Reef corals harbouring clade D Symbiodinium spp. (endosymbiotic dinoflagellates) appear more tolerant of environmental stress. As sea surface temperatures rise, symbioses involving Symbiodinium D may increase in prevalence. For this reason, eight polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for clade D Symbiodinium. From the analysis of 132 samples originating from cnidarian hosts in the Atla...

We studied cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) cross-reactivity between human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtypes within a group of infants infected with either HIV-1 B or non-B clade. Fifteen children were infected with a clade B virus. Nine were infected with non-B virus, including two clade A, four clade D, two clade F, and one clade G. CTL activities from in vitro activated peripheral b...

Dacrymycetes, sister to Agaricomycetes, is a noteworthy lineage for studying the evolution of wood-decaying basidiomycetes; however, its species diversity and phylogeny are largely unknown. Species of Dacrymycetes previously used in molecular phylogenetic analyses are mainly derived from the Northern Hemisphere, thus insufficient knowledge exists concerning the Southern Hemisphere lineages. In ...

The first prophylactic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine trial in Africa, with a clade B immunogen, is currently under way in Uganda, in a region where clades A and D are endemic. The use of a B clade vaccine is based on anticipated cross-recognition of endemic strains of HIV-1 in Uganda, but, in fact, little is known about the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses in that re...

Under certain circumstances, X-linked loci are expected to experience more adaptive substitutions than similar autosomal loci. To look for evidence of faster-X evolution, we analyzed the evolutionary rates of coding sequences in two sets of Drosophila species, the melanogaster and pseudoobscura clades, using whole-genome sequences. One of these, the pseudoobscura clade, contains a centric fusio...

BACKGROUND The use of cellular coreceptors and modulation of cytokine concentrations by HIV to establish a productive infection is well documented. However, it is unknown whether the expression of these proteins affects the course of HIV clade A and D disease, reported to have different progression rates. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We investigated whether the number of CD4(+) T-cells expr...

Drosophila lini and its two sibling species, D. ohnishii and D. ogumai, are hardly distinguishable from one another in morphology. These species are more or less reproductively isolated. The mitochondrial ND2 and COI-COII and the nuclear ITS1-ITS2 regions were sequenced to seek for the possibility of DNA barcoding and to reconstruct the phylogeny of them. The character-based approach for DNA ba...

Novel subtypes of Asian-origin (Goose/Guangdong lineage) H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses belonging to clade 2.3.4, such as H5N2, H5N5, H5N6, and H5N8, have been identified in China since 2008 and have since evolved into four genetically distinct clade 2.3.4.4 groups (A-D). Since 2014, HPAI clade 2.3.4.4 viruses have spread rapidly via migratory wild aquatic birds and have ev...

Many people who remain persistently seronegative despite frequent HIV exposure have HIV-specific immune responses. The study of these may provide information about mechanisms of natural protective immunity to HIV-1. We describe the specificity of cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses to HIV in seronegative prostitutes in Nairobi who are apparently resistant to HIV infection. These women have had fre...

Lionfishes (tribe Pteroini) are eye-catching due to their distinct elongated fins and warning coloration. The monophyly of the Pteroini is supported by recent phylogenetic analyses. However, interrelationships between inter- intra-genera contentious. In this study, 5,335 bps two mitochondrial five nuclear genes were sequenced reconstruct phylogeny lionfishes. Our analyses showed Dendrochirus Pt...