Microsatellite markers for the Cabreúva tree, Myroxylon peruiferum (Fabaceae), an endangered medicinal species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The Cabreúva tree, Myroxylon peruiferum, is an endangered tropical species from Brazil used in forest restoration projects. It is known for its medicinal properties. Eleven microsatellite markers were developed for this species, from a microsatellite-enriched library. Nine of these markers, characterized in 30 individuals from a semideciduous forest remnant population in southeast Brazil, were polymorphic, with allele numbers ranging from 2 to 8 per locus; expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.103 to 0.757 and 0.107 to 0.704, respectively. One locus (Mpe-C04) showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, probably due to null alleles. Two other loci (Mpe-E09 and Mpe-H07) were monomorphic in this population. These microsatellite loci should be useful for future population genetic studies of this species. The Cabreúva tree, Myroxylon peruiferum, is an endangered tropical species from Brazil used in forest restoration projects. It is known for its medicinal properties. Eleven microsatellite markers were developed for this species, from a microsatellite-enriched library. Nine of these markers, characterized in 30 individuals from a semideciduous forest remnant population in southeast Brazil, were polymorphic, with allele numbers ranging from 2 to 8 per locus; expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.103 to 0.757 and 0.107 to 0.704, respectively. One locus (Mpe-C04) showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, probably due to null alleles. Two other loci (Mpe-E09 and Mpe-H07) were monomorphic in this population. These microsatellite loci should be useful for future population genetic studies of this species13369206925CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPsem informaçã

Microsatellite Markers For The Cabreúva Tree, Myroxylon Peruiferum (fabaceae), An Endangered Medicinal Species From The Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

The Cabreúva tree, Myroxylon peruiferum, is an endangered tropical species from Brazil used in forest restoration projects. It is known for its medicinal properties. Eleven microsatellite markers were developed for this species, from a microsatellite-enriched library. Nine of these markers, characterized in 30 individuals from a semideciduous forest remnant population in southeast Brazil, were polymorphic, with allele numbers ranging from 2 to 8 per locus; expected and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.103 to 0.757 and 0.107 to 0.704, respectively. One locus (Mpe-C04) showed significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, probably due to null alleles. Two other loci (Mpe-E09 and Mpe-H07) were monomorphic in this population. These microsatellite loci should be useful for future population genetic studies of this species.136920-

The Evolution of Bat Vestibular Systems in the Face of Potential Antagonistic Selection Pressures for Flight and Echolocation

PMCID: PMC3634842This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Digital Cranial Endocast of Hyopsodus (Mammalia, “Condylarthra”): A Case of Paleogene Terrestrial Echolocation?

We here describe the endocranial cast of the Eocene archaic ungulate Hyopsodus lepidus AMNH 143783 (Bridgerian, North America) reconstructed from X-ray computed microtomography data. This represents the first complete cranial endocast known for Hyopsodontinae. The Hyopsodus endocast is compared to other known “condylarthran” endocasts, i. e. those of Pleuraspidotherium (Pleuraspidotheriidae), Arctocyon (Arctocyonidae), Meniscotherium (Meniscotheriidae), Phenacodus (Phenacodontidae), as well as to basal perissodactyls (Hyracotherium) and artiodactyls (Cebochoerus, Homacodon). Hyopsodus presents one of the highest encephalization quotients of archaic ungulates and shows an “advanced version” of the basal ungulate brain pattern, with a mosaic of archaic characters such as large olfactory bulbs, weak ventral expansion of the neopallium, and absence of neopallium fissuration, as well as more specialized ones such as the relative reduction of the cerebellum compared to cerebrum or the enlargement of the inferior colliculus. As in other archaic ungulates, Hyopsodus midbrain exposure is important, but it exhibits a dorsally protruding largely developed inferior colliculus, a feature unique among “Condylarthra”. A potential correlation between the development of the inferior colliculus in Hyopsodus and the use of terrestrial echolocation as observed in extant tenrecs and shrews is discussed. The detailed analysis of the overall morphology of the postcranial skeleton of Hyopsodus indicates a nimble, fast moving animal that likely lived in burrows. This would be compatible with terrestrial echolocation used by the animal to investigate subterranean habitat and/or to minimize predation during nocturnal exploration of the environment

Effect of concomitant medications with immune-modulatory properties on the outcomes of patients with advanced cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: development and validation of a novel prognostic index

Background: Concomitant medications are known to impact on clinical outcomes of patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We aimed weighing the role of different concomitant baseline medications to create a drug-based prognostic score. Methods: We evaluated concomitant baseline medications at immunotherapy initiation for their impact on objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in a single-institution cohort of patients with advanced cancer treated with ICIs (training cohort, N = 217), and a drug-based prognostic score with the drugs resulting significantly impacting the OS was computed. Secondly, we externally validated the score in a large multicenter external cohort (n = 1012). Results: In the training cohort (n = 217), the median age was 69 years (range: 32–89), and the primary tumours were non–small-cell lung cancer (70%), melanoma (14.7%), renal cell carcinoma (9.2%) and others (6%). Among baseline medications, corticosteroids (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.60–3.30), systemic antibiotics (HR = 2.07; 95% CI: 1.31–3.25) and proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) (HR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.13–2.18) were significantly associated with OS. The prognostic score was calculated using these three drug classes, defining good, intermediate and poor prognosis patients. Within the training cohort, OS (p < 0.0001), PFS (p < 0.0001) and ORR (p = 0.0297) were significantly distinguished by the score stratification. The prognostic value of the score was also demonstrated in terms of OS (p < 0.0001), PFS (p < 0.0001) and ORR (p = 0.0006) within the external cohort. Conclusion: Cumulative exposure to corticosteroids, antibiotics and PPIs (three likely microbiota-modulating drugs) leads to progressively worse outcomes after ICI therapy. We propose a simple score that can help stratifying patients in routine practice and clinical trials of ICIs

Digital reconstruction of the inner ear of Leptictidium auderiense (Leptictida, Mammalia) and North American leptictids reveals new insight into leptictidan locomotor agility

Leptictida are basal Paleocene to Oligocene eutherians from Europe and North America comprising species with highly specialized postcranial features including elongated hind limbs. Among them, the European Leptictidium was probably a bipedal runner or jumper. Because the semicircular canals of the inner ear are involved in detecting angular acceleration of the head, their morphometry can be used as a proxy to elucidate the agility in fossil mammals. Here we provide the first insight into inner ear anatomy and morphometry of Leptictida based on high-resolution computed tomography of a new specimen of Leptictidium auderiense from the middle Eocene Messel Pit (Germany) and specimens of the North American Leptictis and Palaeictops. The general morphology of the bony labyrinth reveals several plesiomorphic mammalian features, such as a secondary crus commune. Leptictidium is derived from the leptictidan groundplan in lacking the secondary bony lamina and having proportionally larger semicircular canals than the leptictids under study. Our estimations reveal that Leptictidium was a very agile animal with agility score values (4.6 and 5.5, respectively) comparable to Macroscelidea and extant bipedal saltatory placentals. Leptictis and Palaeictops have lower agility scores (3.4 to 4.1), which correspond to the more generalized types of locomotion (e.g., terrestrial, cursorial) of most extant mammals. In contrast, the angular velocity magnitude predicted from semicircular canal angles supports a conflicting pattern of agility among leptictidans, but the significance of these differences might be challenged when more is known about intraspecific variation and the pattern of semicircular canal angles in non-primate mammals

Exceptional skull of huayqueriana (mammalia, litopterna, macraucheniidae) from the late miocene of Argentina: Anatomy, systematics, and peleobiological implications

The Huayquerías Formation (Late Miocene, Huayquerian SALMA) is broadly exposed in westcentral Argentina (Mendoza). The target of several major paleontological expeditions in the first half of the 20th century, the Mendozan Huayquerías (badlands) have recently yielded a significant number of new fossil finds. In this contribution we describe a complete skull (IANIGLA-PV 29) and place it systematically as Huayqueriana cf. H. cristata (Rovereto, 1914) (Litopterna, Macraucheniidae). The specimen shares some nonexclusive features with H. cristata (similar size, rostral border of the orbit almost level with distal border of M3, convergence of maxillary bones at the level of the P3/P4 embrasure, flat snout, very protruding orbits, round outline of premaxillary area in palatal view, and small diastemata between I3/C and C/P1). Other differences (e.g., lack of sagittal crest) may or may not represent intraspecific variation. In addition to other features described here, endocast reconstruction utilizing computer tomography (CT) revealed the presence of a derived position of the orbitotemporal canal running below the rhinal fissure along the lateroventral aspect of the piriform lobe. CT scanning also established that the maxillary nerve (CN V2) leaves the skull through the sphenoorbital fissure, as in all other litopterns, a point previously contested for macraucheniids. The angle between the lateral semicircular canal and the plane of the base of the skull is about 26°, indicating that in life the head was oriented much as in modern horses. Depending on the variables used, estimates of the body mass of IANIGLA-PV 29 produced somewhat conflicting results. Our preferred body mass estimate is 250 kg, based on the centroid size of 36 3D cranial landmarks and accompanying low prediction error. The advanced degree of tooth wear in IANIGLA-PV 29 implies that the individual died well into old age. However, a count of cementum lines on the sectioned left M2 is consistent with an age at death of 10 or 11 years, younger than expected given its body mass. This suggests that the animal had a very abrasive diet. Phylogenetic analysis failed to resolve the position of IANIGLA-PV 29 satisfactorily, a result possibly influenced by intraspecific variation. There is no decisive evidence for the proposition that Huayqueriana, or any other litoptern, were foregut fermenters.Fil: Forasiepi, Analia Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: MacPhee, Ross D. E.. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Hernández del Pino, Santiago Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Schmidt, Gabriela Ines. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; ArgentinaFil: Amson, Eli. Universitat Zurich; SuizaFil: Grohé, Camille. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados Unido