Effects of environmental factors and intraspecific niche overlap on the body and ecological characteristics of red-tongued pit vipers (Gloydius ussuriensis).

The body condition of a snake species provides important physiological, morphological, and ecological information that elucidates its habits, life cycle, and competitive relationships. We measured the body size and condition of the wild Gloydius ussuriensis population in South Korea from 2018 to 2022, analyzed the degree of intraspecific niche overlap, and identified the geographic and climatic factors affecting their body condition. We found that the females were longer than the males. The body condition index (BCI) of G. ussuriensis differed depending on sex and season; the BCI of the females and males was highest in August and October, respectively. Environmental factors related to altitude and temperature affected the body condition of G. ussuriensis; BCI increased as the mean annual temperature and winter temperature increased; however, it increased when the annual temperature range decreased. The mean Pinaka index was 0.96, indicating a high degree of niche overlap; however, the niche overlap among the neonates was less than that among the adults and juveniles. To elucidate the causes of niche overlap and mechanisms behind the intraspecific competition among G. ussuriensis individuals, the habitat and utilization of food resources at different development stages of G. ussuriensis should be further investigated.

Complete mitochondrial genome of little ringed plover Charadrius dubius (Charadriiformes, Charadriidae).

This study encoded the complete mitochondrial genomic sequence of the little ringed plover Charadrius dubius. The mitochondrial genome has a total length of 16,864 bp, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a control region. The nucleotide composition was 23.8% T, 31.6% A, 30.8% C, and 13.8% G. This study provides the basic information on the mitogenome of C. dubius and supports the understanding of mitogenomic information and its phylogenetic relationship within Charadriiformes.

Phylogenetic relationships between three Korean pit viper Gloydius (Serpentes: Crotalinae) species using mitochondrial DNA genes.

BACKGROUND: Molecular phylogenetic studies of the Asian pit viper genus Gloydius have been widely published in Asia, but Korea population have not been conducted till date. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the phylogenetic relationships of three Gloydius species (G. saxatilis, G. brevicaudus, and G. ussuriensis) from Korea with other Gloydius species, based on Cytochrome b and ND4. METHODS: We compared 160 samples representing the three species with those of 17 reference species and their phylogenetic status and genetic diversity were analyzed with concatenated sequences of two mitochondrial DNA. RESULTS: Korean G. brevicaudus and G. saxatilis showed high haplotype diversity and relatively low and moderate nucleotide diversity, respectively. Although G. ussuriensis showed high genetic diversity, it was low in the Baengnyeong Island population. The phylogenetic tree represented two major lineages. One major lineage comprised G. ussuriensis, G. tsushimaensis, G. blomhoffii, and G. brevicaudus. The Chinese G. ussuriensis belonged to the same clade as the Korean G. ussuriensis and was closely related to the Baengnyeong Island population. Moreover, G. tsushimaensis was closely related to G. ussuriensis from southwestern Korean and Jeju Island populations. The other major lineage comprised the remaining 12 species and G. saxatilis. Korean G. saxatilis was closely related to G. saxatilis, G. shedanoensis, and G. intermedius from China. CONCLUSION: The phylogenetic status of the Korean Gloydius species in comparison with the other Gloydius species was identified. We suggesting the conservation management unit for the Baengnyeong Island population, while the current conservation status of Korean G. saxatilis is suggested to be revised to a higher level.

Cocculus hirsutus ameliorates gastric and lung injuries by suppressing Src/Syk.

BACKGROUND: Cocculus hirsutus (L.) W. Thedo., a traditionally well-known plant, has confirmed antitumor properties as well as acute and chronic diuretic effects. However, little is known about its inflammatory activities and the potential effect on inflammatory disease treatment. PURPOSE: Our aim in this study was to explore additional beneficial properties of C. hirsutus ethanol extract (Ch-EE) such as anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in vivo as well as its underlying mechanisms and to provide a theoretical basis for its role as a candidate natural drug in clinical gastritis and lung disease therapy. STUDY DESIGN: RAW264.7 cells, HEK293T cells, peritoneal macrophages, and mouse models of acute gastritis and acute lung injury were used to assess the anti-inflammatory activity of Ch-EE. METHODS: Decreases in LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) production and cytokine expression by RAW264.7 cells after Ch-EE treatment were evaluated by Griess assays and PCR, respectively. Transcription factor activity was assessed through luciferase reporter gene assay, and protein expression was determined by Western blotting analysis. Overexpression assays and cellular thermal shift assays were executed in HEK293T cells. Our two in vivo models were an HCl/EtOH-induced gastritis model and an LPS-induced lung injury model. Changes in stomach lesions, lung edema, and lung histology were examined upon treatment with Ch-EE. Components of Ch-EE were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: LPS-induced nitric oxide production and Pam3CSK4- and L-NAME-induced NO production were inhibited by Ch-EE treatment of RAW264.7 cells. Furthermore, LPS-induced increases in transcript levels of iNOS, COX2, CCL12, and IL-1ß were reduced by Ch-EE treatment. Ch-EE decreased both MyD88- and TRIF-induced NF-κB promotor activity. Proteins upstream of NF-κB, namely p-p50, p-p65, p-IκBα, p-AKT1, p-Src, and p-Syk, were all downregulated by Ch-EE. Moreover, Src and Syk were targets of Ch-EE. Ch-EE treatment reduced the size of inflammatory stomach lesions induced by HCl/EtOH, lung edema, and accumulation of activated neutrophils caused by LPS. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly suggest that Cocculus hirsutus can be developed as a promising anti-inflammatory remedy with Src- and Syk-inhibitory functions targeting diseases related to gastritis and lung injury.

Cissus subtetragona Planch. Ameliorates Inflammatory Responses in LPS-induced Macrophages, HCl/EtOH-induced Gastritis, and LPS-induced Lung Injury via Attenuation of Src and TAK1.

Several Cissus species have been used and reported to possess medicinal benefits. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of Cissus subtetragona have not been described. In this study, we examined the potential anti-inflammatory effects of C. subtetragona ethanol extract (Cs-EE) in vitro and in vivo, and investigated its molecular mechanism as well as its flavonoid content. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells and primary macrophages as well as LPS-induced acute lung injury (ALI) and HCl/EtOH-induced acute gastritis mouse models were utilized. Luciferase assays, immunoblotting analyses, overexpression strategies, and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) were performed to identify the molecular mechanisms and targets of Cs-EE. Cs-EE concentration-dependently reduced the secretion of NO and PGE2, inhibited the expression of inflammation-related cytokines in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, and decreased NF-κB- and AP-1-luciferase activity. Subsequently, we determined that Cs-EE decreased the phosphorylation events of NF-κB and AP-1 pathways. Cs-EE treatment also significantly ameliorated the inflammatory symptoms of HCl/EtOH-induced acute gastritis and LPS-induced ALI mouse models. Overexpression of HA-Src and HA-TAK1 along with CETSA experiments validated that inhibited inflammatory responses are the outcome of attenuation of Src and TAK1 activation. Taken together, these findings suggest that Cs-EE could be utilized as an anti-inflammatory remedy especially targeting against gastritis and acute lung injury by attenuating the activities of Src and TAK1.

The Asian plethodontid salamander preserves historical genetic imprints of recent northern expansion.

The Korean Peninsula, located at the southern tip of Northeast Asia, has never been covered by ice sheets and was a temperate refugium during the Pleistocene. Karsenia koreana, the sole Asian plethodontid salamander species, occurs only on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and is thought to have found various climatic refugia. Despite its phylogenetic and biogeographic importance, no population-level genetic analysis has been performed on this species. Here we study the population genetic structure of K. koreana using mitochondrial and microsatellite loci to understand the recent historical dispersion process that shaped its current distribution. Overall, the genetic distance between populations correlated well with the spatial distance, and the genetic structure among populations showed signs of a unilateral northward expansion from a southernmost refugium population. Given the distinct genetic structure formed among the populations, the level of historical gene flow among populations appears to have been very low. As the estimated effective population size of K. koreana was also small, these results suggest that the small, restricted populations of K. koreana are extremely vulnerable to environmental changes that may require high levels of genetic diversity to cope with. Thus, special management strategies are needed to preserve these remnant populations.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Gloydius saxatilis (Viperidae: Crotalinae) from Korea.

In this study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of Gloydius saxatilis using Illumina next-generation sequencing. The total length of the mitogenome was 17,223 bp, and contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), two non-coding control regions (CRs), and the origin of light (OL)-strand replication. The genome structure and order of the genes were similar to other Crotalinae species. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 13 concatenated PCGs indicated that G. saxatilis closely related to G. intermedius and, G. shedaoensis.