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- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(author)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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In: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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2. |
- Albrecht, Matthias, et al.
(author)
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The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services and crop yield : a quantitative synthesis
- 2020
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In: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 23:10, s. 1488-1498
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control (18 studies) and pollination services (17 studies) in adjacent crops in North America, Europe and New Zealand. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimise floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.
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3. |
- Biurrun, Idoia, et al.
(author)
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Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats
- 2021
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In: Journal of Vegetation Science. - Oxford : John Wiley & Sons. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 32:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Journal of Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science.Aims: Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m2 and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi-natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open-access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/databases/GrasslandDiversityExplorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high-quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation-plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot are on average more complete, making it a valuable complementary data source in macroecology. © 2021 The Authors.
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4. |
- Idoia Biurrun, Idoia, et al.
(author)
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GrassPlot v. 2.00 – first update on the database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands
- 2019
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In: Palaearctic Grasslands. - : Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG). - 2627-9827. ; :44, s. 26-47
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). Following a previous Long Database Report (Dengler et al. 2018, Phytocoenologia 48, 331–347), we provide here the first update on content and functionality of GrassPlot. The current version (GrassPlot v. 2.00) contains a total of 190,673 plots of different grain sizes across 28,171 independent plots, with 4,654 nested-plot series including at least four grain sizes. The database has improved its content as well as its functionality, including addition and harmonization of header data (land use, information on nestedness, structure and ecology) and preparation of species composition data. Currently, GrassPlot data are intensively used for broad-scale analyses of different aspects of alpha and beta diversity in grassland ecosystems.
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5. |
- Jeanneret, Pauline, et al.
(author)
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Geochronological constraints on the trans-Hudsonian tectono-metamorphic evolution of the pre-Athabasca basement within the Wollaston-Mudjatik Transition Zone, Saskatchewan
- 2017
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In: Precambrian Research. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 0301-9268 .- 1872-7433. ; 301, s. 152-178
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Hudsonian Pressure-Temperature-Deformation-time-(P-T-D-t) evolution of the pre-Athabasca crystalline basement (>similar to 1700 Ma) of the Wollaston-Mudjatik Transition Zone (WMTZ) highlights two major tectono-metamorphic events Ml-Dl and M2-D2. The ages of these two event have been obtained by in-situ LA-ICPMS U-Th-Pb dating of monazite from Grt-Crd bearing pelitic gneiss and U-Pb analyses performed on zircons from pegmatites, using both exposed basement and drill cores from the Wolly-McClean exploration drilling project. The M1-D1 event, interpreted as the burial of the thinned Hearne margin via southward thrusting to pressures varying from 10 to 6 kbar, occurred between ca.1840 and 1813 Ma. The M2-D2 event, producing the northeast structural trend of the WMTZ, was formed in a sinistral transpressional tectonic regime during the late stage of the Hudsonian oblique collision between ca. 1813 and 1770 Ma. Thermobarometric estimates on the M2-D2 assemblages show that the entire studied area was reequilibrated at about 5 kbar and 750-825 degrees C. trans-Hudsonian pegmatites are viewed as the main proto-ore of the uranium-rich Athabasca unconformity-type deposits. Formation, transfer and differentiation of these trans-Hudsonian pegmatites are replaced in this P-T-D-t evolution. During the 1840-1813 Ma Ml-Dl partial melting event, the first batches of melt produced in the deep crust are the most likely enriched in uranium. Then, these melts were transferred upwards to the upper crustal levels owing to the development of crustal scale steeply-dipping D2 shear zones, and finally were differentiated to form uranium-enriched pegmatites between 1813 and 1770 Ma. Some monazite and zircon grains within retrogressed migmatites recorded a later event at ca. 1720 Ma, interpreted as the terminal cooling event down to 300-400 degrees C responsible for partial retrogression of metamorphic assemblages. This age provides new insights into the timing of the onset of the Athabasca sedimentation that should therefore be at least 1710 Ma old or younger.
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