Why inter‐country loans will not help sumatra's elephants

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in western zoos are likely to become extinct unless elephants are regrouped into breeding units or additional elephants are imported from range States. There have been proposals for the export of elephants from elephant camps in Sumatra, Indonesia. In exchange, zoos would be expected to provide funds or support ‘in kind’ for the camps or for the conservation of wild elephants. Most of the elephants in the Sumatran camps were captured because of crop‐raiding problems around protected areas or because elephant habitat has been and continues to be lost to development schemes and illegal conversion of protected areas to agriculture. Capture‐related mortality rates are high and conditions in the camps are poor, with low standards of veterinary care and husbandry. This is partly due to over‐crowding and inadequate budgets. It might seem, therefore, that the loan of elephants to western zoos would improve the lot of these elephants and reduce the pressures on the camps. However, we show that both total and annual demand for Asian elephants, and particularly Sumatran elephants (E. m. sumatranus), by western zoos are low, and consequently the resources generated by any loan scheme would be limited. Elephant loan schemes are unlikely to have significant beneficial impact on either the conservation or welfare of elephants in Sumatra. More importantly, a credible loan scheme would require a permanent moratorium on the capture of wild elephants in Sumatra. Such a moratorium is needed to prevent illicit captures for sale or loan. At present, wild elephants are caught to replace those that die at the camps or are moved to other facilities. Without a moratorium, the loan of elephants to overseas zoos would contribute directly to reductions in wild elephant populations in Sumatra. However, a moratorium is likely to prove impossible to enforce, and this alone should call into question the desirability of any loan scheme. Zoo Biol 25:235–246, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The platypus is in its place: nuclear genes and indels confirm the sister group relation of monotremes and Therians

Morphological data supports monotremes as the sister group of Theria (extant marsupials + eutherians), but phylogenetic analyses of 12 mitochondrial protein-coding genes have strongly supported the grouping of monotremes with marsupials: the Marsupionta hypothesis. Various nuclear genes tend to support Theria, but a comprehensive study of long concatenated sequences and broad taxon sampling is lacking. We therefore determined sequences from six nuclear genes and obtained additional sequences from the databases to create two large and independent nuclear data sets. One (data set I) emphasized taxon sampling and comprised five genes, with a concatenated length of 2,793 bp, from 21 species (two monotremes, six marsupials, nine placentals, and four outgroups). The other (data set II) emphasized gene sampling and comprised eight genes and three proteins, with a concatenated length of 10,773 bp or 3,669 amino acids, from five taxa (a monotreme, a marsupial, a rodent, human, and chicken). Both data sets were analyzed by parsimony, minimum evolution, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian methods using various models and data partitions. Data set I gave bootstrap support values for Theria between 55% and 100%, while support for Marsupionta was at most 12.3%. Taking base compositional bias into account generally increased the support for Theria. Data set II exclusively supported Theria, with the highest possible values and significantly rejected Marsupionta. Independent phylogenetic evidence in support of Theria was obtained from two single amino acid deletions and one insertion, while no supporting insertions and deletions were found for Marsupionta. On the basis of our data sets, the time of divergence between Monotremata and Theria was estimated at 231-217 MYA and between Marsupialia and Eutheria at 193-186 MYA. The morphological evidence for a basal position of Monotremata, well separated from Theria, is thus fully supported by the available molecular data from nuclear genes.     

Isotopic evidence for breastfeeding and possible adult dietary differences from Late/Sub-Roman Britain

Historical documents indicate that breastfeeding and weaning practices have fluctuated in England through history. In order to obtain evidence for general breastfeeding patterns in Late/Sub-Roman Britain, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values were measured in juvenile and adult skeletons (n = 87) from the cemetery of Queenford Farm, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. As the site contained few individuals between 0-1.5 years of age, it was not possible to determine the initial timing for the introduction of weaning foods. Between ages 2-4 years, the mean +/- SD delta(13)C results (-20.2 +/- 0.3 per thousand) are significantly more negative (t = -4.03, P < 0.001) compared to adult females (-19.7 +/- 0.3 per thousand). This is interpreted as evidence of a different diet being fed to children during weaning. After age 2, the delta(15)N values gradually decline, indicating complete cessation of breastfeeding by 3-4 years. Among adults, stature (males = 1.68 +/- 0.06 m; females = 1.58 +/- 0.07 m) and sexual dimorphism (106) were low, suggesting that the population was possibly under environmental stress. The delta(13)C results for adults are similar, but females show a small but statistically significantly (t = -2.86, P < 0.01) lower mean delta(15)N value (9.9 +/- 0.9 per thousand) compared to males (10.6 +/- 0.5 per thousand). These lower female delta(15)N values possibly reflect the different physiology of the sexes (pregnancy and/or lactation) or the reduced consumption of animal/fish protein by women, and this may have been influenced by individual preference, family needs, or societal values of the era.     

Phylogenetic relationships of xenodontine snakes inferred from 12S and 16S ribosomal RNA sequences

The phylogenetic relationships of xenodontine snakes are inferred from sequence analyses of portions of two mitochondrial genes (12S and 16S ribosomal RNA) in 85 species. Although support values for most of the basal nodes are low, the general pattern of cladogenesis observed is congruent with many independent molecular, morphological, and geographical data. The monophyly of xenodontines and the basal position of North American xenodontines in comparison with Neotropical xenodontines are favored, suggesting an Asian-North American origin of xenodontines. West Indian xenodontines (including endemic genera and members of the genus Alsophis) appear to form a monophyletic group belonging to the South American clade. Their mid-Cenozoic origin by dispersal using ocean currents is supported. Within South American mainland xenodontines, the tribes Hydropsini, Pseudoboini, and Xenodontini are monophyletic. Finally, our results suggest that some morphological and ecological traits concerning maxillary dentition, macrohabitat use, and foraging strategy have appeared multiple times during the evolution of xenodontine snakes.     

The Small Interfering RNA Pathway Is Not Essential for Wolbachia-Mediated Antiviral Protection in Drosophila melanogaster

Wolbachia pipientis delays RNA virus-induced mortality in Drosophila spp. We investigated whether Wolbachia-mediated protection was dependent on the small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway, a key antiviral defense. Compared to Wolbachia-free flies, virus-induced mortality was delayed in Wolbachia-infected flies with loss-of-function of siRNA pathway components, indicating that Wolbachia-mediated protection functions in the absence of the canonical siRNA pathway.     

First detection, isolation and molecular characterization of infectious salmon anaemia virus associated with clinical disease in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Chile

Background  

Several forms of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) segregate in more than 100 breeds of dog with each PRA segregating in one or a few breeds. This breed specificity may be accounted for by founder effects and genetic drift, which have reduced the genetic heterogeneity of each breed, thereby facilitating the identification of causal mutations. We report here a new form of PRA segregating in the Border Collie breed. The clinical signs, including the loss of night vision and a progressive loss of day vision, resulting in complete blindness, occur at the age of three to four years and may be detected earlier through systematic ocular fundus examination and electroretinography (ERG).     

三氧化二砷对食管癌细胞增殖和热休克蛋白70表达的影响

目的：研究三氧化二砷（As2O3）对食管癌细胞增殖和热休克蛋白70（HSP70）表达的影响。方法：通过相差显微镜、流式细胞术、免疫细胞化学染色和免疫印迹分析等方法观察As2O3对人食管癌细胞株EC1的作用效果和作用机制。结果：与对照组相比,经2μmol/L和5μmol/Las2O3作用的细胞出现明显的生长抑制,G2/M期细胞比例增加;2μmol/Las2O3作用48h后经Ecl细胞HSP70（heat shock protein70）及HSC70(heat shock cognate protein70)表达均增加。结论：As2O3诱导食管癌细胞G2/M期阻滞抑制细胞增殖和生长;HSP70的升高是细胞对As2O3作用后出现的应激反应,并与细胞周期阻滞相关。