| 1. |
- Promerová, Marta, et al.
(författare)
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Worldwide frequency distribution of the 'Gait keeper' mutation in the DMRT3 gene
- 2014
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Ingår i: Animal Genetics. - : Wiley. - 0268-9146 .- 1365-2052. ; 45:2, s. 274-282
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For centuries, domestic horses have represented an important means of transport and served as working and companion animals. Although their role in transportation is less important today, many horse breeds are still subject to intense selection based on their pattern of locomotion. A striking example of such a selected trait is the ability of a horse to perform additional gaits other than the common walk, trot and gallop. Those could be four-beat ambling gaits, which are particularly smooth and comfortable for the rider, or pace, used mainly in racing. Gaited horse breeds occur around the globe, suggesting that gaitedness is an old trait, selected for in many breeds. A recent study discovered that a nonsense mutation in DMRT3 has a major impact on gaitedness in horses and is present at a high frequency in gaited breeds and in horses bred for harness racing. Here, we report a study of the worldwide distribution of this mutation. We genotyped 4396 horses representing 141 horse breeds for the DMRT3 stop mutation. More than half (2749) of these horses also were genotyped for a SNP situated 32kb upstream of the DMRT3 nonsense mutation because these two SNPs are in very strong linkage disequilibrium. We show that the DMRT3 mutation is present in 68 of the 141 genotyped horse breeds at a frequency ranging from 1% to 100%. We also show that the mutation is not limited to a geographical area, but is found worldwide. The breeds with a high frequency of the stop mutation (>50%) are either classified as gaited or bred for harness racing.
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| 2. |
- Raffan, Eleanor, et al.
(författare)
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A Deletion in the Canine POMC Gene Is Associated with Weight and Appetite in Obesity-Prone Labrador Retriever Dogs
- 2016
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Ingår i: Cell Metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 1550-4131 .- 1932-7420. ; 23:5, s. 893-900
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sequencing of candidate genes for obesity in Labrador retriever dogs identified a 14 bp deletion in pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) with an allele frequency of 12%. The deletion disrupts the b-MSH and beta-endorphin coding sequences and is associated with body weight (per allele effect of 0.33 SD), adiposity, and greater food motivation. Among other dog breeds, the deletion was only found in the closely related flat-coat retriever (FCR), where it is similarly associated with body weight and food motivation. The mutation is significantly more common in Labrador retrievers selected to become assistance dogs than pets. In conclusion, the deletion in POMC is a significant modifier of weight and appetite in Labrador retrievers and FCRs and may influence other behavioral traits.
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| 3. |
- Hedrick, P. W., et al.
(författare)
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Are dogs genetically special?
- 2011
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Ingår i: Heredity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0018-067X .- 1365-2540. ; 106:5, s. 712-713
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 4. |
- Hwang, Bernice, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of insect herbivory on biogeochemical cycling in broadleaved forests varies with temperature
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 15:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herbivorous insects alter biogeochemical cycling within forests, but the magnitude of these impacts, their global variation, and drivers of this variation remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap and help improve biogeochemical models, we established a global network of 74 plots within 40 mature, undisturbed broadleaved forests. We analyzed freshly senesced and green leaves for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and silica concentrations, foliar production and herbivory, and stand-level nutrient fluxes. We show more nutrient release by insect herbivores at non-outbreak levels in tropical forests than temperate and boreal forests, that these fluxes increase strongly with mean annual temperature, and that they exceed atmospheric deposition inputs in some localities. Thus, background levels of insect herbivory are sufficiently large to both alter ecosystem element cycling and influence terrestrial carbon cycling. Further, climate can affect interactions between natural populations of plants and herbivores with important consequences for global biogeochemical cycles across broadleaved forests.
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| 5. |
- Rader, Romina, et al.
(författare)
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Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 1091-6490 .- 0027-8424. ; 113:1, s. 146-151
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, among others. Here we focus on non-bee insects and synthesize 39 field studies from five continents that directly measured the crop pollination services provided by non-bees, honey bees, and other bees to compare the relative contributions of these taxa. Non-bees performed 25-50% of the total number of flower visits. Although non-bees were less effective pollinators than bees per flower visit, they made more visits; thus these two factors compensated for each other, resulting in pollination services rendered by non-bees that were similar to those provided by bees. In the subset of studies that measured fruit set, fruit set increased with non-bee insect visits independently of bee visitation rates, indicating that non-bee insects provide a unique benefit that is not provided by bees. We also show that non-bee insects are not as reliant as bees on the presence of remnant natural or seminatural habitat in the surrounding landscape. These results strongly suggest that non-bee insect pollinators play a significant role in global crop production and respond differently than bees to landscape structure, probably making their crop pollination services more robust to changes in land use. Non-bee insects provide a valuable service and provide potential insurance against bee population declines.
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| 6. |
- Senapathi, Deepa, et al.
(författare)
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Wild insect diversity increases inter-annual stability in global crop pollinator communities
- 2021
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Ingår i: Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 1471-2954 .- 0962-8452. ; 288:1947
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While an increasing number of studies indicate that the range, diversity and abundance of many wild pollinators has declined, the global area of pollinator-dependent crops has significantly increased over the last few decades. Crop pollination studies to date have mainly focused on either identifying different guilds pollinating various crops, or on factors driving spatial changes and turnover observed in these communities. The mechanisms driving temporal stability for ecosystem functioning and services, however, remain poorly understood. Our study quantifies temporal variability observed in crop pollinators in 21 different crops across multiple years at a global scale. Using data from 43 studies from six continents, we show that (i) higher pollinator diversity confers greater inter-annual stability in pollinator communities, (ii) temporal variation observed in pollinator abundance is primarily driven by the three-most dominant species, and (iii) crops in tropical regions demonstrate higher inter-annual variability in pollinator species richness than crops in temperate regions. We highlight the importance of recognizing wild pollinator diversity in agricultural landscapes to stabilize pollinator persistence across years to protect both biodiversity and crop pollination services. Short-term agricultural management practices aimed at dominant species for stabilizing pollination services need to be considered alongside longer term conservation goals focussed on maintaining and facilitating biodiversity to confer ecological stability.
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| 7. |
- Taeymans, D., et al.
(författare)
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Acrylamide: Update on selected research activities conducted by the European food and drink industry
- 2005
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Ingår i: Journal of AOAC International. - 1060-3271 .- 1944-7922. ; 88:1, s. 234-241
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper reviews the progress made by the European food and drink industry (CIAA) on acrylamide with regard to analytical methods, mechanisms of formation, and mitigation research in the major food categories. It is an update on the first CIAA review paper, "A Review of Acrylamide: An Industry Perspective on Research, Analysis, Formation and Control." Initial difficulties with the establishment of reliable analytical methods, in most cases, have now been overcome, but challenges remain in terms of the need to develop simple and rapid test methods and certified reference materials. Many trials have been conducted under laboratory and experimental conditions in a variety of foods, and a number of possible measures have been identified to relatively lower the amounts of acrylamide in food. Promising applications were studied in reconstituted potato models by addition of amino acids or use of asparaginase. In bakery wares, predictive models have been established to determine the role of ammonium carbonate and invert sugar in acrylamide formation. Studies in several commercial foods showed that acrylamide is not stable over time in roasted and ground coffee. Some progress in relatively lowering acrylamide in certain food categories has been achieved, but at this stage can only be considered marginal. Any options that are chosen to reduce acrylamide in commercial products must be technologically feasible and must not adversely affect the quality and safety of the final product.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Ka, Sojeong, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Extremely Different Behaviours in High and Low Body Weight Lines of Chicken are Associated with Differential Expression of Genes Involved in Neuronal Plasticity
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of neuroendocrinology (Print). - : Wiley. - 0953-8194 .- 1365-2826 .- 0022-0795 .- 1479-6805. ; 21:3, s. 208-216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long-term selection (> 45 generations) for low or high body weight from the same founder population has generated two extremely divergent lines of chickens, the low (LWS) and high weight (HWS) lines, which at the age of selection (56 days) differs by more than nine-fold in body weight. The HWS line chickens are compulsive feeders, whereas, in the LWS line, some individuals are anorexic and others have very low appetites. The involvement of the central nervous system in these behavioural differences has been experimentally supported. We compared a brain region at 0 and 56 days of age containing the major metabolic regulatory regions, including the hypothalamus and brainstem, using a global cDNA array expression analysis. The results obtained show that the long-term selection has produced minor but multiple expression differences. Genes that regulate neuronal plasticity, such as actin filament polymerisation and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, were identified as being differentially expressed. Genes involved in lipid metabolism were over-represented among differentially expressed genes. The expression data confirm that neural systems regulating feeding behaviours in these lines are different. The results suggest that the lines are set in separate developmental trajectories equipped with slightly different nervous systems. We suggest that the lines adapt behaviourally different to changing situations post hatch, such as the transition from dependence on yolk to feeding, in order to obtain energy. The present study has identified and exemplifies the kind of changes that may underlie the extreme differences in such behaviours.
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| 10. |
- Ka, Sojeong, 1976-, et al.
(författare)
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Proviral integrations and expression of endogenous Avian leucosis virus during long term selection for high and low body weight in two chicken lines
- 2009
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Ingår i: Retrovirology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1742-4690. ; 6, s. 68-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Long-term selection (> 45 generations) for low or high juvenile body weight from a common founder population of White Plymouth Rock chickens has generated two extremely divergent lines, the LWS and HWS lines. In addition to a > 9-fold difference between lines for the selected trait, large behavioural and metabolic differences between the two lines evolved during the course of the selection. We recently compared gene expression in brain tissue from birds representing these lines using a global cDNA array analysis and the results showed multiple but small expression differences in protein coding genes. The main differentially expressed transcripts were endogenous retroviral sequences identified as avian leucosis virus subgroup-E (ALVE). Results: In this work we confirm the differential ALVE expression and analysed expression and number of proviral integrations in the two parental lines as well as in F-9 individuals from an advanced intercross of the lines. Correlation analysis between expression, proviral integrations and body weight showed that high ALVE levels in the LWS line were inherited and that more ALVE integrations were detected in LWS than HWS birds.Conclusion:We conclude that only a few of the integrations contribute to the high expression levels seen in the LWS line and that high ALVE expression was significantly correlated with lower body weights for the females but not males. The conserved correlation between high expression and low body weight in females after 9 generations of intercrosses, indicated that ALVE loci conferring high expression directly affects growth or are very closely linked to loci regulating growth.
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