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Grass species (family Poaceae) are globally distributed, adapted to a wide range of climates and express a diversity of functional strategies. We explored the functional strategies of grass species using the competitor, stress tolerator, ruderal (CSR) system and asked how a species’ strategy relates to its functional traits, climatic distribution and propensity to become naturalized outside its native range. We used a global set of trait data for grass species to classify functional strategies according to the CSR system based on leaf traits. Differences in strategies in relation to lifespan (annual or perennial), photosynthetic type (C3 or C4), or naturalisation (native or introduced) were investigated. In addition, correlations with traits not included in the CSR classification were analyzed, and a model was fitted to predict a species’ average mean annual temperature and annual precipitation across its range as a function of CSR scores. Values for competitiveness were higher in C4 species than in C3 species, values for stress tolerance were higher in perennials than in annuals, and introduced species had more pronounced competitive-ruderal strategies than native species. Relationships between the CSR classification, based on leaf traits, and other functional traits were analyzed. Competitiveness was positively correlated with height, while ruderality was correlated with specific root length, indicating that both above- and belowground traits underlying leaf and root economics contribute to realized CSR strategies. Further, relationships between climate and CSR classification showed that species with competitive strategies were more common in warm climates and at high precipitation, whereas species with stress tolerance strategies were more common in cold climates and at low precipitation. The findings presented here demonstrate that CSR classification of functional strategies based on leaf traits matches expectations for the adaptations of grass species that underlie lifespan, photosynthetic type, naturalization and climate.

Aim: Addressing global environmental challenges requires access to biodiversity data across wide spatial, temporal and taxonomic scales. Availability of such data has increased exponentially recently with the proliferation of biodiversity databases. However, heterogeneous coverage, protocols, and standards have hampered integration among these databases. To stimulate the next stage of data integration, here we present a synthesis of major databases, and investigate (a) how the coverage of databases varies across taxonomy, space, and record type; (b) what degree of integration is present among databases; (c) how integration of databases can increase biodiversity knowledge; and (d) the barriers to database integration. Location: Global. Time period: Contemporary. Major taxa studied: Plants and vertebrates. Methods: We reviewed 12 established biodiversity databases that mainly focus on geographic distributions and functional traits at global scale. We synthesized information from these databases to assess the status of their integration and major knowledge gaps and barriers to full integration. We estimated how improved integration can increase the data coverage for terrestrial plants and vertebrates. Results: Every database reviewed had a unique focus of data coverage. Exchanges of biodiversity information were common among databases, although not always clearly documented. Functional trait databases were more isolated than those pertaining to species distributions. Variation and potential incompatibility of taxonomic systems used by different databases posed a major barrier to data integration. We found that integration of distribution databases could lead to increased taxonomic coverage that corresponds to 23 years’ advancement in data accumulation, and improvement in taxonomic coverage could be as high as 22.4% for trait databases. Main conclusions: Rapid increases in biodiversity knowledge can be achieved through the integration of databases, providing the data necessary to address critical environmental challenges. Full integration across databases will require tackling the major impediments to data integration: taxonomic incompatibility, lags in data exchange, barriers to effective data synchronization, and isolation of individual initiatives.

Billions of microbial cells sculpt the gut ecosystem, playing essential roles in human physiology. Since endurance athletes’ performance is often physiology-limited, understanding the composition and interactions within these athletes’ gut microbiomes could lead to improved performance. Previous studies describe differences in the relative abundance of bacterial taxa when comparing athletes versus controls or athletes before and after an endurance event, suggesting the existence of an “endurance microbiome”. However, there are inconsistencies among studies in which taxa correlate with extended physical exertion. Although these studies employed similar barcoding methods, variation in downstream bioinformatic analyses makes it difficult to determine whether inconsistencies are due to methodological differences or biological factors. Herein, we created a metagenomic bioinformatics workflow reanalyzing four 16S rDNA sequence datasets reflecting endurance athletes’ gut microbiomes, looking at alpha diversity, changes in relative abundance of gut microbiome genera, changes in pairwise correlations between bacterial genera and compared bacterial association networks. There were no significant differences in alpha diversity between any of the four treatment group comparisons. For relative abundance, there were no consistent differences in all four datasets, and only two genera were significantly different in 50% of the datasets. Although many genera showed changes in pairwise correlations in endurance microbiome samples from individual datasets, none were consistent across datasets. Collectively, these results suggest that either there is no universal endurance microbiome, or that it remains elusive even after controlling for the bioinformatic workflow and statistical analyses. Using this data, a power analysis indicates that sample sizes 150- to 800-fold larger than these published studies would be necessary to detect a 10% difference in relative abundance. Furthermore, 10- to 20-fold more samples will be needed to control for the multitude of covariates (genetic, metabolic, dietary, environmental, and pharmacological factors) that mold the gut microbiome of athletes and non-athletes alike.I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it. - Steve Prefontaine

Plant species can show considerable morphological and functional variation along environmental gradients. This intraspecific trait variation (ITV) can have important consequences for community assembly, biotic interactions, ecosystem functions and responses to global change. However, directly measuring ITV across many species and wide geographic areas is often infeasible. Thus, a method to predict spatial variation in a species’ functional traits could be valuable. We measured specific leaf area (SLA), height and leaf area (LA) of grasses across California, covering 59 species at 230 sampling locations. We asked how these traits change along climate gradients within each species and used machine learning to predict local trait values for any species at any location based on phylogenetic position, local climate and that species’ mean traits. We then examined how much these local predictions alter patterns of assemblage-level trait variation across the state. Most species exhibited higher SLA and grew taller at higher temperatures and produced larger leaves in drier conditions. The random forests predicted spatial variation in functional traits very accurately, with correlations up to 0.97. Because trait records were spatially biased towards warmer areas, and these areas tend to have higher SLA individuals within each species, species means of SLA were upwardly biased. As a result, using species means over-estimates SLA in the cooler regions of the state. Our results also suggest that height may be substantially under-predicted in the warmest areas. Synthesis. Using only species mean traits to characterize the functional composition of communities risks introducing substantial error into trait-based estimates of ecosystem properties including decomposition rates or NPP. The high performance of random forests in predicting local trait values provides a way forward for estimating high-resolution patterns of ITV without a massive data collection effort.

International audience; The global distribution of exotic species is the result of abiotic, biotic and dispersal filtering processes that shape the movement and success of species outside their native range. In this study we aim to understand how these filtering processes drive the fluxes of grass species among regions, the factors that influence which species establish outside of their native range, and where they do so. We used national and subnational checklists of native and introduced grass species to determine the extent to which each region was a source or recipient of exotic grass species. We asked how species traits may distinguish those grass species that have naturalized outside their native range from those that have not, and how environmental conditions are related to the distribution of exotic grass species. We found that exotic grass establishment is shaped by an array of factors including characteristics of regions, traits of species and their interactions. Regions with a longer history of human occupation and larger numbers of native grass species were generally the most important sources of exotic species. Global flows of species were mostly driven by a climate match between the native and exotic ranges, but were also highly asymmetric, with regions with recent human arrival being the major hosts of exotic grass species. Tall, annual and C4 grass species exhibited particularly high probabilities of establishment outside their native range. Despite the idiosyncrasy and stochasticity characteristic of exotic species establishment, this biogeographical analysis revealed important generalities across this large plant group. Our results suggest that grass species that have co-occurred with humans for a longer time may be better adapted to living in anthropogenic landscapes, explaining the global asymmetry in species introductions.

Aim: We mapped global patterns of tree phylogenetic endemism (PE) to identify hotspots and test hypotheses about possible drivers. Specifically, we tested hypotheses related to current climate, geographical characteristics and historical conditions and assessed their relative importance in shaping PE patterns. Location: Global. Time period: We used the present distribution of trees, and predictors covering conditions from the mid-Miocene to present. Major taxa studied: All seed-bearing trees. Methods: We compiled distributions for 58,542 tree species across 463 regions worldwide, matched these to a recent phylogeny of seed plants and calculated PE for each region. We used a suite of predictor variables describing current climate (e.g., mean annual temperature), geographical characteristics (e.g., isolation) and historical conditions (e.g., tree cover at the Last Glacial Maximum) in a spatial regression model to explain variation in PE. Results: Tree PE was highest on islands, and was higher closer to the equator. All three groups of predictor variables contributed substantially to the PE pattern. Isolation and topographic heterogeneity promoted high PE, as did high current tree cover. Among mainland regions, temperature seasonality was strongly negatively related to PE, while mean annual temperature was positively related to PE on islands. Some relationships differed among the major floristic regions. For example, tree cover at the Last Glacial Maximum was a positive predictor of PE in the Palaeotropics, while tree cover at the Miocene was a negative predictor of PE in the Neotropics. Main conclusions: Globally, PE can be explained by a combination of geographical, historical and current factors. Some geographical variables appear to be key predictors of PE. However, the impact of historic and current climate variables differs considerably among the major floristic regions, reflecting their unique histories. Hence, the current distribution of trees is the result of globally relevant geographical drivers and regional climatic histories Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Significance We explore an extended view of the tropical conservatism hypothesis to account for two often-neglected components of climatic stress: drought and the combined effect of seasonal cold and drought—the latter being a common feature of extratropical dry environments. We show that evolutionary diversity of angiosperm assemblages in extratropical dry biomes is even lower than in biomes subject to only one type of climatic stress. We further show that evolutionary diversity in many assemblages from eastern North America is higher or comparable to that of tropical moist forests, suggesting that some extratropical moist biomes have accumulated angiosperm lineages over deep evolutionary timescales with their flora assembled from lineages that represent the entirety of the angiosperm tree of life., The tropical conservatism hypothesis (TCH) posits that the latitudinal gradient in biological diversity arises because most extant clades of animals and plants originated when tropical environments were more widespread and because the colonization of colder and more seasonal temperate environments is limited by the phylogenetically conserved environmental tolerances of these tropical clades. Recent studies have claimed support of the TCH, indicating that temperate plant diversity stems from a few more recently derived lineages that are nested within tropical clades, with the colonization of the temperate zone being associated with key adaptations to survive colder temperatures and regular freezing. Drought, however, is an additional physiological stress that could shape diversity gradients. Here, we evaluate patterns of evolutionary diversity in plant assemblages spanning the full extent of climatic gradients in North and South America. We find that in both hemispheres, extratropical dry biomes house the lowest evolutionary diversity, while tropical moist forests and many temperate mixed forests harbor the highest. Together, our results support a more nuanced view of the TCH, with environments that are radically different from the ancestral niche of angiosperms having limited, phylogenetically clustered diversity relative to environments that show lower levels of deviation from this niche. Thus, we argue that ongoing expansion of arid environments is likely to entail higher loss of evolutionary diversity not just in the wet tropics but in many extratropical moist regions as well.

Datos disponibles en https://github.com/fmsabatini/sPlotOpen_Code, EU H2020 project BACI, Grant No. 640176 (...), Sabatini, F.M., Lenoir, J., Hattab, T., Arnst, E.A., Chytrý, M., Dengler, J., De Ruffray, P., Hennekens, S.M., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Kattge, J., Levesley, A., Pillar, V.D., Purschke, O., Sandel, B., Sultana, F., Aavik, T., Aćić, S., Acosta, A.T.R., Agrillo, E., Alvarez, M., Apostolova, I., Arfin Khan, M.A.S., Arroyo, L., Attorre, F., Aubin, I., Banerjee, A., Bauters, M., Bergeron, Y., Bergmeier, E., Biurrun, I., Bjorkman, A.D., Bonari, G., Bondareva, V., Brunet, J., Čarni, A., Casella, L., Cayuela, L., Černý, T., Chepinoga, V., Csiky, J., Ćušterevska, R., De Bie, E., de Gasper, A.L., De Sanctis, M., Dimopoulos, P., Dolezal, J., Dziuba, T., El-Sheikh, M.A.E.-R.M., Enquist, B., Ewald, J., Fazayeli, F., Field, R., Finckh, M., Gachet, S., Galán-de-Mera, A., Garbolino, E., Gholizadeh, H., Giorgis, M., Golub, V., Alsos, I.G., Grytnes, J.-A., Guerin, G.R., Gutiérrez, A.G., Haider, S., Hatim, M.Z., Hérault, B., Hinojos Mendoza, G., Hölzel, N., Homeier, J., Hubau, W., Indreica, A., Janssen, J.A.M., Jedrzejek, B., Jentsch, A., Jürgens, N., Kącki, Z., Kapfer, J., Karger, D.N., Kavgacı, A., Kearsley, E., Kessler, M., Khanina, L., Killeen, T., Korolyuk, A., Kreft, H., Kühl, H.S., Kuzemko, A., Landucci, F., Lengyel, A., Lens, F., Lingner, D.V., Liu, H., Lysenko, T., Mahecha, M.D., Marcenò, C., Martynenko, V., Moeslund, J.E., Monteagudo Mendoza, A., Mucina, L., Müller, J.V., Munzinger, J., Naqinezhad, A., Noroozi, J., Nowak, A., Onyshchenko, V., Overbeck, G.E., Pärtel, M., Pauchard, A., Peet, R.K., Peñuelas, J., Pérez-Haase, A., Peterka, T., Petřík, P., Peyre, G., Phillips, O.L., Prokhorov, V., Rašomavičius, V., Revermann, R., Rivas-Torres, G., Rodwell, J.S., Ruprecht, E., Rūsiņa, S., Samimi, C., Schmidt, M., Schrodt, F., Shan, H., Shirokikh, P., Šibík, J., Šilc, U., Sklenář, P., Škvorc, Ž., Sparrow, B., Sperandii, M.G., Stančić, Z., Svenning, J.-C., Tang, Z., Tang, C.Q., Tsiripidis, I., Vanselow, K.A., Vásquez Martínez, R., Vassilev, K., Vélez-Martin, E., Venanzoni, R., Vibrans, A.C., Violle, C., Virtanen, R., von Wehrden, H., Wagner, V., Walker, D.A., Waller, D.M., Wang, H.-F., Wesche, K., Whitfeld, T.J.S., Willner, W., Wiser, S.K., Wohlgemuth, T., Yamalov, S., Zobel, M., Bruelheide, H.

Ecologists have embraced phylogenetic measures of assemblage structure, in large part for the promise of better mechanistic inferences. However, phylogenetic structure is driven by a wide array of factors from local biotic interactions to biogeographical history, complicating the mechanistic interpretation of a pattern. This may be particularly problematic along elevational gradients, where rapidly changing physical and biological conditions overlap with geological and biogeographical history, potentially producing complex patterns of phylogenetic dispersion (relatedness). We focus on the longest elevational gradient of vegetation in the world (i.e. c. 6000 m in Nepal) to explore patterns of phylogenetic dispersion for angiosperms (flowering plants) along this elevational gradient. We used the net relatedness index to quantify phylogenetic dispersion for each elevational band of 100 m. We found a zig-zag pattern of phylogenetic dispersion along this elevational gradient. With increasing elevation, the phylogenetic relatedness of species decreased for the elevational segment between 0 and c. 2100 m, increased for the elevational segment between 2100 and c. 4200 m, and decreased for the elevational segment above c. 4200 m. We consider this pattern to be a result of the interaction of geophysical (e.g. plate tectonics) and eco-evolutionary processes (e.g. niche conservatism and trait convergence). We speculate on the mechanisms that might have generated this zig-zag pattern of phylogenetic dispersion.

Aims: Phylogenetic endemism describes the extent to which unique phylogenetic lineages are constrained to restricted geographic areas. Previous studies indicate that species endemism is related to both past and modern climate, but studies of phylogenetic endemism are relatively rare and mainly focused on smaller regions. Here, we provide the first assessment of the patterns of species and phylogenetic endemism in angiosperm trees across the Northern Hemisphere as well as the relative importance of modern climate and glacial–interglacial climate change as drivers of these patterns. Location: Northern Hemisphere. Major taxa: Angiosperm trees. Methods: Using tree assemblages at the scale of 100 km × 100 km grid cells and simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models, we assessed the relationships between species endemism, phylogenetic endemism and modern climate variables, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to present temperature velocity. Results: Species and phylogenetic endemism were associated with both modern climate and glacial–interglacial climate change, with higher values in areas with stable historical climate and warmer and wetter modern conditions. Notably, the multivariate SAR analyses showed that the combinations of variables with highest Akaike’s information criterion (AIC) weight always included both LGM–present climate instability and modern climate, that is, modern precipitation and temperature. Main conclusions: Our results show that high phylogenetic endemism is partially dependent on long-term climate stability, highlighting the threat posed by future climate changes to the preservation of rare, phylogenetically distinct lineages of trees.

A variety of rewilding initiatives are being implemented across Europe, generally characterized by a more functionalist approach to nature management compared to the classic compositional approach. To address the increasing need for a framework to support implementation of rewilding in practical management, we present TRAAIL—Trophic Rewilding Advancement in Anthropogenically Impacted Landscapes. TRAAIL has been co-produced with managers and other stakeholders and provides managers with a framework to categorize rewilding initiatives and to link conventional nature management and rewilding by guiding steps towards a higher degree of self-regulation. Applying TRAAIL to data obtained in a Danish survey of rewilding-inspired initiatives we find that out of 44 initiatives there is no “Full rewilding” initiatives, 3 “Near-full rewilding” initiatives, 23 “Partial rewilding” initiatives, 2 “minimal rewilding” initiatives and 16 “Effort-intensive conservation management” initiatives. This study shows how TRAAIL can guide and inform trophic rewilding on a local and national scale. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-019-01192-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The dramatic climate fluctuations of the late Quaternary have influenced the diversity and composition of macroorganism communities, but how they structure belowground microbial communities is less well known. Fungi constitute an important component of soil microorganism communities. They play an important role in biodiversity maintenance, community assembly, and ecosystem functioning, and differ from many macroorganisms in many traits. Here, we examined soil fungal communities in Chinese temperate, subtropical, and tropic forests using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the fungal ITS1 region. The relative effect of late Quaternary climate change and contemporary environment (plant, soil, current climate, and geographic distance) on the soil fungal community was analyzed. The richness of the total fungal community, along with saprotrophic, ectomycorrhizal (EM), and pathogenic fungal communities, was influenced primarily by the contemporary environment (plant and/or soil) but not by late Quaternary climate change. Late Quaternary climate change acted in concert with the contemporary environment to shape total, saprotrophic, EM, and pathogenic fungal community compositions and with a stronger effect in temperate forest than in tropic–subtropical forest ecosystems. Some contemporary environmental factors influencing total, saprotrophic, EM, and pathogenic fungal communities in temperate and tropic–subtropical forests were different. We demonstrate that late Quaternary climate change can help to explain current soil fungal community composition and argue that climatic legacies can help to predict soil fungal responses to climate change.

QUESTIONS: California's grasslands are heavily invaded by exotic species. Counteracting these invasions depends on understanding the functional differences between native and exotic species and how these shift along environmental gradients. Focusing on grasses, we ask: (a) how native and exotic trait means and intraspecific trait variation (ITV) differ; (b) how the functional composition of grass assemblages shifts with precipitation; and (c) how species shift their functional strategies as precipitation changes. LOCATION: Marin County, California (USA). METHODS: In spring 2017, we censused grassland vegetation plots across eight reserves in Marin County that are arrayed along a precipitation gradient. At each plot, we measured traits of grasses, including height, leaf area and specific leaf area (SLA). RESULTS: We found modest differences in functional traits between native and exotic species. Exotic species had larger seeds and higher SLAs, indicating higher reproductive investments and a leaf strategy focused on obtaining rapid returns on investments with relatively short leaf life spans. Native and exotic species did not differ in the ITV for any of the measured traits. Variation in precipitation among sites drove strong turnover in the functional trait composition of grasses, as well as shifts within species. Wetter sites had shorter species with smaller leaf areas, smaller seeds and higher leaf N concentrations. There was also strong intraspecific SLA variation along the precipitation gradient; all species displayed lower SLA values as precipitation increased. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with previous results, native species had more conservative leaf strategies. Grasses that display these conservative strategies tend to be more abundant in dry climates, leading to increasing exotic abundance in wetter climates. However, each species shifted towards more conservative strategies as precipitation increased, suggesting that the factors that drive species turnover and ITV differ.

Latitudinal and elevational richness gradients have received much attention from ecologists but there is little consensus on underlying causes. One possible proximate cause is increased levels of species turnover, or β diversity, in the tropics compared to temperate regions. Here, we leverage a large botanical dataset to map taxonomic and phylogenetic β diversity, as mean turnover between neighboring 100 × 100 km cells, across the Americas and determine key climatic drivers. We find taxonomic and tip-weighted phylogenetic β diversity is higher in the tropics, but that basal-weighted phylogenetic β diversity is highest in temperate regions. Supporting Janzen's ‘mountain passes’ hypothesis, tropical mountainous regions had higher β diversity than temperate regions for taxonomic and tip-weighted metrics. The strongest climatic predictors of turnover were average temperature and temperature seasonality. Taken together, these results suggest β diversity is coupled to latitudinal richness gradients and that temperature is a major driver of plant community composition and change.

Aims: Trees dominate the biomass in many ecosystems and are essential for ecosystem functioning and human well-being. They are also one of the best-studied functional groups of plants, with vast amounts of biodiversity data available in scattered sources. We here aim to illustrate that an efficient integration of these data could produce a more holistic understanding of vegetation. Methods: To assess the extent of potential data integration, we use key databases of plant biodiversity to: (a) obtain a list of tree species and their distributions; (b) identify coverage of and gaps in different aspects of tree biodiversity data; and (c) discuss large-scale patterns of tree biodiversity in relation to vegetation. Results: Our global list of trees included 58,044 species. Taxonomic coverage varies in three key databases, with data on the distribution, functional traits, and molecular sequences for about 84%, 45% and 44% of all tree species, which is >10% greater than for plants overall. For 28% of all tree species, data are available in all three databases. However, less data are digitally accessible about the demography, ecological interactions, and socio-economic role of tree species. Integrating and imputing existing tree biodiversity data, mobilization of non-digitized resources and targeted data collection, especially in tropical countries, could help closing some of the remaining data gaps. Conclusions: Due to their key ecosystem roles and having large amounts of accessible data, trees are a good model group for understanding vegetation patterns. Indeed, tree biodiversity data are already beginning to elucidate the community dynamics, functional diversity, evolutionary history and ecological interactions of vegetation, with great potential for future applications. An interoperable and openly accessible framework linking various databases would greatly benefit future macroecological studies and should be linked to a platform that makes information readily accessible to end users in biodiversity conservation and management. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Patterns in ecology are the products of current factors interacting with history. Nevertheless, few studies have attempted to disentangle the contribution of historical and current factors, such as climate change and pollinator identity and behavior, on plant reproduction. Here, we attempted to separate the relative importance of current and historical processes on geographical patterns of the mating system of the tree species Curatella americana (Dilleniaceae). Specifically, we asked the following: (a) How do Quaternary and current climate affect plant mating system? (b) How does current pollinator abundance and diversity relate to plant mating system? (c) How does mating system relate to fruit/seed quantity and quality in C. americana? We recorded pollinators (richness, frequency, and body size) and performed pollination tests in ten populations of C. americana spread over 3,000 km in the Brazilian savannah. The frequency of self-pollination in the absence of pollinators was strongly influenced by historical climatic instability and not by present-day pollinators. In contrast, seed set from hand-cross and natural pollination were affected by pollinators (especially large bees) and temperature, indicating the importance of current factors on out-cross pollination. Two populations at the Southern edge of the species’ distribution showed high level of hand-cross-pollination and high flower visitation by large bees, but also a high level of autogamy resulting from recent colonization. Our results indicate that historical instability in climate has favored autogamy, most likely as a reproductive insurance strategy facilitating colonization and population maintenance over time, while pollinators are currently modulating the level of cross-pollination.

High levels of glycolysis have been associated with cancer metastasis, tumor recurrence and poor outcomes. In this light, single cells that exhibit high glycolysis are specific targets for therapy. However, the study of these cells requires efficient tools for their isolation. We use a droplet microfluidic technique developed in our lab, Sorting by Interfacial Tension (SIFT), to isolate cancer cell subpopulations based on glycolysis without the use of labels or active sorting components. By controlling the flow conditions on chip, the threshold of selection can be modified, enabling the isolation of cells with different levels of glycolysis. Hypoxia in tumors, that can be simulated with treatment with CoCl(2), leads to an increase in glycolysis and more dangerous tumors. The device was used to enrich CoCl(2) treated MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells from an untreated population. It is also used to sort K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia cells that have either been treated or untreated with 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2DG), a pharmaceutical that targets cell metabolism. The technique provides a facile and robust way of separating cells based on elevated glycolytic activity; a biomarker associated with cancer cell malignancy.

Premise Cryptic species are evolutionarily distinct lineages lacking distinguishing morphological traits. Hidden diversity may be lurking in widespread species whose distributions cross phylogeographic barriers. This study investigates molecular and morphological variation in the widely distributed Caulanthus lasiophyllus (Brassicaceae) in comparison to its closest relatives. Methods Fifty-two individuals of C. lasiophyllus from across the species' range were sequenced for the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and the chloroplast trnL-F region. A subset of these samples were examined for the chloroplast ndhF gene. All 52 individuals were scored for 13 morphological traits, as well as monthly and annual climate conditions at the collection locality. Morphological and molecular results are compared with the closest relatives-C. anceps and C. flavescens-in the "Guillenia Clade." To test for polyploidy, genome size estimates were made for four populations. Results Caulanthus lasiophyllus consists of two distinct lineages separated by eight ITS differences-eight times more variation than what distinguishes C. anceps and C. flavescens. Fewer variable sites were detected in trnL-F and ndhF regions, yet these data are consistent with the ITS results. The two lineages of C. lasiophyllus are geographically and climatically distinct; yet morphologically overlapping. Their genome sizes are not consistently different. Conclusions Two cryptic species within C. lasiophyllus are distinguished at the molecular, geographic, and climatic scales. They have similar genome sizes and are morphologically broadly overlapping, but an ephemeral basal leaf character may help distinguish the species.

String sequence analysis revealed that silk spinning behavior of adult female Embioptera varies from species-specific to individualistic. This analysis included 26 species from ten taxonomic families with a total of 115 individuals. Spin-steps, 28 possible positions of the front feet during spinning, were scored from hour-long DVD recordings produced in the laboratory. Entire transcripts of hundreds to thousands of spin-steps per individual were compared by computing Levenshtein edit distances between all possible pairs of subsequences, with lengths ranging from 5 to 25—intraspecific similarity scores were then computed. Silk gallery characteristics and architecture, body size, climatic variables, and phylogenetic relationships were tested as possible drivers of intraspecific similarity in spinning behavior. Significant differences in intraspecific similarity aligned most strongly with climatic variables such that those species living in regions with high temperature seasonality, low annual precipitation, and high annual temperatures displayed more species-stereotypical spinning sequences than those from other regions, such as tropical forests. Phylogenetic signal was significant but weakly so, suggesting that environmental drivers play a stronger role in shaping the evolution of silk spinning. Body size also appears to play a role in that those of similar size are more like each other, even if not related.

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Grant/Award Number: 019.171LW.023; German Research Foundation; German Research Foundation DFG, Grant/Award Number: 264740629; FONDECYT, Grant/Award Number: 11150835; CONICYT-PAI, Grant/Award Number: 82130046; 7th European Community Framework Programme, Grant/Award Number: FORECOFUN-SSA PIEF-GA-2010–274798; European Research Council Synergy, Grant/Award Number: ERC-SyG-2013-610028; Austrian Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: I2086-B16; Czech Science Foundation, Centre of Excellence PLADIAS, Grant/Award Number: 14-15414S and RVO 67985939; EXPRO, Grant/Award Number: 19-28807X; VEGA, Grant/Award Number: 0051/1, van der Sande, M.T., Bruelheide, H., Dawson, W., Dengler, J., Essl, F., Field, R., Haider, S., van Kleunen, M., Kreft, H., Pagel, J., Pergl, J., Purschke, O., Pyšek, P., Weigelt, P., Winter, M., Attorre, F., Aubin, I., Bergmeier, E., Chytrý, M., Dainese, M., De Sanctis, M., Fagundez, J., Golub, V., Guerin, G.R., Gutiérrez, A.G., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Kattge, J., Kearsley, E., Klotz, S., Kramer, K., Moretti, M., Niinemets, Ü., Peet, R.K., Penuelas, J., Petřík, P., Reich, P.B., Sandel, B., Schmidt, M., Sibikova, M., Violle, C., Whitfeld, T.J.S., Wohlgemuth, T., Knight, T.M.

openaire: EC/H2020/819202/EU//SOS.aquaterra Various environmental challenges are rapidly threatening ecosystems and societies globally. Major interventions and a strategic approach are required to minimize harm and to avoid reaching catastrophic tipping points. Setting evidence-based priorities aids maximizing the impact of the limited resources available for environmental interventions. Focusing on protecting both food security and biodiversity, international experts prioritized major environmental challenges for intervention based on three comprehensive criteria - importance, neglect, and tractability. The top priorities differ between food security and biodiversity. For food security, the top priorities are pollinator loss, soil compaction, and nutrient depletion, and for biodiversity conservation, ocean acidification and land and sea use (especially habitat degradation) are the main concerns. While climate change might be the most pressing environmental challenge and mitigation is clearly off-track, other issues rank higher because of climate change's high attention in research. Research and policy agendas do not yet consistently cover these priorities. Thus, a shift in attention towards the high-priority environmental challenges, identified here, is needed to increase the effectiveness of global environmental protection. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The majority of variation in six traits critical to the growth, survival and reproduction of plant species is thought to be organised along just two dimensions, corresponding to strategies of plant size and resource acquisition. However, it is unknown whether global plant trait relationships extend to climatic extremes, and if these interspecific relationships are confounded by trait variation within species. We test whether trait relationships extend to the cold extremes of life on Earth using the largest database of tundra plant traits yet compiled. We show that tundra plants demonstrate remarkably similar resource economic traits, but not size traits, compared to global distributions, and exhibit the same two dimensions of trait variation. Three quarters of trait variation occurs among species, mirroring global estimates of interspecific trait variation. Plant trait relationships are thus generalizable to the edge of global trait-space, informing prediction of plant community change in a warming world., It is unclear whether plant trait relationships found at the global scale extend to climatic extremes. Here the authors analyse six major aboveground traits to show that known plant trait relationships extend to the tundra biomes and exhibit the same two dimensions of variation detected at the global scale.