Search results for "FLORA"
showing 10 items of 989 documents
Honeybees prefer novel insect-pollinated flower shapes over bird-pollinated flower shapes
2019
AbstractPlant–pollinator interactions have a fundamental influence on flower evolution. Flower color signals are frequently tuned to the visual capabilities of important pollinators such as either bees or birds, but far less is known about whether flower shape influences the choices of pollinators. We tested European honeybee Apis mellifera preferences using novel achromatic (gray-scale) images of 12 insect-pollinated and 12 bird-pollinated native Australian flowers in Germany; thus, avoiding influences of color, odor, or prior experience. Independent bees were tested with a number of parameterized images specifically designed to assess preferences for size, shape, brightness, or the number…
Impact of a Plant Sterol- and Galactooligosaccharide-Enriched Beverage on Colonic Metabolism and Gut Microbiota Composition Using an In Vitro Dynamic…
2019
This document is he Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b04796
Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 2
2016
In this contribution, new data concerning the Italian distribution of alien vascular flora are presented. It includes new records, exclusions and confirmations for Italy or for Italian administrative regions for taxa in the genera Ageratum, Aster, Buddleja, Cedrus, Centranthus, Cephalotaxus, Clerodendrum, Cotoneaster, Cyperus, Honorius, Lantana, Ligustrum, Morus, Muscari, Oenothera, Opuntia, Platycladus, Plumbago, Pseudotsuga, Sedum, Sporobolus, Stachys, Ulmus and Yucca. A nomen novum, Stachys talbotii, is proposed as a replacement name for Sideritis purpurea.
Environmental radiation alters the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus.
2018
International audience; Gut microbiota composition depends on many factors, although the impact of environmental pollution is largely unknown. We used amplicon sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes to quantify whether anthropogenic radionuclides at Chernobyl (Ukraine) impact the gut microbiome of the bank vole Myodes glareolus. Exposure to elevated levels of environmental radionuclides had no detectable effect on the gut community richness but was associated with an almost twofold increase in the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Animals inhabiting uncontaminated areas had remarkably similar gut communities irrespective of their proximity to the nuclear power plant. Hence, samples could be c…
Impact of colonic fermentation on sterols after the intake of a plant sterol-enriched beverage: A randomized, double-blind crossover trial
2017
Summary Background Cholesterol microbial transformation has been widely studied using in vitro fermentation assays, but less information is available on the biotransformation of plant sterols (PS). The excretion percentage of animal sterols (AS) (67–73%) is considerably greater than that of PS (27–33%) in feces from healthy humans following a Western diet. However, a lower content of AS in feces from subjects following a vegetarian, vegan or low-fat animal diet has been seen when compared to omnivorous subjects. Although only one human study has reported fecal sterol excretion after the consumption of PS-enriched food (8.6 g PS/day), it was found that the target group showed an increase in …
Functional microbiome deficits associated with ageing: chronological age-threshold
2019
Composition of the gut microbiota changes during ageing, but questions remain about whether age is also associated with deficits in microbiome function and whether these changes occur sharply or progressively. The ability to define these deficits in populations of different ages may help determine a chronological age threshold at which deficits occur and subsequently identify innovative dietary strategies for active and healthy ageing. Here, active gut microbiota and associated metabolic functions were evaluated using shotgun proteomics in three well‐defined age groups consisting of 30 healthy volunteers, namely, ten infants, ten adults and ten elderly individuals. Samples from each volunte…
Relevance of secretor status genotype and microbiota composition in susceptibility to rotavirus and norovirus infections in humans
2017
Host genetic factors, such as histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), are associated with susceptibility to norovirus (NoV) and rotavirus (RV) infections. Recent advances point to the gut microbiome as a key player necessary for a viral pathogen to cause infection. In vitro NoV attachment to host cells and resulting infections have been linked to interactions with certain bacterial types in the gut microbiota. We investigated the relationship between host genotype, gut microbiota, and viral infections. Saliva and fecal samples from 35 adult volunteers were analysed for secretor status genotype, the gut microbiota composition by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and salivary IgA titers to NoV and RV. Hi…
Rifampicin treatment of Blattella germanica evidences a fecal transmission route of their gut microbiota
2018
Eukaryotes have established symbiotic relationship with microorganisms, which enables them to accomplish functions that they cannot perform alone. In the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, the obligate endosymbiont Blattabacterium coexists with a rich gut microbiota. The transmission of Blattabacterium is vertical, but little is known about how the gut microbiota colonizes newborn individuals. In this study, we treated B. germanica populations with rifampicin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, during two generations and analyzed gut bacterial composition and the Blattabacterium load in control and rifampicin-treated populations. Rifampicin exerted a drastic effect on gut microbiota compositi…
Elevated circulating levels of succinate in human obesity are linked to specific gut microbiota
2018
Gut microbiota-related metabolites are potential clinical biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Circulating succinate, a metabolite produced by both microbiota and the host, is increased in hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. We aimed to analyze systemic levels of succinate in obesity, a major risk factor for CVD, and its relationship with gut microbiome. We explored the association of circulating succinate with specific metagenomic signatures in cross-sectional and prospective cohorts of Caucasian Spanish subjects. Obesity was associated with elevated levels of circulating succinate concomitant with impaired glucose metabolism. This increase was associated wit…
Gut microbiota and osteoarthritis management: An expert consensus of the European society for clinical and economic aspects of osteoporosis, osteoart…
2019
Berenbaum, Francis/0000-0001-8252-7815; Dennison, Elaine/0000-0002-3048-4961; Bindels, Laure B./0000-0003-3747-3234; Cooper, Cyrus/0000-0003-3510-0709 WOS:000491638300002 PubMed ID: 31437484 The prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) increases not only because of longer life expectancy but also because of the modern lifestyle, in particular physical inactivity and diets low in fiber and rich in sugar and saturated fats, which promote chronic low-grade inflammation and obesity. Adverse alterations of the gut microbiota (GMB) composition, called microbial dysbiosis, may favor metabolic syndrome and inflammaging, two important components of OA onset and evolution. Considering the burden of OA and t…