HCMV Targets the Metabolic Stress Response through Activation of AMPK Whose Activity Is Important for Viral Replication

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection induces several metabolic activities that have been found to be important for viral replication. The cellular AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a metabolic stress response kinase that regulates both energy-producing catabolic processes and energy-consuming anabolic processes. Here we explore the role AMPK plays in generating an environment conducive to HCMV replication. We find that HCMV infection induces AMPK activity, resulting in the phosphorylation and increased abundance of several targets downstream of activated AMPK. Pharmacological and RNA-based inhibition of AMPK blocked the glycolytic activation induced by HCMV-infection, but had little impact on the glycolytic pathway of uninfected cells. Furthermore, inhibition of AMPK severely attenuated HCMV replication suggesting that AMPK is an important cellular factor for HCMV replication. Inhibition of AMPK attenuated early and late gene expression as well as viral DNA synthesis, but had no detectable impact on immediate-early gene expression, suggesting that AMPK activity is important at the immediate early to early transition of viral gene expression. Lastly, we find that inhibition of the Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent kinase kinase (CaMKK), a kinase known to activate AMPK, blocks HCMV-mediated AMPK activation. The combined data suggest a model in which HCMV activates AMPK through CaMKK, and depends on their activation for high titer replication, likely through induction of a metabolic environment conducive to viral replication

Analysis of the African coelacanth genome sheds light on tetrapod evolution

It was a zoological sensation when a living specimen of the coelacanth was first discovered in 1938, as this lineage of lobe-finned fish was thought to have gone extinct 70 million years ago. The modern coelacanth looks remarkably similar to many of its ancient relatives, and its evolutionary proximity to our own fish ancestors provides a glimpse of the fish that first walked on land. Here we report the genome sequence of the African coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae. Through a phylogenomic analysis, we conclude that the lungfish, and not the coelacanth, is the closest living relative of tetrapods. Coelacanth protein-coding genes are significantly more slowly evolving than those of tetrapods, unlike other genomic features . Analyses of changes in genes and regulatory elements during the vertebrate adaptation to land highlight genes involved in immunity, nitrogen excretion and the development of fins, tail, ear, eye, brain, and olfaction. Functional assays of enhancers involved in the fin-to-limb transition and in the emergence of extra-embryonic tissues demonstrate the importance of the coelacanth genome as a blueprint for understanding tetrapod evolution

The spotted gar genome illuminates vertebrate evolution and facilitates human-teleost comparisons

To connect human biology to fish biomedical models, we sequenced the genome of spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), whose lineage diverged from teleosts before teleost genome duplication (TGD). The slowly evolving gar genome has conserved in content and size many entire chromosomes from bony vertebrate ancestors. Gar bridges teleosts to tetrapods by illuminating the evolution of immunity, mineralization and development (mediated, for example, by Hox, ParaHox and microRNA genes). Numerous conserved noncoding elements (CNEs; often cis regulatory) undetectable in direct human-teleost comparisons become apparent using gar: functional studies uncovered conserved roles for such cryptic CNEs, facilitating annotation of sequences identified in human genome-wide association studies. Transcriptomic analyses showed that the sums of expression domains and expression levels for duplicated teleost genes often approximate the patterns and levels of expression for gar genes, consistent with subfunctionalization. The gar genome provides a resource for understanding evolution after genome duplication, the origin of vertebrate genomes and the function of human regulatory sequences

A new species of Fidelia Friese, 1899 (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae), with a key to the species of the genus

A new species of Fidelia Friese, 1899 is described from southern Africa: Fidelia (Fideliopsis) whiteheadi Litman & Kuhlmann sp. nov. Diagnostic characters are provided to distinguish this species from others in the genus, particularly from the closely related F. hessei; an updated description for Fidelia hessei is also given. The host plant preferences and seasonal activity of F. whiteheadi Litman & Kuhlmann sp. nov. and F. hessei are discussed. Finally, a revised, illustrated key to species of the genus Fidelia is presented

Supplementary material 2 from: Vereecken NJ, Ruiz C, Marshall L, Pérez-Gil M, Molenberg J-M, Jacobi B, La Roche F, Litman JR (2023) A new small carder bee species from the eastern Canary Islands (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Anthidiini). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 96: 983-1015. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.111550

Distribution data of each Pseudoanthidium species in the Canary Island

Supplementary material 1 from: Vereecken NJ, Ruiz C, Marshall L, Pérez-Gil M, Molenberg J-M, Jacobi B, La Roche F, Litman JR (2023) A new small carder bee species from the eastern Canary Islands (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae, Anthidiini). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 96: 983-1015. https://doi.org/10.3897/jhr.96.111550

Information on Pseudoanthidium specimens used for the barcodin

Pseudoanthidium cribratum

PSEUDOANTHIDIUM CRIBRATUM (MORAWITZ, 1875) (FIGS 2B, 11F, 12F, 13F, 17B, D, F, 23B, 24) Anthidium cribratum Morawitz, 1875: 130–131, ♀ ♂. Type locality: in Latin ‘Hab. in deserto prope Taschkent et in Kuldscha’ [in the desert near Tashkent and in Kuldscha], in Russian ‘Найдень въ степи между Ташкентомъ и Сыръ- Дарьей 19 мая (700‘-1400‘). Полученъ также изъ Кульджи’ [found in the steppe between Tashkent and the Syr-Darya (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan) on May 19. Received also from Gulja, probably in China]. Lectotype, ♂, designated byWarncke, 1980: 162:‘Ташкентъ [Tashkent]’, ‘к. Ф Моравица [coll. F. Morawitz]’, ‘ Anthidium cribratum F. Moraw. ♂.’, ‘ Lectotypus Anthidium cribratum Mor. (Warncke 1978) ’ (ZISP). ? Anthidium petechiale Morawitz, 1875: 130, ♀. Type locality: in Latin ‘Hab. in valle Sarafschan; semel captum’ [Captured once in the Zeravshan River Valley, Tajikistan], in Russian ‘Найденъ только разъ въ заравшанской долинѣ между Іори и Дашты- Казы 31 мая (3‘800)’ [Found only once in the Zarafschan River Valley between Yori and Dasthikazy, Tajikistan, May 31, 3‘ 800 m]. Material examined: Seven females, 29 males (see Supporting Information, Table S1 for specimen data). Distribution: Iran, Israel and Palestine, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (Fig. 22B). Host-plant associations (all records from Popov, 1967): Asteraceae Tajikistan Centaurea iberica Trevir. ex Spreng. (male visit), Chondrilla juncea L. (female visit), Cirsium turkestanicum (Regel) Petr. (female visit), Cynara scolymus L. (female visit), Erigeron canadensis L. (female and male visits), Inula sp. (male visits), Onopordum acanthium L. (male and female visits), Pulicaria salviifolia Bunge (male and female visits), Rhaponticum repens (L.) Hidalgo (male and female visits), Tripleurospermum disciforme (C.A. Mey.) Sch. Bip. (male visit); Boraginaceae Uzbekistan Echium italicum subsp. biebersteinii (Lacaita) Greuter & Burdet (male visits); Chenopodiaceae Tajikistan Climacoptera transoxana (Iljin) Botsch. (male visit); Dipsacaceae Tajikistan Dipsacus laciniatus L. (female visit); Fabaceae Tajikistan Alhagi kirghisorum Schrenk (female visits), Trifolium repens L. (male visit); Lamiaceae Tajikistan Mentha longifolia (L.) L. (male and female visits), Vitex angus-castus L. (female visit); Onagraceae Tajikistan Epilobium hirsutum L. (male visits); Plumbaginaceae Tajikistan Limonium perfoliatum (Kar. ex Boiss.) Kuntze (male visit); Ranunculaceae Tajikistan Clematis orientalis L. (female and male visits); Tamaricaceae Tajikistan Tamarix sp. (male visits); Verbenaceae Tajikistan Verbena officinalis L. (male and female visits). Diagnosis female: The female of P. cribratum may be distinguished from other members of this complex by the following combination of characters: punctation on terga comparatively coarse, as large or larger than punctation on mesonotum, with shiny interspaces between punctures; largest punctures on black part of scutellum equal in diameter to largest punctures on T 2 (Fig. 17B, D, F). The female of P. cribratum is similar to P. tenellum and P. rozeni; for more information concerning the differentiation of these three species, see the section entitled ‘Diagnosis female’ for P. rozeni. In their zone of overlap (e.g. in Central Asia), differentiating females of P. cribratum from those of P. tenellum may be challenging. Diagnosis male: The male of P. cribratum may be distinguished from other members of this complex by the following combination of characters: apex of coxa 3 with pronounced, flattened, round-tipped tooth, about as long as third tarsal segment is wide at apex (Fig. 24A–B), which is unique within the species complex; gonostylus over 1.5 times wider at widest point than at base (Fig. 23B); notch at apex of gonostylus wide and deeply U-shaped (Fig. 23B); notch is slightly less deep than width of notch at opening; notch slopes laterally, so that interior tip of the notch is visibly wider than the exterior (Fig. 23B); lateral comb on S5 very small, with longest teeth far shorter than maximum width of hind basitarsus (Fig. 11F); posterior, premarginal brush on S3 with hairs unhooked at tips (Fig. 12F); shiny, hairless zone on S3 between posterior premarginal brush of hairs and anterior zone of dense, velvety pilosity trapezoidal, without medial extension extending anteriorly along the midline of sternum (Fig. 12F); posterior margin of S2 strongly depressed (Fig. 13F); hairs on ventral surface of trochanter 3 dense and of even length but not velvety. Geographic variation: In Central Asia, individuals have broad punctures that are dense but not contiguous on the vertex, thorax and terga and the integument is shiny. In specimens from the Middle East, including Israel, Jordan, Syria and eastern Turkey, punctures are smaller and mostly contiguous and the integument is less shiny (lightly reticulate), especially on the scutum and scutellum. In addition, males from Central Asia have a more elongate gonostylus with the outer apical projection cylindrical and the lateral comb of S5 nearly truncate and symmetrical apically, while Middle Eastern males have a shorter gonostylus with the outer projection conical and the lateral comb asymmetrical, not truncate. Specimens from Iran are more similar to specimens from the Middle East than to those from Central Asia, although in a single specimen the punctation on the terga is intermediate in size between the forms seen at the extreme ends of this species’ distribution.Published as part of Litman, Jessica R., Fateryga, Alexander V., Griswold, Terry L., Aubert, Matthieu, Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu., Divelec, Romain Le, Burrows, Skyler & Praz, Christophe J., 2022, Paraphyly and low levels of genetic divergence in morphologically distinct taxa: revision of the Pseudoanthidium scapulare complex of carder bees (Apoidea: Megachilidae: Anthidiini), pp. 1-51 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195 (4) on pages 31-33, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab062, http://zenodo.org/record/581727

Pseudoanthidium tropicum, STAT. NOV.

<p> <i>PSEUDOANTHIDIUM TROPICUM</i> (WARNCKE, 1982), STAT. NOV.</p> <p>(FIGS 23D, 25B, D, F)</p> <p> <i>Anthidium lituratum tropicum</i> Warncke, 1982: 172–173, ♀ ♂. Type locality: ‘ Pass E Rudan /V Minab, Bandar Abbas in 570 m, 23-V-1978, an <i>Centaurea</i> spec.’ (holotype ♀) (OLML). Paratypes: ‘ Bandar Abbas: Pass E Rudan /N Minab in 570 m, 23-V-1978, an <i>Centaurea</i> spec’ (7♂, 3♀); ‘ Fars: Daria Namak / 27 km E Shiraz, 7-VII-1965, S’ (1♀) (OLML); ‘ Fars: Persepolis in 1570 m, 16-V-1978, W’ (1♂) (OLML).</p> <p> <i>Material examined:</i> Eight females, four males (see Supporting Information, Table S1 for material examined).</p> <p> <i>Distribution:</i> Iran (Fig. 22D).</p> <p> <i>Host-plant associations:</i> A steraceae <b>Bandar Abbas</b> <i>Centaurea</i> sp. (Warncke 1982).</p> <p> <i>Remarks:</i> This taxon was originally described as a subspecies of <i>P. nanum</i> (as <i>P</i>. <i>lituratum tropicum</i>). However, an examination of the type series indicates that this taxon is the most morphologically distinct of all the members of the <i>P. scapulare</i> complex, namely in its small size, its light coloration and the rounded apex of the male gonostylus, the last trait shared only with <i>P. canariense</i> in this species complex. Although we were unable to obtain genetic data for this taxon, we consider it morphologically divergent enough to elevate it to species status.</p> <p> <i>Diagnosis female:</i> The female of <i>P. tropicum</i> may be distinguished from other members of this complex by the following combination of characters: punctation on terga comparatively fine, less wide than diameter of punctation on mesonotum; fourth antennal segment less than half as long as fifth (proportionally longer in all other taxa); metasoma brown with pale yellow maculations; comparatively small (~ 5 mm) (Fig. 25B).</p> <p> <i>Diagnosis male:</i> The male of <i>P. tropicum</i> may be distinguished from other members of this complex by the following combination of characters: very small size (≤ 5 mm), gonostylus approximately parallel-sided with apex almost square and unnotched (Fig. 23D); lateral comb on S5 small, with longest teeth shorter than maximal width of hind basitarsus and no wider than basal comb; posterior, premarginal brush on S3 with hairs hooked at tips; posterior margin of S2 gently emarginate medially, S2 otherwise covered in dense, velvety pilosity except for a more or less hairless posterior margin.</p>Published as part of <i>Litman, Jessica R., Fateryga, Alexander V., Griswold, Terry L., Aubert, Matthieu, Proshchalykin, Maxim Yu., Divelec, Romain Le, Burrows, Skyler & Praz, Christophe J., 2022, Paraphyly and low levels of genetic divergence in morphologically distinct taxa: revision of the Pseudoanthidium scapulare complex of carder bees (Apoidea: Megachilidae: Anthidiini), pp. 1-51 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195 (4)</i> on page 35, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab062, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/5817276">http://zenodo.org/record/5817276</a&gt