Biology subjects

Cabeza, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Cabeza, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

From high protection to lethal effect: diverse outcomes of immunization against invasive candidiasis with different Candida albicans extracellular vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from Candida albicans can elicit immune responses, positioning them as promising acellular vaccine candidates. We characterized EVs from an avirulent C. albicans cell wall mutant (ecm33{Delta}) and evaluated their protective potential against invasive candidiasis. EVs from the yeast (YEVs) and hyphal (HEVs) forms of the SC5314 wild-type strain were also tested, yielding high survival rates with SC5314 YEVs (91%) and ecm33 YEVs immunization (64%). Surprisingly, HEV immunization showed a dual effect, resulting in 36% protection but also causing premature death in some mice. Proteomic analyses revealed distinct profiles among the top 100 proteins in the different EVs which may explain these effects: a shared core of 50 immunogenic proteins such as Pgk1, Cdc19, and Fba1; unique, relevant immunogenic proteins in SC5314 YEVs, and proteins linked to pathogenesis, like Ece1 in SC5314 HEVs. Sera from SC5314 YEVs-immunized mice showed the highest IgG2a titers and moderate IL-17, IFN-{gamma}, and TNF- levels, indicating the importance of both humoral and cellular responses for protection. These findings highlight the distinct immunogenic properties of C. albicans EVs, suggesting their potential in acellular vaccine development while emphasizing the need to carefully evaluate pathogenic risks associated with certain EVs.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

Unveiling how herpetofauna cope with land-use changes--insights from forest-cashew-rice landscapes in West Africa

Agricultural-induced land-use change comprises a key driver of biodiversity loss across tropical forests. Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa, was formerly occupied by native forest-savanna mosaics. While savannas have long gave place to traditional rice agroecosystems, forests are now being transformed into cashew monocultures at unprecedented rates. The ecological impact of such rapid change is largely unknown. Here, we examined how rarefied species richness, abundance, and composition of amphibians and reptiles varied across forest remnants, cashew orchards and rice paddies in northern Guinea-Bissau. To do so, visual encounter surveys were carried across 21 sampling sites, seven in each habitat type. A total of 703 amphibian and 266 reptile encounters was recorded from nine and 14 taxa, respectively. The results show class-specific responses to habitat type. Amphibian diversity in forest remnants and cashew orchards remained similar, but rice paddies harboured higher abundance and distinct composition compared to forest remnants. Reptile abundance was highest in cashew orchards, which comprised a distinct species composition, when compared to forest remnants. Rice paddies sustained lower reptile richness and abundance. Overall, our results do not support the expected detrimental impacts of cashew expansion, which might be due to the still high heterogeneity of habitat types within the landscape. Rice paddies proved particularly important for amphibians, and for open-habitat reptiles, boosting the landscape-scale species diversity. In face of the eminent habitat conversion, maintaining heterogeneous landscapes, including the persistence of both forest remnants and rice paddies, is critical to minimize biodiversity loss in West Africa.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Towards an applied metaecology

The complexity of ecological systems is a major challenge for practitioners and decision-makers who work to avoid, mitigate and manage environmental change. Here, we illustrate how metaecology - the study of spatial interdependencies among ecological systems through fluxes of organisms, energy, and matter - can enhance understanding and improve managing environmental change at multiple spatial scales. We present several case studies illustrating how the framework has leveraged decision-making in conservation, restoration and risk management. Nevertheless, an explicit incorporation of metaecology is still uncommon in the applied ecology literature, and in action guidelines addressing environmental change. This is unfortunate because the many facets of environmental change can be framed as modifying spatial context, connectedness and dominant regulating processes - the defining features of metaecological systems. Narrowing the gap between theory and practice will require incorporating system-specific realism in otherwise predominantly conceptual studies, as well as deliberately studying scenarios of environmental change.

ecology↗