Peptides are remarkably interesting alternatives to several applications. In particular, antimicrobial sequences have raised major interest of the scientific community due to the resistance acquired ...by commonly used antibiotics. Amongst these, some dimeric peptides have shown very promising characteristics as strong biological activities and resistance against degradation by peptidases. However, despite such promising characteristics, a relatively small number of studies address dimeric peptides, mainly due to the synthesis-related obstacles in their production, whereas the well-implemented routines of solid phase peptide synthesis—which includes the possibility of automation—makes life significantly easier. Here, we present kinetic investigations of the dimerization of a cysteine-containing sequence to obtain the homodimeric antimicrobial peptide homotarsinin. Based on the structural and membrane interaction data already available for the dimer and its monomeric chain, we have proposed distinct dimerization protocols in selected environments, namely, aqueous buffer, TFE:H
2
O and micellar solutions. The experimental results were adjusted by a theoretical model. Both the kinetic profiles and the reaction yields are dependent on the reaction medium, clearly indicating that aggregation, peptide structure, and peptide–membrane interactions play major roles in the formation of the disulfide bond. Finally, the rationalization of the different aspects addressed here is expected to contribute to research and applications that demand the obtainment of dimeric peptides.
Leafcutter ants propagate co‐evolving fungi for food. The nearly 50 species of leafcutter ants (Atta, Acromyrmex) range from Argentina to the United States, with the greatest species diversity in ...southern South America. We elucidate the biogeography of fungi cultivated by leafcutter ants using DNA sequence and microsatellite‐marker analyses of 474 cultivars collected across the leafcutter range. Fungal cultivars belong to two clades (Clade‐A and Clade‐B). The dominant and widespread Clade‐A cultivars form three genotype clusters, with their relative prevalence corresponding to southern South America, northern South America, Central and North America. Admixture between Clade‐A populations supports genetic exchange within a single species, Leucocoprinus gongylophorus. Some leafcutter species that cut grass as fungicultural substrate are specialized to cultivate Clade‐B fungi, whereas leafcutters preferring dicot plants appear specialized on Clade‐A fungi. Cultivar sharing between sympatric leafcutter species occurs frequently such that cultivars of Atta are not distinct from those of Acromyrmex. Leafcutters specialized on Clade‐B fungi occur only in South America. Diversity of Clade‐A fungi is greatest in South America, but minimal in Central and North America. Maximum cultivar diversity in South America is predicted by the Kusnezov–Fowler hypothesis that leafcutter ants originated in subtropical South America and only dicot‐specialized leafcutter ants migrated out of South America, but the cultivar diversity becomes also compatible with a recently proposed hypothesis of a Central American origin by postulating that leafcutter ants acquired novel cultivars many times from other nonleafcutter fungus‐growing ants during their migrations from Central America across South America. We evaluate these biogeographic hypotheses in the light of estimated dates for the origins of leafcutter ants and their cultivars.
Cyatta abscondita, a new genus and species of fungus-farming ant from Brazil, is described based on morphological study of more than 20 workers, two dealate gynes, one male, and two larvae. ...Ecological field data are summarized, including natural history, nest architecture, and foraging behavior. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from four nuclear genes indicate that Cyatta abscondita is the distant sister taxon of the genus Kalathomyrmex, and that together they comprise the sister group of the remaining neoattine ants, an informal clade that includes the conspicuous and well-known leaf-cutter ants. Morphologically, Cyatta abscondita shares very few obvious character states with Kalathomyrmex. It does, however, possess a number of striking morphological features unique within the fungus-farming tribe Attini. It also shares morphological character states with taxa that span the ancestral node of the Attini. The morphology, behavior, and other biological characters of Cyatta abscondita are potentially informative about plesiomorphic character states within the fungus-farming ants and about the early evolution of ant agriculture.
In recent years the focus in ecology has shifted from species to a greater emphasis on functional traits. In tandem with this shift, a number of trait databases have been developed covering a range ...of taxa. Here, we introduce the GlobalAnts database.
Globally, ants are dominant, diverse and provide a range of ecosystem functions. The database represents a significant tool for ecology in that it (i) contributes to a global archive of ant traits (morphology, ecology and life history) which complements existing ant databases and (ii) promotes a trait‐based approach in ant and other insect ecology through a broad set of standardised traits.
The GlobalAnts database is unique in that it represents the largest online database of functional traits with associated georeferenced assemblage‐level data (abundance and/or occupancy) for any animal group with 9056 ant species and morphospecies records for entire local assemblages across 4416 sites.
We describe the structure of the database, types of traits included and present a summary of data coverage. The value of the database is demonstrated through an initial examination of trait distributions across subfamilies, continents and biomes.
Striking biogeographic differences in ant traits are highlighted which raise intriguing questions as to the mechanisms generating them.
In mitosis, most transcription factors detach from chromatin, but some are retained and bookmark genomic sites. Mitotic bookmarking has been implicated in lineage inheritance, pluripotency and ...reprogramming. However, the biological significance of this mechanism in vivo remains unclear. Here, we address mitotic retention of the hemogenic factors GATA2, GFI1B and FOS during haematopoietic specification. We show that GATA2 remains bound to chromatin throughout mitosis, in contrast to GFI1B and FOS, via C-terminal zinc finger-mediated DNA binding. GATA2 bookmarks a subset of its interphase targets that are co-enriched for RUNX1 and other regulators of definitive haematopoiesis. Remarkably, homozygous mice harbouring the cyclin B1 mitosis degradation domain upstream Gata2 partially phenocopy knockout mice. Degradation of GATA2 at mitotic exit abolishes definitive haematopoiesis at aorta-gonad-mesonephros, placenta and foetal liver, but does not impair yolk sac haematopoiesis. Our findings implicate GATA2-mediated mitotic bookmarking as critical for definitive haematopoiesis and highlight a dependency on bookmarkers for lineage commitment.
The bee genera Callonychium Brèthes, Psaenythia Gerstaecker and Anthrenoides Ducke are newly recorded in Piauí State, northeastern Brazil. The species reported here are Callonychium brasilience ...(Ducke, 1907) and Psaenythia variabilis Ducke, 1908, and an as yet unidentified species of Anthrenoides. Images and all known distributional records of these species are also provided. The new occurrences reported herein expand the distribution range of the species to the Caatinga biome.
Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. The Caatingas occur ...predominantly in northeastern Brazil and comparatively it is the biome that received less attention than any other ecosystem in Brazil, representing the region where invertebrate groups are less known. We present here the first list of ant species of the Caatingas, compiling information from the literature, from a study of samples preserved in alcohol in the Laboratory of Entomology (Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana), and from a field survey conducted in Milagres, Bahia, submitting standardized 1-m² samples of the leaf-litter to Winkler extractors. Summing all information, 11 subfamilies, 61 genera and 173 species (plus one subspecies) of ants are recognized in the biome. This species number does not consider morphospecies that could not be named due to the lack of reliable recent taxonomic information for some Neotropical ant genera. The list presented here for ant species of the Caatingas is therefore underestimated, but it is relevant because it allows the identification of areas to be sampled in order to improve our knowledge of the diversity of ants in this biome.
General principles that shape community structure can be described based on a functional trait approach grounded on predictive models; increased attention has been paid to factors accounting for the ...functional diversity of species assemblages and its association with species richness along environmental gradients. We analyze here the interaction between leaf-litter ant species richness, the local communities' morphological structure and fundamental niche within the context of a northeast-southeast latitudinal gradient in one of the world's most species-rich ecosystems, the Atlantic Forest, representing 2,700 km of tropical rainforest along almost 20° of latitude in eastern Brazil. Our results are consistent with an ecosystem-wide pattern in communities' structure, with relatively high species turnover but functionally analogous leaf-litter ant communities' organization. Our results suggest directional shifts in the morphological space along the environmental gradient from overdispersed to aggregated (from North to South), suggesting that primary productivity and environmental heterogeneity (altitude, temperature and precipitation in the case) determine the distribution of traits and regulate the assembly rules, shaping local leaf-litter ant communities. Contrary to the expected and most common pattern along latitudinal gradients, the Atlantic Forest leaf litter ant communities show an inverse pattern in richness, that is, richer communities in higher than in lower latitudes. The morphological specialization of communities showed more morphologically distinct communities at low latitudes and species redundancy at high latitudes. We claim that an inverse latitudinal gradient in primary productivity and environmental heterogeneity across the Atlantic forest may affect morphological diversity and species richness, enhancing species coexistence mechanisms, and producing thus the observed patterns. We suggest that a functional framework based on flexible enough traits should be pursued to allow comparisons at local, regional and global levels.
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