386 research outputs found
The genomes of the yaws bacterium, Treponema pallidum subsp. pertenue, of nonhuman primate and human origin are not genomically distinct.
No full textBackgroundTreponema pallidum subsp. pertenue (TPE) is the causative agent of human yaws. Yaws is currently reported in 13 endemic countries in Africa, southern Asia, and the Pacific region. During the mid-20th century, a first yaws eradication effort resulted in a global 95% drop in yaws prevalence. The lack of continued surveillance has led to the resurgence of yaws. The disease was believed to have no animal reservoirs, which supported the development of a currently ongoing second yaws eradication campaign. Concomitantly, genetic evidence started to show that TPE strains naturally infect nonhuman primates (NHPs) in sub-Saharan Africa. In our current study we tested hypothesis that NHP- and human-infecting TPE strains differ in the previously unknown parts of the genomes.Methodology/principal findingsIn this study, we determined complete (finished) genomes of ten TPE isolates that originated from NHPs and compared them to TPE whole-genome sequences from human yaws patients. We performed an in-depth analysis of TPE genomes to determine if any consistent genomic differences are present between TPE genomes of human and NHP origin. We were able to resolve previously undetermined TPE chromosomal regions (sequencing gaps) that prevented us from making a conclusion regarding the sequence identity of TPE genomes from NHPs and humans. The comparison among finished genome sequences revealed no consistent differences between human and NHP TPE genomes.Conclusion/significanceOur data show that NHPs are infected with strains that are not only similar to the strains infecting humans but are genomically indistinguishable from them. Although interspecies transmission in NHPs is a rare event and evidence for current spillover events is missing, the existence of the yaws bacterium in NHPs is demonstrated. While the low risk of spillover supports the current yaws treatment campaign, it is of importance to continue yaws surveillance in areas where NHPs are naturally infected with TPE even if yaws is successfully eliminated in humans
Complex Evolutionary History With Extensive Ancestral Gene Flow in an African Primate Radiation
No full textAbstract Understanding the drivers of speciation is fundamental in evolutionary biology, and recent studies highlight hybridization as an important evolutionary force. Using whole-genome sequencing data from 22 species of guenons (tribe Cercopithecini), one of the world's largest primate radiations, we show that rampant gene flow characterizes their evolutionary history and identify ancient hybridization across deeply divergent lineages that differ in ecology, morphology, and karyotypes. Some hybridization events resulted in mitochondrial introgression between distant lineages, likely facilitated by cointrogression of coadapted nuclear variants. Although the genomic landscapes of introgression were largely lineage specific, we found that genes with immune functions were overrepresented in introgressing regions, in line with adaptive introgression, whereas genes involved in pigmentation and morphology may contribute to reproductive isolation. In line with reports from other systems that hybridization might facilitate diversification, we find that some of the most species-rich guenon clades are of admixed origin. This study provides important insights into the prevalence, role, and outcomes of ancestral hybridization in a large mammalian radiation
Mito-phylogenetic relationship of the new subspecies of gentle monkey Cercopithecus mitis manyaraensis, Butynski & De Jong, 2020
No full textIn 2020, a new subspecies was described in the Cercopithecus mitis complex, the Manyara monkey C. m. manyaraensis, Butynski & De Jong, 2020. The internal taxonomy of this species complex is still debated, and the phylogenetic relationships among the taxa are unclear. Here we provide the first mitochondrial sequence data for C. m. manyaraensis to determine its position within the mitochondrial phylogeny of C. mitis. This subspecies clusters within the youngest (internal divergences between 1.01 and 0.42 Ma) of three main taxonomic clades of C. mitis. Its sister lineages are C. m. boutourlinii (Ethiopia), C. m. albotorquatus (Kenya and Somalia), C. m. albogularis (Kenya and Tanzania), and C. m. monoides (Tanzania and Mozambique). In general, the phylogenetic tree of C. mitis based on mitochondrial sequence data indicates several paraphyletic relationships within the C. mitis complex. As in other African cercopithecines (e.g. Papio and Chlorocebus), these data are suitable for reconstructing historic biogeographical patterns, but they are only of limited value for delimitating taxa
Whole-genome sequencing reveals evidence for inter-species transmission of the yaws bacterium among nonhuman primates in Tanzania
No full textBackground Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue ( TPE ) is the causative agent of human and nonhuman primate (NHP) yaws infection. The discovery of yaws bacterium in wild populations of NHPs opened the question of transmission mechanisms within NHPs, and this work aims to take a closer look at the transmission of the disease. Methodology/Principal Findings Our study determined eleven whole TPE genomes from NHP isolates collected from three national parks in Tanzania: Lake Manyara National Park (NP), Serengeti NP, and Ruaha NP. The bacteria were isolated from four species of NHPs: Chlorocebus pygerythrus (vervet monkey), Cercopithecus mitis (blue monkey), Papio anubis (olive baboon), and Papio cynocephalus (yellow baboon). Combined with previously generated genomes of TPE originating from NHPs in Tanzania (n = 11), 22 whole-genome TPE sequences have now been analyzed. Out of 231 possible combinations of genome-to-genome comparisons, five revealed an unexpectedly high degree of genetic similarity in samples collected from different NHP species, consistent with inter-species transmission of TPE among NHPs. We estimated a substitution rate of TPE of NHP origin, ranging between 1.77 × 10 -7 and 3.43 × 10 -7 per genomic site per year. Conclusions/Significance The model estimations predicted that the inter-species transmission happened recently, within decades, roughly in an order of magnitude shorter time compared to time needed for the natural diversification of all tested TPE of Tanzanian NHP origin. Moreover, the geographical separation of the sampling sites (NPs) does not preclude TPE transmission between and within NHP species.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659National Institute of Virology and Bacteriolog
Mathematical modelling Treponema infection in free-ranging Olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Tanzania
No full texthttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001 National Science Foundationhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100009226 National Security Agencyhttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaf
Julius Bab Collection 1895-1977 ; bulk 1895-1955
No full textThe collection contains few personal, official or vital documents, but is exceptionally rich in correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, appointment books, and scrapbooks documenting Julius Bab's cultural work and endeavors. The bulk of the collection consists of the scrapbooks, which contain extensive clippings of articles by and about Bab. Of the other series, the correspondence is of particular note both for its extent and for the impressive array of original letters by notable cultural figures. There are the over 100 letters from the literary critic and martyred revolutionary Gustav Landauer, and nearly as many from the playwright Richard Dehmel; the files also contain a considerable amount of correspondence with Nobel Prize winning playwright Gerhart Hauptmann, with the philosopher Fritz Mauthner, and with the influential editor and writer Moritz Heimann. The correspondence files contain letters from over 90 additional cultural figures, chiefly writers and persons involved with the theater. Among the more prominent of these figures are Walther Rathenau, Thomas Mann, Richard Beer-Hoffmann, George Bernard Shaw, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Max Liebermann, and Stefan Zweig.Rounding out the collection are series containing diaries, theater and lecture programs, and clippings. The diaries series contains two diaries from before 1900, and thereafter several notebooks and appointment books which Bab used as calendars. Although these volumes are primarily functional, occasional longer entries or passages throughout the various volumes have a more diaristic character. The theater and lecture programs series contains programs, clippings, and promotional materials, such as handbills and small posters, for theatrical events and lectures that Bab participated in. A few items of the promotional materials are interesting examples of Jugenstil and Weimar era graphic design. The final small series of newspaper clippings of articles by and about Bab mirrors the overall structure and content of the Scrapbooks series, although it consists entirely of loose, rather than bound clippings.The memoirs of Bab's wife, Elizabeth, 'Aus Zwei Jahrhunderten' are catalogued separately in the memoir collection (ME 21).Photographs have been removed to Photograph CollectionBorn in Berlin on December 11, 1880, Bab was a theater critic, author and co-founder of the Jüdischer Kulturbund in 1933. He emigrated to France in 1938, to the United States in 1940, and died in New York City on February 12, 1955.A 23-page inventory is available in Box 1, folder 1.Julius Bab, Ueber den Tag Hinaus, Heidelberg, Schneider Verlag, 1960. (Library)digitize
Optimum currency area theory: A selective review
No full textThe first part of this paper is a review of significant papers in the vast literature on optimum currency area (OCA) theory. The author focuses on the main classical contributions, then considers modern treatment of OCA theory. The second part considers empirical literature on the types of geographical areas that might constitute optimum currency areas, particularly with respect to asymmetry and symmetry of shocks.
Optimum currency area theory: A selective review
No full textThe first part of this paper is a review of significant papers in the vast literature on optimum currency area (OCA) theory. The author focuses on the main classical contributions, then considers modern treatment of OCA theory. The second part considers empirical literature on the types of geographical areas that might constitute optimum currency areas, particularly with respect to asymmetry and symmetry of shocks.
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