scholarly journals Functional genomics of supergene-controlled behavior in the white-throated sparrow

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W H Holland ◽  
Chris D Jiggins ◽  
Miriam Liedvogel ◽  
Graham Warren ◽  
Yannick Wurm

Supergenes are regions of suppressed recombination that may span hundreds of genes and can control variation in key ecological phenotypes. Since genetic analysis is made impossible by the absence of recombination between genes, it has been difficult to establish how individual genes within these regions contribute to supergene-controlled phenotypes. The white-throated sparrow is a classic example in which a supergene controls behavioral differences as well as distinct coloration that determines mate choice. A landmark study now demonstrates that differences between supergene variants in the promoter sequences of a hormone receptor gene change its expression and control changes in behavior. To unambiguously establish the link between genotype and phenotype, the authors used antisense oligonucleotides to alter the level of gene expression in a focal brain region targeted through a cannula. The study showcases a powerful approach to the functional genomic manipulation of a wild vertebrate species.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 1100-1104
Author(s):  
Hussein Naeem Aldhaheri ◽  
Ihsan Edan AlSaimary ◽  
Murtadha Mohammed ALMusafer

      The Aim of this study was to determine Immunogenetic expression of  Toll-like receptor gene clusters related to prostatitis, to give acknowledge about Role of TLR in prostatitis immunity in men from Basrah and Maysan provinces. A case–control study included 135 confirmed prostatitis patients And 50 persons as a control group. Data about age, marital status, working, infertility, family history and personal information like (Infection, Allergy, Steroid therapy, Residency, Smoking, Alcohol Drinking, Blood group, Body max index (BMI) and the clinical finding for all patients of Prostatitis were collected. This study shows the effect of PSA level in patients with prostatitis and control group, with P-value <0.0001 therefore the study shows a positive significant between elevated PSA levels and Prostatitis.


2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan Herken ◽  
M. Emin Erdal ◽  
Ömer Böke ◽  
Haluk A. Savaş

AbstractBackgroundThe pathophysiology of tardive dyskinesia (TD) is not completely understood.AimTo assess the relationship of TD with 5-HT2A receptor gene, serotonin transporter gene (5 HTT), and catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene polymorphisms.MethodsOur study comprised 111 unrelated subjects who strictly met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia and 32 TD, and 79 healthy unrelated controls; all the subjects were of Turkish origin. The analyses of 5-HT2A receptor gene, 5 HTT gene, and COMT gene polymorphisms were performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique.ResultsThe polymorphisms of these genes were not significantly different between the schizophrenic patients, TD and control subjects.ConclusionsOur findings indicated that 5-HT2A receptor gene, 5 HTT gene, and COMT gene polymorphisms were similar in schizophrenia with non-TD, schizophrenia with TD, and healthy controls. These polymorphisms, though, do not help to evaluate the susceptibility to TD.


2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy Yuk ◽  
Jennifer R. McKelvie ◽  
Myrna J. Simpson ◽  
Manfred Spraul ◽  
André J. Simpson

Environmental context The application of metabolomics from an environmental perspective depends on the analytical ability to discriminate minute changes in the organism resulting from exposure. In this study, 1-D and 2-D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments were examined to characterise the earthworm’s metabolic response to an organochlorine pesticide. 2-D NMR showed considerable improvement in discriminating exposed worms from controls and in identifying the metabolites responsible. This study demonstrates the potential of 2-D NMR in understanding subtle biochemical responses resulting from environmental exposure. Abstract Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) based metabolomics is a powerful approach to monitoring an organism’s metabolic response to environmental exposure. However, the discrimination between exposed and control groups, depends largely on the NMR technique chosen. Here, three 1-D NMR and three 2-D NMR techniques were investigated for their ability to discriminate between control earthworms (Eisenia fetida) and those exposed to a sub-lethal concentration of a commonly occurring organochlorine pesticide, endosulfan. Partial least-squares discriminant analysis found 1H–13C Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence (HSQC) spectroscopy to have the highest discrimination with a MANOVA value (degree of separation) three orders lower than any of the 1-D and 2-D NMR techniques. HSQC spectroscopy identified alanine, leucine, lysine, glutamate, glucose and maltose as the major metabolites of exposure to endosulfan, more than all the other techniques combined. HSQC spectroscopy in combination with a shorter 1-D experiment may prove to be an effective tool for the discrimination and identification of significant metabolites in organisms under environmental stress.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth T. Methratta

Renewable energy, sustainable seafood, and a healthy marine ecosystem are integral elements of a sustainable blue economy. The rapid global advancement of offshore wind coupled with its potential to affect marine life compels an urgent need for robust methodologies to assess the impacts of this industry on fisheries resource species. Basic Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) and Control-Impact (CI) designs are the most common experimental designs used to study the effects of offshore wind development on fisheries resources. These designs do not account for spatial heterogeneity which presents a challenge because empirical evidence shows that impact gradients occur at wind farms, with larger effect sizes close to turbine foundations that attenuate with increasing distance. Combining the before-after sampling design with distance-based methods could provide a powerful approach for characterizing both the spatial and temporal variance associated with wind development. Toward enhancing future monitoring designs for fisheries resource species at offshore wind farms, this paper aims to: (1) examine distance-based sampling methods that have been or could potentially be used to study impacts on fisheries resources at offshore wind farms including distance-stratified BACI, distance-stratified CI, Before-After-Gradient (BAG), and After-Gradient (AG) methods; (2) synthesize the methods and findings of studies conducted to date that have used distance-based methods to examine ecological impacts of offshore wind development for benthic macroinvertebrates, finfish, birds, and small mammals; (3) examine some of the central methodological elements and issues to consider in developing distance-based impact studies; and (4) offer recommendations for how to incorporate distance-based sampling methods into monitoring plans at offshore wind farms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 1105-1109
Author(s):  
Ihsan Edan AlSaimary ◽  
Hussein Naeem Aldhaheri ◽  
Murtadha Mohammed ALMusafer

The Aim of this study was to determine Immunogenetic expression of  Toll-like receptor gene clusters related to prostatitis, to give acknowledge about Role of TLR in prostatitis immunity in men. A case–control study included 135 confirmed prostatitis patients And 50 persons as a control group. Data about age, marital status, working, infertility, family history and personal information like (Infection, Allergy, Steroid therapy, Residency, Smoking, Alcohol Drinking, Blood group, Body max index (BMI) and the clinical finding for all patients of Prostatitis were collected , The molecular expression study include extracting DNA from blood of Prostatitis patients , Prostitis patients and Control group by using specific primers for conventional PCR and Real Time PCR , the amplification of all extracted DNA from blood samples was preform and confirm by using electrophoresis with (100volt/30min).   PCR product was 149bp for TLR7 on agarose gel (1%), (50voltage for 1hour) with a presence 100%. The results of the present study indicate that the Toll like receptor alleles associated with risk of prostatitis.


Author(s):  
Brogan A Amos ◽  
Ary A Hoffmann ◽  
Kyran M Staunton ◽  
Meng-Jia Lau ◽  
Thomas R Burkot ◽  
...  

Abstract Female Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) mosquitoes integrate multiple sensory cues to locate human hosts for blood meals. Although male Ae. aegypti swarm around and land on humans in nature to mate, direct evidence of attraction to humans is limited. Male mosquito attraction to human host cues is often undetectable in confined laboratory assays, leading to a misconception that male mosquitoes are not attracted to humans. We used semifield experiments to demonstrate robust attraction of male Ae. aegypti to humans. Human-baited traps captured up to 25% of released males within 15 min, whereas control traps without humans as bait failed to capture males. Rapid attraction to humans was further demonstrated through videography. Males swarmed around and landed on human subjects, with no activity recorded in paired unbaited controls. Finally, we confirm the lack of discernible male attraction to humans in small laboratory cages. Our experiments demonstrate that both male and female Ae. aegypti show attraction to humans, but with clear sex-specific behavioral differences at short-range. Male mosquito attraction to humans is likely to be important for mating success in wild populations and its basis should be further explored. Our results highlight the importance of arena size and assay design for mosquito behavioral research. A better understanding of host cues that attract males could help us to improve mosquito surveillance and control.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
pp. 864-869
Author(s):  
Anneliese F. Korner ◽  
Ellen M. Ruppel ◽  
Jong M. Rho

With evidence accumulating that the sleep of infants receiving theophylline is sharply reduced, this study tested whether water bed flotation could increase the sleep and attenuate the restlessness of preterm infants treated with theophylline for apnea. Seventeen preterm infants served as their own control, off and on gently oscillating water beds. The infants' sleep and motility were assessed on days 3 and 4 during the experimental and control conditions. While on the water bed, the infants had significantly more quiet and active sleep, shorter sleep latencies, fewer state changes, less restlessness during sleep, less waking activity, and fewer jittery and unsmooth movements. Reductions in wakefulness and state changes on the water bed were significantly greater, the longer the infants were receiving theophylline, but they were unrelated to theophylline levels which, for the group as a whole, were relatively low. Residual apnea was not reduced on the water bed. Although water bed flotation significantly improved the infants' sleep and motility, stable behavioral differences among the infants were observed across the experimental and control conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramsay Soup Teoua Kamdem ◽  
Omonike Ogbole ◽  
Pascal Wafo ◽  
F. Uzor Philip ◽  
Zulfiqar Ali ◽  
...  

Abstract Bacteria and fungi have a high potential to produce compounds that display large structural change and diversity, thus displaying an extensive range of biological activities. Secondary metabolism or specialized metabolism is a term for pathways and small molecule products of metabolism that are not mandatory for the subsistence of the organism but improve and control their phenotype. Their interesting biological activities have occasioned their application in the fields of agriculture, food, and pharmaceuticals. Metabolic engineering is a powerful approach to improve access to these treasured molecules or to rationally engineer new ones. A thorough overview of engineering methods in secondary metabolism is presented, both in heterologous and epigenetic modification. Engineering methods to modify the structure of some secondary metabolite classes in their host are also intensively assessed.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e113364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicky Staes ◽  
Jeroen M. G. Stevens ◽  
Philippe Helsen ◽  
Mia Hillyer ◽  
Marisa Korody ◽  
...  

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