Biology subjects

Montenegro, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Montenegro, C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A Bayesian hierarchical analysis of trends and risk to identify regional conservation priorities of Chinstrap Penguins

Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus) in the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Arc regions (CCAMLR subareas 48.1 and 48.2) have experienced substantial declines, yet uncertainty remains about regional variation and conservation priorities. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to 1,072 nest counts from 194 colonies (1970 to 2024) to quantify population trends, estimate probabilities of exceeding IUCN Red List thresholds, and assess compensation potential across four locations. The regional population declined by 41.9% over three generations, with 91.4% probability of exceeding the 30% Vulnerable threshold but only 9.2% probability of exceeding the 50% Endangered threshold. Declines were spatially heterogeneous: South Shetland Islands (40.2% of regional population) declined by 74.7% with near-certainty of exceeding both thresholds, while South Orkney Islands showed stability with high uncertainty (median -5%, 95% CI: -31.5% to +36.8%). The probability of increasing colonies compensating for regional losses was only 7%. These results support a three-zone conservation strategy for CCAMLRs proposed Marine Protected Area: urgent protection for the South Shetland Islands, enhanced monitoring for South Orkney and Elephant Islands, and adaptive management for the Antarctic Peninsula. Our uncertainty-quantified framework provides evidence-based guidance for balancing krill fishery access with predator protection in a rapidly changing Southern Ocean.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Comparative cytogenomics reveals genome reshuffling and centromere repositioning in the legume tribe Phaseoleae

The tribe Phaseoleae (Leguminosae; Papilionoideae) includes several legume crops with assembled genomes. Comparative genomic studies indicate the preservation of large genomic blocks among legumes, however, the chromosome dynamics during Phaseoleae evolution has not been investigated yet. We conducted a comparative genomic analysis to define an informative genomic block (GB) system and to reconstruct the ancestral Phaseoleae karyotype (APK). We defined the GBs based on the orthologous genes between Phaseolus vulgaris and Vigna unguiculata genomes. We searched for these GBs in different genome species belonging to the Phaseolinae (P. lunatus) and Glycininae subtribes (Amphicarpaea edgeworthii and Spatholobus suberectus), and in the Medicago truncaluta outgroup. To support our in silico analysis, we used oligo-FISH probes of P. vulgaris chromosomes 2 and 3 to paint the orthologous chromosomes of two non-sequenced Phaseolinae species (Macroptilium atropurpureum and Lablab purpureus). We inferred the APK with n = 11 and 19 GBs (A to S). We hypothesized five chromosome fusions that reduced the ancestral legume karyotype with n = 16 to n = 11 in APK. Furthermore, we identified the main rearrangements within Phaseolinae and observed an extensive centromere repositioning resulting from evolutionary new centromeres (ENC) in the Phaseolus lineage. Additionally, we demonstrated that the A. edgeworthii genome is more reshuffled than the dysploid S. suberectus genome, in which we could reconstruct the main events that lead the chromosome number reduction. The development of the GB system and the proposed APK provide useful approaches for future comparative genomic analyses of legume species.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2021

Nanoscopical analysis reveals an orderly arrangement of the presynaptic scaffold protein Bassoon at the Golgi-apparatus

1.Bassoon is a large, 440 kDa, scaffold protein of the specialized sites mediating neurotransmitter release from presynaptic nerve terminals, called active zones. At active zones of the brain, Bassoon is arranged with its C-terminus facing the plasma membrane. In young, cultured neurons Bassoon is associated with the Golgi-apparatus, where it may assemble active zone precursors structures, but whether or not Bassoon is an extended protein at the Golgi-apparatus and whether it is arranged in an orderly fashion is unknown. Understanding the topology of this large scaffold protein is important for models of active zone biogenesis. Here, we generated recombinant Bassoon constructs for expression in neurons, with tags positioned to allow for the specific detection of N- and C-terminal regions of Bassoon by single-domain antibodies, called nanobodies. Using stimulated emission depletion (STED) nanoscopy in cultured hippocampal neurons, we confirmed that recombinant Bassoon is oriented with its C-terminus towards the active zone plasma membrane at synapses. Focusing on the soma, we found that an intramolecular tag located immediately downstream of amino acid 97 of Bassoon, showed prominent colocalization with markers of the trans Golgi network, including TGN38 and syntaxin-6. In contrast, tags located immediately downstream of the C-terminal amino acid 3938 of Bassoon showed significantly less colocalization with these Golgi-markers. The intramolecular N-terminal tag was located between 48 and 69 nm away from TGN38, while C-terminal tags were located between 100 and 115 nm away from TGN38. Sequences within the first 95 amino acids of Bassoon, but not its N-myristoylation sequence, were required for this arrangement. Our results indicate that at the Golgi-apparatus Bassoon is oriented with its N-terminus towards and its C-terminus away from the trans Golgi network membrane. Moreover, they suggest that Bassoon is an extended molecule at the trans Golgi network with the distance between amino acids 97 and 3938 estimated to be between 46 and 52 nm. Our data are consistent with a model, in which the N-terminus of Bassoon binds to the membranes of the trans-Golgi network, while the C-terminus associates with active zone components, thus reflecting the topographic arrangement characteristic of synapses also at the Golgi-apparatus.

neuroscience↗