CCoAOMT down-regulation activates anthocyanin biosynthesis in petunia

Anthocyanins and volatile phenylpropenes (isoeugenol and eugenol) in petunia flowers have the precursor 4-coumaryl CoA in common. These phenolics are produced at different stages during flower development. Anthocyanins are synthesized during early stages of flower development and sequestered in vacuoles during the lifespan of the flowers. Production of isoeugenol and eugenol starts when flowers open, and peaks after anthesis. To elucidate additional biochemical steps towards (iso)eugenol production, we cloned and characterized a caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase (PhCCoAOMT1) from the petals of the fragrant Petunia hybrida cv Mitchell. Recombinant PhCCoAOMT1 indeed catalyzed the methylation of caffeoyl-CoA to produce feruloyl CoA. Silencing of PhCCoAOMT1 resulted in a reduction of eugenol production, but not of isoeugenol. Unexpectedly, the transgenic plants had purple colored leaves and pink flowers despite the fact that P. hybrida cv Mitchell lacks the functional R2R3-MYB master regulator Anthocyanin2 (AN2) and has normally white flowers. Our results indicate that downregulation of PhCCoAOMT1 activated the anthocyanin pathway through the R2R3-MYBs Purple Haze (PHZ) and Deep Purple with predominantly petunidin accumulating. Feeding P. hybrida cv Mitchell flowers with caffeic acid induced PHZ expression suggesting that the metabolic perturbation of the phenylpropanoid pathway underlies the activation of the anthocyanin pathway. Our results demonstrate a role for PhCCoAOMT1 in phenylpropene production and reveal a link between PhCCoAOMT1 and anthocyanin production

Collect, connect, upscale: Towards coordinated monitoring of migratory shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific

Monitoring migratory species can be extremely challenging. For example, millions of migratory shorebirds migrate from breeding grounds in northern China, Mongolia and Russia to East Asia and Australasia each year, traversing more than 20 countries while on migration. Studies within individual nations have identified rapid declines in many species, yet progress toward a fully unified scheme for continuous tracking of population change at the scale of the entire East Asian-Australasian Flyway has been slow. To reflect on lessons learned and consider how further progress might be made, we review some of the factors that have limited the full emergence of shorebird monitoring in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, including fragmentation among multiple databases, low data readiness, inadequate metadata and gaps in survey coverage. We conclude that while technical solutions for many of these issues do exist, the biggest challenge is to navigate the significant organisational, socio-cultural and resourcing contexts of those people doing the monitoring. Technical solutions alone will not create a cohesive network of people whose local efforts are pooled to create robust flyway-scale monitoring

Recommendations for effective documentation in regional anesthesia: an expert panel Delphi consensus project.

Documentation is important for quality improvement, education, and research. There is currently a lack of recommendations regarding key aspects of documentation in regional anesthesia. The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for documentation in regional anesthesia. Following the formation of the executive committee and a directed literature review, a long list of potential documentation components was created. A modified Delphi process was then employed to achieve consensus amongst a group of international experts in regional anesthesia. This consisted of 2 rounds of anonymous electronic voting and a final virtual round table discussion with live polling on items not yet excluded or accepted from previous rounds. Progression or exclusion of potential components through the rounds was based on the achievement of strong consensus. Strong consensus was defined as ≥75% agreement and weak consensus as 50%-74% agreement. Seventy-seven collaborators participated in both rounds 1 and 2, while 50 collaborators took part in round 3. In total, experts voted on 83 items and achieved a strong consensus on 51 items, weak consensus on 3 and rejected 29. By means of a modified Delphi process, we have established expert consensus on documentation in regional anesthesia