Larger ectoparasites of the Idaho ground squirrel ( Spermophilus brunneus )

We sampled both subspecies of the Idaho ground squirrel ( Spermophilus brunneus ) to document the larger ectoparasites of this rare endemic. S. b. brunneus was host (+ = new host record, ? = new Idaho record) to 4 flea species ( Neopsylla inopina + , Oropsylla idahoensis + , O. tuberculata , and Thrassis pandorae +), 1 tick ( Ixodes sculptus +), and an eyeworm (Nematoda: Rhabditis orbitalis ? + , also 1st records from Seiuridae); S. b. endemicus was host to a louse species ( Neohaematopinus laeviusculus +), 5 flea taxa ( Rhadinopsylla sp. + , O. t. tuberculata, Thrassis f. francisi + , T. f. barnest + , and T. f. rockwoodi ), and a mite ( Androlaelaps fahrenholzi +). Spermophilus brunneus had fewer known ectoparasite species than other congeners. Although all of their parasites had many other hosts, S. b. endemicus and S. b. brunneus shared only a single parasite species in common, whereas all but one of their ectoparasites also occurred on the closely related Townsend's ground squirrel ( S. townsendii ). The proportion of parasitized individuals and the parasite loads per individual were significantly lower in S. b. brunneus , which lives in small, isolated populations, than in S. b. endemicus , which has larger, less fragmented populations, suggesting a relationship between host population structure, parasite loads, and parasite species diversity. All but one of the flea species have been linked to plague transmission.     

Dietary overlap in giant salamanders (Dicamptodon): applying null models to resource partitioning

We examined stomach contents of preserved specimens of larval Pacific giant salamander ( Dicamptodon tenebrosus ) and Cope's giant salamander ( D. copei ) collected from sympatric and allopatric stream populations. The dietary components of these specimens were used to calculate dietary overlap between the 2 species and to determine if changes in overlap existed between sympatric and allopatric populations. To statistically test overlap values, a randomization algorithm was used to construct a simulated data matrix (i.e., null model) in order to compare observed values of dietary overlap to a distribution of overlap values from the null model. Significant levels ( P < 0.05) of dietary overlap occurred in all cases of sympatry as well as allopatry. Average dietary overlap in sympatry was significantly lower than in allopatry, suggesting a dietary shift when in sympatry to reduce competition. Diet composition also differed between sympatric and allopatric populations of each species, further suggesting a partitioning of food resources by one or both species when in the presence of its congener.     

A genetic interaction network of five genes for human polycystic kidney and liver diseases defines polycystin-1 as the central determinant of cyst formation

Autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease results from mutations in PRKCSH or SEC63. The respective gene products, glucosidase IIβ and SEC63p, function in protein translocation and quality control pathways in the endoplasmic reticulum. Here we show that glucosidase IIβ and Sec63p are required in mice for adequate expression of a functional complex of the polycystic kidney disease gene products, polycystin-1 and polycystin-2. We find that polycystin-1 is the rate-limiting component of this complex and that there is a dose-response relationship between cystic dilation and levels of functional polycystin-1 following mutation of Prkcsh or Sec63. Reduced expression of polycystin-1 also serves to sensitize the kidney to cyst formation resulting from mutations in Pkhd1, the recessive polycystic kidney disease gene. Finally, we show that proteasome inhibition increases steady-state levels of polycystin-1 in cells lacking glucosidase IIβ and that treatment with a proteasome inhibitor reduces cystic disease in orthologous gene models of human autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease.     

Genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for open angle glaucoma at TMCO1 and CDKN2B-AS1

We report a genome-wide association study for open-angle glaucoma (OAG) blindness using a discovery cohort of 590 individuals with severe visual field loss (cases) and 3,956 controls. We identified associated loci at TMCO1 (rs4656461[G] odds ratio (OR) = 1.68, P = 6.1 × 10(-10)) and CDKN2B-AS1 (rs4977756[A] OR = 1.50, P = 4.7 × 10(-9)). We replicated these associations in an independent cohort of cases with advanced OAG (rs4656461 P = 0.010; rs4977756 P = 0.042) and two additional cohorts of less severe OAG (rs4656461 combined discovery and replication P = 6.00 × 10(-14), OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.35-1.68; rs4977756 combined P = 1.35 × 10(-14), OR = 1.39, 95% CI 1.28-1.51). We show retinal expression of genes at both loci in human ocular tissues. We also show that CDKN2A and CDKN2B are upregulated in the retina of a rat model of glaucoma.     

Evaluation of a program to control hydatid disease in central Utah

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} A program to control hydatid disease in central Utah was evaluated by: (1) surveillance of infection in dogs and sheep, (2) questioning adult residents of two Sanpete County communities (Fountain Green and Spring City) about their knowledge of hydatid disease and their attitudes toward preventive measures, (3) interviewing local officials to evaluate the proposed implementation of proper community-wide measures, (4) analyzing records of prophylactic treatment of dogs with praziquantel, and (5) comparing scores of tests given to third and fourth grade students before and after they colored an educational pamphlet about hydatid disease. Infection rates of Echinococcus granulosus in dogs brought to volunteer diagnostic clinics dropped from 28.3 percent in 1972 to 1.0 percent in 1979, but increased to 9.8 percent in 1981. This last rise was due mainly to the fact that some dogs were examined that belonged to range sheepmen who had either not attended a field clinic recently or had never attended at all. Prevalence of the parasite in slaughtered sheep decreased steadily from 13.2 percent in 1972 to 2.8 percent in 1981. With regard to the questionnaire phase of the project, 87.3 percent and 84.3 percent of the respondents understood the role of dogs in the life cycle of E. granulosus in Fountain Green and Spring City, respectively. Over 50 percent of the respondents of these two communities had worked directly with sheep sometime in their life. In general, residents were more willing to practice preventive measures involving sheep than they were to implement measures involving dogs alone. However, many of the recommended community-wide preventive measures were not implemented. With the coloring book, students answered an average of 62.5 percent of the questions correctly before they colored the pamphlet and 83.3 percent afterward. Overall, our results suggest that residents of Sanpete County are knowledgeable about hydatid disease and its mode of transmission, and that, in general, progress has been made in control of hydatid disease in central Utah. &nbsp;     

First evidence of a venom delivery apparatus in extinct mammals

Numerous non-mammalian vertebrates have evolved lethal venoms to aid either in securing prey or as protection from predators, but modern mammals that use venoms in these ways are rare, including only the duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus), the Caribbean Solenodon, and a few shrews (Soricidae) (Order Insectivora). Here we report evidence of a venom delivery apparatus in extinct mammals, documented by well-preserved specimens recovered from late Palaeocene rocks in Alberta, Canada. Although classified within Eutheria, these mammals are phylogenetically remote from modern Insectivora and have evolved specialized teeth as salivary venom delivery systems (VDSs) that differ markedly from one another and from those of Solenodon and shrews. Our discoveries therefore show that mammals have been much more flexible in the evolution of VDSs than previously believed, contradicting currently held notions that modern insectivorans are representative of the supposedly limited role of salivary venoms in mammalian history. Evidently, small predatory eutherians have paralleled colubroid snakes in evolving salivary venoms and their delivery systems several times independently.