Biology subjects

Salmon, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Salmon, A..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Comparative lifespan and healthspan of nonhuman primate species common to biomedical research

There is a critical need to generate age- and sex-specific survival curves to characterize chronological aging consistently across nonhuman primates (NHP) used in biomedical research. Sex-specific Kaplan-Meier survival curves were computed in 12 translational aging models: baboon, bonnet macaque, chimpanzee, common marmoset, coppery titi monkey, cotton-top tamarin, cynomolgus macaque, Japanese macaque, pigtail macaque, rhesus macaque, squirrel monkey, and vervet/African green. After employing strict inclusion criteria, primary results are based on 12,269 NHP that survived to adulthood and died of natural/health-related causes. A secondary analysis was completed for 32,616 NHP that died of any cause. Results show a pattern of reduced male survival among catarrhines (African and Asian primates), especially macaques, but not platyrrhines (Central and South American primates). For many species, median lifespans were lower than previously reported. An important consideration is that these analyses may offer a better reflection of healthspan than lifespan since research NHP are typically euthanized for humane welfare reasons before their natural end of life. This resource represents the most comprehensive characterization of sex-specific lifespan and age-at-death distributions for 12 biomedically relevant species, to date. These results clarify relationships among NHP ages and provide a valuable resource for the aging research community, improving human-NHP age equivalencies, informing investigators of expected survival rates, providing a metric for comparisons in future studies, and contributing to understanding of factors driving lifespan differences within and among species.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2023

Sensory innervation of masseter, temporal and lateral pterygoid muscles in common marmosets

Myogenous temporomandibular disorders (TMDM) is associated with an increased responsiveness of nerves innervating the masseter (MM), temporal (TM), medial pterygoid (MPM) and lateral pterygoid muscles (LPM). This study aimed to examine sensory nerve types innervating MM, TM and LPM of adult non-human primate - common marmosets. Sensory nerves are localized in specific regions of these muscles. Pgp9.5, marker for all nerves, and NFH, a marker for A-fibers, showed that masticatory muscles were predominantly innervated with A-fibers. The proportion of C- to A-fibers was highest in LPM, and minimal (6-8%) in MM. All C-fibers (pgp9.5+/NFH-) observed in masticatory muscles were peptidergic (CGRP+) and lacked mrgprD, trpV1 and CHRNA3, a silent nociceptive marker. All fibers in masticatory muscles were labeled with GFAP+, a myelin sheath marker. There were substantially more peptidergic A-fibers (CGRP+/NFH+) in TM and LPM compared to MM. Almost all A-fibers in MM expressed trkC, with some of them having trkB and parvalbumin. In contrast, a lesser number of TM and LPM nerves expressed trkC, and lacked trkB. Tyrosine hydroxylase antibodies, which did not label TG, highlighted sympathetic fibers around blood vessels of the masticatory muscles. Overall, masticatory muscle types of marmosets have distinct and different innervation patterns.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Recent hybridization and allopolyploidy reprogrammed Spartina microRNA expression under xenobiotic induced stress.

Xenobiotic detoxification is a common trait of all living organisms, necessary for developmental plasticity and stress tolerance. The gene set involved in this biological process is dubbed the xenome (i.e. involved in drug metabolism in mammals, degradation of allelochemicals and environmental pollutants by bacteria and plant communities). Recently, we found that allopolyploidy increased tolerance to xenobiotics (phenanthrene) in Spartina. To decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying this process, we examined how interspecific hybridization and genome doubling impact miRNAs expression under xenobiotic induced stress. In this work we used a deep sequencing approach, and analyzed the parental species S. alterniflora and S. maritima, their F1 hybrid S. x townsendii and the allopolyploid S. anglica under phenanthrene exposure. We found that hybridization and genome doubling reprogrammed a myriad of miRNAs under phenanthrene-induced stress. Hence, to identify the master miRNAs involved in phenanthrene tolerance, we performed experimental functional validation of phenanthrene-responsive Spar-miRNAs using Arabidopsis T-DNA mutant lines inserted in homologous MIR genes, 39 knock out T-DNA Arabidopsis mutants, tagged in the most conserved miRNAs genes in vascular plants were screened. Development of MIR159 and MIR156 mutants was significantly affected under phenanthrene-induced stress. Subsequently, we performed in planta experimental validation to confirm the interaction between these miRNAs and their targets. These analyses suggest that MIR159 and MIR156 regulatory modules were targeted to induce the xenome relaxation and impact developmental plasticity responses in phylogenetically distant species under xenobiotic-induced stress. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=111 SRC="FIGDIR/small/875138v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (30K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9f620borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ddd2f5org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4501f1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@82962d_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG Graphical abstract C_FIG

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Phenanthrene contamination and ploidy level influence the rhizosphere microbiome of Spartina

Spartina spp. are widely distributed salt marsh plants that have a recent history of hybridization and polyploidization. These evolutionary events have resulted in species with a heightened resilience to hydrocarbon contamination, which could make them an ideal model plant for the phytoremediation/reclamation of contaminated coastal ecosystems. However, it is still unknown if allopolyploidization events also resulted in differences in the plant rhizosphere-associated microbial communities, and if this could improve the plant phytoremediation potential. Here, we grew two parental Spartina species, their hybrid and the resulting allopolyploid in salt marsh sediments that were contaminated or not with phenanthrene, a model tricyclic PAH. The DNA from the rhizosphere soil was extracted and the bacterial 16S rRNA gene and ITS region were amplified and sequenced. Generally, both the presence of phenanthrene and the identity of the plant species had significant influences on the bacterial and fungal community structure, composition and diversity. In particular, the allopolyploid S. anglica, harbored a more diverse bacterial community in its rhizosphere, and relatively higher abundance of various bacterial and fungal taxa. Putative hydrocarbon degraders were significantly more abundant in the rhizosphere soil contaminated with phenanthrene, with the Nocardia genus being significantly more abundant in the rhizosphere of S. anglica. Overall our results are showing that the recent polyploidization events in the Spartina did influence the rhizosphere microbiome, both under normal and contaminated conditions, but more work will be necessary to confirm if these differences result in a higher phytoremediation potential.\n\nImportanceSalt marshes are at the forefront of coastal contamination events caused by marine oil spills. Microbes in these environments play a key role in the natural attenuation of these contamination events, often in association with plant roots. One such plant is the Spartina, which are widely distributed salt marsh plants. Intriguingly, some species of the Spartina show heightened resistance to contamination, which we hypothesized to be due to differences in their microbiota. This was indeed the case, with the most resistant Spartina also showing the most different microbiota. A better understanding of the relationships between the Spartina and their microbiota could improve the coastal oil spill clean-up strategies and provide green alternatives to more traditional physico-chemical approaches.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing finds novel epigenome-wide response to oil pollution in the foundation plant Spartina alterniflora

Theory predicts that environmental challenges can shape the composition of populations, which is manifest at the molecular level. Previously, we demonstrated that oil pollution affected gene expression patterns and altered genetic variation in natural populations of the foundation salt marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora. Here, we used a reduced representation bisulfite sequencing approach, epigenotyping by sequencing (epiGBS), to examine relationships among DNA sequence, DNA methylation, gene expression, and exposure to oil pollution. We documented genetic and methylation differentiation between oil-exposed and unexposed populations, suggesting that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have selected on genetic variation, and either selected on epigenetic variation or induced particular epigenotypes and expression patterns in exposed compared to unexposed populations. In support of the potential for differential response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we demonstrate genotypic differences in response to oil under controlled conditions. Overall, these findings demonstrate genetic variation, epigenetic variation and gene expression are correlated to exposure to oil pollution, which may all contribute to the response to environmental stress.

ecology↗