scholarly journals Suggested Absence of Horizontal Transfer of Retrotransposons between Humans and Domestic Mammal Species

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1223
Author(s):  
Nicole M. Wanner ◽  
Christopher Faulk

Transposable element sequences are usually vertically inherited but have also spread across taxa via horizontal transfer. Previous investigations of ancient horizontal transfer of transposons have compared consensus sequences, but this method resists detection of recent single or low copy number transfer events. The relationship between humans and domesticated animals represents an opportunity for potential horizontal transfer due to the consistent shared proximity and exposure to parasitic insects, which have been identified as plausible transfer vectors. The relatively short period of extended human–animal contact (tens of thousands of years or less) makes horizontal transfer of transposons between them unlikely. However, the availability of high-quality reference genomes allows individual element comparisons to detect low copy number events. Using pairwise all-versus-all megablast searches of the complete suite of retrotransposons of thirteen domestic animals against human, we searched a total of 27,949,823 individual TEs. Based on manual comparisons of stringently filtered BLAST search results for evidence of vertical inheritance, no plausible instances of HTT were identified. These results indicate that significant recent HTT between humans and domesticated animals has not occurred despite the close proximity, either due to the short timescale, inhospitable recipient genomes, a failure of vector activity, or other factors.

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 933
Author(s):  
Marie Cibot ◽  
Matthew R. McLennan ◽  
Martin Kváč ◽  
Bohumil Sak ◽  
Caroline Asiimwe ◽  
...  

Zoonotic pathogen transmission is considered a leading threat to the survival of non-human primates and public health in shared landscapes. Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Microsporidia are unicellular parasites spread by the fecal-oral route by environmentally resistant stages and can infect humans, livestock, and wildlife including non-human primates. Using immunoassay diagnostic kits and amplification/sequencing of the region of the triosephosphate isomerase, small ribosomal subunit rRNA and the internal transcribed spacer genes, we investigated Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and microsporidia infections, respectively, among humans, domesticated animals (livestock, poultry, and dogs), and wild nonhuman primates (eastern chimpanzees and black and white colobus monkeys) in Bulindi, Uganda, an area of remarkably high human–animal contact and spatial overlap. We analyzed 137 fecal samples and revealed the presence of G. intestinalis assemblage B in two human isolates, G. intestinalis assemblage E in one cow isolate, and Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II in two humans and one goat isolate. None of the chimpanzee and colobus monkey samples were positive for any of the screened parasites. Regular distribution of antiparasitic treatment in both humans and domestic animals in Bulindi could have reduced the occurrence of the screened parasites and decreased potential circulation of these pathogens among host species.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095646242097112
Author(s):  
Jessica M Hughes ◽  
Darrell HS Tan ◽  
Peter Anderson ◽  
Janani Bodhinayake ◽  
Paul A MacPherson

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is effective at preventing sexual acquisition of HIV, and failures in clinical trials are largely attributable to medication nonadherence. We report here a case of infection with a fully susceptible strain of HIV in an individual adherent to PrEP as demonstrated by pharmacy records and intracellular tenofovir diphosphate levels. At diagnosis, the viral load was 90 copies/mL precluding initial genotype testing due to low copy number. While PrEP failure is rare, this case underscores the importance of regular HIV testing for patient on PrEP and prompts discussion regarding the approach to treatment following failure where an initial genotype is not yet available or not possible due to low viral load. Few other case reports of PrEP failure exist in the literature and approaches to treatment varied widely. We suggest the initial viral copy number may guide next steps and discuss the risks and benefits of stopping PrEP, escalating therapy with integrase inhibitors or boosted protease inhibitors, or switching to non-nucleoside antiretroviral treatment regimens.


1994 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Williams ◽  
C. J. Sexton ◽  
A. L. Sinclair ◽  
K. J. Purdie ◽  
M. S. Thomas ◽  
...  

Science ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 315 (5808) ◽  
pp. 81-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Huang ◽  
H. Wu ◽  
D. Bhaya ◽  
A. Grossman ◽  
S. Granier ◽  
...  

2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangiliyandi Gurunathan ◽  
Paramasamy Gunasekaran

The sacB and sacC genes encoding levansucrase and extracellular sucrase respectively were independently subcloned in pBluescript (high copy number) and in Z. mobilis-E. coli shuttle vector, pZA22 (low copy number). The expression of these genes were compared under identical background of E. coli and Z. mobilis host. The level of sacB gene expression in E. coli was almost ten fold less than the expression of sacC gene, irrespective of the growth medium or the host strain. In Z. mobilis the expression of sacB and sacC genes was shown to be subject to carbon source dependent regulation. The transcript of sacB and sacC was three fold higher in cells grown on sucrose than in cells grown on glucose/fructose. Northern blot analysis revealed that the transcript levels of sacC was approximately 2-3 times higher than that of sacB. These results suggested that the expression of sacC gene was more pronounced than sacB.


1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 336-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Staddon ◽  
Tom Todd ◽  
Randall T. Irvin

The effect of growth temperature on the binding of Candida albicans to human buccal epithelial cells (BECs) was examined using an equilibrium of binding analysis. Candida albicans was cultured in M9 medium either for 12 h at 25 °C or for 9 h at 25 °C and then shifted to 37 °C for 3 h. The temperature shift did not result in germ tube formation; however, the adherence of C. albicans to BECs was altered. Shifting temperature increased the yeast's ability to bind to BECs. A Langmuir adsorption isotherm was used to calculate the maximum number of available binding sites (N) and the apparent association constants of binding (Ka) for all resolvable adhesin–receptor interactions. Three classes of adhesin–receptor interactions were resolved when the yeast was cultured at 25 °C and included a low copy number site (N = 3.0 cfu/BEC; Ka = 2.11 × 10−6 mL/cfu), a medium copy number site (N = 23.6 cfu/BEC, Ka = 8.21 × 10−7 mL/cfu), and a high copy number site (N = 91.7 cfu/BEC, Ka = 3.35 × 10−8 mL/cfu). Two classes of adhesin–receptor interactions were resolved when the incubation temperature was shifted to 37 °C: a low copy number site (N = 4.5 cfu/BEC, Ka = 3.98 × 10−6 mL/cfu) and a high copy number site (N = 150.5 cfu/BEC, Ka = 8.47 × 10−8 mL/cfu). Augmented C. albicans adherence to BECs due to the elevated growth temperatures appears to result from a temperature-regulated alteration in the C. albicans adhesin that recognizes a high copy number receptor site with relatively low affinity.


1993 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Halford ◽  
Elizabeth Lindsay ◽  
Manimekalai Nayudu ◽  
Alisoun H. Carey ◽  
Antonio Baldini ◽  
...  

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