Lateral position preference in grazing feral horses

Behavioural lateralisation is an effective way for animals to manage daily tasks by specialising behaviour to either side of the body. Many types of lateralisation are linked to the function of each brain hemisphere. Lateralisation of monitoring behaviour in mother–infant relationships occurs in a wide range of mammals, where infants frequently use their left eye to monitor their mother. However, few studies have focused on this type of spatial relationships among adults in daily life, such as during foraging. The present study focused on monitoring adult feral horse behaviour using quantitative analysis of spatial relationships, using drone technology. We found that horses form a localised spatial relationship with their nearest neighbour. Specifically, the nearest neighbour was located to the left rear of a target individual significantly more frequently than to the right rear. Furthermore, the nearest neighbour was less frequently located behind a target individual. We propose that this relationship is caused by a left-eye preference, because information via the left eye predominantly proceeds to the right hemisphere, which is dominant for social processing.     

Correction to: Herding mechanisms to maintain the cohesion of a harem group: two interaction phases during herding

Journal of Ethology - The article Herding mechanisms to maintain the cohesion of a harem group.     

Comparison of the social systems of primates and feral horses: data from a newly established horse research site on Serra D’Arga,northern Portugal

Horses are phylogenetically distant from primates, but considerable behavioral links exist between the two. The sociality of horses, characterized by group stability, is similar to that of primates, but different from that of many other ungulates. Although horses and primates are good models for exploring the evolution of societies in human and non-human animals, fewer studies have been conducted on the social system of horses than primates. Here, we investigated the social system of feral horses, particularly the determinant factors of single-male/multi-male group dichotomy, in light of hypotheses derived from studies of primate societies. Socioecological data from 26 groups comprising 208 feral horses on Serra D’Arga, northern Portugal suggest that these primate-based hypotheses cannot adequately explain the social system of horses. In view of the sympatric existence of multi- and single-male groups, and the frequent intergroup transfers and promiscuous mating of females with males of different groups, male–female relationships of horses appear to differ from those of polygynous primates.     

X-ray structure and conformational dynamics of the HIV-1 protease in complex with the inhibitor SDZ283-910: agreement of time-resolved spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations

Based on the X-ray structure of the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) protease in complex with the statine-derived inhibitor SDZ283-910, a 542 ps molecular dynamics trajectory was computed. For comparison with the 805 ps trajectory obtained for the uncomplexed enzyme, the theoretical fluorescence anisotropy decay of the unliganded protease and the inhibitor complex was calculated from the trajectories of the Trp6A/Trp6B and Trp42A/Trp42B transition dipole moments. This enabled us to directly compare the simulated data with the experimental picosecond time-resolved fluorescence data. Fitting both experimental and simulated data to the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) function exp(-t/tauk)beta revealed a very good agreement for the uncomplexed protease as well as for the SDZ283-910 complex. Binding of the inhibitor induced a faster decay of both the experimental and the computed protease fluorescence anisotropy decay. By this integrative approach, the atomic detail of inhibitor-induced changes in the conformational dynamics of the HIV-1 protease was experimentally verified and will be used for further inhibitor optimisation.     

Differences in predatory behavior among three bird species when attacking chemically defended and undefended prey

Journal of Ethology - Birds are important predators of insects and insects often incorporate chemical defenses that may make themselves distasteful or toxic to the predators. Predators can respond...     

GPRC6A Null Mice Exhibit Osteopenia,Feminization and Metabolic Syndrome

Background

GPRC6A is a widely expressed orphan G-protein coupled receptor that senses extracellular amino acids, osteocalcin and divalent cations in vitro. The physiological functions of GPRC6A are unknown.

Methods/Principal Findings

In this study, we created and characterized the phenotype of GPRC6A ^−/− mice. We observed complex metabolic abnormalities in GPRC6A ^−/− mice involving multiple organ systems that express GPRC6A, including bone, kidney, testes, and liver. GPRC6A ^−/− mice exhibited hepatic steatosis, hyperglycemia, glucose intolerance, and insulin resistance. In addition, we observed high expression of GPRC6A in Leydig cells in the testis. Ablation of GPRC6A resulted in feminization of male GPRC6A ^−/− mice in association with decreased lean body mass, increased fat mass, increased circulating levels of estradiol, and reduced levels of testosterone. GPRC6A was also highly expressed in kidney proximal and distal tubules, and GPRC6A^−/− mice exhibited increments in urine Ca/Cr and PO₄/Cr ratios as well as low molecular weight proteinuria. Finally, GPRC6A ^−/− mice exhibited a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) in association with impaired mineralization of bone.

Conclusions/Significance

GPRC6A^−/− mice have a metabolic syndrome characterized by defective osteoblast-mediated bone mineralization, abnormal renal handling of calcium and phosphorus, fatty liver, glucose intolerance and disordered steroidogenesis. These findings suggest the overall function of GPRC6A may be to coordinate the anabolic responses of multiple tissues through the sensing of extracellular amino acids, osteocalcin and divalent cations.     

Structural basis for abrogated binding between staphylococcal enterotoxin A superantigen vaccine and MHC-IIalpha

Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) are superantigenic protein toxins responsible for a number of life-threatening diseases. The X-ray structure of a staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) triple-mutant (L48R, D70R, and Y92A) vaccine reveals a cascade of structural rearrangements located in three loop regions essential for binding the alpha subunit of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules. A comparison of hypothetical model complexes between SEA and the SEA triple mutant with MHC-II HLA-DR1 clearly shows disruption of key ionic and hydrophobic interactions necessary for forming the complex. Extensive dislocation of the disulfide loop in particular interferes with MHC-IIalpha binding. The triple-mutant structure provides new insights into the loss of superantigenicity and toxicity of an engineered superantigen and provides a basis for further design of enterotoxin vaccines.