RT-qPCR reveals opsin gene upregulation associated with age and sex in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) - a species with color-based sexual selection and 11 visual-opsin genes

Background  

PCR-based surveys have shown that guppies (Poecilia reticulata) have an unusually large visual-opsin gene repertoire. This has led to speculation that opsin duplication and divergence has enhanced the evolution of elaborate male coloration because it improves spectral sensitivity and/or discrimination in females. However, this conjecture on evolutionary connections between opsin repertoire, vision, mate choice, and male coloration was generated with little data on gene expression. Here, we used RT-qPCR to survey visual-opsin gene expression in the eyes of males, females, and juveniles in order to further understand color-based sexual selection from the perspective of the visual system.     

Synthesis of new N-sulfonylated amino alcohols and application to the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes

A series of N-sulfonylated amino alcohols were prepared and the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes catalyzed by titanium(IV) complexes of those ligands were carried out. Excellent enantioselectivities were obtained for the desired alcohols with enantiomeric excess values up to 94% of R-configuration.     

Use of the EM algorithm to detect QTL affecting multiple-traits in an across half-sib family analysis

QTL detection experiments in livestock species commonly use the half-sib design. Each male is mated to a number of females, each female producing a limited number of progeny. Analysis consists of attempting to detect associations between phenotype and genotype measured on the progeny. When family sizes are limiting experimenters may wish to incorporate as much information as possible into a single analysis. However, combining information across sires is problematic because of incomplete linkage disequilibrium between the markers and the QTL in the population. This study describes formulæ for obtaining MLEs via the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm for use in a multiple-trait, multiple-family analysis. A model specifying a QTL with only two alleles, and a common within sire error variance is assumed. Compared to single-family analyses, power can be improved up to fourfold with multi-family analyses. The accuracy and precision of QTL location estimates are also substantially improved. With small family sizes, the multi-family, multi-trait analyses reduce substantially, but not totally remove, biases in QTL effect estimates. In situations where multiple QTL alleles are segregating the multi-family analysis will average out the effects of the different QTL alleles.     

Serum Calcium Response Following Oral Zinc Oxide Administrations in Dairy Cows

Six non-pregnant cows were allocated into 3 groups. Group 1 comprised a pair of lactating cows, whereas groups 2 and 3 each comprised a pair of non-lactating cows. The cows in groups 1 and 2 were dosed intraruminally by stomach tube with zinc oxide at 120 mg Zn per kg of bodyweight at weekly intervals for a period of 33 days. Each cow received a total of 4 doses of zinc oxide. Group 3 served as non-treated control group. Blood samples were collected from all 6 cows daily. Serum was analysed for concentration of calcium. Within 12–24 h of each zinc oxide administration the serum calcium of the lactating cows dropped dramatically indicating the existence of an antagonistic effect between Zn and Ca. The first Zn induced hypocalcaemic episode in the lactating cows was followed by a rise in serum calcium to a level above the pre-dosing level and above the mean value of the control group. The depth of the hypocalcaemic response decreased with the number of zinc oxide dosings. This effect was explained as a response from the stimulation of the calcium homeostatic mechanisms. In the Zn dosed non-lactating cows responses were similar but less clear. The perspective of these findings is discussed in relation to resistance towards parturient hypocalcaemia.     

Milk Fever Control Principles: A Review

Three main preventive principles against milk fever were evaluated in this literature review, and the efficacy of each principle was estimated from the results of controlled investigations. Oral calcium drenching around calving apparently has a mean efficacy of 50%–60% in terms of milk fever prevention as well as prevention of milk fever relapse after intravenous treatment with calcium solutions. However, some drenches have been shown to cause lesions in the forestomacs. When using the DCAD (dietary cation-anion difference) principle, feeding rations with a negative DCAD (measured as (Na + K) – (Cl + S)) significantly reduce the milk fever incidence. Calculating the relative risk (RR) of developing milk fever from controlled experiments results in a mean RR between 0.19 and 0.35 when rations with a negative versus positive DCAD are compared. The main drawback from the DCAD principle is a palatability problem. The principle of feeding rations low in calcium is highly efficient in milk fever prevention provided the calcium intake in the dry period is kept below 20 g per day. Calculating the relative risk (RR) of developing milk fever from controlled experiments results in a very low mean RR (between 0 and 0.20) (daily calcium intake below versus above 20 g/d). The main problem in implementing the low-Ca principle is difficulties in formulating rations sufficiently low in calcium when using commonly available feeds. The use of large doses of vitamin D metabolites and analogues for milk fever prevention is controversial. Due to toxicity problems and an almost total lack of recent studies on the subject this principle is not described in detail. A few management related issues were discussed briefly, and the following conclusions were made: It is important to supply the periparturient cow with sufficient magnesium to fulfil its needs, and to prevent the dry cows from being too fat. Available information on the influence of carbohydrate intake, and on the effect of the length of the dry period and prepartum milking, is at present insufficient to include these factors in control programmes.     

Risk of Infection with Leishmania spp. in the Canine Population in the Netherlands

The dog is the main reservoir of Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in humans in Southern Europe. In order to identify the risk of dogs from a Leishmania non-endemic area traveling to a Leishmania -endemic area becoming infected and the risk of transmitting infection to humans in non-endemic areas an investigation was performed, in which the results of a questionnaire were combined with the results of a serologic survey.     

PsbY, a novel manganese-binding, low-molecular-mass protein associated with photosystem II

We describe two related manganese-binding polypeptides with L-arginine metabolizing enzyme activity that can be detected as distinct components (designated PsbY-A1 and PsbY-A2, previously called L-AME) in membranes containing Photosystem II (PS II) from spinach. The polypeptides are bitopic and appear to exist in a heterodimeric form, but only in the chlorophyll a/b lineage of plants. Both proteins are encoded in the nucleus. In spinach and in Arabidopsis thaliana they are both derived from a single-copy gene (psbY) that is translated into a precursor polyprotein of approximately 20 kDa. The processing of the polyprotein is complex and includes at least four cleavage steps. Both polypeptides are exposed N-terminally to the lumenal and C-terminally to the stromal face of the thylakoid membrane. Received: 9 June 1998 / Accepted: 9 July 1998     

1,3-Bis[N-sulfonyl-(1R,2S)-1,3-diphenyl-2-aminopropanol]benzene: an excellent ligand for titanium-catalyzed asymmetric AlPh3(THF) additions to aldehydes

Asymmetric AlPh(3) (THF) additions to a wide variety of aldehydes catalyzed by a titanium catalyst of 20 mol % 1,3-bis[N-sulfonyl-(1R,2S)-1,3-diphenyl-2-aminopropanol]benzene (1) are reported. The catalytic system works excellently for aromatic aldehydes bearing either an electron-donating or an electron-withdrawing substituent on the aromatic ring to afford secondary diaryl alcohols in excellent isolated yields of >or=95% and excellent enantioselectivities of >or=94% ee. The phenyl addition to cinnamaldehyde or 2-furylaldehyde gave corresponding secondary alcohols in 85% and 95% ee, respectively. For aliphatic aldehydes, increasing enantioselectivities of the addition products in terms of increasing steric sizes of aldehydes are observed, and this trend goes from the linear 1-pentanal (87% ee), the secondary cyclohexylaldehyde (95% ee) or the 2-methylpropanal (97% ee), to the tertiary 2,2-dimethylpropanal (99% ee).