排序方式: 共有30条查询结果,搜索用时 0 毫秒
1.
Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete pathogen transmitted among warm-
blooded hosts by ixodid ticks. Frequency-dependent selection for variant
outer-surface proteins might be expected to arise in this species, since
rare variants are more likely to avoid immune surveillance in previously
infected hosts. We sequenced the OspA and OspB genes of nine North American
strains and compared them with nine strains previously described. For each
gene, the mean number of synonymous substitutions per synonymous site and
the mean number of nonsynonymous substitutions per nonsynonymous site show
only a twofold excess of silent mutations. Synonymous rates vary widely
along the OspB protein. Some regions show a significant excess of silent
substitutions, while divergence in other regions is constrained by biased
base composition or selection. The presence, in antigenically important
regions of the protein, of significant variation among strains, as well as
evidence for recombination among strains, should be considered in attempts
to develop vaccines against this disease.
相似文献
2.
Michael L. Yuan K. Nicole White Betsie B. Rothermel Kelly R. Zamudio Tracey D. Tuberville 《Journal of evolutionary biology》2019,32(10):1152-1162
Inbreeding depression, the reduction in fitness due to mating of related individuals, is of particular conservation concern in species with small, isolated populations. Although inbreeding depression is widespread in natural populations, long‐lived species may be buffered from its effects during population declines due to long generation times and thus are less likely to have evolved mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance than species with shorter generation times. However, empirical evidence of the consequences of inbreeding in threatened, long‐lived species is limited. In this study, we leverage a well‐studied population of gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, to examine the role of inbreeding depression and the potential for behavioural inbreeding avoidance in a natural population of a long‐lived species. We tested the hypothesis that increased parental inbreeding leads to reduced hatching rates and offspring quality. Additionally, we tested for evidence of inbreeding avoidance. We found that high parental relatedness results in offspring with lower quality and that high parental relatedness is correlated with reduced hatching success. However, we found that hatching success and offspring quality increase with maternal inbreeding, likely due to highly inbred females mating with more distantly related males. We did not find evidence for inbreeding avoidance in males and outbred females, suggesting sex‐specific evolutionary trade‐offs may have driven the evolution of mating behaviour. Our results demonstrate inbreeding depression in a long‐lived species and that the evolution of inbreeding avoidance is shaped by multiple selective forces. 相似文献
3.
Monitoring on the Lowveld reaches of the Olifants River, Limpopo River System, and its Steelpoort, Blyde, Klaserie and Selati tributaries was initiated in 2009. Analysis of the 2009–2015 data from four Olifants River sites showed deterioration in the river’s ecological condition between where it enters the Lowveld and where it enters the Kruger National Park, with a slight recovery within the Kruger National Park. Physico-chemical, aquatic macroinvertebrate and fish data collected in 2009–2015 at six sites on the Steelpoort, Blyde, Klaserie and Selati tributaries of the Olifants River corroborated the ecological condition of these tributaries. The Selati was the most polluted and was in a critically modified condition, whereas the Klaserie and Steelpoort were in fair condition and the Blyde was in good condition. The Selati appeared to have a significant negative impact on the water quality, macroinvertebrates and fish of the Olifants River within the Kruger National Park. 相似文献
4.
5.
Kinship,inbreeding and fine‐scale spatial structure influence gut microbiota in a hindgut‐fermenting tortoise 下载免费PDF全文
Michael L. Yuan Samantha H. Dean Ana V. Longo Betsie B. Rothermel Tracey D. Tuberville Kelly R. Zamudio 《Molecular ecology》2015,24(10):2521-2536
Herbivorous vertebrates rely on complex communities of mutualistic gut bacteria to facilitate the digestion of celluloses and hemicelluloses. Gut microbes are often convergent based on diet and gut morphology across a phylogenetically diverse group of mammals. However, little is known about microbial communities of herbivorous hindgut‐fermenting reptiles. Here, we investigate how factors at the individual level might constrain the composition of gut microbes in an obligate herbivorous reptile. Using multiplexed 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we characterized the faecal microbial community of a population of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) and examined how age, genetic diversity, spatial structure and kinship influence differences among individuals. We recovered phylotypes associated with known cellulolytic function, including candidate phylum Termite Group 3, suggesting their importance for gopher tortoise digestion. Although host genetic structure did not explain variation in microbial composition and community structure, we found that fine‐scale spatial structure, inbreeding, degree of relatedness and possibly ontogeny shaped patterns of diversity in faecal microbiomes of gopher tortoises. Our findings corroborate widespread convergence of faecal‐associated microbes based on gut morphology and diet and demonstrate the role of spatial and demographic structure in driving differentiation of gut microbiota in natural populations. 相似文献
6.
VLJ Whitehall TD Dumenil DM McKeone CE Bond ML Bettington RL Buttenshaw L Bowdler GW Montgomery LF Wockner BA Leggett 《Epigenetics》2014,9(11):1454-1460
The CpG Island Methylator Phenotype (CIMP) is fundamental to an important subset of colorectal cancer; however, its cause is unknown. CIMP is associated with microsatellite instability but is also found in BRAF mutant microsatellite stable cancers that are associated with poor prognosis. The isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) gene causes CIMP in glioma due to an activating mutation that produces the 2-hydroxyglutarate oncometabolite. We therefore examined IDH1 alteration as a potential cause of CIMP in colorectal cancer. The IDH1 mutational hotspot was screened in 86 CIMP-positive and 80 CIMP-negative cancers. The entire coding sequence was examined in 81 CIMP-positive colorectal cancers. Forty-seven cancers varying by CIMP-status and IDH1 mutation status were examined using Illumina 450K DNA methylation microarrays. The R132C IDH1 mutation was detected in 4/166 cancers. All IDH1 mutations were in CIMP cancers that were BRAF mutant and microsatellite stable (4/45, 8.9%). Unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis identified an IDH1 mutation-like methylation signature in approximately half of the CIMP-positive cancers. IDH1 mutation appears to cause CIMP in a small proportion of BRAF mutant, microsatellite stable colorectal cancers. This study provides a precedent that a single gene mutation may cause CIMP in colorectal cancer, and that this will be associated with a specific epigenetic signature and clinicopathological features. 相似文献
7.
Adults of the human parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni, which causes
hepatosplenic/intestinal complications in humans, synthesize
glycoconjugates containing the Lewis x (Lex) Galbeta1-->4(Fucalpha1--
>3)GlcNAcbeta1-->R, but not sialyl Lewis x (sLex), antigen. We now
report on our analyses of Lexand sLexexpression in S.haematobium and
S.japonicum, which are two other major species of human schistosomes that
cause disease, and the possible autoimmunity to these antigens in infected
individuals. Antigen expression was evaluated by both ELISA and Western
blot analyses of detergent extracts of parasites using monoclonal
antibodies. Several high molecular weight glycoproteins in both S.
haematobium and S. japonicum contain the Lexantigen, but no sialyl
Lexantigen was detected. In addition, sera from humans and rodents infected
with S.haematobium and S.japonicum contain antibodies reactive with Lex.
These results led us to investigate whether Lexantigens are expressed in
other helminths, including the parasitic trematode Fasciola hepatica , the
parasitic nematode Dirofilaria immitis (dog heartworm), the ruminant
nematode Haemonchus contortus , and the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis
elegans . Neither Lexnor sialyl-Lexis detectable in these other helminths.
Furthermore, none of the helminths, including schistosomes, express Lea,
Leb, Ley, or the H- type 1 antigen. However, several glycoproteins from all
helminths analyzed are bound by Lotus tetragonolobus agglutinin , which
binds Fucalpha1-->3GlcNAc, and Wisteria floribunda agglutinin, which
binds GalNAcbeta1-->4GlcNAc (lacdiNAc or LDN). Thus, schistosomes may be
unique among helminths in expressing the Lexantigen, whereas many different
helminths may express alpha1,3-fucosylated glycans and the LDN motif.
相似文献
8.
Davis AK Horan RV Grosse AM Harris BB Metts BS Scott DE Tuberville TD 《Journal of wildlife diseases》2011,47(4):1047-1049
We report a host gender bias in haemogregarine infection characteristics in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA. Prevalence and severity in female alligators was higher than it was in males. The reason for this pattern is not clear. 相似文献
9.
Jacob A. Daly Kurt A. Buhlmann Brian D. Todd Clinton T. Moore J. Mark Peaden Tracey D. Tuberville 《The Journal of wildlife management》2019,83(8):1700-1710
Head-starting is a conservation strategy in which young animals are protected in captivity temporarily before their release into the wild at a larger size, when their survival is presumably increased. The Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is in decline, and head-starting has been identified as one of several conservation measures to assist in recovery. To evaluate the efficacy of indoor head-starting, we released and radio-tracked 68 juvenile tortoises from a 2015 cohort in the Mojave National Preserve, California, USA. We released 20 tortoises at hatching (control) in September 2015, and reared 28 indoors and 20 outdoors in predator-proof enclosures for 7 months before releasing them in April 2016. We monitored tortoises at least weekly after release until 27 October 2016, and documented survivorship, movement, and surface activity. We estimated survivorship by treatment and evaluated effects of treatment, proximity to a raven (Corvus corax) nest (predator) coincidentally established after release, distance moved between monitoring events, surface activity, and release size on individual fate in a generalized linear model. Although indoor head-start tortoises reached the size of 5–6-year-old wild tortoises by release at 7 months of age, survival did not differ significantly among the 3 treatment groups. Combined annual survival was 0.44 (95% CI = 0.34–0.58). Tortoises that were closer to an active raven nest were significantly more likely to die, as were those seen more often outside their burrows and active aboveground. Predicted estimates for short-term probability of survival approached 1.0 as distance from a raven nest exceeded approximately 1.6 km. Rearing treatment, movement distance, and body size were not significant predictors of fate over the 1-year monitoring period. Head-started tortoises released ≥1.6 km from areas of raven activity will likely have higher short-term survival. Population recovery through head-starting alone is unlikely to be successful if systemic ecosystem-level issues, such as habitat degradation and conditions that promote human-subsidized predators, are not ameliorated. © 2019 The Wildlife Society. 相似文献
10.