Colonial Animals Research Articles

Coloniality, clonality, and modularity in animals: The elephant in the room.

Nearly half of the animal phyla contain species that propagate asexually via agametic reproduction, often forming colonies of genetically identical modules, that is, ramets, zooids, or polyps. Clonal reproduction, colony formation, and modular organization have important consequences for many aspects of organismal biology. Theories in ecology, evolution, and development are often based on unitary and, mainly, strictly sexually reproducing organisms, and though colonial animals dominate many marine ecosystems and habitats, recognized concepts for the study of clonal species are often lacking. In this review, we present an overview of the study of colonial and clonal animals, from the historic interests in this subject to modern research in a range of topics, including immunology, stem cell biology, aging, biogeography, and ecology. We attempt to portray the fundamental questions lying behind the biology of colonial animals, focusing on how colonial animals challenge several dogmas in biology as well as the remaining puzzles still to be answered, of which there are many.

Artificial habitats induce plasticity in colonies of the marine bryozoan Schizoporella errata.

Modular organization provides flexibility for colonial animals to deal with variable and unpredictable environmental conditions since each module has specific tasks within the colony, such as feeding, defending or reproducing. Depending on the selecting pressures, sessile organisms may phenotypically adjust the morphology of each module or modify their density, increasing individual fitness. Here we used the marine bryozoan Schizoporella errata (Cheilostomata, Schizoporellidae) to test how the divergent conditions between two artificial habitats, the location inside a marina (IM) and the external wall of the breakwater (BW), affect colony size and the density of the distinct modules. The density of avicularia and ovicells, modules related to defense and reproduction, respectively, did not differ between habitats. However, colonies growing in the turbulent waters of BW were, in general, larger and had higher density of feeding autozooids than those at IM. Reciprocal transplants of bryozoan clones indicated that trait variation is genotype-dependent but varies according to the environmental conditions at the assigned location. The occurrence of larger colonies with more zooids in BW is probably linked to the easier feeding opportunity offered by the small diffusive boundary layer around the colony at this location. Since in colonial polymorphic organisms each module (zooid) performs a specific function, the phenotypic response is not uniform across colonies, affecting only those modules that are susceptible to variations in the main selective pressures. Understanding the importance of colony-level plasticity is relevant to predict how modularity will contribute to organisms to deal with human-induced environmental changes in coastal habitats.

A novel protein encoded by circFNDC3B inhibits tumor progression and EMT through regulating Snail in colon cancer

BackgroundColon cancer (CC) is a common malignant cancer. Recently, circFNDC3B was found to exert biological function in multiple cancers. However, it was unclear whether the potential protein encoded by circFNDC3B is involved in carcinogenesis of CC.MethodsWe used Sanger sequence and RNase R digestion assay to confirm the existence of circFNDC3B, and quantitative real-time PCR was used to evaluate the circRNA’s expression. Then fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to study location of circFNDC3B. The identification of protein encoded by circFNDC3B was performed using LC-MS/MS. The function of circFNDC3B-218aa on proliferation, invasion and migration were assessed by CCK8 assays, colony formation assays, transwell assays, wound-healing assays and animal experiments. RNA-sequencing and western blot were used to identify the gene regulated by circFNDC3B-218aa. Finally, glucose metabolism-related assays were performed to further investigate function of circFNDC3B-218aa.ResultsCircFNDC3B was localized mostly in the cytoplasm, and was decreased in CC cell lines and tissues. The patients with low circFNDC3B expression had a shorter OS (P = 0.0014) than patients with high expression. Moreover, circFNDC3B inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of CC cells. Next, we identified that circFNDC3B could encode a novel protein circFNDC3B-218aa. Furthermore, circFNDC3B-218aa, not circFNDC3B, inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of CC. Additionally, the in vivo experiments implied that up-regulated circFNDC3B-218aa exhibited an inhibitory effect on CC progression. By RNA-sequencing, western blot and glucose metabolism-related assays, we found that circFNDC3B-218aa inhibited the expression of Snail, and subsequently promoted the tumor-suppressive effect of FBP1 in CC.ConclusionsThe novel circFNDC3B-218aa may serve as a tumor suppressive factor and potential biomarker which may supply the potential therapeutic target for CC.

MicroRNA-95-3p inhibits cell proliferation and metastasis in colorectal carcinoma by HDGF

BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important regulatory role in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. MiR-95-3p has been reported to be an oncogene in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the role of miR-95-3p in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remains unclear. MethodsmiR-95-3p was validated in an independent validation sample cohort of 215 CRC tissues. Functional assays, Cell proliferation (MTT) assay colony formation, wound healing, transwell and animal xenograft assays were used to determine the oppressor role of miR-95-3p in human CRC progression. Furthermore, Bioinformatics analysis, western blotting and dual-luciferase reporter assay were used to determine the mechanism by which miR-95-3p suppresses progression of CRC cells. ResultsIn this study, we found that miR-95-3p was downregulated in CRC tissues. The low level of miR-95-3p in CRC tumors was correlated with aggressive clinicopathological characteristics, and it predicted poor prognosis in CRC patients. The overexpression of miR-95-3p significantly inhibited CRC cell proliferation, colony formation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Bioinformatic analysis further identified hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) as a novel target of miR-95-3p in CRC cells. These findings suggest that miR-95-3p regulates CRC cell survival, partially through the downregulation of HDGF. ConclusionsTherefore, the miR-95-3p/HDGF axis might serve as a novel therapeutic target in patients with CRC.

Oceans of stimuli: an individual-based model to assess the role of olfactory cues and local enhancement in seabirds' foraging behaviour.

Oceans are extremely dynamic environments, which poses challenges for top-predators such as seabirds to find food resources. Yet, seabirds evolved sensorial abilities (olfactory senses) along with complex behaviours (social information transfer through local enhancement) to improve foraging efficiency. Using the Cory's shearwater (Calonectris borealis) as a model species, we developed an individual-based model to explore the complementary role of different searching mechanisms (olfactory foraging and local enhancement) for the optimal foraging behaviour of pelagic seabirds during 1-day foraging trips around breeding colonies. Model outputs were compared with observed patterns of Cory's shearwaters distribution during local foraging trips. Also, the foraging efficiency of virtual individuals was analysed considering hypothetical scenarios of foraging conditions and densities of foraging individuals around breeding colonies. The results support the use of a combination of searching strategies by Cory's shearwaters, which produced representative patterns of space use from tracked individuals, including spatial foraging segregation of neighbouring sub-colonies. Furthermore, while the mechanisms underpinning local enhancement played a key role in mitigating sub-optimal foraging conditions, the use of olfactory senses conferred great adaptive foraging advantages over a wide range of environmental conditions. Our results also indicate a synergistic effect between the two strategies, which suggests that a multimodal foraging strategy is useful to forage in extremely dynamic environments. The developed model provides a basis for further investigation regarding the role of foraging mechanisms in the population dynamics of colonial animals, including the adaptive foraging behaviour of marine top predators to dynamic environmental conditions.

Reproductive phenotype predicts adult bite‐force performance in sex‐reversed dragons (Pogona vitticeps)

Sex-related differences in morphology and behavior are well documented, but the relative contributions of genes and environment to these traits are less well understood. Species that undergo sex reversal, such as the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), offer an opportunity to better understand sexually dimorphic traits because sexual phenotypes can exist on different chromosomal backgrounds. Reproductively female dragons with a discordant sex chromosome complement (sex reversed), at least as juveniles, exhibit traits in common with males (e.g., longer tails and greater boldness). However, the impact of sex reversal on sexually dimorphic traits in adult dragons is unknown. Here, we investigate the effect of sex reversal on bite-force performance, which may be important in resource acquisition (e.g., mates and/or food). We measured body size, head size, and bite force of the three sexual phenotypes in a colony of captive animals. Among adults, we found that males (ZZm) bite more forcefully than either chromosomally concordant females (ZWf) or sex-reversed females (ZZf), and this difference is associated with having relatively larger head dimensions. Therefore, adult sex-reversed females, despite apparently exhibiting male traits as juveniles, do not develop the larger head and enhanced bite force of adult male bearded dragons. This pattern is further illustrated in the full sample by a lack of positive allometry of bite force in sex-reversed females that is observed in males. The results reveal a close association between reproductive phenotype and bite force performance, regardless of sex chromosome complement.

The association of coloniality with parental care of embryos.

Many colonial marine animals care for embryos by brooding them on or in their bodies. For brooding to occur, features of the animals must allow it, and brooding must be at least as advantageous as releasing gametes or zygotes. Shared features of diverse colonial brooders are suspension feeding and a body composed of small modules that are indefinitely repeated and can function semi-autonomously, such as polyps or zooids. Suspension feeding permits capture of sperm for fertilization of ova that are retained by the parent. Distribution of broods among numerous small polyps, zooids, or other small modules facilitates supply of oxygen to embryos that are retained and protected by the parent. Brooding increases survival of offspring, controls dispersal, and can provide other developmental advantages. Colonial ascidians, pterobranch hemichordates, and entoprocts brood; most bryozoans and many colonial cnidarians brood. An unanswered question is why so many colonial anthozoans do not brood. Sponges share with colonies capacities for capturing sperm and separating numerous retained embryos yet many do not brood. Hypotheses for nonbrooding by colonies and sponges necessarily must apply to particular taxa. Few have been tested.

Organismic materials for beyond von Neumann machines

The elementary basis of intelligence in organisms with a central nervous system includes neurons and synapses and their complex interconnections forming neural circuits. In non-neural organisms such as slime mold with gel-like media, viscosity modulation enables adaptation to changing environments. At a larger scale, collective intelligence emerges via social interactions and feedback in animal colonies. Learning and memory are therefore multi-scale features that evolve as a result of constant interactions with the environment. There is growing interest in emulating such features of intelligence in computing machines and autonomous systems. Materials that can respond to their environment in a manner similar to organisms (referred to as “organismic materials”) therefore may be of interest as hardware components in artificial intelligence machines. In this brief review, we present a class of semiconductors called correlated oxides as candidates for learning machines. The term “correlated” refers to the fact that electrons in such lattices strongly interact and the ground state is not what is predicted by classical band theory. Such materials can undergo insulator–metal transitions at near ambient conditions under external stimuli such as thermal or electrical fields, strain, and chemical doping. Depending on the mechanism driving the transition, intermediate states can be metastable with different volatilities, and the time scales of phase change can be controlled over many orders of magnitude. The change in electronic properties can be sharp or gradual, leading to digital or analog behavior. These properties enable the realization of artificial neurons and synapses and emulate the associative and non-associative learning characteristics found in various organisms. We examine microscopic properties concerning electronic and structural transitions leading to collective behavior and theoretical treatments of the ground state and dynamical response, showcasing VO2 as a model system. Next, we briefly review algorithms designed from the plasticity demonstrated by phase changing systems. We conclude the brief review with suggestions for future research toward realizing non-von Neumann machines.

Evolutionary conflict and coloniality in animals.

Despite considerable interest in the effects of evolutionary conflict in colonies of social insects, relatively little attention has been paid to this issue in clonal animals with modular construction, such as colonial ascidians, bryozoans, and cnidarians. These colonial animals are structural individuals, subdivided into repeated morphological modules, which can individually acquire, process, and share resources. While size-related selection favors colony formation, evolutionary conflicts remain a potent obstacle to such cooperation. These conflicts can occur at several levels and must be mediated for cooperation to emerge. Module-level conflicts potentially result in coalitions of genetically similar modules failing to share resources or monopolizing reproduction. Mediation occurs by a number of mechanisms including: (a) a single-module bottleneck at the initiation of colony formation, (b) allorecognition that limits colony fusion to close kin, (c) development of new modules from connective tissue, (d) synchronization of module budding, (e) programmed module death, (f) terminal differentiation of reproductive modules, and (g) architectural constraints. Effective mediation of module-level conflicts, however, may in some cases contribute to cell-level conflicts. Animal colonies typically have multipotent stem cells, and genetically variant stem cells can potentially monopolize gamete formation. Limiting colony fusion to close kin may not eliminate such conflict. Finally, in at least some taxa an association between photosymbiosis and coloniality is found. Allocation of photosynthate can lead to host-symbiont conflicts that can be mediated by housing symbionts intracellularly and using chemiosmotic mechanisms to detect defectors. Colonial animals thus serve as a living laboratory of evolutionary conflict and its mediation.

How colonial animals evolve.

The evolution of modular colonial animals such as reef corals and bryozoans is enigmatic because of the ability for modules to proliferate asexually as whole colonies reproduce sexually. This reproductive duality creates an evolutionary tension between modules and colonies because selection operates at both levels. To understand how this evolutionary conflict is resolved, we compared the evolutionary potential of module- and colony-level traits in two species of the bryozoan Stylopoma, grown and bred in a common garden experiment. We find quantitatively distinct differences in the evolutionary potential of modular and colony traits. Contrary to solitary organisms, individual traits are not heritable from mother to daughter modules, but colony traits are strongly heritable from parent to offspring colonies. Colony-level evolution therefore dominates because no evolutionary change can accumulate among its modules.

TopoDB: a novel multifunctional management system for laboratory animal colonies.

Animal models are widely employed in basic research to test mechanistic hypotheses in a complex biological environment as well as to evaluate the therapeutic potential of candidate compounds in preclinical settings. Rodents, and in particular mice, represent the most common in vivo models for their small size, short lifespan and possibility to manipulate their genome. Over time, a typical laboratory will develop a substantial number of inbred strains and transgenic mouse lines, requiring a substantial effort, in both logistic and economic terms, to maintain an animal colony for research purposes and to safeguard the integrity of results. To meet this need, here we present TopoDB, a robust and extensible web-based platform for the rational management of laboratory animals. TopoDB allows an easy tracking of individual animals within the colony and breeding protocols as well as the convenient storage of both genetic and phenotypic data generated in the different experiments. Altogether, these features facilitate and enhance the design of in vivo research, thus reducing the number of necessary animals and the housing costs. In summary, TopoDB represents a novel valuable tool in modern biomedical research. Database URL: https://github.com/UCSF-MS-DCC/TopoDB

Therapeutic potential of xanthones from Swertia chirata in breast cancer cells.

Background & objectives:Medicinal plants like Swertia chirata are rich sources of different xanthones. This study was aimed to assess the cytotoxic potential of four most abundant xanthones present in S. chirata both in vivo and in vitro in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC), a mouse transplantable breast carcinoma cell line and two human breast carcinoma cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231).Methods:Four xanthones derived from S. chirata namely 1-hydroxy-3,7,8-trimethoxyxanthone (XA), 1,8-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyxanthone (XB), 1-hydroxy-3,5,8-trimethoxyxanthone (XC) and 1,5,8-trihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone (XD) were used for determination of sub-lethal dose on the cell lines EAC, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and verified toxicity of sub-lethal dose on normal murine fibroblast cells. Cytotoxicity was measured in vivo and survivability of mice was plotted accordingly. Therapeutic efficacy of XD was evaluated both in vivo and in vitro by determination of lipid peroxidation (LPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and by quantitating the enzyme status (GSH, catalase, superoxide dismutase) in treated and untreated samples. DNA damage was evaluated using comet and DNA fragmentation assays. Furthermore, apoptotic effect was analyzed by flow cytometry and validated by TUNEL assay and Western blotting.Results:Among all the xanthones tested XD showed IC50 at the lowest dose, and normal cells were unaffected at this dose. Survivability of mice increased significantly when treated with XD compared to other xanthones and cisplatin. Significantly increased ROS and LPO were found in cancer cells as a result of XD treatment which was unaltered in normal cell line. XD induced DNA damage and apoptosis in cancer cell lines.Interpretation & conclusions:Our experimental data indicate that XD may potentially act as a chemotherapeutic agent by enhancing ROS in breast cancer cells thereby leading to apoptosis.

Somatic Mutations and Genome Stability Maintenance in Clonal Coral Colonies.

One challenge for multicellular organisms is maintaining genome stability in the face of mutagens across long life spans. Imperfect genome maintenance leads to mutation accumulation in somatic cells, which is associated with tumors and senescence in vertebrates. Colonial reef-building corals are often large, can live for hundreds of years, rarely develop recognizable tumors, and are thought to convert somatic cells into gamete producers, so they are a pivotal group in which to understand long-term genome maintenance. To measure rates and patterns of somatic mutations, we analyzed transcriptomes from 17 to 22 branches from each of four Acropora hyacinthus colonies, determined putative single nucleotide variants, and verified them with Sanger resequencing. Unlike for human skin carcinomas, there is no signature of mutations caused by UV damage, indicating either higher efficiency of repair than in vertebrates, or strong sunscreen protection in these shallow water tropical animals. The somatic mutation frequency per nucleotide in A.hyacinthus is on the same order of magnitude (10-7) as noncancerous human somatic cells, and accumulation of mutations with age is similar. Loss of heterozygosity variants outnumber gain of heterozygosity mutations ∼2:1. Although the mutation frequency is similar in mammals and corals, the preponderance of loss of heterozygosity changes and potential selection may reduce the frequency of deleterious mutations in colonial animals like corals. This may limit the deleterious effects of somatic mutations on the coral organism as well as potential offspring.

The Therapeutic Effect of Melatonin on GC by Inducing Cell Apoptosis and Autophagy Induced by Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

BackgroundGastric cancer (GC) is the main malignancy affecting a large population worldwide. Lack of effective enough treatment is one of the leading factors contributing to the high mortality rate. Melatonin, a naturally occurring compound, has been proven to exert cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects on human gastric cancers. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of anti-gastric cancer of melatonin remain elucidated. It is believed that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and its resultant unfolded protein response (UPR) are connected to the survival, progression, and chemoresistance of various tumor cells via multiple cellular procedures, such as autophagy. In this study, the effects of melatonin on human gastric cancer cell lines AGS and SGC-7901 was assessed to reveal the interaction between melatonin, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and autophagy in gastric cancer.MethodsCCK-8, the wound healing analysis, colony formation assay, immunofluorescence analysis, Western blotting, flow cytometry, and animal models were used in the current study.ResultsThe data demonstrated that melatonin could inhibit GC growth, proliferation, and invasion both in vivo and in vitro. Apoptosis and autophagy induced in a concentration-dependent manner is response to melatonin-induced ER stress. Melatonin induced the expression of apoptotic and autophagy-related proteins, which was markedly attenuated by the ER stress inhibitor 4-PBA and autophagy inhibitor 3-MA. In addition, we used the specific IRE1 inhibitor STF 083010, finding that inhibiting IRE1 could considerably relieve ER stress-induced autophagy activity, as revealed by the reduction of LC3-II and Beclin-1.ConclusionThis study confirmed that melatonin-induced inhibition of GC cell proliferation is mediated by the activation of the IRE/JNK/Beclin1 signaling.

Effects of sea animal colonization on the coupling between dynamics and activity of soil ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in maritime Antarctica

Abstract. The colonization by a large number of sea animals, including penguins and seals, plays an important role in the nitrogen cycle of the tundra ecosystem in coastal Antarctica. However, little is known about the effects of sea animal colonization on ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) communities involved in nitrogen transformations. In this study, we chose active seal colony tundra soils (SSs), penguin colony soils (PSs), adjacent penguin-lacking tundra soils (PLs), tundra marsh soils (MSs), and background tundra soils (BSs) to investigate the effects of sea animal colonization on the abundance, activity, and diversity of AOA and AOB in maritime Antarctica. Results indicated that AOB dominated over AOA in PS, SS, and PL, whereas AOB and AOA abundances were similar in MS and BS. Penguin or seal activities increased the abundance of soil AOB amoA genes but reduced the abundance of AOA amoA genes, leading to very large ratios (1.5×102 to 3.2×104) of AOB to AOA amoA copy numbers. Potential ammonia oxidation rates (PAORs) were significantly higher (P=0.02) in SS and PS than in PL, MS, and BS and were significantly positively correlated (P<0.001) with AOB amoA gene abundance. The predominance of AOB over AOA and their correlation with PAOR suggested that AOB play a more important role in the nitrification in animal colony soils. Sequence analysis for gene clones showed that AOA and AOB in tundra soils were from the Nitrososphaera and Nitrosospira lineages, respectively. Penguin or seal activities led to a predominance of AOA phylotypes related to Nitrososphaera cluster I and AOB phylotypes related to Nitrosospira clusters I and II but very low relative abundances in AOA phylotypes related to cluster II, and AOB phylotypes related to clusters III and IV. The differences in AOB and AOA community structures were closely related to soil biogeochemical processes under the disturbance of penguin or seal activities: soil C : N alteration and sufficient input of NH4+–N and phosphorus from animal excrements. The results significantly enhanced the understanding of ammonia-oxidizing microbial communities in the tundra environment of maritime Antarctica.

LncRNA COL1A1-014 is involved in the progression of gastric cancer via regulating CXCL12-CXCR4 axis.

The aberrant expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) is found in various types of cancers and also showed its association with the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC). We found lncRNA COL1A1-014 was frequently upregulated in GC. This study investigated COL1A1-014 for its biological function at both cellular and animal levels, using MTT, flow cytometry, colony formation and transwell assays. The expression levels of COL1A1-014 and other genes were detected by RT-PCR and western blot. Luciferase reporter assay was used to detect the potential binding of miR-1273h-5p to COL1A1-014 and CXCL12. We found that COL1A1-014 was frequently upregulated in GC tissues as well as cells. COL1A1-014 increased cell proliferation, colony forming efficiency, migration ability, invasion ability, and weight and volume of grafted tumors, while reduced cell apoptosis. Overexpression of COL1A1-014 increased the mRNA expression of chemokine (CXCmotif) ligand (CXCL12) and high levels of CXCL12 and CXCR4 proteins in GC cells. The levels of miR-1273h-5p showed an inverse correlation with COL1A1-014 and CXCL12 in GC cells transfected with miR-1273h-5p. The mRNAs of wild-type COL1A1-014 and CXCL12 showed reduction in HEK293 cells transfected with miR-1273h-5p. This suggested that COL1A1-014 functions as an efficient miR-1273h-5p sponge and as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to regulate CXCL12. The proliferative activity of COL1A1-014 on GC cells was blocked by CXCL12-CXCR4 axis inhibitor AMD-3100. These findings demonstrated that COL1A1-014 play an important regulatory role in GC development by functioning as a ceRNA in regulating the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis via sponging miR-1273h-5p.

Metabolic Activation and Scaling in Two Species of Colonial Cnidarians.

Metabolic activation can have a profound impact, for instance, by more than compensating for the lower resting metabolic rates of large organisms compared to smaller ones. In some animals, activity can easily be judged by the rate of muscle-driven movement. In sessile organisms, however, judging activity is less straightforward, although feeding often results in metabolic activation. Two colonial cnidarians were examined in this context, using entirely lab-grown material to remove any artifactual effects of experimental manipulations. Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus is a carnivorous hydroid that uses active muscular contractions to drive its gastrovascular fluid. Sympodium sp., on the other hand, is an octocoral that hosts photosynthetic Symbiodinium and uses cilia to propel its gastrovascular fluid. Measures of oxygen uptake indicated that feeding activated metabolism in H. symbiolongicarpus. While light treatment had no effect on subsequent dark metabolism in Sympodium sp., stress activated metabolism to an extent comparable to H. symbiolongicarpus. In both taxa, different individual size measures or synthetic size measures derived from principal component analysis produced different scaling relationships between metabolism and size. On balance, the data suggest that scaling was negatively allometric in Sympodium sp. and nearly isometric in H. symbiolongicarpus; yet metabolic activation was comparable in the two species. Regardless of the size measure used, active and resting colonies of H. symbiolongicarpus exhibited similar scaling relationships. Colonial animals may lack the large difference between resting and active metabolic rates found in highly active animals, and this may be related to how their metabolism scales with size.

Surveying Wild Animals from Satellites, Manned Aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs): A Review

This article reviews studies regarding wild animal surveys based on multiple platforms, including satellites, manned aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), and focuses on the data used, animal detection methods, and their accuracies. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of each type of remote sensing data and highlight some new research opportunities and challenges. Submeter very-high-resolution (VHR) spaceborne imagery has potential in modeling the population dynamics of large (>0.6 m) wild animals at large spatial and temporal scales, but has difficulty discerning small (<0.6 m) animals at the species level, although high-resolution commercial satellites, such as WorldView-3 and -4, have been able to collect images with a ground resolution of up to 0.31 m in panchromatic mode. This situation will not change unless the satellite image resolution is greatly improved in the future. Manned aerial surveys have long been employed to capture the centimeter-scale images required for animal censuses over large areas. However, such aerial surveys are costly to implement in small areas and can cause significant disturbances to wild animals because of their noise. In contrast, UAS surveys are seen as a safe, convenient and less expensive alternative to ground-based and conventional manned aerial surveys, but most UASs can cover only small areas. The proposed use of UAS imagery in combination with VHR satellite imagery would produce critical population data for large wild animal species and colonies over large areas. The development of software systems for automatically producing image mosaics and recognizing wild animals will further improve survey efficiency.

Targeting Super-Enhancer-Driven Oncogenic Transcription by CDK7 Inhibition in Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies, with no effective treatment currently available. The molecular mechanisms of ATC carcinogenesis remain poorly understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanisms and functions of super-enhancer (SE)-driven oncogenic transcriptional addiction in the progression of ATC and identify new drug targets for ATC treatments. Methods: High-throughput chemical screening was performed to identify new drugs inhibiting ATC cell growth. Cell viability assay, colony formation analysis, cell-cycle analysis, and animal study were used to examine the effects of drug treatments on ATC progression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing was conducted to establish a SE landscape of ATC. Integrative analysis of RNA sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, and CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing was used to identify THZ1 target genes. Drug combination analysis was performed to assess drug synergy. Patient samples were analyzed to evaluate candidate biomarkers of prognosis in ATC. Results: THZ1, a covalent inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7), was identified as a potent anti-ATC compound by high-throughput chemical screening. ATC cells, but not papillary thyroid carcinoma cells, are exceptionally sensitive to CDK7 inhibition. An integrative analysis of both gene expression profiles and SE features revealed that the SE-mediated oncogenic transcriptional amplification mediates the vulnerability of ATC cells to THZ1 treatment. Combining this integrative analysis with functional assays led to the discovery of a number of novel cancer genes of ATC, including PPP1R15A, SMG9, and KLF2. Inhibition of PPP1R15A with Guanabenz or Sephin1 greatly suppresses ATC growth. Significantly, the expression level of PPP1R15A is correlated with CDK7 expression in ATC tissue samples. Elevated expression of PPP1R15A and CDK7 are both associated with poor clinical prognosis in ATC patients. Importantly, CDK7 or PPP1R15A inhibition sensitizes ATC cells to conventional chemotherapy. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings demonstrate transcriptional addiction in ATC pathobiology and identify CDK7 and PPP1R15A as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ATC.

Hematology and Clinical Chemistry Reference Intervals for Inbred Strain 13/n Guinea Pigs (Cavia Porcellus ).

Inbred Strain 13/N Guinea Pigs are Frequently Used As Animal Models in Studies of Emerging and High-pathogenicity Viruses. To Date, Clinical Reference Intervals Have Not Been Established for Hematology and Clinical Chemistry Parameters in This Strain. We Obtained Whole-blood Samples from the Cranial Vena Cava of Healthy Strain 13/N Colony Animals for Inhouse Cbc and Clinical Chemistry Analyses. Analyte Values Were Investigated to Determine Subpopulation Differences According to Age and Sex. Glucose, Albumin, Alp, Lymphocyte Percentage, Hgb, and Mchc Decreased with Age, Whereas Neutrophil and Monocyte Percentages, Bun, Creatinine, Calcium, and Amylase Increased with Age. Total Protein and Wbc Counts Increased Over the First 300 D of Life Before Stabilizing. Across All Age Categories, Female Guinea Pigs Consistently Had Lower Rbc, Hct, Hgb, Alt, Alp, and Amylase Levels and Higher Mcv Values Than Males. These Trends Were Strongest in Adults (age, 151 Through 900 D). Most Parameters Stabilized by 300 D; Previous Studies Used 60 D or 120 D As Adult Age and 90 to 120 D As Sexual Maturity. We Recommend Age Group Definitions of 0 Through 150 D for Juveniles, 151 Through 900 D for Adults, and Older Than 900 D for Geriatric Adult Strain 13/N Guinea Pigs.