Borrelia sp. in ticks recovered from white-tailed deer in Alabama.

Six hundred sixty-five hunter-killed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 18 counties in Alabama (USA) were examined for ticks. Most of the collections were made at state-operated wildlife management areas. Four species of ticks (n = 4,527) were recovered: the lone star tick Amblyomma americanum (n = 482); the Gulf Coast tick A. maculatum (n = 11); the winter tick Dermacentor albipictus (n = 1,242); and the black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis (n = 2,792). Fifty-six percent of the ticks (n = 2,555) were examined for Borrelia sp. spirochetes using an immunofluorescent, polyclonal antibody assay. Spirochetes were detected in I. scapularis (five females, seven males) from Barbour, Butler, Coosa, and Lee counties and A. americanum (four males, four nymphs) from Hale, Lee, and Wilcox counties. Area-specific prevalences in ticks were as high as 3.3% for I. scapularis and 3.8% for A. americanum.     

Comparative biodistribution and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of native and heavy chain chimeric antibody.

We have recently chimerized the heavy chain of the pan-carcinoma monoclonal antibody (mAb) B72.3. Studies were undertaken to compare the IgG1 chimeric antibody, B72.3-1-3 with native murine B72.3 (nB72.3). Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, B72.3-1-3 demonstrated specific binding to fresh LS174T tumor cells. Biodistribution of 131I B72.3-1-3 was similar to 131I nB72.3 in nude mice bearing LS174T xenografts. Peak radiolocalization indices were noted on day 6 for B72.3-1-3 and day 8 for nB72.3. Both antibodies were capable of imaging LS174T tumors by radioimmunoscintigraphy. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of LS174T by human peripheral blood lymphocytes was tested in 8h 51Cr release assays. With either no antibody or nB72.3, lymphocytes were not capable of killing LS174T cells. However, B72.3-1-3 at a concentration of 5 and 50 micrograms/ml mediated significant lysis of tumor cells by human lymphocytes. These results suggest that chimeric antibodies retain their binding properties to tumor cells and display biodistribution patterns similar to their unmodified counterparts. Such modifications may reduce the deleterious human antimouse antibody response to murine mAbs as well as augment antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of tumor cells by human effectors.     

The effect of dimensionality on results from the triangular method

Methods to measure differences between complex stimulus sets(such as foods and beverages) are numerous One of the most commonlyused procedures in food and beverage sensory research is thetriangular method. A comparison of unidimensional and multidimensionalnormal models for the triangular method using Monte Carlo simulationshowed that the expected subject response distribution dependsnot only on the size of the unidimensional discriminal distancebetween stimulus sets, but also on the number of dimensionsfor which the discnminal distance is zero in each case Sincethe number of dimensions for which these conditions apply areusually unknown in complex systems, the power of the triangularmethod will be unknown. These findings may have important implicationsfor the interpretation of results from many methods which involvea comparison of distance estimates in a multidimensional space.     

Hybridization and speciation

Hybridization has many and varied impacts on the process of speciation. Hybridization may slow or reverse differentiation by allowing gene flow and recombination. It may accelerate speciation via adaptive introgression or cause near‐instantaneous speciation by allopolyploidization. It may have multiple effects at different stages and in different spatial contexts within a single speciation event. We offer a perspective on the context and evolutionary significance of hybridization during speciation, highlighting issues of current interest and debate. In secondary contact zones, it is uncertain if barriers to gene flow will be strengthened or broken down due to recombination and gene flow. Theory and empirical evidence suggest the latter is more likely, except within and around strongly selected genomic regions. Hybridization may contribute to speciation through the formation of new hybrid taxa, whereas introgression of a few loci may promote adaptive divergence and so facilitate speciation. Gene regulatory networks, epigenetic effects and the evolution of selfish genetic material in the genome suggest that the Dobzhansky–Muller model of hybrid incompatibilities requires a broader interpretation. Finally, although the incidence of reinforcement remains uncertain, this and other interactions in areas of sympatry may have knock‐on effects on speciation both within and outside regions of hybridization.     

Inflammation-induced reactive nitrogen species cause proteasomal degradation of dimeric peroxiredoxin-1 in a mouse macrophage cell line

Peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1) is an antioxidant enzyme that, when secreted, can act as a proinflammatory signal. Here we studied the regulation of intracellular PRDX1 by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in the RAW 264.7 mouse macrophage cell line. While LPS or IFN-γ alone did not affect PRDX1 protein levels, their combination led to an almost complete loss of the PRDX1 dimer. This was likely mediated by the increased production of nitric oxide (NO) as it was reversed by the NO synthase inhibitor L-N-methylarginine (L-NMMA), while a NO-releasing agent decreased PRDX1 levels. Inhibition of the proteasome with MG132 also prevented the loss of the PRDX1 dimer, suggesting that the decrease is due to a NO-activated proteasomal degradation pathway. By contrast with the decrease in protein levels, LPS increased PRDX1 mRNA and this effect was amplified by IFN-γ. Two other Nrf2 target genes, thioredoxin reductase (TXNRD1) and haem oxygenase (HMOX1), were also induced by LPS but IFN-γ did not increase their expression further. This study shows that inflammation differentially regulates PRDX1 at the levels of protein stability and gene expression, and that NO plays a key role in this mechanism.     

Investigation of Prolific Sheep from UK and Ireland for Evidence on Origin of the Mutations in BMP15 (FecXG,FecXB) and GDF9 (FecGH) in Belclare and Cambridge Sheep

This paper concerns the likely origin of three mutations with large effects on ovulation rate identified in the Belclare and Cambridge sheep breeds; two in the BMP15 gene (FecX^G and FecX^B) and the third (FecG^H) in GDF9. All three mutations segregate in Belclare sheep while one, FecX^B, has not been found in the Cambridge. Both Belclare and Cambridge breeds are relatively recently developed composites that have common ancestry through the use of genetic material from the Finnish Landrace and Lleyn breeds. The development of both composites also involved major contributions from exceptionally prolific ewes screened from flocks in Ireland (Belclare) and Britain (Cambridge) during the 1960s. The objective of the current study was to establish the likely origin of the mutations (FecX^G, FecX^B and FecG^H) through analysis of DNA from Finnish Landrace and Lleyn sheep, and Galway and Texel breeds which contributed to the development of the Belclare breed. Ewes with exceptionally high prolificacy (hyper-prolific ewes) in current flocks on Irish farms were identified to simulate the screening of ewes from Irish flocks in the 1960s. DNA was obtained from: prolific ewes in extant flocks of Lleyn sheep (n = 44) on the Lleyn peninsula in Wales; hyper-prolific ewes (n = 41); prolific Galway (n = 41) ewes; Finnish Landrace (n = 124) and Texel (n = 19) ewes. The FecX^G mutation was identified in Lleyn but not in Finnish Landrace, Galway or Texel sheep; FecX^B was only found among the hyper-prolific ewes. The FecG^H mutation was identified in the sample of Lleyn sheep. It was concluded from these findings that the Lleyn breed was the most likely source of the FecX^G and FecG^H mutations in Belclare and Cambridge sheep and that the FecX^B mutation came from the High Fertility line that was developed using prolific ewes selected from commercial flocks in Ireland in the 1960′s and subsequently used in the genesis of the Belclare.