Local adaptations can determine the potential of populations to respond to environmental changes, yet adaptive genetic variation is commonly ignored in models forecasting species vulnerability and biogeographical shifts under future climate change. Here we integrate genomic and ecological modeling approaches to identify genetic adaptations associated with climate in two cryptic forest bats. We then incorporate this information directly into forecasts of range changes under future climate change and assessment of population persistence through the spread of climate-adaptive genetic variation (evolutionary rescue potential). Considering climate-adaptive potential reduced range loss projections, suggesting that failure to account for intraspecific variability can result in overestimation of future losses. On the other hand, range overlap between species was projected to increase, indicating that interspecific competition is likely to play an important role in limiting species’ future ranges. We show that although evolutionary rescue is possible, it depends on a population’s adaptive capacity and connectivity. Hence, we stress the importance of incorporating genomic data and landscape connectivity in climate change vulnerability assessments and conservation management.

No abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional gene expression regulators. Here, 448 different miRNA genes, including 17 novel miRNAs, encoding for 589 mature Atlantic salmon miRNAs were identified after sequencing 111 samples (fry, pathogen challenged fry, various developmental and adult tissues). This increased the reference miRNAome with almost one hundred genes. Prior to isomiR characterization (mature miRNA variants), the proportion of erroneous sequence variants (ESVs) arising in the analysis pipeline was assessed. The ESVs were biased towards 5’ and 3’ end of reads in unexpectedly high proportions indicating that measurements of ESVs rather than Phred score should be used to avoid misinterpreting ESVs as isomiRs. Forty-three isomiRs were subsequently discovered. The biological effect of the isomiRs measured as increases in target diversity was small (<3%). Five miRNA genes showed allelic variation that had a large impact on target gene diversity if present in the seed. Twenty-one miRNAs were ubiquitously expressed while 31 miRNAs showed predominant expression in one or few tissues, indicating housekeeping or tissue specific functions, respectively. The miR-10 family, known to target Hox genes, were highly expressed in the developmental stages. The proportion of miR-430 family members, participating in maternal RNA clearance, was high at the earliest developmental stage.

Minisatellite-based DNA profiling was used to investigate the dispersion of synchronously spawned families of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fry from artificial nests in a natural stream. By the end of the summer, i.e., 17 weeks after hatching, detected dispersion was mainly downstream and less than 1 km. Within this distance, three families that had been stocked together showed different patterns of dispersion, with the relative abundance of each family changing systematically with distance downstream from the nest, but with no monopolization of any area or habitat type by any one family. The length of fry also changed systematically with distance downstream, with the patterns of change depending on family. For each family, fry were larger closer to the nest. Changes in habitat type had a common effect on the density and length of fry from all the families.

Summary. Molecular variants of the serotype-specific plasmid (SSP) of Salmonella typhimurium (pSLT) were recognised in clinical and veterinary isolates by restriction enzyme fingerprinting. Three had undergone minor DNA rearrangements, whereas two had acquired resistance determinants to a wide range of antimicrobial agents including gentamicin, trimethoprim, tetracycline, streptomycin, ampicillin (Ap) and kanamyciii (Km). One of the latter was the result of co-integrate formation with an IncX, conjugative R-plasmid that specified ApKm resistance. The co-integrate plasmid (pOG669) was incompatible with, and displaced, pSLT and its molecular variants. The restriction fingerprints of SSPs of S. enteritidis and S . dublin were compared with pSLT. All were related at the 35% level on the basis of a Dice coefficient of similarity. The SSPs of S. enteritidis and S . dublin were incompatible with the co-integrate plasmid pOG669. Whereas in S. enteritidis this resulted from incompatibility with the pSLT component (the SSP was compatible with the IncX component), the converse was found with S. dublin.