Social-ecological features of set nets small-scale fisheries in the context of Mediterranean marine protected areas

The small-scale fisheries (SSF) sector has attracted considerable attention over the last decade due to its major importance in sustaining the livelihoods of coastal communities worldwide, poverty alleviation, food security, social wealth and traditions. Despite this importance, quantitative and qualitative information on SSF is still largely lacking and when available, it tends to be scattered or very localized. SSF are also among the very few professional extractive activities generally allowed within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and are therefore expected to acquire further momentum in the near future in light of the projected increase of protected marine surface area due to international commitments. However, SSF associated with areas including MPAs may differ from those operating in unprotected contexts with regard to a range of socio-ecological aspects, thus potentially making management strategies currently in force unsuitable, and requiring the development of ad hoc local and regional policies. Here, we assessed the socio-ecological dimension of SSF operating within and around 11 Mediterranean MPAs, in six EU countries, with the aim of identifying relevant patterns that could inform policy and management relative to this fishing sector in view of the forthcoming increase of the marine surface area under protection. To do so, we have adopted a collaborative approach with fishers and combined a photo-sampling survey of 1,292 set net (mainly trammel-nets) fishing operations at landing with 149 semi-structured interviews with fishers, to gather information on features and catches of SSF fleets (e.g. vessel characteristics, gears, catch composition, catch and revenue per unit of effort). Overall, results highlighted: 1) multiple shared features emerging at regional level (i.e. among the 11 study areas), such as the predominant use of set nets, the major contribution of a limited number of species to the overall catch and revenue, the occurrence in the catch of threatened species and/or undersized individuals; 2) a variety of distinctive socio-ecological features differentiating local SSF communities such as the species mainly contributing to catch and revenue, species size distribution and fleet characteristics. In addition to presenting elements to inform common policies and strategies for SSF management in the context of MPAs, our study provides guidance for the development of a standard methodology for the full documentation of SSF in the Mediterranean Sea

Structure-Function Analysis of STRUBBELIG, an Arabidopsis Atypical Receptor-Like Kinase Involved in Tissue Morphogenesis

Tissue morphogenesis in plants requires the coordination of cellular behavior across clonally distinct histogenic layers. The underlying signaling mechanisms are presently being unraveled and are known to include the cell surface leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase STRUBBELIG in Arabidopsis. To understand better its mode of action an extensive structure-function analysis of STRUBBELIG was performed. The phenotypes of 20 EMS and T-DNA-induced strubbelig alleles were assessed and homology modeling was applied to rationalize their possible effects on STRUBBELIG protein structure. The analysis was complemented by phenotypic, cell biological, and pharmacological investigations of a strubbelig null allele carrying genomic rescue constructs encoding fusions between various mutated STRUBBELIG proteins and GFP. The results indicate that STRUBBELIG accepts quite some sequence variation, reveal the biological importance for the STRUBBELIG N-capping domain, and reinforce the notion that kinase activity is not essential for its function in vivo. Furthermore, individual protein domains of STRUBBELIG cannot be related to specific STRUBBELIG-dependent biological processes suggesting that process specificity is mediated by factors acting together with or downstream of STRUBBELIG. In addition, the evidence indicates that biogenesis of a functional STRUBBELIG receptor is subject to endoplasmic reticulum-mediated quality control, and that an MG132-sensitive process regulates its stability. Finally, STRUBBELIG and the receptor-like kinase gene ERECTA interact synergistically in the control of internode length. The data provide genetic and molecular insight into how STRUBBELIG regulates intercellular communication in tissue morphogenesis

Pisces, Anegada Bay protected area, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

We provide the first list of marine fish from Anegada Bay, a coastal protected area in Buenos AiresProvince. Fish records were obtained from gillnets and recreational fishery captures. Thirty seven speciesbelonging to 29 families and 18 orders were identified. The most numerous order was Perciformes witheight families and 10 species. Odontesthes argentinensis, Micropogonias furnieri, Cynoscion guatucupa andMustelus schmitti were verified in all sampling sites and the last two were the most represented either in theexperimental fishing and recreational captures. Presence of Lagocephalus laevigatus extended the so far knownrange distribution of this fish species, representing the southernmost records in Argentinean coastal waters.The fish fauna composition from Anegada Bay could be considered as from a transitional zone

Latest advances in molecular topology applications for drug discovery

Introduction: Molecular topology (MT) has emerged in recent years as a powerful approach for the in silico generation of new drugs. In the last decade, its application has become more and more popular among the leading research groups in the field of quantitative structure--activity relationships (QSAR) and drug design. This has, in turn, contributed to the rapid development of new techniques and applications of MT in QSAR studies, as well as the introduction of new topological indices. Areas covered: This review collates the main innovative techniques in the field of MT and provides a description of the novel topological indices recently introduced, through an exhaustive recompilation of the most significant works carried out by the leading research groups in the field of drug design and discovery. The objective is to show the importance of MT methods combined with the effectiveness of the descriptors. Expert opinion: Recent years have witnessed a remarkable rise in QSAR methods based on MTand its application to drug design. New methodologies have been introduced in the area such as QSAR multi-target, Markov networks or perturbation methods. Moreover, novel topological indices, such as Bourgas’ descriptors and other new concepts as the derivative of a graph or cliques capable to distinguish between conformers, have also been introduced. New drugs have also been discovered, including anticonvulsants, anineoplastics, antimalarials or antiallergics, just to name a few. In the authors’ opinion, MT and QSAR have moved from an attractive possibility to representing a foundation stone in the process of drug discovery