Complex direct and indirect relationships between multiple variables, termed higher order interactions (HOIs), are characteristics of all natural systems. Traditional differential and network analyses fail to account for the omic datasets richness and miss HOIs. We investigated peripheral blood DNA methylation data from Kabuki syndrome type 1 (KS1) and control individuals, identified 2,002 differentially methylated points (DMPs), and inferred 17 differentially methylated regions, which represent only 189 DMPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOutbreaks of emerging infectious diseases are influenced by local biotic and abiotic factors, with host declines occurring when conditions favour the pathogen. Deterioration in the population of the micro-endemic Tanzanian Kihansi spray toad () occurred after the construction of a hydropower dam, implicating habitat modification in this species decline. Population recovery followed habitat augmentation; however, a subsequent outbreak of chytridiomycosis caused by () led to the spray toad's extinction in the wild.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics
December 2024
Typical 'omic analyses reduce complex biological systems to simple lists of supposedly independent variables, failing to account for changes in the wider transcriptional landscape. In this commentary, we discuss the utility of network approaches for incorporating this wider context into the study of physiological phenomena. We highlight opportunities to build on traditional network tools by utilising cutting-edge techniques to account for higher order interactions (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMajor advancements in ecology and biodiversity conservation have been made thanks to methods for marking and individually tracking animals. Marking animals is both widely used and controversial due to the potential consequences for animal welfare, which are often incompletely evaluated prior to implementation. Two outstanding knowledge gaps concerning the welfare consequences of individual marking are their short-term behavioural impacts and the relative impacts from marking versus the handling of animals while carrying out procedures.
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