Phenotypic evolution in microalgae: a dramatic morphological shift in Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides (Chlorophyta) after exposure to TNT

Phenotypic evolution in microalgae: a dramatic morphological shift in Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides (Chlorophyta) after exposure to TNT. The occurrence of rapid morphological evolution in the microalga Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides (Chlorophyta) was induced after exposure of the wild strains of the alga to the potent algal poison 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). After exposing a wildtype population (consisted of representative spherical-ellipsoidal cells) to doses of TNT that were lethal for most of the cells, a TNT-resistant spindle-shaped mutant was able to proliferate. This spindleshaped mutant appeared spontaneously by rare mutations before the selective treatment: in deed, it was already present in the wild population. The frequency of the mutants within the ancestral population seemed to be determined by the balance between the rate of accumulation by recurrent mutation and the rate of elimination by selection (ranging 10-102 spindle-shaped mutants per 106 cells). We hypothesize that clone selection could take place in asexual populations of microalgae by selection of rare, pre-selective genotypes, driven by a drastic selective pressure subsequent to a catastrophic environmental changeEvolucion fenotípica en microalgas: un cambio morfológico espectacular en Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides (Chlorophyta) tras la exposición a TNT. Un cambio morfológico muy rápido tiene lugar en Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides (Chlorophyta) tras la exposición de cepas salvajes al potente alguicida 2,4,6 trinitrotolueno (TNT). Las cepas salvajes, sensibles al TNT, tienen una morfología típica esférico-elipsoidal. Tras exponer dichas cepas a dosis letales de TNT, solamente sobreviven células resistentes al tóxico cuya silueta es fusiforme. Estos resistentes fusiformes aparecen como consecuencia de mutaciones espontáneas que tienen lugar antes de exponer las cepas salvajes al agente selectivo (TNT): es decir, las células fusiformes estaban presentes en la población salvaje. La frecuencia de mutantes fusiformes en las poblaciones salvajes está definida por el equilibrio entre la tasa de acumulación de mutantes y la tasa en que son eliminados por tener una eficiencia biológica menor (10-102 mutantes fusiformes por 106 células salvajes). Se propone que la selección de clones podría ser un mecanismo de evolución adaptativa en poblaciones de microalgas asexuales. Este evento opera mediante la selección de genotipos pre-selectivos que aparecen como consecuencia del incremento de la presión de selección como fruto de eventos catastróficos en el medio ambient

Nuevas adiciones al conocimiento de las macroalgas marinas de la isla de Alborán (Mediterráneo Occidental).

Contribution to the knowledge of the seaweeds of Alboran Island (Western Mediterranean)Nuevas adiciones al conocimiento de las macroalgas marinas de la isla de Alborán (Mediterráneo Occidental

First record of the epizoic red seaweed Polysiphonia carettia Hollenberg in the Mediterranean Sea.

Primera cita del alga roja epizoica Polysiphonia carettia Hollenberg en el mar Mediterráneo Key words. Caretta caretta, epibionts, Mediterranean Sea, Polysiphonia carettia. Palabras claves. Caretta carom, cpibiontes, Mar Mediterráneo, Polysiphonia carettia

Strategic Deployment of Swarm of UAVs for Secure IoT Networks

Security provisioning for low-complex and constrained devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) is exacerbating the concerns for the design of future wireless networks. To unveil the full potential of the sixth generation (6G), it is becoming even more evident that security measurements should be considered at all layers of the network. This work aims to contribute in this direction by investigating the employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for providing secure transmissions in ground IoT networks. Toward this purpose, it is considered that a set of UAVs acting as aerial base stations provide secure connectivity between the network and multiple ground nodes. Then, the association of IoT nodes, the 3D positioning of the UAVs and the power allocation of the UAVs are obtained by leveraging game theoretic and convex optimization-based tools with the goal of improving the secrecy of the system. It is shown that the proposed framework obtains better and more efficient secrecy performance over an IoT network than state-of-the-art greedy algorithms for positioning and association