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Interannual Variation in the Zooplankton Community of the North Adriatic Sea under Short-Term Climatic Anomalies

by Samuele Menicucci, Andrea De Felice, Ilaria Biagiotti, Giovanni Canduci, Ilaria Costantini, Antonio Palermino, Michele Centurelli and Iole Leonori

Diversity 2024, 16(5), 291; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16050291 - 11 May 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2072

Abstract

Zooplankton are a pivotal component of the pelagic community, and their abundance and distribution are often strongly dependent on environmental conditions at sea. However, climate change can pose significant challenges to planktonic organisms. Therefore, in this study, we tried to address the possible effect of short-term climatic anomalies on the zooplankton community in the North Adriatic Sea, comparing mesozooplankton composition in June between two years with very different temperature and rainfall levels, i.e., 2019 and 2022. Environmental conditions at sea were significantly different, since 2022 faced rising temperatures in the northern part of the area and higher salinity and lower chlorophyll values in coastal samples. Our data unveiled a community shift, from a Noctiluca-dominated community to a crustacean-dominated one, and revealed that even offshore areas can be subject to changes, despite having quite stable environmental parameters. Our findings confirmed the influence of river inputs and temperature on the Adriatic community’s distribution and composition, highlighting how climate-driven changes could have unpredictable effects on the whole Adriatic ecosystem. Indeed, each species has its own role in ecosystem functioning and climatic anomalies could uncouple the fine-scale connections that make up the pelagic trophic web. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biodiversity and Ecology in the Mediterranean Sea)

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15 pages, 1955 KB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Differential Effects of Viruses on the Growth Efficiency of Freshwater Bacterioplankton in Eutrophic Relative to Non-Eutrophic Lakes

by Angia Sriram Pradeep Ram and Télesphore Sime-Ngando

Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 384; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020384 - 2 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2126

Abstract

In aquatic environments, the consensus of viral impact on bacterial carbon metabolism with the nutrient environment as an important axis is limited. Henceforth, we explored the viral regulation of carbon-based bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) in a set of freshwater systems from French Massif Central, which were broadly classified based on two trophic statuses: eutrophic and non-eutrophic lakes. Comparative analysis showed that microbial abundances (viruses and bacteria) were 3-fold higher in eutrophic compared with non-eutrophic lakes, and so were bacterial production and viral lytic infection. The observed variability in BGE (10–60%) was explained by the uncoupling between bacterial respiration and production. Viruses through selective lysis of susceptible host communities had an antagonistic impact on BGE in the eutrophic lakes, whereas the release of substrates via viral shunt exerted a synergistic influence on the carbon metabolism of non-targeted host populations in non-eutrophic lakes. The decisive effect of the two individual processes (i.e., lysis and substrate release) on BGE was supported by regressions of bacterial abundance as a function of bacterial production, which is considered as a proxy of top-down processes. The role of viruses through their negative impact via mortality and positive impact via substrate supply can eventually have implications on carbon transfer through bacterioplankton in freshwaters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbiomes of Aquatic Organisms)

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22 pages, 15401 KB

Open AccessReview

A Study on the Pathogenesis of Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion Hypothesis

by Weiwei Yu, Yao Li, Jun Hu, Jun Wu and Yining Huang

J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(16), 4742; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11164742 - 14 Aug 2022

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 5237

Abstract

The pathogenic mechanisms underlying vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID) remain controversial due to the heterogeneity of vascular causes and complexity of disease neuropathology. However, one common feature shared among all these vascular causes is cerebral blood flow (CBF) dysregulation, and chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is the universal consequence of CBF dysregulation, which subsequently results in an insufficient blood supply to the brain, ultimately contributing to VCID. The purpose of this comprehensive review is to emphasize the important contributions of CCH to VCID and illustrate the current findings about the mechanisms involved in CCH-induced VCID pathological changes. Specifically, evidence is mainly provided to support the molecular mechanisms, including Aβ accumulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, trophic uncoupling and white matter lesions (WMLs). Notably, there are close interactions among these multiple mechanisms, and further research is necessary to elucidate the hitherto unsolved questions regarding these interactions. An enhanced understanding of the pathological features in preclinical models could provide a theoretical basis, ultimately achieving the shift from treatment to prevention. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms, Therapeutic Targets and Neuroprotective Strategies)

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