Learning enhances representations of taste-guided decisions in the mouse gustatory insular cortex
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 12:S0960-9822(24)00374-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.034. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTLearning to discriminate overlapping gustatory stimuli that predict distinct outcomes-a feat known as discrimination learning-can mean the difference between ingesting a poison or a nutritive meal. Despite the obvious importance of this process, very little is known about the neural basis of taste discrimination learning. In other sensory modalities, this form of learning can be mediated by either the sharpening of sensory representations or the enhanced ability of "decision-making" circuits to interpret sensory info...
Source: Current Biology - April 17, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Joshua F Kogan Alfredo Fontanini Source Type: research
Cooperative transport in sea star locomotion
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 10:S0960-9822(24)00382-8. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.042. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIt is unclear how animals with radial symmetry control locomotion without a brain. Using a combination of experiments, mathematical modeling, and robotics, we tested the extent to which this control emerges in sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus) from the local control of their hundreds of feet and their mechanical interactions with the body. We discovered that these animals compensate for an experimental increase in their submerged weight by recruiting more feet that synchronize in the power stroke of the locomotor cycl...
Source: Current Biology - April 17, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Theodora Po Eva Kanso Matthew J McHenry Source Type: research
The homomorphic self-incompatibility system in Oleaceae is controlled by a hemizygous genomic region expressing a gibberellin pathway gene
We describe complete association between the presence/absence of this gene and the SI types determined for individuals of seven distantly related Oleaceae species. This gene is predicted to be involved in catabolism of the gibberellic acid (GA) hormone, and experimental manipulation of GA levels in developing buds modified the male and female SI responses of the two specificities in different ways. Our results provide a unique example of a homomorphic SI system, where a single conserved gibberellin-related gene in a hemizygous indel underlies the long-term maintenance of two groups of reproductive compatibility.PMID:386267...
Source: Current Biology - April 16, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Vincent Castric Rita A Batista Am élie Carré Soraya Mousavi Cl ément Mazoyer C écile Godé Sophie Gallina Chlo é Ponitzki Anthony Theron Arnaud Bellec William Marande Sylvain Santoni Roberto Mariotti Andrea Rubini Sylvain Legrand Sylvain Billiard Xav Source Type: research
A hemizygous supergene controls homomorphic and heteromorphic self-incompatibility systems in Oleaceae
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 11:S0960-9822(24)00369-5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.029. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSelf-incompatibility (SI) has evolved independently multiple times and prevents self-fertilization in hermaphrodite angiosperms. Several groups of Oleaceae such as jasmines exhibit distylous flowers, with two compatibility groups each associated with a specific floral morph.1 Other Oleaceae species in the olive tribe have two compatibility groups without associated morphological variation.2,3,4,5 The genetic basis of both homomorphic and dimorphic SI systems in Oleaceae is unknown. By comparing genomic sequences of t...
Source: Current Biology - April 16, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Pauline Raimondeau Sayam Ksouda William Marande Anne-Laure Fuchs Herv é Gryta Anthony Theron Aurore Puyoou Julia Dupin Pierre-Olivier Cheptou Sonia Vautrin Sophie Vali ère Sophie Manzi Djamel Baali-Cherif J érôme Chave Pascal-Antoine Christin Guillaum Source Type: research
The homomorphic self-incompatibility system in Oleaceae is controlled by a hemizygous genomic region expressing a gibberellin pathway gene
We describe complete association between the presence/absence of this gene and the SI types determined for individuals of seven distantly related Oleaceae species. This gene is predicted to be involved in catabolism of the gibberellic acid (GA) hormone, and experimental manipulation of GA levels in developing buds modified the male and female SI responses of the two specificities in different ways. Our results provide a unique example of a homomorphic SI system, where a single conserved gibberellin-related gene in a hemizygous indel underlies the long-term maintenance of two groups of reproductive compatibility.PMID:386267...
Source: Current Biology - April 16, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Vincent Castric Rita A Batista Am élie Carré Soraya Mousavi Cl ément Mazoyer C écile Godé Sophie Gallina Chlo é Ponitzki Anthony Theron Arnaud Bellec William Marande Sylvain Santoni Roberto Mariotti Andrea Rubini Sylvain Legrand Sylvain Billiard Xav Source Type: research
A hemizygous supergene controls homomorphic and heteromorphic self-incompatibility systems in Oleaceae
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 11:S0960-9822(24)00369-5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.029. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSelf-incompatibility (SI) has evolved independently multiple times and prevents self-fertilization in hermaphrodite angiosperms. Several groups of Oleaceae such as jasmines exhibit distylous flowers, with two compatibility groups each associated with a specific floral morph.1 Other Oleaceae species in the olive tribe have two compatibility groups without associated morphological variation.2,3,4,5 The genetic basis of both homomorphic and dimorphic SI systems in Oleaceae is unknown. By comparing genomic sequences of t...
Source: Current Biology - April 16, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Pauline Raimondeau Sayam Ksouda William Marande Anne-Laure Fuchs Herv é Gryta Anthony Theron Aurore Puyoou Julia Dupin Pierre-Olivier Cheptou Sonia Vautrin Sophie Vali ère Sophie Manzi Djamel Baali-Cherif J érôme Chave Pascal-Antoine Christin Guillaum Source Type: research
Differences in expression of male aggression between wild bonobos and chimpanzees
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 5:S0960-9822(24)00253-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.071. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTResearchers investigating the evolution of human aggression look to our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), as valuable sources of comparative data.1,2 Males in the two species exhibit contrasting patterns: male chimpanzees sexually coerce females3,4,5,6,7,8 and sometimes kill conspecifics,9,10,11,12 whereas male bonobos exhibit less sexual coercion13,14 and no reported killing.13 Among the various attempts to explain these species differences, the self-domestication hyp...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Maud Mouginot Michael L Wilson Nisarg Desai Martin Surbeck Source Type: research
The tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris dramatically upregulates DNA repair pathway genes in response to ionizing radiation
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 2:S0960-9822(24)00316-6. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.019. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTardigrades can survive remarkable doses of ionizing radiation, up to about 1,000 times the lethal dose for humans. How they do so is incompletely understood. We found that the tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris suffers DNA damage upon gamma irradiation, but the damage is repaired. We show that this species has a specific and robust response to ionizing radiation: irradiation induces a rapid upregulation of many DNA repair genes. This upregulation is unexpectedly extreme-making some DNA repair transcripts among the most ...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Courtney M Clark-Hachtel Jonathan D Hibshman Tristan De Buysscher Evan R Stair Leslie M Hicks Bob Goldstein Source Type: research
Colonial-driven extinction of the blue antelope despite genomic adaptation to low population size
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 9:S0960-9822(24)00391-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.051. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTLow genomic diversity is generally indicative of small population size and is considered detrimental by decreasing long-term adaptability.1,2,3,4,5,6 Moreover, small population size may promote gene flow with congeners and outbreeding depression.7,8,9,10,11,12,13 Here, we examine the connection between habitat availability, effective population size (Ne), and extinction by generating a 40× nuclear genome from the extinct blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus). Historically endemic to the relatively small Cape Floris...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Elisabeth Hempel J Tyler Faith Michaela Preick Deon de Jager Scott Barish Stefanie Hartmann Jos é H Grau Yoshan Moodley Gregory Gedman Kathleen Morrill Pirovich Faysal Bibi Daniela C Kalthoff Sven Bocklandt Ben Lamm Love Dal én Michael V Westbury Michae Source Type: research
Claustrum projections to the anterior cingulate modulate nociceptive and pain-associated behavior
In this study, we sought to define claustrum function in acute and chronic pain. We found enhanced claustrum activity after a painful stimulus that was attenuated in chronic inflammatory pain. Selective inhibition of claustrocingulate projection neurons enhanced acute nociception but blocked pain learning. Inversely, chemogenetic activation of claustrocingulate neurons had no effect on basal nociception but rescued inflammation-induced mechanical allodynia. Together, these results suggest that claustrocingulate neurons are a critical component of the pain neuromatrix, and dysregulation of this connection may contribute to ...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Christian A Faig Gloria H K Kim Alison D Do Zo ë Dworsky-Fried Jesse Jackson Anna M W Taylor Source Type: research
Pathological claustrum activity drives aberrant cognitive network processing in human chronic pain
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 8:S0960-9822(24)00318-X. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.021. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAberrant cognitive network activity and cognitive deficits are established features of chronic pain. However, the nature of cognitive network alterations associated with chronic pain and their underlying mechanisms require elucidation. Here, we report that the claustrum, a subcortical nucleus implicated in cognitive network modulation, is activated by acute painful stimulation and pain-predictive cues in healthy participants. Moreover, we discover pathological activity of the claustrum and a region near the posterior ...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Brent W Stewart Michael L Keaser Hwiyoung Lee Sarah M Margerison Matthew A Cormie Massieh Moayedi Martin A Lindquist Shuo Chen Brian N Mathur David A Seminowicz Source Type: research
Productivity declines threaten East African soda lakes and the iconic Lesser Flamingo
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 3:S0960-9822(24)00302-6. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.006. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSoda lakes are some of the most productive aquatic ecosystems.1 Their alkaline-saline waters sustain unique phytoplankton communities2,3 and provide vital habitats for highly specialized biodiversity including invertebrates, endemic fish species, and Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor).1,4 More than three-quarters of Lesser Flamingos inhabit the soda lakes of East Africa5; however, populations are in decline.6 Declines could be attributed to their highly specialized diet of cyanobacteria7 and dependence on a networ...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Aidan Byrne Emma J Tebbs Peter Njoroge Ally Nkwabi Michael A Chadwick Robin Freeman David Harper Ken Norris Source Type: research
Differences in expression of male aggression between wild bonobos and chimpanzees
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 5:S0960-9822(24)00253-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.071. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTResearchers investigating the evolution of human aggression look to our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), as valuable sources of comparative data.1,2 Males in the two species exhibit contrasting patterns: male chimpanzees sexually coerce females3,4,5,6,7,8 and sometimes kill conspecifics,9,10,11,12 whereas male bonobos exhibit less sexual coercion13,14 and no reported killing.13 Among the various attempts to explain these species differences, the self-domestication hyp...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Maud Mouginot Michael L Wilson Nisarg Desai Martin Surbeck Source Type: research
The tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris dramatically upregulates DNA repair pathway genes in response to ionizing radiation
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 2:S0960-9822(24)00316-6. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.019. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTardigrades can survive remarkable doses of ionizing radiation, up to about 1,000 times the lethal dose for humans. How they do so is incompletely understood. We found that the tardigrade Hypsibius exemplaris suffers DNA damage upon gamma irradiation, but the damage is repaired. We show that this species has a specific and robust response to ionizing radiation: irradiation induces a rapid upregulation of many DNA repair genes. This upregulation is unexpectedly extreme-making some DNA repair transcripts among the most ...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Courtney M Clark-Hachtel Jonathan D Hibshman Tristan De Buysscher Evan R Stair Leslie M Hicks Bob Goldstein Source Type: research
Colonial-driven extinction of the blue antelope despite genomic adaptation to low population size
Curr Biol. 2024 Apr 9:S0960-9822(24)00391-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.051. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTLow genomic diversity is generally indicative of small population size and is considered detrimental by decreasing long-term adaptability.1,2,3,4,5,6 Moreover, small population size may promote gene flow with congeners and outbreeding depression.7,8,9,10,11,12,13 Here, we examine the connection between habitat availability, effective population size (Ne), and extinction by generating a 40× nuclear genome from the extinct blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus). Historically endemic to the relatively small Cape Floris...
Source: Current Biology - April 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Elisabeth Hempel J Tyler Faith Michaela Preick Deon de Jager Scott Barish Stefanie Hartmann Jos é H Grau Yoshan Moodley Gregory Gedman Kathleen Morrill Pirovich Faysal Bibi Daniela C Kalthoff Sven Bocklandt Ben Lamm Love Dal én Michael V Westbury Michae Source Type: research
