Search

Under the Climate Change scenario, the occurrence of Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (HCBs) is an increasingly concerning problem. Particularly for inland freshwaters, that have human populations depending on them for consumption or recreation, HCBs can lead to serious ecological damages and socio-economic impacts, but also to health risks for local communities. From satellite imagery to molecular data, there is an increasing number of methodological approaches that can help improve the monitoring and prediction of cyanobacterial blooms. However, although each methodology has its own strengths and limitations, generally there is a lack of data addressing specific and intraspecific information, which has implications for the modelling and prediction of the real dynamics and toxicity of HCBs. The present review intends to make a quick overview on current approaches to monitor cyanobacterial blooms and provide a tier-based integrative perspective for their application. A transversal monitoring at a wide scale should be enhanced but cannot rely only on pigment levels but rather include the specific and intraspecific diversity information that can be obtained from modern molecular tools. This is crucial to achieve the effective prediction, monitoring and management of HCBs under their increasing occurrence and severity trends in freshwaters.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) has gained worldwide recognition for its nutritional values, adaptability to diverse environments, and genetic diversity. This review explores the current understanding of quinoa tolerance to environmental stress, focusing on drought, salinity, heat, heavy metals, and UV-B radiation. Although drought and salinity have been extensively studied, other stress factors remain underexplored. The ever-increasing incidence of abiotic stress, exacerbated by unpredictable weather patterns and climate change, underscores the importance of understanding quinoa’s responses to these challenges. Global gene banks safeguard quinoa’s genetic diversity, supporting breeding efforts to develop stress-tolerant varieties. Recent advances in genomics and molecular tools offer promising opportunities to improve stress tolerance and increase the yield potential of quinoa. Transcriptomic studies have shed light on the responses of quinoa to drought and salinity, yet further studies are needed to elucidate its resilience to other abiotic stresses. Quinoa’s ability to thrive on poor soils and limited water resources makes it a sustainable option for land restoration and food security enterprises. In conclusion, quinoa is a versatile and robust crop with the potential to address food security challenges under environmental constraints.

Here we review the application of molecular biological approaches to mineral precipitation in modern marine microbialites. The review focuses on the nearly two decades of nucleotide sequencing studies of the microbialites of Shark Bay, Australia; and The Bahamas. Molecular methods have successfully characterized the overall community composition of mats, pinpointed microbes involved in key metabolisms, and revealed patterns in the distributions of microbial groups and functional genes. Molecular tools have become widely accessible, and we can now aim to establish firmer links between microbes and mineralization. Two promising future directions include “zooming in” to assess the roles of specific organisms, microbial groups, and surfaces in carbonate biomineralization and “zooming out” to consider broader spans of space and time. A middle ground between the two can include model systems that contain representatives of important microbial groups, processes, and metabolisms in mats and simplify hypothesis testing. These directions will benefit from expanding reference datasets of marine microbes and enzymes and enrichments of representative microbes from mats. Such applications of molecular tools should improve our ability to interpret ancient and modern microbialites and increase the utility of these rocks as long-term recorders of microbial processes and environmental chemistry.

Fetal malformations occur in 2–3% of pregnancies. They require invasive procedures for cytogenetics and molecular testing. “Structural anomalies” include non-transient anatomic alterations. “Soft markers” are often transient minor ultrasound findings. Anomalies not fitting these definitions are categorized as “dynamic”. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the diagnostic yield and the rates of variants of uncertain significance (VUSs) in fetuses undergoing molecular testing (chromosomal microarray (CMA), exome sequencing (ES), genome sequencing (WGS)) due to ultrasound findings. The CMA diagnostic yield was 2.15% in single soft markers (vs. 0.79% baseline risk), 3.44% in multiple soft markers, 3.66% in single structural anomalies and 8.57% in multiple structural anomalies. Rates for specific subcategories vary significantly. ES showed a diagnostic rate of 19.47%, reaching 27.47% in multiple structural anomalies. WGS data did not allow meta-analysis. In fetal structural anomalies, CMA is a first-tier test, but should be integrated with karyotype and parental segregations. In this class of fetuses, ES presents a very high incremental yield, with a significant VUSs burden, so we encourage its use in selected cases. Soft markers present heterogeneous CMA results from each other, some of them with risks comparable to structural anomalies, and would benefit from molecular analysis. The diagnostic rate of multiple soft markers poses a solid indication to CMA.

Plant-parasitic and entomopathogenic nematodes (PPNs and EPNs) are key groups in crop production systems. This study aims at optimizing nematode sampling and extraction methods to benefit integrated pest management (IPM) through (a) management of PPNs and (b) use of EPNs. The impacts of these methods on PPNs and EPNs to achieve cost-effective and efficient IPM programs are presented. The common misuses of sampling and extraction methods are discussed. Professionals engaged in IPM should consider sampling the reliability level in the light of the intended goal, location, crop value, susceptibility, nematode species, and available funds. Logical sampling methodology should be expanded to integrate various factors that can recover extra EPN isolates with differential pathogenicity. It should seek for the best EPN-host matching. Merits of repeated baiting for EPN extraction from soil and sieving for PPN recovery from suspensions are presented. Their extraction values may be modelled to quantify the efficiency of nematode separation. The use of proper indices of dispersion to enhance the biocontrol potential of EPNs or save costs in nematicidal applications is ideally compatible with IPM programs. Selecting an extraction method may sometimes require further tests to find the best extraction method of the existing fauna and/or flora. Cons and pros of modern sampling and extraction techniques are highlighted.