Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Hiding in plain sight: The biomolecular identification of pinniped use in medieval manuscripts(Royal Society Publishing, 2025) Lévêque, Élodie; Teasdale, Matthew D.; Fiddyment, Sarah; Bro-Jørgensen, Maiken Hemme; Spindler, Luke; MacLeod, Ruairidh; Bougard, François; Olsen, Morten Tange; Collins, Matthew; Horizon 2020; European Research CouncilThe survival of medieval manuscripts in their original bindings remains a rare occurrence. Taking advantage of the diversity of bindings in Cistercian libraries such as Clairvaux and its daughter abbeys during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, this study focuses on the biocodicological analysis of medieval manuscript bindings, with particular emphasis on the use of sealskins. Using innovative methods such as electrostatic zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (eZooMS) and ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, this research identifies the animal species and origin of the leather used in these bindings as predominantly pinniped (seal) species. In particular, the collagen-based eZooMS technique facilitated the classification of seven chemises into the pinniped clade, although species identification remained elusive, except in one additional case where a bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) was definitively identified. aDNA analysis was instrumental in verifying the origin of the sealskins, with four samples identified as harbour seals and a single sample as a harp seal and sourced to (contemporary) populations in Scandinavia, Scotland and Iceland or Greenland. This geographical inference supports the notion of a robust medieval trade network that went well beyond local sourcing, linking the Cistercians to wider economic circuits that included fur trade with the Norse. The study, therefore, highlights the use of an unexpected skin (seal) from an unexpected source (the northwestern Atlantic). The widespread use of sealskins in Cistercian libraries such as Clairvaux and its daughter abbeys during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries hints at broader trade networks that brought, for example, walrus ivory from the far north into continental Europe. This integration of the biological sciences into the study of historical manuscripts not only provides a clearer picture of the material culture of medieval Europe, but also illustrates the extensive trade networks that Cistercian monasteries were part of, challenging previous assumptions about local resource use in manuscript production.Item Regional and conditional variability of FXR: new lessons on ileal inflammation and gut barrier functions(American Physiological Society, 2024-10-10) Joyce, Susan A.; O’Malley, DervlaItem Wild herbivores enhance resistance to invasion by exotic cacti in an African savanna(Wiley; British Ecology Society, 2022-10-11) Wells, Harry B. M.; Crego, Ramiro D.; Alston, Jesse M.; Ndung'u, S. Kimani; Khasoha, Leo M.; Reed, Courtney G.; Hassan, Abdikadir A.; Kurukura, Samson; Ekadeli, Jackson; Namoni, Mathew; Stewart, Peter S.; Kimuyu, Duncan M.; Wolf, Amelia A.; Young, Truman P.; Kartzinel, Tyler R.; Palmer, Todd M.; Goheen, Jacob R.; Pringle, Robert M.; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; University of Florida; University of British Columbia; Government of the Republic of Kenya; National Science Foundation; National Geographic Society; University of Wyoming; High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University; Nature Conservancy; Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University; Smithsonian Institution; Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung; Sächsisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst; Natural Environment Research Council; Durham University1.Whether wild herbivores confer biotic resistance to invasion by exotic plants remains a key question in ecology. There is evidence that wild herbivores can impede invasion by exotic plants, but it is unclear whether and how this generalises across ecosystems with varying wild herbivore diversity and functional groups of plants, particularly over long-term (decadal) time frames. 2. Using data from three long-term (13- to 26-year) exclosure experiments in central Kenya, we tested the effects of wild herbivores on the density of exotic invasive cacti, Opuntia stricta and O. ficus-indica (collectively, Opuntia), which are among the worst invasive species globally. We also examined relationships between wild herbivore richness and elephant occurrence probability with the probability of O. stricta presence at the landscape level (6150 km2). 3. Opuntia densities were 74% to 99% lower in almost all plots accessible to wild herbivores compared to exclosure plots. Opuntia densities also increased more rapidly across time in plots excluding wild herbivores. These effects were largely driven by megaherbivores (≥1000 kg), particularly elephants. 4. At the landscape level, modelled Opuntia stricta occurrence probability was negatively correlated with estimated species richness of wild herbivores and elephant occurrence probability. On average, O. stricta occurrence probability fell from ~0.56 to ~0.45 as wild herbivore richness increased from 6 to 10 species and fell from ~0.57 to ~0.40 as elephant occurrence probability increased from ~0.41 to ~0.84. These multi-scale results suggest that any facilitative effects of Opuntia by wild herbivores (e.g. seed/vegetative dispersal) are overridden by suppression (e.g. consumption, uprooting, trampling). 5. Synthesis. Our experimental and observational findings that wild herbivores confer resistance to invasion by exotic cacti add to evidence that conserving and restoring native herbivore assemblages (particularly megaherbivores) can increase community resistance to plant invasions.Item Alpha-synuclein alters the faecal viromes of rats in a gut-initiated model of Parkinson’s disease(Nature Research, 2021) Stockdale, Stephen R.; Draper, Lorraine A.; O'Donovan, Sarah; Barton, Wiley; O'Sullivan, Orla; Volpicelli-Daley, Laura A.; Sullivan, Aideen M.; O'Neill, Cora; Hill, Colin; Science Foundation IrelandParkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic neurological disorder associated with the misfolding of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) into aggregates within nerve cells that contribute to their neurodegeneration. Recent evidence suggests α-syn aggregation may begin in the gut and travel to the brain along the vagus nerve, with microbes potentially a trigger initiating α-syn misfolding. However, the effects α-syn alterations on the gut virome have not been investigated. In this study, we show longitudinal faecal virome changes in rats administered either monomeric or preformed fibrils (PFF) of α-syn directly into their enteric nervous system. Differential changes in rat viromes were observed when comparing monomeric and PFF α-syn, with alterations compounded by the addition of LPS. Changes in rat faecal viromes were observed after one month and did not resolve within the study’s five-month observational period. These results suggest that virome alterations may be reactive to host α-syn changes that are associated with PD development.Item The impact of fingolimod on Treg function in brain ischaemia(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2023) Malone, Kyle; Shearer, Jennifer A.; Waeber, Christian; Moore, Anne C.; Irish Research Council; Health Research Board; European Regional Development FundFingolimod has generally shown neuroprotective effects in stroke models. Here, we tested the hypothesis that fingolimod modulates T-cell cytokine production towards a regulatory phenotype. Second, we investigated how fingolimod altered the Treg suppressive function and the sensitivity of effector T cells to regulation. Mice that had underwent the permanent electrocoagulation of the left middle cerebral artery received saline or fingolimod (0.5 mg/kg) daily for 10-days post-ischaemia. Fingolimod improved neurobehavioural recovery compared to saline control and increased Treg frequency in the periphery and brain. Tregs from fingolimod-treated animals had a higher expression of CCR8. Fingolimod increased the frequencies of CD4+ IL-10+ , CD4+ IFN-γ+ and CD4+ IL-10+ IFN-γ+ cells in spleen and blood, and CD4+ IL-17+ cells in the spleen, with only minor effects on CD8+ T-cell cytokine production. Treg from post-ischaemic mice had reduced suppressive function compared to Treg from non-ischaemic mice. Fingolimod treatment rescued this function against saline-treated but not fingolimod-treated CD4+ effector T cells. In conclusion, fingolimod seems to improve the suppressive function of Treg post-stroke while also increasing the resistance of CD4+ effector cells to this suppression. Fingolimod's capacity to increase both effector and regulatory functions may explain the lack of consistent improvement in functional recovery in experimental brain ischaemia.