Anthropogenic disturbance driving population decline of a dominant tree in East Asia evergreen broadleaved forests over the last 11,000 years.

Current biodiversity loss is generally considered to have been caused by anthropogenic disturbance, but it is unclear when anthropogenic activities began to affect biodiversity loss. One hypothesis suggests it began with the Industrial Revolution, whereas others propose that anthropogenic disturbance has been associated with biodiversity decline since the early Holocene. To test these hypotheses, we examined the unique vegetation of evergreen broadleaved forests (EBLFs) in East Asia, where humans have affected landscapes since the early Holocene. We adopted a genomic approach to infer the demographic history of a dominant tree (Litsea elongata) of EBLFs. We used Holocene temperature and anthropogenic disturbance factors to calculate the correlation between these variables and the historical effective population size of L. elongata with Spearman statistics and integrated the maximum-entropy niche model to determine the impact of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance on fluctuation in its effective population size. We identified 9 well-defined geographic clades for the populations of L. elongata. Based on the estimated historical population sizes of these clades, all the populations contracted, indicating persistent population decline over the last 11,000 years. Demographic history of L. elongata and human population change, change in cropland use, and change in irrigated rice area were significantly negatively correlated, whereas climate change in the Holocene was not correlated with demographic history. Our results support the early human impact hypothesis and provide comprehensive evidence that early anthropogenic disturbance may contribute to the current biodiversity crisis in East Asia.

Larval Exposure to Parasitic Varroa destructor Mites Triggers Specific Immune Responses in Different Honey Bee Castes and Species.

Innate immune systems are key defenses of animals and particularly important in species that lack the sophisticated adaptive immune systems as found in vertebrates. Here, we were interested to quantify variation in innate immune responses of insects in hosts that differ in their parasite susceptibility. To do this, we studied immune responses in honey bees, which can host a remarkable number of different parasites, which are major contributors of declining bee health and colony losses. The most significant parasite of honey bees is the mite Varroa destructor, which has infested the majority of global honey bee populations, and its control remains a major challenge for beekeepers. However, a number of nonmanaged honey bees seem able to control Varroa infections, for example, the Eastern honey bee Apis ceranacerana or the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata. These bees therefore make interesting study subjects to identify underlaying resistance traits, for example, by comparing them to more susceptible bee genotypes such as Western honey bees (A. melliferaligustica). We conducted a series of interlinked experiments and started with behavioral assays to compare the attractiveness of bee larvae to mites using different honey bee genotypes and castes. We found that 6-day-old larvae are always most attractive to mites, independently of genotype or castes. In a next step, we compared volatile profiles of the most attractive larvae to test whether they could be used by mites for host selection. We found that the abundance of volatile compounds differed between larval ages, but we also found significant differences between genotypes and castes. To further study the expected underlaying physiological differences between potentially resistant and susceptible host larvae, we compared the larval hemolymph proteomes of the three honey bee genotypes and two castes in response to mite exposure. We identified consistent upregulation of immune and stress-related genes in Varroa-exposed larvae, which differed between genotypes and castes. Tolerant honey bee castes and genotypes were characterized by stronger or more distinct immune esponses. In summary, we provide first insights into the complex involvement of the innate immune system of tolerant honey bees against mite infestations, which could be used for future breeding purposes.

Two zinc finger proteins, VdZFP1 and VdZFP2, interact with VdCmr1 to promote melanized microsclerotia development and stress tolerance in Verticillium dahliae.

BACKGROUND: Melanin plays important roles in morphological development, survival, host-pathogen interactions and in the virulence of phytopathogenic fungi. In Verticillum dahliae, increases in melanin are recognized as markers of maturation of microsclerotia which ensures the long-term survival and stress tolerance, while decreases in melanin are correlated with increased hyphal growth in the host. The conserved upstream components of the VdCmr1-regulated pathway controlling melanin production in V. dahliae have been extensively identified, but the direct activators of this pathway are still unclear. RESULTS: We identified two genes encoding conserved C2H2-type zinc finger proteins VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 adjacent to VdPKS9, a gene encoding a negative regulator of both melanin biosynthesis and microsclerotia formation in V. dahliae. Both VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 were induced during microsclerotia development and were involved in melanin deposition. Their localization changed from cytoplasmic to nuclear in response to osmotic pressure. VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 act as modulators of microsclerotia melanization in V. dahliae, as confirmed by melanin biosynthesis inhibition and supplementation with the melanin pathway intermediate scytalone in albino strains. The results indicate that VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 participate in melanin biosynthesis by positively regulating VdCmr1. Based on the results obtained with yeast one- and two-hybrid (Y1H and Y2H) and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) systems, we determined the melanin biosynthesis relies on the direct interactions among VdZFP1, VdZFP2 and VdCmr1, and these interactions occur on the cell walls of microsclerotia. Additionally, VdZFP1 and/or VdZFP2 mutants displayed increased sensitivity to stress factors rather than alterations in pathogenicity, reflecting the importance of melanin in stress tolerance of V. dahliae. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed that VdZFP1 and VdZFP2 positively regulate VdCmr1 to promote melanin deposition during microsclerotia development, providing novel insight into the regulation of melanin biosynthesis in V. dahliae.

Spatiotemporal mode-locked fiber laser based on dual-resonance coupling long-period fiber grating.

Spatiotemporal mode-locked (STML) fiber lasers have become an excellent platform in nonlinear optics research due to the rich nonlinear evolution process. In order to overcome modal walk-off and realize phase locking of different transverse modes, it is usually crucial to reduce the modal group delay difference in the cavity. In this paper, we use long-period fiber grating (LPFG) to compensate the large modal dispersion and differential modal gain in the cavity, realizing the spatiotemporal mode-locking in step-index fibers cavity. The LPFG inscribed in few-mode fiber could induce strong mode coupling, which has wide operation bandwidth based on dual-resonance coupling mechanism. By using dispersive Fourier transform involved intermodal interference, we show that there is a stable phase difference between the transverse modes constituting the spatiotemporal soliton. These results would be beneficial for the study of spatiotemporal mode-locked fiber lasers.

High-order mode erbium-doped fiber laser based on cavity LPFG converters.

We experimentally investigate high-order mode (HOM) generation at a wavelength of 1.5 µm in an all-fiber erbium-doped laser based on a long-period fiber grating (LPFG). The CW laser emission is achieved when the pump power is above the threshold of 10 mW. An LPFG with a 15 dB bandwidth of 147.76 nm from 1502.76 nm to 1650.52 nm is used as a mode converter inside the cavity. The generation of the broadband L P 11 mode is ultimately obtained. By using a few-mode output coupler, we can obtain the intracavity conversion of the linear polarization mode. Single-, dual-, triple-, and quadruple-wavelength operations can be achieved by changing the polarization state of the polarization controllers in the cavity. The tunable range of the output wavelengths is up to ∼23.20n m. The output power and slope efficiency of the HOMs are presented and discussed. We believe our work might benefit the investigation of HOM fiber lasers, and might be further applied to the intracavity conversion of the linear polarization mode or orbital angular momentum beams.

A polyketide synthase from Verticillium dahliae modulates melanin biosynthesis and hyphal growth to promote virulence.

BACKGROUND: During the disease cycle, plant pathogenic fungi exhibit a morphological transition between hyphal growth (the phase of active infection) and the production of long-term survival structures that remain dormant during "overwintering." Verticillium dahliae is a major plant pathogen that produces heavily melanized microsclerotia (MS) that survive in the soil for 14 or more years. These MS are multicellular structures produced during the necrotrophic phase of the disease cycle. Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are responsible for catalyzing production of many secondary metabolites including melanin. While MS contribute to long-term survival, hyphal growth is key for infection and virulence, but the signaling mechanisms by which the pathogen maintains hyphal growth are unclear. RESULTS: We analyzed the VdPKSs that contain at least one conserved domain potentially involved in secondary metabolism (SM), and screened the effect of VdPKS deletions in the virulent strain AT13. Among the five VdPKSs whose deletion affected virulence on cotton, we found that VdPKS9 acted epistatically to the VdPKS1-associated melanin pathway to promote hyphal growth. The decreased hyphal growth in VdPKS9 mutants was accompanied by the up-regulation of melanin biosynthesis and MS formation. Overexpression of VdPKS9 transformed melanized hyphal-type (MH-type) into the albinistic hyaline hyphal-type (AH-type), and VdPKS9 was upregulated in the AH-type population, which also exhibited higher virulence than the MH-type. CONCLUSIONS: We show that VdPKS9 is a powerful negative regulator of both melanin biosynthesis and MS formation in V. dahliae. These findings provide insight into the mechanism of how plant pathogens promote their virulence by the maintenance of vegetative hyphal growth during infection and colonization of plant hosts, and may provide novel targets for the control of melanin-producing filamentous fungi.

High-efficiency broadband third-order OAM mode converter based on a multi-period preset-twist long-period fiber grating.

All-fiber mode converters for generating orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams have many applications in optical communications, optical sensing and lasers. Currently, it is a great challenge to use a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) to broadband excite high-order OAM modes above the second-order. Here, we demonstrate a preset-twist LPFG fabrication method, which introduces asymmetry in the refractive index modulation area, for efficient generation of third-order modes. Through optimization, the generation of third-order OAM modes with 99.55% conversion efficiency, 0.81 dB insertion loss, and over 99% purity is achieved with only 40 pitch number. In addition, a multi-period preset-twist LPFG is proposed and demonstrated to achieve the excitation of broadband third-order mode with conversion efficiency of more than 99%, insertion loss of less than 1 dB, and mode purity of more than 90%. The 15 dB bandwidth (96.8% conversion efficiency) of the LPFG is 109 nm in the wavelength range from 1475 nm to 1584 nm, and the 20 dB bandwidth (99% conversion efficiency) of the LPFG is 92 nm from 1488 nm to 1580 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to generate efficient and broadband third-order mode using a long-period fiber grating.

The Neuroproteomic Basis of Enhanced Perception and Processing of Brood Signals That Trigger Increased Reproductive Investment in Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Workers.

The neuronal basis of complex social behavior is still poorly understood. In honeybees, reproductive investment decisions are made at the colony-level. Queens develop from female-destined larvae that receive alloparental care from nurse bees in the form of ad-libitum royal jelly (RJ) secretions. Typically, the number of raised new queens is limited but genetic breeding of "royal jelly bees" (RJBs) for enhanced RJ production over decades has led to a dramatic increase of reproductive investment in queens. Here, we compare RJBs to unselected Italian bees (ITBs) to investigate how their cognitive processing of larval signals in the mushroom bodies (MBs) and antennal lobes (ALs) may contribute to their behavioral differences. A cross-fostering experiment confirms that the RJB syndrome is mainly due to a shift in nurse bee alloparental care behavior. Using olfactory conditioning of the proboscis extension reflex, we show that the RJB nurses spontaneously respond more often to larval odors compared with ITB nurses but their subsequent learning occurs at similar rates. These phenotypic findings are corroborated by our demonstration that the proteome of the brain, particularly of the ALs differs between RJBs and ITBs. Notably, in the ALs of RJB newly emerged bees and nurses compared with ITBs, processes of energy and nutrient metabolism, signal transduction are up-regulated, priming the ALs for receiving and processing the brood signals from the antennae. Moreover, highly abundant major royal jelly proteins and hexamerins in RJBs compared with ITBs during early life when the nervous system still develops suggest crucial new neurobiological roles for these well-characterized proteins. Altogether, our findings reveal that RJBs have evolved a strong olfactory response to larvae, enabled by numerous neurophysiological adaptations that increase the nurse bees' alloparental care behavior.

Suppression of Endothelial AGO1 Promotes Adipose Tissue Browning and Improves Metabolic Dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes mellitus can cause dysfunction of endothelial cells (ECs) and vascular rarefaction in adipose tissues. However, the modulatory role of ECs in adipose tissue function is not fully understood. Other than vascular endothelial growth factor-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-mediated angiogenic signaling, little is known about the EC-derived signals in adipose tissue regulation. We previously identified Argonaute 1 (AGO1; a key component of microRNA-induced silencing complex) as a crucial regulator in hypoxia-induced angiogenesis. In this study, we intend to determine the AGO1-mediated EC transcriptome, the functional importance of AGO1-regulated endothelial function in vivo, and the relevance to adipose tissue function and obesity. METHODS: We generated and subjected mice with EC-AGO1 deletion (EC-AGO1-knockout [KO]) and their wild-type littermates to a fast food-mimicking, high-fat high-sucrose diet and profiled the metabolic phenotypes. We used crosslinking immunoprecipitation- and RNA-sequencing to identify the AGO1-mediated mechanisms underlying the observed metabolic phenotype of EC-AGO1-KO. We further leveraged cell cultures and mouse models to validate the functional importance of the identified molecular pathway, for which the translational relevance was explored using human endothelium isolated from healthy donors and donors with obesity/type 2 diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: We identified an antiobesity phenotype of EC-AGO1-KO, evident by lower body weight and body fat, improved insulin sensitivity, and enhanced energy expenditure. At the organ level, we observed the most significant phenotype in the subcutaneous and brown adipose tissues of KO mice, with greater vascularity and enhanced browning and thermogenesis. Mechanistically, EC-AGO1 suppression results in inhibition of thrombospondin-1 (THBS1/TSP1), an antiangiogenic and proinflammatory cytokine that promotes insulin resistance. In EC-AGO1-KO mice, overexpression of TSP1 substantially attenuated the beneficial phenotype. In human endothelium isolated from donors with obesity or type 2 diabetes mellitus, AGO1 and THBS1 are expressed at higher levels than the healthy controls, supporting a pathological role of this pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests a novel mechanism by which ECs, through the AGO1-TSP1 pathway, control vascularization and function of adipose tissues, insulin sensitivity, and whole-body metabolic state.

In-depth Proteome of the Hypopharyngeal Glands of Honeybee Workers Reveals Highly Activated Protein and Energy Metabolism in Priming the Secretion of Royal Jelly.

Royal jelly (RJ) is a secretion of the hypopharyngeal glands (HGs) of honeybee workers. High royal jelly producing bees (RJBs), a stock of honeybees selected from Italian bees (ITBs), have developed a stronger ability to produce RJ than ITBs. However, the mechanism underpinning the high RJ-producing performance in RJBs is still poorly understood. We have comprehensively characterized and compared the proteome across the life span of worker bees between the ITBs and RJBs. Our data uncover distinct molecular landscapes that regulate the gland ontogeny and activity corresponding with age-specific tasks. Nurse bees (NBs) have a well-developed acini morphology and cytoskeleton of secretory cells in HGs to prime the gland activities of RJ secretion. In RJB NBs, pathways involved in protein synthesis and energy metabolism are functionally induced to cement the enhanced RJ secretion compared with ITBs. In behavior-manipulated RJB NBs, the strongly expressed proteins implicated in protein synthesis and energy metabolism further demonstrate their critical roles in the regulation of RJ secretion. Our findings provide a novel understanding of the mechanism consolidating the high RJ-output in RJBs.

Dieback and Leaf Spot in Box Elder (Acer negundo) Caused by Exserohilum rostratum.

Leaf spot and dieback were observed on box elder (Acer negundo) grown in a nursery in Tai'an city, Shandong Province, China, in 2019, with a disease incidence of 86%. The incidences of Exserohilum rostratum isolation were 75% from the shoots and 66.6% from the leaves of field-infected plants. Isolates were identified at the species level on the basis of morphological characteristics and through phylogenetic analysis of concatenated partial sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and cam, gapdh, tef1, rpb2, tub2, and his genes from the Exserohilum isolates. The effects of temperature on the mycelial growth of the Exserohilum rostratum isolates were also characterized. In greenhouse tests, seedlings inoculated with the pathogen exhibited systemic symptoms similar to those observed in the field. In pathogenicity experiments on shoots, wounded seedlings were observed to be blighted, suggesting that leaf spot and dieback may develop into more severe blight or dieback when high winds, sudden temperature decreases, or insect infestations occur. To our knowledge, this is the first report of dieback and leaf spot caused by E. rostratum on a species of A. negundo.

Wavelength-Tunable, Ultra-Broadband, Biconical, Long-Period Fiber Grating Mode Converter Based on the Dual-Resonance Effect.

We demonstrated a wavelength-tunable, ultra-wideband, biconical, long-period fiber grating (BLPFG) mode converter in a two-mode fiber based on fusion taper technology and CO2 laser writing technology. Theoretical and experimental results show that after changing the diameter of the two-mode fiber by fusing and tapering, the dispersion turning point of the fiber is adjusted and wavelength-tunable broadband mode conversion is achieved efficiently. Theoretical simulation shows that the mode conversion bandwidth can cover the O + E + S + C band. In the experiment, we fabricated adiabatic tapers with cladding diameters of 113 µm and 121 µm and wrote gratings on these tapers to achieve dual-resonance coupling, thus realizing mode conversion from LP01 to LP11, with a 15 dB bandwidth of 148.8 nm from 1229.0 nm to 1377.8 nm and of 168.5 nm from 1319.7 nm to 1488.2 nm, respectively. As far as we know, this is the first time that fusion taper technology has been used to adjust the window of the dual-resonant coupling of an optical fiber. This work broadens the scope of application of the dual-resonance effect and proposes a general method for widening the bandwidth of a fiber grating with tunable wavelength.

[Osteogenic Capacity and Mettl14 and Notch1 Expression of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells from Osteoporotic Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences in the osteogenic capacity of osteoporotic adipose-derived stem cells (OP-ASCs) and normal control adipose-derived stem cells (Ctrl-ASCs), and to examine the expression levels of RNA methyltransferase like 14 (Mettl14) and the Notch signaling molecule 1 (Notch1). METHODS: The osteoporosis (OP) model of SD rats was established with ovariectomy (OVX). Micro-CT, HE staining and Masson staining were performed to identify the successful establishment of the OP model, OP-ASCs and Ctrl-ASCs were isolated and cultured adherently. Then, the three-way differentiation capacity of the adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) was determined through alizarin red staining, alcian blue staining and oil red O staining and flow cytometry was conducted to examine the surface antigens CD29, CD44, CD90, CD31, CD34, and CD45. Alizarin red staining and comparison of the mRNA and protein expression of Run-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) were done to explore the differences in osteogenic potential of OP-ASCs and Ctrl-ASCs. Real-time PCR and Western blot were performed to explore the expression differences of Mettl14 and Notch1 at mRNA and protein levels between OP-ASCs and Ctrl-ASCs. RESULTS: Micro-CT, HE and Masson staining results showed that the number of trabecular bone decreased and the spacing increased in the tibias of the osteoporosis group (OP group) compared with those of the control group (Ctrl group), indicating that the OP model was established successfully. Three-way differentiation and flow cytometry results confirmed the successful isolation and culture of ASCs. After osteogenic induction, alizarin red staining showed that OP-ASCs had fewer number and more scattered distribution of mineralized nodules than Ctrl-ASCs did. The expression of Runx2 in OP-ASCs was lower than that in Ctrl-ASCs ( P<0.05). Mettl14 as well as Notch1 showed lower expression in OP-ASCs than they did in Ctrl-ASCs ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The osteogenic capacity of OP-ASCs was lower compared with that of Ctrl-ASCs, Mettl14 expression of OP-ASCs was decreased compared with that of Ctrl-ASCs, and the Notch signaling pathway was inhibited in OP-ASCs. The study helps build the foundation for further investigation in the specific mechanisms of Mettl14 and Notch1 during osteogenic differentiation of OP-ASCs.

Quantitative proteomics identified 3 oxidative phosphorylation genes with clinical prognostic significance in gastric cancer.

The aim of the present study was to explore the underlying mechanisms involved in gastric cancer (GC) formation using data-independent acquisition (DIA) quantitative proteomics analysis. We identified the differences in protein expression and related functions involved in biological metabolic processes in GC. Totally, 745 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were found in GC tissues vs. gastric normal tissues. Despite enormous complexity in the details of the underlying regulatory network, we find that clusters of proteins from the DEPs were mainly involved in 38 pathways. All of the identified DEPs involved in oxidative phosphorylation were down-regulated. Moreover, GC possesses significantly altered biological metabolic processes, such as NADH dehydrogenase complex assembly and tricarboxylic acid cycle, which is mostly consistent with that in KEGG analysis. Furthermore the higher expression of UQCRQ, NDUFB7 and UQCRC2 were positively correlated with a better prognosis, implicating these proteins may as novel candidate diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

SOX2-induced upregulation of lncRNA LINC01561 promotes non-small-cell lung carcinoma progression by sponging miR-760 to modulate SHCBP1 expression.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to have critical regulatory roles in tumorigenesis. lncRNA LINC01561 (LINC01561) is a newly identified tumor-related lncRNA and its dysregulation has been demonstrated in several tumors. However, whether LINC01561 is involved in the progression of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and its underlying mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we first provided evidence that LINC01561 expressions were distinctly upregulated in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Combining with bioinformatics assays and mechanism experiments, our group demonstrated that LINC01561 was activated by SOX2 in NSCLC. Clinical research revealed that upregulation of LINC01561 was related to poorer clinicopathologic features and shorter survival time. Functionally, suppression of LINC01561 exhibited tumor-suppressive functions through impairing cell proliferation, migration, and invasion as well as inducing apoptosis. Moreover, we verified that LINC01561 could directly bind to miR-760, isolating miR-760 from its target gene SHC SH2 domain-binding protein 1 (SHCBP1). We also found that SHCBP1 was lowly expressed in NSCLC and served as a tumor promoter. A functional study indicated that LINC01561 regulated SHCBP1 expression by competitively binding to miR-760. In summary, our findings indicated that SOX2-induced overexpression of LINC01561 promoted the proliferation and metastasis by acting as a competing endogenous RNA to modulate SHCBP1 by sponging miR-760.

Real-time observation of multi-soliton asynchronous pulsations in an L-band dissipative soliton fiber laser.

Based on the experimental platform of an L-band normal-dispersion mode-locked fiber laser, we report the first observation, to our knowledge, of three novel types of multi-soliton asynchronous pulsation phenomena by virtue of the dispersive Fourier transform technique. The experimental results provide new insights into the complex multi-soliton dynamics under unstable mode-locking conditions. It is confirmed that more than one pulsating solution can coexist in a multi-pulse situation and that each soliton may evolve periodically in different ways. This implies that subsequent experimental and theoretical studies on multi-soliton need to take the differences among pulses into account and retrieve more degrees of freedom.

Proteomics Reveals the Molecular Underpinnings of Stronger Learning and Memory in Eastern Compared to Western Bees.

The eastern (Apis cerana cerana, Acc) and western (Apis mellifera ligustica, Aml) honeybee are two major honeybee species. Surprisingly, little is known about the fundamental molecular neurobiology of brain suborgans of Acc and Aml. We characterized and compared the proteomes of mushroom bodies (MBs), antennal lobes (ALs) and optical lobes (OLs) in the brain of both species, and biologically validated the functions related to learning and memory. Acc and Aml have evolved similar proteome signatures in MBs and OLs to drive the domain-specific neural activities. In MBs of both species, commonly enriched and enhanced functional groups related to protein metabolism and Ca2+ transport relative to ALs and OLs, suggests that proteins and Ca2+ are vital for consolidating learning and memory via modulation of synaptic structure and signal transduction. Furthermore, in OLs of both species, the mainly enriched ribonucleoside metabolism suggests its vital role as second messenger in promoting phototransduction. Notably, in ALs of both species, distinct proteome settings have shaped to prime olfactory learning and memory. In ALs of Acc, this is supported by the enriched cytoskeleton organization to sustain olfactory signaling through modulation of plasticity in glomeruli and intracellular transport. In ALs of Aml, however, the enriched functional groups implicated in hydrogen ion transport are indicative of their importance in supporting olfactory processes by regulation of synaptic transmission. The biological confirmation of enhanced activities of protein metabolism and signal transduction in ALs and MBs of Acc relative to in Aml demonstrates that a stronger sense of olfactory learning and memory has evolved in Acc. The reported first in-depth proteome data of honeybee brain suborgans provide a novel insight into the molecular basis of neurobiology, and is potentially useful for further neurological studies in honeybees and other insects.

Stem Canker on Cyclocarya paliurus Is Caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea.

Cyclocarya paliurus, an important endangered plant in China, has considerable medicinal, timber, and horticultural value. However, little is known about diseases that affect its health. In recent years, stem canker diseases on C. paliurus have been observed frequently in newly established nurseries in Jiangsu Province, China. Symptomatic trees showed elliptical, sunken lesions on the bark, with internal discoloration, leading to enlarging cankers with delineated margins. Pathogenicity tests with fungi isolated from symptomatic samples reproduced typical canker symptoms on both detached branches and potted plants of C. paliurus. Moreover, conidia from pycnidia of isolate ZB-23 could also cause stem canker on C. paliurus. Through combined morphological observation and DNA sequences of ITS region, ß-tubulin, and translation elongation factor 1-α genes, the pathogen was identified as Botryosphaeria dothidea. Multigene maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony phylogenetic analyses further supported the identification of the pathogen. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. dothidea causing stem canker on C. paliurus in China.

Behavioural, physiological and molecular changes in alloparental caregivers may be responsible for selection response for female reproductive investment in honey bees.

Reproductive investment is a central life history variable that influences all aspects of life. Hormones coordinate reproduction in multicellular organisms, but the mechanisms controlling the collective reproductive investment of social insects are largely unexplored. One important aspect of honey bee (Apis mellifera) reproductive investment consists of raising female-destined larvae into new queens by alloparental care of nurse bees in form of royal jelly provisioning. Artificial selection for commercial royal jelly production over 40 years has increased this reproductive investment by an order of magnitude. In a cross-fostering experiment, we establish that this shift in social phenotype is caused by nurse bees. We find no evidence for changes in larval signalling. Instead, the antennae of the nurse bees of the selected stock are more responsive to brood pheromones than control bees. Correspondingly, the selected royal jelly bee nurses are more attracted to brood pheromones than unselected control nurses. Comparative proteomics of the antennae from the selected and unselected stocks indicate putative molecular mechanisms, primarily changes in chemosensation and energy metabolism. We report expression differences of several candidate genes that correlate with the differences in reproductive investment. The functional relevance of these genes is supported by demonstrating that the corresponding proteins can competitively bind one previously described and one newly discovered brood pheromone. Thus, we suggest several chemosensory genes, most prominently OBP16 and CSP4, as candidate mechanisms controlling queen rearing, a key reproductive investment, in honey bees. These findings reveal novel aspects of pheromonal communication in honey bees and explain how sensory changes affect communication and lead to a drastic shift in colony-level resource allocation to sexual reproduction. Thus, pheromonal and hormonal communication may play similar roles for reproductive investment in superorganisms and multicellular organisms, respectively.

Magnetic Resonance Elastography in the Assessment of Acute Effects of Kinesio Taping on Lumbar Paraspinal Muscles.

BACKGROUND: Kinesio tape (KT) is an elastic therapeutic tape used for treating sports-related injuries and a number of other disorders. To date, the objective evidence to link pathophysiological effects and actual reactions triggered by KT is limited. PURPOSE: To explore the effect of KT on the lumbar paraspinal muscles by magnetic resonance (MR) elastography. STUDY TYPE: Prospective observational study. POPULATION: Sixty-six asymptomatic volunteers with 31 women and 35 men. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T MRI and elastography with vibration frequency of 120 Hz. ASSESSMENT: The 5-cm-width KT with full tension was placed on a single side of the lumbar paraspinal muscle. The taping side and adhering direction were randomly decided. Two rectangular regions of interest (ROIs) of 5- and 2.5-cm-width were positioned at the bilateral paraspinal regions from the L2 to L4 level on the confidence map of MR elastography before and after KT taping. The mean shear stiffness values of the ROIs at the superficial, middle, and deep depths were recorded; then the differences between the taping and reference sides were calculated. STATISTICAL TESTS: Paired t-test and Pearson correlations were used to evaluate the stiffness changes after KT application and intraoperator errors of the stiffness measures on the reference side, respectively. RESULTS: A significant decrease in the muscle stiffness value between taping and reference sides (-0.71 kPa ± 0.60 with KT and -0.25 kPa ± 0.78 without KT, P < 0.0001 for 5-cm ROI; -0.67 kPa ± 1.12 with KT and -0.16 kPa ± 1.17 without KT, P = 0.0004 for 2.5-cm ROI) was found in the superficial depth, but no significant differences in the middle and deep depths (P = 0.25 and P = 0.79 for 5-cm ROI; P = 0.09 and P = 0.67 for 2.5-cm ROI, respectively). There were no significant differences of muscle stiffness differences between gender (P = 0.11 for superficial, P = 0.37 for middle, P = 0.78 for deep) and taping direction (P = 0.18 for superficial, P = 0.13 for middle, P = 0.15 for deep). DATA CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that KT can reduce the MR elastography-derived shear stiffness in the superficial depth of paraspinal muscles. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:1039-1045.