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Comparative analysis of the expanding genomic resources for scleractinian corals may provide insights into the evolution of these organisms, with implications for their continued persistence under global climate change. Here, we sequenced and annotated the genome of Pocillopora damicornis , one of the most abundant and widespread corals in the world. We compared this genome, based on protein-coding gene orthology, with other publicly available coral genomes (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Scleractinia), as well as genomes from other anthozoan groups (Actiniaria, Corallimorpharia), and two basal metazoan outgroup phlya (Porifera, Ctenophora). We found that 46.6% of P. damicornis genes had orthologs in all other scleractinians, defining a coral ‘core’ genome enriched in basic housekeeping functions. Of these core genes, 3.7% were unique to scleractinians and were enriched in immune functionality, suggesting an important role of the immune system in coral evolution. Genes occurring only in P. damicornis were enriched in cellular signaling and stress response pathways, and we found similar immune-related gene family expansions in each coral species, indicating that immune system diversification may be a prominent feature of scleractinian coral evolution at multiple taxonomic levels. Diversification of the immune gene repertoire may underlie scleractinian adaptations to symbiosis, pathogen interactions, and environmental stress.

He is still the same player, and surely professional footballers who train and practice every day earn thousands of pounds a week should be able...

Now that the terrible tragedy of the children from the village of Jiangxi who died in the fireworks explosion seems to be receding into the middle pages of...

THE last nine months have seen the break up of the Eastern bloc, further mass destruction of the world's tropical rain forests, the...

ONE morning, when rushing to a meeting, I hurried to the cash machine at a bank in Pacific Place.

How do growing bacterial colonies get their shapes? While colony morphogenesis is well studied in two dimensions, many bacteria grow as large colonies in three-dimensional (3D) environments, such as gels and tissues in the body or subsurface soils and sediments. Here, we describe the morphodynamics of large colonies of bacteria growing in three dimensions. Using experiments in transparent 3D granular hydrogel matrices, we show that dense colonies of four different species of bacteria generically become morphologically unstable and roughen as they consume nutrients and grow beyond a critical size—eventually adopting a characteristic branched, broccoli-like morphology independent of variations in the cell type and environmental conditions. This behavior reflects a key difference between two-dimensional (2D) and 3D colonies; while a 2D colony may access the nutrients needed for growth from the third dimension, a 3D colony inevitably becomes nutrient limited in its interior, driving a transition to unstable growth at its surface. We elucidate the onset of the instability using linear stability analysis and numerical simulations of a continuum model that treats the colony as an “active fluid” whose dynamics are driven by nutrient-dependent cellular growth. We find that when all dimensions of the colony substantially exceed the nutrient penetration length, nutrient-limited growth drives a 3D morphological instability that recapitulates essential features of the experimental observations. Our work thus provides a framework to predict and control the organization of growing colonies—as well as other forms of growing active matter, such as tumors and engineered living materials— in 3D environments.

Climate change is impacting coral reefs now. Recent pan-tropical bleaching events driven by unprecedented global heat waves have shifted the playing field for coral reef management and policy. While best-practice conventional management remains essential, it may no longer be enough to sustain coral reefs under continued climate change. Nor will climate change mitigation be sufficient on its own. Committed warming and projected reef decline means solutions must involve a portfolio of mitigation, best-practice conventional management and coordinated restoration and adaptation measures involving new and perhaps radical interventions, including local and regional cooling and shading, assisted coral evolution, assisted gene flow, and measures to support and enhance coral recruitment. We propose that proactive research and development to expand the reef management toolbox fast but safely, combined with expedient trialling of promising interventions is now urgently needed, whatever emissions trajectory the world follows. We discuss the challenges and opportunities of embracing new interventions in a race against time, including their risks and uncertainties. Ultimately, solutions to the climate challenge for coral reefs will require consideration of what society wants, what can be achieved technically and economically, and what opportunities we have for action in a rapidly closing window. Finding solutions that work for coral reefs and people will require exceptional levels of coordination of science, management and policy, and open engagement with society. It will also require compromise, because reefs will change under climate change despite our best interventions. We argue that being clear about society's priorities, and understanding both the opportunities and risks that come with an expanded toolset, can help us make the most of a challenging situation. We offer a conceptual model to help reef managers frame decision problems and objectives, and to guide effective strategy choices in the face of complexity and uncertainty.

Health centers are community-based, patient directed primary care providers that offer accessible, high-quality primary care within medically underserved communities. Screening for cancer and managing complex chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and depression are vital services for the vulnerable populations seen by community health centers. Delivering care for complex chronic conditions and preventive services using virtual models that integrate self-care tools and technology is an important approach to increasing access for hard-to-reach patients served by health centers. This study aimed to explore the use of a virtual care model, applied using a systems approach and patient-driven tools and technology, on the performance of clinical and patient experience measures. A virtual care model, applied using a systems approach offered by the Value Transformation Framework (VTF), was combined with self-care tools and technology in twenty health centers across 17 states to drive improvement efforts. Changes in clinical measures and patient experience were compared. A total of 385 patients were enrolled and 270 (70.1%) completed a baseline visit and at least four virtual visits during the six-month intervention period. Statistically significant improvements were seen in measures for HbA1c, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and bodyweight. Among the 270 who completed the baseline and at least 4 virtual visits, the percentage up-to-date for colorectal cancer screening increased from 113/270 (41.9%) to 169/270 (62.6%) after six months, p<0.001, a 20.7% increase. Patients completing the baseline visit and at least 4 virtual visits reported a 10.7% decrease in depression and increased satisfaction with virtual care visits compared to in-person visits (p<0.001). Health centers applying the Value Transformation Framework's organizing framework to the use of virtual care models together with patient self-care tools, technology, and education, had improvements in measures for chronic and preventive conditions and patient experience.

Chromosome errors, or aneuploidy, affect an exceptionally high number of human conceptions, causing pregnancy loss and congenital disorders. Here, we have followed chromosome segregation in human oocytes from females aged 9 to 43 years and report that aneuploidy follows a U-curve. Specific segregation error types show different age dependencies, providing a quantitative explanation for the U-curve. Whole-chromosome nondisjunction events are preferentially associated with increased aneuploidy in young girls, whereas centromeric and more extensive cohesion loss limit fertility as women age. Our findings suggest that chromosomal errors originating in oocytes determine the curve of natural fertility in humans.

Most aerobic bacteria exist in dormant states within natural environments. In these states, they endure adverse environmental conditions such as nutrient starvation by decreasing metabolic expenditure and using alternative energy sources. In this study, we investigated the energy sources that support persistence of two aerobic thermophilic strains of the environmentally widespread but understudied phylum Chloroflexi. A transcriptome study revealed that Thermomicrobium roseum (class Chloroflexia) extensively remodels its respiratory chain upon entry into stationary phase due to nutrient limitation. Whereas primary dehydrogenases associated with heterotrophic respiration were downregulated, putative operons encoding enzymes involved in molecular hydrogen (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur compound oxidation were significantly upregulated. Gas chromatography and microsensor experiments showed that T. roseum aerobically respires H 2 and CO at a range of environmentally relevant concentrations to sub-atmospheric levels. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the hydrogenases and carbon monoxide dehydrogenases mediating these processes are widely distributed in Chloroflexi genomes and have probably been horizontally acquired on more than one occasion. Consistently, we confirmed that the sporulating isolate Thermogemmatispora sp. T81 (class Ktedonobacteria) also oxidises atmospheric H 2 and CO during persistence, though further studies are required to determine if these findings extend to mesophilic strains. This study provides axenic culture evidence that atmospheric CO supports bacterial persistence and reports the third phylum, following Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, to be experimentally shown to mediate the biogeochemically and ecologically important process of atmospheric H 2 oxidation. This adds to the growing body of evidence that atmospheric trace gases are dependable energy sources for bacterial persistence.