Factors influencing cranial variation between prehistoric Japanese forager populations.

Understanding the factors shaping human crania has long been a goal of biological anthropology, and climate, diet, and population history are three of the most well-established influences. The effects of these factors are, however, rarely compared within a single, variable population, limiting interpretations of their relative contribution to craniofacial form. Jomon prehistoric foragers inhabited Japan throughout its climatic and ecological range and developed correspondingly varied modes of subsistence. We have previously demonstrated that a large sample of Jomon crania showed no clear climatic pattern; here, we examine variation in Jomon crania in more detail to determine if dietary factors and/or population history influence human intrapopulation variation at this scale. Based on well-established archaeological differences, we divide the Jomon into dietary groups and use geometric morphometric methods to analyse relationships between cranial shape, diet, and population history. We find evidence for diet-related influences on the shape of the neurocranium, particularly in the temporalis region. These shape differences may be interpreted in the context of regional variation in the biomechanical requirements of different diets. More experimental biomechanical and nutritional evidence is needed, however, to move suggested links between dietary content and cranial shape from plausible to well-supported. In contrast with the global scale of human variation, where neutral processes are the strongest influence on cranial shape, we find no pattern of population history amongst individuals from these Jomon sites. The determinants of cranial morphology are complex and the effect of diet is likely mediated by factors including sex, social factors, and chronology. Our results underline the subtlety of the effects of dietary variation beyond the forager/farmer dichotomy on cranial morphology and contribute to our understanding of the complexity of selective pressures shaping human phenotypes on different geographic scales. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01901-6.

Evidence of different climatic adaptation strategies in humans and non-human primates.

To understand human evolution it is critical to clarify which adaptations enabled our colonisation of novel ecological niches. For any species climate is a fundamental source of environmental stress during range expansion. Mammalian climatic adaptations include changes in size and shape reflected in skeletal dimensions and humans fit general primate ecogeographic patterns. It remains unclear however, whether there are also comparable amounts of adaptation in humans, which has implications for understanding the relative importance of biological/behavioural mechanisms in human evolution. We compare cranial variation between prehistoric human populations from throughout Japan and ecologically comparable groups of macaques. We compare amounts of intraspecific variation and covariation between cranial shape and ecological variables. Given equal rates and sufficient time for adaptation for both groups, human conservation of non-human primate adaptation should result in comparable variation and patterns of covariation in both species. In fact, we find similar amounts of intraspecific variation in both species, but no covariation between shape and climate in humans, contrasting with strong covariation in macaques. The lack of covariation in humans may suggest a disconnect in climatic adaptation strategies from other primates. We suggest this is due to the importance of human behavioural adaptations, which act as a buffer from climatic stress and were likely key to our evolutionary success.

Arctic marine fungi: biomass, functional genes, and putative ecological roles.

Recent molecular evidence suggests a global distribution of marine fungi; however, the ecological relevance and corresponding biological contributions of fungi to marine ecosystems remains largely unknown. We assessed fungal biomass from the open Arctic Ocean by applying novel biomass conversion factors from cultured isolates to environmental sterol and CARD-FISH data. We found an average of 16.54 nmol m-3 of ergosterol in sea ice and seawater, which corresponds to 1.74 mg C m-3 (444.56 mg C m-2 in seawater). Using Chytridiomycota-specific probes, we observed free-living and particulate-attached cells that averaged 34.07 µg C m-3 in sea ice and seawater (11.66 mg C m-2 in seawater). Summed CARD-FISH and ergosterol values approximate 1.77 mg C m-3 in sea ice and seawater (456.23 mg C m-2 in seawater), which is similar to biomass estimates of other marine taxa generally considered integral to marine food webs and ecosystem processes. Using the GeoChip microarray, we detected evidence for fungal viruses within the Partitiviridae in sediment, as well as fungal genes involved in the degradation of biomass and the assimilation of nitrate. To bridge our observations of fungi on particulate and the detection of degradative genes, we germinated fungal conidia in zooplankton fecal pellets and germinated fungal conidia after 8 months incubation in sterile seawater. Ultimately, these data suggest that fungi could be as important in oceanic ecosystems as they are in freshwater environments.

Genome Sequencing of Sub-Arctic Mesomycetozoean Sphaeroforma sirkka Strain B5, Performed with the Oxford Nanopore minION and Illumina HiSeq Systems.

The Mesomycetozoea branch near the animal-fungal divergence and are believed to be important to understanding the origins of multicellularity. In 2012, a free-living saprotrophic mesomycetozoean was isolated from the sub-Arctic Bering Sea. A hybrid assembly using Illumina and Nanopore sequences yielded 2,688 contigs with a total length of 125,635,304 bases.

Chytrids dominate arctic marine fungal communities.

Climate change is altering Arctic ecosystem structure by changing weather patterns and reducing sea ice coverage. These changes are increasing light penetration into the Arctic Ocean that are forecasted to increase primary production; however, increased light can also induce photoinhibition and cause physiological stress in algae and phytoplankton that can favour disease development. Fungi are voracious parasites in many ecosystems that can modulate the flow of carbon through food webs, yet are poorly characterized in the marine environment. We provide the first data from any marine ecosystem in which fungi in the Chytridiomycota dominate fungal communities and are linked in their occurrence to light intensities and algal stress. Increased light penetration stresses ice algae and elevates disease incidence under reduced snow cover. Our results show that chytrids dominate Arctic marine fungal communities and have the potential to rapidly change primary production patterns with increased light penetration.

First Report of Leaf Spot of Sesame Caused by Xanthomonas sp. In the United States.

In July 2010 in Texas, extensive leaf spots (10 to 30% leaf area affected) occurred on a commercial planting of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) in Hidalgo County and to a lesser extent (1 to 5% leaf area) on leaves of several varieties in experimental trials in Colorado and Victoria Counties. The leaf spots were light to dark brown, somewhat circular, and 1 to 3 mm in diameter. A symptomatic leaf from each of three to five plants per county was sampled for isolations. Leaves were sprayed with 70% ethanol and immediately blotted dry with a paper towel. The margins of spots (2 mm2) were excised with a scalpel and placed in a drop of sterile water for 5 min. Drops were streaked on nutrient agar (NA) and incubated at 30°C. The 12 isolations consistently yielded gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria with yellow, translucent colonies that were visible after 2 days of incubation. The DNA of 11 isolates was extracted with the Norgen (Thorold, ON) Bacterial genomic DNA isolation kit (Cat. #17900) and the ITS region was amplified by 16S uni 1330 and 23S uni 322 anti primers (1). PCR products were treated with the ZymoResearch (Irvine, CA) DNA clean & concentrator kit (Cat. #D4003) and sequenced. With the NCBI database, a BLAST search of the 1,100 bp amplicons showed 93 to 99% identity with pathovars of either Xanthomonas oryzae or X. axonopodis (GenBank Accession Nos. CP003057.1 and CP002914.1, respectively). Amplicon sequences of the sesame isolates were deposited in GenBank as Accession Nos. JQ975037 through JQ975047. The reported species on sesame is X. campestris pv. sesami (2). To fulfill Koch's postulates, potted sesame plants (var. Sesaco 25), 15 to 20 cm tall, were sprayed until runoff with a suspension of bacteria (106 to 107 CFU/ml) from a 2-day-old NA culture. All 12 isolates were evaluated, with five to seven plants per isolate. Plants were maintained in a mist chamber in a greenhouse at 27 to 30°C and 100% relative humidity. The pathogenicity trial was repeated once. Leaf spots were first seen 7 days after inoculation and were prevalent 14 days after inoculation. All 12 isolates were pathogenic. There were no symptoms on leaves sprayed with sterile water. Bacteria that produced colonies consistent with Xanthomonas were reisolated on NA from symptomatic leaves but not from controls. The identities of three isolates were reconfirmed with PCR analysis and sequencing. In 2007, more than 2,000 ha of sesame were grown in the continental United States, with 80% of that in Texas. Currently, acreage of shatter-free varieties of sesame is increasing in arid areas of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. In such areas, the yield impact of this disease is likely to be minimal, except in years with above-average rainfall. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this disease in the United States. References: (1) E. R. Gonçalves and Y. B. Rosato. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 52:355, 2002. (2) J. M. Young et al., New Zealand J. Agric. Res. 21:153, 1978.

Glutathione S-transferases as biomarkers of organ damage: applications of rodent and canine GST enzyme immunoassays.

The cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzymes serve as ideal biomarkers of organ damage as they exhibit many of the required characteristics, i.e. specific localisation, high cytosolic concentration and relatively short half-life. The role of GSTs as early indicators of organ damage is applicable to both human and animal models. Because of the regio-specific localisation of the different isoforms of GST in liver and kidney, simultaneous monitoring of classes of GSTs in biological matrices permits the identification of specific areas of damage within a particular organ. Immunoassays have been developed which quantify canine alpha GST and roden microGST (Yb1). The immunoassays are solid phase EIAs, where GST in the sample or standard is captured by a specific anti-GST antibody coated onto the solid phase. After washing, a specific enzyme-labelled IgG conjugate is added which binds to the captured GST. After a further washing step, substrate is added and a colour developed. The absorbance is measured on an ELISA plate reader and is directly proportional to the amount of GST present in the sample. The assays are performed at room temperature and can be completed within 3 h. The immunoassays are specific for each GST and have a range of 0-100 micrograms/l. A range of assay parameters were investigated to validate the EIAs for GST detection. The assays are sensitive and reproducible. CV for inter- and intra-assay variation were below 9% for Yb1 assay and below 20% for the canine alpha GST EIA. Recovery of spiked GST over the standard curve range was 102 and 99%, respectively. No prozone effect was observed and samples exhibited linearity of dilution in both assays. Validation has shown that using these enzyme immunoassay, Yb1 and canine alpha GST can be measured accurately and precisely in biological matrices, tissue homogenates and cell lines and that changes in GST levels can be detected. The use of these assays have important applications in both in vitro and in vivo toxicity studies, where GST's serve as sensitive marker of hepatocellular and renal cell integrity.

Management of cerebrospinal fluid.

In traditional practice, doctors order tests and the laboratory performs them. A series of tests are requested before the results of any of the tests are known. The authors of this paper examine the interface between the clinicians and the laboratory. They produce a cost effective and clinically useful routine for handling spinal fluid. They bring to their practice an excellent example of quality assurance which is genuine, improves practice and is not "busy work." The editor heard Dr. Albright present this material and urged him to make it available to North Carolina doctors.

Cerebrospinal fluid: electrophoresis and methods for determining immunoglobulin G compared.

We describe the use of a microconcentrator membrane with a 10,000 dalton cutoff for treating cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens before electrophoresis. We also examine immunochemical methods based on radial immunodiffusion, rate nephelometry, and nephelometry at quasi-equilibrium for quantifying IgG in CSF by studying calibrator crossover, imprecision at low IgG levels, and patient correlation. Calibrator crossover studies showed that values for all standard materials agreed well with assigned. At IgG quantities lower than 30.0 mg/L, we found the radial immunodiffusion (RID) method difficult to use; the rate and quasi-equilibrium methods were reliable to 11.2 and 3.0 mg/L, respectively. Above their respective cutoffs, correlation studies revealed that all three methods compared well. We performed IgG quantification and protein electrophoresis on 40 CSF specimens from patients having non-neurologic disease, finding normal reference intervals which generally agreed with those established previously; however, the albumin, beta, and gamma electrophoretic fractions we observed differed from those reported previously.