Search

Antarctic conservation science is crucial for enhancing Antarctic policy and understanding alterations to terrestrial Antarctic biodiversity. Antarctic conservation will have limited long‐term impacts in the absence of large‐scale biodiversity data, but if such data were available, it is likely to improve environmental protection regimes. To enable the prediction of Antarctic biodiversity across continental spatial scales through proxy variables, in the absence of baseline surveys, we linked Antarctic substrate‐derived environmental DNA (eDNA) sequence data from the remote Antarctic Prince Charles Mountains to a selected range of concomitantly collected measurements of substrate properties. We achieved this through application of a statistical method commonly used in machine learning. Our analysis indicated that neutral substrate pH, low conductivity, and certain substrate minerals are important predictors of the presence of basidiomycetes, chlorophytes, ciliophorans, nematodes, and tardigrades. A bootstrapped regression revealed how variations in the identified substrate parameters influence probabilities of detecting eukaryote phyla across vast and remote areas of Antarctica. We believe that our work will improve future taxon distribution modeling and aid in developing more targeted surveys of biodiversity conducted under logistically challenging conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity of a polyphenol-enriched diet to modulate the epigenome in vivo is partly unknown. Given the beneficial metabolic effects of a Mediterranean (MED) diet enriched in polyphenols and reduced in red/processed meat (green-MED), as previously been proven by the 18-month DIRECT PLUS randomized controlled trial, we analyzed the effects of the green-MED diet on methylome and transcriptome levels to highlight molecular mechanisms underlying the observed metabolic improvements. Our study included 260 participants (baseline BMI = 31.2 kg/m2, age = 5 years) of the DIRECT PLUS trial, initially randomized to one of the intervention arms: A. healthy dietary guidelines (HDG), B. MED (440 mg polyphenols additionally provided by walnuts), C. green-MED (1240 mg polyphenols additionally provided by walnuts, green tea, and Mankai: green duckweed shake). Blood methylome and transcriptome of all study subjects were analyzed at baseline and after completing the 18-month intervention using Illumina EPIC and RNA sequencing technologies. A total of 1573 differentially methylated regions (DMRs; false discovery rate (FDR) < 5 %) were found in the green-MED compared to the MED (177) and HDG (377) diet participants. This corresponded to 1753 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; FDR < 5 %) in the green-MED intervention compared to MED (7) and HDG (738). Consistently, the highest number (6 %) of epigenetic modulating genes was transcriptionally changed in subjects participating in the green-MED intervention. Weighted cluster network analysis relating transcriptional and phenotype changes among participants subjected to the green-MED intervention identified candidate genes associated with serum-folic acid change (all P < 1 × 10−3) and highlighted one module including the KIR3DS1 locus, being negatively associated with the polyphenol changes (e.g. P < 1 × 10−4), but positively associated with the MRI-assessed superficial subcutaneous adipose area-, weight- and waist circumference- 18-month change (all P < 0.05). Among others, this module included the DMR gene Cystathionine Beta-Synthase , playing a major role in homocysteine reduction. The green-MED high polyphenol diet, rich in green tea and Mankai, renders a high capacity to regulate an individual's epigenome. Our findings suggest epigenetic key drivers such as folate and green diet marker to mediate this capacity and indicate a direct effect of dietary polyphenols on the one‑carbon metabolism. Created with BioRender.com. [Display omitted] • A polyphenol enriched Mediterranean diet shows distinct epigenetic signatures. • Folate and vitamin B12 are the epigenetic key drivers of the diet-induced effects. • Transcriptional gene clusters show opposing effects on urine polyphenols and obesity. • Potential to regulate the one-carbon metabolism affects autoimmune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]