Climate shapes the spatiotemporal variation in color morph diversity and composition across the distribution range of Chrysomela lapponica leaf beetle

Color polymorphism offers rich opportunities for studying the eco-evolutionary mechanisms that drive the adaptations of local populations to heterogeneous and changing environments.We explored the color morph diversity and composition in a Chrysomela lapponica leaf beetle across its entire distribution range to test the hypothesis that environmental and climatic variables shape spatiotemporal variation in the phenotypic structure of a polymorphic species.We obtained information on 13617 specimens of this beetle from museums,private collections,and websites.These specimens(collected from 1830-2020)originated from 959 localities spanning 33°latitude,178°longitude,and 4200 m altitude.We classified the beetles into five color morphs and searched for environmental factors that could explain the variation in the level of polymorphism(quantified by the Shannon diversity index)and in the relative frequencies of individual color morphs.The highest level of polymorphism was found at high latitudes and altitudes.The color morphs differed in their climatic requirements;composition of colour morphs was independent of the geographic distance that separated populations but changed with collection year,longitude,mean July temperature and betweenyear temperature fluctuations.The proportion of melanic beetles,in line with the thermal melanism hypothesis,increased with increasing latitude and altitude and decreased with increasing climate seasonality.Melanic morph frequencies also declined during the past century,but only at high latitudes and altitudes where recent climate warming was especially strong.The observed patterns suggest that color polymorphism is especially advantageous for populations inhabiting unpredictable environments,presumably due to the different climatic requirements of coexisting color morphs.

Epidemiology andinteractions of Human Immunodeficiency Virus - 1 and Schistosoma mansoni in sub-SaharanAfrica

Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1/AIDS and Schis tosoma mansoni are widespread in sub Saharan Africa and co-infection occurs commonly.Since the early 1990s,it has been suggested that the two infections may interact and potentiate the effects of each other within co-infected human hosts.Indeed,S mansoni infection has been suggested to be a risk factor for HIV transmission and progression in Africa.If so,it would follow that mass deworming could have beneficial effects on HIV-1 transmission dynamics.The epidemiology of HIV in African countries is changing,shifting from urban to rural areas where the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni is high and public health services are deficient.On the other side,the consequent pathogenesis of HIV-1/S.mansoni co-infection remains unknown.Here we give an account of the epidemiology of HIV-1 and S.mansoni,discuss co-infection and possible biological causal relationships between the two infections,and the potential impact of praziquantel treatment on HIV-1 viral loads,CD4^(+) counts and CD4^(+)/CD8^(+) ratio.Our review of the available literature indicates that there is evidence to support the hypothesis that S.mansoni infections can influence the replication of the HIV-1,cel-to-cell transmission,as well as increase HIV progression as measured by reduced CD4^(+) T lymphocytes counts.If so,then deworming of HIV positive individuals living in endemic areas may impact on HV-1 viral loads and CD4^(+) T lymphocyte counts.