The challenge of COVID-19 for youth travel

This paper analyses the effects of the first seven months of the Covid-19 pandemic on youth travel. Surveys of youth travel businesses between March and September 2020 showed youth tourism businesses were severely impacted, with a 26% drop in business volume in Quarter 1 of 2020 falling to -70% by May 2020. Business prospects for the year 2020 were dire and more than 80% of businesses expected their business prospects to get worse over the coming year. The effects of the pandemic were felt in all world regions and across almost all industry sectors. Youth travel businesses adopted a range of tactical and strategic measures in response to the crisis, including changing terms and conditions, increased marketing, creating partnerships and shifting business online. As youth travel depends on social interaction there are major challenges for the industry in future, but also a number of potential opportunities, such as the growth in domestic travel and the rise of digital nomads

Motivações dos viajantes millennials globais

This paper reports on a global survey of Millennial travellers aged 18-35 and analyses motivations across world regions and countries. An adapted version of the Leisure Motivations Scale was subjected to factor analysis, revealing four dimensions of motivation: Relaxation, Exploring, Challenge and Socialising. All Millennials tend to see exploring as most important, but Asian travellers in particular emphasise both relaxation and challenge. Motivations were also found to vary according to age and destination, indicating that motivations are not just individual, but also context-related. We conclude that Millennials are not a coherent global generation in terms of travel motivations.Este artículo informa sobre una encuesta global de viajeros de la generación del milenio de entre 18 y 35 años y analiza las motivaciones en todas las regiones y países del mundo. Una versión adaptada de la Escala de Motivaciones de Ocio fue sometida a un análisis factorial, que reveló cuatro dimensiones de la motivación: Relajación, Exploración, Desafío y Socialización. Todos los millennials tienden a ver la exploración como la más importante, pero los viajeros asiáticos en particular enfatizan tanto la relajación como el desafío. También se encontró que las motivaciones varían según la edad y el destino, lo que indica que las motivaciones no son solo individuales, sino también relacionadas con el contexto. Concluimos que la generación del milenio no es una generación global cohesionada en términos de motivaciones de viaje.Este artigo relata uma pesquisa global com viajantes millennials entre 18 e 35 anos e analisa as motivações em todas as regiões e países do mundo. Uma versão adaptada da Leisure Motivations Scale foi submetida a análise fatorial, revelando quatro dimensões de motivação: Relaxamento, Exploração, Desafio e Socialização. Todos os Millennials tendem a ver a exploração como o mais importante, mas os viajantes asiáticos, em particular, enfatizam o relaxamento e o desafio. Verificou-se também que as motivações variam de acordo com a idade e o destino, indicando que as motivações não são apenas individuais, mas também relacionadas ao contexto. Concluímos que a geração do milênio não é uma geração global coesa em termos de motivações de viagem

Teredinibacter turnerae gen. nov., sp. nov., a dinitrogen-fixing, cellulolytic, endosymbiotic c-proteobacterium isolated from the gills of wood-boring molluscs (Bivalvia: Teredinidae)

Author Posting. © Society for General Mircobiology, 2002. This article is posted here by permission of Society for General Mircobiology for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 52 (2002): 2261-2269, doi:10.1099/ijs.0.02184-0.A cellulolytic, dinitrogen-fixing bacterium isolated from the gill tissue of a wood-boring mollusc (shipworm) Lyrodus pedicellatus of the bivalve family Teredinidae and 58 additional strains with similar properties, isolated from gills of 24 bivalve species representing 9 of 14 genera of Teredinidae, are described. The cells are Gram-negative, rigid, rods (0<4–0<6x3–6 lm) that bear a single polar flagellum. All isolates are capable of chemoheterotrophic growth in a simple mineral medium supplemented with cellulose as a sole source of carbon and energy. Xylan, pectin, carboxymethylcellulose, cellobiose and a variety of sugars and organic acids also support growth. Growth requires addition of combined nitrogen when cultures are vigorously aerated, but all isolates fix dinitrogen under microaerobic conditions. The pH, temperature and salinity optima for growth were determined for six isolates and are approximately 8<5, 30–35 °C and 0<3 M NaCl respectively. The isolates are marine. In addition to NaCl, growth requires elevated concentrations of Ca2M and Mg2M that reflect the chemistry of seawater. The DNA GMC content ranged from 49 to 51 mol%. Four isolates were identical with respect to small-subunit rRNA sequence over 891 positions compared and fall within a unique clade in the c-subclass of the Proteobacteria. Based on morphological, physiological and phylogenetic characteristics and specific symbiotic association with teredinid bivalves, a new genus and species, Teredinibacter turnerae gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is T7902T (vATCC 39867TvDSM 15152T).This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation no. NSF DEB-9420051 and IBN- 9982982, the Maine Science and Technology Foundation's Center for Innovation in Biotechnology, and the University of Maine's Faculty Research program

The challenge of COVID-19 for youth travel

This paper analyses the effects of the first seven months of the Covid-19 pandemic on youth travel. Surveys of youth travel businesses between March and September 2020 showed youth tourism businesses were severely impacted, with a 26% drop in business volume in Quarter 1 of 2020 falling to -70% by May 2020. Business prospects for the year 2020 were dire and more than 80% of businesses expected their business prospects to get worse over the coming year. The effects of the pandemic were felt in all world regions and across almost all industry sectors. Youth travel businesses adopted a range of tactical and strategic measures in response to the crisis, including changing terms and conditions, increased marketing, creating partnerships and shifting business online. As youth travel depends on social interaction there are major challenges for the industry in future, but also a number of potential opportunities, such as the growth in domestic travel and the rise of digital nomads

Coexistence of Multiple Proteobacterial Endosymbionts in the Gills of the Wood-Boring Bivalve Lyrodus pedicellatus (Bivalvia: Teredinidae)

Wood-boring bivalves of the family Teredinidae (commonly called shipworms) are known to harbor dense populations of gram-negative bacteria within specialized cells (bacteriocytes) in their gills. These symbionts are thought to provide enzymes, e.g., cellulase and dinitrogenase, which assist the host in utilizing wood as a primary food source. A cellulolytic, dinitrogen-fixing bacterium, Teredinibacter turnerae, has been isolated from the gill tissues of numerous teredinid bivalves and has been proposed to constitute the sole or predominant symbiont of this bivalve family. Here we demonstrate that one teredinid species, Lyrodus pedicellatus, contains at least four distinct bacterial 16S rRNA types within its gill bacteriocytes, one of which is identical to that of T. turnerae. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the three newly detected ribotypes are derived from gamma proteobacteria that are related to but distinct (>6.5% sequence divergence) from T. turnerae. In situ hybridizations with 16S rRNA-directed probes demonstrated that the pattern of occurrence of symbiont ribotypes within bacteriocytes was predictable and specific, with some bacteriocytes containing two symbiont ribotypes. However, only two of the six possible pairwise combinations of the four ribotypes were observed to cooccur within the same host cells. The results presented here are consistent with the existence of a complex multiple symbiosis in this shipworm species

Extensive Variation in Intracellular Symbiont Community Composition among Members of a Single Population of the Wood-Boring Bivalve Lyrodus pedicellatus (Bivalvia: Teredinidae)

Shipworms (wood-boring bivalves of the family Teredinidae) harbor in their gills intracellular bacterial symbionts thought to produce enzymes that enable the host to consume cellulose as its primary carbon source. Recently, it was demonstrated that multiple genetically distinct symbiont populations coexist within one shipworm species, Lyrodus pedicellatus. Here we explore the extent to which symbiont communities vary among individuals of this species by quantitatively examining the diversity, abundance, and pattern of occurrence of symbiont ribotypes (unique 16S rRNA sequence types) among specimens drawn from a single laboratory-reared population. A total of 18 ribotypes were identified in two clone libraries generated from gill tissue of (i) a single specimen and (ii) four pooled specimens. Phylogenetic analysis assigned all of the ribotypes to a unique clade within the γ subgroup of proteobacteria which contained at least five well-supported internal clades (phylotypes). By competitive quantitative PCR and constant denaturant capillary electrophoresis, we estimated the number and abundance of symbiont phylotypes in gill samples of 13 individual shipworm specimens. Phylotype composition varied greatly; however, in all specimens the numerically dominant symbiont belonged to one of two nearly mutually exclusive phylotypes, each of which was detected with similar frequencies among specimens. A third phylotype, containing the culturable symbiont Teredinibacter turnerae, was identified in nearly all specimens, and two additional phylotypes were observed more sporadically. Such extensive variation in ribotype and phylotype composition among host specimens adds to a growing body of evidence that microbial endosymbiont populations may be both complex and dynamic and suggests that such genetic variation should be evaluated with regard to physiological and ecological differentiation

CelAB, a Multifunctional Cellulase Encoded by Teredinibacter turnerae T7902T, a Culturable Symbiont Isolated from the Wood-Boring Marine Bivalve Lyrodus pedicellatus▿

We characterized a multifunctional cellulase (CelAB) encoded by the endosymbiont Teredinibacter turnerae T7902T. CelAB contains two catalytic and two carbohydrate-binding domains, each separated by polyserine linker regions. CelAB binds cellulose and chitin, degrades multiple complex polysaccharides, and displays two catalytic activities, cellobiohydrolase (EC 3.2.1.91) and β-1,4(3) endoglucanase (EC 3.2.1.4)