How good are tropical forest patches for ecosystem services provisioning?

Native forests play an important role regarding ecosystem services related to biodiversity, water, and nutrient cycling, and the intensity of those services should be related to the amount, configuration and quality of the forest. However, in highly dynamic landscapes, such as some tropical regions, ecosystem services are potentially affected not only by the present landscape structure, but also by the historical land use. Here we propose a simple methodological framework to evaluate the contribution of past landscape dynamics and present landscape structure in the provision of ecosystem services. We applied this framework to a traditional agricultural landscape from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest hotspot, where natural forests cover has increased from 8 to 16 % in the last 60 years (1962–2008), and where old forests are being reduced while young forests are being regenerated. Forests of different ages, in association with current landscape structure, reveal a mosaic of forest patches under different conditions, implying different abilities to deliver ecosystem services. With the replacement of old-growth forests by young-regenerating forests and a high level of forest fragmentation, less than 1/4 of the current forest cover is able to fully satisfy the ecosystem service demands. To avoid such tendency, government policies should not only focus on increasing forest cover, but also in conserving old-growth forest fragments or increasing forest quality. The proposed methodology allows integrating historical land use and current landscape structure to evaluate ecosystem services provision and can be useful to establish programs of payment for ecosystem services.     

Age-dependent prevalence of equid herpesvirus 5 infection

Equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) infection was detected in a farm in Italy by the use of a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting glycoprotein B of EHV-5 on nasal swabs and blood samples of clinically healthy and randomly selected Lipizzaner horses (n = 55). Twenty-five horses at the age of 4–17 years and 30 at an age of 1–3 years were sampled once. The association of the infection with these age-groups and the gender of the horses was investigated. The apparent prevalence of EHV-5 infection was significantly different between age-cohorts: it was higher in the younger group of horses with 73,3% and 80% positives in nasal swabs and blood respectively, compared to 40% of nasal swabs and 20% of blood in the older horses. An age-dependence therefore was observed: the young age is more frequently associated with EHV-5 infection.     

A pantropic canine coronavirus genetically related to the prototype isolate CB/05

We report the genetic and biological characterisation of a novel pantropic canine coronavirus (CCoV), strain 450/07, which caused the death of a 60-day-old miniature pinscher. At the genetic level, this virus was strictly related to the prototype strain CB/05, but displayed some unique features. After experimental infection with the new pantropic isolate, most inoculated dogs showed diarrhoea and acute lymphopenia. Gross lesions and histological changes were mainly evident in the gut and lymphoid tissues, although some animals showed remarkable changed also in parenchymatous organs. The viral RNA was detected in the faeces and/or internal organs of most pups. These findings seem to indicate that strain 450/07 is able to spread to internal organs (mainly lymphoid tissues), causing lymphopenia but inducing a mild disease.     

Spiromesifen toxicity to the spider mite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetranychus urticae</Emphasis> and selectivity to the predator <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neoseiulus californicus</Emphasis>

Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) is a major pest of several agricultural crops and Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) is an important natural enemy of this pest mite. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of spiromesifen on the development and reproduction of T. urticae, and to assess the influence of spiromesifen and other acaricides on the population growth rates of the spider mite and its predator, N. californicus. Toxicity tests with spiromesifen at different life stages of T. urticae indicated that eggs less than 72 h old were more sensitive than other development stages. The oviposition rate of T. urticae was significantly affected by spiromesifen. Experiments on the effects of spiromesifen on the growth rates of T. urticae and N. californicus indicated that spiromesifen is innocuous to the predaceous mite but highly toxic to the spider mite, leading to population suppression in 10 days. Fenpropathrin, acephate and neem oil were not harmful to N. californicus, but were not so efficient as spiromesifen in controlling T. urticae, and had significantly less influence on the population growth rates of the spider mite. Among these three products, only neem oil caused significant reduction in the growth rate of T. urticae. Chlorfenapyr, abamectin, milbemectin and diafenthiuron significantly affected the population growth rates of T. urticae and N. californicus. Spiromesifen was the most promising acaricide for managing the two-spotted spider mite, when used in combination with N. californicus.     

Rescue of cardiac defects in id knockout embryos by injection of embryonic stem cells

We report that Id knockout mouse embryos display multiple cardiac defects, but mid-gestation lethality is rescued by the injection of 15 wild-type embryonic stem (ES) cells into mutant blastocysts. Myocardial markers altered in Id mutant cells are restored to normal throughout the chimeric myocardium. Intraperitoneal injection of ES cells into female mice before conception also partially rescues the cardiac phenotype with no incorporation of ES cells. Insulin-like growth factor 1, a long-range secreted factor, in combination with WNT5a, a locally secreted factor, likely account for complete reversion of the cardiac phenotype. Thus, ES cells have the potential to reverse congenital defects through Id-dependent local and long-range effects in a mammalian embryo.     

Genomic instability in mice lacking histone H2AX

Higher order chromatin structure presents a barrier to the recognition and repair of DNA damage. Double-strand breaks (DSBs) induce histone H2AX phosphorylation, which is associated with the recruitment of repair factors to damaged DNA. To help clarify the physiological role of H2AX, we targeted H2AX in mice. Although H2AX is not essential for irradiation-induced cell-cycle checkpoints, H2AX-/- mice were radiation sensitive, growth retarded, and immune deficient, and mutant males were infertile. These pleiotropic phenotypes were associated with chromosomal instability, repair defects, and impaired recruitment of Nbs1, 53bp1, and Brca1, but not Rad51, to irradiation-induced foci. Thus, H2AX is critical for facilitating the assembly of specific DNA-repair complexes on damaged DNA.     

Guidance Level for Brevetoxins in French Shellfish

Brevetoxins (BTXs) are marine biotoxins responsible for neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) after ingestion of contaminated shellfish. NSP is characterized by neurological, gastrointestinal and/or cardiovascular symptoms. The main known producer of BTXs is the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, but other microalgae are also suspected to synthesize BTX-like compounds. BTXs are currently not regulated in France and in Europe. In November 2018, they have been detected for the first time in France in mussels from a lagoon in the Corsica Island (Mediterranean Sea), as part of the network for monitoring the emergence of marine biotoxins in shellfish. To prevent health risks associated with the consumption of shellfish contaminated with BTXs in France, a working group was set up by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses). One of the aims of this working group was to propose a guidance level for the presence of BTXs in shellfish. Toxicological data were too limited to derive an acute oral reference dose (ARfD). Based on human case reports, we identified two lowest-observed-adverse-effect levels (LOAELs). A guidance level of 180 µg BTX-3 eq./kg shellfish meat is proposed, considering a protective default portion size of 400 g shellfish meat.     

Effectiveness of donor natural killer cell alloreactivity in mismatched hematopoietic transplants

T cells that accompany allogeneic hematopoietic grafts for treating leukemia enhance engraftment and mediate the graft-versus-leukemia effect. Unfortunately, alloreactive T cells also cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). T cell depletion prevents GVHD but increases the risk of graft rejection and leukemic relapse. In human transplants, we show that donor-versus-recipient natural killer (NK)-cell alloreactivity could eliminate leukemia relapse and graft rejection and protect patients against GVHD. In mice, the pretransplant infusion of alloreactive NK cells obviated the need for high-intensity conditioning and reduced GVHD. NK cell alloreactivity may thus provide a powerful tool for enhancing the efficacy and safety of allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation.