New epigenetic study: Guinea pig fathers pass on adaptive responses to environmental changes

December 28, 2018, Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB)

Adaptations to environmental change are the most important asset for the persistence of any plant or animal species. This is usually achieved through genetic mutation and selection, a slow process driven by chance. Faster and more targeted are so called epigenetic modifications which do not alter the genetic code but promote specialisations during cell maturation. A new study carried out by scientists from the Leibniz-IZW in Germany shows that in wild guinea pigs, epigenetic modifications specific to individual environmental factors are passed on to the next generation. The study is published in the scientific journal Genes.

The team of researchers around Alexandra Weyrich from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) in Berlin, Germany, studied two groups of male wild guinea pigs. One group was fed a protein-reduced diet for two months, the other group was exposed to an increase in ambient temperature of ten degrees (Celsius) for the same period. The animals responded to these changes through epigenetic modifications at the cellular level. "Epigenetic modifications have been studied for some time. What we were after was to determine, whether these modifications are passed on to the next generation of guinea pigs and whether fathers played a role in this," says Weyrich.

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Galapagos bans fireworks to protect unique wildlife

December 28, 2018

Fireworks have been banned on the Galapagos Islands to protect the archipelago's unique fauna, the local government said on Friday.

The local council said in a statement that it had agreed "unanimously a resolution that prohibits the importation, sale, distribution and use of fireworks or pyrotechnics in the Galapagos province."

Those fireworks that produce light but no noise have been excluded from the ban.

The islands are home to thousands of residents as well as being a tourist destination, and the measure comes just days before New Year celebrations in which many people traditionally set off fireworks.

"Ecosystems as sensitive as the Galapagos Islands are affected (by fireworks), principally its fauna that is unique," said the council.

It also wants to avoid any potential deterioration in air quality or pollution of water sources.

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Right whale calf, mother spotted in Atlantic off Florida

December 29, 2018

Florida conservationists are reporting a right whale calf sighting off the state's Atlantic coast.

In a Facebook post , the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute said it's the first calf sighting of the critically endangered whale's winter calving season.

Wildlife officials said the calf and its mother were spotted Friday offshore near the mouth of the St. Johns River. The commission said the mother had been spotted five days ago off the Georgia coast.

Right whales typically migrate from the North Atlantic to give birth off the coasts of Georgia and Florida from December through March.

Scientists estimate only about 450 North Atlantic right whales remain. No newborns were reported during the last calving season, and just five calves were counted during the previous year.

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Himalayan marmot genome offers clues to life at extremely high altitudes

December 20, 2018, Cell Press

Himalayan marmots can survive at altitudes up to 5,000 meters in the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal, and Pakistan and on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China, where many of them face extreme cold, little oxygen, and few other resources. Now, researchers have sequenced the first complete Himalayan marmot genome, which may help them to better explain how the marmots live in such extremes.

The findings, which appear December 20 in the journal iScience, hint at the genetic mechanisms underlying high-altitude adaptation and hibernation, the researchers say. They also serve as a valuable resource for researchers studying marmot evolution, highland disease, and cold adaptation.

"As one of the highest-altitude-dwelling mammals, the Himalayan marmot is chronically exposed to cold temperature, hypoxia, and intense UV radiation," said Enqi Liu of Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center in China. "They also hibernate for more than six months during the wintertime."

Those striking biological features led Liu and his team, including first author Liang Bai, to consider the Himalayan marmot as an ideal animal model for studying the molecular mechanisms of adaptation to extreme environments. To begin, they sequenced and assembled a complete draft genome of a male Himalayan marmot. They also re-sequenced 20 other Himalayan marmots, including individuals living at high and low altitudes, and four other marmot species. Additionally, RNA sequencing was done to compare gene-expression differences between marmots in a state of torpor and awake marmots.

The DNA data show that the Himalayan marmot diverged from the Mongolian marmot about 2 million years ago. The researchers identified two genes, Slc25a14 and ψAamp (a processed pseudogene), that have been selected in different directions in marmots living at low versus high altitudes, suggesting they are related to survival in high-altitude populations under conditions of extremely low oxygen.

They further suggest that Slc25a14 may have an important neuroprotective role. The shift in ψAamp affects the stability of RNA encoding the gene Aamp, which may be a protective strategy to prevent the excess growth of new blood vessels under extremely low-oxygen conditions.

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Lawsuit urges feds to protect snakes in Arizona, New Mexico – via Herp Digest

The Associated Press Dec 21, 2018 Updated Dec 21, 2018

A conservation group is suing the Trump administration over the protection of critical habitat for garter snakes in Arizona and New Mexico.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Tucson, accusing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of endangering the Northern Mexican garter snake and the narrow-headed garter snake.

In the filing, the organization says the populations of both snakes are at lower densities in both states.

Both became listed as threatened in 2014 under the Endangered Species Act.

The Trump administration needs to safeguard the rivers the snakes rely on, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity says.

A spokesman for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not immediately a message and email seeking comment.