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1. Evolutionary history influences the microbiomes of a female symbiotic reproductive organ in cephalopods

   https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00990-23  

   Vijayan, Nidhi; McAnulty, Sarah J; Sanchez, Gustavo; Jolly, Jeffrey; Ikeda, Yuzuru; Nishiguchi, Michele K; Réveillac, Elodie; Gestal, Camino; Spady, Blake L; Li, Diana H; et al (February 2024, Applied and Environmental Microbiology)

   Rudi, Knut (Ed.)

   ABSTRACT Many female squids and cuttlefishes have a symbiotic reproductive organ called the accessory nidamental gland (ANG) that hosts a bacterial consortium involved with egg defense against pathogens and fouling organisms. While the ANG is found in multiple cephalopod families, little is known about the global microbial diversity of these ANG bacterial symbionts. We used 16S rRNA gene community analysis to characterize the ANG microbiome from different cephalopod species and assess the relationship between host and symbiont phylogenies. The ANG microbiome of 11 species of cephalopods from four families (superorder: Decapodiformes) that span seven geographic locations was characterized. Bacteria of classAlphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, andFlavobacteriiawere found in all species, yet analysis of amplicon sequence variants by multiple distance metrics revealed a significant difference between ANG microbiomes of cephalopod families (weighted/unweighted UniFrac, Bray–Curtis,P= 0.001). Despite being collected from widely disparate geographic locations, members of the family Sepiolidae (bobtail squid) shared many bacterial taxa including (~50%)Opitutae(Verrucomicrobia) andRuegeria(Alphaproteobacteria) species. Furthermore, we tested for phylosymbiosis and found a positive correlation between host phylogenetic distance and bacterial community dissimilarity (Mantel testr= 0.7). These data suggest that closely related sepiolids select for distinct symbionts from similar bacterial taxa. Overall, the ANGs of different cephalopod species harbor distinct microbiomes and thus offer a diverse symbiont community to explore antimicrobial activity and other functional roles in host fitness. IMPORTANCEMany aquatic organisms recruit microbial symbionts from the environment that provide a variety of functions, including defense from pathogens. Some female cephalopods (squids, bobtail squids, and cuttlefish) have a reproductive organ called the accessory nidamental gland (ANG) that contains a bacterial consortium that protects eggs from pathogens. Despite the wide distribution of these cephalopods, whether they share similar microbiomes is unknown. Here, we studied the microbial diversity of the ANG in 11 species of cephalopods distributed over a broad geographic range and representing 15–120 million years of host divergence. The ANG microbiomes shared some bacterial taxa, but each cephalopod species had unique symbiotic members. Additionally, analysis of host–symbiont phylogenies suggests that the evolutionary histories of the partners have been important in shaping the ANG microbiome. This study advances our knowledge of cephalopod–bacteria relationships and provides a foundation to explore defensive symbionts in other systems. 

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2. The cohomology of semi-infinite Deligne–Lusztig varieties

   https://doi.org/10.1515/crelle-2019-0039  

   Chan, Charlotte (January 2020, Journal für die reine und angewandte Mathematik (Crelles Journal))

   Abstract We prove a 1979 conjecture of Lusztig on the cohomology of semi-infinite Deligne–Lusztig varieties attached to division algebras over local fields. We also prove the two conjectures of Boyarchenko on these varieties. It is known that in this setting, the semi-infinite Deligne–Lusztig varieties are ind-schemes comprised of limits of certain finite-type schemes X h {X_{h}} . Boyarchenko’s two conjectures are on the maximality of X h {X_{h}} and on the behavior of the torus-eigenspaces of their cohomology. Both of these conjectures were known in full generality only for division algebras with Hasse invariant 1 / n {1/n} in the case h = 2 {h=2} (the “lowest level”) by the work of Boyarchenko–Weinstein on the cohomology of a special affinoid in the Lubin–Tate tower. We prove that the number of rational points of X h {X_{h}} attains its Weil–Deligne bound, so that the cohomology of X h {X_{h}} is pure in a very strong sense. We prove that the torus-eigenspaces of the cohomology group H c i ⁢ ( X h ) {H_{c}^{i}(X_{h})} are irreducible representations and are supported in exactly one cohomological degree. Finally, we give a complete description of the homology groups of the semi-infinite Deligne–Lusztig varieties attached to any division algebra, thus giving a geometric realization of a large class of supercuspidal representations of these groups. Moreover, the correspondence θ ↦ H c i ⁢ ( X h ) ⁢ [ θ ] {\theta\mapsto H_{c}^{i}(X_{h})[\theta]} agrees with local Langlands and Jacquet–Langlands correspondences. The techniques developed in this paper should be useful in studying these constructions for p -adic groups in general. 

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3. Which Hessenberg varieties are GKM?

   https://doi.org/10.4310/PAMQ.2023.v19.n4.a8  

   Goldin, Rebecca; Tymoczko, Julianna (September 2023, Pure and Applied Mathematics Quarterly)

   Karshon, Yael; Melrose, Richard; Uhlmann, Gunther; Uribe, Alejandro (Ed.)

   Hessenberg varieties H(X,H) form a class of subvarieties of the flag variety G/B, parameterized by an operator X and certain subspaces H of the Lie algebra of G. We identify several families of Hessenberg varieties in type A_{n−1} that are T -stable subvarieties of G/B, as well as families that are invariant under a subtorus K of T. In particular, these varieties are candidates for the use of equivariant methods to study their geometry. Indeed, we are able to show that some of these varieties are unions of Schubert varieties, while others cannot be such unions. Among the T-stable Hessenberg varieties, we identify several that are GKM spaces, meaning T acts with isolated fixed points and a finite number of one-dimensional orbits, though we also show that not all Hessenberg varieties with torus actions and finitely many fixed points are GKM. We conclude with a series of open questions about Hessenberg varieties, both in type A_{n−1} and in general Lie type. 

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4. Foliar functional and genetic variation in a keystone Hawaiian tree species estimated through spectroscopy

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05374-1  

   Seeley, M. M.; Stacy, E. A.; Martin, R. E.; Asner, G. P. (May 2023, Oecologia)

   Abstract Imaging spectroscopy has the potential to map closely related plant taxa at landscape scales. Although spectral investigations at the leaf and canopy levels have revealed relationships between phylogeny and reflectance, understanding how spectra differ across, and are inherited from, genotypes of a single species has received less attention. We used a common-garden population of four varieties of the keystone canopy tree,Metrosideros polymorpha, from Hawaii Island and four F1-hybrid genotypes derived from controlled crosses to determine if reflectance spectra discriminate sympatric, conspecific varieties of this species and their hybrids. With a single exception, pairwise comparisons of leaf reflectance patterns successfully distinguished varieties ofM. polymorphaon Hawaii Island as well as populations of the same variety from different islands. Further, spectral variability within a single variety from Hawaii Island and the older island of Oahu was greater than that observed among the four varieties on Hawaii Island. F1 hybrids most frequently displayed leaf spectral patterns intermediate to those of their parent taxa. Spectral reflectance patterns distinguished each of two of the hybrid genotypes from one of their parent varieties, indicating that classifying hybrids may be possible, particularly if sample sizes are increased. This work quantifies a baseline in spectral variability for an endemic Hawaiian tree species and advances the use of imaging spectroscopy in biodiversity studies at the genetic level. 

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5. Ontogenetic Change in the Venom of Mexican Black-Tailed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus molossus nigrescens)

   https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins10120501  

   Borja, Miguel; Neri-Castro, Edgar; Pérez-Morales, Rebeca; Strickland, Jason; Ponce-López, Roberto; Parkinson, Christopher; Espinosa-Fematt, Jorge; Sáenz-Mata, Jorge; Flores-Martínez, Esau; Alagón, Alejandro; et al (December 2018, Toxins)

   null (Ed.)

   Ontogenetic changes in venom composition have important ecological implications due the relevance of venom in prey acquisition and defense. Additionally, intraspecific venom variation has direct medical consequences for the treatment of snakebite. However, ontogenetic changes are not well documented in most species. The Mexican Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus nigrescens) is large-bodied and broadly distributed in Mexico. To document venom variation and test for ontogenetic changes in venom composition, we obtained venom samples from twenty-seven C. m. nigrescens with different total body lengths (TBL) from eight states in Mexico. The primary components in the venom were detected by reverse-phase HPLC, western blot, and mass spectrometry. In addition, we evaluated the biochemical (proteolytic, coagulant and fibrinogenolytic activities) and biological (LD50 and hemorrhagic activity) activities of the venoms. Finally, we tested for recognition and neutralization of Mexican antivenoms against venoms of juvenile and adult snakes. We detected clear ontogenetic venom variation in C. m. nigrescens. Venoms from younger snakes contained more crotamine-like myotoxins and snake venom serine proteinases than venoms from older snakes; however, an increase of snake venom metalloproteinases was detected in venoms of larger snakes. Venoms from juvenile snakes were, in general, more toxic and procoagulant than venoms from adults; however, adult venoms were more proteolytic. Most of the venoms analyzed were hemorrhagic. Importantly, Mexican antivenoms had difficulties recognizing low molecular mass proteins (<12 kDa) of venoms from both juvenile and adult snakes. The antivenoms did not neutralize the crotamine effect caused by the venom of juveniles. Thus, we suggest that Mexican antivenoms would have difficulty neutralizing some human envenomations and, therefore, it may be necessary improve the immunization mixture in Mexican antivenoms to account for low molecular mass proteins, like myotoxins. 

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