A fine-scale chimpanzee genetic map from population sequencing

To study the evolution of recombination rates in apes, we developed methodology to construct a fine-scale genetic map from high-throughput sequence data from 10 Western chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes verus. Compared to the human genetic map, broad-scale recombination rates tend to be conserved, but with exceptions, particularly in regions of chromosomal rearrangements and around the site of ancestral fusion in human chromosome 2. At fine scales, chimpanzee recombination is dominated by hotspots, which show no overlap with those of humans even though rates are similarly elevated around CpG islands and decreased within genes. The hotspot-specifying protein PRDM9 shows extensive variation among Western chimpanzees, and there is little evidence that any sequence motifs are enriched in hotspots. The contrasting locations of hotspots provide a natural experiment, which demonstrates the impact of recombination on base composition.     

Surveys concerning the needs for and evaluation of distance learning in veterinary epidemiology

Distance learning courses in veterinary epidemiology, taught in French and spread over half a year, were organized in 2003 and 2004. They were the subject of surveys concerning need, evaluation, attaining learning objectives, and satisfaction, the results of which will be used to improve the course scheduled to take place in 2005.     

Inter-individual variation in provisioning rate,prey size and number,and links to total prey biomass delivered to nestlings in the Collared Flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis)

Background: In bird species where offspring growth and survival rely on parents' food provisioning, parents can maximise their fitness by increasing the quantit...     

Odour and feeding preference of noctuid moth larvae conditioned to vanillin diet and non-vanillin diet

It is largely accepted that larval experience influence host-plant preference of larvae. In general, larval experience with a host plant induces both an odour and feeding preference for that plant. In a previous study, exposure of three noctuid stem borer species, i.e. Sesamia nonagrioides, Busseola fusca and B. nairobica, to a vanillin-enriched medium induced an olfactory preference for the odours of this medium in the larvae of these species. Here, we checked if the exposure to a vanillin-enriched medium also induced a feeding preference for this diet. Different life stages (i.e. neonate larvae to adults) of the three species were conditioned to an artificial diet enriched with vanillin over two generations. Thereafter, two-choice tests on third-generation larvae were done using a Y-tube olfactometer for odour preferences and diet choice experiments. Larvae of all three-species conditioned to the vanillin diet oriented significantly towards the odour of this diet, whereas the non-conditioned larvae did not. Still, apart for B. fusca, the conditioned larvae did not exhibit a feeding preference for this diet, thus odour preference did not match the feeding choice of the conditioned larvae. The implication of this result on insect’s adaptability to a new host plant in a changing environment is discussed.     

Hepatitis B virus DNA sequences in lymphoid cells from patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex

A lymphotropic virus HTLV-III/LAV was recently identified as the etiologic agent of the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In a study of concomitant hepatitis B infections in patients with AIDS or the AIDS-related complex, DNA sequences of hepatitis B virus (HBV) were found in fresh and cultured lymphocytes from patients with AIDS even in the absence of conventional HBV serological markers. Furthermore, the restriction DNA pattern was consistent with the integration of the viral DNA. These results should prompt additional studies to reevaluate a possible role of HBV as a cofactor in AIDS in addition to the HTLV-III/LAV causal agent.     

Efficiency of a bagasse substrate in a biological bed system for the degradation of glyphosate, malathion and lambda-cyhalothrin under tropical climate conditions

BACKGROUND: After the rinsing of spray equipment, the rinsing water contains polluting products. One way to avoid pollution is to bring the rinsing water over a purification system, a biological bed. The system consists of an impermeable tub filled with a biomix substrate that facilitates biodegradation of pesticides. Usually, straw is one component of the biomix. The objective of this study was to assess the efficiency of an unusual substrate, bagasse, a residue of sugar cane, for the degradation of three pesticides, glyphosate, malathion and lambda‐cyhalothrin. RESULTS: Results showed that more than 99% of malathion and glyphosate were degraded in 6 months. In the biological bed, the DT₅₀ value for malathion was 17 days, for glyphosate 33 days and for lambda‐cyhalothrin 43 days. The degradation rate of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) residues from the degradation of glyphosate was slower than that of the other pesticides (DT₅₀ 69 days). Finally, the innocuousness of the biomix after 6 months of degradation was confirmed by biological tests. CONCLUSIONS: Although the degradation rates of the three pesticides in the present bagasse‐based system were similar to those under temperate conditions, the degradation conditions were improved by comparison with those in soil under the given tropical conditions. Further benefits of this system are pesticide confinement, to avoid their dispersion in the environment by liquids or solids, and a lower overall cost. Finally, possibilities for optimising the bagasse‐based system (e.g. management of the water content and nature of the biomix) are discussed. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Durian trees (Durio zibethinus Murr.) in Javanese home gardens: their importance in informal financial systems

Home gardens used to be an important source of income and wealth for many Javanese rural households. In the wake of economic development and income diversification processes, their role is increasingly linked to credit needs. People borrow money by pawning (gadai) trees from home gardens. The tree harvest is at the disposal of the lender during the loan period. Analysis of more than 80 oral gadai contracts on durian trees in West Java demonstrates that the real interest rate is not usurious and can be compared to other formal and informal credit interest rates. It also shows that distributions of loan rates and loan amounts do not differ according to their final use (consumption or investment) or to the family relationship between the two partners of the transaction.     

Influence of dietary phospholipids on early ontogenesis of fish

The aim of this paper is to provide explanations of how dietary phospholipid (PL) globally improves fish larval development, including growth and survival, digestive functions and skeletal development, and to propose optimal PL levels and sources in fish larval diets. Dietary incorporation of 8–12% PL related to dry matter (d.m.) promotes growth and enhanced survival in various species. Marine source PL, incorporating highly unsaturated fatty acids, was most efficient than soybean lecithin. This beneficial effect was explained by an enhancement in digestive functions, assessed by digestive enzyme activities and histomorphology. Nevertheless, 1.5–2.5% highly unsaturated fatty acids related to diet d.m. supplied by PL improved growth, survival and skeletal development, while 5% induced different skeletal deformities. The high incidence of deformities was associated with the down-regulation of genes involved in development, such as RXRα, RARα, RARβ and BMP-4, observed in the early stages in larvae fed a high highly unsaturated fatty acids level.     

A potential biomarker of androgen exposure in European bullhead (Cottus sp.) kidney

The aim of this study was to identify a signal that could be used as an androgen exposure indicator in the European bullhead (Cottus sp.). For this purpose, the ultra-structure of the kidney was characterized to identify normal structure of this organ, and histological changes previously described in the kidney of breeding male bullheads were quantified using the kidney epithelium height (KEH) assay previously developed and validated for the stickleback. In the next step, the effect of trenbolone acetate (TbA), a model androgen, was assessed to identify potential androgenic regulation of bullhead kidney hypertrophy. Measurement of KEH performed on adult non-breeding male and female bullheads exposed for 14 and 21 days to 0, 1.26 and 6.50 μg/L showed that kidney hypertrophy is induced in a dose-dependent manner, confirming the hypothesis that the European bullhead possesses a potential biomarker of androgen exposure. Combined with the wide distribution of the European bullhead in European countries and the potential of this fish species for environmental toxicology studies in field and laboratory conditions, the hypothesis of a potential biomarker of androgen exposure offers interesting perspectives for the use of the bullhead as a relevant sentinel fish species in monitoring studies. Inducibility was observed with high exposure concentrations of TbA. Further studies are needed to identify molecular signals that could be more sensitive than KEH.