PERCEPTIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND OF TOURISM IN THE ALTAI REPUBLIC, THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Although only 210,000 people reside in the Altai Republic of Western Siberia, the area received 1.8 million tourists in 2015. The overwhelming majority of visitors arrive from other areas of Russia. While tourists appreciate the landscape of the Altai Mountains and bring increased seasonal economic activity, not all of tourism’s effects benefit the local culture, economy or environment. This paper presents survey data concerning perceptions of residents and visitors about the environment and tourism. During the summer of 2015, a survey was distributed in four locations across the Altai Republic. Resident respondents included Russians, local members of Altaian clans, and Kazakhs, and visitors included Russian citizens from across the Russian Federation. Analyzing the data contributes to understanding the complex interactions between tourists, residents, indigenous peoples, the environment and the cultural landscape

Causes and consequences of large clonal assemblies in a poplar hybrid zone.

Asexual reproduction is a common and fundamental mode of reproduction in plants. Although persistence in adverse conditions underlies most known cases of clonal dominance, proximal genetic drivers remain unclear, in particular for populations dominated by a few large clones. In this paper, we studied a clonal population of the riparian tree Populus alba in the Douro river basin (northwestern Iberian Peninsula) where it hybridizes with P. tremula, a species that grows in highly contrasted ecological conditions. We used 73 nuclear microsatellites to test whether genomic background (species ancestry) is a relevant cause of clonal success, and to assess the evolutionary consequences of clonal dominance by a few genets. Additional Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS) data were produced to estimate the age of the largest clones. We found that a few ancient (over a few thousand years old) and widespread genets dominate the population, both in terms of clone size and number of sexual offspring produced. Interestingly, large clones possessed two genomic regions introgressed from P. tremula, which may have favored their spread under stressful environmental conditions. At the population level, the spread of large genets was accompanied by an overall ancient (>0.1 Myr) but soft decline of effective population size. Despite this decrease, and the high clonality and dominance of sexual reproduction by large clones, the Douro hybrid zone still displays considerable genetic diversity and low inbreeding. This suggests that, even in extreme cases as in the Douro, asexual and sexual dominance of a few large, geographically-extended individuals does not threaten population survival. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Human immortalized chondrocytes carrying heterozygous FGFR3 mutations: An in vitro model to study chondrodysplasias

AbstractAchondroplasia and thanatophoric dysplasia are human chondrodysplasias caused by mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene. We have developed an immortalized human chondrocyte culture model to study the regulation of chondrocyte functions. One control and eight mutant chondrocytic lines expressing different FGFR3 heterozygous mutations were obtained. FGFR3 signaling pathways were modified in the mutant lines as revealed by the constitutive activation of the STAT pathway and an increased level of P21WAF1/CIP1 protein. This model will be useful for the study of FGFR3 function in cartilage studies and future therapeutic approaches in chondrodysplasias

Causes and consequences of large clonal assemblies in a poplar hybrid zone

Asexual reproduction is a common and fundamental mode of reproduction in plants. Although persistence in adverse conditions underlies most known cases of clonal dominance, proximal genetic drivers remain unclear, in particular for populations dominated by a few large clones. In this study, we studied a clonal population of the riparian tree Populus alba in the Douro river basin (northwestern Iberian Peninsula) where it hybridizes with Populus tremula, a species that grows in highly contrasted ecological conditions. We used 73 nuclear microsatellites to test whether genomic background (species ancestry) is a relevant cause of clonal success, and to assess the evolutionary consequences of clonal dominance by a few genets. Additional genotyping-by-sequencing data were produced to estimate the age of the largest clones. We found that a few ancient (over a few thousand years old) and widespread genets dominate the population, both in terms of clone size and number of sexual offspring produced. Interestingly, large clones possessed two genomic regions introgressed from P. tremula, which may have favoured their spread under stressful environmental conditions. At the population level, the spread of large genets was accompanied by an overall ancient (>0.1 Myr) but soft decline of effective population size. Despite this decrease, and the high clonality and dominance of sexual reproduction by large clones, the Douro hybrid zone still displays considerable genetic diversity and low inbreeding. This suggests that even in extreme cases as in the Douro, asexual and sexual dominance of a few large, geographically extended individuals does not threaten population survival

Geography determines genetic relationships between species of mountain pine (Pinus mugo complex) in western Europe

Aim  Our aims were to test whether morphological species of mountain pines were genetically supported in the western part of the distribution range of the Pinus mugo species complex (Pinus mugo Turra sensu lato), to resolve genetically homogeneous clusters of populations, to determine historical demographic processes, and to assess the potential hybridization of mountain pines with Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L. Location  Populations were sampled in the Iberian System, the Pyrenees, the French Mont Ventoux, Vosges and Jura mountains, the German Black Forest and throughout the Alps. This corresponded to a range-wide sampling for mountain pine sensu stricto (Pinus uncinata Ram.) and to a sampling of the western parts of the ranges of dwarf mountain pine (Pinus mugo Turra sensu stricto) and bog pine/peatbog pine [Pinus rotundata Link/Pinus × pseudopumilio (Willk.) Beck]. Methods  In total, 786 individuals of P. mugo sensu lato from 29 natural populations, and 85 individuals of P. sylvestris from four natural populations were genotyped at three chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs). Populations were characterized for standard genetic diversity statistics and signs of demographic expansion. Genetic structure was explored using analysis of molecular variance, differentiation statistics and Bayesian analysis of population structure (BAPS). Results  One hundred haplotypes were identified in P. mugo sensu lato. There was a stronger differentiation between geographical regions than between morphologically identified taxa (P. mugo sensu stricto, P. uncinata and P. rotundata/P. ×pseudopumilio). Overall genetic differentiation was weak (GST = 0.070) and displayed a clear phylogeographic structure [NST = 0.263, NST > NST (permuted), P < 0.001]. BAPS identified a Pyrenean and an Alpine gene pool, along with several smaller genetic clusters corresponding to peripheral populations. Main conclusions  The core regions of the Pyrenees and Alps were probably recolonized, respectively by P. uncinata and P. uncinata/P. mugo sensu stricto, from multiple glacial refugia that were well connected by pollen flow within the mountain chains. Pinus rotundata/P. × pseudopumilio populations from the Black Forest, Vosges and Jura mountains were probably recolonized from various glacial populations that kept their genetic distinctiveness despite late glacial and early Holocene expansion. Marginal P. uncinata populations from the Iberian System are compatible with elevational shifts and long-term isolation. The causes of haplotype sharing between P. mugo sensu lato and P. sylvestris require further researc

Divergent selection in a Mediterranean pine on local spatial scales

1. The effects of selection on an organism's genome are hard to detect on small spatial scales, as gene flow can swamp signatures of local adaptation. Therefore, most genome scans to detect signatures of environmental selection are performed on large spatial scales; however, divergent selection on the local scale (e.g. between contrasting soil conditions) has also been demonstrated, in particular for herbaceous plants. 2. Here, we hypothesised that in topographically complex landscapes, microenvironment variability is strong enough to leave a selective footprint in the genomes of long-lived organisms. To test this, we investigated paired south- versus north-facing Pinus pinaster stands on the local scale, with trees growing in close vicinity (≤820 m distance between paired south- and north-facing stands), in a Mediterranean mountain area. While trees on north-facing slopes experience less radiation, trees on south-facing slopes suffer from especially harsh conditions, particularly during the dry summer season. 3. Two outlier analyses consistently revealed five putatively adaptive loci (out of 4034), in candidate genes two of which encoded non-synonymous substitutions. Additionally, one locus showed consistent allele frequency differences in all three stand pairs indicating divergent selection despite high gene flow on the local scale. Permutation tests demonstrated that our findings were robust. 4. Functional annotation of these candidate genes revealed biological functions related to abiotic stress response, such as water availability, in other plant species. 5. Synthesis. Our study highlights how divergent selection in heterogeneous microenvironments shapes and maintains the functional genetic variation within populations of long-lived forest tree species, being the first to focus on adaptive genetic divergence between south- and north-facing slopes within continuous forest stands. This is especially relevant in the current context of climate change, as this variation is at the base of plant population responses to future climate.European Commission http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780European Science Foundation http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000782Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004837University of BrodeauxPeer Reviewe

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