Garbage in the diet of carnivores in an agricultural area

Human food waste is considered to be richer in carbohydrates, lipids and proteins than most natural food supplies; however, it is very well digested in scats. So, as an indication of this kind of food in the diet, we have used each indigestible, anthropogenic origin element found in faeces (e.g., glass, plastic, rubber, etc.). There are few studies discussing the importance of garbage in the diet of mammalian predators living in farmland; definitely,  most focus on this issue in urban areas. We studied the contribution of garbage in the diet of raccoon dog  (Nyctereutes procyonoides), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), marten (Martes sp.), polecat (Mustela putorius), stoat (Mustela erminea), American mink (Neovison vison) and Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) in the agricultural areas of western Poland in 2006-2010. In addition, we examined the spatial changes in the diet of red fox and polecat. The largest contribution of garbage was found in scats of raccoon dog (8.8%), red fox (4.8%) and marten (4.3%). The diet of polecat, stoat and Eurasian otter contained 2.5%, 1.7% and 0.2% garbage items respectively. The most frequent item was plastic. Our analysis showed that garbage consumption by red fox and polecat was greater  closer to human settlements. The results reveal a continuous gradient in the garbage consumption that corresponds with the degree of synanthropization of particular species

Morphological variability of baculum (os penis) in the polecat Mustela putorius

Abstract. The study presents the morphological variation in three traits of the baculum (os penis) in the polecat (Mustela putorius Linnaeus, 1758), based on an analysis of 108 males (7 juveniles and 101 adults) collected in NE Slovakia between 1958-1978. Adult in- dividuals had a significantly larger baculum (length, width and distal tip size) than juve- niles. All three measured baculum traits correlated significantly with each other. However, these relationships only explained from 10% (width . distal tip size relation- ship) up to 51% (length . width relationship) of the variance between the studied traits. Therefore, evolutionary analysis based on baculum variation should take into account not only baculum size, but also base width, which may be a measure of baculum developmen- tal stage. Moreover, coefficients of variation were 10.2%, 30.2% and 11.4%, respectively for length, width and distal tip size of the baculum, much greater than the known variation of cranial measurements. Therefore, more data on the variability among individuals, as well as between measured traits, are needed for a better understanding of the evolutionary processes which influence baculum size and shape

Analysis of region-specific changes in gene expression upon treatment with citalopram and desipramine reveals temporal dynamics in response to antidepressant drugs at the transcriptome level

RATIONALE: The notion that the onset of action of antidepressant drugs (ADs) takes weeks is widely accepted; however, the sequence of events necessary for therapeutic effects still remains obscure. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate a time-course of ADs-induced alterations in the expression of 95 selected genes in 4 regions of the rat brain: the prefrontal and cingulate cortices, the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, and the amygdala. METHODS: We employed RT-PCR array to evaluate changes during a time-course (1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days) of treatments with desipramine (DMI) and citalopram (CIT). In addition to repeated treatment, we also conducted acute treatment (a single dose of drug followed by the same time intervals as the repeated doses). RESULTS: Time-dependent and structure-specific changes in gene expression patterns allowed us to identify spatiotemporal differences in the molecular action of two ADs. Singular value decomposition analysis revealed differences in the global gene expression profiles between treatment types. The numbers of characteristic modes were generally smaller after CIT treatment than after DMI treatment. Analysis of the dynamics of gene expression revealed that the most significant changes concerned immediate early genes, whose expression was also visualized by in situ hybridization. Transcription factor binding site analysis revealed an over-representation of serum response factor binding sites in the promoters of genes that changed upon treatment with both ADs. CONCLUSIONS: The observed gene expression patterns were highly dynamic, with oscillations and peaks at various time points of treatment. Our study also revealed novel potential targets of antidepressant action, i.e., Dbp and Id1 genes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00213-012-2714-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

5α,6α-Epoxyphytosterols and 5α,6α-Epoxycholesterol Increase Oxidative Stress in Rats on Low-Cholesterol Diet

Objective. Cholesterol oxidation products have an established proatherogenic and cytotoxic effect. An increased exposure to these substances may be associated with the development of atherosclerosis and cancers. Relatively little, though, is known about the effect of phytosterol oxidation products, although phytosterols are present in commonly available and industrial food products. Thus, the aim of the research was to assess the effect of 5α,6α-epoxyphytosterols, which are important phytosterol oxidation products, on redox state in rats. Material and Methods. The animals were divided into 3 groups and exposed to nutritional sterols by receiving feed containing 5α,6α-epoxyphytosterols (ES group) and 5α,6α-epoxycholesterol (Ech group) or sterol-free feed (C group). The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), conjugated dienes (CD), and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) were assayed in the plasma; anti-7-ketocholesterol antibodies and activity of paraoxonase-1 (PON1) were determined in serum, whereas the activity of catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), S-glutathione transferase (GST), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were assayed in RBCs. Results. During the experiment, the levels of lipid peroxidation products increased, such as CD and anti-7-ketocholesterol antibodies. At the same time, the plasma levels of FRAP and serum activity of PON1 decreased alongside the reduced activity of GPx, GR, and SOD in RBCs. There was no effect of the studied compounds on the plasma MDA levels or on the activity of CAT and GST in RBCs. Conclusions. Both 5α,6α- epoxyphytosterols and 5α,6α-epoxycholesterols similarly dysregulate the redox state in experimental animal model and may significantly impact atherogenesis

Versatile approach for functional analysis of human proteins and efficient stable cell line generation using FLP-mediated recombination system

Deciphering a function of a given protein requires investigating various biological aspects. Usually, the protein of interest is expressed with a fusion tag that aids or allows subsequent analyses. Additionally, downregulation or inactivation of the studied gene enables functional studies. Development of the CRISPR/Cas9 methodology opened many possibilities but in many cases it is restricted to non-essential genes. Recombinase-dependent gene integration methods, like the Flp-In system, are very good alternatives. The system is widely used in different research areas, which calls for the existence of compatible vectors and efficient protocols that ensure straightforward DNA cloning and generation of stable cell lines. We have created and validated a robust series of 52 vectors for streamlined generation of stable mammalian cell lines using the FLP recombinase-based methodology. Using the sequence-independent DNA cloning method all constructs for a given coding-sequence can be made with just three universal PCR primers. Our collection allows tetracycline-inducible expression of proteins with various tags suitable for protein localization, FRET, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC), protein dynamics studies (FRAP), co-immunoprecipitation, the RNA tethering assay and cell sorting. Some of the vectors contain a bidirectional promoter for concomitant expression of miRNA and mRNA, so that a gene can be silenced and its product replaced by a mutated miRNA-insensitive version. Our toolkit and protocols have allowed us to create more than 500 constructs with ease. We demonstrate the efficacy of our vectors by creating stable cell lines with various tagged proteins (numatrin, fibrillarin, coilin, centrin, THOC5, PCNA). We have analysed transgene expression over time to provide a guideline for future experiments and compared the effectiveness of commonly used inducers for tetracycline-responsive promoters. As proof of concept we examined the role of the exoribonuclease XRN2 in transcription termination by RNAseq

Variability of the mammalian os penis – phylogenesis and ecology

The penis bone (also called as baculum or os penis) is a heterotopic bone occurring in such orders like: carnivores, bats, insectivores, rodents and some primates. Baculum is extremely morphologically diverse both in shape and size, even between closely related species. Hence it has been widely used as a systematic tool. Consequently, os penis serves different functions across the species: e.g. stimulation of reproductive track, mechanical support, protection of the urethra from compression. Some analysis suggest also, that hooked tip of the penis bone can be used to damage and remove sperm which comes from the previous male. It can be also used as an indicator of genetic quality in males because it continues growth throughout life. Numerous researches into baculum provide some information about animal evolution, sexual selection and reproductive strategies in the different groups of animal. However, our knowledge about evolution, significance and environmental influence on the os penis seems to be incomplete and needs to be further studied

Variability of the mammalian os penis – phylogenesis and ecology

The penis bone (also called as baculum or os penis) is a heterotopic bone occurring in such orders like: carnivores, bats, insectivores, rodents and some primates. Baculum is extremely morphologically diverse both in shape and size, even between closely related species. Hence it has been widely used as a systematic tool. Consequently, os penis serves different functions across the species: e.g. stimulation of reproductive track, mechanical support, protection of the urethra from compression. Some analysis suggest also, that hooked tip of the penis bone can be used to damage and remove sperm which comes from the previous male. It can be also used as an indicator of genetic quality in males because it continues growth throughout life. Numerous researches into baculum provide some information about animal evolution, sexual selection and reproductive strategies in the different groups of animal. However, our knowledge about evolution, significance and environmental influence on the os penis seems to be incomplete and needs to be further studied

Diet of the American mink Neovison vison in an agricultural landscape in western Poland

We studied the diet of the American mink (Neovison vison) in small artificial watercourses located in a farmland area of the valley of the River Barycz in Poland. Rodents, mainly Microtus spp., were the most frequent prey identified, occurring in 88.3 % of all analyzed mink scat. Minks also fed willingly on fish, birds and amphibians, whereas insects, crayfish and reptiles accounted for only a small part of the biomass of food consumed. The food niche breadth of the mink’s diet was wide, and varied significantly between seasons; in spring and autumn minks preyed mainly on rodents and fish, while the winter and summer diets consisted of a broad characterization of prey items. The proportion of mammals in the diet also decreased significantly during the summer months. These patterns differ from those previously reported in Europe, and demonstrate the plasticity of the mink diet across habitats