V předkládané studii jsme porovnávali koncentrace jednotlivých i celkových polycyklických aromatických uhlovodíků (PAU) v ovzduší lokalit s různou úrovní znečistení v letním a zimním období. Ve stejnou dobu jsme prováděli i ověření použitelnosti urinámího 1-hydroxypyrenu (1-OHP) jako biologického ukazatele lokálních a časových variaci environmentálnich expozic PAU. V naší epidemiologické studii jsme použili tři skupiny dobrovolníků. První skupina byla tvořena 22 studentkami prvního ročníku tělesné výchovy Pedagogické fakulty Vysoké školy pedagogické (PF VŠP) v Hradci Králové, které pravidehiě sportují ve venkovním prostředí. V rámci našeho šetření strávila tato skupina dva týdenní pobyty (v létě a v zimě) v rekreační oblasti Orlických hor. Zbylé dvě (kontrolní) skupiny byly tvořeny 22 studentkami čtvrtého ročníku střední školy se stálým bydlištěm v Hradci Králové a skupinou 18 žen, věkově srovnatelných se studentkami, se stálým bydlištěm v místě pobytu studentů na horách. Celková koncentrace PAU ,8uma 13 vybraných uhlovodíků) dosáhla v létě v Hradci Králové hodnoty 104,6 ng/m3, na horách hodnoty 19,3 ng/m3; v zimě byla ve městě nalezena hodnota 261,0 ng/m3 a na horách 86,6 ng/m3 Mediány koncentrací urinámího 1-OHP se pohybovaly v rozmezí 0,03 až 0,13 ɥmol/mol kreatininu u kontrolních skupin a v rozmezí 0,04 až 0,12 ɥmol/mol kreatininu u sledované skupiny studentů. Nenalezli jsme vztah mezi hladinou pyrenu v ovzduší a skupinovými průměry vylučovaného 1-OHP. Naše výsledky naznačují přítomnost dalších významných faktorů (pravděpodobně obsah PAU v potravě), které „maskují" dopad inhalační expozice PAU na hladinu urinámího 1-OHP u osob environmentálne exponovaných PAU.

In the submitted paper we compared the concentrations of individual and total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the atmosphere of areas with different levels of pollution during winter and summer periods. At the samé time we verified whether urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) • an assumed biological marker - permits the assessment of spatial and temporal variations in environmental PAH exposure. For our epidemiological study we ušed three groups of volunteers. The first group was formed by 22 physical training students from the first year of the Pedagogical University (PF VSP) in Hradec Králové, who regularly train outdoors. During our study they spent 7 days in winter and 7 days in summer in a recreation area of Orlické hory. The control groups were formed by 22 girls from the fourth grade of a secondary school in Hradec Králové - residents of the town and by 18 residents from the mountains, age matched with the students. Analysis revealed total PAH concentration (sum of 13 individual PAH) 104.6 and 19.3 ng/ m3 in Hradec Králové and in the Mountains, respectivedly, during summer and 261 and 86.6 ng/ m3 during winter. Medián 1-OHP levels ranged between 0.03 and 0.13 ɥmol/mol creatinine for controls and between 0.04 and 0.12 ɥmol/mol creatinine for the observed goroup of students. We did not find any relationship between pyrene levels in the atmosphere and group means of urinary 1-OHP. Base on our results we suppose that other factors (probably the content of PAH in food) mask the pollution influence on urinary 1-OHP levels in subjects exposed to PAH.

• MeSH
• environmentální zdraví MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• pyreny moč   MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH

The males of the Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) have ultraviolet pattern on the dorsal surfaces of their wings. Using geometric morphometrics, we have analysed correlations between environmental variables (climate, productivity) and shape variability of the ultraviolet pattern and the forewing in 110 male specimens of G. rhamni collected in the Palaearctic zone. To start with, we subjected the environmental variables to principal component analysis (PCA). The first PCA axis (precipitation, temperature, latitude) significantly correlated with shape variation of the ultraviolet patterns across the Palaearctic. Additionally, we have performed two-block partial least squares (PLS) analysis to assess co-variation between intraspecific shape variation and the variation of 11 environmental variables. The first PLS axis explained 93% of variability and represented the effect of precipitation, temperature and latitude. Along this axis, we observed a systematic increase in the relative area of ultraviolet colouration with increasing temperature and precipitation and decreasing latitude. We conclude that the shape variation of ultraviolet patterns on the forewings of male Brimstones is correlated with large-scale environmental factors.

• MeSH
• křídla zvířecí fyziologie   MeSH
• motýli fyziologie   MeSH
• pigmentace fyziologie   MeSH
• ultrafialové záření * MeSH
• životní prostředí * MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Wild barley is abundant, occupying large diversity of sites, ranging from the northern mesic Mediterranean meadows to the southern xeric deserts in Israel. This is also reflected in its wide phenotypic heterogeneity. We investigated the dynamics of DNA content changes in seed tissues in ten wild barley accessions that originated from an environmental gradient in Israel. The flow cytometric measurements were done from the time shortly after pollination up to the dry seeds. We show variation in mitotic cell cycle and endoreduplication dynamics in both diploid seed tissues (represented by seed maternal tissues and embryo) and in the triploid endosperm. We found that wild barley accessions collected at harsher xeric environmental conditions produce higher proportion of endoreduplicated nuclei in endosperm tissues. Also, a comparison of wild and cultivated barley strains revealed a higher endopolyploidy level in the endosperm of wild barley, that is accompanied by temporal changes in the timing of the major developmental phases. In summary, we present a new direction of research focusing on connecting spatiotemporal patterns of endoreduplication in barley seeds and possibly buffering for stress conditions.

• MeSH
• DNA rostlinná genetika   MeSH
• endosperm genetika   MeSH
• genetická variace genetika   MeSH
• ječmen (rod) genetika   MeSH
• polyploidie MeSH
• populační genetika metody   MeSH
• semena rostlinná genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Izrael MeSH

• MeSH
• analýza malých oblastí MeSH
• epidemiologické metody MeSH
• epidemiologické studie MeSH
• statistika jako téma MeSH
• životní prostředí MeSH
• Publikační typ
• sborníky MeSH

• Konspekt
• Patologie. Klinická medicína
• NLK Obory
• epidemiologie
• environmentální vědy

1 Objectives of this study were (1) to compare concentrations of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in air of polluted and nonpolluted area of Czech Republic during winter and summer periods and (2) to verify if urinary 1-hydroxypyrene (1-OHP), as supposed practical biological marker, permits the assessment of spacial and temporal variations in environmental PAH exposure. 2 The study population consisted of three groups: (1) a group of 22 physical exercise students who regularly train outside, from the university situated in a polluted town, spending 14 days in winter and 14 days in summer in 'non-polluted' mountains; (2) a control group of 22 residents from the town and (3) a control group of 18 residents from the mountains. 3 The total PAH concentrations (sum of 13 individual PAH) were 19.3 and 104.6 ng/m3 in town and in mountains, respectively, during summer and 86.6 and 261 ng/m3 during winter. 4 Median 1-OHP levels ranged between 0.03 and 0.13 mumol/mol creatinine for controls and between 0.04 and 0.12 mumol/mol creatinine for students. No relationship was found between pyrene levels in air and group means of urinary 1-OHP. Our results show that other factors (probably PAH in food) contribute in masking air pollution influence on urinary 1-OHP levels in subjects non-occupationally exposed to PAH.

• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch analýza   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí * MeSH
• polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky analýza   moč   MeSH
• pyreny analýza   MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• vystavení vlivu životního prostředí * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

Environmental gradients, and particularly climatic variables, exert a strong influence on plant distribution and, potentially, population genetic diversity and differentiation. Differences in water availability can cause among-population variation in ecological processes and can thus interrupt populations' connectivity and isolate them environmentally. The present study examines the effect of environmental heterogeneity on plant populations due to environmental isolation unrelated to geographic distance. Using AFLP markers, we analyzed genetic diversity and differentiation among 12 Salvia spinosa populations and 13 Salvia syriaca populations from three phytogeographical regions (Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Arabian) representing the extent of the species' geographic range in Jordan. Differences in geographic location and climate were considered in the analyses. For both species, flowering phenology varied among populations and regions. Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Arabian populations had higher genetic diversity than Mediterranean populations, and genetic diversity increased significantly with increasing temperature. Genetic diversity in Salvia syriaca was affected by population size, while genetic diversity responded to drought in S. spinosa. For both species, high levels of genetic differentiation were found as well as two well-supported phytogeographical groups of populations, with Mediterranean populations clustering in one group and the Irano-Turanian and Saharo-Arabian populations in another. Genetic distance was significantly correlated to environmental distance, but not to geographic distance. Our data indicate that populations from moist vs. arid environments are environmentally isolated, where environmental gradients affect their flowering phenology, limit gene flow and shape their genetic structure. We conclude that environmental heterogeneity may act as driver for the observed variation in genetic diversity.

• MeSH
• analýza polymorfismu délky amplifikovaných restrikčních fragmentů MeSH
• genetická variace * MeSH
• květy genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• léčivé rostliny MeSH
• období sucha MeSH
• podnebí MeSH
• populační genetika MeSH
• šalvěj genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• shluková analýza MeSH
• teplota MeSH
• tok genů MeSH
• zeměpis MeSH
• životní prostředí MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Jordánsko MeSH

Ambient air pollution, namely exposure to air particulate matter (PM), has been shown to be connected with a number of adverse health effects. At least part of the effects can be caused by organic pollutant mixtures associated with PM, which can elicit a wide range of specific toxic potentials. These potentials could be affected by seasonal variation of pollutant mixtures and PM size fraction. To examine this, six size subfractions of PM10 were collected at rural and urban site in the Czech Republic in a year-long sampling campaign. The samples were assessed for aryl hydrocarbon (AhR)-mediated activity, estrogenicity and anti-androgenicity using mammalian cell models. The concentrations of detected toxic potentials differed among seasons. The greatest levels were observed in samples collected during winter when AhR-mediated effects and estrogenicity were at least 10-times greater than in summer. While the observed potentials were mostly less pronounced in samples from rural area, during winter, their AhR-mediated activity was twice as great as at the urban site. This was probably caused by the low-quality of fuel used for heating at the rural site. Assessed toxic potentials were associated mainly with PM size fractions with lesser aerodynamic diameters (<1 μm). Toxic potentials were compared with data from chemical analyses covering 102 chemicals from different pollutant groups to model their contribution to the observed effects. For AhR-mediated activity, chemical analyses explained on average 44% of the effect and the main identified effect-drivers were polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. For estrogenicity and anti-androgenicity, detected chemicals were able to explain on average less than 1.6% and 11% of the potentials, with their highest explicability reaching 13% and 57%, respectively. This was affected by the lack of data on specific toxic potency of some detected air pollutants, but also indicates a possible role of further not analyzed chemicals in these effects.

• MeSH
• látky znečišťující vzduch analýza   MeSH
• monitorování životního prostředí MeSH
• pevné částice analýza   MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• znečištění ovzduší * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

Spring bud-break phenology is a critical adaptive feature common to temperate perennial woody plants. Understanding the molecular underpinnings of variation in bud-break is important for elucidating adaptive evolution and predicting outcomes relating to climate change. Field and controlled growth chamber tests were used to assess population-wide patterns in bud-break from wild-sourced black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) genotypes. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) derived from whole genome sequencing to test for loci underlying variation in bud-break. Bud-break had a quadratic relationship with latitude, where southern- and northern-most provenances generally broke bud earlier than those from central parts of the species' range. Reduced winter chilling increased population-wide variation in bud-break, whereas greater chilling decreased variation. GWAS uncovered 16 loci associated with bud-break. Phenotypic changes connected with allelic variation were replicated in an independent set of P. trichocarpa trees. Despite phenotypic similarities, genetic profiles between southern- and northern-most genotypes were dissimilar based on our GWAS-identified SNPs. We propose that the GWAS-identified loci underpin the geographical pattern in P. trichocarpa and that variation in bud-break reflects different selection for winter chilling and heat sum accumulation, both of which can be affected by climate warming.

• MeSH
• alely MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• celogenomová asociační studie MeSH
• ekologie a životní prostředí - jevy * MeSH
• fenotyp MeSH
• genetická variace * MeSH
• genetické lokusy MeSH
• genomika * MeSH
• heterozygot MeSH
• jednonukleotidový polymorfismus genetika   MeSH
• klimatické změny * MeSH
• květy genetika   MeSH
• Populus genetika   MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• rostlinné geny MeSH
• vazebná nerovnováha genetika   MeSH
• zeměpis MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Britská Kolumbie MeSH

BACKGROUND: Microsporidia are spore-forming obligate intracellular parasites that include both emerging pathogens and economically important disease agents. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of microsporidia. Here, we investigated patterns of geographic population structure, intraspecific genetic variation, and recombination in two microsporidian taxa that commonly infect cladocerans of the Daphnia longispina complex in central Europe. Taken together, this information helps elucidate the reproductive mode and life-cycles of these parasite species. METHODS: Microsporidia-infected Daphnia were sampled from seven drinking water reservoirs in the Czech Republic. Two microsporidia species (Berwaldia schaefernai and microsporidium lineage MIC1) were sequenced at the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, using the 454 pyrosequencing platform. Geographical structure analyses were performed applying Fisher's exact tests, analyses of molecular variance, and permutational MANOVA. To evaluate the genetic diversity of the ITS region, the number of polymorphic sites and Tajima's and Watterson's estimators of theta were calculated. Tajima's D was also used to determine if the ITS in these taxa evolved neutrally. Finally, neighbour similarity score and pairwise homology index tests were performed to detect recombination events. RESULTS: While there was little variation among Berwaldia parasite strains infecting different host populations, the among-population genetic variation of MIC1 was significant. Likewise, ITS genetic diversity was lower in Berwaldia than in MIC1. Recombination signals were detected only in Berwaldia. CONCLUSION: Genetic tests showed that parasite populations could have expanded recently after a bottleneck or that the ITS could be under negative selection in both microsporidia species. Recombination analyses might indicate cryptic sex in Berwaldia and pure asexuality in MIC1. The differences observed between the two microsporidian species present an exciting opportunity to study the genetic basis of microsporidia-Daphnia coevolution in natural populations, and to better understand reproduction in these parasites.

• MeSH
• Daphnia mikrobiologie   MeSH
• fylogeografie MeSH
• genetická variace * MeSH
• haplotypy MeSH
• intergenová DNA * MeSH
• metagenomika MeSH
• Microsporidia genetika   MeSH
• rekombinace genetická MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

Assessing changes in plant functional traits along gradients is useful for understanding the assembly of communities and their response to global and local environmental drivers. However, these changes may reflect the effects of species composition (i.e. composition turnover), species abundance (i.e. species interaction), and intra-specific trait variability (i.e. species plasticity). In order to determine the relevance of the latter, trait variation can be assessed under minimal effects of composition turnover. Nine sampling sites were established along an altitudinal gradient in a Mediterranean high mountain grassland community with low composition turnover (Madrid, Spain; 1940 m-2419 m). Nine functional traits were also measured for ten individuals of around ten plant species at each site, for a total of eleven species across all sites. The relative importance of different sources of variability (within/between site and intra-/inter-specific functional diversity) and trait variation at species and community level along the considered gradients were explored. We found a weak individual species response to altitude and other environmental variables although in some cases, individuals were smaller and leaves were thicker at higher elevations. This lack of species response was most likely due to greater within- than between-site species variation. At the community level, inter-specific functional diversity was generally greater than the intra-specific component except for traits linked to leaf element content (leaf carbon content, leaf nitrogen content, δ13C and δ15N). Inter-specific functional diversity decreased with lower altitude for four leaf traits (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, δ13C and δ15N), suggesting trait convergence between species at lower elevations, where water shortage may have a stronger environmental filtering effect than colder temperatures at higher altitudes. Our results suggest that, within a vegetation type encompassing various environmental gradients, both, changes in species abundance and intra-specific trait variability adjust for the community functional response to environmental changes.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• genetická variace MeSH
• interakce genů a prostředí * MeSH
• nadmořská výška MeSH
• pastviny * MeSH
• podnebí MeSH
• rostlinné geny MeSH
• rostliny genetika   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Středomoří MeSH