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The involvement of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in the regulation of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of RNA is unclear. Here, the authors show that LINC00266-1 encodes a peptide that binds to m6A reader, IGF2BP1 to enhance the recognition of m6A modified RNA transcripts and increase their stability.

The expansion and intensification of agricultural lands (i.e., croplands and pasture areas) have become increasing threats to species diversity around the world. However, genus diversity should be considered for biodiversity conservation due to the important role that phylogenetic diversity and evolutionary history play shaping biodiversity patterns, particularly in the Neotropics, the most species-rich realm. Here, we explored agricultural land effects on distribution patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity at the genus level using cases from the Neotropics. We compiled distribution data on genera of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles and explored the effects of agricultural lands on genus diversity distribution patterns for terrestrial vertebrates in the region using distribution modelling. Geography Weighting Regression (GWR) was used to explore the spatially variable relationship between agricultural lands and genus diversity. We found that there are significant, non-stationary relationships between agricultural lands and genus diversity in the Neotropics. The non-stationary relationship between croplands and genus diversity was stronger than that between pasture areas and genus diversity. Furthermore, these effects may depend on changes in genus groups (i.e., amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles) and biomes. The relationship was the strongest for the croplands and reptile diversity pair at the genus levels. The relationship between both croplands and pasture areas and reptile diversity was the largest in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. Given the influence of crop and pasturelands on vertebrate distribution patterns, we argue that agriculture development should be considered in the spatial prioritization of conservation for vertebrates in the Neotropics. Agricultural lands should be used as environmental variables for distribution modelling, and understanding the impacts of agricultural lands on biodiversity is critical for effective conservation management in the Neotropics.

Species distribution models (SDMs) based on fine-scale environmental data may reduce the uncertainty in predicting species distributions. However, many scientists have also projected the robust potential distributions of species using environmental data of different scales and found that the potential distributions modeled using SDMs are scale dependent. This may be due to the impact of the scale effect on species richness (as well as on multi-species distributions). To eliminate the impact of the scale effect, we aim to develop an improved method to integrate different scales into species distribution models. We use protected areas as the study regions and propose the hypothesis that there is a spatial element to the threat of invasive species for protected areas under climate change. We use Maxent to compute the current and future invasion ability and invasion inequality of invasive species for protected areas based on the potential distributions of species across different scales to evaluate the risk of invasive species. We find that an increase in the number of present records could reduce the accuracy of SDMs. There is a significant linear relationship between the fine-scale and coarse-scale risk of invasive species of alien plants in protected areas, and an appropriate scale should thus be selected to assess species risk based on this linear relationship of invasive risk. There is a significant relationship between the potential of IAPS to invade protected areas and the invasion inequality of IAPS in protected areas across all scales, and 5.0 arcminutes is the most appreciate scale to evaluate the risk of IAPS for protected areas under climate change based on principal component analysis. We provide new insights into the use of species distribution models coupled with different spatial scales to analyze the regional risks associated with species and to assess regional biodiversity.

Changes in precipitation patterns and eutrophication can cause changes in plant traits and abundance, potentially affecting plant community structure and functions. Here, we studied responses of traits and abundance of Potentilla anserina to precipitation change and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) additions, and the effect of traits on its abundance in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We found that precipitation change and N and P additions significantly affected the mean value of traits such as specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), single leaf area, plant height and individual size, while only P addition significantly affected intraspecific variation of SLA and individual size. Increased precipitation and N and P additions shifted plant traits to more resource acquisitive, and increased plant abundance. Responses of plant traits to P addition were larger than that of N addition. Plant abundance was mainly affected by precipitation, and was limited by N or P dependent on precipitation conditions. In conclusions, our research shows that P. anserina can respond to environmental changes by changing its traits to improve its adaptability, potentially affecting community structure and ecosystem functions.

The leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations of terrestrial plants make large contributions to ecosystem function and dynamics. The relationship between aridity and leaf N and P has been established through experimental studies. However, few studies have focused on the large-scale effects of aridity on the leaf N and P of terrestrial plants. In this paper, we used linear regression models to test the effects of aridity on terrestrial plant leaf N and P and the N:P ratio based on global datasets. We found that aridity had significant effects on the leaf N and P and the N:P ratio of terrestrial plants. The strongest relationships were between fern leaf P, the fern N:P ratio, tree leaf P, the tree N:P ratio, vine leaf N, and the tree N:P ratio. Aridity could be used to predict the P and N:P ratio of terrestrial plants, particularly those of ferns and trees, on large scales in arid environments. Our study contributes to maintaining ecosystem functioning and services in arid environments under climate change.

Climate change is causing unprecedented alterations in the spatial pattern of global biodiversity, imposing severe challenges for biodiversity conservation. In particular, alpine biomes are sensitive to a variety of environmental changes. Therefore, understanding the distribution and conservation of alpine plant biodiversity is vital. In this study, we used species distribution modeling and 20,650 high-resolution occurrence coordinates of 1224 plant species to evaluate the potential distribution of plants in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (Qinghai Province, China) under different future climate scenarios, through an integrative analysis of species distribution probabilities, species richness, and priority conservation areas. Under current and future climate scenarios, the plant species are predicted to be mainly distributed in eastern and southern Qinghai Province, with the suitable conditions for plant species gradually extending from the southeast to the northwest of Qinghai Province under the effects of climate change. The priority conservation areas in Qinghai national nature reserves are predicted to expand, with this expansion being greater for herbaceous plants than woody plants, under future climate scenarios. However, the priority conservation areas outside nature reserves in Qinghai Province remain approximately three times larger than those inside nature reserves. Thus, there were great differences between the existing nature reserve area and the priority conservation areas, with nature reserves insufficiently covering priority conservation areas in Qinghai Province. Therefore, the original nature reserve areas should be expanded, according to the predicted plant habitat hotspots in Qinghai Province. Our research provides valuable information for biodiversity protection in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, reasonable strategies for addressing the future protection challenges associated with climate pressure, and new insights for improving nature reserves in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.

Background: Gonadotropin precisely controls mammalian reproductive activities. Systematic analysis of the mechanisms by which epigenetic modifications regulate the synthesis and secretion of gonadotropin can be useful for more precise regulation of the animal reproductive process. Previous studies have identified many differential m6A modifications in the GnRH-treated adenohypophysis. However, the molecular mechanism by which m6A modification regulates gonadotropin synthesis and secretion remains unclear. Results: Herein, it was found that GnRH can promote gonadotropin synthesis and secretion by promoting the expression of FTO. Highly expressed FTO binds to Foxp2 mRNA in the nucleus, exerting a demethylation function and reducing m6A modification. After Foxp2 mRNA exits the nucleus, the lack of m6A modification prevents YTHDF3 from binding to it, resulting in increased stability and upregulation of Foxp2 mRNA expression, which activates the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway to promote gonadotropin synthesis and secretion. Conclusions: Overall, the study reveals the molecular mechanism of GnRH regulating the gonadotropin synthesis and secretion through FTO-mediated m6A modification. The results of this study allow systematic interpretation of the regulatory mechanism of gonadotropin synthesis and secretion in the pituitary at the epigenetic level and provide a theoretical basis for the application of reproductive hormones in the regulation of animal artificial reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil respiration (Rs) is a widely monitored parameter in global forest management that results in activities that contribute to ecosystem functions. Rs can vary depending on different disturbance levels and ecosystem types as a result of changes in forest management practices. Understanding the mechanisms through which different forest management practices affect Rs can provide a general reference for ecological management and restoration practices. However, the global drivers of Rs across different forest management practices have not been sufficiently studied in the literature. In this study, we investigated the changing trends in Rs based on the relationships evident between biomass and Rs across different forest management practices. We used simple linear models to explore the relationships between biomass (aboveground and belowground biomasses) and Rs at a global scale based on different types of forest management practices and biomes. We observed significant differences in the mean values of Rs among various forest management practices. Furthermore, significant positive relationships between forest biomass and Rs were evident globally. Soil temperature had a significant effect on Rs, but the influences of soil temperature and moisture on Rs changed with the variations in forest management practices. Biome type can regulate the relationships between forest biomass and Rs across different forest management practices. We observed that the relationships between forest biomass and Rs were the strongest for naturally regenerating forests, both with and without signs of management, in tropical and subtropical coniferous and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. Forest plantations and agroforestry can favor the establishment of similar positive relationships in temperate forest biomes (i.e., temperate conifer forests and boreal forests/taiga). Our results show that aboveground and belowground biomasses can be applied as effective ecological indicators for monitoring Rs levels, depending on different forest management practices and biomes. In this study, we provide evidence for monitoring Rs levels under different forest management practices globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]