A new species of Kurixalus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from northern Vietnam with comments on the biogeography of the genus

ABSTRACT

We describe a new species of rhacophorid frogs from Nghe An Province in northern Vietnam based on morphological and molecular evidences. Morphologically, Kurixalus gracilloides sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following diagnostic characters: body size small (snout–vent length 27.9–31.2 mm in males); head width subequal to head length; snout rounded with no dermal projection; canthus rostralis distinct, curved; vomerine teeth present; single internal vocal sac; iris golden-brown; small nuptial pad in finger I; dorsal surfaces golden-brown with a saddle-shaped dark marking; large dark spots on ventral surfaces absent; dermal fringes along outer edge of limbs; conical dermal appendage at the heel; skin on dorsum rough; skin on throat and chest granular; finger webbing rudimentary and toe webbing moderately developed, webbing formula I 2–2½ II 1½–3 III 1¾–3½ IV 3–1½ V. The new species is separated from all other congeners by uncorrected genetic distances ranging from 5.4% to 12.7% based on mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA suggest that the new species is nested within a clade of Taiwanese and Yunnan Kurixalus with strong support values. The new species is currently known only from secondary bamboo forest in Pu Mat National Park, northern Vietnam, at elevations of 150 m asl. We suggest the new species should be considered as Near Threatened (NT) following the IUCN’s Red List categories.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C1BF843F-2F31-4CED-B1F9-13A9035C77C9     

Genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for dengue shock syndrome at MICB and PLCE1

Hypovolemic shock (dengue shock syndrome (DSS)) is the most common life-threatening complication of dengue. We conducted a genome-wide association study of 2,008 pediatric cases treated for DSS and 2,018 controls from Vietnam. Replication of the most significantly associated markers was carried out in an independent Vietnamese sample of 1,737 cases and 2,934 controls. SNPs at two loci showed genome-wide significant association with DSS. We identified a susceptibility locus at MICB (major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I polypeptide-related sequence B), which was within the broad MHC region on chromosome 6 but outside the class I and class II HLA loci (rs3132468, P(meta) = 4.41 × 10(-11), per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 1.34 (95% confidence interval: 1.23-1.46)). We identified associated variants within PLCE1 (phospholipase C, epsilon 1) on chromosome 10 (rs3765524, P(meta) = 3.08 × 10(-10), per-allele OR = 0.80 (95% confidence interval: 0.75-0.86)). We identify two loci associated with susceptibility to DSS in people with dengue, suggesting possible mechanisms for this severe complication of dengue.     

Crystalline water ice on the Kuiper belt object (50000) Quaoar

The Kuiper belt is a disk-like structure consisting of solid bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune. It is the source of the short-period comets and the likely repository of the Solar System's most primitive materials. Surface temperatures in the belt are low ( approximately 50 K), suggesting that ices trapped at formation should have been preserved over the age of the Solar System. Unfortunately, most Kuiper belt objects are too faint for meaningful compositional study, even with the largest available telescopes. Water ice has been reported in a handful of objects, but most appear spectrally featureless. Here we report near-infrared observations of the large Kuiper belt object (50000) Quaoar, which reveal the presence of crystalline water ice and ammonia hydrate. Crystallinity indicates that the ice has been heated to at least 110 K. Both ammonia hydrate and crystalline water ice should be destroyed by energetic particle irradiation on a timescale of about 10(7) yr. We conclude that Quaoar has been recently resurfaced, either by impact exposure of previously buried (shielded) ices or by cryovolcanic outgassing, or by a combination of these processes.     

S-RNase uptake by compatible pollen tubes in gametophytic self-incompatibility

Many flowering plants avoid inbreeding through a genetic mechanism termed self-incompatibility. An extremely polymorphic S-locus controls the gametophytic self-incompatibility system that causes pollen rejection (that is, active arrest of pollen tube growth inside the style) when an S-allele carried by haploid pollen matches one of the S-alleles present in the diploid style. The only known product of the S-locus is an S-RNase expressed in the mature style. The pollen component to this cell-cell recognition system is unknown and current models propose that it either acts as a gatekeeper allowing only its cognate S-RNase to enter the pollen tube, or as an inhibitor of non-cognate S-RNases. In the latter case, all S-RNases are presumed to enter pollen tubes; thus, the two models make diametrically opposed predictions concerning the entry of S-RNases into compatible pollen. Here we use immunocytochemical labelling of pollen tubes growing in styles to show accumulation of an S-RNase in the cytoplasm of all pollen-tube haplotypes, thus providing experimental support for the inhibitor model.