Study on the Use of Small Multi-Copter (UAV) in Agriculture

Poster Presentatio

High-Quality Draft Genome Sequences of Two Deltaproteobacterial Endosymbionts, Delta1a and Delta1b, from the Uncultured Sva0081 Clade, Assembled from Metagenomes of the Gutless Marine Worm Olavius algarvensis

Here, we present high-quality metagenome-assembled genome sequences of two closely related deltaproteobacterial endosymbionts from the gutless marine worm Olavius algarvensis (Annelida). The first is an improved draft genome sequence of the previously described sulfate-reducing symbiont Delta1. The second is from a closely related, recently discovered symbiont of O. algarvensis

A human colonic crypt culture system to study regulation of stem cell-driven tissue renewal and physiological function

The intestinal epithelium is one of the most rapidly renewing tissues in the human body and fulfils vital physiological roles such as barrier function and transport of nutrients and fluid. Investigation of gut epithelial physiology in health and disease has been hampered by the lack of ex vivo models of the native human intestinal epithelium. Recently, remarkable progress has been made in defining intestinal stem cells and in generating intestinal organoid cultures. In parallel, we have developed a 3D culture system of the native human colonic epithelium that recapitulates the topological hierarchy of stem cell-driven tissue renewal and permits the physiological study of native polarized epithelial cells. Here we describe methods to establish 3D cultures of intact human colonic crypts and conduct real-time imaging of intestinal tissue renewal, cellular signalling, and physiological function, in conjunction with manipulation of gene expression by lentiviral or adenoviral transduction. Visualization of mRNA- and protein-expression patterns in cultured human colonic crypts, and cross-validation with crypts derived from fixed mucosal biopsies, is also described. Alongside studies using intestinal organoids, the near-native human colonic crypt culture model will help to bridge the gap that exists between investigation of colon cancer cell lines and/or animal (tissue) studies, and progression to clinical trials. To this end, the near native human colonic crypt model provides a platform to aid the development of novel strategies for the prevention of inflammatory bowel disease and cancer

High-Quality Draft Genome Sequences of the Uncultured Delta3 Endosymbiont (Deltaproteobacteria) Assembled from Metagenomes of the Gutless Marine Worm Olavius algarvensis

Here, we present two high-quality, draft metagenome-assembled genomes of deltaproteobacterial OalgDelta3 endosymbionts from the gutless marine worm Olavius algarvensis. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences share 98% identity with Delta3 endosymbionts of related host species Olavius ilvae (GenBank accession no. AJ620501) and Inanidrilus exumae (GenBank accession no. FM202060), for which no symbiont genomes are available

Gravitational Quantum Foam and Supersymmetric Gauge Theories

We study K\"{a}hler gravity on local SU(N) geometry and describe precise correspondence with certain supersymmetric gauge theories and random plane partitions. The local geometry is discretized, via the geometric quantization, to a foam of an infinite number of gravitational quanta. We count these quanta in a relative manner by measuring a deviation of the local geometry from a singular Calabi-Yau threefold, that is a A_{N-1} singularity fibred over \mathbb{P}^1. With such a regularization prescription, the number of the gravitational quanta becomes finite and turns to be the perturbative prepotential for five-dimensional \mathcal{N}=1 supersymmetric SU(N) Yang-Mills. These quanta are labelled by lattice points in a certain convex polyhedron on \mathbb{R}^3. The polyhedron becomes obtainable from a plane partition which is the ground state of a statistical model of random plane partition that describes the exact partition function for the gauge theory. Each gravitational quantum of the local geometry is shown to consist of N unit cubes of plane partitions.Comment: 43 pages, 12 figures: V2 typos correcte

Deep-sea mussels from a hybrid zone on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge host genetically indistinguishable symbionts

The composition and diversity of animal microbiomes is shaped by a variety of factors, many of them interacting, such as host traits, the environment, and biogeography. Hybrid zones, in which the ranges of two host species meet and hybrids are found, provide natural experiments for determining the drivers of microbiome communities, but have not been well studied in marine environments. Here, we analysed the composition of the symbiont community in two deep-sea, Bathymodiolus mussel species along their known distribution range at hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, with a focus on the hybrid zone where they interbreed. In-depth metagenomic analyses of the sulphur-oxidising symbionts of 30 mussels from the hybrid zone, at a resolution of single nucleotide polymorphism analyses of ~2500 orthologous genes, revealed that parental and hybrid mussels (F2–F4 generation) have genetically indistinguishable symbionts. While host genetics does not appear to affect symbiont composition in these mussels, redundancy analyses showed that geographic location of the mussels on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge explained most of the symbiont genetic variability compared to the other factors. We hypothesise that geographic structuring of the free-living symbiont population plays a major role in driving the composition of the microbiome in these deep-sea mussels

Fidelity varies in the symbiosis between a gutless marine worm and its microbial consortium

Background: Many animals live in intimate associations with a species-rich microbiome. A key factor in maintaining these beneficial associations is fidelity, defined as the stability of associations between hosts and their microbiota over multiple host generations. Fidelity has been well studied in terrestrial hosts, particularly insects, over longer macroevolutionary time. In contrast, little is known about fidelity in marine animals with species-rich microbiomes at short microevolutionary time scales, that is at the level of a single host population. Given that natural selection acts most directly on local populations, studies of microevolutionary partner fidelity are important for revealing the ecological and evolutionary processes that drive intimate beneficial associations within animal species. Results: In this study on the obligate symbiosis between the gutless marine annelid Olavius algarvensis and its consortium of seven co-occurring bacterial symbionts, we show that partner fidelity varies across symbiont species from strict to absent over short microevolutionary time. Using a low-coverage sequencing approach that has not yet been applied to microbial community analyses, we analysed the metagenomes of 80 O. algarvensis individuals from the Mediterranean and compared host mitochondrial and symbiont phylogenies based on single-nucleotide polymorphisms across genomes. Fidelity was highest for the two chemoautotrophic, sulphur-oxidizing symbionts that dominated the microbial consortium of all O. algarvensis individuals. In contrast, fidelity was only intermediate to absent in the sulphate-reducing and spirochaetal symbionts with lower abundance. These differences in fidelity are likely driven by both selective and stochastic forces acting on the consistency with which symbionts are vertically transmitted. Conclusions: We hypothesize that variable degrees of fidelity are advantageous for O. algarvensis by allowing the faithful transmission of their nutritionally most important symbionts and flexibility in the acquisition of other symbionts that promote ecological plasticity in the acquisition of environmental resources

Tumor-dependent secretion of close homolog of L1 results in elevation of its circulating level in mouse model for human lung tumor

Close homolog of L1 (CHL1) and its truncated form mainly play crucial roles in mouse brain development and neural functions. Herein, we newly identified that truncated form of CHL1 is produced and released from lung tumor tissue in a mouse model expressing human EML4-ALK fusion gene. Both western blot and direct ELISA analysis revealed that mouse CHL1 level in serum (including serum extracellular vesicles) was significantly elevated in EML4-ALK transgenic mice. The correlation between the tumor size and the amount of CHL1 secretion could be examined in this study, and showed a significant positive correlation in a tumor size-dependent manner. Considering these results, the measurement of circulating CHL1 level may contribute to assess a tumor progression in human lung tumor patients

Cyclic perylene diimide: Selective ligand for tetraplex DNA binding over double stranded DNA

Synthesized cyclic perylene diimide, cPDI, showed the binding constant of 6.3 × 106 M−1 with binding number of n = 2 with TA-core as a tetraplex DNA in 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH = 7.4) containing 100 mM KCl using Schatchard analysis and showed a higher preference for tetraplex DNA than for double stranded DNA with over 103 times. CD spectra showed that TA-core induced its antiparallel conformation upon addition of cPDI in the absence or presence of K+ or Na+ ions. The cPDI inhibits the telomerase activity with IC50 of 0.3 µM using TRAP assay which is potential anti-cancer drug with low side effect