Usporedba gena cox1 metilja Fascioloides magna iz različitih nositelja

Large American liver fluke (Fascioloides magna) was introduced to Europe at least twice, via invaded North American deer species. These imports resulted in formation of three permanent foci of fascioloidosis - Italian, Czech and Danube floodplain forests. Molecular analysis revealed that flukes in Italian foci represent separate genetic group, and that flukes from Czech and Danube foci are genetically identical. Since previous studies of genetic structure of F. magna from Croatia were based on samples collected from red deer in one limited area (Baranja), the aim of this study was to analyse genetic diversity of 111 fluke samples collected from various hosts (red, roe and fallow deer, wild boar) and geographic locations in Croatia. On 355 base pair long cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequence, three haplotypes were identified - previously published CO1-Ha3 and CO1-Ha4, and one new haplotype named CO1-Ha36. Results obtained in our study confirmed as expected, that F. magna in Croatia has a Danube origin and that haplotypes are shared among different final host species.Veliki američki metilj (Fascioloides magna) unesen je u Europu najmanje dva puta, uvozom sjevernoameričkih vrsta jelena. Ovi su unosi rezultirali stvaranjem triju trajnih žarišta fascioloidoze, u Italiji, Češkoj i u dolini rijeke Dunav. Molekularne analize potvrdile su da metilji iz Italije čine zasebnu skupinu, dok su oni s područja ostalih dvaju žarišta genetski identični. Kako su prijašnja istraživanja genske strukture metilja F. magna u Hrvatskoj temeljena na uzorcima prikupljenima od jelena običnih isključivo s područja Baranje, cilj je ovog istraživanja bio istražiti gensku raznolikost 111 uzoraka metilja prikupljenih iz različitih nositelja (jelen obični, srna, jelen lopatar i divlja svinja) i s različitih lokacija. Na slijedu citokrom-oksidaze podjedinice 1 dugoj 355 parova baza utvrđena su tri haplotipa, od čega su dva poznata – CO1-Ha3 i CO1-Ha3, te jedan novi haplotip koji do sada nije opisan u literaturi. Kao što je i očekivano, naše je istraživanje potvrdilo da metilji u Hrvatskoj potječu iz dunavskog žarišta, a identifikacija novog haplotipa ističe važnost daljnjih istraživanja

PESFOR-W: Improving the design and environmental effectiveness of woodlands for water Payments for Ecosystem Services

ABSTRACT: The EU Water Framework Directive aims to ensure restoration of Europe?s water bodies to ?good ecological status? by 2027. Many Member States will struggle to meet this target, with around half of EU river catchments currently reporting below standard water quality. Diffuse pollution from agriculture represents a major pressure, affecting over 90% of river basins. Accumulating evidence shows that recent improvements to agricultural practices are benefiting water quality but in many cases will be insufficient to achieve WFD objectives. There is growing support for land use change to help bridge the gap, with a particular focus on targeted tree planting to intercept and reduce the delivery of diffuse pollutants to water. This form of integrated catchment management offers multiple benefits to society but a significant cost to landowners and managers. New economic instruments, in combination with spatial targeting, need to be developed to ensure cost effective solutions - including tree planting for water benefits - are realised. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are flexible, incentive-based mechanisms that could play an important role in promoting land use change to deliver water quality targets. The PESFOR-W COST Action will consolidate learning from existing woodlands for water PES schemes in Europe and help standardize approaches to evaluating the environmental effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of woodland measures. It will also create a European network through which PES schemes can be facilitated, extended and improved, for example by incorporating other ecosystem services linking with aims of the wider forestscarbon policy nexus

ANALYSIS OF THE COX-1 GENE OF THE FLUKE FASCIOLOIDES MAGNA FROM DIFFERENT AREAS

Fascioloides magna nezavičajni je parazit na europskim prostorima, a izvorno parazitira u sjevernoameričkih vrsta jelena. Dolaskom u Europu ovaj metilj formira nove zajednice nositelj - parazit te su do sada utvrđena tri žarišta velikog američkog metilja u Europi: talijansko, češko i žarište dunavskog sliva. Analizom cox-1 gena nastojalo se prikupiti podatke o raznolikosti metilja u Hrvatskoj i Srbiji, te međusobni evolucijski odnosi kao i odnos s metiljima iz područja uz New York (Ontario) u SAD-u. Nakon izolacije DNK prikupljenih uzoraka, PCR-a te sekvenciranja dobivene su 123 sekvence cox-1 gena, 58 iz Hrvatske, 55 iz Srbije te 10 iz SAD-a koja su potom analizirane. U Hrvatskoj je potvrđena prisutnost dva otprije poznata haplotipa dunavskog žarišta, te su otkrivena četiri nova haplotipa. Nalaz novih haplotipova vjerojatno je rezultat činjenice da su uzorci u Hrvatskoj uzeti s većeg geografskog područja, iz šest županija, što nije bio slučaj u prethodnim istraživanjima. Dobiveni su prvi podatci o genetskoj strukturi u Srbiji. Najučestaliji haplotip bio isti kao i u Hrvatskoj (Ha3), te je utvrđena i prisutnost do sada neidentificiranog haplotipa koji je zajednički i Hrvatskoj i Srbiji. Haplotipovi dobiveni iz uzoraka iz SAD-a nisu utvrđeni u Hrvatskoj i Srbiji, a od 6 identificiranih haplotipova samo je jedan prethodno opisan u literaturi.Fascioloides magna is a non-native parasite in Europe which is originally a parasite of deer species in North America. After arriving to Europe, this fluke formed new host-parasite associations, and established three permanent natural foci: in Italy, Czech Republic and Danube floodplain forests. The goal of this research was to analyse cox-1 gene and to collect data on fluke diversity in Croatia and Serbia, as well as their evolutionary relations and relations with flukes collected in area of New York (Ontario), USA. After DNA isolation, PCR and sequencing we have determined 123 sequences of cox-1 genes, 58 sequences from Croatia, 55 from Serbia and 10 from the USA. In Croatia, the presence of two previously known haplotypes of the Danube foci was confirmed and four new haplotypes were discovered. The finding of new haplotypes is probably the result of the fact that samples in Croatia were collected from a larger geographical area than in previous studies, from six counties. Also, we have obtained the first data on the genetic structure of the giant liver fluke in Serbia The most common haplotype was the same as in Croatia (Ha3), and the presence of so far unidentified haplotype was found, which is common in both, Croatia and Serbia. Haplotypes obtained from USA samples were not identified in Croatia and Serbia, and of the 6 identified haplotypes only one was previously described in the literature

ANALYSIS OF THE COX-1 GENE OF THE FLUKE FASCIOLOIDES MAGNA FROM DIFFERENT AREAS

Fascioloides magna nezavičajni je parazit na europskim prostorima, a izvorno parazitira u sjevernoameričkih vrsta jelena. Dolaskom u Europu ovaj metilj formira nove zajednice nositelj - parazit te su do sada utvrđena tri žarišta velikog američkog metilja u Europi: talijansko, češko i žarište dunavskog sliva. Analizom cox-1 gena nastojalo se prikupiti podatke o raznolikosti metilja u Hrvatskoj i Srbiji, te međusobni evolucijski odnosi kao i odnos s metiljima iz područja uz New York (Ontario) u SAD-u. Nakon izolacije DNK prikupljenih uzoraka, PCR-a te sekvenciranja dobivene su 123 sekvence cox-1 gena, 58 iz Hrvatske, 55 iz Srbije te 10 iz SAD-a koja su potom analizirane. U Hrvatskoj je potvrđena prisutnost dva otprije poznata haplotipa dunavskog žarišta, te su otkrivena četiri nova haplotipa. Nalaz novih haplotipova vjerojatno je rezultat činjenice da su uzorci u Hrvatskoj uzeti s većeg geografskog područja, iz šest županija, što nije bio slučaj u prethodnim istraživanjima. Dobiveni su prvi podatci o genetskoj strukturi u Srbiji. Najučestaliji haplotip bio isti kao i u Hrvatskoj (Ha3), te je utvrđena i prisutnost do sada neidentificiranog haplotipa koji je zajednički i Hrvatskoj i Srbiji. Haplotipovi dobiveni iz uzoraka iz SAD-a nisu utvrđeni u Hrvatskoj i Srbiji, a od 6 identificiranih haplotipova samo je jedan prethodno opisan u literaturi.Fascioloides magna is a non-native parasite in Europe which is originally a parasite of deer species in North America. After arriving to Europe, this fluke formed new host-parasite associations, and established three permanent natural foci: in Italy, Czech Republic and Danube floodplain forests. The goal of this research was to analyse cox-1 gene and to collect data on fluke diversity in Croatia and Serbia, as well as their evolutionary relations and relations with flukes collected in area of New York (Ontario), USA. After DNA isolation, PCR and sequencing we have determined 123 sequences of cox-1 genes, 58 sequences from Croatia, 55 from Serbia and 10 from the USA. In Croatia, the presence of two previously known haplotypes of the Danube foci was confirmed and four new haplotypes were discovered. The finding of new haplotypes is probably the result of the fact that samples in Croatia were collected from a larger geographical area than in previous studies, from six counties. Also, we have obtained the first data on the genetic structure of the giant liver fluke in Serbia The most common haplotype was the same as in Croatia (Ha3), and the presence of so far unidentified haplotype was found, which is common in both, Croatia and Serbia. Haplotypes obtained from USA samples were not identified in Croatia and Serbia, and of the 6 identified haplotypes only one was previously described in the literature

MacroH2A1 regulates the balance between self-renewal and differentiation commitment in embryonic and adult stem cells.

One of the most striking epigenetic alterations that occurs at the level of the nucleosome is the complete exchange of the canonical H2A histones for the macroH2A variant. Here, we provide insight into the poorly recognized function of macroH2A in transcriptional activation and demonstrate its relevance in embryonic and adult stem cells. Knockdown of macroH2A1 in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells limited their capacity to differentiate but not their self-renewal. The loss of macroH2A1 interfered with the proper activation of differentiation genes, most of which are direct target genes of macroH2A. Additionally, macroH2A1-deficient mES cells displayed incomplete inactivation of pluripotency genes and formed defective embryoid bodies. In vivo, macroH2A1-deficient teratomas contained a massive expansion of malignant, undifferentiated carcinoma tissue. In the heterogeneous culture of primary human keratinocytes, macroH2A1 levels negatively correlated with the self-renewal capacity of the pluripotent compartment. Together these results establish macroH2A1 as a critical chromatin component that regulates the delicate balance between self-renewal and differentiation of embryonic and adult stem cells