Drought-tolerant succulent plants as an alternative crop under future global warming scenarios in sub-Saharan Africa

Globally, we are facing an emerging climate crisis, with impacts to be notably felt in semiarid regions across the world. Cultivation of drought-adapted succulent plants has been suggested as a nature-based solution that could: (i) reduce land degradation, (ii) increase agricultural diversification and provide both economic and environmentally sustainable income through derived bioproducts and bioenergy, (iii) help mitigate atmospheric CO2 emissions and (iv) increase soil sequestration of CO2. Identifying where succulents can grow and thrive is an important prerequisite for the advent of a sustainable alternative ‘bioeconomy’. Here, we first explore the viability of succulent cultivation in Africa under future climate projections to 2100 using species distribution modelling to identify climatic parameters of greatest importance and regions of environmental suitability. Minimum temperatures and temperature variability are shown to be key controls in defining the theoretical distribution of three succulent species explored, and under both current and future SSP5 8.5 projections, the conditions required for the growth of at least one of the species are met in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. These results are supplemented with an analysis of potentially available land for alternative succulent crop cultivation. In total, up to 1.5 billion ha could be considered ecophysiologically suitable and available for succulent cultivation due to projected declines in rangeland biomass and yields of traditional crops. These findings may serve to highlight new opportunities for farmers, governments and key stakeholders in the agriculture and energy sectors to invest in sustainable bioeconomic alternatives that deliver on environmental, social and economic goals

A complete view of galaxy evolution: panchromatic luminosity functions and the generation of metals

When and how did galaxies form and their metals accumulate? Over the last decade, this has moved from an archeological question to a live investigation: there is now a broad picture of the evolution of galaxies in dark matter halos: their masses, stars, metals and supermassive blackholes. Galaxies have been found and studied in which these formation processes are taking place most vigorously, all the way back in cosmic time to when the intergalactic medium (IGM) was still largely neutral. However, the details of how and why the interstellar medium (ISM) in distant galaxies cools, is processed, recycled and enriched in metals by stars, and fuels active galactic nuclei (AGNs) remain uncertain. In particular, the cooling of gas to fuel star formation, and the chemistry and physics of the most intensely active regions is hidden from view at optical wavelengths, but can be seen and diagnosed at mid- & far-infrared (IR) wavelengths. Rest-frame IR observations are important first to identify the most luminous, interesting and important galaxies, secondly to quantify accurately their total luminosity, and finally to use spectroscopy to trace the conditions in the molecular and atomic gas out of which stars form. In order to map out these processes over the full range of environments and large-scale structures found in the universe - from the densest clusters of galaxies to the emptiest voids - we require tools for deep, large area surveys, of millions of galaxies out to z~5, and for detailed follow-up spectroscopy. The necessary tools can be realized technically. Here, we outline the requirements for gathering the crucial information to build, validate and challenge models of galaxy evolution.Comment: A whitepaper submitted on 15th February 2009 in response to the call from the Astro2010 panel: astro2010.org; uploaded as an 8-page pdf fil

Photothermal Transport of DNA in Entropy-Landscape Plasmonic Waveguides

The ability to handle single, free molecules in lab-on-a-chip systems is key to the development of advanced biotechnologies. Entropic confinement offers passive control of polymers in nanofluidic systems by locally asserting a molecule’s number of available conformation states through structured landscapes. Separately, a range of plasmonic configurations have demonstrated active manipulation of nano-objects by harnessing concentrated electric fields. The integration of these two independent techniques promises a range of sophisticated and complementary functions to handle, for example, DNA, but numerous difficulties, in particular, conflicting requirements of channel size, have prevented progress. Here, we show that metallic V-groove waveguides, embedded in fluidic nanoslits, form entropic potentials that trap and guide DNA molecules over well-defined routes while simultaneously promoting photothermal transport of DNA through the losses of plasmonic modes. The propulsive forces, assisted by in-coupling to propagating channel plasmon polaritons, extend along the V-grooves with a directed motion up to ≈0.5 μm·mW^–1 away from the input beam and λ-DNA velocities reaching ≈0.2 μm·s^–1·mW^–1. The entropic trapping enables the V-grooves to be flexibly loaded and unloaded with DNA by variation of transverse fluid flow, a process that is selective to biopolymers <i>versus</i> fixed-shape objects and also allows the technique to address the challenges of nanoscale interaction volumes. Our self-aligning, light-driven actuator provides a convenient platform to filter, route, and manipulate individual molecules and may be realized wholly by wafer-scale fabrication suitable for parallelized investigation

SN Ia host galaxy properties from Sloan Digital Sky Survey-II spectroscopy

We study the stellar populations of Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) host galaxies using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-II spectroscopy. The main focus is on the relationships of SN Ia properties with stellar velocity dispersion and the stellar population parameters age, metallicity and element abundance ratios. We concentrate on a sub-sample of 84 SNe Ia from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey and find that SALT2 stretch factor values show the strongest dependence on stellar population age. Hence, more luminous SNe Ia appear in younger stellar progenitor systems. No statistically significant trends in the Hubble residual with any of the stellar population parameters studied are found. Moreover, the method of photometric stellar mass derivation affects the Hubble residual–mass relationship. For an extended sample (247 objects), including SNe Ia with SDSS host galaxy photometry only, the Hubble residual–mass relationship behaves as a sloped step function. In the high-mass regime, probed by our host spectroscopy sample, this relationship is flat. Below a stellar mass of ∼2 × 1010M , i.e. close to the evolutionary transition mass of low-redshift galaxies, the trend changes dramatically such that lower mass galaxies possess lower luminosity SNe Ia after light-curve corrections. The sloped step function of the Hubble residual–mass relationship should be accounted for when using stellar mass as a further parameter for minimizing the Hubble residuals.Department of HE and Training approved lis

The edge of neutral evolution in social dilemmas

The functioning of animal as well as human societies fundamentally relies on cooperation. Yet, defection is often favorable for the selfish individual, and social dilemmas arise. Selection by individuals' fitness, usually the basic driving force of evolution, quickly eliminates cooperators. However, evolution is also governed by fluctuations that can be of greater importance than fitness differences, and can render evolution effectively neutral. Here, we investigate the effects of selection versus fluctuations in social dilemmas. By studying the mean extinction times of cooperators and defectors, a variable sensitive to fluctuations, we are able to identify and quantify an emerging 'edge of neutral evolution' that delineates regimes of neutral and Darwinian evolution. Our results reveal that cooperation is significantly maintained in the neutral regimes. In contrast, the classical predictions of evolutionary game theory, where defectors beat cooperators, are recovered in the Darwinian regimes. Our studies demonstrate that fluctuations can provide a surprisingly simple way to partly resolve social dilemmas. Our methods are generally applicable to estimate the role of random drift in evolutionary dynamics.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figure

Prdm1- and Sox6-mediated transcriptional repression specifies muscle fibre type in the zebrafish embryo

The zebrafish u-boot (ubo) gene encodes the transcription factor Prdm1, which is essential for the specification of the primary slow-twitch muscle fibres that derive from adaxial cells. Here, we show that Prdm1 functions by acting as a transcriptional repressor and that slow-twitch-specific muscle gene expression is activated by Prdm1-mediated repression of the transcriptional repressor Sox6. Genes encoding fast-specific isoforms of sarcomeric proteins are ectopically expressed in the adaxial cells of ubotp39 mutant embryos. By using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we show that these are direct targets of Prdm1. Thus, Prdm1 promotes slow-twitch fibre differentiation by acting as a global repressor of fast-fibre-specific genes, as well as by abrogating the repression of slow-fibre-specific genes

Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators

Competition between apex predators can alter the strength of top-down forcing, yet we know little about the behavioral mechanisms that drive competition in multipredator ecosystems. Interactions between predators can be synergistic (facilitative) or antagonistic (inhibitive), both of which are widespread in nature, vary in strength between species and across space and time, and affect predation patterns and predator–prey dynamics. Recent research has suggested that gray wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates decrease where they are sympatric with brown bears (Ursus arctos), however, the mechanisms behind this pattern remain unknown. We used data from two long-term research projects in Scandinavia (Europe) and Yellowstone National Park (North America) to test the role of interference and exploitation competition from bears on wolf predatory behavior, where altered wolf handling and search time of prey in the presence of bears are indicative of interference and exploitation competition, respectively. Our results suggest the mechanisms driving competition between bears and wolves were dependent on the season and study system. During spring in Scandinavia, interference competition was the primary mechanism driving decreased kill rates for wolves sympatric with bears; handling time increased, but search time did not. In summer, however, when both bear and wolf predation focused on neonate moose, the behavioral mechanism switched to exploitation competition; search time increased, but handling time did not. Alternartively, interference competition did affect wolf predation dynamics in Yellowstone during summer, where wolves prey more evenly on neonate and adult ungulates. Here, bear presence at a carcass increased the amount of time wolves spent at carcasses of all sizes and wolf handling time for small prey, but decreased handling time for the largest prey. Wolves facilitate scavenging opportunities for bears, however, bears alter wolf predatory behavior via multiple pathways and are primarily antagonistic to wolves. Our study helps to clarify the behavioral mechanisms driving competition between apex predators, illustrating how interspecific interactions can manifest into population-level predation patterns.publishedVersio

Of wolves and bears: Seasonal drivers of interference and exploitation competition between apex predators

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2022 The Authors. Ecological Monographs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Ecological Society of America.Competition between apex predators can alter the strength of top-down forcing, yet we know little about the behavioral mechanisms that drive competition in multipredator ecosystems. Interactions between predators can be synergistic (facilitative) or antagonistic (inhibitive), both of which are widespread in nature, vary in strength between species and across space and time, and affect predation patterns and predator–prey dynamics. Recent research has suggested that gray wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates decrease where they are sympatric with brown bears (Ursus arctos), however, the mechanisms behind this pattern remain unknown. We used data from two long-term research projects in Scandinavia (Europe) and Yellowstone National Park (North America) to test the role of interference and exploitation competition from bears on wolf predatory behavior, where altered wolf handling and search time of prey in the presence of bears are indicative of interference and exploitation competition, respectively. Our results suggest the mechanisms driving competition between bears and wolves were dependent on the season and study system. During spring in Scandinavia, interference competition was the primary mechanism driving decreased kill rates for wolves sympatric with bears; handling time increased, but search time did not. In summer, however, when both bear and wolf predation focused on neonate moose, the behavioral mechanism switched to exploitation competition; search time increased, but handling time did not. Alternartively, interference competition did affect wolf predation dynamics in Yellowstone during summer, where wolves prey more evenly on neonate and adult ungulates. Here, bear presence at a carcass increased the amount of time wolves spent at carcasses of all sizes and wolf handling time for small prey, but decreased handling time for the largest prey. Wolves facilitate scavenging opportunities for bears, however, bears alter wolf predatory behavior via multiple pathways and are primarily antagonistic to wolves. Our study helps to clarify the behavioral mechanisms driving competition between apex predators, illustrating how interspecific interactions can manifest into population-level predation patterns.publishedVersio

Targeted adenovirus-mediated transduction of human T cells in vitro and in vivo

Clinical success in T cell therapy has stimulated widespread efforts to increase safety and potency and to extend this technology to solid tumors. Yet progress in cell therapy remains restricted by the limited payload capacity, specificity of target cell transduction, and transgenic gene expression efficiency of applied viral vectors. This renders complex reprogramming or direct in vivo applications difficult. Here, we developed a synergistic combination of trimeric adapter constructs enabling T cell-directed transduction by the human adenoviral vector serotype C5 in vitro and in vivo. Rationally chosen binding partners showed receptor-specific transduction of otherwise non-susceptible human T cells by exploiting activation stimuli. This platform remains compatible with high-capacity vectors for up to 37 kb DNA delivery, increasing payload capacity and safety because of the removal of all viral genes. Together, these findings provide a tool for targeted delivery of large payloads in T cells as a potential avenue to overcome current limitations of T cell therapy