Heritability of Quasi-Continuous Skeletal Traits in a Randombred Population of House Mice

Heritabilities of 11 quasi-continuous skeletal traits were estimated in randombred house mice of three separate ages (1, 3, and 5 months). Three separate methods—regression, maximum likelihood correlation, and Falconer's Method—were used to obtain heritabilities for each of the separate age groups. Significant differences in the incidences of seven of the skeletal traits were found among ages, but they did not affect the heritability estimates, these estimates being pooled over ages. Heritabilities calculated from female parents were consistently higher (by about 13%) than those from male parents, indicating the presence of maternal effects. Mid-parent estimates made by all three methods gave very similar mean levels (0.17 — 0.20). Although low, this level compared favorably with that expected on the basis of previously estimated rates of accumulation of genetic variance. Maternal effects estimated from full sib correlations averaged 0.08.     

Quantitative aspects of hormone-receptor interactions of high affinity: Effect of receptor concentration and measurement of dissociation constants of labeled and unlabeled hormones

It is demonstrated that because of limitations in the magnitude of the specific activity of radiolabeled hormone derivatives, direct binding studies of hormone-receptor interactions of high affinity (10^?9–10^?11 M, depending on whether ³H- or ¹²³I-labeled hormones are used) will be subject to artifactual distortions due to the need to utilize high concentrations of the receptor. If the concentration of the receptor is not ten times lower than the true affinity constant, the apparent dissociation constant obtained from direct concentration binding curves will vary as a linear function of the receptor concentration. In addition, at high receptor concentrations saturability becomes difficult to demonstrate experimentally and the binding data yield apparently non-hyperbolic, sigmoidal curves which can be mistakenly interpreted to depict cooperative interactions. Similar artifacts related to receptor concentration are predicted for measurements of the hormone concentration dependence of biological processes (e.g. activation of adenylate cyclase, transport processes, etc.). Methods for detecting these effects, and correctly measuring affinities for labeled and unlabeled hormones under these conditions, are described. The implications for measuring the binding properties of hormone-receptor interactions are discussed, especially in reference to studies of the comparative analysis of receptor function in altered metabolic states and to studies relating the biological and binding properties of hormones.     

Dialects in Japanese Monkeys: Vocal Learning and Cultural Transmission of Locale-specific Vocal Behavior?

Differences were detected by ear in vocalizations made during artificial feeding of Japanese monkey troops at three locations. Tape recording and sound spectrographic analysis confirmed a distinctive vocal pattern specific to each site and used only in the provisioning situation. The 3 different acoustic morphologies are variations on a shared tonal theme. Vocal learning by Macaca fuscata may have occurred separately at each site regulated by species-wide constraints on vocal production.     

The Neisseria gonorrhoeae type IV pilus promotes resistance to hydrogen peroxide- and LL-37-mediated killing by modulating the availability of intracellular,labile iron

The Neisseria gonorrhoeae Type IV pilus is a multifunctional, dynamic fiber involved in host cell attachment, DNA transformation, and twitching motility. We previously reported that the N. gonorrhoeae pilus is also required for resistance against hydrogen peroxide-, antimicrobial peptide LL-37-, and non-oxidative, neutrophil-mediated killing. We tested whether the hydrogen peroxide, LL-37, and neutrophil hypersensitivity phenotypes in non-piliated N. gonorrhoeae could be due to elevated iron levels. Iron chelation in the growth medium rescued a nonpiliated pilE mutant from both hydrogen peroxide- and antimicrobial peptide LL-37-mediated killing, suggesting these phenotypes are related to iron availability. We used the antibiotic streptonigrin, which depends on free cytoplasmic iron and oxidation to kill bacteria, to determine whether piliation affected intracellular iron levels. Several non-piliated, loss-of-function mutants were more sensitive to streptonigrin killing than the piliated parental strain. Consistent with the idea that higher available iron levels in the under- and non-piliated strains were responsible for the higher streptonigrin sensitivity, iron limitation by desferal chelation restored resistance to streptonigrin in these strains and the addition of iron restored the sensitivity to streptonigrin killing. The antioxidants tiron and dimethylthiourea rescued the pilE mutant from streptonigrin-mediated killing, suggesting that the elevated labile iron pool in non-piliated bacteria leads to streptonigrin-dependent reactive oxygen species production. These antioxidants did not affect LL-37-mediated killing. We confirmed that the pilE mutant is not more sensitive to other antibiotics showing that the streptonigrin phenotypes are not due to general bacterial envelope disruption. The total iron content of the cell was unaltered by piliation when measured using ICP-MS suggesting that only the labile iron pool is affected by piliation. These results support the hypothesis that piliation state affects N. gonorrhoeae iron homeostasis and influences sensitivity to various host-derived antimicrobial agents.     

Microbial light-activatable proton pumps as neuronal inhibitors to functionally dissect neuronal networks in C. elegans

Essentially any behavior in simple and complex animals depends on neuronal network function. Currently, the best-defined system to study neuronal circuits is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, as the connectivity of its 302 neurons is exactly known. Individual neurons can be activated by photostimulation of Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) using blue light, allowing to directly probe the importance of a particular neuron for the respective behavioral output of the network under study. In analogy, other excitable cells can be inhibited by expressing Halorhodopsin from Natronomonas pharaonis (NpHR) and subsequent illumination with yellow light. However, inhibiting C. elegans neurons using NpHR is difficult. Recently, proton pumps from various sources were established as valuable alternative hyperpolarizers. Here we show that archaerhodopsin-3 (Arch) from Halorubrum sodomense and a proton pump from the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans (Mac) can be utilized to effectively inhibit excitable cells in C. elegans. Arch is the most powerful hyperpolarizer when illuminated with yellow or green light while the action spectrum of Mac is more blue-shifted, as analyzed by light-evoked behaviors and electrophysiology. This allows these tools to be combined in various ways with ChR2 to analyze different subsets of neurons within a circuit. We exemplify this by means of the polymodal aversive sensory ASH neurons, and the downstream command interneurons to which ASH neurons signal to trigger a reversal followed by a directional turn. Photostimulating ASH and subsequently inhibiting command interneurons using two-color illumination of different body segments, allows investigating temporal aspects of signaling downstream of ASH.     

Wetland conservation and sustainable use under global change: a tropical Australian case study using magpie geese

Imminent shifts in environmental parameters due to climatic change might have profound ramifications for wetlands listed under the Ramsar convention. Although the exact mechanisms by which global change will affect these systems are not known, models that simulate component drivers, particularly at a broad spatial scale, can nevertheless allow for more informed conservation decision making. Such general inference is particularly needed for wetlands across the tropics, where less knowledge and fewer resources are available to mitigate the impacts on important conservation sites. Here we develop a case study of wetland loss to sea level rise across tropical north Australia (including Ramsar‐listed sites), and link these to a metapopulation model for a keystone endemic waterbird, the magpie goose Anseranas semipalmata. We projected published models on sea level rise through to the year 2400, and found a non‐linear trajectory of inundation up to 20 m above present levels. Digital elevation models were used to simulate sea level rise and the spatially differentiated loss of wetland habitat used by geese. Range retraction was linked to decline in ecological carrying capacity, and we coupled wetland‐specific habitat loss projections to a spatially explicit demographic metapopulation model. Additionally, we included alternate harvest strategies based on present‐day estimates of indigenous and non‐indigenous offtake of geese, and examined the synergy between wetland loss and hunting on extinction risk. Our results suggest that Australia's once‐abundant and widespread magpie goose will be reduced to a fragmented population of just a few thousand individuals within the next 200–300 yr. Harvest could continue for some time, up to a “tipping point” at around 5% loss of current wetland habitat, after which the decline of geese is rapid. Given the inexorable nature of sea level rise, short‐ to medium‐term conservation of waterbirds across Ramsar wetlands must prepare for adaptive wetland management, such as through buffer‐placement, and ongoing monitoring of harvest.