Late-Medieval Horse Remains at Cesis Castle, Latvia, and the Teutonic Order's Equestrian Resources in Livonia

EXCAVATIONS AT the castle complex of Cēsis, Latvia, uncovered an unusual find of large quantities of horse bones, some of which were partially articulated, along with equestrian equipment. These were associated with a destroyed building at the edge of the southern outer bailey. The horses included large males, most probably stallions, and pathology on several of the recovered vertebrae suggests these individuals had been used for riding. The size of the horses was within the range for medieval war horses, and the associated tack also pointed to prestigious riding animals. Radiocarbon dating of the bones placed them firmly within the Teutonic Order's period of rule. We conclude here that these horses fulfilled a military role in the final decades of the Teutonic Order’s rule in Livonia in the late 15th/early 16th century and that the better-known equestrian culture of late-medieval Prussia was comparable in character, if not in scale, to that in Livonia

Peatland Initiation, Carbon Accumulation, and 2 ka Depth in the James Bay Lowland and Adjacent Regions

Copyright © 2014 University of Colorado at Boulder, Institute of Arctic and Alpine ResearchPeatlands surrounding Hudson and James Bays form the second largest peatland complex in the world and contain major stores of soil carbon (C). This study utilized a transect of eight ombrotrophic peat cores from remote regions of central and northern Ontario to quantify the magnitude and rate of C accumulation since peatland initiation and for the past 2000 calendar years before present (2 ka). These new data were supplemented by 17 millennially resolved chronologies from a literature review covering the Boreal Shield, Hudson Plains, and Taiga Shield bordering Hudson and James Bays. Peatlands initiated in central and northern Ontario by 7.8 ka following deglaciation and isostatic emergence of northern areas to above sea level. Total C accumulated since inception averaged 109.7 ± (std. dev.) 36.2 kg C m–2. Approximately 40% of total soil C has accumulated since 2 ka at an average apparent rate of 20.2 ± 6.9 g C m–2 yr–1. The 2 ka depths correlate significantly and positively with modern gridded climate estimates for mean annual precipitation, mean annual air temperature, growing degree-days > 0 °C, and photosynthetically active radiation integrated over days > 0 °C. There are significantly shallower depths in permafrost peatlands. Vertical peat accumulation was likely constrained by temperature, growing season length, and photosynthetically active radiation over the last 2 ka in the Hudson Bay Lowlands and surrounding regions.US National Science Foundatio

Evolution of the Neckeraceae (Bryophyta): resolving the backbone phylogeny

Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.Earlier phylogenetic studies, including species belonging to the Neckeraceae, have indicated that this pleurocarpous moss family shares a strongly supported sister group relationship with the Lembophyllaceae, but the family delimitation of the former needs adjustment. To test the monophyly of the Neckeraceae, as well as to redefine the family circumscription and to pinpoint its phylogenetic position in a larger context, a phylogenetic study based on molecular data was carried out. Sequence data were compiled, combining data from all three genomes: nuclear ITS1 and 2, plastid trnS-rps4-trnT-trnL-trnF and rpl16, and mitochondrial nad5 intron. The Neckeraceae have sometimes been divided into the two families, Neckeraceae and Thamnobryaceae, a division rejected here. Both parsimony and Bayesian analyses of molecular data revealed that the family concept of the Neckeraceae needs several further adjustments, such as the exclusion of some individual species and smaller genera as well as the inclusion of the Leptodontaceae. Within the family three well-supported clades (A, B and C) can be distinguished. Members of clade A are mainly non-Asiatic and nontropical. Most species have a weak costa and immersed capsules with reduced peristomes (mainly Neckera spp.) and the teeth at the leaf margins are usually unicellular. Clade B members are also mainly non-Asiatic. They are typically fairly robust, distinctly stipilate, having a single, at least relatively strong costa, long setae (capsules exserted), and the peristomes are well developed or only somewhat reduced. Members of clade C are essentially Asiatic and tropical. The species of this clade usually have a strong costa and a long seta, the seta often being mammillose in its upper part. The peristome types in this clade are mixed, since both reduced and unreduced types are found. Several neckeraceous genera that were recognised on a morphological basis are polyphyletic (e.g. Neckera, Homalia, Thamnobryum, Porotrichum). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that currently used diagnostic traits, such as the leaf asymmetry and costa strength are highly homoplastic. Similarly, the reconstructions revealed that the 'reduced' sporophyte features have evolved independently in each of the three clades.Peer reviewe

A Spaetzle-like role for nerve growth factor beta in vertebrate immunity to Staphylococcus aureus

Many key components of innate immunity to infection are shared between Drosophila and humans. However, the fly Toll ligand Spaetzle is not thought to have a vertebrate equivalent. We have found that the structurally related cystine-knot protein, nerve growth factor β (NGFβ), plays an unexpected Spaetzle-like role in immunity to Staphylococcus aureus infection in chordates. Deleterious mutations of either human NGFβ or its high-affinity receptor tropomyosin-related kinase receptor A (TRKA) were associated with severe S. aureus infections. NGFβ was released by macrophages in response to S. aureus exoproteins through activation of the NOD-like receptors NLRP3 and NLRC4 and enhanced phagocytosis and superoxide-dependent killing, stimulated proinflammatory cytokine production, and promoted calcium-dependent neutrophil recruitment. TrkA knockdown in zebrafish increased susceptibility to S. aureus infection, confirming an evolutionarily conserved role for NGFβ-TRKA signaling in pathogen-specific host immunity

Characterization of a Nonclassical Class I MHC Gene in a Reptile, the Galápagos Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus)

Squamates are a diverse order of vertebrates, representing more than 7,000 species. Yet, descriptions of full-length major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in this group are nearly absent from the literature, while the number of MHC studies continues to rise in other vertebrate taxa. The lack of basic information about MHC organization in squamates inhibits investigation into the relationship between MHC polymorphism and disease, and leaves a large taxonomic gap in our understanding of amniote MHC evolution. Here, we use both cDNA and genomic sequence data to characterize a class I MHC gene (Amcr-UA) from the Galápagos marine iguana, a member of the squamate subfamily Iguaninae. Amcr-UA appears to be functional since it is expressed in the blood and contains many of the conserved peptide-binding residues that are found in classical class I genes of other vertebrates. In addition, comparison of Amcr-UA to homologous sequences from other iguanine species shows that the antigen-binding portion of this gene is under purifying selection, rather than balancing selection, and therefore may have a conserved function. A striking feature of Amcr-UA is that both the cDNA and genomic sequences lack the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains that are necessary to anchor the class I receptor molecule into the cell membrane, suggesting that the product of this gene is secreted and consequently not involved in classical class I antigen-presentation. The truncated and conserved character of Amcr-UA lead us to define it as a nonclassical gene that is related to the few available squamate class I sequences. However, phylogenetic analysis placed Amcr-UA in a basal position relative to other published classical MHC genes from squamates, suggesting that this gene diverged near the beginning of squamate diversification