Within-brood social status and consequences for winter hierarchies amongst Mallard Anas platyrhynchos ducklings

Juveniles of many birds establish dominance hierarchies within family social units, only to leave and compete to acquire dominance status in new social groups. Little is known about the role of sex, body mass, size or experience during the duckling period on subsequent dominance rank and adult social relationships. We used captive Mallard Anas platyrhynchos ducklings to test for the role of individual characteristics and growth parameters in establishing within-brood hierarchies, the maintenance of within-brood hierarchies in the subsequent wintering group and differences in social ranks between broods. Strong stable linear hierarchies were present within each brood and, later, within each phase of the winter. There was a reorganisation of the hierarchical order between the duckling period and early winter, but only few modifications afterwards during the winter. None of the tested “hatching”, “duckling” and “adult” traits explained either the within-brood or the winter hierarchies, but winter rank was related to brood of origin with ducklings from the same brood having similar social ranks. These differences between broods were maintained through the whole winter in most cases, though one brood drastically progressed in the hierarchy during late-winter. These results suggest that the factors affecting the establishment of social relationships within broods differ from those in winter groups, and that brood-related mechanisms influence social relationships during winter. We discuss our results in the light of direct and indirect maternal influence.     

Zinc supplementation does not alter plasma homocysteine,vitamin B12 and red blood cell folate concentrations in French elderly subjects

Background/aimsIn ageing, low folates and vitamin B12 status are frequent and can explain the increase of plasma homocysteine level. Zinc is involved in the folates and vitamin B12 metabolism with opposite actions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of zinc supplementation on homocysteine and vitamin B12 plasma levels as well as red blood cell folate level in French ageing subjects participating in the ZENITH study.MethodsApparently healthy middle-aged (55–70 years) and free-living older (70–85 years) subjects were enrolled. They were randomly allocated to three groups: 0, 15 or 30 mg Zn per day for 6 months as zinc gluconate in addition to their usual dietary intake.ResultsAt baseline, plasma homocysteine levels (15.2±3.5 μmol/L) in older people were higher than in the middle-aged subjects (12.7±2.7 μmol/L) and was negatively correlated with vitamin B12 values (p=0.0036, r=?0.215) and with RBC folate levels (p<0.0001, r=?0.30). These results are in agreement with previous data. However, we found no correlation between the biomarkers of zinc status and homocysteine, vitamin B12 or folate levels at baseline. Moreover, 6-month zinc supplementation did not modify homocysteine, vitamin B12 and RBC folate values in either of the groups.ConclusionsZinc supplementation at moderate doses do not lead to deleterious effect on folate or vitamin B12 status in ageing healthy free-living people, but does not have any beneficial effects on homocysteine metabolism either.     

Contrasting evolutionary patterns and target specificities among three Tourist-like MITE families in the maize genome

Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are short, non autonomous DNA elements that are widespread and abundant in plant genomes. The high sequence and size conservation observed in many MITE families suggest that they have spread recently throughout their respective host genomes. Here we present a maize genome wide analysis of three Tourist-like MITE families, mPIF, and two previously uncharacterized families, ZmV1 and Zead8. We undertook a bioinformatic analysis of MITE insertion sites, developed methyl-sensitive transposon display (M-STD) assays to estimate the associated level of CpG methylation at MITE flanking regions, and conducted a population genetics approach to investigate MITE patterns of expansion. Our results reveal that the three MITE families insert into genomic regions that present specific molecular features: they are preferentially AT rich, present low level of cytosine methylation as compared to the LTR retrotransposon Grande, and target site duplications are flanked by large and conserved palindromic sequences. Moreover, the analysis of MITE distances from predicted genes shows that 73% of 263 copies are inserted at less than 5 kb from the nearest predicted gene, and copies from Zead8 family are significantly more abundant upstream of genes. By employing a population genetic approach we identified contrasting patterns of expansion among the three MITE families. All elements seem to have inserted roughly 1 million years ago but ZmV1 and Zead8 families present evidences for activity of several master copies within the last 0.4 Mya.     

Dysfunction of mitochondria Ca uptake in cystic fibrosis airway epithelial cells

In the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common mutation F508del promotes the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention of misfolded CF proteins. Furthermore, in homozygous F508del-CFTR airway epithelial cells, the histamine Ca²⁺ mobilization is abnormally increased. Because the uptake of Ca²⁺ by mitochondria during Ca²⁺ influx or Ca²⁺ release from ER stores may be crucial for maintaining a normal Ca²⁺ homeostasis, we compared the mitochondria morphology and distribution by transmission electron microscopy technique and the mitochondria membrane potential variation (ΔΨ_mit) using a fluorescent probe (TMRE) on human CF (CF-KM4) and non-CF (MM39) tracheal serous gland cell lines. Confocal imaging of Rhod-2–AM-loaded or of the mitochondrial targeted cameleon 4mtD3cpv-transfected human CF and non-CF cells, were used to examine the ability of mitochondria to sequester intracellular Ca²⁺. The present study reveals that (i) the mitochondria network is fragmented in F508del-CFTR cells, (ii) the ΔΨ_mit of CF mitochondria is depolarized compared non-CF mitochondria, and (iii) the CF mitochondria Ca²⁺ uptake is reduced compared non-CF cells. We propose that these defects in airway epithelial F508del-CFTR cells are the consequence of mitochondrial membrane depolarization leading to a deficient mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uptake.     

Are acoustical parameters of begging call elements of thin-billed prions related to chick condition?

Chicks of burrowing petrels use begging calls to advertise their hunger levels when parents arrived at the nest. In a previous study, adult thin-billed prions Pachyptila belcheri responded to higher begging call rates of their single chick by regurgitating larger meals. We tested whether acoustic parameters of begging call elements may also be involved in signalling. To describe variation in begging, we determined begging session parameters, namely the duration, number of calls and the mean and maximum rate of calling. We then digitised calls and carried out a semi-automatic extraction of six acoustic parameters of call elements, including mean and maximum acoustic frequency, the length of call elements and the location of the maximum frequency and amplitude within calls. Chicks showed strong individual differences in all parameters. While the session parameters were correlated with body condition and with the meal size the chick received, none of the acoustic parameters were related to body condition and provisioning. A cross-fostering experiment showed the same pattern, as only session parameters changed related to an experimentally altered body condition, while acoustical cues appear to play no role in signalling hunger levels. We suggest that this may be explained by the absence of sibling competition in these birds. As parents do not need to decide which chick to feed, immediate information on condition at the time of adult arrival may not be required.     

C-mip interacts with the p85 subunit of PI3 kinase and exerts a dual effect on ERK signaling via the recruitment of Dip1 and DAP kinase

In naive T cells, Lck exerts a negative control on the ERK/MAPK pathway. We show that c-mip (c-maf inducing protein) interacts with the p85 subunit of PI3 kinase and inactivates Lck, which results in Erk1/2 and p38 MAPK activation. This effect is not enough to activate AP1 given the inability of ERK to migrate into the nucleus and to transactivate its target genes. We demonstrate that c-mip interacts with Dip1 and upregulates DAPK, which blocks the nuclear translocation of ERK1/2. This dual effect of c-mip is unique and might represent a potential mechanism to prevent the development of an immune response.

Structured summary

MINT-7383650: p85 (uniprotkb:P27986) physically interacts (MI:0915) with c-Mip (uniprotkb:Q8IY22) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)MINT-7383661: c-Mip (uniprotkb:Q8IY22) physically interacts (MI:0915) with p85 (uniprotkb:P27986) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)MINT-7383676: p85 (uniprotkb:P27986) physically interacts (MI:0915) with p110 (uniprotkb:P42336) by anti bait coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0006)MINT-7383689, MINT-7383711: Dip-1 (uniprotkb:Q80SY4) physically interacts (MI:0915) with c-Mip (uniprotkb:Q8IY22) by anti tag coimmunoprecipitation (MI:0007)     

ABCG5/G8 polymorphisms and markers of cholesterol metabolism: systematic review and meta-analysis

Genetic variation at the ABCG5/G8 locus has been associated with markers of cholesterol homeostasis. As data originate from small-scale studies, we performed a meta-analysis to study these associations in a large dataset. We first investigated associations between five common ABCG5/G8 polymorphisms (p.Q604E, p.D19H, p.Y54C, p.T400K, and p.A632V) and plasma sterol levels in 245 hypercholesterolaemic individuals. No significant associations were found. Subsequently, our data were pooled into a meta-analysis that comprised 3,364 subjects from 16 studies (weighted mean age, 46.7 ± 10.5 years; BMI, 23.9 ± 3.5 kg/m²). Presence of the minor 632V allele correlated with reduced LDL-C concentrations (n = 367) compared with homozygosity for the 632A variant [n = 614; −0.11 mmol/l (95% CI, range: −0.20 to −0.02 mmol/l); P = 0.01]. The remaining polymorphisms were not associated with plasma lipid levels. Carriers of the 19H allele exhibited lower campesterol/TC (n = 83; P < 0.001), sitosterol/TC (P < 0.00001), and cholestanol/TC (P < 0.00001), and increased lathosterol/TC ratios (P = 0.001) compared with homozygous 19D allele carriers (n = 591). The ABCG8 632V variant was associated with a clinically irrelevant LDL-C reduction, whereas the 19H allele correlated with decreased cholesterol absorption and increased synthesis without affecting the lipid profile. Hence, associations between frequently studied missense ABCG5/G8 polymorphisms and markers of cholesterol homeostasis are modest at best.