Bridging the empathy gap for invertebrates

The actions of sentient vertebrates command our attention and inform our morality. Mikhalevich & Powell (2020) (M&P) argue that similar activities in a wide range of invertebrates with central nervous systems should do likewise. However, humans most readily empathize with creatures we recognize as similar in behavior, physiology, or appearance to ourselves. Helping humanity overcome this bias is a significant challenge for those who study invertebrates. Until this empathy gap is bridged, I believe few people and the policies they craft will afford invertebrates the moral standing that M&P argue they deserve. Therefore, I suggest those interested in raising appreciation for invertebrate minds should broaden the impact of their research findings. They should consider informing the lay public, especially children, through writing, speaking, and seeking non-traditional collaborations with artists, filmmakers, musicians, game developers, and others that affect popular culture

Life-History Correlates of Taxonomic Diversity

One of the most pervasive, nonrandom evolutionary patterns is extreme domination of a taxon by one subtaxon or only a few subtaxa. Domination refers to taxonomic diversity and the fraction of the taxon that is classified in the most diverse subtaxon. We attempt to explain how subtaxa come to dominate their phyletic counterparts by examining correlations between taxonomic diversity and life history traits such as age of first reproduction, longevity, fecundity and partitioning of reproduction, and resource availability in a variety of vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant groups. Regardless of taxonomic group or rank, the number of taxa within an assemblage, or the school of taxonomy employed, diverse taxa were characterized by short generation time (early age of first reproduction and short life—span) and the ability to contact many resources (high mobility and high resource availability). We suggest that the intrinsic character of short generation time increases diversity because it promotes speciation and reduces extinction. Extrinsic factors such as resource availability and environmental complexity and variability may have a secondary influence on diversity by constraining or enhancing speciation for taxa with short generation times. Read More: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.2307/293718

Thinking Like a Raven: Restoring Integrity, Stability, and Beauty to Western Ecosystems

Common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) are generalist predators that pose a threat to several rare wildlife species in the western United States. Recent increases in raven populations, which are fueled by increased human subsidies—notably food, water, and nest sites—are concerning to those seeking to conserve rare species. Due to the challenges and inefficiencies of reducing or eliminating subsidies, managers increasingly rely on lethal removal of ravens. Over 125,000 ravens were killed by the U.S. Government from 1996 to 2019, and annual removals have increased 4-fold from the 1990s to mid-2010s. We contend that lethal removal of ravens, while capable of improving the reproduction of rare species, is at best a short-term and ethically untenable solution to a problem that will continue to grow until subsidies are meaningfully reduced or made inaccessible to ravens. In part because of ravens’ abilities to track natural and anthropogenic resources across unfamiliar and expansive areas, the removal of subsidies can lead to sustained shifts in raven abundance, which can have long-lasting benefits for sensitive species. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA, for example, we documented extensive use of human subsidies during fall/winter, daily 1-way commutes regularly in excess of 50 km by territorial birds to such subsidies, and dispersals of \u3e700 km by nonbreeders that exploited food and roost subsidies. We call for managers to embrace new approaches to subsidy reduction including: increased involvement of conservation social scientists; increased enforcement of local, state, and federal laws; and increased deployment of a diversity of new technologies to haze and aversively condition ravens. Tackling the hard job of reducing subsidies over the expansive area exploited by ravens is right because it will increase the integrity, stability, and beauty of western ecosystems

Partial cooperative unfolding in proteins as observed by hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Reviews in Physical Chemistry on 2013-1-1, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/0144235X.2012.751175.Many proteins do not exist in a single rigid conformation. Protein motions, or dynamics, exist and in many cases are important for protein function. The analysis of protein dynamics relies on biophysical techniques that can distinguish simultaneously existing populations of molecules and their rates of interconversion. Hydrogen exchange (HX) detected by mass spectrometry (MS) is contributing to our understanding of protein motions by revealing unfolding and dynamics on a wide timescale, ranging from seconds to hours to days. In this review we discuss HX MS-based analyses of protein dynamics, using our studies of multi-domain kinases as examples. Using HX MS, we have successfully probed protein dynamics and unfolding in the isolated SH3, SH2 and kinase domains of the c-Src and Abl kinase families, as well as the role of inter- and intra-molecular interactions in the global control of kinase function. Coupled with high-resolution structural information, HX MS has proved to be a powerful and versatile tool for the analysis of the conformational dynamics in these kinase systems, and has provided fresh insight regarding the regulatory control of these important signaling proteins. HX MS studies of dynamics are applicable not only to the proteins we illustrate here, but to a very wide range of proteins and protein systems, and should play a role in both classification of and greater understanding of the prevalence of protein motion

Distinct self-interaction domains promote Multi Sex Combs accumulation in and formation of the Drosophila histone locus body

Nuclear bodies (NBs) are structures that concentrate proteins, RNAs, and ribonucleoproteins that perform functions essential to gene expression. How NBs assemble is not well understood. We studied the Drosophila histone locus body (HLB), a NB that concentrates factors required for histone mRNA biosynthesis at the replication-dependent histone gene locus. We coupled biochemical analysis with confocal imaging of both fixed and live tissues to demonstrate that the Drosophila Multi Sex Combs (Mxc) protein contains multiple domains necessary for HLB assembly. An important feature of this assembly process is the self-interaction of Mxc via two conserved N-terminal domains: a LisH domain and a novel self-interaction facilitator (SIF) domain immediately downstream of the LisH domain. Molecular modeling suggests that the LisH and SIF domains directly interact, and mutation of either the LisH or the SIF domain severely impairs Mxc function in vivo, resulting in reduced histone mRNA accumulation. A region of Mxc between amino acids 721 and 1481 is also necessary for HLB assembly independent of the LisH and SIF domains. Finally, the C-terminal 195 amino acids of Mxc are required for recruiting FLASH, an essential histone mRNA-processing factor, to the HLB. We conclude that multiple domains of the Mxc protein promote HLB assembly in order to concentrate factors required for histone mRNA biosynthesis

A Science-Based Policy for Managing Free-Roaming Cats

Free-roaming domestic cats (i.e., cats that are owned or unowned and are considered ‘at large’) are globally distributed non-native species that have marked impacts on biodiversity and human health. Despite clear scientific evidence of these impacts, free-roaming cats are either unmanaged or managed using scientifically unsupported and ineffective approaches (e.g., trap-neuter-release [TNR]) in many jurisdictions around the world. A critical first initiative for effective, science-driven management of cats must be broader political and legislative recognition of free-roaming cats as a non-native, invasive species. Designating cats as invasive is important for developing and implementing science-based management plans, which should include efforts to prevent cats from becoming free-roaming, policies focused on responsible pet ownership and banning outdoor cat feeding, and better enforcement of existing laws. Using a science-based approach is necessary for responding effectively to the politically charged and increasingly urgent issue of managing free-roaming cat populations

Näyttöön perustuva tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairauksien kuntoutus

103 s.Kelan rahoittaman TULES- eli tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairauksien kuntoutuksen standardien kehittämistä tukevan tutkimuksen (11/2013–8/2014) yhtenä osatavoitteena oli kartoittaa keskeisin tutkimusnäyttö tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairauksien vaikuttavasta kuntoutuksesta. Tämän työpaperin tarkoitus on antaa kuntoutuksen suunnittelijoille ja käytännön työntekijöille tietoa tämänhetkisen TULES-kuntoutuksen tutkimuksen tuloksista. Järjestelmällinen kirjallisuuskatsaus tuo esille vaikuttavaksi osoitettuja kuntoutusmuotoja. Tähän kirjallisuuskatsaukseen on lisäksi kerätty tietoa eri maiden kuntoutussuosituksista alaselän, niskan, olkapään sekä polven ja lonkan TULE-sairauksien osalta sekä kuntouttavan liikuntaharjoittelun perusteista. Järjestelmällinen tiedonhaku suoritettiin viiden vuoden ajalta; vuoden 2009 alusta vuoden 2013 loppuun saakka. Järjestelmällisen katsauksen päätulokset osoittivat aktiiviseen terapeuttiseen harjoitteluun perustuvien ohjelmien olevan vaikuttavia kaikkien katsauksessa mukana olleiden TULE-sairauksien kuntoutuksessa. Lisäksi todettiin manuaalisen terapian olevan vaikuttavaa alaselän ja niskan kuntoutuksessa. Kohtalaista tutkimusnäyttöä löytyi tiettyjen fysikaalisten hoitojen, mm. akupunktion, laserterapian ja pulsoivan magneettiterapian vaikuttavuudesta jokaisessa tutkitussa TULE-sairaudessa. Ohjauksellisista interventioista ainoastaan behavioraalisen terapian vaikuttavuus on osoitettu kohtalaiseksi alaselän kuntoutuksessa. Eri maiden ja yhdistysten suositukset painottavat tutkimusnäytön mukaisesti aktiivista harjoittelua niin selkä-, niska- kuin nivelkuntoutuksessa

A unified phylogeny-based nomenclature for histone variants

Histone variants are non-allelic protein isoforms that play key roles in diversifying chromatin structure. The known number of such variants has greatly increased in recent years, but the lack of naming conventions for them has led to a variety of naming styles, multiple synonyms and misleading homographs that obscure variant relationships and complicate database searches. We propose here a unified nomenclature for variants of all five classes of histones that uses consistent but flexible naming conventions to produce names that are informative and readily searchable. The nomenclature builds on historical usage and incorporates phylogenetic relationships, which are strong predictors of structure and function. A key feature is the consistent use of punctuation to represent phylogenetic divergence, making explicit the relationships among variant subtypes that have previously been implicit or unclear. We recommend that by default new histone variants be named with organism-specific paralog-number suffixes that lack phylogenetic implication, while letter suffixes be reserved for structurally distinct clades of variants. For clarity and searchability, we encourage the use of descriptors that are separate from the phylogeny-based variant name to indicate developmental and other properties of variants that may be independent of structure

Deterministic processes structure bacterial genetic communities across an urban landscape

Land-use change is predicted to act as a driver of zoonotic disease emergence through human exposure to novel microbial diversity, but evidence for the effects of environmental change on microbial communities in vertebrates is lacking. We sample wild birds at 99 wildlife-livestock-human interfaces across Nairobi, Kenya, and use whole genome sequencing to characterise bacterial genes known to be carried on mobile genetic elements (MGEs) within avian-borne Escherichia coli (n=241). By modelling the diversity of bacterial genes encoding virulence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) against ecological and anthropogenic forms of urban environmental change, we demonstrate that communities of avian-borne bacterial genes are shaped by the assemblage of co-existing avian, livestock and human communities, and the habitat within which they exist. In showing that non-random processes structure bacterial genetic communities in urban wildlife, these findings suggest that it should be possible to forecast the effects of urban land-use change on microbial diversity

Decelerating Spread of West Nile Virus by Percolation in a Heterogeneous Urban Landscape

Vector-borne diseases are emerging and re-emerging in urban environments throughout the world, presenting an increasing challenge to human health and a major obstacle to development. Currently, more than half of the global population is concentrated in urban environments, which are highly heterogeneous in the extent, degree, and distribution of environmental modifications. Because the prevalence of vector-borne pathogens is so closely coupled to the ecologies of vector and host species, this heterogeneity has the potential to significantly alter the dynamical systems through which pathogens propagate, and also thereby affect the epidemiological patterns of disease at multiple spatial scales. One such pattern is the speed of spread. Whereas standard models hold that pathogens spread as waves with constant or increasing speed, we hypothesized that heterogeneity in urban environments would cause decelerating travelling waves in incipient epidemics. To test this hypothesis, we analysed data on the spread of West Nile virus (WNV) in New York City (NYC), the 1999 epicentre of the North American pandemic, during annual epizootics from 2000–2008. These data show evidence of deceleration in all years studied, consistent with our hypothesis. To further explain these patterns, we developed a spatial model for vector-borne disease transmission in a heterogeneous environment. An emergent property of this model is that deceleration occurs only in the vicinity of a critical point. Geostatistical analysis suggests that NYC may be on the edge of this criticality. Together, these analyses provide the first evidence for the endogenous generation of decelerating travelling waves in an emerging infectious disease. Since the reported deceleration results from the heterogeneity of the environment through which the pathogen percolates, our findings suggest that targeting control at key sites could efficiently prevent pathogen spread to remote susceptible areas or even halt epidemics