Directorium divini cultus ad Cathedralis Ecclesiae Minoriccensis : eiusque Dioecesis usum

Fecha de imprenta tomada del título

Comparison of the gut fungal communities among Hooded crane (Grus monacha), Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons), and Bean goose (Anser fabalis) at Shengjin Lake, China

The gut microbes regulate a variety of essential functions in avian hosts. Gut microbes are crucial for understanding avian specie’s ecological role and potential impact on the ecosystem. A wide range of factors shape the gut microbial diversity and communities in avian hosts, including similarity in genotype and shared evolutionary history, particularly in two closely related host species than distinctly related hosts. In this study, high-throughput sequencing methods were applied to compare and study the similarities and differences in the gut fungal communities of two geese from the same genus Anser, Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons, WG), Bean goose (Anser fabalis, BG) with Hooded crane (Grus monacha, HC) sympatric in overlapping niches at Shengjin lake, China. Our findings supported our hypothesis that the two closely related geese shared similar gut fungal alpha diversity patterns compared to Hooded cranes due to similarity in genotype and evolutionary history. In particular, the fungal community composition in the gut of Greater white-fronted goose showed larger variation relative to the other two species. This result suggested that dietary preferences might regulate the gut fungal communities, as Hooded crane and Bean goose share parallel dietary preferences. The results of the abundance null deviation model showed higher values of null deviation (NDV) in Greater white-fronted goose and Bean goose, indicating that the two closely related goose species might be associated with more robust gut filtering for their fungal community relative to Hooded crane species. The fungal co-occurrence networks were complex, with higher stability in the two congeneric geese species relative to Hooded crane. Moreover, 29 animal fungal putative pathogens were identified with high diversity and relative abundance in the two congeneric geese due to their complex migration patterns compared with Hooded cranes. However, due to niche overlap, direct or indirect association may lead to the dissemination of gut microbes among sympatric avian species. These findings have important implications for ecological research, conservation efforts, and wildlife health management. Moreover, these findings illuminate potential ecological and conservation repercussions and increase our understanding of the complex interactions between avian species and their gut flora

Effects of apigenin on steroidogenesis and steroidogenic acute regulatory gene expression in mouse Leydig cells☆

East grounds, general view, looking east from the center of the Capitol Building; In 1877 Olmsted's position with the New York City Department of Parks was abolished. He was becoming increasingly involved in projects outside New York, principally the grounds and terraces of the US Capitol in Washington, DC (1874). The extensive West Front terrace and the paved area at the East Front, relieved only by fountains and panels of grass and shrubs, demonstrate his willingness to use a formal architectural treatment when appropriate. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 2/8/2008

Seasonal and vertical variations in the characteristics of the nitrogen-related functional genes in sediments from urban eutrophic lakes

Urban lakes play an important role in urban residents' lives, but they are more vulnerable to nitrogen pollution due to the large number of pollution sources in urban areas. Analyzing the characteristic variation of nitrogen-related functional genes in sediments could improve our understanding of nitrogen removal from urban lakes. Based on field samples of lake sediments in Wuhan, China, the seasonal and vertical variations in the characteristics of seven genes were detected using metagenome sequencing and qPCR. The genes examined were the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria gene (AOB amoA), ammonia-oxidizing archaea gene (AOA amoA), anammox gene (anammox 16S rRNA), denitrification genes (narG, nirS, nosZ), and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium gene (nrfA). The sequencing results revealed that the strain types of nosZ and nrfA were more abundant than amoA, anammox 16S rRNA, narG, and nirS. The nitrogen-related genes' abundances were much lower in summer than in winter. In the vertical zones of the sediments, the abundances of the seven genes mainly decreased as the sediment depth increased. The abundances of ammonium-oxidizing microorganisms had no significant difference in the vertical direction (P > 0.05), but there were significant differences in the vertical direction for the abundances of narG, nirS, nosZ, and nrfA (P < 0.05). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) illustrated that the main environmental factors affecting the gene abundances were NH -N in the interstitial water, dissolved oxygen (DO) and electrical conductivity (EC) in the overlying water, and total nitrogen (TN) in the sediment. The anammox 16S rRNA abundances were significantly correlated with the nrfA abundances, while the narG abundances were also significantly correlated with nirS abundances. The results extend the knowledge of spatiotemporal variations of nitrogen-cycle microorganisms' characteristics in urban eutrophic lakes

Inhibition of Thromboxane A Synthase Activity Enhances Steroidogenesis and Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Gene Expression in MA-10 Mouse Leydig Cells

The cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2)-dependent inhibition of Leydig cell steroidogenesis has been demonstrated. To understand the mechanism for this effect of COX2, the present study examined the role of an enzyme downstream of COX2, namely thromboxane A synthase (TBXAS), in steroidogenesis. Inhibition of TBXAS activity with the inhibitor furegrelate induced a concentration-dependent increase in cAMP-induced steroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein in MA-10 mouse Leydig cells. The increase in StAR protein occurred concomitantly with a significant increase in steroid hormone production. Similar results were obtained in StAR promoter activity assays and RT-PCR analyses of StAR mRNA levels, suggesting that inhibition of TBXAS activity enhanced StAR gene transcription. These observations were corroborated when TBXAS expression was specifically inhibited by RNA interference. Although the RNA interference reduced mRNA levels of TBXAS, it increased StAR mRNA levels, StAR protein, and steroidogenesis. Additional studies indicated that inhibition of TBXAS activity reduced DAX-1 protein, a repressor in StAR gene transcription. In the absence of cAMP, inhibition of TBXAS activity did not induce a significant increase in steroid hormone and StAR protein. However, addition of a low level of cAMP analogs dramatically increased steroidogenesis. Lastly, inhibition of protein kinase A activity essentially abolished the steroidogenic effect of the TBXAS inhibitor. Thus, the results from the present study suggest that a minimal level of protein kinase A activity is required for the steroidogenic effect of the TBXAS inhibitor and that inhibition of TBXAS activity or its expression increase the steroidogenic sensitivity of MA-10 mouse Leydig cells to cAMP stimulation