Diverse Spatial, Temporal, and Sexual Expression of Recently Duplicated Androgen-Binding Protein Genes in \u3ci\u3eMus musculus\u3c/i\u3e

Background The genes for salivary androgen-binding protein (ABP) subunits have been evolving rapidly in ancestors of the house mouse Mus musculus, as evidenced both by recent and extensive gene duplication and by high ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution rates. This makes ABP an appropriate model system with which to investigate how recent adaptive evolution of paralogous genes results in functional innovation (neofunctionalization). Results It was our goal to find evidence for the expression of as many of the Abp paralogues in the mouse genome as possible. We observed expression of six Abpa paralogues and five Abpbg paralogues in ten glands and other organs located predominantly in the head and neck (olfactory lobe of the brain, three salivary glands, lacrimal gland, Harderian gland, vomeronasal organ, and major olfactory epithelium). These Abp paralogues differed dramatically in their specific expression in these different glands and in their sexual dimorphism of expression. We also studied the appearance of expression in both late-stage embryos and postnatal animals prior to puberty and found significantly different timing of the onset of expression among the various paralogues. Conclusion The multiple changes in the spatial expression profile of these genes resulting in various combinations of expression in glands and other organs in the head and face of the mouse strongly suggest that neofunctionalization of these genes, driven by adaptive evolution, has occurred following duplication. The extensive diversification in expression of this family of proteins provides two lines of evidence for a pheromonal role for ABP: 1) different patterns of Abpa/Abpbg expression in different glands; and 2) sexual dimorphism in the expression of the paralogues in a subset of those glands. These expression patterns differ dramatically among various glands that are located almost exclusively in the head and neck, where the sensory organs are located. Since mice are nocturnal, it is expected that they will make extensive use of olfactory as opposed to visual cues. The glands expressing Abp paralogues produce secretions (lacrimal and salivary) or detect odors (MOE and VNO) and thus it appears highly likely that ABP proteins play a role in olfactory communication

The Effects of daily diabetina tea consumption on glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting glucose and lipid levels, and body mass index in normoglycemic individuals

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality in the United States, especially among some ethnic minority populations. Diabetina tea, a commercially-available herbal blend tea, is a well known herbal remedy for high blood sugar among Hispanic American diabetics. This study will examine the effect of twice-daily unsweetened Diabetina tea consumption over an 8 week period on glucose (sugar) and lipid (fat) metabolism. Potential effects of Diabetina tea consumption on glucose metabolism will be measured by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting glucose tests, while the potential effects of Diabetina tea consumption on lipid metabolism will be measured by fasting blood lipid levels, in addition to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) measurements

Diverse spatial, temporal, and sexual expression of recently duplicated androgen-binding protein genes in Mus musculus

BACKGROUND: The genes for salivary androgen-binding protein (ABP) subunits have been evolving rapidly in ancestors of the house mouse Mus musculus, as evidenced both by recent and extensive gene duplication and by high ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitution rates. This makes ABP an appropriate model system with which to investigate how recent adaptive evolution of paralogous genes results in functional innovation (neofunctionalization). RESULTS: It was our goal to find evidence for the expression of as many of the Abp paralogues in the mouse genome as possible. We observed expression of six Abpa paralogues and five Abpbg paralogues in ten glands and other organs located predominantly in the head and neck (olfactory lobe of the brain, three salivary glands, lacrimal gland, Harderian gland, vomeronasal organ, and major olfactory epithelium). These Abp paralogues differed dramatically in their specific expression in these different glands and in their sexual dimorphism of expression. We also studied the appearance of expression in both late-stage embryos and postnatal animals prior to puberty and found significantly different timing of the onset of expression among the various paralogues. CONCLUSION: The multiple changes in the spatial expression profile of these genes resulting in various combinations of expression in glands and other organs in the head and face of the mouse strongly suggest that neofunctionalization of these genes, driven by adaptive evolution, has occurred following duplication. The extensive diversification in expression of this family of proteins provides two lines of evidence for a pheromonal role for ABP: 1) different patterns of Abpa/Abpbg expression in different glands; and 2) sexual dimorphism in the expression of the paralogues in a subset of those glands. These expression patterns differ dramatically among various glands that are located almost exclusively in the head and neck, where the sensory organs are located. Since mice are nocturnal, it is expected that they will make extensive use of olfactory as opposed to visual cues. The glands expressing Abp paralogues produce secretions (lacrimal and salivary) or detect odors (MOE and VNO) and thus it appears highly likely that ABP proteins play a role in olfactory communication

Molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus uberis clinical mastitis in dairy herds: strain heterogeneity and transmission

Multi Locus Sequence Typing was successfully completed on 494 isolates of S. uberis from clinical mastitis cases in a study of 52 commercial dairy herds over a 12 month period. In total, 195 sequence types (STs) were identified. S. uberis mastitis cases occurring in different cows within the same herd and attributed to a common ST were classified as 'potential transmission events' (PTE). Clinical cases attributed to 35 of the 195 STs identified in this study were classified PTE. PTE were identified in 63% of herds. PTE associated cases, which include the first recorded occurrence of that ST in that herd (Index case) and all persistent infections with that PTE ST represented 40% of all the clinical mastitis cases and occurred in 63% of herds. PTE associated cases accounted for over 50% of all S. uberis clinical mastitis cases in 33% of herds. Nine sequence types (ST 5, 6, 20, 22, 24, 35, 233, 361, and 512), eight of which grouped within a clonal complex (sharing at least four alleles), were statistically overrepresented (OVR STs). The findings indicate that 38% of all clinical mastitis cases and 63% of the potential transmission events attributed to S. uberis in dairy herds may be caused by the nine most prevalent strains. The findings suggest that to a small subset of sequence types are disproportionally important in the epidemiology of S. uberis mastitis in the UK with cow to cow transmission of S. uberis potentially occurring in the majority of UK herds and may be the most important route of infection in many herds

Adaptive evolution of Toll-like receptor 5 in domesticated mammals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have proposed that mammalian toll like receptors (TLRs) have evolved under diversifying selection due to their role in pathogen detection. To determine if this is the case, we examined the extent of adaptive evolution in the TLR5 gene in both individual species and defined clades of the mammalia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In support of previous studies, we find evidence of adaptive evolution of mammalian TLR5. However, we also show that TLR5 genes of domestic livestock have a concentration of single nucleotide polymorphisms suggesting a specific signature of adaptation. Using codon models of evolution we have identified a concentration of rapidly evolving codons within the TLR5 extracellular domain a site of interaction between host and the bacterial surface protein flagellin.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest that interactions between pathogen and host may be driving adaptive change in TLR5 by competition between species. In support of this, we have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in sheep and cattle TLR5 genes that are co-localised and co-incident with the predicted adaptive codons suggesting that adaptation in this region of the TLR5 gene is on-going in domestic species.</p

The functional significance of dental and mandibular reduction in Homo: A catarrhine perspective.

The reduction in dental size and mandibular robusticity is regarded as a major trend in human evolution, traditionally considered the result of the peculiar extra-oral food processing skills of Homo. The use of stone tools and fire would have allowed our ancestors to chew softer food in smaller bite size, thus relaxing the selective pressures to keep a large dentition and a robust lower jaw. This perspective assumes that differences in dental size and mandibular robusticity in hominins represent functional dissimilarities. This study uses a catarrhine comparative approach to test this fundamental assumption of the hypotheses on dental and mandibular reduction in Homo. A sample of extant catarrhines and fossil hominins was used to test for correlations between dental size, mandibular robusticity, and dietary proxies, the latter include diet quality, diet heterogeneity, feeding time, and microwear variables. The effects of phylogeny and body size were considered. Findings support the association between technological developments in Homo and reduction in incisor size and mandibular corpus robusticity, though not for premolar, molar size, and symphyseal robusticity. These results challenge the functional interpretation of postcanine reduction and symphyseal changes in the genus Homo

Genome-wide profiling in treatment-naive early rheumatoid arthritis reveals DNA methylome changes in T and B lymphocytes

AIM: Although aberrant DNA methylation has been described in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), no studies have interrogated this epigenetic modification in early disease. Following recent investigations of T- and B-lymphocytes in established disease, we now characterize in these cell populations genome-wide DNA methylation in treatment-naive patients with early RA. PATIENTS & METHODS: HumanMethylation450 BeadChips were used to examine genome-wide DNA methylation in lymphocyte populations from 23 early RA patients and 11 healthy individuals. RESULTS: Approximately 2000 CpGs in each cell type were differentially methylated in early RA. Clustering analysis identified a novel methylation signature in each cell type (150 sites in T-lymphocytes, 113 sites in B-lymphocytes) that clustered all patients separately from controls. A subset of sites differentially methylated in early RA displayed similar changes in established disease. CONCLUSION: Treatment-naive early RA patients display novel disease-specific DNA methylation aberrations, supporting a potential role for these changes in the development of RA

Epigenome-wide profiling identifies significant differences in DNA methylation between matched-pairs of T- and B-lymphocytes from healthy individuals

Multiple reports now describe changes to the DNA methylome in rheumatoid arthritis and in many cases have analyzed methylation in mixed cell populations from whole blood. However, these approaches may preclude the identification of cell type-specific methylation, which may subsequently bias identification of disease-specific changes. To address this possibility, we conducted genome-wide DNA methylation profiling using HumanMethylation450 BeadChips to identify differences within matched pairs of T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes isolated from the peripheral blood of 10 healthy females. Array data were processed and differential methylation identified using NIMBL software. Validation of array data was performed by bisulfite Pyrosequencing. Genome-wide DNA methylation was initially determined by analysis of LINE-1 sequences and was higher in B-lymphocytes than matched T-lymphocytes (69.8 vs. 65.2%, p ≤ 0.01). Pairwise analysis identified 679 CpGs, representing 250 genes, which were differentially methylated between T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes. The majority of sites (76.6%) were hypermethylated in B-lymphocytes. Pyrosequencing of selected candidates confirmed the array data in all cases. Hierarchical clustering revealed perfect segregation of samples into two distinct clusters based on cell type. Differentially methylated genes showed enrichment for biological functions/pathways associated with leukocytes and T-lymphocytes. Our work for the first time shows that T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes possess intrinsic differences in DNA methylation within a restricted set of functionally-related genes. These data provide a foundation for investigating DNA methylation in diseases in which these cell types play important and distinct roles

Mapping B-cell responses to Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis in chickens for the discrimination of infected from vaccinated animals

Serological surveillance and vaccination are important strategies for controlling infectious diseases of food production animals. However, the compatibility of these strategies is limited by a lack of assays capable of di erentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA tests) for established killed or attenuated vaccines. Here, we used next generation phage-display (NGPD) and a 2-proportion Z score analysis to identify peptides that were preferentially bound by IgY from chickens infected with Salmonella Typhimurium or S. Enteritidis compared to IgY from vaccinates, for both an attenuated and an inactivated commercial vaccine. Peptides that were highly enriched against IgY from at least 4 out of 10 infected chickens were selected: 18 and 12 peptides for the killed and attenuated vaccines, respectively. The ten most discriminatory peptides for each vaccine were identi ed in an ELISA using a training set of IgY samples. These peptides were then used in multi-peptide assays that, when analysing a wider set of samples from infected and vaccinated animals, diagnosed infection with 100% sensitivity and speci city. The data describes a method for the development of DIVA assays for conventional attenuated and killed vaccines