Evidence of trophic transfer of microcystins from the gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis to the fish Gasterosteus aculeatus.

International audienceAccording to our previous results the gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis exposed to MC-producing cyanobacteria accumulates microcystins (MCs) both as free and covalently bound forms in its tissues, therefore representing a potential risk of MC transfer through the food web. This study demonstrates in a laboratory experiment the transfer of free and bound MCs from L. stagnalis intoxicated by MC-producing Planktothrix agardhii ingestion to the fish Gasterosteus aculeatus. Fish were fed during five days with digestive glands of L. stagnalis containing various concentrations of free and bound MCs, then with toxin-free digestive glands during a 5-day depuration period. MC accumulation was measured in gastropod digestive gland and in various fish organs (liver, muscle, kidney, and gills). The impact on fish was evaluated through detoxification enzyme (glutathion-S-transferase, glutathion peroxydase and superoxyde dismutase) activities, hepatic histopathology, and modifications in gill ventilation, feeding and locomotion. G. aculeatus ingestion rate was similar with intoxicated and toxin-free diet. Fish accumulated MCs (up to 3.96 ± 0.14 μg g−1 DW) in all organs and in decreasing order in liver, muscle, kidney and gills. Hepatic histopathology was moderate. Glutathion peroxydase was activated in gills during intoxication suggesting a slight reactive oxygen species production, but without any impact on gill ventilation. Intoxication via ingestion of MC-intoxicated snails impacted fish locomotion. Intoxicated fish remained significantly less mobile than controls during the intoxication period possibly due to a lower health condition, whereas they showed a greater mobility during the depuration period that might be related to an acute foraging for food. During depuration, MC elimination was total in gills and kidney, but partial in liver and muscle. Our results assess the MC transfer from gastropods to fish and the potential risk induced by bound MCs in the food web

A framework for convection and boundary layer parameterization derived from conditional filtering

A new theoretical framework is derived for parameterization of subgrid physical processes in atmospheric models; the application to parameterization of convection and boundary layer fluxes is a particular focus. The derivation is based on conditional filtering, which uses a set of quasi-Lagrangian labels to pick out different regions of the fluid, such as convective updrafts and environment, before applying a spatial filter. This results in a set of coupled prognostic equations for the different fluid components, including subfilter-scale flux terms and entrainment/detrainment terms. The framework can accommodate different types of approaches to parameterization, such as local turbulence approaches and mass-flux approaches. It provides a natural way to distinguish between local and nonlocal transport processes, and makes a clearer conceptual link to schemes based on coherent structures such as convective plumes or thermals than the straightforward application of a filter without the quasi-Lagrangian labels. The framework should facilitate the unification of different approaches to parameterization by highlighting the different approximations made, and by helping to ensure that budgets of energy, entropy, and momentum are handled consistently and without double counting. The framework also points to various ways in which traditional parameterizations might be extended, for example by including additional prognostic variables. One possibility is to allow the large-scale dynamics of all the fluid components to be handled by the dynamical core. This has the potential to improve several aspects of convection-dynamics coupling, such as dynamical memory, the location of compensating subsidence, and the propagation of convection to neighboring grid columns

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics' resources: focus on curated databases

The SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (www.isb-sib.ch) provides world-class bioinformatics databases, software tools, services and training to the international life science community in academia and industry. These solutions allow life scientists to turn the exponentially growing amount of data into knowledge. Here, we provide an overview of SIB's resources and competence areas, with a strong focus on curated databases and SIB's most popular and widely used resources. In particular, SIB's Bioinformatics resource portal ExPASy features over 150 resources, including UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, ENZYME, PROSITE, neXtProt, STRING, UniCarbKB, SugarBindDB, SwissRegulon, EPD, arrayMap, Bgee, SWISS-MODEL Repository, OMA, OrthoDB and other databases, which are briefly described in this article

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Impacts des cyanobactéries toxiques sur les gastéropodes dulcicoles et sur leur rôle de vecteur dans le transfert des microcystines au sein du réseau trophique

L eutrophisation croissante des eaux douces aggrave les proliférations de cyanobactéries, productrices d hépatotoxines [e.g. microcystines (MCs)]. Dans les cellules des organismes cibles les MCs inhibent les protéines phosphatases et conduisent à la destruction des tissus. Lors d expositions chroniques, nous avons montré que la consommation de cyanobactéries toxiques (Planktothrix agardhii) par 2 espèces de gastéropodes, le pulmoné Lymnaea stagnalis et le prosobranche Potamopyrgus antipodarum, entraîne une baisse de croissance et de fécondité, l accumulation de MCs dans les tissus et des effets histopathologiques sévères. L ingestion de cyanobactéries toxiques et l exposition à la MC dissoute dans le milieu engendrent un impact négatif sur la fitness (i.e., éclosion des œufs, développement embryonnaire et survie des néonates) de L. stagnalis. Ces résultats prédisent un impact sur la structure des communautés de gastéropodes, démontré en milieu naturel (Lac de Grand Lieu), et un risque de transfert des MCs des gastéropodes à leurs consommateurs, vérifié au laboratoire à travers: 1) la persistance des MCs liées dans les tissus du pulmoné après 3 semaines de dépuration, et 2) l accumulation de MCs dans les organes de l'épinoche Gasterosteus aculeatus (principalement dans le foie et les muscles) après consommation de glandes digestives de L. stagnalis intoxiquées par des MCs.The eutrophisation of fresh waters increases the frequency of proliferation of cyanobacteria producing hepatotoxins [e.g. microcystins (MCs)]. In the cells of target organisms, MCs inhibit phosphatase proteins, leading to tissue destruction. Through chronic exposures, we demonstrated the consumption of toxic cyanobacteria (Planktothrix agardhii) by 2 gastropod species, the pulmonate Lymnaea stagnalis and the prosobranch Potamopyrgus antipodarum. This consumption induced a decrease of growth and fecundity, a MC accumulation in gastropod tissues, and severe histopathological impact. Toxic cyanobacteria ingestion and dissolved MC exposure induced a negative impact on the fitness (i.e., hatching success of eggs, embryo development time and neonate survival) of L. stagnalis. The results suggest an impact on the structure of gastropod communities, demonstrated during a 1-year monthly survey in the Grand Lieu Lake (France), and a risk of MC transfer from gastropods to their consumers, verified in the laboratory through: 1) the persistence of bound MCs in the pulmonate tissues, even after 3 weeks of depuration, and 2) the MC accumulation in organs of the 3-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (mainly in liver and muscles) after consumption of digestive glands of L. stagnalis intoxicated by MCs.RENNES1-BU Sciences Philo (352382102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Interactions between cyanobacteria and Gastropods. I. Ingestion of toxic Planktothrix agardhii by Lymnaea stagnalis and the kinetics of microcystin bioaccumulation and detoxification.

The last two decades have been marked by an increasing occurrence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in aquatic ecosystems. These pose an expanding threat to the environment and to human health. Among the intracellular toxins produced by cyanobacteria, microcystins (hepatotoxins) are the most frequent and widely studied. As an ubiquitous herbivore living in eutrophic freshwaters, the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) is particularly exposed to cyanobacteria. The toxic filamentous Planktothrix agardhii is common in temperate lakes and is, therefore, a potential food resource for gastropods. We have studied the consumption of P. agardhii by L. stagnalis juveniles and adults in the presence or absence of non-toxic food (lettuce) over a 5-weeks period. Intoxication was followed by a 3-week detoxification period when snails were fed only on lettuce. The kinetics of microcystin accumulation and detoxification in the gastropods were established using the ELISA analytical method. The results showed an ingestion of toxic P. agardhii by L. stagnalis, even in the presence of lettuce, and the absence of food selection regardless of the age of the snails. Juveniles and adults consumed the same number of cells per millilitre and consumption was proportional to food availability. On average, 63% of cyanobacteria available were taken up during the first 24 h. After 5 weeks of intoxication, 61% of the toxins present in the ingested cyanobacterial cells had accumulated in snail tissues (95% in the digestive– genital gland complex) with a concentration up to 80.4±4.9ggDW-1. Toxin accumulation was greater in the gastropods fed on P. agardhii alone than those fed on the mixed diet, and was also greater in juveniles than in adults. After the removal of toxic cyanobacteria, detoxification was rapid: 64% of the toxins disappeared from snail tissues during the first week, but microcystins were still detected after 3 weeks (on average, 3.5±0.9ggDW-1). These results are discussed in terms of potential contamination to the food web

Interactions between cyanobacteria and Gastropods. I. Ingestion of toxic Planktothrix agardhii by Lymnaea stagnalis and the kinetics of microcystin bioaccumulation and detoxification.

The last two decades have been marked by an increasing occurrence of toxic cyanobacterial blooms in aquatic ecosystems. These pose an expanding threat to the environment and to human health. Among the intracellular toxins produced by cyanobacteria, microcystins (hepatotoxins) are the most frequent and widely studied. As an ubiquitous herbivore living in eutrophic freshwaters, the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) is particularly exposed to cyanobacteria. The toxic filamentous Planktothrix agardhii is common in temperate lakes and is, therefore, a potential food resource for gastropods. We have studied the consumption of P. agardhii by L. stagnalis juveniles and adults in the presence or absence of non-toxic food (lettuce) over a 5-weeks period. Intoxication was followed by a 3-week detoxification period when snails were fed only on lettuce. The kinetics of microcystin accumulation and detoxification in the gastropods were established using the ELISA analytical method. The results showed an ingestion of toxic P. agardhii by L. stagnalis, even in the presence of lettuce, and the absence of food selection regardless of the age of the snails. Juveniles and adults consumed the same number of cells per millilitre and consumption was proportional to food availability. On average, 63% of cyanobacteria available were taken up during the first 24 h. After 5 weeks of intoxication, 61% of the toxins present in the ingested cyanobacterial cells had accumulated in snail tissues (95% in the digestive– genital gland complex) with a concentration up to 80.4±4.9ggDW-1. Toxin accumulation was greater in the gastropods fed on P. agardhii alone than those fed on the mixed diet, and was also greater in juveniles than in adults. After the removal of toxic cyanobacteria, detoxification was rapid: 64% of the toxins disappeared from snail tissues during the first week, but microcystins were still detected after 3 weeks (on average, 3.5±0.9ggDW-1). These results are discussed in terms of potential contamination to the food web