Reaction Textures and Metamorphic Evolution of Sapphirine-bearing Granulites from the Gruf Complex, Italian Central Alps

Mineral chemistries and textures are described from a suite of sapphirine-bearing granulites from the Gruf Complex of the Italian Central Alps. The granulites contain combinations of garnet, orthopyroxene, sapphirine, sillimanite, cordierite, biotite, quartz, spinel, corundum, staurolite, plagioclase, K-feldspar, ilmenite and rutile, in assemblages with low (usually negative) variance. They are outstanding in that they preserve a textural and chemical record of a protracted metamorphic evolution. Reaction textures are common and include: (i) pseudomorphs (e.g. of sillimanite after kyanite); (ii) relatively coarse-grained monomineralic reaction rims (e.g. of cordierite between sapphirine and quartz); (iii) fine-grained symplectitic coronas (e.g. of orthopyroxene + sapphirine round garnet); (iv) inclusions, in garnet cores, of minerals (e.g. staurolite) not found elsewhere in the rocks. Detailed microprobe study has revealed large chemical variations within each phase. Different textural types of each phase have different compositions, and strong zoning is preserved in garnet (Mg/(Mg + Fe) from 0.30 to 0.61) and coarse sapphirine. Inclusion populations in garnet correlate with host composition. The textural and chemical features are interpreted in terms of successive equilibrium assemblages and reactions. Metamorphic conditions operative at each stage in the evolution are calculated using published geothermometers and geobarometers as well as thermodynamically calibrated MAS and FASH equilibria. The results are used to construct a P—T-time path for the sapphirine-granulites, which can be summarized as follows: (i) Increasing T at high P (>7 kb). Partial melting. (ii) A maximum T of ∼830 °C attained at ∼10 kb. (iii) Almost isothermal decompression, reaching 750 °C at ∼5 kb, under conditions of low μH2O. (iv) Further cooling, and decompression. Localized hydration. Rocks exposed. The P—T-time path is interpreted as the product of a single metamorphic cycle (the tertiary ‘Lepontine' event) and is extrapolated to the Gruf Complex as a whole. When combined with published geochronological data, the results indicate an average uplift rate in excess of 2 mm/yr for the Gruf Complex between 38 and 30 Ma ago. An in situ partial melting origin for the sapphirine-granulites is favoured. Extraction of an iron-rich granitic liquid from a normal pelitic palaeosome could generate a refractory residue with the required Mg, Al-rich composition. The change in bulk solid composition during partial melting is thought to account for the extraordinarity strong zoning in the garnet

Interactions between growth-dependent changes in cell size, nutrient supply and cellular elemental stoichiometry of marine Synechococcus

The factors that control elemental ratios within phytoplankton, like carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P), are key to biogeochemical cycles. Previous studies have identified relationships between nutrient-limited growth and elemental ratios in large eukaryotes, but little is known about these interactions in small marine phytoplankton like the globally important Cyanobacteria. To improve our understanding of these interactions in picophytoplankton, we asked how cellular elemental stoichiometry varies as a function of steady-state, N- and P-limited growth in laboratory chemostat cultures of Synechococcus WH8102. By combining empirical data and theoretical modeling, we identified a previously unrecognized factor (growth-dependent variability in cell size) that controls the relationship between nutrient-limited growth and cellular elemental stoichiometry. To predict the cellular elemental stoichiometry of phytoplankton, previous theoretical models rely on the traditional Droop model, which purports that the acquisition of a single limiting nutrient suffices to explain the relationship between a cellular nutrient quota and growth rate. Our study, however, indicates that growth-dependent changes in cell size have an important role in regulating cell nutrient quotas. This key ingredient, along with nutrient-uptake protein regulation, enables our model to predict the cellular elemental stoichiometry of Synechococcus across a range of nutrient-limited conditions. Our analysis also adds to the growth rate hypothesis, suggesting that P-rich biomolecules other than nucleic acids are important drivers of stoichiometric variability in Synechococcus. Lastly, by comparing our data with field observations, our study has important ecological relevance as it provides a framework for understanding and predicting elemental ratios in ocean regions where small phytoplankton like Synechococcus dominates

Best practices in heterotrophic high-cell-density microalgal processes: achievements, potential and possible limitations

Microalgae of numerous heterotrophic genera (obligate or facultative) exhibit considerable metabolic versatility and flexibility but are currently underexploited in the biotechnological manufacturing of known plant-derived compounds, novel high-value biomolecules or enriched biomass. Highly efficient production of microalgal biomass without the need for light is now feasible in inexpensive, well-defined mineral medium, typically supplemented with glucose. Cell densities of more than 100 g l−1 cell dry weight have been achieved with Chlorella, Crypthecodinium and Galdieria species while controlling the addition of organic sources of carbon and energy in fedbatch mode. The ability of microalgae to adapt their metabolism to varying culture conditions provides opportunities to modify, control and thereby maximise the formation of targeted compounds with non-recombinant microalgae. This review outlines the critical aspects of cultivation technology and current best practices in the heterotrophic high-cell-density cultivation of microalgae. The primary topics include (1) the characteristics of microalgae that make them suitable for heterotrophic cultivation, (2) the appropriate chemical composition of mineral growth media, (3) the different strategies for fedbatch cultivations and (4) the principles behind the customisation of biomass composition. The review confirms that, although fundamental knowledge is now available, the development of efficient, economically feasible large-scale bioprocesses remains an obstacle to the commercialisation of this promising technology

Population genomics reveals that an anthropophilic population of Aedes aegypti\textit{Aedes aegypti} mosquitoes in West Africa recently gave rise to American and Asian populations of this major disease vector

$\textbf{BACKGROUND}$: The mosquito $\textit{Aedes aegypti}$ is the main vector of dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever viruses. This major disease vector is thought to have arisen when the African subspecies $\textit{Ae. aegypti}$ formosus evolved from being zoophilic and living in forest habitats into a form that specialises on humans and resides near human population centres. The resulting domestic subspecies, $\textit{Ae. aegypti aegypti}$, is found throughout the tropics and largely blood-feeds on humans. $\textbf{RESULTS}$: To understand this transition, we have sequenced the exomes of mosquitoes collected from five populations from around the world. We found that $\textit{Ae. aegypti}$ specimens from an urban population in Senegal in West Africa were more closely related to populations in Mexico and Sri Lanka than they were to a nearby forest population. We estimate that the populations in Senegal and Mexico split just a few hundred years ago, and we found no evidence of $\textit{Ae. aegypti aegypti}$ mosquitoes migrating back to Africa from elsewhere in the tropics. The out-of-Africa migration was accompanied by a dramatic reduction in effective population size, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity and rare genetic variants. $\textbf{CONCLUSIONS}$: We conclude that a domestic population of $\textit{Ae. aegypti}$ in Senegal and domestic populations on other continents are more closely related to each other than to other African populations. This suggests that an ancestral population of $\textit{Ae. aegypti }$evolved to become a human specialist in Africa, giving rise to the subspecies $\textit{Ae. aegypti aegypti}$. The descendants of this population are still found in West Africa today, and the rest of the world was colonised when mosquitoes from this population migrated out of Africa. This is the first report of an African population of Ae. aegypti aegypti mosquitoes that is closely related to Asian and American populations. As the two subspecies differ in their ability to vector disease, their existence side by side in West Africa may have important implications for disease transmission.This work was funded by European Research Council grant Drosophila Infection 281668 to FMJ, a KAUST AEA award to FMJ and AP, a Medical Research Council Centenary Award to WJP and a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award to JC