Bear Canyon Virus: An Arenavirus Naturally Associated with the California Mouse (Peromyscus californicus)

Thirty-four rodents captured in southern California were studied to increase our knowledge of the arenaviruses indigenous to the western United States. An infectious arenavirus was isolated from 5 of 27 California mice but none of the 7 other rodents. Analyses of viral nucleocapsid protein gene sequence data indicated that the isolates from the California mice are strains of a novel Tacaribe serocomplex virus (proposed name “Bear Canyon”) that is phylogenetically most closely related to Whitewater Arroyo and Tamiami viruses, the only other Tacaribe serocomplex viruses known to occur in North America. The discovery of Bear Canyon virus is the first unequivocal evidence that the virus family Arenaviridae is naturally associated with the rodent genus Peromyscus and that a Tacaribe serocomplex virus occurs in California

Proteomics Reveals Novel Drosophila Seminal Fluid Proteins Transferred at Mating

Across diverse taxa, seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) transferred at mating affect the reproductive success of both sexes. Such reproductive proteins often evolve under positive selection between species; because of this rapid divergence, Sfps are hypothesized to play a role in speciation by contributing to reproductive isolation between populations. In Drosophila, individual Sfps have been characterized and are known to alter male sperm competitive ability and female post-mating behavior, but a proteomic-scale view of the transferred Sfps has been missing. Here we describe a novel proteomic method that uses whole-organism isotopic labeling to detect transferred Sfps in mated female D. melanogaster. We identified 63 proteins, which were previously unknown to function in reproduction, and confirmed the transfer of dozens of predicted Sfps. Relative quantification of protein abundance revealed that several of these novel Sfps are abundant in seminal fluid. Positive selection and tandem gene duplication are the prevailing forces of Sfp evolution, and comparative proteomics with additional species revealed lineage-specific changes in seminal fluid content. We also report a proteomic-based gene discovery method that uncovered 19 previously unannotated genes in D. melanogaster. Our results demonstrate an experimental method to identify transferred proteins in any system that is amenable to isotopic labeling, and they underscore the power of combining proteomic and evolutionary analyses to shed light on the complex process of Drosophila reproduction

Insertions and the emergence of novel protein structure: a structure-based phylogenetic study of insertions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In protein evolution, the mechanism of the emergence of novel protein domain is still an open question. The incremental growth of protein variable regions, which was produced by stochastic insertions, has the potential to generate large and complex sub-structures. In this study, a deterministic methodology is proposed to reconstruct phylogenies from protein structures, and to infer insertion events in protein evolution. The analysis was performed on a broad range of SCOP domain families.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Phylogenies were reconstructed from protein 3D structural data. The phylogenetic trees were used to infer ancestral structures with a consensus method. From these ancestral reconstructions, 42.7% of the observed insertions are nested insertions, which locate in previous insert regions. The average size of inserts tends to increase with the insert rank or total number of insertions in the variable regions. We found that the structures of some nested inserts show complex or even domain-like fold patterns with helices, strands and loops. Furthermore, a basal level of structural innovation was found in inserts which displayed a significant structural similarity exclusively to themselves. The β-Lactamase/D-ala carboxypeptidase domain family is provided as an example to illustrate the inference of insertion events, and how the incremental growth of a variable region is capable to generate novel structural patterns.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Using 3D data, we proposed a method to reconstruct phylogenies. We applied the method to reconstruct the sequences of insertion events leading to the emergence of potentially novel structural elements within existing protein domains. The results suggest that structural innovation is possible via the stochastic process of insertions and rapid evolution within variable regions where inserts tend to be nested. We also demonstrate that the structure-based phylogeny enables the study of new questions relating to the evolution of protein domain and biological function.</p

High Brain Ammonia Tolerance and Down-Regulation of Na+:K+:2Cl- Cotransporter 1b mRNA and Protein Expression in the Brain of the Swamp Eel, Monopterus albus, Exposed to Environmental Ammonia or Terrestrial Conditions

10.1371/journal.pone.0069512PLoS ONE89-POLN

Molecular Characterization of Branchial aquaporin 1aa and Effects of Seawater Acclimation, Emersion or Ammonia Exposure on Its mRNA Expression in the Gills, Gut, Kidney and Skin of the Freshwater Climbing Perch, Anabas testudineus

10.1371/journal.pone.0061163PLoS ONE84