78 research outputs found

    Formerly bile-farmed bears as a model of accelerated ageing

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    Bear bile-farming is common in East and Southeast Asia and this farming practice often results in irreversible health outcomes for the animals. We studied long-term effects of chronic bacterial and sterile hepatobiliary inflammation in 42 Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) rescued from Vietnamese bile farms. The bears were examined under anesthesia at least twice as part of essential medical interventions. All bears were diagnosed with chronic low-grade sterile or bacterial hepatobiliary inflammation along with pathologies from other systems. Our main finding was that the chronic low-grade inflammatory environment associated with bile extraction in conjunction with the suboptimal living conditions on the farms promoted and accelerated the development of age-related pathologies such as chronic kidney disease, obese sarcopenia, cardiovascular remodeling, and degenerative joint disease. Through a biomimetic approach, we identified similarities with inflammation related to premature aging in humans and found significant deviations from the healthy ursid phenotype. The pathological parallels with inflammageing and immuno-senescence induced conditions in humans suggest that bile-farmed bears may serve as animal models to investigate pathophysiology and deleterious effects of lifestyle-related diseases

    Reconstructing the nonadaptive radiation of an ancient lineage of ground‐dwelling stick insects (Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae)

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    Stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea) are large terrestrial herbivorous arthropods known for masquerading as plant parts such as bark, twigs and leaves. Their evolutionary history is largely shaped by convergent evolution associated with adaptive radiations on geographically isolated landmasses that have repeatedly generated ground-dwelling ecomorphs. The members of one lineage, however, the Oriental Heteropterygidae, are morphologically rather uniform, and have a predominantly ground-dwelling lifestyle. The phylogeny of Heteropterygidae that comprises approximately 130 described species is controversial and remains uncertain. In particular, the systematic position of the giant Jungle Nymph Heteropteryx dilatata, whose males are capable of flight and exhibit the most plesiomorphic wing morphology among extant phasmatodeans, is of major interest to the scientific community. Here, we analysed a set of seven nuclear and mitochondrial genes to infer the phylogeny of Heteropterygidae covering the group's overall diversity. The divergence time estimation and reconstruction of the historical biogeography resulted in an ancestral distribution across Sundaland with long distance dispersal events to Wallacea, the Philippines and the South Pacific. We were able to resolve the relationships among the three principal subgroups of Heteropterygidae and revealed the Dataminae, which contain entirely wingless small forms, as the sister group of Heteropteryginae + Obriminae. Within Heteropteryginae, Haaniella is recovered as paraphyletic in regard to Heteropteryx. Consequently, Heteropteryx must be considered a subordinate taxon deeply embedded within a flightless clade of stick insects. Within Obriminae, the Bornean Hoploclonia is strongly supported as the earliest diverging lineage. Based on this finding, we recognize only two tribes of equal rank among Obriminae, the Hoplocloniini trib. nov. and Obrimini sensu nov. Within the latter, we demonstrate that previous tribal assignments do not reflect phylogenetic relationships and that a basal splitting event occurred between the wing-bearing clade Miroceramia + Pterobrimus and the remaining wingless Obrimini. The Philippine genus Tisamenus is paraphyletic with regard to Ilocano hebardi, thus, we transfer the latter species to Tisamenus as Tisamenus hebardi comb. nov. and synonymize Ilocano with Tisamenus. We discuss character transformations in the light of the new phylogenetic results and conclude that the current taxonomic diversity appears to be mainly driven by allopatry and not to be the result of niche differentiation. This radiation is thus best described as a nonadaptive radiation

    Molecular Phylogenetics of the Genus Neoconocephalus (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) and the Evolution of Temperate Life Histories

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    BACKGROUND:The katydid genus Neoconocephalus (25+ species) has a prominent acoustic communication system and occurs in large parts of the Neotropics and Nearctic. This group has been subject of numerous behavioral, physiological, and evolutionary studies of its acoustic communication system. Two distinct life histories occur in this group: The tropical life history incorporates multiple generations/year and direct egg development without environmental triggers. Temperate life history is characterized by overwintering in the egg stage, cold trigger of egg development, and one generation/year. This study reconstructs the phylogenetic relationships within the genus to (1) determine the evolutionary history of the temperate life history, and (2) to support comparative studies of evolutionary and physiological problems in this genus. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We used Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLP), and sequences of two nuclear loci and one mitochondrial locus to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships. The analysis included 17 ingroup and two outgroup species. AFLP and mitochondrial data provided resolution at the species level while the two nuclear loci revealed only deeper nodes. The data sets were combined in a super-matrix to estimate a total evidence tree. Seven of the temperate species form a monophyletic group; however, three more temperate species were placed as siblings of tropical species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Our analyses support the reliability of the current taxonomic treatment of the Neoconocephalus fauna of Caribbean, Central, and North America. Ancestral state reconstruction of life history traits was not conclusive, however at least four transitions between life histories occurred among our sample of species. The proposed phylogeny will strengthen conclusions from comparative work in this group

    Shrinking wings for ultrasonic pitch production: hyperintense ultra-short-wavelength calls in a new genus of neotropical katydids (Orthoptera: tettigoniidae)

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    This article reports the discovery of a new genus and three species of predaceous katydid (Insecta: Orthoptera) from Colombia and Ecuador in which males produce the highest frequency ultrasonic calling songs so far recorded from an arthropod. Male katydids sing by rubbing their wings together to attract distant females. Their song frequencies usually range from audio (5 kHz) to low ultrasonic (30 kHz). However, males of Supersonus spp. call females at 115 kHz, 125 kHz, and 150 kHz. Exceeding the human hearing range (50 Hz–20 kHz) by an order of magnitude, these insects also emit their ultrasound at unusually elevated sound pressure levels (SPL). In all three species these calls exceed 110 dB SPL rms re 20 µPa (at 15 cm). Males of Supersonus spp. have unusually reduced forewings (<0.5 mm2). Only the right wing radiates appreciable sound, the left bears the file and does not show a particular resonance. In contrast to most katydids, males of Supersonus spp. position and move their wings during sound production so that the concave aspect of the right wing, underlain by the insect dorsum, forms a contained cavity with sharp resonance. The observed high SPL at extreme carrier frequencies can be explained by wing anatomy, a resonant cavity with a membrane, and cuticle deformation

    Insights in the regulation of trimetylamine N-oxide production using a comparative biomimetic approach suggest a metabolic switch in hibernating bears

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    Experimental studies suggest involvement of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) in the aetiology of cardiometabolic diseases and chronic kidney disease (CKD), in part via metabolism of ingested food. Using a comparative biomimetic approach, we have investigated circulating levels of the gut metabolites betaine, choline, and TMAO in human CKD, across animal species as well as during hibernation in two animal species. Betaine, choline, and TMAO levels were associated with renal function in humans and differed significantly across animal species. Free-ranging brown bears showed a distinct regulation pattern with an increase in betaine (422%) and choline (18%) levels during hibernation, but exhibited undetectable levels of TMAO. Free-ranging brown bears had higher betaine, lower choline, and undetectable TMAO levels compared to captive brown bears. Endogenously produced betaine may protect bears and garden dormice during the vulnerable hibernating period. Carnivorous eating habits are linked to TMAO levels in the animal kingdom. Captivity may alter the microbiota and cause a subsequent increase of TMAO production. Since free-ranging bears seems to turn on a metabolic switch that shunts choline to generate betaine instead of TMAO, characterisation and understanding of such an adaptive switch could hold clues for novel treatment options in burden of lifestyle diseases, such as CKD

    InventĂĄrio das espĂŠcies de Cerambycinae (Insecta, Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) do Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, RJ, Brasil

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    Monographie uebersicht der Mecopodiden

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    Volume: 42Start Page: 183End Page: 22
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