Mediterranean Sea response to climate change in an ensemble of twenty first century scenarios

The Mediterranean climate is expected to become warmer and drier during the twenty-first century. Mediterranean Sea response to climate change could be modulated by the choice of the socio-economic scenario as well as the choice of the boundary conditions mainly the Atlantic hydrography, the river runoff and the atmospheric fluxes. To assess and quantify the sensitivity of the Mediterranean Sea to the twenty-first century climate change, a set of numerical experiments was carried out with the regional ocean model NEMOMED8 set up for the Mediterranean Sea. The model is forced by air–sea fluxes derived from the regional climate model ARPEGE-Climate at a 50-km horizontal resolution. Historical simulations representing the climate of the period 1961–2000 were run to obtain a reference state. From this baseline, various sensitivity experiments were performed for the period 2001–2099, following different socio-economic scenarios based on the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios. For the A2 scenario, the main three boundary forcings (river runoff, near-Atlantic water hydrography and air–sea fluxes) were changed one by one to better identify the role of each forcing in the way the ocean responds to climate change. In two additional simulations (A1B, B1), the scenario is changed, allowing to quantify the socio-economic uncertainty. Our 6-member scenario simulations display a warming and saltening of the Mediterranean. For the 2070–2099 period compared to 1961–1990, the sea surface temperature anomalies range from +1.73 to +2.97 °C and the SSS anomalies spread from +0.48 to +0.89. In most of the cases, we found that the future Mediterranean thermohaline circulation (MTHC) tends to reach a situation similar to the eastern Mediterranean Transient. However, this response is varying depending on the chosen boundary conditions and socio-economic scenarios. Our numerical experiments suggest that the choice of the near-Atlantic surface water evolution, which is very uncertain in General Circulation Models, has the largest impact on the evolution of the Mediterranean water masses, followed by the choice of the socio-economic scenario. The choice of river runoff and atmospheric forcing both have a smaller impact. The state of the MTHC during the historical period is found to have a large influence on the transfer of surface anomalies toward depth. Besides, subsurface currents are substantially modified in the Ionian Sea and the Balearic region. Finally, the response of thermosteric sea level ranges from +34 to +49 cm (2070–2099 vs. 1961–1990), mainly depending on the Atlantic forcing

Anaerobic Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenase Diversity in the Homoacetogenic Hindgut Microbial Communities of Lower Termites and the Wood Roach

Anaerobic carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) is a key enzyme in the Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl-CoA) pathway for acetogenesis performed by homoacetogenic bacteria. Acetate generated by gut bacteria via the acetyl-CoA pathway provides considerable nutrition to wood-feeding dictyopteran insects making CODH important to the obligate mutualism occurring between termites and their hindgut microbiota. To investigate CODH diversity in insect gut communities, we developed the first degenerate primers designed to amplify cooS genes, which encode the catalytic (β) subunit of anaerobic CODH enzyme complexes. These primers target over 68 million combinations of potential forward and reverse cooS primer-binding sequences. We used the primers to identify cooS genes in bacterial isolates from the hindgut of a phylogenetically lower termite and to sample cooS diversity present in a variety of insect hindgut microbial communities including those of three phylogenetically-lower termites, Zootermopsis nevadensis, Reticulitermes hesperus, and Incisitermes minor, a wood-feeding cockroach, Cryptocercus punctulatus, and an omnivorous cockroach, Periplaneta americana. In total, we sequenced and analyzed 151 different cooS genes. These genes encode proteins that group within one of three highly divergent CODH phylogenetic clades. Each insect gut community contained CODH variants from all three of these clades. The patterns of CODH diversity in these communities likely reflect differences in enzyme or physiological function, and suggest that a diversity of microbial species participate in homoacetogenesis in these communities

Conservative Fragments in Bacterial 16S rRNA Genes and Primer Design for 16S Ribosomal DNA Amplicons in Metagenomic Studies

Bacterial 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) amplicons have been widely used in the classification of uncultured bacteria inhabiting environmental niches. Primers targeting conservative regions of the rDNAs are used to generate amplicons of variant regions that are informative in taxonomic assignment. One problem is that the percentage coverage and application scope of the primers used in previous studies are largely unknown. In this study, conservative fragments of available rDNA sequences were first mined and then used to search for candidate primers within the fragments by measuring the coverage rate defined as the percentage of bacterial sequences containing the target. Thirty predicted primers with a high coverage rate (>90%) were identified, which were basically located in the same conservative regions as known primers in previous reports, whereas 30% of the known primers were associated with a coverage rate of <90%. The application scope of the primers was also examined by calculating the percentages of failed detections in bacterial phyla. Primers A519–539, E969–983, E1063–1081, U515 and E517, are highly recommended because of their high coverage in almost all phyla. As expected, the three predominant phyla, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes and Proteobacteria, are best covered by the predicted primers. The primers recommended in this report shall facilitate a comprehensive and reliable survey of bacterial diversity in metagenomic studies

Inhibition of MLC Phosphorylation Restricts Replication of Influenza Virus—A Mechanism of Action for Anti-Influenza Agents

Influenza A viruses are a severe threat worldwide, causing large epidemics that kill thousands every year. Prevention of influenza infection is complicated by continuous viral antigenic changes. Newer anti-influenza agents include MEK/ERK and protein kinase C inhibitors; however, the downstream effectors of these pathways have not been determined. In this study, we identified a common mechanism for the inhibitory effects of a significant group of anti-influenza agents. Our studies showed that influenza infection activates a series of signaling pathways that converge to induce myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation and remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. Inhibiting MLC phosphorylation by blocking RhoA/Rho kinase, phospholipase C/protein kinase C, and HRas/Raf/MEK/ERK pathways with the use of genetic or chemical manipulation leads to the inhibition of influenza proliferation. In contrast, the induction of MLC phosphorylation enhances influenza proliferation, as does activation of the HRas/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. This effect is attenuated by inhibiting MLC phosphorylation. Additionally, in intracellular trafficking studies, we found that the nuclear export of influenza ribonucleoprotein depends on MLC phosphorylation. Our studies provide evidence that modulation of MLC phosphorylation is an underlying mechanism for the inhibitory effects of many anti-influenza compounds

Symbiotic Legume Nodules Employ Both Rhizobial Exo- and Endo-Hydrogenases to Recycle Hydrogen Produced by Nitrogen Fixation

BACKGROUND: In symbiotic legume nodules, endosymbiotic rhizobia (bacteroids) fix atmospheric N(2), an ATP-dependent catalytic process yielding stoichiometric ammonium and hydrogen gas (H(2)). While in most legume nodules this H(2) is quantitatively evolved, which loss drains metabolic energy, certain bacteroid strains employ uptake hydrogenase activity and thus evolve little or no H(2). Rather, endogenous H(2) is efficiently respired at the expense of O(2), driving oxidative phosphorylation, recouping ATP used for H(2) production, and increasing the efficiency of symbiotic nodule N(2) fixation. In many ensuing investigations since its discovery as a physiological process, bacteroid uptake hydrogenase activity has been presumed a single entity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Azorhizobium caulinodans, the nodule endosymbiont of Sesbania rostrata stems and roots, possesses both orthodox respiratory (exo-)hydrogenase and novel (endo-)hydrogenase activities. These two respiratory hydrogenases are structurally quite distinct and encoded by disparate, unlinked gene-sets. As shown here, in S. rostrata symbiotic nodules, haploid A. caulinodans bacteroids carrying single knockout alleles in either exo- or-endo-hydrogenase structural genes, like the wild-type parent, evolve no detectable H(2) and thus are fully competent for endogenous H(2) recycling. Whereas, nodules formed with A. caulinodans exo-, endo-hydrogenase double-mutants evolve endogenous H(2) quantitatively and thus suffer complete loss of H(2) recycling capability. More generally, from bioinformatic analyses, diazotrophic microaerophiles, including rhizobia, which respire H(2) may carry both exo- and endo-hydrogenase gene-sets. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In symbiotic S. rostrata nodules, A. caulinodans bacteroids can use either respiratory hydrogenase to recycle endogenous H(2) produced by N(2) fixation. Thus, H(2) recycling by symbiotic legume nodules may involve multiple respiratory hydrogenases

Acetic Acid Bacteria: Physiology and Carbon Sources Oxidation

Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are obligately aerobic bacteria within the family Acetobacteraceae, widespread in sugary, acidic and alcoholic niches. They are known for their ability to partially oxidise a variety of carbohydrates and to release the corresponding metabolites (aldehydes, ketones and organic acids) into the media. Since a long time they are used to perform specific oxidation reactions through processes called “oxidative fermentations”, especially in vinegar production. In the last decades physiology of AAB have been widely studied because of their role in food production, where they act as beneficial or spoiling organisms, and in biotechnological industry, where their oxidation machinery is exploited to produce a number of compounds such as l-ascorbic acid, dihydroxyacetone, gluconic acid and cellulose. The present review aims to provide an overview of AAB physiology focusing carbon sources oxidation and main products of their metabolism

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in sqrt(s) =7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena in final states with four or more leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of $\sqrt{s}=7\;\mathrm{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in two signal regions: one that requires moderate values of missing transverse momentum and another that requires large effective mass. The results are interpreted in a simplified model of R-parity-violating supersymmetry in which a 95% CL exclusion region is set for charged wino masses up to 540 GeV. In an R-parity-violating MSUGRA/CMSSM model, values of m 1/2 up to 820 GeV are excluded for 10 < tan β < 40

Search for high-mass resonances decaying to dilepton final states in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. The search is sensitive to heavy neutral Z′ gauge bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, Z * bosons, techni-mesons, Kaluza-Klein Z/γ bosons, and bosons predicted by Torsion models. Results are presented based on an analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb−1 in the e + e − channel and 5.0 fb−1 in the μ + μ −channel. A Z ′ boson with Standard Model-like couplings is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.22 TeV. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/MPl=0.1 is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.16 TeV. Limits on the other models are also presented, including Technicolor and Minimal Z′ Models