Collagen fingerprinting traces the introduction of caprines to island Eastern Africa

The human colonization of eastern Africa's near- and offshore islands was accompanied by the translocation of several domestic, wild and commensal fauna, many of which had long-term impacts on local environments. To better understand the timing and nature of the introduction of domesticated caprines (sheep and goat) to these islands, this study applied collagen peptide fingerprinting (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry or ZooMS) to archaeological remains from eight Iron Age sites, dating between ca 300 and 1000 CE, in the Zanzibar, Mafia and Comoros archipelagos. Where previous zooarchaeological analyses had identified caprine remains at four of these sites, this study identified goat at seven sites and sheep at three, demonstrating that caprines were more widespread than previously known. The ZooMS results support an introduction of goats to island eastern Africa from at least the seventh century CE, while sheep in our sample arrived one–two centuries later. Goats may have been preferred because, as browsers, they were better adapted to the islands' environments. The results allow for a more accurate understanding of early caprine husbandry in the study region and provide a critical archaeological baseline for examining the potential long-term impacts of translocated fauna on island ecologies.1. Introduction 2. Background 2.1. Island colonization and species translocations 2.2. Tracing the introduction of caprines to insular Eastern Africa 3. Methods 3.1. Sites 3.2. Sample selection 3.3. ZooMS protocol 3.3.1. Acid-insoluble protocol 3.3.2. Acid-soluble protocol 3.3.3. Lyophilized collagen for stable isotope analysis 3.3.4. C18 clean-up and MALDI-ToF analysis 4. Results 5. Discussion 5.1. Diachronic patterns in the introduction of caprines 5.2. Island herd compositions 5.3. Wild faunal extirpations and translocations 5.4. Long-term ecological impacts of caprines on Eastern Africa’s islands 6. Conclusio

Evaluation of the Productive Potential of a World Collection of Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) for the Initiation of Breeding Programs for Adaptation to Conservation Agriculture

Transitioning to conservation agriculture is proving to be a better alternative and could become the norm in the future. Morocco, geographically located in a hot spot, is much more vulnerable to the hazards of climate change and the advantages of conservation agriculture remain a good compromise to ensure sustainable agricultural production. However, the lack of sufficient knowledge about this agricultural technology could be a hindrance and thus create mistrust among farmers. Therefore, the objective of our study is to evaluate the performance of a collection of chickpeas in each tillage system to identify genotypes that can be integrated into breeding programs for adaptation to conservation agriculture. Our study shows no significant effect of tillage on grain yield. Chlorophyll content and pod number made the strongest direct and positive contributions to yield for conventional and no-till, respectively. Nine genotypes including two checks (C1 and C2) were selected in both systems through MGIDI (multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index) analysis. These genotypes would be potential candidates for breeding programs for adaptation to no-till because of their plasticity to reproduce acceptable yields in both till systems

Regulation of Kv2.1 channel inactivation by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate

Abstract Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) is a membrane phospholipid that regulates the function of multiple ion channels, including some members of the voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channel superfamily. The PIP2 sensitivity of Kv channels is well established for all five members of the Kv7 family and for Kv1.2 channels; however, regulation of other Kv channels by PIP2 remains unclear. Here, we investigate the effects of PIP2 on Kv2.1 channels by applying exogenous PIP2 to the cytoplasmic face of excised membrane patches, activating muscarinic receptors (M1R), or depleting endogenous PIP2 using a rapamycin-translocated 5-phosphatase (FKBP-Inp54p). Exogenous PIP2 rescued Kv2.1 channels from rundown and partially prevented the shift in the voltage-dependence of inactivation observed in inside-out patch recordings. Native PIP2 depletion by the recruitment of FKBP-Insp54P or M1R activation in whole-cell experiments, induced a shift in the voltage-dependence of inactivation, an acceleration of the closed-state inactivation, and a delayed recovery of channels from inactivation. No significant effects were observed on the activation mechanism by any of these treatments. Our data can be modeled by a 13-state allosteric model that takes into account that PIP2 depletion facilitates inactivation of Kv2.1. We propose that PIP2 regulates Kv2.1 channels by interfering with the inactivation mechanism

Membrane protein structure, function, and dynamics: a perspective from experiments and theory

Membrane proteins mediate processes that are fundamental for the flourishing of biological cells. Membrane-embedded transporters move ions and larger solutes across membranes; receptors mediate communication between the cell and its environment and membrane-embedded enzymes catalyze chemical reactions. Understanding these mechanisms of action requires knowledge of how the proteins couple to their fluid, hydrated lipid membrane environment. We present here current studies in computational and experimental membrane protein biophysics, and show how they address outstanding challenges in understanding the complex environmental effects on the structure, function, and dynamics of membrane proteins.JTD, IA, and MR used the computational resources of the Modeling Facility of the Department of Chemistry, University of California Irvine funded by NSF Grant CHE-0840513 for this work. A-NB was supported in part by the Marie Curie International Reintegration Award IRG-26920.TWA was supported by ARC DP120103548, NSF MCB1052477, DE Shaw Anton (PSCA00061P; NRBSC, through NIH RC2GM093307), VLSCI (VR0200), and NCI (dd7). BA and SV acknowledge the support by ERC advanced Grant No. 268888. ZC and PG would like to acknowledge Reference Framework (NSRF) 2011–2013, National Action ‘‘Cooperation,’’ under grant entitled ‘‘Magnetic Nanoparticles for targeted MRI therapy (NANOTHER),’’ with code ‘‘11RYM-1-1799.’’ The program is cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund and national resources. Part of the calculations presented herein were performed using resources of the LinkSCEEM-2 project, funded by the EC under FP7 through Capacities Research Infrastructure, INFRA-2010-1.2.3 Virtual Research Communities, Combination of Collaborative Project and Coordination and Support Actions (CPCSA) under Grant agreement no. RI-261600. GB was supported in part by NSF grant MCB1330728 from the National Science Foundation and Grant PO1GM55876-14A1 from the National Institutes of Health. LD received funding from EU FP7 (PIOF-GA-2012-329534). LD, and MLK used the computational resources of Temple University, supported by the National Science Foundation through major research instrumentation grant number CNS-09-58854. JS acknowledges support from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III FEDER (CP12/03139