Developing ancestry informative marker panel for Nigeria- Cameroonian chimpanzees

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), with a dwindling population size, are distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. They are classified into two biogeographical clusters comprising of four subspecies: a western African cluster that includes P. t. verus and P. t. ellioti and a central/eastern African cluster that includes P. t. troglodytes and P. t. schweinfurthii. While the genetic distinctness of NigeriaCameroonian chimpanzees (P. t. ellioti) from western chimpanzees has been known for a while, the fine structures within P. t. ellioti population has remained under-studied. In this study, we developed the first ever ancestry informative marker (AIMs) panel that can detect the fine population structure within Nigeria-Cameroonian chimpanzees with high resolution. We compared four commonly used AIMsdetermining strategies, namely Infocalc algorithm, Wright’s FST, smart principal component analysis (SmartPCA) and ADMIXTURE to first identify the best approach and then developed an AIMs panel of 435 SNPs employing the consensus of the four approaches (n = 129), with additional supplements from the best two approaches (Infocalc and ADMIXTURE). To the best of our knowledge, we have developed the first-ever AIMs panel for chimpanzees, which can greatly aid in their planned reintroduction to the natural habitat, maintaining their genetic integrity through planned captive breeding, and in tracking illegal trading across the globe

A novel rabies vaccine based on the chimpanzee adenoviral vector AdC68 / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To investigate the genetic stability, immunogenicity and protective efficacy of AdC68-rab. gp, a novel rabies vaccine based on the replication-defective chimpanzee adenoviral vector AdC68-ept. Methods The recombinant adenovirus AdC68-rab. gp expressing the glycoprotein of rabies vi-rus ERA strain was constructed. Genomes of the AdC68-rab. gp of different generations were extracted and analyzed. HEK293 and Huh7 cells were infected with the AdC68-rab. gp of different generations. ICR mice were immunized with the AdC68-rab. gp and blood samples were collected 4 weeks or 6 months after immuni-zation. Rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test ( RFFIT) was performed to detect the neutralizing antibody against rabies virus in mice serum samples. ICR mice were challenged with lethal dose of rabies virus 4 weeks after the immunization with AdC68-rab. gp to evaluate the protective efficacy of AdC68-rab. gp. Re-sults The genome of AdC68-rab. gp was stable after 15 passages, which was identical to that of the 5th and 1st generations. High levels of neutralizing antibody against rabies virus in serum samples were detected in mice immunized with AdC68-rab. gp and maintained for a long period of time. Immunization mice with one dose of AdC68-rab. gp could protect all mice from the lethal dose challenge of rabies virus. Conclusion The novel AdC68-rab. gp was characterized by good genetic stability and ideal protective effi-cacy. The adenoviral vector based vaccine could be further developed as a potential candidate for the substi-tute of current rabies vaccine.

Relation between the level of self-mutilation and the concentration of fecal metabolites of glucocorticoids incaptive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) / Relação do grau de automutilação com as concentrações de metabólitos fecais de glicocorticoides em chimpanzés (Pan troglodytes)

The influence of stress in an environment, according with the behavioral and endocrine variables of primates, are increasingly being studied by a diversity of authors, and have shown that abnormal behaviors associated with increased glucocorticoids may be directly related with the impairment of their well-being. In this work were used 22 adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), 11 males and 11 females, kept in captivity in three different institutions. All animals had their behavior registered by focal session using a 30 seconds sample interval, during six months, totaling 4,800 registries per each animal. During this period, fecal samples were collected 3 times a week for the extraction and measurement of the concentration of fecal metabolites of glucocorticoid by radioimmunoassay. Of the total observed, stereotypical behaviors represented 13,45±2.76%, and among them, self-mutilation represented 38.28±3.98 %. The animals were classified into three different scores, according with the percentage of body surface with alopecia due to self-mutilation. It was found a positive correlation of high intensity between the scores of alopecia due to the observed mutilation and the average concentrations of fecal metabolites of glucocorticoids. This result strongly suggests that this measurement of self-mutilation in a chimpanzee can be used as an important auxiliary tool to evaluate de conditions of adaptation of an animal in captivity, functioning as a direct indicator of the presence of chronic stress...

A influência do estresse de um ambiente nas variáveis endócrino-comportamentais de primatas vem sendo cada vez mais estudada por diversos autores, e mostram que comportamentos anormais associados a aumentos de glicocorticóides podem estar diretamente relacionados ao comprometimento do bem-estar. Neste trabalho foram utilizados 22 chimpanzés (Pan troglodytes) adultos, sendo 11 machos e 11 fêmeas mantidos em cativeiro de três instituições diferentes. Todos os animais tiveram seus comportamentos registrados pelo método de amostragem focal por intervalo de tempo, durante seis meses, totalizando 4800 registros para cada animal. Amostras fecais foram coletadas três vezes por semana, durante este período, para extração e dosagem de metabólitos fecais de glicocorticoides por radioimunoensaio. Os comportamentos estereotipados representaram 13,45+2,76% do total observado, sendo que dentre estes comportamentos a automutilação representou 38,28+3,98%. Os animais foram classificados em três graus diferentes, de acordo com o percentual da superfície corpórea com alopecia decorrente da automutilação. Foi encontrada uma correlação positiva de intensidade forte entre os graus de alopecia decorrentes de mutilação observados e as médias de concentrações de metabólitos fecais de glicocorticoides. Este resultado sugere fortemente que esta graduação de automutilação de um chimpanzé possa ser utilizada como uma ferramenta auxiliar importante nas avaliações das condições de adaptação do animal ao cativeiro, atuando como um indicador indireto da presença de estresse crônico...

Cultura e inteligência: reflexões antropológicas sobre aspectos não físicos da evolução em chimpanzés e humanos / Culture and intelligence: anthropological reflections on non-physical aspects of evolution in chimpanzees and humans

Trata da história recente dos estudos sobre o comportamento de chimpanzés, enfatizando os resultados das pesquisas, as proposições acerca da existência de 'culturas de chimpanzés' e sua validade. O trabalho problematiza a ideia a partir dos mecanismos de transmissão e aprendizado social bem como de concepções antropológicas e paleoantropológicas de cultura que associam tal fenômeno, entre humanos modernos, às suas capacidades simbólicas e cognitivas.

The scope of this work is the recent history of studies on the behavior of chimpanzees, emphasizing research results, propositions about the existence of 'chimpanzee cultures' and their validity. The work discusses the idea based on transmission mechanisms and social learning as well as anthropological and paleoanthropological concepts of culture that associate such phenomena, among modern humans, to their symbolic and cognitive abilities.

REPEATOME: A Database for Repeat Element Comparative Analysis in Human and Chimpanzee

An increasing number of primate genomes are being sequenced. A direct comparison of repeat elements in human genes and their corresponding chimpanzee orthologs will not only give information on their evolution, but also shed light on the major evolutionary events that shaped our species. We have developed REPEATOME to enable visualization and subsequent comparisons of human and chimpanzee repeat elements. REPEATOME (http://www.repeatome.org/) provides easy access to a complete repeat element map of the human genome, as well as repeat element-associated information. It provides a convenient and effective way to access the repeat elements within or spanning the functional regions in human and chimpanzee genome sequences. REPEATOME includes information to compare repeat elements and gene structures of human genes and their counterparts in chimpanzee. This database can be accessed using comparative search options such as intersection, union, and difference to find lineage-specific or common repeat elements. REPEATOME allows researchers to perform visualization and comparative analysis of repeat elements in human and chimpanzee.

Comparative Genomics of T-complex protein 10 like in Humans and Chimpanzees

Comparing 231 genes on chimpanzee chromosome 22 with their orthologous on human chromosome 21, we have found that 15 orthologs have indels within their coding sequences. It was rather surprising that significant number of genes have changed by indel, despite the shorter time since their divergence and led us hypothesize that indels and structural changes may represent one of the major mechanism of proteome evolution in the higher primates. Human T-complex protein 10 like (TCP10L) is a representative having indel within its coding sequence. Gene structure of human TCP10L compared with chimpanzee TCP10L gene showed 16 base pair difference in genomic DNA. As a result of the indel, frame shift mutation occurs in coding sequence (CDS) and human TCP10L express longer polypeptide of 21 amino acid residues than that of chimpanzee. Our prediction found that the indel may affect to dramatic change of secondary protein structure between human and chimpanzee TCP10L. Especially, the structural changes in the C-terminal region of TCP10L protein may affect on the interacting potential to other proteins rather than DNA binding function of the protein. Through these changes, TCP10L might influence gene expression profiles in liver and testis and subsequently influence the physiological changes required in primate evolution.