the hyphae inside the roots are mainly surrounded by plant cells and in a stable environment, the hyphae extending to the soil are exposed to great variations in abiotic properties and they constantly interact with other organisms in soil such as fungi, macrofauna, microfauna, and bacteria. The total soil volume under the influence of mycorrhizal plants is referred to as the mycorrhizosphere and includes the combined effects exerted on the soil microbial communities by the roots (rhizosphere) and by the mycorrhizal hyphae (hyphosphere). Hence the mycorrhizosphere might be considered the crossroad of the root-soil habitat where complex fine-scale gradients of substrate availability, water potential, and redox state modify the root-soil environment, and consequently the composition, activity, and colonization ability of the surrounding beneficial, pathogenic, and commensal microbial communities. In this chapter we provide an overview of the available scientific knowledge on the identity and putative roles of hyphae-associated microbes in relation to the AM fungi and also to the mycorrhizal host plants. We explore the dynamics of these associations under fluctuating environmental conditions and the evolving insights to understand hyphae-associated microbes. More specifically, we analyze the potential involvement of the microbes in nutrient cycling and carbon transformation in the hyphosphere

Mycorrhizal microbiomes

9th International Conference on Mycorrhiza, Prague, Czech Republic, August 2017International audienceThis Mycorrhiza issue groups topical papers based on presentations and discussions at the Mycorrhizal Microbiomes session at 9th International Conference on Mycorrhiza, Prague, Czech Republic, August 2017. The five articles that appear in this special issue advance the field of mycorrhizal microbiomes, not simply by importing ideas from an emerging area, but by using them to inform rich and methodologically grounded research. The aim of this special issue is to explore the interactions between mycorrhizal fungi and surrounding complex environments from a distinct but complementary point of view, highlighting the large spectrum of unknowns that still need to be explored. In this editorial, we first introduce the level of knowledge in this thematic area, then describe major results from the five manuscripts and characterise their importance to mycorrhizal research, and finally discuss the developing topics in this rapidly emerging thematic area

A soil fungal metacommunity perspective reveals stronger and more localised interactions above the tree line of an alpine/subalpine ecotone

Dispersal affects community structure by facilitating colonisation and homogenising local communities, while species sorting along environmental gradients contributes to divergent community assembly. Fungi often have widespread distributions and are assumed to be dispersed easily across the landscape, with environmental selection being a primary driver of community assembly. To investigate the influence of spatial and environmental characteristics in shaping fungal community patterns, we characterised 143 communities of soil fungi along an altitudinal transect in Australia transitioning from subalpine to alpine vegetation (approximately 150 m difference in elevation over a distance of 1200 m). First, we inferred drivers of community assembly using canonical analyses including climate, edaphic properties, vegetation and spatial variables, all of which explained a statistically significant but very small amount of variation. We then employed an approach that defines the metacommunity with which each local community interacts via immigration and emigration and then estimates metacommunity characteristics. Using this approach, we inferred scales over which community interactions occurred along spatial, environmental and phylogenetic dimensions and the strength of community interactions based on the similarity of local communities to the metacommunity. Constructed metacommunities above the tree line consisted of local communities that were more clustered in space and more homogeneous than those at or below the tree line. Thus, mixing is likely occurring to a greater degree among fewer communities in the alpine environment. Comparisons of metacommunity estimates suggested that fungal evolutionary histories did not constrain community assembly as strongly as spatial proximity or environmental variation. This work suggests that differences exist in how fungal communities assembly along this altitudinal transect, despite site on its own explaining little compositional variation, and that the rate and the degree of species mixing among communities differs depending on the environmental context

Symmetrical thalamic calcifications in a monozygotic twin: case report and literature review

I.F.: 1.464 ISI: CLINICAL NEUROLOG