Survey of neurotransmitter receptor gene expression into and out of parental care in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides

Understanding the genetic influences of traits of nonmodel organisms is crucial to understanding how novel traits arise. Do new traits require new genes or are old genes repurposed? How predictable is this process? Here, we examine this question for gene expression influencing parenting behavior in a beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Parental care, produced from many individual behaviors, should be influenced by changes of expression of multiple genes, and one suggestion is that the genes can be predicted based on knowledge of behavior expected to be precursors to parental care, such as aggression, resource defense, and mating on a resource. Thus, testing gene expression during parental care allows us to test expectations of this “precursor hypothesis” for multiple genes and traits. We tested for changes of the expression of serotonin, octopamine/tyramine, and dopamine receptors, as well as one glutamate receptor, predicting that these gene families would be differentially expressed during social interactions with offspring and associated resource defense. We found that serotonin receptors were strongly associated with social and aggression behavioral transitions. Octopamine receptors produced a complex picture of gene expression over a reproductive cycle. Dopamine was not associated with the behavioral transitions sampled here, while the glutamate receptor was most consistent with a behavioral change of resource defense/aggression. Our results generate new hypotheses, refine candidate lists for further studies, and inform the genetic mechanisms that are co‐opted during the evolution of parent–offspring interactions, a likely evolutionary path for many lineages that become fully social. The precursor hypothesis, while not perfect, does provide a starting point for identifying candidate genes.     

Ulurumyiidae – a new family of calyptrate flies (Diptera)

A new monotypic and monospecific family Ulurumyiidae fam.n. , type genus Ulurumyia  gen.n. , is erected for the species Ulurumyia macalpinei  sp.n. from southeastern Australia. The family is unambiguously a member of the superfamily Oestroidea within Calyptratae, and available evidence supports noninclusion in any of the known families, but phylogenetic affinities are otherwise obscure. The species is a coprophage with obligate lecithotrophic unilarviparity, known to breed in cow dung but not known from the dung of any native Australian mammal.     

Open‐access platform to synthesize knowledge of ape conservation across sites

Despite the large body of literature on ape conservation, much of the data needed for evidence‐based conservation decision‐making is still not readily accessible and standardized, rendering cross‐site comparison difficult. To support knowledge synthesis and to complement the IUCN SSC Ape Populations, Environments and Surveys database, we created the A.P.E.S. Wiki ( https://apeswiki.eva.mpg.de ), an open‐access platform providing site‐level information on ape conservation status and context. The aim of this Wiki is to provide information and data about geographical ape locations, to curate information on individuals and organizations active in ape research and conservation, and to act as a tool to support collaboration between conservation practitioners, scientists, and other stakeholders. To illustrate the process and benefits of knowledge synthesis, we used the momentum of the update of the conservation action plan for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and began with this critically endangered taxon. First, we gathered information on 59 sites in West Africa from scientific publications, reports, and online sources. Information was compiled in a standardized format and can thus be summarized using a web scraping approach. We then asked experts working at those sites to review and complement the information (20 sites have been reviewed to date). We demonstrate the utility of the information available through the Wiki, for example, for studying species distribution. Importantly, as an open‐access platform and based on the well‐known wiki layout, the A.P.E.S. Wiki can contribute to direct and interactive information sharing and promote the efforts invested by the ape research and conservation community. The Section on Great Apes and the Section on Small Apes of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group will guide and support the expansion of the platform to all small and great ape taxa. Similar collaborative efforts can contribute to extending knowledge synthesis to all nonhuman primate species.     

Diverse heterocyclic scaffolds as dCTP pyrophosphatase 1 inhibitors. Part 2: Pyridone- and pyrimidinone-derived systems

Two screening campaigns using commercial (Chembridge DiverSET) and proprietary (Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden, CBCS) compound libraries, revealed a number of pyridone- and pyrimidinone-derived systems as inhibitors of the human dCTP pyrophosphatase 1 (dCTPase). In this letter, we present their preliminary structure-activity-relationships (SAR) and ligand efficiency scores (LE and LLE).     

Can small‐scale experiments predict ecosystem responses? An example from peatlands

Oligotrophic, Sphagnum -dominated peatlands have been regarded as long-term stable ecosystems that function as carbon sinks. As a result of environmental perturbations, particularly anthropogenic N deposition, this view is now increasingly questioned. We examined whether small-scale field experiments can predict the direction and magnitude of ecosystem responses to increased N supply. We, therefore, compared data from a 10-year field experiment (involving deposition of 2, 15 and 30 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) with data from a gradient associated with increased N deposition (2, 8 and 12 kg N ha⁻¹ year⁻¹). We chose to compare: (1) the physiological response of Sphagnum balticum , measured in the form of N accumulation as free amino acids (N_AA); and (2) changes in the total Sphagnum cover, the cover of S. balticum , and vascular plant cover. In all cases we found a highly significant correlation between the two data sets. We attribute the high correspondence between the two data sets to the key function of the dominant group of organisms, the Sphagna, that monopolize N availability and control the water balance, creating an environment hostile to vascular plants. Thus the key role of Sphagna as ecosystem engineers seems to supersede the role of other, scale-dependent processes. We also conclude that N_AA is a sensitive indicator that can be used to signal the slow and gradual shift from Sphagnum to vascular plant dominance.     

Sequential Salinomycin Treatment Results in Resistance Formation through Clonal Selection of Epithelial-Like Tumor Cells

Acquiring therapy resistance is one of the major obstacles in the treatment of patients with cancer. The discovery of the cancer stem cell (CSC)–specific drug salinomycin raised hope for improved treatment options by targeting therapy-refractory CSCs and mesenchymal cancer cells. However, the occurrence of an acquired salinomycin resistance in tumor cells remains elusive. To study the formation of salinomycin resistance, mesenchymal breast cancer cells were sequentially treated with salinomycin in an in vitro cell culture assay, and the resulting differences in gene expression and salinomycin susceptibility were analyzed. We demonstrated that long-term salinomycin treatment of mesenchymal cancer cells resulted in salinomycin-resistant cells with elevated levels of epithelial markers, such as E-cadherin and miR-200c, a decreased migratory capability, and a higher susceptibility to the classic chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. The formation of salinomycin resistance through the acquisition of epithelial traits was further validated by inducing mesenchymal-epithelial transition through an overexpression of miR-200c. The transition from a mesenchymal to a more epithelial-like phenotype of salinomycin-treated tumor cells was moreover confirmed in vivo, using syngeneic and, for the first time, transgenic mouse tumor models. These results suggest that the acquisition of salinomycin resistance through the clonal selection of epithelial-like cancer cells could become exploited for improved cancer therapies by antagonizing the tumor-progressive effects of epithelial-mesenchymal transition.