The Roles of Altruism, Heroism, and Physical Attractiveness in Female Mate Choice

The role of prosocial behaviour in female mate choice has been extensively explored, focusing on the desirability of altruism in potential mates, as well as altruism being a mating signal. However, little research has focused on the desirability of heroism and altruism in potential partners. Furthermore, the synergistic effect of attractiveness on the desirability of prosocial behavior has only recently been explored, and to our knowledge, has not explored in relation to the desirability of heroism in a romantic partner. We explored the effect of prosociality and attractiveness on female desirability ratings (n=198), and whether desirability was influenced by whether women were seeking a short-term or long-term relationship. We find that women are attracted to men who display heroism and altruism, and this preference is higher when the male is attractive compared to unattractive. Furthermore, preferences for prosocial traits were higher when seeking a long-term compared to a short-term partner. Our findings add to the literature on prosocial behaviour and mate choice. Data and materials [https://osf.io/a76p8/?view_only=95408822fa9f447bb93ba37ad7bae84b]

The Long Terminal Repeat of Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus Is Preferentially Active in Differentiated Epithelial Cells of the Lungs

Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) is the etiologic agent of a contagious bronchioloalveolar carcinoma of sheep known as sheep pulmonary adenomatosis (SPA; ovine pulmonary carcinoma). JSRV is unique among retroviruses because it transforms the alveolar type II cells and the nonciliated bronchiolar cells (Clara cells) of the lungs; these cells are where JSRV is specifically expressed in both naturally and experimentally SPA-affected sheep. In this study, we investigated the cell specificity of JSRV expression. By transient-transfection assays of 23 different cell lines with a reporter plasmid driven by the JSRV long terminal repeat (LTR), pJS21-luc, we found that the JSRV LTR is preferentially active in cell lines derived from type II pneumocytes and Clara cells (MLE-15 and mtCC1-2 mouse cell lines). Reporter assays using progressive 5′ deletions of pJS21-luc allowed us to establish that the JSRV enhancers are able to activate the JSRV proximal promoter in MLE-15 and mtCC1-2 cells, but they have very low activity in mouse cells of other lineages (e.g., NIH 3T3). The JSRV enhancers are able to activate heterologous promoters in both MLE-15 and 3T3 cells, although optimal activity is achieved in MLE-15 cells only with the homologous JSRV promoter. Thus, JSRV cell-specific LTR activity appears to result from an interaction between the enhancer elements and the JSRV proximal promoter elements. By mutation analysis, we established that an upstream NF-κB-like element appears to be responsible for approximately 50% of the JSRV LTR transcriptional activity in MLE-15 cells. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed evidence of a factor(s) that binds to this sequence. Antibody supershift experiments indicated that the factor(s) is not related to NF-κB component p50 or p52. This factor also appeared to be present in cells that do not support a high level of JSRV expression. Finally the JSRV(21) LTR contains putative enhancer binding motifs for transcription factors such as hepatocyte nuclear factor 3 (HNF-3) that are involved in lung-specific gene expression. Cotransfection experiments demonstrated that exogenous HNF-3 is able to enhance the expression of pJS21-luc in NIH 3T3 cells, which normally show minimal enhancer activity for the JSRV LTR