A new polygenic score for refractive error improves detection of children at risk of high myopia but not the prediction of those at risk of myopic macular degeneration

Background High myopia (HM), defined as a spherical equivalent refractive error (SER) ≤ −6.00 diopters (D), is a leading cause of sight impairment, through myopic macular degeneration (MMD). We aimed to derive an improved polygenic score (PGS) for predicting children at risk of HM and to test if a PGS is predictive of MMD after accounting for SER. Methods The PGS was derived from genome-wide association studies in participants of UK Biobank, CREAM Consortium, and Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging. MMD severity was quantified by a deep learning algorithm. Prediction of HM was quantified as the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). Prediction of severe MMD was assessed by logistic regression. Findings In independent samples of European, African, South Asian and East Asian ancestry, the PGS explained 19% (95% confidence interval 17–21%), 2% (1–3%), 8% (7–10%) and 6% (3–9%) of the variation in SER, respectively. The AUROC for HM in these samples was 0.78 (0.75–0.81), 0.58 (0.53–0.64), 0.71 (0.69–0.74) and 0.67 (0.62–0.72), respectively. The PGS was not associated with the risk of MMD after accounting for SER: OR = 1.07 (0.92–1.24). Interpretation Performance of the PGS approached the level required for clinical utility in Europeans but not in other ancestries. A PGS for refractive error was not predictive of MMD risk once SER was accounted fo

Genome-wide association meta-analysis of corneal curvature identifies novel loci and shared genetic influences across axial length and refractive error

Abstract: Corneal curvature, a highly heritable trait, is a key clinical endophenotype for myopia - a major cause of visual impairment and blindness in the world. Here we present a trans-ethnic meta-analysis of corneal curvature GWAS in 44,042 individuals of Caucasian and Asian with replication in 88,218 UK Biobank data. We identified 47 loci (of which 26 are novel), with population-specific signals as well as shared signals across ethnicities. Some identified variants showed precise scaling in corneal curvature and eye elongation (i.e. axial length) to maintain eyes in emmetropia (i.e. HDAC11/FBLN2 rs2630445, RBP3 rs11204213); others exhibited association with myopia with little pleiotropic effects on eye elongation. Implicated genes are involved in extracellular matrix organization, developmental process for body and eye, connective tissue cartilage and glycosylation protein activities. Our study provides insights into population-specific novel genes for corneal curvature, and their pleiotropic effect in regulating eye size or conferring susceptibility to myopia

Prevalence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Europe: The Past and the Future

Purpose Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a frequent, complex disorder in elderly of European ancestry. Risk profiles and treatment options have changed considerably over the years, which may have affected disease prevalence and outcome. We determined the prevalence of early and late AMD in Europe from 1990 to 2013 using the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) consortium, and made projections for the future. Design Meta-analysis of prevalence data. Participants A total of 42 080 individuals 40 years of age and older participating in 14 population-based cohorts from 10 countries in Europe. Methods AMD was diagnosed based on fundus photographs using the Rotterdam Classification. Prevalence of early and late AMD was calculated using random-effects meta-analysis stratified for age, birth cohort, gender, geographic region, and time period of the study. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was compared between late AMD subtypes; geographic atrophy (GA) and choroidal neovascularization (CNV). Main Outcome Measures Prevalence of early and late AMD, BCVA, and number of AMD cases. Results Prevalence of early AMD increased from 3.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.1%–5.0%) in those aged 55–59 years to 17.6% (95%

Thresholds for Sterol-Limited Growth of Daphnia magna : A Comparative Approach Using 10 Different Sterols

Arthropods are incapable of synthesizing sterols de novo and thus require a dietary source to cover their physiological demands. The most prominent sterol in animal tissues is cholesterol, which is an indispensable structural component of cell membranes and serves as precursor for steroid hormones. Instead of cholesterol, plants and algae contain a variety of different phytosterols. Consequently, herbivorous arthropods have to metabolize dietary phytosterols to cholesterol to meet their requirements for growth and reproduction. Here, we investigated sterol-limited growth responses of the freshwater herbivore Daphnia magna by supplementing a sterol-free diet with increasing amounts of 10 different phytosterols and comparing thresholds for sterol-limited growth. In addition, we analyzed the sterol composition of D. magna to explore sterol metabolic constraints and bioconversion capacities. We show that dietary phytosterols strongly differ in their potential to support somatic growth of D. magna. The dietary threshold concentrations obtained by supplementing the different sterols cover a wide range (3.5–34.4 μg mg C−1) and encompass the one for cholesterol (8.9 μg mg C−1), indicating that certain phytosterols are more efficient in supporting somatic growth than cholesterol (e.g., fucosterol, brassicasterol) while others are less efficient (e.g., dihydrocholesterol, lathosterol). The dietary sterol concentration gradients revealed that the poor quality of particular sterols can be alleviated partially by increasing dietary concentrations, and that qualitative differences among sterols are most pronounced at low to moderate dietary concentrations. We infer that the dietary sterol composition has to be considered in zooplankton nutritional ecology to accurately assess potential sterol limitations under field conditions

Suitability of Natura 2000 sites for threatened freshwater species under projected climate change

1. As part of the world's largest coordinated network of protected areas, Natura 2000, European Union member states designate special areas of conservation (SACs) to maintain or achieve favourable conservation status for imperilled aquatic species listed under Annex II of the Habitats Directive. Long-term suitability of SAC habitats is potentially challenged by continuing climate change.2. To examine this emerging threat to aquatic species conservation, the habitat suitability of designated SACs (n = 8,221) for 24 Central European freshwater species (18 teleosts, two lampreys, two crayfish and two bivalves) was assessed under current and projected end-of-century climate using environmental niche models calibrated on species occurrences reported under the Habitats Directive (n = 33,995). Potential future conditions included three climate-change scenarios representing a gradient from effective climate protection measures to a worst-case warming scenario.3. Habitat suitability of SACs was consistently calculated as high under present climate but projected to decline severely for two-thirds of the species under future climate conditions, with the magnitude of decline generally paralleling that of projected climate change. Under high emission scenarios, one third to more than half of the species were predicted to face unsuitable conditions in ≥75% of SACs. Predicted change in habitat suitability varied across biogeographical regions, with Alpine SACs often undergoing lower or no decline in predicted suitability.4. Given the discrepancy between the location of currently designated SACs and predicted areas of suitable habitat under projected end-of-century climate, climate change can be expected to undermine the long-term effectiveness of currently protected areas. Fostering climate resilience of freshwater habitats within SACs, restoring stream connectivity among SACs, assisted migration to newly suitable SACs where natural dispersal is not possible, as well as designation of new protected areas within climate refugia represent key actions to overcome this potential future conservation gap.publishe

Data from: Rapid evolution of antioxidant defense in a natural population of Daphnia magna

Natural populations can cope with rapid changes in stressors by relying on sets of physiological defense mechanisms. Little is known onto what extent these physiological responses reflect plasticity and/or genetic adaptation, evolve in the same direction and result in an increased defense ability. Using resurrection ecology, we studied how a natural Daphnia magna population adjusted its antioxidant defense to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) during a period with increasing incident UVR reaching the water surface. We demonstrate rapid evolution of the induction patterns of key antioxidant enzymes under UVR exposure in the laboratory. Notably, evolutionary changes strongly differed among enzymes and mainly involved the evolution of UV-induced plasticity. While D. magna evolved a strong plastic upregulation of glutathione peroxidase under UVR, it evolved a lower plastic upregulation of glutathione S-transferase and superoxide dismutase, and a plastic downregulation of catalase. The differentially evolved antioxidant strategies were collectively equally effective in dealing with oxidative stress since they resulted in the same high levels of oxidative damage (to lipids, proteins and DNA) and lowered fitness (intrinsic growth rate) under UVR exposure. The lack of better protection against UVR may suggest that the UVR exposure did not increase between both periods. Predator-induced evolution to migrate to lower depths that occurred during the same period may have contributed to the evolved defense strategy. Our results highlight the need for a multiple trait approach when focusing on the evolution of defense mechanisms

Rapid evolution of antioxidant defense in a natural population of Daphnia magna

Natural populations can cope with rapid changes in stressors by relying on sets of physiological defence mechanisms. Little is known onto what extent these physiological responses reflect plasticity and/or genetic adaptation, evolve in the same direction and result in an increased defence ability. Using resurrection ecology, we studied how a natural Daphnia magna population adjusted its antioxidant defence to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) during a period with increasing incident UVR reaching the water surface. We demonstrate a rapid evolution of the induction patterns of key antioxidant enzymes under UVR exposure in the laboratory. Notably, evolutionary changes strongly differed among enzymes and mainly involved the evolution of UV-induced plasticity. Whereas D. magna evolved a strong plastic upregulation of glutathione peroxidase under UVR, it evolved a lower plastic up-regulation of glutathione S-transferase and superoxide dismutase and a plastic down-regulation of catalase. The differentially evolved antioxidant strategies were collectively equally effective in dealing with oxidative stress because they resulted in the same high levels of oxidative damage (to lipids, proteins and DNA) and lowered fitness (intrinsic growth rate) under UVR exposure. The lack of better protection against UVR may suggest that the UVR exposure did not increase between both periods. Predator-induced evolution to migrate to lower depths that occurred during the same period may have contributed to the evolved defence strategy. Our results highlight the need for a multiple trait approach when focusing on the evolution of defence mechanisms.status: publishe

Population genetic dynamics of an invasion reconstructed from the sediment egg bank

Biological invasions are a global issue with far-reaching consequences for single species, communities and whole ecosystems. Our understanding of modes and mechanisms of biological invasions requires knowledge of the genetic processes associated with successful invasions. In many instances, this information is particularly difficult to obtain as the initial phases of the invasion process often pass unnoticed and we rely on inferences from contemporary population genetic data. Here, we combined historic information with the genetic analysis of resting eggs to reconstruct the invasion of Daphnia pulicaria into Lower Lake Constance (LLC) in the 1970s from the resting egg bank in the sediments. We identified the invader as ‘European D. pulicaria’ originating from meso- and eutrophic lowland lakes and ponds in Central Europe. The founding population was characterized by extremely low genetic variation in the resting egg bank that increased considerably over time. Furthermore, strong evidence for selfing and/or biparental inbreeding was found during the initial phase of the invasion, followed by a drop of selfing rate to low levels in subsequent decades. Moreover, the increase in genetic variation was most pronounced during early stages of the invasion, suggesting additional introductions during this period. Our study highlights that genetic data covering the entire invasion process from its beginning can be crucial to accurately reconstruct the invasion history of a species. We show that propagule banks can preserve such information enabling the study of population genetic dynamics and sources of genetic variation in successful invasive populations

Data from: Population genetic dynamics of an invasion reconstructed from the sediment egg bank

Biological invasions are a global issue with far-reaching consequences for single species, communities and whole ecosystems. Our understanding of modes and mechanisms of biological invasions requires knowledge of the genetic processes associated with successful invasions. In many instances, this information is particularly difficult to obtain as the initial phases of the invasion process often pass unnoticed and we rely on inferences from contemporary population genetic data. Here, we combined historic information with the genetic analysis of resting eggs to reconstruct the invasion of Daphnia pulicaria into Lower Lake Constance (LLC) in the 1970s from the resting egg bank in the sediments. We identified the invader as ‘European D. pulicaria’ originating from meso- and eutrophic lowland lakes and ponds in Central Europe. The founding population was characterized by extremely low genetic variation in the resting egg bank that increased considerably over time. Furthermore, strong evidence for selfing and/or biparental inbreeding was found during the initial phase of the invasion, followed by a drop of selfing rate to low levels in subsequent decades. Moreover, the increase in genetic variation was most pronounced during early stages of the invasion, suggesting additional introductions during this period. Our study highlights that genetic data covering the entire invasion process from its beginning can be crucial to accurately reconstruct the invasion history of a species. We show that propagule banks can preserve such information enabling the study of population genetic dynamics and sources of genetic variation in successful invasive populations