Summary: The anthraquinone emodin, identified in 17 plant families distributed worldwide, has numerous biological activities, some of which exhibit a wide spectrum of ecological impacts by mediating biotic or abiotic interactions of plants with their environment. Here the evidence for direct and indirect effects of emodin on plant survival and reproduction is reviewed. Emodin in vegetative organs may help protect plants against herbivores, pathogens, competitors and extrinsic abiotic factors (e.g. high light intensities). In unripe fruit pulp, emodin may facilitate seed dispersal by protecting the immature fruit against predispersal seed predation whereas in ripe pulp it may deter frugivores and thus reduce the chances that seeds will be defecated beneath the parent plant. It also accelerates the passage of seeds through the digestive tract, potentially reducing dispersal distance and increasing seed viability upon dispersal. In certain circumstances both of the last two effects could also have negative fitness consequences for plants. Natural selection should favor secondary metabolites with multiple functions because they protect the plants against a variety of unpredictable biotic and abiotic environments. Such metabolites also enhance plant defenses by using different molecular targets of specific enemies through a variety of mechanisms of action. Emodin illustrates the wide and often overlooked potential for chemical multifunctionality in plant secondary metabolites.

Ovarian endometrioma is a frequent manifestation of endometriosis in women of reproductive age. Several issues related to its space occupying effects, local reactions and surgical removal continue to be actively debated today. The impact of ovarian endometrioma per se on ovarian reserve is still controversial and the effect of ovarian surgery is still actively discussed. Furthermore, the optimal biomarker of ovarian reserve estimation in women with ovarian endometrioma is still under examination. Additionally, there is no consistent agreement on the effect of endometrioma bilaterality on ovarian reserve. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to study the impact of unilateral versus bilateral ovarian endometrioma on ovarian reserve biomarkers before and after endometrioma cystectomy. We performed an extensive electronic database search employing PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov and the Cochrane Library, to identify published research articles published between January 2000 and October 2018. Search terms included endometriotic cyst OR endometrioma OR endometriomata, cystectomy OR resection OR stripping OR removal OR excision and infertility OR subfertility. Only prospective controlled studies that compared the impact of unilateral versus bilateral ovarian endometriotic cystectomy on ovarian reserve tests in the same setting were included. Studies which included cases with PCOS, ovarian failure, early menopause, oral contraception treatment, or prior chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy or ovarian surgery, were excluded from evaluation. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for assessing the quality of studies found eligible for meta-analysis. We registered the systematic review on PROSPERO and its number is CRD42018117170. Twelve studies were eligible for meta-analysis including collectively 783 women: 489 and 294 in the unilateral and bilateral groups, respectively. The included studies had a low risk of bias. The pre-operative weighted mean difference (WMD) showed that serum AMH levels did not differ significantly between the groups. Conversely, AMH levels were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in bilateral groups than in unilateral groups at the early, intermediate and late post-operative periods, corresponding WMDs of 0.78 ng/ml (95% CI: 0.41-1.15), 0.59 ng/ml (95% CI: 0.14-1.04) and 1.08 ng/ml (95% CI: 0.63 to 1.52), respectively. Heterogeneity among eligible studies reporting on before the operation and at the early and intermediate post-operative periods was high. Pre-operative and post-operative AFC values were not significantly different between the groups. The heterogeneity among the studies reporting on AFC was high. Analysis of each of the unilateral and bilateral groups separately showed a significant and sustained serum AMH drop by 39.5% and 57.0%, respectively from baseline to after the operation. Our results challenge the concept that endometrioma per se adversely affects ovarian reserve, whereas endometrioma cystectomy, especially as bilateral operation, has a deleterious and sustained effect on ovarian reserve. AMH seems to be a more appropriate biomarker of ovarian reserve than AFC in cases with endometrioma. Since low AMH implies a shorter reproductive lifespan, excision of endometrioma should be cautiously considered, especially in bilateral cases.

Vibrio cholerae, the etiologic agent of cholera, is autochthonous to various aquatic environments, but despite intensive efforts its ecology remains an enigma. Recently, it was suggested that copepods and chironomids, both considered as natural reservoirs of V. cholerae, are dispersed by migratory waterbirds, thus possibly distributing the bacteria between water bodies within and between continents. Although fish have been implicated in the scientific literature with cholera cases, as far as we know, no study actually surveyed the presence of the bacteria in the fish. Here we show for the first time that fish of various species and habitats contain V. cholerae in their digestive tract. Fish (n = 110) were randomly sampled from freshwater and marine habitats in Israel. Ten different fish species sampled from freshwater habitats (lake, rivers and fish ponds), and one marine species, were found to carry V. cholerae. The fish intestine of Sarotherodon galilaeus harboured ca. 5×10³ V. cholerae cfu per 1 gr intestine content—high rates compared with known V. cholerae cfu numbers in the bacteria's natural reservoirs. Our results, combined with evidence from the literature, suggest that fish are reservoirs of V. cholerae. As fish carrying the bacteria swim from one location to another (some fish species move from rivers to lakes or sea and vice versa), they serve as vectors on a small scale. Nevertheless, fish are consumed by waterbirds, which disseminate the bacteria on a global scale. Moreover, V. cholerae isolates had the ability to degrade chitin, indicating a commensal relationship between V. cholerae and fish. Better understanding of V. cholerae ecology can help reduce the times that human beings come into contact with this pathogen and thus minimize the health risk this poses.