scholarly journals Lower promoter activity of the ST8SIA2 gene has been favored in evolving human collective brains

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0259897
Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Hayakawa ◽  
Masahiro Terahara ◽  
Naoko T. Fujito ◽  
Takumi Matsunaga ◽  
Kosuke M. Teshima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Promoter Activity ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Ancestral Population ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Type Composition ◽  
Genetic Tuning ◽  
Anatomically Modern Humans ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Selective Increase

ST8SIA2 is an important molecule regulating expression of the phenotype involved in schizophrenia. Lowered promoter activity of the ST8SIA2 gene is considered to be protective against schizophrenia by conferring tolerance to psychosocial stress. Here, we examined the promoter-type composition of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and archaic humans (AHs; Neanderthals and Denisovans), and compared the promoter activity at the population level (population promoter activity; PPA) between them. In AMHs, the TCT-type, showing the second lowest promoter activity, was most prevalent in the ancestral population of non-Africans. However, the detection of only the CGT-type from AH samples and recombination tracts in AH sequences showed that the CGT- and TGT-types, exhibiting the two highest promoter activities, were common in AH populations. Furthermore, interspecies gene flow occurred into AMHs from AHs and into Denisovans from Neanderthals, influencing promoter-type compositions independently in both AMHs and AHs. The difference of promoter-type composition makes PPA unique in each population. East and Southeast Asian populations show the lowest PPA. This results from the selective increase of the CGC-type, showing the lowest promoter activity, in these populations. Every non-African population shows significantly lower PPA than African populations, resulting from the TCT-type having the highest prevalence in the ancestral population of non-Africans. In addition, PPA reduction is also found among subpopulations within Africa via a slight increase of the TCT-type. These findings indicate a trend toward lower PPA in the spread of AMHs, interpreted as a continuous adaptation to psychosocial stress arising in migration. This trend is considered as genetic tuning for the evolution of collective brains. The inferred promoter-type composition of AHs differed markedly from that of AMHs, resulting in higher PPA in AHs than in AMHs. This suggests that the trend toward lower PPA is a unique feature in AMH spread.

scholarly journals Lower promoter activity of the ST8SIA2 gene has been favored in evolving human collective brains

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshiyuki Hayakawa ◽  
Masahiro Terahara ◽  
Naoko Fujito ◽  
Takumi Matsunaga ◽  
Kosuke Teshima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Promoter Activity ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Ancestral Population ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Type Composition ◽  
Genetic Tuning ◽  
Anatomically Modern Humans ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Selective Increase

ST8SIA2 is the main factor regulating expression of the phenotype involved in schizophrenia. Lowered promoter activity of the ST8SIA2 gene is considered to be protective against schizophrenia by conferring tolerance to psychosocial stress. Here, we examined the promoter type composition of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and archaic humans (AHs; Neanderthals and Denisovans), and compared the promoter activity at the population level (population promoter activity; PPA) between them. In AMHs, the TCT-type, showing the second lowest promoter activity, was most prevalent in the ancestral population of non-Africans. However, the detection of only the CGT-type from AH samples and recombination tracts in AH sequences showed that the CGT- and TGT-types, exhibiting the two highest promoter activities, were common in AH populations. Furthermore, interspecies gene flow occurred into AMHs from AHs and into Denisovans from Neanderthals, influencing promoter-type compositions independently in both AMHs and AHs. The difference of promoter-type composition makes PPA unique in each population. East and Southeast Asian populations show the lowest PPA. This results from the selective increase of the CGC-type, showing the lowest promoter activity, in these populations. Every non-African population shows significantly lower PPA than African populations, resulting from the TCT-type having the highest prevalence in the ancestral population of non-Africans. In addition, PPA reduction is also found among subpopulations within Africa via a slight increase of the TCT-type. These findings indicate a trend toward lower PPA in the spread of AMHs, interpreted as a continuous adaptation to psychosocial stress arising in migration. This trend is considered as genetic tuning for the evolution of collective brains. The inferred promoter-type composition of AHs differed markedly from that of AMHs, resulting in higher PPA in AHs than in AMHs. This suggests that the trend toward lower PPA is a unique feature in AMH spread.

Cranial crassicaudiasis in two coastal dolphin species from South Africa is predominantly a disease of immature individuals

2020 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
MF Van Bressem ◽  
P Duignan ◽  
JA Raga ◽  
K Van Waerebeek ◽  
N Fraijia-Fernández ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Bone Development ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Fatal Outcome ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Cape Coast ◽  
Osteolytic Lesions ◽  
Immune Mediated ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference

Crassicauda spp. (Nematoda) infest the cranial sinuses of several odontocetes, causing diagnostic trabecular osteolytic lesions. We examined skulls of 77 Indian Ocean humpback dolphins Sousa plumbea and 69 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins Tursiops aduncus, caught in bather-protecting nets off KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) from 1970-2017, and skulls of 6 S. plumbea stranded along the southern Cape coast in South Africa from 1963-2002. Prevalence of cranial crassicaudiasis was evaluated according to sex and cranial maturity. Overall, prevalence in S. plumbea and T. aduncus taken off KZN was 13 and 31.9%, respectively. Parasitosis variably affected 1 or more cranial bones (frontal, pterygoid, maxillary and sphenoid). No significant difference was found by gender for either species, allowing sexes to be pooled. However, there was a significant difference in lesion prevalence by age, with immature T. aduncus 4.6 times more likely affected than adults, while for S. plumbea, the difference was 6.5-fold. As severe osteolytic lesions are unlikely to heal without trace, we propose that infection is more likely to have a fatal outcome for immature dolphins, possibly because of incomplete bone development, lower immune competence in clearing parasites or an over-exuberant inflammatory response in concert with parasitic enzymatic erosion. Cranial osteolysis was not observed in mature males (18 S. plumbea, 21 T. aduncus), suggesting potential cohort-linked immune-mediated resistance to infestation. Crassicauda spp. may play a role in the natural mortality of S. plumbea and T. aduncus, but the pathogenesis and population level impact remain unknown.

The opposite and antagonistic effects of the closely related POU family transcription factors Brn-3a and Brn-3b on the activity of a target promoter are dependent on differences in the POU domain

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 6907-6914
Author(s):  
P J Morris ◽  
T Theil ◽  
C J Ring ◽  
K A Lillycrop ◽  
T Moroy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Promoter Activity ◽  
Group Iv ◽  
Promoter Activation ◽  
Antagonistic Effects ◽  
Pou Domain ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Target Promoter

The Brn-3a, Brn-3b, and Brn-3c POU family transcription factors are closely related to one another and are members of the group IV subfamily of POU factors. Here we show that despite this close relationship, the factors have different effects on the activity of a target promoter: Brn-3a and Brn-3c stimulate the promoter whereas Brn-3b represses it. Moreover, Brn-3b can antagonize the stimulatory effect of Brn-3a on promoter activity and can also inhibit promoter activation by the Oct-2.1 POU factor. The difference in the transactivation activities of Brn-3a and Brn-3b is dependent upon the C-terminal region containing the POU domain of the two proteins, since exchange of this domain between the two factors converts Brn-3a into a repressor and Brn-3b into an activator.

scholarly journals Diversity Scaling of Human Digestive Tract (DT) Microbiomes: The Intra-DT and Inter-individual Patterns

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongju (Daisy) Chen ◽  
Bin Yi ◽  
Qiang Liu ◽  
Xia Xu ◽  
Lin Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digestive Tract ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Individual Heterogeneity ◽  
Scaling Parameter ◽  
Genus Richness ◽  
Species Area ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Human Digestive Tract ◽  
Biodiversity Changes

The human gut microbiome has been extensively studied, but its diversity scaling (changes or heterogeneities) along the digestive tract (DT) as well as their inter-individual heterogeneities have not been adequately addressed to the best of our knowledge. Here we fill the gap by applying the diversity-area relationship (DAR), a recent extension to the classic species-area relationship (SAR) in biogeography, by reanalyzing a dataset of over 2000 16s-rRNA microbiome samples obtained from 10 DT sites of over 200 individuals. We sketched out the biogeography “maps” for each of the 10 DT sites by cross-individual DAR analysis, and the intra-DT distribution pattern by cross-DT-site DAR analysis. Regarding the inter-individual biogeography, it was found that all DT sites have the invariant (constant) scaling parameter—all sites possessing the same diversity change rate across individuals, but most sites have different potential diversities, which include the portions of diversity that may be absent locally but present regionally. In the case of this study, the potential diversity of each DT site covers the total diversity of the respective site from all individuals in the cohort. In terms of the genus richness, an average individual hosts approximately 20% of the population-level genus richness (total bacterial genus of a human population). In contrast, in terms of community biodiversity, the percentages of individual over population may exceed 90%. This suggests that the differences between individuals in their DT microbiomes are predominantly in the composition of bacterial species, rather than how their abundances are distributed (i.e., biodiversity). Regarding the intra-DT patterns, the scaling parameter (z) is larger—suggesting that the intra-DT biodiversity changes are larger than inter-individual changes. The higher intra-DT heterogeneity of bacteria diversity, as suggested by larger intra-DT z than the inter-individual heterogeneity, should be expected since the intra-DT heterogeneity reflects the functional differentiations of the DT tract, while the inter-individual heterogeneity (z) reflects the difference of the same DT site across individuals. On average, each DT site contains 21–36% of the genus diversity of the whole DT, and the percentages are even higher in terms of higher taxon levels.

scholarly journals Ancient Jomon genome sequence analysis sheds light on migration patterns of early East Asian populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Gakuhari ◽  
Shigeki Nakagome ◽  
Simon Rasmussen ◽  
Morten E. Allentoft ◽  
Takehiro Sato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Genome Sequence ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Whole Genome Sequence ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Anatomically Modern Humans ◽  
History Of ◽  
Northeast Asian

AbstractAnatomically modern humans reached East Asia more than 40,000 years ago. However, key questions still remain unanswered with regard to the route(s) and the number of wave(s) in the dispersal into East Eurasia. Ancient genomes at the edge of the region may elucidate a more detailed picture of the peopling of East Eurasia. Here, we analyze the whole-genome sequence of a 2,500-year-old individual (IK002) from the main-island of Japan that is  characterized with a typical Jomon culture. The phylogenetic analyses support multiple waves of migration, with IK002 forming a basal lineage to the East and Northeast Asian genomes examined, likely representing some of the earliest-wave migrants who went north from Southeast Asia to East Asia. Furthermore, IK002 shows strong genetic affinity with the indigenous Taiwan aborigines, which may support a coastal route of the Jomon-ancestry migration. This study highlights the power of ancient genomics to provide new insights into the complex history of human migration into East Eurasia.

scholarly journals Association between body mass index (BMI) and hypertension in south Asian population: evidence from nationally-representative surveys

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Binte Hossain ◽  
Gourab Adhikary ◽  
Ariful Bari Chowdhury ◽  
Md Shajedur Rahman Shawon
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Wealth Index ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
National Committee ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations

Abstract Background Although there has been a well-established association between overweight-obesity and hypertension, whether such associations are heterogeneous for South Asian populations, or for different socioeconomic groups is not well-known. We explored the associations of overweight and obesity using South Asian cut-offs with hypertension, and also examined the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and hypertension in various socioeconomic subgroups. Methods We analysed the recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, with a total of 821,040 men and women. Hypertension was defined by 2017 ACC/AHA cut-offs and by Joint National Committee 7 (JNC7) cut-offs for measured blood pressure and overweight and obesity were defined by measured height and weight. We used multiple logistic regressions to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of hypertension for overweight and obesity as well as for each 5-unit increase in BMI. Results The prevalence of hypertension using JNC7 cut-offs among participants increased by age in all three countries. The prevalence ranged from 17.4% in 35–44 years to 34.9% in ≥55 years in Bangladesh, from 4.6% in 18–24 years to 28.6% in 45–54 years in India, and from 3.8% in 18–24 years to 39.2% in ≥55 years in Nepal. Men were more likely to be hypertensive than women in India and Nepal, but not in Bangladesh. Overweight and obesity using both WHO and South Asian cut-offs were associated with higher odds of hypertension in all countries. For each 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI, the ORs for hypertension were 1.79 (95% CI: 1.65–1.93), 1.59 (95% CI: 1.58–1.61), and 2.03 (95% CI: 1.90–2.16) in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, respectively. The associations between BMI and hypertension were consistent across various subgroups defined by sex, age, urbanicity, educational attainment and household’s wealth index. Conclusions Our study shows that the association of BMI with hypertension is stronger for South Asian populations at even lower cut-offs points for overweight and obesity. Therefore, public health measures to reduce population-level reduction in BMI in all population groups would also help in lowering the burden of hypertension.

scholarly journals Two Agrobacterium tumefaciens CheW Proteins Are Incorporated into One Chemosensory Pathway with Different Efficiencies

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Huang ◽  
Qingxuan Zhou ◽  
Pan Sun ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Minliang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Agrobacterium Tumefaciens ◽  
Histidine Kinase ◽  
Promoter Activity ◽  
Crown Gall Tumor ◽  
Signaling Complex ◽  
Chemosensory Pathway ◽  
Dicotyledonous Plants ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Coupling Protein ◽  
And Function

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the agent that causes crown gall tumor disease on more than 140 species of dicotyledonous plants. Chemotaxis of A. tumefaciens toward the wound sites of the host plant is the first step to recognize the host. CheW is a coupling protein that bridges the histidine kinase CheA and the chemoreceptors to form the chemotaxis core signaling complex and plays a crucial role in the assembly and function of the large chemosensory array. Unlike all previously reported chemotaxis systems, A. tumefaciens has only one major che operon but two cheW homologs (atu2075 as cheW1 and atu2617 as cheW2) on unlinked loci. The in-frame deletion of either cheW gene significantly affects A. tumefaciens chemotaxis but does not abolish the chemotaxis, unless both cheW genes were deleted. The effect of cheW2 deletion on the chemotaxis is more severe than that of cheW1 deletion. Either CheW can interact with CheA and couple it to the cell poles. The promoter activity of cheW2 is always higher than that of cheW1 under all of the tested conditions. When two cheW genes were adjusted to the same expression level by using the identical promoter, the difference between the effects of two CheW proteins on the chemotaxis still existed. Therefore, we envision that both the different molecular ratio of two CheW proteins in cell and the different affinities of two CheW proteins with CheA and chemoreceptors result in the efficiency difference of two CheW proteins in functioning in the large chemosensory array.

scholarly journals Impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine uptake on childhood pneumonia mortality across income levels in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 136
Author(s):  
Kayoko Shioda ◽  
Cristiana M. Toscano ◽  
Maria Tereza Valenzuela ◽  
William Valdez Huarcaya ◽  
Joshua L. Warren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Income Level ◽  
High Income ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Income Levels ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Using Data

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) have prevented deaths due to pneumonia among children. The effect may differ between higher- and lower-income populations due to various factors, such as differences in the distribution of pneumococcal serotypes, healthcare access, and PCV uptake. This study aims to evaluate an association between increasing PCV coverage and population-level declines in death due to pneumonia and its variation by socioeconomic status of subnational regions. Methods: We analyzed municipality-level mortality data from 2005 and 2015 for children aged 2-23 months in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. We fit Poisson regression models to estimate the relationship between changes in PCV uptake and deaths due to all-cause pneumonia among subnational regions with different income levels. We controlled for changes unrelated to PCV by using data on non-respiratory deaths over time. Results: Uptake of the third dose of PCV varied across subnational regions and was higher in high-income regions. Higher uptake of PCV was associated with larger declines in pneumonia mortality. This association did not differ by income level of the region in Brazil and Colombia. In Peru, low-income regions observed larger declines in pneumonia deaths, but there was large uncertainty in the difference between the low- and high-income regions. We estimated that, with 90% coverage, there would be 4-38% declines in all-cause pneumonia mortality across income levels and countries. Conclusions: Regions with higher PCV coverage experienced larger declines in pneumonia deaths, regardless of the income level. Having more reliable data on mortality records and vaccine uptake would improve the reliability of vaccine impact estimates.

scholarly journals The history and evolution of the Denisovan-EPAS1 haplotype in Tibetans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinjun Zhang ◽  
Kelsey Witt ◽  
Amy Ko ◽  
Kai Yuan ◽  
Shuhua Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asians ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Ancestral Population ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
East Asians ◽  
Adaptive Introgression ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Introgressed Segment ◽  
Introgression Event ◽  
Selection Event

AbstractRecent studies suggest that admixture with archaic hominins played an important role in facilitating biological adaptations to new environments. For example, interbreeding with Denisovans facilitated the adaptation to high altitude environments on the Tibetan Plateau. Specifically, the EPAS1 gene, a transcription factor that regulates the response to hypoxia, exhibits strong signatures of both positive selection and introgression from Denisovans in Tibetan individuals. Interestingly, despite being geographically closer to the Denisova cave, East Asian populations do not harbor as much Denisovan ancestry as populations from Melanesia. Recently, two studies have suggested two independent waves of Denisovan admixture into East Asians, one of which is shared with South Asians and Oceanians. Here we leverage data from EPAS1 in 78 Tibetan individuals to interrogate which of these two introgression events introduced the EPAS1 beneficial sequence into the ancestral population of Tibetans, and we use the distribution of introgressed segment lengths at this locus to infer the timing of the introgression and selection event. We find that the introgression event unique to East Asians most likely introduced the beneficial haplotype into the ancestral population of Tibetans around 43,000 (15,700–60,000) years ago, and selection started 12,000 (1,925-50,000) years ago. Our estimates suggest that one of the most convincing examples of adaptive introgression is in fact selection acting on standing archaic variation.

scholarly journals Estimating the Rate of Overdiagnosis With Prostate Cancer Screening: Evidence From the Finnish Component of The European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SD Walter ◽  
Jiarui Hu ◽  
Kirsi Talala ◽  
Teuvo Tammela ◽  
Kimmo Taari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Cumulative Incidence ◽  
Prostate Cancer Screening ◽  
Randomized Study ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Catch Up ◽  
The Difference

Abstract Purpose: Screening for prostate cancer may have limited impact on decreasing prostate cancer-related mortality. A major disadvantage is overdiagnosis, whereby lesions are identified that would not have become evident during the man’s lifetime if screening had not taken place. The present study aims to estimate the rate of overdiagnosis using Finnish data from the European randomized trial of prostate screening. Methods: We used data from 80,149 men randomized to a screening or a control group, distinguishing four birth cohorts. We used the “catch-up method” to identify when the difference in the cumulative incidence of prostate cancer between the screening and control groups had stabilised, implying that the screening has no further effect. We define the overdiagnosis rate to be the relative excess cumulative incidence in the screened group at that point. As an independent method, we also examined the diagnosis rates of T1c tumours as an indicator of early tumors detected by PSA. Results: The estimates of overdiagnosis rates from the catch-up method using the full period of available follow-up ranged between cohorts from 2.3% to 15.4%, and the T1c analysis gave very similar results. Conclusions: Some overdiagnosis has occurred, but there is uncertainty about its extent. A long follow-up is required to demonstrate the full impact of screening. We evaluated the overdiagnosis rates at a population level, associated with being offered screening, taking account of contamination (screening among the controls). The overall evaluation of screening should incorporate mortality benefit, cost-effectiveness and quality of life.

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