Using FTA® cards to store avian blood samples for genetic studies. Their application in sex determination

FTA® cards were used for long‐term storage of avian blood samples. Blood DNA was extracted by a simple method and used in PCR for sex identification of adult and nestling Great Grey Shrikes Lanius excubitor.     

Habitat preference in the critically endangered yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) at La Esperanza,Peru

Habitat loss is one of the main threats to wildlife. Therefore, knowledge of habitat use and preference is essential for the design of conservation strategies and identification of priority sites for the protection of endangered species. The yellow‐tailed woolly monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda Humboldt, 1812), categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, is endemic to montane forests in northern Peru where its habitat is greatly threatened. We assessed how habitat use and preference in L. flavicauda are linked to forest structure and composition. The study took place near La Esperanza, in the Amazonas region, Peru. Our objective was to identify characteristics of habitat most utilized by L. flavicauda to provide information that will be useful for the selection of priority sites for conservation measures. Using presence records collected from May 2013 to February 2014 for one group of L. flavicauda, we classified the study site into three different use zones: low‐use, medium‐use, and high‐use. We assessed forest structure and composition for all use zones using 0.1 ha Gentry vegetation transects. Results show high levels of variation in plant species composition across the three use zones. Plants used as food resources had considerably greater density, dominance, and ecological importance in high‐use zones. High‐use zones presented similar structure to medium‐ and low‐use zones; thus it remains difficult to assess the influence of forest structure on habitat preference. We recommend focusing conservation efforts on areas with a similar floristic composition to the high‐use zones recorded in this study and suggest utilizing key alimentation species for reforestation efforts.     

A New Electrolyte Formulation for Securing High Temperature Cycling and Storage Performances of Na‐Ion Batteries

The Na‐ion battery is recognized as a possible alternative to the Li‐ion battery for applications where power and cost override energy density performance. However, the increasing instability of their electrolyte with temperature is still problematic. Thus, a central question remains how to design Na‐based electrolytes. Here, the discovery of a Na‐based electrolyte formulation is reported which enlists four additives (vinylene carbonate, succinonitrile, 1,3‐propane sultone, and sodium difluoro(oxalate)borate) in proper quantities that synergistically combine their positive attributes to enable a stable solid electrolyte interphase at both negative and positive electrodes surface at 55 °C. Moreover, the role of each additive that consists in producing specific NaF coatings, thin elastomers, sulfate‐based deposits, and so on via combined impedance and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy is rationalized. It is demonstrated that empirical electrolyte design rules previously established for Li‐ion technology together with theoretical guidance is vital in the quest for better Na‐based electrolytes that can be extended to other chemistries. Overall, this finding, which is implemented to 18 650 cells, widens the route to the rapid development of the Na‐ion technology based on Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃/C chemistry.     

Solution structure of the N‐terminal domain of DC‐UbP/UBTD2 and its interaction with ubiquitin

DC‐UbP/UBTD2 is a ubiquitin (Ub) domain‐containing protein first identified from dendritic cells, and is implicated in ubiquitination pathway. The solution structure and backbone dynamics of the C‐terminal Ub‐like (UbL) domain were elucidated in our previous work. To further understand the biological function of DC‐UbP, we then solved the solution structure of the N‐terminal domain of DC‐UbP (DC‐UbP_N) and studied its Ub binding properties by NMR techniques. The results show that DC‐UbP_N holds a novel structural fold and acts as a Ub‐binding domain (UBD) but with low affinity. This implies that the DC‐UbP protein, composing of a combination of both UbL and UBD domains, might play an important role in regulating protein ubiquitination and delivery of ubiquitinated substrates in eukaryotic cells.     

Vaccination of mice against murine coccidiosis by ingestion of surface proteins of Eimeria falciformis incorporated in liposomes

Proteins are released from the surface of sporozoites of Eimeria falciformis during their in vitro incubation in a detergent solution. Some of these proteins reacted with antibodies from infected mice and specifically stimulated the proliferation of mesenteric lymph node cells of these mice. Oral immunization of mice with liposome encapsulated sporozoite surface antigens protected mice against a challenge infection. Two proteins (M.W. 27 and 180 K) induced an antibody synthesis in these vaccinated mice.     

Water inputs across a tropical montane landscape in Veracruz,Mexico: synergistic effects of land cover,rain and fog seasonality,and interannual precipitation variability

Land‐cover change can alter the spatiotemporal distribution of water inputs to mountain ecosystems, an important control on land‐surface and land‐atmosphere hydrologic fluxes. In eastern Mexico, we examined the influence of three widespread land‐cover types, montane cloud forest, coffee agroforestry, and cleared areas, on total and net water inputs to soil. Stand structural characteristics, as well as rain, fog, stemflow, and throughfall (water that falls through the canopy) water fluxes were measured across 11 sites during wet and dry seasons from 2005 to 2008. Land‐cover type had a significant effect on annual and seasonal net throughfall (NTF <0=canopy water retention plus canopy evaporation; NTF >0=fog water deposition). Forest canopies retained and/or lost to evaporation (i.e. NTF<0) five‐ to 11‐fold more water than coffee agroforests. Moreover, stemflow was fourfold higher under coffee shade than forest trees. Precipitation seasonality and phenological patterns determined the magnitude of these land‐cover differences, as well as their implications for the hydrologic cycle. Significant negative relationships were found between NTF and tree leaf area index (R²=0.38, P<0.002), NTF and stand basal area (R²=0.664, P<0.002), and stemflow and epiphyte loading (R²=0.414, P<0.001). These findings indicate that leaf and epiphyte surface area reductions associated with forest conversion decrease canopy water retention/evaporation, thereby increasing throughfall and stemflow inputs to soil. Interannual precipitation variability also altered patterns of water redistribution across this landscape. Storms and hurricanes resulted in little difference in forest‐coffee wet season NTF, while El Niño Southern Oscillation was associated with a twofold increase in dry season rain and fog throughfall water deposition. In montane headwater regions, changes in water delivery to canopies and soils may affect infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration, with implications for provisioning (e.g. water supply) and regulating (e.g. flood mitigation) ecosystem services.     

Variable modes of inheritance of morphometrical traits in hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans.

We investigated body-size inheritance in interspecific sterile hybrids by crossing a Drosophila simulans strain with 13 strains of Drosophila melanogaster, which were of various origins and chosen for their broad range of genetic variation. A highly significant parent-offspring correlation was observed, showing that the D. melanogaster genes for size are still expressed in a hybrid background. Superimposed on to this additive inheritance, the size of hybrids was always less than the mid-parent value. This phenomenon, which at first sight might be described as dominance or overdominance, is more precisely interpreted as a consequence of a hybrid breakdown, that is, a dysfunction of the parental genes for size when put to work together. This interpretation is enforced by the fact that phenotypic variability was much more prevalent in hybrids than in parents. We also analysed body pigmentation inheritance in the same crosses and got a very different picture. There was no increase in the phenotypic variance of F(1) hybrids and only a low parent-offspring correlation. Apparent overdominance could be observed but in opposite directions, with no evidence of hybrid breakdown. Our data point to the possibility of analysing a diversity of quantitative traits in interspecific hybrids, and indicate that breakdown might be restricted to some traits only.