Short Lifespan Research Articles

Perturbation of calcium homeostasis invokes eryptosis-like cell death in enucleated bone marrow stem cells

Enucleated cells, also known as cytoplasts, are valuable tools with a wide range of applications. However, their potential for bio-engineering is greatly restricted by the short lifespan. We postulated that the enucleation process damages the integrity of the plasma membrane and thus activates a cell death program(s). The results showed that a tiny hole was generated transiently on the plasma membrane when the nucleus was spun off, while force-gated ion channels were activated in response to the pulling by the nucleus. Influx of extracellular calcium stimulated the opening of calcium channels and the release of calcium from endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. Long lasting calcium transient increased protein phosphorylation and activated caspase 9 and calpain proteinase activities. Subsequently, mitochondria membrane permeability and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels were significantly elevated, which eventually led to eryptosis-like cell death. When extracellular calcium was maintained at optimal concentration, the lifespan of enucleated cells was extended; however, huge amounts of vacuoles appeared in the cytoplasm, possibly derived from enlarged autophagosomes. Inhibition of vacuolation by inhibitors of autophagy or in co-culture with primary muscle cells did not rescue cells dying from the paraptosis-like pathway. These results offer valuable insights for further investigation into the intricate mechanisms underlying enucleated cell death.

Overexpression of autophagy enhancer PACER/RUBCNL in neurons accelerates disease in the SOD1G93A ALS mouse model

AbstractAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating and fatal paralytic disorder associated with motor neuron death. Mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) misfolding and aggregation have been linked to familial ALS, with the accumulation of abnormal wild-type SOD1 species being also observed in postmortem tissue of sporadic ALS cases. Both wild-type and mutated SOD1 are reported to contribute to motoneuron cell death. The autophagic pathway has been shown to be dysregulated in ALS. Recent evidence suggests a dual time-dependent role of autophagy in the progression of the disease. PACER, also called RUBCNL (Rubicon-like), is an enhancer of autophagy and has been found diminished in its levels during ALS pathology in mice and humans. Pacer loss of function disturbs the autophagy process and leads to the accumulation of SOD1 aggregates, as well as sensitizes neurons to death. Therefore, here we investigated if constitutive overexpression of PACER in neurons since early development is beneficial in an in vivo model of ALS. We generated a transgenic mouse model overexpressing human PACER in neurons, which then was crossbred with the mutant SOD1G93A ALS mouse model. Unexpectedly, PACER/SOD1G93A double transgenic mice exhibited an earlier disease onset and shorter lifespan than did littermate SOD1G93A mice. The overexpression of PACER in neurons in vivo and in vitro increased the accumulation of SOD1 aggregates, possibly due to impaired autophagy. These results suggest that similar to Pacer loss-of function, Pacer gain-of function is detrimental to autophagy, increases SOD1 aggregation and worsens ALS pathogenesis. In a wider context, our results indicate the requirement to maintain a fine balance of PACER protein levels to sustain proteostasis.

Energy management strategy for fuel cell hybrid tractor considering demand power frequency characteristic compensation.

The application of fuel cell tractors is expected to drive technological upgrades and sustainable development in agricultural machinery. However, fuel cell hybrid systems face issues such as slow dynamic response, low efficiency, and short lifespan. This paper proposes an energy management strategy based on signal reconstruction methods, including Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD), to achieve optimal energy utilization and system efficiency based on frequency response characteristics. First, we collected data on the tractor's traction force and operating speed, and calculated the required traction power using a full-machine dynamics model built in MATLAB software. We conducted frequency response characteristic analysis of the fuel cell hybrid system based on EMD and VMD, establishing an energy management controller to sequentially meet the average power demand of the fuel cell under plowing load operations, the instantaneous acceleration power demand of the power battery, and the real-time compensation power demand of the supercapacitor. The results show that the EMD strategy exhibits good stability, while the VMD strategy performs better in terms of hydrogen consumption. Under the VMD strategy, the hybrid system achieves a maximum output efficiency of 55.0% with a total hydrogen consumption of 750g. Compared to the EMD strategy, the maximum efficiency of the system increases by 27.31%, and hydrogen consumption decreases by 3.49%. This study provides a new theoretical foundation and technological route for the application of fuel cell hybrid systems in the field of agricultural machinery.

Screening method and metabolic analysis of plant anti-aging microorganisms via ammonia-induced senescence in the duckweed Wolffia microscopica

Ammonium is the preferred N nutrition over nitrate for some plant species, but it is toxic to many other plant species and induces senescence at high concentrations. The duckweed Wolffia microscopica (Griff.) Kurz is the smallest and fast-growing angiosperm. It is highly sensitive to ammonium and has a short lifespan on media containing 0.5 mM or higher ammonia. This feature makes it a potential model plant to screen for anti-aging microorganisms. By co-culturing W. microscopica with endophytic microorgainisms isolated from rubber tree, we screened out an Aspergillus sclerotiorum strain ITBB2-31 that significantly increased the lifespan and the biomass of W. microscopica. Interestingly, both filter-sterilized and autoclaved exudates of ITBB2-31 increased the lifespan of W. microscopica cultures from 1 month to at least 7 months. Meanwhile, the exudates also showed strong anti-aging effects on cassava and the rubber tree leaves and increased chlorophyll contents by 50% - 350%. However, high contents of filter-sterilized exudates inhibited the growth of W. microscopica while extending its lifespan, indicating that there were heat-sensitive growth-inhibiting agents in the exudates as well. Comparative metabolome analysis of the filter-sterilized and autoclaved exudates revealed multiple heat-stable anti-aging and heat-sensitive growth-inhibiting compounds. Our results suggest that W. microscopica can be served as a rapid and efficient model plant to screen for plant anti-aging microorganisms.

Petrograd (Leningrad) physical and mathematical society in 1921–1930: science management, publishing activities, and international relations

Drawing on the archival materials, the article examines the activities of the Petrograd (Leningrad) Physical and Mathematical Society in the 1920s, focusing on those concerned with research, science management, publishing and international relations. Despite its relatively short lifespan, the Society’s efforts proved to be very fruitful: regular meetings were held where scientific papers were presented and discussed, a dedicated scientific journal was published, and scientific links were maintained both domestically and internationally. Prominent Russian scientists took an active part in the Society’s activities, including Ya. V. Uspensky, V. I. Smirnov, B. N. Delone (Delaunay), G. M. Fikhtengol’ts (Fichtenholz), V. A. Steklov, A. A. Fridman (Friedmann), V. A. Fok (Fock), A. S. Besikovich, S. N. Bernshtein (Bernstein), Ya. D. Tamarkin, R. O. Kuzmin, N. I. Muskhelishvili, L. G. Loitsyansky, B. G. Galerkin. Society members attended international congresses and conferences, establishing and promoting important scientific contacts with foreign scientists and enhancing the worldwide authority of Soviet mathematicians and physicists. However, in 1930, the Society decided upon self-dissolution due to a number of reasons: introduction of new regulation aimed at the reorganization of scientific societies, the escalation of conflicts among the mathematical community, and the beginning of repressions against some mathematicians. Nevertheless the Petrograd (Leningrad) Physical and Mathematical Society had made a significant contribution to the advancement of physical and mathematical sciences in our country.

An Iterative Exact Algorithm over a Time-Expanded Network for the Transportation of Biomedical Samples

In this article we propose an iterative algorithm to address the optimization problem of distributing a set of multiple highly perishable commodities in a healthcare network. In the biomedical sample transportation problem, numerous commodities with short lifespans presume multiple transportation requests at the same facility in a day and restrict the maximum time to reach their destination. These two characteristics create an interdependency between the routing and the pickup decisions in time that is highly complex. To address these timing issues, we model this problem as a service network design problem over a time-expanded network. Our solution method aggregates the network at two levels. First, the commodities are aggregated and artificially consolidated, reducing the symmetry arising when multiple transportation requests are solicited within a short period of time. Second, the space-time nodes in the network are constructed dynamically, thus reducing the size of the mathematical model to be solved at each iteration. Moreover, the method creates auxiliary networks to calculate good-quality primal bounds to the problem. Our algorithm proves to be efficient to solve a set of real-life instances from the Quebec laboratory network under the management of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (Ministry of Health and Social Services) with a detailed network of up to 2,377 periods and 277 transportation requests. History: Accepted by Andrea Lodi, Area Editor for Design & Analysis of Algorithms—Discrete. Funding: This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [Grants 2018-04609, 2020-06311]. Supplemental Material: The software that supports the findings of this study is available within the paper and its Supplemental Information ( https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/suppl/10.1287/ijoc.2023.0061 ) as well as from the IJOC GitHub software repository ( https://github.com/INFORMSJoC/2023.0061 ). The complete IJOC Software and Data Repository is available at https://informsjoc.github.io/ .

Structural, Mechanical, and Optical Properties of Laminate-Type Thin Film SWCNT/SiOxNy Composites

The development of new encapsulating coatings for flexible solar cells (SCs) can help address the complex problem of the short lifespan of these devices, as well as optimize the technological process of their production. In this study, new laminate-type protective composite coatings were prepared using a silicon oxynitride thin-film matrix obtained by curing the pre-ceramic polymer perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) through two low-temperature methods: (i) thermal annealing at 180 °C and (ii) exposure to UV radiation at wavelengths of 185 and 254 nm. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were used as fillers via dry transfer, facilitating their horizontal orientation within the matrix. The optical, adhesive, and structural properties of the matrix films and SiOxNy/SWCNT composite coatings, along with their long-term stability, were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-Vis spectroscopy, HR-SEM, spectral ellipsometry, and a progressive-load scratch test. In this work, the optical constants of PHPS-derived films were systematically studied for the first time. An antireflection effect was observed in the composites revealing their two-component nature associated with (i) the refractive index of the SiOxNy matrix film and (ii) the embedding of a SWCNT filler into the SiOxNy matrix. The curing method of PHPS was shown to significantly affect the resulting properties of the films. In addition to being used as protective multifunctional coatings for SCs, both SiOxNy/SWCNT composites and SiOxNy matrix films also function as broadband optical antireflective coatings. Furthermore, due to the very low friction coefficients observed in the mechanical tests, they show potential as scratch resistant coatings for mechanical applications.

A tripartite synergistic optimization strategy for zinc-iodine batteries

The energy industry has taken notice of zinc-iodine (Zn-I2) batteries for their high safety, low cost, and attractive energy density. However, the shuttling of I3− by-products at cathode electrode and dendrite issues at Zn metal anode result in short cycle lifespan. Here, a tripartite synergistic optimization strategy is proposed, involving a MXene cathode host, a n-butanol electrolyte additive, and the in-situ solid electrolyte interface (SEI) protection. The MXene possesses catalytic ability to enhance the reaction kinetics and reduce I3− by-products. Meanwhile, the partially dissolved n-butanol additive can work synergistically with MXene to inhibit the shuttling of I3−. Besides, the n-butanol and I− in the electrolyte can synergistically improve the solvation structure of Zn2+. Moreover, an organic-inorganic hybrid SEI is in situ generated on the surface of the Zn anode, which induces stable non-dendritic zinc deposition. As a result, the fabricated batteries exhibit a high capacity of 0.30 mAh cm−2 and a superior energy density of 0.34 mWh cm−2 at a high specific current of 5 A g−1 across 30,000 cycles, with a minimal capacity decay of 0.0004% per cycle. This work offers a promising strategy for the subsequent research to comprehensively improve battery performance.

Carry-over effects of Bacillus thuringiensis on tolerant Aedes albopictus mosquitoes

BackgroundThe biological larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Bti) represents a safe and effective alternative to chemical insecticides for mosquito control. Efficient control of mosquitoes implicates continuous and extensive application of Bti. This massive use of Bti imposes strong selective pressure, but the complex mode of action of the numerous synergistic Bti endotoxins lower the risk of the emergence of resistance. Although resistance to Bti has not been identified at the population level in nature, some larvae can survive Bti exposure, suggesting tolerance mechanisms. Here we investigated whether Bti-tolerant Aedes albopictus larvae experience any fitness costs. We also studied how this tolerance affects different aspects of the phenotype of the emerging adults that could be relevant for arboviral transmission.MethodsWe exposed Ae. albopictus larvae to lethal concentration of Bti and studied the fitness and gut microbiota of tolerant larvae and their adult counterparts. We further compared the transcript abundance of nine key immunity genes in the gut of Bti-tolerant larvae and their emerging adults versus those not exposed to Bti.ResultsOur results showed that Bti exposure has multifaceted impacts on Ae. albopictus mosquitoes during both larval and adult stages. The carry-over effect of Bti exposure on tolerant larvae manifested in reduced adult emergence rate, shorter lifespan, and decreased fecundity. Bti also alters the gut microbiota of both larvae and adults. We observed higher microbial diversity in Bti-tolerant larvae and changes in the richness of core microbiota. Bti infection and the altered microbiota triggered immune responses in the larval and adult guts.ConclusionsThe observed reduction in mosquito fitness and changes in the composition of the microbiota of adults emerging from tolerant larvae could negatively influence mosquito vectorial capacity. Understanding these impacts is crucial for evaluating the broader implications of Bti-based insecticides in mosquito control programs.Graphical

Characterizing the oral and gastrointestinal microbiome associated with healthy aging: insights from long-lived populations in Northeastern China.

The oral and gastrointestinal (GI) tract microbiota in humans is susceptible to geographical influences and represents vital factors impacting healthy aging. The northeastern region of China, characterized by distinct dietary and climatic conditions, significantly influences the human microbiome composition. However, the microbial structure of the entire long-lived population in this area has not been evaluated. This study recruited a cohort of 142 individuals aged 55-102 residing in Northeast China, and their oral and gut microbiota were evaluated using full-length 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. The results indicate that the oral and GI tract microbiota of long-lived individuals showed reduced microbial taxonomic richness and evenness compared to sub-longevity individuals. With aging, the core species experience a gradual decline in abundance, while subordinate species show an increase. The long-lived population exhibited a heightened ability to enrich beneficial bacteria including Akkermansia, Alistipes, Parabacteroides, and Eubacterium coprostanoligenes in the GI tract, which are associated with host metabolism and have the potential to act as probiotics, reducing the risks of unhealthy aging in the northeast population. Bifidobacterium sp. and Lactobacillus salivarius have been found to coexist in both the oral cavity and the GI tract of long-lived individuals. We hypothesize that beneficial bacterial taxa from the oral cavity colonize the GI tract more extensively in long-lived individuals compared to those with a shorter lifespan. These findings pave the way for identifying probiotic strains that can promote healthy aging in Northeast China.

Fluctuating population density of the goby Lubricogobius exiguus during the breeding season with artificial nests at Oto Beach, Kagoshima, southern Japan

AbstractCryptobenthic reef fish (CRF), which are benthic reef fish with body lengths of less than 50 mm, generally exhibit life history characteristics, such as a short lifespan, early maturation, high mortality, and microhabitat specialization. In this study, we investigated breeding season and population fluctuation patterns of a gobiid CRF fish Lubricogobius exiguus. At our field study site, the breeding season of L. exiguus extended from April to November. The population densities of L. exiguus fluctuated considerably, starting at low density early in the breeding season, increasing to a peak in the middle of the season, and stabilizing at a medium density by the end of the season. This seasonal pattern was influenced by two peaks in juvenile recruitment, and the adult population increased after these peaks. The fluctuating numbers of juveniles and adults suggest that some individuals may have a short post-settlement lifespan of less than 80 days.

Ballooning and Bursting of Barrels and Pipes: A Rare Case of Suspected Vascular Ehlers–Danlos Disease

Vascular Ehler–Danlos disease (vEDS), a rare subtype of a rare disease, is a life-threatening disease, with an increased risk for spontaneous vascular or visceral rupture. These patients have fatal complications ranging from vascular aneurysms, dissection, and rupture of systemic vessels to frequent thromboembolic events, the common causes of death in these individuals with a shortened life span. In the present case, a 28-year-old male with history of shoulder dislocations and spontaneous colon perforation presented to the primary care clinic with right lower extremity swelling and pain. His history includes presentation to the emergency department with left lower leg swelling with compartment syndrome one year prior. A CT angiogram of lower extremities and abdomen revealed acute arterial extravasation of the left posterior tibial artery, indicating a ruptured aneurysm along with aneurysms of the splenic artery and left common iliac artery. He was treated with a saphenous vein graft, but was associated with post-operative complications that necessitated below-knee amputation. CT angiogram of his right leg revealed occlusion of the anterior tibial and peroneal arteries with aneurysms, and, ultimately, he was referred to a tertiary care center for aneurysm embolization. This case report emphasizes the frequent vascular complications encountered in vascular EDS patients, and thus advocates for close and regular monitoring for early referral and surgical management of their vascular anomalies. Finally, genetic counseling and screening of asymptomatic family members should be routinely implemented in these patients.

Noninvasive Methods Unveil the Trophic Transmission of the Tapeworm Ligula intestinalis in Gull-Billed Terns.

Recent developments in microscopic and molecular tools have allowed the implementation of new approaches for assessing parasitic infections in wildlife populations. This is particularly important for the noninvasive detection and quantification of endoparasites in live animals. Here, we combined copromicroscopic (Mini-FLOTAC) and molecular (qPCR) techniques to detect the infection of the macroparasite Ligula intestinalis (Cestoda, Pseudophyllidea) in fresh droppings of Gull-billed Terns Gelochelidon nilotica (Charadriiformes, Laridae) breeding in southwestern Spain. Additionally, we sequenced the cytochrome b gene in parasite isolates from Gull-billed Terns (definitive host) and Common Bleak Alburnus alburnus (second intermediate host) sampled around tern colonies to explore potential genetic differences between the isolates. The qPCR test showed a higher prevalence (18%; in 13/73 samples) than Mini-FLOTAC (9%; in 8/88 samples), indicating that qPCR was more sensitive for diagnostic purposes than fecal flotation alone. Although the agreement between both techniques was substantial (84.2%) mainly due to the large number of uninfected samples, only Mini-FLOTAC allowed us to quantify parasite shedding. When combining techniques, the prevalence of infection did not differ between adults and chicks, suggesting frequent trophic transmission from parents to their offspring via food provisioning. Phylogenetic analyses identified four haplotypes in the isolates from Gull-billed Terns and Bleak, all of which were placed within a European clade composed of tapeworms recovered exclusively from phylogenetically derived cyprinid fish. This, combined with the short lifespan of mature tapeworms, suggests that Gull-billed Terns became infected after consuming infected fish around their breeding colonies rather than on their West African wintering grounds. Altogether, our results represent the first record of L. intestinalis in Gull-billed Terns and the first molecular characterization of the parasite in the Iberian Peninsula. This integrative coprodiagnostic protocol can be applied to other host-parasite systems, allowing researchers to study helminth infections in wild populations using a noninvasive approach.

Reliable yeast replicative lifespan determination with a single-channel microfluidic chip.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a powerful model for aging research due to its short lifespan and genetic malleability. Microfluidic devices offer an attractive approach enabling rapid monitoring of hundreds of cells during their entire replicative lifespan (RLS). Yet, key operational issues such as contaminations, cell loss, and cell aggregates-dependent flow obstruction can hinder RLS experiments. We report the development of a microfluidic device configuration that effectively prevents flow blockage. We conducted comprehensive performance characterization, evaluating trapping efficiency, cell retention, budding orientation, and cell aggregate formation. The optimized device successfully supported long-term culturing and reliable RLS measurements of budding yeast strains. For accurate lifespan determination, a detailed workflow is provided that includes device fabrication, live microscopy setup, and characterization of cell age distribution. This work describes an accessible and reliable microfluidic device for yeast RLS studies, promoting further exploration in aging research.

Effect of Edible Coatings on Morphological Characters of Strawberry Fruits

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) a member of rosaceae family, is a monoecious, short day, succulent, thalamus, perennial herb and quick growing fruit plant. Strawberries are processed into various value-added products such as canned strawberry, jam, jelly, ice cream, wine and other soft drinks. Strawberry is a delicious but delicate fruit with 2-4 days shelf life on ambient condition. Fruit of strawberry are very delicate and highly perishable in nature which resulted very short life span and considerable postharvest loss. The use of edible coating improved the shelf life of strawberry in general compared to untreated control. Significant difference was observed for effect of edible coating on strawberry for all the quality parameter during storage. The fruit weight, width and length decreased in all edible coating treatment. The minimum decrease in fruit weight, Width and length was recorded in treatment T7 (EC + Aloe vera gel 20%) while, the minimum decrease in volume and specific gravity of fruit in the same edible coating.

Transgenerational Effects on Lifespan and Pathology of Paternal Pre-conceptional Exposure to Continuous Low-dose-rate Gamma Rays in C57BL/6J Mice

The present work investigates the multigenerational effects of paternal pre-conceptional exposure to continuous low-dose-rate gamma rays in C56BL/6J mice. Male C57BL/6J (F0 sires) mice were exposed to low dose rates of 20, 1, and 0.05 mGy/day for 400 days, to total accumulated doses of 8,000, 400, and 20 mGy, respectively. Upon completion of the radiation exposure, the F0 male mice were immediately bred to non-irradiated 8-week-old C57BL/6J females (F0 dams) to produce the first-generation (F1) mice. Randomly selected F1 males and females were then bred to produce the second-generation (F2) mice. All the mice, except the F0 dams, were subjected to pathological examination upon natural death. Reproductive parameters, lifespan, causes of death, neoplasm incidences and non-neoplastic disease incidences were used as parameters to evaluate the biological effects of continuous pre-conceptional exposure of the sires (F0) to continuous low-dose-rate radiation. There were no significant differences in the pregnancy and weaning rates among the parent (F0) generation. Average litter size and average number of weaned pups (F1) from dams bred to males (F0) exposed to 20 mGy/day were significantly decreased compared to the non-irradiated controls. Significant lifespan shortening in the sires (F0) was observed only in the 20 mGy/day group due to early death from malignant lymphomas. Life shortening was also observed in the F1 progeny of sires (F0) exposed to 20 and 1 mGy/day, but could not be attributed to a specific cause. No significant differences in the causes of death were found between dose groups in any generation. The number of primary tumors per mouse was significantly increased only in the F0 males exposed to 20 mGy/day. Except for the increased incidence rate for Harderian gland neoplasms in sires (F0) exposed to 20 mGy/day, there was no significant difference in neoplasm incidences and tumor spectra in all 3 generations in each sex regardless of radiation exposure. No multi- or transgenerational effects in the parameters examined were observed in the F1 and F2 progeny of sires exposed to 0.05 mGy/day for 400 days.

Evolution of mate harm resistance in females from Drosophila melanogaster populations selected for faster development and early reproduction.

Interlocus sexual conflict is predicted to result in sexually antagonistic coevolution between male competitive traits, which are also female-detrimental, and mate harm resistance (MHR) in females. Little is known about the connection between life-history evolution and sexually antagonistic coevolution. Here, we investigated the evolution of MHR in a set of experimentally evolved populations, where mate-harming ability has been shown to have substantially reduced in males as a correlated response to the selection for faster development and early reproduction. We measured mortality and fecundity of females of these populations and those of their matched controls, under different male exposure conditions. We observed that the evolved females were more susceptible to mate harm - suffering from significantly higher mortality under continuous exposure to control males within the twenty-day assay period. Though these evolved females are known to have shorter lifespan, substantially higher mortality was not observed under virgin and single-mating conditions. We used fecundity data to show that this higher mortality in the experimentally evolved females was not due to the cost of egg production, and hence can only be attributed to reduced MHR. Further analysis indicated that this decreased MHR is unlikely to be due purely to the smaller size of these females. Instead, it is more likely to be an indirect experimentally evolved response attributable to the changed breeding ecology, and/or male trait evolution. Our results underline the implications of changes in life history traits, including lifespan, to the evolution of MHR in females.

Benchmarks defining high-quality sperm in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are increasingly recognized as valuable nonhuman primates (NHPs) for biomedical research due to their small size and short reproductive cycle and lifespan relative to other NHP species. Maximizing the utility of captive research marmosets, including genetically manipulated animals, will require the use of assisted reproductive techniques (ART) including manipulation, storage, and sharing of marmoset sperm. Here, we identify characteristics of high-quality semen samples and validate a simple method for selecting high-quality sperm. Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) was used to evaluate sperm quality in semen samples collected from 44 marmosets and assessed the use of the swim-up method for the selection of high-quality sperm was also tested in half the samples as a potential means to optimize in vitro fertilization or intrauterine insemination. For each reference parameter, samples at or below the 5th percentile were categorized as abnormal sperm, while those above the 5th percentile were considered to be normal. Among normal samples, those at or above the 50th percentile were categorized as high-quality. High-quality semen samples exhibited the following characteristics: semen volume ≥ 30µL; sperm count ≥ 107/ejaculate; total motility ≥ 35%; and normal morphology ≥ 5%. Sperm isolated by swim-up exhibited superior sperm progressive motility (19.7%±4.5vs. 5.6%±2.1; P=0.01) and normal morphology (13.1±1.59vs. 7.65±1.1; P<0.001) compared with unselected sperm. This study defines robust, statistically supported reference values for evaluating marmoset semen samples to assist with the identification of optimal sperm donors and the selection of high-quality sperm samples for assisted reproduction. Ultimately, these reference values combined with a validated selection method will contribute to consistent standards for the international sharing of genetically diverse and/or gene-edited marmoset sperm for research and reproduction.

First fossil mountain midges (Diptera, Deuterophlebiidae) and their evolutionary and ecological implication

We present here the first-ever fossil flies from the family Deuterophlebiidae. The recent adults have an exceptionally brief lifespan, with males surviving only two hours. Their distinctive features include a complete reduction of mouthparts, and wing venation characterized by a dense net of false veins replacing most of true veins. Due to this distinctive venation the phylogenetic position of Deuterophlebiidae was unclear, compounded by the absence of fossils that could shed light on the early development of these characters. Two new genera and species are described from Burmese amber, Protodeuterophlebia oosterbroeki Krzemiński, Krzemińska & Soszyńska, gen. et sp. nov. and Cretodeuterophlebia courtneyi, Krzemiński, Skibińska & Kopeć, gen. et sp. nov. They date back the age of the family to the mid-Cretaceous. Notably, the fossils reveal first false veins and reduced mouthparts, suggesting a short lifespan in these Cretaceous mountain midges. A comparative analysis of wing venation indicated the Hennigmatidae as a plausible ancestral group to the Deuterophlebiidae. A syninclusion of mayfly indicates the coexistence of these short-lived insects during the same flight period. This synchrony extends to their brief time in flight aligning with the flow of fluid resin. The occurrence of these simultaneous events is extremely low, emphasizing the significance of these findings.

DGRPool, a web tool leveraging harmonized Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel phenotyping data for the study of complex traits

Genome-wide association studies have advanced our understanding of complex traits, but studying how a GWAS variant can affect a specific trait in the human population remains challenging due to environmental variability. Drosophila melanogaster is in this regard an excellent model organism for studying the relationship between genetic and phenotypic variation due to its simple handling, standardized growth conditions, low cost, and short lifespan. The Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP) in particular has been a valuable tool for studying complex traits, but proper harmonization and indexing of DGRP phenotyping data is necessary to fully capitalize on this resource. To address this, we created a web tool called DGRPool (dgrpool.epfl.ch), which aggregates phenotyping data of 1034 phenotypes across 135 DGRP studies in a common environment. DGRPool enables users to download data and run various tools such as genome-wide (GWAS) and phenome-wide (PheWAS) association studies. As a proof-of-concept, DGRPool was used to study the longevity phenotype and uncovered both established and unexpected correlations with other phenotypes such as locomotor activity, starvation resistance, desiccation survival, and oxidative stress resistance. DGRPool has the potential to facilitate new genetic and molecular insights of complex traits in Drosophila and serve as a valuable, interactive tool for the scientific community.