Arboreal behavior

BACKGROUND: Tripartite motif (TRIM46) is a relatively novel protein that belongs to tripartite motif family. TRIM46 organizes parallel microtubule arrays on the axons, which are important for neuronal polarity and axonal function. TRIM46 is highly expressed in the brain, but its biological function in adults has not yet been determined. RESULTS: Trim46 knockout (KO) rat line was established using CRISPR/cas9. Trim46 KO rats had smaller hippocampus sizes, fewer neuronal dendritic arbors and dendritic spines, and shorter and more distant axon initial segment...

OBJECTIVES: Ecological factors and body size shape animal movement and adaptation. Large primates such as bonobos excel in navigating the demanding substrates of arboreal habitats. However, current approaches lack comprehensive assessment of climbing performance in free-ranging individuals, limiting our understanding of locomotor adaptations. This study aims to explore climbing performance in free-ranging bonobos and how substrate properties affect their behavior. METHODS: We collected data on the climbing performance of habituated bonobos, Pan paniscus, in the Bolobo Territory, Democratic Republic of Congo...

Mutations in the activity-dependent transcription factor MEF2C have been associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders. Among these, autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related behavioral deficits are manifested. Multiple animal models that harbor mutations in Mef2c have provided compelling evidence that Mef2c is indeed an ASD gene. However, studies in mice with germline or global brain knockout of Mef2c are limited in their ability to identify the precise neural substrates and cell types that are required for the expression of Mef2c -mediated ASD behaviors...

Anemochory or Ornithochory does not adequately explain the amount, size or distribution of woody epiphytes here in outback NSW Australia. In a semi-arid ecosystem, epiphytes should be short-lived and randomly dispersed not clustered around old Aboriginal campsites or along their ancient paths aka songlines. These enduring trees in trees we call TinTs, have been here much longer than European Australians. We are hoping to attract archaeobotanical or ethnobotanical research to help us recover the knowledge of the ancestors or at least assist us in protecting these arboreal oddities from future resource extraction activities...

Solitarily foraging ant species differ in their reliance on their two primary navigational systems- path integration and visual learning. Despite many species of Australian bull ants spending most of their foraging time on their foraging tree, little is known about the use of these systems while climbing. "Rewinding" displacements are commonly used to understand navigational system usage, and work by introducing a mismatch between these navigational systems, by displacing foragers after they have run-down their path integration vector...

Septin proteins are involved in diverse physiological functions, including the formation of specialized cytoskeletal structures. Septin 8 (Sept8) is implicated in spine morphogenesis and dendritic branching through palmitoylation. We explored the role and regulation of a Sept8 variant in human neural-like cells and in the mouse brain. We identified Sept8-204 as a brain-specific variant of Sept8 that was abundant in neurons and modified by palmitoylation, specifically at Cys469 , Cys470 , and Cys472 . Sept8-204 palmitoylation was mediated by the palmitoyltransferase ZDHHC7 and was removed by the depalmitoylase PPT1...

The omnipresence of ants is commonly attributed to their eusocial organization and division of labor, however, bacteria in their nests may facilitate their success. Like many other arboreal ants living in plant-provided cavities, Azteca ants form dark-colored "patches" in their nesting space inside Cecropia host plants. These patches are inhabited by bacteria, fungi and nematodes and appear to be essential for ant colony development. Yet, detailed knowledge of the microbial community composition and its consistency throughout the life cycle of ant colonies was lacking...

To glide in forest canopies, arboreal vertebrates evolved various skin-derived aerodynamic structures, such as patagial membranes or webbing, but no comparable structure has been reported from wingless arboreal arthropods.1 , 2 , 3 Orchid mantises (Hymenopus coronatus) have been traditionally considered a textbook example of flower mimicry for ∼200 years due to their highly expanded, petal-shaped femoral lobes. However, the empirical evidence substantiating the petal-mimicry function of the femoral lobes has not been entirely conclusive...

Within public health control strategies for SARS-CoV-2, whole genome sequencing (WGS) is essential for tracking viral spread and monitoring the emergence of variants which may impair the effectiveness of vaccines, diagnostic methods, and therapeutics. In this manuscript different strategies for SARS-CoV-2 WGS including metagenomic shotgun (SG), library enrichment by myBaits® Expert Virus-SARS-CoV-2 (Arbor Biosciences), nCoV-2019 sequencing protocol, ampliseq approach by Swift Amplicon® SARS-CoV-2 Panel kit (Swift Biosciences), and Illumina COVIDSeq Test (Illumina Inc...

Vegetation connectivity is an essential aspect of the habitat complexity that impacts species interactions at local scales. However, agricultural intensification reduces connectivity in agroforestry systems, including coffee agroecosystems, which may hinder the movement of natural enemies and reduce the ecosystem services that they provide. Ants play an important role in regulating the coffee berry borer (CBB), which is the most damaging coffee pest. For arboreal ant communities, the connections between trees are important structures that facilitate ant mobility, resource recruitment, foraging success, and pest control ability...

During withdrawal from cocaine, calcium permeable-AMPA receptors (CP-AMPAR) progressively accumulate in nucleus accumbens (NAc) synapses, a phenomenon linked to behavioral sensitization and drug-seeking. Recently, it has been suggested that neuroimmune alterations might promote aberrant changes in synaptic plasticity, thus contributing to substance abuse-related behaviors. Here, we investigated the role of microglia in NAc neuroadaptations after withdrawal from cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP)...

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), have the gradual onset of neurobiological changes preceding clinical diagnosis by decades. To elucidate how brain dysfunction proceeds in neurodegenerative disorders, we performed longitudinal characterization of behavioral, morphological, and transcriptomic changes in a tauopathy mouse model, P301S transgenic mice. P301S mice exhibited cognitive deficits as early as 3 months old, and deficits in social preference and social cognition at 5-6 months...

Guenons are the most diverse clade of African primates, and many species living within the core of the Congo Basin rainforest are still understudied. The recently described guenon species, Cercopithecus lomamiensis , known as lesula, is a cryptic, semi-terrestrial species endemic to the central Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The recent IUCN Red List Assessment recognizes lesula's risk of extinction in the wild as Vulnerable. The objective of our study was to use camera traps to expand knowledge on the behavioral ecology of lesula...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the significance of interim whole-body dynamic 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18 F-FDG PET/CT) Patlak parameters for predicting the prognosis of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. To estimate the predictive value of the whole-body dynamic 18 F-FDG PET/CT Patlak parameter for 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and 2-year overall survival (OS). METHODS: This study reports the findings of 67 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)...

Women are the main target of intimate partner violence (IPV), which is escalating worldwide. Mechanisms subtending IPV-related disorders, such as anxiety, depression and PTSD, remain unclear. We employed a mouse model molded on an IPV scenario (male vs. female prolonged violent interaction) to unearth the neuroendocrine alterations triggered by an aggressive male mouse on the female murine brain. Experimental IPV (EIPV) prompted marked anxiety-like behavior in young female mice, coincident with high circulating/cerebral corticosterone levels...

OBJECTIVE: The SLIT and NTRK-like 1 (SLITRK1) gene mutation and striatal cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) loss are associated with Tourette syndrome (TS). ChIs comprise only 1 to 2% of striatal neurons but project widely throughout the stratum to impact various striatal neurotransmission, including TS-related dopaminergic transmission. Here, we link striatal Slitrk1, ChI function, and dopaminergic transmission and their associations with TS-like tic behaviors. METHODS: Slitrk1-KD mice were induced by bilaterally injecting Slitrk1 siRNA into their dorsal striatum...

UNLABELLED: The small G-protein Rac1 promotes the formation of filamentous actin (F-Actin). Actin is a major component of dendritic spines, and we previously found that alcohol alters actin composition and dendritic spine structure in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). To examine if Rac1 contributes to these alcohol-mediated adaptations, we measured the level of GTP-bound active Rac1 in the striatum of male and female mice following 7 weeks of intermittent access to 20% alcohol...

UNLABELLED: Psychological stress confers an increased risk for several diseases including psychiatric conditions. The susceptibility to psychological stress is modulated by various factors, many of them being modifiable lifestyle choices. The ketogenic diet (KD) has emerged as a dietary regime that offers positive outcomes on mood and health status. Psychological stress and elevated inflammation are common features of neuropsychiatric disorders such as certain types of major depressive disorder...

Psychological stress confers an increased risk for several diseases including psychiatric conditions. The susceptibility to psychological stress is modulated by various factors, many of them being modifiable lifestyle choices. The ketogenic diet (KD) has emerged as a dietary regime that offers positive outcomes on mood and health status. Psychological stress and elevated inflammation are common features of neuropsychiatric disorders such as certain types of major depressive disorder. KD has been attributed anti-inflammatory properties that could underlie its beneficial consequences on the brain and behavior...

BACKGROUND: Dipsadine snakes represent one of the most spectacular vertebrate radiations that have occurred in any continental setting, with over 800 species in South and Central America. Their species richness is paralleled by stunning ecological diversity, ranging from arboreal snail-eating and aquatic eel-eating specialists to terrestrial generalists. Despite the ecological importance of this clade, little is known about the extent to which ecological specialization shapes broader patterns of phenotypic diversity within the group...