Unusually thick dinosaur eggshell fragments from the Spanish Late Cretaceous

[EN] Fieldwork carried out recently in the southeastern branch of the Iberian Range (Valencia Province, Spain) has led to the collection of a large volume of dinosaur eggshell fragments of unusual thickness. These specimens, up to 4.9 mm thick, were recovered from palustrine grey marls of the upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian Sierra Perenchiza Formation, which comprises a wetland paleoenvironment deposit. These eggshell fragments have a characteristic compactituberculate ornamentation, dinosauroid-spherulitic organisation, and exhibit a complex canaliculate respiratory system. The external tuberculate surface of the shell as well as the internal microstructure enable referral to Megaloolithus aff. siruguei, the most common megaloolithid oospecies known from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France. The biostratigraphic range of M. siruguei matches the temporal distribution of titanosaurid dinosaurs across the Iberian Range, tentatively considered to be potential producers.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad of Spain [Secretaria de Estado de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion, projects CGL2013-47521-P and CGL2014-53548-P]Company Rodríguez, J. (2017). Unusually thick dinosaur eggshell fragments from the Spanish Late Cretaceous. Historical Biology (Online). 31(2):203-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2017.1357717S203210312Allain, R., & Suberbiola, X. P. (2003). Dinosaurs of France. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2(1), 27-44. doi:10.1016/s1631-0683(03)00002-2Bravo, A. M., & Gaete, R. (2014). Titanosaur eggshells from the Tremp Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Southern Pyrenees, Spain). Historical Biology, 27(8), 1079-1089. doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.934231Canudo, J. 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Effects of Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase (sod1) Genotype and Genetic Background on Growth, Reproduction and Defense in Biomphalaria glabrata

Resistance of the snail Biomphalaria glabrata to the trematode Schistosoma mansoni is correlated with allelic variation at copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (sod1). We tested whether there is a fitness cost associated with carrying the most resistant allele in three outbred laboratory populations of snails. These three populations were derived from the same base population, but differed in average resistance. Under controlled laboratory conditions we found no cost of carrying the most resistant allele in terms of fecundity, and a possible advantage in terms of growth and mortality. These results suggest that it might be possible to drive resistant alleles of sod1 into natural populations of the snail vector for the purpose of controlling transmission of S. mansoni. However, we did observe a strong effect of genetic background on the association between sod1 genotype and resistance. sod1 genotype explained substantial variance in resistance among individuals in the most resistant genetic background, but had little effect in the least resistant genetic background. Thus, epistatic interactions with other loci may be as important a consideration as costs of resistance in the use of sod1 for vector manipulation

Evolution of the genus Eucricetodon (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia): a taxonomical description and update on the stratigraphical distribution

The Oligocene fossil deposits from Valley of Lakes in Central Mongolia have provided a wealth of rodent fossils. Among these, cricetids are a very important part. To date, only the Miocene genera have been described in detail. Here, we focus on the Oligocene genus Eucricetodon from this region. Eucricetodontinae are the most abundant fossils in the Oligocene Valley of Lakes faunas. The present study consists of the description of five species of cricetid rodents from 43 localities ranging in age from the early Oligocene to the early-late Oligocene. In addition to Eucricetodon asiaticus described in Mongolia in 1923, we have found Eucricetodon bagus and Eucricetodon jilantaiensis that were described from Nei Mongol and Eucricetodon occidentalis discovered in Kazakhstan. This taxonomical study provides new information regarding the evolution of the Cricetidae in Central and Eastern Asia during the Oligocene and, more particularly, regarding their phylogenetic relationships and the evolutionary trends

In silico-designed lignin peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium shows enhanced acid stability for depolymerization of lignin

Background: The lignin peroxidase isozyme H8 from the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium (LiPH8) demonstrates a high redox potential and can efficiently catalyze the oxidation of veratryl alcohol, as well as the degradation of recalcitrant lignin. However, native LiPH8 is unstable under acidic pH conditions. This characteristic is a barrier to lignin depolymerization, as repolymerization of phenolic products occurs simultaneously at neutral pH. Because repolymerization of phenolics is repressed at acidic pH, a highly acid-stable LiPH8 could accelerate the selective depolymerization of recalcitrant lignin. Results: The engineered LiPH8 was in silico designed through the structural superimposition of surface-active site-harboring LiPH8 from Phanerochaete chrysosporium and acid-stable manganese peroxidase isozyme 6 (MnP6) from Ceriporiopsis subvermispora. Effective salt bridges were probed by molecular dynamics simulation and changes to Gibbs free energy following mutagenesis were predicted, suggesting promising variants with higher stability under extremely acidic conditions. The rationally designed variant, A55R/N156E-H239E, demonstrated a 12.5-fold increased half-life under extremely acidic conditions, 9.9-fold increased catalytic efficiency toward veratryl alcohol, and a 7.8-fold enhanced lignin model dimer conversion efficiency compared to those of native LiPH8. Furthermore, the two constructed salt bridges in the variant A55R/N156E-H239E were experimentally confirmed to be identical to the intentionally designed LiPH8 variant using X-ray crystallography (PDB ID: 6A6Q). Conclusion: Introduction of strong ionic salt bridges based on computational design resulted in a LiPH8 variant with markedly improved stability, as well as higher activity under acidic pH conditions. Thus, LiPH8, showing high acid stability, will be a crucial player in biomass valorization using selective depolymerization of lignin

A new species of Argyromys (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the oligocene of the valley of lakes (Mongolia): its importance for palaeobiogeographical homogeneity across Mongolia, China and Kazakhstan

We describe a new species of Rodentia (Mammalia), Argyromys cicigei sp. nov. from Toglorhoi (fossil bed TGW-A/2a) in Mongolia and Ulantatal (fossil beds UTL 1 and UTL 7) in China. Its tooth morphology differs from the type species Argyromys aralensis from Akespe in Kazakhstan by smaller size and simpler structures. Argyromys has been assigned in different families of Muroidea, such as Tachyoryctoididae and Spalacidae. However, the presence of common characters indicates a closer relationship of Argyromys with the genera of Cricetidae s.l. (subfamilies Eucricetodontinae; Cricetopinae; Cricetodontinae and Gobicricetodontinae among others) from Asia than with the earliest representatives of Spalacidae or the endemic Tachyoryctoididae. Argyromys cicigei sp. nov. possesses a simple anterocone and anteroconid in the upper and lower first molars, respectively, which is characteristic for Cricetidae s.l. It has a flat occlusal surface in worn specimens; weakly-developed posterolophs; an oblique protolophule and metaloph on the upper molars and it lacks a labial anterolophid on the m1. These traits are also typical of the Oligocene genera Aralocricetodon and Plesiodipus, included in the subfamilies Cricetodontinae and Gobicricetodontinae respectively. The cladistic analysis performed here supports this hypothesis. The clade formed by Argyromys species is grouped with other cricetid taxa (s.l). Spalacids, however, form a different clade, as do the tachyoryctoids. Previous authors state that the Aral Formation (Kazakhstan) should be dated to the Oligocene instead of the Miocene, based on the presence of several taxa. The finds of Argyromys in both regions supports the statement that they are closer in age than previously thought. The occurrence of Argyromys in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China evidences the biogeographic unity of the Central Asian bioprovince during the Oligocene

Mosaic Convergence of Rodent Dentitions

BACKGROUND:Understanding mechanisms responsible for changes in tooth morphology in the course of evolution is an area of investigation common to both paleontology and developmental biology. Detailed analyses of molar tooth crown shape have shown frequent homoplasia in mammalian evolution, which requires accurate investigation of the evolutionary pathways provided by the fossil record. The necessity of preservation of an effective occlusion has been hypothesized to functionally constrain crown morphological changes and to also facilitate convergent evolution. The Muroidea superfamily constitutes a relevant model for the study of molar crown diversification because it encompasses one third of the extant mammalian biodiversity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Combined microwear and 3D-topographic analyses performed on fossil and extant muroid molars allow for a first quantification of the relationships between changes in crown morphology and functionality of occlusion. Based on an abundant fossil record and on a well resolved phylogeny, our results show that the most derived functional condition associates longitudinal chewing and non interlocking of cusps. This condition has been reached at least 7 times within muroids via two main types of evolutionary pathways each respecting functional continuity. In the first type, the flattening of tooth crown which induces the removal of cusp interlocking occurs before the rotation of the chewing movement. In the second type however, flattening is subsequent to rotation of the chewing movement which can be associated with certain changes in cusp morphology. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE:The reverse orders of the changes involved in these different pathways reveal a mosaic evolution of mammalian dentition in which direction of chewing and crown shape seem to be partly decoupled. Either can change in respect to strong functional constraints affecting occlusion which thereby limit the number of the possible pathways. Because convergent pathways imply distinct ontogenetic trajectories, new Evo/Devo comparative studies on cusp morphogenesis are necessary

Low mass dimuon production in proton and ion induced interactions at SPS

The low mass dimuon spectra collected in p-U collisions by the NA38 experiment significantly exceeds the total cross section expected from previous analysis, done by other experiments. The `excess' events have a harder \pt\ distribution than the muon pairs from $\eta$ and $\omega$ Dalitz decays, expected to dominate the mass window 0.4--0.65~GeV/$c^2$. We conjecture that the excess events might be due to \qqbar\ annihilations, negligible at low \pt\ but made visible by the \mt\ cut applied in the NA38 data. Taking this assumption to parametrise the p-U spectra, we proceed with the analysis of the S-Cu, S-U and Pb-Pb data, collected by the NA38 and NA50 experiments, where we find that the measured mass spectra does not seem to exceed the expected low mass `cocktail' by more than 20\,\%

Low mass dimuon production in proton and ion induced interactions at SPS

The low mass dimuon spectra collected in $p$-U collisions by the NA38 experiment significantly exceeds the total cross section expected from previous analysis, done by other experiments. The 'excess' events have a harder $p_{T}$ distribution than the muon pairs from $\eta$ and $\omega$ Dalitz decays, expected to dominate the mass window 0.4—0.65~GeV/$c^2$. We conjecture that the excess events might be due to $q\bar{q}$ annihilations, negligible at low $p_{T}$ but made visible by the $m_{T}$ cut applied in the NA38 data. Taking this assumption to parametrise the $p$-U spectra, we proceed with the analysis of the S-Cu, S-U and Pb-Pb data, collected by the NA38 and NA50 experiments, where we find that the measured mass spectra does not seem to exceed the expected low mass `cocktail' by more than 20%

Evidence for Loss of a Partial Flagellar Glycolytic Pathway during Trypanosomatid Evolution

Classically viewed as a cytosolic pathway, glycolysis is increasingly recognized as a metabolic pathway exhibiting surprisingly wide-ranging variations in compartmentalization within eukaryotic cells. Trypanosomatid parasites provide an extreme view of glycolytic enzyme compartmentalization as several glycolytic enzymes are found exclusively in peroxisomes. Here, we characterize Trypanosoma brucei flagellar proteins resembling glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK): we show the latter associates with the axoneme and the former is a novel paraflagellar rod component. The paraflagellar rod is an essential extra-axonemal structure in trypanosomes and related protists, providing a platform into which metabolic activities can be built. Yet, bioinformatics interrogation and structural modelling indicate neither the trypanosome PGK-like nor the GAPDH-like protein is catalytically active. Orthologs are present in a free-living ancestor of the trypanosomatids, Bodo saltans: the PGK-like protein from B. saltans also lacks key catalytic residues, but its GAPDH-like protein is predicted to be catalytically competent. We discuss the likelihood that the trypanosome GAPDH-like and PGK-like proteins constitute molecular evidence for evolutionary loss of a flagellar glycolytic pathway, either as a consequence of niche adaptation or the re-localization of glycolytic enzymes to peroxisomes and the extensive changes to glycolytic flux regulation that accompanied this re-localization. Evidence indicating loss of localized ATP provision via glycolytic enzymes therefore provides a novel contribution to an emerging theme of hidden diversity with respect to compartmentalization of the ubiquitous glycolytic pathway in eukaryotes. A possibility that trypanosome GAPDH-like protein additionally represents a degenerate example of a moonlighting protein is also discussed