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Frontiers in Microbiology 2021Plant microbiomes play an important role in agricultural productivity, but there is still much to learn about their provenance, diversity, and organization. In order to...
Plant microbiomes play an important role in agricultural productivity, but there is still much to learn about their provenance, diversity, and organization. In order to study the role of vertical transmission in establishing the bacterial and fungal populations of juvenile plants, we used high-throughput sequencing to survey the microbiomes of seeds, spermospheres, rhizospheres, roots, and shoots of the monocot crops maize (B73), rice (Nipponbare), switchgrass (Alamo), , wheat, sugarcane, barley, and sorghum; the dicot crops tomato (Heinz 1706), coffee (Geisha), common bean (G19833), cassava, soybean, pea, and sunflower; and the model plants (Columbia-0) and (Bd21). Unsterilized seeds were planted in either sterile sand or farm soil inside hermetically sealed jars, and after as much as 60 days of growth, DNA was extracted to allow for amplicon sequence-based profiling of the bacterial and fungal populations that developed. Seeds of most plants were dominated by Proteobacteria and Ascomycetes, with all containing operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to and . All spermospheres also contained DNA belonging to , , and . Despite having only seeds as a source of inoculum, all plants grown on sterile sand in sealed jars nevertheless developed rhizospheres, endospheres, and phyllospheres dominated by shared Proteobacteria and diverse fungi. Compared to sterile sand-grown seedlings, growth on soil added new microbial diversity to the plant, especially to rhizospheres; however, all 63 seed-transmitted bacterial OTUs were still present, and the most abundant bacteria (, , , , and ) were the same dominant seed-transmitted microbes observed in sterile sand-grown plants. While most plant mycobiome diversity was observed to come from soil, judging by read abundance, the dominant fungi ( and ) were also vertically transmitted. Seed-transmitted fungi and bacteria appear to make up the majority of juvenile crop plant microbial populations by abundance, and based on occupancy, there seems to be a pan-angiosperm seed-transmitted core bacterial microbiome. Further study of these seed-transmitted microbes will be important to understand their role in plant growth and health, as well as their fate during the plant life cycle and may lead to innovations for agricultural inoculant development.
PubMed: 34745040
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.737616 -
International Journal of Sports... 2022The Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-LQ) has been shown to be reliable for assessing dynamic balance in children and adolescents. However, limited research is available...
BACKGROUND
The Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (YBT-LQ) has been shown to be reliable for assessing dynamic balance in children and adolescents. However, limited research is available about the effects of leg dominance on YBT-LQ performance in adolescents. In addition, there is no consensus on the use of maximum reach or mean reach distance being a better measure of YBT-LQ performance.
HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE
The purposes of this study were to determine if there is a difference in the YBT-LQ performance between the dominant and non-dominant limbs in non-athlete adolescents, and to compare the reliability of the maximum reach scores to that of the mean reach scores in this population.
STUDY DESIGN
Prospective cohort study.
METHODS
Twenty-six healthy non-athlete adolescents (13.6 ± 1.0 years, 22 girls, 4 boys) performed the YBT-LQ on two separate days while the same investigator scored their performance. Paired -tests were used to compare reach distances on dominant and non-dominate stance limbs. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for the maximum and mean reach distances for three directions (anterior, posterolateral, posteromedial) and the composite scores on each limb.
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in YBT-LQ performance between dominant and non-dominant stance limbs ( > 0.05). Overall, the between-day intra-rater reliability for maximum reach and mean reach scores was moderate-to-good for both limbs (ICC = 0.59 - 0.83), but was poor for the composite score on the dominant limb (ICC = 0.42) and maximum anterior reach on non-dominant limb (ICC = 0.48).
CONCLUSION
Limb dominance does not seem to be a factor for YBT-LQ performance in this population. The YBT-LQ appears to be a reliable tool for dynamic balance assessment in non-athlete adolescents using the individual score of each direction. The use of mean reach measures seems to slightly improve reliability, specifically the anterior reach direction, in this population.
LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level 2b.
PubMed: 35136685
DOI: 10.26603/001c.30996 -
Translational Vision Science &... Mar 2023To propose new methods for eye selection in presbyopic monovision corrections.
PURPOSE
To propose new methods for eye selection in presbyopic monovision corrections.
METHODS
Twenty subjects with presbyopia performed two standard methods of binary eye dominance identification (sensory with +1.50 diopters [D ]and +0.50 D and sighting with "hole-in-the-card") and two psychophysical methods of perceived visual quality: (1) the Preferential test, 26 natural images were judged with the near addition in one eye or in the other in a 2-interval forced-choice task, and the Eye Dominance Strength (EDS) defined as the proportion of trials where one monovision is preferred over the other; (2) the Multifocal Acceptance Score (MAS-2EV) test, the perceived quality of a natural images set (for 2 luminance levels and distances) was scored and EDS defined as the score difference between monovision in one eye or the other. Left-eye and right-eye dominance are indicated with negative and positive values, respectively. Tests were performed using a Simultaneous Vision Simulator, which allows rapid changes between corrections.
RESULTS
Standard sensory and sighting dominances matched in only 55% of subjects. The Preferential EDS (ranging from -0.7 to +0.9) and MAS-2EV EDS (ranging from -0.6 to +0.4) were highly correlated. Selecting the eye for far in monovision with the MAS-2EV, sensory, or sighting tests would have resulted in 79%, 64%, and 43% success considering the Preferential test as the gold standard.
CONCLUSIONS
Tests based on perceptual preference allow selection of the preferred monovision correction and measurement of dominance strength.
TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE
The binocular visual simulator allows efficient implementation of eye preference tests for monovision in clinical use.
Topics: Humans; Vision, Monocular; Visual Acuity; Dominance, Ocular; Vision, Ocular; Vision Tests
PubMed: 36939712
DOI: 10.1167/tvst.12.3.18 -
Microorganisms Jul 2021Causal agents of schistosomiasis are dioecious, digenean schistosomes affecting mankind in 76 countries. Preventive measures are manifold but need to be complemented by... (Review)
Review
Causal agents of schistosomiasis are dioecious, digenean schistosomes affecting mankind in 76 countries. Preventive measures are manifold but need to be complemented by vaccination for long-term protection; vaccine candidates in advanced pre-clinical/clinical stages include Sm14, Sm-TSP-2/Sm-TSP-2Al, Smp80/SchistoShield, and Sh28GST/Bilhvax. Natural and anthropogenic changes impact on breaking species isolation barriers favoring introgressive hybridization, i.e., allelic exchange among gene pools of sympatric, interbreeding species leading to instant large genetic diversity. Phylogenetic distance matters, thus the less species differ phylogenetically the more likely they hybridize. PubMed and Embase databases were searched for publications limited to hybridale confirmation by mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (COX) and/or nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS). Human schistosomal hybrids are predominantly reported from West Africa with clustering in the Senegal River Basin, and scattering to Europe, Central and Eastern Africa. Noteworthy is the dominance of interbreeding with human and veterinary species leading due to hybrid vigor to extinction and homogenization as seen for in Cameroon and in Niger, respectively. Heterosis seems to advantage / interbreeds with dominant -ITS/-COX1 profile to spread from West to East Africa and reoccur in France. / interactions seen among Senegalese and Côte d'Ivoirian children are unexpected due to their high phylogenetic distance. Detecting pure and / crosses capable of infecting humans observed in Corsica and Côte d'Ivoire, and Niger, respectively, is worrisome. Taken together, species hybridization urges control and preventive measures targeting human and veterinary sectors in line with the One-Health concept to be complemented by vaccination protecting against transmission, infection, and disease recurrence. Functional and structural diversity of naturally occurring human schistosomal hybrids may impact current vaccine candidates requiring further research including natural history studies in endemic areas targeted for clinical trials.
PubMed: 34361901
DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9071465 -
Scientific Reports Nov 2021An animal's social position within a group can influence its ability to perform important behaviours like eating and resting, but little is known about how social...
An animal's social position within a group can influence its ability to perform important behaviours like eating and resting, but little is known about how social position affects the ability to express what are arguably less important but still rewarding behaviors, such as grooming. We set out to assess if dominance measured at the feeder is associated with increased use of a mechanical brush. Over a 2-year period, 161 dry cows were enrolled in a dynamically changing group of 20 individuals with access to a mechanical brush. We determined dominance using agonistic behaviors at the feeder and retrospectively analyzed brush use for the 12 most, and 12 least dominant individuals during the week before calving. Cows that were more dominant at the feeder used the brush more, especially during peak feeding times. Agonistic interactions at the brush did not differ between dominants and subordinates and were not related to brushing duration. These findings indicate that social position, calculated using competition for feed, affects mechanical brush access such that subordinates use the brush less than dominant cows independent of competition or time of day.
Topics: Agonistic Behavior; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Cattle; Dairying; Feeding Behavior; Female; Grooming; Retrospective Studies; Social Dominance
PubMed: 34837005
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02283-2 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Nov 2009Traditional interpretations of the evolution of animal societies have suggested that their structure is a consequence of attempts by individuals to maximize their... (Review)
Review
Traditional interpretations of the evolution of animal societies have suggested that their structure is a consequence of attempts by individuals to maximize their inclusive fitness within constraints imposed by their social and physical environments. In contrast, some recent re-interpretations have argued that many aspects of social organization should be interpreted as group-level adaptations maintained by selection operating between groups or populations. Here, I review our current understanding of the evolution of mammalian societies, focusing, in particular, on the evolution of reproductive strategies in societies where one dominant female monopolizes reproduction in each group and her offspring are reared by other group members. Recent studies of the life histories of females in these species show that dispersing females often have little chance of establishing new breeding groups and so are likely to maximize their inclusive fitness by helping related dominants to rear their offspring. As in eusocial insects, increasing group size can lead to a progressive divergence in the selection pressures operating on breeders and helpers and to increasing specialization in their behaviour and life histories. As yet, there is little need to invoke group-level adaptations in order to account for the behaviour of individuals or the structure of mammalian groups.
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Biological Evolution; Female; Male; Mammals; Reproduction; Social Dominance
PubMed: 19805430
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2009.0120 -
AoB PLANTS Oct 2023may be considered the tree of the Mediterranean Basin, dominating coastal forest areas up to 2000 m above sea level at some sites. However, an increase in holm oak... (Review)
Review
may be considered the tree of the Mediterranean Basin, dominating coastal forest areas up to 2000 m above sea level at some sites. However, an increase in holm oak decline has been observed in the last decade. In this review, we analysed the current literature to answer the following questions: what are the traits that allow holm oak to thrive in the Mediterranean environment, and what are the main factors that are currently weakening this species? In this framework, we attempt to answer these questions by proposing a triangle as a graphical summary. The first vertex focuses on the main morpho-anatomical, biochemical and physiological traits that allow holm oak to dominate Mediterranean forests. The other two vertices consider abiotic and biotic stressors that are closely related to holm oak decline. Here, we discuss the current evidence of holm oak responses to abiotic and biotic stresses and propose a possible solution to its decline through adequate forest management choices, thus allowing the species to maintain its ecological domain.
PubMed: 37899973
DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plad051 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2021The sensory dominance effect refers to the phenomenon that one sensory modality more frequently receives preferential processing (and eventually dominates consciousness...
The sensory dominance effect refers to the phenomenon that one sensory modality more frequently receives preferential processing (and eventually dominates consciousness and behavior) over and above other modalities. On the other hand, hand dominance is an innate aspect of the human motor system. To investigate how the sensory dominance effect interacts with hand dominance, we applied the adapted Colavita paradigm and recruited a large cohort of healthy right-handed participants (n = 119). While the visual dominance effect in bimodal trials was observed for the whole group (n = 119), about half of the right-handers (48%) showed a visual preference, i.e., their dominant hand effect manifested in responding to the visual stimuli. By contrast, 39% of the right-handers exhibited an auditory preference, i.e., the dominant hand effect occurred for the auditory responses. The remaining participants (13%) did not show any dominant hand preference for either visual or auditory responses. For the first time, the current behavioral data revealed that human beings possess a characteristic and persistent preferential link between different sensory modalities and the dominant vs. non-dominant hand. Whenever this preferential link between the sensory and the motor system was adopted, one dominance effect peaks upon the other dominance effect's best performance.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Auditory Perception; Functional Laterality; Humans; Psychomotor Performance; Visual Perception; Young Adult
PubMed: 33846508
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87396-4 -
PloS One 2011Proteins are essential macromolecules of life that carry out most cellular processes. Since proteins aggregate to perform function, and since protein-protein interaction...
Proteins are essential macromolecules of life that carry out most cellular processes. Since proteins aggregate to perform function, and since protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks model these aggregations, one would expect to uncover new biology from PPI network topology. Hence, using PPI networks to predict protein function and role of protein pathways in disease has received attention. A debate remains open about whether network properties of "biologically central (BC)" genes (i.e., their protein products), such as those involved in aging, cancer, infectious diseases, or signaling and drug-targeted pathways, exhibit some topological centrality compared to the rest of the proteins in the human PPI network.To help resolve this debate, we design new network-based approaches and apply them to get new insight into biological function and disease. We hypothesize that BC genes have a topologically central (TC) role in the human PPI network. We propose two different concepts of topological centrality. We design a new centrality measure to capture complex wirings of proteins in the network that identifies as TC those proteins that reside in dense extended network neighborhoods. Also, we use the notion of domination and find dominating sets (DSs) in the PPI network, i.e., sets of proteins such that every protein is either in the DS or is a neighbor of the DS. Clearly, a DS has a TC role, as it enables efficient communication between different network parts. We find statistically significant enrichment in BC genes of TC nodes and outperform the existing methods indicating that genes involved in key biological processes occupy topologically complex and dense regions of the network and correspond to its "spine" that connects all other network parts and can thus pass cellular signals efficiently throughout the network. To our knowledge, this is the first study that explores domination in the context of PPI networks.
Topics: Aging; Algorithms; Humans; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Protein Binding; Protein Interaction Maps; Proteins; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 21887225
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023016 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Feb 2022Size-based dominance hierarchies influence fitness, group size and population dynamics and link dominance structure to evolutionary and ecological outcomes. While larger...
Size-based dominance hierarchies influence fitness, group size and population dynamics and link dominance structure to evolutionary and ecological outcomes. While larger individuals often gain dominance, social status may influence growth and size in return, resulting in feedbacks among status, growth and size. Here, we present two models evaluating how these feedbacks influence the emergence of size structure in a dominance hierarchy. In the first, size influences competition for food and investment in suppressing growth of groupmates. Stable size differences emerged when suppression was greatest for similarly sized individuals and size had little effect on competition for food. The model predicted size divergence when size strongly affected competition for food. In the second model, we used a dynamic game to solve for optimal investment in growth suppression as a function of size structure. Investment in growth suppression was favoured only when dominants and subordinates were similar in size, generating size ratios different than those expected by chance. Variation in the feedbacks among growth, size and status can explain variation in emergent size structure of dominance hierarchies and its consequences for conflict within groups. This article is part of the theme issue 'The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies'.
Topics: Biological Evolution; Feedback; Humans; Social Dominance
PubMed: 35000447
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0449