Untangling the complex interactions between turtle ants and their microbial partners

Background: To understand the patterns of biodiversity it is important to consider symbiotic interactions as they can shape animal evolution. In several ant genera symbiotic interactions with microbial communities have been shown to have profound impacts for the host. For example, we know that for Camponotini the gut community can upgrade the host\u27s diet and is shaped by development and colony interactions. However, what is true for one ant group may not be true for another. For the microbial communities that have been examined across ants we see variation in the diversity, host factors that structure these communities, and the function these microbes provide for the host. In the herbivorous turtle ants (Cephalotes) their stable symbiotic interactions with gut bacteria have persisted for 50 million years with the gut bacteria synthesizing essential amino acids that are used by the host. Although we know the function for some of these turtle ant-associated bacteria there are still many open questions.Results: In the present study we examined microbial community diversity (16S rRNA and 18S rRNA amplicons) of more than 75 species of turtle ants across different geographic locations and in the context of the host\u27s phylogenetic history. Our results show (1) that belonging to a certain species and biogeographic regions are relevant to structuring the microbial community of turtle ants; (2) both bacterial and eukaryotic communities demonstrated correlations and cooccurrence within the ant host; (3) within the core bacterial community, Burkholderiaceae bacterial lineage were the only group that showed strong patterns of codiversification with the host, which is remarkable since the core bacterial community is stable and persistent.Conclusions: We concluded that for the turtle ants there is a diverse and evolutionarily stable core bacterial community, which leads to interesting questions about what microbial or host factors influence when these partner histories become evolutionarily intertwined

Energy metabolism in human pluripotent stem cells and their differentiated counterparts

Background: Human pluripotent stem cells have the ability to generate all cell types present in the adult organism, therefore harboring great potential for the in vitro study of differentiation and for the development of cell-based therapies. Nonetheless their use may prove challenging as incomplete differentiation of these cells might lead to tumoregenicity. Interestingly, many cancer types have been reported to display metabolic modifications with features that might be similar to stem cells. Understanding the metabolic properties of human pluripotent stem cells when compared to their differentiated counterparts can thus be of crucial importance. Furthermore recent data has stressed distinct features of different human pluripotent cells lines, namely when comparing embryo-derived human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) reprogrammed from somatic cells. Methodology/Principal Findings: We compared the energy metabolism of hESCs, IPSCs, and their somatic counterparts. Focusing on mitochondria, we tracked organelle localization and morphology. Furthermore we performed gene expression analysis of several pathways related to the glucose metabolism, including glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. In addition we determined oxygen consumption rates (OCR) using a metabolic extracellular flux analyzer, as well as total intracellular ATP levels by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Finally we explored the expression of key proteins involved in the regulation of glucose metabolism. Conclusions/Findings: Our results demonstrate that, although the metabolic signature of IPSCs is not identical to that of hESCs, nonetheless they cluster with hESCs rather than with their somatic counterparts. ATP levels, lactate production and OCR revealed that human pluripotent cells rely mostly on glycolysis to meet their energy demands. Furthermore, our work points to some of the strategies which human pluripotent stem cells may use to maintain high glycolytic rates, such as high levels of hexokinase II and inactive pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). © 2011 Varum et al

The effect of livestock, altitude and slope on a red-legged partridge population in Alentejo, Portugal

Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a non-migratory bird found mainly in the Iberian Peninsula whose conservation status is Least Concern. However, in the last decades there has been a growing concern for the loss of habitat quality due to the results of either land abandonment or farming intensification. This study was conducted in an agrosilvopastoral land use system called montado

Cultivador a tração animal modificado para a realização da adubação nitrogenada em cobertura e para a semeadura do feijão da seca consorciado com milho.

bitstream/item/37491/1/circ-12-1.pd

Occurrence of 15 haplotypes of linepithema micans (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in southern Brazil.

The ant genus Linepithema is widely known, thanks to the pest species Linepithema humile (Mayr), which is easily mistaken for Linepithema micans (Forel) due to their morphological similarity. Like L. humile , L. micans is associated to the main grapevine pest in Brazil, Eurhizococcus brasiliensis (Wille), also known as ground pearl. Therefore, the present study uses mtDNA fragments to expand the knowledge of haplotype diversity and distri- bution of L. micans in the state of Rio Grande do Sul Brazil), to understand the genetic differences of the popu- lations identified in this study. We identified 15 haplotypes of L. micans spread across different localities. Twelve of these haplotypes were new for the species. The high haplotype diversity uncovered in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) for this species was predictable, as L. micans is in its native environment. Additional studies that take gene flow into account may reveal interesting aspects of diversity in these populations. Keywords: mitotype, ground pearl, Rio Grande do Su

Mecanização do plantio simultâneo de milho e feijão consorciados.

bitstream/item/37509/1/circ-7-2.ed.pdf2. ed

Ex-utero intrapartum treatment (or EXIT procedure) in a case of cervical linfangiona

Introdução: Fetos com diagnóstico pré-natal de malformações anatómicas envolvendo a face e/ou o pescoço estão em risco de obstrução das vias aéreas desde o pós-natal imediato. A programação de medidas periparto que previnam a compressão das vias aéreas, mantendo uma adequada circulação fetal, é fundamental no prognóstico. Caso Clínico: Feto com diagnóstico ecográfico, às 31 semanas de gestação, de volumosa massa cervical e facial, compatível com linfangioma quístico. O caso foi discutido em equipa multidisciplinar, tendo sido decidida a realização de cesariana associada ao procedimento EXIT às 39 semanas de gestação. Após exteriorização do polo cefálico, foi confirmada massa cervical e facial direita, sendo o feto sujeito a intubação oro-traqueal no primeiro minuto. Ao sexto dia de vida foi submetido a cirurgia, com excisão parcial da massa. Conclusão: O procedimento EXIT permite a manutenção de uma adequada oxigenação fetal enquanto se estabelece uma via aérea patente. Uma adequada coordenação da equipa multidisciplinar é fundamental para o êxito da técnic

Investigating the Diversity of Wolbachia across the Spiny Ants (Polyrhachis)

Among insects, Wolbachia is an exceedingly common bacterial endosymbiont with a range of consequences of infection. Despite the frequency of Wolbachia infection, very little is known about this bacteria\u27s diversity and role within hosts, especially within ant hosts. In this study, we analyze the occurrence and diversity of Wolbachia across the spiny ants (Polyrhachis), a large and geographically diverse genus. Polyrhachis samples from throughout the host genus\u27 phylogenetic and biogeographical range were first screened for single infections of Wolbachia using the wsp gene and Sanger sequencing. The multilocus sequence typing (MLST) scheme was then used on these singly infected samples to identify the Wolbachia strains. A Wolbachia phylogeny was inferred from the Polyrhachis samples analyzed in this study as well as other Formicidae MLST profiles from the MLST online database. We hypothesized that three key host factors were impacting Wolbachia diversity within the Polyrhachis genus: biogeography, phylogeny, and species level. The results suggest that the phylogeny and biogeography of Polyrhachis hosts have no impact on Wolbachia diversity; however, species level may have some limited influence. Additionally, Wolbachia strains appear to group according to being either Old World or New World strains. Among the taxa able to form complete MLST allelic profiles, all twenty are seemingly new strains

MONITORAMENTO DA QUALIDADE DA ?GUA DO RIO CUI?, JO?O PESSOA/PB

O crescimento populacional e a urbaniza??o contribuem com impactos significativos no meio ambiente, sobretudo nos recursos h?dricos. Em geral, o ecossistema l?tico ? a principal via de dep?sito de res?duos s?lidos, lan?amento de efluentes dom?sticos, bem como, na maioria das vezes, o uso e ocupa??o do solo inadequados em suas margens, o que corrobora com o desmatamento da mata ciliar e, consequentemente, o seu assoreamento. A ?gua apresenta um recurso natural finito e essencial para qualidade e exist?ncia de vida, logo a sua deteriora??o deve ser combatida, bem como seu desperd?cio. Este trabalho tem como objetivo monitorar e avaliar a qualidade da ?gua do rio Cui? dentro dos par?metros f?sicos, qu?micos e microbiol?gicos. Para tanto, foram demarcados 4 pontos em torno do rio Cui? a fim de coletar amostras, mas tamb?m um ponto especial na ETE de Mangabeira, visto que o rio ? o corpo h?drico receptor do efluente tratado desta ETE. Com isso, percebe-se v?rios pontos cr?ticos ao longo do rio Cui? comprometendo assim, a qualidade da ?gua, o que pode indicar que as atividades antr?picas como, cria??o de animais em pocilgas e lan?amento de esgotos dom?sticos est?o impactando significativamente este corpo h?drico. Os dados recomendam uma aten??o tanto para a implanta??o eficiente de um sistema de saneamento b?sico nas localidades pr?ximas, como tamb?m maior aten??o das autoridades p?blicas para a efici?ncia da esta??o de tratamento de efluentes