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Pena Medlin posted an update 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Finally, we found a homogenization pattern for both native and alien assemblages across sites within most land uses. The declines of native species on islands in the face of human pressures, and the particular proneness to invasions of the more remote islands, highlight the need to reduce the intensity of human pressures on islands and to prevent the introduction and establishment of alien species.A 51-year-old man with 3-month unhealing cat bite wound was diagnosed with sporotrichosis, a subacute-to-chronic infection caused by the worldwide endemic, dimorphic fungus Sporothrix globosa. The case would help clinicians to raise awareness of human sporotrichosis due to cat bites, which remains rare and is likely to be underrecognized and misdiagnosed.Chromosomal inversions play an important role in local adaptation. Inversions can capture multiple locally adaptive functional variants in a linked block by repressing recombination. However, this recombination suppression makes it difficult to identify the genetic mechanisms underlying an inversion’s role in adaptation. In this study, we used large-scale transcriptomic data to dissect the functional importance of a 13 Mb inversion locus (Inv4m) found almost exclusively in highland populations of maize (Zea mays ssp. mays). Inv4m was introgressed into highland maize from the wild relative Zea mays ssp. mexicana, also present in the highlands of Mexico, and is thought to be important for the adaptation of these populations to cultivation in highland environments. However, the specific genetic variants and traits that underlie this adaptation are not known. We created two families segregating for the standard and inverted haplotypes of Inv4m in a common genetic background and measured gene expression effects associated with the inversion across 9 tissues in two experimental conditions. With these data, we quantified both the global transcriptomic effects of the highland Inv4m haplotype, and the local cis-regulatory variation present within the locus. We found diverse physiological effects of Inv4m across the 9 tissues, including a strong effect on the expression of genes involved in photosynthesis and chloroplast physiology. Although we could not confidently identify the causal alleles within Inv4m, this research accelerates progress towards understanding this inversion and will guide future research on these important genomic features.Our understanding of the evolutionary history of primates is undergoing continual revision due to ongoing genome sequencing efforts. Bolstered by growing fossil evidence, these data have led to increased acceptance of once controversial hypotheses regarding phylogenetic relationships, hybridization and introgression, and the biogeographical history of primate groups. Among these findings is a pattern of recent introgression between species within all major primate groups examined to date, though little is known about introgression deeper in time. To address this and other phylogenetic questions, here, we present new reference genome assemblies for 3 Old World monkey (OWM) species Colobus angolensis ssp. palliatus (the black and white colobus), Macaca nemestrina (southern pig-tailed macaque), and Mandrillus leucophaeus (the drill). Selleckchem N-Ethylmaleimide We combine these data with 23 additional primate genomes to estimate both the species tree and individual gene trees using thousands of loci. While our species tree is largely consistent with previous phylogenetic hypotheses, the gene trees reveal high levels of genealogical discordance associated with multiple primate radiations. We use strongly asymmetric patterns of gene tree discordance around specific branches to identify multiple instances of introgression between ancestral primate lineages. In addition, we exploit recent fossil evidence to perform fossil-calibrated molecular dating analyses across the tree. Taken together, our genome-wide data help to resolve multiple contentious sets of relationships among primates, while also providing insight into the biological processes and technical artifacts that led to the disagreements in the first place.Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by an absent or ectopic posterior pituitary, interrupted pituitary stalk and anterior pituitary hypoplasia, as well as in some cases, a range of heterogeneous somatic anomalies. A genetic cause is identified in only around 5% of all cases. Here, we define the genetic variants associated with PSIS followed by the same pediatric endocrinologist. Exome sequencing was performed in 52 (33 boys and 19 girls), including 2 familial cases single center pediatric cases, among them associated 36 (69.2%) had associated symptoms or syndromes. We identified rare and novel variants in genes (37 families with 39 individuals) known to be involved in one or more of the following-midline development and/or pituitary development or function (BMP4, CDON, GLI2, GLI3, HESX1, KIAA0556, LHX9, NKX2-1, PROP1, PTCH1, SHH, TBX19, TGIF1), syndromic and non-syndromic forms of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CCDC141, CHD7, FANCA, FANCC, FANCD2, FANCE, FANCG, IL17RD, KISS1R, NSMF, PMM2, SEMA3E, WDR11), syndromic forms of short stature (FGFR3, NBAS, PRMT7, RAF1, SLX4, SMARCA2, SOX11), cerebellum atrophy with optic anomalies (DNMT1, NBAS), axonal migration (ROBO1, SLIT2), and agenesis of the corpus callosum (ARID1B, CC2D2A, CEP120, CSPP1, DHCR7, INPP5E, VPS13B, ZNF423). Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome is characterized by a complex genetic heterogeneity, that reflects a complex phenotypic heterogeneity. Seizures, intellectual disability, micropenis or cryptorchidism, seen at presentation are usually considered as secondary to the pituitary deficiencies. However, this study shows that they are due to specific gene mutations. PSIS should therefore be considered as part of the phenotypic spectrum of other known genetic syndromes rather than as specific clinical entity.Leishmania infantum infantum (LII) is one of the species that causes visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Old World, while L. infantum chagasi (LIC) is present in the New World. Few studies address biological differences or the behavior of these strains during infection. These parasites live inside cells of their hosts, continuously evading microbicidal mechanisms and modulating the immune responses of these cells. One of the mechanisms used by these protozoa involves the L-arginine metabolism. Understanding the differences between Leishmania species and establishing an improved murine model for study of leishmaniasis are matters of extreme importance. Thereby, the objectives of this work were to analyze the biological and molecular differences between two Leishmania infantum strains (LII and LIC) and the degree of susceptibility to infection of mice with different genetic backgrounds. The infectivity in vivo and in vitro of LII and LIC strains was evaluated in BALB/c and Swiss Webster mice, as well the NOS and ARG activities.