Category Archives: Physiology

WVU toxicologist wins NIH grant to study impact of air pollution on lung tissue regeneration – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 11 2020

Each time we breathe in, we're not inhaling just one component that seeps into our lungs. It's a medley of gasses and particles - both natural and human-made - that can unleash unknown consequences on respiratory health.

One knowledge gap to understanding the effects of inhaling outdoor air pollution, according to Salik Hussain, assistant professor of physiology and pharmacology at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, is that the scientific community has largely focused on studying only individual toxicants, such as particles or gases.

In reality, Hussain said, "we inhale a mixture of everything."

Through the aid of a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Hussain will delve into the impact of inhalation co-exposure, namely from particles and ozone, on lung tissue regeneration.

"If we look at how environmental particles or gasses are studied at this moment, they are studied as individual components 99 percent of the time," said Hussain, who runs the Hussain Lab, which researches pulmonary and systemic health effects of inhalation exposure. He's also a member of the WVU Center for Inhalation Toxicology.

Developing and studying the co-exposure scenario in a standardized, controlled fashion, such as a laboratory setting, will enable a better mechanistic understanding of how environmental exposures result in adverse outcomes."

Salik Hussain, Assistant Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, West Virginia University School of Medicine

His aim is twofold: To steer policy and decision-making pertaining to mixed environmental pollutants, and to improve health and well-being in susceptible populations.

Specifically, he plans to identify adverse outcomes of carbon black (a surrogate of the carbon core of ultrafine particles) and ground level ozone (the most reactive gas component of air pollution) inhalation, and study mechanisms leading to lung injury and impairment of lung regeneration.

In real world/co-exposure situations, unanticipated outcomes can occur such as ultrafine air pollution particles carrying other pollutants into areas of lungs usually not affected by those pollutants.

Gaseous components can modify the surfaces of particles to make them more reactive, Hussain said. This can lead to either aggravation or heightened susceptibility to more severe clinical outcomes such as acute lung injury, a serious pulmonary condition with up to 40 percent mortality that kills nearly 200,000 Americans each year.

With this funding, Hussain plans to study how air pollution inhalation leads to changes in susceptibility to develop ALI and impact the ability of the lungs to regenerate after ALI. He will be studying mechanistic pathways of lung stem/progenitor cells reprogramming after inhalation of the toxicants.

According to the World Health Organization, more than four million deaths are linked to outdoor environmental pollution each year.

"Environmental health is not a developing country's problem," Hussain said. "It is also a developed country's problem. My work has a translational angle, where the goal is to improve the health of the communities and people across the world."

The NIH grant awarded to Hussain is part of one of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences signature programs, the highly-competitive Outstanding New Environmental Scientist Award, designated to cultivate the next leaders in environmental health sciences.

Hussain holds a secondary appointment in the department of Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology.

Originally posted here:
WVU toxicologist wins NIH grant to study impact of air pollution on lung tissue regeneration - News-Medical.Net

Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity – Science Advances

Abstract

Elevated tropospheric ozone concentrations induce adverse effects in plants. We reviewed how ozone affects (i) the composition and diversity of plant communities by affecting key physiological traits; (ii) foliar chemistry and the emission of volatiles, thereby affecting plant-plant competition, plant-insect interactions, and the composition of insect communities; and (iii) plant-soil-microbe interactions and the composition of soil communities by disrupting plant litterfall and altering root exudation, soil enzymatic activities, decomposition, and nutrient cycling. The community composition of soil microbes is consequently changed, and alpha diversity is often reduced. The effects depend on the environment and vary across space and time. We suggest that Atlantic islands in the Northern Hemisphere, the Mediterranean Basin, equatorial Africa, Ethiopia, the Indian coastline, the Himalayan region, southern Asia, and Japan have high endemic richness at high ozone risk by 2100.

Above- and belowground trophic interactions play pivotal roles in maintaining plant diversity. Plants respond to herbivores by various physiological mechanisms, affecting plant performance and plant-microbe interaction and potentially regulating ecosystem processes and community dynamics (13). Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) likewise involve interactions among plants, soil microbiota, and abiotic factors, affecting structural and functional features at different scales of biological organization. These effects allow plants to readily respond to environmental changes and mediate ecosystem processes (4). Trophic interactions depend on environmental conditions, so changes in the environment may affect biodiversity and the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems (2, 4, 5).

Ground-level concentrations of ozone (O3) increased considerably in the second half of the 20th century due to increased levels of NOx, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and radical precursors responsible for its production (68). For example, current O3 levels in rural areas of the temperate and polar zones of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) have increased by 30 to 70% compared to 18961975 (6, 7). The O3 concentrations have remained elevated (see the Supplementary Materials) but are also projected to remain high throughout the 21st century (9), raising concerns about O3 phytotoxicity, despite policies for reducing precursor emissions. Many programs have documented the incidence of visible injury from O3 in numerous field-grown species of forbs, shrubs, and trees worldwide, but O3 has often not been included in global assessments of threats to biodiversity (5, 10). Preliminary analyses suggest that O3 will continue to pose risks to terrestrial biodiversity at various trophic levels and ecosystem processes and feedbacks in the future (10).

Despite the progress in our understanding of numerous physiological mechanisms specific to plants for responding to O3 (11, 12), we still know little about the responses of communities and ecosystems to O3. Identifying plant mechanisms that may drive the structure and function of plant communities and interactions with insect and soil communities in O3-polluted atmospheres is challenging, and the effects on the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems are underexplored (5, 10, 13).

This paper addresses how O3 affects plant communities, plant-insect interactions, and PSFs and thus plant, insect, and microbial diversity (Figs. 1 and 2). We have four aims. (i) Review the relationships between plant ecological traits and susceptibility to O3. We thus collated empirical evidence to determine whether O3 affects the structure and diversity of plant communities depending on functional groups. (ii) Discuss how O3 affects plant-insect interactions and whether ecosystem functioning and the structure and diversity of insect communities are threatened by O3-caused changes in VOCs and foliar chemical composition. (iii) Assess how O3 affects plant-soil interactions and thus soil ecosystem functioning, with special reference to plant litter, decomposition, nutrient cycling, and microbial biomass. The hypothesis that O3 can affect microbial communities and diversity was verified by a series of studies demonstrating that PSF responses to O3 can lead to changes in the community structure and diversity of soil microbes. (iv) Analyze global endemic richness of vascular plants versus predicted O3 exposure by 2100 for assessing whether foci of the endemic richness of various biomes overlap with areas of high O3 risk, with adverse effects on plant productivity. We use these discussions to seek to identify important gaps in our knowledge and to draw some conclusions about how O3 can affect plant interactions with insects and microbiota and, thus, alter PSFs and community composition and diversity of plants, insects, and microbiota.

Ecological processes occurring at the ecosystem and foliar levels in a natural (not polluted) ecosystem (A) versus an ecosystem disturbed by increased levels of O3 (B). Gray icons represent the loss of insect or plant diversity but not for particular species. O3 reduces the growth rate and biomass of plants (including forest trees) (I). Deciduous broadleaf species are usually more susceptible than evergreen broadleaf and needle-leaf species (I). O3 can also reduce plant species richness and alter community composition (II). O3 reduces the abundance of insect species but not species richness in forest ecosystems (III). O3 and OH degrade biogenic VOC (BVOCs), thereby impeding plant-pollinator communication (IV). O3-plant-insect interactions may be quite complex and species specific. O3 inhibits isoprene emissions, increases monoterpene emissions in tolerant and evergreen species, reduces foliar size, induces foliage prematurity (V and I), and increases plant susceptibility to insects and pathogens (I and VI). In other cases, O3 induces the accumulation of phenolic compounds in leaves, discouraging herbivory by insects (thus reducing insect abundance), increases insect mortality, and inhibits the growth of insect body mass (VII). O3 also alters foliar phytochemistry, thereby impeding insect oviposition (VIII).

A healthy holobiont in a clean atmosphere (with natural background O3 levels), where mutually beneficial PSFs occur (A), versus a suppressed holobiont and disturbed PSFs due to O3 (B). Gray icons represent the loss of microbial biomass but not for particular species. O3 decreases root biomass, reduces the quantity, and affects the quality of foliar and root litter, potentially affecting litter-feeding soil macrofauna, decomposition, and cycling of nutrients. O3 may influence the chemical composition of roots and soluble root exudates, including reduced exudation of some extracellular enzymes (e.g., -glucosidase). The rate of decomposition can be increased or decreased species-specifically. Soil microbial biomass also decreases. O3 alters the composition and structure of soil microbial communities, with fungi being likely more susceptible to O3 than bacteria. Some N-fixing bacteria are promoted by O3, but N fixation is reduced by O3 in other studies. Some denitrifying bacteria are likewise promoted by O3, and the abundance of some nitrifying bacteria can be either reduced or increased by O3. The decrease in microbial biomass disturbs the rates of N and C cycling as feedback, potentially reducing N2O and storing less C in the rhizosphere. The changes in C and N cycling in PSFs may occur in tandem with changes in the cycling of other nutrients due to poor leaf and root litter as well as affected decomposition processes.

Indicators of plant susceptibility to O3. The main indicators of the susceptibility of plants to O3 are stomatal conductance, specific leaf area, and genetically controlled defensive capacity (14, 15). Classification of plant species into tolerant and susceptible, however, is difficult because of their high intraspecific variation in tolerance (5, 16, 17). High intraspecific genetic variation has been detected in grasses and herbaceous and woody plants [e.g., Phleum alpinum, Trifolium repens, and Plantago major (16), as well as Betula pendula and Populus spp. (18)] and has been studied in detail in, for example, willows and silver birches (18). The genetic variation of O3 tolerance in these species has been attributed to a range of factors, including foliar phenolic composition (19), effective pathways of ascorbate-glutathione detoxification, remobilization of amino acids (20), genetic plasticity, chemical composition of foliar surface waxes (21, 22), stomatal closure, and foliar structural traits, such as apoplastic volume, thickness, and leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA) (18, 23). Model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana clearly indicate that O3 tolerance is due to a unique set of alterations of various defensive mechanisms, e.g., signaling pathways, regulatory genes, plant hormones, antioxidants, and physiological processes (function and regulation of stomata) (24, 25). These indicators of tolerance can be useful for individual plants or plant mixtures but are challenging in studies at evolutionary and population levels. The selection for O3 tolerance in the field is further complicated by the multiple environmental factors and stressors that usually affect plants, such as drought, salt, heavy metals, light, nutrient availability, and changeable meteorological conditions (16, 26, 27). Agrobiodiversity and the compositions of seminatural plant communities, among other factors, are often affected by management practices such as grazing, cutting, and fertilization, all of which further obscure the influence of O3.

Plant leaves are most exposed to elevated O3 and have therefore been extensively examined for structural modifications and adaptations to elevated O3 and associated plant susceptibility (5, 15, 16). The O3 susceptibility in silver birch and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) has been associated with foliar thickness, i.e., the most susceptible genotypes had thinner leaves (28). An extensive survey of subtropical, temperate, and Mediterranean tree species found that O3 tolerance at the foliar level was associated with LMA, and a reduction in whole-tree biomass was linked to high stomatal flux per unit foliar mass, indicating high O3 uptake per unit mass (29). High LMA and sclerophyllia can provide O3 tolerance by (i) cross-protection (e.g., resistance to several stress factors such as drought), (ii) the so-called dilution effect (lower O3 load per unit foliar mass), and (iii) a large apoplastic compartment, which is often associated with high antioxidative capacity (5, 15, 30, 31). Trichomes are foliar-surface structures that may provide protection against high levels of O3 by acting as physical barriers or by physiological detoxification (32). LMA, sclerophyllia, and trichomes are relatively easy to measure and can, therefore, be widely used for assessing the threat of O3 in the field.

Relationships between O3 susceptibility and plant diversity. Studying how elevated O3 affects plant diversity requires focusing on functional traits associated with ecological fitness, such as reproductive fitness (seed output), plant health, and competitiveness. The responses of plant communities to O3, however, are ultimately driven by changes in growth, physiology, biochemistry, or genetics at the level of individuals or species (10). Many indirect and well-known effects of O3 on plants may lead to changes in community composition and diversity, including impacts on growth, plant vitality (assessed as crown defoliation), photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, water balance, the trade-off between biomass production and defensive processes, flowering, competition, and susceptibility to pests and pathogens (5, 10, 33, 34). These impacts can ultimately reduce the ability of species of a plant community to compete (interspecific competition) and the ability of communities to compete. Specific indicators of biodiversity, however, may not represent the direct effects of O3 such as reduced biodiversity within a plant community but rather variations in the competition for resources among plant species.

Visible foliar injury induced by O3 is an important attribute for epidemiological assessments because it manifests susceptibility of plants to O3 and is the only indicator of adverse effects of O3 that can be used for routine field surveys (10, 35). The visible foliar injury appears as chlorosis, necrosis, flecks, stipples, bronzing, and/or reddening (see the Supplementary Materials for more information). While it is difficult to distinguish whether chlorosis and necrosis are induced by O3 or normal senescence in the field, a characteristic of O3-induced symptoms is that they usually occur on interveinal areas of the upper leaf surface only and older leaves show the most symptoms. Species-specific visible injuries have been widely found in nature (10, 3537), although evidence for the relationship between O3-induced visible injuries and damage is contradictory and uncertain especially for forest trees (38). Visible injuries may be associated with negative impacts on fitness traits [e.g., the reduction of carbon (C) assimilation/allocation limits growth and seed production, making the species uncompetitive] (38). Little is known, however, about the relationship between short-term phenomena such as visible foliar injury and longer-term processes affecting plant-community structure and ecosystem biodiversity (5, 10).

Ozone susceptibility varies among plant functional groups. On the basis of ecological strategies of competition and survival, some susceptible plants may be affected more than nonsusceptible plants by O3-induced stress and may thus be competitively penalized (17, 3942). The degree of susceptibility differs widely among species but also functional groups (Table 1), although current rankings of O3 susceptibility are based on the susceptibility of individual species (5, 17, 43) and the modeling of different indicators (44). For example, elevated O3 may decrease the aboveground biomass of therophytes (annuals) more than non-annual plants (e.g., chamaephytes) (43), suggesting that variations in response of annual and perennial species in a community under O3 are also important for long-term biodiversity effects. High oxidative stress induced by O3 can also adversely affect the fitness of O3-susceptible genotypes when combined with harsh inter- and intraspecific competition within communities, ultimately altering the timing of flowering and seed development and reducing the number and biomass of flowers in some species in a community (33, 45, 46). The community composition of terrestrial ecosystems may thus exhibit long-term changes, and plant diversity may be at risk (Fig. 1), especially in areas where O3 occurs at potentially phytotoxic levels (Fig. 3).

The reader may refer to the references for further details.

Surface mean AOT40 [parts per million (ppm)hour] for 20002003 (A) and for RCP2.6 (B), RCP4.5 (C), and RCP8.5 (D) by 2100, overlapping the global patterns of the endemic richness of vascular plants (number of species of vascular plants per 10,000 km2) across biogeographic regions worldwide (except Antarctica). RCP represents a representative concentration pathway, and AOT40 represents accumulated ozone exposure above a threshold of 40 parts per billion (ppb). Data sources: (9) and (197). The ozone maps are from (9).

Empirical evidence for O3 threats to plant-community composition and diversity. Empirical evidence from several experiments conducted in different regions of the world indicates that O3 can affect the structure and diversity of plant communities (table S1). Several experiments with open-top chambers (OTCs) in pasture communities exposed to O3 (commonly up to twofold above the ambient O3 concentrations) for two to four growing seasons have demonstrated changes in species composition (table S1), with some species being lost over time, and in community structure (42, 4751). For example, there is evidence for reduced plant species richness (total number of species), diversity (Shannon-Weaver index), and evenness of an early successional community due to exposure to ambient and elevated O3 levels over two growing seasons (49). These elevated O3 concentrations occur in highly polluted areas of NH nowadays. Solardome experiments have also suggested potential changes in the structure of grassland communities (33, 45). An O3 treatment accounted for 40% of the variation in species composition (41). Reduced species richness (total number of species), diversity (Shannon-Weaver index), and evenness due to exposure to O3 were particularly important over two growing seasons in an early successional community (49). The species richness of communities with different histories of O3 exposure was similar, but the relative abundance of the dominant species differed among the communities (50). Changes in community structure due to past exposure to O3 suggest that O3 might have already contributed to changes in natural communities.

The use of free-air O3 concentration enrichment (FACE) experiments can generate more realistic estimates of the impacts of O3 on vegetation because the plants fully interact with the surrounding natural environment. A few FACE studies have assessed the impacts of O3 (commonly up to 1.6-fold higher than the ambient O3 concentrations) in subalpine and other types of grasslands after two to seven growing seasons (table S1). Some experiments found O3-induced shifts in the fractions of plant functional groups, changes in species composition depending on the functional component, and increased abundance of some species such as Nardus stricta (52). Empirical evidence from long-term FACE experiments, therefore, supports the suggestions from OTC experiments that O3 induces alterations to the structure and species composition of grassland communities.

Forbs are generally more susceptible to O3 than grasses, but the relative abundance of a grass species may decrease, depending on potential interacting environmental factors (table S1). Note that some species may increase in abundance and others may decrease but without necessarily a large loss of species richness or a shift in their distributional evenness (53). These changes in community composition may also lead to changes in the nutritional value of vegetation used for animal consumption. For instance, reductions in the legume fraction, but not the grass fraction, of harvested biomass as a result of elevated O3 exposure occurred in intact and managed pasture (54, 55), T. repensLolium perenne mixtures established under field conditions from seed (56), and T. repensL. perenne established in mesocosms (57). Similarly, reductions in the clover/grass ratio due to elevated O3 appeared in T. repens and L. perenne (58) and for T. repens and Festuca arundinacea (59). Comparable reductions can also occur if the aboveground biomass of the grass component increases due to reduced competition from the legume. Altered pasture quality from samples analyzed from seven component studies also occurred (60). This was the result of species composition alterations and the nutritional quality change of individual species within the community.

The hypothesis of impacts on community composition associated with O3 was also supported by an assessment of the impacts on community composition at 64 field sites selected from the U.K. National Vegetation Classification of U4 Festuca ovinaeAgrostis capillarisGalium saxatile grasslands, which represent calcifugous grasslands, widely distributed in the British Isles (table S1) (53). The use of genetic markers and DNA fingerprinting in wild populations also demonstrated that genetic diversity is declining in areas with high levels of O3 [reviewed in (5)]. These studies suggest potentially changing diversity in the real world. Recent technological developments are providing powerful tools for monitoring the loss of biodiversity in vegetation with various plant functional groups, e.g., remote sensing and hyperspectral imaging techniques combined with drones (61); drone techniques are particularly useful in wetland ecosystems. These techniques can potentially more robustly assess the global threat of O3 to biodiversity in the future.

Some studies have reported negligible or no significant effects on species composition, community structure, or diversity. Several factors, which can affect the estimated impacts of O3, such as OTC environments, can affect the species composition of pastures (55). Within-family competition can also be a major driver of the general response of a community (42), and competition between species can be affected by both O3 and the mixing ratio of the individuals within a community (62). The compositions of species with low abundances may also not greatly change, even if the species are strongly affected by O3 (52, 63). The outcome of inter- or intraspecific competition also depends on other environmental factors such as soil-water content (62), soil nitrogen (N) content (42, 52), and spatial heterogeneity (64). A mixture of contaminants may also occur in the environment, and multiple co-occurring environmental contaminants may have larger effects than the effects of single contaminants (53). A new generation of studies accounting for various co-occurring factors is therefore needed to provide a basis for assessing real-world risks.

Foliar quality drives plant-insect interactions. Ozone can affect both the foliar content of N, a major nutrient driving insect dynamics (65), and secondary metabolites. For example, several studies show that elevated O3 enhanced the concentration of lignin, a key secondary metabolite determining the palatability of biomass to insects (66). Secondary metabolites play important roles in the defense of plants against herbivores by deterring feeding and reducing digestibility by being toxic at high concentrations (2, 6771) but may also attract herbivores at lower concentrations (70, 72). Elevated O3 doses that exceed the toxicological threshold inhibit photosynthesis and thus the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, whereas low O3 doses that are below the toxicological threshold stimulate defensive signaling pathways and induce the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (21, 73). Insect herbivores are expected to damage plants more if O3 decreases the rate of C assimilation so that less C is available for C-based defensive chemicals (74). Numerous studies have demonstrated that O3 affects phenolics and terpenes, especially in angiosperms (75), although different groups of phenolics and terpenes may respond differently to O3 (19, 76, 77). Despite the recent advancements in the understanding of O3 effects on foliar quality, O3 effects on latex and other constituents of saps exuded from damaged tissues remain completely unknown, although plant latex plays an important role in defense against herbivores (78).

Plant defense modulates insect growth and development directly via toxic secondary metabolites or indirectly by recruiting the natural enemies of insect pests via herbivore-induced plant volatiles and extra floral nectar (67, 79, 80). For example, the mortality of gypsy moths increased when fed with leaves treated with O3 (81). A recent study also found that the increase in body mass in Samia ricini larvae was inhibited when the larvae were fed with cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) leaves treated with O3 (65), similarly to Pieris brassicae reared on Brassica nigra (82). This inhibition was due to the effect of O3 on foliar quality and could, thus, affect herbivory levels by overcompensating for the poor nutritional quality of the tissues (65, 83). These effects suggest potential shifts between generalist species, which can adapt easier to plant defensive compounds and thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions, and specialist species, which have a limited diet and can thrive only within a narrow range of environmental conditions (84).

Shifts in secondary metabolites under elevated O3 may lead to changes in relative insect performances, including feeding and ovipositional preferences, longevity, and the ability to reproduce, potentially influencing the population density and community composition of the insects (73, 81, 85). Recent studies of a community of trees grown in a FACE system for 5 years, however, found that populations of different species of insects, with different host plants, decreased significantly in elevated O3 (74, 86). These studies suggest that these decreases were not due to foliar palatability, also confirmed by laboratory assays (74, 86, 87), or to direct negative effects of O3 on insects (88), leading to the suggestion that VOCs played an important role in plant-herbivore interactions under O3 (89). These observations agree with those from other studies of different plant-insect systems (85).

Impacts of O3-induced changes in VOC emissions on insect dynamics. Biogenic VOCs (BVOCs), i.e., VOCs emitted by plants, play important roles in a range of conspecific and heterospecific interactions and plant survival (9092). They are emitted by most plant components, both above- and belowground (roots), and provide pivotal ecological cues detectable over a range of distances (9396). Typical BVOCs include isoprene, terpenes, green leaf volatiles, carbonyls, organic acids, halides, sulfurous compounds, and benzenoids (97). Ozone can induce, reduce, or have no effect on BVOC emissions, depending on the species and conditions of exposure (98100). Isoprene emissions are typically inhibited under elevated O3, but monoterpene emissions of O3-tolerant and evergreen species are stimulated (101).

Interactions involving O3, BVOCs, and insects are highly complex. Ozone can react with a multitude of VOCs in the atmosphere, breaking them down into mostly unknown reaction products, which may impair communication between plants and insects mediated by volatiles and may compromise pollination (82, 93, 102105). For example, a laboratory study assessing the effects of O3 on the orientation of a beetle (Acalymma vittatum) to flowers reported that O3 levels <80 parts per billion (ppb) did not affect orientation, whereas levels >80 ppb disrupted orientation toward floral volatiles (106). Similar results were found for the attraction of other beetles (Agelastica coerulea) to leaves (89). Both elevated O3 (107) and diesel exhaust (108), which comprises some precursors of O3, have recently been reported to rapidly degrade floral volatiles. The distance over which floral scents can be detected by pollinators thus decreased, negatively affecting the orientation of the pollinators toward floral food sources (107).

Behavioral tests run at elevated O3 concentrations indicated that elevated O3 could also considerably alter the composition of volatile blends induced by herbivory and consequently alter tritrophic interactions by influencing the behavior of the natural enemies of the herbivores (109111). The results from these studies, however, were inconsistent. For example, O3 affected plant volatile bouquets induced by herbivory, but the changes did not affect the orientation of parasitoids, indicating a minimal role of oxidation products in signal perception for this system (109). A combination of elevated O3 and P. brassicae larval feeding on B. nigra, however, induced substantially larger volatile emissions than either stress alone, which decreased the attractiveness of the plants to the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata relative to plants exposed to herbivores alone (111). Exposure to elevated O3 may also typically reduce insect oviposition on host plants (86, 112), which may be influenced by multiple mechanisms such as the degradation by O3 of specific VOCs that stimulate oviposition (105, 113).

Understanding the knock-on effects on insect diversity and the impact of O3-induced VOC emissions on insect diversity is needed, despite the growing number of studies addressing the effects of O3 on the composition of BVOC emissions and specific ecological interactions. The impact of O3-induced VOC emissions on insect diversity should also be studied further.

Empirical evidence for O3 risks of insect community composition and diversity. Numerous studies have addressed how O3 alters insect performance by modifying secondary metabolism and VOC emissions, but the impacts of O3 on insect diversity remain relatively understudied. The fecundity of individual insects does not predict the responses of populations or communities to O3 (114), but three studies of the effects of O3 on insect diversity suggest that O3 can alter species abundance and community structure, thereby threatening diversity (50, 115, 116). For example, an examination of >47,000 insects from four orders and 83 families sampled in a FACE system at regular intervals over four growing seasons found that O3 tended to increase the abundance of phloem-feeding herbivores and decreased the abundance of chewing herbivores and parasitoids in aspen (115). This study also found that elevated O3 reduced the total abundance of insects (17%) compared to ambient O3, with prominent effects on parasitoids such as Braconidae (33%), Chalcidoidea (26%), Figitidae (59%), and Ichneumonidae (41%) (115). Arthropod communities also changed in two experiments when seeds from a community of natural plants previously exposed to filtered air, 90-ppb O3 or 120-ppb O3, with episodic patterns of varying daily peak concentrations over four growing seasons, were used to reestablish the plant community in a new environment with low-level O3 pollution (50). The carnivore/herbivore ratio particularly increased (increased abundance of carnivores) with increasing historical levels of O3 in the 2 years following historical exposures (50). The effects on insect abundance and species richness are specific to plant species and vary temporally (116). More studies are needed, but these results suggest that O3 may influence biotic communities and pose a threat to biodiversity even years after exposure.

Plant-microbe coevolutionary relationship. Diverse communities of bacteria and fungi live near and on the surfaces of plant roots (rhizosphere) and leaves (phyllosphere) and in internal plant tissues (endosphere). Beneficial microbes help plants to acquire water and nutrients, defend against pathogenic microbes, tolerate abiotic stress (including drought and O3 and other air pollutants), adapt to environmental changes, establish mycorrhizae, and regulate plant growth (117121). Microbes can regulate plant growth directly by releasing phytohormones or organic growth promoters, contributing to ecosystem processes, such as N fixation, ammonia oxidation, and phosphate solubilization, or indirectly by producing biocontrol compounds, such as antibiotics, siderophores, and enzymes, or signaling compounds (121123). Microbes, in return, benefit from a stable niche, and the supply of primary and secondary metabolites and C from root exudates (123, 124). Microorganisms are evolutionarily older than land plants, and our current understanding is that plants are coevolving species assemblagesholobionts (Fig. 2), consisting of plants and their microbiota (125). The long coevolution of plants and their associated microbiota has likely led to phylogenetically and functionally divergent microbiomes in different environments and climatic zones. Our current knowledge of the impacts of O3 on plant microbiota and biodiversity is mainly restricted to rhizospheric processes.

Plant-soil feedbacks. An extensive body of literature addresses the interactions between plants and biotic and abiotic soil properties, known as PSFs (4). The effect of increasing atmospheric concentrations of O3 on these interactions, however, has rarely been studied (10, 13). A few studies have investigated the effects of manipulated O3 levels on community structure and composition and the function of soil microbial communities, but the results have been inconclusive (126131), perhaps due to varying durations of the experiments or other experimental factors such as the facilities used for exposing plants to O3, ecosystem type, and type of management (132). Many of these new studies, however, suggest potentially important impacts of elevated O3 on PSFs, including soil microbial diversity and decoupled PSF interactions (Fig. 2).

Soil ecosystem functioning. Elevated O3 can modify resource allocation between above- and belowground parts of the plant, an important response in all plants under O3 stress (13, 133). A meta-analysis showed that O3 generally inhibits the allocation to roots, relatively to shoots, albeit a variable phenomenon (133). A more recent analysis of 239 data entries of dry root mass of woody plants revealed that 40% of the entries reflected a statistically significant decrease and only 3% of the entries reflected a statistically significant increase (13). Likewise, an analysis of 104 data entries of root/shoot biomass ratio showed that 27% of the entries reflected a statistically significant decrease and only 5% of the entries reflected a statistically significant increase (13). Hence, it appears that elevated O3 generally reduces the allocation of resources to roots more than to shoots, suggesting potential feedbacks to the soil ecosystem.

Rhizospheric microbial communities are highly diverse and have a fundamental role in nutrient acquisition, water economy, growth, and disease tolerance (118). Elevated O3 reduces the allocation of C derived from the soil, which reduces the amount of resources for heterotrophic microbes and thereby affects belowground processes driven by microbes (132, 134, 135). O3 can thus modify decomposition rates, activities of soil enzymes, root turnover, rhizodeposition (all material lost from plant roots and deposited into the soil) and belowground cycling of C and N, although the magnitude and direction of the influence are plant specific and depend on various environmental conditions other than O3 (136139). The role of rhizodeposition is particularly important in northern biomes, where productivity is often strongly limited by the uptake and cycling of N (140). Exudation of other molecules such as chelators or organic acids is also crucial for the acquisition of phosphorus or microelements, but they lack experimentation regarding their role in O3 effects.

Many studies have reported that O3 accelerates foliar senescence, thereby changing the timing of litter deposition, and reduces the amount of leaf litter due to diminished foliar area (13, 141, 142). O3 can also affect litter quality (12, 13, 143). A series of experiments on the effects of O3 on nutrient translocation from senescing to younger leaves identified species-, soil-, and study-specific changes in the levels of micro- and macronutrients in the foliar litter, which appeared early during stress, altering ecological stoichiometry (144, 145). More studies are needed to draw general conclusions about these highly complex phenomena. These changes in the amount and quality of litter could affect soil macrofauna that feeds on litter, including detritivores [e.g., (143)].

Ozone reduces rhizodeposition because ecosystems exposed to elevated O3 support a lower net primary productivity, similar to leaves. The rate of turnover of fine roots may also be higher, which may also affect decomposition (13). Many experiments have found that O3 affects the chemical composition of fine roots, such as decreasing or increasing the contents of monosaccharides, total soluble carbohydrates, and total sugars, depending on the severity of stress (13). The levels of fatty acids, starches, and nutrients were also affected but not consistently in direction or magnitude, which are expected to vary with time and stress level (13)). Ozone influences the chemical composition of both roots and soluble root exudates (146, 147). All these alterations can lead to species-specific changes in the rates of decomposition (138, 148).

Recent advances show that elevated O3 alters the expression of microbial genes involved in C cycling, which, in turn, likely affects C cycling regulated by microbes (149). For instance, in two Chinese wheat cultivars exposed to elevated O3 in a FACE system, the abundance of C cycling genes was generally decreased in both cultivars (including fhs genes involved in the reductive acetogenesis pathway), although the abundance of a few genes increased in both cultivars (mcrA and mannanase and xylanase genes) or one of the cultivars (amyX, nplT, and lip genes in one cultivar; pcc, aceA/B, bacterial ara, and carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and phenol oxidase genes in the other cultivar) (149). Ozone can also reduce the ability of microbes to use C sources, especially in the rhizosphere, as indicated by the reduced signal intensity of some C degradation genes (e.g., related to hemicellulose, aromatics, and chitin) detected in a soil depth of 0 to 5 cm (129). The excretion of some extracellular enzymes involved in C metabolism (e.g., -glucosidase) can be similarly suppressed by O3 (150, 151), reducing the availability of C sources, which can also decrease the methanogenic activity of microbes in paddy fields (152). Ozone generally decreases C cycling by decreasing C-based exudation caused by a reduced translocation of photosynthates to the roots (13).

Ozone can also impair N cycling in soil driven by microbial activity (139, 150, 153157). For example, N fixation by legumes can decrease in response to increasing O3 concentrations (158). Several studies show that N-fixing plants (e.g., legumes) grown within multispecies plant communities can be more sensitive to O3 than their co-occurring species (table S1), although it remains elusive how O3 affects their N-fixing capacity in these multispecies communities. Ozone can also negatively affect N2O emissions from meadows and soybean fields (159, 160) and rice and wheat fields (161163), suggesting that reduced denitrification due to decreases in plant-derived C inputs induced by O3 may play a dominant role. The direction of the effects of O3 on N2O emissions is also driven by the system of cultivation (163). Recent advances suggest that O3 can reduce the expression of microbial genes involved in N fixation, denitrification, and N mineralization associated with legumes (129), including decreased abundances of nirK, nirS, and nosZ (which are widely used to describe denitrifier communities) and amoA (an indicator of nitrifier communities) (160). Reduced availability of soil N and/or labile C for nitrifiers or denitrifiers may account for these observations in the abundances of genes associated with N cycling. The effects of O3 on the cycling of soil N, however, clearly vary among plant genotypes or cultivars depending on their susceptibility to O3 (139, 149, 163). These findings demonstrate the decoupling of PSF interactions by O3.

Several studies suggest that O3 usually decreases soil microbial biomass (127, 150, 152, 164166). The negative response of microbial biomass to O3 is most likely due to a reduction in root biomass and substrate availability (13). O3 can reduce both fungal biomass and the ratio of fungi to bacteria, suggesting that fungi may be more susceptible than bacteria to O3 (149, 165, 166). Elevated O3 can significantly decrease microbial biomass in microaggregates (inhabited predominately by bacteria) relative to macroaggregates (132), suggesting that bacteria in microaggregates may be more susceptible to O3. Ozone, however, increased microbial biomass in a community dominated by sedges (167), perhaps due to an increase in substrate availability, because O3 slightly increased the total number of sedge leaves toward the end of the experiment, and/or to a faster turnover of fine roots caused by O3 (168). A decrease in soil microbial biomass would also contribute to a suppressed holobiont and disturbed PSFs (Fig. 2).

Empirical evidence for O3 threats to microbial community composition and diversity. Elevated O3 can alter the composition and structure of soil microbial communities (127, 129, 130, 165, 166, 169171). For example, 11 years of exposure to elevated O3 doubled the ratio of Basidiomycota to Ascomycota in soil microbial communities (128). The relative abundances of bacteria at the order level in the phylum Actinobacteria (which may promote the degradation of recalcitrant substances) increased under O3 (130). O3 also reduced the relative abundance of bacterial groups belonging to the family Rhodospirillaceae and the order Clostridiales in rice systems (169). Further studies have recently reported the effects of O3 on bacteria that facilitate the oxidation of ammonia, the rate-limiting step of nitrification. Elevated O3 decreased the relative abundances of some nitrifiers (e.g., Proteobacteria and Nitrospira) but increased those of some denitrifiers (e.g., Acremonium and Bacillus) in soils growing Machilus ichangensis and Taxus chinensis (127). O3 likewise increased the relative abundances of some nitrifying bacteria (e.g., Nitrososphaeraceae, Nitrospiraceae, Nocardioidaceae, and 0319-6A21) and N-fixing bacteria (e.g., Sphingomonadaceae, Rhizobiaceae, Termomonosporaceae, Micromonosporaceae, Streptomycetaceae, and Bradyrhizobiaceae) in the soil microbial community of a maize field (131). The abundance of microbes is an important indicator of N mineralization (172), and these results suggest that the effects of O3 on microbial structural diversity can affect N mineralization.

The structure of microbial communities may be affected by the soil environment and plant functions. Decreases in root exudation caused by elevated O3 represent a plausible mechanism by which plants could modulate their interaction with microbes. Root exudates have an important role in plant-microbe interactions and help to determine the composition of the rhizospheric microbiome (173175). Plants generally exude up to 20% of the fixed C and 15% of the N, which includes an array of simple molecules such as sugars, organic acids, and secondary metabolites and complex polymers such as mucilage (174, 176). The amount and composition of root exudates vary among plant genotypes. Root exudation is modulated by various abiotic stresses (177, 178). For example, microbial composition differed between maize genotypes, a phenomenon linked to differences in the amount of root exudation induced by O3 (131). Few studies, however, have focused on the effect of O3 on the relationships between root exudates and soil bacterial communities, so our understanding of the response of soil microorganisms to O3 is incomplete.

The alpha diversity of soil fungi (especially ectomycorrhizae), bacteria, and archaea is often reduced by O3 as an indirect consequence of changes in plant (and rhizospheric) structure and function caused by elevated O3 (130, 179182). Ozone in other cases, however, has increased microbial alpha diversity (130, 183, 184), highlighting the degrees to which the literature remains inconclusive and additional studies are needed for a comprehensive mechanistic understanding.

Rationale. The previous sections documented that the effects of O3 on insects and microbiota were mediated by plants and that the effects of O3 on plants could affect the composition and diversity of plant, insect, and microbial communities (Figs. 1 and 2). The impacts of O3 on plant diversity is not clear, but the evidence of indirect impacts on the diversity of plant microbiota is much clearer, suggesting that microbial diversity may be at a higher O3 risk than plant diversity. Plant biomass, a trait critical to fitness that also indicates permanent adverse effects of O3 (17), can be used as an indicator of the threat of O3 to the health of the plant, insect, and microbial communities. The productivity of plant communities, such as in predominant global forests, is also positively correlated with species richness (185). We identified areas with overlapping O3 risk and high terrestrial endemic richness for vascular plants under scenarios of representative concentration pathways (RCPs).

Methodology. Projected changes in O3 vary considerably among models (186) and scenarios of emission of O3 precursors (9). The latest emission scenarios, the RCPs, were developed for the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (187). The RCP scenarios include various assumptions on climate, policies of energy access, and changes in land cover and use (188). Different RCP scenarios lead to different concentrations and emissions, e.g., CH4, O3 (even stratospheric O3 inputs), and emissions of NOx from lightning, associated with climate change, all of which affect O3 levels. The RCPs have been described elsewhere (9, 186, 189).

Sixteen global or regional chemical models within the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP) were validated and used to evaluate projected changes in air quality under various scenarios of emission and climate (186, 189). On the basis of (9), we selected the global three-dimensional (3D) chemistry transport model MOCAGE (Modle de Chimie Atmosphrique Grande Echelle) among the 16 ACCMIP models to assess the worldwide threats of O3 to plant endemic richness.

MOCAGE is a global 3D chemistry transport model with a high grid resolution (0.5 by 0.5), which provides numerical simulations of the interactions between dynamical, physical, and chemical processes in the troposphere and lower stratosphere (190). It uses a semi-Lagrangian advection scheme to transport the chemical species (190). MOCAGE reproduces well the spatial pattern of O3 exposure at the global scale, e.g., in high-elevation areas or areas downwind of O3 precursor sources (9). The MOCAGE historical runs cover the period 20002003, while the time slice of RCPs is centered around 2100. MOCAGE can simulate 110 gas species including VOC species as well as soil and lightning NOx, with a horizontal resolution of 2 by 2, and includes 47 vertical pressure levels from the surface up to 5 hPa. MOCAGE simulates biogenic emissions of hydrocarbons from vegetation (isoprene, monoterpenes, and other VOCs) and also parameterizes dry deposition of hundreds of compounds including O3 (190). A shortfall of the MOCAGE model is that it overestimates O3, especially near sea surfaces, essentially in NH (190, 191). This phenomenon was due to limitations of the thermodynamic equilibrium hypothesis in a marine atmosphere and an overestimation of NOx emissions in the lowest part of the troposphere, especially in the winter months (190, 191). It may result from a positive bias in OH and CO emissions at the south of the Equator, which are mainly from a biomass burning origin, and are too strong (191).

The O3 exposurebased index AOT40 [parts per million (ppm)hour] is a metric used to assess the potential O3 risk to vegetation from local to global scales and adopted by European regulatory agencies (192194). AOT40 is less biologically relevant than flux-based metrics because, among other reasons, it does not incorporate species-specific O3 influx (11). However, O3 flux information can be obtained for only few ecotypes of (semi)natural plants, thus not permitting reliable O3 flux estimates across large regions of the globe. Global flux data for (semi)natural vegetation, which is the focus of this study, are not available. Furthermore, mapping global-scale O3 flux at high spatial resolution cannot be practically performed because of physical scarcity of data, such as hourly meteorological data, hourly soil moisture, dominant tree species per pixel, and stomatal conductance per dominant species. Moreover, world-leading agencies base regulatory ecological risk assessment upon estimated environmental concentrations (exposures) and not upon dose intake by organisms (influx), including the Deterministic Approach and the Probabilistic Approach [e.g., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Scientific Advisory Panel of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Ecological Committee on FIFRA Risk Assessment Methods; http://www.epa.gov/%5D. AOT40 is computed as the sum of the hourly exceedances above 40 ppb, for daylight hours (radiation, >50 W m2) over vegetation- or species-specific growing seasons (195), namely, April to September for temperate climates (e.g., Europe) and all year round for Mediterranean, subtropical, and tropical-type climates (196). On the basis of (193), we calculated AOT40 for a model grid (8:00 to 20:00, local time) for all days of the year. A critical level of 5 ppmhour calculated over the growing season has been recommended for the protection of trees (5% reduction, total biomass) and (semi)natural vegetation dominated by perennials (10% reduction, above- or belowground biomass and/or cover of individual species) (195). We selected this level as a stringent reference point for both annual and perennial (semi)natural vegetation; a level of 3 ppmhour (195) would produce exceedances of critical level throughout NH. Details of the O3 data used and the procedure followed are provided by (9).

Kier et al. (197) analyzed the endemism richness of vascular plants (i.e., ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms) in large datasets and maps across 90 biogeographic regions worldwide (excluding Antarctica) using a standard area of 10,000 km2. This index (endemic richness) combines both endemic and species richness and is considered superior to species richness or species endemism, and it can indicate the specific contribution of an area to global biodiversity (197). The dataset contains the full spectrum of abiotic conditions and includes all major biomes. We used the dataset provided by Kier et al. (197) to map the endemism richness of <5, 5 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 50, and >50 species of terrestrial vascular plants per 10,000 km2. Mean richness for mainland areas was 18.2 species per 10,000 km2, so we created these arbitrary categories and considered an endemic richness of 20 species per 10,000 km2 to be high, i.e., exceeding the average endemic richness (see the Supplementary Materials).

AOT40 averaged 31.8 ppmhour in NH and 3.5 ppmhour in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) in the 2000s (Fig. 3A). In the early 2000s, AOT40 below the critical level of 5 ppmhour occurred mainly in the SH: South America, Pacific islands, the Cape region of South Africa, Madagascar, Polynesia-Micronesia, Melanesia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, Tasmania, New Caledonia, and New Zealand (Fig. 3A). Higher O3 burdens (AOT40, >25 ppmhour) have been simulated for areas at high elevations, e.g., the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau, and for Greenland, northeastern Siberia, the Mediterranean Basin, and areas downwind of precursor sources, e.g., southern Asia (Fig. 3A).

Changes in AOT40 compared to the early 2000s were 60% (NH) and +69% (SH) for RCP2.6 (most optimistic), 28% (NH) and +203% (SH) for RCP4.5, and +67% (NH) and +449% (SH) for RCP8.5 (most pessimistic). Surface AOT40 for RCP2.6 would decrease worldwide, except in equatorial Africa, where AOT40 was higher (Fig. 3B). Mean surface O3 concentrations decreased most where historical O3 concentrations were high. The O3 foci (AOT40, >25 ppmhour) for RCP2.6 were in Greenland, India, the Near East, and equatorial Africa (Fig. 3B), but the vegetation in Greenland was very limited. AOT40 for RCP4.5 was slightly lower than historical runs, except over Canada and eastern Asia (particularly Siberia) where a high increase was observed (Fig. 3C). The surface O3 levels and AOT40 were higher for RCP8.5 than historical runs and increased the most in northwestern United States, Greenland, the Mediterranean Basin, the Near East, and eastern Asia (Fig. 3D). AOT40 greatly exceeded 25 ppmhour worldwide, except in Central and South America and Australia (Fig. 3D).

AOT40 for the three RCPs did not change significantly in SH. MOCAGE indicated that the critical levels for the protection of perennial (semi)natural vegetation for RCP8.5 based on AOT40 (5 ppmhour) would be exceeded over many areas of NH by as much as 10-fold, despite improvements for RCP2.6 and RCP4.5.

AOT40 is expected to be high (>5 ppmhour) by 2100 for 23 to 51% of the land areas with an endemic richness of 20 to 50 or >50 species per 10,000 km2, depending on the RCP (Table 2). Only 4% of the land areas with an endemic richness of >200 species per 10,000 km2, however, is projected to be exposed to high AOT40 values (>5 ppmhour) and only for the most pessimistic scenario, RCP8.5 (Table 2).

All NH areas with very high endemic richness (>50 species per 10,000 km2) in the 2000s overlapped with high O3 exposures (>5 ppmhour), except Central America, northern South America, and the Philippines. Plant endemic richness was high in regions with a Mediterranean climate, and regions in NH where endemic richness was high (e.g., California, the Mediterranean Basin, and Ethiopia) had high O3 levels in summer (198, 199).

A comparison of the global distributions of the endemic richness of vascular plants (>20 plant species per 10,000 km2) where AOT40 was >5 ppmhour for the three RCPs indicated that both endemic richness and O3 risk were high for NH Atlantic islands in the latitude band 15 to 45N (e.g., the Canary Islands, Azores, and the Caribbean), the Mediterranean Basin, equatorial Africa, Ethiopia, the Indian coastline, the Himalayan region, southern Asia, and Japan.

A gap of knowledge exists in O3 effects on natural and seminatural communities in tropical and subtropical environments; thus, these studies are encouraged. The long-term impacts of O3 on biodiversity remain completely unknown, especially in terms of global biodiversity. A new generation of long-term real-world experiments designed to study the effects of O3 on biodiversity are greatly needed. The complex structure, physiognomy, and high biodiversity of southern biomes are obstacles to conducting field or laboratory studies of this subject.

Can elevated O3 alter the ecological plasticity of wild and semi-wild plant species? Potential selection pressure due to plant-plant competition under O3 is likely weak and will be difficult to demonstrate. Previous studies have reported controversial results (16, 200) due to the high intraspecific variation of many species (5). Little evidence has been found for the impact of temporal changes in O3 concentrations on diversity. Understanding and improving the tolerance to O3 are more advanced for crop plants than wild and semi-wild species, but the tolerance of genetically improved plants to O3 has rarely been demonstrated in the field (201). The use of genetic markers and DNA fingerprinting in wild populations has demonstrated that genetic diversity is decreasing in areas with high O3 levels [reviewed in (5)], which may lead to reduced ecological plasticity in changing environments. Population differentiation studies at high-risk areas under future scenarios may provide further insights and are thus encouraged. Limited information is yet available for the impacts of O3 on mosses, ferns, lichens, algae, and fungi, although current data suggest high tolerance to O3 for many of these organisms (5). More research is needed to understand the role of belowground processes and phyllospheric microbiota for assessing biodiversity.

Can O3 affect insect diversity? The effects of elevated O3 on insects could be indirect and would depend on the magnitude of change in the quality of the host plant (bottom-up factors) and/or the impact on natural enemies (top-down factors) (83). Elevated O3 may affect populations of natural enemies by shifts in the diversity, abundance, and quality of prey or changes in behavior that may affect finding hosts (85, 115). Information about the temporary and long-term impacts of elevated O3 on insect diversity remains elusive.

Can elevated O3 alter the diversity of phyllospheric microbiota? The differences in the composition of microbiota from different plant tissues represent an adaptation to different plant niches and the specific function of the tissue, such as C assimilation in leaves and the uptake of water and nutrients by roots. The atmospheric environment has direct contact with the phyllosphere, which forms the largest area of bioactive surfaces on Earth, at the interface between the plant and atmosphere, mediating plant responses to a changing environment (202). The phyllosphere is a habitat for a large variety of microbes (phyllobiome), with microbial densities of up to 107 cells cm2 (203), but the impacts of elevated O3 or other air pollutants on the phyllobiome are poorly known (169). Rhizospheric and phyllospheric microbiotas are interconnected and overlap with endophytic microbiota through regulatory traits, particularly for the promotion of plant growth (hormone biosynthesis) and catalytic pathways (degradation of C-based and defensive compounds) (120). A preliminary study did not detect significant effects of O3 on the phyllosphere microbiome; however, it was conducted in an artificial environment, outside the natural habitat of rice, where plants were grown in pots inside a greenhouse (169). Hence, new research is needed for understanding the impacts of elevated O3 on the phyllobiome.

Despite several uncertainties, some key conclusions of our review are the following:

The composition of a plant community may exhibit long-term changes, and diversity may be at risk, due to a genotype-specific susceptibility to O3, especially in areas where O3 is at potentially phytotoxic levels. The consensus is that elevated O3 affects plant-community composition but if and to what extent O3 may contribute to changes in biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems remain unclear. Climatic scenarios for 2100 suggest that regions with high endemic richness, e.g., NH Atlantic islands in the latitude band 15 to 45N, the Mediterranean Basin, equatorial Africa, Ethiopia, the Indian coastline, the Himalayan region, southern Asia, and Japan, are most threatened by high levels of O3.

Ozone affects the foliar chemical composition and the composition of BVOC emissions, altering plant-insect interactions and thus threatening key ecosystem functions (e.g., plant-insect communication). O3 can indirectly affect species abundance and the structure of insect communities.

Ozone also alters plant properties and soil processes that define plant-soil-microbe interactions and PSFs, such as the input of plant litter, plant exudation, root turnover, nutrient cycling, activities of soil enzymes, and decomposition, threatening the functioning of the soil ecosystem. Soil microbial communities can be indirectly affected, including decreasing microbial biomass, altering the composition and structure of communities and usually reducing alpha diversity.

The responses of plant-insect interactions and PSFs to O3 are species specific and affected by several factors, such as the spatial variation of O3, temperature, relative humidity, degree of urbanization, and the quality of control services in urban, rural, and forested areas. Ozone has, nonetheless, been demonstrated to decouple plant-insect interactions and PSFs, which should be considered when predicting the impacts of climate change.

Potential threats of elevated O3 to biodiversity and ecosystem services should be considered when adopting the post-2020 global biodiversity initiative Roadmap for EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030 at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China (October 2020), for curtailing biodiversity loss and preserving and restoring its ecosystems.

A. M. Trowbridge, in Ecology and the Environment, R. K. Monson, Ed. (Springer, 2015), pp. 128.

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Ozone affects plant, insect, and soil microbial communities: A threat to terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity - Science Advances

SPT enzyme can be used as metabolically responsive switch to slow tumor growth – News-Medical.Net

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Aug 12 2020

The enzyme serine palmitoyl-transferase can be used as a metabolically responsive "switch" that decreases tumor growth, according to a new study by a team of San Diego scientists, who published their findings Aug. 12 in the journal Nature.

By restricting the dietary amino acids serine and glycine, or pharmacologically targeting the serine synthesis enzyme phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, the team induced tumor cells to produce a toxic lipid that slows cancer progression in mice. Further research is needed to determine how this approach might be translated to patients.

Over the last decade researchers have learned that removing the amino acids serine and glycine from animal diets slows the growth of some tumors.

However, most research teams have focused on how these diets impact epigenetics, DNA metabolism, and antioxidant activity. In contrast, the researchers from the University of California San Diego and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies identified a dramatic impact of these interventions on tumor lipids, particularly those found on the surface of cells.

Our work highlights the beautiful complexity of metabolism as well as the importance of understanding physiology across diverse biochemical pathways when considering such metabolic therapies."

Christian Metallo, Study Corresponding Author and Professor of Bioengineering, Jacobs School of Engineering, University California, San Diego

In this case, serine metabolism was the researchers' focus. The enzyme serine palmitoyl-transferase, or SPT, typically uses serine to make fatty molecules called sphingolipids, which are essential for cell function.

But if serine levels are low, the enzyme can act "promiscuously" and use a different amino acid such as alanine, which results in the production of toxic deoxysphingolipids.

The team decided on this research direction after examining the affinity that certain enzymes have to serine and comparing them to the concentration of serine in tumors. These levels are known as Km or the Michaelis constant, and the numbers pointed to SPT and sphingolipids.

"By linking serine restriction to sphingolipid metabolism, this finding may enable clinical scientists to better identify which patients' tumors are most sensitive to serine-targeting therapies," Metallo said.

These toxic deoxysphingolipids are most potent at decreasing the growth of cells in "anchorage-independent" conditions--a situation where cells cannot easily adhere to surfaces that better mimics tumor growth in the body.

Further studies are necessary to better understand the mechanisms through which deoxysphingolipids are toxic to cancer cells and what effects they have on the nervous system.

In the Nature study, the research team fed a diet low on serine and glycine to xenograft model mice. They observed that SPT turned to alanine to produce toxic deoxysphingolipids instead of normal sphingolipids.

In addition, researchers used the amino-acid based antibiotic myriocin to inhibit SPT and deoxysphingolipid synthesis in mice fed low serine and glycine diets and found that tumor growth was improved.

Depriving an organism of serine for long periods of time leads to neuropathy and eye disease, Metallo pointed out. Last year, he co-lead an international team that identified reduced levels of serine and accumulation of deoxysphingolipids as a key driver of a rare macular disease called macular telangiectasia type 2, or MacTel.

The work was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, serine restriction or drug treatments for tumor therapy would not require the prolonged treatments that induce neuropathy in animals or age-related diseases.

Source:

Journal reference:

Muthusamy, T., et al. (2020) Serine restriction alters sphingolipid diversity to constrain tumour growth. Nature. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2609-x.

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SPT enzyme can be used as metabolically responsive switch to slow tumor growth - News-Medical.Net

Brain’s Ability to Rewire Itself is Connected to Gene Expression – University of Michigan Health System News

From birth, the normal human brain rewires itself in response to sensory stimulation from the outside world. To put it simply, it does this by strengthening the connections between certain brain cells through a junction called a synapse. The brains ability to change in this way is known as synaptic plasticity.

With certain cognitive disorders, like autism and Alzheimers disease, this rewiring process is disordered. Shigeki Iwase, Ph.D., associate professor of human genetics, and his team have been attempting to understand why, using a gene called RAI1. The genetic deletion of RAI1 causes Smith Magenis Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized with autistic behavior and sleep disturbances.

In a new paper published in Cell Reports, the team describes how they developed a new experimental approach for monitoring gene expression across the genome in neurons while they are in the process of rewiring. Using this method, we found that synaptic activity can change the expression of many more genes than we previously thought, says Iwase.

The new method also enabled them to discover that RAI1 plays a criticalrole inthe gene expression underlying synaptic plasticity. In collaboration with Michael Sutton, Ph.D., professor of molecular and integrative physiology, and his team, they found evidence that neurons lacking RAI1 have impaired capability to rewire upon sensory inputs.

Says Iwase, Our new method can be a powerful tool to determine the molecular mechanisms of how normal and diseased neuronal networks integrate environmental information, change geneexpression, and ultimately generate our behavior, and identify potential drug targets for relevant brain diseases.

Paper cited: "RAI1 Regulates Activity-Dependent Nascent Transcription and Synaptic Scaling," Cell Reports.DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108002

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Brain's Ability to Rewire Itself is Connected to Gene Expression - University of Michigan Health System News

Study points to health disparities among former NFL players – Harvard Gazette

A career in professional football may yield an array of health benefits that extend beyond playing years: NFL players engage in vigorous training, tend to be more educated than other men in the U.S. and have higher median incomes than most fellow Americans all factors associated with better overall health.

But new research from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that even these advantages may not be enough to neutralize persistent gaps in health outcomes among Black, white, and players of other racial backgrounds.

The analysis, based on self-reports among former NFL players, found that Black players were significantly more likely than white players to experience diminished quality of life due to impaired physical function, pain, cognitive troubles, depression, and anxiety. In four of five health outcomes, the gaps were greatest between Black and white former players.

The findings, published Aug. 4 in Annals of Epidemiology, are based on a survey of 3,794 former NFL players, ages 24 to 89, conducted as part of the ongoing Football Players Health Study at Harvard University, a research initiative that encompasses a constellation of studies designed to evaluate various aspects of players health across the lifespan.

The researchers categorized former players into three groups based on self-identified race: Black (1,423), white (2,215), and Hawaiian and other races (109) a group that included American Indian/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Asian, among others. The researchers then compared self-reported symptoms in five categories: physical functioning, pain, cognitive function, depression, and anxiety.

The analysis showed that Black former NFL players were 50 percent more likely than white former players to have pain that interfered with daily activities, as well as depression and anxiety. Black former players were 36 percent more likely to have cognitive symptoms including memory deficits and attention problems that impacted their quality of life. Black former players were also nearly 90 percent more likely to report impaired physical functioning, compared with their white peers.

The study found that other players of color, including Native Hawaiians, had a higher risk for all categories of adverse health outcomes, except impaired physical functioning.

Our analysis points to persistent and dramatic gaps in health outcomes among former NFL players that are particularly pronounced among Black athletes and also present among other Hawaiians, Native Americans and Asian players, said study lead author Andrea Roberts, senior research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

These gaps echo well-documented health disparities in the general population and demand both short-term interventions and long-term solutions.

Marc Weisskopf

Our findings underscore the urgent need to develop public health interventions and policies that address underlying systemic factors that give rise to such disparities both among former athletes and in the general population, Roberts added.

To examine the role of other factors that may affect health outcomes, the researchers also looked at the number of seasons played in the NFL, position played, concussion symptoms, surgeries, body-mass index, use of performance-enhancing drugs, lifestyle habits including drinking and smoking, as well as pain medication use. The differences persisted even when the researchers accounted for the possible influence of these factors.

Next, the researchers examined whether differences in health varied by a players age, as a surrogate marker for diversity and equity in the era that they played in. Although younger players of color were in the NFL during a period marked by greater diversity and greater equity, their risk for adverse health outcomes remained the same as that of older players.

The researchers suggested that factors such as discrimination prior to, during, or following a players time in the NFL could account for the disparities. Systemic and structural racism has been linked with worse mental and physical health and higher mortality. Additionally, past research indicates that nonwhites are more likely to receive lower quality health care than whites.

We tend to think that elite athletes may be shielded from health inequities, but our findings counter that notion and reveal important differences in quality of life among former athletes, said study senior author Marc Weisskopf, professor of environmental epidemiology and physiology at the Harvard Chan School. These gaps echo well-documented health disparities in the general population and demand both short-term interventions and long-term solutions.

As we begin to unpack the complexities around these health disparities between white and nonwhite players, we can begin to see the confluence of challenges that extend beyond the socioeconomic benefits of playing in the NFL, said study co-author Herman Taylor, a co-investigator of the Football Players Health Study and director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Meaningful solutions to systemic inequities that fuel health disparities will not emerge overnight. In the meantime, we urge players to consult their physicians about the health concerns weve outlined in this study that might impact their quality of life.

The research was funded by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).

Other investigators on the study included Alicia Whittington, Frank Speizer, Aaron Baggish, Ross Zafonte, and Alvaro Pascual-Leone.

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Study points to health disparities among former NFL players - Harvard Gazette

Fifteen students and alumni offered Fulbright Awards to teach and conduct research abroad – UMN News

Fifteen students and recent graduates of the University of Minnesota have been offered grants to study and teach abroad during the 2020-21 academic year by the Fulbright U. S. Student Program and another has been designated as an alternate. The Fulbright Program was created and funded by Congress in 1946 to promote international good will through the exchange of students and scholars in all areas of education, culture, and science. The program awards approximately 1900 grants annually in all fields of study, and operates in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Here are this year's recepients:

Clara Bartnik, a 20 graduate in Economics from Eden Prairie with minors in Spanish and Teaching English as a Second Language, will spend the coming year as an English Teaching Assistant at a university in Turkey. In high school, she developed an interest in the Middle East, especially the economic history of Turkey and Central Asia. On campus, she continued her studies in Spanish and became the Community Advisor for La Casa de Espaol, but she wanted to add a language that fit her geographical interests. In her second year, she applied for a Critical Language Scholarship and spent last summer studying Turkish in Baku, Azerbaijan. She returned to campus and wrote her senior research project on customs agreements between Turkey and the EU, and after her Fulbright year she plans to do further studies in economic development and international relations in the region.

Molly Bergum of South Range, Wisconsin, graduated this year with majors in Plant Biology and Biology, Society & Environment. She has been offered a Fulbright to conduct research and complete a graduate degree at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. She will work with Dr. Matthew Moscou at the Sainsbury Laboratory, one of the worlds leading centers of crop research, on genetic disease resistance in wild barley, a plant with potential to address food security challenges in the face of climate change. Molly has completed research at the University of Minnesota with Professors Brian Steffenson and James Luby in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and she was the recipient of an Ernest Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the future, she would like to conduct research on crop genetics with the Department of Agriculture.

Sofia Cerkvenik of St. Paul has been awarded a Fulbright grant to conduct research in Peru. A 18 graduate with a B.A. in History and 19 graduate with a M.Ed. in Social Studies, Sofia will study the impact of soccer programs for girls and women on other areas of their lives, particularly academic opportunity and performance. She hopes that her research will help to identify and overcome obstacles to equitable education and inform her own future teaching practice. Sofia received two Critical Language Scholarships to study Chinese and spent a semester studying abroad in Peru. On campus, she was a History Day mentor and the Founder and President of the Latinx International Student Association.

T.J. Davies, a 20 graduate from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will teach English in South Korea. Her interest in the Korean language began with a childhood neighbor whose mother spoke no English but provided delicious Korean snacks. T.J. was determined to overcome the language barrier and has been very involved in Korean language and cultural activities ever since, including leading KTALK, a Korean language student group on campus. In 2018, she spent a summer studying abroad in Seoul, and she looks forward to a longer and more immersive stay in the country. On campus, she has also worked in the Minnesota English Language Project as a tutor for international students, and she plans to complete a graduate degree in education after her Fulbright year.

Jacob Dixon, a 20 graduate in Spanish and Portuguese from Waconia, will spend next year in Mozambique studying the development of Marrabenta music since the end of the civil war. A trumpet player who has performed with various ensembles on and off campus, he plans to engage in his investigation as both a musician and scholar. Working with Professor Elusio dos Prazeres Viegas Filipe at the University of Eduardo Modlane, he will conduct archival research in Maputo as well as interviews with musicians active in the 1990s. At the University of Minnesota, Jacob has studied with professors Ana Paula Ferreira and Sophia Beal and was awarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies scholarship to study Portuguese in Mozambique during the summer of 2018. After his Fulbright experience, he plans to continue graduate studies in Spanish and Portuguese.

Caroline Fidan Tyler Doenmez is a Ph.D. candidate in sociocultural Anthropology with a graduate minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Doenmez is of Zaza Kurdish and European descent and was raised in Dublin, New Hampshire. She has been offered a Fulbright grant to Canada to study the reclamation of birth by Indigenous doulas in Winnipeg. Throughthe concept of Indigenous women as "water carriers,"her project looks to the Red River to explore the link between doula care and addressing violence against Indigenous women.She is especially interested in documentinghow understanding birth as embedded in a wider set of relationships works to revitalize Indigenous ontologies that emphasizethe protection of both women and water as givers and sustainers of life.Doenmez received a B.A. from Smith College in 2009 and an M.A. from Columbia University in 2015.

Alexandra Glasford of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, will be an English Teaching Assistant in Italy. A Global Studies and Italian major who graduated in May, Ally spent her junior year studying abroad in Bologna, where she also served as a teaching assistant in a Middle School. At the University of Minnesota, she was a mentor in the international buddy program, a member of the swing dance club, and a group leader with St. Pauls Outreach. She also worked as a camp counselor with the Concordia Language Villages and was awarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies Scholarship to support coursework in Italian. After her time in Italy, she plans to attend law school.

Matthew Her of North St. Paul, a 19 graduate with majors in Linguistics and Asian Languages and Literatures and a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language, will be a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Thailand. Currently an AmeriCorps fellow in Milwaukee, Matthew has worked as a language tutor, camp counsellor, and study skills coach with various organizations in the Twin Cities. With the support of a Freeman-Asia scholarship, he spent a semester abroad in South Korea, and as a Gilman Scholar, he spent a summer in China. In Thailand, he will retrace the journey of his own parents, who passed through that country as Hmong refugees from Laos. After his Fulbright year, Matthew plans to complete a Masters degree in Youth Development Leadership and work in education and youth support services.

Austin Kraft, a 20 graduate with majors in Mathematics and Linguistics will travel to Indonesia to conduct a comparative study of grammatical binding in three Indonesian languages. The widespread presence of binding in human language has been considered evidence for a universal human grammar, but this may be challenged by differences between these related languages. Working with Professor Yanti at Universitas Katolik Indonesia Atma Jaya, Austin will conduct fieldwork at three different locations to elicit and document native speakers' binding patterns. He has previously studied Indonesian with a Critical Language Scholarship in the summer of 2018 and has completed research with Professor Hoii Ling Soh at the University of Minnesota. After his Fulbright year, he plans to complete a PhD in Computational Linguistics.

Zetta Mason, a 20 graduate with a B.A. in Anthropology and a B.S. in Sociology, will travel to Albania to study how the justice system and the larger community understand and combat domestic violence. She will be affiliated with the Partner pr Fmijt, an NGO that works to promote childrens rights and gender equality. At the University of Minnesota, she has completed related research in both of her degree programs, investigating the issues of jurisdiction and sexual violence against Indigenous women and gender-based violence against young men and boys in Darfur. A native of Boulder, Colorado, Zetta also interned with the U.S. District Attorney in Denver, where she contributed to policy recommendations to combat recidivism in domestic violence. As a member of the Universitys track and cross-country teams, she is a three-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a co-creator of a training program for sexual violence intervention. After her Fulbright experience, she plans to attend law school.

Emily McCarthy graduated in May with a major in Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies and a minor in Arabic. A graduate of Osseo High School, she spent a year studying to become a pastry chef before beginning her studies at the University of Minnesota. At the same time she began teaching at the Adult Basic Education Center in Columbia Heights, where she helped a largely immigrant population complete high school education, complete citizenship exams, and gain admissions to colleges and universities. In Bahrain, she will serve as an English Teaching Assistant and plans to participate in local arts and literature while developing her Arabic skills. In the future, she plans to complete a Ph.D. in Arabic.

Nabila Mohamed graduated in 2017 with a degree in Physiology and has been working as a research associate and coordinator with the Family Matters study of child obesity at the Medical School. Next year, she will travel to the United Arab Emirates and participate in the Healthy Future study with Dr. Raghib Ali, Director of the Public Health Research Center at NYU Abu Dhabi. She will use data from the study to investigate the social determinants of metabolic and cardiovascular health in a region that has seen revolutionary changes in wealth and diet over the last fifty years. The daughter of Somali refugees who was born in Kenya, Nabila graduated from St. Paul Central High School.

Jamie Mosel, a PhD candidate in Natural Resources Science and Management, studies the responses of forests to climate change, and ways to adapt forest management to cope with climate change. She will spend the year in Japan where she will research forest health, tree physiology, and forest management practices related to climate change in Hokkaido. Her research in Japan builds on her PhD work on adaptive management and climate change responses of tree species in northern Minnesota. Jamie also hopes to contextualize this work by highlighting the importance of Indigenous rights and sovereignty in forest management practices. A graduate of St. Olaf College with majors in History and Biology, Jamies goal is to contribute to our understanding of global forest health and help foster mutual relationships towards supporting healthy future forests locally and internationally.

Corrie Nyquist is a PhD student in the CFANS Department of Entomology. Her graduate research in Minnesota focuses on the winter activity and community structure of a group of aquatic flies known as midges within the family Chironomidae. Her cold weather interest has also taken her to Iceland where for the past two summers she has conducted research on the impacts of warming air temperatures on Palearctic midge species emerging from hot and cold springs. Corrie was recently awarded a Fulbright-NSF Arctic Research Grant for research pertaining to arctic systems. Through this grant, she will conduct some of the first formal investigations of winter active midges in Iceland, investigating their species diversity, life history and responses to climate change.

Ka Z. Vang, a 2016 graduate with a degree in Elementary Education and current graduate student in Youth Development Leadership, was offered a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Thailand but decided to turn it down.

Senior Devon Severson (Political Science and Global Studies) and graduate students Meta Nagel (MEd, Second Language Education), Marie Schaedel (PhD, Plant Science), and Vanessa Voller (PhD, Comparative/International Development Education) have all been named as alternates for Fulbright awards.

213 students and alumni of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities have been awarded Fulbrights in the last 20 years. Current undergraduates and recent graduates who are interested in applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should contact Timothy Jones in the Office of National and International Scholarships, natschol@umn.edu or 612-624-5522. Graduate students should contact Toni Abts in the Graduate Fellowships Office, gradfellow@umn.edu or 612-625-7579.

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Fifteen students and alumni offered Fulbright Awards to teach and conduct research abroad - UMN News

Dissociation of broadband high-frequency activity and neuronal firing in the neocortex – Science Advances

INTRODUCTION

Broadband high-frequency activity (BHA; 70 to 150 Hz), also known as high gamma, a key analytic signal in human intracranial recordings, is often assumed to reflect local neural firing [multiunit activity (MUA)]. Accordingly, BHA has been used to study neuronal population responses reflecting auditory (1, 2), visual (35), language (6), mnemonic (710), and cognitive control (11, 12). BHA is arguably the electrophysiological measure best correlated with the blood oxygenation leveldependent (BOLD) signal in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (13, 14). However, beyond the fact that BHA correlates with neuronal spiking (13, 1517), its precise physiology remains unknown; specifically, the neuronal populations and physiological processes generating BHA have not been identified. Here, we show that BHA can be dissociated from MUA in the primary visual and auditory cortex. Analyzing laminar multielectrode data recorded in monkeys, we found a bimodal distribution of stimulus-evoked BHA across the layers of cortex: an early-deep and late-superficial response. The early-deep BHA had a clear spatial (laminar) and temporal association with local MUA; however, the spatiotemporal overlap of MUA with the late-superficial BHA signal was much less clear. In many cases, particularly in V1 (70%), supragranular sites showed a strong BHA in lieu of any detectable increase in MUA. Because of volume conduction, BHAs from both the early-deep and the late-superficial generators contribute to the field potential (FP) at the pial surface, but the contribution is weighted toward the superficial BHA. Although both BHA components volume conduct to the pial surface, the strongest generators of BHA are in the superficial cortical layers. The origins of BHA include a mixture of the neuronal action potential firing and dendritic processes separable from firing. It is likely that, as typically recorded, BHA signals emphasize the latter processes to a greater extent than previously recognized.

We investigated the neural mechanisms generating BHA signal and their relationship to MUA in the neocortex by analyzing FP and concomitant MUA signals recorded with laminar multielectrodes in macaque primary visual (V1: two animals, 104 experimental sessions with whole-screen flashes, 49 sessions with free viewing) and auditory (A1: two animals, 26 experimental sessions with broadband noise, 26 sessions with best frequency tone) cortices. We used first and second derivative (current source density or CSD) analyses of the laminar FP profiles, along with a concomitant MUA to localize the neuronal generators of BHA and to determine their spatiotemporal relationship to neuronal firing. Figure 1 displays representative laminar activity profiles recorded from primary visual (Fig. 1, A, B, and E) and auditory (Fig. 1, C, D, and F) cortices. The notion that BHA directly reflects neuronal firing raises the obvious prediction that BHA and MUA should have the same spatial and temporal distributions across cortical layers. Contrary to this prediction, however, the spatiotemporal profiles of BHA and MUA were reliably different. We observed two temporally and spatially distinct BHA components, including the early-deep BHA localized to the granular and infragranular layers and the late-superficial BHA observed in the supragranular layers (Fig. 1, E and F). Early-deep BHA had clear spatiotemporal overlap with granular and infragranular MUA. However, the spatiotemporal association between late-superficial BHA and MUA was much less clear. Late-superficial BHA often had little or no MUA concomitant, particularly in V1.

Color maps show a CSD superimposed with FPs (left) and a BHA (color map) superimposed with MUA (line plots) profiles (right) in V1 (A) and A1 (C) from a representative session. (A) presents data from V1 recordings during diffuse flash stimulation. (C) shows data from A1 recordings during presentation of broadband noise (100-ms duration). x axes indicate time relative to stimulus onset. y axes represent cortical depth with increasing numbers from superficial to deep layers. Vertical lines indicate sensory events. (B and D) Line plots show the distribution of MUA-BHA cross-correlation coefficients calculated across trials for each penetration of V1 (B) and A1 (D). Box plot presents distribution of the lags obtained from the cross-correlations. Positive values indicate that MUA leads BHA. Shading in the line plot reflects SEM. Central mark and edges in box plots show median and 25th and 75th percentiles. (E and F) show maps of z statistics calculated across trials (n = 137 and 84) for individual V1 (E) and A1 (F) penetration. The statistics values are obtained from a nonparametric pairwise test on MUA (left) and BHA (middle) relative to the prestimulus baseline. Nonsignificant time points are masked (P < 0.05; controlled for multiple comparisons across channels and time with the Benjamini and Yekutieli procedure). Right panels show an overlap (yellow) between the BHA (green) and MUA (red) statistic masks.

Consistent with earlier work (13, 1517), we found that MUA and BHA were correlated at all cortical depths in both V1 and A1 (all Spearmans rho, >0.76; all P < 0.01). We used cross-correlation between BHA and MUA at supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers to test whether the relation between these two signals changes across cortical depth. The cross-correlation coefficient profiles were nonuniform across layers (Fig. 1, B and D). Specifically, the coefficients in the supragranular layers peaked later, relative to those in deeper layers [median lags in V1 supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers were 9, 1, and 2.5 ms; while median lags in A1 supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers were 3.25, 0.5, and 0.25 ms; both Kruskal-Wallis (KW) tests, P < 0.01; Fig. 1, B and D]. This suggests that the relationship between BHA and MUA might vary rather than being constant across cortical depth. To understand this divergence, we quantified the laminar/temporal distributions of both signals, which confirmed the above impressions about the changing association between BHA and MUA across cortical depth.

We tested laminar distributions of BHA and MUA across four different experiments in two cortical areas, V1 and A1. First, we used diffused light flash stimulation (V1-DF), which weakly activates the supragranular layers of V1 relative to patterned stimulation (18); this contrast has been known for decades [see, e.g., (19)]. We selected these nonoptimal stimuli because we expected the dissociation to be strongest under these conditions, where activation of the superficial layers is relatively weak. We observed that BHA and MUA distributions were both nonuniform across V1 cortical depth (both KW tests, P < 0.001, n = 104), yet they differed markedly (Fig. 2, A to D). BHA was strongest in layers where neural firing was sparse to undetected. It was more pronounced in the supragranular than both granular and infragranular layers (all Wilcoxon tests; P < 0.001). MUA displayed the opposite pattern: It was decreased in the supragranular compared to both granular and infragranular layers (both Wilcoxon tests; P < 0.001). BHA magnitude (P = 0.03) unlike MUA (P = 0.14) did differ across the granular and infragranular layers. Seventy percent of all V1 penetrations with diffused light flash stimulation showed a strong supragranular BHA in lieu of any detectable MUA increase. The fact that the BHA and MUA have a differing laminar/temporal distributions accords with the view that these signals reflect different aspects of neural activity.

(A to D) present V1 data from recordings during diffuse flash stimulation (V1-DF; n = 104 experiments in two animals). (E to H) Data from V1 recordings during free-viewing exploration of visual images [V1-FV; n = 49, same two animals as in (A to D)]. Line plots show the time course of BHA (A and E) and MUA (C and G) response across supragranular, granular, and infragranular (red, green, and blue lines) layers. x axes indicate time relative to stimulus (A, C) or fixation onset (E, G). y axes represent signal change from baseline (i.e., normalized BHA/MUA). Box plots present BHA (B and F) and MUA (D and H) distributions averaged across time after stimulus onset (B and D) and across the entire pre- and postfixation epoch (F and H). Supragranular, granular, and infragranular (S, G, and I) layers are plotted as separate box plots. Box plots indicate 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile; whiskers extend to extreme values not considered outliers, while outliers are marked with crosses. Shading in line plots reflects SEM. Note the consistently different laminar distributions of BHA and MUA in both experiments. Despite different stimuli, levels of firing, and BHA magnitude across experiments, BHA in the supragranular layers is enhanced relative to that in the granular and infragranular layers, while MUA in supragranular is sparse compared to granular and infragranular. Note also that in the free viewing (E to H), there is substantial saccadic modulations of MUA and BHA across all layers, with a clear pattern of MUA suppression around the time of the saccade (perisaccadic suppression) and MUA increase at the end of the saccade (onset of fixation). Arrows in (A and E) indicate early (solid line) and late (dashed line) BHA components.

To test whether the observed dissociation generalizes across types of visual stimuli and task, we examined BHA-MUA dissociation in experimental data collected during free viewing of natural scenes in the same V1 penetrations (V1-FV; see Materials and Methods). It is noteworthy that natural scene viewing produces a much more effective activation of the superficial layers of the primary visual cortex (20). There are multiple differences in BHA and MUA morphology elicited by active (i.e., fixation locked) as compared to passive (stimulus locked) visual input. For example, both BHA and MUA decrease during saccade and rebound after saccade termination (Fig. 2, E to H). Despite these differences in both BHA and MUA morphology, we continue to observe the laminar dissociation between BHA and MUA. Both BHA and MUA show nonuniform distributions across layers (both KW tests, P < 0.001, n = 49), with superficial layers showing strongest BHA (all Wilcoxon tests, z > 5.7, P < 0.001) and weakest MUA (all Wilcoxon test, z > 6.0, P < 0.001).

Next, we sampled from A1 during presentation of broadband noise (A1-BBN; see Materials and Methods) to test whether these effects generalize to other areas of the sensory cortex. Despite differing temporal patterns of BHA signals in V1 and A1, key aspects of laminar dissociation between BHA and MUA generalize to A1. As in V1, event-related BHA and MUA were both observed across all three laminar compartments (Fig. 3, A to D), and both had a nonuniform laminar distribution (both KW tests, P < 0.001, n = 26). Critically, BHA was stronger in the supragranular layers compared to granular and infragranular layers (both Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001). In contrast, supragranular MUA was weaker than granular and infragranular layers MUA (both Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001). The poststimulus time interval during which BHA was increased from baseline was more sustained in the supragranular than in the granular and infragranular layers (73.5-, 18.7-, and 20.0-ms median supragranular, granular, infragranular, respectively; both Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001). In contrast, the poststimulus time interval during which MUA was increased from baseline was shorter in the superficial, as compared to deeper layers (15.5-, 42.5-, and 45.5-ms median supragranular, granular, and infragranular, respectively; both Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001). Neither BHA nor MUA durations differed between granular and infragranular layers (both Wilcoxon tests, P > 0.84). While the spatiotemporal pattern of BHA and MUA differences in A1 largely parallels with that observed in V1, there are noteworthy A1-V1 differences. BHA in V1 during both passive (stimulus locked) and active (i.e., fixation locked) visual input had two elements (early and late) with confined laminar spread; the early component was limited to deep layers, while the late component was limited to supragranular layers. In A1, we observed larger temporal separation between early and late BHA components (median of 33 ms). As in V1, the late BHA component in A1 is largely limited to the superficial layers. However, unlike the early-deep component in V1, the early BHA component in A1 extends up into the supragranular layers. We quantified this by directly comparing the BHA magnitude in A1 across layers in early (0- to 30-ms poststimulus) and late (31 to 100 ms) time window. Differential laminar distribution was noted for the magnitude of the late (KW test, P < 0.001) but not the early BHA (KW test, P = 0.76). In contrast, MUA was decreased in the supragranular layers compared to granular and infragranular layers during both time windows (all Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001).

(A to D) presents data from A1 recordings during presentation of broadband noise (A1-BBN; duration, 100 ms; n = 26, two animals). (E to H) shows data from A1 recordings during presentation of best frequency tones [A1-BFT; 100-ms duration; n = 26, same two animals as in (A to D)]. Line plots show the time course of BHA (A and E) and MUA (C and G) response across supragranular, granular, and infragranular (red, green, and blue lines) layers. x axes indicate time relative to stimulus (A, C, E, G). y axes represent signal change from baseline (i.e., normalized BHA/MUA). Box plots present BHA (B and F) and MUA (D and H) distributions averaged across time after stimulus onset. Supragranular, granular, and infragranular (S, G, and I) layers are plotted as separate box plots. Box plots indicate 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile; whiskers extend to extreme values not considered outliers, while outliers are marked with crosses. Shading in line plots reflects SEM. Note the consistently different laminar distributions of BHA and MUA in both experiments. Despite different stimuli (i.e., broadband noise and best frequency tones), BHA in the supragranular layers is enhanced relative to that in the granular and infragranular layers, while MUA in supragranular is sparse compared to granular and infragranular. Arrows in (A and E) indicate early (solid line) and late (dashed line) BHA components.

To test whether these results further generalize to other auditory stimuli, we analyzed data from the local best frequency tone response for each site within the same penetrations in A1 (A1-BFT; n = 26 sessions, two animals). For each individual penetration, we compared MUA responses across a set of 14 pure tones from 354 to 32 kHz (see Materials and Methods). We defined the best frequency tone as the one that elicited the largest magnitude MUA response in the layer L4 [e.g., (21, 22)]. Subsequently, we aggregated laminar BHA and MUA responses elicited by these best tone frequencies. This analysis reproduced our initial finding of nonuniform laminar distribution of BHA and MUA (KW test, both BHA and MUA, P < 0.01), with BHA being, again, strongest in the superficial layers (all Wilcoxon test, z > 3.3, P < 0.01) and MUA being weakest in the superficial layers (all Wilcoxon test, z > 2.9, P < 0.001; Fig. 3, E to H).

Next, we evaluated the extent to which these two BHA components (deep versus superficial) contribute to the BHA recorded on the pial surface [i.e., electrocorticographic (ECoG)like signal; Fig. 4, A to D]. We reasoned that a signal from the cortical depth that explains most of the variance in the pial surface BHA would indicate a major laminar generator of surface BHA. To quantify the contribution of generators from different depths to the pial surface BHA, we used a standard method of tracing continuous FP from a neural source (generator) to the cortical surface [(22, 23); see Materials and Methods]. On the basis of both the magnitude of supragranular BHA and the proximity of supragranular current generators to the pial surface of cortex, we predicted that the supragranular layers should provide the largest contribution to BHA signal at the cortical surface. To quantify this, we estimated the percentage of variance explained (adjusted R2) by four linear regression models, including the data from either individual layers (Fig. 4) or all layers together (fig. S8). We used a linear regression model because it has been shown that volume conduction itself is linear at a macroscopic scale (2325). For both V1 and A1 experiments, most of the variance was explained by supragranular BHA (see Fig. 4, E to H; KW test, P < 0.05). We also observed that BHA from deep layers could explain some significant portion of variance, particularly in V1 passive viewing. The amount of variance explained by supragranular layers reached 15, 25, 12, and 20% (for V1-DF, V1-FV, A1-BBN, and A1-BFT, respectively), while it peaked at about 5% for granular and infragranular layers in all four experiments. Thus, while the BHA from all laminar compartments contributes to the pial surface BHA, the supragranular layers appear to be the major source.

(A to D) BHA recorded from pial surface, supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers (gray, red, green, and blue, respectively) of (A) V1 during whole-screen flash stimulation (n = 31 experiments). (B) Presentation of broadband noise during A1 recordings (n = 24), (C) free viewing of visual images during V1 recordings (n = 18), and (D) presentation of best frequency pure tones during A1 recordings (n = 24). y axes represent signal change from baseline (i.e., normalized BHA). (E to H) Portions of the amount of variance (adjusted R2) in the pial surface BHA signal explained by each of three different models, containing laminar BHA from either supragranular (red), granular (green), or infragranular (blue) layers as predictors. Colored markers over panels represent cortical depth, which explains most of the variance (KW test across distributions of adjusted R2 values).

To test whether the spatial dissociation between BHA and MUA noted in monkeys could be observed in humans, we used a small dataset from similar laminar probes implanted in a to-be-resected tissue of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of two patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsy during rest (Fig. 5). In short, spatial distributions of BHA and MUA were notably similar to those observed in monkeys with strongest BHA in the superficial electrodes and MUA in the deeper electrodes. As in our monkey data, we found nonuniform distributions across cortical depth for both BHA and MUA (both KW tests, P < 0.001). There was also a differential distribution of BHA and MUA across cortical depth that was similar to that observed in monkeys: BHA (Fig. 5, A and B) was strongest in the superficial channels as compared to middle and deep channels (both Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001), whereas MUA (Fig. 5, C and D) was strongest in the middle channels as compared to superficial and deep (both Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.001). This is consistent with our results from nonhuman primates, showing that the main generators of BHA are localized in supragranular layers, whereas the strongest local population neuronal firing is observed in deeper layers. These data were recorded from only two patients during rest (n = 960 and 2532 segments for a duration of 1 s, resulting in a total of 16 and 42.20 min of data) and should be interpreted with caution. However, the data do suggest that BHA and MUA might dissociate in the human neocortex in a manner similar to that we observed in the nonhuman primate neocortex.

Line plots show example traces from simultaneous BHA (A and B) and MUA (C and D) recordings during rest in two patients with epilepsy implanted with linear probes in a to-be-resected tissue. Signals were assigned into three a priori depths (1, 150 to 900 m; 2, 1050 to 1800 m; and 3, 1950 to 2850 m) based on known thickness of the cortex (see Materials and Methods). The whole resting data were segmented into 1-s-long intervals (100-ms-long intervals at side of epoch were removed after filtering to avoid contamination of edge effects). The laminar distribution of BHA and MUA was quantified by testing for nonuniformity of BHA and MUA across depths (see Materials and Methods). Box plots present results aggregated across all BHA (A and B) and MUA (C and D) epochs in each patient separately. Box plots indicate 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile; whiskers extend to extreme values not considered outliers. Outliers are shown as + signs.

Laminar activity profile recordings in rodents suggest that the most prominent current sink in the supragranular layers, which corresponds to the location generating the late-superficial BHA in our study, reflects the Ca2+-dependent spiking in the apical dendrites of pyramidal neurons (26). The synaptically evoked Ca2+ signal is largely mediated by the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (27), which regulate several processes, including neural plasticity (28) and dynamic shifts in neural excitability (29). The effect of NMDA-mediated enhancement of excitability is strongest in the supragranular layers (29), consistent with the preferential expression of NMDA receptors there (30). The laminar distribution of NMDA receptors and the time course of the NMDA-mediated depolarization (slower and primarily supragranular) suggest that the later superficial BHA signal may have a strong NMDA dependence, further dissociating BHA from neuronal firing. To address this possibility, we examined the effects of systemic administration of the noncompetitive NMDA antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) on auditory responses in A1 (n = 8 experiments, one animal). During control recordings (i.e., before PCP), stimulation elicited a sharp and transient increase in both BHA and MUA (Fig. 6). To test the overall effect of PCP on BHA and MUA, we averaged each signal across time within a 150-ms poststimulus window and compared the magnitude of these averaged responses before and after PCP administration (see Fig. 6). After PCP administration, BHA was significantly attenuated across all layers (all Wilcoxon tests, P < 0.01), while MUA showed no detectable difference between control and PCP (all Wilcoxon tests, P > 0.26) at any cortical depth. While there is no significant impact on the MUA, both early and late BHA components are attenuated by the PCP. It is also noteworthy that the early BHA component is attenuated, while the late component is abolished. Albeit based on data from only one subject, the effects of NMDA blockade are robust and provide a pharmacological dissociation between BHA and MUA. Previous studies found enhanced [e.g., (31)] and suppressed (32) BHA after NMDA-antagonist administration. These differential effects might be attributed to the complex influence that NMDA-antagonists have on the stimulus-elicited response (32). Lazarewicz et al. (32) found that an NMDA-antagonist (ketamine) simultaneously enhanced prestimulus and poststimulus gamma activity, while the relative response to stimulus was decreased. The current findings point to a pharmacological dissociation with low doses of an NMDA-antagonist affecting BHA relative response to stimulus while keeping MUA intact.

(A and B) Box plots present BHA (A) and MUA (B) averaged within the 150-ms-long poststimulus time window before (control) and after systemic administration of PCP (n = 8). Box plots indicate 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile; whiskers extend to extreme values not considered outliers. (C to F) Line plots show the time course of BHA (C and E) recorded from supragranular, granular, and infragranular (red, green, and blue lines) layers of A1 before (C) and after (E) systemic administration of PCP. (D and F) Concomitant MUA recordings from the same supragranular, granular, and infragranular (red, green, and blue lines) layers before (D) and after (F) systemic administration of PCP. x axis indicates time relative to stimulus onset. y axis represents signal change from baseline, averaged over the 50-ms interval before the stimulus (normalized BHA/MUA). Shading reflects SEM.

BHA is a critical mesoscopic signal commonly used to bridge the gap between human electrophysiology and single-unit studies in animals. Moreover, BHA is the closest neural correlate to the BOLD fMRI signal, linking neuroimaging and neurophysiology. On the basis of influential earlier studies, a prevalent view on human electrophysiology is that BHA is a simple reflection of MUA. Across experiments in V1 and A1, we identified spatial, temporal, and pharmacological dissociations between BHA and MUA. Our results suggest that BHA and MUA index different aspects of the neural activity with divergent features across layers of the neocortex. BHA had two spatially and temporally distinct components, i.e., early deep and late superficial, observed in granular-infragranular and supragranular layers, respectively. There is a substantial spatial and temporal correspondence between MUA and the early-deep BHA component. In contrast, the MUA correlate of late-superficial BHA is much weaker and often undetectable. BHA appears to be NMDA mediated, with low doses of noncompetitive NMDA antagonist (PCP) decreasing BHA while leaving MUA intact. Our regression analyses show that, although the BHA from all laminar compartments volume conducts to the pial surface, the main generators of BHA are localized in the supragranular layers where, as shown by numerous prior studies, firing is sparse [(22, 33, 34); for review, see (35)]. This is important because it suggests that the BHA recorded at the pial surface (e.g., with an ECoG electrode) likely overrepresents signals generated in supragranular layers, while the more robust event-related spiking activity is observed in the granular and infragranular layers and often precedes activation, as indexed by BHA. The results of laminar recording experiments in rodents (26) indicate that the large, late-superficial component may be generated by Ca2+ influx during apical dendritic spiking of pyramidal cells. The vulnerability of the largest (late superficial) component of BHA signal to NMDA receptor blockade in our experiments suggests that this component may index the same process.

Several critical implications of our findings for the interpretation of the BHA signal merit further emphasis. First, BHA as recorded from the pial surface of the cortex reflects relatively modest contributions from neuronal firing. Our pharmacological findings (Fig. 6) link to those of Suzuki and Larkum (26) in pointing to an underlying NMDA-mediated process generating BHA. One possibility is that BHA originates from calcium-dependent spikes that are long-lasting (10 to 100 ms) nonsynaptic events triggered by NMDA receptormediated excitatory postsynaptic potentials (36) that have been suggested to be a mechanism for associating information carried by feedforward and feedback pathways (37).

The current finding that the supragranular BHA is the largest contributor to the pial surface signal suggests that the BHA as typically measured in ECoG may contain a substantial representation of input from cortical feedback pathways. The median of 33-ms (interquartile range of 3 ms) onset-to-onset difference between early and late supragranular BHA signals in A1 is much longer than expected for a conduction delay within a direct monosynaptic connection between granular and supragranular layers (35). One possible explanation is that the early BHA reflects feedforward signal propagating to L4 and then to extragranular layers, whereas the late-superficial BHA reflects feedback from higher auditory areas to A1, which provides a strong input to the supragranular layers. In feedback pathways, predictions and contextual information originating in extragranular layers of higher-order areas are projected to and modulate lower cortical areas. Because feedforward and feedback pathways encode different information (33), bias toward feedback circuits in ECoG-derived BHA might favor predictive and contextual information.

The idea that BHA reflects an integrative process separable from the typical action potential may help to interpret several currently unexplained observations. Niessing et al. (14) used recordings from V1 of anesthetized cats to show that BHA is a better correlate of BOLD fMRI than MUA. Both BOLD and BHA encode stimulus intensity at a finer rate than MUA. This is puzzling under the assumption of BHA being a direct consequence of spiking neurons. The current results help to understand this discrepancy by suggesting that BHA (and consequently BOLD fMRI) might reflect dendritic processes subthreshold to neural firing. This interpretation would predict that the correlation between the magnitude of BHA and firing, rather than being constant, depends on the effectiveness of a stimulus in driving the cortex. For stimuli that are more effective in eliciting action potentials, correspondence between BHA and MUA will be stronger than for stimuli that are less effective. In support of this, Nir et al. (15) showed that coupling between firing rates of individual neurons and BHA varies across time rather than being stable. Furthermore, they also showed that the level of spike-BHA coupling depends on the degree of firing rate correlations between neighboring neurons. Similarly, Smith et al. (38) observed changing correlation between BHA and MUA during epileptic seizure. In support of the subthreshold view, Rich and Wallis (17) found that the BHA in the orbitofrontal cortex, although correlated with firing, diverged from MUA on several dimensions, carried more information, and was more sensitive to spatiotemporal changes than neural firing. The current findings suggest that BHA primarily reflects a dendritic process that is separable from neural firing. Our findings also suggest that using BHA as a proxy for neural firing overestimates the onset latency and duration of firing. This outcome introduces important caveats into the interpretation of the BHA signal, but it remains clear that the signal, particularly in the deeper layers, still has a strong relationship to neuronal firing. Improved understanding of the additional neuronal contributions to BHA makes it a richer, more useful index of brain activation. While it is unlikely, it is also possible that BHA and MUA might be generated by two distinct mechanisms operating at the same time at the same cortical depths.

The current findings provide an additional step toward the understanding that in supragranular layers, neural codes could entail dense subthreshold synaptic inputs accompanied by sparse firing (35). It has been clear for some time that the firing in superficial layers is sparse compared to those in the deeper layers. For example, Sakata and Harris (34) studied the population activity in the rat auditory cortex during spontaneous and sensory-evoked stimulation. Both conditions exhibited a sparse, spatially localized activity in the layer 2/3 pyramidal cells, with a densely distributed activity in the larger layer 5 pyramidal cells and putative interneurons. Recordings from pyramidal neurons in primary somatosensory barrel cortex, both under anesthesia and in awake animals, also revealed low spontaneous and evoked firing in layer 2/3 compared to much higher firing rates in layer 5 pyramidal neurons (39, 40). Another study that looked at the barrel cortex in awake head-restrained mice during object localization found superficial layers (layer 2/3) firing was about 20 times weaker than firing rates in deeper layers (41). Similarly, in A1 of nonhuman primates, neuronal firing is typically reduced in the superficial, relative to the middle and deep layers during both spontaneous and stimulus-evoked recordings [e.g., (21, 42)]. A relative paucity of firing in superficial layers is observed in primary somatosensory cortex during stimulation (43) and in resting spontaneous activity (44). Similarly, Bastos et al. (45) observed a weaker superficial firing, as compared to layer 4 in macaque prefrontal cortex (PFC) (see the Supplementary Materials). Self et al. (46) also show weaker supragranular MUA in response to full-screen, high-contrast checkerboard stimulation and during spontaneous recordings in V1. A detailed review of possible mechanisms leading to sparser firing in the superficial layers relative to deeper layers is beyond the scope of our manuscript. However, the fact that layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons appear to require substantially more excitatory synaptic input to drive them to action potential threshold compared to L5 pyramids (35) points to one mechanistic explanation for this common observation.

Acknowledgments: Funding: B.R.A.I.N., MH111439, EYE24776, DC015780, and MH109429. Author contributions: M.L. and C.E.S. designed the study. A.B., Y.K., A.Y.F., and I.U. collected data. M.L. performed analyses. M.L. and C.E.S. wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the discussion and interpretation of findings and edited the manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Data and materials availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions in the paper are present in the paper and/or the Supplementary Materials. Additional data related to this paper may be requested to the authors.

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Dissociation of broadband high-frequency activity and neuronal firing in the neocortex - Science Advances

Whats that smell? Scientists discover what makes locusts swarm. – Grist

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The photos are truly the stuff of nightmares: Swarms of desert locusts blocking out the sun, blanketing fields, and devouring crops in East Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Its the worst outbreak those regions have seen in decades. The locusts were already becoming a crisis, threatening food security and livelihoods in Kenya and Ethiopia by the time the novel coronavirus began crossing borders in late January.

Since then the situation has only gotten worse a wet spring created the right conditions for the bugs to keep multiplying.

Scientists dont know what causes locusts to flock together in the first place. The creature has a mysterious split personality. Locusts can be solitary antisocial, independent, relatively benign. But under certain conditions, which are not fully understood, they can become gregarious traveling together in masses that rival the size of cities, with more than a hundred million bugs packed into each square mile. Right now, the best available method to control the swarms is spraying pesticides, which can be dangerous for ecosystems and human health, depending on what chemicals are used. But if scientists can figure out why locusts become gregarious, that could unlock better options.

A new study published in Nature on Wednesday documents a significant breakthrough on that front. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing identified a specific chemical substance, or pheromone, released by the migratory locust that attracts others to its side. The migratory locust is a different species than the desert locust currently making headlines, but it is a similarly destructive pest and experts told Grist that the discovery will be directly relevant to developing new methods to stave off both species.

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There is a lot of overlap in the chemistry of the two locust species, said Baldwyn Torto, a scientist at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya, who said the species have similar biology and behavior. (Torto was not involved in the new research.)

The study found that all the locusts examined solitary and gregarious, young and old, male and female, in the lab and in the field were attracted to a pheromone known as 4-vinylanisole, or 4VA. The chemical is released mainly by gregarious locusts, and the more locusts they stuck together in a cage, the more each bug let loose. Even though solitary locusts did not emit 4VA on their own, when the researchers put just four or five solitary locusts together, they began to produce the pheromone, too.

The results indicate that scientists could measure 4VA emissions to monitor populations and predict swarms, or use 4VA lures to attract the bugs to a concentrated area where they could be killed with pesticides. Monitoring the build up of locust populations is absolutely key to their effective control, said Stephen Rogers, a research associate at the University of Cambridge who was not involved in the study. Incipient swarms can be nipped in the bud before numbers become overwhelming.

The team behind the new study made a second discovery that experts said could be even more helpful: It identified the specific receptor in the locusts antenna that detects 4VA. That knowledge could be used to develop a treatment that inhibits the receptor, essentially blinding the locust to its own pheromone.

I hate seeing those pictures of the planes going and people spraying the pesticides because those kill everything, said Leslie Vosshall, a molecular neurobiologist at The Rockefeller University, who reviewed the study before it was published. If instead, you could have these planes that are spraying molecule X, it would be really selective, it wouldnt kill anything. It just turns this receptor off or prevents the receptor from finding the pheromone. At least on paper, that would have a huge effect.

The study described one other possibility for mitigating swarms. Using gene editing, mutant locusts that lack the special receptor for 4VA could be bred and released into the wild. But neither Vosshall or Rogers felt that path would be worth pursuing anytime soon.

One of the major issues with locusts is that they affect livelihoods in regions of the world where life is already precarious and difficult, Rogers said. And high-tech solutions tend to be expensive.

The new study is not going to help with the current outbreak in Africa and the Middle East, as no one has studied whether the desert locust is attracted to 4VA, but experts agreed it presents a blueprint for scientists to find out what does seduce that cursed species.

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Whats that smell? Scientists discover what makes locusts swarm. - Grist

How to get into a positive mindset to move with the COVID times – Houston Chronicle

This is a challenging moment. The way we see each other, the way we work even the way we grocery shop has been shaken up.

The pandemic hasnt only threatened obvious aspects of our lives, its had an uncanny way of bringing other problems to light, too.

Frustration, resentment and helplessness are common threads. If you feel that gloomy things often happen to you, youre not alone. Success coach Albina Rippy has a few tips that may help.

Rippy and her husband, Roger, started YogaOne, a small one-room yoga studio in Midtown, in 2008 and grew to seven locations before selling to YogaWorks in 2017. Now, Rippy leads yoga training virtually and at beautiful international destinations; runs a coaching business; and operates their retreat center in Taos, N.M. Shes a mom, too.

But none of this came without obstacles and doubt. Rippy grew up in the Soviet Union, amid its collapse. As a child, I waited in bread lines, she said in an interview with Voyage Houston. I witnessed how my familys savings became worthless because the government changed its currency, literally, overnight. I witnessed fear, desperation and hopelessness firsthand.

At 16 years old, Rippy left Kazakhstan, alone, barely speaking English, to go to school in the U.S.

She knows a thing or two about handling a challenge.

She says when seemingly unfixable circumstances yield chronic blues, its important to take a deeper look. The root of the problem isnt typically what it seems.

We blame the economy, the pandemic, our soul-crushing jobs, a mean boss, all men, all women, our upbringing, and so on, for our lack of happiness and wealth, she says.

To Rippy, this kind of finger-pointing uses a lot of energy and ultimately leaves us tired, bitter and blind to opportunities for better outcomes. A wiser approach is to turn a gentle gaze within.

Say, for example, you hate your boss and blame this person for why you didnt get a promotion. Its an understandable situation, but according to Rippy, dwelling on the other person represents a victims mindset. When we see the world from this perspective, we cement a limited view that lacks self-awareness and is incompatible with growth and possibilities.

You cannot even consider that your boss might sense your resentment and dislike, or that your mindset is causing you to have a negative attitude at work, or that on a subconscious level you are sabotaging (your own cause), Rippy says.

She adds: The moment you see this clearly, you get access to choice. You can choose to forgive your boss and yourself and let go of your grudge and resentment. You can genuinely choose positivity and love. Your choice alone will elevate your inner vibration and influence the way you see the world.

Perhaps, you will start seeing that your boss is actually trying to connect with you. Or that your bosss own challenges (a sick child or parent, difficulties in their marriage, their financial struggles, etc.) influence their inner state and that it has never been about you.

Rippy says when we take responsibility for our experiences, we uncover a magnitude of possibilities, opportunities and choices right under our noses.

Maybe softening your view of your boss paves the way for a surprising bond that leads to an even better opportunity. Maybe when youre less consumed by this persons shortcomings, your creativity surges and you take on new and deeply fulfilling projects, or start a kick butt side hustle. Maybe you just realize a vacation would serve you well. The possibilities are vast.

But heres an important qualifier: Shame is not a part of the game.

Rippy urges us not to start presuming everything imperfect is our fault. On the other hand, she says this about shifting into a next-level mindset where instead of challenges being cause for blame on anyone, theyre invitations to dig deep and find new potential.

Through challenges and trials, you grow and expand, you become strong, unstoppable, unshakable, unbreakable. This perspective gives you access to choice, power, innovation, resilience, love.

Here are a few of other strategies she suggests for moving through ups and downs:

When we dwell in the victim mindset, we are filled with resentment, grudges and blame. This is a heavy burden to carry. Furthermore, these difficult emotions take up too much of our energetic bandwidth, blocking the flow of goodness in our lives. If you want to create the life you yearn for you must let go of your resentments and free yourself. I teach an ancient Hawaiian prayer called HoOponopono (where you repeat the phrases): I love you. I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.

Her favorite: Every day and in every way, I am strong, healthy, young, beautiful, charismatic, creative, resilient, kind, loving, generous, compassionate, infinitely loved, abundantly blessed and divinely guided.

I say this over and over again, as I run or work out, using all of my physiology and lots of passion, she says.

We all are very clear on what we dont want. I dont want to get sick or I dont want to lose my job or I dont want to end up alone. We have a much more challenging time identifying what we truly want. When we consciously direct our minds to focus on what we do want, our brains start filtering bringing to our attention situations, people, opportunities that will get us to where we want to go.

To Rippy, looking within and doing this work is a pathway out of the pits and to much brighter pastures.

Marci Izard Sharif is an author, yoga teacher, meditation facilitator and mother. In Feeling Matters, she writes about self-love, sharing self-care tools, stories and resources that center around knowing and being kind to yourself.

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How to get into a positive mindset to move with the COVID times - Houston Chronicle