The History and geography of the Y chromosome SNPs in Europe: an update

The knowledge of the evolution of the human genome is strictly dependent on the availability of appropriate genetic markers and their relative coverage of genetic variation which refine the phylogenetic reconstruction. While autosomal markers are particularly valuable for recognizing correspondence between genetic and geographic distances, markers on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or Non Recombining Portion of Y Chromosome (NRY), because of their unilinear transmission, can effectively trace diachronical patterns of the human peopling. The maximum extent of polymorphism coverage has already been reached for the very small mitochondrial genome (about 16,5 Kbp), whereas the first studies based on RFLPs (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms) (Cann et al., 1987) and on sequencing of the hypervariable regions (Vigliant et al., 1991), were then combined to get higher resolution (Torroni et al., 1996), and finally the complete genome sequencing is now routinely performed (Achilli et al., 2004, Pala et al., 2009), in order to detect the whole mtDNA variation. A similar approach cannot be used yet at population level for the by far larger nuclear genome. However, advances in genotyping technology have dramatically enhanced the resolution of the analysis at genome-wide level, and recent papers significantly improved the knowledge of the relationships among European populations, using 300 to 500 K SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) on microarrays chips (Tian et al., 2008; Novembre et al., 2008). As to the NRY, most of the studies before the year 2000 were performed using Alu insertion (Hammer, 1995) or STRs (Short Tandem Repeats) (De Knijff et al., 1997; Pritchard et al., 1999) with the known limitations due to recurrence and reversion of this kind of polymorphisms. Using D-HPLC (Denaturing High Performance Liquid Chromatography) technology, Underhill and coworkers (1997) discovered 22 new SNP biallelic markers, rapidly raising in number to 167 (Underhill et al., 2000), 242 (YCC, 2002), about 600 (Karafet et al., 2008), up to more than 725 presently listed in the Y-DNA SNP Index 2009, (www.isogg. org), and the knowledge of Y chromosome phylogeny and of the spread worldwide of human populations raised proportionally. The next goal of the research on Y chromosome will be the use of specific microarrays that can genotype a much higher number of SNPs than nowadays routinely performed, and, ultimately, the complete Y chromosome sequencing. Waiting for future developments, this short note reports the state of the art of the phylogenetic (“history”) and phylogeographic (“geography”) research on Y chromosome SNP analyses in Europe, updating the review published in this Journal by Francalacci & Sanna at the beginning of 2008

Intestinal Microbial Ecology and Fillet Metal Chemistry of Wild Grey Mullets Reflect the Variability of the Aquatic Environment in a Western Mediterranean Coastal Lagoon (Santa Giusta, Sardinia, Italy)

Fish populations play an active role in the maintenance of aquatic ecosystems biodiversity. Their intestinal microbiota and fillet chemistry depend on abiotic and biotic factors of the water environments that they inhabit. The present study investigated the grey mullets' gut microbiota from a transitional aquatic ecosystem (Santa Giusta Lagoon, Sardinia, Italy) by a multidisciplinary approach which refers the results of (1) gut cultivable microbiota analyses (MA), (2) the trace metal assessment of fish muscle (TM), (3) the physico-chemical water monitoring (PC). MA detected the greatest number of total aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms in Autumn (mean values 1.3 × 105, 2.4 × 104, 1.1 × 104 cfu g−1, respectively) when the accumulated rain and mean values of nutrients (reactive phosphorous and silica) were the highest. Marine bacteria were more numerous in Summer (mean value 7.4 × 105 cfu g−1) when the highest mean values of water temperature and salinity were registered. The gut bacteria were identified as Pseudomonas spp. (64%), Aeromonas spp. (17%), Ochrobactrum pseudogrignonense (10%), Providencia spp. (5%), Enterobacter ludwigii (2%) and Kocuria tytonicola (2%). TM showed that Ca, Na, B and Ni increased their concentrations in Winter while maxima of P, Zn, Cu and Fe were found in muscles of fish sampled in Summer. This study highlighted that the fish intestinal microbiota and metal composition of the fillet reflected the seasonal aquatic environmental variability

Present and future climate simulation of Mediterranean cyclones with a high resolution AOGCMs

Preliminary results are presented of a study aiming at producing a climatology of Mediterranean cyclones making use of a global AOGCM coupled with an interactive high-resolution model of the Mediterranean Sea. Cyclones are analyzed with both the lagrangian and the eulerian approaches, applied to three different simulations: a control one (present climate conditions) and two IPCC scenarios (A1B and A2). Both the North Atlantic stormtrack and cyclone track and genesis density statistics from the control dataset are analyzed compared to ERA40 reanalysis. Cyclones are grouped according to their genesis location and the corresponding lysis regions are identified. Partic- ular attention is devoted to the effects of sea-surface fields (temperature gradients and heat fluxes). The wet season (October–March) is examined in relation to the decrease in the intensity of cyclogenesis events in the region and trends are investigated

Evaluation of growth potential and growth dynamics of Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat fresh fruit

The consumption of fresh or RTE fruits is increasing every year and Listeria monocytogenes has been identified on raw or minimally processed fruits. A food product can become contaminated with L. monocytogenes anywhere along the pathway of food production during planting, harvesting, packaging, distribution and serving. The aim of this work was to assess the microbiological risks associated with consumption of ready-to-eat fruit such as melon, pineapple, coconut and fruit salad. The presence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes was also evaluated. Microbiological challenge tests were carried out for the evaluation of the L. monocytogenes growth potential in RTE fruit stored at 4 and 8°C. E. coli counts resulted under the detection limit of 10 CFU g-1, Salmonella and L. monocytogenes were not detected (absence in 25g). The growth potential values in coconut and melon (δ>0.5) showed the growth capacity of Listeria at the temperatures considered. A low initial load, also derived from good hygiene practices, and correct storage temperatures are essential to reduce bacterial growth in RTE fruit. The challenge test showed how each type of RTE fruit has a different commercial life based on its specific growth potential and that food should be stored at temperatures not higher than 4°C for a short period

Promising inhibition of diabetes-related enzymes and antioxidant properties of Ptilostemon casabonae leaves extract

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a progressive metabolic disorder of glucose metabolism. One of the therapeutic approaches for the treatment of T2D is reducing postprandial hyperglycaemia through inhibition of the digestive enzymes α-glucosidase and α-amylase. In this context, aimed at identifying natural products endowed with anti-T2D potential, we focused on Ptilostemon casabonae (L.) Greuter, a species belonging to Asteraceae family. Enzymatic inhibition, antioxidant activity, phenolic composition and cellular assays were performed. This study revealed that the P. casabonae hydroalcoholic extract exerts a potent inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase. This activity is supported by an antioxidant effect, preventing ROS formation in a stressed cellular system. HPLC-PDA-MS/MS analysis, revealed a complex polyphenolic fraction. Among the tested pure compounds, 1,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, apigenin and rutin displayed good α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. Our study suggested new potential of P. casabonae encouraging us to further testing the possible therapeutic potential of this extract

Nanostructured spinel cobalt ferrites: Fe and Co chemical state, cation distribution and size effects by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Nanostructured spinel cobalt ferrite samples having crystallite size ranging between 5.6 and 14.1 nm were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy in order to determine the chemical state of the elements, the iron/cobalt ratio and the cation distribution within tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The presence of size-dependent trends in the binding energy of the main photoelectron peaks and in the kinetic energy of the X-ray induced O KLL signal was also investigated. The results showed that iron is present as FeIII and cobalt is present as CoII. The iron/cobalt ratio determined by XPS ranges between 1.8 and 1.9 and it is in very good agreement, within experimental uncertainty, with the expected 2 : 1 ratio. The percentage of Fe in octahedral sites ranges between 62% and 64% for all samples. The kinetic energy of the O KLL signals increases with crystallite size. These results are explained in terms of changes in the ionicity of the metal–oxygen bonds. The results of this investigation highlight how the XPS technique represents a powerful tool to investigate the composition, the chemical state and inversion degree of cobalt spinel ferrites, contributing to the comprehension of their properties

Acanthamoeba castellanii (genotype T4) stimulates the production of interleukin-10 as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines in THP-1 cells, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and human monocyte-derived macrophages

Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba can cause severe and chronic infections in humans, mainly localized in immune privileged sites, as the brain and the eye. Monocytes/macrophages are thought to be involved in Acanthamoeba infections, but little is known about how these facultative parasites influence their functions. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of Acanthamoeba on human monocytes/macrophages, during the early phase of infection. Herein, THP-1 cells, primary human monocytes isolated from peripheral blood and human monocyte-derived macrophages were either co-incubated with trophozoites of a clinical isolate of Acanthamoeba (genotype T4) or stimulated with amoeba-derived cell free conditioned medium. Production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12), anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) and chemokine (IL-8) was evaluated at specific hours post-stimulation (ranging from 1.30 h to 23 h). We showed that both Acanthamoeba trophozoites and soluble amoebic products induce an early anti-inflammatory monocyte-macrophage phenotype, characterized by a significant production of IL-10; furthermore, challenge with either trophozoites or their soluble metabolites stimulate both pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokine production, suggesting that this protozoan infection may result from the early induction of coexisting, opposed immune responses. Results reported in this paper confirm that the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by monocytes and macrophages can play a role in the development of the inflammatory response during Acanthamoeba infections. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time that Acanthamoeba stimulates IL-10 production in human innate immune cells, which might both promote the immune evasion of Acanthamoeba and limit the induced inflammatory response

Neuroplastic changes in c-Fos, ΔFosB, BDNF, trkB, and Arc expression in the hippocampus of male Roman rats: differential effects of sexual activity

Sexual activity causes differential changes in the expression of markers of neural activation (c-Fos and Delta FosB) and neural plasticity (Arc and BDNF/trkB), as determined either by Western Blot (BDNF, trkB, Arc, and Delta FosB) or immunohistochemistry (BDNF, trkB, Arc, and c-Fos), in the hippocam pus of male Roman high (RHA) and low avoidance (RLA) rats, two psychogenetically selected rat lines that display marked differences in sexual behavior (RHA rats exhibit higher sexual motivation and better copulatory performance than RLA rats). Both methods showed (with some differences) that sexual activity modifies the expression levels of these markers in the hippocampus of Roman rats depending on: (i) the level of sexual experience, that is, changes were usually more evident in sexually naive than in experienced rats; (ii) the hippocampal partition, that is, BDNF and Arc increased in the dorsal but tended to decrease in the ventral hippocampus; (iii) the marker considered, that is, in sexually experienced animals BDNF, c-Fos, and Arc levels were similar to those of controls, while Delta FosB levels increased; and (iv) the rat line, that is, changes were usually larger in RHA than RLA rats. These findings resemble those of early studies in RHA and RLA rats showing that sexual activity influences the expression of these markers in the nucleus accumbens, medial prefrontal cortex, and ventral tegmental area, and show for the first time that also in the hippocampus sexual activity induces neural activation and plasticity, events that occur mainly during the first phase of the acquisition of sexual experience and depend on the genotypic/phenotypic characteristics of the animals

First evidence of intersex condition in extensively reared mullets from Sardinian lagoons (central–western Mediterranean, Italy)

The term intersex describes alterations in gonadal development with the simultaneous presence of male and female reproductive stages in the same gonad of a gonochoristic species. In coastal and estuarine environments, euryhaline fish living in polluted waters such as Mugilidae can frequently show these sexual anomalies. In this work, we analysed adult specimens of three species of euryhaline mullets (Chelon labrosus, Liza aurata and Mugil cephalus) from two Sardinian lagoons (Marceddì and San Teodoro) devoted to extensive aquacultural practices, in order to identify putative alterations in gonads and in gamete development. Overall, 13 of the 158 mullets examined (8.2%) were affected by gonadal disorders: four subjects (one C. labrosus, two L. aurata and one M. cephalus) exhibiting an intersex condition were found in the Marceddì lagoon and the other nine (five C. labrosus, two L. aurata and two M. cephalus) in the San Teodoro lagoon. Twelve of these gonads were classified as testis-ova (TOs) and one, belonging to a C. labrosus specimen, was a mixed gonadal tissue (MGT). Intersex condition was evaluated using an intersex index and all the recorded values showed a mild Ovotestis Severity Index (OSI). However, our findings suggest that fish gonadal disorders may be underestimated in extensive reared fish species, particularly in coastal brackish environments polluted by intensive agriculture and animal husbandry activities