| 1. |
- Figueroa, Ricardo, et al.
(författare)
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A transmembrane inner nuclear membrane protein in the mitotic spindle
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nucleus (Austin). - 1949-1042. ; 1:3, s. 249-253
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have recently characterized a novel transmembrane protein of the inner nuclear membrane of mammalian cells. The protein has two very interesting features. First, despite being an integral membrane protein it is able to concentrate in the membranes colocalizing with the mitotic spindle in metaphase and anaphase. Hence, the protein was named Samp1, Spindle associated membrane protein 1. Secondly, it displays a functional connection to centrosomes. This article discusses various aspects of Samp1 in relation to possible cellular function(s).
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| 2. |
- Lind, Emma E., 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Directional genetic selection by pulp mill effluent on multiple populations of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
- 2011
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Ingår i: Ecotoxicology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0963-9292 .- 1573-3017. ; 20:3, s. 503-512
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Contamination can cause a rapid environmental change which may require populations to respond with evolutionary changes. To evaluate the effects of pulp mill effluents on population genetics, we sampled three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) near four pulp mills and four adjacent reference sites and analyzed Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) to compare genetic variability. A fine scale genetic structure was detected and samples from polluted sites separated from reference sites in multidimensional scaling plots (P < 0.005, 1000 permutations) and locus-by-locus Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) further confirmed that habitats are significantly separated (F-ST = 0.021, P < 0.01, 1023 permutations). The amount of genetic variation between populations did not differ between habitats, and populations from both habitats had similar levels of heterozygosity (polluted sites Nei's Hs = 0.11, reference sites Nei's Hs = 0.11). Still, pairwise F-ST: s between three, out of four, pairs of polluted-reference sites were significant. A F-ST-outlier analysis showed that 21 (8.4%) loci were statistically different from a neutral distribution at the P < 0.05 level and therefore indicated to be under divergent selection. When removing 13 F-ST-outlier loci, significant at the P < 0.01 level, differentiation between habitats disappeared in a multidimensional scaling plot. In conclusion, pulp mill effluence has acted as a selective agent on natural populations of G. aculeatus, causing a convergence in genotype composition change at multiple sites in an open environment.
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| 3. |
- Dravins, Christina, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring and enjoying non-speech sounds through a cochlear implant: the therapy of music
- 2010
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Ingår i: 11th International Conference on Cochlear Implants and other Implantable Technologies. - Karolinska University Hospital : Karolinska University Hospital. ; , s. 356-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cochlear implant technology was initially designed to promote reception ofspeech sounds; however, music enjoyment remains a challenge. Music is aninfluential ingredient in our well-being, playing an important role in ourcognitive, physical and social development. For many cochlear implantrecipients it is not feasible to communicate how sounds are perceived, andconsequently the benefits of music listening may be reduced. Non-speechsounds may also be important to persons with multiple functional deficitsthat relay on information additional to verbatim for participating incommunication. Deaf-born children with multiple functional deficitsconstitute a special vulnerable group as lack of reaction to sound oftenis discouraging to caregivers. Individually adapted tools and methods forsound awareness may promote exploration and appreciation of theinformation mediated by the implant.Two current works involving habilitation through sound production andmusic will be discussed. First, the results from a pilot study aiming atfinding musical toys that can be adapted to help children explore theirhearing with engaging sounds and expressive interfaces will be presented.The findings indicate that children with multiple functional deficits canbe more inclined to use the auditory channel for communication and playthan the caregivers would anticipate.Second, the results of a recent questionnaire study, which compared themusic exposure and appreciation of preschool cochlear implant recipientswith their normally hearing peers will be presented. The data from thisstudy indicate that preschool children with cochlear implants spendroughly the same amount of time interacting with musical instruments athome and watching television programmes and DVDs which include music.However, the data indicate that these children receive less exposure torecorded music without visual stimuli and show less sophisticatedresponses to music. The provision and supported use of habilitationmaterials which encourage interaction with music might therefore bebeneficial.
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| 4. |
- Ekstam, Börje, et al.
(författare)
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Predicting risk habitats for the transmission of the small liver fluke, Dicrocoelium dendriticum to grazing ruminants.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Geospatial Health. - Naples, Italy : Global Network for Geospatial Health. - 1827-1987 .- 1970-7096. ; 6:1, s. 125-131
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A multiple regression model was used to analyse if the structure of vegetation and soil patches in grazed units (pastures) can be used as explanatory variables to predict the prevalence of Dicrocoelium dendriticum, a common parasite of cattle and sheep, in grazing cattle stocks on the Baltic island of Öland in southern Sweden.The scale dependency was evaluated by comparing three levels of spatial resolution of patches. Prevalence data were obtained from slaughtered animals.Our models predict that the prevalence of D. dendriticum increases in grazed areas with woody vegetation, whereas moist and wet areas decrease parasite prevalence. The predictive power of the statistical models increased with increasing level of patch resolution. Approximately 42% of the variation in parasite prevalence (angular transformation) was explained by the areal proportion of vegetation types (4th-root-transformed).Based on the results obtained, we believe that our model strategy provides a rational and systematic tool to identify habitats that carry risk for D. dendriticum infection of ruminants, and that it can be applied to other parasites with similar life cycles such as Fasciola hepatica.
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| 5. |
- Gustafsson, Kerstin, et al.
(författare)
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Direct and indirect effects of the fungicide azoxystrobin in outdoor brackish water microcosms
- 2010
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Ingår i: Ecotoxicology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0963-9292 .- 1573-3017. ; 19:2, s. 431-444
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effects of the strobilurin fungicide azoxystrobin were studied in brackish water microcosms, with natural plankton communities and sediment. Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1 (nominal conc. 0, 15 and 60 mu g/L, 24-L outdoor microcosms for 21 days) and a second, follow-up, Experiment 2 (nominal conc. 0, 3, 7.5, 15 mu g/L, 4-L indoor microcosms for 12 days). The microcosms represent a simplified brackish water community found in shallow semi-enclosed coastal areas in agricultural districts in the Baltic Sea region. Measured water concentrations of the fungicide (Experiment 1) were, on average, 83 and 62% of nominal concentrations directly after application, and 25 and 30% after 21 days, for the low and high dose treatments, respectively, corresponding to mean DT50-values of 15.1 and 25.8 days, for low and high dose treatments, respectively. In Experiment 1, direct toxic effects on calanoid copepods at both test concentrations were observed. Similarly, in Experiment 2, the copepod abundance was significantly reduced at all tested concentrations. There were also significant secondary effects on zooplankton and phytoplankton community structure, standing stocks and primary production. Very few ecotoxicological studies have investigated effects of plant protection products on Baltic organisms in general and effects on community structure and function specifically. Our results show that azoxystrobin is toxic to brackish water copepods at considerably lower concentrations than previously reported from single species tests on freshwater crustaceans, and that direct toxic effects on this ecologically important group may lead to cascade effects altering lower food webs and ecosystem functioning.
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| 6. |
- Hallgren, Stefan, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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Effects on Guppy brain aromatase activity following short-term steroid and 4-Nonyl phenol exposures
- 2010
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Ingår i: Environmental Toxicology. - : Wiley. - 1520-4081 .- 1522-7278. ; 25:3, s. 261-271
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Brain oestrogen production, performed by the enzyme aromatase, can be disrupted/affected in teleost fish exposed to endocrine disruptors found in polluted aquatic environments. The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) was previously studied and confirmed to suffer negative effects on reproductive behaviours following inhibition of the brain aromatase reaction. Here Adult guppies (Poecilia reticulata) of both genders were subjected to known endocrine disruptors: the androgen androstenedione (A), the synthetic oestrogen 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and the oestrogenic surfactant 4-nonylphenol (NP), at high (50 μg/L) and at environmentally relevant concentrations (10 ng/L EE2, 5 μg/L NP and 0.7 μg/L A) for two weeks followed by measurements of brain aromatase activity (bAA). In the adult males, bAA was stimulated by A and EE2 at 50 μg/L. Female activity was also stimulated by the higher oestrogenic treatment. At environmentally relevant concentrations only the EE2 treatment affected bAA, and only in males. The alkylphenolic substance NP produced no effect in either of the experiments, not on males nor females. The results indicate that short-term steroid treatments have stimulatory effects on guppy brain aromatase even at concentrations that can be found in the environment. We thus suggest bAA of adult guppies to be a suitable bioindicator of endocrine disruptors.
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| 7. |
- Hjort, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Chitinase genes revealed and compared in bacterial isolates, DNA extracts and a metagenomic library from a phytopathogen-suppressive soil
- 2010
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Ingår i: FEMS Microbiology Ecology. - United Kingdom : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.. - 0168-6496 .- 1574-6941. ; 71:2, s. 197-207
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil that is suppressive to disease caused by fungal pathogens is an interesting source to target for novel chitinases that might be contributing towards disease suppression. In this study, we screened for chitinase genes, in a phytopathogen-suppressive soil in three ways: (1) from a metagenomic library constructed from microbial cells extracted from soil, (2) from directly extracted DNA and (3) from bacterial isolates with antifungal and chitinase activities. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of chitinase genes revealed differences in amplified chitinase genes from the metagenomic library and the directly extracted DNA, but approximately 40% of the identified chitinase terminal restriction fragments (TRFs) were found in both sources. All of the chitinase TRFs from the isolates were matched to TRFs in the directly extracted DNA and the metagenomic library. The most abundant chitinase TRF in the soil DNA and the metagenomic library corresponded to the TRF103 of the isolate Streptomyces mutomycini and/or Streptomyces clavifer. There were good matches between T-RFLP profiles of chitinase gene fragments obtained from different sources of DNA. However, there were also differences in both the chitinase and the 16S rRNA gene T-RFLP patterns depending on the source of DNA, emphasizing the lack of complete coverage of the gene diversity by any of the approaches used.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Bommarco, Riccardo, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic and phenotypic differences between thistle populations in response to habitat and weed management practices
- 2010
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Ingår i: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0024-4066 .- 1095-8312. ; 99:4, s. 797-807
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Rapid evolutionary change is increasingly being recognized as commonplace, but the evolutionary consequences for species and ecosystems under human-induced selection regimes have not been explored in detail, although many species occur in such environments. In a common garden experiment and with amplified fragment length polymorphism markers, we examined whether genetic differentiation has taken place between spatially intermixed populations of creeping thistles Cirsium arvense (Asteraceae) collected from a natural habitat (maritime shores), a semi-natural habitat (road verges) and arable fields under two management regimes: conventional and organic farming. Populations of C. arvense have altered genetically and locally adapted their growth patterns with changed land use. Although plants from different habitats showed similar total biomass production, shoot and root production was higher for maritime populations, suggesting selection for increased competitive ability. Competitive ability then declined in the order semi-natural, conventional farms and organic farms. Thistles in arable fields may be more selected for tolerance against disturbances from herbicides and mechanical weed control. In addition, early shoot sprouting and genetic analysis showed differentiation between plants originating from conventional farms and farms that were converted to organic 9–30 years ago, suggesting some adaptation to altered crop cultivation practices
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| 10. |
- Crespo, Ana, et al.
(författare)
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Phylogenetic generic classification of parmelioid lichens (Parmeliaceae,Ascomycota) based on molecular, morphological and chemical evidence.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Taxon. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0040-0262 .- 1996-8175. ; 59:6, s. 1735-1753
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Parmelioid lichens are a diverse and ubiquitous group of foliose lichens. Generic delimitation in parmelioid lichens has been in a state of flux since the late 1960s with the segregation of the large, heterogeneous genus Parmelia into numerous smaller genera. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that some of these new genera were monophyletic, some were not, and others, previously believed to be unrelated, fell within single monophyletic groups, indicating the need for a revision of the generic delimitations. This study aims to give an overview of current knowledge of the major clades of all parmelioid lichens. For this, we assembled a dataset of 762 specimens, including 31 of 33 currently accepted parmelioid genera (and 63 of 84 accepted genera of Parmeliaceae). We performed maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of combined datasets including two, three and four loci. Based on these phylogenies and the correlation of morphological and chemical characters that characterize monophyletic groups, we accept 27 genera within nine main clades. We re-circumscribe several genera and reduce Parmelaria to synonymy with Parmotrema. Emodomelanelia Divakar & A. Crespo is described as a new genus (type: E. masonii). Nipponoparmelia (Kurok.) K.H. Moon, Y. Ohmura & Kashiw. ex A. Crespo & al. is elevated to generic rank and 15 new combinations are proposed (in the genera Flavoparmelia, Parmotrema, Myelochroa, Melanelixia and Nipponoparmelia). A short discussion of the accepted genera is provided and remaining challenges and areas requiring additional taxon sampling are identified.
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