Composition and stability of the vervet monkey milk microbiome

The human milk microbiome is vertically transmitted to offspring during the postnatal period and has emerged as a critical driver of infant immune and metabolic development. Despite this importance in humans, the milk microbiome of nonhuman primates remains largely unexplored. This dearth of comparative work precludes our ability to understand how species‐specific differences in the milk microbiome may differentially drive maternal effects and limits how translational models can be used to understand the role of vertically transmitted milk microbes in human development. Here, we present the first culture‐independent data on the milk microbiome of a nonhuman primate. We collected milk and matched fecal microbiome samples at early and late lactation from a cohort of captive lactating vervet monkeys (N = 15). We found that, similar to humans, the vervet monkey milk microbiome comprises a shared community of taxa that are universally present across individuals. However, unlike in humans, this shared community is dominated by the genera Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Prevotella. We also found that, in contrast to previous culture‐dependent studies in humans, the vervet milk microbiome exhibits greater alpha‐diversity than the gut microbiome across lactation. Finally, we did not find support for the translocation of microbes from the gut to the mammary gland within females (i.e., “entero‐mammary pathway”). Taken together, our results show that the vervet monkey milk microbiome is taxonomically diverse, distinct from the gut microbiome, and largely stable. These findings demonstrate that the milk microbiome is a unique substrate that may selectively favor the establishment and persistence of particular microbes across lactation and highlights the need for future experimental studies on the origin of microbes in milk.     

Characterization of Viticultural Terroirs using a Simple Field Model Based on Soil Depth – II. Validation of the Grape Yield and Berry Quality in the Anjou Vineyard (France)

Soil and climate are major constituents of the French notion of Terroir. This concept implies that there is a strong relationship between the composition of the grape, the characteristics of the wine and the territory of production. To study this link, a new method of characterization of the Terroir, including geological and pedological factors, was investigated. It uses a field model based on depth and clay content of soil, together with the degree of weathering of the parent rock. Consequently, for every type of parent rock belonging to a given geologic stage, there are a series of soils that show different stages of pedological evolution. According to the model, three kinds of soils are distinguished with regards to the weathering intensity of the parent rock, that are named weakly weathered rock (WWR), moderately weathered rock (MWR) and strongly weathered rock (SWR). By hypothesis, each soil type is considered as a homogeneous unit for vine production from the viewpoint of ecophysiological factors. Each terroir unit defined by this method is called a Basic Terroir Unit (BTU). To validate this hypothesis, experimental plots planted with Chenin and Cabernet Franc vines were studied over three consecutive seasons (2000–2002), in the Anjou vineyard (Loire Valley – France). The major BTUs developed on the two most important geological systems of Anjou (Brioverian and Ordovician–Devonian), were studied. Results showed that the berries of vines cultivated in WWR were significantly smaller, richer in sugars and anthocyanins and had a Total Phenolic Index higher than those of the vines cultivated in SWR. They also had a lower titratable acidity. Cabernet Franc vines cultivated in MWR had berries with sugar and anthocyanin contents but also total phenolics very close to those of WWR. With Chenin vines there was a good relationship between the global pool of free aromas of berries and the BTU type. The study showed significant relationships between the quality of grapes and the measured values of several ecophysiological variables such as the water supply regime or the timing of budburst.     

Milk: the new white gold? Milk production options for smallholder farmers in Southern Mali

Until the turn of the century, farmers in West Africa considered cotton to be the ‘white gold’ for their livelihoods. Large fluctuations in cotton prices have led farmers to innovate into other business including dairy. Yet the productivity of cows fed traditional diets is very poor, especially during the long dry season. This study combines earlier published results of farmer participatory experiments with simulation modelling to evaluate the lifetime productivity of cows under varying feeding strategies and the resulting economic performance at farm level. We compared the profitability of cotton production to the innovation of dairy. The results show that milk production of the West African Méré breed could be expanded if cows are supplemented and kept stall-fed during the dry season. This option seems to be profitable for better-off farmers, but whether dairy will replace (some of) the role of cotton as the white gold for these smallholder farmers will depend on the cross price elasticity of cotton and milk. Farmers may (partly) replace cotton production for fodder production to produce milk if the price of cotton remains poor (below US$0.35/kg) and the milk price relatively strong (higher than US$0.38/kg). Price ratios need to remain stable over several seasons given the investments required for a change in production strategy. Furthermore, farmers will only seize the opportunity to engage in dairy if marketing infrastructure and milk markets are further developed.     

Subunit polypeptide composition of rubisco and the origin of allopolyploid Arabidopsis suecica (Brassicaceae)

The polypeptide composition of the large and small subunits of Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) from Arabidopsis thaliana, A. suecica and Cardaminopsis arenosa have been studied by IEF (isoelectric focusing) analysis. The putative recent alopolyploid origin of A. suecica is supported. The chloroplast encoded large subunits served to identify solely A. thaliana as the maternal parent whereas the nuclear encoded small subunits indicate C. arenosa as the paternal species.     

The conservation value of unlogged and logged forests for native mammals on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Tropical forests across the world provide important habitats for a diverse number of conservation priority species, yet are under threat from a range of anthropogenic impacts including logging. This study aims to quantify mammalian biodiversity in unlogged and logged forests in the adjoining Tembat and Petuang Forest Reserves, Terengganu, on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Data was collected over a series of surveys using direct and indirect observation methods from 2008 to 2014. A total of 30 medium and large sized mammals species were identified, with 27 of those species found in unlogged forests and 22 species in logged forests. Carnivores encompassed 11 species from 67 observations representing 15% of the total number of observations. The family Felidae had the highest number of species (six species), followed by Hylobatidae, Cercopithecidae and Suidae with three species each. A total of 17 species contributed to more than 90% of the mammal community in the unlogged and logged forests, while six species were uncommon and only observed once during the entire survey. Species abundance in the unlogged forest was significantly greater than the logged forests, but the difference was not significant for species richness. This study provides critical baseline information on the impact of unlogged and logged forests and the identification of threatened species warrant the establishment of conservation measures such as anti-poaching patrol and ranger stations in the study area.     

Lysine-derived cross-links in the egg shell membrane

Egg shell membrane protein contains significant quantities of the lysine-derived aldehyde, allysine, and its aldol condensation product. NaB³H₄ reduction followed by alkaline hydrolysis of purified protein revealed that there were six residues/1000 of both allysine and the reduced aldol while only traces of desmosine and isodesmosine were detected. The amino acid composition of the membrane protein did not resemble that of mammalian elastin.     

Honeydew amino acids in relation to sugars and their role in the establishment of ant-attendance hierarchy in eight species of aphids feeding on tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Abstract. The ratio of the concentration of honeydew total amino acids to total sugars in the honeydew of eight species of aphids, all feeding on tansy, Tanacetum vulgare (L.), was determined and correlated with honeydew production and ant‐attendance. The honeydew of the five ant‐attended aphid species [Metopeurum fuscoviride (Stroyan), Trama troglodytes (v. Hayd), Aphis vandergooti (Börner), Brachycardus cardui (L.), Aphis fabae (Scopoli)] was rich in total amino acids, ranging from 12.9 to 20.8 nmol µL^?1 compared with the unattended aphid Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria (Kalt.) with only 3 nmol µL^?1. Asparagine, glutamine, glutamic acid and serine (all nonessential amino acids) were the predominant amino acids in the honeydew of all species. The total concentration of amino acids in the phloem sap of tansy was much higher (78.7 nmol µL^?1) then in the honeydew samples, and the predominant amino acids were glutamate (34.3%) and threonine (17.7%). A somewhat unexpected result was the finding that those aphid species with the highest total amino acid concentration in the honeydew always had the highest concentration of sugars. The lowest amino acid–sugar combined value was 104–28.8 nmol µL^?1 in the non ant‐attended species M. tanacetaria, and the highest value was an average of 270–89.9 nmol µL^?1 for the three most intensely attended aphid species M. fuscoviride, A. vandergooti and T. troglodytes. There is no evidence that any single amino acid or group of amino acids in the honeydew acted as an attractant for ant‐attendance in these eight aphid species. The richness of the honeydew (rate of secretion × total concentration of sugars), along with the presence of the attractant sugar melezitose, comprised the critical factors determining the extent of ant‐attendance of the aphids feeding on T. vulgare. The high total amino acid concentration in sugar‐rich honeydews can be explained by the high flow‐through of nutrients in aphids that are particularly well attended by ants.     

Transforming Milk in a Global Economy

Large-scale milk production and consumption historically have been localized to Europe and countries with large European-derived populations. However, global patterns have now shifted, with dramatic increases in milk consumption in Asian countries and flat or declining consumption in European and European-derived countries. Efforts to market it around the world emphasize milk's positive effects on child growth, and, by extension, the individual and national benefits that derive from that growth. At the same time, milk has newly emerged in milk promotions in the United States as food that facilitates weight loss. Milk has been able to achieve a global presence and continuing relevance in populations in which its consumption has been declining by continually transforming and repositioning itself as a "special" food with properties able to alleviate the health concerns seen as most salient at the time.