Fine-scale sampling uncovers the complexity of migrations in 5th–6th century Pannonia

As the collapse of the Western Roman Empire accelerated during the 4th and 5th centuries, arriving "barbarian" groups began to establish new communities in the border provinces of the declining (and eventually former) empire. This was a time of significant cultural and political change throughout not only these border regions but Europe as a whole.1,2 To better understand post-Roman community formation in one of these key frontier zones after the collapse of the Hunnic movement, we generated new paleogenomic data for a set of 38 burials from a time series of three 5th century cemeteries3,4,5 at Lake Balaton, Hungary. We utilized a comprehensive sampling approach to characterize these cemeteries along with data from 38 additional burials from a previously published mid-6th century site6 and analyzed them alongside data from over 550 penecontemporaneous individuals.7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19 The range of genetic diversity in all four of these local burial communities is extensive and wider ranging than penecontemporaneous Europeans sequenced to date. Despite many commonalities in burial customs and demography, we find that there were substantial differences in genetic ancestry between the sites. We detect evidence of northern European gene flow into the Lake Balaton region. Additionally, we observe a statistically significant association between dress artifacts and genetic ancestry among 5th century genetically female burials. Our analysis shows that the formation of early Medieval communities was a multifarious process even at a local level, consisting of genetically heterogeneous groups

Using ecological and field survey data to establish a national list of the wild bee pollinators of crops

The importance of wild bees for crop pollination is well established, but less is known about which species contribute to service delivery to inform agricultural management, monitoring and conservation. Using sites in Great Britain as a case study, we use a novel qualitative approach combining ecological information and field survey data to establish a national list of crop pollinating bees for four economically important crops (apple, field bean, oilseed rape and strawberry). A traits data base was used to establish potential pollinators, and combined with field data to identify both dominant crop flower visiting bee species and other species that could be important crop pollinators, but which are not presently sampled in large numbers on crops flowers. Whilst we found evidence that a small number of common, generalist species make a disproportionate contribution to flower visits, many more species were identified as potential pollinators, including rare and specialist species. Furthermore, we found evidence of substantial variation in the bee communities of different crops. Establishing a national list of crop pollinators is important for practitioners and policy makers, allowing targeted management approaches for improved ecosystem services, conservation and species monitoring. Data can be used to make recommendations about how pollinator diversity could be promoted in agricultural landscapes. Our results suggest agri-environment schemes need to support a higher diversity of species than at present, notably of solitary bees. Management would also benefit from targeting specific species to enhance crop pollination services to particular crops. Whilst our study is focused upon Great Britain, our methodology can easily be applied to other countries, crops and groups of pollinating insects.LH was funded by NERC QMEE CDT. EJB was funded by a BBSRC Ph.D. studentship under grant BB/F016581/1. LB was was supported by the Scholarship Program of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU, AZ 20014/302). AJC was funded by the BBSRC and Syngenta UK as part of a case award Ph.D. (grant no. 1518739). AE was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number 405940-115642). DG and A-MK were funded by grant PCIN2014-145-C02-02 (MinECo; EcoFruit project BiodivERsA-FACCE2014-74). MG was supported by Establishing a UK Pollinator Monitoring and Research Partnership (PMRP) a collaborative project funded by Defra, the Welsh and Scottish Governments, JNCC and project partners’. GAdG was funded via research projects BO-11-011.01-051 and BO-43-011.06-007, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. DK was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs (BO-11-011.01-011). AK-H was funded by the NKFIH project (FK123813), the Bolyai János Fellowship of the MTA, the ÚNKP-19-4-SZIE-3 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology, and together with RF by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund OTKA 101940. MM was funded by Waitrose & Partners, Fruition PO, and the University of Worcester. MM was funded by grant INIA-RTA2013-00139-C03-01 (MinECo and FEDER). BBP and RFS were funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council as part of Wessex BESS (ref. NE/J014680/1). NJV was funded by the Walloon Region (Belgium) Direction générale opérationnelle de l’Agriculture, des Ressources naturelles et de l’Environnement (DGO3) for the "Modèle permaculturel" project on biodiversity in micro-farms, FNRS/FWO joint programme EOS — Excellence Of Science CliPS: Climate change and its impact on Pollination Services (project 30947854)". CW was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Project number 405945293). BW was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under research programme NE/N018125/1 ASSIST – Achieving Sustainable Agricultural Systems www.assist.ceh.ac.uk. TB and TO are supported by BBSRC, NERC, ESRC and the Scottish Government under the Global Food Security Programme (Grant BB/R00580X/1)

Genomic history of coastal societies from eastern South America

Sambaqui (shellmound) societies are among the most intriguing archaeological phenomena in pre-colonial South America, extending from approximately 8,000 to 1,000 years before present (yr bp) across 3,000 km on the Atlantic coast. However, little is known about their connection to early Holocene hunter-gatherers, how this may have contributed to different historical pathways and the processes through which late Holocene ceramists came to rule the coast shortly before European contact. To contribute to our understanding of the population history of indigenous societies on the eastern coast of South America, we produced genome-wide data from 34 ancient individuals as early as 10,000 yr bp from four different regions in Brazil. Early Holocene hunter-gatherers were found to lack shared genetic drift among themselves and with later populations from eastern South America, suggesting that they derived from a common radiation and did not contribute substantially to later coastal groups. Our analyses show genetic heterogeneity among contemporaneous Sambaqui groups from the southeastern and southern Brazilian coast, contrary to the similarity expressed in the archaeological record. The complex history of intercultural contact between inland horticulturists and coastal populations becomes genetically evident during the final horizon of Sambaqui societies, from around 2,200 yr bp, corroborating evidence of cultural change

Electromagnetic fields in computerized working places their impact to human health and prevention

Tyrimų tikslas – išmatuoti ir įvertinti elektromagnetinės spinduliuotės stiprį kompiuterizuotose darbo vietose ir aptarti prevencijos priemones. Elektromagnetinių laukų parametrai buvo matuoti Vytauto Didžiojo universiteto Gamtos mokslų fakulteto Aplinkotyros katedros dėstytojų darbo vietose ir kompiuterių klasėje. Kompiuterizuotose darbo vietose elektrinio lauko stipris 5 Hz – 2 kHz dažnių ruože svyravo nuo 3,1 iki 9,5 V/m. Magnetinio srauto tankis svyravo nuo 38 iki 110 nT. Magnetinio srauto tankis 2 – 400 kHz dažnių ruože kito nuo 13 iki 23 nT, o elektrinio lauko stipris nuo 0,2 iki 0,5 V/m. Kompiuterizuotose darbo vietose elektrinio lauko stipris ir magnetinio lauko tankis 5 Hz – 2 kHz ir 2 – 400 kHz dažnių ruožuose neviršijo Lietuvos techninėje normoje TN 01:1998 nustatytų verčiųThe aim of the study was to measure electromagnetic fields in computerized working places and to discuss prevention implements. Parameters of electromagnetic fields were measured in lecturers working places and computer class in Vytautas Magus University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Environmental sciences. Electric field strength in computerized working places than frequency was 5 Hz – 2 kHz varied from 3,1 to 9,5 V/m. Magnetic flux density varied from 38 to 110 nT. Magnetic flux density than frequency was 2 – 400 kHz varied from 13 till 23 nT and electric field strength from 0,2 till 0,5 V/m. Measured electric field strength and magnetic flux density in computerized working places than frequency was 5 Hz – 2 kHz and 2 – 400 kHz was less than norms set in the Lithuanian technical norm TN 01:1998Vytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Apple pollination is ensured by wild bees when honey bees are drawn away from orchards by a mass co-flowering crop, oilseed rape

Over the past two decades, the cultivated area of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. or OSR), a mass-flowering crop, has markedly increased in Europe in response to bioenergy demands. As well as representing a major shift in floral composition across the landscape, mass-flowering OSR may alter pollination services to other simultaneously blooming crops, either decreasing pollination via competition for pollinators or facilitating it via pollinator spill-over. Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) is an economically important, obligately insect-pollinated fruit crop that co-flowers with OSR. Using twelve independent apple orchards varying in the percentage of OSR in the surrounding landscape, we investigated the effect of OSR on pollinators and pollination of co-blooming apple. We collected bees with pan traps and quantified flower visitors during transect walks in both crops and we experimentally measured pollination service provision to apple as fruit and seed set. We confirm that apples are highly dependent on animal pollination and report pollination limitation in our apple orchards. Honey bees were the numerically dominant visitors of apple flowers observed during transect walks. Though their numbers dropped with an increasing percentage of OSR in the landscape, the number of bumble bees visiting apple flowers remained stable and those of other wild bees rose. The pan trapped Shannon diversity of bees remained constant. We could not detect an effect of OSR in the landscape on apple fruit set or seed set, both of which remained stable. Local wild bee populations might compensate for the loss of honey bees in the provision of pollination services in apple, providing especially effective pollination. Our results underscore not only the dominant role of bees in apple pollination but also the importance of wild bee conservation for providing pollination insurance and stability of apple crop yields under changing agricultural policies and cropping practices.Publikationsfonds ML

Data from: Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism scan suggests adaptation to urbanization in an important pollinator, the red-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius L.)

Urbanization is considered a global threat to biodiversity; the growth of cities results in an increase in impervious surfaces, soil and air pollution, fragmentation of natural vegetation, invasion of non-native species along with numerous environmental changes, including the heat island phenomenon. The combination of these effects constitutes a challenge for both the survival and persistence of many native species, whilst also imposing altered selective regimes. Here, using 110,314 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated by restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq), we investigated the genome-wide effects of urbanization on putative neutral and adaptive genomic diversity in a major insect pollinator, Bombus lapidarius, collected from nine German cities and nine paired rural sites. Overall, genetic differentiation among sites was low and there was no obvious genome-wide genetic structuring, suggesting absence of strong effects of urbanization on gene flow. We nevertheless identified several loci under directional selection, a subset of which was associated with urban land use, including the percentage of impervious surface, surrounding each sampling site. Overall, our results provide evidence of local adaptation to urbanization in the face of gene flow in a highly mobile insect pollinator

Electronic supplementary material tables and figures from Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism scan suggests adaptation to urbanization in an important pollinator, the red-tailed bumblebee (<i>Bombus lapidarius</i> L.)

Urbanization is considered a global threat to biodiversity; the growth of cities results in an increase in impervious surfaces, soil and air pollution, fragmentation of natural vegetation and invasion of non-native species along with numerous environmental changes, including the heat island phenomenon. The combination of these effects constitutes a challenge for both the survival and persistence of many native species, while also imposing altered selective regimes. Here, using 110 314 single nucleotide polymorphisms generated by restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, we investigated the genome-wide effects of urbanization on putative neutral and adaptive genomic diversity in a major insect pollinator, <i>Bombus lapidarius</i>, collected from nine German cities and nine paired rural sites. Overall, genetic differentiation among sites was low and there was no obvious genome-wide genetic structuring, suggesting the absence of strong effects of urbanization on gene flow. We, nevertheless, identified several loci under directional selection, a subset of which was associated with urban land use, including the percentage of impervious surface, surrounding each sampling site. Overall, our results provide evidence of local adaptation to urbanization in the face of gene flow in a highly mobile insect pollinator

Electronic supplementary material Appendix S1 from Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism scan suggests adaptation to urbanization in an important pollinator, the red-tailed bumblebee (<i>Bombus lapidarius</i> L.)

Urbanization is considered a global threat to biodiversity; the growth of cities results in an increase in impervious surfaces, soil and air pollution, fragmentation of natural vegetation and invasion of non-native species along with numerous environmental changes, including the heat island phenomenon. The combination of these effects constitutes a challenge for both the survival and persistence of many native species, while also imposing altered selective regimes. Here, using 110 314 single nucleotide polymorphisms generated by restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, we investigated the genome-wide effects of urbanization on putative neutral and adaptive genomic diversity in a major insect pollinator, <i>Bombus lapidarius</i>, collected from nine German cities and nine paired rural sites. Overall, genetic differentiation among sites was low and there was no obvious genome-wide genetic structuring, suggesting the absence of strong effects of urbanization on gene flow. We, nevertheless, identified several loci under directional selection, a subset of which was associated with urban land use, including the percentage of impervious surface, surrounding each sampling site. Overall, our results provide evidence of local adaptation to urbanization in the face of gene flow in a highly mobile insect pollinator

Understanding the Immunomodulatory Effects of Bovine Colostrum: Insights into IL-6/IL-10 Axis-Mediated Inflammatory Control

Bovine colostrum (COL), the first milk secreted by lactating cows postpartum, is a rich source of bioactive compounds that exert a significant role in the survival, growth, and immune development of neonatal calves. This study investigated the immunomodulatory effects of COL on cytokine production in vitro using a Caco-2/THP-1 macrophage co-culture model stimulated with Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). COL pretreatment significantly reduced IL-6 (241.3 pg/mL) production induced by PMA (p S. typhimurium infection, in comparison to control animals (215.2 pg/mL). These results suggest the immunomodulatory activity of bovine colostrum and its potential applications in inflammatory disorders. Further studies are needed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and validate the findings in bovine models