Excluding mammalian predators from diamondback terrapin nesting beaches with an electric fence

Gemstone Team Saving TestudoOver the past century, diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) populations in the Chesapeake Bay region of the United States have declined from their historic abundance. One factor contributing to the decline is increased predation on terrapin nests by raccoons (Procyon lotor) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes and Urocyon cinereoargenteus). We studied the use of electric fences to deter these predators from nesting beaches along the lower Patuxent River, Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties, Maryland. Over the two-year study, the predation rate within treatment (fenced) plots was 40% (4 of 10 nests) compared to 69% (20 of 29 nests) in control plots. We believe that electric fences have potential as a conservation technique for reducing mammalian predation on diamondback terrapin nests

Pleiotropy-guided transcriptome imputation from normal and tumor tissues identifies candidate susceptibility genes for breast and ovarian cancer.

Familial, sequencing, and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and genetic correlation analyses have progressively unraveled the shared or pleiotropic germline genetics of breast and ovarian cancer. In this study, we aimed to leverage this shared germline genetics to improve the power of transcriptome-wide association studies (TWASs) to identify candidate breast cancer and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes. We built gene expression prediction models using the PrediXcan method in 681 breast and 295 ovarian tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas and 211 breast and 99 ovarian normal tissue samples from the Genotype-Tissue Expression project and integrated these with GWAS meta-analysis data from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (122,977 cases/105,974 controls) and the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (22,406 cases/40,941 controls). The integration was achieved through application of a pleiotropy-guided conditional/conjunction false discovery rate (FDR) approach in the setting of a TWASs. This identified 14 candidate breast cancer susceptibility genes spanning 11 genomic regions and 8 candidate ovarian cancer susceptibility genes spanning 5 genomic regions at conjunction FDR 1 Mb away from known breast and/or ovarian cancer susceptibility loci. We also identified 38 candidate breast cancer susceptibility genes and 17 candidate ovarian cancer susceptibility genes at conjunction FDR < 0.05 at known breast and/or ovarian susceptibility loci. The 22 genes identified by our cross-cancer analysis represent promising candidates that further elucidate the role of the transcriptome in mediating germline breast and ovarian cancer risk

Identification of 12 new susceptibility loci for different histotypes of epithelial ovarian cancer.

To identify common alleles associated with different histotypes of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), we pooled data from multiple genome-wide genotyping projects totaling 25,509 EOC cases and 40,941 controls. We identified nine new susceptibility loci for different EOC histotypes: six for serous EOC histotypes (3q28, 4q32.3, 8q21.11, 10q24.33, 18q11.2 and 22q12.1), two for mucinous EOC (3q22.3 and 9q31.1) and one for endometrioid EOC (5q12.3). We then performed meta-analysis on the results for high-grade serous ovarian cancer with the results from analysis of 31,448 BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, including 3,887 mutation carriers with EOC. This identified three additional susceptibility loci at 2q13, 8q24.1 and 12q24.31. Integrated analyses of genes and regulatory biofeatures at each locus predicted candidate susceptibility genes, including OBFC1, a new candidate susceptibility gene for low-grade and borderline serous EOC

Sensorimotor Transformations Underlying Variability in Song Intensity during Drosophila Courtship

Diverse animal species, from insects to humans, utilize acoustic signals for communication. Studies of the neural basis for song or speech production have focused almost exclusively on the generation of spectral and temporal patterns, but animals can also adjust acoustic signal intensity when communicating. For example, humans naturally regulate the loudness of speech in accord with a visual estimate of receiver distance. The underlying mechanisms for this ability remain uncharacterized in any system. Here, we show that Drosophila males modulate courtship song amplitude with female distance, and we investigate each stage of the sensorimotor transformation underlying this behavior, from the detection of particular visual stimulus features and the timescales of sensory processing, to the modulation of neural and muscle activity that generates song. Our results demonstrate an unanticipated level of control in insect acoustic communication, and uncover novel computations and mechanisms underlying the regulation of acoustic signal intensity during communication

Pleiotropy-guided transcriptome imputation from normal and tumor tissues identifies candidate susceptibility genes for breast and ovarian cancer.

Familial, sequencing, and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and genetic correlation analyses have progressively unraveled the shared or pleiotropic germline genetics of breast and ovarian cancer. In this study, we aimed to leverage this shared germline genetics to improve the power of transcriptome-wide association studies (TWASs) to identify candidate breast cancer and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes. We built gene expression prediction models using the PrediXcan method in 681 breast and 295 ovarian tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas and 211 breast and 99 ovarian normal tissue samples from the Genotype-Tissue Expression project and integrated these with GWAS meta-analysis data from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (122,977 cases/105,974 controls) and the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium (22,406 cases/40,941 controls). The integration was achieved through application of a pleiotropy-guided conditional/conjunction false discovery rate (FDR) approach in the setting of a TWASs. This identified 14 candidate breast cancer susceptibility genes spanning 11 genomic regions and 8 candidate ovarian cancer susceptibility genes spanning 5 genomic regions at conjunction FDR &lt; 0.05 that were &gt;1 Mb away from known breast and/or ovarian cancer susceptibility loci. We also identified 38 candidate breast cancer susceptibility genes and 17 candidate ovarian cancer susceptibility genes at conjunction FDR &lt; 0.05 at known breast and/or ovarian susceptibility loci. The 22 genes identified by our cross-cancer analysis represent promising candidates that further elucidate the role of the transcriptome in mediating germline breast and ovarian cancer risk