Traits track taxonomy.

A novel technique based on isotope analysis shows that, compared to ecosystem type, evolutionary history explains more variation in bacterial growth traits along an elevation gradient. This knowledge could help move microbial ecologists toward improved predictive models of soil processes

Social Sector Business Ventures: The Critical Factors That Maximize Success

This paper seeks to help social sector leaders understand the factors that they should consider when launching revenue-generating business ventures. Given that much of the research on social sector business ventures is based on the personal experiences of individual practitioners, there is a wide array of advice for organizational leaders who are thinking about launching business ventures. Consequently, we approach the subject of social sector business ventures in a systematic and analytic way in order to determine what organizational leaders really need to know about launching successful ventures. We introduce a framework called "business in a box" that separates the process of thinking about launching business ventures from the organizational characteristics and dynamics that influence these ventures. We assert that organizational leaders who wish to maximize the success of their business ventures must explore (1) what is "inside" the box (The Business and its Context) to understand the business fundamentals of launching a venture and (2) what is "outside" the box (Assets and Internal Destructive Forces) to understand the forces and dynamics within the organizational context that impact these ventures.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 43. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

Integration of microbial communities into large-scale ecosystem models

*Background/Question/Methods*
Micro-organisms, including Bacteria, Archaea, and Fungi, control major processes throughout the Earth system. Recent advances in microbial ecology and microbiology have revealed an astounding level of genetic and metabolic diversity in microbial communities. However, a framework for interpreting the meaning of this diversity has lagged behind the initial discoveries. Microbial communities have yet to be included explicitly in any major biogeochemical models in terrestrial ecosystems, and have only recently broken into ocean models. Although simplification of microbial communities is essential in complex systems, omission of community parameters may seriously compromise model predictions of biogeochemical processes. Two key questions arise from this tradeoff: 1) When and where must microbial community parameters be included in biogeochemical models? 2) If microbial communities are important, how should they be simplified, aggregated, and parameterized in models? To address these questions, a literature survey was conducted to determine if microbial communities are sensitive to four environmental disturbances that are associated with global change.
	
*Results/Conclusions*
For all environmental perturbations, community composition changed significantly following disturbance. However, the implications for ecosystem function were unclear in most of the published studies. Therefore, I developed a simple model framework to illustrate the situations in which microbial community changes would affect rates of biogeochemical processes. These scenarios could be quite common, but powerful predictive models cannot be developed without much more information on the functions and disturbance responses of microbial taxa. Small-scale models that explicitly incorporate microbial communities also suggest that process rates strongly depend on microbial interactions and disturbance responses. The challenge is to scale up these models to make predictions at the ecosystem and global scales based on measurable parameters. Meeting this challenge will require a coordinated effort to develop a series of nested models at scales ranging from the micron to the globe in order to optimize the tradeoff between model realism and feasibility

Variation in Sphingomonas traits across habitats and phylogenetic clades

Whether microbes show habitat preferences is a fundamental question in microbial ecology. If different microbial lineages have distinct traits, those lineages may occur more frequently in habitats where their traits are advantageous. Sphingomonas is an ideal bacterial clade in which to investigate how habitat preference relates to traits because these bacteria inhabit diverse environments and hosts. Here we downloaded 440 publicly available Sphingomonas genomes, assigned them to habitats based on isolation source, and examined their phylogenetic relationships. We sought to address whether: (1) there is a relationship between Sphingomonas habitat and phylogeny, and (2) whether there is a phylogenetic correlation between key, genome-based traits and habitat preference. We hypothesized that Sphingomonas strains from similar habitats would cluster together in phylogenetic clades, and key traits that improve fitness in specific environments should correlate with habitat. Genome-based traits were categorized into the Y-A-S trait-based framework for high growth yield, resource acquisition, and stress tolerance. We selected 252 high quality genomes and constructed a phylogenetic tree with 12 well-defined clades based on an alignment of 404 core genes. Sphingomonas strains from the same habitat clustered together within the same clades, and strains within clades shared similar clusters of accessory genes. Additionally, key genome-based trait frequencies varied across habitats. We conclude that Sphingomonas gene content reflects habitat preference. This knowledge of how environment and host relate to phylogeny may also help with future functional predictions about Sphingomonas and facilitate applications in bioremediation

Valsartan for attenuating disease evolution in early sarcomeric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: the design of the Valsartan for Attenuating Disease Evolution in Early Sarcomeric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (VANISH) trial

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is often caused by sarcomere gene mutations, resulting in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), myocardial fibrosis, and increased risk of sudden cardiac death and heart failure. Studies in mouse models of sarcomeric HCM demonstrated that early treatment with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) reduced development of LVH and fibrosis. In contrast, prior human studies using ARBs for HCM have targeted heterogeneous adult cohorts with well-established disease. The VANISH trial is testing the safety and feasibility of disease-modifying therapy with an ARB in genotyped HCM patients with early disease. Methods: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial is being conducted in sarcomere mutation carriers, 8 to 45 years old, with HCM and no/minimal symptoms, or those with early phenotypic manifestations but no LVH. Participants are randomly assigned to receive valsartan 80 to 320 mg daily (depending on age and weight) or placebo. The primary endpoint is a composite of 9 z-scores in domains representing myocardial injury/hemodynamic stress, cardiac morphology, and function. Total z-scores reflecting change from baseline to final visits will be compared between treatment groups. Secondary endpoints will assess the impact of treatment on mutation carriers without LVH, and analyze the influence of age, sex, and genotype. Conclusions: The VANISH trial is testing a new strategy of disease modification for treating sarcomere mutation carriers with early HCM, and those at risk for its development. In addition, further insight into disease mechanisms, response to therapy, and phenotypic evolution will be gained

Becoming a Reading Specialist: Surveying the Possibilities

The terrain of graduate programs is changing, especially in light of preparing highly qualified teachers (NCLB, 2001) and standards-based accreditation (IRA, 2004a, NCATE, 2008). This changing terrain is noticed as many institutions of higher learning undergo program reviews through self-studies required by the institution, by state departments of education, by specialized professional associations, or by national accreditation entities. This project sought to explore the nature of reading specialists master’s programs by examining their websites in light of the shift towards standards-based accreditation of programs and the influence of federal legislation. Specific objectives for this descriptive study included: (a) reviewing master’s programs that lead to reading specialist certification at institutions of varying purpose, size, and location; (b) examining program configurations, including but not limited to programs of study, requirements, and special features; and (c) exploring features of institutions’ websites offering information about becoming a certified reading specialist

Ectomycorrhizal-Dominated Boreal and Tropical Forests Have Distinct Fungal Communities, but Analogous Spatial Patterns across Soil Horizons

Fungi regulate key nutrient cycling processes in many forest ecosystems, but their diversity and distribution within and across ecosystems are poorly understood. Here, we examine the spatial distribution of fungi across a boreal and tropical ecosystem, focusing on ectomycorrhizal fungi. We analyzed fungal community composition across litter (organic horizons) and underlying soil horizons (0–20 cm) using 454 pyrosequencing and clone library sequencing. In both forests, we found significant clustering of fungal communities by site and soil horizons with analogous patterns detected by both sequencing technologies. Free-living saprotrophic fungi dominated the recently-shed leaf litter and ectomycorrhizal fungi dominated the underlying soil horizons. This vertical pattern of fungal segregation has also been found in temperate and European boreal forests, suggesting that these results apply broadly to ectomycorrhizal-dominated systems, including tropical rain forests. Since ectomycorrhizal and free-living saprotrophic fungi have different influences on soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics, information on the spatial distribution of these functional groups will improve our understanding of forest nutrient cycling

Soil microbial communities with greater investment in resource acquisition have lower growth yield

Resource acquisition and growth yield are fundamental microbial traits that affect biogeochemical processes and have consequences for ecosystem functioning. However, there is a lack of empirical observations linking these traits. Using a landscape-scale survey of temperate near-neutral pH soils, we show tradeoffs in key community-level parameters linked to these traits. Increased investment into extracellular enzymes estimated using specific potential enzyme activity was associated with reduced growth yield obtained using carbon use efficiency measures from stable isotope tracing. Reduction in growth yield was linked more to carbon than nitrogen acquisition highlighting smaller stoichiometric than energetic constraints on community metabolism in examined soils