First evidence of fish larvae producing sounds

The acoustic ecology of marine fishes has traditionally focused on adults, while overlooking the early life-history stages. Here, we document the first acoustic recordings of pre-settlement stage grey snapper larvae (Lutjanus griseus). Through a combination of in situ and unprovoked laboratory recordings, we found that L. griseus larvae are acoustically active during the night, producing ‘knock’ and ‘growl’ sounds that are spectrally and temporally similar to those of adults. While the exact function and physiological mechanisms of sound production in fish larvae are unknown, we suggest that these sounds may enable snapper larvae to maintain group cohesion at night when visual cues are reduced.     

Snapshot of an early Paleoproterozoic ecosystem: Two diverse microfossil communities from the Turee Creek Group,Western Australia

Eighteen microfossil morphotypes from two distinct facies of black chert from a deep‐water setting of the c. 2.4 Ga Turee Creek Group, Western Australia, are reported here. A primarily in situ, deep‐water benthic community preserved in nodular black chert occurs as a tangled network of a variety of long filamentous microfossils, unicells of one size distribution and fine filamentous rosettes, together with relatively large spherical aggregates of cells interpreted as in‐fallen, likely planktonic, forms. Bedded black cherts, in contrast, preserve microfossils primarily within, but also between, rounded clasts of organic material that are coated by thin, convoluted carbonaceous films interpreted as preserved extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Microfossils preserved within the clasts include a wide range of unicells, both much smaller and larger than those in the nodular black chert, along with relatively short, often degraded filaments, four types of star‐shaped rosettes and umbrella‐like rosettes. Large, complexly branching filamentous microfossils are found between the clasts. The grainstone clasts in the bedded black chert are interpreted as transported from shallower water, and the contained microfossils thus likely represent a phototrophic community. Combined, the two black chert facies provide a snapshot of a microbial ecosystem spanning shallow to deeper‐water environments, and an insight into the diversity of life present during the rise in atmospheric oxygen. The preserved microfossils include two new, distinct morphologies previously unknown from the geological record, as well as a number of microfossils from the bedded black chert that are morphologically similar to—but 400–500 Ma older than—type specimens from the c. 1.88 Ga Gunflint Iron Formation. Thus, the Turee Creek Group microfossil assemblage creates a substantial reference point in the sparse fossil record of the earliest Paleoproterozoic and demonstrates that microbial life diversified quite rapidly after the end of the Archean.     

MATE PREFERENCE FOR A PHENOTYPICALLY PLASTIC TRAIT IS LEARNED,AND MAY FACILITATE PREFERENCE‐PHENOTYPE MATCHING

Fixed, genetically determined, mate preferences for species whose adult phenotype varies with rearing environment may be maladaptive, as the phenotype that is most fit in the parental environment may be absent in the offspring environment. Mate preference in species with polyphenisms (environmentally dependent alternative phenotypes) should therefore either not focus on polyphenic traits, be polyphenic themselves, or learned each generation. Here, we test these alternative hypotheses by first describing a female‐limited seasonal polyphenism in a sexually dimorphic trait in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, dorsal hindwing spot number (DHSN), and then testing whether male and female mate preferences for this trait exist, and whether they are seasonally polyphenic, or learned. Neither naïve males nor naïve females in either seasonal form exhibited mating preferences for DHSN. However, males, but not females, noticed DHSN variation and learned mate preferences for DHSN. These results suggest that individuals may accommodate environmentally dependent variation in morphological traits via learned mate preferences in each generation, and that learned mate preference plasticity can be sexually dimorphic.     

Ossicular density in golden moles (Chrysochloridae)

The densities of middle ear ossicles of golden moles (family Chrysochloridae, order Afrosoricida) were measured using the buoyancy method. The internal structure of the malleus was examined by high-resolution computed tomography, and solid-state NMR was used to determine relative phosphorus content. The malleus density of the desert golden mole Eremitalpa granti (2.44 g/cm³) was found to be higher than that reported in the literature for any other terrestrial mammal, whereas the ossicles of other golden mole species are not unusually dense. The increased density in Eremitalpa mallei is apparently related both to a relative paucity of internal vascularization and to a high level of mineralization. This high density is expected to augment inertial bone conduction, used for the detection of seismic vibrations, while limiting the skull modifications needed to accommodate the disproportionately large malleus. The mallei of the two subspecies of E. granti, E. g. granti and E. g. namibensis, were found to differ considerably from one another in both size and shape.     

Breeding biology and provisioning of nestling snow buntings in the Canadian High Arctic

We examined basic breeding biology, as well as the effects of parental sex, brood size, nestling age, and nest habitat on foraging distances and parental food delivery rates of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) on Devon Island, NT, Canada, in the summers of 2003–2006. Clutch sizes and initiation dates were similar to those found in previous studies, although nest density was much higher. Feeding rates and foraging distances of buntings differed depending on the size and age of the brood, but were similar between nest habitats. Unlike in earlier studies, we found that male buntings made fewer feeding visits, but traveled longer distances to forage for food than females. Whether these differences between the sexes relate to reducing competition for prey, or to differing sex roles in parental care due to the poorly insulated nest cavities of this species, remains to be determined.     

Availability of and Ease of Access to Calorie Information on Restaurant Websites

Objective

Offering calories on restaurant websites might be particularly important for consumer meal planning, but the availability of and ease of accessing this information are unknown.

Methods

We assessed websites for the top 100 U.S. chain restaurants to determine the availability of and ease of access to calorie information as well as website design characteristics. We also examined potential predictors of calorie availability and ease of access.

Results

Eighty-two percent of restaurants provided calorie information on their websites; 25% presented calories on a mobile-formatted website. On average, calories could be accessed in 2.35±0.99 clicks. About half of sites (51.2%) linked to calorie information via the homepage. Fewer than half had a separate section identifying healthful options (46.3%), or utilized interactive meal planning tools (35.4%). Quick service/fast casual, larger restaurants, and those with less expensive entrées and lower revenue were more likely to make calorie information available. There were no predictors of ease of access.

Conclusion

Calorie information is both available and largely accessible on the websites of America’s leading restaurants. It is unclear whether consumer behavior is affected by the variability in the presentation of calorie information.     

Characterization of the 2012 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H7N3 Virus Isolated from Poultry in an Outbreak in Mexico: Pathobiology and Vaccine Protection

In June of 2012, an H7N3 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus was identified as the cause of a severe disease outbreak in commercial laying chicken farms in Mexico. The purpose of this study was to characterize the Mexican 2012 H7N3 HPAI virus (A/chicken/Jalisco/CPA1/2012) and determine the protection against the virus conferred by different H7 inactivated vaccines in chickens. Both adult and young chickens intranasally inoculated with the virus became infected and died at between 2 and 4 days postinoculation (p.i.). High virus titers and viral replication in many tissues were demonstrated at 2 days p.i. in infected birds. The virus from Jalisco, Mexico, had high sequence similarity of greater than 97% to the sequences of wild bird viruses from North America in all eight gene segments. The hemagglutinin gene of the virus contained a 24-nucleotide insert at the hemagglutinin cleavage site which had 100% sequence identity to chicken 28S rRNA, suggesting that the insert was the result of nonhomologous recombination with the host genome. For vaccine protection studies, both U.S. H7 low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses and a 2006 Mexican H7 LPAI virus were tested as antigens in experimental oil emulsion vaccines and injected into chickens 3 weeks prior to challenge. All H7 vaccines tested provided ≥90% protection against clinical disease after challenge and decreased the number of birds shedding virus and the titers of virus shed. This study demonstrates the pathological consequences of the infection of chickens with the 2012 Mexican lineage H7N3 HPAI virus and provides support for effective programs of vaccination against this virus in poultry.     

Identification of substrates of palmitoyl protein thioesterase 1 highlights roles of depalmitoylation in disulfide bond formation and synaptic function

Loss-of-function mutations in the depalmitoylating enzyme palmitoyl protein thioesterase 1 (PPT1) cause neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), a devastating neurodegenerative disease. The substrates of PPT1 are largely undescribed, posing a limitation on molecular dissection of disease mechanisms and therapeutic development. Here, we provide a resource identifying >100 novel PPT1 substrates. We utilized Acyl Resin-Assisted Capture (Acyl RAC) and mass spectrometry to identify proteins with increased in vivo palmitoylation in PPT1 knockout (KO) mouse brains. We then validated putative substrates through direct depalmitoylation with recombinant PPT1. This stringent screen elucidated diverse PPT1 substrates at the synapse, including channels and transporters, G-protein–associated molecules, endo/exocytic components, synaptic adhesion molecules, and mitochondrial proteins. Cysteine depalmitoylation sites in transmembrane PPT1 substrates frequently participate in disulfide bonds in the mature protein. We confirmed that depalmitoylation plays a role in disulfide bond formation in a tertiary screen analyzing posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Collectively, these data highlight the role of PPT1 in mediating synapse functions, implicate molecular pathways in the etiology of NCL and other neurodegenerative diseases, and advance our basic understanding of the purpose of depalmitoylation.

Unbiased proteomics with acyl resin-assisted capture reveals diverse novel substrates of the depalmitoylating enzyme palmitoyl protein thioesterase 1 (PPT1) at the synapse, with potential implications for the pathogenesis of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, disulfide bond formation, synaptic adhesion and additional critical synaptic functions.     

Sex‐specific aging in animals: Perspective and future directions

Sex differences in aging occur in many animal species, and they include sex differences in lifespan, in the onset and progression of age‐associated decline, and in physiological and molecular markers of aging. Sex differences in aging vary greatly across the animal kingdom. For example, there are species with longer‐lived females, species where males live longer, and species lacking sex differences in lifespan. The underlying causes of sex differences in aging remain mostly unknown. Currently, we do not understand the molecular drivers of sex differences in aging, or whether they are related to the accepted hallmarks or pillars of aging or linked to other well‐characterized processes. In particular, understanding the role of sex‐determination mechanisms and sex differences in aging is relatively understudied. Here, we take a comparative, interdisciplinary approach to explore various hypotheses about how sex differences in aging arise. We discuss genomic, morphological, and environmental differences between the sexes and how these relate to sex differences in aging. Finally, we present some suggestions for future research in this area and provide recommendations for promising experimental designs.