Accounting for phenology in the analysis of animal movement

The analysis of animal tracking data provides important scientific understanding and discovery in ecology. Observations of animal trajectories using telemetry devices provide researchers with information about the way animals interact with their environment and each other. For many species, specific geographical features in the landscape can have a strong effect on behavior. Such features may correspond to a single point (eg, dens or kill sites), or to higher dimensional subspaces (eg, rivers or lakes). Features may be relatively static in time (eg, coastlines or home‐range centers), or may be dynamic (eg, sea ice extent or areas of high‐quality forage for herbivores). We introduce a novel model for animal movement that incorporates active selection for dynamic features in a landscape. Our approach is motivated by the study of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) movement. During the sea ice melt season, polar bears spend much of their time on sea ice above shallow, biologically productive water where they hunt seals. The changing distribution and characteristics of sea ice throughout the year mean that the location of valuable habitat is constantly shifting. We develop a model for the movement of polar bears that accounts for the effect of this important landscape feature. We introduce a two‐stage procedure for approximate Bayesian inference that allows us to analyze over 300 000 observed locations of 186 polar bears from 2012 to 2016. We use our model to estimate a spatial boundary of interest to wildlife managers that separates two subpopulations of polar bears from the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.     

Function of a membrane-embedded domain evolutionarily multiplied in the GPI lipid anchor pathway proteins PIG-B,PIG-M,PIG-U,PIG-W,PIG-V,and PIG-Z

Distant homology relationships among proteins with many transmembrane regions (TMs) are difficult to detect as they are clouded by the TMs’ hydrophobic compositional bias and mutational divergence in connecting loops. In the case of several GPI lipid anchor biosynthesis pathway components, the hidden evolutionary signal can be revealed with dissectHMMER, a sequence similarity search tool focusing on fold-critical, high complexity sequence segments. We find that a sequence module with 10 TMs in PIG-W, described as acyl transferase, is homologous to PIG-U, a transamidase subunit without characterized molecular function, and to mannosyltransferases PIG-B, PIG-M, PIG-V and PIG-Z. We conclude that this new, membrane-embedded domain named BindGPILA functions as the unit for recognizing, binding and stabilizing the GPI lipid anchor in a modification-competent form as this appears the only functional aspect shared among all proteins. Thus, PIG-U's likely molecular function is shuttling/presenting the anchor in a productive conformation to the transamidase complex.     

The plant homeodomain finger protein MESR4 is essential for embryonic development in Drosophila

Misexpression Suppressor of Ras 4 (MESR4), a plant homeodomain (PHD) finger protein with nine zinc‐finger motifs has been implicated in various biological processes including the regulation of fat storage and innate immunity in Drosophila. However, the role of MESR4 in the context of development remains unclear. Here it is shown that MESR4 is a nuclear protein essential for embryonic development. Immunostaining of polytene chromosomes using anti‐MESR4 antibody revealed that MESR4 binds to numerous bands along the chromosome arms. The most intense signal was detected at the 39E‐F region, which is known to contain the histone gene cluster. P‐element insertions in the MESR4 locus, which were homozygous lethal during embryogenesis with defects in ventral ectoderm formation and head encapsulation was identified. In the mutant embryos, expression of Fasciclin 3 (Fas3), an EGFR signal target gene was greatly reduced, and the level of EGFR signal‐dependent double phosphorylated ERK (dp‐ERK) remained low. However, in the context of wing vein formation, genetic interaction experiments suggested that MESR4 is involved in the EGFR signaling as a negative regulator. These results suggested that MESR4 is a novel chromatin‐binding protein required for proper expression of genes including those regulated by the EGFR signaling pathway during development. genesis 53:701–708, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

植物肉桂酰辅酶A还原酶基因克隆研究进展

木质素单体合成的过程中涉及了许多酶的参与,而肉桂酰辅酶A还原酶(cinnamoyl-CoA reductase,CCR)是该过程中的一个关键酶。综述了CCR基因在植物体内的克隆、基因功能及在植物组织中的表达情况,并介绍了该基因在植物的抗病虫害和抗逆性研究、饲草和能源上的应用潜力,为进一步研究CCR基因生物学功能和利用奠定了基础。     

Field experiments on seed dispersal by wind in ten umbelliferous species (Apiaceae)

This report presents data from experiments on seed dispersal by wind for ten species of the family Apiaceae. Seed shadows were obtained in the field under natural conditions, using wind speeds between four and ten m/s. The flight of individual seeds was followed by eye, and seed shadows were acquired, with median distances varying from 0.7 to 3.1 m between species. Multiple regression models of wind speed and seed weight on dispersal distance were significant for six out of ten species; wind speed had significant effects in seven cases, but seed weight only once. A good correlation between mean terminal falling velocity of the seeds of a species and median dispersal distance, indicates the promising explanatory power that individual terminal velocity data might have on dispersal distance, together with wind speed and turbulence. The theory that seeds that seem to be adapted to wind dispersal travel much longer distances than seeds that have no adaptation was tested. Flattened and winged seeds were indeed found to be transported further by wind, but not much further. Moreover, the species with wind-adapted seeds were also taller, being an alternative explanation since their seeds experienced higher wind speeds at these greater heights. Furthermore, flattened and winged seeds were disseminated from ripe umbels at lower wind speeds in the laboratory. This means that the observed difference in dispersal distance would have been smaller when species specific thresholds for wind speed were incorporated in the field experiments. We argue therefore, that seed morphology is not always the best predictor in classifying species in groups with distinctly different dispersal ability.     

Specific features of ex‐obese patients significantly influence the functional cell properties of adipose‐derived stromal cells

Adipose‐derived stromal cells (ADSC) are increasingly used in clinical applications due to their regenerative capabilities. However, ADSC therapies show variable results. This study analysed the effects of specific factors of ex‐obese patients on ADSC functions. ADSC were harvested from abdominal tissues (N = 20) after massive weight loss. Patients were grouped according to age, sex, current and maximum body mass index (BMI), BMI difference, weight loss method, smoking and infection at the surgical site. ADSC surface markers, viability, migration, transmigration, sprouting, differentiation potential, cytokine secretion, telomere length and mtDNA copy number were analysed. All ADSC expressed CD73, CD90, CD105, while functional properties differed significantly among patients. A high BMI difference due to massive weight loss was negatively correlated with ADSC proliferation, migration and transmigration, while age, sex or weight loss method had a smaller effect. ADSC from female and younger donors and individuals after weight loss by increase of exercise and diet change had a higher activity. Telomere length, mtDNA copy number, differentiation potential and the secretome did not correlate with patient factors or cell function. Therefore, we suggest that factors such as age, sex, increase of exercise and especially weight loss should be considered for patient selection and planning of regenerative therapies.     

Kinin-mediated inflammation in neurodegenerative disorders

The mediatory role of kinins in both acute and chronic inflammation within nervous tissues has been widely described. Bradykinin, the major representative of these bioactive peptides, is one of a few mediators of inflammation that directly stimulates afferent nerves due to the broad expression of specific kinin receptors in cell types in these tissues. Moreover, kinins may be delivered to a site of injury not only after their production at the endothelium surface but also following their local production through the enzymatic degradation of kininogens at the surface of nerve cells. A strong correlation between inflammatory processes and neurodegeneration has been established. The activation of nerve cells, particularly microglia, in response to injury, trauma or infection initiates a number of reactions in the neuronal neighborhood that can lead to cell death after the prolonged action of inflammatory substances. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the effects of kinins on neuronal destruction. In these studies, the overexpression of proteins involved in kinin generation or of kinin receptors has been observed in several neurologic disorders including neurodegenerative diseases such Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis as well as disorders associated with a deficiency in cell communication such as epilepsy. This review is focused on recent findings that provide reliable evidence of the mediatory role of kinins in the inflammatory responses associated with different neurological disorders. A deeper understanding of the role of kinins in neurodegenerative diseases is likely to promote the future development of new therapeutic strategies for the control of these disorders. An example of this could be the prospective use of kinin receptor antagonists.     

Royal jelly: can it reduce physiological strain of growing rabbits under Egyptian summer conditions?

Exposure of growing rabbits to heat stress during summer adversely affects their performance leading to major production losses. A total number of 48 rabbits, unsexed V-line weaned rabbits, were randomly divided into four experimental groups, temperature ranged from high at 32°C to low at 23°C. Animals of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th group were individually orally given 200, 400 or 800 mg royal jelly (RJ)/kg BW once a week, respectively, to evaluate RJ ability to reduce physiological strain resulted from heat stress. Weekly BW gain increased by 10.4, 11.8 and 10.8%, and feed conversion ratio was significantly improved by 20, 24 and 18% with RJ treatments. Serum total protein, albumin and globulin increased, whereas serum total lipids, cholesterol and triglycerides decreased with RJ treatments. Creatinine was reduced by 21, 30 and 18% and uric acid by 14, 25 and 18% compared with the heat stressed control with the three doses of RJ. Glucose level increased significantly to reach 116, 125, and 120% of heat stressed control. Calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase increased significantly with RJ treatments indicating the occurrence of active bone deposition. Thyroid hormone levels increased significantly to reach 108, 111, and 112% of heat stressed control rabbits with the three doses of RJ, counteracting the hypothyroid state resulted from heat stress. It can be concluded that RJ administration to heat stressed growing rabbits can reduce physiological strain resulted from heat stress.