Project description:: The study aimed to highlight the degree of trace element contamination along three sites of Sicily: the Magnisi peninsula (MP), located in proximity to the Augusta-Priolo-Melilli petrochemical plant; the Ragusa agro-ecosystem (RA), characterized by a rural landscape; and the Gela plain (GP), characterized by intensive agriculture and a disused petrochemical plant. We collected biological samples (abraded back feathers and blood) of the Stone Curlew (Burhinus oedicnemus Linnaeus, 1758) as well as soil samples to determine the trace elements concentrations of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Se and V using ICP-MS analysis. The results found for the three sites show different trends of accumulation, which depend on the different management and geological characteristics of the areas. The Gela plain and Magnisi peninsula showed a higher degree of contamination (As, Co, Cu, Mn and Se for the Gela plain; Pb and Hg for the Magnisi peninsula). Nevertheless, no critical values were found for either the environment-if the results are compared with the legal limits fixed by the Legislative Decree No. 152/2006, approving the Code on the Environment-or for living organisms-if the results are compared with the toxicological thresholds for birds, especially if the short-term exposure results from the blood values are considered. Only the Se levels in animal blood from the RA and GP were found slightly higher than the minimum level required in bird diets. The positive scenario can be attributed on the one hand to the interruptions of emissions of the Gela refinery around 5 years ago, and on the other hand to the more intense and strict controls that are implemented in the area surrounding the petrochemical pole of Augusta-Priolo-Melilli.
Project description:Spread of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria in natural environments pose a risk to human and animal health. Wild birds are considered to be reservoirs of human pathogens and vectors of antimicrobial resistance distribution in the environment. The aim of this study is to assess the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in isolates from bird specimens living in three agro-pastoral areas of the southeastern Sicily. We analyzed the microbiomes of the Eurasian Stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus (Charadriiformes, Aves) and identified 91 Gram positive and 212 Gram negative strains, whose antimicrobial susceptibility to 11 and 9 antibiotic classes (respectively) was evaluated using agar disk diffusion test. Isolates showed significant levels of antimicrobial resistance, and a high percentage of MDR strains was found both between the Gram positive (49.4%) and the Gram negative (34.9%). Multi-drug resistance levels are higher among strains isolated in the beak and the eye than among enteric (faeces and cloaca) strains. Our results indicate high levels of MDR strains among wild bird populations, with a potential threat to wildlife and human populations.
Project description:This study aims to investigate the DNA methylation patterns at transcription factor binding regions and their evolutionary conservation with respect to binding activity divergence. We combined newly generated bisulfite-sequencing experiments in livers of five mammals (human, macaque, mouse, rat and dog) and matched publicly available ChIP-sequencing data for five transcription factors (CEBPA, HNF4a, CTCF, ONECUT1 and FOXA1). To study the chromatin contexts of TF binding subjected to distinct evolutionary pressures, we integrated publicly available active promoter, active enhancer and primed enhancer calls determined by profiling genome wide patterns of H3K27ac, H3K4me3 and H3K4me1.