Philippa Kaur

Here, we examine infection dynamics in the four regions of focus to learn more about how various control interventions performed in each region. Since the first documented cases emerged in these regions, the virus was able to spread freely across much of the first and second phases with a gradual increase in the control interventions. In the four regions of Makkah, Madinah, Eastern, and Riyadh, cases peaked on 12th May (6397 cases; 95% CI 5960–9697), 15th May (1967 cases; 95% CI 1625–2308), 23rd June (10367; 95% CI 8948–11785) and 11th June (11273 cases; 95% CI 11068–12491) respectively according to the fitted model shown in Fig. 2. As the epidemic progressed, more measures were adopted to contain the disease, and the disease’s infectiousness sharply decreased after the third period. There are a few factors responsible for the sudden declining trend: first our model is dependent on official data on cases that have been documented, and these data will only ever reflect a portion of the overall number of cases. Second, different regions developed different testing strategies, and some locations altered their approach to testing during the course of the time period that was investigated. It is possible that the beginning of the Hajj term (period 4) was a contributing factor in the decrease in the number of documented cases. Additionally, previous to this time period, the government indicated that it would be increasing the size of its local testing in order to detect new cases. It is possible that the efficacy of interventions would be reduced if increases are found to be occurring during the falling phase of an epidemic. This may result in measures being kept in place for a longer period of time than they would have been had more accurate data been provided.Figure 2With the use of the Delay Rejection Adaptive Metropolis method, the relevant parameters were estimated for each of the four areas of interest by fitting the data from 13th March until 25th September.Full size imageWe estimate the effective reproduction number (R_t) as an indicator of SARS-CoV-2 transmission before and after the interventions. Figure 3 depicts the dramatic shift in the rate of SARS-CoV-2 transmission as a result of decreased social contact and other control measures. At the beginning of the pandemic, (R_t) for SARS-CoV-2 in Saudi regions was between 4 and 6 as illustrated in Tables 6 and 7. In other words, on average each case spread to between four and six others. Considering that each new generation of SARS-CoV-2 cases occurs every five days, it is evident that this pandemic was rapidly expanding out of control. Moreover, we assumed that the transmission rate and the documented infection rate did not change during the first two periods since interventions were carried out gradually until a complete lockdown took place. As more measures were introduced, the spread of the disease began to decrease. Therefore, our data were based on the weekly reported number of documented SARS-CoV-2 cases broken down by region. As a result, it became clear that the reliability of the (R_t) value was relatively high for transmission.Figure 3Distribution of Rt estimates derived from 10000 MCMC samples for Makkah, Madinah, Eastern, and Riyadh, respectively. The black dot in the centre of each violin plot denotes the median, the thick bar in the plot denotes the interquartile range, and the thin bar in the plot denotes the lowest and maximum values. The mean and the credible interval for 95%, which is shown in parentheses, are labelled below or above, respectively.Full size imageThe effects of the events and interventions on the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in the regions of interest are considered. First, if the controls remained in phase four in Makkah, our model projects that the total number of documented cases would increase to 81047 (95% CI 79421–82672). In Al-Madinah, the cumulative number of documented cases would have increased to 22997 (95% CI 19578–26415). The number of cumulative documented cases may have reached 80520 (95% CI 78335–82704) if controls stayed steady in the Eastern region at the level they were at in phase four. If the pattern shown during the fourth period is taken into account, we estimate that there would have been 67150 (95% CI 63731–70568) documented infections in the Riyadh region. Figure 4 illustrates these findings.Figure 4The relevant parameters were estimated for each of the four regions of interest by first fitting the data of each region, and then predicting using the parameters from period 4. This was done with each of the four regions of interest separately.Full size imageWe now explore the impact of controls remaining in place at the same level as that implemented in phase three. In that case, the number of documented cases in Makkah would have increased to 116641 (95% CI 105015–128266). Similarly, the total number of documented cases in Al-Madinah would have increased to 53877 (95% CI 50458-57295) if the outbreak had been allowed to continue at the same level. If the controls had remained unchanged from how they were in phase three in the Eastern region, the total number of documented cases would have been 310459 (95% CI 298362–334981). Finally, in Riyadh this would have resulted in 665241 documented cases (95% CI 651822 to 678659). Figure 5 highlights these findings.Figure 5For each of the four areas of interest, the relevant parameters were estimated by first fitting the data of each region and then predicting using the parameters from period 3. This was carried out for each of the four areas of interest independently.Full size imageWe now investigate the impact of second-period controls remaining in place. In that case, the number of documented cases would increase to 1236642 (95% 1218314–1251626), 442865 (95% CI 439446–456283), 454031 (95% CI 441846–466215), and 2322624 (95% CI 1919206-3026042) in the regions of Makkah, Madinah, Eastern, and Riyadh, respectively (see Fig. 6).Figure 6For each of the four regions of interest, the relevant variables were identified by first fitting the data from each area and then making predictions using the parameters from period 2. Each of the four regions of interest was done separately.Full size imageThe efficacy of NPIs is dependent on when they are adopted, with earlier adoption resulting in greater success in lowering transmission rates of infectious diseases. In the early stages of COVID-19, Saudi regions made the decision to gradually implement measures in order to understand the severity of the disease and reduce the economic and social costs of lockdowns, as well as the political costs. In Fig. 6, if the government were to rely on the interventions of the second phase, then the number of cases of infection would considerably rise owing to the ineffectiveness of the measures. In the third period as in Fig. 5, the government made it possible to relax some of the control measures, but it is ultimately up to each area to decide whether they will maintain the same level of control or whether they will increase or decrease it. In comparison to the control measures carried out during the third and fourth periods, this led to significantly improved outcomes. The reason that these time periods were chosen is that there was no stiffening of the NPI response in most Saudi regions during the first two periods and control interventions were improved later on.Significant undetected infections resulted in the fast spread of new coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-2) which is illustrated in Fig. 7. The proportion of undocumented infections, including asymptomatic cases and undocumented symptomatic individuals who did not seek medical treatment or be tested for mild symptoms, was greater than that of Wuhan at the onset of the pandemic26, which may be a result of the following factors: first, the medical configuration was not optimal and public awareness was limited during the onset of the pandemic while the undocumented rate progressively increased; Second, contact tracing procedures employed in Saudi regions may have become overwhelmed if the number of early-stage cases in Saudi regions rises substantially. The discrepancy between the predicted proportions of asymptomatic (undocumented) cases may be attributable to the difficulty in the un-identifiability of parameters in epidemiological models. There were a substantial number of asymptomatic infected individuals with high infectivity in Saudi regions, where the epidemic situation escalated rapidly. Our research emphasises the frequency of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 cases and their role in transmission in order to increase people’s knowledge of asymptomatic cases and to serve as a guide for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2.Table 3 Estimated transmission rate in Saudi Regions.Full size tableTable 4 Estimated ascertainable infection rate.Full size tableIn this model, we fitted dynamic transmission rates because of varied preventable measures by the Saudi government at the level of the country or region. After a series of actions taken by the government, regions and cities went into lockdown, resulting in a decrease in the transmission rate as in Table 3. Before the interventions were introduced, in the first two periods of our study, we assumed the transmission rate did not change since individual and community responses had not effectively taken place. After severe interventions were implemented, the transmission rates were allowed to vary in later periods and reduced gradually due to the control measures that reduced the spread of disease27. Estimates of documented infection rates are presented in Table 4. Our model estimates show the documented infection rate has continued to decrease in the last two periods. Thus, the parameters we fit across periods are a measure of how effective the lockdown was in bringing down the documented infection rate28.Risk of resurgenceThe risk of resurgence in Saudi Arabia’s four regions has been examined in this section after the relaxation of intervention measures. There will be a rise in disease activity if control measures are relaxed without taking into account increases in the number of cases being detected, isolated, and/or traced. We predict the first week of no new cases of infection and the week when all current infections in Saudi Arabia will be eradicated.In the Makkah region, had the trend continued into the fourth period, the number of documented infections would have dropped to zero on average by the 6th September (23rd August to 27th September), and all infections would have been eradicated by the 26th of October (7th October to 14th November). On the 28th June, the number of weekly active infections (including presymptomatic, symptomatic, and asymptomatic cases) reached its highest point of 230,230 (95% CI 226811–234364), and on 8th September, that number dropped to 44023 (95% CI 40604–47441).Therefore, the number of documented infections would have reached zero in Al-Madinah region on average on 6th November (23rd October to 22nd November), and all infections would have been eliminated by 1st December (27th November to 14th December). On 23rd June, weekly active infections (including presymptomatic, symptomatic, and asymptomatic cases) peaked at 130,134 (95% CI 126715–133552) and then declined to 60023 (95% CI 58604–63441) on 25th September.If the trend had continued as it did in the fourth period in the Eastern region, the average number of documented infections would have reached zero on 2nd November (from 23rd October to 18th November), and the total eradication of infections would have happened on 1st December (26th November to 22nd December). The number of weekly active infections (including presymptomatic, symptomatic, and asymptomatic cases) peaked at 65000 (95% CI 61581–68418) during the week of July 23rd and subsequently decreased to 800 (95% CI 765–834) on 8th of September.Lastly, the model predicted that the number of weekly active infections in the Riyadh region (including presymptomatic, symptomatic, and asymptomatic infections) peaked on 28th June at 562332 (95% CI 513379–619542) and then decreased to 188215 (95% CI 174796–191633) on 18th September. On average, we expected that the number of documented infections would have decreased to zero on 18th October (7th October to 14th November) and that the total number of infections would have been eliminated on 1st December if the trend continued as it did in the fourth period (20th November to 23rd December). Figure 7 illustrates these findings. We found that if control measures were lifted 30 days following the first day of zero documented cases.Figure 7The estimated number of infected cases that were active (presymptomatic, symptomatic, and asymptomatic) during the research period in the areas of Makkah, Madinah, Eastern, and Riyadh respectively.Full size imageThe probability of resurgence, which we define as the number of active documented cases greater than 100 could be as high as 0.96 in Eastern, 0.95 in Madinah, 0.97 in Makkah, and 0.96 in Riyadh. If we adopt more stringent conditions of lifting controls after observing no confirmed cases for a continuous period of 30 days, the probability of resurgence decreases to 0.31, 0.28, 0.30, and 0.30, with probable resurgence occurring on 13th February, 7th February, 2nd January, and 8th January for Eastern, Makkah, Madinah and Riyadh, respectively (Fig. 8). Despite the use of a simplified model, these results emphasize the hazards of ignoring undetermined occurrences when modifying intervention techniques.Figure 8Figure demonstrating the effect of relaxing all control measures in all four regions 30 days following the first day without confirmed cases.Full size imageSensitivity analysisFor the purpose of testing the robustness of our research results, we conducted a series of sensitivity analyses by varying the durations of the latent and infectious periods, the ratio of transmissibility in asymptomatic (undocumented) cases to symptomatic (documented) cases, and the initial documented infection rate. We conduct eight sensitivity analyses (S1 to S8) within each model for each region of Saudi Arabia to assess the robustness of our model results. For instance, the sensitivity analysis performed for S1 was based on the changes of the latent period and pre-symptomatic infectious period, respectively, and other parameters remain the same. These modifications were carried out with the help of reference15,29, and the same approaches were used for the other parts of the sensitivity analysis, which is summarised in Table 5.Table 5 Description of essential model parameters that were not fitted in the MCMC, where (D_e) refers to the latent period, (D_p) refers to the pre-symptomatic infectious period, (D_i) refers to the symptomatic infectious period, (gamma _0) refers to the initial ascertain rate and (alpha) refers to the ratio of the transmission rate for P and A to I.Full size tableIn particular, for (S1), we raised the incubation period to 7 days (upper 95% CI based on ref15) and the pre-symptomatic infectious period to 3 days (upper 95% CI based on ref29). Therefore we set (D_e = 4) and (D_p=3), and modified (E_0) and (P_0) as needed. The transmissibility of the undocumented cases was assumed to be 0.46 (lower 95 % CI according to ref.31) of the infection cases for (S2); for (S3), the transmissibility of the asymptomatic (undocumented) cases was assumed to be 0.62 (upper 95 % CI according to ref31). We assumed that in (S4), the initial documented infection rate was (gamma _0) = 0.14 (lower 95 % CI according to ref13) and adjusted (A_0), (P_0) and E(0) accordingly. Similarly for (S5) we assumed the initial documented infection rate was (gamma _0) = 0.42 (upper 95 % CI according to ref13) and adjusted (P_0), (A_0), and (E_0) accordingly. In (S6) we set the variables (D_ e=3) and (D_p=1.1), and altered the values of (P_0) and (E_ 0) as necessary in accordance with13. In (S7) we assumed that the transmission rate of asymptomatic (undocumented) cases was half that of documented cases by setting 0.5. Finally, in (S8) we assumed that the infectious period ((D_i)) was double that of symptomatic cases by setting 6 days. Both (S7) and (S8) were based on30. The results of our sensitivity analysis are summarised in Tables 6 and 7. We note that the variation in the model predictions of (R_t) varies from setting to setting. However, these variations appear to be fairly small, proposing the robustness of the results to the specification of associated values in fairly realistic ranges13,13. Our sensitivity analysis provides information about the importance of each parameter to the model representing the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. An increase (or decrease) in parameter values, while other parameters’ values remain the same, contributes to an increase (or decrease) in effective reproduction numbers. For example, an increase in infectious period would result in a higher effective reproduction number at the beginning of the epidemic and a longer time required to clear all infections in Saudi regions32. Our sensitivity analysis indicates that almost all model parameters may have an important role in spreading this virus among susceptible people. In particular, the contact rate from person-to-person and the transition rate of asymptomatic (undetected) individuals play a significant role in disease spread. Our important findings, of a significant decrease in (R_t) after interventions and the existence of a substantial number of presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases, were found to be robust. This highlights that Saudi authorities should pay attention to intervention strategies in the event of a resurgence of cases and quarantining those who were in contact with active cases can effectively reduce the disease33. In Tables 6 and 7 we show the estimated effective reproduction number (R_t) associated with 95% CIs obtained from those eight sensitivity analyses for all four regions and all five time periods.Table 6 Sensitivity analysis of the effective reproduction number (R_t) for Eastern and Madinah.Full size tableTable 7 Sensitivity analysis of estimated effective reproduction number (R_t) for Makkah and Riyadh.Full size table More

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Sequence analysisProtein sequence searches were conducted in the GenBank nr database with BLASTP42 using default parameters, including automatically adjusting parameters for short input sequences (Table S1). Conserved domain searches were run against the GenBank Conserved Domain Database (CDD)43. Sequence alignments were conducted in CLC Main Workbench 20.0.4 (Qiagen) with the fast alignment algorithm, gap open cost = 10, and gap extension cost = 1. Biochemical properties of the fish putative thiaminase I protein sequences were predicted with the Create Sequence Statistics function in CLC Main Workbench 20.0.4 (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany). The molecular weights were calculated from the sum of the amino acids in the sequence, and the isoelectric points (pIs) were calculated from the pKa values for the individual amino acids in the sequence.Bacteria culturePure cultures of P. thiaminolyticus strain 818822 were cultured at 37 °C in Terrific Broth (MO BIO Laboratories, Carlsbad, CA) in either a shaking incubator or in a beveled flask with a stir bar and were harvested after 48–80 h of culture. Upon harvest, cultures were processed immediately or frozen whole in 50 mL Falcon tubes at − 80 °C. Fresh or thawed cultures were spun at 14,000×g, and culture supernatant was concentrated using Amicon-ultra 10 kDa molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) filters (EMD Millipore, Billerica, MA).The zebrafish and alewife candidate thiaminase I genes were cloned and overexpressed in E. coli to determine whether they produced functional thiaminases. The recombinant thiaminase I gene from P. thiaminolyticus was overexpressed in E. coli as a positive control. Candidate and control genes were synthesized (Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., Coralville, Iowa) and placed into the pET52b vector (EMD Millipore). Insert sequences are provided in Supplementary Figs. S10–S13. The empty pET52b vector was used as a negative control. The plasmid was transformed into E. coli (Rosetta 2(DE3)pLysS Singles Competent Cells, EMD Millipore) according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and expression of candidate genes was induced by the addition of IPTG. Cells were lysed in 1X BugBuster (Millipore) according to the manufacturer’s instructions in the presence of benzonase nuclease, and soluble and insoluble fractions were separated by centrifugation.Tissue collectionsAdult common carp were captured from Lake Erie using short-set gill nets. Adult alewife and quagga mussels (Dreissena bugensis) were collected from Sturgeon Bay, Lake Michigan using bottom trawls. Fish collections were completed during July 2007. Sex of sampled fish was not identified. Upon collection, unanesthetized animals were immediately euthanized by flash freezing between slabs of dry ice and stored at − 80 °C. Fish were harvested by the Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Laboratory use of frozen animal tissues and wild type and recombinant bacteria was in accordance with institutional guidelines and biosafety procedures at Oregon State University and USGS. Animal care and use procedures were approved by the Great Lakes Science Center, USGS. All USGS sampling and handling of fish during research are carried out in accordance with guidelines for the care and use of fishes by the American Fisheries Society44. All methods are reported in accordance with applicable ARRIVE guidelines (https://arriveguidelines.org). Zebrafish from OSU’s zebrafish facility were anesthetized and euthanized by overdose with waterborne 200 ppm ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate (MS-222, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) following protocols approved by the OSU Animal Institutional Care and Use Committee and were frozen at − 80 °C after euthanization. Gills, liver, spleen, and the intestinal tract were dissected, and gill tissue was homogenized separately from liver, spleen, and gut, which were homogenized together and designated “viscera.” Homogenization and protein preparation procedures were the same as that for alewife. Zebrafish from Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC), USGS cultures were anesthetized and euthanized by overdose with 200 ppm ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate (MS-222, Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) in water following protocols approved by CERC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Whole fish (0.2–0.6 g) were homogenized in 10 mL cold phosphate buffer, pH 6.5. Whole common carp and alewife were thawed until they could just be dissected. Preliminary trial extractions on alewife stomach and intestines, spleen, and gills revealed similar results and revealed that gills and spleen tissue produced the cleanest protein preparations. Therefore, subsequent extractions for common carp and alewife used gill tissue. Samples were pooled from 3 to 5 individual fish, haphazardly chosen from the sampled fish without exclusions. Quagga mussels were thawed just sufficiently to be husked from their shell and were used whole. Researchers were aware of the species and tissue designation of each sample throughout the experiments. Animal tissues were placed in ice-cold (4 °C) beakers containing cold extraction buffer (16 mM K3HPO4, 84 mM KH2PO4, 100 mM NaCl, pH 6.5 with 1 mM DTT, 2 mM EDTA, 3 mM Pepstatin, 1X Protease inhibitor cocktail (Sigma), and 1 mM AEBSF). All extractions were carried out at 4 °C in pre-chilled glassware. Samples were mechanically homogenized using a rotor–stator tissue grinder. Samples were stirred gently for several hours to overnight at 4 °C, centrifuged at 14,000×g to remove debris, and strained through cheesecloth to remove any insoluble lipids. Extracts were then subjected to 30–75% ammonium sulfate precipitation. Pellets from the precipitation were resuspended in buffer (83 mM KH2PO4, 17 mM K2HPO4, and 100 mM NaCl), centrifuged to remove any remaining debris, and stored in 30% glycerol at − 20 °C.Protein electrophoresisNative PAGE was run using either pre-cast TGX gels (BioRad, Hercules, California) of varying percentage (7.5% to 12% or 8–16% gradient gels) or on hand-cast gels (TGX FastCast, BioRad) made according to the manufacturer’s instructions.Blue-native PAGE was used to estimate the mass of thiaminases in their native conformation. Blue-native PAGE45 gels were run using the NativePage Novex Bis–Tris system (Life Technologies) or hand-cast equivalents46. Light blue cathode buffer was used to facilitate visualization of the activity stain.Standard denaturing SDS-PAGE was used to estimate the molecular mass of thiaminases after denaturation. Denaturing SDS-PAGE was run using one of three relatively equivalent methods: pre-cast TGX gels (BioRad) according to the manufacturer’s instructions, hand-cast Tris–HCl gels using standard Laemmli chemistry47 with an operating pH of approximately 9.5, or hand-cast Bis–Tris gels (MOPS buffer) with an operating pH of approximately 7. For all denaturing and non-denaturing SDS-PAGE applications, standard Laemmli sample buffer was used, and samples were heated to 75 °C for 15 min to facilitate denaturation followed by brief centrifugation to eliminate any precipitated debris.Non-denaturing PAGE was used as an alternative to denaturing PAGE for the common carp thiaminase that could not be renatured (i.e., activity could not be recovered) following a denaturing SDS-PAGE. Non-denaturing PAGE was conducted using any of the three aforementioned gel chemistries with SDS-containing running buffers including reductant (DTT), but samples were not heated prior to application to the gel. Samples for non-denaturing PAGE were allowed to incubate in sample buffer at room temperature for 30 min prior to gel loading. This preserves the charge-shift induced by SDS but does not result in protein denaturation, facilitating in-gel analysis of thiaminase I activity after separation.To visualize proteins following electrophoresis, gels were stained with Coomassie stain (CBR-250 at 1 g/L in methanol/acetic acid/water (4:5:1) and destained with methanol/acetic acid/water (1.7:1:11.5). Mini-gels were run on BioRad’s mini-protean gel rigs. Midi-gels (16 cm length) were run on Hoefer’s SE660, and large-format gels (32 cm length) were run on a BioRad’s Protean Slab Cell. Mini-gels were generally run at room temperature, and midi- and large-format gels were run at 4 °C. Blue-native PAGE was always run at 4 °C.Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) separated proteins in the first dimension based on pI and in the second dimension based on mass (either native or denatured). 2DE was performed by combining in-gel IEF with either denaturing SDS-PAGE, non-denaturing SDS-PAGE, or native PAGE. IPG strips were incubated in TRIS-buffered equilibration solution48 either with 6 M urea, SDS, and iodacetamide (denaturing) or without urea, SDS, and iodacetamide (non-denaturing) for 20 min. Low melting point agarose was used to solidify IGP strips in place. Agarose was cooled to just above the gelling temperature, as hot agarose inactivated thiaminase I activity.Isoelectric focusingIsoelectric focusing (IEF) was conducted both in-gel and in-liquid. In-gel IEF was conducted in immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strips using a Multifor II (GE Healthcare Life Sciences). Prior to rehydration, all protein preparations were desalted in low-salt (~ 5 to 10 mM) sodium or potassium phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) using 10 kDA MWCO filters. All samples were applied using sample volumes and protein concentrations recommended by the manufacturer. For standard denaturing in-gel IEF, rehydration solution consisted of 8 M urea, 2% CHAPS, 2% IPG buffer of the appropriate pH-range, 1% bromophenol blue, and 18 mM DTT. The IEF was conducted at maximum of 2 mA total current and 5 W total power, with an EPS3500 XL power supply in gradient mode. Voltage gradients were based on standard protocols recommended by the manufacturer. In-gel IEF was also performed under native conditions to allow thiaminase I activity staining of IPG strips. Protocols were essentially the same as those for denaturing conditions, with the following exceptions: (1) urea was eliminated and the CHAPS concentration was reduced to 0.5% in the rehydration solution; (2) rehydration was conducted at 14 °C; and (3) the water in the cooling tray was cooled to 4 °C.In-liquid IEF was conducted using a Rotofor (BioRad) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Non-denaturing in-liquid IEF was also conducted using a focusing solution including no urea, 2% pH 3–10 biolyte, 0.5% CHAPS, 20% glycerol, and 5 mM DTT. The addition of glycerol helped retain activity but also increased focusing times. The Rotofor was run at a constant 15 W with a maximum current of 20 mA and voltage set for a maximum of 2000 V. Samples containing 8 M urea were cooled to 14 °C during focusing to avoid urea precipitation, whereas samples lacking urea were cooled to 4 °C during focusing. Protein extracts in salt solutions greater than 10 mM were desalted directly in focusing solution using a 10 kDA MWCO filter. Focusing runs were allowed to proceed until the voltage stabilized and fractions were harvested with the needle array and vacuum pump. Ampholytes were removed by addition of NaCl to 1 M and then samples were desalted into phosphate buffer using a 10kD MWCO filter.Thiaminase I activity measurementsFor quantitative measurements of thiaminase I activity, we conducted a radiometric assay at CERC as previously described49. Zebrafish homogenates were diluted 1:8, 1:16, or 1:32 in cold phosphate buffer, pH 6.5. Two replicates per dilution were assayed. Activity was calculated from the greatest dilution that gave activity within the linear range of the assay and was reported as pmol thiamine consumed per g tissue (wet weight) per minute (pmol/g/min).Thiaminase I activity stainingAfter electrophoresis, gels were stained for thiaminase I activity using a previously described diazo-coupling reaction19,50. Briefly, gels were washed 3 times in water, twice in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer with 1 mM DTT, and once in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer without DTT. Gels were then incubated in 0.89 mM thiamine-HCl and co-substrate (1.45 mM pyridoxine, 24 mM nicotinic acid, or 20 mM pyridine) in 25 mM sodium phosphate buffer for 10 min. Gels were briefly rinsed in water and placed in a lidded container and incubated at 37 °C for 30 min to allow thiamine degradation by any thiaminases in the gel. The diazo stain19,50 was then applied to detect remaining thiamine in the gel for five minutes with gentle agitation. Stained gels were rinsed with water and photographed, and further stained with Coomassie to visualize proteins. More

Conservationist Jim Groombridge in Hawaii (standing) performing a ‘heli-hook-up’, in which a net full of equipment is hooked up to the hovering helicopter, to save it needing to land.Credit: Jim Groombridge/Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project

Since his undergraduate degree, Jim Groombridge has been part of several teams that work with critically endangered animals, including the Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus), which was brought back from the brink of extinction. But he has also experienced the devastation of some species being lost forever, despite all possible interventions. After receiving his PhD from Queen Mary University of London in 2000, he worked as a project coordinator at the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project in Makawao, Hawaii. Conservation science spans many topics including climate change, working with local communities, epidemiology, genomics and designing protected areas. Projects can range from single-species conservation to ecosystem-level or landscape conservation, such as restoring whole islands. Now a professor in biodiversity conservation at the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology in Canterbury, UK, Groombridge teaches bachelor’s and master’s students about leadership of conservation teams and how to motivate them in the face of setbacks.What is special about leading conservation teams?Conservation field teams are slightly quirky, and those quirks can define what makes a team work well or not. One is that team leaders are rarely trained in management tasks, such as overseeing a budget, interacting with project partners and local governments, dealing with team members who feel passionate about what they do and facing the high stakes involved. Team members are enthusiastic, passionate and seldom motivated by money.Another quirk is that, in a small conservation team of four to six people, there is often a mix of skill sets and experience. You can have highly experienced specialists in a particular area, such as screening parrots for diseases, or reintroduction biology, and you might also have volunteers with only passion and enthusiasm to offer.How do you lead a team with such variable experience?Even with those different levels of expertise, you still need to meet high standards for specimen and data collection. At the moment, for example, I’m sequencing the genome of the pink pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri), using samples collected in the 1990s. There’s a sense of responsibility, especially if you’re working with species that are rare, because if you mess it up, they could go extinct. It’s not unusual to have volunteers with only two or three weeks’ worth of experience handling extremely rare samples or working with valuable data sets. Their learning curve is pretty steep. As a leader, you need to make sure that you understand the details — ranging from tasks such as collecting data and monitoring and recording invasive species to, for example, knowing how to trap a mongoose — so that you can make sure that everyone is collecting the data in the same way.

Jim Groombridge (far left), who studies biodiversity conservation at the University of Kent, UK, with one of the field crews involved in an operation to translocate a bird called the po‘ouli in Hawaii.Credit: Jim Groombridge/Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project

What do team members tend to have in common?They often share a passion for nature. They want to save the environment, they want to save a species from going extinct, they want to make a difference. That level of emotion is important. It creates an energy, which needs to be channelled proactively and positively into the project to make it a success.In 2002, for example, I was leading a team working to save a bird called the po‘ouli (Melamprosops phaeosoma) on the island of Maui, part of the Hawaiian archipelago. We were trying to translocate one of the last known birds into the range of another one to give them the opportunity to breed. There was huge excitement, but after four weeks of failing to catch the bird, there was also a lot of frustration.How do you manage a team with such strong emotions?Morale is really important. So is being able to deal with difficulties when they arise. That’s what gets small teams through tough times. With the po‘ouli, I had to make sure that the team had fun, and that people genuinely enjoyed themselves. That meant taking time out with the team in the evenings and ensuring that everyone had a bit of a laugh, so it wasn’t deadly serious all the time. Also, I made sure that team members got to perform the aspects of the job that they were good at, to increase their confidence and well-being. We eventually trapped the po‘ouli and moved it, but even though the birds were in the same territory, they didn’t breed.How do you manage expectations amid failure?I had to remind the team about the broader picture of what we had achieved. This was the first time anyone had followed the po‘ouli in the forest for ten days. I think we learnt more about the ecology of that species in that time than anyone had learnt in 30 years. We held the translocated bird for about two hours before we released it, and it took food items from us, which showed that the birds could be kept in captivity if necessary. We learnt a huge amount that could be applied to another project.
Treading carefully: saving frankincense trees in Yemen
You have to manage people’s expectations and have goals that are achievable. If you are starting a project on a species with fewer than ten individuals left in the wild, and your goal is to have thousands, that’s a difficult leap of imagination. Instead, perhaps start with finding a food that a species would eat in captivity. People need to remain connected with what’s achievable. There’s a delicate balance between being aspirational and being pragmatic.As a team member, what do you wish more conservation leaders knew?Often, there is too much emphasis placed on the command structure. Innovation in a conservation team is undersold, and easily quashed by a type of line-manager approach. The hierarchy in a team is important because people know what to do and who to report to, but you also have to encourage team members to use their initiative and ask questions. I remember when my team and I were in the cloud forests, tropical mountain regions covered by clouds for most of the year in Hawaii, we were struggling with baiting rats, which prey on eggs and fledglings of native birds. It’s one of the wettest places on Earth, and the rat poison basically turns to cottage cheese. However, one of my colleagues designed a bait box, which kept the bait dry for many weeks. When you’re working with critically endangered species and in field conditions, ingenuity is crucial.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. More

Microbial community composition in cave sedimentsThe ITS1 dataset generated 5,793,980 raw sequence reads, resulting in 5,458,895 gene quality-filtered reads, ranging from 1252 up to 540,803 per sample. After singletons and rare taxa ( More

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Evapotranspiration measurements and above-ground biomassFigure 1 shows daily evapotranspiration (ET, mm day−1) of each CC tested before mowing (DOY, day of the year, 184) and at 2, 8, 17 and 25 days after mowing (DOY 190, 196, 205 and 213); bare soil was also included as a reference. Before mowing, ET rates showed significant differences between and within the three groups. CR plants had a mean ET of 8.1 mm day−1, which was lower, compared to the other two groups (10.6 and 18.6 mm day−1 for GR and LE, respectively) and the bare soil control (8.5 mm day−1). On DOY 184, values as high as 9.4 (Glechoma hederacea L., GH) and 9.8 mm day−1 (Trifolium subterraneum L. cv. Denmark, TS) were found (Fig. 1), while ranging around 7 mm day-1, Dichondra repens J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (DR), Hieracium pilosella L. (HP), and Sagina subulata (Swartz) C. Presl (SS) ET were lower than soil evaporation itself.Figure 1Vertical bars represent the daily water use as referred to unit of soil (ET, mm day−1) for the bare soil (yellow) and all the cover crop species as divided into creeping plants (shades of blue), legumes (shades of green) and grasses (shades of orange). Evapotranspiration was measured though a gravimetric method before (i.e. − 4) and at 2, 8, 17 and 25 days after mowing. ET data are mean values ± SE (n = 4).Full size imageOn the same day, a large ET variation was recorded within the GR group as Festuca arundinacea Schreb. cv. Thor (FA) scored the highest daily ET values (13.4 mm day−1), whereas in Festuca ovina L. cv. Ridu (FO), water loss was reduced by 45% (7.5 mm day−1). Within the 15 CCs, LE registered the highest pre-mowing ET with Trifolium michelianum Savi cv. Bolta (TM) peaking at 22.6 mm day−1. However, within LE, Medicago polymorpha L. cv. Scimitar (MP) showed ET values as low as 12.1 mm day−1 (Fig. 1).Two days after mowing, all tested CCs recorded ET values lower than 9 mm day−1 (Fig. 1). Moreover, water use reduction among LE ranged between 56% (M. polymorpha, MP) and 73% (T. michelianum, TM), such that T. michelianum (TM, 6.1 mm day−1), Medicago truncatula Gaertn. cv. Paraggio (MT, 5.6 mm day−1) and M. polymorpha (MP, 5.2 mm day−1) registered ET values lower than the bare soil (7.0 mm day−1). Even though registering a consistent ET reduction after mowing, GR retained ET rates slightly higher than bare soil, except for F. ovina (FO), which recorded the lowest at 6.3 mm day−1. Subsequent samplings showed that most of the CCs had a progressive recovery in water use (Fig. 1) and data taken 17 days after mowing confirmed that Lotus corniculatus L. cv. Leo (LC) and all GR fetched pre-mowing ET rates. Medicago lupulina L. cv. Virgo (ML) registered a partial recovery with similar rates (about 13 mm day−1) at 17 and 25 days after the mowing event. F. ovina and all remaining LE stayed below 10 mm day−1 with ET values close to the control until the end of the trial. At 17 days from grass cutting, under a quite high exceeding-the-pot biomass, both G. hederacea (GH) and T. subterraneum (TS) reached ET values as high as 12.0 and 11.4 mm day−1, respectively. On the other hand, D. repens (DR), H. pilosella (HP), and S. subulata (SS) even though with slightly higher ET values than those registered at the beginning of the trial (DOY 184), remained close to the soil evaporation rates until DOY 213.Aboveground dry clipped biomass at the first mowing date (ADW_MW1, DOY 188) showed large differences among groups, as represented in Table 1. ADW_MW1 within LE was quite variable, as values ranged between 274.3 g m−2 (M. polymorpha, MP) and 750.0 g m−2 (T. michelianum, TM). With a mean value of 565.9 g m−2, LE aboveground biomass was 80% higher than the mean GR ADW_MW1 (110.2 g m-2). F. ovina (FO) scored the lowest value at 48.4 g m−2 among grasses, while within the creeping group, G. hederacea (GH) and T. subterraneum (TS) had biomass development outside the pot edges totalling 89.6 g m−2 and 23.2 g m−2, respectively.Table 1 Aboveground dry biomass clipped at the first mowing event (ADW _MW1), the corresponding leaf area surface index (LAI) and water use per leaf area unit (ETLEAF) of all cover crops tested.Full size tableLeaf area index (LAI, m2 m−2) at mowing showed the highest values in LE with LAI peaking at 12.4 (Table 1). Among GR, LAI did not show significant differences, being around 1.2. Concerning CR, LAI was assessed at 0.2 and 0.8 for T. subterraneum (TS) and G. hederacea (GH) respectively, while LAI estimated through photo analysis ranged between 1.3 (D. repens, DR) and 3.6 (T. subterraneum TS).Evapotranspiration per leaf area unit (ETLEAF) was notably higher in GR, ranging between 7.75 (F. ovina, FO) and 9.22 (Lolium perenne L. cv. Playfast, LP) mm m−2 day−1 (Table 1). In descending order, ETLEAF was the highest in D. repens (DR, 5.46 mm m−2 day−1). Similar ETLEAF was found when comparing some LE and CR species such as M. truncatula (MT, 3.40 mm m−2 day−1), M. lupulina (ML, 4.05 mm m−2 day−1), G. hederacea (GH, 3.68 mm m−2 day−1), H. pilosella (HP, 3.86 mm m-2 day-1) and T. subterraneum (TS, 2.74 mm m−2 day−1). T. michelianum (TM), with 1.81 mm m-2 day-1 scored the lowest ETLEAF of all species (Table 1).Plotting LAI versus the before-mowing ET yielded a significant quadratic relationship (R2  > 0.76) (Fig. 2a) which helped to distinguish two different data clouds. Till LAI values of about 6, the model was linear, having at its lower end all GR and CR species with the inclusion of M. polymorpha (MP) as a legume, while, at the other end, M. truncatula (MT), L. corniculatus (LC) and M. lupulina (ML) were grouped together. T. michelianum (TM) was isolated from all CCs at 22.56 mm day−1.Figure 2Panel (a): quadratic regression of leaf area index (LAI, m2 m−2) vs cover crop evapotranspiration per unit of soil (ET, mm day−1). Each data point is mean value ± SE (n = 4). The quadratic model equation is y = − 0.128×2 + 2.9968x + 5.4716, R2 = 0.76. Panel (b): the quadratic regression between LAI corresponding to the clipped biomass (m2 m−2) and cover crop ET reduction (%). Each data point is mean value ± SE (n = 4). Quadratic model equation is y = − 0.8985×2 + 16.503x + 5.1491, R2 = 0.94.Full size imageWhen regressing the fraction of ET reduction, compared to pre-mowing values vs LAI (Fig. 2b), the same quadratic model achieved a very close fit (R2 = 0.94, p  1 mm) root diameters as affected by soil cover.Full size tableThe highest values of diameter class length (DCL, mm cm−3) for very fine roots (DCL_VF,  1.0 mm) roots although, most notably, L. corniculatus roots showed the highest abundance for both DCL_M (23.08 cm cm−3) and DCL_C (0.54 cm cm−3).At the 10–20 cm soil depth, GR confirmed the highest values for both very fine and fine roots, with F. arundinacea reaching maximum DCL of 2.269 and 5.215 cm cm-3, respectively (Table 2). L. corniculatus largely outscored any other species for both medium and coarse root diameter (6.173 and 0.037 cm cm−3, respectively), with F. arundinacea ranking second (3.157 and 0.016 cm cm−3, respectively).The highest root dry weight (RDW, mg cm-3) within the topsoil layer was reached by L. corniculatus (8.7 mg cm−3) and F. arundinacea (7.6 mg cm-3). Notably, such values were significantly higher than those recorded on the remaining species, except for the F. arundinacea vs F. rubra commutata comparison (Table 2). At 10–20 depth, scant variation was recorded in RDW measured in grasses, whereas L. corniculatus held its supremacy within legumes (4.5 mg cm−3). Within the creeping type, D. repens (DR) and G. hederacea (GH) scored RDW values as high as those determined for grass species (namely F. arundinacea , P. pratensis and F. rubra commutata), whereas S. subulata (SS) essentially had no root development.Soil aggregates and mean weight diameter (MWD)Table 3 reports the proportional aggregate weight (g kg−1) for both 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths. Compared to bare soil, the largest increase in large macroaggregates (LM,  > 2000 µm) in the top 10 cm of soil was achieved by L. corniculatus with 461 g kg−1. L. corniculatus differed from the rest of the LE group, whose grand mean (90 g kg−1) was the lowest of the three tested groups. As a legume, T. subterraneum (TS, 122 g kg−1) recorded the lowest values compared to fellow CR species, ranging between 211 (D. repens, DR) and 316 g kg−1 (G. hederacea, GH). 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