Symbiodiniaceae diversity varies by host and environment across thermally distinct reefs.

Endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodiniaceae) influence coral thermal tolerance at both local and regional scales. In isolation, the effects of host genetics, environment, and thermal disturbances on symbiont communities are well understood, yet their combined effects remain poorly resolved. Here, we investigate Symbiodiniaceae across 1300 km in Australia's Coral Sea Marine Park to disentangle these interactive effects. We identified Symbiodiniaceae to species-level resolution for three coral species (Acropora cf humilis, Pocillopora verrucosa, and Pocillopora meandrina) by sequencing two genetic markers of the symbiont (ITS2 and psbAncr), paired with genotype-by-sequencing of the coral host (DArT-seq). Our samples predominantly returned sequences from the genus Cladocopium, where Acropora cf humilis affiliated with C3k, Pocillopora verrucosa with C. pacificum, and Pocillopora meandrina with C. latusorum. Multivariate analyses revealed that Acropora symbionts were driven strongly by local environment and thermal disturbances. In contrast, Pocillopora symbiont communities were both partitioned 2.5-fold more by host genetic structure than by environmental structure. Among the two Pocillopora species, the effects of environment and host genetics explained four times more variation in symbionts for P. meandrina than P. verrucosa. The concurrent bleaching event in 2020 had variable impacts on symbiont communities, consistent with patterns in P. verrucosa and A. cf humilis, but not P. meandrina. Our findings demonstrate how symbiont macroscale community structure responses to environmental gradients depend on host species and their respective population structure. Integrating host, symbiont, and environmental data will help forecast the adaptive potential of corals and their symbionts amidst a rapidly changing environment.

The Selenoproteome as a Dynamic Response Mechanism to Oxidative Stress in Hydrogenotrophic Methanogenic Communities.

Methanogenesis is a critical process in the carbon cycle that is applied industrially in anaerobic digestion and biogas production. While naturally occurring in diverse environments, methanogenesis requires anaerobic and reduced conditions, although varying degrees of oxygen tolerance have been described. Microaeration is suggested as the next step to increase methane production and improve hydrolysis in digestion processes; therefore, a deeper understanding of the methanogenic response to oxygen stress is needed. To explore the drivers of oxygen tolerance in methanogenesis, two parallel enrichments were performed under the addition of H2/CO2 in an environment without reducing agents and in a redox-buffered environment by adding redox mediator 9,10-anthraquinone-2,7-disulfonate disodium. The cellular response to oxidative conditions is mapped using proteomic analysis. The resulting community showed remarkable tolerance to high-redox environments and was unperturbed in its methane production. Next to the expression of pathways to mitigate reactive oxygen species, the higher redox potential environment showed an increased presence of selenocysteine and selenium-associated pathways. By including sulfur-to-selenium mass shifts in a proteomic database search, we provide the first evidence of the dynamic and large-scale incorporation of selenocysteine as a response to oxidative stress in hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis and the presence of a dynamic selenoproteome.

Vastus Lateralis Muscle Flap for High-Risk Patients Undergoing Orthopaedic Hip Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic infections and soft-tissue defects are serious complications after total hip arthroplasties (THAs) that may require hip disarticulation (HD). HD is a relatively high-risk procedure with poor long-term outcomes and survival. This is the first study to analyze the effect of an ipsilateral, pedicled vastus lateralis (VL) muscle flap in preventing HD in patients with recurrent complications after THA. METHODS: This retrospective case review analyzed the 6-month postoperative outcomes of 14 patients who underwent soft-tissue hip reconstruction with a VL muscle flap by a single surgeon. RESULTS: Most (86%) patients fully recovered after 6 months with preserved hip range of motion, no pain, and no weakness on ambulation. Two (14%) patients ultimately required HD despite introducing a VL flap. DISCUSSION: A VL muscle flap is an effective treatment of nonhealing THA and prophylactic intervention for patients at high risk for HD. The VL muscle is optimal because of its large size allowing reduction of soft-tissue dead space, its local anatomical location to the hip, and its exceptional vascularity. Additional prospective studies are necessary to determine the most appropriate population for this technique.

Genetic susceptibility for retinopathy of prematurity and its associated comorbidities.

BACKGROUND: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is one of the leading cause of child blindness. Preterm newborns of very low gestational age (GA) and very low birth weight are at the greatest risk. Our objective was to evaluate the role of genetic variants associated with ROP risk and its comorbidities in an Argentinian sample of premature infants. METHODS: A sample of 437 preterm infants <33 weeks GA, born at a maternity hospital in Tucumán, Argentina, 2005-2010, was analyzed. Environmental factors, perinatal outcomes, and fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with ROP were evaluated, comparing ROP with non-ROP newborns. A lasso logistic regression was performed to select variables; then, a conditional logistic regression was used to identify ROP maternal and perinatal risk factors adjusting by maternal and gestational ages, respectively. RESULTS: ROP maternal risk factors were alcohol intake, periodontal infections, and severe stress. Respiratory distress, sepsis, and intracranial hemorrhage were the ROP perinatal risk factors. Markers rs186085 of EPAS1 and rs427832 of AGTR1 were significantly associated with ROP newborns. CONCLUSION: We identified three maternal and three perinatal risk factors associated with ROP. Genes EPAS1 and AGTR1, involved in angiogenesis and vascularization, were identified to be of risk for ROP. IMPACT: Genetic and environmental risk factors associated with ROP and its comorbidities are evaluated in a Latin American population. Genes EPAS1 and AGTR1, involved in angiogenesis and vascularization, were identified to be of risk for ROP. Three maternal and three perinatal risk factors associated with ROP were also identified. A matrix of significant relationships among genetic markers and comorbidities is presented. Reported data may help develop more effective preventive measures for ROP in the Latin American region.

Gene-environment interactions and preterm birth predictors: A Bayesian network approach.

Preterm birth (PTB) is the main condition related to perinatal morbimortality worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify gene-environment interactions associated with spontaneous PTB or its predictors. We carried out a retrospective case-control study including parental sociodemographic and obstetric data as well as newborn genetic variants of 69 preterm and 61 at term newborns born at a maternity hospital from Tucumán, Argentina, between 2005 and 2010. A data-driven Bayesian network including the main PTB predictors was created where we identified gene-environment interactions. We used logistic regressions to calculate the odds ratios and confidence intervals of the interactions. From the main PTB predictors (nine exposures and six genetic variants) we identified an interaction between low neighbourhood socioeconomic status and rs2074351 (PON1, genotype GG) variant that was associated with an increased risk of toxoplasmosis (odds ratio 12.51, confidence interval 95%: 1.71 - 91.36). The results of this exploratory study suggest that structural social disparities could influence the PTB risk by increasing the frequency of exposures that potentiate the risk associated with individual characteristics such as genetic traits. Future studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to confirm these findings.

Mpox severity and associated hospitalizations among people with HIV and related immunosuppression in Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze characteristics of mpox hospitalization in a Brazilian cohort, further exploring the impact of HIV on mpox-related outcomes and hospitalization. DESIGN: We conducted a descriptive analysis, comparing characteristics of individuals diagnosed with mpox according to hospitalization and HIV status, and described the mpox cases among those living with HIV. METHODS: This was a single-center, prospective cohort study conducted at a major infectious diseases referral center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that enrolled participants older than 18 years of age diagnosed with mpox. Information was collected on standardized forms, including data on sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical and laboratory characteristics. For comparisons, we used chi-squared, Fisher's exact and the Moods median tests whenever appropriate. RESULTS: From June to December, 2022, we enrolled 418 individuals diagnosed with mpox, of whom 52% were people with HIV (PWH). PWH presented more frequently with fever, anogenital lesions and proctitis. The overall hospitalization rate was 10.5% ( n  = 43), especially for pain control. Among hospitalized participants, PWH had more proctitis and required invasive support. Mpox severity was related to poor HIV continuum of care outcomes and low CD4 + cell counts. All deaths ( n  = 2) occurred in PWH with CD4 + less than 50 cells/µl. CONCLUSION: HIV-related immunosuppression likely impacts mpox clinical outcomes. This is of special concern in settings of poor adherence and late presentation to care related to socioeconomic inequalities, such as Brazil. The HIV continuum of care must be taken into account when responding to the mpox outbreak.

Sliding Windows in Ion Mobility (SWIM): A New Approach to Increase the Resolving Power in Trapped Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Hyphenated with Chromatography.

Over the past decade, the separation efficiency achieved by linear IMS instruments has increased substantially, with state-of-the-art IM technologies, such as the trapped ion mobility (TIMS), the cyclic traveling wave ion mobility (cTWIMS), and the structure for lossless ion manipulation (SLIM) platforms commonly demonstrating resolving powers in excess of 200. However, for complex sample analysis that require front end separation, the achievement of such high resolving power in TIMS is significantly hampered, since the ion mobility range must be broad enough to analyze all the classes of compounds of interest, whereas the IM analysis time must be short enough to cope with the time scale of the preseparation technique employed. In this paper, we introduce the concept of sliding windows in ion mobility (SWIM) for chromatography hyphenated TIMS applications that bypasses the need to use a wide and fixed IM range by using instead narrow and mobile ion mobility windows that adapt to the analytes' ion mobility during chromatographic separation. GC-TIMS-MS analysis of a mixture of 174 standards from several halogenated persistent organic pollutant (POP) classes, including chlorinated and brominated dioxins, biphenyls, and PBDEs, demonstrated that the average IM resolving power could be increased up to 40% when the SWIM mode was used, thereby greatly increasing the method selectivity for the analysis of complex samples.

Metaproteomics, metagenomics and 16S rRNA sequencing provide different perspectives on the aerobic granular sludge microbiome.

The tremendous progress in sequencing technologies has made DNA sequencing routine for microbiome studies. Additionally, advances in mass spectrometric techniques have extended conventional proteomics into the field of microbial ecology. However, systematic studies that provide a better understanding of the complementary nature of these 'omics' approaches, particularly for complex environments such as wastewater treatment sludge, are urgently needed. Here, we describe a comparative metaomics study on aerobic granular sludge from three different wastewater treatment plants. For this, we employed metaproteomics, whole metagenome, and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to study the same granule material with uniform size. We furthermore compare the taxonomic profiles using the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB) to enhance the comparability between the different approaches. Though the major taxonomies were consistently identified in the different aerobic granular sludge samples, the taxonomic composition obtained by the different omics techniques varied significantly at the lower taxonomic levels, which impacts the interpretation of the nutrient removal processes. Nevertheless, as demonstrated by metaproteomics, the genera that were consistently identified in all techniques cover the majority of the protein biomass. The established metaomics data and the contig classification pipeline are publicly available, which provides a valuable resource for further studies on metabolic processes in aerobic granular sludge.

A Frame-by-Frame Glance at Membrane Fusion Mechanisms: From Viral Infections to Fertilization.

Viral entry and fertilization are distinct biological processes that share a common mechanism: membrane fusion. In viral entry, enveloped viruses attach to the host cell membrane, triggering a series of conformational changes in the viral fusion proteins. This results in the exposure of a hydrophobic fusion peptide, which inserts into the host membrane and brings the viral and host membranes into close proximity. Subsequent structural rearrangements in opposing membranes lead to their fusion. Similarly, membrane fusion occurs when gametes merge during the fertilization process, though the exact mechanism remains unclear. Structural biology has played a pivotal role in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying membrane fusion. High-resolution structures of the viral and fertilization fusion-related proteins have provided valuable insights into the conformational changes that occur during this process. Understanding these mechanisms at a molecular level is essential for the development of antiviral therapeutics and tools to influence fertility. In this review, we will highlight the biological importance of membrane fusion and how protein structures have helped visualize both common elements and subtle divergences in the mechanisms behind fusion; in addition, we will examine the new tools that recent advances in structural biology provide researchers interested in a frame-by-frame understanding of membrane fusion.

Organization and replicon interactions within the highly segmented genome of Borrelia burgdorferi.

Borrelia burgdorferi, a causative agent of Lyme disease, contains the most segmented bacterial genome known to date, with one linear chromosome and over twenty plasmids. How this unusually complex genome is organized, and whether and how the different replicons interact are unclear. We recently demonstrated that B. burgdorferi is polyploid and that the copies of the chromosome and plasmids are regularly spaced in each cell, which is critical for faithful segregation of the genome to daughter cells. Regular spacing of the chromosome is controlled by two separate partitioning systems that involve the protein pairs ParA/ParZ and ParB/Smc. Here, using chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C), we characterized the organization of the B. burgdorferi genome and the interactions between the replicons. We uncovered that although the linear chromosome lacks contacts between the two replication arms, the two telomeres are in frequent contact. Moreover, several plasmids specifically interact with the chromosome oriC region, and a subset of plasmids interact with each other more than with others. We found that Smc and the Smc-like MksB protein mediate long-range interactions on the chromosome, but they minimally affect plasmid-chromosome or plasmid-plasmid interactions. Finally, we found that disruption of the two partition systems leads to chromosome restructuring, correlating with the mis-positioning of chromosome oriC. Altogether, this study revealed the conformation of a complex genome and analyzed the contribution of the partition systems and SMC family proteins to this organization. This work expands the understanding of the organization and maintenance of multipartite bacterial genomes.

Organization and replicon interactions within the highly segmented genome of Borrelia burgdorferi.

Borrelia burgdorferi , a causative agent of Lyme disease, contains the most segmented bacterial genome known to date, with one linear chromosome and over twenty plasmids. How this unusually complex genome is organized, and whether and how the different replicons interact are unclear. We recently demonstrated that B. burgdorferi is polyploid and that the copies of the chromosome and plasmids are regularly spaced in each cell, which is critical for faithful segregation of the genome to daughter cells. Regular spacing of the chromosome is controlled by two separate partitioning systems that involve the protein pairs ParA/ParZ and ParB/SMC. Here, using chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C), we characterized the organization of the B. burgdorferi genome and the interactions between the replicons. We uncovered that although the linear chromosome lacks contacts between the two replication arms, the two telomeres are in frequent contact. Moreover, several plasmids specifically interact with the chromosome oriC region, and a subset of plasmids interact with each other more than with others. We found that SMC and the SMC-like MksB protein mediate long-range interactions on the chromosome, but they minimally affect plasmid-chromosome or plasmid-plasmid interactions. Finally, we found that disruption of the two partition systems leads to chromosome restructuring, correlating with the mis-positioning of chromosome oriC . Altogether, this study revealed the conformation of a complex genome and analyzed the contribution of the partition systems and SMC family proteins to this organization. This work expands the understanding of the organization and maintenance of multipartite bacterial genomes.

DNA double-strand break end synapsis by DNA loop extrusion.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) occur every cell cycle and must be efficiently repaired. Non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) is the dominant pathway for DSB repair in G1-phase. The first step of NHEJ is to bring the two DSB ends back into proximity (synapsis). Although synapsis is generally assumed to occur through passive diffusion, we show that passive diffusion is unlikely to produce the synapsis speed observed in cells. Instead, we hypothesize that DNA loop extrusion facilitates synapsis. By combining experimentally constrained simulations and theory, we show that a simple loop extrusion model constrained by previous live-cell imaging data only modestly accelerates synapsis. Instead, an expanded loop extrusion model with targeted loading of loop extruding factors (LEFs), a small portion of long-lived LEFs, and LEF stabilization by boundary elements and DSB ends achieves fast synapsis with near 100% efficiency. We propose that loop extrusion contributes to DSB repair by mediating fast synapsis.

Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs.

Scientists and managers rely on indicator taxa such as coral and macroalgal cover to evaluate the effects of human disturbance on coral reefs, often assuming a universally positive relationship between local human disturbance and macroalgae. Despite evidence that macroalgae respond to local stressors in diverse ways, there have been few efforts to evaluate relationships between specific macroalgae taxa and local human-driven disturbance. Using genus-level monitoring data from 1205 sites in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, we assess whether macroalgae percent cover correlates with local human disturbance while accounting for factors that could obscure or confound relationships. Assessing macroalgae at genus level revealed that no genera were positively correlated with all human disturbance metrics. Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses. The convention to use percent cover of macroalgae as an indication of local human disturbance therefore likely obscures signatures of local anthropogenic threats to reefs. Our limited understanding of relationships between human disturbance, macroalgae taxa, and their responses to human disturbances impedes the ability to diagnose and respond appropriately to these threats.

Transcription shapes 3D chromatin organization by interacting with loop extrusion.

Cohesin folds mammalian interphase chromosomes by extruding the chromatin fiber into numerous loops. "Loop extrusion" can be impeded by chromatin-bound factors, such as CTCF, which generates characteristic and functional chromatin organization patterns. It has been proposed that transcription relocalizes or interferes with cohesin and that active promoters are cohesin loading sites. However, the effects of transcription on cohesin have not been reconciled with observations of active extrusion by cohesin. To determine how transcription modulates extrusion, we studied mouse cells in which we could alter cohesin abundance, dynamics, and localization by genetic "knockouts" of the cohesin regulators CTCF and Wapl. Through Hi-C experiments, we discovered intricate, cohesin-dependent contact patterns near active genes. Chromatin organization around active genes exhibited hallmarks of interactions between transcribing RNA polymerases (RNAPs) and extruding cohesins. These observations could be reproduced by polymer simulations in which RNAPs were moving barriers to extrusion that obstructed, slowed, and pushed cohesins. The simulations predicted that preferential loading of cohesin at promoters is inconsistent with our experimental data. Additional ChIP-seq experiments showed that the putative cohesin loader Nipbl is not predominantly enriched at promoters. Therefore, we propose that cohesin is not preferentially loaded at promoters and that the barrier function of RNAP accounts for cohesin accumulation at active promoters. Altogether, we find that RNAP is an extrusion barrier that is not stationary, but rather, translocates and relocalizes cohesin. Loop extrusion and transcription might interact to dynamically generate and maintain gene interactions with regulatory elements and shape functional genomic organization.

The effects of marine heatwaves on acute heat tolerance in corals.

Scleractinian coral populations are increasingly exposed to conditions above their upper thermal limits due to marine heatwaves, contributing to global declines of coral reef ecosystem health. However, historic mass bleaching events indicate there is considerable inter- and intra-specific variation in thermal tolerance whereby species, individual coral colonies and populations show differential susceptibility to exposure to elevated temperatures. Despite this, we lack a clear understanding of how heat tolerance varies across large contemporary and historical environmental gradients, or the selective pressures that underpin this variation. Here we conducted standardised acute heat stress experiments to identify variation in heat tolerance among species and isolated reefs spanning a large environmental gradient across the Coral Sea Marine Park. We quantified the photochemical yield (Fv /Fm ) of coral samples in three coral species, Acropora cf humilis, Pocillopora meandrina, and Pocillopora verrucosa, following exposure to four temperature treatments (local ambient temperatures, and + 3°C, +6°C and + 9°C above local maximum monthly mean). We quantified the temperature at which Fv /Fm decreased by 50% (termed ED50) and used derived values to directly compare acute heat tolerance across reefs and species. The ED50 for Acropora was 0.4-0.7°C lower than either Pocillopora species, with a 0.3°C difference between the two Pocillopora species. We also recorded 0.9°C to 1.9°C phenotypic variation in heat tolerance among reefs within species, indicating spatial heterogeneity in heat tolerance across broad environmental gradients. Acute heat tolerance had a strong positive relationship to mild heatwave exposure over the past 35 years (since 1986) but was negatively related to recent severe heatwaves (2016-2020). Phenotypic variation associated with mild thermal history in local environments provides supportive evidence that marine heatwaves are selecting for tolerant individuals and populations; however, this adaptive potential may be compromised by the exposure to recent severe heatwaves.

Antimicrobial potential of the Mayan medicine plant Matayba oppositifolia (A. Rich.) Britton against antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: The bark of Matayba oppositifolia (A. Rich.) Britton (commonly known as "huaya" or "palo huacax") is commonly utilized in traditional Mayan medicine for treating diarrhea and for canker and other sores. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of this study was to investigate the in-vitro antimicrobial activity of M. oppositifolia bark extracts against drug-susceptible and -resistant ESKAPE-E pathogens. In addition, the phytochemical composition of the best antibacterial extract was analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The bark extracts were prepared with different solvents, including water, n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. These were tested against ESKAPE-E (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp., including Escherichia coli) strains using Resazurin Microtiter Assay. In addition, the composition of the most active extract was analyzed by GC-MS. RESULTS: The aqueous and organic bark extracts showed activity on drug-susceptible and -resistant ESKAPE-E microbes (MIC = 1000-31.25 µg/mL). The n-hexane bark extract was more active against the superbugs carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (MIC = 500-31.25 µg/mL) and A. baumannii (MIC = 250-125 µg/mL). The GC-MS analysis of this extract allowed the identification of 12 phytochemicals as the potential antibacterial compounds. The major compounds identified were palmitic acid (1), friedelan-3-one (2) and 7-dehydrodiosgenin (3). CONCLUSION: The present study reveals the strong in-vitro antibacterial activity of the n-hexane extract from the bark of M. oppositifolia and demonstrates the potential of natural products as a source of antibacterial compounds or phytomedicines that are specifically effective against drug-resistant ESKAPE-E bugs. Additionally, our investigation contributes to the ethnopharmacological knowledge and reappraisal of Mayan medicinal flora, as well as supports the traditional use of the bark of the medicinal plant M. oppositifolia for the treatment of infectious diseases.

Crumpled polymer with loops recapitulates key features of chromosome organization.

Chromosomes are exceedingly long topologically-constrained polymers compacted in a cell nucleus. We recently suggested that chromosomes are organized into loops by an active process of loop extrusion. Yet loops remain elusive to direct observations in living cells; detection and characterization of myriads of such loops is a major challenge. The lack of a tractable physical model of a polymer folded into loops limits our ability to interpret experimental data and detect loops. Here, we introduce a new physical model - a polymer folded into a sequence of loops, and solve it analytically. Our model and a simple geometrical argument show how loops affect statistics of contacts in a polymer across different scales, explaining universally observed shapes of the contact probability. Moreover, we reveal that folding into loops reduces the density of topological entanglements, a novel phenomenon we refer as "the dilution of entanglements". Supported by simulations this finding suggests that up to ~ 1 - 2Mb chromosomes with loops are not topologically constrained, yet become crumpled at larger scales. Our theoretical framework allows inference of loop characteristics, draws a new picture of chromosome organization, and shows how folding into loops affects topological properties of crumpled polymers.

New-Onset Psoriatic Arthritis Following COVID-19 mRNA Vaccination in a Psoriatic Patient Under Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Biologic Treatment: What Now?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were quickly developed and administered to the population worldwide. As is expected with new vaccine products, adverse reactions following immunization have been reported, namely, the development and/or exacerbation of autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases, including rheumatic diseases. Here, we report a clinical case of a 56-year-old woman with a 44-year history of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis under treatment with an anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha biosimilar (adalimumab) with good control of skin disease and without rheumatic involvement to date who came to us with complaints of migratory polyarthralgia starting one week after receiving the second dose of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. The condition progressed over the following months and a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis was established. Biologic treatment was switched to an anti-interleukin 17A (secukinumab), with a very good clinical cutaneous and articular response, which was sustained up to the present moment. The mechanisms behind the exacerbation or new-onset of autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases after receiving anti-COVID-19 vaccines are not yet fully understood, requiring further investigation. It is also not known whether rheumatic symptoms post-COVID-19 infection will have similar mechanisms to rheumatic symptoms post-anti-COVID-19 vaccination. With the continuing worldwide vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, clinicians need to be prepared to discuss the risks and benefits of vaccination and should be aware that it may cause or exacerbate immune disorders such as psoriatic arthritis, warranting close follow-up in terms of disease progression and treatment.

Toxicity of Essential Oil of Mentha piperita (Lamiaceae) and its Monoterpenoid Menthol Against Tetranychus urticae Kogan 1836 (Acari: Tetranychidae).

Essential oils from plants have remarkable biological properties, for example as insecticides and acaricides. Here we provide chemical analysis and evaluate the toxicity of the essential oil of Mentha piperita (Lamiaceae) and its main constituent menthol against Tetranychus urticae Kogan 1836 (Acari: Tetranychidae), a polyphagous pest present in agricultural landscapes. The essential oil was obtained from M. piperita leaves via hydrodistillation. Subsequently, concentration-response bioassays in adult females (fumigation and contact) were conducted to evaluate the lethal effect on the mite with three exposure intervals. We also evaluated the reproductive performance of females after exposure. Both substances were lethal in the fumigation bioassay, in addition, the essential oil was about 6-fold more toxic than menthol after 24 and 48 h of exposure. The fecundity of T. urticae females decreased inversely proportional to the increase of the used concentrations. Essential oil contact tests showed sublethal effects, with low mortality and reproductive stimulation of T. urticae females. Therefore, menthol and M. piperita essential oil can be considered potential acaricides for T. urticae by fumigant exposure due to the deleterious effect in adults and reduction in the number of individuals in subsequent generations, that represents a promising management tool.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation drives multidirectional inter-reef larval connectivity in the Great Barrier Reef.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the strongest source of interannual global climate variability, and extreme ENSO events are projected to increase in frequency under climate change. Interannual variability in the Coral Sea circulation has been associated with ENSO, although uncertainty remains regarding ENSO's influence on hydrodynamics and larval dispersal in the adjacent Great Barrier Reef (GBR). We investigated larval connectivity during ENSO events from 2010 to 2017 throughout the GBR, based on biophysical modelling of a widespread predatory reef fish, Lutjanus carponotatus. Our results indicate a well-connected system over the study period with high interannual variability in inter-reef connectivity associated with ENSO. Larval connectivity patterns were highly correlated to variations in the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). During El Niño conditions and periods of weak SOI, larval dispersal patterns were predominantly poleward in the central and southern regions, reversing to a predominant equatorward flow during very strong SOI and extreme La Niña conditions. These ENSO-linked connectivity patterns were associated with positive connectivity anomalies among reefs. Our findings identify ENSO as an important source of variation in larval dispersal and connectivity patterns in the GBR, which can influence the stability of population dynamics and patterns of biodiversity in the region.