Neurodegenerative diseases constitute a major public health burden, with neurotoxicity representing a critical pathogenic mechanism underlying Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Current therapeutic approaches are primarily symptomatic and fail to prevent disease progression, highlighting the urgent need for neuroprotective agents that can modulate pathological pathways at their source. Natural fungal metabolites have emerged as promising sources of bioactive compounds with potential neuroprotective properties. This study investigates the neuroprotective potential of bioactive compounds derived from the Arctic fungus Pseudogymnoascus australis (P. australis) using an integrated in silico method. From 120 identified compounds, nine were selected based on favorable blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and pharmacokinetic profiles using ADMET 3.0 predictions. These included 2-aminohexadecanoic acid (AHA), 11-aminoundecanoic acid (AUA), and seven others, all exhibiting optimal drug-likeness (>0.83) and suitable CNS-targeting properties. Network pharmacology analysis identified 226 overlapping targets between the fungal compounds and neurotoxicity-associated genes. Nine hub genes (Gria1, Gria2, Gria4, Grik1, Grik2, Grin1, Grin2a, Grin2b, and Grin2c) were identified as critical nodes. Enrichment analyses revealed significant involvement in the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway, suggesting these compounds modulate ionotropic glutamate receptors. Molecular docking analysis showed strong binding affinities, with 78% of ligand-receptor complexes displaying RMSD values below 2.0 Å. AHA and Grik1 emerged as the most promising pair, with a docking score of -7.90 kcal/mol and excellent pharmacokinetic properties (drug-likeness: 0.462, BBB penetration: 0.985). Molecular dynamics simulations over 100 nanoseconds confirmed complex stability, with a mean RMSD of 2.45 Å and binding energies averaging -169.02 kcal/mol, demonstrating sustained ligand-protein interactions. These computational findings provide evidence that P. australis contains bioactive compounds capable of attenuating neurotoxicity through sustained modulation of glutamate receptors, with molecular dynamics validation supporting the thermodynamic stability and potential therapeutic relevance of these interactions.
Embryonic diapause and its termination are key to seasonal timing in the univoltine damselfly Lestes sponsa , ensuring that eggs overwinter and hatch in spring. Following summer oviposition - typically in plants above water - diapause begins after 2–3 weeks. We investigated diapause termination in eggs from southern Sweden (~ 55°N) using combinations of chilling in darkness and subsequent exposure to photoperiods at elevated temperatures. Diapause development - a physiological process underlying termination - was fastest at 10°C, slower at 5°C, and slowest (possibly stagnating) at 20–21°C. Longer chilling enhanced the terminating effects of long photoperiods and high temperatures, resulting in faster, more synchronous hatching and a shorter critical photoperiod. At immediate 21°C and solstice-like photoperiods (LD 19.5:4.5), hatching began 1–2 weeks after diapause initiation and continued for weeks, but synchrony improved with prior exposure to diapause-maintaining conditions (< LD 17:7). LD 18:6 was only weakly effective in terminating diapause without chilling. After 19–21 weeks at 5°C, virtually complete hatching occurred within 2–4 days independently of photoperiod. If diapause was not terminated immediately at 21°C after chilling, diapause development appeared to reverse, restoring pre-chill photoperiodic responses. In contrast, 10°C post-chill accelerated diapause development and reduced laggards, but some effects of photoperiod on hatching time still persisted after 19–21 weeks chilling. Post-diapause development was 3-3.5 times slower at 10°C and ~ 20 times slower at 5°C compared to 21°C. Hatching was successful at 5°C, and larvae survived two weeks near 0°C, suggesting potential for winter hatching under a warmer climate. Eggs from Poland (~ 54°N) and northern Sweden (~ 66°N) differed in critical photoperiods, with a weaker diapause at higher latitudes. This system, adapted to latitude, ensures early and synchronous spring hatching, with hatchlings resistant to cold spells and prevents premature hatching during untimely warm periods via short-day inhibition.
Nature conservation aims to prevent species loss, often driven by habitat fragmentation. While island biogeography theory informs many models, animals consider both habitat structure but also on the social conditions in a given area when selecting territories. Individuals assess resource availability, competition, and predation risk through social cues, yet the interaction between such information (attractive vs. repulsive) and the physical properties of the habitat remains poorly understood. We provide data on both, habitat features (forest parameters and fragmentation metrics) and bird populations along with a large-scale experiment manipulating social information sources (attractive: common forest bird species, repulsive: common forest predator, mixed: attractive and repulsive alternated), testing how different local conditions scenarios affect bird populations. These data can inform broader analyses of bird responses to environmental and social factors, supporting large-scale assessments of habitat selection and population trends. Comparing effect sizes across similar studies can reveal spatiotemporal trends in bird population responses to the interaction of social and environmental cues on larger scales.
