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Journal articleLarrieu A, Champion A, Legrand J, et al., 2016,
Corrigendum: A fluorescent hormone biosensor reveals the dynamics of jasmonate signalling in plants
, Nature Communications, Vol: 7, ISSN: 2041-1723 -
Journal articleLombardo F, Christophides GK, 2016,
Novel factors of Anopheles gambiae haemocyte immune response to Plasmodium berghei infection
, Parasites & Vectors, Vol: 9, ISSN: 1756-3305BackgroundInsect haemocytes mediate cellular immune responses (e.g., phagocytosis) and contribute to the synthesis of humoral immune factors. In previous work, a genome-wide molecular characterization of Anopheles gambiae circulating haemocytes was followed by functional gene characterization using cell-based RNAi screens. Assays were carried out to investigate the role of selected haemocyte-specific or enriched genes in phagocytosis of bacterial bio-particles, expression of the antimicrobial peptide cecropin1, and basal and induced expression of the mosquito complement factor LRIM1 (leucine-rich repeat immune gene I).FindingsHere we studied the impact of a subset of genes (37 candidates) from the haemocyte-specific dsRNA collection on the development of Plasmodium in the mosquito by in vivo gene silencing. Our screening identifies 10 novel factors with a role in the mosquito response to Plasmodium. Analysis of in vivo screening phenotypes reveals a significant anti-correlation between the prevalence of oocysts and melanised ookinetes.ConclusionsAmong novel immune genes are putative pattern recognition proteins (leucine-rich repeat, fibrinogen-domain and R-type lectins), immune modulation and signalling proteins (LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor alpha factor, LITAF and CLIP proteases), and components of extracellular matrix such as laminin and collagen. Additional identified proteins such as the storage protein hexamerin and vesicular-type ATPase (V-ATPase) are associated for the first time with the mosquito response against Plasmodium.
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Journal articleSerna Gil M, Bubeck D, Giles JL, et al., 2016,
Structural basis of complement membrane attack complex formation
, Nature Communications, Vol: 7, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 2041-1723In response to complement activation, the membrane attack complex (MAC) assembles from fluid-phase proteins to form pores in lipid bilayers. MAC directly lyses pathogens by a ‘multi-hit’ mechanism; however, sublytic MAC pores on host cells activate signalling pathways. Previous studies have described the structures of individual MAC components and subcomplexes; however, the molecular details of its assembly and mechanism of action remain unresolved. Here we report the electron cryo-microscopy structure of human MAC at subnanometre resolution. Structural analyses define the stoichiometry of the complete pore and identify a network of interaction interfaces that determine its assembly mechanism. MAC adopts a ‘split-washer’ configuration, in contrast to the predicted closed ring observed for perforin and cholesterol-dependent cytolysins. Assembly precursors partially penetrate the lipid bilayer, resulting in an irregular β-barrel pore. Our results demonstrate how differences in symmetric and asymmetric components of the MAC underpin a molecular basis for pore formation and suggest a mechanism of action that extends beyond membrane penetration.
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Journal articleDeredec A, O'Loughlin SM, Hui T-YJ, et al., 2016,
Partitioning the contributions of alternative malaria vector species
, Malaria Journal, Vol: 15, ISSN: 1475-2875BackgroundIn many locations malaria is transmitted by more than one vector species. Some vector control interventions, in particular those using genetic approaches, are likely to be targeted against a single species or species complex, at least initially, and it would therefore be useful to be able to predict the epidemiological impact of controlling a single species when multiple vector species are present.MethodsTo address this issue, the classical Ross-McDonald model of malaria epidemiology is expanded to account for multiple vector species, giving expressions for the equilibrium prevalence, sporozoite rates and reproductive number. These allow one to predict when control of just one vector species will lead to elimination of the disease. Application of the model is illustrated using published data from a particularly extensive entomological and epidemiological survey before the rollout of bed nets in eastern Kenya, where Anopheles gambiae s.l. and An. funestus were vectors.ResultsMeta-analysis indicates that sporozoite rates were 38 % higher in An. gambiae s.l. than in An. funestus, and, according to the model, this difference could be due to An. gambiae s.l. having a higher frequency of feeding on humans, a higher human-to-mosquito transmission rate, a lower adult mortality rate, and/or a shorter incubation period. Further calculations suggest that An. gambiae s.l. would have been sufficient to maintain transmission by itself throughout the region, whereas An. funestus would not have been able to support transmission by itself in Malindi District.ConclusionsPartitioning the contributions of different vector species may allow us to predict whether malaria will persist after targeted vector control.
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Journal articleLoveridge R, Wearn OR, Vieira M, et al., 2016,
Movement behaviour of native and invasive small mammals shows logging may facilitate invasion in a tropical rainforest
, Biotropica, Vol: 48, Pages: 373-380, ISSN: 1744-7429Invasive species pose one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. This study investigates the extent to which human disturbance to natural ecosystems facilitates the spread of non-native species, focusing on a small mammal community in selectively logged rainforest, Sabah, Borneo. The microhabitat preferences of the invasive Rattus rattus and three native species of small mammal were examined in three-dimensional space by combining the spool-and-line technique with a novel method for quantifying fine-scale habitat selection. These methods allowed the detection of significant differences for each species between the microhabitats used compared with alternative, available microhabitats that were avoided. Rattus rattus showed the greatest preference for heavily disturbed habitats and, in contrast to two native small mammals of the genus Maxomys, R. rattus showed high levels of arboreal behaviour, frequently leaving the forest floor and travelling through the under and mid-storey forest strata. This behaviour may enable R. rattus to effectively utilize the complex three-dimensional space of the lower strata in degraded forests, which is characterized by dense vegetation. The behavioural flexibility of R. rattus to operate in both terrestrial and arboreal space may facilitate its invasion into degraded forests. Human activities that generate heavily disturbed habitats preferred by R. rattus may promote the establishment of this invasive species in tropical forests in Borneo, and possibly elsewhere. We present this as an example of a synergistic effect, whereby forest disturbance directly threatens biodiversity, and indirectly increases the threat posed by invasive species, creating habitat conditions that facilitate the establishment of non-native fauna.
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Journal articleSternberg MJE, Ostankovitch MI, 2016,
Computation Resources for Molecular Biology: A Special Issue
, Journal of Molecular Biology, Vol: 428, Pages: 669-670, ISSN: 1089-8638 -
Conference paperAbzhanov A, 2016,
Developmental evolution of the animal face: insights into the origins of adaptive radiations
, Euro Evo-Devo Conference -
Journal articleRutherford AW, Prell J, MacKellar D, et al., 2016,
Streptomyces thermoautotrophicus does not fix nitrogen
, Scientific Reports, Vol: 6, ISSN: 2045-2322Streptomyces thermoautotrophicus UBT1 has been described as a moderately thermophilic chemolithoautotroph with a novel nitrogenase enzyme that is oxygen-insensitive. We have cultured the UBT1 strain, and have isolated two new strains (H1 and P1-2) of very similar phenotypic and genetic characters. These strains show minimal growth on ammonium-free media, and fail to incorporate isotopically labeled N2 gas into biomass in multiple independent assays. The sdn genes previously published as the putative nitrogenase of S. thermoautotrophicus have little similarity to anything found in draft genome sequences, published here, for strains H1 and UBT1, but share >99% nucleotide identity with genes from Hydrogenibacillus schlegelii, a draft genome for which is also presented here. H. schlegelii similarly lacks nitrogenase genes and is a non-diazotroph. We propose reclassification of the species containing strains UBT1, H1, and P1-2 as a non-Streptomycete, non-diazotrophic, facultative chemolithoautotroph and conclude that the existence of the previously proposed oxygen-tolerant nitrogenase is extremely unlikely.
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Journal articleOliver TH, Heard MS, Isaac NJB, et al., 2016,
A Synthesis is Emerging between Biodiversity-Ecosystem Function and Ecological Resilience Research: Reply to Mori
, TRENDS IN ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, Vol: 31, Pages: 89-92, ISSN: 0169-5347- Author Web Link
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- Citations: 17
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Journal articleLadhani SN, Giuliani MM, Biolchi A, et al., 2016,
Effectiveness of Meningococcal B Vaccine against Endemic Hypervirulent <i>Neisseria meningitidis</i> W Strain, England
, EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES, Vol: 22, Pages: 309-311, ISSN: 1080-6040 -
Journal articleMatthews S, Tobin B, 2016,
Human vulnerability in medical contexts
, THEORETICAL MEDICINE AND BIOETHICS, Vol: 37, Pages: 1-7, ISSN: 1386-7415 -
Journal articleLivingston G, Waring B, Pacheco LF, et al., 2016,
Perspectives on the Global Disparity in Ecological Science
, BIOSCIENCE, Vol: 66, Pages: 147-155, ISSN: 0006-3568- Cite
- Citations: 28
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Journal articleAaij R, Adeva B, Adinoffi M, et al., 2016,
Study of the production of A(b)(0) and (B)over-bar(0) hadrons in pp collisions and first measurement of the A(b)(0)-> J/psi pK(-) branching fraction
, Chinese Physics C, Vol: 40, ISSN: 1674-1137The product of the differential production cross-section and the branching fraction of the decay is measured as a function of the beauty hadron transverse momentum, pT, and rapidity, y. The kinematic region of the measurements is pT < 20 GeV/c and 2.0 < y < 4.5. The measurements use a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3fb−1 collected by the LHCb detector in pp collisions at centre-of-mass energies in 2011 and in 2012. Based on previous LHCb results of the fragmentation fraction ratio the branching fraction of the decay is measured to bewhere the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, the third is due to the uncertainty on the branching fraction of the decay B̅0 → J/ψK̅*(892)0, and the fourth is due to the knowledge of . The sum of the asymmetries in the production and decay between and is also measured as a function of pT and y. The previously published branching fraction of , relative to that of , is updated. The branching fractions of are determined.
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Journal articleAlbaser A, Kazana E, Bennett MH, et al., 2016,
Discovery of a Bacterial Glycoside Hydrolase Family 3 (GH3) β-Glucosidase with Myrosinase Activity from a Citrobacter Strain Isolated from Soil
, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol: 64, Pages: 1520-1527, ISSN: 1520-5118A Citrobacter strain (WYE1) was isolated from a UK soil by enrichment using the glucosinolate sinigrin as sole carbon source. The enzyme myrosinase was purified using a combination of ion exchange and gel filtration to give a pure protein of approximately 66 kDa. The N-terminal amino acid and internal peptide sequence of the purified protein were determined and used to identify the gene, which, based on InterPro sequence analysis, belongs to the family GH3, contains a signal peptide, and is a periplasmic protein with a predicted molecular mass of 71.8 kDa. A preliminary characterization was carried out using protein extracts from cell-free preparations. The apparent KM and Vmax were 0.46 mM and 4.91 mmol dm–3 min–1 mg–1, respectively, with sinigrin as substrate. The optimum temperature and pH for enzyme activity were 25 °C and 6.0, respectively. The enzyme was marginally activated with ascorbate by a factor of 1.67.
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Journal articleGallego-Sala AV, Charman DJ, Harrison SP, et al., 2016,
Climate-driven expansion of blanket bogs in Britain during the Holocene
, Climate of the Past, Vol: 12, Pages: 129-136, ISSN: 1814-9332Blanket bog occupies approximately 6 % of the area of the UK today. The Holocene expansion of this hyperoceanic biome has previously been explained as a consequence of Neolithic forest clearance. However, the present distribution of blanket bog in Great Britain can be predicted accurately with a simple model (PeatStash) based on summer temperature and moisture index thresholds, and the same model correctly predicts the highly disjunct distribution of blanket bog worldwide. This finding suggests that climate, rather than land-use history, controls blanket-bog distribution in the UK and everywhere else. We set out to test this hypothesis for blanket bogs in the UK using bioclimate envelope modelling compared with a database of peat initiation age estimates. We used both pollen-based reconstructions and climate model simulations of climate changes between the mid-Holocene (6000 yr BP, 6 ka) and modern climate to drive PeatStash and predict areas of blanket bog. We compiled data on the timing of blanket-bog initiation, based on 228 age determinations at sites where peat directly overlies mineral soil. The model predicts that large areas of northern Britain would have had blanket bog by 6000 yr BP, and the area suitable for peat growth extended to the south after this time. A similar pattern is shown by the basal peat ages and new blanket bog appeared over a larger area during the late Holocene, the greatest expansion being in Ireland, Wales, and southwest England, as the model predicts. The expansion was driven by a summer cooling of about 2 °C, shown by both pollen-based reconstructions and climate models. The data show early Holocene (pre-Neolithic) blanket-bog initiation at over half of the sites in the core areas of Scotland and northern England. The temporal patterns and concurrence of the bioclimate model predictions and initiation data suggest that climate change provides a parsimonious explanation for the early Holocene distribution and later expansion of bl
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Journal articlePfeifer M, Kor L, Nilus R, et al., 2016,
Mapping the structure of Borneo's tropical forests across a degradation gradient
, Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol: 176, Pages: 84-97, ISSN: 0034-4257South East Asia has the highest rate of lowland forest loss of any tropical region, with logging and deforestation for conversion to plantation agriculture being flagged as the most urgent threats. Detecting and mapping logging impacts on forest structure is a primary conservation concern, as these impacts feed through to changes in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Here, we test whether high-spatial resolution satellite remote sensing can be used to map the responses of aboveground live tree biomass (AGB), canopy leaf area index (LAI) and fractional vegetation cover (FCover) to selective logging and deforestation in Malaysian Borneo. We measured these attributes in permanent vegetation plots in rainforest and oil palm plantations across the degradation landscape of the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems project. We found significant mathematical relationships between field-measured structure and satellite-derived spectral and texture information, explaining up to 62% of variation in biophysical structure across forest and oil palm plots. These relationships held at different aggregation levels from plots to forest disturbance types and oil palms allowing us to map aboveground biomass and canopy structure across the degradation landscape. The maps reveal considerable spatial variation in the impacts of previous logging, a pattern that was less clear when considering field data alone. Up-scaled maps revealed a pronounced decline in aboveground live tree biomass with increasing disturbance, impacts which are also clearly visible in the field data even a decade after logging. Field data demonstrate a rapid recovery in forest canopy structure with the canopy recovering to pre-disturbance levels a decade after logging. Yet, up-scaled maps show that both LAI and FCover are still reduced in logged compared to primary forest stands and markedly lower in oil palm stands. While uncertainties remain, these maps can now be utilised to identify conservation win–win
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Journal articleNolan T, Crisanti A, 2016,
DRIVING OUT MALARIA
, Scientist, Vol: 31, Pages: 24-31 -
Journal articlePennington HG, Gheorghe DM, Damerum A, et al., 2016,
Interactions between the Powdery Mildew Effector BEC1054 and Barley Proteins Identify Candidate Host Targets
, Journal of Proteome Research, Vol: 15, Pages: 826-839, ISSN: 1535-3907There are over 500 candidate secreted effector proteins (CSEPs) or Blumeria effector candidates (BECs) specific to the barley powdery mildew pathogen Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei. The CSEP/BEC proteins are expressed and predicted to be secreted by biotrophic feeding structures called haustoria. Eight BECs are required for the formation of functional haustoria. These include the RNase-like effector BEC1054 (synonym CSEP0064). In order to identify host proteins targeted by BEC1054, recombinant BEC1054 was expressed in E. coli, solubilized, and used in pull-down assays from barley protein extracts. Many putative interactors were identified by LC-MS/MS after subtraction of unspecific binders in negative controls. Therefore, a directed yeast-2-hybrid assay, developed to measure the effectiveness of the interactions in yeast, was used to validate putative interactors. We conclude that BEC1054 may target several host proteins, including a glutathione-S-transferase, a malate dehydrogenase, and a pathogen-related-5 protein isoform, indicating a possible role for BEC1054 in compromising well-known key players of defense and response to pathogens. In addition, BEC1054 interacts with an elongation factor 1 gamma. This study already suggests that BEC1054 plays a central role in barley powdery mildew virulence by acting at several levels.
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Journal articleUgur I, Rutherford AW, Kaila VR, 2016,
Redox-coupled substrate water reorganization in the active site of Photosystem II - the role of calcium in substrate water delivery
, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Bioenergetics, Vol: 1857, Pages: 740-748, ISSN: 0005-2728Photosystem II (PSII) catalyzes light-driven water splitting in nature and is the key enzyme for energy input into the biosphere. Important details of its mechanism are not well understood. In order to understand the mechanism of water splitting, we perform here large-scale density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the active site of PSII in different oxidation, spin and ligand states. Prior to formation of the O-O bond, we find that all manganese atoms are oxidized to Mn(IV) in the S3 state, consistent with earlier studies. We find here, however, that the formation of the S3 state is coupled to the movement of a calcium-bound hydroxide (W3) from the Ca to a Mn (Mn1 or Mn4) in a process that is triggered by the formation of a tyrosyl radical (Tyr-161) and its protonated base, His-190. We find that subsequent oxidation and deprotonation of this hydroxide on Mn1 result in formation of an oxyl-radical that can exergonically couple with one of the oxo-bridges (O5), forming an O-O bond. When O2 leaves the active site, a second Ca-bound water molecule reorients to bridge the gap between the manganese ions Mn1 and Mn4, forming a new oxo-bridge for the next reaction cycle. Our findings are consistent with experimental data, and suggest that the calcium ion may control substrate water access to the water oxidation sites.
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Journal articleEngert A, Balduini C, Brand A, et al., 2016,
The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research: a consensus document.
, Haematologica, Vol: 101, Pages: 115-208, ISSN: 0390-6078The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at €23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap.The EHA Roadmap identifies nine 'sections' in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders.The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients.
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Journal articleAaij R, Beteta CA, Adeva B, et al., 2016,
Measurement of forward W and Z boson production in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV
, Journal of High Energy Physics, Vol: 2016, ISSN: 1126-6708Measurements are presented of electroweak boson production using data from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=8s=8 TeV. The analysis is based on an integrated luminosity of 2.0 fb−1 recorded with the LHCb detector. The bosons are identified in the W → μν and Z → μ + μ − decay channels. The cross-sections are measured for muons in the pseudorapidity range 2.0 < η < 4.5, with transverse momenta p T > 20 GeV/c and, in the case of the Z boson, a dimuon mass within 60<Mμ+μ−<12060<Mμ+μ−<120 GeV/c 2. The results areσW+→μ+ν=1093.6±2.1±7.2±10.9±12.7pb,σW−→μ−ν¯¯¯=818.4±1.9±5.0±7.0±9.5pb,σZ→μ+μ−=95.0±0.3±0.7±1.1±1.1pb,σW+→μ+ν=1093.6±2.1±7.2±10.9±12.7pb,σW−→μ−ν¯=818.4±1.9±5.0±7.0±9.5pb,σZ→μ+μ−=95.0±0.3±0.7±1.1±1.1pb,where the first uncertainties are statistical, the second are systematic, the third are due to the knowledge of the LHC beam energy and the fourth are due to the luminosity determination. The evolution of the W and Z boson cross-sections with centre-of-mass energy is studied using previously reported measurements with 1.0 fb−1 of data at 7 TeV. Differential distributions are also presented. Results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions at next-to-next-to-leading order in perturbative quantum chromodynamics.
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Journal articleTaylor J, Taylor G, Hare S, et al., 2016,
Structures of the DfsB protein family suggest a cationic, helical sibling-lethal factor peptide
, Journal of Molecular Biology, Vol: 428, Pages: 554-560, ISSN: 1089-8638Bacteria have developed a variety of mechanisms for survivingharsh environmental conditions, nutrient stress and overpopulation.Paenibacillus dendritiformis produces a lethal protein (Slf) that is ableto induce cell death in neighboring colonies and a phenotypic switch inmore distant ones. Slf is derived from the secreted precursor protein,DfsB, after proteolytic processing. Here, we present new crystalstructures of DfsB homologues from a variety of bacterial species and asurprising version present in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.Adopting a four-helix bundle decorated with a further three short heliceswithin intervening loops, DfsB belongs to a non-enzymatic class of theDinB fold. The structure suggests that the biologically-active Slffragment may possess a C-terminal helix rich in basic and aromaticresidues that suggest a functional mechanism akin to that for cationicantimicrobial peptides.
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Journal articleFisher RM, Bell T, West SA, 2016,
Multicellular group formation in response to predators in the alga Chlorella vulgaris
, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Vol: 29, Pages: 551-559, ISSN: 1420-9101A key step in the evolution of multicellular organisms is the formation of cooperative multicellular groups. It has been suggested that predation pressure may promote multicellular group formation in some algae and bacteria, with cells forming groups to lower their chance of being eaten. We use the green alga Chlorella vulgaris and the protist Tetrahymena thermophila to test whether predation pressure can initiate the formation of colonies. We found that: (1) either predators or just predator exoproducts promote colony formation; (2) higher predator densities cause more colonies to form; and (3) colony formation in this system is facultative, with populations returning to being unicellular when the predation pressure is removed. These results provide empirical support for the hypothesis that predation pressure promotes multicellular group formation. The speed of the reversion of populations to unicellularity suggests that this response is due to phenotypic plasticity and not evolutionary change.
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Journal articleAaij R, Beteta CA, Adeva B, et al., 2016,
Search for the lepton-flavour violating decay D0 → e±μ∓
, Physics Letters B, Vol: 754, Pages: 167-175, ISSN: 0370-2693A search for the lepton-flavour violating decay D0→e±μ∓ is made with a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of View the MathML source of proton–proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of View the MathML source and View the MathML source, collected by the LHCb experiment. Candidate D0 mesons are selected using the decay D⁎+→D0π+ and the D0→e±μ∓ branching fraction is measured using the decay mode D0→K−π+ as a normalization channel. No significant excess of D0→e±μ∓ candidates over the expected background is seen, and a limit is set on the branching fraction, B(D0→e±μ∓)<1.3×10−8, at 90% confidence level. This is an order of magnitude lower than the previous limit and it further constrains the parameter space in some leptoquark models and in supersymmetric models with R-parity violation.
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Journal articleHoogakker BAA, Smith RS, Singarayer JS, et al., 2016,
Terrestrial biosphere changes over the last 120 kyr
, Climate of the Past, Vol: 12, Pages: 51-73, ISSN: 1814-9332A new global synthesis and biomization of long (> 40 kyr) pollen-data records is presented and used with simulations from the HadCM3 and FAMOUS climate models and the BIOME4 vegetation model to analyse the dynamics of the global terrestrial biosphere and carbon storage over the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Simulated biome distributions using BIOME4 driven by HadCM3 and FAMOUS at the global scale over time generally agree well with those inferred from pollen data. Global average areas of grassland and dry shrubland, desert, and tundra biomes show large-scale increases during the Last Glacial Maximum, between ca. 64 and 74 ka BP and cool substages of Marine Isotope Stage 5, at the expense of the tropical forest, warm-temperate forest, and temperate forest biomes. These changes are reflected in BIOME4 simulations of global net primary productivity, showing good agreement between the two models. Such changes are likely to affect terrestrial carbon storage, which in turn influences the stable carbon isotopic composition of seawater as terrestrial carbon is depleted in 13C.
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Journal articleDagdas YF, Belhaj K, Maqbool A, et al., 2016,
An effector of the Irish potato famine pathogen antagonizes a host autophagy cargo receptor
, eLife, Vol: 5, ISSN: 2050-084XPlants use autophagy to safeguard against infectious diseases. However, how plant pathogens interfere with autophagy-related processes is unknown. Here, we show that PexRD54, an effector from the Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans, binds host autophagy protein ATG8CL to stimulate autophagosome formation. PexRD54 depletes the autophagy cargo receptor Joka2 out of ATG8CL complexes and interferes with Joka2's positive effect on pathogen defense. Thus, a plant pathogen effector has evolved to antagonize a host autophagy cargo receptor to counteract host defenses.
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Journal articlePigot AL, Trisos CH, Tobias JA, 2016,
Functional traits reveal the expansion and packing of ecological niche space underlying an elevational diversity gradient in passerine birds
, PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, Vol: 283, ISSN: 0962-8452 -
Journal articleGill RJ, Baldock KCR, Brown MJF, et al., 2016,
Protecting an Ecosystem Service: Approaches to Understanding and Mitigating Threats to Wild Insect Pollinators
, Advances in Ecological Research, Vol: 54, Pages: 135-206, ISSN: 0065-2504Insect pollination constitutes an ecosystem service of global importance, providing significant economic and aesthetic benefits as well as cultural value to human society, alongside vital ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems. It is therefore important to understand how insect pollinator populations and communities respond to rapidly changing environments if we are to maintain healthy and effective pollinator services. This chapter considers the importance of conserving pollinator diversity to maintain a suite of functional traits and provide a diverse set of pollinator services. We explore how we can better understand and mitigate the factors that threaten insect pollinator richness, placing our discussion within the context of populations in predominantly agricultural landscapes in addition to urban environments. We highlight a selection of important evidence gaps, with a number of complementary research steps that can be taken to better understand: (i) the stability of pollinator communities in different landscapes in order to provide diverse pollinator services; (ii) how we can study the drivers of population change to mitigate the effects and support stable sources of pollinator services and (iii) how we can manage habitats in complex landscapes to support insect pollinators and provide sustainable pollinator services for the future. We advocate a collaborative effort to gain higher quality abundance data to understand the stability of pollinator populations and predict future trends. In addition, for effective mitigation strategies to be adopted, researchers need to conduct rigorous field testing of outcomes under different landscape settings, acknowledge the needs of end-users when developing research proposals and consider effective methods of knowledge transfer to ensure effective uptake of actions.
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Journal articleGill RJ, Woodward G, 2016,
Networking our way to better ecosystem service provision
, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol: 31, Pages: 105-115, ISSN: 0169-5347The ecosystem services (EcoS) concept is being used increasingly to attach values to natural systems and the multiple benefits they provide to human societies. Ecosystem processes or functions only become EcoS if they are shown to have social and/or economic value. This should assure an explicit connection between the natural and social sciences, but EcoS approaches have been criticized for retaining little natural science. Preserving the natural, ecological science context within EcoS research is challenging because the multiple disciplines involved have very different traditions and vocabularies (common-language challenge) and span many organizational levels and temporal and spatial scales (scale challenge) that define the relevant interacting entities (interaction challenge). We propose a network-based approach to transcend these discipline challenges and place the natural science context at the heart of EcoS research.
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Journal articleLeen EN, Sorgeloos F, Correia S, et al., 2016,
A conserved interaction between a C-terminal motif in norovirus VPg and the HEAT-1 domain of eIF4G is essential for translation initiation
, PLOS Pathogens, Vol: 12, ISSN: 1553-7366Translation initiation is a critical early step in the replication cycle of the positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome of noroviruses, a major cause of gastroenteritis in humans. Norovirus RNA, which has neither a 5´ m7G cap nor an internal ribosome entry site (IRES), adopts an unusual mechanism to initiate protein synthesis that relies on interactions between the VPg protein covalently attached to the 5´-end of the viral RNA and eukaryotic initiation factors (eIFs) in the host cell. For murine norovirus (MNV) we previously showed that VPg binds to the middle fragment of eIF4G (4GM; residues 652-1132). Here we have used pull-down assays, fluorescence anisotropy, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to demonstrate that a stretch of ~20 amino acids at the C terminus of MNV VPg mediates direct and specific binding to the HEAT-1 domain within the 4GM fragment of eIF4G. Our analysis further reveals that the MNV C terminus binds to eIF4G HEAT-1 via a motif that is conserved in all known noroviruses. Fine mutagenic mapping suggests that the MNV VPg C terminus may interact with eIF4G in a helical conformation. NMR spectroscopy was used to define the VPg binding site on eIF4G HEAT-1, which was confirmed by mutagenesis and binding assays. We have found that this site is non-overlapping with the binding site for eIF4A on eIF4G HEAT-1 by demonstrating that norovirus VPg can form ternary VPg-eIF4G-eIF4A complexes. The functional significance of the VPg-eIF4G interaction was shown by the ability of fusion proteins containing the C-terminal peptide of MNV VPg to inhibit in vitro translation of norovirus RNA but not cap- or IRES-dependent translation. These observations define important structural details of a functional interaction between norovirus VPg and eIF4G and reveal a binding interface that might be exploited as a target for antiviral therapy.
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