The Science of Nature最新文献

{"title":"The protective effects of Zingiber zerumbet rhizome against fevers in rats","authors":"Haslinda Mohd Salleh,&nbsp;Abdulwali Ablat,&nbsp;Soon-Lim Chong,&nbsp;Hazrina Hazni,&nbsp;Norsita Tohar,&nbsp;Nurulwahidah Fauzi,&nbsp;Habibah A. Wahab,&nbsp;Muhamad Aqmal Othman,&nbsp;Sook Yee Liew,&nbsp;Khalijah Awang","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01907-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01907-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The <i>Zingiber zerumbet</i> rhizomes are traditionally used to treat fever, and the in vitro inhibitory effect of ethyl acetate extract from <i>Zingiber zerumbet</i> rhizomes (EAEZZR) against DENV2 NS2B/NS3 (two non-structural proteins, NS2 and NS3 of dengue virus type 2) has been reported earlier. This study was carried out to establish an acute toxicity profile and evaluate the anti-fever (anti-pyretic) activities of EAEZZR in yeast-induced fever in rats. The major compound of EAEZZR, zerumbone, was isolated using chromatographic methods including column chromatography (CC) and preparative thin-layer chromatography (PTLC). Additionally, the structure of zerumbone was elucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), liquid chromatography mass spectrometer-ion trap-time of flight (LCMS-IT-TOF), infrared (IR), and ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy. The toxicity of EAEZZR was evaluated using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Test Guideline 425 (OECD tg-425) with minor modifications at concentrations EAEZZR of 2000 mg/kg, 3000 mg/kg, and 5000 mg/kg. Anti-fever effect was determined by yeast-induced fever (pyrexia) in rats. The acute toxicity study showed that EAEZZR is safe at the highest 5000 mg/kg body weight dose in Sprague Dawley rats. Rats treated with EAEZZR at doses of 125, 250, and 500 mg/kg exhibited a significant reduction in rectal temperature (<i>T</i>_<i>R</i>) in the first 1 h. EAEZZR at the lower dose of 125 mg/kg showed substantial potency against yeast-induced fever for up to 2 h compared to 0 h in controls. A significant reduction of <i>T</i>_<i>R</i> was observed in rats treated with standard drug aspirin in the third through fourth hours. Based on the present findings, ethyl acetate extract of <i>Zingiber zerumbet</i> rhizomes could be considered safe up to the dose of 5000 mg/kg, and the identification of active ingredients of <i>Zingiber zerumbet</i> rhizomes may allow their use in the treatment of fever with dengue virus infection.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140334277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of intraspecific seed trait variation on the germination of eight tropical dry forest species","authors":"Natalia Villa-Rivera,&nbsp;Jeiner Castellanos-Barliza,&nbsp;Ariadna Mondragón-Botero,&nbsp;Willinton Barranco-Pérez","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01898-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01898-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Functional traits can have intraspecific and interspecific variations essential in the structure and dynamics of natural communities. These traits may have implications in the germination and seedling establishment phases in seeds. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of variations in mass, volume, and nutrient content (C, N, and P) on the germination of eight species representative of the tropical dry forest (TDF). Our results showed that seed size, both in terms of mass and volume, did not predict germination rates or percentages, nor were they related to nutrient content. In contrast, N content was the most important trait in the germination phase. Larger seeds did not germinate more or faster, but they could offer better resistance against desiccation, since they had higher <i>C</i>/<i>N</i> ratios in their tissues, a characteristic of orthodox seeds. The species <i>A. guachapele</i>, <i>B. arborea</i>, <i>H. crepitans</i>, and <i>V. tortuosa</i> presented a high biological potential in terms of their regeneration capacity, particularly, because the characteristics of their seeds, as well as the nutrient content, revealed consistent implications in their reproductive success, promoting high germination percentages in less time. In general, the results obtained in this study provide basic knowledge for future research, offering starting points for further exploration of species-specific adaptations and how they may be affected by the environment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10959815/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140189343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Larger particle size distribution of environmental RNA compared to environmental DNA: a case study targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in zebrafish (Danio rerio) using experimental aquariums","authors":"Toshiaki S. Jo","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01904-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01904-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Environmental RNA (eRNA) analysis is conventionally expected to infer physiological information about organisms within their ecosystems, whereas environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis only infers their presence and abundance. Despite the promise of eRNA application, basic research on eRNA characteristics and dynamics is limited. The present study conducted aquarium experiments using zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>) to estimate the particle size distribution (PSD) of eRNA in order to better understand the persistence state of eRNA particles. Rearing water samples were sequentially filtered using different pore-size filters, and the resulting size-fractioned mitochondrial cytochrome b (CytB) eDNA and eRNA data were modeled with the Weibull complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) to estimate the parameters characterizing the PSDs. It was revealed that the scale parameter (<i>α</i>) was significantly higher (i.e., the mean particle size was larger) for eRNA than eDNA, while the shape parameter (<i>β</i>) was not significantly different between them. This result supports the hypothesis that most eRNA particles are likely in a protected, intra-cellular state, which mitigates eRNA degradation in water. Moreover, these findings also imply the heterogeneous dispersion of eRNA relative to eDNA and suggest an efficient method of eRNA collection using a larger pore-size filter. Further studies on the characteristics and dynamics of eRNA particles should be pursued in the future.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140167964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Population declines of a widespread amphibian in agricultural landscapes","authors":"Matthias Renoirt,&nbsp;Frédéric Angelier,&nbsp;Marion Cheron,&nbsp;Laure Jabaud,&nbsp;Sabrina Tartu,&nbsp;François Brischoux","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01905-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01905-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Modern agricultural practices are suspected to play a major role in the ongoing erosion of biodiversity. In order to assess whether this biodiversity loss is linked to past habitat modifications (e.g. land consolidation) or to current consequences of modern agriculture (e.g. use of agrochemicals), it remains essential to monitor species that have persisted in agricultural landscapes to date. In this study, we assessed the presence, abundance and recent population trends of one such species, the spined toad (<i>Bufo spinosus</i>) along a gradient of habitats from preserved (forests) to highly agricultural sites in rural Western France. Our results showed that both presence and abundance of spined toads were markedly lower in reproductive ponds surrounded by intensive agriculture. The most salient result of our study is the ongoing decline of this species in farmland habitats. Indeed, this result suggests that unknown factors are currently affecting a widespread terrestrial amphibian previously thought to persist in agricultural landscapes. These factors have recently induced strong population declines over the course of a few years. Future investigations are required to identify these factors at a time when anthropogenic activities are currently leading to unprecedented rates of biodiversity loss.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140157367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fungal heat shock proteins: molecular phylogenetic insights into the host takeover","authors":"João Pedro Nunes Sagini,&nbsp;Rodrigo Ligabue-Braun","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01903-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01903-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Heat shock proteins are constitutively expressed chaperones induced by cellular stress, such as changes in temperature, pH, and osmolarity. These proteins, present in all organisms, are highly conserved and are recruited for the assembly of protein complexes, transport, and compartmentalization of molecules. In fungi, these proteins are related to their adaptation to the environment, their evolutionary success in acquiring new hosts, and regulation of virulence and resistance factors. These characteristics are interesting for assessment of the host adaptability and ecological transitions, given the emergence of infections by these microorganisms. Based on phylogenetic inferences, we compared the sequences of HSP9, HSP12, HSP30, HSP40, HSP70, HSP90, and HSP110 to elucidate the evolutionary relationships of different fungal organisms to suggest evolutionary patterns employing the maximum likelihood method. By the different reconstructions, our inference supports the hypothesis that these classes of proteins are associated with pathogenic gains against endothermic hosts, as well as adaptations for phytopathogenic fungi.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140130470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ice cage: new records and cryptic, isolated lineages in wingless snow flies (Diptera, Limoniidae: Chionea spp.) in German lower mountain ranges","authors":"Robert Klesser,&nbsp;Theo Blick,&nbsp;Michael-Andreas Fritze,&nbsp;Andreas Marten,&nbsp;Michael Hemauer,&nbsp;Laura Kastner,&nbsp;Hubert Höfer,&nbsp;Gero Jäger,&nbsp;Martin Husemann","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01900-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01900-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In Earth’s history warm and cold periods have alternated. Especially, during the Pleistocene, the alternation between these different climatic conditions has led to frequent range expansions and retractions of many species: while thermophilic species dispersed during warm periods, cold adapted species retracted to cold refugia and vice versa. After the last Pleistocene cycle many cold adapted taxa found refuges in relict habitats in mountain ranges. One example for such a cold adapted relict is the flightless snow fly <i>Chionea araneoides</i> (Dalman, 1816). It can be found in lower mountain ranges of Central Europe exclusively in stone runs and stony accumulations which provide cold microclimates. Imagines develop only in winter. They have strongly restricted ranges and hence experienced strong isolation predicting that local populations may show local adaptation and hence also genetic differentiation. We investigated this for several middle mountain ranges of Germany using the COI barcoding gene. Our analyses revealed two distinct lineages, one in the Bavarian Forest and a second one in all other more northern locations up to Scandinavia. These lineages likely go back to post-Pleistocene isolation and should be studied in more detail in the future, also to confirm the taxonomic status of both lineages. Further, we confirmed former records of the species for Germany and report new records for the federal states of Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Finally, we provide the first evidence of two types of males for the species, a small and a larger male type.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00114-024-01900-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140116070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Japanese honey bees (Apis cerana japonica) have swarmed more often over the last two decades","authors":"Kiyohito Morii,&nbsp;Yoshiko Sakamoto","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01902-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01902-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The impacts of temperature increase are a concern for honey bees, which are major pollinators of crops and wild plants. Swarming is the reproductive behavior of honey bees that increases colony numbers. Honey bee colonies sometimes swarm multiple times, with each swarming termed a “swarming event” and a series of these events called a “swarming cycle.” The number of swarming events per swarming cycle varies widely depending on climatic conditions and subspecies, and the recent temperature increase due to global warming might be affecting the number of swarming events per swarming cycle of native honey bees. We clarified long-term changes in the number of swarming events per swarming cycle of Japanese honey bees (<i>Apis cerana japonica</i>) by collecting beekeepers’ swarming logbooks. The survey showed that between 2000 and 2022, Japanese honey bees swarmed 1 to 8 times per swarming cycle. Generalized linear model analysis indicated that year had a significant positive effect (coefficient, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.01–0.04); that is, the number of swarming events per swarming cycle showed a moderate increase over time. In addition, we found that colonies swarmed more often in a cycle when the swarming process began in early spring, especially in March. Considering the notably strong trend in Japan of warmer temperatures in March, the number of swarming events per swarming cycle may be increasing because reproduction is beginning earlier in the year. Further analyses are needed to verify the causal relationship of temperature increase on the number of swarming events per swarming cycle.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10917875/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140038537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Function of snail shell hairs in anti-predator defense","authors":"Nozomu Sato,&nbsp;Akihiro Yoshikawa","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01901-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01901-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The function and evolutionary background of the hairs on the shells of terrestrial gastropods is largely unknown. Many hypotheses proposed by malacologists have never been proven, and the long-held hypothesis of mechanical stability in wet environments has been rejected by recent studies. It would therefore be worthwhile to reexamine other hypotheses regarding the adaptive significance of shell hairs. We investigated the defense function of shell hairs against a specialist predator, the snail-eating firefly, in the long-haired snail <i>Moellendorffia diminuta</i>. The firefly larvae, which hunt snails using abdominal suckers, were unable to attach to the shell because of the shell hairs but were able to attach to the shells that had lost their hairs. About half of the hairy snails successfully defended themselves by swinging their shells and dropping firefly larvae, but most of the snails without hair failed to defend. The hairs reduce the ability of the larva to attach to the shell and increase the effectiveness of the shell-swinging defense behavior in removing the larva from the shell. As shell hairs grow longer with shell development, they may confer an advantage based on the predator’s growth stage. Our findings highlight the anti-predator defense role of shell hairs in land snails, introducing a hypothesis previously overlooked in the evolutionary context of hairy snails.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10899286/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139970570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Plumage and eggshell colouration covary with the level of sex-specific parental contributions to nest building in birds","authors":"Jenő Nagy,&nbsp;Mark E. Hauber,&nbsp;Viktor Löki,&nbsp;Mark C. Mainwaring","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01899-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01899-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Interspecific variation in sex-specific contributions to prenatal parental care, including avian nest building, is becoming increasingly better understood as we amass more information on more species. We examined whether sex-specific nest building contributions covary with the colouration of parents and their eggs in 521 species of Western Palearctic birds. Having colourful plumage and laying colourful eggs are costly because of the deposition of pigments in feathers and eggs and/or forming costly nanostructural substrates in feathers, and so it might be expected that those costs covary with the costs of nest building at the level of individuals and/or across species to produce of a suite of codivergent traits. Using a phylogenetically informed approach, we tested the hypothesis that species in which females alone invest energy building nests exhibit less sexual plumage dichromatism. However, we found comparative support for the opposite of this prediction. We then tested that species in which females alone build nests lay more colourful, and costlier, eggs because the dual costs of building nests and laying colourful eggs can only be borne by higher quality individuals. As expected, we found that species in which females build nests alone or together with males are more likely to lay colourfully pigmented eggs relative to species in which only males build nests. Finally, stochastic character mapping provided evidence of the repeated evolution of female-only nest building. Interspecific sex differences in plumage colouration therefore covary in a complex manner with female pre- (nest building) and post-copulatory (egg production) investment in reproduction.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10899274/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139970571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quasispecies productivity","authors":"Esteban Domingo,&nbsp;Guenther Witzany","doi":"10.1007/s00114-024-01897-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-024-01897-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The quasispecies theory is a helpful concept in the explanation of RNA virus evolution and behaviour, with a relevant impact on methods used to fight viral diseases. It has undergone some adaptations to integrate new empirical data, especially the non-deterministic nature of mutagenesis, and the variety of behavioural motifs in cooperation, competition, communication, innovation, integration, and exaptation. Also, the consortial structure of quasispecies with complementary roles of memory genomes of minority populations better fits the empirical data than did the original concept of a master sequence and its mutant spectra. The high productivity of quasispecies variants generates unique sequences that never existed before and will never exist again. In the present essay, we underline that such sequences represent really new ontological entities, not just error copies of previous ones. Their primary unique property, the incredible variant production, is suggested here as quasispecies productivity, which replaces the error-replication narrative to better fit into a new relationship between mankind and living nature in the twenty-first century.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"111 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2024-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139899177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}