Adaptation to fluctuations in temperature by nine species of bacteria

Rapid environmental fluctuations are ubiquitous in the wild, yet majority of experimental studies mostly consider effects of slow fluctuations on organism. To test the evolutionary consequences of fast fluctuations, we conducted nine independent experimental evolution experiments with bacteria. Experimental conditions were same for all species, and we allowed them to evolve either in fluctuating temperature alternating rapidly between 20°C and 40°C or at constant 30°C temperature. After experimental evolution, we tested the performance of the clones in both rapid fluctuation and in constant environments (20°C, 30°C and 40°C). Results from experiments on these nine species were combined meta-analytically. We found that overall the clones evolved in the fluctuating environment had evolved better efficiency in tolerating fluctuations (i.e., they had higher yield in fluctuating conditions) than the clones evolved in the constant environment. However, we did not find any evidence that fluctuation-adapted clones would have evolved better tolerance to any measured constant environments (20°C, 30°C, and 40°C). Our results back up recent empirical findings reporting that it is hard to predict adaptations to fast fluctuations using tolerance curves.Peer reviewe

Helicity-dependent generalized parton distributions for nonzero skewness

We investigate the helicity dependent generalized parton distributions (GPDs) in momentum as well as transverse position (impact) spaces for up and down quarks in a proton when the momentum transfer in both the transverse and longitudinal directions are nonzero. The GPDs are evaluated using the light-front wavefunctions of a quark-diquark model for nucleon where the wavefunctions are constructed by the soft-wall AdS/QCD correspondence. We also express the GPDs in the boost-invariant longitudinal position space.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures; to appear in Eur. Phys. J. C. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1509.0059

Avoimen tieteen koulutukset avoimena – Mikä muuttui?

Avoimen tieteen ja tutkimusdatanhallinnan koulutusten järjes-täminen alkaa olla vakiintunut käytäntö yliopistoissa, ammat-tikorkeakouluissa ja tutkimuslaitoksissa. Koulutukset tarjotaan tavallisimmin oman organisaation henkilöille. Aalto-yliopiston datatukitiimi päätti kokeilla syksyllä 2021, mikä muuttuu – vai muuttuuko mikään – kun koulutukset avataan ilman rajoituksia sekä kotimaisille että ulkomaisille organisaatioille. Ilmoittautuneista yli puolet tuli suomalaisista yliopistoista ja ammattikorkeakouluista. Noin neljännes osallistujista oli aaltolaisia. Koulutukseen oltiin pääasiassa tyytyväisiä, joskin lisää käytännönläheisyyttä kaivattiin

Integration of remote-sensing based metrics and econometric models to assess the socio-economic contributions of carbon sequestration in unmanaged tropical dry forests

Carbon sequestration by forests is one of the vital ecosystem services regulating the global climate. Equally important are the socio-economic co-benefits of carbon sequestration, given their implications for designing policies focused on conservation or restoration of tropical forests. Much debate has been around how to account for, and maximize, the co-benefits of carbon sequestration. Prior research suggests that a better understanding of the spatial relationship between carbon sequestration potential and forest types and dynamics - as a function of geographical context and time - is needed to better estimate their socio-economic benefits. Hence, this paper uses the Tropical Dry Forests of Central and South America to propose a new approach to quantify carbon sequestration of this biome, and its efficiency, using time series of the Terra-MODIS satellite. Our estimations of carbon sequestration are then coupled with a benefit transfer approach to infer carbon sequestration's monetary cost. Results reveal that these tropical forests sequester an annual average of 22.3 ​± ​3.3 tCO2 ha-1 yr-1 or in total, 1.16 GtCO2. The associated social cost of carbon, calculated using three econometric models, ranges from USD 489 ​ha-1 ​yr-1 to USD 2828 ​ha-1 ​yr-1. These results can open new perspectives regarding the benefits of carbon sequestration against the costs of the negative impacts of climate change for national welfare accounts, their relevance for environmental policy-making, and the implementation or monitoring of carbon-based incentive programs (e.g., WAVES)

Recurrent adenylation domain replacement in the microcystin synthetase gene cluster

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Microcystins are small cyclic heptapeptide toxins produced by a range of distantly related cyanobacteria. Microcystins are synthesized on large NRPS-PKS enzyme complexes. Many structural variants of microcystins are produced simulatenously. A recombination event between the first module of <it>mcyB (mcyB1) </it>and <it>mcyC </it>in the microcystin synthetase gene cluster is linked to the simultaneous production of microcystin variants in strains of the genus <it>Microcystis</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we undertook a phylogenetic study to investigate the order and timing of recombination between the <it>mcyB1 </it>and <it>mcyC </it>genes in a diverse selection of microcystin producing cyanobacteria. Our results provide support for complex evolutionary processes taking place at the <it>mcyB1 </it>and <it>mcyC </it>adenylation domains which recognize and activate the amino acids found at X and Z positions. We find evidence for recent recombination between <it>mcyB1 </it>and <it>mcyC </it>in strains of the genera <it>Anabaena</it>, <it>Microcystis</it>, and <it>Hapalosiphon</it>. We also find clear evidence for independent adenylation domain conversion of <it>mcyB1 </it>by unrelated peptide synthetase modules in strains of the genera <it>Nostoc </it>and <it>Microcystis</it>. The recombination events replace only the adenylation domain in each case and the condensation domains of <it>mcyB1 </it>and <it>mcyC </it>are not transferred together with the adenylation domain. Our findings demonstrate that the <it>mcyB1 </it>and <it>mcyC </it>adenylation domains are recombination hotspots in the microcystin synthetase gene cluster.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Recombination is thought to be one of the main mechanisms driving the diversification of NRPSs. However, there is very little information on how recombination takes place in nature. This study demonstrates that functional peptide synthetases are created in nature through transfer of adenylation domains without the concomitant transfer of condensation domains.</p

FADS1 rs174550 genotype and high linoleic acid diet modify plasma PUFA phospholipids in a dietary intervention study

Introduction: Fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) gene encodes for delta-5 desaturase enzyme which is needed in conversion of linoleic acid (LA) to arachidonic acid (AA). Recent studies have shown that response to dietary PUFAs differs between the genotypes in circulating fatty acids. However, interactions between the FADS1 genotype and dietary LA on overall metabolism have not been studied. Objectives: We aimed to examine the interactions of FADS1 rs174550 genotypes (TT and CC) and high-LA diet to identify plasma metabolites that respond differentially to dietary LA according to the FADS1 genotype. Methods: A total of 59 men (TT n = 26, CC n = 33) consumed a sunflower oil supplemented diet for 4\ua0weeks. Daily dose of 30, 40, or 50\ua0ml was calculated based on body mass index. It resulted in 17–28\ua0g of LA on top of the usual daily intake. Fasting plasma samples at the beginning and at the end of the intervention were analyzed with LC–MS/MS non-targeted metabolomics method. Results: At the baseline, the carriers of FADS1 rs174550-TT genotype had higher abundance of long-chain PUFA phospholipids compared to the FADS1 rs174550-CC one. In response to the high-LA diet, LA phospholipids and long-chain acylcarnitines increased and lysophospholipids decreased in fasting plasma similarly in both genotypes. LysoPE (20:4), LysoPC (20:4), and PC (16:0_20:4) decreased and cortisol increased in the carriers of rs174550-CC genotype; however, these genotype–diet interactions were not significant after correction for multiple testing. Conclusion: Our findings show that both FADS1 rs174550 genotype and high-LA diet modify plasma phospholipid composition. Trial registration: The study was registered to ClinicalTrials: NCT02543216, September 7, 2015 (retrospectively registered)

Working-age first-time hearing aid users’ self-reported outcomes

publishedVersionPeer reviewe

FADS1 rs174550 genotype and high linoleic acid diet modify plasma PUFA phospholipids in a dietary intervention study

Introduction Fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1) gene encodes for delta-5 desaturase enzyme which is needed in conversion of linoleic acid (LA) to arachidonic acid (AA). Recent studies have shown that response to dietary PUFAs differs between the genotypes in circulating fatty acids. However, interactions between the FADS1 genotype and dietary LA on overall metabolism have not been studied.Objectives We aimed to examine the interactions of FADS1 rs174550 genotypes (TT and CC) and high-LA diet to identify plasma metabolites that respond differentially to dietary LA according to the FADS1 genotype.Methods A total of 59 men (TT n = 26, CC n = 33) consumed a sunflower oil supplemented diet for 4 weeks. Daily dose of 30, 40, or 50 ml was calculated based on body mass index. It resulted in 17-28 g of LA on top of the usual daily intake. Fasting plasma samples at the beginning and at the end of the intervention were analyzed with LC-MS/MS non-targeted metabolomics method.Results At the baseline, the carriers of FADS1 rs174550-TT genotype had higher abundance of long-chain PUFA phospholipids compared to the FADS1 rs174550-CC one. In response to the high-LA diet, LA phospholipids and long-chain acylcarnitines increased and lysophospholipids decreased in fasting plasma similarly in both genotypes. LysoPE (20:4), LysoPC (20:4), and PC (16:0_20:4) decreased and cortisol increased in the carriers of rs174550-CC genotype; however, these genotype-diet interactions were not significant after correction for multiple testing.Conclusion Our findings show that both FADS1 rs174550 genotype and high-LA diet modify plasma phospholipid composition.</p

Tulevaisuuden kestävä vesihuolto – ennakointi, ohjaus ja järjestäminen

Vesihuollon tulee tarjota luotettavasti riittävä määrä puhdasta talousvettä ja puhdistaa se käytön jälkeen ympäristöhaitat minimoiden. Suomessa on noin 1500 vesihuoltolaitosta. Erityisesti pienten laitosten toiminnan laadun, resurssien ja osaamispohjan varmistamiseksi tarvitaan uusia ratkaisuja. Verkostosaneerauksesta on tulossa kaikkien vesihuoltolaitosten arkipäivää. Resurssien järkeväksi kohdentamiseksi laitokset tarvitsevat verkostoaan koskevaa systemaattisesti kerättyä tietoa, sen analysointia ja yhdistelyä. Tietojen pohjalta voidaan esimerkiksi arvioida häiriöalttiutta ja riskejä sekä ennakoida elinkaarta. Tietojen keräämisen ja hyödyntämisen käytännöt ovat vesihuoltolaitoksilla kirjavat ja puutteita on ollut myös kansallisella tasolla. Siksi verkostojen nykyistä saneeraustarvetta ei voida arvioida luotettavasti. Saneeraustarpeen arvioinnin tueksi hankkeessa on kehitetty kolmitasoinen laitoskohtaisen tiedonhallinnan tasoluokitus. Siinä kuvataan, mitä toimia kunkin tason saavuttaminen edellyttää ja millaisen verkoston hallinnan kukin taso mahdollistaa. Tiedonhallinnan perustasolla vesihuoltolaitos pystyy hallitsemaan verkosto-omaisuuttaan karkeasti koko verkoston tasolla. Tälle tasolle jokaisen laitoksen tulisi päästä. Hankkeen tuloksena esitetään etenemispolku tulevaisuuden kestävän vesihuollon varmistamiseksi. Sen varrella on asteittain tiukkenevia ohjauskeinoyhdistelmiä toteutettaviksi eri ajankohtina. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa esitetään informaatio-ohjausta ja VEETI-järjestelmän kehittämistä sekä saneeraussuunnitelmien ja pätevyyksien vaatimista. Ne voidaan toteuttaa nykyiselläkin rakenteella, mutta ne voivat toimiessaan parantaa tilannetta. Seuraavassa vaiheessa olisi astetta tiukempi ohjaus rakennemuutokseen velvoittamalla pienet kunnat yhteistyöhön ja lopuksi hyvin tiukka lakisääteinen ohjaus isompiin yksiköihin. Jos lievemmät keinot riittävät tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi, tiukempiin keinoihin ei tarvitse mennä

Metsätalouden kannustinjärjestelmää muutettava – suometsien hoidon ympäristövaikutukset huomioitava paremmin

Nykyinen kestävän metsätalouden määräaikainen rahoituslaki (KEMERA) on suunnattu tukemaan puuntuotantoa ja ympäristötavoitteiden edistämiseen käytetty rahoitus on suhteellisen pieni. Järjestelmä sisältää myös ympäristön kannalta haitallisia tukia.202