Concordance between vocal and genetic diversity in crested gibbons

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gibbons or small apes are, next to great apes, our closest living relatives, and form the most diverse group of contemporary hominoids. A characteristic trait of gibbons is their species-specific song structure, which, however, exhibits a certain amount of inter- and intra-individual variation. Although differences in gibbon song structure are routinely applied as taxonomic tool to identify subspecies and species, it remains unclear to which degree acoustic and phylogenetic differences are correlated. To trace this issue, we comparatively analyse song recordings and mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence data from 22 gibbon populations representing six of the seven crested gibbon species (genus <it>Nomascus</it>). In addition, we address whether song similarity and geographic distribution can support a recent hypothesis about the biogeographic history of crested gibbons.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The acoustic analysis of 92 gibbon duets confirms the hypothesised concordance between song structure and phylogeny. Based on features of male and female songs, we can not only distinguish between <it>N. nasutus</it>, <it>N. concolor </it>and the four southern species (<it>N. leucogenys, N. siki, N. annamensis</it>, <it>N. gabriellae</it>), but also between the latter by applying more detailed analysis. In addition to the significant correlation between song structure and genetic similarity, we find a similar high correlation between song similarity and geographic distance.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results show that the structure of crested gibbon songs is not only a reliable tool to verify phylogenetic relatedness, but also to unravel geographic origins. As vocal production in other nonhuman primate species appears to be evolutionarily based, it is likely that loud calls produced by other species can serve as characters to elucidate phylogenetic relationships.</p

Are Hylobates lar Extirpated from China?

The Nangunhe Nature Reserve in Southwest Yunnan (PRC) has long been presumed to be the last stronghold of lar (or white-handed) gibbons (Hylobates lar) in China and the likely last place of occurrence of Hylobates lar yunnanensis. We conducted a comprehensive survey to assess the status of lar gibbons at Nangunhe. We found no visual or auditory evidence of them still residing at the reserve and therefore tentatively conclude that lar gibbons have become extinct in China. It appears that large-scale destruction of primary forests in the 1960s and 1970s brought about an initial decline in their numbers, and subsequent uncontrolled hunting has resulted in their extirpation. The situation for the six Chinese ape taxa is nothing less than disastrous, with 1 taxon assumed to have become extinct during the last few years, 1 taxon not having been confirmed since the 1980s, and 2 species at the very brink of extinction with only tens of individuals remaining in China

MEANS: python package for Moment Expansion Approximation, iNference and Simulation.

MOTIVATION: Many biochemical systems require stochastic descriptions. Unfortunately these can only be solved for the simplest cases and their direct simulation can become prohibitively expensive, precluding thorough analysis. As an alternative, moment closure approximation methods generate equations for the time-evolution of the system's moments and apply a closure ansatz to obtain a closed set of differential equations; that can become the basis for the deterministic analysis of the moments of the outputs of stochastic systems. RESULTS: We present a free, user-friendly tool implementing an efficient moment expansion approximation with parametric closures that integrates well with the IPython interactive environment. Our package enables the analysis of complex stochastic systems without any constraints on the number of species and moments studied and the type of rate laws in the system. In addition to the approximation method our package provides numerous tools to help non-expert users in stochastic analysis. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: https://github.com/theosysbio/means CONTACTS: [email protected] or [email protected] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online

Accumulation of Immature Langerhans Cells in Human Lymph Nodes Draining Chronically Inflamed Skin

The coordinated migration and maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) such as intraepithelial Langerhans cells (LCs) is considered critical for T cell priming in response to inflammation in the periphery. However, little is known about the role of inflammatory mediators for LC maturation and recruitment to lymph nodes in vivo. Here we show in human dermatopathic lymphadenitis (DL), which features an expanded population of LCs in one draining lymph node associated with inflammatory lesions in its tributary skin area, that the Langerin/CD207+ LCs constitute a predominant population of immature DCs, which express CD1a, and CD68, but not CD83, CD86, and DC–lysosomal-associated membrane protein (LAMP)/CD208. Using LC-type cells generated in vitro in the presence of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, we further found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, as a prototype proinflammatory factor, and a variety of inflammatory stimuli and bacterial products, increase Langerin expression and Langerin dependent Birbeck granules formation in cell which nevertheless lack costimulatory molecules, DC–LAMP/CD208 and potent T cell stimulatory activity but express CCR7 and respond to the lymph node homing chemokines CCL19 and CCL21. This indicates that LC migration and maturation can be independently regulated events. We suggest that during DL, inflammatory stimuli in the skin increase the migration of LCs to the lymph node but without associated maturation. Immature LCs might regulate immune responses during chronic inflammation

Assessing current genetic status of the Hainan gibbon using historical and demographic baselines: implications for conservation management of species of extreme rarity

Evidence-based conservation planning is crucial for informing management decisions for species of extreme rarity, but collection of robust data on genetic status or other parameters can be extremely challenging for such species. The Hainan gibbon, possibly the world's rarest mammal, consists of a single population of c.25 individuals restricted to one protected area on Hainan Island, China, and has persisted for over 30 years at exceptionally low population size. Analysis of genotypes at 11 microsatellite loci from faecal samples for 36% of the current global population and tissue samples from 62% of existing historical museum specimens demonstrates limited current genetic diversity (Na=2.27, Ar=2.24, He =0.43); diversity has declined since the 19th century and even further within the last 30 years, representing declines of c.30% from historical levels (Na=3.36, Ar=3.29, He =0.63). Significant differentiation is seen between current and historical samples (FST =0.156, P=0.0315), and the current population exhibits extremely small Ne (current Ne =2.16). There is evidence for both a recent population bottleneck and an earlier bottleneck, with population size already reasonably low by the late 19th century (historical Ne =1162.96). Individuals in the current population are related at the level of half- to full-siblings between social groups, and full-siblings or parent-offspring within a social group, suggesting that inbreeding is likely to increase in the future. The species' current reduced genetic diversity must be considered during conservation planning, particularly for expectations of likely population recovery, indicating that intensive, carefully planned management is essential

Inflammatory Monocytes and Neutrophils Are Licensed to Kill during Memory Responses In Vivo

Immunological memory is a hallmark of B and T lymphocytes that have undergone a previous encounter with a given antigen. It is assumed that memory cells mediate better protection of the host upon re-infection because of improved effector functions such as antibody production, cytotoxic activity and cytokine secretion. In contrast to cells of the adaptive immune system, innate immune cells are believed to exhibit a comparable functional effector response each time the same pathogen is encountered. Here, using mice infected by the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, we show that during a recall bacterial infection, the chemokine CCL3 secreted by memory CD8+ T cells drives drastic modifications of the functional properties of several populations of phagocytes. We found that inflammatory ly6C+ monocytes and neutrophils largely mediated memory CD8+ T cell bacteriocidal activity by producing increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), augmenting the pH of their phagosomes and inducing antimicrobial autophagy. These events allowed an extremely rapid control of bacterial growth in vivo and accounted for protective immunity. Therefore, our results provide evidence that cytotoxic memory CD8+ T cells can license distinct antimicrobial effector mechanisms of innate cells to efficiently clear pathogens