Revisiting the ecology and evolution of burying beetle behavior (Staphylinidae: Silphinae).

Investigating fundamental processes in biology requires the ability to ground broad questions in species-specific natural history. This is particularly true in the study of behavior because an organism's experience of the environment will influence the expression of behavior and the opportunity for selection. Here, we provide a review of the natural history and behavior of burying beetles of the genus to provide the groundwork for comparative work that showcases their remarkable behavioral and ecological diversity.

Characterization of integrated Marek's disease virus genomes supports a model of integration by homology-directed recombination and telomere-loop-driven excision.

Marek's disease virus (MDV) is a ubiquitous chicken pathogen that inflicts a large economic burden on the poultry industry, despite worldwide vaccination programs. MDV is only partially controlled by available vaccines, and the virus retains the ability to replicate and spread between vaccinated birds. Following an initial infection, MDV enters a latent state and integrates into host telomeres and this may be a prerequisite for malignant transformation, which is usually fatal.

Variation in human herpesvirus 6B telomeric integration, excision, and transmission between tissues and individuals.

Human herpesviruses 6A and 6B (HHV-6A/6B) are ubiquitous pathogens that persist lifelong in latent form and can cause severe conditions upon reactivation. They are spread by community-acquired infection of free virus (acqHHV6A/6B) and by germline transmission of inherited chromosomally integrated HHV-6A/6B (iciHHV-6A/6B) in telomeres. We exploited a hypervariable region of the HHV-6B genome to investigate the relationship between acquired and inherited virus and revealed predominantly maternal transmission of acqHHV-6B in families.

The absence of (TCAGGG) repeats in some telomeres, combined with variable responses to NR2F2 depletion, suggest that this nuclear receptor plays an indirect role in the alternative lengthening of telomeres.

The alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) facilitates telomere lengthening by a DNA strand invasion and copying mechanism. The nuclear receptors (NRs), NR2F2 and NR2C2, can bind to (TCAGGG) variant repeats within telomeres and it has been proposed that this facilitates telomere interactions in ALT+ cells. Here we show that the frequency of cells with detectable NR2F2 and NR2C2 nuclear foci varies considerably between ALT+ cell lines and does not correlate with the level of protein expression.

Telomere Instability in Lynch Syndrome Families Leads to Some Shorter Telomeres in Carriers.

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an inherited predisposition to early onset of various cancers, caused by mutation in a DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene. In heterozygous MMR carriers, somatic mutation, loss or silencing of the wild type allele increases the mutation rate, facilitating the initiation of MMR-defective cancers. These cancers are characterized by instability at short tandem repeats (STRs) and in telomeric DNA.

The Circulating Nucleic Acid Characteristics of Non-Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcoma Patients.

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare, malignant tumours with a generally poor prognosis. Our aim was to explore the potential of cell free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) analysis to track non-metastatic STS patients undergoing attempted curative treatment. The analysed cohort ( = 29) contained multiple STS subtypes including myxofibrosarcomas, undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas, leiomyosarcomas, and dedifferentiated liposarcomas amongst others.

Polygenic Architecture of Human Neuroanatomical Diversity.

We analyzed the genomic architecture of neuroanatomical diversity using magnetic resonance imaging and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from >26 000 individuals from the UK Biobank project and 5 other projects that had previously participated in the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium. Our results confirm the polygenic architecture of neuroanatomical diversity, with SNPs capturing from 40% to 54% of regional brain volume variance. Chromosomal length correlated with the amount of phenotypic variance captured, r ~ 0.

Human RAP1 specifically protects telomeres of senescent cells from DNA damage.

Repressor/activator protein 1 (RAP1) is a highly evolutionarily conserved protein found at telomeres. Although yeast Rap1 is a key telomere capping protein preventing non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) and consequently telomere fusions, its role at mammalian telomeres in vivo is still controversial. Here, we demonstrate that RAP1 is required to protect telomeres in replicative senescent human cells.

ALT: A Multi-Faceted Phenomenon.

One of the hallmarks of cancer cells is their indefinite replicative potential, made possible by the activation of a telomere maintenance mechanism (TMM). The majority of cancers reactivate the reverse transcriptase, telomerase, to maintain their telomere length but a minority (10% to 15%) utilize an alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway. Here, we review the phenotypes and molecular markers specific to ALT, and investigate the significance of telomere mutations and sequence variation in ALT cell lines.

Reaction time variability and brain white matter integrity.

Objective: Mean speed of responding is the most commonly used measure in the assessment of reaction time (RT). An alternative measure is intraindividual variability (IIV): the inconsistency of responding across multiple trials of a test. IIV has been suggested as an important indicator of central nervous system functioning, and as such, there has been increasing interest in the associations between IIV and brain imaging metrics.

Corrigendum to Correlational structure of 'frontal' tests and intelligence tests indicates two components with asymmetrical neurostructural correlates in old age Intelligence 46 (2014) 94-106.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.

The role of indirect genetic effects in the evolution of interacting reproductive behaviors in the burying beetle, .

Social interactions can give rise to indirect genetic effects (IGEs), which occur when genes expressed in one individual affect the phenotype of another individual. The evolutionary dynamics of traits can be altered when there are IGEs. Sex often involves indirect effects arising from first-order (current) or second-order (prior) social interactions, yet IGEs are infrequently quantified for reproductive behaviors.

The resolution of conflict in families.

The emergence of family groups is associated with conflict over the allocation of food or other limited resources. Understanding the mechanisms mediating the resolution of such conflict is a major aim in behavioral ecology. Most empirical work on familial conflict has focused on birds.

Circulating tumour-derived DNA in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma.

Following treatment 40% of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) patients suffer disease recurrence. In certain cancers circulating cell free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumour-derived DNA (ctDNA) characteristics correlate closely with disease burden, making them exciting potential sources of biomarkers. Despite this, the circulating nucleic acid characteristics of only 2 STS patients have been reported to date.

Coupled changes in hippocampal structure and cognitive ability in later life.

Introduction: The hippocampus plays an important role in cognitive abilities which often decline with advancing age.

Methods: In a longitudinal study of community-dwelling adults, we investigated whether there were coupled changes in hippocampal structure and verbal memory, working memory, and processing speed between the ages of 73 ( = 655) and 76 years ( = 469). Hippocampal structure was indexed by hippocampal volume, hippocampal volume as a percentage of intracranial volume (H_ICV), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and longitudinal relaxation time (T1).

Brain structural differences between 73- and 92-year olds matched for childhood intelligence, social background, and intracranial volume.

Fully characterizing age differences in the brain is a key task for combating aging-related cognitive decline. Using propensity score matching on 2 independent, narrow-age cohorts, we used data on childhood cognitive ability, socioeconomic background, and intracranial volume to match participants at mean age of 92 years (n = 42) to very similar participants at mean age of 73 years (n = 126). Examining a variety of global and regional structural neuroimaging variables, there were large differences in gray and white matter volumes, cortical surface area, cortical thickness, and white matter hyperintensity volume and spatial extent.

Cognitive abilities, brain white matter hyperintensity volume, and structural network connectivity in older age.

Objective: To assess brain structural connectivity in relation to cognitive abilities in healthy ageing, and the mediating effects of white matter hyper-intensity (WMH) volume.

Methods: MRI data were analysed in 558 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Brains were segmented into 85 regions and combined with tractography to generate structural connectomes.

Dietary Iodine Exposure and Brain Structures and Cognition in Older People. Exploratory Analysis in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936.

Background: Iodine deficiency is one of the three key micronutrient deficiencies highlighted as major public health issues by the World Health Organisation. Iodine deficiency is known to cause brain structural alterations likely to affect cognition. However, it is not known whether or how different (lifelong) levels of exposure to dietary iodine influences brain health and cognitive functions.

Inherited Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6 Genomes Are Ancient, Intact, and Potentially Able To Reactivate from Telomeres.

The genomes of human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) and HHV-6B have the capacity to integrate into telomeres, the essential capping structures of chromosomes that play roles in cancer and ageing. About 1% of people worldwide are carriers of chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (ciHHV-6), which is inherited as a genetic trait. Understanding the consequences of integration for the evolution of the viral genome, for the telomere, and for the risk of disease associated with carrier status is hampered by a lack of knowledge about ciHHV-6 genomes.

Metric to quantify white matter damage on brain magnetic resonance images.

Purpose: Quantitative assessment of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is challenging. It is important to harmonise results from different software tools considering not only the volume but also the signal intensity. Here we propose and evaluate a metric of white matter (WM) damage that addresses this need.

Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6: Models of Viral Genome Release from the Telomere and Impacts on Human Health.

Human herpesvirus 6A and 6B, alongside some other herpesviruses, have the striking capacity to integrate into telomeres, the terminal repeated regions of chromosomes. The chromosomally integrated forms, ciHHV-6A and ciHHV-6B, are proposed to be a state of latency and it has been shown that they can both be inherited if integration occurs in the germ line. The first step in full viral reactivation must be the release of the integrated viral genome from the telomere and here we propose various models of this release involving transcription of the viral genome, replication fork collapse, and t-circle mediated release.