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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 -
PLoS Pathogens Apr 2024Human enteroviruses are the most common human pathogen with over 300 distinct genotypes. Previous work with poliovirus has suggested that it is possible to generate...
Human enteroviruses are the most common human pathogen with over 300 distinct genotypes. Previous work with poliovirus has suggested that it is possible to generate antibody responses in humans and animals that can recognize members of multiple enterovirus species. However, cross protective immunity across multiple enteroviruses is not observed epidemiologically in humans. Here we investigated whether immunization of mice or baboons with inactivated poliovirus or enterovirus virus-like-particles (VLPs) vaccines generates antibody responses that can recognize enterovirus D68 or A71. We found that mice only generated antibodies specific for the antigen they were immunized with, and repeated immunization failed to generate cross-reactive antibody responses as measured by both ELISA and neutralization assay. Immunization of baboons with IPV failed to generate neutralizing antibody responses against enterovirus D68 or A71. These results suggest that a multivalent approach to enterovirus vaccination is necessary to protect against enterovirus disease in vulnerable populations.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Cross Reactions; Antibodies, Viral; Enterovirus Infections; Poliovirus Vaccine, Inactivated; Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle; Antibodies, Neutralizing; Papio; Humans; Poliovirus; Female; Antibody Formation; Enterovirus; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Enterovirus D, Human
PubMed: 38662650
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012159 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Mar 2024Genomic evidence supports an important role for selection in shaping patterns of introgression along the genome, but frameworks for understanding the evolutionary...
Genomic evidence supports an important role for selection in shaping patterns of introgression along the genome, but frameworks for understanding the evolutionary dynamics within hybrid populations that underlie these patterns have been lacking. Due to the clock-like effect of recombination in hybrids breaking up parental haplotypes, drift and selection produce predictable patterns of ancestry variation at varying spatial genomic scales through time. Here, we develop methods based on the Discrete Wavelet Transform to study the genomic scale of local ancestry variation and its association with recombination rates and show that these methods capture temporal dynamics of drift and genome-wide selection after hybridization. We apply these methods to published datasets from hybrid populations of swordtail fish () and baboons () and to inferred Neanderthal introgression in modern humans. Across systems, upward of 20% of variation in local ancestry at the broadest genomic scales can be attributed to systematic selection against introgressed alleles, consistent with strong selection acting on early-generation hybrids. Signatures of selection at fine genomic scales suggest selection over longer time scales; however, we suggest that our ability to confidently infer selection at fine scales is likely limited by inherent biases in current methods for estimating local ancestry from contiguous segments of genomic similarity. Wavelet approaches will become widely applicable as genomic data from systems with introgression become increasingly available and can help shed light on generalities of the genomic consequences of interspecific hybridization.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Genome; Genomics; Hybridization, Genetic; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Haplotypes; Neanderthals; Selection, Genetic
PubMed: 38489387
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309168121 -
Cell Genomics Mar 2024Understanding how genetic variation impacts gene expression is a major goal of genomics; however, only a fraction of disease-associated loci have been demonstrated to...
Understanding how genetic variation impacts gene expression is a major goal of genomics; however, only a fraction of disease-associated loci have been demonstrated to impact gene expression when cells are in an unperturbed "steady state." In this issue of Cell Genomics, Lin et al. investigate how exposure to a particular cellular context (i.e., a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet) can enhance our ability to identify new regulatory variants through longitudinal sampling of three tissue types in the baboon.
Topics: Animals; Papio; Quantitative Trait Loci; Diet, High-Fat; Genomics
PubMed: 38484702
DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2024.100524 -
Ecology and Evolution Mar 2024Olive baboons () use fixed, secure, and naturally occurring sleeping sites such as tall trees and rocky cliffs, as protection from predators and often show a selection...
Olive baboons () use fixed, secure, and naturally occurring sleeping sites such as tall trees and rocky cliffs, as protection from predators and often show a selection preference for particular trees or rocky cliff faces. We documented olive baboons' adoption of recently constructed high-tension electrical transmission towers (pylons) as a novel type of sleeping site in Laikipia, Kenya. The use of pylons suggests that the greatest potential benefits may include reduced parasite exposure and predation avoidance. Thermoregulation and feeding efficiency are not supported as benefits because pylons increase baboons' exposure to wind and cool nighttime temperatures and the pylons were constructed in locations independent of established feeding sites. These observations advance our understanding of olive baboon sleeping site selection in a changing landscape.
PubMed: 38481758
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11164 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Mar 2024The early-life environment can profoundly shape the trajectory of an animal's life, even years or decades later. One mechanism proposed to contribute to these early-life...
The early-life environment can profoundly shape the trajectory of an animal's life, even years or decades later. One mechanism proposed to contribute to these early-life effects is DNA methylation. However, the frequency and functional importance of DNA methylation in shaping early-life effects on adult outcomes is poorly understood, especially in natural populations. Here, we integrate prospectively collected data on fitness-associated variation in the early environment with DNA methylation estimates at 477,270 CpG sites in 256 wild baboons. We find highly heterogeneous relationships between the early-life environment and DNA methylation in adulthood: aspects of the environment linked to resource limitation (e.g., low-quality habitat, early-life drought) are associated with many more CpG sites than other types of environmental stressors (e.g., low maternal social status). Sites associated with early resource limitation are enriched in gene bodies and putative enhancers, suggesting they are functionally relevant. Indeed, by deploying a baboon-specific, massively parallel reporter assay, we show that a subset of windows containing these sites are capable of regulatory activity, and that, for 88% of early drought-associated sites in these regulatory windows, enhancer activity is DNA methylation-dependent. Together, our results support the idea that DNA methylation patterns contain a persistent signature of the early-life environment. However, they also indicate that not all environmental exposures leave an equivalent mark and suggest that socioenvironmental variation at the time of sampling is more likely to be functionally important. Thus, multiple mechanisms must converge to explain early-life effects on fitness-related traits.
Topics: Animals; DNA Methylation; Adverse Childhood Experiences; Nucleotide Motifs; Biological Assay; Papio
PubMed: 38442181
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309469121 -
PLoS Computational Biology Jan 2024As part of a long-term research project aiming at generating a biomechanical model of a fossil human tongue from a carefully designed 3D Finite Element mesh of a living...
As part of a long-term research project aiming at generating a biomechanical model of a fossil human tongue from a carefully designed 3D Finite Element mesh of a living human tongue, we present a computer-based method that optimally registers 3D CT images of the head and neck of the living human into similar images of another primate. We quantitatively evaluate the method on a baboon. The method generates a geometric deformation field which is used to build up a 3D Finite Element mesh of the baboon tongue. In order to assess the method's ability to generate a realistic tongue from bony structure information alone, as would be the case for fossil humans, its performance is evaluated and compared under two conditions in which different anatomical information is available: (1) combined information from soft-tissue and bony structures; (2) information from bony structures alone. An Uncertainty Quantification method is used to evaluate the sensitivity of the transformation to two crucial parameters, namely the resolution of the transformation grid and the weight of a smoothness constraint applied to the transformation, and to determine the best possible meshes. In both conditions the baboon tongue morphology is realistically predicted, evidencing that bony structures alone provide enough relevant information to generate soft tissue.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Hominidae; Fossils; Skull; Tongue; Papio; Finite Element Analysis; Computer Simulation
PubMed: 38252664
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011808 -
Stem Cell Research Mar 2024Cross-species comparisons studying primate pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives are crucial to better understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind...
Cross-species comparisons studying primate pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives are crucial to better understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind human disease and development. Within this context, Baboons (Papio anubis) have emerged as a prominent primate model for such investigations. Herein, we reprogrammed skin fibroblasts of one male individual and generated two induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, which exhibit the characteristic ESC-like morphology, demonstrated robust expression of key pluripotency factors and displayed multilineage differentiation potential. Notably, both iPSC lines can be cultured under feeder-free conditions in commercially available medium, enhancing their value for cross-species comparisons.
Topics: Animals; Male; Humans; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Papio; Cell Line; Fibroblasts; Cell Differentiation
PubMed: 38246118
DOI: 10.1016/j.scr.2024.103316 -
Communications Biology Jan 2024Shared-decision making is beneficial for the maintenance of group-living. However, little is known about whether consensus decision-making follows similar processes...
Shared-decision making is beneficial for the maintenance of group-living. However, little is known about whether consensus decision-making follows similar processes across different species. Addressing this question requires robust quantification of how individuals move relative to each other. Here we use high-resolution GPS-tracking of two vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum) groups to test the predictions from a classic theoretical model of collective motion. We show that, in both groups, all individuals can successfully initiate directional movements, although males are more likely to be followed than females. When multiple group members initiate simultaneously, follower decisions depend on directional agreement, with followers compromising directions if the difference between them is small or choosing the majority direction if the difference is large. By aligning with model predictions and replicating the findings of a previous field study on olive baboons (Papio anubis), our results suggest that a common process governs collective decision-making in moving animal groups.
Topics: Humans; Male; Animals; Female; Movement; Motion
PubMed: 38218910
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-05782-w -
Scientific Reports Jan 2024Although male and female mammals differ in biological traits and functional needs, the contribution of this sexual dimorphism to variations in gut bacteria and fungi...
Although male and female mammals differ in biological traits and functional needs, the contribution of this sexual dimorphism to variations in gut bacteria and fungi (gut microbiota) in relation to habitat type has not been fully examined. To understand whether the combination of sex and habitat affects gut microbiota variation, we analyzed 40 fecal samples of wild yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) living in contrasting habitat types (intact, well-protected vs. fragmented, less protected forests) in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania. Sex determination was performed using the marker genes SRY (Sex-determining Region Y) and DDX3X-DDX3Y (DEAD-Box Helicase 3). Samples were attributed to 34 individuals (19 females and 15 males) belonging to five social groups. Combining the results of sex determination with two amplicon sequencing datasets on bacterial (V1-V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene) and fungal (ITS2) gut communities, we found that overall, baboon females had a significantly higher gut bacterial richness compared to males. Beta diversity estimates indicated that bacterial composition was significantly different between males and females, and this was true for individuals from both well- and less protected forests. Our results highlight the combined role of sex and habitat type in shaping variation in gut microbial communities in wild non-human primates.
Topics: Female; Male; Animals; Papio cynocephalus; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Genes, sry; Forests; Papio; Mammals
PubMed: 38195759
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50126-z