Conserved Synteny between Pig Chromosome 8 and Human Chromosome 4 but Rearranged and Distorted Linkage Maps

The porcine genes encoding interleukin 2, alcohol dehydrogenase (class I) gamma polypeptide, and osteopontin were mapped to chromosome 8 by linkage analysis. Together with previous assignments to this chromosome (the albumin, platelet-derived growth factor receptor A, and fibrinogen genes), an extensive syntenic homology with human chromosome 4 was discovered. Loci from about three-quarters of the q arm of human chromosome 4 are on pig chromosome 8. However, the linear order of the markers is not identical in the two species, and there are several examples of interspecific differences in the recombination fractions between adjacent markers. The conserved synteny between man and the pig gives strong support to a previous suggestion that a synteny group present in the ancestor of mammalian species has been retained on human chromosome 4q. Since loci from this synteny group are found on two cattle chromosomes, the bovine rearrangement must have occurred after the split of Suidae and Bovidae within Artiodactyla.     

NMR studies of fully modified locked nucleic acid (LNA) hybrids: solution structure of an LNA:RNA hybrid and characterization of an LNA:DNA hybrid

LNA is a bicyclic nucleic acid analogue that contains one or more 2'-O,4'-C methylene linkage(s), which effectively locks the furanose ring in a C3'-endo conformation. We report here the NMR solution structure of a nonamer LNA:RNA hybrid and a structural characterization of a nonamer LNA:DNA hybrid, where the LNA strands are composed entirely of LNA nucleotides. This is the first structural characterization of fully modified LNA oligonucleotides. The high-resolution structure reveals that the LNA:RNA hybrid adopts an almost canonical A-type duplex morphology. The helix axis is almost straight and the duplex geometry is regular. This shows that fully modified LNA oligomers can hybridize with complementary RNA and form duplexes within the Watson-Crick framework. The LNA:DNA hybrid structurally resembles an RNA:DNA hybrid as shown by determination of deoxyribose sugar puckers and analysis of NOESY NMR spectra.     

Nephridial and gonoduct distribution patterns in Nerillidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) examined by tubulin staining and cLSM

The distribution and configuration of nephridia and gonoducts are described for seven species from seven genera of the interstitial polychaete family Nerillidae. The ciliated nephridia and gonoducts were identified by tubulin staining and examined with a confocal laser scanning microscope. The following species of the seven to nine-segmented nerillids were examined: Leptonerilla prospera, Nerilla antennata (nine segments); Nerillidium mediterraneum, Trochonerilla mobilis, Gen. sp. A (eight segments); and Aristonerilla brevis, Paranerilla limicola (seven segments). Two of the examined species are hermaphroditic (N. mediterraneum and Gen. sp. A). Segmented nephridia can be found from the first to the last segment, with a total of two to five pairs. One to three pairs of segmented spermioducts are present in all species. One pair of gonoducts is found in all species, except for P. limicola, where they are absent. Nephridia vary in length from half to almost twice the length of a segment and may be curled up in loops. In A. brevis and P. limicola the nephridia are discontinuously ciliated. The distribution and configuration of spermioducts and gonoducts are also variable, although to a lesser extent. The spermioduct distribution is generally consistent within genera and therefore of systematic significance. Nephridia and gonoducts are never found together in the same segments, and the results indicate that gonoducts and nephridia have developed from the same anlagen. The distribution patterns of nephridia and gonoducts are discussed with respect to segmentation, systematics, and development.     

Identifying the Best-Fitting Factor Structure of the Experience of Close Relations - Revised in a Scandinavian Example

The aim of this study was to enhance the understanding of cultural and sample differences in the assessment of attachment by examining the factor structure of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R). The ECR-R is a self-report measure of adult romantic attachment dimensions. The present study used a Danish sample with the purpose of addressing limitations in previous studies, such as the lack of diversity in cultural background, restricted sample characteristics, and poorly fitting structure models. Participants consisted of 253 parents of children between the ages of 7 and 12 years, 53% being mothers. The parents completed the paper version of the questionnaire. Confirmatory Factor Analyses were carried out to determine whether theoretically and empirically established models including one and two factors would also provide adequate fits in a Danish sample. A previous study using the original ECR suggested that Scandinavian samples may best be described using a five-factor solution. Our results indicated that the one- and two-factor models of the ECR-R did not fit the data well. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a five-factor model. Our study provides evidence that further investigation is needed to establish which model may provide the best model fit in the Scandinavian countries.     

Fatty Acid Composition of Muscle,Adipose Tissue and Liver from Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) Living in West Greenland

Information about lipid content and fatty acid (FA) composition of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatos) edible tissues is very limited in comparison to other meat sources. Thus, this work aims to present the first in-depth characterization of the FA profile of meat, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver of muskoxen living in West Greenland. Furthermore, we aim to evaluate the effect of sex in the FA composition of these edible tissues. Samples from muscle (Longissimus dorsi), subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver were collected from female and male muskoxen, which were delivered at the butchery in Kangerlussuaq (West Greenland) during the winter hunting season. The lipid content of muscle, adipose tissue and liver averaged 284, 846 and 173 mg/g of dry tissue, respectively. This large lipid contents confirms that in late winter, when forage availability is scarce, muskoxen from West Greenland still have high fat reserves, demonstrating that they are well adapted to seasonal feed restriction. A detailed characterization of FA and dimethylacetal composition of muskoxen muscle, subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver showed that there are little differences on FA composition between sexes. Nevertheless, the 18:1cis-9 was the most abundant FA in muscle and adipose tissue, reaching 43% of total FA in muscle. The high content of 18:1cis-9 suggests that it can be selectively stored in muskoxen tissues. Regarding the nutritional composition of muskoxen edible tissues, they are not a good source of polyunsaturated FA; however, they may contribute to a higher fat intake. Information about the FA composition of muskoxen meat and liver is scarce, so this work can contribute to the characterization of the nutritional fat properties of muskoxen edible tissues and can be also useful to update food composition databases.     

Src Drives Growth of Antiestrogen Resistant Breast Cancer Cell Lines and Is a Marker for Reduced Benefit of Tamoxifen Treatment

The underlying mechanisms leading to antiestrogen resistance in estrogen-receptor α (ER)-positive breast cancer is still poorly understood. The aim of this study was therefore to identify biomarkers and novel treatments for antiestrogen resistant breast cancer. We performed a kinase inhibitor screen on antiestrogen responsive T47D breast cancer cells and T47D-derived tamoxifen and fulvestrant resistant cell lines. We found that dasatinib, a broad-spectrum kinase inhibitor, inhibited growth of the antiestrogen resistant cells compared to parental T47D cells. Furthermore western blot analysis showed increased expression and phosphorylation of Src in the resistant cells and that dasatinib inhibited phosphorylation of Src and also signaling via Akt and Erk in all cell lines. Immunoprecipitation revealed Src: ER complexes only in the parental T47D cells. In fulvestrant resistant cells, Src formed complexes with the Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor (HER)1 and HER2. Neither HER receptors nor ER were co-precipitated with Src in the tamoxifen resistant cell lines. Compared to treatment with dasatinib alone, combined treatment with dasatinib and fulvestrant had a stronger inhibitory effect on tamoxifen resistant cell growth, whereas dasatinib in combination with tamoxifen had no additive inhibitory effect on fulvestrant resistant growth. When performing immunohistochemical staining on 268 primary tumors from breast cancer patients who had received tamoxifen as first line endocrine treatment, we found that membrane expression of Src in the tumor cells was significant associated with reduced disease-free and overall survival. In conclusion, Src was identified as target for treatment of antiestrogen resistant T47D breast cancer cells. For tamoxifen resistant T47D cells, combined treatment with dasatinib and fulvestrant was superior to treatment with dasatinib alone. Src located at the membrane has potential as a new biomarker for reduced benefit of tamoxifen.     

Phylogeny and systematics of Protodrilidae (Annelida) inferred with total evidence analyses

Protodrilidae is a group of small, superficially simple‐looking annelids, lacking chaetae and appendages, except for two prostomial palps. Originally considered to be one of the primitive “archiannelid” families, its affinity within Annelida is still highly debated. Protodrilids are found worldwide in the interstices of intertidal and subtidal marine sediments. Despite their simple appearance they constitute one of the most species‐rich interstitial families, with 36 described species in two genera, Protodrilus and the gutless Astomus. Here we present the first phylogenetic study of Protodrilidae employing five gene fragments, 55 morphological characters and 73 terminals (including seven outgroups) analysed under direct optimization and parsimony as well as model‐based methods. The large data set includes all 36 described species of Protodrilidae (17 of which are represented only by the morphological partition) as well as 30 undescribed or uncertain species (represented by both morphology and molecules). This comprehensive, inclusive and combined analysis revealed a new perspective on the phylogeny of Protodrilidae: the family is shown to contain six cosmopolitan subclades, each supported by several morphological apomorphies, and with the genus Astomus consistently nested among the other five clades rather than next to these. Consequently, the diagnosis of Protodrilus is emended, Astomus remains unchanged and the four remaining lineages are diagnosed and named Megadrilus n. gen, Meiodrilus gen. nov., Claudrilus n. gen and Lindrilus gen. nov. Character transformations showed that large size and presence of pigmentation, oviducts and eyes are plesiomorphies of the family, retained in Protodrilus, Megadrilus gen. nov. and Lindrilus gen. nov. These features are secondarily lost in the gutless Astomus with epidermal uptake of nutrients, as well as in Meiodrilus gen. nov. and some species of Claudrilus n. gen, with smaller size correlated to life in interstices of finer sediments.     

Does multi‐level environmental filtering determine the functional and phylogenetic composition of wild bee species assemblages?

A central goal in ecology is to develop theories that explain the diversity and distribution of species. The evolutionary history of species and their functional traits may provide mechanistic links between community assembly and the environment. Such links may be hierarchically structured such that the strength of environmental filtering decreases in a step‐wise manner from regional conditions through landscape heterogeneity to local habitat conditions. We sampled the wild bee species assemblages in power‐line strips transecting forests in south‐eastern Norway. We used altitude, landscape diversity surrounding sites and plant species composition, together with total plant cover as proxies for regional, landscape and local environmental filters, respectively. The species richness and abundance of wild bees decreased with altitude. The reduction in species richness and abundance was accompanied by a phylogenetic clustering of wild bee individuals. Furthermore, regional filters followed by local filters best explained the structure of the functional species composition. Sites at high altitudes and sites with Ericaceae‐dominated plant communities tended to have larger bees and a higher proportion of social and spring‐emerging bees. When Bombus species were excluded from the analysis, the proportion of pollen specialists increased with the dominance of Ericaceae. Furthermore, we also found that the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional compositional turnover between sites was higher in the northern region than in the southern part of the study region. Altogether, these results suggest that regional filters drive the species richness and abundance in trait‐groups whereas local filters have more descrete sorting effects. We conclude that the model of multi‐level environmental filters provides a good conceptual model for community ecology. We suggest that future studies should focus on the relationship between the biogeographical history of species and their current distribution, and on the assumption that closely related species do indeed compete more intensely than distantly related species.     

Breath gas metabolites and bacterial metagenomes from cystic fibrosis airways indicate active pH neutral 2,3-butanedione fermentation

The airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients are chronically colonized by patient-specific polymicrobial communities. The conditions and nutrients available in CF lungs affect the physiology and composition of the colonizing microbes. Recent work in bioreactors has shown that the fermentation product 2,3-butanediol mediates cross-feeding between some fermenting bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and that this mechanism increases bacterial current production. To examine bacterial fermentation in the respiratory tract, breath gas metabolites were measured and several metagenomes were sequenced from CF and non-CF volunteers. 2,3-butanedione was produced in nearly all respiratory tracts. Elevated levels in one patient decreased during antibiotic treatment, and breath concentrations varied between CF patients at the same time point. Some patients had high enough levels of 2,3-butanedione to irreversibly damage lung tissue. Antibiotic therapy likely dictates the activities of 2,3-butanedione-producing microbes, which suggests a need for further study with larger sample size. Sputum microbiomes were dominated by P. aeruginosa, Streptococcus spp. and Rothia mucilaginosa, and revealed the potential for 2,3-butanedione biosynthesis. Genes encoding 2,3-butanedione biosynthesis were disproportionately abundant in Streptococcus spp, whereas genes for consumption of butanedione pathway products were encoded by P. aeruginosa and R. mucilaginosa. We propose a model where low oxygen conditions in CF lung lead to fermentation and a decrease in pH, triggering 2,3-butanedione fermentation to avoid lethal acidification. We hypothesize that this may also increase phenazine production by P. aeruginosa, increasing reactive oxygen species and providing additional electron acceptors to CF microbes.