The study was undertaken to understand the dynamics of soil nematode communities association along elevation gradient and associated variables in high-altitude regions of Western Himalaya. The diversity and distribution pattern of soil nematodes were investigated at four elevation ranges (Elv1, Elv2, Elv3, and Elv4 each of 500 m class) along altitudinal gradient (3000–5000 m). The nematode community comprised 58 genera of which 37 genera showed sensitivity towards altitudinal variation and the community structure also varied among elevation classes. It was found that elevation significantly affect the nematodes trophic group, diversity composition, and the nematode indices. Nematode generic richness and evenness index indicated a relatively low biodiversity of soil nematodes is supported at higher altitudes. Moreover, maturity indices reflected lower sustenance of k-strategic nematodes at higher elevations. Structure index depicted fewer connections in the soil food web at higher elevations. Nematode faunal profile showed low nutrient and low disturbance in the region. Carbon footprint of the whole nematode assemblage declined along the elevation. Overall substantial differences in the nematode composition, abundance, trophic structure, and contribution to belowground carbon cycling were observed with change in elevation. These findings could be utilized as useful tool in the long-term monitoring and to understand the region's soil health.
DNA barcode data of soft-shell turtles is limited in global DNA database while it is completely lacking for the highly debated species Nilssonia nigricans. We employed DNA barcoding technique to discriminate the species cluster for Nilssonia congeners, especially for the highly debated N. nigricans from different localities of northeast India. Sampling across the region included a few live specimens from wild, market sold carcass specimens, and a few dry carapaces meant for home decoration purpose. The generated sequences (621 bp of mtCOI) of dry carapaces showed 99-100% homology with the generated sequences of morphologically identified N. nigricans. The COI barcode sequences of N. nigricans (n = 12) showed 3.8% mean genetic divergence with N. hurum (n = 3), 10% with N. gangetica (n = 4), and 9.2% with N. formosa (GenBank sequences). Similarly, the mtCytb sequences of the dry carapace and live specimens of N. nigricans were 99-100% homologous with the conspecific database sequences and formed specific clusters. The inferred Neighbor-Joining (NJ), Maximum Likelihood (ML), and Bayesian (BA) phylogeny based on partial mtCOI gene efficiently discriminated all the congeners of Nilssonia into specific clusters and, therefore, it was helpful to detect the existence of N. nigricans.
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