Biology subjects

Albrecht, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Albrecht, T..

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Sterically enhanced control of enzyme-assisted DNA assembly

Traditional methods for the assembly of functionalised DNA structures, involving enzyme restriction and modification, present difficulties when working with small DNA fragments (<100bp), in part due to a lack of control over enzymatic action during the DNA modification process. This limits the design flexibility and range of accessible DNA structures. Here, we show that these limitations can be overcome by introducing chemical modifications into the DNA, which spatially restrict enzymatic activity. This approach, Sterically Controlled Nuclease Enhanced (SCoNE) DNA assembly, thereby circumvents the size limitations of conventional Gibson assembly (GA) and allows for the preparation of well-defined, functionalised DNA structures with multiple probes for specific analytes, such as IL-6, procalcitonin (PCT), and a biotin reporter group. Notably, using the same starting materials conventional GA under typical conditions fails. We demonstrate successful analyte capture based on standard and modified sandwich ELISA and also show how the inclusion of biotin probes provides additional functionality for product isolation.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2022

Urban birds' flight responses were unaffected by the COVID-19 shutdowns

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically altered human activities, and, during shutdowns. Here, we evaluated whether urban birds from five countries changed their tolerance towards humans during the COVID-19 shutdowns. We collected 6369 flight initiation distance estimates for 147 bird species and found that human numbers in parks (at a given hour, day, week or year - before and during the COVID-19 shutdowns) had a little effect on birds tolerance of approaching humans. Apart from the actual human numbers in the area (hourly scale), the effect of human activity at other temporal scales centered around zero. The results were similar across countries, for most species or when we restricted our analyses only to species sampled both before and during the COVID-19 shutdowns. As expected, the level of daily human presence in parks (measured by Google Mobility Reports) correlated negatively with the stringency of governmental restrictions (a weekly proxy for human presence) and was overall lower during COVID-19 shutdowns than during the post-shutdown year (2022). Our results highlight the resilience of birds to changes in human numbers on multiple temporal scales, the complexities of linking animal fear responses to human behavior, and the challenge of quantifying both simultaneously in situ.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2020

The sources of sex differences in aging in annual fishes

Sex differences in lifespan and aging are widespread among animals, with males usually the shorter-lived sex. Despite extensive research interest, it is unclear how lifespan differences between the sexes are modulated by genetic, environmental and social factors. We combined comparative data from natural populations of annual killifishes with experimental results on replicated captive populations, showing that females consistently outlived males in the wild. This sex-specific survival difference persisted in social environment only in two most aggressive species, and ceased completely when social and physical contacts were prevented. Demographically, neither an earlier start nor faster rate of aging accounted for shorter male lifespans, but increased baseline mortality and the lack of mortality deceleration in the oldest age shortened male lifespan. The sexes did not differ in any measure of functional aging we recorded. Overall, we demonstrate that sex differences in lifespan and aging may be ameliorated by modulating social and environmental conditions.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Ecology and Epidemiology of Wheat Curl Mite and Mite-Transmissible Viruses in Colorado and Insights into the Wheat Virome

The wheat curl mite (WCM)-transmissible wheat streak disease complex is the most serious disease of wheat in the U.S. Great Plains. In the current study, we determined the genetic variability in WCM and mite-transmitted viruses in Colorado and identified sources of resistance in Colorado wheat germplasm to wheat streak disease complex. We identified two distinct genotypes of WCM, Type 1 and Type 2 based on the ribosomal ITS1 region. Both genotypes were found to co-exist throughout the wheat producing regions of Colorado. Analysis of the whole genome and partial coat protein sequences revealed rich diversity of wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and High Plains wheat mosaic virus (HPWMoV) isolates collected from Colorado, whereas triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) showed low sequence variability. Analysis of WSMV isolates revealed two novel isolates and one that was 100% similar to a new variant of WSMV from Kansas. Interestingly, between 2-4 genotypes of all 8 RNA segments of HPWMoV were identified, which suggests new variants of emaraviruses and co-occurrence of multiple strains within host populations. Several novel viruses including mycoviruses were identified for the first time in Colorado. We found variation in WSMV resistance among wheat varieties; however a variety that harbored dual resistance to mite and WSMV had lower virus titer compared to varieties that contained single resistance gene. This suggests that pyramiding genes will ensure improved and durable resistance. Future research may be aimed at elucidating the dynamics, diversity, and distribution of the new WSMV and HPWMoV isolates and their responses to wheat genotypes.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2020

Inter-annual stability and age-dependent changes in plasma testosterone levels in a longitudinally monitored free-living passerine bird

While seasonal trends in the testosterone-driven hormonal regulation of resource allocation are known from cohort population samples, data on the inter-annual individual stability of blood plasma testosterone levels in wild birds are lacking, and our understanding of age-dependent changes is limited. We assessed plasma testosterone levels in 105 samples originating from 49 repeatedly captured free-living great tits (Parus major) to investigate their relative long-term stability and lifetime changes. Furthermore, we examined the inter-annual stability of selected condition-related traits (carotenoid- and melanin-based plumage ornamentation, ptilochronological feather growth rate, body mass, and haematological heterophil/lymphocyte ratio) and their relationships to testosterone levels. We show that testosterone levels in both sexes are inter-annually repeatable, both in their absolute values and individual ranks (indicating the maintenance of relative status in a population), yet with higher stability in females. Despite this stability, in males we found a quadratic dependence of testosterone levels on age, with a peak in midlife. In contrast, female testosterone levels showed no lifetime trend. The inter-annual stability of condition-related traits was mostly moderate and unrelated to plasma testosterone concentrations. However, males with elevated testosterone had significantly higher carotenoid-pigmented yellow plumage brightness, presumably serving as a sexually selected trait. Showing inter-annual stability in testosterone levels, this research opens the way to further understanding of the causes of variation in fitness-related traits. Based on a unique longitudinal dataset, this study demonstrates that male plasma testosterone undergoes age-related changes that may regulate resource allocation. Our results thus demonstrate that male birds undergo hormonal senescence similar to mammals.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2020

A global analysis of song frequency in passerines provides no support for the acoustic adaptation hypothesis but suggests a role for sexual selection

Many animals use acoustic signals for communication, implying that the properties of these signals can be under strong selection. The acoustic adaptation hypothesis predicts that species living in dense habitats emit lower-frequency sounds than those in open areas, because low-frequency sounds generally propagate further in denser vegetation. Signal frequency may also be under sexual selection, because it correlates with body size and lower-frequency sounds are perceived as more intimidating. Here, we evaluate these hypotheses by analysing variation in peak song frequency across 5,085 passerine species (Passeriformes). A phylogenetically-informed analysis revealed that song frequency decreases with increasing body mass and with male-biased sexual size dimorphism. However, we found no support for the predicted relationship between frequency and habitat. Our results suggest that the global variation in passerine song frequency is mostly driven by natural and sexual selection causing evolutionary shifts in body size rather than by habitat-related selection on sound propagation. Statement of authorshipTA and PM conceived and designed the study with input from all authors. TA and BK coordinated the study. PM collected the song data. MV performed the statistical analyses with input from WF. MB made the figures with help from MV and PM. TP and HB provided bioacoustic expertise. PM drafted the first version of the manuscript. TA, BK and PM revised and finalized the manuscript with input from all authors. Data availability statementThe data used in this study were collected from publicly available databases. All data and computer code used to generate the results, as well as supplementary figures and tables will be freely available at https://osf.io/fa9ky/.

evolutionary biology↗