The distribution of self-incompatibility systems in angiosperms: the relationship between mating system diversity, life span, growth habit and latitude in a changing global environment.

Background And Aims: There is ample theoretical and experimental evidence that angiosperms harbouring self-incompatibility (SI) systems are likely to respond to global changes in unique ways relative to taxa with other mating systems. In this paper, we present an updated database on the prevalence of SI systems across angiosperms and examine the relationship between the presence of SI and latitude, biomes, life-history traits and management conditions to evaluate the potential vulnerability of SI taxa to climate change and habitat disturbance.

Methods: We performed literature searches to identify studies that employed controlled crosses, microscopic analyses and/or genetic data to classify taxa as having SI, self-compatibility (SC), partial self-compatibility (PSC) or self-sterility (SS).

Interindividual behavioural variation in response to elevated CO predicts mRNA transcript abundance of genes related to acid-base regulation in medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Rising carbon dioxide (CO) in aquatic ecosystems due to climate change is a challenge for aquatic ectotherms. We examined whether interindividual variation in behavioural responses to CO could predict how a teleost fish would respond to elevated CO for multiple phenotypic and molecular traits. To this end, we first quantified behavioural responses of individuals exposed to acute elevated CO, and used these to assign individuals as either high or low responders relative to the population mean.

Corrigendum: Geographical and life-history traits associated with low and high species richness across angiosperm families.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.

Geographical and life-history traits associated with low and high species richness across angiosperm families.

Introduction: The phenomenal expansion of angiosperms has prompted many investigations into the factors driving their diversification, but there remain significant gaps in our understanding of flowering plant species diversity.

Methods: Using the crown age of families from five studies, we used a maximum likelihood approach to classify families as having poor, predicted or high species richness (SR) using strict consensus criteria. Using these categories, we looked for associations between family SR and i) the presence of an inferred familial ancestral polyploidization event, ii) 23 life history and floral traits compiled from previously published datasets and papers, and iii) sexual system (dioecy) or genetically determined self-incompatibility (SI) mating system using an updated version of our own database and iv) geographic distribution using a new database describing the global distribution of plant species/families across realms and biomes and inferred range.

Associations between food allergy, country of residence, and healthcare access.

Background: To date, little consideration has been given to access to allergy-related care, despite the fact that food allergy affects a considerable proportion of children. As such, the current study aimed to describe access to food allergy-related services in Canada and the United States (US).

Methods: Participants were recruited via social media from March-July 2021 and were asked to complete an online survey focused on food allergy-related medical care.

Immune parameters of HIV susceptibility in the female genital tract before and after penile-vaginal sex.

Background: In women, most HIV infections are acquired through penile-vaginal sex. Inflammation in the female genital tract (FGT) increases the risk of HIV acquisition and transmission, likely through recruitment of HIV target cells and disruption of epithelial barrier integrity. Although sex may have important immune and epithelial effects, the impact of receptive penile-vaginal sex on the immune correlates of HIV susceptibility in the female genital tract is not well described.

Pervasive male-biased expression throughout the germline-specific regions of the sea lamprey genome supports key roles in sex differentiation and spermatogenesis.

Sea lamprey undergo programmed genome rearrangement (PGR) in which ∼20% of the genome is jettisoned from somatic cells during embryogenesis. Although the role of PGR in embryonic development has been studied, the role of the germline-specific region (GSR) in gonad development is unknown. We analysed RNA-sequence data from 28 sea lamprey gonads sampled across life-history stages, generated a genome-guided de novo superTranscriptome with annotations, and identified germline-specific genes (GSGs).

Reviewing the physiological roles of the novel hormone-receptor pair INSL5-RXFP4: a protective energy sensor?

There is no common consensus on the physiological role of insulin-like peptide 5 (INSL5) and its cognate receptor, relaxin family peptide receptor 4 (RXFP4). The experimental data for INSL5-RXFP4 expression and function point to a potential role of the peptide hormone and receptor pair in linking energy availability, homeostasis, and inflammation. In this review, we summarize studies on the INSL5-RXFP4 system and propose that the current findings from diverse experimental settings point broadly to a role as a protective energy sensor (PES).

Genetic Relationship Among the Kazakh People Based on Y-STR Markers Reveals Evidence of Genetic Variation Among Tribes and Zhuz.

Ethnogenesis of Kazakhs took place in Central Asia, a region of high genetic and cultural diversity. Even though archaeological and historical studies have shed some light on the formation of modern Kazakhs, the process of establishment of hierarchical socioeconomic structure in the Steppe remains contentious. In this study, we analyzed haplotype variation at 15 Y-chromosomal short-tandem-repeats obtained from 1171 individuals from 24 tribes representing the three socio-territorial subdivisions (Senior, Middle and Junior zhuz) in Kazakhstan to comprehensively characterize the patrilineal genetic architecture of the Kazakh Steppe.

Insertive condom-protected and condomless vaginal sex both have a profound impact on the penile immune correlates of HIV susceptibility.

The penis is the primary site of HIV acquisition in heterosexual men. Elevated penile inflammatory cytokines increase sexual acquisition risk, and topically applied cytokines enhance foreskin HIV susceptibility in an explant model. However, the impact of penile-vaginal sex on these immune parameters is undefined.

Transcriptomic analysis of gonadal development in parasitic and non-parasitic lampreys (Ichthyomyzon spp.), with a comparison of genomic resources in these non-model species.

Lampreys are jawless fishes that diverged ∼550 million years ago from other vertebrates. Sequencing of the somatic and the germline genomes of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in 2013 and 2018, respectively, has helped to improve our understanding of the genes and gene networks that control many aspects of lamprey development. However, little is known about the genetic basis of gonadal differentiation in lampreys, partly due to the prolonged period during which their gonads remain sexually indeterminate.

Immune System Effects of Insulin-Like Peptide 5 in a Mouse Model.

Introduction: Insulin-like peptide 5 (INSL5) is a peptide hormone with proposed actions in glucose homeostasis and appetite regulation its cognate receptor, relaxin family peptide receptor 4 (RXFP4). Here, we look for evidence for their involvement in the immune system using a mouse model.

Methods: we queried public databases for evidence of expression of INSL5-RXFP4 in immune system tissues/cells (NCBI's SRA and GeoProfiles) and disorders (EMBO-EBI) and performed phylogenetic footprinting to look for evidence that they are regulated by immune-associated transcription factors (TFs).

Psoriasis Is Associated With Elevated Gut IL-1α and Intestinal Microbiome Alterations.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition that predominantly affects the skin and is associated with extracutaneous disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis. Changes in gut immunology and microbiota are important drivers of proinflammatory disorders and could play a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Therefore, we explored whether psoriasis in a Central Asian cohort is associated with alterations in select immunological markers and/or microbiota of the gut.

Impact of Endemic Infections on HIV Susceptibility in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a leading cause of global morbidity with the highest burden in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). For reasons that are incompletely understood, the likelihood of HIV transmission is several fold higher in SSA than in higher income countries, and most of these infections are acquired by young women. Residents of SSA are also exposed to a variety of endemic infections, such as malaria and various helminthiases that could influence mucosal and systemic immunology.

Schistosoma mansoni treatment reduces HIV entry into cervical CD4+ T cells and induces IFN-I pathways.

Schistosoma mansoni (Sm) infection has been linked with an increased risk of HIV acquisition in women. Therefore, defining the mechanism(s) by which Sm alters HIV susceptibility might lead to new HIV prevention strategies. Here, we analyze the impact of standard Sm therapy in HIV-uninfected Sm+ Ugandan adult women on genital HIV susceptibility and mucosal and systemic immunology.

Japanese medaka as a model for studying the relaxin family genes involved in neuroendocrine regulation: Insights from the expression of fish-specific rln3 and insl5 and rxfp3/4-type receptor paralogues.

The goal of this paper is to establish Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) as a model for relaxin family peptide research, particularly for studying the functions of RLN3 and INSL5, hormones playing roles in neuroendocrine regulation. Medaka, like other teleosts, retained duplicate copies of rln3, insl5 and their rxfp3/4-type receptors following fish-specific whole genome duplication (WGD) and paralogous copies of these genes may have sub-functionalised providing an intuitive model for teasing apart the pleiotropic roles of the corresponding genes in mammals. To this end, we provide experimental evidence for the expression of the relaxin family genes in medaka that had previously only been identified in-silico, confirm the gene structure of five of the ligand genes, characterise gene expression across multiple tissues and during embryonic development, perform in situ hybridization with anti-sense insl5a on embryos and in adult brain and intestinal samples, and compare these results to the data available in zebrafish.

Schistosoma mansoni infection and socio-behavioural predictors of HIV risk: a cross-sectional study in women from Uganda.

Background: Schistosoma mansoni infection has been associated with increased risk of HIV transmission in African women. This association might be causal or mediated through shared socio-behavioural factors and associated co-infections. We tested the latter hypothesis in a cross-sectional pilot study in a cohort of women from a S.

The relaxin receptor as a therapeutic target - perspectives from evolution and drug targeting.

The peptide relaxin was first identified as an important circulating hormone during pregnancy over 90 years ago. Research over many years defined the numerous biological roles that relaxin plays throughout pregnancy in many mammalian species. These important biological actions have led to the testing of relaxin as a therapeutic agent for a number of indications.

Divergence of insulin superfamily ligands, receptors and Igf binding proteins in marine versus freshwater stickleback: Evidence of selection in known and novel genes.

Three-spine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a teleost model for understanding genetic, physiological and morphological changes accompanying freshwater (FW) adaptation. There is growing evidence that the insulin superfamily plays important roles in traits involved in marine and FW adaptation. We performed a candidate gene analysis to look for evidence of selection on 33 insulin superfamily ligand-receptor genes and insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (Igfbp's) in stickleback.

Myristoylation: An Important Protein Modification in the Immune Response.

Protein N-myristoylation is a cotranslational lipidic modification specific to the alpha-amino group of an N-terminal glycine residue of many eukaryotic and viral proteins. The ubiquitous eukaryotic enzyme, N-myristoyltransferase, catalyzes the myristoylation process. Precisely, attachment of a myristoyl group increases specific protein-protein interactions leading to subcellular localization of myristoylated proteins with its signaling partners.

Rethinking refugia: Tree topology, divergence dates, and demographic history trace the distribution of the endangered Plymouth gentian (Sabatia kennedyana) from the Pleistocene glaciation to present day.

Premise Of Study: Molecular population genetics is a powerful tool to infer how species responded to past environmental change. In the northern hemisphere, interest is increasing in how species responded to changes in ice coverage and temperature during the last glaciation maximum (LGM, between 18000-21000 yr ago) with a common assumption that glacial refugia were located at the southern edge of a species range.

Methods: We reconstructed the glacial and postglacial phylogeography of Sabatia kennedyana, a member of the Atlantic Coastal Plains Flora with a current distribution from Nova Scotia (NS) to South Carolina, using both cpDNA and nuclear markers.

The relaxin family peptide receptors and their ligands: new developments and paradigms in the evolution from jawless fish to mammals.

Relaxin family peptide receptors (Rxfps) and their ligands, relaxin (Rln) and insulin-like (Insl) peptides, are broadly implicated in the regulation of reproductive and neuroendocrine processes in mammals. Most placental mammals harbour genes for four receptors, namely rxfp1, rxfp2, rxfp3 and rxfp4. The number and identity of rxfps in other vertebrates are immensely variable, which is probably attributable to intraspecific variation in reproductive and neuroendocrine regulation.

Automatic detection and measurement of structures in fetal head ultrasound volumes using sequential estimation and Integrated Detection Network (IDN).

Routine ultrasound exam in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy involves manually measuring fetal head and brain structures in 2-D scans. The procedure requires a sonographer to find the standardized visualization planes with a probe and manually place measurement calipers on the structures of interest. The process is tedious, time consuming, and introduces user variability into the measurements.

Learning the manifold of quality ultrasound acquisition.

Ultrasound acquisition is a challenging task that requires simultaneous adjustment of several acquisition parameters (the depth, the focus, the frequency and its operation mode). If the acquisition parameters are not properly chosen, the resulting image will have a poor quality and will degrade the patient diagnosis and treatment workflow. Several hardware-based systems for autotuning the acquisition parameters have been previously proposed, but these solutions were largely abandoned because they failed to properly account for tissue inhomogeneity and other patient-specific characteristics.