scholarly journals Viral Metagenomic Analysis of Aedes albopictus Mosquitos from Southern Switzerland

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Kubacki ◽  
Eleonora Flacio ◽  
Weihong Qi ◽  
Valeria Guidi ◽  
Mauro Tonolla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aedes Albopictus ◽  
Complete Genome ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Metagenomic Analysis ◽  
Zoonotic Viruses ◽  
Pathogenic Viruses ◽  
Metagenomic Study ◽  
Aedes Flavivirus ◽  
Local Transmission

A metagenomic study was performed on 498 female and 40 male Aedes albopictus mosquitos collected in August and September 2019 in Ticino, a region in southern Switzerland, to address the question regarding the risk of the local transmission of zoonotic viruses. A total of 13 viruses from seven different virus families and several unclassified viral taxa were identified. Reads of insect-specific flaviviruses were present in all pools, and a complete genome of aedes flavivirus was assembled and phylogenetically analysed. The most abundant virus was Wenzhou sobemo-like virus, assembled from 1.3 × 105 to 3.6 × 106 reads in each pool. In a pool of male mosquitos, a complete genome of aedes Iflavi-like virus was detected and phylogenetically analysed. Most importantly, genomes of human pathogenic viruses were not found. This is the first study to determine the virome of Ae. albopictus from Switzerland and forms a baseline for future longitudinal investigations concerning the potential role of Ae. albopictus as a vector of clinically relevant viruses.

scholarly journals A quasi-paired cohort strategy reveals the impaired detoxifying function of microbes in the gut of autistic children

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (43) ◽  
pp. eaba3760
Author(s):  
Mengxiang Zhang ◽  
Yanan Chu ◽  
Qingren Meng ◽  
Rui Ding ◽  
Xing Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Detoxifying Enzymes ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Diagnostic Models ◽  
Metagenomic Study ◽  
Toxin Accumulation ◽  
Microbial Detoxification

Growing evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is strongly associated with dysbiosis in the gut microbiome, with the exact mechanisms still unclear. We have proposed a novel analytic strategy—quasi-paired cohort—and applied it to a metagenomic study of the ASD microbiome. By comparing paired samples of ASD and neurotypical subjects, we have identified significant deficiencies in ASD children in detoxifying enzymes and pathways, which show a strong correlation with biomarkers of mitochondrial dysfunction. Diagnostic models based on these detoxifying enzymes accurately distinguished ASD individuals from controls, and the dysfunction score inferred from the model increased with the clinical rating scores of ASD. In summary, our results suggest a previously undiscovered potential role of impaired intestinal microbial detoxification in toxin accumulation and mitochondrial dysfunction, a core component of ASD pathogenesis. These findings pave the way for designing future therapeutic strategies to restore microbial detoxification capabilities for patients with ASD.

The Potential Role of Endogenous Viral Elements in the Evolution of Bats as Reservoirs for Zoonotic Viruses

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia C. Skirmuntt ◽  
Marina Escalera-Zamudio ◽  
Emma C. Teeling ◽  
Adrian Smith ◽  
Aris Katzourakis
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Genome Size ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Endogenous Retroviruses ◽  
Small Genome ◽  
Zoonotic Viruses ◽  
Endogenous Viruses ◽  
Foamy Viruses ◽  
Endogenous Viral Elements

Despite a small genome size, bats have comparable diversity of retroviral and non-retroviral endogenous sequences to other mammals. These include Class I and Class II retroviral sequences, foamy viruses, and deltaretroviruses, as well as filovirus, bornavirus, and parvovirus endogenous viral elements. Some of these endogenous viruses are sufficiently preserved in bat genomes to be expressed, with potential effects for host biology. It is clear that the bat immune system differs when compared with other mammals, yet the role that virus-derived endogenous elements may have played in the evolution of bat immunity is poorly understood. In this review, we discuss some of the bat-specific immune mechanisms that may have resulted in a virus-tolerant phenotype and link these to the long-standing virus-host coevolution that may have allowed a large diversity of endogenous retroviruses and other endogenous viral elements to colonize bat genomes. We also consider the possible effects of endogenization in the evolution of the bat immune system.

POPDC proteins and cardiac function

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1393-1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Brand
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Effector Proteins ◽  
Muscle Disease ◽  
Disease Genes ◽  
Protein Protein Interaction ◽  
Interaction Partners ◽  
And Function

Abstract The Popeye domain-containing gene family encodes a novel class of cAMP effector proteins in striated muscle tissue. In this short review, we first introduce the protein family and discuss their structure and function with an emphasis on their role in cyclic AMP signalling. Another focus of this review is the recently discovered role of POPDC genes as striated muscle disease genes, which have been associated with cardiac arrhythmia and muscular dystrophy. The pathological phenotypes observed in patients will be compared with phenotypes present in null and knockin mutations in zebrafish and mouse. A number of protein–protein interaction partners have been discovered and the potential role of POPDC proteins to control the subcellular localization and function of these interacting proteins will be discussed. Finally, we outline several areas, where research is urgently needed.

The Effect of Path Length and Display Size on Memory for Spatial Information

2012 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Guérard ◽  
Sébastien Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Path Length ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Length Effect ◽  
Serial Memory ◽  
Fixed Reference ◽  
A Minor

In serial memory for spatial information, some studies showed that recall performance suffers when the distance between successive locations increases relatively to the size of the display in which they are presented (the path length effect; e.g., Parmentier et al., 2005) but not when distance is increased by enlarging the size of the display (e.g., Smyth & Scholey, 1994). In the present study, we examined the effect of varying the absolute and relative distance between to-be-remembered items on memory for spatial information. We manipulated path length using small (15″) and large (64″) screens within the same design. In two experiments, we showed that distance was disruptive mainly when it is varied relatively to a fixed reference frame, though increasing the size of the display also had a small deleterious effect on recall. The insertion of a retention interval did not influence these effects, suggesting that rehearsal plays a minor role in mediating the effects of distance on serial spatial memory. We discuss the potential role of perceptual organization in light of the pattern of results.

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