Male Pairs Research Articles

Expression profile analysis of the transient receptor potential (TRPM) channel, a possible target of praziquantel in Schistosoma japonicum

The WHO considers schistosomiasis, which is controlled by the mass administration of the drug praziquantel (PZQ), to be a neglected tropical disease. Despite its clinical use for over four decades, PZQ remains the only choice of chemotherapy against this disease. Regarding the previous studies that demonstrated that PZQ activates the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel in Schistosoma mansoni (Sm.TRPMPZQ), the expression profile of the ortholog of this channel gene (Smp_246790.5) in S. japonicum (EWB00_008853) (Sj.TRPMPZQ) was analyzed. The relative expression of this gene in various stages of the parasite lifecycle was analyzed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR), and the expression of Sj.TRPMPZQ was observed by immunohistochemical staining using anti-serum against the recombinant Sj.TRPMPZQ protein. qRT-PCR revealed the significantly lower mRNA expression in the snail stage in comparison to other stages (p < 0.01). The relative quantity of the Sj.TRPMPZQ expression for paired females, unpaired males, and eggs was 60%, 56%, and 68%, respectively, in comparison to paired males that showed the highest expression (p < 0.05). Interestingly, immunostaining demonstrated that Sj.TRPMPZQ is expressed in the parenchyma which contains muscle cells, neuronal cells and tegument cells in adult worms. This may support the two major effects of PZQ—worm paralysis and tegument disruption—induced by channel activation. Moreover, the channel was expressed in both the eggshell and the miracidia inside, but could not be observed in sporocyst. These results suggest that the expression of Sj.TRPMPQZ corresponds to the known sensitivity of S. japonicum to PZQ.

Appropriate Primer Selection Improves Molecular Bird Sexing Accuracy

Birds sexing utilize the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique is increasingly being used by researchers and breeders. The PCR technique has high sensitivity, but its success is influenced by the specificity of the DNA template with the oligo primer used. This study aimed to evaluate 5 types of PCR primers P2/P8, 2550F/2718R, CHD1F/CHD1R, 1237L/1272H, and CHD1LF/CHD1LR to determine the sex of Phasianidae, Anatidae, Muscicapidae, and Psittacidae families. This research was conducted by tested primers mentioned above to amplify the target gene chromodomain helicase DNA binding 1 (CHD1) on DNA samples of each pair of males and females from four bird families, respectively. The results indicated that CHD1LF/CHD1LR PCR primer gave the best results and was recommended to determine the sex of four families tested. Some of other primers tested in this study failed to amplify targeted gene correctly, it is important to use appropriate primer to increase bird sexing accuracy.

Bonding against the odds: Male prairie vole response to the “widow effect” among females

Although pair bonding is the preferred mating tactic among socially monogamous prairie voles, naturalistic observations have demonstrated many males remain non-bonded. Moreover, although males readily re-bond after the loss of a partner, females do not (i.e., the “widow effect’). Few studies have attempted to address why so many males remain non-bonded or if a reluctance of re-bonding in females contributes to this outcome. We investigate how female bonding history impacts male pair bond formation. Specifically, we test two alternative hypotheses for how sexually naïve males will behave when paired with widow females. The fecundity hypothesis predicts males will avoid bonding with widow females and be more receptive to novel bond-naïve females. The preference to bond hypothesis predicts males will choose to bond and express a partner preference, irrespective of if a pair-mate is a widow or sexually naïve. Our results demonstrated that males expressed a partner preference for females regardless of their social history. These data support the preference to bond hypothesis and suggest natural variation in bonding may not be strongly due to males forgoing bonding opportunities.

Scent detection dogs as a novel method for oestrus detection in an endangered species, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).

Captive breeding is a critical tool for conservation of endangered species. Identifying the correct time to pair males and females can be a major challenge for captive breeding programmes, with current methods often being invasive or slow. Detection dogs may provide a non-invasive way to determine female receptivity, but this has not been explored in captive wildlife. This exploratory study investigated the use of detection dogs as a novel method of oestrus detection in the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Faecal samples were collected from 11 captive female devils during the breeding seasons of 2020 and 2021. Three dogs with prior detection experience were trained and subsequently assessed (n = 188 searches per dog), on their ability to discriminate between oestrus and non-oestrus devil faecal samples, in a one sample set-up. When assessed on training samples, dogs were able to correctly discriminate oestrus from non-oestrus with a mean sensitivity of 69.1% and mean specificity of 65.7%. When assessed on novel samples, their sensitivity to oestrus dropped (mean sensitivity of 48.6%). However, they were still able to correctly identify non-oestrus samples (mean specificity of 68.1%). This study is the first to explore detection dogs' ability to identify oestrus in a captive breeding programme for endangered wildlife, providing a promising tool for non-invasive monitoring of reproductive status in wildlife.

Bidirectional sex-change behavior and physiological aspects in the Gorgeous goby Lythrypnus pulchellus (Gobiidae).

The Gorgeous goby Lythrypnus pulchellus shows extreme sexual plasticity with the bidirectional sex-change ability socially controlled in adults. Therefore, this study describes how the hierarchical status affects hormone synthesis through newborn hormone waste products in water and tests the influence of body size and social dominance establishment in sex reversal duration and direction. The associated changes in behavior and hormone levels are described under laboratory conditions in male-male and female-female pairs of similar and different body sizes, recording the changes until spawning. The status establishment occurred in a relatively shorter time period in male and female pairs of different sizes (1-3 days) compared to those of similar size (3-5 days), but the earlier one did not significantly affect the overall time of sex change (verified by pair spawning). The changes in gonads, hormones, and papilla occurred in sex-changer individuals, but the first one was observed in behavior. Courtship started at 3-5 days in male pairs and from 2 h to 1 day in female pairs of both groups of different and similar sizes. Hormones did not gradually move in the new sexual phenotype direction during the sex-change time course. Nonetheless, estradiol regulated sex change and 11-ketotestosterone enabled bidirectional sex change and was modulated by agonistic interactions. Cortisol is associated with status and gonadal sex change. In general, similar mechanisms underlie sex change in both directions with a temporal change sequence in phases. These results shed new light on sex-change mechanisms. Further studies should be performed to determine whether these localized changes exist in the steroid hormone synthesis along the brain-pituitary gonad axis during social and bidirectional sex changes in L. pulchellus.

Interplay between male quality and male-female compatibility across episodes of sexual selection.

The processes underlying mate choice profoundly influence the dynamics of sexual selection and the evolution of male sexual traits. Consistent preference for certain phenotypes may erode genetic variation in populations through directional selection, whereas divergent preferences (e.g., genetically compatible mates) provide one mechanism to maintain such variation. However, the relative contributions of these processes across episodes of selection remain unknown. Using Drosophila melanogaster, we followed the fate of male genotypes, previously scored for their overall reproductive value and their compatibility with different female genotypes, across pre- and postmating episodes of selection. When pairs of competitor males differed in their intrinsic quality and their compatibility with the female, both factors influenced outcomes from mating success to paternity but to a varying degree between stages. These results add further dimensions to our understanding of how the interactions between genotypes and forms of selection shape reproductive outcomes and ultimately reproductive trait evolution.

Terminal type-specific cannabinoid CB1 receptor alterations in patients with schizophrenia: A pilot study

BackgroundIndividuals with schizophrenia are at elevated genetic risks for comorbid cannabis use, and often experience exacerbations of cognitive and psychotic symptoms when exposed to cannabis. These findings have led a number of investigators to examine cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) alterations in schizophrenia, though with conflicting results. We recently demonstrated the presence of CB1R in both excitatory and inhibitory boutons in the human prefrontal cortex, with differential levels of the receptor between bouton types. We hypothesized that the differential enrichment of CB1R between bouton types – a factor previously unaccounted for when examining CB1R changes in schizophrenia – may resolve prior discrepant reports and increase our insight into the effects of CB1R alterations on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. MethodsUsing co-labeling immunohistochemistry and fluorescent microscopy, we examined total CB1R levels and CB1R levels within excitatory (vGlut1-positive) and inhibitory (vGAT-positive) boutons of prefrontal cortex samples from ten pairs of individuals (nine male pairs and one female pair) diagnosed with schizophrenia and non-psychiatric comparisons. ResultsSignificantly higher total CB1R levels were found within samples from individuals with schizophrenia. Terminal type-specific analyses identified significantly higher CB1R levels within excitatory boutons in samples from individuals with schizophrenia relative to comparisons. In contrast, CB1R levels within the subset of inhibitory boutons that normally express high CB1R levels (presumptive cholecystokinin neuron boutons) were lower in samples from individuals with schizophrenia relative to comparison samples. ConclusionGiven CB1R's role in suppressing neurotransmission upon activation, these results suggest an overall shift in excitatory and inhibitory balance regulation toward a net reduction of excitatory activity in schizophrenia.

Bringing active learning, experimentation, and student‐created videos in engineering: A study about teaching electronics and physical computing integrating online and mobile learning

AbstractActive learning (AL) is a well‐known teaching method in engineering because it allows to foster learning and critical thinking of the students by employing debate, hands‐on activities, and experimentation. However, most educational results of this instructional method have been achieved in face‐to‐face educational settings and less has been said about how to promote AL and experimentation for online engineering education. Then, the main aim of this study was to create an AL methodology to learn electronics, physical computing (PhyC), programming, and basic robotics in engineering through hands‐on activities and active experimentation in online environments. N = 56 students of two engineering programs (Technology in Electronics and Industrial Engineering) participated in the methodology that was conceived using the guidelines of the integrated course design model (ICDM) and in some courses combining mobile and online learning with an Android app. The methodology gathered three main components: (1) In‐home laboratories performed through low‐cost hardware devices, (2) Student‐created videos and blogs to evidence the development of skills, and (3) Teacher support and feedback. Data in the courses were collected through surveys, evaluation rubrics, semistructured interviews, and students' grades and were analyzed through a mixed approach. The outcomes indicate a good perception of the PhyC and programming activities by the students and suggest that these influence motivation, self‐efficacy, reduction of anxiety, and improvement of academic performance in the courses. Even, the PhyC activities can reduce the differences in academic performance between women and male students and promote their improvement toward excellence with better results for courses combining online and mobile learning. Similarly, women students preferred to use more often tutoring services and had a better perception of the teacher's feedback than their male pairs. The methodology and previous results can be useful for researchers and practitioners interested in developing AL methodologies or strategies in engineering with online, mobile, or blended learning modalities.

A 10-Year Observational Study on Twin Pregnancy: Role of Fetal Sex Pairing on Obstetric Outcome.

Fetal sex contributes to the determination of obstetric outcome, as pregnancies carrying male babies seem to have an increased risk of maternal-fetal complications. Most studies have been conducted on singleton pregnancies, whereas less evidence is available for twins. A 10-year retrospective observational study was conducted on a cohort of 1180 women with twin pregnancy delivered at a single tertiary hospital. Clinical data on maternal characteristics, and obstetric and neonatal outcomes were collected, and the analysis was performed on monochorionic (MC) and dichorionic (DC) diamniotic twins separately. The group of DC twins included 837 cases, and those conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART) were more likely to have one or both female fetuses rather than males. The incidence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) was higher in same-sex pairs than in opposite-sex pairs. No differences were found regarding other obstetric and neonatal outcomes among the three sex-pairing groups. The MC twins group included 228 cases, and in female-carrying pregnancies a higher incidence of gestational diabetes (GDM) was observed compared to the male group. Furthermore, male pairs had significantly lower Apgar scores than females. Fetal sex seems to have a mild effect in twins compared to singleton pregnancies, suggesting a more complex set of factors contributing to pregnancy outcome in multiple pregnancies. However, we observed a higher incidence of HDP among same-sex DC pairs, a higher rate of GDM among MC female-female pairs, and a worse adaptation to extrauterine life among male-male pairs in MC twins.

Difference in the songs of paired and unpaired southern yellow-cheeked gibbon males (Nomascus gabriellae): social status or age?

All gibbons (Primates: Hylobatidae) are well known for emitting loud vocalizations specific for species and sex. The songs of paired and unpaired male southern yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) are characterized by the presence of staccato notes and multi-modulation phrases with two or more extremely rapid frequency modulations in the second note of each phrase. In addition, paired males also produce a coda vocalization, which is similar to the multi-modulation phrase of male calls but lacks the staccato notes and always occurs directly following the female great call as part of a pair-specific duet. The aim of this study was first to assess whether the songs of paired and unpaired males can be acoustically distinguished from one another and second, whether the coda vocalization differs from the multi-modulation phrase of the male call in paired males. To assess these issues, we analyzed 616 songs obtained from a long-term study of vocal development in 14 captive adult males (&amp;gt;7 years old), half of which were unpaired and significantly younger than paired subjects. For each song, we quantified nine acoustic features, for which we applied a suite of linear mixed effects models with social status as a fixed variable and age as a regression coefficient. This allowed us to compare (1) the structure of male calls (staccato notes and multi-modulation phrase) between paired and unpaired subjects, (2) the muti-modulation phrase of unpaired subjects to the coda vocalization of paired subjects, and (3) the multi-modulation phrase of paired males to the coda vocalization. We found that the male call of younger-unpaired subjects had a longer duration, broader frequency range, higher maximum frequency, and fewer staccato notes than their counterparts in paired subjects. The coda vocalization of older-paired males exhibited a larger number of frequency modulations than the multi-modulation phrase of all males. While the male call of younger-unpaired males differs from both the male call and the coda vocalization of older-paired males, further studies are necessary to disentangle the effects of age and pairing status.

The Influence of Gender on EFL learners’ Discourse Functions in a CMC Environment

This study investigates the role of gender on EFL Learners’ output of discourse functions obtained from computer-mediated communications (CMC) via Skype. The study seeks to answer the question: Are there any statistically significant differences among the total means of discourse functions generated by gender groups (same-gender (male-male (MM), and female-female (FF)) and mixed-gender (female-male (FM), and male-female (MF)))? Sixty-four undergraduates (32 females and 32 males) participated in the study. They were assigned into two gender main groups: same-gender (MM: 16 males who chatted in pair groups with each other; FF: 16 females who chatted in pairs with each other) and mixed-gender groups (32 participants (16 females chatting with 16 males in pairs, MF (males’ output) and FM (females’ output)). Participants were asked to chat in pairs for an hour. Results revealed that FF group produced significantly more discourse functions than all the other gender groups, by having the highest total mean.

On fourteen species of Euochin Prószyński, 2018 from China (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini).

Twelve new species of the jumping spider genus Euochin Prószyński, 2018 from southern China are described: Euochin bethunei sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. buziji sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. dongpo sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. extraculum sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. lingyi sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. nanjiabawa sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. nu sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. shenjun sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. tianhe sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. wanlessi sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. yangmei sp. nov. (♂ ♀), E. zegangi sp. nov. (♂ ♀). Two new combinations are proposed: Euochin bamianshanensis (Liu, Wang & Peng, 2020) comb. nov. and Euochin longyangensis (Lei & Peng, 2012) comb. nov. (both transferred from Euophrys C. L. Koch, 1834, with redescription and revision of male and female pairing provided for the latter). Diagnostic illustrations and photographs are provided.

Lone male loser? Effects of spatial isolation on male pairing success in the Ortolan Bunting (Emberiza hortulana)

Cover photo: Male Ortolan Bunting. Photo: Frode Falkenberg. In small, isolated or fragmented bird populations, past studies have shown that there can be a high proportion of unpaired males. Low male pairing success is suggested to be the result of female-biased natal dispersal and low female recruitment. Indirect evidence indicates that such an effect operates among populations with different degrees of isolation, but little is known of how isolation affects male pairing success within populations. The Norwegian population of Ortolan Buntings (Emberiza hortulana) is distributed in about 50 discrete patches in an area of nearly 500 km2. In this study, we examined whether patch isolation and individual male isolation affected male pairing success. The population has a strongly male-biased sex ratio, with almost half of all males being unpaired. We found that male pairing successs was negatively related to isolation of patches and isolation of individual males in most analyses, and with significant effects in particular in some analyses of individual isolation. Patch population size was measured as the total number of males observed in a particular patch in a specific year and did not have an effect on male pairing success, and was not related to patch isolation. Even though some tests were statistically significant, the magnitude of effects were small and there was large variance in male pairing success. Variance in success suggests that other factors than isolation such as male age or experience may be just as important for male fitness within our study population. Furthermore, we suggest that small effects of isolation were due to the ability of Ortolan Buntings to move large distances within the breeding season, and that isolation effects on small spatial scales are more likely for species with restricted dispersal, such as resident species or species with high population density.

Molecular characterization of Smtdc-1 and Smddc-1 discloses roles as male-competence factors for the sexual maturation of Schistosoma mansoni females.

Schistosomes are the only mammalian flatworms that have evolved separate sexes. A key question of schistosome research is the male-dependent sexual maturation of the female since a constant pairing contact with a male is required for the onset of gonad development in the female. Although this phenomenon is long known, only recently a first peptide-based pheromone of males was identified that contributes to the control of female sexual development. Beyond this, our understanding of the molecular principles inducing the substantial developmental changes in a paired female is stillrudimentary. Previous transcriptomic studies have consistently pointed to neuronal genes being differentially expressed and upregulated in paired males. These genes included Smp_135230 and Smp_171580, both annotated as aromatic-L-amino-acid decarboxylases (DOPA decarboxylases). Here, we characterized both genes and investigated their roles in male-female interaction of S. mansoni. Sequence analyses indicated that Smp_135230 represents an L-tyrosine decarboxylase (Smtdc-1), whereas Smp_171580 represents a DOPA decarboxylase (Smddc-1). By qRT-PCR, we confirmed the male-specific and pairing-dependent expression of both genes with a significant bias toward paired males. RNA-interference experiments showed a strong influence of each gene on gonad differentiation in paired females, which was enhanced by double knockdown. Accordingly, egg production was significantly reduced. By confocal laser scanning microscopy, a failure of oocyte maturation was found in paired knockdown females. Whole-mount in situ hybridization patterns exhibited the tissue-specific occurrence of both genes in particular cells at the ventral surface of the male, the gynecophoral canal, which represents the physical interface of both genders. These cells probably belong to the predicted neuronal cluster 2 of S. mansoni. Our results suggest that Smtdc-1 and Smddc-2 are male-competence factors that are expressed in neuronal cells at the contact zone between the genders as a response of pairing to subsequently control processes of female sexual maturation.

Familial Co-Aggregation of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies and Cancer: A Swedish Population-Based Study.

To examine if idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) share familial susceptibility with cancer, we estimated the familial co-aggregation of these diseases. This Swedish population-based family study with data from national registers included 8,460 first-degree relatives of patients with IIM and 41,127 relatives of matched individuals without IIM. We modeled the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of familial co-aggregation of IIM and cancer using conditional logistic regressions and adjusted for sex and birth year of index individuals and their first-degree relatives. We examined the associations for cancer overall and stratified by several factors of interest. We also performed exploratory analyses for specific cancer types. We observed no statistically significant familial associations between IIM and cancer overall. However, there was a familial association in male relative pairs of patients with dermatomyositis (adjusted OR for familial association 1.39 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.15-1.68]). The association remained statistically significant after controlling for multiple testing. Moreover, this finding was consistent between kinships. Familial co-aggregation of IIM and cancer diagnosed before 50 years of age was only observed in offspring. In exploratory analyses, only the familial associations for myeloid malignancies (adjusted OR 2.27 [95% CI 1.43-3.60]) and liver cancer (adjusted OR 2.01 [95% CI 1.21-3.33]) in male relative pairs remained significant after controlling for multiple testing. We found little evidence of shared familial susceptibility as a major pathologic mechanism contributing to the co-occurrence of IIM and cancer overall. There could be subsets of patients and cancer types for which familial factors including genetics and shared environments are of more importance, but these findings need replication.

Creatinine clearance is key to solving the enigma of sex difference in in-hospital mortality after STEMI: Propensity score matching and mediation analysis.

The precise impact of sex difference on in-hospital mortality in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients are unclear, and the studies are no longer consistent. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the impact of sex differences in a cohort of STEMI patients. We analyzed the data of 2647 STEMI patients enrolled in the Kermanshah STEMI Cohort from July 2017 to May 2020. To accurately clarify the relationship between sex and hospital mortality, propensity score matching (PSM) and causal mediation analysis was applied to the selected confounder and identified intermediate variables, respectively. Before matching, the two groups differed on almost every baseline variable and in-hospital death. After matching with 30 selected variables, 574 male and female matched pairs were significantly different only for five baseline variables and women were no longer at greater risk of in-hospital mortality (10.63% vs. 9.76%, p = 0.626). Among the suspected mediating variables, creatinine clearance (CLCR) alone accounts for 74% (0.665/0.895) of the total effect equal to 0.895(95% CI: 0.464-1.332). In this milieu, the relationship between sex and in-hospital death was no longer significant and reversed -0.233(95% CI: -0.623-0.068), which shows the full mediating role of CLCR. Our research could help address sex disparities in STEMI mortality and provide a consequence. Moreover, CLCR alone can fully explain this relationship, which can highlight the importance of CLCR in predicting the short-term outcomes of STEMI patients and provide a useful indicator for clinicians.

Sex-specific analysis of clinical features and outcomes in staphylococcal periprosthetic joint infections managed with two-stage exchange arthroplasty.

Background: Differences in susceptibility and response to infection between males and females are well established. Despite this, sex-specific analyses are under-reported in the medical literature, and there is a paucity of literature looking at differences between male and female patients with periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Whether there are sex-specific differences in presentation, treatment tolerability, and outcomes in PJI has not been widely evaluated. Methods: We undertook a retrospective case-matched analysis of patients with staphylococcal PJI managed with two-stage exchange arthroplasty. To control for differences other than sex which may influence outcome or presentation, males and females were matched for age group, causative organism category (coagulase-negative staphylococci vs. Staphylococcus aureus), and joint involved (hip vs. knee). Results: We identified 156patients in 78pairs of males and females who were successfully matched. There were no significant baseline differences by sex, except for greater use of chronic immunosuppression among females (16.4 % vs. 4.1 %; ). We did not detect any statistically significant differences in outcomes between the two groups. Among the 156 matched patients, 16 recurrent infections occurred during a median follow-up time of 2.9 (IQR 1.5-5.3) years. The 3-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 16.1 % for females, compared with 8.8 % for males ( ). Conclusions: Success rates for PJI treated with two-stage exchange arthroplasty are high, consistent with previously reported literature. This retrospective case-matched study did not detect a significant difference in outcome between males and females with staphylococcal PJI who underwent two-stage exchange arthroplasty.

Graph-matching distance between individuals' functional connectomes varies with relatedness, age, and cognitive score.

Functional connectomes (FCs), represented by networks or graphs that summarize coactivation patterns between pairs of brain regions, have been related at a population level to age, sex, cognitive/behavioral scores, life experience, genetics, and disease/disorders. However, quantifying FC differences between individuals also provides a rich source of information with which to map to differences in those individuals' biology, experience, genetics or behavior. In this study, graph matching is used to create a novel inter-individual FC metric, called swap distance, that quantifies the distance between pairs of individuals' partial FCs, with a smaller swap distance indicating the individuals have more similar FC. We apply graph matching to align FCs between individuals from the the Human Connectome Project and find that swap distance (i) increases with increasing familial distance, (ii) increases with subjects' ages, (iii) is smaller for pairs of females compared to pairs of males, and (iv) is larger for females with lower cognitive scores compared to females with larger cognitive scores. Regions that contributed most to individuals' swap distances were in higher-order networks, that is, default-mode and fronto-parietal, that underlie executive function and memory. These higher-order networks' regions also had swap frequencies that varied monotonically with familial relatedness of the individuals in question. We posit that the proposed graph matching technique provides a novel way to study inter-subject differences in FC and enables quantification of how FC may vary with age, relatedness, sex, and behavior.

Prolonged partner separation erodes nucleus accumbens transcriptional signatures of pair bonding in male prairie voles.

The loss of a spouse is often cited as the most traumatic event in a person's life. However, for most people, the severity of grief and its maladaptive effects subside over time via an understudied adaptive process. Like humans, socially monogamous prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) form opposite-sex pair bonds, and upon partner separation, show stress phenotypes that diminish over time. We test the hypothesis that extended partner separation diminishes pair bond-associated behaviors and causes pair bond transcriptional signatures to erode. Pairs were cohoused for 2 weeks and then either remained paired or were separated for 48hrs or 4wks before collecting fresh nucleus accumbens tissue for RNAseq. In a separate cohort, we assessed partner-directed affiliation at these time points. We found that these behaviors persist despite prolonged separation in both same-sex and opposite-sex paired voles. Opposite-sex pair bonding led to changes in accumbal transcription that were stably maintained while animals remained paired but eroded following prolonged partner separation. Eroded genes are associated with gliogenesis and myelination, suggesting a previously undescribed role for glia in pair bonding and loss. Further, we pioneered neuron-specific translating ribosomal affinity purification in voles. Neuronally-enriched transcriptional changes revealed dopaminergic-, mitochondrial-, and steroid hormone signaling-associated gene clusters sensitive to acute pair bond disruption and loss adaptation. Our results suggest that partner separation erodes transcriptomic signatures of pair bonding despite core behavioral features of the bond remaining intact, revealing potential molecular processes priming a vole to be able to form a new bond.

A nonsensory odorant-binding protein plays an important role in the larval development and adult mating of Spodoptera frugiperda.

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) play key roles in the perception of semiochemicals in insects. Several OBPs in insect olfactory systems have been functionally characterized, and they provide excellent targets for pest control. The functions of some OBPs that are highly expressed in the nonsensory organs of insects remain unclear. Here, the physiological function of an OBP (OBP27) that was highly expressed in the nonsensory organs of Spodoptera frugiperda was studied. OBP27 was nested within the Plus-C cluster according to phylogenetic analysis. The transcription of OBP27 steadily increased throughout the development of S. frugiperda, and transcripts of this gene were abundant in the fat body and male reproductive organs. An OBP27 knockout strain with an early frameshift mutation was obtained using the clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) / CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system. The development time of OBP27-/- larvae was significantly longer than that of other larvae. Both male and female OBP27-/- pupae weighed significantly less than wild-type (WT) pupae. In crosses of OBP27-/- males or females, the mating rate was lower and the mating duration was longer for OBP27-/- male-WT female pairs than for WT-WT pairs. By contrast, the mating rate, hatching rate, and number of eggs of OBP27-/- female-WT male pairs and WT-WT pairs were similar. These findings indicate that OBP27 plays an important role in the larval development and mating process in male adults. Generally, our findings provide new insights into the physiological roles of nonsensory OBPs.