Electrophoretic variation in large mammals

HP766, discovered by the Gdansk Archaeological Museum Expedition (GAME) in the region immediately upstream the Merowe Dam in North Sudan and now under water, is one of the few palaeolithic sites with animal bone remains in the country. The archaeological deposits, the large size of the site, the lithics and the radiocarbon dates indicate occupation of a silt terrace of the Nile in late MSA and perhaps LSA times. Large and very large mammals predominate markedly among the recovered bone remains and it would seem that the palaeolithic hunters focused on such game. They could corner these animals on the site which is partially surrounded by high bedrock outcrops. Moreover swampy conditions of the site after the retreat of the annual Nile flood may have rendered less mobile the prey animals. According to this scenario, HP766 would testify to the ecological skills and generational memory of late prehistoric man in Sudan.

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Balancing Selection on Electrophoretic Variation of Phosphoglucose Isomerase in Two Species of Field Cricket: Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/147.2.609 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 147 (2) ◽

pp. 609-621

Author(s):

Laura A Katz ◽

Richard G Harrison

Keyword(s):

Balancing Selection ◽

Emergent Property ◽

Phosphoglucose Isomerase ◽

Field Cricket ◽

Nucleotide Variation ◽

Eastern United States ◽

Electrophoretic Variation ◽

Sympatric Populations ◽

Field Crickets ◽

Gryllus Veletis

Two species of crickets, Gryllus veletis and G. pennsylvanicus, share six electrophoretic mobility classes for the enzyme phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), despite evidence from other genetic markers that the two species are not closely related within eastern North American field crickets. Moreover, the frequencies of the two most common PGI electrophoretic classes (PGI-100 and PGI-65) covary in sympatric populations of these species in the eastern United States, suggesting that PGI may be subject to trans-specific balancing selection. To determine the molecular basis of the electrophoretic variation, we characterized the DNA sequence of the Pgi gene from 29 crickets (15 G. veletis and 14 G. pennsylvanicus). Amino acid substitutions that distinguish the electrophoretic classes are not the same in the two species, and there is no evidence that specific replacement substitutions represent trans-specific polymorphism. In particular, the amino acids that diagnose the PGI-65 allele relative to the PGI-100 allele differ both between G. veletis and G. pennsylvanicus and within G. pennsylvanicus. The heterogeneity among electrophoretic classes that covary in sympatric populations coupled with analysis of patterns of nucleotide variation suggest that Pgi is not evolving neutrally. Instead, the data are consistent with balancing selection operating on an emergent property of the PGI protein.

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INTRACISTRONIC MAPPING OF ELECTROPHORETIC SITES IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER: FIDELITY OF INFORMATION TRANSFER BY GENE CONVERSION

Genetics ◽

10.1093/genetics/76.2.289 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 76 (2) ◽

pp. 289-299

Author(s):

Margaret McCarron ◽

William Gelbart ◽

Arthur Chovnick

Keyword(s):

Drosophila Melanogaster ◽

Information Transfer ◽

Large Scale ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Xanthine Dehydrogenase ◽

Specific Protein ◽

Wild Type ◽

Electrophoretic Variation ◽

The Stability ◽

Recombination Experiments

ABSTRACT A convenient method is described for the intracistronic mapping of genetic sites responsible for electrophoretic variation of a specific protein in Drosophila melanogaster. A number of wild-type isoalleles of the rosy locus have been isolated which are associated with the production of electrophoretically distinguishable xanthine dehydrogenases. Large-scale recombination experiments were carried out involving null enzyme mutants induced on electrophoretically distinct wild-type isoalleles, the genetic basis for which is followed as a nonselective marker in the cross. Additionally, a large-scale recombination experiment was carried out involving null enzyme rosy mutants induced on the same wild-type isoallele. Examination of the electrophoretic character of crossover and convertant products recovered from the latter experiment revealed that all exhibited the same parental electrophoretic character. In addition to documenting the stability of the xanthine dehydrogenase electrophoretic character, this observation argues against a special mutagenesis hypothesis to explain conversions resulting from allele recombination studies.

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Preclinical trial of a MAP4K4 inhibitor to reduce infarct size in the pig: does cardioprotection in human stem cell-derived myocytes predict success in large mammals?

Basic Research in Cardiology ◽

10.1007/s00395-021-00875-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 116 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maaike te Lintel Hekkert ◽

Gary Newton ◽

Kathryn Chapman ◽

Rehan Aqil ◽

Robert Downham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cell ◽

Infarct Size ◽

Clinical Success ◽

Heart Tissue ◽

Balloon Occlusion ◽

Large Mammals ◽

Preclinical Trial ◽

Large Mammal ◽

Lv Mass ◽

Technical Issues

AbstractReducing infarct size (IS) by interfering with mechanisms for cardiomyocyte death remains an elusive goal. DMX-5804, a selective inhibitor of the stress-activated kinase MAP4K4, suppresses cell death in mouse myocardial infarction (MI), human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs), and 3D human engineered heart tissue, whose fidelity to human biology is hoped to strengthen the route to clinical success. Here, DMX-10001, a soluble, rapidly cleaved pro-drug of DMX-5804, was developed for i.v. testing in large-mammal MI. Following pharmacodynamic studies, a randomized, blinded efficacy study was performed in swine subjected to LAD balloon occlusion (60 min) and reperfusion (24 h). Thirty-six animals were enrolled; 12 were excluded by pre-defined criteria, death before infusion, or technical issues. DMX-10001 was begun 20 min before reperfusion (30 min, 60 mg/kg/h; 23.5 h, 17 mg/kg/h). At all times tested, beginning 30 min after the start of infusion, DMX-5804 concentrations exceeded > fivefold the levels that rescued hPSC-CMs and reduced IS in mice after oral dosing with DMX-5804 itself. No significant reduction occurred in IS or no-reflow corrected for the area at ischemic risk, even though DMX-10001 reduced IS, expressed in grams or % of LV mass, by 27%. In summary, a rapidly cleaved pro-drug of DMX-5804 failed to reduce IS in large-mammal MI, despite exceeding the concentrations for proven success in both mice and hPSC-CMs.

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Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030290 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 290

Author(s):

Giacomo Cremonesi ◽

Francesco Bisi ◽

Lorenzo Gaffi ◽

Thet Zaw ◽

Hla Naing ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Disturbance ◽

Daily Activity ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Circular Statistics ◽

Large Mammals ◽

Human Presence ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Status ◽

Statistical Approaches

The effects of human disturbance represent one of the major threats for wildlife conservation. Many studies have shown that wildlife avoids or reduces direct contact with human activities through changes in activity patterns, and by minimizing spatiotemporal overlap. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of human presence on the temporal activity of medium-to-large mammals using two areas in Myanmar that differ in the intensity of human disturbance. We monitored temporal segregation mechanisms using camera trapping data and with two statistical approaches: daily activity overlaps between humans and wildlife and circular statistics. We did not find a significant difference in overlapping activity between areas but, thanks to circular statistics, we found that some species show changes in activity patterns, suggesting temporal avoidance. We observed that the daily activity of five species differed between areas of Myanmar, likely adopting mechanisms to reduce overlap in areas highly frequented by humans. Interestingly, these species are all threatened by hunting or poaching activities, four of which have been described in literature as “cathemeral”, or species that are active through day and night. This study suggests that some species adapt their behavior, at least partially, to avoid human presence in habitats with higher anthropic occurrence and increase our knowledge on the status of medium–large mammals in a poorly studied country as Myanmar.

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Urinary suPAR: a non-invasive biomarker of infection and tissue inflammation for use in studies of large free-ranging mammals

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.191825 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 191825 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James P. Higham ◽

Christiane Stahl-Hennig ◽

Michael Heistermann

Keyword(s):

Immune Activation ◽

Rhesus Macaques ◽

Soluble Form ◽

Surgical Trauma ◽

Large Mammals ◽

Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor ◽

Different Temperatures ◽

Processing And Storage ◽

Cellular Immune ◽

Free Ranging

Studies of large free-ranging mammals incorporating physiological measurements typically require the collection of urine or faecal samples, due to ethical and practical concerns over trapping or darting animals. However, there is a dearth of validated biomarkers of immune activation and inflammation that can be measured non-invasively. We here evaluate the utility of urinary measurements of the soluble form of the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR), for use as a health marker in studies of wild large mammals. We investigate how urinary suPAR concentrations change in response to viral infection and surgical trauma (inflammation), comparing it to the measurement of a marker of cellular immune activation, urinary neopterin (uNEO), in captive rhesus macaques. We then test the field utility of urinary suPAR, assessing the effects of soil and faecal contamination, sunlight, storage at different temperatures, freeze–thaw cycles, and lyophilization. We find that suPAR concentrations rise markedly in response to both infection and surgery-associated inflammation, unlike uNEO concentrations, which only rise in response to the former. Our field validation demonstrates that urinary suPAR is reasonably robust to many of the issues associated with field collection, sample processing, and storage, as long as samples can be stored in a freezer. Urinary suPAR is thus a promising biomarker applicable for monitoring various aspects of health in wild primates and potentially also other large mammals.

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