Species differences in the detection of high molecular weight urinary plasminogen activators

Urine samples from 10 species of mammals were analyzed by SDS-PAGE followed by zymography for the presence of both plasminogen activators and plasminogen activator binding proteins. In contrast to results obtained with urine from humans (Homo sapiens), and to a lesser extent urine from baboons (Papio cynocephalous), urine from gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) and orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) did not exhibit either very high molecular weight plasminogen activators or the presence of plasminogen activator binding proteins. Low levels of very high molecular weight plasminogen activators could be detected in concentrates of urine samples from rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), dogs (Canis familiaris) and sheep (Ovis aries). Very high molecular weight plasminogen activators could be detected in unconcentrated guinea-pig (Cavia porcella) urine, concentrated urine samples from rats (Rattus norvegicus), but not in concentrated samples of urine from mice (Mus musculus). These results indicate that considerable variation between species exists at the level of the plasminogen activators present in urine, a finding that may relate to whether plasminogen activator binding proteins are also present in this fluid.     

Evolution of immunoglobulin allotypes and phylogeny of apes

Serum samples from 72 Pan troglodytes, 5 Pan paniscus, 22 Gorilla gorilla, 23 Pongo pygmaeus abelii, 5 Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus, 2 hybrids P.p. abelii X P.p. pygmaeus and 13 Hylobates lar were tested for Gm(1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 24, 28), Km(1) and Bm(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) immunoglobulin allotypes by the classical hemagglutination inhibition method. The distribution of the various alleles and phenotypes makes it possible to distinguish each species or subspecies. Common chimpanzees have the richest polymorphism. Pygmy chimpanzees share common phenotypes with gorillas. Bornean and Sumatran orangutans have their own patterns of polymorphism, as do gibbons. Our principal component plot and dendrogram are compatible with the traditional classification of Hominoidea [e.g. Simpson, Bull. Am. Mus. nat. Hist. 85: 1-350, 1945] in 3 families: Hominidae, Pongidae and Hylobatidae.     

Urinary estrogen excretion during pregnancy in the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and the human (Homo sapiens)

Urinary estrogen components were separated, identified and quantified throughout the pregnancy of the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and compared to estrogen levels in normal human pregnancies. Fetal and neonatal adrenals from each species were also compared in terms of weight and relative amounts of fetal zone. The results demonstrate that gorillas and chimpanzees excrete 4- to 5-fold less estrogen during pregnancy than the human and orangutan which are similar to each other. The lower estrogen excretion appears to be related to a smaller fetal adrenal in both the gorilla and chimpanzee which reveal both a reduced adrenal weight and increased definitive to fetal zone ratio when compared to either the human or orangutan.     

A survey for helminth parasites in feral New World non-human primate populations and its comparison with parasitological data from man in the region

A survey for helminth parasites in feral New World non-human primates was conducted and compared with parasitological data from man in the region. A total of 835 fecal samples were collected from feral Aotus nancymae, A. vociferans, Saguinus labiatus, S. mystax, Saimiri boliviensis peruviensis, S. sciureus macrodon, Lagothrix lagotricha and Cacajao calvus rubicundus. In addition, adult parasites were collected from necropsies performed on monkeys that died during quarantine and in captivity. Helminth parasites shared by non-human primates and man in Peru were Ancylostoma braziliensis and Ascaris lumbricoides, found in a captive L. lagotricha; Necator americanus, found in a captive C. calvus rubicundus; Hymenolepis diminuta, found in feral Aotus spp. and S. mystax; and a single Trichuris spp. specimen found in a feral S. sciureus macrodon.     

Ribosomal RNA gene sequences and hominoid phylogeny

Sequences totaling 3,500 bases from the 28S rRNA gene and from one of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacers (ITS1) have been determined for human, chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus). Analyses of the rRNA alignments show (1) a clustering of substitutions in the "variable regions" of the 28S gene, (2) a 1.5-3-fold increase in divergence in the transcribed spacer over that in the exon, and (3) that human and chimpanzee are the most closely related pair, in agreement with the results of Miyamoto et al., Sibley and Ahlquist, and Caccone and Powell.     

Paternity determination in captive lowland gorillas and orangutans and wild mountain gorillas by microsatellite analysis

Paternity exclusion studies provide useful information for testing certain theories of behavioral ecology and for the management and conservation of both wild and captive populations of endangered species. This study used eight human nuclear microsatellite loci, in the absence of species-specific PCR primers, to genetically identify the sires of 12 captive lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and 2 captive orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus andPongo p. abelii). Parentage assignments were confirmed by excluding all except a single potential sire for each offspring with the least two loci. Sire-offspring relationships were verified in 12 of the 14 cases, and reassigned in the case of two gorilla offspring. The orangutan paternity typing was supplemented by DNA fingerprinting. Additionally, five of the eight microsatellite loci, in conjunction with behavioral data, were used for a non-exhaustive set of paternity exclusions for five wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla g. beringei). The eight loci described in this study should be useful additions to the tools available for the study of genetics in the great apes.     

A comparison of taste thresholds for sweet and astringent-tasting compounds in great apes

Taste responses to fructose and tannic acid were compared between great apes using the 'two-bottle test' with tests of brief duration. The taste thresholds for fructose were [10-20] mM in Pongo pygmaeus, [40-50] mM in Pan troglodytes, and [70-80] mM in Gorilla gorilla. Inhibition thresholds for tannic acid were [2.9-3.5] mM in Pongo and [2.9-5.9] mM in Pan. Gorillas apparently significantly preferred tannins at low concentrations ([0.59-5.9] mM) but rejected concentrations above [8.8-14.7] mM. These results are discussed in relation to the effects of phylogenetic inertia and biological adaptation.     

Conservation of pericentromeric duplications of a 200-kb part of the human 21q22.1 region in primates

We analyzed the conservation of large paralogous regions (more than 200 kb) on human chromosome regions 21q22.1 and 21q11.2 and on pericentromeric regions of chromosomes 2, 13, and 18 in three nonhuman primate species. Orthologous regions were found by FISH analysis of metaphase chromosomes from Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, and Pongo pygmaeus. Only one orthologous region was detected in chromosomes of P. pygmaeus, showing that the original locus was at 21q22.1 and that the duplication arose after the separation of Asian orangutans from the other hominoids. Surprisingly, the paralogous regions were more highly conserved in gorilla than in chimpanzee. PCR amplification of STSs derived from sequences of the chromosome 21 loci and low-stringency FISH analysis showed that this duplication occurred recently in the evolution of the genome. Different rates of sequence evolution through substitutions or deletions, after the duplication, may have resulted in diversity between closely related primates.     

Phylogeny, neoteny and growth of the cranial base in hominoids

This study tests the hypothesis that there is a general pattern in the growth of the cranial base of Homo sapiens that is 'essentially neotenous' [Gould, 1977]. Juvenile and adult crania of Homo sapiens, Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes and Pongo pygmaeus were studied and the cross-sectional growth curves for 10 measurements made on the cranial base (as viewed in norma basilaris) were compared. The results of this study suggest that relatively simple modifications to the timing or pattern of growth are insufficient to explain the observed morphological differences between the cranial base of modern Homo sapiens and the great apes.     

Fluorescent (F) bodies in the spermatozoa of man and the great apes

Mature spermatozoa of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) were stained with quinacrine dihydrochloride. Fluorescent (F) bodies were visualized in the spermatozoa of the chimpanzee and gorilla but were absent in the orangutan, in which there is no brilliant fluorescence in any chromosome. The F bodies appeared to be randomly located in the sperm heads of these two species, as they usually are in human spermatozoa. However, the proportion of sperm showing one or more F bodies in the chimpanzee and gorilla was not comparable to what is usually found in man. The F bodies in the chimpanzee presumably represent brilliant regions in the autosomes, since the Y chromosome has no brilliant fluorescence in this species. This is contrary to man, in which the F body is an useful indicator of the Y chromosome. In the gorilla, the F bodies probably correspond to both the Y chromosome and to some brilliant regions in the autosomes.     

Characterization of the gorilla carboxyl ester lipase locus, and the appearance of the carboxyl ester lipase pseudogene during primate evolution.

In this study we report on the isolation and characterization of the gorilla carboxyl ester lipase gene, CEL, and the corresponding CEL pseudogene. We also report on the age of the CEL pseudogene.The gorilla CEL gene is 10.5kb long and comprises 11exons intervened by introns similar to the situation in man, mouse and rat. The encoded protein is 998amino acids long and includes a 23amino acid-long leader peptide. Comparison of the coding sequence, excluding exon 11, of CEL from gorilla and man reveals a 97% similarity. Exon 11, which encodes the characteristic proline rich repeats, contains 39 repeated units in gorilla compared to 16 in man. A truncated CEL pseudogene, with the same organization as that found in man, is also shown to be present in the gorilla genome. The gorilla CEL pseudogene is 4.9kb in length and consists of 5exons interrupted by introns. Southern analysis of the gorilla CEL locus shows that the locus is arranged in a similar way as in man with the functional CEL gene being the most 5' one.To bring further insight to the events involved in the rearrangement of the CEL locus, genomic Southern analyses were performed across several primates; Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus and Macaca arctoides. Results presented show that the CEL gene duplication occurred prior to the separation of Hominidae (man, chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan) from Old World monkeys (macaque). The deletion of the original CEL gene giving rise to the truncated version of the CEL gene seems, however, to be restricted to man and the great apes only.     

Comparative mapping of human alphoid satellite DNA repeat sequences in the great apes

Heterochromatic regions of chromosomes contain highly repetitive, tandemly arranged DNA sequences that undergo very rapid variation compared to unique DNA sequences that are predominantly conserved. In this study the chromosomal basis of speciation has been looked at in terms of repeat sequences. We have hybridized twenty-one chromosome-specific human alphoid satellite DNA probes to metaphase spreads of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), and orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) to investigate the evolutionary relationship of heterochromatic regions among such hominoid species. The majority of the probes did not hybridize to their corresponding equivalent chromosome but presented hybridization signals on non-corresponding chromosomes. Such observations suggest that rapid changes may have occurred in the ancestral alphoid satellite DNA sequence, resulting in divergence among the great ape species. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hand preferences in captive gorillas,orang-utans and gibbons

Hand preference was assessed in 12 gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), 13 orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii), and 9 gibbons (Hylobates lar) by using a floor retrieval task and a mesh retrieval task. Hand preference was also assessed in 8 gorillas and 8 orang-utans by using a task involving the unfastening of a hasp. A bipedal requirement during testing (mesh retrieval task) facilitated detection of hand preferences. A significant left-hand preference was found for the gibbons with 6 of 6 gibbons preferring their left hand on the mesh retrieval task. Similarly, a significant right-hand preference was found for the gorillas with 10 of 12 gorillas preferring their right hand on the mesh retrieval task. The data for the orang-utan suggest a bimodal distribution on all tasks. Since the gibbon and gorilla in the wild engage in bipedal locomotion more frequently than the orangutan, one possible interpretation for these results correlates the degree of bipedal behavior of a species in its natural environment with its readiness to exhibit a unilateral population-level hand preference.     

Dental microwear variability on buccal tooth enamel surfaces of extant Catarrhini and the Miocene fossil Dryopithecus laietanus (Hominoidea)

Analyses of buccal tooth microwear have been used to trace dietary habits of modern hunter-gatherer populations. In these populations, the average density and length of striations on the buccal surfaces of teeth are significantly cor-related with the abrasive potential of food items consumed. In non-human pri-mates, tooth microwear patterns on both occlusal and buccal wear facets have been thoroughly studied and the results applied to the characterization of dietary habits of fossil species. In this paper, we present inter- and intra-specific buccal microwear variability analyses in extant Cercopithecoidea (Cercopithecus mitis, C. neglectus, Chlorocebus aethiops, Colobus spp., Papio anubis) and Hominoidea (Gorilla gorilla, Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus). The results are tentatively compared to buccal microwear patterns of the Miocene fossils Dryopithecus and Oreopithecus. Significant differences in striation density and length are found among the fossil taxa studied and the extant primates, suggesting that buccal microwear can be used to identify dietary differences among taxa. The Dryopithecus buccal microwear pattern most closely resembles that of abrasive, tough plant foods consumers, such as the gorilla, in contrast to stud-ies of dental morphology that suggest a softer, frugivorous diet. Results for Oreopithecus were equivocal, but suggest a more abrasive diet than that previously thought.     

人天然免疫基因TRIM5α的序列及进化分析

目的：克隆人TRIM5α基因,对其编码序列进行分析,并进行分子进化研究。方法：以HeLa细胞cDNA为模板,用RT-PCR方法克隆人TRIM5α基因,与人基因组序列对比分析其结构;用BioEdit、Genedoc和MEGA4.1软件进行蛋白序列联配和进化分析。结果：扩增了长1482bp的人TRIM5α基因片段,序列分析表明其覆盖了完整编码框,编码由493个氨基酸残基组成的人TRIM5α蛋白;人TRIM5α蛋白与黑猩猩、大猩猩、猩猩、猕猴TRIM5α蛋白的相似度分别为98.2%、96.8%、93.7%和87.6%。结论：克隆了人TRIM5α基因,为进一步研究该基因的功能奠定了基础。     

DNA sequence polymorphism within hominoid species exceeds the number of phylogenetically informative characters for a HOX2 locus.

Within- and between-species variability was examined in a noncoding 238-bp segment of the HOX2 cluster. DNA of 4-26 individuals of four species (Pongo pygmaeus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and Homo sapiens) was PCR amplified and electrophoresed in a denaturing gradient gel to screen for variability. Coupled amplification and sequencing was used to determine the complete sequence for each of the different alleles identified, one each in humans and orangutans, two in chimpanzees, and four in gorillas. Maximum-parsimony methods were used to construct a gene tree for these sequences. Alleles in all four species cluster into groups consisting of only one species (i.e., alleles within a species are monophyletic). The number of base-pair differences observed among alleles within P. troglodytes and within G. gorilla is larger than the number of base-pair substitutions that phylogenetically link Pan with Homo. Given these and other published data, it is premature to accept any particular phylogenetic tree that relates these three genera through two separate speciation events.     

An allometric study of the frontal sinus in Gorilla, Pan and Pongo

There is considerable speculation about the role and significance of the paranasal sinuses in the Hominoidea, and this study aims to present new data about an old problem from cephalograms of dried crania. Measurements of frontal sinus volumes were determined for Gorilla gorilla gorilla; G. gorilla beringei and Pan troglodytes. By adopting an allometric approach it was determined that the frontal sinus volume of Gorilla is relatively smaller than that of Pan, and that the frontal sinus of G. g. gorilla is relatively smaller than that of G. g. beringei. Frontal sinus volume scales in a positive allometric fashion relative to skull length. Since the slope is steeper for Pan, frontal sinus volume is increasing at a faster rate than in Gorilla. Sexual dimorphism in frontal sinus volume is present. Thirty crania of Pongo were investigated for evidence of pneumatization of the frontal bone. In no case was secondary invasion of the frontal bone by the maxillary antrum observed. In Gorilla, the nasal cavity volume scales isometrically with skull length. The scaling relationships discussed do not support any 'functional' role of the frontal sinus associated with nasal function but suggest a 'structural' role associated with craniofacial architecture.     

Immunoglobulin Gm allotypes in apes: Comparison with man

Serum samples from 245 apes (184 Pan troglodytes, five Pan paniscus, 28 Gorilla gorilla, 23 Pongo pygmaeus abelei, and five Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) were tested for G1m (1,2,3,17), G2m (23), and G3m (5,6,10,11,13,14,15,16,21,24,28) immunoglobulin allotypes by the classical method of inhibition of hemagglutination. Some phenotypes are species specific while a few are shared by man and African apes.     

Lethal pneumonia in a captive juvenile chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) due to human-transmitted human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) and infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae

Background  During an outbreak of respiratory disease in captive chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ), gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla ), Bornean orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus ), and red-capped mangabeys ( Cercocebus torquatus ) also staff members showed non-specific upper respiratory signs. One infant female chimpanzee with severe respiratory symptoms died despite immediate medical treatment and was submitted for necropsy.
Methods  Routine post mortem, histological and bacteriological examinations were conducted. Additionally lung tissue samples form the chimpanzee and swab samples from the staff members and the other primates were examined by PCR.
Results  A severe catarrhal to purulent bronchopneumonia and an interstitial pneumonia were found and human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) as well as Streptococcus pneumoniae was detected in lung samples by PCR. Swab samples from one animal keeper revealed the same HRSV sequence as of the chimpanzee.
Conclusions  Therefore, it is suggested that the outbreak of respiratory disease within a zoological institution was due to transmission of HRSV between both human and primates.