- by Ogiso-Tanaka, E., Shimada, D., Ogawa, A., Ishiyama, G., Okumura, K.-i., Hosaka, K., Ishii, C., Nam, K. O., Hoshino, M., Nomura, S., Kakizoe, S., Nakamura, Y., Nishiumi, I., Ito, M. A., Kitayama, T., Tanaka, N., Hosoya, T., Jinbo, U.Recent advances in DNA research have increased the necessity for museums to preserve not only morphological specimens but also their DNA, leading us to maintain tissue samples linked to specimens at -80{degrees}C. DNA analysis has become an essential tool for taxonomic research and biodiversity assessment; however, freezer storage for all samples is impractical due to space limitations and operational costs. This creates a pressing need to develop more widely applicable DNA preservation methods. We investigated the comparative effects of traditional […]
- by Marquez, L., Weterings, P., Saber, S., Felipe, B. C., Maccuro, S., Serrano, M., Seuntjens, E., Acosta-Cifuentes, F., Gonzalez, M., Almansa, E.There has been a great interest in common octopus Octopus vulgaris aquaculture over recent years and commercial production is coming within reach. In addition, O. vulgaris is a short-lived semelparous species with a long spawning period. Therefore, monitoring ovary maturation in cultured octopuses can be useful in the scheduling of hatchery operations and management of culture resources. The present work aimed to assess the ovary maturity status in cultured and wild common octopus by means of a noninvasive technique, ultrasonography, […]
- Natural spider silk enhances mechanical performance of collagen scaffold under stretching conditionsby Tso, I.-M., Tsiareshyna, M., Huang, S. Y. T., Liao, C.-P., Tang, M.-J., Wong, T.-Y.Collagen is the most abundant protein in the extracellular matrix, crucial for wound healing and cell proliferation. While it holds promise as a scaffold for tendon, skin, and ligament reconstruction, collagen's mechanical strength, particularly under stretch, is poor. Previous attempts to improve collagen strength involved blending it with silkworm or recombinant spider silk. In this study, for the first time, we evaluated whether collagen gel from fish skin could be strengthened by infusing it with native spider silk, specifically the […]
- by Doherty, S., Krajcarz, M., Carmagnini, A., Dimopoulos, E., Jamieson, A., Alves, J. M., Balasescu, A., Baker, P., Baranowski, P., Beglane, F., Bitz-Thorsen, J., Bolton, A., Bowden, W., Britton, H., De Cupere, B., De Martino, M., Donnelly-Symes, B., Evin, A., Fowler, T., Fulford, M., Gotfredsen, A. B., Han, Y., Kitchener, A. C., Knapp, Z., Luo, S.-J., Mainland, I., Maricevic, D., Moody, S., Nesnidaloa, T., O'Connor, T., Orton, D. C., Peters, J., Sadebeck, F., Siegenthaler, A., Smallman, R., Suvova, Z., Symmons, R., Sudds, J., Thomas, G., Van Neer, W., Wilczynski, J., Ottoni, C., Popovic, D., FraDespite the domestic cats (Felis catus) close association with humans, the timing and circumstances of its domestication and subsequent introduction to Europe are unresolved. Domestication of its wild progenitor, the African wildcat (F. lybica), is widely attributed to the emergence of farming. Wildcats are said to have been attracted to settled communities by the rodent populations that were thriving within this new agricultural niche. Some claim the African wildcat even reached Europe during the Neolithic, though many credit the Romans […]
- by Jagos, F., Baird, S. J. E., Harazim, M., Martinkova, N.Species barriers are shaped by variation in recombination coupled with natural selection [1-3]. Canids lost the Prdm9 gene 40-60 million years ago [4-6], stabilising low recombination at the centromeric ends [7] of acrocentric autosomes despite overall high recombination rates [6]. We predict canid recombination architecture will tend to maintain barriers to gene flow at one end of autosomes while eroding them at the other. Polarization [8] of 31 million single nucleotide variants (SNVs) across 980 canid genomes reveals elevated barriers […]
- by Bouguerche, C., Roth, J., Justine, J.-L.The land flatworm Obama nungara, native to South America and already invasive in several European countries, is reported here for the first time in Sweden, marking its first sighting in Scandinavia. The finding of a specimen in Malmo in November 2024 suggests that O. nungara may be present in other areas of Sweden, with its establishment potentially dating back a certain time. The cox1 haplotype of the Malmo specimen clustered within a large group of haplotypes found in several countries […]
- by Korabek, O., Vardinoyannis, K., Orstan, A., Psonis, N.We analysed the phylogenetic relationships of Aristena rechingeri, an extremely rare, large, flat-shelled snail from the Aegean island of Karpathos. Low-depth Illumina sequencing data obtained from an empty shell were available, but there was no reference genome or sequences of nuclear loci from the related taxa, so we attempted to resolve the phylogeny with mitogenome sequences. We confirmed that Aristena is sister to the globular-shelled genera Helix and Maltzanella and not to the similarly flat-shelled and geographically proximate Isaurica from […]
- by Taylor, M. J., Green, T. L., Guilhon, G., Lowi-Merri, T., Watanabe, A.The ability to consistently and clearly visualize discrete anatomical parts of a specimen is crucial for biological research. For skeletal tissues, a classic and widely adopted technique uses a combination of Alizarin red for bone and Alcian or toluidine blue stains for cartilage. Published protocols for these stains have generally been optimized for small or prenatal specimens; thus, leaving out applications to relatively large specimens including somatically mature specimens and embryos of large-bodied taxa. Here, we present a newly refined, […]
- by Gharibi, H., Saei, A. A., Chernobrovkin, A. L., Lundstrom, S. L., Lyu, H., Meng, Z., Vegvari, A., Gaetani, M., Zubarev, R. A.DNA and bone collagen are two key sources of resilient molecular markers used to identify species from their remains. Collagen is more stable than DNA, and thus it is preferred for ancient and degraded samples. Current mass spectrometry-based collagen sequencing approaches are empirical and lack a rigorous statistical framework. Based on the well-developed approaches to protein identification in shotgun proteomics, we introduce a first approximation of the species search engine (SSE). Our SSE named KISSE is based on a species-specific […]
- by Cedden, D., Guney, G., Rostas, M., Scholten, S.BackgroundThe cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB, Psylliodes chrysocephala) is a major threat to oilseed rape crops. Management of CSFB has become increasingly challenging due to the European Unions ban on neonicotinoids and the emergence of pyrethroid-resistant populations. Recently, RNA interference (RNAi) has shown potential as an environmentally friendly alternative for the management of CSFB, and proteasome subunits have been identified as very effective RNAi targets. However, the mechanism of action of proteasome-targeting RNAi strategies remains to be fully characterized at […]
- by Trejo-Reveles, V., Anderson, G. E., Jonhston, A. R., Meddle, S., Johnson, M.Extra-retinal photoreception is widely observed across vertebrates, facilitating species-specific regulation of physiological and behavioral responses to diverse photic environments. Yet, the roles of non-visual opsins remain poorly understood, as their distribution and function have not yet been systematically investigated. This study provides the first comprehensive evidence of non-visual opsin expression across the reptile body. Using predicted sequences for extra-retinal photoreceptors, non-visual opsins were confirmed in the brain, eye, testes, liver, and skin. Specifically, OPN3 (encephalopsin) exhibited the highest expression across […]
- by Zhang, X.-Y., Wei, Z.-H., Gao, P., Li, Y.-T., Ji, Q.-E., Yang, X.-Q.Flight in insects is essential for behaviors such as courtship, foraging, and migration, with energy metabolism serving as its primary energy source. Previous study indicates that X-ray irradiation, even at optimized doses, compromises the flight capacity of male Cydia pomonella moths utilized in sterile insect technique (SIT) programs. However, the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon have not been fully understood. In this study, we report that the disruption of energy metabolism processes contributing to the diminished flight capabilities observed in […]
- by Klunk, C. L., Casadei-Ferreira, A., Argenta, M. A., Pie, M. R.Heads of ant workers harbour the mouthparts and respective musculature, varying drastically in morphology. The mandible adductor muscles occupy most of the heads internal volume, and their contraction generates forces that could risk cuticle failure. Here we quantified ant worker plane head shape disparity and explored how it influences stress dissipation under biting conditions. We combined a geometric morphometric approach under a phylogenetic comparative framework and biomechanical simulations to test the hypothesis that idealized head shapes poorly explored by current […]
- by Kato, M., Iwakoshi-Ukena, E., Furumitsu, M., Narimatsu, Y., Ukena, K.Neurosecretory protein GL (NPGL) is a novel hypothalamic neuropeptide that promotes fat accumulation in rats, mice, and neonatal chicks. However, its role in Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of chronic intracerebroventricular infusion of NPGL on body mass, food intake, and fat accumulation in five-week-old male Japanese quails. A 13-day administration of NPGL significantly increased body mass, food intake, and the masses of subcutaneous fat, abdominal fat, and liver. In contrast, water intake […]
- by Lewis, E., Ball, L., Swinnerton, K., Gardner, R., Armour-Chelu, N., Fitzmaurice, A.Species distribution models are used to predict habitat suitability for a species, by quantifying the environmental characteristics which allow a species to occupy a geographical area. The abundance and range of Pine Marten (Martes martes) has declined substantially in Great Britain, with the remaining populations restricted to Scotland. Here, we perform species distribution modelling to determine habitat suitability, and identify potential reintroduction sites, for Pine Marten in Great Britain. Using a global range dataset of 4,189 occurrences, and seven environmental […]
- by Abbasi, E.Ticks are one of the most dominant forced ectoparasites of vertebrates, belonging to the arthropods, which transmit pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites to humans and animals in Iran and worldwide. Given that sex ratio factors can affect the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, this study aimed to identify and determine the ticks sex ratio and host type (camels, sheep, cattle, dogs, chickens, and pigeons) in different areas of Tehran Province. This descriptive cross-sectional study took samples from different parts […]
- by Kabir, M. T., Lappan, S., Mohd Sah, S. A., Ruppert, N.AbstractThe western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock, Harlan 1834) is a Critically Endangered primate species in Bangladesh and is globally Endangered, yet its distribution across the highly anthropogenic and disturbed landscapes of southeast and northeast Bangladesh is not well understood. We assessed gibbon occurrence in habitats across Bangladesh through community engagement activities from January 2018 to June 2022 and conducted gibbon population surveys in the field from January 2019 to March 2024 using the total count method to estimate abundance in […]
- by Bhattacharjee, D., Flay, K. J., Mumby, H. S., McElligott, A. G.Seasonality, or temporal shifts between wet and dry seasons, profoundly affects the physiology and behavioural ecology of animals, particularly large herbivores, in (sub-) tropical climatic conditions. Adaptive behavioural strategies are crucial for overcoming challenges associated with seasonality. Group-level strategies to seasonality in the wild have received considerable attention, yet little is known about how large herbivores in human-dominated landscapes respond to seasonal challenges. Moreover, focusing solely on groups can obscure how individual animals of different sexes, ages, and personalities respond. […]
- by Cisneros-Heredia, D. F., Viteri-Basso, E., Brito, J.Understanding the feeding ecology of top avian predators is crucial to unravelling trophic interactions and informing conservation strategies. Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus, among the most widespread nocturnal raptors in America, remains understudied in the northern Andes. We investigated the diet of the subspecies B. v. nigrescens in an inter-Andean valley of northern Ecuador and compiled a literature review of its dietary patterns. Fifty-four pellets collected from 2014 to 2017 yielded 106 prey items. Mammals constituted the primary food source […]
- by Choton, J. C., Margapuri, V., Grijalva, I., Spiesman, B., Hsu, W. H.The performance of computer vision models for object detection and classification is heavily influenced by the number of classes and quality of input images, particularly in biological applications such as species-level identification of bumblebees. Bee identification is time-consuming, costly, and requires specialized taxonomic training. Different deep learning based computer vision models have been proven to overcome this methodological bottleneck through automated identification of bee species from captured images. However, accurate identification of bee species in images containing multiple objects of […]
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