scholarly journals An ancient Turing-like patterning mechanism regulates skin denticle development in sharks

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (11) ◽  
pp. eaau5484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory L. Cooper ◽  
Alexandre P. Thiery ◽  
Alexander G. Fletcher ◽  
Daniel J. Delbarre ◽  
Liam J. Rasch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Diffusion ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Gene Pathway ◽  
Developmental Patterning ◽  
Deep Homology ◽  
Cartilaginous Fishes ◽  
Pathway Inhibition ◽  
Appendage Patterning

Vertebrates have a vast array of epithelial appendages, including scales, feathers, and hair. The developmental patterning of these diverse structures can be theoretically explained by Alan Turing’s reaction-diffusion system. However, the role of this system in epithelial appendage patterning of early diverging lineages (compared to tetrapods), such as the cartilaginous fishes, is poorly understood. We investigate patterning of the unique tooth-like skin denticles of sharks, which closely relates to their hydrodynamic and protective functions. We demonstrate through simulation models that a Turing-like mechanism can explain shark denticle patterning and verify this system using gene expression analysis and gene pathway inhibition experiments. This mechanism bears remarkable similarity to avian feather patterning, suggesting deep homology of the system. We propose that a diverse range of vertebrate appendages, from shark denticles to avian feathers and mammalian hair, use this ancient and conserved system, with slight genetic modulation accounting for broad variations in patterning.

Exploring the role of identity fusion and group identification in predicting parochialism amongst Indonesian Islamic groups

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Michael Kavanagh ◽  
Susilo Wibisono ◽  
Rohan Kapitány ◽  
Whinda Yustisia ◽  
Idhamsyah Eka Putra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Identification ◽  
Control Sample ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Identity Fusion ◽  
Beliefs And Practice ◽  
Fusion Theory

Indonesia is the most populous Islamic country and as such is host to a diverse range of Islamic beliefs and practices. Here we examine how the diversity of beliefs and practices among Indonesian Muslims relates to group bonding and parochialism. In particular, we examine the predictive power of two distinct types of group alignment, group identification and identity fusion, among individuals from three Sunni politico-religious groups - a fundamentalist group (PKS), a moderate group (NU), and a control sample of politically unaffiliated citizens. Fundamentalists were more fused to targets than moderates or citizens, but contrary to fusion theory, we found across all groups, that group identification (not fusion) better predicted parochialism, including willingness to carry out extreme pro-group actions. We discuss how religious beliefs and practice impact parochial attitudes, as well as the implications for theoretical models linking fusion to extreme behaviour.

scholarly journals New Insights on the Role of TRP Channels in Calcium Signalling and Immunomodulation: Review of Pathways and Implications for Clinical Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saied Froghi ◽  
Charlotte R. Grant ◽  
Radhika Tandon ◽  
Alberto Quaglia ◽  
Brian Davidson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Calcium Release ◽  
Transient Receptor Potential ◽  
Trp Channels ◽  
Calcium Influx ◽  
Calcium Signalling ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Immune System Activation

AbstractCalcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body and is central to many physiological processes, including immune system activation and maintenance. Studies continue to reveal the intricacies of calcium signalling within the immune system. Perhaps the most well-understood mechanism of calcium influx into cells is store-operated calcium entry (SOCE), which occurs via calcium release-activated channels (CRACs). SOCE is central to the activation of immune system cells; however, more recent studies have demonstrated the crucial role of other calcium channels, including transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. In this review, we describe the expression and function of TRP channels within the immune system and outline associations with murine models of disease and human conditions. Therefore, highlighting the importance of TRP channels in disease and reviewing potential. The TRP channel family is significant, and its members have a continually growing number of cellular processes. Within the immune system, TRP channels are involved in a diverse range of functions including T and B cell receptor signalling and activation, antigen presentation by dendritic cells, neutrophil and macrophage bactericidal activity, and mast cell degranulation. Not surprisingly, these channels have been linked to many pathological conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and myalgic encephalomyelitis, atherosclerosis, hypertension and atopy.

Role of Nuclei in Liesegang Pattern Formation: Insights from Experiment and Reaction-Diffusion Simulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 3669-3676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masaki Itatani ◽  
Qing Fang ◽  
Kei Unoura ◽  
Hideki Nabika
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Formation ◽  
Reaction Diffusion ◽  
Diffusion Simulation

‘Generic’ physical mechanisms of morphogenesis and pattern formation

Development ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Newman ◽  
W.D. Comper
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Formation ◽  
Reaction Diffusion ◽  
Physical Mechanisms ◽  
Extracellular Matrix Components ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Chemical Waves ◽  
Phylogenetic Lineages ◽  
Living Tissues ◽  
Highly Evolved

The role of ‘generic’ physical mechanisms in morphogenesis and pattern formation of tissues is considered. Generic mechanisms are defined as those physical processes that are broadly applicable to living and non-living systems, such as adhesion, surface tension and gravitational effects, viscosity, phase separation, convection and reaction-diffusion coupling. They are contrasted with ‘genetic’ mechanisms, a term reserved for highly evolved, machine-like, biomolecular processes. Generic mechanisms acting upon living tissues are capable of giving rise to morphogenetic rearrangements of cytoplasmic, tissue and extracellular matrix components, sometimes leading to ‘microfingers’, and to chemical waves or stripes. We suggest that many morphogenetic and patterning effects are the inevitable outcome of recognized physical properties of tissues, and that generic physical mechanisms that act on these properties are complementary to, and interdependent with genetic mechanisms. We also suggest that major morphological reorganizations in phylogenetic lineages may arise by the action of generic physical mechanisms on developing embryos. Subsequent evolution of genetic mechanisms could stabilize and refine developmental outcomes originally guided by generic effects.

scholarly journals Serotonin Regulates the Feeding and Reproductive Behaviors of Pratylenchus penetrans

2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (7) ◽  
pp. 872-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziduan Han ◽  
Stephanie Boas ◽  
Nathan E. Schroeder
Keyword(s):  
Parasitic Nematodes ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Pratylenchus Penetrans ◽  
Root Knot Nematodes ◽  
Reproductive Behaviors ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Lesion Nematodes ◽  
And Function ◽  
Plant Parasitic

The success of all plant-parasitic nematodes is dependent on the completion of several complex behaviors. The lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans is an economically important parasite of a diverse range of plant hosts. Unlike the cyst and root-knot nematodes, P. penetrans moves both within and outside of the host roots and can feed from both locations. Adult females of P. penetrans require insemination by actively moving males for reproduction and can lay eggs both within and outside of the host roots. We do not have a complete understanding of the molecular basis for these behaviors. One candidate modulator of these behaviors is the neurotransmitter serotonin. Previous research demonstrated an effect of exogenously applied serotonin on the feeding and male mating behaviors of cyst and root-knot nematodes. However, there are no data on the role of exogenous serotonin on lesion nematodes. Similarly, there are no data on the presence and function of endogenous serotonin in any plant-parasitic nematode. Here, we establish that exogenous serotonin applied to P. penetrans regulates both feeding and sex-specific behaviors. Furthermore, using immunohistochemistry and pharmacological assays, our data suggest that P. penetrans utilizes endogenous serotonin to regulate both feeding and sex-specific behaviors.

scholarly journals The CasKR Two-Component System Is Required for the Growth of Mesophilic and Psychrotolerant Bacillus cereus Strains at Low Temperatures

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 2493-2503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Esther Diomandé ◽  
Stéphanie Chamot ◽  
Vera Antolinos ◽  
Florian Vasai ◽  
Marie-Hélène Guinebretière ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Cereus ◽  
Food Poisoning ◽  
Two Component System ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Component System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Two Component ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
Different Strains

ABSTRACTThe different strains ofBacillus cereuscan grow at temperatures covering a very diverse range. SomeB. cereusstrains can grow in chilled food and consequently cause food poisoning. We have identified a new sensor/regulator mechanism involved in low-temperatureB. cereusgrowth. Construction of a mutant of this two-component system enabled us to show that this system, called CasKR, is required for growth at the minimal temperature (Tmin). CasKR was also involved in optimal cold growth aboveTminand in cell survival belowTmin. Microscopic observation showed that CasKR plays a key role in cell shape during cold growth. Introducing thecasKRgenes in a ΔcasKRmutant restored its ability to grow atTmin. Although it was first identified in the ATCC 14579 model strain, this mechanism has been conserved in most strains of theB. cereusgroup. We show that the role of CasKR in cold growth is similar in otherB. cereus sensu latostrains with different growth temperature ranges, including psychrotolerant strains.

scholarly journals Why developmental niche construction is not selective niche construction: and why it matters

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 20160157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karola Stotz
Keyword(s):  
Niche Construction ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Heritable Variation ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Developmental Niche ◽  
Constructed Environment ◽  
Selective Environment

In the last decade, niche construction has been heralded as the neglected process in evolution. But niche construction is just one way in which the organism's interaction with and construction of the environment can have potential evolutionary significance. The constructed environment does not just select for , it also produces new variation. Nearly 3 decades ago, and in parallel with Odling-Smee's article ‘Niche-constructing phenotypes', West and King introduced the ‘ontogenetic niche’ to give the phenomena of exo genetic inheritance a formal name. Since then, a range of fields in the life sciences and medicine has amassed evidence that parents influence their offspring by means other than DNA (parental effects), and proposed mechanisms for how heritable variation can be environmentally induced and developmentally regulated. The concept of ‘developmental niche construction’ (DNC) elucidates how a diverse range of mechanisms contributes to the transgenerational transfer of developmental resources. My most central of claims is that whereas the selective niche of niche construction theory is primarily used to explain the active role of the organism in its selective environment, DNC is meant to indicate the active role of the organism in its developmental environment. The paper highlights the differences between the construction of the selective and the developmental niche, and explores the overall significance of DNC for evolutionary theory.

Anti-inflammatory role of Leptin in glial cells through p38 MAPK pathway inhibition

2017 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iván Patraca ◽  
Nohora Martínez ◽  
Oriol Busquets ◽  
Aleix Martí ◽  
Ignacio Pedrós ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
P38 Mapk ◽  
Glial Cells ◽  
Mapk Pathway ◽  
P38 Mapk Pathway ◽  
Anti Inflammatory ◽  
Pathway Inhibition
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