26 research outputs found
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Erratum: Author Correction: Identification of genes required for eye development by high-throughput screening of mouse knockouts.
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s42003-018-0226-0.]
Seasonal and Long-Term Changes in Relative Abundance of Bull Sharks from a Tourist Shark Feeding Site in Fiji
Shark tourism has become increasingly popular, but remains controversial because
of major concerns originating from the need of tour operators to use bait or
chum to reliably attract sharks. We used direct underwater sampling to document
changes in bull shark Carcharhinus leucas relative abundance at
the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a shark feeding site in Fiji, and the
reproductive cycle of the species in Fijian waters. Between 2003 and 2009, the
total number of C. leucas counted on each day ranged from 0 to
40. Whereas the number of C. leucas counted at the feeding site
increased over the years, shark numbers decreased over the course of a calendar
year with fewest animals counted in November. Externally visible reproductive
status information indicates that the species' seasonal departure from the
feeding site may be related to reproductive activity
Human and mouse essentiality screens as a resource for disease gene discovery.
The identification of causal variants in sequencing studies remains a considerable challenge that can be partially addressed by new gene-specific knowledge. Here, we integrate measures of how essential a gene is to supporting life, as inferred from viability and phenotyping screens performed on knockout mice by the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium and essentiality screens carried out on human cell lines. We propose a cross-species gene classification across the Full Spectrum of Intolerance to Loss-of-function (FUSIL) and demonstrate that genes in five mutually exclusive FUSIL categories have differing biological properties. Most notably, Mendelian disease genes, particularly those associated with developmental disorders, are highly overrepresented among genes non-essential for cell survival but required for organism development. After screening developmental disorder cases from three independent disease sequencing consortia, we identify potentially pathogenic variants in genes not previously associated with rare diseases. We therefore propose FUSIL as an efficient approach for disease gene discovery
Multiple dimensions of biodiversity drive human interest in tide pool communities
Abstract Activities involving observation of wild organisms (e.g. wildlife watching, tidepooling) can provide recreational and learning opportunities, with biologically diverse animal assemblages expected to be more stimulating to humans. In turn, more diverse communities may enhance human interest and facilitate provisioning of cultural services. However, no experimental tests of this biodiversity-interest hypothesis exist to date. We therefore investigated the effects of different dimensions of animal biodiversity (species richness, phyletic richness and functional diversity) on self-reported interest using tide pools as a model system. We performed two experiments by manipulating: (1) the richness of lower (species) and higher taxonomic levels (phyla) in an image based, online survey, and (2) the richness of the higher taxonomic level (phyla) in live public exhibits. In both experiments, we further quantified functional diversity, which varied freely, and within the online experiment we also included the hue diversity and colourfulness arising from the combination of organisms and the background scenes. Interest was increased by phyletic richness (both studies), animal species richness (online study) and functional diversity (online study). A structural equation model revealed that functional diversity and colourfulness (of the whole scene) also partially mediated the effects of phyletic richness on interest in the online study. In both studies, the presence of three of four phyla additively increased interest, supporting the importance of multiple, diverse phyla rather than a single particularly interesting phylum. These results provide novel experimental evidence that multiple dimensions of biodiversity enhance human interest and suggest that conservation initiatives that maintain or restore biodiversity will help stimulate interest in ecosystems, facilitating educational and recreational benefits