An evaluation of the effectiveness of protected areas in Thailand

Thailand is a biodiversity hotspot and home to over 1000 bird species, 15,000 plant species, and five of the World Wildlife Fund’s Global 200 Ecoregions of ecological significance. To preserve their unique ecosystems, the Thai government has established and maintained protected areas (PA) which in 2020, are estimated to cover 19% of Thailand’s land area. The success of these areas in preserving biodiversity to date is somewhat ambiguous. Using gap analyses, we evaluated the extent and adequacy of coverage provided by these PAs for the preservation of these unique ecoregions, to threatened amphibian, bird, and mammal species richness hotspots and at a range of altitudes within Thailand. Regionally, the Indochina dry forests, Northern Khorat Plateau moist deciduous forests and Malaysian Peninsula rainforests are all under-represented. Though opportunities exist for their protection through marine designation, mangrove and wetland ecosystems are also seriously under-represented in the current spatial layout and network connectivity of Thailand’s protected area system. Highland areas (>750 m elevation) are well-protected, in contrast to the lower altitude areas where human and agricultural pressures are higher. Hotspots of threatened birds located in the northern and southern regions of Thailand, as well as most of the central threatened mammal hotspot, are inadequately covered (<10%). The current PAs could be expanded with a focus on these key areas, or further PAs created to address these gaps in provision. The Thai PA network is also highly fragmented and, in addition to increasing the area covered, contiguity and connectivity of the network should be considered. With human population expansion in the central lowland area particularly, there will be challenges and trade-offs to be negotiated along with enforcement within existing areas. We hope, though, that the results of this study can aid policymakers in improving Thai conservation effectiveness

A pathway from leukemogenic oncogenes and stem cell chemokines to RNA processing via THOC5

THOC5 is a member of the THO complex that is involved in processing and transport of mRNA. We have shown previously that hematopoietic stem cells have an absolute requirement for THOC5 for survival and that THOC5 is phosphorylated on tyrosine 225 as a consequence of leukemogenic protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) action. We have investigated pathways for THOC5 phosphorylation to develop an understanding of THO complex modulation by tyrosine kinase (TK) oncogenes in leukemias. We demonstrate that THOC5 phosphorylation is mediated by Src PTK and CD45 protein tyrosine phosphatase action and that this event is sensitive to oxidative status. We show that THOC5 phosphorylation is elevated in stem cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and that this phosphorylation is sensitive to the frontline drugs used in CML treatment. Further we show that THOC5 Y225 phosphorylation governs mRNA binding. In addition, CXCL12 is shown to induce THOC5 Y225 phosphorylation, and site-directed mutagenesis demonstrates that this modulates motile response. In conclusion, we delineate a signaling pathway stimulated by leukemogenic PTKs, chemokines and oxidative stress that can affect THO complex mediation of gene expression describing mechanisms for post-transcriptional regulation of protein levels