No abstract

Complete mitochondrial genome data are frequently applied to address phylogenetic/phylogeographic issues at different taxonomic levels in ecology and evolution. While sample preparation/sequencing is becoming more and more straightforward thanks to dropping costs for next-generation sequencing (NGS), data preparation and visualization remains a manually intensive step that may lead to errors if improperly conducted. We have elaborated, and here introduce, EZmito, a simple and intuitive, freely accessible Web Server aimed at automating some of these tasks. EZmito is divided into three main tools: EZpipe that assembles DNA matrices for phylo-mitogenomic analyses; EZskew that calculates genome, strand, and codon nucleotide compositional skews and EZcodon which computes Relative Synonymous Codon Usage statistics as well as amino acid usage frequency over multiple mitogenomes. Output is produced in tabular format as well as publication-quality graphics.

Astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) are exposed to the damaging effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation. One of the most critical and sensitive districts of their organism is the eye, and in particular the retina, so that more than half of them develops a complex of alterations designated as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome. We explored the cellular and molecular effects induced on human retinal pigment ARPE-19 cell line by their transfer to and three days stay on board the ISS in the context of an experiment funded by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). Treatment of cells on board ISS with the well-known bioenergetic, antioxidant and antiapoptotic coenzyme Q10 was also evaluated. In the ground control experiment the cells were exposed to the same conditions as on the ISS, except for microgravity and radiation. Transfer of ARPE-19 retinal cells to the ISS and their living on board for three days did not impact on cell viability or apoptosis but induced cytoskeleton remodeling consisting in vimentin redistribution from the cellular boundaries to the perinuclear area, underlining the collapse of the network of intermediate vimentin filaments under unloading conditions. Morphological changes endured by ARPE-19 cells grown on board the ISS were associated with changes in the transcriptomic profile related to cellular response to space environment, and were consistent with cell dysfunction adaptations. In addition, results obtained from ARPE-19 cells treated on board ISS with coenzyme Q10 showed its potential ability to increase cell resistance to damaging insults.

The gut microbiome can play a fundamental role in several processes associated with an organism’s ecology, and research on the microbiota of wild animals has flourished in the last decades. Microbiome composition can vary across and within species according to taxonomy and environmental variability, including the availability of food resources. Species with a large distribution may exhibit spatial patterns acting at local/regional scales. We considered one of the most widespread and ecologically important predators in the world, i.e., the grey wolf Canis lupus, for which microbiome data is unduly limited. We studied four packs in different ecological conditions in Italy—two packs from a Mediterranean coastal area and two packs from an Alpine range—using an amplicon sequencing barcoding approach. Overall, our results are consistent with food habits entailing a diet largely based on wild prey and agree with findings obtained on other species of canids. If confirmed through a larger sample, they would support the hypothesis of an influence of the shared evolutionary history across canids on the composition of the gut microbiome. Some emerging differences were observed among packs in terms of species composition (Jaccard) and diversity, providing partial support to recent indications on pack identity as a significant determinant of microbiome composition. These results should be considered preliminary results of gut microbiome composition in our study areas.