Biology subjects

Cameron, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Cameron, E..

9 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Montreal Urban Observatory: research platform to monitor urban forest ecosystems for global change adaptation and health

As urban populations grow, cities are increasingly seen not only as drivers of climate change but also as critical arenas for implementing mitigation and adaptation strategies. Urban forests and green infrastructure play a vital role in shaping environmental quality and human health, yet access to these benefits remains inequitable. The Montreal Urban Observatory was designed to investigate the complex relationships among biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and human health. Twenty-five permanent plots were established across the Island of Montreal, strategically located along gradients in vegetation cover, population density, and mean household income. Interdisciplinary research within the Observatory focuses on themes including urban forest structure and function, abiotic conditions, biodiversity, ecological interactions, natures contributions to people, related human health outcomes, and developing novel methodological approaches. The Observatory supports long-term, cross-scale monitoring and fosters collaborative research on urban social-ecological systems, thus contributing to global initiatives to enhance urban sustainability and equity through nature-based solutions. Early results confirm the relevance of the main gradients for several organisms and response variables, from microbes to trees and abiotic factors. For example, sampling all trees, public and private, within a radius of 200m centered on each plot revealed significant differences in the diversity and structure of private and public trees, including an overwhelming dominance of Thuya occidentalis not captured in commonly used public tree inventories.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2025

Runx1 and Runx2 act in concert to suppress Wnt/β-catenin-driven mammary tumourigenesis

The genes encoding transcription factor RUNX1 and its binding partner CBFB have been reported to be mutated in human breast cancer. Here, we provide evidence that Runx1 loss of function results in accelerated disease onset and tumour development in mouse models of breast cancer, in keeping with a tumour suppressor role for RUNX1 in this disease setting. Combined deletion of Runx1 and the related family member Runx2 resulted in mammary epithelial cells becoming exquisitely sensitive to WNT-driven transformation, with the emergence of multiple tumours early in life. Clonogenic assays indicated that Runx1 ablation induced a stem cell like phenotype in mammary epithelial cells, whilst transcriptome analysis demonstrated activation of multiple oncogenic pathways, especially when Runx2 was co- deleted. Interestingly, altered Runx expression in the mammary epithelium also drove profound alterations in the tumour microenvironment, impacting the immune landscape. These results highlight that Runx1 restricts some forms of breast cancer and inhibits the full oncogenic potential of aberrant WNT signalling. Loss of Runx2 itself did not result in tumour promotion, yet the dramatic effects of combined Runx1 and Runx2 loss suggest that Runx2 can substitute for Runx1 in dampening the oncogenic effects of WNT signalling.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Public Funding for AI in Canada 2011-2022: An equity-focused environmental scan

BackgroundIn this new equity-driven landscape, if there is to be system-wide transformation in research funding allocation, indicators of funding allocations need to be explored. This environmental scan aims to understand how research funding for artificial intelligence (AI) has been allocated and distributed in Canada from 2011-2022. Using geographical representations, we describe and map research funding for Canadian researchers by publicly funded granting agencies and provide analyses for AI research spending since 2011 MethodologyWe developed a rapid environmental scan to create a database of all AI funded projects from the following agencies: CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC, CRC, AMS, NFRF and CFI. Using publicly available research funding reporting and agency websites, we identified through title, keyword and project summary screening, AI projects in English and French for the years 2011-2022. Principal FindingsA total of 4112 projects were identified, with the following information for each project recorded: title, year, institution, city, province, total funding, language, funding agency, funding program and primary investigator. A total of $384,933,265.74 million was allocated for publicly funded AI related projects in Canada from 2011-2022. Average funding per project was $93,612.18. The top three provinces with the most funding for all years are Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. The top three funding agencies by total amount for all years were NSERC at $155,267,817, CIHR at $136,594,644, and CFI at $58,317,627 ConclusionThis information can assist in accountability and understanding of Canadas publicly funded research allocations, and provide information related to the distribution of such funds, thus informing equity policy strategies.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2023

Subfamily C7 Raf-like kinases MRK1, RAF26, and RAF39 regulate immune homeostasis and stomatal opening in Arabidopsis thaliana

The calcium-dependent protein kinase CPK28 is a regulator of immune homeostasis in multiple plant species. Here, we used a proteomics approach to uncover CPK28-associated proteins. We found that CPK28 associates with subfamily C7 Raf-like kinases MRK1, RAF26, and RAF39, and trans-phosphorylates RAF26 and RAF39. Metazoan Raf kinases function in mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades as MAPK kinase kinases (MKKKs). Although Raf-like kinases share some features with MKKKs, we found that MRK1, RAF26, and RAF39 are unable to trans-phosphorylate any of the 10 Arabidopsis MKKs. We show that MRK1, RAF26, and RAF39 localize to the cytosol and endomembranes, and we define redundant roles for these kinases in stomatal opening, immune-triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and resistance to a bacterial pathogen. Overall, our study suggests that C7 Raf-like kinases associate with and are phosphorylated by CPK28, function redundantly in stomatal immunity, and possess substrate specificities distinct from canonical MKKKs.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Global monitoring of soil animal communities using a common methodology

Here we introduce the Soil BON Foodweb Team, a cross-continental collaborative network that aims to monitor soil animal communities and food webs using consistent methodology at a global scale. Soil animals support vital soil processes via soil structure modification, direct consumption of dead organic matter, and interactions with microbial and plant communities. Soil animal effects on ecosystem functions have been demonstrated by correlative analyses as well as in laboratory and field experiments, but these studies typically focus on selected animal groups or species at one or few sites with limited variation in environmental conditions. The lack of comprehensive harmonised large-scale soil animal community data including microfauna, mesofauna, and macrofauna, in conjunction with related soil functions, limits our understanding of biological interactions in soil communities and how these interactions affect ecosystem functioning. To provide such data, the Soil BON Foodweb Team invites researchers worldwide to use a common methodology to address six long-term goals: (1) to collect globally representative harmonised data on soil micro-, meso-, and macrofauna communities; (2) to describe key environmental drivers of soil animal communities and food webs; (3) to assess the efficiency of conservation approaches for the protection of soil animal communities; (4) to describe soil food webs and their association with soil functioning globally; (5) to establish a global research network for soil biodiversity monitoring and collaborative projects in related topics; (6) to reinforce local collaboration networks and expertise and support capacity building for soil animal research around the world. In this paper, we describe the vision of the global research network and the common sampling protocol to assess soil animal communities and advocate for the use of standard methodologies across observational and experimental soil animal studies. We will use this protocol to conduct soil animal assessments and reconstruct soil food webs on the sites included in the global soil biodiversity monitoring network, Soil BON, allowing us to assess linkages among soil biodiversity, vegetation, soil physico-chemical properties, and ecosystem functions. In the present paper, we call for researchers especially from countries and ecoregions that remain underrepresented in the majority of soil biodiversity assessments to join us. Together we will be able to provide science-based evidence to support soil biodiversity conservation and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

Nitric oxide prevents aortic valve calcification by S-nitrosylation of USP9X to activate NOTCH signaling

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is an increasingly prevalent condition and endothelial dysfunction is implicated in its etiology. We previously identified nitric oxide (NO) as a calcification inhibitor by its activation of NOTCH1, which is genetically linked to human CAVD. Here, we show that NO rescues calcification by a S-nitrosylation-mediated mechanism in porcine aortic valve interstitial cells (pAVICs) and single cell RNA-seq demonstrated regulation of NOTCH pathway by NO. A unbiased proteomic approach to identify S-nitrosylated proteins in valve cells found enrichment of the ubiquitin proteasome pathway and implicated S-nitrosylation of USP9X in NOTCH regulation during calcification. Furthermore, S-nitrosylated USP9X was shown to deubiquitinate and stabilize MIB1 for NOTCH1 activation. Consistent with this, genetic deletion of Usp9x in mice demonstrated aortic valve disease and human calcified aortic valves displayed reduced S-nitrosylation of USP9X. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism by which S-nitrosylation dependent regulation of ubiquitin-associated pathway prevents CAVD.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

MAPPING TRENDS IN INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE PHENOTYPES IN AFRICAN MALARIA VECTORS

Mitigating the threat of insecticide resistance in African malaria vector populations requires comprehensive information about where resistance occurs, to what degree, and how this has changed over time. Estimating these trends is complicated by the sparse, heterogeneous distribution of observations of resistance phenotypes in field populations. We use 6423 observations of the prevalence of resistance to the most important vector control insecticides to inform a Bayesian geostatistical ensemble modelling approach, generating fine-scale predictive maps of resistance phenotypes in mosquitoes from the Anopheles gambiae complex across Africa. Our models are informed by a suite of 111 predictor variables describing potential drivers of selection for resistance. Our maps show alarming increases in the prevalence of resistance to pyrethroids and DDT across Sub-Saharan Africa from 2005-2017 as well as substantial spatial variation in resistance trends.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Global distribution of earthworm diversity

Soil organisms provide crucial ecosystem services that support human life. However, little is known about their diversity, distribution, and the threats affecting them. Here, we compiled a global dataset of sampled earthworm communities from over 7000 sites in 56 countries to predict patterns in earthworm diversity, abundance, and biomass. We identify the environmental drivers shaping these patterns. Local species richness and abundance typically peaked at higher latitudes, while biomass peaked in the tropics, patterns opposite to those observed in aboveground organisms. Similar to many aboveground taxa, climate variables were more important in shaping earthworm communities than soil properties or habitat cover. These findings highlight that, while the environmental drivers are similar, conservation strategies to conserve aboveground biodiversity might not be appropriate for earthworm diversity, especially in a changing climate.\n\nOne sentence summaryGlobal patterns of earthworm diversity, abundance and biomass are driven by climate but patterns differ from many aboveground taxa.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Model ensembles with different response variables for base and meta models: malaria disaggregation regression combining prevalence and incidence data

Maps of infection risk are a vital tool for the elimination of malaria. Routine surveillance data of malaria case counts, often aggregated over administrative regions, is becoming more widely available and can better measure low malaria risk than prevalence surveys. However, aggregation of case counts over large, heterogeneous areas means that these data are often underpowered for learning relationships between the environment and malaria risk. A model that combines point surveys and aggregated surveillance data could have the benefits of both but must be able to account for the fact that these two data types are different malariometric units. Here, we train multiple machine learning models on point surveys and then combine the predictions from these with a geostatistical disaggregation model that uses routine surveillance data. We find that, in tests using data from Colombia and Madagascar, using a disaggregation regression model to combine predictions from machine learning models trained on point surveys improves model accuracy relative to using the environmental covariates directly.

epidemiology↗