Flea diversity as an element for persistence of plague bacteria in an East African plague focus

Plague is a flea-borne rodent-associated zoonotic disease that is caused by Yersinia pestis and characterized by long quiescent periods punctuated by rapidly spreading epidemics and epizootics. How plague bacteria persist during inter-epizootic periods is poorly understood, yet is important for predicting when and where epizootics are likely to occur and for designing interventions aimed at local elimination of the pathogen. Existing hypotheses of how Y. pestis is maintained within plague foci typically center on host abundance or diversity, but little attention has been paid to the importance of flea diversity in enzootic maintenance. Our study compares host and flea abundance and diversity along an elevation gradient that spans from low elevation sites outside of a plague focus in the West Nile region of Uganda (~725-1160 m) to higher elevation sites within the focus (~1380-1630 m). Based on a year of sampling, we showed that host abundance and diversity, as well as total flea abundance on hosts was similar between sites inside compared with outside the plague focus. By contrast, flea diversity was significantly higher inside the focus than outside. Our study highlights the importance of considering flea diversity in models of Y. pestis persistence.     

Three routes to suppression of the neurodegenerative phenotypes caused by Kinesin heavy chain mutations

Kinesin-1 is a motor protein that moves stepwise along microtubules by employing dimerized kinesin heavy chain (Khc) subunits that alternate cycles of microtubule binding, conformational change, and ATP hydrolysis. Mutations in the Drosophila Khc gene are known to cause distal paralysis and lethality preceded by the occurrence of dystrophic axon terminals, reduced axonal transport, organelle-filled axonal swellings, and impaired action potential propagation. Mutations in the equivalent human gene, Kif5A, result in similar problems that cause hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2) distal neuropathies. By comparing the phenotypes and the complementation behaviors of a large set of Khc missense alleles, including one that is identical to a human Kif5A HSP allele, we identified three routes to suppression of Khc phenotypes: nutrient restriction, genetic background manipulation, and a remarkable intramolecular complementation between mutations known or likely to cause reciprocal changes in the rate of microtubule-stimulated ADP release by kinesin-1. Our results reveal the value of large-scale complementation analysis for gaining insight into protein structure-function relationships in vivo and point to possible paths for suppressing symptoms of HSP and related distal neuropathies.     

Acetaminophen inhibits cytochrome c redox cycling induced lipid peroxidation

Recent evidence indicates that site-specific crosstalk between O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation and the O-GlcNAcylation of kinases play an important role in regulating cell signaling. However, relatively few kinases have been analyzed for O-GlcNAcylation. Here, we identify additional kinases that are substrates for O-GlcNAcylation using an in vitro OGT assay on a functional kinase array. Forty-two kinases were O-GlcNAcylated in vitro, representing 39% of the kinases on the array. In addition, we confirmed the in vivo O-GlcNAcylation of three identified kinases. Our results suggest that O-GlcNAcylation may directly regulate a substantial number of kinases and illustrates the increasingly complex relationship between O-GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation in cellular signaling.     

Field Flight Dynamics of Hummingbirds during Territory Encroachment and Defense

Hummingbirds are known to defend food resources such as nectar sources from encroachment by competitors (including conspecifics). These competitive intraspecific interactions provide an opportunity to quantify the biomechanics of hummingbird flight performance during ecologically relevant natural behavior. We recorded the three-dimensional flight trajectories of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds defending, being chased from and freely departing from a feeder. These trajectories allowed us to compare natural flight performance to earlier laboratory measurements of maximum flight speed, aerodynamic force generation and power estimates. During field observation, hummingbirds rarely approached the maximal flight speeds previously reported from wind tunnel tests and never did so during level flight. However, the accelerations and rates of change in kinetic and potential energy we recorded indicate that these hummingbirds likely operated near the maximum of their flight force and metabolic power capabilities during these competitive interactions. Furthermore, although birds departing from the feeder while chased did so faster than freely-departing birds, these speed gains were accomplished by modulating kinetic and potential energy gains (or losses) rather than increasing overall power output, essentially trading altitude for speed during their evasive maneuver. Finally, the trajectories of defending birds were directed toward the position of the encroaching bird rather than the feeder.     

Differences in shape and size of skull and mandible in Talpa species (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla) from Turkey

We analysed with landmark-based images morphological differences between four species of Talpa which resemble each other morphologically and are all highly adapted to underground life. Subtle shape differences of the skull and mandibular bones were found between all species. However, there is also broad overlap between all species. Talpa caucasica had the largest skull and mandibles, and Talpa levantis the smallest.     

Gut microbiota in wild and captive Guizhou snub‐nosed monkeys,Rhinopithecus brelichi

Many colobine species—including the endangered Guizhou snub‐nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus brelichi) are difficult to maintain in captivity and frequently exhibit gastrointestinal (GI) problems. GI problems are commonly linked to alterations in the gut microbiota, which lead us to examine the gut microbial communities of wild and captive R. brelichi. We used high‐throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to compare the gut microbiota of wild (N = 7) and captive (N = 8) R. brelichi. Wild monkeys exhibited increased gut microbial diversity based on the Chao1 but not Shannon diversity metric and greater relative abundances of bacteria in the Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families. Microbes in these families digest complex plant materials and produce butyrate, a short chain fatty acid critical to colonocyte health. Captive monkeys had greater relative abundances of Prevotella and Bacteroides species, which degrade simple sugars and carbohydrates, like those present in fruits and cornmeal, two staples of the captive R. brelichi diet. Captive monkeys also had a greater abundance of Akkermansia species, a microbe that can thrive in the face of host malnutrition. Taken together, these findings suggest that poor health in captive R. brelichi may be linked to diet and an altered gut microbiota.