Recherches sur la cuticule

Sans résumé Avec 11 figures dans le texte Une partie de ces recherches a été effectuée à l'aide d'instruments prêtés par le “Fonds National Belge de la Recherche Scientifique”. Cette liste ne comporte que les mémoirescités dans le texte. Quelques-uns ne me sont connus que de seconde main; leur indication est prédédée d'un^*.     

Primates: cladistic diagnosis and relationships

The morphological evidence for the phylogenetic relationships of euprimates, archaic primates, and related eutherian orders is reviewed following the methods of Hennigian phylogenetic systematics. Euprimates, the group including living primates and their closest common ancestor, is diagnosed by a suite of shared derived characters of the cranium and posteranium exhibiting relatively unique distributions among Eutheria. Plesiadapiformes, the group of archaic primates generally held to be the sister group to Euprimates, is not demonstrably monophyletic (with or without Microsyopidae). The Superorder Archonta (primates, tree shrews, bats, and colugos) is the only higher-level grouping including Euprimates that is based on uniquely derived morphological characters. Hypotheses of relationships within Archonta ally Euprimates with either tree shrews or some plesiadapiforms (paromomyids and plesiadapids), but the eurprimate-tree shrew clade receives more support from the distribution of derived characters among the taxa studied. Because the higher-level affinities of Euprimates are not well resolved, we advocate equating the Order Primates with the taxon Euprimates.     

Use of Primates in Research: What Do We Know About Captive Strepsirrhine Primates?

The increasing debate and restrictions on primate research have prompted many surveys about their status. However, there is a lack of information regarding strepsirrhine primates in the literature. This study provides an overview of research on strepsirrhines in captivity by analyzing scientific articles published from 2010 to 2013 and assessing publicly available government reports in Europe and the United States. Data on taxonomy, country, research area, research class, and type of institution were extracted. The 174 qualifying articles showed that species in the Galagidae and Cheirogaleidae families were used more often in invasive studies of neuroscience and metabolism, while the most commonly used species in noninvasive studies of behavior and cognition were true lemurs (family Lemuridae). France conducted the greatest number of invasive research projects, and the Duke Lemur Center was the institution with the most noninvasive studies. This study investigates how strepsirrhines are used in captive research and identifies issues in need of further review, which suggest that increased participation by the scientific community in the monitoring of strepsirrhine research is warranted.     

Primates and Cameras

Field-based primate studies often make population inferences using count-based indices (e.g., individuals/plot) or distance sampling; the first does not account for the probability of detection and thus can be biased, while the second requires large sample sizes to obtain precise estimates, which is difficult for many primate studies. We discuss photographic sampling and occupancy modeling to correct for imperfect detection when estimating system states and dynamics at the landscape level, specifically in relation to primate ecology. We highlight the flexibility of the occupancy framework and its many applications to studying low-density primate populations or species that are difficult to detect. We discuss relevant sampling and estimation procedures with special attention to data collection via photographic sampling. To provide tangible meaning to terminology and clarify subtleties, we use illustrative examples. Photographic sampling can have many advantages over observer-based sampling, especially when studying rare or elusive species. Combining photographic sampling with an occupancy framework allows inference to larger scales than is common in primate studies, addresses uncertainty due to the observation process, and allows researchers to examine questions of how landscape-level anthropogenic changes affect primate distributions.     

The Nonhuman Primates

The Nonhuman Primates. Phyllis Dolhinow and Agustín Fuentes. eds. Mountain View, CA. Mayfield Publishing Co., 1999. 340 pp.     

Polyomaviruses of Nonhuman Primates: Implications for Research

Polyomaviruses are a family of small nonenveloped DNA viruses that infect birds and mammals. At least 7 nonhuman primate polyomaviruses that occur in macaques, African green monkeys, marmosets baboons, and chimpanzees have been described, as well as 4 polyomaviruses that occur in humans. Simian virus 40 (SV40), which infects macaques, was the first nonhuman primate polyomavirus identified as a contaminant of early polio vaccines. Primate polyomaviruses cause inapparent primary infections but persist in the host and can cause severe disease in situations of immunocompromise. This review describes the primate polyomaviruses, and the diseases associated with the viruses of macaques. In macaques, the greatest current concerns are the potential confounding of study results by polyomavirus infections and the zoonotic potential of SV40.Abbreviations: PML, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy; SV40, Simian virus 40Polyomaviruses were previously members of the family Papovaviridae, which included (and derived its name from) rabbit papilloma virus (pa), mouse polyoma virus (po), and simian vacuolating virus (va). Papovaviruses are nonenveloped viruses, with double-stranded circular DNA and an icosahedral capsule. Since the 1980s, studies of Simian virus 40 (SV40) and mouse polyomavirus have demonstrated that these viruses have smaller capsids (45 nm versus 50 nm), smaller genomes (5 kb versus 8 kb), and a different genomic organization than those of papillomaviruses. SV40 and mouse polyomavirus now form an independent family, Polyomaviridae.¹⁸More than 13 members of Polyomaviridae infect mammals and birds. The first polyomavirus was discovered in 1953 in mice²⁸ and was so named because it caused tumors at multiple sites in neonatal mice. Indeed oncogenicity is a common feature of polyomaviruses, particularly tumor production in non-native hosts. Various members of the group transform cell lines and immortalize primary cell cultures as well as induce tumors in susceptible animals. SV40 was identified in 1960 in primary macaque kidney cell cultures, as a contaminant of polio vaccines.⁶⁸ In 1971, the human polyomaviruses BKV²³ and JCV⁵⁴ were identified (both are named after the initials of the patients in which they were first recognized). JCV was discovered in the brain of a patient with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, and BKV was found in the urine of a renal transplant patient. Recently, 2 additional polyomaviruses of the nasopharynx of humans, KIV and WUV, have been identified^2,25 through the use of molecular techniques. KIV was found in nasopharyngeal samples from patients with respiratory disease, and WUV initially was detected in a child with pneumonia. KIV and WUV are closely related genetically and may form a new subfamily of polyomaviruses: their early coding regions (T antigens) are similar to those of other primate polyomaviruses, but their late regions (structural proteins) differ.^7,25 Both KIV and WUV appear to be geographically widespread.The capsids of the polyomaviruses contain 3 structural proteins: VP1, the major capsid protein, and VP2 and VP3, which enclose a single molecule of viral DNA. The viruses also encode regulatory proteins, the T (tumor) antigens. SV40 and other primate polyomaviruses encode 2 T antigens, large T and small t, whereas mouse polyomavirus and some of the other family members have a third, middle T antigen. The T antigens of SV40, BKV, and JCV have about 75% amino-acid homology.⁵⁸ The T antigen of SV40 is essential for initiation of viral DNA replication and promotes transformation and immortalization of host cells, partially through binding to and inhibiting tumor suppressor proteins p53, p107, p130 (pRb2), and pRb (reviewed in reference 10).