Beschreibung: K63-Ubiquitylation of VHL by SOCS1 mediates DNA double-strand break repair Oncogene 33, 1055 (20 February 2014). doi:10.1038/onc.2013.22 Authors: J L Metcalf, P S Bradshaw, M Komosa, S N Greer, M Stephen Meyn & M Ohh

Beschreibung: Carrion decomposition is an ecologically important natural phenomenon influenced by a complex set of factors, including temperature, moisture, and the activity of microorganisms, invertebrates, and scavengers. The role of soil microbes as decomposers in this process is essential but not well understood and represents a knowledge gap in carrion ecology. To better define the role and sources of microbes in carrion decomposition, lab-reared mice were decomposed on either (i) soil with an intact microbial community or (ii) soil that was sterilized. We characterized the microbial community (16S rRNA gene for bacteria and archaea, and the 18S rRNA gene for fungi and microbial eukaryotes) for three body sites along with the underlying soil (i.e., gravesoils) at time intervals coinciding with visible changes in carrion morphology. Our results indicate that mice placed on soil with intact microbial communities reach advanced stages of decomposition 2 to 3 times faster than those placed on sterile soil. Microbial communities associated with skin and gravesoils of carrion in stages of active and advanced decay were significantly different between soil types (sterile versus untreated), suggesting that substrates on which carrion decompose may partially determine the microbial decomposer community. However, the source of the decomposer community (soil- versus carcass-associated microbes) was not clear in our data set, suggesting that greater sequencing depth needs to be employed to identify the origin of the decomposer communities in carrion decomposition. Overall, our data show that soil microbial communities have a significant impact on the rate at which carrion decomposes and have important implications for understanding carrion ecology.

Beschreibung: Vertebrate corpse decomposition provides an important stage in nutrient cycling in most terrestrial habitats, yet microbially mediated processes are poorly understood. Here we combine deep microbial community characterization, community-level metabolic reconstruction, and soil biogeochemical assessment to understand the principles governing microbial community assembly during decomposition of mouse and human corpses on different soil substrates. We find a suite of bacterial and fungal groups that contribute to nitrogen cycling and a reproducible network of decomposers that emerge on predictable time scales. Our results show that this decomposer community is derived primarily from bulk soil, but key decomposers are ubiquitous in low abundance. Soil type was not a dominant factor driving community development, and the process of decomposition is sufficiently reproducible to offer new opportunities for forensic investigations.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Metcalf, Jessica L -- Xu, Zhenjiang Zech -- Weiss, Sophie -- Lax, Simon -- Van Treuren, Will -- Hyde, Embriette R -- Song, Se Jin -- Amir, Amnon -- Larsen, Peter -- Sangwan, Naseer -- Haarmann, Daniel -- Humphrey, Greg C -- Ackermann, Gail -- Thompson, Luke R -- Lauber, Christian -- Bibat, Alexander -- Nicholas, Catherine -- Gebert, Matthew J -- Petrosino, Joseph F -- Reed, Sasha C -- Gilbert, Jack A -- Lynne, Aaron M -- Bucheli, Sibyl R -- Carter, David O -- Knight, Rob -- 3 R01 HG004872-03S2/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- 5 U01 HG004866-04/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Jan 8;351(6269):158-62. doi: 10.1126/science.aad2646. Epub 2015 Dec 10.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92037, USA. robknight@ucsd.edu jessica.metcalf@colorado.edu. ; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, 900 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 606037, USA. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, A27 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77340, USA. ; Nestle Institute of Health Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne, Batiment H, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. ; BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA. ; Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, UT 84532, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, University of Chicago, 900 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 606037, USA. Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, A27 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL St, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. ; Laboratory of Forensic Taphonomy, Forensic Sciences Unit, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Honolulu, HI 96816, USA. ; Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92037, USA. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA 92037, USA. robknight@ucsd.edu jessica.metcalf@colorado.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26657285" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Beschreibung: The bacteria that colonize humans and our built environments have the potential to influence our health. Microbial communities associated with seven families and their homes over 6 weeks were assessed, including three families that moved their home. Microbial communities differed substantially among homes, and the home microbiome was largely sourced from humans. The microbiota in each home were identifiable by family. Network analysis identified humans as the primary bacterial vector, and a Bayesian method significantly matched individuals to their dwellings. Draft genomes of potential human pathogens observed on a kitchen counter could be matched to the hands of occupants. After a house move, the microbial community in the new house rapidly converged on the microbial community of the occupants' former house, suggesting rapid colonization by the family's microbiota.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4337996/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4337996/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lax, Simon -- Smith, Daniel P -- Hampton-Marcell, Jarrad -- Owens, Sarah M -- Handley, Kim M -- Scott, Nicole M -- Gibbons, Sean M -- Larsen, Peter -- Shogan, Benjamin D -- Weiss, Sophie -- Metcalf, Jessica L -- Ursell, Luke K -- Vazquez-Baeza, Yoshiki -- Van Treuren, Will -- Hasan, Nur A -- Gibson, Molly K -- Colwell, Rita -- Dantas, Gautam -- Knight, Rob -- Gilbert, Jack A -- DP2 DK098089/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DP2-DK-098089/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- P01 DK078669/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01 HG004872/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM008759/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U01 HG004866/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2014 Aug 29;345(6200):1048-52. doi: 10.1126/science.1254529.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Computation Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Department of Bioscience, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA. ; Department of Surgery, University of Chicago Medicine, 5841 South Maryland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. ; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. ; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. ; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. ; CosmosID, 387 Technology Drive, Suite 3119, College Park, MD 20742, USA. Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA. ; Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA. ; Biofrontiers Institute, University of Colorado, 3415 Colorado Avenue, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80304, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. ; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. Graduate Program in Biophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. gilbertjack@anl.gov.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25170151" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Beschreibung: The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts.

Beschreibung: The processes by which cells sense and respond to ambient oxygen concentration are fundamental to cell survival and function, and they commonly target gene regulatory events. To date, however, little is known about the link between the microRNA pathway and hypoxia signaling. Here, we show in vitro and in vivo that chronic hypoxia impairs Dicer (DICER1) expression and activity, resulting in global consequences on microRNA biogenesis. We show that von Hippel-Lindau-dependent down-regulation of Dicer is key to the expression and function of hypoxia-inducible factor α (HIF-α) subunits. Specifically, we show that EPAS1/HIF-2α is regulated by the Dicer-dependent microRNA miR-185, which is down-regulated by hypoxia. Full expression of hypoxia-responsive/HIF target genes in chronic hypoxia (e.g. VEGFA, FLT1/VEGFR1, KDR/VEGFR2, BNIP3L, and SLC2A1/GLUT1), the function of which is to regulate various adaptive responses to compromised oxygen availability, is also dependent on hypoxia-mediated down-regulation of Dicer function and changes in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Therefore, functional deficiency of Dicer in chronic hypoxia is relevant to both HIF-α isoforms and hypoxia-responsive/HIF target genes, especially in the vascular endothelium. These findings have relevance to emerging therapies given that we show that the efficacy of RNA interference under chronic hypoxia, but not normal oxygen availability, is Dicer-dependent. Collectively, these findings show that the down-regulation of Dicer under chronic hypoxia is an adaptive mechanism that serves to maintain the cellular hypoxic response through HIF-α- and microRNA-dependent mechanisms, thereby providing an essential mechanistic insight into the oxygen-dependent microRNA regulatory pathway.

Beschreibung: In the last two decades, the widespread application of genetic and genomic approaches has revealed a bacterial world astonishing in its ubiquity and diversity. This review examines how a growing knowledge of the vast range of animal–bacterial interactions, whether in shared ecosystems or intimate symbioses, is fundamentally altering our understanding...

Beschreibung: Understanding the evolution of Australia’s extinct marsupial megafauna has been hindered by a relatively incomplete fossil record and convergent or highly specialized morphology, which confound phylogenetic analyses. Further, the harsh Australian climate and early date of most megafaunal extinctions (39–52 ka) means that the vast majority of fossil remains are unsuitable for ancient DNA analyses. Here, we apply cross-species DNA capture to fossils from relatively high latitude, high altitude caves in Tasmania. Using low-stringency hybridization and high-throughput sequencing, we were able to retrieve mitochondrial sequences from two extinct megafaunal macropodid species. The two specimens, Simosthenurus occidentalis (giant short-faced kangaroo) and Protemnodon anak (giant wallaby), have been radiocarbon dated to 46–50 and 40–45 ka, respectively. This is significantly older than any Australian fossil that has previously yielded DNA sequence information. Processing the raw sequence data from these samples posed a bioinformatic challenge due to the poor preservation of DNA. We explored several approaches in order to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio in retained sequencing reads. Our findings demonstrate the critical importance of adopting stringent processing criteria when distant outgroups are used as references for mapping highly fragmented DNA. Based on the most stringent nucleotide data sets (879 bp for S. occidentalis and 2,383 bp for P. anak ), total-evidence phylogenetic analyses confirm that macropodids consist of three primary lineages: Sthenurines such as Simosthenurus (extinct short-faced kangaroos), the macropodines (all other wallabies and kangaroos), and the enigmatic living banded hare-wallaby Lagostrophus fasciatus (Lagostrophinae). Protemnodon emerges as a close relative of Macropus (large living kangaroos), a position not supported by recent morphological phylogenetic analyses.