The behavioural responses of badgers (Meles meles) to exclusion from farm buildings using an electric fence

Behavioural investigations into the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) between badgers and cattle suggest that badger activity in farm buildings may incur a significant risk of cross-infection. However, measures to exclude badgers from buildings have not been systematically field-tested. In the present study, remote surveillance and radio-tracking were used to monitor the effect of electric fencing manipulations on the frequency of badger incursions into feed stores and cattle housing, and on badger ranging behaviour. Electric fencing was effective in preventing access to the farm buildings where it was installed and also significantly reduced incursions into unfenced buildings. Badger home range and core activity areas tended to increase in size when the fencing was installed, although they did not extend beyond the boundaries of the relevant social group territories. We discuss the logistical constraints of using electric fencing in this context and conclude that it is a potentially useful method of reducing contact between badgers and cattle, within farm buildings and yards.     

Vascular Immunotargeting to Endothelial Determinant ICAM-1 Enables Optimal Partnering of Recombinant scFv-Thrombomodulin Fusion with Endogenous Cofactor

The use of targeted therapeutics to replenish pathologically deficient proteins on the luminal endothelial membrane has the potential to revolutionize emergency and cardiovascular medicine. Untargeted recombinant proteins, like activated protein C (APC) and thrombomodulin (TM), have demonstrated beneficial effects in acute vascular disorders, but have failed to have a major impact on clinical care. We recently reported that TM fused with an scFv antibody fragment to platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) exerts therapeutic effects superior to untargeted TM. PECAM-1 is localized to cell-cell junctions, however, whereas the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), the key co-factor of TM/APC, is exposed in the apical membrane. Here we tested whether anchoring TM to the intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1) favors scFv/TM collaboration with EPCR. Indeed: i) endothelial targeting scFv/TM to ICAM-1 provides ∼15-fold greater activation of protein C than its PECAM-targeted counterpart; ii) blocking EPCR reduces protein C activation by scFv/TM anchored to endothelial ICAM-1, but not PECAM-1; and iii) anti-ICAM scFv/TM fusion provides more profound anti-inflammatory effects than anti-PECAM scFv/TM in a mouse model of acute lung injury. These findings, obtained using new translational constructs, emphasize the importance of targeting protein therapeutics to the proper surface determinant, in order to optimize their microenvironment and beneficial effects.     

Species co‐occurrence networks show reptile community reorganization under agricultural transformation

Agricultural transformation represents one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, causing degradation and loss of habitat, leading to changes in the richness and composition of communities. These changes in richness and composition may, in turn, lead to altered species co‐occurrence, but our knowledge of this remains limited. We used a novel co‐occurrence network approach to examine the impact of agricultural transformation on reptile community structure within two large (> 172 000 km²; 224 sites) agricultural regions in southeastern Australia. We contrasted assemblages from sites surrounded by intact and modified landscapes and tested four key hypotheses that agricultural transformation leads to (H1) declines in species richness, (H2) altered assemblages, (H3) declines in overall co‐occurrence, and (H4) complex restructuring of pairwise associations. We found that modified landscapes differed in composition but not richness compared with intact sites. Modified landscapes were also characterized by differences in co‐occurrence network structure; with species sharing fewer sites with each other (reduced co‐occurrence connectance), fewer highly‐connected species (truncation of the frequency distribution of co‐occurrence degree) and increased modularity of co‐occurrence networks. Critically, overall loss of co‐occurrence was underpinned by complex changes to the number and distribution of pair‐wise co‐occurrence links, with 41–44% of species also gaining associations with other species. Change in co‐occurrence was not correlated with changes in occupancy, nor by functional trait membership, allowing a novel classification of species susceptibility to agricultural transformation. Our study reveals the value of using co‐occurrence analysis to uncover impacts of agricultural transformation that may be masked in conventional studies of species richness and community composition.     

Composition of leaf surface waxes of Triticum species: Variation with age and tissue

The composition of cuticular wax from plants of spring wheat (varieties Selkirk and Manitou) and of durum wheat (variety Stewart 63) at various stages of growth, and of wax from different parts of the plants varies considerably. Wax was analysed, without preliminary separation, by GLC using Dexsil 300 as liquid phase. Alcohols are major components of wax from leaf blades and β-diketones are major components of wax from leaf sheaths, especially the flag leaf sheath. Glaucousness of the leaf sheath is due to the high β-diketone content. In the first 50 days after germination, before sheaths and flag leaf are completely developed, the major component is octacosanol (> 50%). At 66 days, when sheath development is complete, β-diketone content is greatest. Hydrocarbon composition differs for wax from leaf blade and leaf sheath and also for different leaf blades and between adaxial and abaxial sides of the flag leaf. From 66 to 100 days ester content of wax increases, especially in Selkirk wheat, apparently due to formation of wax containing high proportions of esters of trans-α,β-unsaturated C₂₂ and C₂₄ acids. The content of these acids in the free fatty acids and of diesters based on these acids also increases during this period.     

Spectrum of Mutations in the OCRL1Gene in the Lowe Oculocerebrorenal Syndrome

The oculocerebrorenal syndrome of Lowe (OCRL) is a multisystem disorder characterized by congenital cataracts, mental retardation, and renal Fanconi syndrome. The OCRL1 gene, which, when mutated, is responsible for OCRL, encodes a 105-kD Golgi protein with phosphatidylinositol (4,5)bisphosphate (PtdIn[4,5]P2) 5-phosphatase activity. We have examined the OCRL1 gene in 12 independent patients with OCRL and have found 11 different mutations. Six were nonsense mutations, and one a deletion of one or two nucleotides that leads to frameshift and premature termination. In one, a 1.2-kb genomic deletion of exon 14 was identified. In four others, missense mutations or the deletion of a single codon were found to involve amino acid residues known to be highly conserved among proteins with PtdIns(4,5)P2 5-phosphatase activity. All patients had markedly reduced PtdIns(4,5)P2 5-phosphatase activity in their fibroblasts, whereas the ocrl1 protein was detectable by immunoblotting in some patients with either missense mutations or a codon deletion but was not detectable in those with premature termination mutations. These results confirm and extend our previous observation that the OCRL phenotype results from loss of function of the ocrl1 protein and that mutations are generally heterogeneous. Missense mutations that abolish enzyme activity but not expression of the protein will be useful for studying structure-function relationships in PtdIns(4,5)P2 5-phosphatases.