The endangered white-clawed crayfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Austropotamobius pallipes</Emphasis> (Decapoda,Astacidae) east and west of the Maritime Alps: a result of human translocation?

The genetic variability among Italian populations of the white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes) was examined to determine their phylogeography and to assess their conservation status as a management unit. A fragment of the mitochondrial DNA COI gene of 107 specimens from ten populations was sequenced, and the phylogenetic relationships were established. Two out of three haplotypes sampled in two French populations from the Rhône basin were shared with Italian populations. Despite a moderate level of genetic variability within the Italian populations of A. pallipes, no genetic structure was revealed. It has been suggested that there have been translocation events throughout the Alpine barrier between the North-Western Italian basins and the Rhône basin. Genetic exchangeability of the French and Italian populations was demonstrated in this study, and a shift of conservation efforts towards the native, congeneric Austropotamobius italicus is recommended.     

Ancient ancestry of KFDV and AHFV revealed by complete genome analyses of viruses isolated from ticks and mammalian hosts

Background

Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) and Kyasanur forest disease virus (KFDV) cause significant human disease and mortality in Saudi Arabia and India, respectively. Despite their distinct geographic ranges, AHFV and KFDV share a remarkably high sequence identity. Given its emergence decades after KFDV, AHFV has since been considered a variant of KFDV and thought to have arisen from an introduction of KFDV to Saudi Arabia from India. To gain a better understanding of the evolutionary history of AHFV and KFDV, we analyzed the full length genomes of 16 AHFV and 3 KFDV isolates.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Viral genomes were sequenced and compared to two AHFV sequences available in GenBank. Sequence analyses revealed higher genetic diversity within AHFVs isolated from ticks than human AHFV isolates. A Bayesian coalescent phylogenetic analysis demonstrated an ancient divergence of AHFV and KFDV of approximately 700 years ago.

Conclusions/Significance

The high sequence diversity within tick populations and the presence of competent tick vectors in the surrounding regions, coupled with the recent identification of AHFV in Egypt, indicate possible viral range expansion or a larger geographic range than previously thought. The divergence of AHFV from KFDV nearly 700 years ago suggests other AHFV/KFDV-like viruses might exist in the regions between Saudi Arabia and India. Given the human morbidity and mortality associated with these viruses, these results emphasize the importance of more focused study of these significant public health threats.     

Pooled genome-wide analysis to identify novel risk loci for pediatric allergic asthma

Background

Genome-wide association studies of pooled DNA samples were shown to be a valuable tool to identify candidate SNPs associated to a phenotype. No such study was up to now applied to childhood allergic asthma, even if the very high complexity of asthma genetics is an appropriate field to explore the potential of pooled GWAS approach.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We performed a pooled GWAS and individual genotyping in 269 children with allergic respiratory diseases comparing allergic children with and without asthma. We used a modular approach to identify the most significant loci associated with asthma by combining silhouette statistics and physical distance method with cluster-adapted thresholding. We found 97% concordance between pooled GWAS and individual genotyping, with 36 out of 37 top-scoring SNPs significant at individual genotyping level. The most significant SNP is located inside the coding sequence of C5, an already identified asthma susceptibility gene, while the other loci regulate functions that are relevant to bronchial physiopathology, as immune- or inflammation-mediated mechanisms and airway smooth muscle contraction. Integration with gene expression data showed that almost half of the putative susceptibility genes are differentially expressed in experimental asthma mouse models.

Conclusion/Significance

Combined silhouette statistics and cluster-adapted physical distance threshold analysis of pooled GWAS data is an efficient method to identify candidate SNP associated to asthma development in an allergic pediatric population.     

Functional effects of parasites on food web properties during the spring diatom bloom in Lake Pavin: a linear inverse modeling analysis

This study is the first assessment of the quantitative impact of parasitic chytrids on a planktonic food web. We used a carbon-based food web model of Lake Pavin (Massif Central, France) to investigate the effects of chytrids during the spring diatom bloom by developing models with and without chytrids. Linear inverse modelling procedures were employed to estimate undetermined flows in the lake. The Monte Carlo Markov chain linear inverse modelling procedure provided estimates of the ranges of model-derived fluxes. Model results support recent theories on the probable impact of parasites on food web function. In the lake, during spring, when 'inedible' algae (unexploited by planktonic herbivores) were the dominant primary producers, the epidemic growth of chytrids significantly reduced the sedimentation loss of algal carbon to the detritus pool through the production of grazer-exploitable zoospores. We also review some theories about the potential influence of parasites on ecological network properties and argue that parasitism contributes to longer carbon path lengths, higher levels of activity and specialization, and lower recycling. Considering the "structural asymmetry" hypothesis as a stabilizing pattern, chytrids should contribute to the stability of aquatic food webs.     

Suffering makes you egoist: acute pain increases acceptance rates and reduces fairness during a bilateral ultimatum game

Social preferences like interpersonal altruism, fairness, reciprocity and inequity aversion are inherently linked to departures from pure self-interest. During economic interactions, for example, defectors may be punished even if this implies a cost for the punishers. This violation of canonical assumptions in economics indicates that socially oriented decisions may predominate over self-centred stances. Here we explore whether the personal experience of pain changes the balance between self-gain and socially based choices. We used laser stimulation to induce pain or a warm sensation in subjects playing a modified version of the Ultimatum Game (UG) both in the role of responder and proposer. After each shot, responders evaluated the fairness of the offer. Moreover, responders and proposers rated the intensity and unpleasantness of the sensation evoked by the laser stimulation. Results show that suffering proposers decrease fair offers and suffering responders increase their acceptance rate irrespective of economic offer. Crucially, the intensity of painful stimulation has a predictive role on Moderately Unfair offers' acceptance rates. Thus the personal experience of pain may favour the emergence of a self-centered perspective aimed at maximizing self-gain. The results suggest that bodily states play a fundamental role in higher-order interpersonal negotiations and interactions.     

New pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic tools for interferon-alpha (IFN-α) treatment of human cancer

Interferon (IFN-) has been widely used in the treatment of human solid and haematologic malignancies. Although the antitumour activity of IFN- is well recognised at present, no major advances have been achieved in the last few years. Recent findings have provided new information on the molecular mechanisms of the antitumour activity of the cytokine. In fact, IFN- appears to block cell proliferation, at least in part, through the induction of apoptotic effects. This cytokine can also regulate the progression of tumour cells through the different phases of the cell cycle inducing an increase of the expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27. However, it must be considered that IFN- is a physiologic molecule with ubiquitously expressed receptors that is likely to activate survival mechanisms in the cell. We have recently identified an epidermal growth factor (EGF) Ras-dependent protective response to the apoptosis induced by IFN- in epidermoid cancer cells. The identification of tissue- and/or tumour-specific survival pathways and their selective targeting might provide a new approach to improve the efficacy of IFN-–based treatment of human cancer. Moreover, new pegylated species of IFN- are now available with a more favourable pharmacokinetic profile. We will review these achievements, and we will specifically address the topic of IFN-–based molecularly targeted combinatory antitumour approaches.