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DNA barcoding della fauna ittica minore in provincia di Bolzano
No full textLa fauna ittica della Provincia di Bolzano conta attualmente almeno 35 specie definite perlopiù su base morfologica ed è in buona parte quella del distretto biogeografico Padano-Veneto, dove quasi tutte le specie si differenziano da quelle presenti a nord delle Alpi. In passato, pesci d’oltre Brennero sono stati ripetutamente immessi in Provincia di Bolzano. Negli ultimi anni sono stati condotti diversi studi genetici su specie ittiche di interesse alieutico, come la trota marmorata, il barbo, il temolo ed il luccio. Della cosiddetta “fauna ittica minore”, invece, sono state analizzate solo alcune specie autoctone di rilevanza conservazionistica. L’obiettivo del progetto è chiarire attraverso analisi genetiche quali altre specie della fauna ittica minore siano effettivamente presenti in Provincia di Bolzano. Una corretta identificazione tassonomica è essenziale per distinguere le specie autoctone da quelle alloctone e per riconoscere eventuali popolazioni minacciate e quindi meritevoli di tutela. Nel caso delle specie alloctone è poi importante conoscere e comprendere la storia della loro introduzione e diffusione, informazioni essenziali per la tutela e la gestione appropriata della fauna ittica. Il progetto ha previsto l’analisi, con il marcatore molecolare COI, di circa 500 campioni genetici da altrettanti individui, rappresentativi di differenti popolazioni e di 10 generi di pesci: Alburnus, Carassius, Cobitis, Gambusia, Gasterosteus, Padogobius, Rutilus, Sabanejewia, Scardinius e Squalius. I pesci, campionati tramite elettropesca, sono stati pesati, misurati, fotografati, e prima del loro rilascio in natura, è stato prelevato un frammento di pinna anale per le analisi genetiche. Il progetto è finanziato dal Fondo di Ricerca dei Musei Provinciali dell’Alto Adige.The fish fauna of Bolzano Province nowadays numbers at least 35 species mostly defined on morphological basis. The majority of originally occurring fish were presumably native to the northern Adriatic catchment, as the alpine divide is considered for fish an absolute migratory barrier. However in the past, fish from north of the Alps have been repeatedly introduced in the Province of Bolzano. In recent years, several genetic studies have been conducted on fish species of angling interest, such as marble trout, barbel, grayling and pike. On the other hand, among the so called “minor fish fauna” only a few native species of conservation relevance have been analyzed. The aim of the project is to clarify, through genetic analysis, which species of the minor fish fauna are occurring in the Province of Bolzano. In facts, proper taxonomic identification is essential to distinguish native f rom allochthonous species and to recognize any threatened populations deserving protection. In the case of allochthonous species it is important to know and understand the history of their introduction and spread. All this information is essential for the appropriate protection and management of fish fauna. A total of about 500 genetic samples representative of different populations from 10 fish genera: Alburnus, Carassius, Cobitis, Gambusia, Gasterosteus, Padogobius, Rutilus, Sabanejewia, Scardinius, and Squalius, were planned to be analyzed with the molecular marker COI. Fish sampled by electrofishing were weighed, measured, photographed, and before their release into the wild, a fragment of anal fin was taken for genetic analysis. The project is funded by the Research Fund of the Musei Provinciali dell’Alto Adige
A systematic review of Aedes aegypti population dynamics models based on differential equations
No full textThe global spread of Aedes aegypti and the associated public health risk have stimulated the development of several mathematical models to predict population dynamics in response to biological or environmental changes in real, future, or simulated scenarios. The aim of this study is to identify published articles on differential equation-based population dynamics models of Aedes aegypti, highlight their differences and commonalities, and examine their application in surveillance and control programs. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted in seven electronic databases (Scopus, PUBMED, IEEE Xplore, Science Direct, DOAJ, Scielo, and Google Scholar), with the last update on 8 February 2023. The initial search yielded 513 studies, of which 31 were finally selected. The articles analyzed showed great variability in the equations, processes, and variables included, with temperature being the most common environmental factor. Only a few models incorporated spatial heterogeneity or validation methods. Our findings suggest that improving the generation of temporal and spatially explicit forecasts through interdisciplinary collaboration, the use of new technologies, and validation with field data is essential for these models to effectively support public health efforts. Differential equation-based population dynamics models offer valuable insights and could greatly benefit mosquito surveillance programs if standardized and tailored to relevant scale
Anthropogenic vs. natural habitats: higher microbial biodiversity pays the trade-off of lower connectivity
Get PDFClimate change and anthropogenic disturbances are known to influence soil biodiversity. The objectives of this study were to compare the community composition, species coexistence patterns, and ecological assembly processes of soil microbial communities in a paired setting featuring a natural and an anthropogenic ecosystem facing each other at identical climatic, pedological, and vegetational conditions. A transect gradient from forest to seashore allowed for sampling across different habitats within both sites. The field survey was carried out at two adjacent strips of land within the Po River delta lagoon system (Veneto, Italy) one of which is protected within a natural preserve and the other has been converted for decades into a tourist resort. The anthropogenic pressure interestingly led to an increase in the α-diversity of soil microbes but was accompanied by a reduction in β-diversity. The community assembly mechanisms of microbial communities differentiate in natural and anthropic ecosystems: for bacteria, in natural ecosystems deterministic variables and homogeneous selection play a main role (51.92%), while stochastic dispersal limitation (52.15%) is critical in anthropized ecosystems; for fungi, stochastic dispersal limitation increases from 38.1% to 66.09% passing from natural to anthropized ecosystems. We are on calcareous sandy soils and in more natural ecosystems a variation of topsoil pH favors the deterministic selection of bacterial communities, while a divergence of K availability favors stochastic selection. In more anthropized ecosystems, the deterministic variable selection is influenced by the values of SOC. Microbial networks in the natural system exhibited higher numbers of nodes and network edges, as well as higher averages of path length, weighted degree, clustering coefficient, and density than its equivalent sites in the more anthropically impacted environment. The latter on the other hand presented a stronger modularity. Although the influence of stochastic processes increases in anthropized habitats, niche-based selection also proves to impose constraints on communities. Overall, the functionality of the relationships between groups of microorganisms co-existing in communities appeared more relevant to the concept of functional biodiversity in comparison to the plain number of their different taxa. Fewer but functionally more organized lineages displayed traits underscoring a better use of the resources than higher absolute numbers of taxa when those are not equally interconnected in their habitat exploitation. However, considering that network complexity can have important implications for microbial stability and ecosystem multifunctionality, the extinction of complex ecological interactions in anthropogenic habitats may impair important ecosystem services that soils provide u
DNA barcoding of minor fish fauna in South Tyrol
No full textThe fish fauna of South Tyrol nowadays numbers at least 35 species mostly defined on morphological basis. The majority of originally occurring fish were presumably native to the northern Adriatic catchment, as the alpine divide is considered an absolute migratory barrier for fish. However, in the past fish from north of the Alps have been repeatedly introduced in South Tyrol. In recent years, several genetic studies have been conducted on fish species of angling interest, such as marble trout, barbel, grayling, and pike. On the other hand, among the so called “minor fish fauna” only a few native species of conservation relevance have been analyzed. The aim of the project is to clarify, through genetic analysis, which species of the minor fish fauna are occurring in South Tyrol. In fact, proper taxonomic identification is essential to distinguish native from allochthonous species and to recognize any threatened populations deserving protection. In the case of allochthonous species it is important to know and understand the history of their introduction and spread. All this information is essential for the appropriate protection and management of fish fauna. A total of about 500 genetic samples representative of different populations from 10 fish genera: Alburnus, Carassius, Cobitis, Gambusia, Gasterosteus, Padogobius, Rutilus, Sabanejewia, Scardinius, and Squalius were planned to be analyzed with the molecular marker COI. Fish sampled by electrofishing were weighed, measured, photographed, and before their release into the wild, a fragment of anal fin was taken for genetic analysis. The project is funded by the Research Fund of the Betrieb Landesmuseen
Innovative IoT sensor technology for enhanced ground-based validation of satellite data in remote forests
No full textForests are pivotal in the global carbon cycle, acting as either carbon sinks or sources depending on various natural and anthropogenic factors. Understanding these dynamics, particularly in remote and hard-to-reach forests, is crucial for addressing climate change. The RemoTrees project, aims to bridge the gap between satellite Earth Observations (EO) and in-situ data to improve the accuracy and reliability of carbon flux assessments in these critical ecosystems. RemoTrees focuses on the development and deployment of advanced IoT multi-sensorial devices designed to monitor physiological and radiometric parameters of forests. These devices provide real-time, high-resolution data on variables such as under the canopy VIS-NIR data, soil moisture and sap flow with a particular focus on radiometric parameters which are vital for understanding forest health and carbon dynamics. By installing these sensors in remote forests, we can gather comprehensive ground-based data that is currently lacking, thus enabling more accurate validation and calibration of satellite-derived measurements. Our approach leverages EO data to model and predict the impacts of extreme climate events (e.g., storms, droughts, heatwaves, heavy precipitations) and human activities (e.g., logging, land use changes, soil protection practices) on the carbon cycle. By integrating IoT sensor data with satellite observations, RemoTrees enhances the capability to detect early signs of carbon losses or gains in biomass and soil, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of terrestrial carbon pools. The outcomes of RemoTrees will provide critical insights into the role of remote forests in the global carbon cycle and their response to environmental stressors. This will support the development of more effective conservation and management strategies, ultimately aiding in the global effort to mitigate climate change. Our presentation will showcase the technological innovations of the RemoTrees project, preliminary data from previous installations of TT-Cyber devices, which are the baseline for the RemoTrees devices, and the implications for future EO-based carbon cycle studie
Tracing traits to ancestral origins: streamlined pedigree visualization for efficient crop breeding
No full textCrop breeding efficiency is enhanced when acknowledging the ancestral roots of a specific trait of interest. This quest for ancestral origins entails tracking the traitsRSQUO inheritance across closely related individuals and among successive generations. This knowledge proves to be helpful to reveal the transmission of certain alleles in both breeding programs and genetic diversity and conservation studies, particularly in unravelling the variability of highly conserved traits linked to common ancestors. These fundamental principles can be understood through pedigree-based analyses that estimate allelic probabilities based on identity by descent (IBD). However, pedigree explorations can become challenging when dealing with a large number of individuals with intricate relationships between them, a scenario often found in crop species where multi-generational crosses take place, such as in grapevine (Vitis spp.). To address this challenge, visualization tools can provide straightforward pedigree reconstruction views to enable the tracing of traits to ancestral origins in an unconvoluted way. In this work, we use an innovative, user-friendly tool designed to visualize pedigree relationships through force-graph networks. As a case study, this versatile application has been used to visualize the ancestral origins of historical phenotypic black rot (BR) resistance data in grapevine pedigree
Exploring UPLC‐QTOF-MS‐based targeted and untargeted approaches for understanding wine mouthfeel: a sensometabolomic approach
Get PDFThis study aimed to establish relationships between wine composition and in-mouth sensory properties using a sensometabolomic approach. Forty-two red wines were sensorially assessed and chemically characterised using UPLC‐QTOF-MS for targeted and untargeted analyses. Suitable partial least squares regression models were obtained for “dry”, “sour”, “oily”, “prickly”, and “unctuous”. “Dry” was positively contributed by flavan-3-ols, anthocyanin derivatives (AntD), valine, gallic acid and its ethyl ester, and peptides, and negatively by sulfonated flavan-3-ols, anthocyanin-ethyl-flavan-3-ols, tartaric acid, flavonols (FOL), hydroxycinnamic acids (HA), protocatechuic ethyl ester, and proline. The “sour” model included molecules involved in “dry” and “bitter”, ostensibly as a result of cognitive interactions. Derivatives of FOLs, epicatechin gallate, and N-acetyl-glucosamine phosphate contributed positively to “oily”, as did vanillic acid, HAs, pyranoanthocyanins, and malvidin-flavan-3-ol derivatives for “prickly”, and sugars, glutathione disulfide, AntD, FOL, and one HA for “unctuous”. The presented approach offers an interesting tool for deciphering the sensory-active compounds involved in mouthfeel perceptio
Generation of non-transgenic mildew-resistant grapevine clones via gene-editing: potentials and hurdles
No full textGrapevine (Vitis vinifera) is among the most valuable crops cultivated in Europe for both economic and cultural reasons, but is also highly susceptible to fungal (-like) diseases such as powdery mildew (PM), and downy mildew (DM). These diseases – impacting grapevine production worldwide – are controlled every year at the expenses of a great consumption of pesticides, especially fungicides. Therefore, the introduction of PM- and DM-resistant cultivars is an urgent need for the foreseeable sustainability of viticulture worldwide. The recent advent of New Breeding Techniques (NBTs), and in particular of gene-editing, offered a great opportunity to obtain resistant plants either by the introduction of known resistance genes, or by knocking-out susceptibility genes in commercial cultivars. As compared to traditional breeding, this approach has the advantage of maintaining the integrity of the parental variety, because it allows to introduce very specific and small mutations. Before the creation of non-transgenic grape cultivars by NBTs becomes common practice, some hurdles need to be overcome: i) the poor knowledge on appropriate target genes to generate resistant cultivars, ii) the lack of efficient protocols to deliver the CRISPR-Cas9 machinery as protein/RNA complex into single cells, and iii) the low efficiency of plant regeneration. In the last years, we tackled these challenges by acting along two lines. On one hand, we characterized susceptibility genes of the MLO and DMR6 gene families by generation of knockout mutants, in order to identify which genes are required for the establishment of the DM- and PM-diseases. Embryogenic calli were transformed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens with CRISPR-Cas9 vectors designed to specifically edit candidate susceptibility genes. High efficient targeted-mutagenesis in one or two genes was obtained, and several edited lines were regenerated from transformed calli. Edited plants grown in soil were challenged with the DM and PM pathogens, and preliminary results highlighted a role of these genes in grapevine susceptibility. In parallel, we developed a novel DNA-free methodology to obtain edited transgene-free grapevine plants. These plants were regenerated from a single edited-cell, and therefore do not show chimeris
Exploring the regulatory role of the grapevine MIXTA homologue in cuticle formation and abiotic stress resilience
Get PDFThe outer waxy layer of plant aerial structures, known as the cuticle, represents an important trait that can be targeted to increase plant tolerance against abiotic stresses exacerbated by environmental transition. The MIXTA transcription factor, member of the R2R3-MYB family, is known to affect conical shape of petal epidermal cells in Anthirrinum, cuticular thickness in tomato fruit and trichome formation and morphology in several crops. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the grapevine MIXTA homologue by phenotypic and molecular characterization of overexpressing and knock-out grapevine lines. The leaf cuticle was observed by light microscopy, indicating that stomatal density and other anatomical features, such as trichomes and pavement cell number, were affected by modulation of VviMIXTA. GC-MS analysis found that epicuticular wax loads and composition were similarly impacted. Physiological parameters collected on a randomized set of plants in controlled conditions showed that stomatal conductance was also affected. Selected lines, identified via VviMIXTA gene expression analysis, underwent RNA-seq to evaluate the transcriptomic impact of modulating VviMIXTA expression. The results were cross-referenced with DAP-seq data to identify MIXTA high confidence target genes. Additionally, further integration of the experimental data with in silico resources available for grapevine (e.g., OneGenE and aggregated tissue-specific GCNs) is being conducted for reconstructing MIXTA ́s gene regulatory network. Our work explores the potential regulatory role of VviMIXTA in epidermal cell fate and cuticular wax composition in the grapevine leaf, paving the way for molecular breeding to enhance plant resilience and improve berry quality traits