Trichoderma reesei is the industrial producer of cellulases and hemicellulases for biorefinery processes. Their expression is obligatorily dependent on the function of the protein methyltransferase LAE1. The Aspergillus nidulans orthologue of LAE1 - LaeA - is part of the VELVET protein complex consisting of LaeA, VeA and VelB that regulates secondary metabolism and sexual as well as asexual reproduction. Here we have therefore investigated the function of VEL1, the T. reesei orthologue of A. nidulans VeA. Deletion of the T. reesei vel1 locus causes a complete and light-independent loss of conidiation, and impairs formation of perithecia. Deletion of vel1 also alters hyphal morphology towards hyperbranching and formation of thicker filaments, and with consequently reduced growth rates. Growth on lactose as a sole carbon source, however, is even more strongly reduced and growth on cellulose as a sole carbon source eliminated. Consistent with these findings, deletion of vel1 completely impaired the expression of cellulases, xylanases and the cellulase regulator XYR1 on lactose as a cellulase inducing carbon source, but also in resting mycelia with sophorose as inducer. Our data show that in T. reesei VEL1 controls sexual and asexual development, and this effect is independent of light. VEL1 is also essential for cellulase gene expression, which is consistent with the assumption that their regulation by LAE1 occurs by the VELVET complex.

Hematocrit is an easily measured parameter that can be used to assess changes in oxygen carrying capacity necessitated by fluctuations in metabolic demands. Most hematocrit studies draw conclusions from changes in hematocrit that occur over a small sampling interval without an understanding of the variation that exists across the annual cycle. White-crowned sparrows provide an excellent model system due to the existence of a resident subspecies (Zonotrichia leucophrys nuttalli) that serves as a natural control for a migrant subspecies (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii). Comparing these two subspecies allows for the investigation of adaptive physiological changes at each life-history stage (i.e., migration, breeding, molt, etc.) in response to changing metabolic demands. Of particular interest, this subspecies comparison, by both calendar month and life-history stage, allows for the separation of adaptive increases in hematocrit due to migration from the natural seasonal variation in hematocrit. Hematocrit levels for males and females ranged throughout the year between 42%-47% and 40%-47% in the resident and between 45%-58% and 45%-56% in the migrant. In both subspecies, hematocrit levels were elevated during the breeding season compared to the nonbreeding season, and levels were reduced in females during egg laying. When grouped by life-history stage, hematocrit levels were always higher in the migrant compared to the resident. During the months in which migration occurred, hematocrit levels were 10%-12% higher in the migrant compared to the resident subspecies. These data suggest differential regulation of hematocrit between the two subspecies that may be attributed to phenotypic plasticity or genetic differences.

The better informed an individual, the better able to meet the demands of a variable environment. When a migratory bird stops over during passage, it must adjust to unfamiliar surroundings, satisfy nutritional demands, compete with other migrants and resident birds for limited resources, avoid predation, balance conflicting demands between predator avoidance and food acquisition, and often cope with unfavorable weather. A successful migration depends on solving these and other problems, the solutions to which are measured in units of time and condition. Migrants that gather reliable information about unfamiliar habitats in a timely fashion increase the likelihood of a successful migration. For example, a migrant may estimate food availability or predator pressure faster and more accurately by combining personal information gathered while sampling with social information obtained while observing the behavior of other migrants. In this paper, we provide a brief review of information use in the context of migratory stopover, a subject that has received little attention, and present preliminary results of an ongoing field investigation of the use of social information by migrants. Focal sampling of free-ranging and radio-tagged Nearctic-Neotropical passerine migrants in coastal habitat following flight across the Gulf of Mexico suggests that migrants respond to a lack of information by foraging in temporary feeding assemblages. This preference for flock foraging declines over the course of the stopover period in insectivorous migrants but persists in omnivorous birds, which suggests that the value of social information depends, in part, on a migrant's foraging ecology. We argue that social foraging enables migrants to assess more fully unfamiliar environments during stopover, thereby reducing risks associated with lack of information.

Background Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular, meaningful comparisons across European countries, with their varying cultural backgrounds and education systems, are rare, often include only few countries, and lack standardization. To address these deficits, we conducted a standardized European survey, on 9200 first-year university students in 26 European countries utilizing a validated, comprehensive questionnaire, the “Evolution Education Questionnaire”, to assess evolution acceptance and knowledge, as well as influencing factors on evolution acceptance. Results We found that, despite European countries’ different cultural backgrounds and education systems, European first-year university students generally accept evolution. At the same time, they lack substantial knowledge about it, even if they are enrolled in a biology-related study program. Additionally, we developed a multilevel-model that determines religious faith as the main influencing factor in accepting evolution. According to our model, knowledge about evolution and interest in biological topics also increase acceptance of evolution, but to a much lesser extent than religious faith. The effect of age and sex, as well as the country’s affiliation, students’ denomination, and whether or not a student is enrolled in a biology-related university program, is negligible. Conclusions Our findings indicate that, despite all their differences, most of the European education systems for upper secondary education lead to acceptance of evolution at least in university students. It appears that, at least in this sample, the differences in knowledge between countries reflect neither the extent to which school curricula cover evolutionary biology nor the percentage of biology-related students in the country samples. Future studies should investigate the role of different European school curricula, identify particularly problematic or underrepresented evolutionary concepts in biology education, and analyze the role of religious faith when teaching evolution.