Molecular dating of caprines using ancient DNA sequences of Myotragus balearicus, an extinct endemic Balearic mammal

Background: Myotragus balearicus was an endemic bovid from the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean) that became extinct around 6,000-4,000 years ago. The Myotragus evolutionary lineage became isolated in the islands most probably at the end of the Messinian crisis, when the desiccation of the Mediterranean ended, in a geological date established at 5.35 Mya. Thus, the sequences of Myotragus could be very valuable for calibrating the mammalian mitochondrial DNA clock and, in particular, the tree of the Caprinae subfamily, to which Myotragus belongs. Results: We have retrieved the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1,143 base pairs), plus fragments of the mitochondrial 12S gene and the nuclear 28S rDNA multi-copy gene from a well preserved Myotragus subfossil bone. The best resolved phylogenetic trees, obtained with the cytochrome b gene, placed Myotragus in a position basal to the Ovis group. Using the calibration provided by the isolation of Balearic Islands, we calculated that the initial radiation of caprines can be dated at 6.2 ± 0.4 Mya. In addition, alpine and southern chamois, considered until recently the same species, split around 1.6 ± 0.3 Mya, indicating that the two chamois species have been separated much longer than previously thought. Conclusion: Since there are almost no extant endemic mammals in Mediterranean islands, the sequence of the extinct Balearic endemic Myotragus has been crucial for allowing us to use the Messinian crisis calibration point for dating the caprines phylogenetic tree.

La Misión Indígena San Francisco Solano de Tacaaglé en las tierras fiscales de Formosa (1900-1950)

[spa]La Misión Indígena fue inaugurada en el año 1901, en la zona del río Pilcomayo del Territorio Nacional de Formosa, precisamente al costado de la concesión paraguaya otorgada a Elisa (Elizabeth Alicia) Lynch. Desde entonces, fue trasladada, primero a Tacaaglé en 1902, donde adquirió el nombre de Misión San Francisco Solano, y posteriormente, en 1915, al riacho El Porteño. Los misioneros franciscanos asumieron la tarea de formar a “colonos indígenas” tobas y pilagás para la producción de azúcar. Se analiza la evolución de la Misión franciscana y el impacto de la llegada del Ferrocarril de Formosa a Embarcación (F.C.F.E.). La documentación utilizada se encuentra en la Biblioteca y Archivo Históricos de la Provincia Franciscana de San Miguel, del Museo Conventual de San Carlos Borromeo ubicado en San Lorenzo, Provincia de Santa Fe

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Local effects and global impact in neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration: The Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference

'Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact' was the theme of the Xi"an International Neurotoxicology Conference (XINC), held in Xi"an, June 2011. The Conference was a joint event of the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Neurotoxicology Association (INA-13) and the 11th International Symposium on Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (NEUREOH-11) of the Scientific Committee on Neurotoxicology and...

Transmedia Storytelling: Implicit Consumers, Narrative Worlds, and Branding in Contemporary Media Production

Many concepts have been developed to describe the convergence of media, languages, and formats in contemporary media systems. This article is a theoretical reflection on “transmedia storytelling” from a perspective that integrates semiotics and narratology in the context of media studies. After dealing with the conceptual chaos around transmedia storytelling, the article analyzes how these new multimodal narrative structures create different implicit consumers and construct a narrative world. The analysis includes a description of the multimedia textual structure created around the Fox television series 24. Finally, the article analyzes transmedia storytelling from the perspective of a semiotics of branding.

Life-time growth patterns of pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus introduced to Europe, relative to North American populations

The pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus, an omnivorous, nest guarding North American sunfish, was introduced into European waters about 100 years ago. To assess growth performance following introduction, we reviewed the available data for North American and European populations of pumpkinseed and compared the back-calculated age-specific growth for juveniles (standard length, SL, at age two) and adults (age two to five increment) as well as adult body size (SL at age five), von Bertalanffy growth model parameters and the index of growth (in length) performance (φ′). For continental comparisons of growth trajectory, mean growth curves for North American and Europe were calculated with the von Bertalanffy model using pooled data sets for each continent. Juvenile growth rate did not differ between European and North American pumpkinseed, but mean adult body size and adult growth rate were both significantly greater in North American than European populations. Adult body size decreased with increasing latitude (ANOVA) in North American populations, but this was not observed with adult growth rate. In contrast, adult body size tended to increase with latitude in European populations. Adult body size correlated significantly with φ′. The von Bertalanffy model described the overall growth patterns of North American and European populations reasonably well, but on the individual population level, length asymptotes were unrealistic (estimates that were > 20 % of the mean back-calculated size for the oldest age class) for a third of European populations and 80% of the North American populations. In contrast to North American pumpkinseed populations, somatic growth in European populations appears to be compromised by limited, but adequate, food resources, probably due to strong intraspecific interactions. This appears to be especially acute in adults, having potential ramifications for life span and reproductive allocation

Molecular dating of caprines using ancient DNA sequences of Myotragus balearicus, an extinct endemic Balearic mammal

Background: Myotragus balearicus was an endemic bovid from the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean) that became extinct around 6,000-4,000 years ago. The Myotragus evolutionary lineage became isolated in the islands most probably at the end of the Messinian crisis, when the desiccation of the Mediterranean ended, in a geological date established at 5.35 Mya. Thus, the sequences of Myotragus could be very valuable for calibrating the mammalian mitochondrial DNA clock and, in particular, the tree of the Caprinae subfamily, to which Myotragus belongs. Results: We have retrieved the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1,143 base pairs), plus fragments of the mitochondrial 12S gene and the nuclear 28S rDNA multi-copy gene from a well preserved Myotragus subfossil bone. The best resolved phylogenetic trees, obtained with the cytochrome b gene, placed Myotragus in a position basal to the Ovis group. Using the calibration provided by the isolation of Balearic Islands, we calculated that the initial radiation of caprines can be dated at 6.2 ± 0.4 Mya. In addition, alpine and southern chamois, considered until recently the same species, split around 1.6 ± 0.3 Mya, indicating that the two chamois species have been separated much longer than previously thought. Conclusion: Since there are almost no extant endemic mammals in Mediterranean islands, the sequence of the extinct Balearic endemic Myotragus has been crucial for allowing us to use the Messinian crisis calibration point for dating the caprines phylogenetic tree.

Ancient DNA of the extinct Lava shearwater (Puffinus olsoni) from the Canary Islands reveals incipient differentiation within the P. puffinus complex

The loss of species during the Holocene was, dramatically more important on islands than on continents. Seabirds from islands are very vulnerable to human-induced alterations such as habitat destruction, hunting and exotic predators. For example, in the genus Puffinus (family Procellariidae) the extinction of at least five species has been recorded during the Holocene, two of them coming from the Canary Islands.

North African populations carry the signature of admixture with Neandertals

One of the main findings derived from the analysis of the Neandertal genome was the evidence for admixture between Neandertals and non-African modern humans. An alternative scenario is that the ancestral population of non-Africans was closer to Neandertals than to Africans because of ancient population substructure. Thus, the study of North African populations is crucial for testing both hypotheses. We analyzed a total of 780,000 SNPs in 125 individuals representing seven different North African locations and searched for their ancestral/derived state in comparison to different human populations and Neandertals. We found that North African populations have a significant excess of derived alleles shared with Neandertals, when compared to sub-Saharan Africans. This excess is similar to that found in non-African humans, a fact that can be interpreted as a sign of Neandertal admixture. Furthermore, the Neandertal's genetic signal is higher in populations with a local, pre-Neolithic North African ancestry. Therefore, the detected ancient admixture is not due to recent Near Eastern or European migrations. Sub-Saharan populations are the only ones not affected by the admixture event with Neandertals.

Fragmentation of contaminant and endogenous DNA in ancient samples determined by shotgun sequencing; prospects for human palaeogenomics

Despite the successful retrieval of genomes from past remains, the prospects for human palaeogenomics remain unclear because of the difficulty of distinguishing contaminant from endogenous DNA sequences. Previous sequence data generated on high-throughput sequencing platforms indicate that fragmentation of ancient DNA sequences is a characteristic trait primarily arising due to depurination processes that create abasic sites leading to DNA breaks.

Population connectivity buffers genetic diversity loss in a seabird

Background Ancient DNA has revolutionized conservation genetic studies as it allows monitoring of the genetic variability of species through time and predicting the impact of ecosystems" threats on future population dynamics and viability. Meanwhile, the consequences of anthropogenic activities and climate change to island faunas, particularly seabirds, remain largely unknown. In this study, we examined temporal changes in the genetic diversity of a threatened seabird, the Cory"s shearwater (Calonectris borealis). Findings We analysed the mitochondrial DNA control region of ancient bone samples from the late-Holocene retrieved from the Canary archipelago (NE Atlantic) together with modern DNA sequences representative of the entire breeding range of the species. Our results show high levels of ancient genetic diversity in the Canaries comparable to that of the extant population. The temporal haplotype network further revealed rare but recurrent long-distance dispersal between ocean basins. The Bayesian demographic analyses reveal both regional and local population size expansion events, and this is in spite of the demographic decline experienced by the species over the last millennia. Conclusions Our findings suggest that population connectivity of the species has acted as a buffer of genetic losses and illustrate the use of ancient DNA to uncover such cryptic genetic events.

Genomic analysis of the blood attributed to Louis XVI (1754-1793), king of France.

A pyrographically decorated gourd, dated to the French Revolution period, has been alleged to contain a handkerchief dipped into the blood of the French king Louis XVI (1754-1793) after his beheading but recent analyses of living males from two Bourbon branches cast doubts on its authenticity. We sequenced the complete genome of the DNA contained in the gourd at low coverage (similar to 2.5x) with coding sequences enriched at a higher similar to 7.3x coverage. We found that the ancestry of the gourd's genome does not seem compatible with Louis XVI's known ancestry. From a functional perspective, we did not find an excess of alleles contributing to height despite being described as the tallest person in Court. In addition, the eye colour prediction supported brown eyes, while Louis XVI had blue eyes. This is the first draft genome generated from a person who lived in a recent historical period; however, our results suggest that this sample may not correspond to the alleged king.

Los indígenas sanapanás, Carlos Casado y las fotografias de de Sanctis

El español Carlos Casado del Alisal se estableció en la ciudad de Rosario en el año 1857, y configuró un importante número de empresas dedicadas a la producción del trigo, del quebracho colorado de la zona del Chaco Paraguayo, y en especial a la exportación de ambos recursos desde el Puerto de Rosario a Europa y a los Estados Unidos. En este artículo nos referimos a la colaboración que hizo el español republicano Matías Alonso Criado al facilitar a Casado la llegada de la Orden Salesiana a la zona costera del Chaco con la finalidad de "educar" a los indígenas sanapanás. Para elaborar este artículos hemos consultado el Archivio della Sacra Congregazione degli Affari Ecclesiastici Straordinari del Archivio Segreto Vaticano (en adelante A.S.V., A.E.S.).

Temps, guerra i política en la reivindicació de territoris indígenes i nacionals: un relat gràfic de la guerra del Chaco

[cat]L'estudi vol aprofundir en les conseqüències del conflicte bèlic que enfrontà a Bolivia i Paragüai a la guerra del Chaco (1923-1935), de manera especial per a les poblacions indígenas, les quals, en els darrers anys, han començat a dur a terme una clara reivindicació per al reconeixement oficial dels seus drets territorials a partir de la revaloració de la participació dels indígenes del Chaco en aquesta guerra com també de la utilització dels recursos naturals i de les comunitats autòctones pels exèrcits enfrontats, tot tenint com a eina d'estudi el registre fotogràfic del conflicte.