Efficacy of two variations on an aerial lek-count method for Greater Sage-Grouse

Greater Sage-Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ) is a species of concern, and accurate population data are needed to monitor conservation management efforts. Conventional, ground-based lek counts are labor-intensive, expensive, and have several sources of potential error and bias, including the practical limits on number and distribution of leks counted. We tested aerial methods for photographing multiple leks during a single morning. We completed 14 aerial approaches to 6 leks in 2 different years using 2 different airplanes and altitudes. Grouse flushed from leks on 12 approaches when the airplane was within 200–300 m of the lek. In 2 instances, strutting grouse crouched and stayed on the lek. Our highest-resolution images increased our confidence in grouse identification but also decreased field-of-view coverage to the detriment of count accuracy. The methods we tested do not allow sage-grouse to be accurately counted, but the results provide information about sage-grouse responses to low-altitude airplane approaches and about useful image resolutions and fields of view.     

HRPT2, encoding parafibromin,is mutated in hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome

We report here the identification of a gene associated with the hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome. A single locus associated with HPT-JT (HRPT2) was previously mapped to chromosomal region 1q25-q32. We refined this region to a critical interval of 12 cM by genotyping in 26 affected kindreds. Using a positional candidate approach, we identified thirteen different heterozygous, germline, inactivating mutations in a single gene in fourteen families with HPT-JT. The proposed role of HRPT2 as a tumor suppressor was supported by mutation screening in 48 parathyroid adenomas with cystic features, which identified three somatic inactivating mutations, all located in exon 1. None of these mutations were detected in normal controls, and all were predicted to cause deficient or impaired protein function. HRPT2 is a ubiquitously expressed, evolutionarily conserved gene encoding a predicted protein of 531 amino acids, for which we propose the name parafibromin. Our findings suggest that HRPT2 is a tumor-suppressor gene, the inactivation of which is directly involved in predisposition to HPT-JT and in development of some sporadic parathyroid tumors.