scholarly journals Revisiting traditional SSR based methodologies available for elephant genetic studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. L. R. P. Marasinghe ◽  
R. M. R. Nilanthi ◽  
H. A. B. M. Hathurusinghe ◽  
M. G. C. Sooriyabandara ◽  
C. H. W. M. R. B. Chandrasekara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microsatellite Markers ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Degraded Samples ◽  
Wet Lab

AbstractAsian elephant (Elephas maximus) plays a significant role in natural ecosystems and it is considered as an endangered animal. Molecular genetics studies on elephants’ dates back to 1990s. Microsatellite markers have been the preferred choice and have played a major role in ecological, evolutionary and conservation research on elephants over the past 20 years. However, technical constraints especially related to the specificity of traditionally developed microsatellite markers have brought to question their application, specifically when degraded samples are utilized for analysis. Therefore, we analyzed the specificity of 24 sets of microsatellite markers frequently used for elephant molecular work. Comparative wet lab analysis was done with blood and dung DNA in parallel with in silico work. Our data suggest cross-amplification of unspecific products when field-collected dung samples are utilized in assays. The necessity of Asian elephant specific set of microsatellites and or better molecular techniques are highlighted.

scholarly journals Mining of microsatellites in mitochondrial genomes of order Hypnales (Bryopsida)

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (sp1) ◽  
pp. 635-638
Author(s):  
Khushbu Anand ◽  
Sonu Kumar ◽  
Afroz Alam ◽  
Asheesh Shankar
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Microsatellite Markers ◽  
Species Identification ◽  
In Silico ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Average Density ◽  
Computational Approach ◽  
Mitochondrial Genomes ◽  
Genetic Studies ◽  
Nucleotide Repeats

Microsatellites or SSRs are the markers of selection due to their reproducibility, degree of polymorphism, distribution throughout the genome and co-dominant nature. Microsatellites are used primarily to study the genetic variability in various species and marker aided selection. Since microsatellites can be readily amplified by PCR, they have been utilized most extensively. To reduce time and cost to a great extent, the computational approach for identifying and developing microsatellite markers by mining nucleotide sequences is preferred over the conventional methods. In the present analysis, an in-silico method was used to detect microsatellites effectively in mitochondrial genomes of Anomodon rugelii (Müll. Hal.) Keissl., Anomodon attenuatus (Hedw.) Hueb., Climacium americanum (Renauld & Cardot) Kindberg, and Hypnum imponens Hedw. (Bryopsida; Hypnales). A total of 101 perfect microsatellites were mined with an average density of 1 microsatellite/4.21 kb. The hexa-nucleotide repeats were not detected in mitochondrial genomes of studied taxa. Di-nucleotides were seen to be the most frequent repeats followed by tetra-nucleotides. The identified microsatellites were also checked for variability in length between species. The mined microsatellites will be used for gene tagging, species identification and population genetic studies.

scholarly journals Translating Molecular Profiling of Soft Tissue Sarcomas into Daily Clinical Practice

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 512
Author(s):  
Celine Jacobs ◽  
Lore Lapeire
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽  
Molecular Profiling ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Mesenchymal Tumors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cancer Types ◽  
Sarcoma Treatment

Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of rare mesenchymal tumors with more than 70 subtypes described. Treatment of these subtypes in an advanced setting is mainly according to a one-size-fits-all strategy indicating a high unmet need of new and more targeted therapeutic options in order to optimize survival. The introduction of advanced molecular techniques in cancer has led to better diagnostics and identification of new therapeutic targets, leading to more personalized treatment and improved prognosis for several cancer types. In sarcoma, a likewise evolution is seen, albeit at a slower pace. This manuscript describes how in the past years advanced molecular profiling in soft tissue sarcomas was able to identify specific and often pathognomonic aberrations, deferring standard sarcoma treatment in favor of more targeted treatment from an oncologist’s point of view.

scholarly journals Social structure and demography of a remnant Asian elephant Elephas maximus population and the implications for survival

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Lauren J. Hale ◽  
Kun Shi ◽  
Tania C. Gilbert ◽  
Kelvin S.-H. Peh ◽  
Philip Riordan
Keyword(s):  
Social Structure ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Effective Density ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Sex Ratio Bias ◽  
Elephant Population

Abstract The Asian elephant Elephas maximus is at risk of extinction as a result of anthropogenic pressures, and remaining populations are often small and fragmented remnants, occupying a fraction of the species' former range. Once widely distributed across China, only a maximum of 245 elephants are estimated to survive across seven small populations. We assessed the Asian elephant population in Nangunhe National Nature Reserve in Lincang Prefecture, China, using camera traps during May–July 2017, to estimate the population size and structure of this genetically important population. Although detection probability was low (0.31), we estimated a total population size of c. 20 individuals, and an effective density of 0.39 elephants per km2. Social structure indicated a strong sex ratio bias towards females, with only one adult male detected within the population. Most of the elephants associated as one herd but three adult females remained separate from the herd throughout the trapping period. These results highlight the fragility of remnant elephant populations such as Nangunhe and we suggest options such as a managed metapopulation approach for their continued survival in China and more widely.

Bare Nature

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Shields
Keyword(s):  
Direct Costs ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Implicit Relation ◽  
Personal Cost ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Status

This article considers the ethical implications of a stance toward or relation with the natural environment that could be characterized as dominant across many sectors of not only the economy but consumption patterns generally. Despite popular perception or denial of climate change over the past decades, this is an implicit relation toward the collateral risks and damages to ecosystems by human activity. Not only are livelihoods sustained on the basis of natural resources but the direct costs of hydrocarbon development are borne locally in the environment. For some, this is understood to be without a personal cost despite the fears expressed. The article quotes from interviews with residents. It stages a broader, continuing conversation about the ambivalence of being dependent on hydrocarbons. This article explores the difficulty of developing an ethical engagement with the nonhuman and natural ecosystems when they are relegated to the status of what will be referred to as “bare nature.” Rather than state of exception or standing reserve, nonhuman nature is only present as a form of absence and as nonentities and does not present an ethical challenge or claim.

scholarly journals Acute and Fatal Herpesvirus Infection in a Young Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)

1990 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Ossent ◽  
F. Guscetti ◽  
A. E. Metzler ◽  
E. M. Lang ◽  
A. Rübel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Herpesvirus Infection

SUPRESSION OF TESTICULAR FUNCTION IN A MALE ASIAN ELEPHANT (ELEPHAS MAXIMUS) TREATED WITH GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE VACCINES

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 611-619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imke Lueders ◽  
Thomas Bernd Hildebrandt ◽  
Charles Gray ◽  
Stephan Botha ◽  
Peter Rich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Elephas Maximus ◽  
Testicular Function ◽  
Releasing Hormone

Landscape-scale disturbances and regeneration in semi-arid woodlands of southwestern Australia

1994 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin J. Yates ◽  
Richard J. Hobbs ◽  
Richard W. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Eucalyptus Species ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Fragmented Landscapes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Adult Tree ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Semi Arid

Woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus salmonophloia occur both in the fragmented landscapes of the Western Australian wheatbelt and in the adjacent unfragmented goldfields area. We examined the responses of the unfragmented woodlands to landscape-scale disturbances caused by fire, floods, windstorms and drought. Sites known to have experienced disturbances of these types over the past 50 years all had cohorts of sapling-stage E. salmonophloia and other dominant Eucalyptus species. Sites disturbed either by fire, flood or storm during 1991-92 displayed adult tree mortality and extensive seedling establishment, although rates of establishment and survival varied between sites. No regeneration was observed at equivalent undisturbed sites. These results indicate that landscape-scale disturbances of several types are important drivers of the dynamics of these semi-arid woodlands. Lack of regeneration of fragmented woodlands in the wheatbelt is likely to be due to changed disturbance regimes coupled with altered physical and biotic conditions within remnants. We argue that it may be difficult to identify processes which are important for the long-term persistence of natural ecosystems in fragmented landscapes without reference to equivalent unfragmented areas.

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