Identification of various laccases induced by anthracene and contribution to its degradation in a Mediterranean coastal pine litter

Mediterranean coastal ecosystems are known to be highly subject to natural and anthropic environmental stress. In this study, we examine the effects of anthracene as a common pollutant on the total microbial communities from a Pinus halepensis litter of a typical Mediterranean coastal site (Les Calanques, Marseille). The main objective was to identify the microbial factors leading the resilience of this ecosystem. Two questions were addressed: (i) how lignin-degrading enzymes (Laccase, Lignin-peroxidase and Mn-peroxidase) are affected by the presence of this molecule, (ii) whether the indigenous consortia are involved in its degradation in mesocosms under favorable incubation conditions (25 °C, 60% WHC) and after different time intervals (1 and 3 month(s)). We found a strong increase in laccase production in the presence of anthracene after 3 months, together with anthracene degradation (28% ± 5). Moreover 9,10-anthraquinone is detected as the product of anthracene oxidation after 3 months. However neither lignin-peroxidase activity nor Mn-peroxidase activity is detected. Laccase proteins directly extracted from litter were sequenced via Nano-LC-MS/MS and reveal twelve different peptide sequences induced by the presence of anthracene in the mesocoms. Our study confirms the major detoxification role of this enzymatic system and highlights the high degradation potential of fungal species inhabiting P. halepensis litter, a factor in the resilience of Mediterranean ecosystems.     

Pollution,habitat loss,fishing, and climate change as critical threats to penguins

Cumulative human impacts across the world's oceans are considerable. We therefore examined a single model taxonomic group, the penguins (Spheniscidae), to explore how marine species and communities might be at risk of decline or extinction in the southern hemisphere. We sought to determine the most important threats to penguins and to suggest means to mitigate these threats. Our review has relevance to other taxonomic groups in the southern hemisphere and in northern latitudes, where human impacts are greater. Our review was based on an expert assessment and literature review of all 18 penguin species; 49 scientists contributed to the process. For each penguin species, we considered their range and distribution, population trends, and main anthropogenic threats over the past approximately 250 years. These threats were harvesting adults for oil, skin, and feathers and as bait for crab and rock lobster fisheries; harvesting of eggs; terrestrial habitat degradation; marine pollution; fisheries bycatch and resource competition; environmental variability and climate change; and toxic algal poisoning and disease. Habitat loss, pollution, and fishing, all factors humans can readily mitigate, remain the primary threats for penguin species. Their future resilience to further climate change impacts will almost certainly depend on addressing current threats to existing habitat degradation on land and at sea. We suggest protection of breeding habitat, linked to the designation of appropriately scaled marine reserves, including in the High Seas, will be critical for the future conservation of penguins. However, large‐scale conservation zones are not always practical or politically feasible and other ecosystem‐based management methods that include spatial zoning, bycatch mitigation, and robust harvest control must be developed to maintain marine biodiversity and ensure that ecosystem functioning is maintained across a variety of scales. Contaminación, Pérdida de Hábitat, Pesca y Cambio Climático como Amenazas Críticas para los Pingüinos     

Do racial differences exist in second-trimester maternal hCG levels? a study of 23 369 patients

In Down syndrome screening by maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) determination at 15, 16, 17, and 18 weeks of gestation, we prospectively examined 23 369 sera from white (21 549), North African (970), black African (525), and Asian (325) patients. When expressed as multiples of the median (MOM), no difference was observed between white, North African, and black African patients. However, higher serum hCG concentrations were noted in Asians, for whom we therefore recommend correction of hCG values before calculation of the risk of Down syndrome.     

Intercontinental chemical variation in the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) (Hymenoptera Formicidae): a key to the invasive success of a tramp species

Unicoloniality emerges as a feature that characterizes successful invasive species. Its underlying mechanism is reduced intraspecific aggression while keeping interspecific competitiveness. To that effect, we present here a comparative behavioural and chemical study of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata in parts of its native and introduced ranges. We tested the hypothesis that introduced populations (New Caledonia archipelago) have reduced intraspecific aggression relative to native populations (e.g., Ilhéus area, Brazil) and that this correlates with reduced variability in cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). As predicted, there was high intraspecific aggression in the Brazilian populations, but no intraspecific aggression among the New Caledonian populations. However, New Caledonian worker W. auropunctata remained highly aggressive towards ants of other invasive species. The chemical data corresponded with the behaviour. While CHCs of ants from the regions of Brazil diverged, the profiles of ants from various localities in New Caledonia showed high uniformity. We suggest that in New Caledonia W. auropunctata appears to behave as a single supercolony, whereas in its native range it acts as a multicolonial species. The uniformity of recognition cues in the New Caledonia ants may reflect a process whereby recognition alleles became fixed in the population, but may also be the consequence of a single introduction event and subsequent aggressive invasion of the ecosystem. Chemical uniformity coupled with low intraspecific but high interspecific aggression, lend credence to the latter hypothesis.     

气候波动与土地利用变化对西班牙比利牛斯山脉中部径流影响的评价

在地中海国家扩大灌溉土地的面积,应当考虑气候与土地利用变化对水资源的影响.本文利用降水和温度资料,分析了20世纪中叶以来西班牙比利牛斯山脉中部流域径流的变化趋势.降水与径流之间关系的年变化表明,径流在所研究期间的后半时段相对较低,这一趋势与土地利用变化一致.在月水平上,降水量在10月、4月和7月明显增加,而在3月则有下降;温度在1月和2月有所增加,而在4月则趋于下降.但过去50年间径流在大部分月份中呈显著下降趋势,土地利用和植被覆盖的变化是解释年平均径流下降大约30%的惟一非气候因素.