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Current Biology : CB Apr 2022Inbreeding often imposes net fitness costs, leading to the expectation that animals will engage in inbreeding avoidance when the costs of doing so are not prohibitive....
Inbreeding often imposes net fitness costs, leading to the expectation that animals will engage in inbreeding avoidance when the costs of doing so are not prohibitive. However, one recent meta-analysis indicates that animals of many species do not avoid mating with kin in experimental settings, and another reports that behavioral inbreeding avoidance generally evolves only when kin regularly encounter each other and inbreeding costs are high. These results raise questions about the processes that separate kin, how these processes depend on kin class and context, and whether kin classes differ in how effectively they avoid inbreeding via mate choice-in turn, demanding detailed demographic and behavioral data within individual populations. Here, we address these questions in a wild mammal population, the baboons of the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya. We find that death and dispersal are very effective at separating opposite-sex pairs of close adult kin. Nonetheless, adult kin pairs do sometimes co-reside, and we find strong evidence for inbreeding avoidance via mate choice in kin classes with relatedness ≥0.25. Notably, maternal kin avoid inbreeding more effectively than paternal kin despite having identical coefficients of relatedness, pointing to kin discrimination as a potential constraint on effective inbreeding avoidance. Overall, demographic and behavioral processes ensure that inbred offspring are rare in undisturbed social groups (1% of offspring). However, in an anthropogenically disturbed social group with reduced male dispersal, we find inbreeding rates 10× higher. Our study reinforces the importance of demographic and behavioral contexts for understanding the evolution of inbreeding avoidance..
Topics: Animals; Ecosystem; Inbreeding; Kenya; Male; Mammals; Papio; Reproduction; Sexual Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 35216670
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.082 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jan 2020The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in... (Review)
Review
The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'
Topics: Animal Communication; Animals; Biological Evolution; Callithrix; Comprehension; Humans; Language; Learning; Macaca; Pan troglodytes; Papio; Primates; Species Specificity; Speech; Vocalization, Animal
PubMed: 31735147
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0045 -
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience 2022The use of easily accessible peripheral samples, such as blood or saliva, to investigate neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders is well-established in genetic and...
The use of easily accessible peripheral samples, such as blood or saliva, to investigate neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders is well-established in genetic and epigenetic research, but the pathological implications of such biomarkers are not easily discerned. To better understand the relationship between peripheral blood- and brain-based epigenetic activity, we conducted a pilot study on captive baboons () to investigate correlations between miRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and 14 different cortical and subcortical brain regions, represented by two study groups comprised of 4 and 6 animals. Using next-generation sequencing, we identified 362 miRNAs expressed at ≥ 10 read counts in 80% or more of the brain samples analyzed. Nominally significant pairwise correlations (one-sided < 0.05) between peripheral blood and mean brain expression levels of individual miRNAs were observed for 39 and 44 miRNAs in each group. When miRNA expression levels were averaged for tissue type across animals within the groups, Spearman's rank correlations between PBMCs and the brain regions are all highly significant ( = 0.47-0.57; < 2.2 × 10), although pairwise correlations among the brain regions are markedly stronger ( = 0.86-0.99). Principal component analysis revealed differentiation in miRNA expression between peripheral blood and the brain regions for the first component (accounting for ∼75% of variance). Linear mixed effects modeling attributed most of the variance in expression to differences between miRNAs (>70%), with non-significant 7.5% and 13.1% assigned to differences between blood and brain-based samples in the two study groups. Hierarchical UPGMA clustering revealed a major co-expression branch in both study groups, comprised of miRNAs globally upregulated in blood relative to the brain samples, exhibiting an enrichment of miRNAs expressed in immune cells (CD14+, CD15+, CD19+, CD3+, and CD56 + leukocytes) among the top blood-brain correlates, with the gene , encoding a master transcription factor that regulates angiogenesis and neural stem cell activation, representing the most prevalent miRNA target. Although some differentiation was observed between tissue types, these preliminary findings reveal wider correlated patterns between blood- and brain-expressed miRNAs, suggesting the potential utility of blood-based miRNA profiling for investigating by proxy certain miRNA activity in the brain, with implications for neuroinflammatory and c-Myc-mediated processes.
PubMed: 35392269
DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.817290 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2022Kidney xenotransplantation is expected to contribute to resolving the shortage of kidneys from deceased human donors. Although progress in experimental life-supporting...
Kidney xenotransplantation is expected to contribute to resolving the shortage of kidneys from deceased human donors. Although progress in experimental life-supporting pig renal xenotransplantation has been encouraging, there are still issues to be considered before a clinical trial can be initiated. We attempted to clarify some of these by an study. Blood was drawn from healthy volunteers (Volunteers, n=20), patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD, n=20) pre-operation (Pre), and on Day 1 (POD 1) and Day 14 (POD 14) after renal allotransplantation, brain-dead organ donors (DBD, n=20), and renal allotransplant recipients who were currently experiencing T cell-mediated rejection (Allo-TCMR, n=20). Serum IgM/IgG binding to, and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) of, PBMCs and RBCs from (a) wild-type (WT), (b) α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout (GTKO), (c) GTKO/beta-1,4-N-acety1 galactosaminyltransferase 2-knockout (GTKO/β4GalNT2KO), (d) GTKO/cytidine monophosphate-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase-knockout (GTKO/CMAHKO), and (e) GTKO/β4GalNT2KO/CMAHKO/hCD55 (TKO/hCD55) pigs were measured by flow cytometry. We obtained the following results: (i) Serum IgM/IgG binding and CDC in Volunteers were significantly greater to WT, GTKO, and GTKO/β4GalNT2KO PBMCs or RBCs than to GTKO/CMAHKO and TKO/hCD55 cells; (ii) ESRD, DBD, and Allo-TCMR serum antibody binding and CDC to WT pig PBMCs were significantly greater than to GTKO, GTKO/β4GalNT2KO, GTKO/CMAHKO, and TKO/hCD55 cells; (iii) antibody binding to GTKO/CMAHKO pig cells was significantly lower in hemodialysis than peritoneal dialysis patients. (iv) Two of twenty allotransplantation recipients' serum IgG binding to GTKO pig PBMCs increased on POD14 compared with Pre, but IgG binding to GTKO pig RBCs did not; (v) In all sera, the lowest antibody binding and CDC were to GTKO/CMAHKO and TKO/CD55 pig cells. We conclude (i) CMAHKO in the pig may be critical to the success of clinical pig kidney xenotransplantation, and may be the most important after GTKO, at least in Chinese patients; (ii) subjects with ESRD, or who are immunosuppressed after kidney allotransplantation, and DBD, have lower levels of antibody binding and CDC to genetically-engineered pig cells than do volunteers; (iii) TKO pigs with selected human 'protective' transgenes, e.g., CD55, are likely to prove to be the optimal sources of kidneys for clinical xenotransplantation.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; China; Female; Graft Rejection; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Kidney; Kidney Failure, Chronic; Male; Papio; Swine; Transplantation, Heterologous
PubMed: 35418974
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.844632 -
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology Aug 2021Baboon syndrome is a rare, type IV hypersensitivity reaction causing a maculopapular rash. Tamoxifen is an antineoplastic agent, working as an estrogen receptor...
BACKGROUND
Baboon syndrome is a rare, type IV hypersensitivity reaction causing a maculopapular rash. Tamoxifen is an antineoplastic agent, working as an estrogen receptor antagonist, also called a selective estrogen receptor modulator. A variety of rashes were reported with Tamoxifen use to-date except baboon syndrome. The Tamoxifen-induced baboon syndrome seems to be reversible, as discontinuation of the drug improves clinical outcomes.
AIM
Herein, we present the first case of Tamoxifen-induced baboon syndrome which occurred 8 years after initiation of Tamoxifen use.
PATIENTS
A 44-year-old woman presented with papulovesicular eruption on her body and erythema on her face for a duration of 6 months. There was no evidence of ocular or mucosal involvement. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with tamoxifen 10 mg twice daily over the past 8 years. She was not taking other medications or over-the-counter supplements at the time of presentation. The patient underwent urgent skin biopsies of two lesions on her buttock and thigh. No organisms were seen on Gram stain. The patient's skin biopsy revealed extensive hyperorthokeratosis, minimal parakeratosis, hypergranulosis, and lichenoid interface dermatitis in the irregularly acanthotic epidermis supporting diagnosis of fixed drug eruption. Following a multidisciplinary discussion, the patient was diagnosed with baboon syndrome or symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE) associated with Tamoxifen.
RESULTS
Hence, Tamoxifen was immediately discontinued and treated with oral steroid along with topical agents. She showed improvement of clinical abnormalities within days after discontinuation of Tamoxifen.
CONCLUSIONS
Given the widespread use of Tamoxifen in the management of patients with breast cancer, it is important that healthcare professionals monitor for rare, however clinically significant, and potentially life-threatening dermatological manifestations of Tamoxifen use, such as baboon syndrome.
Topics: Adult; Animals; Drug Eruptions; Exanthema; Female; Humans; Papio; Syndrome; Tamoxifen
PubMed: 33253493
DOI: 10.1111/jocd.13863 -
American Journal of Veterinary Research May 2024Present an approach to the safe and efficient provision of anesthesia and birth control measures to a large group of primates.
OBJECTIVE
Present an approach to the safe and efficient provision of anesthesia and birth control measures to a large group of primates.
ANIMALS
98 hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) held in a German zoological institution.
METHODS
A group of 12 veterinarians, 2 zookeepers, and 6 volunteers anesthetized all animals within 2 days. The baboons were orally premedicated with midazolam (0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg) and anesthetized with medetomidine (40 to 60 µg/kg, IM) and ketamine (2 to 4 mg/kg, IM); isoflurane at rates of 1.5% to 2% was used for maintaining anesthesia if necessary. All animals received a physical examination, prophylactic medication, and tuberculin testing. For population management, the animals received a contraceptive implant (adult females), orchiectomy (young males), or vasectomy (breeding males). Young males received intratesticular blocks with lidocaine. All animals received atipamezole (125 to 150 µg/kg) before recovery.
RESULTS
Premedication resulted in anxiolysis, which facilitated separating and darting. Median time from darting to access to the animal was 10 minutes. Mean anesthetic times were 25 minutes for females and 55 minutes for males. The depth of anesthesia was appropriate for the procedures. No fatalities were recorded. One animal was injured by other baboons but recovered after treatment.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Health management and birth control measures are necessary in baboon troops under human care. Anesthesia and/or contraception of individual animals often leads to intraspecific aggression. This case series describes how to provide anesthesia and contraception to an entire troop as an alternative approach that can be adopted to future similar interventions.
PubMed: 38744308
DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.23.12.0274 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Nov 2022For more than 70 y researchers have looked to baboons (monkeys of the genus ) as a source of hypotheses about the ecology and behavior of early hominins (early human...
For more than 70 y researchers have looked to baboons (monkeys of the genus ) as a source of hypotheses about the ecology and behavior of early hominins (early human ancestors and their close relatives). This approach has undergone a resurgence in the last decade as a result of rapidly increasing knowledge from experimental and field studies of baboons and from archeological and paleontological studies of hominins. The result is a rich array of analogies, scenarios, and other stimuli to thought about the ecology and behavior of early hominins. The main intent here is to illustrate baboon perspectives on early hominins, with emphasis on recent developments. This begins with a discussion of baboons and hominins as we know them currently and explains the reasons for drawing comparisons between them. These include occupation of diverse environments, combination of arboreal and terrestrial capabilities, relatively large body size, and sexual dimorphism. The remainder of the paper illustrates the main points with a small number of examples drawn from diverse areas of interest: diet (grasses and fish), danger (leopards and crocodiles), social organization (troops and multilevel societies), social relationships (male-male, male-female, female-female), communication (possible foundations of language), cognition (use of social information, comparison of self to others), and bipedalism (a speculative developmental hypothesis about the neurological basis). The conclusion is optimistic about the future of baboon perspectives on early hominins.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Male; Female; Papio; Hominidae; Ecology; Body Size; Diet
PubMed: 36279425
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116182119 -
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2020Different protozoa and metazoa have been detected in great apes, monkeys and humans with possible interspecies exchanges. Some are either nonpathogenic or their...
Different protozoa and metazoa have been detected in great apes, monkeys and humans with possible interspecies exchanges. Some are either nonpathogenic or their detrimental effects on the host are not yet known. Others lead to serious diseases that can even be fatal. Their survey remains of great importance for public health and animal conservation. Fecal samples from gorillas () and humans living in same area in the Republic of Congo, chimpanzees () from Senegal and one other from the Republic of Congo, Guinea baboons ( from Senegal, hamadryas baboons () from Djibouti and Barbary macaques ) from Algeria, were collected. DNA was extracted and screened using specific qPCR assays for the presence of a large number of helminths and protozoa. Positive samples were then amplified in standard PCRs and sequenced when possible. Overall, infection rate was 36.5% in all non-human primates (NHPs) and 31.6% in humans. Great apes were more often infected (63.6%) than monkeys (7.3%). At least twelve parasite species, including ten nematodes and two protozoa were discovered in NHPs and five species, including four nematodes and a protozoan in humans. The prevalences of , were similar between gorillas and human community co-habiting the same forest ecosystem in the Republic of Congo. In addition, human specific (5.1%) and other spp. (5.1%) detected in these gorillas suggest a possible cross-species exchange. Low prevalence (2%) of were observed in chimpanzees, as well as a high prevalence of (57.1%), which should be considered carefully as this parasite can affect other NHPs, animals and humans. The Barbary macaques were less infected (7.2%) and was the main parasite detected (5.8%). Finally, we report the presence of sp. and an environmental Nematoda DNAs in chimpanzee feces, sp. and sp. in gorillas, as well as DNA of uncharacterized Nematoda in apes and humans, but with a relatively lower prevalence in humans. Prevalence of extraintestinal parasites remains underestimated since feces are not the suitable sampling methods. Using non-invasive sampling (feces) we provide important information on helminths and protozoa that can infect African NHPs and human communities living around them. Public health and animal conservation authorities need to be aware of these infections, as parasites detected in African NHPs could affect both human and other animals' health.
PubMed: 32664573
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9070561 -
Neurobiology of Aging May 2023Age-related changes in cognition, brain morphology, and behavior are exhibited in several primate species. Baboons, like humans, naturally develop Alzheimer's...
Age-related changes in cognition, brain morphology, and behavior are exhibited in several primate species. Baboons, like humans, naturally develop Alzheimer's disease-like pathology and cognitive declines with age and are an underutilized model for studies of aging. To determine age-related differences in gray matter covariation of 89 olive baboons (Papio anubis), we used source-based morphometry (SBM) to analyze data from magnetic resonance images. We hypothesized that we would find significant age effects in one or more SBM components, particularly those which include regions influenced by age in humans and other nonhuman primates (NHPs). A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that individual weighted gray matter covariation scores differed across the age classes. Elderly baboons contributed significantly less to gray matter covariation components including the brainstem, superior parietal cortex, thalamus, and pallidum compared to juveniles, and middle and superior frontal cortex compared to juveniles and young adults (p < 0.05). Future studies should examine the relationship between the changes in gray matter covariation reported here and age-related cognitive decline.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Aged; Gray Matter; Papio anubis; Brain; Papio; Cerebral Cortex; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 36827943
DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.01.005 -
Translational Psychiatry Dec 2021A relationship between the gut microbiome and alcohol use disorder has been suggested. Excessive alcohol use produces changes in the fecal microbiome and metabolome in...
A relationship between the gut microbiome and alcohol use disorder has been suggested. Excessive alcohol use produces changes in the fecal microbiome and metabolome in both rodents and humans. Yet, these changes can be observed only in a subgroup of the studied populations, and reversal does not always occur after abstinence. We aimed to analyze fecal microbial composition and function in a translationally relevant baboon model of chronic heavy drinking that also meets binge criteria (drinking too much, too fast, and too often), i.e., alcohol ~1 g/kg and blood alcohol levels (BALs) ≥ 0.08 g/dL in a 2-hour period, daily, for years. We compared three groups of male baboons (Papio anubis): L = Long-term alcohol drinking group (12.1 years); S = Short-term alcohol drinking group (2.7 years); and C = Control group, drinking a non-alcoholic reinforcer (Tang®) (8.2 years). Fecal collection took place during 3 days of Drinking (D), followed by a short period (3 days) of Abstinence (A). Fecal microbial alpha- and beta-diversity were significantly lower in L vs. S and C (p's < 0.05). Members of the commensal families Lachnospiraceae and Prevotellaceae showed a relative decrease, whereas the opportunistic pathogen Streptococcus genus showed a relative increase in L vs. S and C (p's < 0.05). Microbiota-related metabolites of aromatic amino acids, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and pentose increased in L vs. S and C (FDR-corrected p < 0.01), with the latter two suggesting high energy metabolism and enhanced glycolysis in the gut lumen in response to alcohol. Consistent with the long-term alcohol exposure, mucosal damage and oxidative stress markers (N-acetylated amino acids, 2-hydroxybutyrate, and metabolites of the methionine cycle) increased in L vs. S and C (FDR-corrected p < 0.01). Overall, S showed few differences vs. C, possibly due to the long-term, chronic alcohol exposure needed to alter the normal gut microbiota. In the three groups, the fecal microbiome barely differed between conditions D and A, whereas the metabolome shifted in the transition from condition D to A. In conclusion, changes in the fecal microbiome and metabolome occur after significant long-term excessive drinking and are only partially affected by acute forced abstinence from alcohol. These results provide novel information on the relationship between the fecal microbiome and metabolome in a controlled experimental setting and using a unique non-human primate model of chronic excessive alcohol drinking.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Animals; Feces; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Male; Metabolome; Primates
PubMed: 34853299
DOI: 10.1038/s41398-021-01728-6