Influence of Different Plant Species on Methane Emissions from Soil in a Restored Swiss Wetland

Plants are a major factor influencing methane emissions from wetlands, along with environmental parameters such as water table, temperature, pH, nutrients and soil carbon substrate. We conducted a field experiment to study how different plant species influence methane emissions from a wetland in Switzerland. The top 0.5 m of soil at this site had been removed five years earlier, leaving a substrate with very low methanogenic activity. We found a sixfold difference among plant species in their effect on methane emission rates: Molinia caerulea and Lysimachia vulgaris caused low emission rates, whereas Senecio paludosus, Carex flava, Juncus effusus and Typha latifolia caused relatively high rates. Centaurea jacea, Iris sibirica, and Carex davalliana caused intermediate rates. However, we found no effect of either plant biomass or plant functional groups – based on life form or productivity of the habitat – upon methane emission. Emissions were much lower than those usually reported in temperate wetlands, which we attribute to reduced concentrations of labile carbon following topsoil removal. Thus, unlike most wetland sites, methane production in this site was probably fuelled chiefly by root exudation from living plants and from root decay. We conclude that in most wetlands, where concentrations of labile carbon are much higher, these sources account for only a small proportion of the methane emitted. Our study confirms that plant species composition does influence methane emission from wetlands, and should be considered when developing measures to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions

Wild-type and mutant SOD1 share an aberrant conformation and a common pathogenic pathway in ALS.

Many mutations confer one or more toxic function(s) on copper/zinc superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) that impair motor neuron viability and cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS). Using a conformation-specific antibody that detects misfolded SOD1 (C4F6), we found that oxidized wild-type SOD1 and mutant SOD1 share a conformational epitope that is not present in normal wild-type SOD1. In a subset of human sporadic ALS (SALS) cases, motor neurons in the lumbosacral spinal cord were markedly C4F6 immunoreactive, indicating that an aberrant wild-type SOD1 species was present. Recombinant, oxidized wild-type SOD1 and wild-type SOD1 immunopurified from SALS tissues inhibited kinesin-based fast axonal transport in a manner similar to that of FALS-linked mutant SOD1. Our findings suggest that wild-type SOD1 can be pathogenic in SALS and identify an SOD1-dependent pathogenic mechanism common to FALS and SALS

The ubiquitin proteasome system in neuropathology

The ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) orchestrates the turnover of innumerable cellular proteins. In the process of ubiquitination the small protein ubiquitin is attached to a target protein by a peptide bond. The ubiquitinated target protein is subsequently shuttled to a protease complex known as the 26S proteasome and subjected to degradative proteolysis. The UPS facilitates the turnover of proteins in several settings. It targets oxidized, mutant or misfolded proteins for general proteolytic destruction, and allows for the tightly controlled and specific destruction of proteins involved in development and differentiation, cell cycle progression, circadian rhythms, apoptosis, and other biological processes. In neuropathology, alteration of the UPS, or mutations in UPS target proteins may result in signaling abnormalities leading to the initiation or progression of tumors such as astrocytomas, hemangioblastomas, craniopharyngiomas, pituitary adenomas, and medulloblastomas. Dysregulation of the UPS may also contribute to tumor progression by perturbation of DNA replication and mitotic control mechanisms, leading to genomic instability. In neurodegenerative diseases caused by the expression of mutant proteins, the cellular accumulation of these proteins may overload the UPS, indirectly contributing to the disease process, e.g., sporadic Parkinsonism and prion diseases. In other cases, mutation of UPS components may directly cause pathological accumulation of proteins, e.g., autosomal recessive Parkinsonism and spinocerebellar ataxias. Defects or dysfunction of the UPS may also underlie cognitive disorders such as Angelman syndrome, Rett syndrome and autism, and muscle and nerve diseases, e.g., inclusion body myopathy and giant axon neuropathy. This paper describes the basic biochemical mechanisms comprising the UPS and reviews both its theoretical and proven involvement in neuropathological diseases. The potential for the UPS as a target of pharmacological therapy is also discussed

Comparison of an expanded ataxia interactome with patient medical records reveals a relationship between macular degeneration and ataxia

Spinocerebellar ataxias 6 and 7 (SCA6 and SCA7) are neurodegenerative disorders caused by expansion of CAG repeats encoding polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts in CACNA1A, the alpha1A subunit of the P/Q-type calcium channel, and ataxin-7 (ATXN7), a component of a chromatin-remodeling complex, respectively. We hypothesized that finding new protein partners for ATXN7 and CACNA1A would provide insight into the biology of their respective diseases and their relationship to other ataxia-causing proteins. We identified 118 protein interactions for CACNA1A and ATXN7 linking them to other ataxia-causing proteins and the ataxia network. To begin to understand the biological relevance of these protein interactions within the ataxia network, we used OMIM to identify diseases associated with the expanded ataxia network. We then used Medicare patient records to determine if any of these diseases co-occur with hereditary ataxia. We found that patients with ataxia are at 3.03-fold greater risk of these diseases than Medicare patients overall. One of the diseases comorbid with ataxia is macular degeneration (MD). The ataxia network is significantly (P= 7.37 × 10−5) enriched for proteins that interact with known MD-causing proteins, forming a MD subnetwork. We found that at least two of the proteins in the MD subnetwork have altered expression in the retina of Ataxin-7266Q/+ mice suggesting an in vivo functional relationship with ATXN7. Together these data reveal novel protein interactions and suggest potential pathways that can contribute to the pathophysiology of ataxia, MD, and diseases comorbid with ataxia

Balancing repair and tolerance of DNA damage caused by alkylating agents

Alkylating agents constitute a major class of frontline chemotherapeutic drugs that inflict cytotoxic DNA damage as their main mode of action, in addition to collateral mutagenic damage. Numerous cellular pathways, including direct DNA damage reversal, base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR), respond to alkylation damage to defend against alkylation-induced cell death or mutation. However, maintaining a proper balance of activity both within and between these pathways is crucial for a favourable response of an organism to alkylating agents. Furthermore, the response of an individual to alkylating agents can vary considerably from tissue to tissue and from person to person, pointing to genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that modulate alkylating agent toxicity

Wetlands for wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling of treated effluent : a review

Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used

Search for sterile neutrino mixing using three years of IceCube DeepCore data

We present a search for a light sterile neutrino using three years of atmospheric neutrino data from the DeepCore detector in the energy range of approximately 10–60 GeV. DeepCore is the low-energy subarray of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The standard three-neutrino paradigm can be probed by adding an additional light (Δm[subscript 41][superscript 2] ∼1  eV[superscript 2]) sterile neutrino. Sterile neutrinos do not interact through the standard weak interaction and, therefore, cannot be directly detected. However, their mixing with the three active neutrino states leaves an imprint on the standard atmospheric neutrino oscillations for energies below 100 GeV. A search for such mixing via muon neutrino disappearance is presented here. The data are found to be consistent with the standard three-neutrino hypothesis. Therefore, we derive limits on the mixing matrix elements at the level of |U[subscript μ4]|[superscript 2]<0.11 and |U[subscript τ4]|[superscript 2]<0.15 (90% C.L.) for the sterile neutrino mass splitting Δm[subscript 41][superscript 2]=1.0  eV[superscript 2].National Science Foundation (U.S.). Division of Polar ProgramsUniversity of Wisconsin. Grid Laboratory of WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin. Alumni Research FoundationOpen Science GridUnited States. Department of EnergyNational Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (U.S.)Louisiana Optical Network Initiativ