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Abiotic factors are major determinants of soil animal distributions and their dominant role is pronounced in extreme ecosystems, with biotic interactions seemingly playing a minor role. We modelled co-occurrence and distribution of the three nematode species that dominate the soil food web of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica). Abiotic factors, other biotic groups, and autocorrelation all contributed to structuring nematode species distributions. However, after removing their effects, we found that the presence of the most abundant nematode species greatly, and negatively, affected the probability of detecting one of the other two species. We observed similar patterns in relative abundances for two out of three pairs of species. Harsh abiotic conditions alone are insufficient to explain contemporary nematode distributions whereas the role of negative biotic interactions has been largely underestimated in soil. The future challenge is to understand how the effects of global change on biotic interactions will alter species coexistence.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0260-y | DOI Listing |
Am J Bot
September 2025
Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for Yellow River Delta, Shandong University of Aeronautics, Binzhou, Shandong, China.
Premise: The diversity-invasibility hypothesis suggests that native plant communities with high species diversity are more resistant to invasions by exotic species compared to those with fewer species. This resistance stems from more complete resource use and stronger biotic interactions in diverse communities, which limit opportunities for invaders to establish. However, this resistance could potentially be weakened by environmental stressors, including elevated tropospheric ozone.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Integr Neurosci
August 2025
Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada.
There is a growing body of evidence that the interaction between various microbial organisms and the human host can affect various physical and even mental health conditions. Bidirectional communication occurs between the brain and the gut microbiome, referred to as the brain-gut-microbiome axis. During aging, changes occur to the gut microbiome due to various events and factors such as the mode of delivery at birth, exposure to medications (e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Signal Behav
December 2025
School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India.
Nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (NPR1) is a master regulator of salicylic acid (SA)- facilitated plant hormone signaling and plays a crucial role in plant defense through the activation of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Although like genes are associated with stress responses in a variety of plant species, no thorough genome-wide investigation of these genes has been undertaken in pearl millet (). This study discovered seven -like genes on four pearl millet chromosomes (Chr1, Chr2, Chr4, and Chr6), which exhibit close affinity to NPRs from other plants and have common gene structures, conserved motifs, and domains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Biol Rep
September 2025
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan.
Chitinases, enzymes responsible for hydrolyzing chitin, a significant component of fungal cell walls, play a crucial role in plant defense mechanisms, growth, symbiotic relationships, and stress resistance. In this study, we identified 27 chitinase genes in chickpeas (CaChi) and classified them into five classes based on phylogenetic analysis. Overall, chitinase genes are clustered on eight chromosomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlob Chang Biol
September 2025
Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Watsonville, California, USA.
To halt and reverse the trends of ecosystem loss and degradation under global change, nations globally are promoting ecosystem restoration. Restoration is particularly crucial to coastal wetlands (including tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and tidal flats), which are among the most important ecosystems on Earth but have been severely depleted and degraded. In this review, we explore the question of how to make restoration more effective for coastal wetlands in light of the often-overlooked dynamic nature of these transitional ecosystems between land and ocean.
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