Native animals are facing long-term coexistence with invasive plants worldwide, the impacts of which on animal behavior remain poorly known. Potential ecological traps could threaten native birds breeding in invasive plant habitats, but behavioral strategies for birds to avoid such risks are few concerned. The invasion of Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) has seriously varied the vegetation landscape in the coastal wetlands of eastern China, and affected the habitat selection of native birds. Here, we investigated the nesting and breeding characteristics of a common native passerine, the Vinous-throated Parrotbill (Sinosuthora webbiana), in habitats dominated by native Common Reed (Phragmites australis) and exotic cordgrass. We found that parrotbills could complete their breeding cycle in cordgrass habitat. Most nest failure was attributed to predation in native habitat but tide inundation in cordgrass habitat. However, the nest success rate and daily survival rate (DSR) in cordgrass habitat were higher. Moreover, nest height was markedly higher in cordgrass habitat and was the most important influencing variable (positively correlated with the DSR). These results suggest that cordgrass habitat is a potential ecological trap due to the tide inundation, but some parrotbills seem to effectively avoid this risk by increasing nest height. Our study reveals that a native passerine changes its nesting behavior to accommodate invasive plant habitat and highlights that habitat changes caused by invasive plants may drive the adaptive evolution of native animal behavior. The limitation of these results must be acknowledged for the small sample size, and there is a need for a larger sample and long-term data for further verification.
Background Excision repair cross-complementing group 1 ( ERCC1 ) was considered a potential candidate gene for ischemic stroke, and its polymorphisms might be associated with the susceptibility to ischemic stroke. Methods A total of 513 patients with ischemic stroke and 550 control subjects were recruited. The expression levels of ERCC1 messenger RNA (mRNA) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and its protein in plasma were detected by quantitative real-time PCR ( qPCR ) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ), respectively. Rs3212986 polymorphism of ERCC1 was detected by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism ( RFLP-PCR ) and was confirmed by sequencing. The association between the ERCC1 rs3212986 polymorphism or its expression and ischemic stroke was further analyzed. Results The ERCC1 mRNA level in patients with ischemic stroke was lower than that in the control group ( P < 0.05). However, the ERCC1 protein level in patients with ischemic stroke was higher than that in the control group ( P < 0.05). The A allele of rs3212986 was associated with increased ischemic stroke risk (OR = 1.287, 95% CI = 1.076–1.540, P = 0.006). The association between rs3212986 polymorphism and ischemic stroke susceptibility was found in both recessive (OR = 2.638, 95% CI = 1.744–3.989, P < 0.001) and additive models (OR = 1.309, 95% CI = 1.028–1.667, P = 0.031), respectively. Similar results were obtained in the recessive model (OR = 2.015, 95% CI = 1.087–3.704, P = 0.026) after adjusting for demographic information and other variables. Additionally, the level of ERCC1 mRNA in the CC/CA genotype was higher than that in the AA genotype ( P < 0.05). Conclusion It was suggested that the ERCC1 rs3212986 polymorphism was associated with ischemic stroke susceptibility in a Chinese Han population and that an A allele of rs3212986 was related to increased ischemic stroke risk. The altered ERCC1 expression level caused by the rs3212986 polymorphism might participate in the pathophysiological process of ischemic stroke.
The carboxysome is a versatile paradigm of prokaryotic organelles and is a proteinaceous self-assembling microcompartment that plays essential roles in carbon fixation in all cyanobacteria and some chemoautotrophs. The carboxysome encapsulates the central CO2-fixing enzyme, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), using a polyhedral protein shell that is selectively permeable to specific metabolites in favor of Rubisco carboxylation. There is tremendous interest in repurposing carboxysomes to boost carbon fixation in heterologous organisms. Here, we develop the design and engineering of α-carboxysomes by coexpressing the Rubisco activase components CbbQ and CbbO with α-carboxysomes in Escherichia coli. Our results show that CbbQ and CbbO could assemble into the reconstituted α-carboxysome as intrinsic components. Incorporation of both CbbQ and CbbO within the carboxysome promotes activation of Rubisco and enhances the CO2-fixation activities of recombinant carboxysomes. We also show that the structural composition of these carboxysomes could be modified in different expression systems, representing the plasticity of the carboxysome architecture. In translational terms, our study informs strategies for engineering and modulating carboxysomes in diverse biotechnological applications.
Tiaozini, the core area of the Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Habitat in Dongtai, Jiangsu Province and a World Heritage Site, has provided an ideal habitat for migratory birds. As an important hub on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), Tiaozini Wetland provides pivotal stopover and wintering sites for tens of thousands of migratory waterbirds, including some global critically endangered species, such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidrispygmaea) and Spotted Greenshank (Tringaguttifer). Although many researchers have conducted a lot of studies on waterbirds in Tiaozini Wetland, there is still a lack of a dataset on waterbird species composition and individual quantity in Tiaozini Wetland throughout the year. Here, we conducted a one-year waterbird survey in the Tiaozini Wetland during 2020-2021 and provided an occurrence dataset with detailed species and geographic information.This occurrence dataset is the first public record of species and number of waterbirds in Tiaozini Wetland for a whole year, which includes the taxonomic information, location information, number, investigation date and endangered level for each species. All data have been published on GBIF.
Tiaozini, the core area of the Yellow (Bohai) Sea Migratory Bird Habitat in Dongtai, Jiangsu province and a World Heritage Site, has provided an ideal habitat for migratory birds. As an important hub on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway (EAAF), Tiaozini wetland provide pivotal stopover and wintering sites for tens of thousands of migratory waterbirds, including some global critically endangered species such as Spoon-billed Sandpiper ( Calidris pygmaea ) and Spotted Greenshank ( Tringa guttifer ). Although many researchers have conducted a lot of studies on waterbirds in Tiaozini wetland, there is still lack of a dataset on waterbird species composition and individual quantity in Tiaozini wetland throughout the year. Here, we conducted a one-year waterbird survey in the Tiaozini wetland during 2020-2021, and provided an occurrence dataset with detailed species and geographic information. This occurrence dataset is the first public record of species and number of waterbirds in Tiaozini Wetland for a whole year, which include the taxonomic information, location information, number, Investigation date and endangered level for each species. All data have been published on GBIF.
Abstract Carboxysomes are proteaceous bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) that sequester the key enzymes for carbon fixation in cyanobacteria and some proteobacteria. They consist of a virus-like icosahedral shell, encapsulating carbonic anhydrase and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), which catalyses the dehydration of bicarbonate into CO 2 , the first step of the Calvin–Benson–Bassham cycle. Despite their significance in carbon fixation and great bioengineering potentials, the structural characterization of native carboxysomes, including the shell and the internal organization, is currently limited to low-resolution tomography studies. Notably, the degree of heterogeneity of the shell, and the internal arrangement of enzymes, remain poorly understood. Here, we report the structural characterization of a native α-carboxysome from a marine cyanobacterium by single-particle cryo-EM. We determine the structure of RuBisCO enzyme at 2.9 Å resolution. In addition, we obtain low-resolution maps of the icosahedral protein shell and the concentric interior organisation. In combination with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven modelling approaches, we exploited these maps to propose a complete atomic model of an intact carboxysome. This study provides insight into carboxysome structure and protein-protein interactions involved in carboxysome assembly. Advanced knowledge about carboxysome architecture and structural plasticity is critical for not only a better understanding of biological carbon fixation mechanism but also repurposing carboxysomes in synthetic biology for biotechnological applications.
The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, is one of the most damaging insect pests to rice production worldwide. Although C. suppressalis has been the focus of numerous studies examining cold tolerance and diapause, plant-insect interactions, pesticide targets and resistance, and the development of RNAi-mediated pest management, the absence of a high-quality genome has limited deeper insights. To address this limitation, we generated a draft C. suppressalis genome constructed from both Illumina and PacBio sequences. The assembled genome size was 824.35 Mb with a contig N50 of 307 kb and a scaffold N50 of 1.75 Mb. Hi-C scaffolding assigned 99.2% of the bases to one of 29 chromosomes. Based on universal single-copy orthologues (BUSCO), the draft genome assembly was estimated to be 97% complete and is predicted to encompass 15,653 protein-coding genes. Cold tolerance is an extreme survival strategy found in animals. However, little is known regarding the genetic basis of the winter ecology of C. suppressalis. Here, we focused our orthologous analysis on those gene families associated with animal cold tolerance. Our finding provided the first genomic evidence revealing specific cold-tolerant strategies in C. suppressalis, including those involved in glucose-originated glycerol biosynthesis, triacylglycerol-originated glycerol biosynthesis, fatty acid synthesis and trehalose transport-intermediate cold tolerance. The high-quality C. suppressalis genome provides a valuable resource for research into a broad range of areas in molecular ecology, and subsequently benefits developing modern pest control strategies.
Abstract Background Adelphocoris suturalis (Hemiptera: Miridae) is a notorious agricultural pest, which causes serious economic losses to a diverse range of agricultural crops around the world. The poor understanding of its genomic characteristics has seriously hindered the establishment of sustainable and environment-friendly agricultural pest management through biotechnology and biological insecticides. Results Here, we report a chromosome-level assembled genome of A. suturalis by integrating Illumina short reads, PacBio, 10x Chromium, and Hi-C mapping technologies. The resulting 1.29 Gb assembly contains twelve chromosomal pseudomolecules with an N50 of 1.4 and 120.6 Mb for the contigs and scaffolds, respectively, and carries 20,010 protein-coding genes. The considerable size of the A. suturalis genome is predominantly attributed to a high amount of retrotransposons, especially long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs). Transcriptomic and phylogenetic analyses suggest that A. suturalis -specific candidate effectors, and expansion and expression of gene families associated with omnivory, insecticide resistance and reproductive characteristics, such as digestion, detoxification, chemosensory receptors and long-distance migration likely contribute to its strong environmental adaptability and ability to damage crops. Additionally, 19 highly credible effector candidates were identified and transiently overexpressed in Nicotiana benthamiana for functional assays and potential targeting for insect resistance genetic engineering. Conclusions The high-quality genome of A. suturalis provides an important genomic landscape for further investigations into the mechanisms of omnivory, insecticide resistance and survival adaptation, and for the development of integrated management strategies.
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