Biology subjects

Batista, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Batista, R..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

First Comprehensive Examination of the Molecular Phylogenetics of Saki Monkeys, Genus Pithecia Desmarest, 1804, Reveals an Unexpectedly Low Taxonomic Diversity

Saki monkeys (Pithecia) are found exclusively in the Amazon, ranging from the Guiana Shield in the east to the Andean foothills in the west. The taxonomy of this genus is complex due to indeterminate type localities, numerous synonyms, sexual dichromatism and considerable geographical diversity in coat colour patterns. Previous assessments have indicated two to four species and a variable few subspecies based on morphological analyses of museum specimens. Just two species have been consistently recognised--Pithecia pithecia and Pithecia monachus. This study presents the first comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the genus, using mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences from 137 individuals across their range and a ddRADseq genomic analysis on 34 individuals. The phylogenetic results revealed three main clades: (1) Guiana Shield sakis, (2) Sedimentary Basin and Brazilian Shield sakis, and (3) a basal P. albicans south of the Rio Solimoes. The ddRADseq data further clarified species boundaries and relationships, identifying six distinct species: P. chrysocephala and P. pithecia sensu Hershkovitz (1987) on the Guiana Shield; P. albicans in central Amazonia south of the Rio Solimoes; P. monachus in western Amazonia; P. irrorata between the rios Purus, Tapajos, and Juruena; and P. vanzolinii in a limited area east of the Rio Jurua.

zoology↗

bioRxiv2023

Comparison of dental topography of marmosets and tamarins (Callitrichidae) to other platyrrhine primates using a novel freeware pipeline

Dental topographic metrics (DTMs), which quantify different aspects of the shape of teeth, are powerful tools for studying dietary adaptation and evolution in mammals. However, comparative samples of scanned mammal teeth suitable for analysis with DTMs remain limited in size and scope, with little or no representation of some major lineages, even within well-studied clades such as primates. In addition, current DTM protocols usually rely on proprietary software, which may be unavailable to many researchers for reasons of cost. We address these issues in the context of a DTM analysis of the primate clade Platyrrhini ("New World monkeys") by: 1) presenting a large comparative sample of scanned second lower molars (m2s) of callitrichids (marmosets and tamarins), which were previously underrepresented in publicly available platyrrhine datasets; and 2) giving full details of an entirely freeware pipeline for DTM analysis. We also present an updated discrete dietary classification scheme for extant platyrrhines, based on cluster analysis of dietary data extracted from 98 primary studies. Our freeware pipeline performs equally well in dietary classification accuracy of an existing sample of platyrrhine m2s (excluding callitrichids) as a published protocol that uses proprietary software, at least when multiple DTMs are combined. Individual DTMs however, sometimes showed very different results in classification accuracies between that of our freeware pipeline and that of the proprietary protocol, most likely due to the differences in the smoothing functions used. The addition of callitrichids still resulted in high classification accuracy in predicting diet with combined DTMs, although accuracy was considerably higher when molar size was included (90%) than excluded (73%). We conclude that our new freeware DTM pipeline is capable of accurately predicting diet in platyrrhines based on tooth shape and size, and so is suitable for inferring probable diet of taxa for which direct dietary information is unavailable, such as fossil species.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2023

The impact of Quaternary Amazonian river dynamics on patterns and process of diversification in uakari monkeys (genus Cacajao)

AimWestern Amazonia is a region that underwent several landscape changes during the Quaternary. While Riverine Barrier Hypothesis is traditionally used to explain the influence of rivers on speciation, processes such as river rearrangements have been overlooked to explain the geographic distribution and evolutionary history of the Amazonia biota. Here we test how river rearrangements in western Amazonia influenced the evolutionary history of uakari monkeys, a primate group most associated with seasonally flooded forests in western Amazonia. LocationWestern Amazonia TaxonThe uakari monkey (genus Cacajao) MethodsWe performed a continuous phylogeographic analysis using 77 cytochrome b sequences and used digital elevation models to identify the role of landscape and riverscape characteristics in the geographic distribution of Cacajao. Finally, we used genome-wide SNPs variation (ddRADseq) to investigate population structure, gene flow and demographic history in three Cacajao species that were impacted by river rearrangements. ResultsOur continuous phylogeographical reconstruction points that the ancestral Cacajao lineage occupied the flooded forests of the Solimoes River at [~]1.7 Mya, and descendant lineages dispersed throughout western Amazonia more recently. We identified gene flow among both black and bald-headed uakari populations, even across rivers considered barriers (e.g., the Negro River). Landscape analysis showed that river rearrangements influenced the geographic distribution and population structure in Cacajao. The demographic analysis indicates that C. calvus, C. amuna, and C. rubicundus went through a population decline in the last 70 Kya and have a low effective population size. Main conclusionOur results support that the river rearrangements have shaped the geographic distribution and divergence of recently diverged Cacajao lineages. Landscape and riverscape changes, along with retractions of the flooded forests, isolated some Cacajao populations in floodplain areas. Our study also suggests that these events led to the recent population decline in species with a restricted geographic distribution.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

DISRUPTION OF SYMPATHETIC OUTFLOW TO INTRA-ABDOMINAL ORGANS EMULATES THE METABOLIC EFFECTS OF SLEEVE GASTRECTOMY IN OBESE MICE

Although sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is the most commonly performed bariatric surgery in the US, its mechanistic underpinnings have not been fully determined. Thus, we set out to investigate whether SGs effects on the peripheral sympathetic system could mediate the metabolic effects of SG. The celiac-superior mesenteric ganglia (CSMG) lie juxtaposed to the stomach and supply the sympathetic innervation of the stomach, as well as to numerous intra-abdominal organs relevant to metabolism. Here we investigated the effects of SG on the CSMG. SG led to the degeneration of neurons in the CSMG, as evidenced by chromatolysis, which was not found in control mice. Furthermore, CSMG ablation (CGX) completely recapitulated the glycemic and weight loss effects of SG, promoting weight loss at the expense of fat mass in both males and females. Glycemic improvement was robust in males but much more modest in female mice. Norepinephrine tissue content measurement by high performance liquid chromatography revealed that liver, duodenum, and ileum were organs where both SG and CGX displayed evidence of significant sympathetic denervation. Both SG and CGX were associated with increased levels of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and high free fatty acid content in the stools. In conclusion, CSMG neuronal degeneration caused by SG appears to be a mediator of the metabolic effects of this type of bariatric surgery.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

A Single Multipurpose FSH-Blocking Therapeutic for Osteoporosis and Obesity

Pharmacological and genetic studies over the past decade have established FSH as an actionable target for diseases affecting millions, notably osteoporosis, obesity and Alzheimers disease (AD). Blocking FSH action prevents bone loss, fat gain and AD-like features in mice. We recently developed a first-in-class, humanized, epitope-specific FSH blocking antibody, MS-Hu6, with a KD of 7.52 nM. Using a GLP-compliant platform, we now report the efficacy of MS-Hu6 in preventing obesity and osteoporosis in mice, and parameters of acute safety in monkeys. Biodistribution studies using 89Zr-labelled, biotinylated or unconjugated MS-Hu6 in mice and monkeys showed localization to bone, bone marrow and fat depots. MS-Hu6 displayed a {beta} phase t[1/2] of 13 days (316 hours) in humanized Tg32 mice, and bound endogenous FSH. We tested 215 variations of excipients using the protein thermal shift assay to generate a final formulation that rendered MS-Hu6 stable in solution upon freeze-thaw and at different temperatures, with minimal aggregation, and without self-, cross-, or hydrophobic interactions or appreciable binding to relevant human antigens. MS-Hu6 showed the same level of "humanness" as human IgG1 in silico, and was non-immunogenic in ELISPOT assays for IL-2 and IFN{gamma} in human peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures. We conclude that MS-Hu6 is efficacious, durable and manufacturable, and is therefore poised for future human testing as a multipurpose therapeutic.

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2021

Genomic architecture controls spatial structuring in Amazonian birds

Large rivers are ubiquitously invoked to explain the distributional limits and speciation of the Amazon Basins mega-diversity. However, inferences on the spatial and temporal origins of Amazonian species have narrowly focused on evolutionary neutral models, ignoring the potential role of natural selection and intrinsic genomic processes known to produce heterogeneity in differentiation across the genome. To test how genomic architecture impacts our ability to reconstruct patterns of spatial diversification across multiple taxa, we sequenced whole genomes for populations of bird species that co-occur in southeastern Amazonian. We found that phylogenetic relationships within species and demographic parameters varied across the genome in predictable ways. Genetic diversity was positively associated with recombination rate and negatively associated with the species tree topology weight. Gene flow was less pervasive in regions of low recombination, making these windows more likely to retain patterns of population structuring that matched the species tree. We further found that approximately a third of the genome showed evidence of selective sweeps and linked selection skewing genome-wide estimates of effective population sizes and gene flow between populations towards lower values. In sum, we showed that the effects of intrinsic genomic characteristics and selection can be disentangled from the neutral processes to elucidate how speciation hypotheses and biogeographic patterns are sensitive to genomic architecture.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2018

Uromonitor(R) as a novel sensitive and specific urine-based test for recurrence surveillance of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is the most frequent malignancy of the urinary system and is ranked the seventh most diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. About 70-75% of all newly diagnosed patients with bladder cancer will present disease confined to the mucosa or submucosa, the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) subtype. Of those, approximately 70% will recur after transurethral resection (TUR). Due to this high rate of recurrence, patients are submitted to an intensive follow-up program that should be maintained throughout many years, or even throughout life, resulting in an expensive follow-up, with cystoscopy being the most cost-effective procedure for NMIBC screening. Currently, the gold standard procedure for detection and follow-up of NMIBC is based on the association of cystoscopy and urine cytology. As cystoscopy is a very invasive approach, over the years, many different non-invasive (both in serum and urine samples) assays have been developed in order to search genetic and protein alterations related to the development, progression and recurrence of bladder cancer. TERT promoter mutations and FGFR3 hotspot mutations are the most frequent somatic alterations in bladder cancer and constitute the most reliable biomarkers for bladder cancer. Based on these findings, an ultra-sensitive assay called Uromonitor(R) was developed that corresponds to a urine-based assay capable of detecting trace amounts of the two most common alterations in NMIBC, TERT promoter and FGFR3 mutation, in urine samples. The Uromonitor(R) test was performed in a cohort of 72 patients, firstly diagnosed with bladder cancer and under surveillance for NMIBC, to access its sensitivity and specificity in the detection of NMIBC recurrence. Uromonitor(R) was shown to be highly sensitive and specific in detecting recurrence of bladder cancer in patients under surveillance of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.

cancer biology↗