Multi-isotope analysis reveals that feasts in the Stonehenge environs and across Wessex drew people and animals from throughout Britain.

The great henge complexes of southern Britain are iconic monuments of the third millennium BCE, representing great feats of engineering and labor mobilization that hosted feasting events on a previously unparalleled scale. The scale of movement and the catchments that the complexes served, however, have thus far eluded understanding. Presenting the largest five-isotope system archeological dataset (87Sr/86Sr, δ34S, δ18O, δ13C, and δ15N) yet fully published, we analyze 131 pigs, the prime feasting animals, from four Late Neolithic (approximately 2800 to 2400 BCE) complexes to explore the networks that the feasts served. Because archeological evidence excludes continental contact, sources are considered only in the context of the British Isles. This analysis reveals wide-ranging origins across Britain, with few pigs raised locally. This finding demonstrates great investment of effort in transporting pigs raised elsewhere over vast distances to supply feasts and evidences the very first phase of pan-British connectivity.

Annually resolved North Atlantic marine climate over the last millennium.

Owing to the lack of absolutely dated oceanographic information before the modern instrumental period, there is currently significant debate as to the role played by North Atlantic Ocean dynamics in previous climate transitions (for example, Medieval Climate Anomaly-Little Ice Age, MCA-LIA). Here we present analyses of a millennial-length, annually resolved and absolutely dated marine δ18O archive. We interpret our record of oxygen isotope ratios from the shells of the long-lived marine bivalve Arctica islandica (δ18O-shell), from the North Icelandic shelf, in relation to seawater density variability and demonstrate that solar and volcanic forcing coupled with ocean circulation dynamics are key drivers of climate variability over the last millennium. During the pre-industrial period (AD 1000-1800) variability in the sub-polar North Atlantic leads changes in Northern Hemisphere surface air temperatures at multi-decadal timescales, indicating that North Atlantic Ocean dynamics played an active role in modulating the response of the atmosphere to solar and volcanic forcing.

Improved metagenome assemblies and taxonomic binning using long-read circular consensus sequence data.

DNA assembly is a core methodological step in metagenomic pipelines used to study the structure and function within microbial communities. Here we investigate the utility of Pacific Biosciences long and high accuracy circular consensus sequencing (CCS) reads for metagenomic projects. We compared the application and performance of both PacBio CCS and Illumina HiSeq data with assembly and taxonomic binning algorithms using metagenomic samples representing a complex microbial community. Eight SMRT cells produced approximately 94 Mb of CCS reads from a biogas reactor microbiome sample that averaged 1319 nt in length and 99.7% accuracy. CCS data assembly generated a comparative number of large contigs greater than 1 kb, to those assembled from a ~190x larger HiSeq dataset (~18 Gb) produced from the same sample (i.e approximately 62% of total contigs). Hybrid assemblies using PacBio CCS and HiSeq contigs produced improvements in assembly statistics, including an increase in the average contig length and number of large contigs. The incorporation of CCS data produced significant enhancements in taxonomic binning and genome reconstruction of two dominant phylotypes, which assembled and binned poorly using HiSeq data alone. Collectively these results illustrate the value of PacBio CCS reads in certain metagenomics applications.

The stringlike genes of the limpet Patella vulgata.

As a first step in analyzing the function of a cdc25 homolog during the embryonic development of Patella vulgata (Pv), genomic clones encoding these stringlike proteins (Stl) were isolated and characterized. These clones belong to four groups which are derived from different regions of the Pv genome. As the sequences of Stl genes from two of these groups are almost identical, we suggest that these genes represent copies of the same gene. The Stl3 gene, which has been analyzed in detail, consists of four exons separated by three introns. Its sequence encodes a 250-amino-acid protein with a calculated weight of 28 kDa. The Stl protein contains regions conserved in all other cdc25 proteins. Stl messengers are not stored maternally in Pv oocytes and Stl transcription only starts after the first embryonic cleavages.

Isolation and composition of the constitutive agglutinins from haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.

Sex-specific agglutinins from the cell surface of haploid cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (X2180, mta and mt alpha) were purified and analysed. The constitutive agglutinin from mta cells was extractable with 3 mM dithiothreitol. It was shown to be a glycoprotein (3% mannose) with an apparent Mr of 43,000 based on gel filtration, but in SDS-PAGE it behaved as a much smaller molecule (Mr between 18,000 and 26,000). About one in three amino acids was a hydroxyamino acid. Its biological activity was resistant to boiling for 1 h, but sensitive to pronase. Intact mt alpha cells retained their agglutinability in the presence of dithiothreitol but limited trypsinizing released a biologically active agglutinin fragment. It had an apparent Mr of 320,000 (gel filtration). When analysed by SDS-PAGE, a single diffuse band with an apparent Mr of 225,000 was observed. The protein was 94% (w/w) mannose with a trace of N-acetyl glucosamine. Its biological activity was almost completely lost after boiling for 1 h. Both agglutinins behaved as monovalent molecules and specifically inhibited the biological activity of both noninduced and pheromone-induced cells. Pheromone treatment of mta cells resulted in an apparent 32-fold increase in agglutinin activity at the cell surface, whereas pheromone treatment of mt alpha cells only doubled the apparent agglutinin activity.

An antiserum against a glycoprotein functional in flagellar adhesion between Chlamydomonas eugametos gametes.

Chlamydomonas eugametos gametes agglutinate sexually by their flagellar surfaces. The agglutination factor on mating type minus (mt-) gametes is thought to be a glycoprotein named PAS-1.2. To test this idea, an antiserum was raised against purified PAS-1.2, which reacted with isolated PAS-1.2 (immunoprecipitation tests) and blocked the ability of isolated PAS-1.2 to induce sexual twitching in mt+ gametes. When tested with living cells, the antiserum specifically agglutinated mt- gametes and induced a reaction resembling twitching. Mt+ flagella were shown to bind the antiserum (indirect immunofluorescence) but much less than mt- gametes. Mt- gametes pretreated with Fab fragments of the antiserum were unable to reproduce sexually, while treated mt+ gametes were unaffected. This effect presumably results from the ability of the serum to block mt- sexual agglutination, for mt- isoagglutinin was completely inactivated by the serum, while mt+ isoagglutinin was unaffected. It is therefore argued that PAS-1.2 is the in vivo mt- agglutination factor. However it is shown that the antiserum was able to react in vitro not only with PAS-1.2 but with several other proteins in both mt- and mt+ flagella.