Leaf mass per area (LMA) has been suggested to negatively affect the mesophyll conductance to CO (g ), which is the most limiting factor for area-based photosynthesis (A ) in many Mediterranean sclerophyll species. However, despite their high LMA, these species have similar A to plants from other biomes. Variations in other leaf anatomical traits, such as mesophyll and chloroplast surface area exposed to intercellular air space (S /S and S /S), may offset the restrictions imposed by high LMA in g and A in these species. Seven sclerophyllous Mediterranean oaks from Europe/North Africa and North America with contrasting LMA were compared in terms of morphological, anatomical and photosynthetic traits. Mediterranean oaks showed specific differences in A that go beyond the common morphological leaf traits reported for these species (reduced leaf area and thick leaves). These variations resulted mainly from the differences in g , the most limiting factor for carbon assimilation in these species. Species with higher A showed increased S /S, which implies increased g without changes in stomatal conductance. The occurrence of this anatomical adaptation at the cell level allowed evergreen oaks to reach A values comparable to congeneric deciduous species despite their higher LMA.

The strongest risk factor for childhood and adolescent obesity is parental obesity, and studies show that the strong predictive value of parental BMI results mainly from genetic rather than environmental factors (1,2). Therefore, the study of obese subjects from families with a high occurrence of obesity might reflect a stronger heritable component and prove helpful to increase the potential for detecting genetic associations. Several genome-wide association studies in European populations have identified that genetic variants located in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene are associated with increased risk of developing obesity (3). In an attempt to finely map the region where the initial signals were described, >100 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the associated region where the FTO gene lies have been genotyped in populations of different ancestry. The principal signal is found for rs9939609, an SNP which lies in a cluster of highly correlated variants located in a linkage disequilibrium (LD) block of about 47 kb that encompasses parts of the first two introns and exon 2 of the FTO gene (4-6).The aim of this work was to investigate the LD block structure of a 448.4-kb region surrounding the candidate rs9939609 SNP and perform haplotype analyses in order to identify the best SNP combination that could explain the susceptibility to severe early onset obesity. Methods and Procedures Patients and controlsWe selected probandi who reached a weight greater than (mean + 3 s.d.) before 14 years of age and who referred at least two other morbid obesity cases among first-or second-degree relatives. We consider the existence of grade 3 overweight (commonly called morbid obesity) to be a BMI ≥40 kg/m 2 ; in children this corresponds to a BMI greater than the 95th percentile for age-and sex-matched control subjects from our population data.After their completion of an informed consent form, 202 patients were selected for study of their genetic risk profiles of polygenic/nonsyndromic Childhood and adult obesity have been widely associated with FTO genetic variability in different populations. This study aimed to investigate the linkage disequilibrium (LD) block structure of a region surrounding the candidate rs9939609 SNP and determine the best single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) combination that explains the higher proportion of variability observed in children with severe obesity, including obese subjects from families with a very high occurrence of obesity. A sliding window approach pointed to a block containing the rs1477196/rs17817449/ rs9939609 haplotype (P value 3.1 × 10 −8 ). Carriers of the GGA combination had an increased risk of obesity (odds ratio (OR) 2.07, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.41-3.04, P = 2.0 × 10 −4 ) with respect to those individuals with the reference ATT haplotype. A further SNP, rs9921255, also showed association with obesity (P = 8.3 × 10 −4 , OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.15-2.74 and OR 5.78; 95% CI 1.22-27.49 for heterozygotes and homozygotes, respectively) and did not s...

No abstract

Production of wood charcoal is a traditional form of forest use that lasted for millennia in most temperate regions, vanishing only some decades ago in the Mediterranean countries. Here, the abandoned charcoal hearths form a network of microhabitats with peculiar vegetation and soil conditions. Previous observational studies showed that establishment of woody species at these sites is severely hindered for unknown reasons. To test the effects of charcoal hearth soil on tree growth we used a common garden experiment with three major Euro-Mediterranean forest trees with different traits and ecology, one evergreen (Quercus ilex, holm oak) and two deciduous (Fagus sylvatica, beech, and Quercus cerris, Turkey oak). These were sown on control and charcoalenriched soil collected in forest hearths abandoned since decades. Seed germination, seedling growth, photosynthetic efficiency and mortality were measured over a period of two years. Some responses were speciesspecific, while others were possibly associated to key traits such as evergreen vs. deciduous habit. Although charcoal soil effects were mainly positive on growth rate (height increase), they were mostly negative on germination of beech seeds, survival of holm oak seedlings, and photosynthetic efficiency. Although total biomass was not significantly affected, the root:shoot ratio was increased as a possible effect of physiological drought on hearth soil. These results support field-based evidence that the long persistence of charcoal remains in the soil may be not a favourable condition for forest regeneration. Management implications concern the use of biochar practices to promote forest restoration, which should be further tested on a wide range of species in different lifestages before applications in the field, also considering its long-term consequences.

An assemblage of tree species with different crown properties creates heterogeneous environments at the canopy level. Changes of functional leaf traits are expected, especially those related to light interception and photosynthesis. Chlorophyll a fluorescence (ChlF) properties in dark-adapted leaves, specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen content (N) and carbon isotope composition (δ13C) were measured on Picea abies (L.) H.Karst., Pinus sylvestris L. and Betula pendula Roth. in monospecific and mixed boreal forests in Europe, in order to test whether they were affected by stand species richness and composition. Photosynthetic efficiency, assessed by induced emission of leaf ChlF, was positively influenced in B. pendula by species richness, whereas P. abies showed higher photosynthetic efficiency in monospecific stands. Pinus sylvestris had different responses when it coexisted with P. abies or B. pendula. The presence of B. pendula, but not of P. abies, in the forest had a positive effect on the efficiency of photosynthetic electron transport and N in P. sylvestris needles, and the photosynthetic responses were positively correlated with an increase of leaf δ13C. These effects on P. sylvestris may be related to high light availability at the canopy level due to the less dense canopy of B. pendula. The different light requirements of coexisting species was the most important factor affecting the distribution of foliage in the canopy, driving the physiological responses of the mixed species. Future research directions claim to enhance the informative potential of the methods to analyse the responses of pure and mixed forests to environmental factors, including a broader set of plant species' functional traits and physiological responses.