Alena Velichevskaya

A national-scale study in Italy showed an incidence of cancer higher in the territories indicated as highly polluted compared to the regional average. One of them, the city of Taranto in Apulia (Italy), which is considered one of the most polluted cities in Europe, has numerous industrial activities that impact population health. We studied the epidemiological effects of a high level of pollution produced by the industrial area of Taranto in increasing the mortality rate for some specific cancer types in the city and towns of the two provinces located downwind. We analysed 10-year mortality rates for 15 major types of tumours reported among the residents of Taranto, of eight surrounding towns, randomly placed within an imaginary cone in the main wind direction from the vertex of the industrial zone of Taranto, and of the two related provinces (Bari and Taranto’s metropolitan areas). Our results confirm our hypothesis that the mortality rate for some specific types of cancer is higher than the norm in the municipality of Taranto. We also found strong evidence that, for 12 out of 15 tumour types, mortality decreases with the distance of the other towns from Taranto’s industrial site. However, we have reasons to believe that other local causes may be implicated in the excess of mortality in some specific municipalities besides the potential dispersal of pollutants from the industrial area of Taranto. The proximity to Taranto cannot, in fact, explain all the anomalies detected in some populations. It is likely that other site-specific sources of heavy pollution are playing a role in worsening the death toll of these towns and this must be taken into serious consideration by environmental policymakers and local authorities.

Although in strictly protected areas no forest management and logging activities should be evident, a preliminary study detected that, even in the 200 areas with the highest protection of Russia, more than 2 Mha of trees have been lost between 2001 and 2018. Nonetheless, a relevant percentage of the actual drivers of tree loss in Russian strictly protected areas was surrounded by uncertainties due to several factors. Here, in an attempt to “clarify the smokescreen of Russian protected areas”, by validating previous remotely sensed data with new high-resolution satellite imagery and aerial images of land-use change, we shed more light on what has happened during the last 20 years. We used the same layer of tree loss from 2001 to 2020 but, instead of intersecting it with the MODIS data that could have been a source of underestimation of burned surfaces, we overlapped it to the layer of tree cover loss by dominant driver. We analysed the main drivers of tree loss in almost 200 strictly protected areas of Russia. We found that although fire is responsible for 75% of the loss in all strictly protected areas, forestry activities still account for 16%, and 9% is due to undefined causes. Therefore, uncontrolled wildfires (including those started before or after logging) and forestry activities are the main causes of 91% of the total tree loss. The combination of wildfires (often started intentionally) and forestry activities (illegally or barely legally put in place) caused a loss of an astonishing 3 million hectares. The fact that ≈10% of Russian tree cover was lost in two decades since 2001 only in strictly protected areas requires high attention by policymakers and important conservation actions to avoid losing other fundamental habitats and species during the next years when climate change and population growth can represent an additional trigger of an already dramatic situation. We call for an urgent response by national and local authorities that should start actively fighting wildfires, arsonists, and loggers even in inhabited remote areas and particularly in those included in strictly protected areas.

A national-scale study in Italy showed an incidence of cancer higher in the territories indicated as highly polluted compared to the regional average. One of them, the city of Taranto in Apulia (Italy), which is considered one of the most polluted cities in Europe, has numerous industrial activities that impact population health. We studied the epidemiological effects of a high level of pollution produced by the industrial area of Taranto in increasing the mortality rate for some specific cancer types in the city and towns of the two provinces located downwind. We analysed 10-year mortality rates for 14 major types of tumours reported among the residents of Taranto, of 6 surrounding towns, randomly placed within an imaginary cone in the main wind direction from the vertex of the industrial zone of Taranto. Our results confirm our hypothesis that the mortality rate for some specific types of cancer (namely, Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, leukaemia, liver and bladder tumours) are higher than the norm in the municipality of Taranto and we have evidence that other local causes may be implicated in the excess of mortality besides the potential dispersal of pollutants from the industrial area of Taranto. The proximity to the industrial area of Taranto cannot, therefore, explain alone the anomalies detected in some populations. It is likely that other site-specific sources of heavy pollution are playing a role in worsening the death toll of these towns and this must be taken into serious consideration by environmental policy-makers and local authorities.

Anopheles beklemishevi is a member of the Maculipennis group of malaria mosquitoes that has the most northern distribution among other members of the group. Although a cytogenetic map for the larval salivary gland chromosomes of this species has been developed, a high-quality standard cytogenetic photomap that enables genomics and population genetics studies of this mosquito at the adult stage is still lacking. In this study, a cytogenetic map for the polytene chromosomes of An. beklemishevi from ovarian nurse cells was developed using high-resolution digital imaging from field collected mosquitoes. PCR-amplified DNA probes for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were designed based on the genome of An. atroparvus. The DNA probe obtained by microdissection procedures from the breakpoint region was labelled in a DOP-PCR reaction. Population analysis was performed on 371 specimens collected in 18 locations. We report the development of a high-quality standard photomap for the polytene chromosomes from ovarian nurse cells of An. beklemishevi. To confirm the suitability of the map for physical mapping, several PCR-amplified probes were mapped to the chromosomes of An. beklemishevi using FISH. In addition, we identified and mapped DNA probes to flanking regions of the breakpoints of two inversions on chromosome X of this species. Inversion polymorphism was determined in 13 geographically distant populations of An. beklemishevi. Four polymorphic inversions were detected. The positions of common chromosomal inversions were indicated on the map. The study constructed a standard photomap for ovarian nurse cell chromosomes of An. beklemishevi and tested its suitability for physical genome mapping and population studies. Cytogenetic analysis determined inversion polymorphism in natural populations of An. beklemishevi related to this species’ adaptation.