Cladistic relationships within the genus Cinnamomum (Lauraceae) in Taiwan based on analysis of leaf morphology and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) molecular markers

We examined leaf morphological characteristics, ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat) genetic polymorphisms and ITS (rDNA internal transcribed spacer) molecular markers in 12 endemic species of Cinnamomum in Taiwan to determine their cladistic relationships. The leaf morphology and ISSR data support the division of the genus into sections Camphora and Cinnamomum. The genetic relationship between Cinnamomum camphora and Cinnamomum micranthum is very close; both species share a specific 11 bp deletion in their ITS sequences. A close relationship between Cinnamomum insularimontanum and Cinnamomum macrostemon was supported by leaf morphology, ISSR and ITS data and the ITS analysis indicates that Cinnamomum subavenium is closely related to these two species. The ITS analysis also indicates that Cinnamomum japonicum, Cinnamomum austrosinense and Cinnamomum reticulatum are closely related. Leaf morphology and ISSRs also support the kinship between C. japonicum and C. austrosinense. The ITS data support a close cluster consisting of C. osmophloeum, C. camphora and C. micranthum, suggesting that Cinnamomum osmophloeum might be a key species in the evolutionary transition from section Camphora to section  Cinnamomum. Our results demonstrate that ISSR and ITS markers can clearly identify the 12 endemic Cinnamomum species in Taiwan.Key words: Cinnamomum, morphology, taxonomy, ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat), ITS (internal transcribed spacer), phylogeny

Structural basis for oligomerization and glycosaminoglycan binding of CCL5 and CCL3.

CC chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5) and CCL3 are critical for immune surveillance and inflammation. Consequently, they are linked to the pathogenesis of many inflammatory conditions and are therapeutic targets. Oligomerization and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) binding of CCL5 and CCL3 are vital for the functions of these chemokines. Our structural and biophysical analyses of human CCL5 reveal that CCL5 oligomerization is a polymerization process in which CCL5 forms rod-shaped, double-helical oligomers. This CCL5 structure explains mutational data and offers a unified mechanism for CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5 assembly into high-molecular-weight, polydisperse oligomers. A conserved, positively charged BBXB motif is key for the binding of CC chemokines to GAG. However, this motif is partially buried when CCL3, CCL4, and CCL5 are oligomerized; thus, the mechanism by which GAG binds these chemokine oligomers has been elusive. Our structures of GAG-bound CCL5 and CCL3 oligomers reveal that these chemokine oligomers have distinct GAG-binding mechanisms. The CCL5 oligomer uses another positively charged and fully exposed motif, KKWVR, in GAG binding. However, residues from two partially buried BBXB motifs along with other residues combine to form a GAG-binding groove in the CCL3 oligomer. The N termini of CC chemokines are shown to be involved in receptor binding and oligomerization. We also report an alternative CCL3 oligomer structure that reveals how conformational changes in CCL3 N termini profoundly alter its surface properties and dimer-dimer interactions to affect GAG binding and oligomerization. Such complexity in oligomerization and GAG binding enables intricate, physiologically relevant regulation of CC chemokine functions

A prospective randomized, open-label trial comparing the safety and efficacy of dose sparing intradermal 2010/2011 trivalent influenza vaccine delivered by two different devices

Poster Abstract Session - Influenza Vaccines: no. 533BACKGROUND: We performed intradermal 2010/11 trivalent influenza vaccination (TIV) in adult subjects delivered by two different intradermal (ID) devices, using 20% and 60% of the standard dose and compared the immunogenicity and safety with full dose intramuscular (IM) immunization. METHODS: This is a prospective randomized trial conducted from December 2010 to March 2011, comprising chronically ill adults. Subjects were randomly assigned …postprin

Using system effects modelling to evaluate food safety impact and barriers in low-income-countries: An example from urban Cambodia

Objective(s): The study tested the applicability to low-and-middle income settings of a System Effects model developed for high-income countries. The objective is to better understand the damage caused by foodborne diseases, and barriers for consumers in accessing safer food. Materials and methods: In January 2018, ten group sessions with 66 participants were held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Five were organized in low and five in middle income areas of the city. The participants, half of them women, were purposively recruited, of similar background but not knowing each other. Each group discussion consisted of two exercises that was completed by each participant individually. The first exercise mapped impacts to visually depict the complexity of peoples’ experience of unsafe food including damage caused, flows of effects, and interconnections between them. In the second exercise, barriers to avoiding unsafe food were illustrated. Circumstances, incidents, pre-existing conditions that make it harder to get safe food were described. Results: More than 600 consequence items of eating unsafe food were listed by all participants, with little variation between low and middle income groups as well as between men and women. While most concerned health and economic impact, women in the middle income group listed several social consequences. More than 250 items described barriers to accessing safe food, most dealing with lack of money, lack of accessibility as well as limitations to tell safe from unsafe food. The items were coded and grouped, adjacency matrices generated, impacts and barriers aggregated and the density of connections made between different impacts and barriers evaluated. Conclusions: The findings can help to understand impact and components of resilience that could help inform food safety intervention design

Additional molecular testing of saliva specimens improves the detection of respiratory viruses

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Paraphyly of organelle DNAs in Cycas Sect. Asiorientales due to ancient ancestral polymorphisms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study addresses the apportionment of genetic diversity between <it>Cycas revoluta </it>and <it>C. taitungensis</it>, species that constitute the section <it>Asiorientales </it>and represent a unique, basal lineage of the Laurasian genus <it>Cycas</it>. Fossil evidence indicates divergence of the section from the rest of <it>Cycas </it>at least 30 million years ago. Geographically, <it>C. taitungensis </it>is limited to Taiwan whereas <it>C. revoluta </it>is found in the Ryukyu Archipelago and on mainland China.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The phylogenies of ribosomal ITS region of mtDNA and the intergenic spacer between <it>atp</it>B and <it>rbc</it>L genes of cpDNA were reconstructed. Phylogenetic analyses revealed paraphyly of both loci in the two species and also in the section <it>Asiorientales</it>. The lack of reciprocal monophyly between these long isolated sections is likely due to persistent shared ancestral polymorphisms. Molecular dating estimated that mt- and cp DNA lineages coalesced to the most recent common ancestors (TMRCA) about 327 (mt) and 204 MYA (cp), corresponding with the divergence of cycad sections in the Mesozoic.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Fates of newly derived mutations of cycads follow Klopfstein et al.'s surfing model where the majority of new mutations do not spread geographically and remain at low frequencies or are eventually lost by genetic drift. Only successful 'surfing mutations' reach very high frequencies and occupy a large portion of a species range. These mutations exist as dominant cytotypes across populations and species. Geographical subdivision is lacking in both species, even though recurrent gene flow by both pollen and seed is severely limited. In total, the contrasting levels between historical and ongoing gene flow, large population sizes, a long lifespan, and slow mutation rates in both organelle DNAs have all likely contributed to the unusually long duration of paraphyly in cycads.</p