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Thielsch A, Francesconi C, Luka Boštjančić L, Leeb C, Theissinger K. The functional role of Daphnia in the host-pathogen interaction of crayfish and the crayfish plague disease agent (Aphanomyces astaci). J Invertebr Pathol 2024; 203:108069. [PMID: 38286329 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2024.108069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
Pathogen spores have been recognized as prey with implications for resource dynamics, energy transfer and disease transmission. In aquatic ecosystems, filter-feeders are able to consume such motile forms of pathogens that can cause severe disease in susceptible hosts. The interactions between European crayfish and the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci are of particular conservation interest. In this study, we aim to evaluate the ecological interactions between Ap. astaci, its host Astacus astacus and individuals of the genus Daphnia, filter-feeding planktonic crustaceans. Our focus was on the consumption of the motile zoospores by Daphnia individuals, but we also considered the potential of Daphnia as non-target hosts. We conducted a series of infection and life-history experiments with Ap. astaci, three Daphnia species (D. magna, D. galeata, and D. pulex) and the noble crayfish As. astacus. We did not observe any lethal effects in the infection experiments involving Ap. astaci and Daphnia. Only D. pulex showed differences in some life-history traits. The feeding experiment using the motile zoospores of Ap. astaci as alternative food source or as supplement to different amounts of algal food revealed their nutritional value: D. magna individuals survived, grew, and reproduced on a zoospore diet alone. When zoospores were supplemented to the regular algal diet, all life-history parameters have been significantly improved. However, this successful consumption of zoospores did not result in a reduced mortality of the susceptible crayfish As. astacus during the infection experiment. Nevertheless, the pathogen load of Ap. astaci in the tissues of As. astacus was significantly reduced as a consequence of the feeding activity of Daphnia. Our results indicate that an abundant filter-feeding community can reduce the amount of infective zoospores in the water body and thus be beneficial to susceptible crayfish hosts, potentially acting as a general buffer against zoospore-transmitted diseases in lentic waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Thielsch
- Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Department of Molecular Ecology, Fortstr. 7, 76829 Landau, Germany.
| | - Caterina Francesconi
- Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Department of Molecular Ecology, Fortstr. 7, 76829 Landau, Germany; LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Ljudevit Luka Boštjančić
- Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Department of Molecular Ecology, Fortstr. 7, 76829 Landau, Germany; LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany; Department of Computer Science, ICube, UMR 7357, University of Strasbourg, CNRS, Centre de Recherche en Biomédecine de Strasbourg, Rue Eugène Boeckel 1, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Christoph Leeb
- Austrian Research Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape (BFW), Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8, 1131 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Kathrin Theissinger
- Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Department of Molecular Ecology, Fortstr. 7, 76829 Landau, Germany; LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany.
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Pfenninger M, Doria HB, Nickel J, Thielsch A, Schwenk K, Cordellier M. Spontaneous rate of clonal single nucleotide mutations in Daphnia galeata. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265632. [PMID: 35363773 PMCID: PMC8975155 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutations are the ultimate source of heritable variation and therefore the fuel for evolution, but direct estimates of mutation rates exist only for few species. We estimated the spontaneous single nucleotide mutation rate among clonal generations in the waterflea Daphnia galeata with a short-term mutation accumulation approach. Individuals from eighteen mutation accumulation lines over five generations were deep sequenced to count de novo mutations that were not present in a pool of F1 individuals, representing the parental genotype. We identified 12 new nucleotide mutations in 90 clonal generational passages. This resulted in an estimated single nucleotide mutation rate of 0.745 x 10-9 (95% c.f. 0.39 x 10-9-1.26 x 10-9), which is slightly lower than recent estimates for other Daphnia species. We discuss the implications for the population genetics of Cladocerans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Pfenninger
- Department Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute for Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Halina Binde Doria
- Department Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Jana Nickel
- Institut für Zoologie, Fakultät für Mathematik, Informatik und Naturwissenschaften, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anne Thielsch
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Klaus Schwenk
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Mathilde Cordellier
- Institut für Zoologie, Fakultät für Mathematik, Informatik und Naturwissenschaften, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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van den Berg-Stein S, Hahn HJ, Thielsch A, Schwenk K. Diversity and dispersal of aquatic invertebrate species from surface and groundwater: Development and application of microsatellite markers for the detection of hydrological exchange processes. Water Res 2022; 210:117956. [PMID: 35032894 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater is one of our most important resources, however groundwater ecosystems are among the most understudied habitats of the planet earth. Studies on groundwater organisms are hampered by the difficult accessibility of species, the lack of morphological differentiation and the limitation for laboratory cultures. One important approach to overcome these shortcomings is to provide sensitive genetic methods to unravel patterns of biodiversity, population structure and gene flow in natural populations. In this study we present five sets of microsatellite markers developed for the isopods Asellus aquaticus and Proasellus slavus, the cyclopoides Paracyclops fimbriatus and Acanthocyclops sensitivus and the harpacticoide Bryocamptus echinatus (Crustacea). Two of these species were subjected to detailed population genetic analyses: We studied 501 specimens of Asellus aquaticus from four different regions in Northern Germany using nine microsatellite markers and 70 specimens of Bryocamptus echinatus using nine microsatellite markers from three different sampling sites in South-Western Germany. Our results show that genetic diversity is high (A. aquaticus: 10 to 20 and B. echinatus: 4 to 18 alleles per locus) among populations of aquatic invertebrates, populations are highly differentiated (FST > 0.2) and genetic differentiation was associated with geographic patterns. Applications of molecular genetic methods and their use for the detection of hydrological exchange processes relevant for drinking water suppliers are demonstrated and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne van den Berg-Stein
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences (iES), University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, Landau/Pfalz 76829, Germany; Institute for Groundwater Ecology IGÖ GmbH, University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, Landau/Pfalz 76829, Germany.
| | - Hans Jürgen Hahn
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences (iES), University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, Landau/Pfalz 76829, Germany; Institute for Groundwater Ecology IGÖ GmbH, University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, Landau/Pfalz 76829, Germany
| | - Anne Thielsch
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences (iES), University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, Landau/Pfalz 76829, Germany
| | - Klaus Schwenk
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences (iES), University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Landau, Fortstraße 7, Landau/Pfalz 76829, Germany
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Nickel J, Schell T, Holtzem T, Thielsch A, Dennis SR, Schlick-Steiner BC, Steiner FM, Möst M, Pfenninger M, Schwenk K, Cordellier M. Hybridization Dynamics and Extensive Introgression in the Daphnia longispina Species Complex: New Insights from a High-Quality Daphnia galeata Reference Genome. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6448229. [PMID: 34865004 PMCID: PMC8695838 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Hybridization and introgression are recognized as an important source of variation that influence adaptive processes; both phenomena are frequent in the genus Daphnia, a keystone zooplankton taxon in freshwater ecosystems that comprises several species complexes. To investigate genome-wide consequences of introgression between species, we provide here the first high-quality genome assembly for a member of the Daphnia longispina species complex, Daphnia galeata. We further resequenced 49 whole genomes of three species of the complex and their interspecific hybrids both from genotypes sampled in the water column and from single resting eggs extracted from sediment cores. Populations from habitats with diverse ecological conditions offered an opportunity to study the dynamics of hybridization linked to ecological changes and revealed a high prevalence of hybrids. Using phylogenetic and population genomic approaches, we provide first insights into the intra- and interspecific genome-wide variability in this species complex and identify regions of high divergence. Finally, we assess the length of ancestry tracts in hybrids to characterize introgression patterns across the genome. Our analyses uncover a complex history of hybridization and introgression reflecting multiple generations of hybridization and backcrossing in the Daphnia longispina species complex. Overall, this study and the new resources presented here pave the way for a better understanding of ancient and contemporary gene flow in the species complex and facilitate future studies on resting egg banks accumulating in lake sediment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana Nickel
- Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tilman Schell
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Tania Holtzem
- Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Anne Thielsch
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
| | - Stuart R Dennis
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, EAWAG, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Markus Möst
- Department of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Markus Pfenninger
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics (LOEWE-TBG), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt, Germany.,IoME, Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany
| | - Klaus Schwenk
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
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Thielsch A, Knell A, Mohammadyari A, Petrusek A, Schwenk K. Divergent clades or cryptic species? Mito-nuclear discordance in a Daphnia species complex. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:227. [PMID: 29166859 PMCID: PMC5700674 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-1070-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetically divergent cryptic species are frequently detected by molecular methods. These discoveries are often a byproduct of molecular barcoding studies in which fragments of a selected marker are used for species identification. Highly divergent mitochondrial lineages and putative cryptic species are even detected in intensively studied animal taxa, such as the crustacean genus Daphnia. Recently, eleven such lineages, exhibiting genetic distances comparable to levels observed among well-defined species, were recorded in the D. longispina species complex, a group that contains several key taxa of freshwater ecosystems. We tested if three of those lineages represent indeed distinct species, by analyzing patterns of variation of ten nuclear microsatellite markers in six populations. RESULTS We observed a discordant pattern between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, as all individuals carrying one of the divergent mitochondrial lineages grouped at the nuclear level with widespread, well-recognized species coexisting at the same localities (Daphnia galeata, D. longispina, and D. cucullata). CONCLUSIONS A likely explanation for this pattern is the introgression of the mitochondrial genome of undescribed taxa into the common species, either in the distant past or after long-distance dispersal. The occurrence of highly divergent but rare mtDNA lineages in the gene pool of widespread species would suggest that hybridization and introgression in the D. longispina species complex is frequent even across large phylogenetic distances, and that discoveries of such distinct clades must be interpreted with caution. However, maintenance of ancient polymorphisms through selection is another plausible alternative that may cause the observed discordance and cannot be entirely excluded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Thielsch
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, Molecular Ecology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany.
| | - Alexis Knell
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, Molecular Ecology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
| | - Ali Mohammadyari
- Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Adam Petrusek
- Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Charles University, Prague, Czechia
| | - Klaus Schwenk
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, Molecular Ecology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau in der Pfalz, Germany
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Thielsch A, Glass N, Streit B, Meester LD, Ortells R, Schwenk K. Fitness differences and persistent founder effects determine the clonal composition during population build-up inDaphnia. OIKOS 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.01575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anne Thielsch
- Inst. for Environmental Science, Molecular Ecology, Univ. of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstraße 7 DE-76829 Landau Germany
| | - Nicole Glass
- Dept of Ecology and Evolution; Goethe-Univ. - Biologicum; Max-von-Laue-Straße 13 DE-60438 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Bruno Streit
- Dept of Ecology and Evolution; Goethe-Univ. - Biologicum; Max-von-Laue-Straße 13 DE-60438 Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - Luc De Meester
- Laboratory Aquatic Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, KU Leuven - Univ. of Leuven; Charles Deberiotstraat 32 BE-3000 Leuven Belgium
| | - Raquel Ortells
- Inst. Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Univ. of Valencia; C/Catedrático José Beltrán, 2 ES-46980 Paterna Spain
| | - Klaus Schwenk
- Inst. for Environmental Science, Molecular Ecology, Univ. of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstraße 7 DE-76829 Landau Germany
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Feckler A, Zubrod JP, Thielsch A, Schwenk K, Schulz R, Bundschuh M. Cryptic species diversity: an overlooked factor in environmental management? J Appl Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Feckler
- Institute for Environmental Sciences; University of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstrasse 7 D-76829 Landau Germany
| | - Jochen P. Zubrod
- Institute for Environmental Sciences; University of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstrasse 7 D-76829 Landau Germany
| | - Anne Thielsch
- Institute for Environmental Sciences; University of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstrasse 7 D-76829 Landau Germany
| | - Klaus Schwenk
- Institute for Environmental Sciences; University of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstrasse 7 D-76829 Landau Germany
| | - Ralf Schulz
- Institute for Environmental Sciences; University of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstrasse 7 D-76829 Landau Germany
| | - Mirco Bundschuh
- Institute for Environmental Sciences; University of Koblenz-Landau; Fortstrasse 7 D-76829 Landau Germany
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment; Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; Lennart Hjelms väg 9 SWE-75007 Uppsala Sweden
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Feckler A, Thielsch A, Schwenk K, Schulz R, Bundschuh M. Differences in the sensitivity among cryptic lineages of the Gammarus fossarum complex. Sci Total Environ 2012; 439:158-164. [PMID: 23063922 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2012] [Revised: 08/23/2012] [Accepted: 09/06/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Lineages that are at least superficially morphologically identical but genetically distinct are usually misclassified as a single nominal species and, hence, belong to a cryptic species complex, as for example observed for Gammarus fossarum. Since genetic differentiation between cryptic lineages of the G. fossarum complex is comparable to an interspecific level, deviations in physiological and behavioral characteristics are conceivable. The present study investigates for the first time deviations in the sensitivity between two cryptic G. fossarum lineages - namely lineage A and lineage B. Two size classes of both cryptic lineages were exposed in six independent experiments to different concentrations of the fungicide tebuconazole or the insecticide thiacloprid (each n=20) for seven days. Feeding rate on leaf discs was used as a measure of sensitivity. By combining the outcome of all bioassays in a meta-analysis, cryptic lineage A showed - with an approximate 50% more pronounced decline in feeding - a significantly higher overall sensitivity compared to lineage B (n=17). This was also obvious, when each chemical stressor was considered individually; however, data were not significant for thiacloprid. Although other reasons, like land-use of habitats around sampling sites and physiological characteristics of organisms, could not be excluded as driving factors, the results indicate that affiliation to a cryptic lineage is a potential explanatory variable for the observed deviations in sensitivity. As the present study considered only one population for each cryptic lineage, a final conclusion cannot yet be drawn. Hence, it is recommended to investigate behavioral and physiological deviations between cryptic lineages of the G. fossarum complex in further studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Feckler
- Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstrasse 7, D-76829 Landau, Germany
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Thielsch A, Völker E, Kraus RHS, Schwenk K. Discrimination of hybrid classes using cross-species amplification of microsatellite loci: methodological challenges and solutions in Daphnia. Mol Ecol Resour 2012; 12:697-705. [PMID: 22487563 DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2012.03142.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Microsatellite markers are important tools in population, conservation and forensic studies and are frequently used for species delineation, the detection of hybridization and introgression. Therefore, marker sets that amplify variable DNA regions in two species are required; however, cross-species amplification is often difficult, as genotyping errors such as null alleles may occur. To estimate the level of potential misidentifications based on genotyping errors, we compared the occurrence of parental alleles in laboratory and natural Daphnia hybrids (Daphnia longispina group). We tested a set of 12 microsatellite loci with regard to their suitability for unambiguous species and hybrid class identification using F(1) hybrids bred in the laboratory. Further, a large set of 44 natural populations of D. cucullata, D. galeata and D. longispina (1715 individuals) as well as their interspecific hybrids were genotyped to validate the discriminatory power of different marker combinations. Species delineation using microsatellite multilocus genotypes produced reliable results for all three studied species using assignment tests. Daphnia galeata × cucullata hybrid detection was limited due to three loci exhibiting D. cucullata-specific null alleles, which most likely are caused by differences in primer-binding sites of parental species. Overall, discriminatory power in hybrid detection was improved when a subset of markers was identified that amplifies equally well in both species.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Thielsch
- Molecular Ecology, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Fortstr. 7, 76829 Landau, Germany.
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