ALBERT

Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ward, N. D., Megonigal, J. P., Bond-Lamberty, B., Bailey, V. L., Butman, D., Canuel, E. A., Diefenderfer, H., Ganju, N. K., Goni, M. A., Graham, E. B., Hopkinson, C. S., Khangaonkar, T., Langley, J. A., McDowell, N. G., Myers-Pigg, A. N., Neumann, R. B., Osburn, C. L., Price, R. M., Rowland, J., Sengupta, A., Simard, M., Thornton, P. E., Tzortziou, M., Vargas, R., Weisenhorn, P. B., & Windham-Myers, L. Representing the function and sensitivity of coastal interfaces in earth system models. Nature Communications, 11(1), (2020): 2458, doi:10.1038/s41467-020-16236-2.

Description: Between the land and ocean, diverse coastal ecosystems transform, store, and transport material. Across these interfaces, the dynamic exchange of energy and matter is driven by hydrological and hydrodynamic processes such as river and groundwater discharge, tides, waves, and storms. These dynamics regulate ecosystem functions and Earth’s climate, yet global models lack representation of coastal processes and related feedbacks, impeding their predictions of coastal and global responses to change. Here, we assess existing coastal monitoring networks and regional models, existing challenges in these efforts, and recommend a path towards development of global models that more robustly reflect the coastal interface.

Description: Funding for this work was provided by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Laboratory Directed Research & Development (LDRD) as part of the Predicting Ecosystem Resilience through Multiscale Integrative Science (PREMIS) Initiative. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830. Additional support to J.P.M. was provided by the NSF-LTREB program (DEB-0950080, DEB-1457100, DEB-1557009), DOE-TES Program (DE-SC0008339), and the Smithsonian Institution. This manuscript was motivated by discussions held by co-authors during a three-day workshop at PNNL in Richland, WA: The System for Terrestrial Aquatic Research (STAR) Workshop: Terrestrial-Aquatic Research in Coastal Systems. The authors thank PNNL artist Nathan Johnson for preparing the figures in this manuscript and Terry Clark, Dr. Charlette Geffen, and Dr. Nancy Hess for their aid in organizing the STAR workshop. The authors thank all workshop participants not listed as authors for their valuable insight: Lihini Aluwihare (contributed to biogeochemistry discussions and development of concept for Fig. 3), Gautam Bisht (contributed to modeling discussion), Emmett Duffy (contributed to observational network discussions), Yilin Fang (contributed to modeling discussion), Jeremy Jones (contributed to biogeochemistry discussions), Roser Matamala (contributed to biogeochemistry discussions), James Morris (contributed to biogeochemistry discussions), Robert Twilley (contributed to biogeochemistry discussions), and Jesse Vance (contributed to observational network discussions). A full report on the workshop discussions can be found at https://www.pnnl.gov/publications/star-workshop-terrestrial-aquatic-research-coastal-systems.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Hawk, J. D., Wisdom, E. M., Sengupta, T., Kashlan, Z. D., & Colon-Ramos, D. A. A genetically encoded tool for reconstituting synthetic modulatory neurotransmission and reconnect neural circuits in vivo. Nature Communications, 12(1), (2021): 4795, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24690-9.

Description: Chemogenetic and optogenetic tools have transformed the field of neuroscience by facilitating the examination and manipulation of existing circuits. Yet, the field lacks tools that enable rational rewiring of circuits via the creation or modification of synaptic relationships. Here we report the development of HySyn, a system designed to reconnect neural circuits in vivo by reconstituting synthetic modulatory neurotransmission. We demonstrate that genetically targeted expression of the two HySyn components, a Hydra-derived neuropeptide and its receptor, creates de novo neuromodulatory transmission in a mammalian neuronal tissue culture model and functionally rewires a behavioral circuit in vivo in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. HySyn can interface with existing optogenetic, chemogenetic and pharmacological approaches to functionally probe synaptic transmission, dissect neuropeptide signaling, or achieve targeted modulation of specific neural circuits and behaviors.

Description: This work was initiated in the Grass Laboratory at the Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL) with funding through a Grass Fellowship awarded to J.D.H. Thanks to Richard Goodman (OHSU) for encouragement during the conceptualization of the fellowship application, and the 2019 Grass Fellows, Mel Coleman (Grass Director), and Christophe Dupré (Associate Director) for advice and support during the summer fellowship. We thank the MBL Division of Education and participants in the Vendor Equipment Loan Program. Special thanks to Sutter Instruments, who generously provided all electrophysiology equipment and substantial on-site assistance, and Zeiss, who provided on-site assistance at MBL. We thank Zhao-Wen Wang and Ping Liu (UConn) for guidance and training in patch-clamp electrophysiology, as well as providing Neuro2a cells. We thank Rob Steele (UCI) for supplying Hydra, as well as advice and inspiration on Hydra biology. We thank members of the Colón-Ramos lab and Hari Shroff (NIH) for thoughtful comments on the manuscript. We thank Michael Koelle and Andrew Olson (Yale University) for advice and reagents regarding serotonin rewiring experiments. We also thank Steve Flavell (MIT) for ideas and reagents regarding the experiments associated with del-7. We thank Life Science Editors for editing assistance. D.A.C.-R. is an MBL Fellow. Research in the D.A.C.-R. lab was supported by NIH R01NS076558, DP1NS111778, and by an HHMI Scholar Award.