We previously reported the isolation of a gene (FMR-1) expressed in brain at the fragile X locus. One exon of this gene lies within an EcoRI fragment that exhibits length variation in fragile X patients. This exon also contains the CGG repeat within the CpG island hypermethylated in fragile X patients. To study the involvement of the FMR-1 gene in the fragile X syndrome, its expression was stud...

This catalogue presents the first-ever complete inventory of all described taxa of Australian weevils, including both valid and invalid names. The geographical scope spans mainland Australia and its continental islands as well as the subantarctic Heard and McDonald Islands, the Pacific Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands and the Indian-Ocean Christmas Island. 4111 species in 832 genera (including one...

BACKGROUND Literacy is important for success in school and in adulthood. Book-gift programs at birth exist to help develop these foundations early on. The effectiveness of the Read to Me! Nova Scotia Family Literacy Program (a program where books and literacy materials are given to families in hospital when their baby is born) on the duration and frequency with which mothers engage in reading a...

Metagenomic islands (MGIs) have been defined as genomic regions in prokaryotic genomes that under-recruit from metagenomes where most of the same genome recruits at close to 100% identity over most of its length. The presence of MGIs in prokaryotes has been associated to the diversity of concurrent lineages that vary at this level to disperse the predatory pressure of phages that, reciprocally,...

There has been much interest in CpG islands (CGIs), clusters of CpG dinucleotides in GC-rich regions, because they are considered gene markers and involved in gene regulation. To date, there has been no genome-wide analysis of CGIs in the fish genome. We first evaluated the performance of three popular CGI identification algorithms in four fish genomes (tetraodon, stickleback, medaka, and zebra...

Insular wildlife is more prone to extinction than their mainland relatives. Thus, a basic understanding of non-natural mortality sources is the first step in the development of conservation management plans. The Canary Islands are an important tourist destination due to their unique climate and rich scenery and biodiversity. During the last few decades, there has been significant development of...

The genus Ultratenuipalpus (Acariformes: Tenuipalpidae) was represented by 24 species prior to this study. In this paper, we describe and illustrate Ultratenuipalpus avarua sp. nov, from Cocos sp. (Arecaceae) in Avarua, Rarotonga, the Cook Islands. A key to the world species of Ultratenuipalpus is provided.

Monozygotic twins share identical genomic DNA and are indistinguishable using conventional genetic markers. Increasing evidence indicates that monozygotic twins are epigenetically distinct, suggesting that a comparison between DNA methylation patterns might be useful to approach this forensic problem. However, the extent of epigenetic discordance between healthy adult monozygotic twins and the ...

Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the causative agent of human monocytic ehrlichiosis, is transmitted by Amblyomma americanum ticks, which are most abundant in the southern United States. Because serologic evidence suggests that residents of Connecticut are exposed to E. chaffeensis, A. americanum ticks were collected in Connecticut and Rhode Island for PCR analysis to detect E. chaffeensis DNA. Eight of ...

The first complete genome sequences of four avian paramyxovirus serotype 10 (APMV-10) isolates are described here. The viruses were isolated from rockhopper penguins on the Falkland Islands, sampled in 2007. All four genomes are 15,456 nucleotides in length, and phylogenetic analyses show them to be closely related.