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A misconception among biology students is that breaking bonds in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) releases energy. This misconception may be related to imprecise representations of chemical bonding in common diagrams of ATP hydrolysis. We interviewed 33 undergraduate students and randomly assigned them to interpret a figure of ATP hydrolysis that either emphasized bond breaking in the reactants or the formation of new bonds in the products. Students who saw the figure emphasizing bond breaking were more likely to incorrectly classify ATP hydrolysis as endergonic, while students who saw the figure explicitly illustrating bond formation were more likely to use chemically-sound reasoning to describe the reaction. 

Abstract The CHAB-I-5 cluster is a pelagic lineage that can comprise a significant proportion of all Roseobacters in surface oceans and has predicted roles in biogeochemical cycling via heterotrophy, aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis (AAnP), CO oxidation, DMSP degradation, and other metabolisms. Though cultures of CHAB-I-5 have been reported, none have been explored and the best-known representative, strain SB2, was lost from culture after obtaining the genome sequence. We have isolated two new CHAB-I-5 representatives, strains US3C007 and FZCC0083, and assembled complete, circularized genomes with 98.7% and 92.5% average nucleotide identities with the SB2 genome. Comparison of these three with 49 other unique CHAB-I-5 metagenome-assembled and single-cell genomes indicated that the cluster represents a genus with two species, and we identified subtle differences in genomic content between the two species subclusters. Metagenomic recruitment from over fourteen hundred samples expanded their known global distribution and highlighted both isolated strains as representative members of the clade. FZCC0083 grew over twice as fast as US3C007 and over a wider range of temperatures. The axenic culture of US3C007 occurs as pleomorphic cells with most exhibiting a coccobacillus/vibrioid shape. We propose the name Candidatus Thalassovivens spotae, gen nov., sp. nov. for the type strain US3C007T (= ATCC TSD-433T = NCMA B160T). 

Abstract The CHAB-I-5 cluster is a pelagic lineage that can comprise a significant proportion of all roseobacters in surface oceans and have predicted roles in biogeochemical cycling via heterotrophy, aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis (AAnP), CO oxidation, DMSP degradation, and other metabolisms. Though cultures of CHAB-I-5 have been reported, none have been explored and the best known representative, strain SB2, was lost from culture after obtaining the genome sequence. We have isolated two new CHAB-I-5 representatives, strains US3C007 and FZCC0083, and assembled complete, circularized genomes with 98.7% and 92.5% average nucleotide identities with the SB2 genome. Comparison of these three with 49 other unique CHAB-I-5 metagenome-assembled and single-cell genomes indicated that the cluster represents a genus with two species, and we identified subtle differences in genomic content between the two species subclusters. Metagenomic recruitment from over fourteen hundred samples expanded their known global distribution and highlighted both isolated strains as representative members of the clade. FZCC0083 grew over twice as fast as US3C007 and over a wider range of temperatures. The axenic culture of US3C007 occurs as pleomorphic cells with most exhibiting a coccobacillus/vibrioid shape. We propose the nameThalassovivens spotae, gen nov., sp. nov. for the type strain US3C007^T. 

Transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes after whole genome duplication (WGD) has been described in many plant lineages and is often associated with subgenome dominance, a genome-wide mechanism. However, it is unknown what underlies the transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in polyploid species that lack subgenome dominance. Soybean is a paleotetraploid with a WGD that occurred 5 to 13 Mya. Approximately 50% of the duplicated genes retained from this WGD exhibit transcriptional divergence. We developed accessible chromatin region (ACR) datasets from leaf, flower, and seed tissues using MNase-hypersensitivity sequencing. We validated enhancer function of several ACRs associated with known genes using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. The ACR datasets were used to examine and correlate the transcriptional patterns of 17,111 pairs of duplicated genes in different tissues. We demonstrate that ACR dynamics are correlated with divergence of both expression level and tissue specificity of individual gene pairs. Gain or loss of flanking ACRs and mutation ofcis-regulatory elements (CREs) within the ACRs can change the balance of the expression level and/or tissue specificity of the duplicated genes. Analysis of DNA sequences associated with ACRs revealed that the extensive sequence rearrangement after the WGD reshaped the CRE landscape, which appears to play a key role in the transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in soybean. This may represent a general mechanism for transcriptional divergence of duplicated genes in polyploids that lack subgenome dominance. 

Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies across the northern US and Canada migrate up to 4,000km to overwinter in specific mountain peaks in central Mexico. To track monarchs precisely and study their navigation, a monarch tracker must obtain daily localization of the butterfly as it progresses on its three-month journey. And, the tracker must perform this task while having a weight in the tens of milligrams (mg) and measuring a few millimeters (mm) in size to avoid interfering with the monarch's flight. This paper proposes mSAIL, 8 × 8 × 2.6mm and 62mg embedded system for monarch migration tracking, constructed using 8 prior custom-designed ICs providing solar energy harvesting, an ultra-low power processor, light/temperature sensors, power management, and a wireless transceiver, all integrated and 3D stacked on a micro PCB with an 8 × 8mm printed antenna. The proposed system is designed to record and compress light and temperature data during the migration path while harvesting solar energy for energy autonomy, and wirelessly transmit the data at the overwintering site in Mexico, from which the daily location of the butterfly can be estimated using a deep learning-based localization algorithm. A two-day trial experiment of mSAIL attached to a live butterfly in an outdoor botanical garden demonstrates the feasibility of individual butterfly localization and tracking. 

Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies across the U.S. and Canada migrate up to 4,000 km to overwinter in the same cluster of mountaintops in central Mexico. In spring, these migrants mate and remigrate northwards to repopulate their northern breeding territory over 2-4 partially overlapping generations. Because each migrant monarch completes only part of this round trip and does not return to the overwintering site, this navigational task cannot be learned from the prior generation. The number of monarchs completing the journey has dramatically declined in the past decades, coincident with the decreased availability of their milkweed host plant. The U.S., Mexico, and Canada have invested tremendous resources into monarch conservation efforts, including enacting specific policy initiatives, public outreach programs, and habitat protection and restoration projects. The US invested over $11 million between 2015-2017 alone [1]. Developing a tracking technology for monarch can be a key in these efforts, providing, for instance, detailed understanding of habitat use during migratory flight and dependence on weather conditions. Furthermore, it can significantly benefit animal research, and agricultural and environmental science. 

Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies across the northern US and Canada migrate up to 4,000 km to overwinter in the exact same cluster of mountain peaks in central Mexico. To track monarchs precisely and study their navigation, a monarch tracker must obtain daily localization of the butterfly as it progresses on its 3-month journey. And, the tracker must perform this task while having a weight in the tens of milligram (mg) and measuring a few millimeters (mm) in size to avoid interfering with monarch's flight. This paper proposes mSAIL, 8 × 8 × 2.6 mm and 62 mg embedded system for monarch migration tracking, constructed using 8 prior custom-designed ICs providing solar energy harvesting, an ultra-low power processor, light/temperature sensors, power management, and a wireless transceiver, all integrated and 3D stacked on a micro PCB with an 8 × 8 mm printed antenna. The proposed system is designed to record and compress light and temperature data during the migration path while harvesting solar energy for energy autonomy, and wirelessly transmit the data at the overwintering site in Mexico, from which the daily location of the butterfly can be estimated using a deep learning-based localization algorithm. A 2-day trial experiment of mSAIL attached on a live butterfly in an outdoor botanical garden demonstrates the feasibility of individual butterfly localization and tracking. 

Abstract Inorganic aragonite occurs in a wide spectrum of depositional environments and its precipitation is controlled by complex physio‐chemical factors. This study investigates diagenetic conditions that led to aragonite cement precipitation in Cenozoic glaciomarine deposits of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. A total of 42 sandstones that host intergranular cement were collected from theCIROS‐1 core, located proximal to the terminus of Ferrar Glacier. Standard petrography, Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis reveal a prominent aragonite cement phase that occurs as a pore‐filling blocky fabric throughout the core. Oxygen isotope compositions (δ¹⁸O = −30·0 to −8·6‰ Vienna Pee‐Dee Belemnite) and clumped isotope temperatures (TΔ₄₇ = 13·1 to 31·5°C) determined from the aragonite cements provide precise constraints on isotopic compositions (δ¹⁸O_w) of the parent fluid, which mostly range from −10·8 to −7·2‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water. The fluidδ¹⁸O_wvalues are consistent with those of pore water, previously identified as cryogenic brine in the nearbyAND‐2A core. Petrographic and geochemical data suggest that aragonite cement in theCIROS‐1 core precipitated from a similar brine. The brine likely formed and infiltrated sediments in flooded glacial valleys along the western margin of McMurdo Sound during the middle Miocene Climatic Transition, and subsequently flowed basinward in the subsurface. Consequently, the brine forms as a longstanding subsurface fluid that has saturated Cenozoic sediments below southern McMurdo Sound since at least the middle Miocene. Aragonite cementation in theCIROS‐1 core is interpreted to reflect its proximal position to sites of brine formation and greater likelihood of experiencing brines with sustained high carbonate saturation states and Mg/Ca ratios. This unusual occurrence expands the range of known natural occurrences of aragonite cement. Given the potential for cryogenic brine formation in glaciomarine settings, blocky aragonite, as the end member of the spectrum of aragonite cement morphology, may be more widespread in glaciomarine sediments than currently thought.