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1. A conceptual framework for host‐associated microbiomes of hybrid organisms

   https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14279  

   Camper, Benjamin T; Laughlin, Zachary; Malagon, Daniel; Denton, Robert; Bewick, Sharon (March 2024, Methods in Ecology and Evolution)

   Abstract Hybridization between organisms from evolutionarily distinct lineages can have profound consequences on organismal ecology, with cascading effects on fitness and evolution. Most studies of hybrid organisms have focused on organismal traits, for example, various aspects of morphology and physiology. However, with the recent emergence of holobiont theory, there has been growing interest in understanding how hybridization impacts and is impacted by host‐associated microbiomes. Better understanding of the interplay between host hybridization and host‐associated microbiomes has the potential to provide insight into both the roles of host‐associated microbiomes as dictators of host performance as well as the fundamental rules governing host‐associated microbiome assembly. Unfortunately, there is a current lack of frameworks for understanding the structure of host‐associated microbiomes of hybrid organisms.In this paper, we develop four conceptual models describing possible relationships between the host‐associated microbiomes of hybrids and their progenitor or ‘parent’ taxa. We then integrate these models into a quantitative ‘4H index’ and present a new R package for calculation, visualization and analysis of this index.We demonstrate how the 4H index can be used to compare hybrid microbiomes across disparate plant and animal systems. Our analyses of these data sets show variation in the 4H index across systems based on host taxonomy, host site and microbial taxonomic group.Our four conceptual models, paired with our 4H index and associated visualization tools, facilitate comparison across hybrid systems. This, in turn, allows for systematic exploration of how different aspects of host hybridization impact the host‐associated microbiomes of hybrid organisms. 

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2. Image muting of mixed precipitation to improve identification of regions of heavy snow in radar data

   https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5515-2022  

   Tomkins, Laura M.; Yuter, Sandra E.; Miller, Matthew A.; Allen, Luke R. (January 2022, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques)

   Abstract. In winter storms, enhanced radar reflectivity is often associated with heavy snow. However, some higher reflectivities are the result of mixed precipitation including melting snow. The correlation coefficient (a dual-polarization radar variable) can identify regions of mixed precipitation, but this information is usually presented separately from reflectivity. Especially under time pressure, radar data users can mistake regions of mixed precipitation for heavy snow because of the high cognitive load associated with comparing data in two fields while simultaneously attempting to discount a portion of the high reflectivity values. We developed an image muting method for regional radar maps that visually de-emphasizes the high reflectivity values associated with mixed precipitation. These image muted depictions of winter storm precipitation structures are useful for analyzing regions of heavy snow and monitoring real-time weather conditions. 

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3. The unique biogeochemical role of carbonate-associated organic matter in a subtropical seagrass meadow

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01832-7  

   Zeller, Mary A; Van_Dam, Bryce R; Lopes, Christian; McKenna, Amy M; Osburn, Christopher L; Fourqurean, James W; Kominoski, John S; Böttcher, Michael Ernst (December 2024, Communications Earth & Environment)

   Abstract The particulate organic matter buried in carbonate-rich seagrass ecosystems is an important blue carbon reservoir. While carbonate sediments are affected by alkalinity produced or consumed in seagrass-mediated biogeochemical processes, little is known about the corresponding impact on organic matter. A portion of particulate organic matter is carbonate-associated organic matter. Here, we explore its biogeochemistry in a carbonate seagrass meadow in central Florida Bay, USA. We couple inorganic stable isotope analyses (δ³⁴S, δ¹⁸O) with a molecular characterization of dissolved and carbonate associated organic matter (21 tesla Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry). We find that carbonate-associated molecular formulas are highly sulfurized compared to surface water dissolved organic matter, with multiple sulfurization pathways at play. Furthermore, 97% of the formula abundance of surface water dissolved organic matter is shared with carbonate-associated organic matter, indicating connectivity between these two pools. We estimate that 9.2% of the particulate organic matter is carbonate-associated, and readily exchangeable with the broader aquatic system as the sediment dissolves and reprecipitates. 

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4. Exploring the root-associated microbiome of the resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023-06019-1  

   Tebele, Shandry_M; Marks, Rose_A; Farrant, Jill_M (May 2023, Plant and Soil)

   Abstract Aims and backgroundThe resurrection plantMyrothamnus flabellifoliatolerates complete desiccation and is a great model for studying how plants cope with extreme drought. Root-associated microbes play a major role in stress tolerance and are an attractive target for enhancing drought tolerance in staple crops. However, how these dynamics play out under the most extreme water limitation remains underexplored. This study aimed to identify bacterial and fungal communities that tolerate extreme drought stress in the bulk soil, rhizosphere, and endosphere ofM. flabellifolia. MethodsHigh-throughput amplicon sequencing was used to characterise the microbial communities associated withM. flabellifolia. ResultsThe bacterial phyla that were most abundant across all compartments wereAcidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, Chloroflexota, Planctomycetota,andPseudomonadota, while the most abundant fungal phyla wereAscomycotaandBasidiomycota. Although the bulk soil hosted multiple beneficial root-associated microbes, the rhizosphere compartment showed the highest functional diversity of bacteria and fungi. In contrast, the endosphere exhibited a low abundance and diversity of microbes. These findings share consistent with the theory thatM. flabellifoliarecruits soil microbes from the bulk to the rhizosphere and finally to the endosphere. It is possible that these microbes could promote drought tolerance in associated plant tissues. ConclusionWe find that compartments act as the major driver of microbial diversity, but the soil physicochemical factors also influence microbial composition. These results suggest that the root-associated microbiome ofM. flabellifoliais highly structured and may aid in plant function. 

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5. MUSE-ALMA Haloes – VIII. Statistical study of circumgalactic medium gas

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac3497  

   Weng, S.; Péroux, C.; Karki, A.; Augustin, R.; Kulkarni, V. P.; Szakacs, R.; Zwaan, M. A.; Klitsch, A.; Hamanowicz, A.; Sadler, E. M.; et al (November 2022, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   ABSTRACT The distribution of gas and metals in the circumgalactic medium (CGM) plays a critical role in how galaxies evolve. The MUSE-ALMA Haloes survey combines MUSE, ALMA, and HST observations to constrain the properties of the multiphase gas in the CGM and the galaxies associated with the gas probed in absorption. In this paper, we analyse the properties of galaxies associated with 32 strong $${\rm H\, {\small I}}$$ Ly-α absorbers at redshift 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.4. We detect 79 galaxies within ±500 kms−1 of the absorbers in our 19 MUSE fields. These associated galaxies are found at physical distances from 5.7 kpc and reach star formation rates as low as 0.1 M⊙ yr−1. The significant number of associated galaxies allows us to map their physical distribution on the Δv and b plane. Building on previous studies, we examine the physical and nebular properties of these associated galaxies and find the following: (i) 27/32 absorbers have galaxy counterparts and more than 50 per cent of the absorbers have two or more associated galaxies, (ii) the $${\rm H\, {\small I}}$$ column density of absorbers is anticorrelated with the impact parameter (scaled by virial radius) of the nearest galaxy as expected from simulations, (iii) the metallicity of associated galaxies is typically larger than the absorber metallicity, which decreases at larger impact parameters. It becomes clear that while strong $${\rm H\, {\small I}}$$ absorbers are typically associated with more than a single galaxy, we can use them to statistically map the gas and metal distribution in the CGM. 

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