Rubus humulifolius rescued by narrowest possible margin, conserved ex situ, and reintroduced in the wild

Rubus humulifolius is a Eurasian species that has got wide geographic distribution from western parts of Russia to Manchuria. The westernmost and separate population of R. humulifolius was found in Central Finland in 1917. The population was assumed to be formed via anthropogenic dispersal either in early nineteenth or early eighteenth century. In 20's the population was regarded as viable as it covered an area of a hectare almost as a monoculture in the field layer and it was protected by law in 1933. However, the state of the population started to decline in the same year as the area was ditched. In 1957 there were only fifteen rosettes left and five rosettes of were transplanted from the site to a private cottage garden just before the whole area was turned into a construction area and remaining population destroyed. The rescued population thrived but attempts to reintroduce plants from it to other sites considered to be suitable for the species were unsuccessful. Therefore, a research project initiated in 1986 for finding a suitable in vitro method for vegetative propagation of the plant. Eventually, the right formula for a substrate was found and 1500 new plants were produced in a couple of months. Now the in vitro propagated descendants of the five rescued ramets grow in several Finnish botanic gardens as part of their living collections and they also have been reintroduced to a natural site close to the original one in Central Finland. One can assume that a plant population that has gone through two bottlenecks – i.e. establishment of new population by presumably few long-distance dispersed genetic individuals and population decline to near extirpation – has got very narrow genetic diversity. Whether this is the case and whether inbreeding depression could explain e.g. the observed poor seed production in the population remains as a challenge for future research. Owing to ex situ conservation and in vitro technique applied for the first time to reintroduce an endangered species R. humulifolius is no more in immediate danger of extirpation. However, it is still classified as Critically Endangered (CR) as there is still only one population in the wild and it may be genetically depauperate.Rubus humulifolius is a Eurasian species that has got wide geographic distribution from western parts of Russia to Manchuria. The westernmost and separate population of R. humulifolius was found in Central Finland in 1917. The population was assumed to be formed via anthropogenic dispersal either in early nineteenth or early eighteenth century. In 20's the population was regarded as viable as it covered an area of a hectare almost as a monoculture in the field layer and it was protected by law in 1933. However, the state of the population started to decline in the same year as the area was ditched. In 1957 there were only fifteen rosettes left and five rosettes of were transplanted from the site to a private cottage garden just before the whole area was turned into a construction area and remaining population destroyed. The rescued population thrived but attempts to reintroduce plants from it to other sites considered to be suitable for the species were unsuccessful. Therefore, a research project initiated in 1986 for finding a suitable in vitro method for vegetative propagation of the plant. Eventually, the right formula for a substrate was found and 1500 new plants were produced in a couple of months. Now the in vitro propagated descendants of the five rescued ramets grow in several Finnish botanic gardens as part of their living collections and they also have been reintroduced to a natural site close to the original one in Central Finland. One can assume that a plant population that has gone through two bottlenecks-i.e. establishment of new population by presumably few long-distance dispersed genetic individuals and population decline to near extirpation -has got very narrow genetic diversity. Whether this is the case and whether inbreeding depression could explain e.g. the observed poor seed production in the population remains as a challenge for future research. Owing to ex situ conservation and in vitro technique applied for the first time to reintroduce an endangered species R. humulifolius is no more in immediate danger of extirpation. However, it is still classified as Critically Endangered (CR) as there is still only one population in the wild and it may be genetically depauperate.Peer reviewe

Mismatches in Gene Deletions and Kidney-related Proteins as Candidates for Histocompatibility Factors in Kidney Transplantation

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 International Society of NephrologyIntroduction: The genomic mismatch level between donor and recipient may be associated with the risk of rejection and graft survival. We determined the association of genome-level matching with acute rejection in deceased-donor kidney transplantation. Methods: The study cohort consists of 1025 recipient-donor pairs transplanted in a single center from 2007 to 2017 in Helsinki. The associations between the sums of whole-genome missense variant mismatches and missense mismatches in transmembrane, secretory, and kidney-related proteins, with acute rejection were estimated using Cox model. In addition, we analyzed 40 deletion-tagging variants using Cox model. Results: The association analysis between mismatch sums of kidney-related proteins and acute rejection resulted in an unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.15 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.30; P = 0.029) and adjusted HR of 1.13 (95% CI, 0.99–1.28; P = 0.071). In deletion analysis, a mismatch in rs7542235 genotype GG tagging a homozygous deletion at the complement factor H-related (CFHR), proteins locus, predisposed to acute rejection with an unadjusted HR of 3.10 (95% CI, 1.53–6.29; P = 0.002) and adjusted HR of 2.97 (95% CI, 1.46–6.05; P = 0.003). Conclusion: In conclusion, analyses of genome-level mismatches may be useful tools in prediction of transplantation outcome. The relative importance differs between populations, because we found evidence for CFHR deletion but could not replicate the finding of previously reported LIMS1 deletion.Peer reviewe

ConservePlants: An integrated approach to conservation of threatened plants for the 21st Century

Even though plants represent an essential part of our lives offering exploitational, supporting and cultural services, we know very little about the biology of the rarest and most threatened plant species, and even less about their conservation status. Rapid changes in the environment and climate, today more pronounced than ever, affect their fitness and distribution causing rapid species declines, sometimes even before they had been discovered. Despite the high goals set by conservationists to protect native plants from further degradation and extinction, the initiatives for the conservation of threatened species in Europe are scattered and have not yielded the desired results. The main aim of this Action is to improve plant conservation in Europe through the establishment of a network of scientists and other stakeholders who deal with different aspects of plant conservation, from plant taxonomy, ecology, conservation genetics, conservation, physiology and reproductive biology to protected area's managers, not forgetting social scientists, who are crucial when dealing with the general public.Non peer reviewe

Invertebrate collections policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History

The collection policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus is hierarchically structured. General principles and guidelines are defined in the General Collections Policy. Subordinate to it, the collection policies for the individual sub-collections implement and specify these guidelines and instructions, considering the special nature of each subcollection. The invertebrate collections policy in 2017 was the first sub-collection policy to observe this hierarchical structure, and was guided by the standards set by the European SYNTHESYS collections management self-assessment procedure. The invertebrate collections policy directs all activities related to the Luomus invertebrate collections (apart from DNA and tissue samples), which comprise the separately managed entomological collections (ca. 9 million specimens) and collections of other invertebrates (0.4 million). The policy defines the purpose of the collections, outlines the objectives and content of procedures and activities related to them, the division of responsibilities for the administration and care of the collections within the organisation, and the principles and practices for the acquisition, preservation, accessibility and use of the collections.Non peer reviewe

Sammalten etäsuojeluopas

Tämä on todennäköisesti ensimmäinen uhanalaisten sammalten ex situ -suojelumenetelmien opas maailmassa. Ex situ -suojelun, tai suomalaisittain etäsuojelun, piiriin kuuluvat menetelmät, joiden avulla uhanalaisia lajeja pyritään suojelemaan muualla kuin niiden alkuperäisissä ympäristöissä. Lajien suojeleminen luonnossa, eli in situ -suojelu, on ensisijainen suojelun muoto, koska samalla voidaan suojella arvokkaita elinympäristöjä ja niiden geneettistä ja toiminnallista monimuotoisuutta. Etäsuojelu tukee in situ -suojelua ja varmistaa geneettisen monimuotoi- suuden säilymisen esimerkiksi habitaatin äkillisen tuhoutumisen varalta. Se myös muodostaa reservin uhanalaisten lajien palauttamiselle ja osaltaan torjuu ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttamaa uhkaa lajistollemme

Palaentology Collection Policy

The Paleontological Collection (PalCo) is one of partial collections of the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus. General principles and guidelines for the collections are defined in the General Collection Policy of Luomus. The PalCo Policy is subordinate to the General Collection Policy of Luomus, clarifying its content with reference to the special characteristics of the paleontological collections. The PalCo includes fossil plant, invertebrate and vertebrate specimens worldwide in scope and from all geologic ages to support Finnish research and educational projects. The coverage emphasizes Paleozoic and Quaternary specimens from Finland, the Baltic countries and Scandinavia. The PalCo Policy defines the purpose of the collections, the objectives, the distribution of responsibilities for collection management and maintenance in the organisation, and the principles of collection accumulation, preservation, accessibility and use.Non peer reviewe

Herbarium collections policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History

The herbarium collections are sub-collections of the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus that manages national natural history collections, as referred to in the Universities Act. The general collections policy defines the overall principles and guidelines concerning the collections practices. The sub-collections policies specify its guidelines and instructions, considering the special nature of the sub-collections. The policy for the botanical and mycological herbarium collections guides the activities related to all botanical, mycological and phycological collections in herbaria, hence excluding digital collections, DNA and tissue samples as well as living collections, which have separate policies. The herbarium collections policy defines and outlines the purpose of the collections as is to accrue and preserve natural specimens representing biodiversity for research and university-level teaching. The policy defines the objectives and content of related activities, the division of responsibilities for the administration and care of the collections within the organisation, and the general principles and practices for the acquisition, preservation, availability and use of the collections.Non peer reviewe

Nordic Crop Wild Relative conservation : A report from two cooperation projects 2015-2019

The report summarizes results from a cooperation among all the Nordic countries during the period 2015 – 2019 (two projects). The work has focused on the conservation of Crop Wild Relatives (CWR), i.e. wild plant species closely related to crops. They are of special importance to humanity since traits of potential value for food security and climate change adaptation can be transferred from CWR into crops. The projects represent the first joint action on the Nordic level regarding in situ conservation of CWR. Substantial progress has been made regarding CWR conservation planning, including development of a Nordic CWR checklist and identification of suitable sites for CWR conservation. A set of recommended future actions was developed, with the most important one being initiation of active in situ conservation of CWR in all Nordic countries

Ilmastonmuutos ja avustettu leviäminen

Nopea ilmastonmuutos on vaaraksi monille lajeille. Ruijanesikko (Primula nutans) on pohjoinen kasvilaji, joka esiintyy maassamme suhteellisen pienellä alueella Perämeren rannikolla. Laji on rauhoitettu, mutta kenties tämä ei riitä lämpenevässä maailmassa. Voitaisiinko ruijanesikon tulevaisuus turvata, jos sen siemeniä levitetään tai taimia istutetaan uusille kasvupaikoille, joissa näkymät lajin säilymiselle ovat nykytilannetta valoisammat ja joihin se tilanteen salliessa voisi itsekin levittäytyä? Tällaista uutta lajiensuojelun keinoa kutsutaan avustetuksi leviämiseksi. Se on herättänyt kiinnostusta, hämmennystä ja kiistaa luonnonsuojelutieteissä

General Collections Policy of the Finnish Museum of Natural History

As part of its quality management and goal-driven strategic development, the Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus drafts policy documents to guide its operational sectors. The purpose of such policies is to define the content and procedures of the Museum’s activities. They answer the questions “what”, “why”, “who” and “for whom” about the activities they discuss, which is to say that they define and delimit the scope of the operational sector, provide the operations with a purpose and determine their content, describe the allocation of responsibilities in the sector under the Luomus organisation and identify the target groups. The policies provide general objectives and thus form the basis for target programmes and any action plans which in turn answer the question “How can we reach the designated goals?”. Policies are not tied to a schedule, unlike target programmes, even though they must be dynamic and updated periodically to better serve the organisation. The core activities at Luomus are: (1) maintenance of the scientific collections, (2) research and (3) expert services. The General Collections Policy sets guidelines for the maintenance of the scientific collections based on the mission of the University of Helsinki and LuomusNon peer reviewe