Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies Two Novel Regions at 11p15.5-p13 and 1p31 with Major Impact on Acute-Phase Serum Amyloid A

Elevated levels of acute-phase serum amyloid A (A-SAA) cause amyloidosis and are a risk factor for atherosclerosis and its clinical complications, type 2 diabetes, as well as various malignancies. To investigate the genetic basis of A-SAA levels, we conducted the first genome-wide association study on baseline A-SAA concentrations in three population-based studies (KORA, TwinsUK, Sorbs) and one prospective case cohort study (LURIC), including a total of 4,212 participants of European descent, and identified two novel genetic susceptibility regions at 11p15.5-p13 and 1p31. The region at 11p15.5-p13 (rs4150642; p = 3.20×10−111) contains serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) and the adjacent general transcription factor 2 H1 (GTF2H1), Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome 5 (HPS5), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), and lactate dehydrogenase C (LDHC). This region explains 10.84% of the total variation of A-SAA levels in our data, which makes up 18.37% of the total estimated heritability. The second region encloses the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene at 1p31 (rs12753193; p = 1.22×10−11) and has been found to be associated with CRP and fibrinogen in previous studies. Our findings demonstrate a key role of the 11p15.5-p13 region in the regulation of baseline A-SAA levels and provide confirmative evidence of the importance of the 1p31 region for inflammatory processes and the close interplay between A-SAA, leptin, and other acute-phase proteins

Diet of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) on the continental shelf off southern New England

Little is known about the diet of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in southern New England Where bycatch Was a highly contentious issue since the late 1990s until recently. To fill this data gap, stomach contents Were examined from 46 harbor porpoises taken as bycatch over 24 years (1994–2017) between January and May. Prey species Were identified to the lowest possible taxon through hard part analysis, primarily of otoliths and squid beaks. Size and species of harbor porpoise prey overlapped little With those of gillnet catch. Average prey size Was larger for adult harbor porpoises (≥140 cm total length), females, and those taken during the first half of our study (1994–2006) than for smaller porpoises, males, and those caught during the second half (2007–2017). Average total biomass consumed per stomach Was 2.3 kg, an estimate that represents approximately 12–24 h of feeding. Clupeids, true hakes (Urophycis spp.), squids (Decapodiformes), and silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis) constituted 85.5% of all estimated biomass. Cusk-eels (Ophidiidae) and small flatfish species (Pleuronectiformes) Were frequently consumed (found in 29.8% and 27.7% of all stomach samples), but each taxon made up less than 1% of estimated biomass because of their small size. These results could help advance ecosystem-based management by better defining the diet of harbor porpoises in the context of potential climate changes