Monday, October 11, 2021

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Kushner, Ivanka Trump in Jerusalem for Abraham Accords initiative
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz (L) shakes hands with Ivanka Trump alongside her husband Jared Kushner (C) during the inaugural event of the Abraham Accords Caucus, at Israel's parliament, the Knesset Ahmad
 GHARABLI AFP

Issued on: 11/10/2021 - 

Jerusalem (AFP)

Israeli lawmakers flanked by former president Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law launched an initiative in Jerusalem on Monday to advance the Abraham Accords that saw Arab states normalise ties with Israel.

Jared Kushner, a former White House adviser married to Ivanka Trump, was a major architect of the deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

At the launch of the Abraham Accords Caucus in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, Kushner said the agreements created a "new paradigm" in the region, which could have "very different outcomes" depending on the actions of current leaders.

Critics of the Trump approach accused him of advancing Arab reconciliation with Israel as a substitute for meaningful efforts to advance the rights of the Palestinians.

The accords broke with decades of Arab consensus that there would be no relations with Israel while the Palestinian question remains unresolved.

Trump considered the accords a major foreign policy legacy.

They were signed by former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was cheered at Monday's event, but the pacts have been fully supported by the coalition that ousted him in June.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Netanyahu's staunch political rival, said at the launch that he would work to "expand the circle of the Abraham Accords" during an upcoming visit to Washington.

Israeli media have reported on some frustration among Israeli officials about a lack of momentum from President Joe Biden's administration to expand the accords engineered under Trump.

Biden's Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised last month to encourage more Arab countries to recognise Israel to "keep normalisation marching forward."

He is to meet in Washington next week with Lapid and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed to discuss "progress made" since the signing of the pacts.

Several former top Trump administration officials were also in Jerusalem on Monday, coinciding with the launch.

Trump's former ambassador to Israel David Friedman and ex-treasury secretary Stephen Mnuchin were due to open a museum exhibit.

© 2021 AFP

 

A European push to the moon

moon
Side view of the crater Moltke taken from Apollo 10. Credit: Public Domain

The European Space Agency is playing a vital role in humankind's return to the moon. In a few months NASA will launch Artemis I from the Kennedy Space Center. The uncrewed mission will carry NASA's Orion spacecraft incorporating ESA's European Service Module (ESM-1), built and tested by Airbus Bremen, in Germany, with the help of 10 European nations. ESM-1's main engine and 32 thrusters will propel Orion into orbit around the moon and return it to Earth

As Artemis I prepares for launch, the second European Service Module (ESM-2) is about to ship to the US with ESM-3 also currently under construction. The second Artemis mission, however, has a crucial difference: it will carry four astronauts for a lunar flyby. ESM-2 will provide propulsion, power, oxygen, water and  as well as controlling the temperature in the orbiting crew module. ESM-3 will go one step further and put the first person on the moon for 50 years.


 BIOLOGISTS / AQUARISTS

Mapping epigenetic divergence in the massive radiation of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes

Abstract

Epigenetic variation modulates gene expression and can be heritable. However, knowledge of the contribution of epigenetic divergence to adaptive diversification in nature remains limited. The massive evolutionary radiation of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes displaying extensive phenotypic diversity despite extremely low sequence divergence is an excellent system to study the epigenomic contribution to adaptation. Here, we present a comparative genome-wide methylome and transcriptome study, focussing on liver and muscle tissues in phenotypically divergent cichlid species. In both tissues we find substantial methylome divergence among species. Differentially methylated regions (DMR), enriched in evolutionary young transposons, are associated with transcription changes of ecologically-relevant genes related to energy expenditure and lipid metabolism, pointing to a link between dietary ecology and methylome divergence. Unexpectedly, half of all species-specific DMRs are shared across tissues and are enriched in developmental genes, likely reflecting distinct epigenetic developmental programmes. Our study reveals substantial methylome divergence in closely-related cichlid fishes and represents a resource to study the role of epigenetics in species diversification.

Introduction

Trait inheritance and phenotypic diversification are primarily explained by the transmission of genetic information encoded in the DNA sequence. In addition, a variety of epigenetic processes have recently been reported to mediate heritable transmission of phenotypes in animals and plants1,2,3,4,5,6,7. However, the current understanding of the evolutionary significance of epigenetic processes, and of their roles in organismal diversification, is in its infancy.

DNA methylation, or the covalent addition of a methyl group onto the 5th carbon of cytosine (mC) in DNA, is a reversible epigenetic mark present across multiple kingdoms8,9,10, can be heritable, and has been linked to transmission of acquired phenotypes in plants and animals2,5,6,11,12,13. The importance of this mechanism is underlined by the fact that proteins involved in the deposition of mC (‘writers’, DNA methyltransferases [DNMTs]), in mC maintenance during cell division, and in the removal of mC (‘erasers’, ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenases [TETs]), are mostly essential and show high degrees of conservation across vertebrates species14,15,16,17. In addition, some ancestral functions of methylated cytosines are highly conserved, such as in the transcriptional silencing of exogenous genomic elements (transposons)18,19. In vertebrates, DNA methylation functions have evolved to play an important role in the orchestration of cell differentiation during normal embryogenesis/development through complex interactions with histone post-translational modifications (DNA accessibility) and mC-sensitive readers (such as transcription factors)19,20,21,22,23,24,25, in particular at cis-regulatory regions (i.e., promoters, enhancers). Early-life establishment of stable DNA methylation patterns can thus affect transcriptional activity in the embryo and persist into fully differentiated cells26. DNA methylation variation has also been postulated to have evolved in the context of natural selection by promoting phenotypic plasticity and thus possibly facilitating adaptation, speciation, and adaptive radiation2,4,12,27.

Studies in plants have revealed how covarying environmental factors and DNA methylation variation underlie stable and heritable transcriptional changes in adaptive traits2,6,11,12,13,28. Some initial evidence is also present in vertebrates2,5,29,30,31. In the cavefish, for example, an early developmental process—eye degeneration—has been shown to be mediated by DNA methylation, suggesting mC variation as an evolutionary factor generating adaptive phenotypic plasticity during development and evolution29,32. However, whether correlations between environmental variation and DNA methylation patterns promote phenotypic diversification more widely among natural vertebrate populations remains unknown.

In this study, we sought to quantify, map and characterise natural divergence in DNA methylation in the context of the Lake Malawi haplochromine cichlid adaptive radiation, one of the most spectacular examples of rapid vertebrate phenotypic diversification33. In total, the radiation comprises over 800 endemic species34, that are estimated to have evolved from common ancestry approximately 800,000 years ago35. Species within the radiation can be grouped into seven distinct ecomorphological groups based on their ecology, morphology, and genetic differences: (1) shallow benthic, (2) deep benthic, (3) deep pelagic zooplanktivorous/piscivorous Diplotaxodon, (4) the rock-dwelling ‛mbuna’, (5) zooplanktivorous ‛utaka’, (6) Astatotilapia calliptera specialised for shallow weedy habitats (also found in surrounding rivers and lakes), and (7) the midwater pelagic piscivores Rhamphochromis36,37. Recent large-scale genetic studies have revealed that the Lake Malawi cichlid flock is characterised by an overall very low genetic divergence among species (0.1−0.25%), combined with a low mutation rate, a high rate of hybridisation and extensive incomplete lineage sorting (shared retention of ancestral genetic variation across species)34,36,38,39. Multiple molecular mechanisms may be at work to enable such an explosive phenotypic diversification. Therefore, investigating the epigenetic mechanisms in Lake Malawi cichlids represents a remarkable opportunity to expand our comprehension of the processes underlying phenotypic diversification and adaptation.

Here we describe, quantify, and assess the divergence in liver methylomes in six cichlid species spanning five of the seven ecomorphological groups of the Lake Malawi haplochromine radiation by generating high-coverage whole-genome liver bisulfite sequencing (WGBS). We find that Lake Malawi haplochromine cichlids exhibit substantial methylome divergence, despite conserved underlying DNA sequences, and are enriched in evolutionary young transposable elements. Next, we generated whole liver transcriptome sequencing (RNAseq) in four of the six species and showed that differential transcriptional activity is significantly associated with between-species methylome divergence, most prominently in genes involved in key hepatic metabolic functions. Finally, by generating WGBS from muscle tissues in three cichlid species, we show that half of methylome divergence between species is tissue-unspecific and pertains to embryonic and developmental processes, possibly contributing to the early establishment of phenotypic diversity. This represents a comparative analysis of natural methylome variation in Lake Malawi cichlids and provides initial evidence for substantial species-specific epigenetic divergence in cis-regulatory regions of ecologically-relevant genes. Our study represents a resource that lays the groundwork for future epigenomic research in the context of phenotypic diversification and adaptation.

LONG STUDY 

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Mapping epigenetic divergence in the massive radiation of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes | Nature Communications


Researchers investigate the factors that affected decisions to evacuate during and after the 2018 Montecito debris flow

wildfire
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study by UC Santa Barbara researchers speaks to the importance of public awareness programs in keeping residents—and emergency management offices—informed about rare but potentially lethal natural events in their area.

The paper, co-authored by geology professor Ed Keller and colleagues Summer Gray, an assistant professor of environmental studies, Keith Clarke, a professor of geography, and Erica Goto, a postdoctoral scholar who completed her Ph.D. in geography, is published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction.

The work is part of an ongoing effort to understand and improve how communities prepare for future disasters. "There were a lot of problems because people didn't know what to do," said Keller. "We need to learn from that."

The Montecito debris flows that occurred in January 2018 were the result of a rare confluence of two uncommonly severe events: the Thomas Fire—at that time the largest wildfire in California history—which which for weeks burned through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties; and the intense winter storm that followed, at one point dumping half an inch of rain in a five-minute period on the newly charred mountainside. Add to that combination a topography that is prone to swift floods, as rain-swollen creeks jump their banks, creating new channels.

"All of Montecito was built on these alluvial fans," Keller said. "The whole place."

Residents of Montecito were made aware of the possible disaster and given an evacuation order the day before the storm's arrival, but many chose to stay.

In surveys and interviews with hundreds of respondents, the researchers sought the residents' reasons for choosing not to evacuate. Lack of knowledge of debris flows seems to have contributed to a false sense of security.

"From the interviews, we learned that they did not know about previous debris flows in Santa Barbara County and in Montecito, and that they didn't know what a  was," said Goto, the lead author of the study, which is likely the first paper to dive into the physical systems of and the behaviors surrounding catastrophic debris flows. "And so, they did not understand their risk."

Unlike wildfires—regular events for Californians—debris flows of the magnitude that occurred in Montecito are exceptionally rare, with an average recurrence interval of about 1,700 years, and a 6% chance of such a catastrophic event occurring in the next 100 years, according to the paper. However, said the researchers, it is important to remember that rare events based on probability do not mean they cannot occur again at shorter time periods. Smaller debris flows are common when rains follow wildfires, Keller pointed out, but they usually don't make it out of the mountains.

Nevertheless, the researchers said, smaller but hazardous debris flows have flowed beyond the mountain front in recent decades. Also, with climate change bringing more intense wildfire and rainstorms, hazardous debris flows may become more common.

"These big events, such as the one that happened in Montecito in 2018, are a whole different beast," said Keller, both for the community and for the county, whose job it was to manage the evacuations. "I think (the county) did the best they could—they didn't understand what they were dealing with, like many people," he said.

The lack of experience with and knowledge of this type of natural hazard led to a low perception of risk in many of the respondents, who reported that they "felt safe," and had "no idea about debris flows," or "did not think I was at risk." Others, many of whom recently had to leave their homes due to the still-burning Thomas Fire, cited evacuation fatigue and pets as reasons for staying.

The dominant reason for staying given by the respondents was that they were placed in the voluntary evacuation zone in the county's evacuation map, which at the time of the event was based on Thomas Fire evacuation zones and not on the estimated movement of water, silt and boulders down a hillside. Thus, according to the paper, "many residents were told to evacuate who lived out of the debris flow hazard area, and many residents in the voluntary evacuation zones were in areas subject to debris flows (that is, along a stream corridor close to the channel)."

In the uncertainty before the storm, residents also turned to their social networks to help them decide whether to stay or go, Goto said, something that was "surprising, but also expected since residents did not understand their risk." Lack of understanding about debris flows is also thought to be a factor behind some last-minute decisions to flee and try to outrun the 30 mile-per-hour flows, which resulted in some residents being swept up in the rush of mud and rocks.

The interviews and surveys also addressed subsequent evacuation notices in March 2018, ahead of heavy storms. The researchers wanted to see whether evacuation compliance would increase significantly after residents had been primed with the experience of the first disaster. Contrary to the research group's expectations,  compliance between the January and March orders increased slightly, but was not statistically significant, an outcome the study says could be attributed to the relative moderate to high rates of compliance (more than 60% in both cases)—and possibly also loss of confidence in the county after the tragedy of the January debris flows.

Though catastrophic debris flows are uncommon—and precisely because we're not likely to see another one in the same area in our lifetimes—Goto, Keller and colleagues have been working to glean as much knowledge as possible about the Montecito  flows from a variety of perspectives, including physical processessocial implications and vulnerability. The memory of the disaster should be kept alive, they say, if only to serve as a warning to present and future residents that the ground under their feet is not as stable as they might think. And with  increasing the intensity and frequency of severe events such as wildfires and winter rains, rare events might become more common.

According to Goto, who specializes in the combination of physical and social aspects of disaster risk reduction, residents, particularly those who are new to the area, would benefit from a long-term, onging public awareness program and educations about the risks.New study examines 2017-2018 Thomas Fire debris flows

More information: Erica Akemi Goto et al, Evacuation choice before and after major debris flows: The case of Montecito, CA, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2021). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102400

Provided by University of California - Santa Barbara 

 

COVID-19 leads to African agricultural innovation

COVID-19 leads to African agricultural innovation
A bean market in Kampala, Uganda. Credit: Neil Palmer/CIAT

In a paper published in Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, researchers found that farmers in East Africa (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) were able to better adapt to the impact of COVID-19 than those in the Southern African countries of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

These , the researchers said, could largely be explained by the difference in arrival times of lock-down measures, access and adoption of technology and cultural differences in adapting to the new situation.

Timing of the pandemic

Eileen Bogweh Nchanji, a gender specialist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and a co-author of the paper, said that when COVID-19 lockdowns started in southern Africa, it happened right in the middle of the harvest of legumes like beans, a key crop for food security and livelihoods.

"If you had to go out to sell your crops, nobody wanted to do the transport and a lot of people lost their crops," she said, adding that East Africa was more fortunate in that lockdowns hit at a more advantageous part of the crop cycle, and that relatives returning from the cities were available as labor.

Lutomia Kweyu, a researcher at the Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization in  Nairobi, Kenya, and another co-author of the paper, said that before the pandemic, the Sub-saharan food systems were very fragile and again, the timing was a big factor.

"We were dependent on imports and inputs, mostly from Asia and Europe... then the pandemic struck Asia, a big source of fertilizer and ," he said, adding that this led to large disruptions in the supply chains of those farming inputs. 

Changes in farmer behavior

Kweyu explained that particularly in East African countries like Kenya, there was a large increase in the plot size of urban farms.

"Urban Farmers wanted to have access to healthy and safe food, so they increased plot sizes in the urban areas, to increase the production," he said.

"Meat was so expensive, many people began to grow and consume legumes," he said, "It was a blend of those who had gardens before and others who hadn't farmed before but were now stuck at home and wanted to reduce their trips to the markets and their overall food budget."

Kweyu said more farmers in East Africa were able to access government support, in comparison to southern African countries and supply chains were more certain.

"The huge difference was the ability of the east Africans to process their raw materials into value-added products," he said, "In Kenya particularly, the milk processing capacity is higher, the milk trucks were declared essential services and, in the dairy-producing regions, processing of milk into butter and yogurt increased substantially at the co-op level."

As the pandemic wore on, farmers in eastern and southern Africa also found feed and fertilizer solutions closer to home.

Mobile phone apps to the rescue

One of the more surprising findings from the pandemic, said Nchanji (who is originally from Cameroon), was the rapid adoption of communication apps to facilitate new connections between farmers and buyers.

According to Nchanji, in general, the challenges posed by lockdowns and supply chain disruption, led to farmers reassessing their activities.

"They couldn't do anything for the season, but then they realized they had more time on the farm, so they started think about what else they could grow and how to sell more efficiently," she said, adding that digital platforms were able to bring together farmers and aggregators (traders who put together big lots of produce for sale).

"In Kenya, for example, someone will now go on to a WhatsApp group and say, I have this quantity of beans to sell, in this district and then an aggregator or wholesale buyer will be able to get in contact with them directly instead of having to make stops at various farms," Nchanji said.

Nchanji said however that the prices were generally lower than the old market price, as biosecurity measures and scarcity meant climbing transport costs.

"The WhatsApp group for the bean farmers actually got so big, we've had to move to Telegram," she said.COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse gains made on Sustainable Development Goal 1 and 2

More information: Sustainability of the agri-food supply chain amidst the pandemic: Diversification, local input production, and consumer behavior, Advances in Food Security and Sustainability, DOI: 10.1016/bs.af2s.2021.07.003 , www.sciencedirect.com/science/ … ii/S2452263521000033

Provided by The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture