Trisomy 17 in a baboon (Papio hamadryas) with polydactyly, patent foramen ovale and pyelectasis

Trisomy 13 in humans is the third most common autosomal abnormality at birth, after trisomy 21 and trisomy 18. It has a reported incidence of between 1:5,000 and 1:30,000 live births. It is associated with multiple abnormalities, many of which shorten lifespan. We describe here the first reported case of a baboon (Papio hamadryas) with trisomy of chromosome 17, which is homologous to human chromosome 13. The trisomic infant was born to a consanguineous pair of baboons and had morphological characteristics similar to those observed in human trisomy 13, including bilateral polydactyly in the upper limbs, a patent foramen ovale, and pyelectasis. Molecular DNA analysis using human chromosome 13 markers was consistent with the affected infant inheriting two copies of chromosome 17 derived from the same parental chromosome. This trisomy was, therefore, due to either an error in meiosis II or the result of postzygotic nondisjunction. The parental origin, however, could not be determined.     

Measurement of eye-gaze in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Gaze cues are used as an index of social cognition in primates, yet the sensitivity to different forms of gaze, and consequently the cues required to test gaze-following abilities remain understudied. Whereas the eye is attributed special signal value in humans, the camouflaged ocular morphology of non-human primates has led to the consensus that head orientation may be a more salient cue. This study presents the first documentation of the surface eye movements of the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, in order to determine the behavioral forms of eye-gaze and their saliency as signals, document their functional variation, and address the signal value of the eyes distinct from head orientation. Movements of the eye were identified as Scan (continuous movement), Glance (a single movement <1 sec), or Fixate (no movement). Scans, glances, and fixations were reliably detected by humans during live observation and from video (Cohen's kappa over 0.70) and, therefore, are likely also to be detected by conspecifics. Eye-gaze comprised a nonunitary measure of visual attention, reflecting the attentional task demands of different activities. Specifically, chimpanzees spent significantly more time scanning while feeding and resting, than grooming, F(2,28) = 10.23, P<0.001, and spent significantly more time fixating while grooming, than feeding or resting, F(2,28) = 7.52, P<0.01. Further, eye-gaze was often incongruent with head movement, varying significantly with the form of eye-gaze: incongruence was found during 12-21% of fixations, during 42-49% of scans, and during 70-100% of glances, F(2,16) = 30.17, P<0.001. These findings provide the basis for discrimination of the adaptive significance of gaze-processing abilities with emphasis on sensitivity to eye-gaze distinct from head orientation. If we are to continue exploring gaze-processing abilities in primates, then we need greater consideration of the precise nature of the signals themselves. Here we present evidence for special consideration of the eyes as a salient signal in P. troglodytes.     

Abnormal reproductive patterns in Przewalski's mares are associated with a loss in gene diversity

The ex situ population of the Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) is not self-sustaining (20% foaling rate), and the demography is skewed toward aging individuals with low gene diversity. We designed the present study to gain a better understanding of the reproductive biology of the Przewalski's mare and to determine whether age and gene diversity influenced reproductive function. Urine samples were collected 3-7 days/wk from 19 mares from May to September, and ultrasound examinations of follicular structures were performed 3 days/wk for 5 wk from May through July in nine individuals. A high proportion of mares exhibited abnormal (endocrine, 5 [26.3%] of 19; follicular, 2 [22.2%] of 9) or acyclic (endocrine, 4 [21.1%] of 19; follicular, 3 [33.3%] of 9) reproductive patterns. In four cyclic mares, estrous cycle length was 25.1 ± 1.2 days, with 12.2 ± 0.9 days of diestrus. Follicles in cyclic mares grew 1.2 ± 0.6 mm per day and ovulated after reaching 40.4 ± 8.9 mm. Mares with a high coefficient of inbreeding excreted reduced levels of mean urinary estrogens (r(2) = 0.476, P < 0.05), but age had no significant impact on reproductive patterns in this population. Overall, these data suggest that long-term genetic management of this population is necessary to maintain reproductive fitness.     

Cognitive research in zoo-housed chimpanzees: influence of personality and impact on welfare

We monitored chimpanzee welfare during the introduction of on-exhibit cognitive research training and testing, as measured by behavior and interest in such training, and related individual variation to personality assessments. We observed 11 chimpanzees (six males; five females) over a 16-month period and compared their behavior across three conditions: (1) Baseline (nontraining/research situations) and (2) an on-going, off-exhibit program of Husbandry Training and (3) Research Pod Activities, on-exhibit, group training for cognitive testing. There was considerable individual variation in their interest levels during research sessions; females and those scoring higher for Openness were present more frequently (including those who actively participated and those who observed others participating), but interest did not vary in relation to rates of self-directed behaviors (SDBs), rank, or the level of social disruptions within the group (i.e. large-scale displays or fights). The frequency of SDBs was predicted by the Neuroticism personality factor, but did not differ across baseline and training contexts, indicating that these activities do not negatively impact welfare. We also explored vigilance as an indicator of social uncertainty, but social monitoring did not differ in relation to either social context or rank. Finally, we explored how the specific characteristics of the research context impacted on SDBs; namely, social context, reward contingency, and visual access to keepers. SDBs increased only when visual access to keepers was restricted, suggesting that visual contact reduced uncertainty in novel training contexts. Overall, the introduction of a cognitive research program did not compromise welfare, and the chimpanzees' repeated interest and willingness to participate suggests that the research was enriching.     

Genetics and mapping of the R 11 gene conferring resistance to recently emerged rust races, tightly linked to male fertility restoration, in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Sunflower oil is one of the major sources of edible oil. As the second largest hybrid crop in the world, hybrid sunflowers are developed by using the PET1 cytoplasmic male sterility system that contributes to a 20?% yield advantage over the open-pollinated varieties. However, sunflower production in North America has recently been threatened by the evolution of new virulent pathotypes of sunflower rust caused by the fungus Puccinia helianthi Schwein. Rf ANN-1742, an 'HA 89' backcross restorer line derived from wild annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), was identified as resistant to the newly emerged rust races. The aim of this study was to elucidate the inheritance of rust resistance and male fertility restoration and identify the chromosome location of the underlying genes in Rf ANN-1742. Chi-squared analysis of the segregation of rust response and male fertility in F(2) and F(3) populations revealed that both traits are controlled by single dominant genes, and that the rust resistance gene is closely linked to the restorer gene in the coupling phase. The two genes were designated as R ( 11 ) and Rf5, respectively. A set of 723 mapped SSR markers of sunflower was used to screen the polymorphism between HA 89 and the resistant plant. Bulked segregant analysis subsequently located R ( 11 ) on linkage group (LG) 13 of sunflower. Based on the SSR analyses of 192 F(2) individuals, R ( 11 ) and Rf5 both mapped to the lower end of LG13 at a genetic distance of 1.6?cM, and shared a common marker, ORS728, which was mapped 1.3?cM proximal to Rf5 and 0.3?cM distal to R ( 11 ) (Rf5/ORS728/R ( 11 )). Two additional SSRs were linked to Rf5 and R ( 11 ): ORS995 was 4.5?cM distal to Rf5 and ORS45 was 1.0?cM proximal to R ( 11 ). The advantage of such an introduced alien segment harboring two genes is its large phenotypic effect and simple inheritance, thereby facilitating their rapid deployment in sunflower breeding programs. Suppressed recombination was observed in LGs 2, 9, and 11 as it was evident that no recombination occurred in the introgressed regions of LGs 2, 9, and 11 detected by 5, 9, and 22 SSR markers, respectively. R ( 11 ) is genetically independent from the rust R-genes R ( 1 ), R ( 2 ), and R ( 5 ), but may be closely linked to the rust R-gene R ( adv ) derived from wild Helianthus argophyllus, forming a large rust R-gene cluster of R ( adv )/R ( 11 )/R ( 4 ) in the lower end of LG13. The relationship of Rf5 with Rf1 is discussed based on the marker association analysis.     

Serotonin signaling is required for Wnt-dependent GRP specification and leftward flow in Xenopus

In vertebrates, most inner organs are asymmetrically arranged with respect to the main body axis [1]. Symmetry breakage in fish, amphibian, and mammalian embryos depends on cilia-driven leftward flow of extracellular fluid during neurulation [2-5]. Flow induces the asymmetric nodal cascade that governs asymmetric organ morphogenesis and placement [1, 6, 7]. In the frog Xenopus, an alternative laterality-generating mechanism involving asymmetric localization of serotonin at the 32-cell stage has been proposed [8]. However, no functional linkage between this early localization and flow at neurula stage has emerged. Here, we report that serotonin signaling is required for specification of the superficial mesoderm (SM), which gives rise to the ciliated gastrocoel roof plate (GRP) where flow occurs [5, 9]. Flow and asymmetry were lost in embryos in which serotonin signaling was downregulated. Serotonin, which we found uniformly distributed along the main body axes in the early embryo, was required for Wnt signaling, which provides the instructive signal to specify the GRP. Importantly, serotonin was required for Wnt-induced double-axis formation as well. Our data confirm flow as primary mechanism of symmetry breakage and suggest a general role of serotonin as competence factor for Wnt signaling during axis formation in Xenopus.     

Chromosome location, DNA markers and rust resistance of the sunflower gene R 5

Sunflower rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia helianthi Schwein., was not a serious problem for many decades because of successful deployment of effective resistance genes in commercial sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) hybrids in North America. In the 1980s and early 1990s, however, a shift in virulence of the rust race population in North America rendered most of the commercial hybrids susceptible to new virulent races. A germplasm line, HA-R2, carrying the rust resistance gene R ₅ was released as a multi-race rust-resistant line in 1985 but has not been widely used in commercial hybrid production. R ₅ remains effective against the prevalent rust races of sunflower in North America. This gene was previously reported to be associated with two simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, ORS316 and ORS630, which were mapped to linkage group (LG) 13 of sunflower. However, out of the 63 markers of LG13 screened in the present study, only 18, including ORS316 and ORS630, were polymorphic. These markers, which covered all of LG 13, were assayed in 94 individual F2 progenies derived from the cross of HA 89 with HA-R2. All failed to detect any locus in LG13 associated with the gene R ₅ . Subsequently, a bulked segregant analysis was employed with an additional 510 SSR markers selected from the remaining 16 LGs of the sunflower genome. This analysis demonstrated that the LG2 markers showed association with rust resistance. Genotyping of the 94 F2 individuals with 23 polymorphic SSR markers from LG2 confirmed the R ₅ location on LG2, flanked by two SSR markers, ORS1197-2 and ORS653a, at 3.3 and 1.8?cM of genetic distance, respectively. The markers for R ₅ developed in this study will provide a useful tool for speeding up deployment of the R ₅ gene in commercial sunflower hybrid production.