scholarly journals Marsupial Genome Sequences: Providing Insight into Evolution and Disease

Scientifica ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine E. Deakin
Keyword(s):  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Tasmanian Devil ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Transmissible Cancer ◽  
Marsupial Species ◽  
Exciting Time ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Answering Questions ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Genome Projects

Marsupials (metatherians), with their position in vertebrate phylogeny and their unique biological features, have been studied for many years by a dedicated group of researchers, but it has only been since the sequencing of the first marsupial genome that their value has been more widely recognised. We now have genome sequences for three distantly related marsupial species (the grey short-tailed opossum, the tammar wallaby, and Tasmanian devil), with the promise of many more genomes to be sequenced in the near future, making this a particularly exciting time in marsupial genomics. The emergence of a transmissible cancer, which is obliterating the Tasmanian devil population, has increased the importance of obtaining and analysing marsupial genome sequence for understanding such diseases as well as for conservation efforts. In addition, these genome sequences have facilitated studies aimed at answering questions regarding gene and genome evolution and provided insight into the evolution of epigenetic mechanisms. Here I highlight the major advances in our understanding of evolution and disease, facilitated by marsupial genome projects, and speculate on the future contributions to be made by such sequences.

scholarly journals Marsupial chromosome DNA content and genome size assessed from flow karyotypes: invariable low autosomal GC content

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 171539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fumio Kasai ◽  
Patricia C. M. O'Brien ◽  
Jorge C. Pereira ◽  
Malcolm A. Ferguson-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Genome Size ◽  
Dna Content ◽  
Chromosome Painting ◽  
Gc Content ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Individual Chromosome ◽  
Tasmanian Devil ◽  
Marsupial Species ◽  
Cross Species Chromosome Painting ◽  
High Level

Extensive chromosome homologies revealed by cross-species chromosome painting between marsupials have suggested a high level of genome conservation during evolution. Surprisingly, it has been reported that marsupial genome sizes vary by more than 1.2 Gb between species. We have shown previously that individual chromosome sizes and GC content can be measured in flow karyotypes, and have applied this method to compare four marsupial species. Chromosome sizes and GC content were calculated for the grey short-tailed opossum (2 n = 18), tammar wallaby (2 n = 16), Tasmanian devil (2 n = 14) and fat-tailed dunnart (2 n = 14), resulting in genome sizes of 3.41, 3.31, 3.17 and 3.25 Gb, respectively. The findings under the same conditions allow a comparison between the four species, indicating that the genomes of these four species are 1–8% larger than human. We show that marsupial genomes are characterized by a low GC content invariable between autosomes and distinct from the higher GC content of the marsupial × chromosome.

scholarly journals Ancient Viral Integrations in Marsupials: A Potential Antiviral Defence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma F Harding ◽  
Alice G Russo ◽  
Grace J H Yan ◽  
Paul D Waters ◽  
Peter A White
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Eutherian Mammal ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Replicase Gene ◽  
Tasmanian Devil ◽  
Available N ◽  
Marsupial Species ◽  
Australian Marsupial

Abstract Marsupial viruses are understudied compared to their eutherian mammal counterparts, although they may pose severe threats to vulnerable marsupial populations. Genomic viral integrations, termed endogenous viral elements (EVEs) could protect the host from infection. It is widely known past viral infections and EVEs play an active role in antiviral defence in invertebrates and plants. This study aimed to characterise actively transcribed EVEs in Australian marsupial species, because they may play an integral role in cellular defence against viruses. This study screened publicly available RNA sequencing datasets (n=35) and characterised 200 viral transcripts from thirteen Australian marsupial species. Of the 200 transcripts, 188 originated from either Bornaviridae, Filoviridae or Parvoviridae EVEs. The other 12 transcripts were from putative active infections from members of the Herpesviridae and Anelloviridae, and Hepadnaviridae. EVE transcripts (n=188) were mapped to marsupial genomes (where available, n=5/13) to identify the genomic insertion sites. Of the 188 transcripts, 117 mapped to 39 EVEs within the koala, bare-nosed wombat, tammar wallaby, brushtail possum and Tasmanian devil genomes. The remaining eight animals had no available genome (transcripts n=71). Every marsupial have Bornaviridae, Filoviridae and Parvoviridae EVEs, a trend widely observed in eutherian mammals. Whilst eutherian bornavirus EVEs are predominantly nucleoprotein-derived, marsupial bornavirus EVEs demonstrate a surprising replicase gene bias. We predicted these widely distributed EVEs were conserved within marsupials from ancient germline integrations, as many were over 65 million years old. One bornavirus replicase EVE, present in six marsupial genomes, was estimated to be 160 million years old, predating the American-Australian marsupial split. We considered transcription of these EVEs through small non-coding RNA as an ancient viral defence. Consistent with this, in koala small RNA sequence datasets we detected Bornaviridae replicase and Filoviridae nucleoprotein produced piRNA. These were enriched in testis tissue, suggesting they could protect marsupials from vertically transmitted viral integrations.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial Function, Biology, and Role in Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 1960-1991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Murphy ◽  
Hossein Ardehali ◽  
Robert S. Balaban ◽  
Fabio DiLisa ◽  
Gerald W. Dorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Mitochondrial Function ◽  
The United States ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Mitochondrial Defects ◽  
Exciting Time ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Novel Therapeutic

Cardiovascular disease is a major leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and elsewhere. Alterations in mitochondrial function are increasingly being recognized as a contributing factor in myocardial infarction and in patients presenting with cardiomyopathy. Recent understanding of the complex interaction of the mitochondria in regulating metabolism and cell death can provide novel insight and therapeutic targets. The purpose of this statement is to better define the potential role of mitochondria in the genesis of cardiovascular disease such as ischemia and heart failure. To accomplish this, we will define the key mitochondrial processes that play a role in cardiovascular disease that are potential targets for novel therapeutic interventions. This is an exciting time in mitochondrial research. The past decade has provided novel insight into the role of mitochondria function and their importance in complex diseases. This statement will define the key roles that mitochondria play in cardiovascular physiology and disease and provide insight into how mitochondrial defects can contribute to cardiovascular disease; it will also discuss potential biomarkers of mitochondrial disease and suggest potential novel therapeutic approaches.

scholarly journals Transfer of Knowhow and Experiences from Commercial Logistics into Humanitarian Logistics to Improve Rescue Missions in Disaster Areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 63
Author(s):  
Firas Rifai
Keyword(s):  
Information Technologies ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Management Information ◽  
Rescue Mission ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Past ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Past Data ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Insight Into

Reports on the news about nature or man-made catastrophes are not uncommon. We hear constantly that a human catastrophe has taken place somewhere in the world. In those cases where the infrastructure could possibly be destroyed, it becomes clear that a rescue mission is difficult to achieve. We need special rescue teams, who despite the difficult rescue mission, save lives and reduce suffering.The special organizations involved in catastrophes are called humanitarian organizations. In addition, the specific skills and abilities that these organizations have should be mainly in logistics.In this paper, the author goes into more details about humanitarian logistics and shows its importance in disaster areas. Unfortunately, these humanitarian organizations have many weaknesses and challenges. As a result, these organizations are not well developed, despite their importance. In contrast, the commercial logistics companies, which are well developed, have much strength in management, information technologies, etc.This research defines humanitarian logistics and describes its weaknesses and limitations. Furthermore, it deals with the specifics of humanitarian organizations. The special features of these organizations are their rescue missions, especially in destroyed infrastructure areas. This research demonstrates the various similarities between commercial and humanitarian logistics and points to the potential of knowledge and experience transfer from commercial logistics to humanitarian logistics.This research compares humanitarian logistics with commercial logistics. In doing so, the author tries to gain a deeper insight into the potential of transferring know-how and experience from retail logistics to humanitarian logistics in order to strengthen humanitarian logistics.The research of logistics is a very dynamic world in which humanitarian logistics is becoming increasingly important both in research and in practice. In particular, the demands on logistics in general and on humanitarian logistics, in particular, will increase significantly in the near future because it is estimated that the number and impact of both natural and human disasters is increasing (Kumar et al., 2012).Murphy (2015) analyzed the past data of catastrophes and derived a forecast for the future frequency of disasters and their impact: “Because of the increasing frequency (and severity) of disasters over the past 50 years, humanitarian logistics is likely to be an important topic into the foreseeable future”.

scholarly journals Evolution and lineage dynamics of a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils

PLoS Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. e3000926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Mi Kwon ◽  
Kevin Gori ◽  
Naomi Park ◽  
Nicole Potts ◽  
Kate Swift ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Positive Selection ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Copy Number ◽  
Convergent Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Genome Instability ◽  
Copy Number Variants ◽  
Tasmanian Devil ◽  
Transmissible Cancer

Devil facial tumour 1 (DFT1) is a transmissible cancer clone endangering the Tasmanian devil. The expansion of DFT1 across Tasmania has been documented, but little is known of its evolutionary history. We analysed genomes of 648 DFT1 tumours collected throughout the disease range between 2003 and 2018. DFT1 diverged early into five clades, three spreading widely and two failing to persist. One clade has replaced others at several sites, and rates of DFT1 coinfection are high. DFT1 gradually accumulates copy number variants (CNVs), and its telomere lengths are short but constant. Recurrent CNVs reveal genes under positive selection, sites of genome instability, and repeated loss of a small derived chromosome. Cultured DFT1 cell lines have increased CNV frequency and undergo highly reproducible convergent evolution. Overall, DFT1 is a remarkably stable lineage whose genome illustrates how cancer cells adapt to diverse environments and persist in a parasitic niche.

The Invisible Hand Guiding Technology

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Nada K. Kakabadse ◽  
Andrew Kakabadse ◽  
Reeves Knyght ◽  
Linda Lee-Davies
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Invisible Hand ◽  
Rfid Technology ◽  
Domestic Life ◽  
Frequency Identification ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Insight Into

This paper examines attitudes towards Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and explores the wider concerns of the ever increasing prospect of social tagging. Capturing vignettes and narratives from a sample of study participants, the paper highlights concerns about adopting RFID implements now and in the future. The views captured through qualitative methodology act as the platform for a wider argument concerning the human rights and privacy intrusion concerns over IT applications. Intended as an insight into the reality of technology impact, this paper lists a series of questions for leaders to consider over matters of human rights specifically concerning RFID adoption. The authors conclude that caution, naivety and fear are the underlying reasons for society accepting RFIDs without question and that RFIDs will be a part of everyday working and domestic life in the near future.

AI: A Semiotic Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-216
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Walsh Matthews ◽  
Marcel Danesi
Keyword(s):  
Human Condition ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Human Species ◽  
The World ◽  
Semiotic Perspective ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Human Sense ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a powerful new form of inquiry unto human cognition that has obvious implications for semiotic theories, practices, and modeling of mind, yet, as far as can be determined, it has hardly attracted the attention of semioticians in any meaningful analytical way. AI aims to model and thus penetrate mentality in all its forms (perception, cognition, emotion, etc.) and even to build artificial minds that will surpass human intelligence in the near future. This paper takes a look at AI through the lens of semiotic analysis, in the context of current philosophies such as posthumanism and transhumanism, which are based on the assumption that technology will improve the human condition and chart a path to the future progress of the human species. Semiotics must respond to the AI challenge, focusing on how abductive responses to the world generate meaning in the human sense, not in software or algorithms. The AI approach is instructive, but semiotics is much more relevant to the understanding of human cognition, because it studies signs as paths into the brain, not artificial models of that organ. The semiotic agenda can enrich AI by providing the relevant insight into human semiosis that may defy any attempt to model them.

scholarly journals Pyruvate Substitutions on Glycoconjugates

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hager ◽  
Sützl ◽  
Stefanović ◽  
Blaukopf ◽  
Schäffer
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Surface ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Ring Structure ◽  
Genome Sequences ◽  
Cell Wall Component ◽  
Cellular Physiology ◽  
Associated Functions ◽  
Acid Labile ◽  
Insight Into

Glycoconjugates are the most diverse biomolecules of life. Mostly located at the cell surface, they translate into cell-specific “barcodes” and offer a vast repertoire of functions, including support of cellular physiology, lifestyle, and pathogenicity. Functions can be fine-tuned by non-carbohydrate modifications on the constituting monosaccharides. Among these modifications is pyruvylation, which is present either in enol or ketal form. The most commonly best-understood example of pyruvylation is enol-pyruvylation of N-acetylglucosamine, which occurs at an early stage in the biosynthesis of the bacterial cell wall component peptidoglycan. Ketal-pyruvylation, in contrast, is present in diverse classes of glycoconjugates, from bacteria to algae to yeast—but not in humans. Mild purification strategies preventing the loss of the acid-labile ketal-pyruvyl group have led to a collection of elucidated pyruvylated glycan structures. However, knowledge of involved pyruvyltransferases creating a ring structure on various monosaccharides is scarce, mainly due to the lack of knowledge of fingerprint motifs of these enzymes and the unavailability of genome sequences of the organisms undergoing pyruvylation. This review compiles the current information on the widespread but under-investigated ketal-pyruvylation of monosaccharides, starting with different classes of pyruvylated glycoconjugates and associated functions, leading to pyruvyltransferases, their specificity and sequence space, and insight into pyruvate analytics.

scholarly journals Commentary on the Recent FSH Collection: Known Knowns and Known Unknowns

Endocrinology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Djurdjica Coss
Keyword(s):  
Cell Function ◽  
Follicle Stimulating Hormone ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Follicular Growth ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Known Unknowns ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Made In

Abstract Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is a dimeric glycoprotein secreted by the anterior pituitary gonadotrope that is necessary for reproductive function in mammals. FSH primarily regulates granulosa cells and follicular growth in females, and Sertoli cell function in males. Since its identification in the 1930s and sequencing in the 1970s, significant progress has been made in elucidating its regulation and downstream function. Recent advances provide deeper insight into FSH synthesis, and effects in the gonads suggest potential roles in extragonadal tissues and examine pharmacological approaches and clinical applications in infertility treatment that now affect 18% of couples. These advances were discussed in detail in a number of reviews published in the last 2 years in Endocrinology. In this brief commentary, we summarize these reviews and point to the outstanding questions that should be answered in the near future to bridge a gap in our understanding of this hormone.

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