Wind-driven sediment suspension controls light availability in a shallow coastal lagoon

AbstractDiurnal rhythms and light availability affect transcription–translation feedback loops that regulate the synthesis of photosynthetic proteins. The CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco is the most abundant protein in the leaves of major crop species and its activity depends on interaction with the molecular chaperone Rubisco activase (Rca). In Triticum aestivum L. (wheat), three Rca isoforms are present that differ in their regulatory properties. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the relative abundance of the redox-sensitive and redox-insensitive Rca isoforms could be differentially regulated throughout light–dark diel cycle in wheat. While TaRca1-β expression was consistently negligible throughout the day, transcript levels of both TaRca2-β and TaRca2-α were higher and increased at the start of the day, with peak levels occurring at the middle of the photoperiod. Abundance of TaRca-β protein was maximal 1.5 h after the peak in TaRca2-β expression, but the abundance of TaRca-α remained constant during the entire photoperiod. The redox-sensitive TaRca-α isoform was less abundant, representing 85% of the redox-insensitive TaRca-β at the transcript level and 12.5% at the protein level. Expression of Rubisco large and small subunit genes did not show a consistent pattern throughout the diel cycle, but the abundance of Rubisco decreased by up to 20% during the dark period in fully expanded wheat leaves. These results, combined with a lack of correlation between transcript and protein abundance for both Rca isoforms and Rubisco throughout the entire diel cycle, suggest that the abundance of these photosynthetic enzymes is post-transcriptionally regulated.

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Intensity and mode of Lindera melissifolia reproduction are affected by flooding and light availability

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.8037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (19) ◽

pp. 13153-13165

Author(s):

Theodor D. Leininger ◽

Emile S. Gardiner ◽

Brian Roy Lockhart ◽

Nathan M. Schiff ◽

Alphus Dan Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Light Availability

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Light environment drives evolution of color vision genes in butterflies and moths

Communications Biology ◽

10.1038/s42003-021-01688-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yash Sondhi ◽

Emily A. Ellis ◽

Seth M. Bybee ◽

Jamie C. Theobald ◽

Akito Y. Kawahara

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

Color Vision ◽

Light Availability ◽

High Light ◽

Light Environment ◽

Evolution Rate ◽

Animal Evolution ◽

Light Sensing ◽

Rates Of Evolution ◽

Gains And Losses

AbstractOpsins, combined with a chromophore, are the primary light-sensing molecules in animals and are crucial for color vision. Throughout animal evolution, duplications and losses of opsin proteins are common, but it is unclear what is driving these gains and losses. Light availability is implicated, and dim environments are often associated with low opsin diversity and loss. Correlations between high opsin diversity and bright environments, however, are tenuous. To test if increased light availability is associated with opsin diversification, we examined diel niche and identified opsins using transcriptomes and genomes of 175 butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera). We found 14 independent opsin duplications associated with bright environments. Estimating their rates of evolution revealed that opsins from diurnal taxa evolve faster—at least 13 amino acids were identified with higher dN/dS rates, with a subset close enough to the chromophore to tune the opsin. These results demonstrate that high light availability increases opsin diversity and evolution rate in Lepidoptera.

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Elevated CYP1A expression detected in pinfish collected from a coastal lagoon in the southern Texas Gulf Coast: indicative of exposure to microplastics or pollutants?

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-14351-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stephanie DuBois ◽

Brittney Lacy ◽

Abdullah Faiz Rahman ◽

Md Saydur Rahman

Keyword(s):

Coastal Lagoon ◽

Gulf Coast ◽

Texas Gulf Coast

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Boat Noise and Black Drum Vocalizations in Mar Chiquita Coastal Lagoon (Argentina)

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering ◽

10.3390/jmse9010044 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 44

Author(s):

Maria Ceraulo ◽

María Paz Sal Moyano ◽

Fernando Jose Hidalgo ◽

María Cielo Bazterrica ◽

Salvatore Mazzola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fish Species ◽

Coastal Lagoon ◽

Acoustic Method ◽

Potential Effect ◽

Reproductive Period ◽

Anthropogenic Noise ◽

Marine Biota ◽

Call Rate ◽

Noise Frequency ◽

Passive Acoustic

Human-generated underwater noise and its effect on marine biota is recognized as an important issue. Boat noise can affect the communication success of fish species that use sounds for spawning purposes. During the reproductive period, males of the black drum Pogonias spp. produce calls ranging from 90 Hz to 300 Hz. In the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Pogonias courbina is one of the primary fishing species. Although no regulation is directly applied to protect it, a ban protects the reproductive period of other fish species during weekdays. Here, we investigated the potential effect of boat noise on P. courbina vocalizations through a passive acoustic method. Acoustic data were collected, and P. courbina calls were identified and counted. The files with boat noise passages were categorized into classes according to their noise frequency range (A = below 700 Hz, B = over 700 Hz, and C = below and above 700 Hz). The fish call rate was lower in files where boat noise overlapped the fish call frequency (Classes A and C). Only boat noise from Class C was significantly reduced during days with the active fishing ban. These results suggest that anthropogenic noise may affect the P. courbina call rate and underline the importance of including the evaluation of anthropogenic noise in the current management of the area.

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