According to the researchers, Pennsylvania’s ruffed grouse populations have declined by up to 70% since the early 1960s, with birds in the southern part of the state particularly affected by West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes, and by habitat fragmentation due to development.

“By all typical metrics, the ruffed grouse is in a state of rapid decline,” said Julian Avery, associate research professor of wildlife conservation at Penn State and co-author of the paper. “Yet, until now, no one had used genetic tools to investigate the effects of this decline at a deeper level. By applying whole-genome sequencing, we have found that the bird is genetically better off than we suspected, which means that habitat protection and other management interventions can work to protect this species.”

Leilton Luna, postdoctoral researcher at Penn State and corresponding author of the paper, explained that when an organism’s population size drops too low because of disease or habitat loss, inbreeding can occur, which can lead to a decline in genetic diversity over time.

“Populations with low genetic diversity have a harder time evolving in response to changing environmental conditions and are at greater risk of extinction,” Luna said. “In the case of the Pennsylvania ruffed grouse, due to the sharp population decline, it certainly doesn’t have the same healthy genetic conditions as it did in the past. Even so, the current levels of genetic diversity and connectivity give us great hope for the preservation of this species.”

As an initial step, the team produced the first high-quality reference genome for ruffed grouse. A reference genome, Luna said, is a representative example of a particular organism’s genes.

“This reference genome serves as a standardized genetic baseline, facilitating accurate comparisons of genome-wide diversity between individuals and populations,” Luna said. “Additionally, this genomic resource will enable us to investigate important questions, such as whether specific genetic components, like adapted genes, contribute to varying population responses to West Nile virus in different ruffed grouse populations.”

To investigate the population health of the ruffed grouse in Pennsylvania, the research team sequenced 54 individual bird genomes within habitats that were both fragmented by development and intact. The researchers examined the sequence data for evidence of gene flow, which indicates that genetic material is readily exchanged among migrating populations.

“We compared each individual to every other individual that we sampled,” Luna said. “By doing this, we were able to tell if the birds all belong to a single geographic population or to different populations, as well as how environmental factors such as habitat fragmentation and terrain elevation shape the effective dispersal of birds and, therefore, the exchange of genes.”

He said the team’s DNA analysis provided weak evidence of population subdivision across the state, although the researchers identified reduced genetic connectivity in the south, where the bird’s habitat is fragmented by human development.

“This tells us that the population may not be doing as bad as we expected,” Luna said. “It also helped us to inform wildlife managers which areas would most benefit from the development of habitat corridors. However, it is just a snapshot of the population at this particular moment. In the future, we hope to analyze the DNA of museum specimens so we can compare the genetic diversity and connectivity of today’s populations with those from before West Nile virus was present and before the habitat was so fragmented.”

Surprisingly, the team said, it also stumbled onto the presence of two genetic “anomalies,” called chromosomal inversions. These occur when a segment of DNA breaks off and then reattaches in reverse order.

“We found chromosomal inversions within some of the individuals we sampled, and these were found in individuals from across the Commonwealth,” said co-author David Toews, assistant professor of biology at Penn State.

“The data are very clear,” he said. “There are these two large chunks of the ruffed grouse genome that are highly differentiated from the rest of the genome, and they are not associated with any obvious geographic pattern among the birds. It adds a fun ruffle to the story.”

Toews noted that chromosomal inversions previously were found in other bird species and were expressed via different plumage patterns or more aggressive behaviors, for example. He said the team does not yet know how the inversions might affect the ruffed grouse. It’s a topic the team plans to further investigate.

In the meantime, Toews said, the chromosomal inversions have important implications for conservation.

“On the surface, all ruffed grouse look fairly similar, but they actually have deep genetic differences,” he said. “In the context of conservation, it may be important to think beyond the species overall to consider protecting individuals with these genetic variations.”

Avery noted that Penn State has a long history of working with state agencies — such as the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources — to collect and analyze scientific data that can help inform conservation strategies. He said the team’s findings suggest that certain management interventions may help the bird to maintain healthy populations. These include:

• Creating and maintaining habitats that functionally connect forested regions and populations
• Evaluating the impact of hunting to ensure harvest is not contributing to the decline of more vulnerable populations
• Implementing periodic genetic monitoring to track changes and assess whether habitat interventions lead to positive genetic changes

“Not only do ruffed grouse play an important role in the ecosystem, but they are also really interesting,” Avery said. “The males make this drumming sound in the spring to attract mates. You can physically feel the bass when they’re drumming in the woods. They also pair the drumming with a flashy display of ornamental feathers and a spread tail, similar to the over-the-top performance of a male peacock. To top it off, during the fall, ruffed grouse grow these fascinating extensions of their toe scales that may help to increase surface area during the winter months. They’re just beautiful and bizarre, and they deserve our conservation attention.”

Other authors on the paper include Lisa Williams, wildlife biologist; Kenneth Duren, game bird section supervisor; and Reina Tyl, wildlife biologist, all at the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission supported this research.

Known as MXene and MBene compounds, these substances are only a few atoms thick, making them two-dimensional. Because of their large surface area, the materials have the potential to absorb carbon dioxide molecules from the atmosphere, which could help reduce the harmful effects of climate change by safely sequestering carbon dioxide.

In a paper published Oct. 4 in the journal Chem, UC Riverside professor Mihri Ozkan and her co-authors explain the potential of MXenes and MBenes in carbon capture technologies.

“In this review, we conducted an exhaustive analysis and proposed strategies for the widespread implementation of these materials in large-scale applications,” said Ozkan, a climate action professor in UCR’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Bourns College of Engineering.

“Their unique properties make them excellent candidates for capturing carbon dioxide.”

According to Ozkan, these two-dimensional materials can be engineered to selectively capture carbondioxide. One of their key advantages is their high selectivity towards carbon dioxide, which can be attributed to a process called interlayer distance engineering. Additionally, the materials are mechanically stable and maintain their structural integrity even after multiple cycles of carbon capture and release.

graphic As human-caused carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase, developing carbon-capture technologies has become a top priority. It is projected that the planet’s temperature could rise by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next decade, leading to more frequent severe weather events, worsening drought, crop failures, increased levels of human migration, and political instability. These negative impacts highlight the urgent need for action to curb carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Scientists at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa., discovered MXenes and MBenes in the early 2010s. MXene is an inorganic compound made up of atomically thin layers of transition metal carbides, nitrides or carbonitrides. On the other hand, MBenes are dimensional transition metal borides made from boron. These compounds are produced through chemical etching techniques and have crystalline lattices with repeating orthorhombic and hexagonal structures.

Ozkan explained that these materials can be used in conjunction with existing technologies, such as those developed by the Swiss company Climework AS. These systems extract carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and sequester it for safe and long-term storage.

Before these compounds can be used in carbon capture devices, several technical issues need to be resolved, according to Ozkan. First and foremost, scientists must address the bottlenecks associated with synthesis-related challenges in large-volume production. Other obstacles to large-scale manufacturing include non-uniform mixing, temperature gradients, and problems with heat transfer, among others.

Still, these hurdles can be overcome.

A top-down approach is ideal for large-scale MXene synthesis by scaling up wet etching methods or developing new ones, according to Ozkan.

The paper’s co-authors are UCR’s Kathrine A.M. Quiros, Jordyn M. Watkins, Talyah M. Nelson, Navindra D. Singh, Mahbub Chowdhury, Thrayesh Namboodiri, Kamal R. Talluri, and Emma Yuan.

Associate Professor Manisha Pandey, Professor Michael Good, and their team from Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics, are leading the development of a Strep A vaccine which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials in Canada and quickly advancing to Phase 2 efficacy trials.

The team’s new preclinical research, recently published in Nature Communications, shows an experimental liposome-based vaccine approach incorporating a conserved M-protein epitope from Strep A and an immunostimulatory glycolipid (3D(6-acyl) PHAD) administered via the nasal passage, can provide long-term mucosal protection against Strep A.

Lead author Dr Victoria Ozberk said studies have shown most pathogens enter or colonise via the soft tissue in the upper respiratory tract, which is essentially the highway to the rest of the body.

“This has the potential to be a world-first as there are currently no subunit vaccines that target the upper respiratory tract due to a lack of licenced immunostimulants suitable for human use,” Dr Ozberk said.

“We demonstrated that a liposomal mucosal vaccination strategy can induce robust local protective immunity.”

Associate Professor Pandey said the team found PHAD plays an augmenting role in inducing enduring humoral and cellular immunity, which was evident for at least one-year post-vaccination.

“The longevity of immune response is a critical hallmark of successful vaccination and therefore the findings from this study are highly significant,” she said.

Professor Good said: “In the future, this vaccine platform could pave the way for other mucosal pathogens.”

Group A Streptococcus is a global human pathogen that leads to a wide range of infections from illnesses such as mild pharyngitis and impetigo to invasive diseases such as toxic shock syndrome, necrotising fasciitis, and cellulitis.

Professor Mark von Itzstein AO, Director of the Institute for Glycomics, welcomed these research findings.

“This platform provides a real shot at developing a new direction for vaccine discovery against significant infectious pathogens that cause serious and life-threatening diseases,” he said.

Immunity to Strep A takes several years to develop, and currently, there is no vaccine available.

Moreover, repeated infections can lead to the post-streptococcal sequelae of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, for which the Australian Indigenous population bears the highest disease burden globally.

Strep A causes 700 million human infections each year and there are more than 500,000 deaths globally.

The team has developed a Strep A vaccine which is currently being tested in a human clinical trial in Canada.

The paper ‘A Glycolipidated-liposomal peptide vaccine confers long-term mucosal protection against Streptococcus pyogenes via IL-17, macrophages and neutrophils’ has been published in Nature Communications.