Movement patterns and habitat use for the sympatric species: and .

Movement is an important characteristic of an animal's ecology, reflecting the perception of and response to environmental conditions. To effectively search for food, movement patterns likely depend on habitat characteristics and the sensory systems used to find prey. We examined movements associated with foraging for two sympatric species of lizards inhabiting the Great Basin Desert of southeastern Oregon.

Human follicular mites: Ectoparasites becoming symbionts.

Most humans carry mites in the hair follicles of their skin for their entire lives. Follicular mites are the only metazoans tha continuously live on humans. We propose that Demodex folliculorum (Acari) represents a transitional stage from a host-injuring obligate parasite to an obligate symbiont.

Induction of phenotypic changes in HER2-postive breast cancer cells and .

The influence of breast cancer cells on normal cells of the microenvironment, such as fibroblasts and macrophages, has been heavily studied but the influence of normal epithelial cells on breast cancer cells has not. Here using and models we demonstrate the impact epithelial cells and the mammary microenvironment can exert on breast cancer cells. Under specific conditions, signals that originate in epithelial cells can induce phenotypic and genotypic changes in cancer cells.

Sequence conservation of mitochondrial (mt)DNA during expansion of clonal mammary epithelial populations suggests a common mtDNA template in CzechII mice.

One major foundation of cancer etiology is the process of clonal expansion. The mechanisms underlying the complex process of a single cell leading to a clonal dominant tumor, are poorly understood. Our study aims to analyze mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for somatic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) variants, to determine if they are conserved throughout clonal expansion in mammary tissues and tumors.

Long-label-retaining mammary epithelial cells are created early in ductal development and distributed throughout the branching ducts.

Long-label retention has been used by many to prove Cairns' immortal strand hypothesis and to identify potential stem cells. Here, we describe two strategies using 5-ethynl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) to identify and understand the distribution of long-label-retaining mammary epithelial cells during formation of the mouse mammary ductal system. First, EdU was given upon two consecutive days per week during weeks 4 through 10 and analyzed for label retention at 13 weeks of age.

Microarray and pathway analysis of two COMMA-Dβ derived clones reveal important differences relevant to their developmental capacity .

Microarray technologies were used to analyze transcriptomes from Comma-Dβ and clonal derivatives, SP3 (Lobule-competent) and NSP2 (Lobule-incompetent), during different mouse mammary growth phases: , 5-weeks, and 12-weeks. A differentially expressed gene (DEG) algorithm was used to enrich for genes associated with cellular proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle regulation, and carcinogenesis. A pairwise comparison analysis, of SP3 vs.

Does the Mouse Mammary Gland Arise from Unipotent or Multipotent Mammary Stem/Progenitor Cells?

The presence of long-lived lineage restricted progenitor and multipotent progenitor cells in adult mouse mammary gland for cancer development is compelling. Mammary cancers are phenotypically diverse This might be explained by transformation of long-lived, lineage-limited progenitor subpopulations. Mammary multipotent epithelial stem cells and their environmental niches must be considered, since their niche(s), once empty might be occupied by lineage-limited progenitors that are proximal.

Sexual Dimorphism and Retinal Mosaic Diversification following the Evolution of a Violet Receptor in Butterflies.

Numerous animal lineages have expanded and diversified the opsin-based photoreceptors in their eyes underlying color vision behavior. However, the selective pressures giving rise to new photoreceptors and their spectral tuning remain mostly obscure. Previously, we identified a violet receptor (UV2) that is the result of a UV opsin gene duplication specific to Heliconius butterflies.

reprogramming of non-mammary cells to an epithelial cell fate is independent of amphiregulin signaling.

Amphiregulin (AREG) mice demonstrate impaired mammary development and form only rudimentary ductal epithelial trees; however, AREG glands are still capable of undergoing alveologenesis and lactogenesis during pregnancy. Transplantation of AREG mammary epithelial cells into cleared mouse mammary fat pads results in a diminished capacity for epithelial growth (∼15%) as compared to that of wild-type mammary epithelial cells. To determine whether estrogen receptor α (ERα, also known as ESR1) and/or AREG signaling were necessary for non-mammary cell redirection, we inoculated either ERα or AREG mammary cells with non-mammary progenitor cells (WAP-Cre/Rosa26LacZ+ male testicular cells or GFP-positive embryonic neuronal stem cells).

Mammary extracellular matrix directs differentiation of testicular and embryonic stem cells to form functional mammary glands in vivo.

Previously, we demonstrated the ability of the normal mammary microenvironment (niche) to direct non-mammary cells including testicular and embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to adopt a mammary epithelial cell (MEC) fate. These studies relied upon the interaction of transplanted normal MECs with non-mammary cells within the mammary fat-pads of recipient mice that had their endogenous epithelium removed. Here, we tested whether acellular mammary extracellular matrix (mECM) preparations are sufficient to direct differentiation of testicular-derived cells and ESCs to form functional mammary epithelial trees in vivo.

Techniques for the Reprogramming of Exogenous Stem/Progenitor Cell Populations Towards a Mammary Epithelial Cell Fate.

This chapter considers the techniques necessary and required for the reprogramming of exogenous stem/progenitor cell populations towards a mammary epithelial cell fate. The protocols describe how to isolate cells from alternate mouse organs such as testicles of male mice and mix them with mammary cells to generate chimeric glands comprised of male and female epithelial cells that are fully competent. During the reformation of mammary stem cell niches by dispersed epithelial cells, in the context of the intact epithelium-free mammary stroma, non-mammary cells are sequestered and reprogrammed to perform mammary epithelial cell functions including those ascribed to mammary stem/progenitor cells.

Gene Duplication and Gene Expression Changes Play a Role in the Evolution of Candidate Pollen Feeding Genes in Heliconius Butterflies.

Heliconius possess a unique ability among butterflies to feed on pollen. Pollen feeding significantly extends their lifespan, and is thought to have been important to the diversification of the genus. We used RNA sequencing to examine feeding-related gene expression in the mouthparts of four species of Heliconius and one nonpollen feeding species, Eueides isabella We hypothesized that genes involved in morphology and protein metabolism might be upregulated in Heliconius because they have longer proboscides than Eueides, and because pollen contains more protein than nectar.

Mammary Epithelial Cell Lineage Analysis via the Lyon's Hypothesis.

Implants of mammary glands from a single mammary fat pad in a H253 transgenic female mouse heterozygous for a lacZ-labeled X chromosome were analyzed at various time points following transplantation into the epithelium-cleared mammary fat pads of immune-compromised mice. The results show that the lacZ-marked X chromosome, demonstrated by nuclear-associated X-gal staining, was confined to a single epithelial clone that gave rise to the cap cells of all growing terminal end buds (TEB) in the expanding mammary outgrowths and also the basal cells of the elongated ducts. The nuclei of luminal cells in these ducts were uniformly negative for lacZ expression indicating that they were derived from cellular precursors that contained a silenced lac-Z marked X chromosome.

Telomerase and estrogen-sensing activities are essential for continued mammary growth in vivo but dispensable for "reprogramming" neural stem cells.

It has been proposed that the erosion of telomere length is a limiting factor in replicative capacity and important in cell senescence. To determine if this activity was essential in the mouse mammary gland in vivo, we serially transplanted mammary fragments from wild type (TER+/+), heterozygous (TER+/-), and homozygous (TER-/-) mammary tissues into the cleared mammary fat pads of immune-compromised nude mice. Individual implants from both homozygous and heterozygous TER null outgrowths showed growth senescence beginning at transplant generation two, earlier than implants from TER+/+ mammary glands which continued to show growth.

Binuclear Cells in the Lactating Mammary Gland: New Insights on an Old Concept?

In a recent paper (Rios et al. Nat Commun. 7:11400, 2016), it was reported that polyploid cells are frequent in lactating mammary tissues.

Transcriptome-Wide Differential Gene Expression in Bicyclus anynana Butterflies: Female Vision-Related Genes Are More Plastic.

Vision is energetically costly to maintain. Consequently, over time many cave-adapted species downregulate the expression of vision genes or even lose their eyes and associated eye genes entirely. Alternatively, organisms that live in fluctuating environments, with different requirements for vision at different times, may evolve phenotypic plasticity for expression of vision genes.

Hormone signaling requirements for the conversion of non-mammary mouse cells to mammary cell fate(s) in vivo.

Mammotropic hormones and growth factors play a very important role in mammary growth and differentiation. Here, hormones including Estrogen, Progesterone, Prolactin, their cognate receptors, and the growth factor Amphiregulin, are tested with respect to their roles in signaling non-mammary cells from the mouse to redirect to mammary epithelial cell fate(s). This was done in the context of glandular regeneration in pubertal athymic female mice.

Molecular evolution and expression of the CRAL_TRIO protein family in insects.

CRAL_TRIO domain proteins are known to bind small lipophilic molecules such as retinal, inositol and Vitamin E and include such gene family members as PINTA, α-tocopherol transfer (ATT) proteins, retinoid binding proteins, and clavesins. In insects, very little is known about either the molecular evolution of this family of proteins or their ligand specificity. Here we characterize insect CRAL_TRIO domain proteins and present the first insect CRAL_TRIO protein phylogeny constructed by performing reciprocal BLAST searches of the reference genomes of Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Apis mellifera, Tribolium castaneum, Bombyx mori, Manduca sexta and Danaus plexippus.

Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in wild samples of two morphotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

Epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation play important biological roles in gene expression regulation and cellular differentiation during development. To examine whether DNA methylation patterns are potentially associated with naturally occurring phenotypic differences, we examined genome-wide DNA methylation within Gasterosteus aculeatus, using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing. First, we identified highly methylated regions of the stickleback genome, finding such regions to be located predominantly within genes, and associated with genes functioning in metabolism and biosynthetic processes, cell adhesion, signaling pathways, and blood vessel development.

Genome Sequence of a Novel Iflavirus from mRNA Sequencing of the Butterfly Heliconius erato.

Here, we report the genome sequence of a novel iflavirus strain recovered from the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato. The coding DNA sequence (CDS) of the iflavirus genome was 8,895 nucleotides in length, encoding a polyprotein that was 2,965 amino acids long.

Complete dosage compensation and sex-biased gene expression in the moth Manduca sexta.

Sex chromosome dosage compensation balances homogametic sex chromosome expression with autosomal expression in the heterogametic sex, leading to sex chromosome expression parity between the sexes. If compensation is incomplete, this can lead to expression imbalance and sex-biased gene expression. Recent work has uncovered an intriguing and variable pattern of dosage compensation across species that includes a lack of complete dosage compensation in ZW species compared with XY species.

A potential mechanism for extracellular matrix induction of breast cancer cell normality.

Extracellular matrix proteins from embryonic mesenchyme have a normalizing effect on cancer cells in vitro and slow tumor growth in vivo. This concept is suggestive of a new method for controlling the growth and spread of existing cancer cells in situ and indicates the possibility that extracellular proteins and/or embryonic mesenchymal fibroblasts may represent a fertile subject for study of new anti-cancer treatments.

Paracrine-rescued lobulogenesis in chimeric outgrowths comprising progesterone-receptor-null mammary epithelium and redirected wild-type testicular cells.

We have previously shown that non-mammary and tumorigenic cells can respond to the signals of the mammary niche and alter their cell fate to that of mammary epithelial progenitor cells. Here we tested the hypothesis that paracrine signals from mammary epithelial cells expressing progesterone receptor (PR) are dispensable for redirection of testicular cells, and that re-directed wild-type testicular-derived mammary cells can rescue lobulogenesis of PR-null mammary epithelium by paracrine signaling during pregnancy. We injected PR-null epithelial cells mixed with testicular cells from wild-type adult male mice into cleared fat-pads of recipient mice.