- by Carne, A., Sanchez-Vialas, A., Lansac, C., Moreno, M., De la Riva, I. J.Global biodiversity faces severe anthropogenic threats, with alarming extinction rates projected for the near future. Most of Earths diversity remains undescribed, meaning countless species are doomed to extinction before being documented. Since current conservation laws consider only described species, the time to achieve a representative inventory of global biodiversity is crucial for effective conservation. Amphibians, the most endangered vertebrate class, exemplify the challenge: while the number of threatened species rises, new species descriptions rapidly increase, and hundreds of candidate species […]
- by Loponte, D., Carbonera, M., Schneider, F., Galarce Machado, N., Bertoncello, A., Telles Szczygel, M., Acosta, A., Mazza, B., Sheila, A., Capparelli, I.This study analyzes the archaeological record of the Arenal Central site, a Guarani residential base located on Martin Garcia Island, within the Rio de la Plata estuary–marking the southernmost extent of this population originating from the tropical forests of South America. The results significantly advance our understanding of these Amazonian forager-horticulturalists in the region, allowing us to explore a range of strategies and material culture expressions developed in an environment suboptimal for canoe-based populations. The study also presents a new […]
- by Dagg, K. A., Estep, A. S., Bartz, C. E., Burgess, E.Mosquito vector control research relies heavily on the use of live organisms, with wild populations playing a critical role in surveillance, field product validation, and strengthening the overall efficacy and accuracy of studies. However, too often wild mosquito rearing and colony establishment in laboratory settings is consistently challenging. Here we present a modified version of a forced oviposition method for use against two different mosquito species, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. The efficacy of the technique was tested with both […]
- by Vila-Farre, M., Brand, J. N., Boothe, T., Brockmeyer, M., Ficze-Schmidt, F., Grohme, M. A., Weill, U., Kluiver, K. H., Gasiorowski, L., Kauf, L., Kanana, Y., Bilandzija, H., Riutort, M., Rink, J. C.BackgroundFreshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered habitats on Earth, with approximately one-fourth of aquatic species at risk of extinction. Effective conservation efforts require comprehensive monitoring and accurate species identification, including often overlooked groups. DNA barcoding promises rapid and accessible species identification but requires the availability of "universal" primer pairs and robust, taxonomically curated reference libraries. Planarian flatworms are one such group for which these resources are currently lacking, even though they are common constituents of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. As […]
- by Hubert, J., Glowska-Patyniak, E., Pekar, S.Tyrophagus putrescentiae is a cosmopolitan pest of stored food and animal feed. Mite populations differ in their microbiome composition, resulting in variability in their fitness. Cultures of the stored-product mite T. putrescentiae are often singly infected by one of intracellular bacterial genera Cardinium and Wolbachia. No naturally occurring multi-infected (Cardinium/Wolbachia) cultures have been observed. Under laboratory conditions, we mixed two singly infected mite cultures, i.e., Cardinium-infected (5L and 5S) and Wolbachia-infected (5N and 5P) cultures, to obtain four experimental cultures […]
- by Moyes, N. H., Bertram, A. K., Marshall, K. E.Intertidal invertebrates often adopt freeze tolerance as a strategy to survive winter low tides, but the physiological mechanisms by which intertidal species survive freezing are not well understood. Ice binding proteins (IBPs) may play an important role, but their occurrence throughout the intertidal zone worldwide is not well-catalogued. Here we survey species in the intertidal zone of Vancouver, BC to assess IBP activities and the possible role they play in freeze tolerance. We conducted targeted assays in multiple intertidal species […]
- by Shannon, T. J., Van Grouw, H., Collinson, J. M.The Nechisar Nightjar Caprimulgus solala was described only from a single wing collected as roadkill from Nechisar National Park in Ethiopia in 1990. To resolve its taxonomic status a sample was taken from the Nechisar Nightjar holotype and 53 other Afrotropical nightjars, and genomic DNA extracted for sequencing of one mitochondrial and three nuclear genes. The genetic analysis concluded that Nechisar Nightjar is most likely a hybrid, with mitochondrial DNA of Standard-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus longipennis and nuclear alleles from Standard-winged […]
- by Keve, G., Toth, A. G., Katics, M., Baska, F., Eszterbauer, E., Hornok, S., Solymosi, N.Species belonging to the genus Argulus are globally distributed fish parasites. Their veterinary significance primarily lies in their disruptive presence and their role as mechanical vectors. Although Argulus japonicus Thiele, 1900 is a widely distributed representative of this genus that feeds on freshwater fish, only Argulus foliaceus (Linnaeus, 1758) had previously been reported in Hungary. The aim of this study was to investigate the fish louse fauna in a local common carp (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758) population. To the best […]
- by Naumann, B., Schweiger, S., Mueller, H.BackgroundThe evolvability of ontogenetic trajectories, driven by modular developmental processes and their evolutionary repatterning, plays a crucial role in the diversity of animal diversity. Anurans offer a model for exploring how developmental repatterning, including the loss of larval features and heterochronic shifts of metamorphic processes lead to the diversity of, often terrestrialized, life histories. Ancestrally, anurans exhibit an aquatic larva (tadpoles) that differs tremendously from their semi-terrestrial adult forms. The transition from this tadpole to the adult is a thyroid […]
- by Hovorka, T., Holy, K., Vasilita, C., Krogmann, L., Jansta, P.1. BackgroundParasitoid-host interactions are key drivers of insect community structure, with host concealment influencing parasitoid diversity and parasitism rates. However, the effectiveness of different host defense strategies against parasitoids remains insufficiently understood. 2. ObjectiveThis study examines how host concealment level affects parasitoid communities and parasitism rates in two microlepidopteran species developing on hops (Humulus lupulus L.), Caloptilia fidella and Cosmopterix zieglerella, which employ leaf-rolling and leaf-mining strategies, respectively. 3. MethodsWe combined morphological identification with molecular species delimitation using ITS2 and […]
- by Chinnaiah, S., Arora, A. K., Gadhave, K.Novel resistance breaking (RB) strains of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) capable of disrupting single gene resistance in tomato (Sw-5b) and pepper (Tsw) have been reported worldwide. Thrips, a supervector of TSWV, transmit these strains in a suite of specialty and staple food crops across the globe. However, transmission biology of RB strains remains virtually unexplored. We investigated various transmission parameters viz. inoculation efficiency, putative sex-specific differences in transmission, virus accumulation, and source sink relationships to dissect these interactions using […]
- by Douros, J. D., Capozzi, M., Novikoff, A., Mokrosinski, J., DuBois, B., Stock, J., Rohlfs, R., Anderson, M., Jedrzejcyk, D. J., Poulsen, S., Blenke, E. O., Dago, T., Huus, K., Kobberup, S., Rivir, M., Sorrell, J., Mowery, S., Drucker, D. J., D'Alessio, D. A., Campbell, J. E., Muller, T. D., Perez-Tilve, D., Knerr, P. J., Finan, B.ObjectiveUnimolecular triagonists drive substantial weight loss in patients with obesity (PwO) by engaging the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors to reduce food intake (FI) and the hepatic glucagon (Gcg) receptor to enhance energy expenditure (EE). However, their development has been challenged by deleterious cardiovascular (CV) effects including increased heart rate (HR), elongated QTc, and arrhythmia mediated by GcgR agonism. GLP-1R monoagonists on the other hand improve both obesity and CV outcomes with negligible effects […]
- by Melotto, A., Melotto, A. S., Ficetola, G. F., Manenti, R., Falaschi, M.Climate change is affecting organism seasonality patterns, and this can drive phenological shifts for key traits, including breeding activity. Here we report a first record of overwintering tadpoles of the Italian agile frog (Rana latastei), a threatened endemic species of Northern Italy. This species usually breeds between late January and April, with tadpoles reaching metamorphosis by early summer. In February 2025, together with the first freshly-laid egg-clutches of the season, several large-sized tadpoles were found in one reproductive site of […]
- by Ogiso-Tanaka, E., Shimada, D., Ogawa, A., Ishiyama, G., Okumura, K.-i., Hosaka, K., Ishii, C., Nam, K. O., Hoshino, M., Nomura, S., Kakizoe, S., Nakamura, Y., Nishiumi, I., Ito, M. A., Kitayama, T., Tanaka, N., Hosoya, T., Jinbo, U.Recent advances in DNA research have increased the necessity for museums to preserve not only morphological specimens but also their DNA, leading us to maintain tissue samples linked to specimens at -80{degrees}C. DNA analysis has become an essential tool for taxonomic research and biodiversity assessment; however, freezer storage for all samples is impractical due to space limitations and operational costs. This creates a pressing need to develop more widely applicable DNA preservation methods. We investigated the comparative effects of traditional […]
- by Marquez, L., Weterings, P., Saber, S., Felipe, B. C., Maccuro, S., Serrano, M., Seuntjens, E., Acosta-Cifuentes, F., Gonzalez, M., Almansa, E.There has been a great interest in common octopus Octopus vulgaris aquaculture over recent years and commercial production is coming within reach. In addition, O. vulgaris is a short-lived semelparous species with a long spawning period. Therefore, monitoring ovary maturation in cultured octopuses can be useful in the scheduling of hatchery operations and management of culture resources. The present work aimed to assess the ovary maturity status in cultured and wild common octopus by means of a noninvasive technique, ultrasonography, […]
- Natural spider silk enhances mechanical performance of collagen scaffold under stretching conditionsby Tso, I.-M., Tsiareshyna, M., Huang, S. Y. T., Liao, C.-P., Tang, M.-J., Wong, T.-Y.Collagen is the most abundant protein in the extracellular matrix, crucial for wound healing and cell proliferation. While it holds promise as a scaffold for tendon, skin, and ligament reconstruction, collagens mechanical strength, particularly under stretch, is poor. Previous attempts to improve collagen strength involved blending it with silkworm or recombinant spider silk. In this study, for the first time, we evaluated whether collagen gel from fish skin could be strengthened by infusing it with native spider silk, specifically the […]
- by Doherty, S., Krajcarz, M., Carmagnini, A., Dimopoulos, E., Jamieson, A., Alves, J. M., Balasescu, A., Baker, P., Baranowski, P., Beglane, F., Bitz-Thorsen, J., Bolton, A., Bowden, W., Britton, H., De Cupere, B., De Martino, M., Donnelly-Symes, B., Evin, A., Fowler, T., Fulford, M., Gotfredsen, A. B., Han, Y., Kitchener, A. C., Knapp, Z., Luo, S.-J., Mainland, I., Maricevic, D., Moody, S., Nesnidaloa, T., O'Connor, T., Orton, D. C., Peters, J., Sadebeck, F., Siegenthaler, A., Smallman, R., Suvova, Z., Symmons, R., Sudds, J., Thomas, G., Van Neer, W., Wilczynski, J., Ottoni, C., Popovic, D., FraDespite the domestic cats (Felis catus) close association with humans, the timing and circumstances of its domestication and subsequent introduction to Europe are unresolved. Domestication of its wild progenitor, the African wildcat (F. lybica), is widely attributed to the emergence of farming. Wildcats are said to have been attracted to settled communities by the rodent populations that were thriving within this new agricultural niche. Some claim the African wildcat even reached Europe during the Neolithic, though many credit the Romans […]
- by Jagos, F., Baird, S. J. E., Harazim, M., Martinkova, N.Species barriers are shaped by variation in recombination coupled with natural selection [1-3]. Canids lost the Prdm9 gene 40-60 million years ago [4-6], stabilising low recombination at the centromeric ends [7] of acrocentric autosomes despite overall high recombination rates [6]. We predict canid recombination architecture will tend to maintain barriers to gene flow at one end of autosomes while eroding them at the other. Polarization [8] of 31 million single nucleotide variants (SNVs) across 980 canid genomes reveals elevated barriers […]
- by Bouguerche, C., Roth, J., Justine, J.-L.The land flatworm Obama nungara, native to South America and already invasive in several European countries, is reported here for the first time in Sweden, marking its first sighting in Scandinavia. The finding of a specimen in Malmo in November 2024 suggests that O. nungara may be present in other areas of Sweden, with its establishment potentially dating back a certain time. The cox1 haplotype of the Malmo specimen clustered within a large group of haplotypes found in several countries […]
- by Korabek, O., Vardinoyannis, K., Orstan, A., Psonis, N.We analysed the phylogenetic relationships of Aristena rechingeri, an extremely rare, large, flat-shelled snail from the Aegean island of Karpathos. Low-depth Illumina sequencing data obtained from an empty shell were available, but there was no reference genome or sequences of nuclear loci from the related taxa, so we attempted to resolve the phylogeny with mitogenome sequences. We confirmed that Aristena is sister to the globular-shelled genera Helix and Maltzanella and not to the similarly flat-shelled and geographically proximate Isaurica from […]
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