scholarly journals Bronze Age population dynamics and the rise of dairy pastoralism on the eastern Eurasian steppe

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (48) ◽  
pp. E11248-E11255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choongwon Jeong ◽  
Shevan Wilkin ◽  
Tsend Amgalantugs ◽  
Abigail S. Bouwman ◽  
William Timothy Treal Taylor ◽  
...  

Recent paleogenomic studies have shown that migrations of Western steppe herders (WSH) beginning in the Eneolithic (ca. 3300–2700 BCE) profoundly transformed the genes and cultures of Europe and central Asia. Compared with Europe, however, the eastern extent of this WSH expansion is not well defined. Here we present genomic and proteomic data from 22 directly dated Late Bronze Age burials putatively associated with early pastoralism in northern Mongolia (ca. 1380–975 BCE). Genome-wide analysis reveals that they are largely descended from a population represented by Early Bronze Age hunter-gatherers in the Baikal region, with only a limited contribution (∼7%) of WSH ancestry. At the same time, however, mass spectrometry analysis of dental calculus provides direct protein evidence of bovine, sheep, and goat milk consumption in seven of nine individuals. No individuals showed molecular evidence of lactase persistence, and only one individual exhibited evidence of >10% WSH ancestry, despite the presence of WSH populations in the nearby Altai-Sayan region for more than a millennium. Unlike the spread of Neolithic farming in Europe and the expansion of Bronze Age pastoralism on the Western steppe, our results indicate that ruminant dairy pastoralism was adopted on the Eastern steppe by local hunter-gatherers through a process of cultural transmission and minimal genetic exchange with outside groups.

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 596-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Achemchem ◽  
R. Cebrián ◽  
J. Abrini ◽  
M. Martínez-Bueno ◽  
E. Valdivia ◽  
...  

The F420 strain, isolated from raw goat milk and identified as Enterococcus hirae , was selected because of its strong activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including Listeria monocytogenes . Interestingly, the F420 strain lacks the virulence genes and decarboxylase activity of histidine, lysine, and ornithine, and it is susceptible to 11 of 14 tested antibiotics, including vancomycin. The antimicrobial compounds produced by E. hirae F420 strain showed high resistance to heat treatment and to acidic and basic pHs. The MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis coupled with the sequence of peptide and structural gene analysis of one of the purified enterocins showed 100% identity with enterocin P (EntP), previously described in E. faecium strains. The structural gene for EntP is located on a plasmid of 65 kb. Other enterocins with molecular mass higher than 7 kDa were also detected. This is the first report of the production of EntP by E. hirae species naturally occurring in foods. The biotechnological characteristics of the F420 strain and its enterocins indicate their potential for application in the control of L. monocytogenes and other undesirable bacteria in food systems.


F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Felix Leung ◽  
Marcus Q. Bernardini ◽  
Kun Liang ◽  
Ihor Batruch ◽  
Marjan Rouzbahman ◽  
...  

Background: To elucidate potential markers of endometriosis and endometriosis-associated endometrioid and clear cell ovarian carcinomas using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Methods: A total of 21 fresh, frozen tissues from patients diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma, endometrioid carcinoma, endometriosis and benign endometrium were subjected to an in-depth liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis on the Q-Exactive Plus. Protein identification and quantification were performed using MaxQuant, while downstream analyses were performed using Perseus and various bioinformatics databases. Results: Approximately 9000 proteins were identified in total, representing the first in-depth proteomic investigation of endometriosis and its associated cancers. This proteomic data was shown to be biologically sound, with minimal variation within patient cohorts and recapitulation of known markers. While moderate concordance with genomic data was observed, it was shown that such data are limited in their abilities to represent tumours on the protein level and to distinguish tumours from their benign precursors. Conclusions: The proteomic data suggests that distinct markers may differentiate endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma from endometriosis. These markers may be indicators of pathobiology but will need to be further investigated. Ultimately, this dataset may serve as a basis to unravel the underlying biology of the endometrioid and clear cell cancers with respect to their endometriotic origins.


F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Felix Leung ◽  
Marcus Q. Bernardini ◽  
Kun Liang ◽  
Ihor Batruch ◽  
Marjan Rouzbahman ◽  
...  

Background: To elucidate potential markers of endometriosis and endometriosis-associated endometrioid and clear cell ovarian carcinomas using mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Methods: A total of 21 fresh, frozen tissues from patients diagnosed with clear cell carcinoma, endometrioid carcinoma, endometriosis and benign endometrium were subjected to an in-depth liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis on the Q-Exactive Plus. Protein identification and quantification were performed using MaxQuant, while downstream analyses were performed using Perseus and various bioinformatics databases. Results: Approximately 9000 proteins were identified in total, representing the first in-depth proteomic investigation of endometriosis and its associated cancers. This proteomic data was shown to be biologically sound, with minimal variation within patient cohorts and recapitulation of known markers. While moderate concordance with genomic data was observed, it was shown that such data are limited in their abilities to represent tumours on the protein level and to distinguish tumours from their benign precursors. Conclusions: The proteomic data suggests that distinct markers may differentiate endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma from endometriosis. These markers may be indicators of pathobiology but will need to be further investigated. Ultimately, this dataset may serve as a basis to unravel the underlying biology of the endometrioid and clear cell cancers with respect to their endometriotic origins.


1991 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.P. Murphy ◽  
H. Brouwer ◽  
M.E. Fox ◽  
E. Nagy

Abstract Eighty-one sediment cores were collected to determine the extent of coal tar contamination in a toxic area of Hamilton Harbour. Over 800 samples were analyzed by a UV spectrophotometric technique that was standardized with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis. The coal tar distribution was variable. The highest concentrations were near the Stelco outfalls and the Hamilton-Wentworth combined sewer outfalls. The total concentration of the 16 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 48,300 m3 of near-surface sediments exceeded 200 µg/g.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Kanamoto ◽  
Takashi Tachibana ◽  
Yasushi Kitaoka ◽  
Toshio Hisatomi ◽  
Yasuhiro Ikeda ◽  
...  

Purpose. To investigate the effect of ocular hypertension-induced isomerization of aspartic acid in retinal proteins. Methods. Adult Wistar rats with ocular hypertension were used as an experimental model. D-β-aspartic acid-containing proteins were isolated by SDS-PAGE and western blot with an anti-D-β-aspartic acid antibody and identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The concentration of ATP was measured by ELISA. Results. D-β-aspartic acid was expressed in a protein band at around 44.5 kDa at much higher quantities in the retinas of rats with ocular hypertension than in those of normotensive rats. The 44.5 kDa protein band was mainly composed of α-enolase, S-arrestin, and ATP synthase subunits α and β, in both the ocular hypertensive and normotensive retinas. Moreover, increasing intraocular pressure was correlated with increasing ATP concentrations in the retinas of rats. Conclusion. Ocular hypertension affected the expression of proteins containing D-β-aspartic acid, including ATP synthase subunits, and up-regulation of ATP in the retinas of rats.


Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Immacolata Faraone ◽  
Daniela Russo ◽  
Lucia Chiummiento ◽  
Eloy Fernandez ◽  
Alka Choudhary ◽  
...  

The genus Minthostachys belonging to the Lamiaceae family, and is an important South American mint genus used commonly in folk medicine as an aroma in cooking. The phytochemical-rich samples of the aerial parts of Minthostachys diffusa Epling. were tested for pharmacological and health-promoting bioactivities using in vitro chemical and enzymatic assays. A range of radical scavenging activities of the samples against biological radicals such as nitric oxide and superoxide anion and against synthetic 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radicals, the ferric reducing antioxidant power and the lipid peroxidation inhibition were determined and ranked using the ‘relative antioxidant capacity index’ (RACI). The ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest RACI of +1.12. Analysis of the various fractions’ inhibitory ability against enzymes involved in diabetes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), and against enzymes associated with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diseases (acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase) also suggested that the ethyl acetate fraction was the most active. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the ethyl acetate fraction showed more than 30 polyphenolic compounds, including triterpenes. The inhibitory cholinesterase effects of the triterpenes identified from M. diffusa were further analysed by in silico docking of these compounds into 3D-structures of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. This is the first study on pharmacological activities and phytochemical profiling of the aerial parts of M. diffusa, showing that this plant, normally used as food in South America, is also rich in health-promoting phytochemicals.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document