Telomerase activation cooperates with inactivation of p16 in early head and neck tumorigenesis

Alteration of the p16/pRb pathway may cooperate with telomerase activation during cellular immortalization and tumour progression. We studied p16 expression status by immunohistochemistry and telomerase activity using the TRAP assay in 21 premalignant lesions of the head and neck epithelium as well as 27 squamous-cell carcinomas. We also examined expression of other components of the pathway (cyclin D1 and pRb) as well as presence of human papillomavirus genomes which can target these molecules. 4 of 9 mild dysplastic lesions (44%), 8 of 12 moderate/severe dysplastic lesions (67%), and 25 of 27 squamous-cell carcinomas (92%) demonstrated high telomerase activity (P = 0.009). There was a parallel increase with severity of lesions for the trend in proportions of cases demonstrating p16 inactivation or cyclin D1 overexpression (P = 0.02 and P = 0.01, respectively). For Ki67, a marker of cell proliferation, this trend was not significant (P = 0.08). Human papillomavirus infection was only found in 4 cases among the 48 samples tested (8.3%). In conclusion, progression of disease is accompanied by a parallel and continuous increase in telomerase activity and alterations in cell cycle regulators (p16, cyclin D1), as proposed by in vitro models. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Le référentiel taxonomique Florical et les caractéristiques de la flore vasculaire indigène de la Nouvelle-Calédonie

The taxonomic reference base Florical and characteristics of the native vascular flora of New Caledonia. The floristic inventory presented here comprises the evolving computerised database Florical (http://www.botanique.nc/herbier/florical). As of the date of publication, it lists all native vascular plant species (as well as infraspecific taxa) present in the territory of New Caledonia, whether validly published or in press, along with their basionym, organised according to the most recent classifications systems (APG III 2009 for the angiosperms, Smith et at [2006] for the ferns and lycophytes, and Mabberley [2009] for the gymnosperms), accompanied by their status (native or endemic) and the various vegetation types in which they occur. After a brief historical review of our knowledge of New Caledonian botany, the characteristics (richness, composition and endemism) of the different taxonomic groups (ferns and lycophytes, gymnosperms and then angiosperms -mono- and dicotyledons) are analyzed, followed by an assessment of the distribution of these groups among the vegetation types. The vascular flora of New Caledonia is characterised by its high level of richness (3371 species, including 3099 for the flowering plants alone), despite the absence or under-representation of some taxa that are abundantly represented elsewhere in the tropics, and especially by its remarkable distinctiveness (with endemism at the species level reaching 74,7%, and 77.8% for the flowering plants). The flora stands out by the presence of several relictual taxa and a high level of speciation among certain groups, despite the fact that the island was re-colonised relatively recently following the total submersion of its much older basement during the Paleocene and the Oligocene. Details of the measures taken to conserve this extraordinary natural heritage show that only 3.4% of the territory's total surface area is effectively protected. Despite the undeniable progress made in recent years by the authorities concerned, significant work remains to be done, especially in the northern Province

Evaluation of electrical signals in pine trees in a mediterranean forest ecosystem

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Plant Signaling and Behaviour on 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15592324.2020.1795580[EN] Electric potential differences in living plants are explained by theories based on sap flow. In order to acquire more advanced knowledge about the spatial distribution of these electric potential measures in trees, this research aims to analyze electrical signals in a population of Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensisMill.) in a representative Mediterranean forest ecosystem. The specific research objective is to assess some of the most significant factors that influence the distribution pattern of those electric signals: tree age, measurement type and electrode placement. The research has been conducted in representative forest stands, obtaining measurements of different representative trees. After a statistical evaluation of the obtained results, the main conclusions of our research are: A.Tree maturity influences directly on electric potential. B.Maximum electrical signals can be measured in young pines showing values of 0.6 V and 0.6 mu A for voltage and current, respectively. C.The distribution patterns of both voltage and short-circuit current depending on electrode placement are uniform.Zapata, R.; Oliver Villanueva, JV.; Lemus Zúñiga, LG.; Luzuriaga, JE.; Mateo Pla, MÁ.; Urchueguía Schölzel, JF. (2020). Evaluation of electrical signals in pine trees in a mediterranean forest ecosystem. Plant Signaling and Behaviour (Online). 15(10):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2020.1795580S191510I. Further experiments on the more important physiological changes induced in the human economy by change of climate. (1873). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 21(139-147), 1-10. doi:10.1098/rspl.1872.0002Darwin, C. (1875). 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Electrical signaling, stomatal conductance, ABA and Ethylene content in avocado trees in response to root hypoxia. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 4(2), 100-108. doi:10.4161/psb.4.2.7872Ríos-Rojas, L., Morales-Moraga, D., Alcalde, J. A., & Gurovich, L. A. (2015). Use of plant woody species electrical potential for irrigation scheduling. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 10(2), e976487. doi:10.4161/15592324.2014.976487Cardoso SS, Carrondo LB, Marques JM, Narciso PN, Rocha MJ, Rodrigues IN, Soares A. (2004). Monitorization of the electrical signal generated by a tree. February 2004 – 4th luso-spanish assembly on geodesy and geophysics.Le Mouël, J.-L., Gibert, D., & Poirier, J.-P. (2010). On transient electric potential variations in a standing tree and atmospheric electricity. Comptes Rendus Geoscience, 342(2), 95-99. doi:10.1016/j.crte.2009.12.001Koppan A (2004). Variations of the natural electric potential differences occurring on tree trunks and their relationship with the xylem sap flow. 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Madagascar's grasses and grasslands:anthropogenic or natural?

Grasses, by their high productivity even under very low pCO2, their ability to survive repeated burning and to tolerate long dry seasons, have transformed the terrestrial biomes in the Neogene and Quaternary. The expansion of grasslands at the cost of biodiverse forest biomes in Madagascar is often postulated as a consequence of the Holocene settlement of the island by humans. However, we show that the Malagasy grass flora has many indications of being ancient with a long local evolutionary history, much predating the Holocene arrival of humans. First, the level of endemism in the Madagascar grass flora is well above the global average for large islands. Second, a survey of many of the more diverse areas indicates that there is a very high spatial and ecological turnover in the grass flora, indicating a high degree of niche specialization. We also find some evidence that there are both recently disturbed and natural stable grasslands: phylogenetic community assembly indicates that recently severely disturbed grasslands are phylogenetically clustered, whereas more undisturbed grasslands tend to be phylogenetically more evenly distributed. From this evidence, it is likely that grass communities existed in Madagascar long before human arrival and so were determined by climate, natural grazing and other natural factors. Humans introduced zebu cattle farming and increased fire frequency, and may have triggered an expansion of the grasslands. Grasses probably played the same role in the modification of the Malagasy environments as elsewhere in the tropics

CartoCell, a high-content pipeline for 3D image analysis, unveils cell morphology patterns in epithelia

Decades of research have not yet fully explained the mechanisms of epithelial self-organization and 3D packing. Single-cell analysis of large 3D epithelial libraries is crucial for understanding the assembly and function of whole tissues. Combining 3D epithelial imaging with advanced deep-learning segmentation methods is essential for enabling this high-content analysis. We introduce CartoCell, a deep-learning-based pipeline that uses small datasets to generate accurate labels for hundreds of whole 3D epithelial cysts. Our method detects the realistic morphology of epithelial cells and their contacts in the 3D structure of the tissue. CartoCell enables the quantification of geometric and packing features at the cellular level. Our single-cell cartography approach then maps the distribution of these features on 2D plots and 3D surface maps, revealing cell morphology patterns in epithelial cysts. Additionally, we show that CartoCell can be adapted to other types of epithelial tissues.This work is supported by the project PID2019-103900GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 and Programa Operativo FEDER Andalucía 2014–2020 (US-1380953) to L.M.E. Work by L.M.E. and J.A.A.-S.R. has been funded by the Junta de Andalucía (Consejerı´a de economı´a, conocimiento, empresas y Universidad) grant PY18-631 co-funded by FEDER funds. A.T. has been funded by a ‘‘Contrato predoctoral PIF’’ from Universidad de Sevilla. C.G.-V. has been funded by a ‘‘Contrato predoctoral para la formacio´ n de doctores’’ BES-2017-082306. G.B. was supported by a Comunidad de Madrid contract (CAM) and by an FPI grant from MINECO (BES-2022-077789). F.M.-B. was supported by MICINN (PID2020-120367GB-I00) and Fundacio´ n Ramo´ n Areces (CIVP18A3904). P.G.-G. has been funded by Margarita Salas Fellowship – NextGenerationEU. C.H.F.-E. has been funded by Marı´a Zambrano Fellowship – NextGenerationEU. I.A.-C. would like to acknowledge that his work has been partially supported by the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU grant GIU19/027 and by grant PID2021-126701OB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ‘‘ERDF A way of making Europe." L.M.E. also wants to thank PIE-202120E047 – Conexiones-Life network for networking and input

The great melting pot. Common sole population connectivity assessed by otolith and water fingerprints

Quantifying the scale and importance of individual dispersion between populations and life stages is a key challenge in marine ecology. The common sole (Solea solea), an important commercial flatfish in the North Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, has a marine pelagic larval stage, a benthic juvenile stage in coastal nurseries (lagoons, estuaries or shallow marine areas) and a benthic adult stage in deeper marine waters on the continental shelf. To date, the ecological connectivity among these life stages has been little assessed in the Mediterranean. Here, such an assessment is provided for the first time for the Gulf of Lions, NW Mediterranean, based on a dataset on otolith microchemistry and stable isotopic composition as indicators of the water masses inhabited by individual fish. Specifically, otolith Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca profiles, and delta C-13 and delta O-18 values of adults collected in four areas of the Gulf of Lions were compared with those of young-of-the-year collected in different coastal nurseries. Results showed that a high proportion of adults (>46%) were influenced by river inputs during their larval stage. Furthermore Sr/Ca ratios and the otolith length at one year of age revealed that most adults (similar to 70%) spent their juvenile stage in nurseries with high salinity, whereas the remainder used brackish environments. In total, data were consistent with the use of six nursery types, three with high salinity (marine areas and two types of highly saline lagoons) and three brackish (coastal areas near river mouths, and two types of brackish environments), all of which contributed to the replenishment of adult populations. These finding implicated panmixia in sole population in the Gulf of Lions and claimed for a habitat integrated management of fisherie

Old lineage on an old island : Pixibinthus, a new cricket genus endemic to New Caledonia shed light on gryllid diversification in a hotspot of biodiversity

Few studies have focused on the early colonization of New Caledonia by insects, after the re-emergence of the main island, 37 Myr ago. Here we investigate the mode and tempo of evolution of a new endemic cricket genus, Pixibinthus, recently discovered in southern New Caledonia. First we formally describe this new monotypic genus found exclusively in the open shrubby vegetation on metalliferous soils, named 'maquis minier', unique to New Caledonia. We then reconstruct a dated molecular phylogeny based on five mitochondrial and four nuclear loci in order to establish relationships of Pixibinthus within Eneopterinae crickets. Pixibinthus is recovered as thesister clade of the endemic genus Agnotecous, mostly rainforest-dwellers. Dating results show that the island colonization by their common ancestor occurred around 34.7 Myr, shortly after New Caledonia re-emergence. Pixibinthus and Agnotecous are then one of the oldest insect lineages documented so far for New Caledonia. This discovery highlights for the first time two clear-cut ecological specializations between sister clades, as Agnotecous is mainly found in rainforests with 19 species, whereas Pixibinthus is found in open habitats with a single documented species. The preference of Pixibinthus for open habitats and of Agnotecous for forest habitats nicely fits an acoustic specialization, either explained by differences in body size or in acoustic properties of their respective habitats. We hypothesize that landscape dynamics, linked to major past climatic events and recent change in fire regimes are possible causes for both present-day low diversity and rarity in genus Pixibinthus. The unique evolutionary history of this old New Caledonian lineage stresses the importance to increase our knowledge on the faunal biodiversity of 'maquis minier', in order to better understand the origin and past dynamics of New Caledonian biota