Publications

production and biomedical applications of virus-like particles derived from polyomaviruses.	virus-like particles (vlps), aggregates of capsid proteins devoid of viral genetic material, show great promise in the fields of vaccine development and gene therapy. these particles spontaneously self-assemble after heterologous expression of viral structural proteins. this review will focus on the use of virus-like particles derived from polyomavirus capsid proteins. since their first recombinant production 27 years ago these particles have been investigated for a myriad of biomedical applicat ...	2013	23999392
novel myco-like dna viruses discovered in the faecal matter of various animals.	a wide variety of novel single-stranded dna (ssdna) viruses have been found in faecal matter of chimpanzees, cows, rodents, bats, badgers, foxes and pigs over the last few years. using a combination of rolling circle amplification coupled with restriction enzyme digests based approach as well as a next generation sequencing informed approach, we have recovered fourteen full genomes of ssdna viruses which exhibit genomic features described for members of the recently proposed gemycircularvirus gr ...	2013	23994297
using naturalistic utterances to investigate vocal communication processing and development in human and non-human primates.	humans and several non-human primates possess cortical regions that are most sensitive to vocalizations produced by their own kind (conspecifics). however, the use of speech and other broadly defined categories of behaviorally relevant natural sounds has led to many discrepancies regarding where voice-sensitivity occurs, and more generally the identification of cortical networks, "proto-networks" or protolanguage networks, and pathways that may be sensitive or selective for certain aspects of vo ...	2013	23994296
the influence of genomic context on mutation patterns in the human genome inferred from rare variants.	understanding patterns of spontaneous mutations is of fundamental interest in studies of human genome evolution and genetic disease. here, we used extremely rare variants in humans to model the molecular spectrum of single-nucleotide mutations. compared to common variants in humans and human-chimpanzee fixed differences (substitutions), rare variants, on average, arose more recently in the human lineage and are less affected by the potentially confounding effects of natural selection, population ...	2013	23990608
ground night nesting in chimpanzees: new insights from central chimpanzees (pan troglodytes troglodytes) in south-east cameroon.	some chimpanzee populations exhibit ground night nesting, which occurs in different habitat types, is driven by a variety of interconnected factors, and may reflect cultural or social differences. this has important implications for ape conservation management, given that accurate nest builder identification is required to estimate density, crucial in monitoring, and allows inferences about environmental and social factors that may have contributed to the transition from tree to ground sleeping ...	2013	23988519
[lucy's parturition, a way towards extinction?].	to compare pelvic cavities in australopithecines, modern humans and non-hominid primates in order to discuss the obstetrical mechanisms in australopithecines	2013	23988473
fatal arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in 2 related subadult chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	cardiovascular disease is increasingly recognized as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in captive chimpanzees (pan troglodytes). this report records 2 cases of sudden cardiac death in closely related subadult captive chimpanzees with marked replacement fibrosis and adipocyte infiltration of the myocardium, which resemble specific atypical forms of the familial human disease arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. changes were consistent with left-dominant and biventricular s ...	2014	23988399
vif proteins from diverse primate lentiviral lineages use the same binding site in apobec3g.	apobec3g (a3g) is a cytidine deaminase that restricts human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) and other lentiviruses. most of these viruses encode a vif protein that directly binds a3g and leads to its proteasomal degradation. both vif proteins of hiv-1 and african green monkey simian immunodeficiency virus (sivagm) bind residue 128 of a3g. however, this position does not control the a3g degradation by vif variants derived from hiv-2 and sivmac, which both originated from siv of sooty mangab ...	2013	23986590
differences in neural activation for object-directed grasping in chimpanzees and humans.	the human faculty for object-mediated action, including tool use and imitation, exceeds that of even our closest primate relatives and is a key foundation of human cognitive and cultural uniqueness. in humans and macaques, observing object-directed grasping actions activates a network of frontal, parietal, and occipitotemporal brain regions, but differences in human and macaque activation suggest that this system has been a focus of selection in the primate lineage. to study the evolution of thi ...	2013	23986247
a novel framework for the identification and analysis of duplicons between human and chimpanzee.	human and other primate genomes consist of many segmental duplications (sds) due to fixation of copy number variations (cnvs). structure of these duplications within the human genome has been shown to be a complex mosaic composed of juxtaposed subunits (called duplicons). these duplicons are difficult to be uncovered from the mosaic repeat structure. in addition, the distribution and evolution of duplicons among primates are still poorly investigated. in this paper, we develop a statistical fram ...	2013	23984331
contrasting demographic histories of the neighboring bonobo and chimpanzee.	the pleistocene epoch was a period of dramatic climate change that had profound impacts on the population sizes of many animal species. how these species were shaped by past events is often unclear, hindering our understanding of the population dynamics resulting in present day populations. we analyzed complete mitochondrial genomes representing all four recognized chimpanzee subspecies and the bonobo to infer the recent demographic history and used simulations to exclude a confounding effect of ...	2014	23982179
evolution of life history and behavior in hominidae: towards phylogenetic reconstruction of the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor.	the origin of the fundamental behavioral differences between humans and our closest living relatives is one of the central issues of evolutionary anthropology. the prominent, chimpanzee-based referential model of early hominin behavior has recently been challenged on the basis of broad multispecies comparisons and newly discovered fossil evidence. here, we argue that while behavioral data on extant great apes are extremely relevant for reconstruction of ancestral behaviors, these behaviors shoul ...	2013	23981863
immunotherapy of chronic hepatitis c virus infection with antibodies against programmed cell death-1 (pd-1).	hepatitis c virus (hcv) persistence is facilitated by exhaustion of cd8+ t cells that express the inhibitory receptor programmed cell death 1 (pd-1). blockade of pd-1 signaling improves in vitro proliferation of hcv-specific t lymphocytes, but whether antiviral function can be restored in infected individuals is unknown. to address this question, chimpanzees with persistent hcv infection were treated with anti-pd-1 antibodies. a significant reduction in hcv viremia was observed in one of three t ...	2013	23980172
bird brains and tool use: beyond instrumental conditioning.	few displays of complex cognition are as intriguing as nonhuman tool use. long thought to be unique to humans, evidence for tool use and manufacture has now been gathered in chimpanzees, dolphins, and elephants. outside of mammals, tool use is most common in birds, especially in corvids and parrots. the present paper reviews the evidence for avian tool use, both in the wild and in laboratory settings. it also places this behavioral evidence in the context of longstanding debates about the kinds ...	2013	23979456
the face inversion effect in non-human primates revisited - an investigation in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	faces presented upside-down are harder to recognize than presented right-side up, an effect known as the face inversion effect. with inversion the perceptual processing of the spatial relationship among facial parts is disrupted. previous literature indicates a face inversion effect in chimpanzees toward familiar and conspecific faces. although these results are not inconsistent with findings from humans they have some controversy in their methodology. here, we employed a delayed matching-to-sam ...	2013	23978930
mood and anxiety disorders in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes): a response to rosati et al. (2012).	assessing the psychological health of nonhuman primates living in captivity is essential, since many experiments and behavioral observations involve captive animals. this area is a research priority because it has ethical consequences, in addition to its applications for understanding human and nonhuman primate behavior. in 2011, we published our international study's findings that chimpanzees with prior histories of experimentation, orphanage, illegal seizure, or violent human conflict were mor ...	2013	23978231
response facilitation in the four great apes: is there a role for empathy?	contagious yawning is a form of response facilitation found in humans and other primates in which observing a model yawning enhances the chance that the observer will also yawn. because contagious yawning seems to be more easily triggered when models are conspecifics or have a strong social bond with the observer, it has been proposed that contagious yawning is linked to empathy. a possible way to test this hypothesis is to analyze whether individuals' responses differ when they observe models y ...	2014	23975161
rotator cuff muscle function and its relation to scapular morphology in apes.	it is widely held that many differences among primate species in scapular morphology can be functionally related to differing demands on the shoulder associated with particular locomotor habits. this perspective is largely based on broad scale studies, while more narrow comparisons of scapular form often fail to follow predictions based on inferred differences in shoulder function. for example, the ratio of supraspinous fossa/infraspinous fossa size in apes is commonly viewed as an indicator of ...	2013	23968682
slower uncoating is associated with impaired replicative capability of simian-tropic hiv-1.	human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) productively infects only humans and chimpanzees, but not old world monkeys, such as rhesus and cynomolgus (cm) monkeys. to establish a monkey model of hiv-1/aids, several hiv-1 derivatives have been constructed. we previously generated a simian-tropic hiv-1 that replicates efficiently in cm cells. this virus encodes a capsid protein (ca) with sivmac239-derived loops between α-helices 4 and 5 (l4/5) and between α-helices 6 and 7 (l6/7), along with the ...	2013	23967315
a model-based analysis of gc-biased gene conversion in the human and chimpanzee genomes.	gc-biased gene conversion (gbgc) is a recombination-associated process that favors the fixation of g/c alleles over a/t alleles. in mammals, gbgc is hypothesized to contribute to variation in gc content, rapidly evolving sequences, and the fixation of deleterious mutations, but its prevalence and general functional consequences remain poorly understood. gbgc is difficult to incorporate into models of molecular evolution and so far has primarily been studied using summary statistics from genomic ...	2013	23966869
all-trans-retinoic acid imprints expression of the gut-homing marker α4β7 while suppressing lymph node homing of dendritic cells.	tissue-directed trafficking of dendritic cells (dcs) as natural adjuvants and/or direct vaccine carriers is highly attractive for the next generation of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. since these types of studies would undoubtedly be first conducted using nonhuman primate models, we evaluated the ability of all-trans-retinoic acid (atra) to induce gut-homing α4β7 expression on rhesus macaque plasmacytoid and myeloid dcs (pdcs and mdcs, respectively). induction of α4β7 occurred in both a time-d ...	2013	23966557
[experimental analysis of human specific protein coding open reading frame c11orf72].	gene c11orf72 (also known as flj90834) included in human gene reference list was previously predicted on the basis oftranscriptome analysis. we show that c11orf72 predicted protein coding open reading frame is specific for human genome and that it is absent from dnas of other investigated primate species (chimpanzee, macaque). for the first time, we systematically analyzed c11orf72 expression in five normal and two cancerous human tissues (testicles, heart, brain, lung, bladder, bladder tumor an ...	2013	23964515
continuities in emotion lateralization in human and non-human primates.	where hemispheric lateralization was once considered an exclusively human trait, it is increasingly recognized that hemispheric asymmetries are evident throughout the animal kingdom. emotion is a prime example of a lateralized function: given its vital role in promoting adaptive behavior and hence survival, a growing body of research in affective neuroscience is working to illuminate the cortical bases of emotion processing. presuming that human and non-human primates evolved from a shared ances ...	2013	23964230
toward a comprehensive framework for the spatiotemporal statistical analysis of longitudinal shape data.	this paper proposes an original approach for the statistical analysis of longitudinal shape data. the proposed method allows the characterization of typical growth patterns and subject-specific shape changes in repeated time-series observations of several subjects. this can be seen as the extension of usual longitudinal statistics of scalar measurements to high-dimensional shape or image data. the method is based on the estimation of continuous subject-specific growth trajectories and the compar ...	2013	23956495
autism and epistemology iv: does autism need a theory of mind?	in their article, "does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'?," baron-cohen et al. [1985] proposed a novel paradigm to explain social impairment in children diagnosed as autistic (ad). much research has been undertaken since their article went to print. the purpose of this commentary is to gauge whether theory of mind (tom)-or lack thereof-is a valid model for explaining abnormal social behavior in children with ad. tom is defined as "the ability to impute mental states to oneself and to o ...	2013	23956150
a geometric morphometric analysis of the medial tibial condyle of african hominids.	although the hominid knee has been heavily scrutinized, shape variation of the medial tibial condyle has yet to be described. humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas differ in the shape of their medial femoral condyles and in their capacity for external and internal rotation of the tibia relative to the femur. i hypothesize that these differences should be reflected in the shape of the medial tibial condyle of these hominids. here i use geometric morphometric techniques to uncover shape differences be ...	2013	23956043
early social deprivation negatively affects social skill acquisition in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	in a highly social species like chimpanzees, the process by which individuals become attuned to their social environment may be of vital importance to their chances of survival. typically, this socialization process, defined by all acquisition experiences and fine-tuning efforts of social interaction patterns during ontogeny, occurs in large part through parental investment. in this study, we investigated whether maternal presence enhances the socialization process in chimpanzees by comparing th ...	2014	23954954
when less is more: like humans, chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) misperceive food amounts based on plate size.	we investigated whether chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) misperceived food portion sizes depending upon the context in which they were presented, something that often affects how much humans serve themselves and subsequently consume. chimpanzees judged same-sized and smaller food portions to be larger in amount when presented on a small plate compared to an equal or larger food portion presented on a large plate and did so despite clearly being able to tell the difference in portions when plate siz ...	2014	23949698
laterality effect for faces in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	face perception in humans is governed more by right-hemispheric than left-hemispheric neural correlate. some but not all neurophysiological studies depict a right-side dominance for face responsive neurons in the brains of macaques. hence, it is an open question whether and to what extent a right-hemisphere preference of processing faces exists across primate brains. we investigated chimpanzees discriminating chimeric faces of chimpanzees and humans, i.e., the combination of either left or right ...	2013	23946392
factors influencing ascertainment bias of microsatellite allele sizes: impact on estimates of mutation rates.	microsatellite loci play an important role as markers for identification, disease gene mapping, and evolutionary studies. mutation rate, which is of fundamental importance, can be obtained from interspecies comparisons, which, however, are subject to ascertainment bias. this bias arises, for example, when a locus is selected on the basis of its large allele size in one species (cognate species 1), in which it is first discovered. this bias is reflected in average allele length in any noncognate ...	2013	23946335
the expression pattern and histological distribution of sialyltransferases st3gal iii in yellow chicken.	in chicken, st3 beta-galactoside alpha-2, 3-sialyltransferase iii (st3gal iii) is one of the key enzymes participating in the biosynthesis of avian influenza virus receptors. knowledge about st3gal iii could increase our understanding of its function in the occurrence and development of avian influenza. to date, no detailed data have been published about the expression pattern and histological distribution of st3gal iii in chicken. this paper presents data on the nucleotide sequence, mrna expres ...	2013	23943396
bilateral asymmetry of humeral torsion and length in african apes and humans.	few studies have directly compared human and african ape upper limb skeletal asymmetries despite the potential such comparisons have for understanding the origins of functional lateralization in humans and non-human primates. here, we report the magnitude and direction of asymmetries in humeral torsion and humeral length in paired humeri of 40 gorilla gorilla, 40 pan troglodytes and 40 homo sapiens. we test whether absolute and directional asymmetries differ between measurements, species and sex ...	2013	23942111
factors that drive variation among gut microbial communities.	surveys of humans from around the world have revealed differences in gut microbiota composition among geographically separated populations. but because humans from the same regions often share common ancestry as well as dietary and cultural habits, most studies have not been able to differentiate among the effects of heritable factors and external factors on the composition of the gut microbiota. here we discuss how the analysis of gut microbial communities of chimpanzees residing in gombe strea ...	2015	23941900
population status of pan troglodytes verus in lagoas de cufada natural park, guinea-bissau.	the western chimpanzee, pan troglodytes verus, has been classified as endangered on the iucn red list since 1988. intensive agriculture, commercial plantations, logging, and mining have eliminated or degraded the habitats suitable for p. t. verus over a large part of its range. in this study we assessed the effect of land-use change on the population size and density of chimpanzees at lagoas de cufada natural park (lcnp), guinea-bissau. we further explored chimpanzee distribution in relation to ...	2013	23940766
recombination dynamics of a human y-chromosomal palindrome: rapid gc-biased gene conversion, multi-kilobase conversion tracts, and rare inversions.	the male-specific region of the human y chromosome (msy) includes eight large inverted repeats (palindromes) in which arm-to-arm similarity exceeds 99.9%, due to gene conversion activity. here, we studied one of these palindromes, p6, in order to illuminate the dynamics of the gene conversion process. we genotyped ten paralogous sequence variants (psvs) within the arms of p6 in 378 y chromosomes whose evolutionary relationships within the snp-defined y phylogeny are known. this allowed the ident ...	2013	23935520
ultrasonographic examination in non-human primates with acute abdomen signs.	the acute abdomen is any abdominal disorder resulting in pain, shock, or sepsis. although it has a multifactorial etiology, the primary cause is gastrointestinal tract pathology. the aim of this study was to assess the contribution of abdominal ultrasound as a complementary diagnostic tool in non-human primates with an acute abdomen.	2013	23931624
a digital signal processing-based bioinformatics approach to identifying the origins of hiv-1 non b subtypes infecting us army personnel serving abroad.	two hiv-1 non b isolates, 98us_msc5007 and 98us_msc5016, which have been identified amongst the us army personnel serving abroad, are known to have originated from other nations. notwithstanding, they are categorized as american strains. this is because their countries of origin are unknown. american isolates are basically b subtype. 98us_msc5007 belongs to circulating recombinant form (crf02_ag) while 98us_msc5016 is of the c clade. both sub-groups are recognized to have originated from african ...	2013	23931160
multi-region hemispheric specialization differentiates human from nonhuman primate brain function.	the human behavioral repertoire greatly exceeds that of nonhuman primates. anatomical specializations of the human brain include an enlarged neocortex and prefrontal cortex (semendeferi et al. in am j phys anthropol 114:224-241, 2001), but regional enlargements alone cannot account for these vast functional differences. hemispheric specialization has long believed to be a major contributing factor to such distinctive human characteristics as motor dominance, attentional control and language. yet ...	2014	23928747
muscle force production during bent-knee, bent-hip walking in humans.	researchers have long debated the locomotor posture used by the earliest bipeds. while many agree that by 3-4 ma (millions of years ago), hominins walked with an extended-limb human style of bipedalism, researchers are still divided over whether the earliest bipeds walked like modern humans, or walked with a more bent-knee, bent-hip (bkbh) ape-like form of locomotion. since more flexed postures are associated with higher energy costs, reconstructing early bipedal mechanics has implications for t ...	2013	23928351
anaesthesia with medetomidine-ketamine-isoflurane with and without midazolam, in eight captive chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) premedicated with oral zuclopenthixol.	in 8 captive adult chimpanzees of various ages premedicated with oral zuclopenthixol anaesthesia was induced intramuscularly with a combination of medetomidine and ketamine (40 or 50 µg/kg and 5 mg/kg, im, respectively), with and without midazolam (0.05 mg/kg), and maintained with isoflurane in oxygen. at the end of the procedure, sedation was reversed with atipamezole (0.25 mg/kg, im) and sarmazenil (0.005 mg/kg, im) when midazolam had been administered. oral zuclopenthixol resulted in tranquil ...	2013	23919974
a ground-like surface facilitates visual search in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	ground surfaces play an important role in terrestrial species' locomotion and ability to manipulate objects. in humans, ground surfaces have been found to offer significant advantages in distance perception and visual-search tasks ("ground dominance"). the present study used a comparative perspective to investigate the ground-dominance effect in chimpanzees, a species that spends time both on the ground and in trees. during the experiments chimpanzees and humans engaged in a search for a cube on ...	2013	23917381
primate drum kit: a system for studying acoustic pattern production by non-human primates using acceleration and strain sensors.	the possibility of achieving experimentally controlled, non-vocal acoustic production in non-human primates is a key step to enable the testing of a number of hypotheses on primate behavior and cognition. however, no device or solution is currently available, with the use of sensors in non-human animals being almost exclusively devoted to applications in food industry and animal surveillance. specifically, no device exists which simultaneously allows: (i) spontaneous production of sound or music ...	2013	23912427
can chimpanzee biology highlight human origin and evolution?	the closest living relatives of humans are their chimpanzee/bonobo (pan) sister species, members of the same subfamily "homininae". this classification is supported by over 50 years of research in the fields of chimpanzee cultural diversity, language competency, genomics, anatomy, high cognition, psychology, society, self-consciousness and relation to others, tool use/production, as well as homo level emotions, symbolic competency, memory recollection, complex multifaceted problem-solving capabi ...	2010	23908781
assessment of landscape-scale distribution of sympatric great apes in african rainforests: concurrent use of nest and camera-trap surveys.	information on the distribution and abundance of sympatric great apes (pan troglodytes troglodytes and gorilla gorilla gorilla) are important for effective conservation and management. although much research has been done to improve the precision of nest-surveys, trade-offs between data-reliability and research-efficiency have not been solved. in this study, we used different approaches to assess the landscape-scale distribution patterns of great apes. we conducted a conventional nest survey and ...	2013	23907925
manual pressure distribution patterns of knuckle-walking apes.	differences in how the hands of gorillas and chimpanzees contact the ground while knuckle walking have been noted but generally not quantified. it is widely believed that gorillas maintain a pronated arm and contact the ground with digits 2-5 consistently, while chimpanzees have variable arm position and digit contact. to further test these generalizations, distribution of pressure across the manus, peak digital pressures, and hand position were quantified using a pressure mat in eight captive c ...	2013	23907752
unconstrained 3d-kinematics of prehension in five primates: lemur, capuchin, gorilla, chimpanzee, human.	primates are known for their use of the hand in many activities including food grasping. yet, most studies concentrate on the type of grip used. moreover, kinematic studies remain limited to a few investigations of the distal elements in constrained conditions in humans and macaques. in order to improve our understanding of the prehension movement in primates, we analyse here the behavioural strategies (e.g., types of grip, body postures) as well as the 3d kinematics of the whole forelimb and th ...	2013	23906863
linking great apes genome evolution across time scales using polymorphism-aware phylogenetic models.	the genomes of related species contain valuable information on the history of the considered taxa. great apes in particular exhibit variation of evolutionary patterns along their genomes. however, the great ape data also bring new challenges, such as the presence of incomplete lineage sorting and ancestral shared polymorphisms. previous methods for genome-scale analysis are restricted to very few individuals or cannot disentangle the contribution of mutation rates and fixation biases. this repre ...	2013	23906727
ethical issues in african great ape field studies.	great apes have been systematically studied in the wild for over half a century. great apes are now critically endangered and this raises significant ethical issues for field primatologists who study and work to conserve these primates and their habitats. the most immediate ethical concerns involve the well-being of the subjects, but there are also important ethical considerations involved in researchers' interactions with local human populations and extracting industry representatives. this ess ...	2013	23904529
urethral inflammation in male chimpanzees caused by ureaplasmas and chlamydia trachomatis.	specimens from men with acute non-gonococcal urethritis were tested to determine their microbial content and then given intra-urethrally to male chimpanzees. two animals received ureaplasmas only and one became infected. the second did so when given a different strain. both developed a polymorphonuclear leukocyte (pmnl) response. two chimpanzees received a mixture of ureaplasmas and chlamydia trachomatis and there was a suggestion that the ureaplasmas delayed or suppressed the chlamydial respons ...	2013	23904075
brief communication: swimming and diving behavior in apes (pan troglodytes and pongo pygmaeus): first documented report.	extant hominoids, including humans, are well known for their inability to swim instinctively. we report swimming and diving in two captive apes using visual observation and video recording. one common chimpanzee and one orangutan swam repeatedly at the water surface over a distance of 2-6 m; both individuals submerged repeatedly. we show that apes are able to overcome their negative buoyancy by deliberate swimming, using movements which deviate from the doggy-paddle pattern observed in other pri ...	2013	23900964
brief communication: hair density and body mass in mammals and the evolution of human hairlessness.	humans are unusual among mammals in appearing hairless. several hypotheses propose explanations for this phenotype, but few data are available to test these hypotheses. to elucidate the evolutionary history of human "hairlessness," a comparative approach is needed. one previous study on primate hair density concluded that great apes have systematically less dense hair than smaller primates. while there is a negative correlation between body size and hair density, it remains unclear whether great ...	2013	23900811
hepatitis c virus infection and related liver disease: the quest for the best animal model.	hepatitis c virus (hcv) is a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) making the virus the most common cause of liver failure and transplantation. hcv is estimated to chronically affect 130 million individuals and to lead to more than 350,000 deaths per year worldwide. a vaccine is currently not available. the recently developed direct acting antivirals (daas) have markedly increased the efficacy of the standard of care but are not efficient enough to completely cure all chron ...	2013	23898329
perseverance and food sharing among closely affiliated female chimpanzees.	chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) have been frequently observed to share food with one another, with numerous hypotheses proposed to explain why. these often focus on reciprocity exchanges for social benefits (e.g., food for grooming, food for sex, affiliation, kinship, and dominance rank) as well as sharing based on begging and deterring harassment. although previous studies have shown that each of these hypotheses has a viable basis, they have only examined situations in which males have preferent ...	2013	23892443
absence of frequent herpesvirus transmission in a nonhuman primate predator-prey system in the wild.	emergence of viruses into the human population by transmission from nonhuman primates (nhps) represents a serious potential threat to human health that is primarily associated with the increased bushmeat trade. transmission of rna viruses across primate species appears to be relatively frequent. in contrast, dna viruses appear to be largely host specific, suggesting low transmission potential. herein, we use a primate predator-prey system to study the risk of herpesvirus transmission between dif ...	2013	23885068
prospective memory in children and chimpanzees.	prospective memory (pm) involves remembering to do something at a specific time in the future. here, we investigate the beginnings of this ability in young children (3-year-olds; homo sapiens) and chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) using an analogous task. subjects were given a choice between two toys (children) or two food items (chimpanzees). the selected item was delivered immediately, whereas the unselected item was hidden in an opaque container. after completing an ongoing quantity discriminatio ...	2014	23884791
rates and patterns of great ape retrotransposition.	we analyzed 83 fully sequenced great ape genomes for mobile element insertions, predicting a total of 49,452 fixed and polymorphic alu and long interspersed element 1 (l1) insertions not present in the human reference assembly and assigning each retrotransposition event to a different time point during great ape evolution. we used these homoplasy-free markers to construct a mobile element insertions-based phylogeny of humans and great apes and demonstrate their differential power to discern ape ...	2013	23884656
hepatitis c virus vaccines among people who inject drugs.	most people who inject drugs (pwid) are infected with hepatitis c virus (hcv), and pwid have the highest risk of hcv infection of any risk group. the incidence of hcv infection is 5%-25% per year, demonstrating continued need for hcv infection prevention in pwid. existing data in chimpanzees and pwid suggest that protective immunity against persistent hcv infection is achievable. due to the high incidence of infection, pwid are both the most likely to benefit from a vaccine and a population in w ...	2013	23884065
cell entry, efficient rna replication, and production of infectious hepatitis c virus progeny in mouse liver-derived cells.	only humans and chimpanzees are susceptible to chronic infection by hepatitis c virus (hcv). the restricted species tropism of hcv is determined by distinct host factor requirements at different steps of the viral life cycle. in addition, effective innate immune targeting precludes efficient propagation of hcv in nonhuman cells. species-specificity of hcv host factor usage for cell entry and virus release has been explored. however, the reason for inefficient hcv rna replication efficiency in mo ...	2014	23873628
field immobilization for treatment of an unknown illness in a wild chimpanzee (pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at gombe national park, tanzania: findings, challenges, and lessons learned.	infectious diseases are widely presumed to be one of the greatest threats to ape conservation in the wild. human diseases are of particular concern, and the costs and benefits of human presence in protected areas with apes are regularly debated. while numerous syndromes with fatal outcomes have recently been described, precise identification of pathogens remains difficult. these diagnostic difficulties are compounded by the fact that direct veterinary intervention on wild apes is quite rare. her ...	2014	23872909
neanderthal and denisova genetic affinities with contemporary humans: introgression versus common ancestral polymorphisms.	analyses of the genetic relationships among modern humans, neanderthals and denisovans have suggested that 1-4% of the non-sub-saharan african gene pool may be neanderthal derived, while 6-8% of the melanesian gene pool may be the product of admixture between the denisovans and the direct ancestors of melanesians. in the present study, we analyzed single nucleotide polymorphism (snp) diversity among a worldwide collection of contemporary human populations with respect to the genetic constitution ...	2013	23872234
memory for distant past events in chimpanzees and orangutans.	determining the memory systems that support nonhuman animals' capacity to remember distant past events is currently the focus an intense research effort and a lively debate [1-3]. comparative psychology has largely adopted tulving's framework by focusing on whether animals remember what-where-when something happened (i.e., episodic-like memory) [4-6]. however, apes have also been reported to recall other episodic components [7] after single-trial exposures [8, 9]. using a new experimental paradi ...	2013	23871242
gene loss and adaptation to hominids underlie the ancient origin of hiv-1.	hiv-1 resulted from cross-species transmission of sivcpz, a simian immunodeficiency virus that naturally infects chimpanzees. sivcpz, in turn, is a recombinant between two siv lineages from old world monkeys. lentiviral interspecies transmissions are partly driven by the evolution and capacity of viral accessory genes, such as vpx, vpr, and vif, to antagonize host antiviral factors, such as samhd1 and the apobec3 proteins. we show that vpx, which in other lentiviruses antagonizes samhd1, was del ...	2013	23870316
postnatal temporal bone ontogeny in pan, gorilla, and homo, and the implications for temporal bone ontogeny in australopithecus afarensis.	assessments of temporal bone morphology have played an important role in taxonomic and phylogenetic evaluations of fossil taxa, and recent three-dimensional analyses of this region have supported the utility of the temporal bone for testing taxonomic and phylogenetic hypotheses. but while clinical analyses have examined aspects of temporal bone ontogeny in humans, the ontogeny of the temporal bone in non-human taxa is less well documented. this study examines ontogenetic allometry of the tempora ...	2013	23868175
exploring diagonal gait using a forward dynamic three-dimensional chimpanzee simulation.	primates are unusual among terrestrial quadrupedal mammals in that at walking speeds they prefer diagonal rather than lateral gaits. a number of reasons have been proposed for this preference in relation to the arboreal ancestry of modern primates: stability, energetic cost, neural control, skeletal loading, and limb interference avoiding. however, this is a difficult question to explore experimentally since most primates only occasionally use anything other than diagonal gaits. an alternative a ...	2013	23867835
close association between paralogous multiple isomirs and paralogous/orthologues mirna sequences implicates dominant sequence selection across various animal species.	micrornas (mirnas) are crucial negative regulators of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. next-generation sequencing technologies have identified a series of mirna variants (named isomirs). in this study, paralogous isomir assemblies (from the mirna locus) were systematically analyzed based on data acquired from deep sequencing data sets. evolutionary analysis of paralogous (members in mirna gene family in a specific species) and orthologues (across different animal species) mirna ...	2013	23856130
different selective pressures shape the evolution of toll-like receptors in human and african great ape populations.	the study of the genetic and selective landscape of immunity genes across primates can provide insight into the existing differences in susceptibility to infection observed between human and non-human primates. here, we explored how selection has driven the evolution of a key family of innate immunity receptors, the toll-like receptors (tlrs), in african great ape species. we sequenced the 10 tlrs in various populations of chimpanzees and gorillas, and analysed these data jointly with a human da ...	2013	23851028
use of rnalater as a preservation method for parasitic coprology studies in wild-living chimpanzees.	we evaluated the use of an rna stabilisation buffer, rnalater (ambion, austin, texas), as a preservation medium for parasitic coprology analysis of faecal samples collected from chimpanzees living in the wild (pan troglodytes troglodytes). thirty faecal samples collected in the forests of south-east cameroon (mambele area) from 2003 to 2011 were preserved in rnalater at -80 °c and analysed for their parasite content. we identified and counted parasitic elements and assessed their shape, size and ...	2013	23850999
premolar microwear and tooth use in australopithecus afarensis.	the mandibular third premolar (p3) of australopithecus afarensis is notable for extensive morphological variability (e.g., metaconid presence/absence, closure of the anterior fovea, root number) and temporal trends in crown length and shape change over its 700 ka time range. hominins preceding a. afarensis have unicuspid, mesiodistally elongated p3s with smaller talonids, and subsequent australopiths have bicuspid, more symmetrically-shaped p3 crowns with expanded talonids. for these features, a ...	2013	23850295
acupuncture as an adjunct therapy for osteoarthritis in chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	acupuncture is an ancient practice that is currently used to treat disorders ranging from osteoarthritis to cardiomyopathy. acupuncture involves the insertion of thin, sterile needles into defined acupuncture points that stimulate physiologic processes through neural signaling. numerous scientific studies have proven the benefits of acupuncture, and given this scientific support, we hypothesized that acupuncture could benefit the nonhuman primates at our facility. as our chimpanzee colony ages, ...	2013	23849446
chimpanzees detect ant-inhabited dead branches and stems: a study of the utilization of plant-ant relationships in the mahale mountains, tanzania.	chimpanzees in the mahale mountains of tanzania consume several species of stem- and branch-inhabiting ants throughout the year, without tools. those ants are cryptic species, and it was unknown how to find them constantly. there has been little research on how the chimpanzees locate these ants. in this study, i use behavioral observations of the chimpanzee predators and surveys of the ant fauna and plants across different habitats to test the hypothesis that chimpanzees use plant species as a c ...	2013	23842594
male-specific region of the bovine y chromosome is gene rich with a high transcriptomic activity in testis development.	the male-specific region of the mammalian y chromosome (msy) contains clusters of genes essential for male reproduction. the highly repetitive and degenerative nature of the y chromosome impedes genomic and transcriptomic characterization. although the y chromosome sequence is available for the human, chimpanzee, and macaque, little is known about the annotation and transcriptome of nonprimate msy. here, we investigated the transcriptome of the msy in cattle by direct testis cdna selection and r ...	2013	23842086
dynamic actin gene family evolution in primates.	actin is one of the most highly conserved proteins and plays crucial roles in many vital cellular functions. in most eukaryotes, it is encoded by a multigene family. although the actin gene family has been studied a lot, few investigators focus on the comparison of actin gene family in relative species. here, the purpose of our study is to systematically investigate characteristics and evolutionary pattern of actin gene family in primates. we identified 233 actin genes in human, chimpanzee, gori ...	2013	23841080
developmental changes in the spatial organization of neurons in the neocortex of humans and common chimpanzees.	in adult humans the prefrontal cortex possesses wider minicolumns and more neuropil space than other cortical regions. these aspects of prefrontal cortex architecture, furthermore, are increased in comparison to chimpanzees and other great apes. in order to determine the developmental appearance of this human cortical specialization, we examined the spatial organization of neurons in four cortical regions (frontal pole [brodmann's area 10], primary motor [area 4], primary somatosensory [area 3b] ...	2013	23839595
meeting report: emerging respiratory viral infections and nonhuman primate case reports.	a workshop on emerging respiratory viral infections and spontaneous diseases in nonhuman primates was sponsored by the concurrent annual meetings of the american college of veterinary pathologists and the american society for veterinary clinical pathology, held december 1-5, 2012, in seattle, washington. the session had platform presentations from drs karen terio, thijs kuiken, guy boivin, and robert palermo that focused on naturally occurring influenza, human respiratory syncytial virus, and me ...	2013	23839235
current progress in development of hepatitis c virus vaccines.	despite major advances in the understanding and treatment of hepatitis c, a preventive vaccine remains elusive. the marked genetic diversity and multiple mechanisms of persistence of hepatitis c virus, combined with the relatively poor immune response of the infected host against the virus, are major barriers. the lack of robust and convenient model systems further hampers the effort to develop an effective vaccine. advances in our understanding of virus-host interactions and protective immunity ...	2013	23836237
enamel microwear texture properties of igf 11778 (oreopithecus bambolii) from the late miocene of baccinello, italy.	late miocene oreopithecus bambolii has been posited as a folivore from its pronounced molar shearing crests. however, scanning electron microscopy yields conflicting results with one study of oreopithecus showing folivory and another indicating a coarser diet was consumed. to address this debate, the dietary proclivities of the well-known igf 11778 oreopithecus bambolii specimen are reconstructed by comparing the enamel texture properties of this specimen to extant alouatta palliata (n = 11), ce ...	2013	23833018
absence of systemic toxicity changes following intramuscular administration of novel psg2.hivconsv dna, chadv63.hivconsv and mva.hivconsv vaccines to balb/c mice.	the systemic toxicity of three candidate hiv-1 vaccines plasmid psg2.hivconsv dna (d), chadv63.hivconsv (c) and mva.hivconsv (m) expressing chimeric immunogen derived from the most conserved regions of the hiv-1 proteome was evaluated in two repeat-dose studies in the male and female balb/c mice.	2013	23831324
macaques as model hosts for studies of hiv-1 infection.	increasing evidence indicates that the host range of primate lentiviruses is in part determined by their ability to counteract innate restriction factors that are effectors of the type 1 interferon (ifn-1) response. for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1), in vitro experiments have shown that its tropism may be narrow and limited to humans and chimpanzees because its replication in other non-human primate species is hindered by factors such as trim5α (tripartite motif 5 alpha), apobec3g ...	2013	23825473
evolution and diversity of copy number variation in the great ape lineage.	copy number variation (cnv) contributes to disease and has restructured the genomes of great apes. the diversity and rate of this process, however, have not been extensively explored among great ape lineages. we analyzed 97 deeply sequenced great ape and human genomes and estimate 16% (469 mb) of the hominid genome has been affected by recent cnv. we identify a comprehensive set of fixed gene deletions (n = 340) and duplications (n = 405) as well as >13.5 mb of sequence that has been specificall ...	2013	23825009
non-m variants of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.	the aids pandemic that started in the early 1980s is due to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) group m (hiv-m), but apart from this major group, many divergent variants have been described (hiv-1 groups n, o, and p and hiv-2). the four hiv-1 groups arose from independent cross-species transmission of the simian immunodeficiency viruses (sivs) sivcpz, infecting chimpanzees, and sivgor, infecting gorillas. this, together with human adaptation, accounts for their genomic, phylogenetic, and ...	2013	23824367
great ape genetic diversity and population history.	most great ape genetic variation remains uncharacterized; however, its study is critical for understanding population history, recombination, selection and susceptibility to disease. here we sequence to high coverage a total of 79 wild- and captive-born individuals representing all six great ape species and seven subspecies and report 88.8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms. our analysis provides support for genetically distinct populations within each species, signals of gene flow, and the ...	2013	23823723
the effect of the achilles tendon on trabecular structure in the primate calcaneus.	humans possess the longest achilles tendon relative to total muscle length of any primate, an anatomy that is beneficial for bipedal locomotion. reconstructing the evolutionary history of the achilles tendon has been challenging, in part because soft tissue does not fossilize. the only skeletal evidence for achilles tendon anatomy in extinct taxa is the insertion site on the calcaneal tuber, which is rarely preserved in the fossil record and, when present, is equivocal for reconstructing tendon ...	2013	23821323
what limits tool use in nonhuman primates? insights from tufted capuchin monkeys (sapajus spp.) and chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) aligning three-dimensional objects to a surface.	perceptuomotor functions that support using hand tools can be examined in other manipulation tasks, such as alignment of objects to surfaces. we examined tufted capuchin monkeys' and chimpanzees' performance at aligning objects to surfaces while managing one or two spatial relations to do so. we presented six subjects of each species with a single stick to place into a groove, two sticks of equal length to place into two grooves, or two sticks joined as a t to place into a t-shaped groove. tufte ...	2014	23820935
novel polyomaviruses of nonhuman primates: genetic and serological predictors for the existence of multiple unknown polyomaviruses within the human population.	polyomaviruses are a family of small non-enveloped dna viruses that encode oncogenes and have been associated, to greater or lesser extent, with human disease and cancer. currently, twelve polyomaviruses are known to circulate within the human population. to further examine the diversity of human polyomaviruses, we have utilized a combinatorial approach comprised of initial degenerate primer-based pcr identification and phylogenetic analysis of nonhuman primate (nhp) polyomavirus species, follow ...	2013	23818846
brief communication: adrenal androgens and aging: female chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) compared with women.	ovarian cycling continues to similar ages in women and chimpanzees yet our nearest living cousins become decrepit during their fertile years and rarely outlive them. given the importance of estrogen in maintaining physiological systems aside from fertility, similar ovarian aging in humans and chimpanzees combined with somatic aging differences indicates an important role for nonovarian estrogen. consistent with this framework, researchers have nominated the adrenal androgen dehydroepiandrosteron ...	2013	23818143
what makes wild chimpanzees wake up at night?	i examined the possible cause of night awakening among wild chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) in mahale mountains national park, tanzania. chimpanzee vocalizations and activity-related sounds (cvss) were used to indicate awakening because i was unable to visually observe them. over a 5-night observation period, cvss (n = 128) were heard every night, and most (n = 91) were observed within 5 min of previous cvss. chimpanzees use cvss as social communication to maintain spatial contact with other chimp ...	2014	23817693
evidence suggesting that hcv p7 protects e2 glycoprotein from premature degradation during virus production.	the hepatitis c virus (hcv) genome encodes a 63 amino acid (aa) protein, p7, which is located between the structural and non-structural proteins. p7 localizes to endoplasmic reticulum membranes and is composed of two transmembrane domains (tm1 and tm2) and a cytoplasmic loop. while its exact role is unknown, p7 is crucial for assembly and/or release of infectious virus production in cell culture, as well as infectivity in chimpanzees. the contribution of p7 to the hcv life cycle may result from ...	2013	23816605
mojokerto revisited: evidence for an intermediate pattern of brain growth in homo erectus.	brain development in homo erectus is a subject of great interest, and the infant calvaria from mojokerto, indonesia, has featured prominently in these debates. some researchers have suggested that the pattern of brain development in h. erectus resembled that of non-human apes, while others argue for a more human-like growth pattern. in this study, we retested hypotheses regarding brain ontogeny in h. erectus using new methods (resampling), and data from additional h. erectus crania. our results ...	2013	23815827
human identity and the evolution of societies.	human societies are examined as distinct and coherent groups. this trait is most parsimoniously considered a deeply rooted part of our ancestry rather than a recent cultural invention. our species is the only vertebrate with society memberships of significantly more than 200. we accomplish this by using society-specific labels to identify members, in what i call an anonymous society. i propose that the human brain has evolved to permit not only the close relationships described by the social bra ...	2013	23813244
adenoviruses isolated from wild gorillas are closely related to human species c viruses.	we have isolated and cultured three distinct adenoviruses from wild gorillas. phylogenetic analysis grouped the viruses with human adenovirus species c based on dna polymerase, hexon, and e4orf6 genes. the three wild gorilla adenoviruses clustered with the other species c captive gorilla adenoviruses, forming a branch separate from human and chimpanzee/bonobo adenoviruses. animal sera to the three newly isolated viruses did not cross-neutralize, demonstrating serological distinctiveness. the hum ...	2013	23806387
environmental management procedures following fatal melioidosis in a captive chimpanzee (pan troglodytes).	a 40-yr-old male captive chimpanzee (pan troglodytes) presented with depression and anorexia for 7 days. the tentative diagnosis, following a physical examination under anesthesia, was pneumonia with sepsis. despite antibiotic treatment and supportive care the chimpanzee died a week following presentation. gross pathology confirmed severe purulent pneumonia and diffuse hepatosplenic abscesses. detected in serum at the time of the initial examination, the melioidosis serum antibody titer was elev ...	2013	23805570
immunological and virological analyses of rhesus macaques immunized with chimpanzee adenoviruses expressing the simian immunodeficiency virus gag/tat fusion protein and challenged intrarectally with repeated low doses of sivmac.	human adenovirus (adhu)-based candidate aids vaccine can provide protection from simian immunodeficiency virus (siv) transmission and disease progression. however, their potential use may be limited by widespread preexisting immunity to the vector. in contrast, preexisting immunity to chimpanzee adenoviruses (adc) is relatively rare. in this study, we utilized two regimens of prime-boost immunizations with adc serotype sad-v23 (also called adc6) and sad-v24 (also called adc7) expressing siv gag/ ...	2013	23804645
sympatric chimpanzees and gorillas harbor convergent gut microbial communities.	the gut microbial communities within great apes have been shown to reflect the phylogenetic history of their hosts, indicating codiversification between great apes and their gut microbiota over evolutionary timescales. but because the great apes examined to date represent geographically isolated populations whose diets derive from different sources, it is unclear whether this pattern of codiversification has resulted from a long history of coadaptation between microbes and hosts (heritable facto ...	2013	23804402
elastic energy storage in the shoulder and the evolution of high-speed throwing in homo.	some primates, including chimpanzees, throw objects occasionally, but only humans regularly throw projectiles with high speed and accuracy. darwin noted that the unique throwing abilities of humans, which were made possible when bipedalism emancipated the arms, enabled foragers to hunt effectively using projectiles. however, there has been little consideration of the evolution of throwing in the years since darwin made his observations, in part because of a lack of evidence of when, how and why ...	2013	23803849
kin, daytime associations, or preferred sleeping sites? factors influencing sleep site selection in captive chimpanzees (pan troglodytes).	chimpanzee nesting behaviours and the factors that may influence these behaviours are rarely studied in captive settings. in the present study, the daytime associations, sleeping site selections and nesting groups of 11 zoo-housed chimpanzees over a 29-day period were analysed. neither daytime associations nor presence of kin influenced sleeping site selection in females. daytime associations did influence sleeping arrangements in males. nighttime spatial arrangements and individual preferences ...	2013	23796860
interpretative problems with chimpanzee ultimatum game.		2013	23788658
development of norwalk virus-specific monoclonal antibodies with therapeutic potential for the treatment of norwalk virus gastroenteritis.	passive immunoprophylaxis or immunotherapy with norovirus-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mabs) could be a useful treatment for high-risk populations, including infants and young children, the elderly, and certain patients who are debilitated or immunocompromised. in order to obtain antinorovirus mabs with therapeutic potential, we stimulated a strong adaptive immune response in chimpanzees to the prototype norovirus strain norwalk virus (nv) (genogroup i.1). a combinatorial phage fab displa ...	2013	23785216
simian foamy virus in non-human primates and cross-species transmission to humans in gabon: an emerging zoonotic disease in central africa?	it is now known that all human retroviruses have a non-human primate counterpart. it has been reported that the presence of these retroviruses in humans is the result of interspecies transmission. several authors have described the passage of a simian retrovirus, simian foamy virus (sfv), from primates to humans. to better understand this retroviral "zoonosis" in natural settings, we evaluated the presence of sfv in both captive and wild non-human primates and in humans at high risk, such as hun ...	2013	23783811
the role of human-specific gene duplications during brain development and evolution.	one of the most fascinating questions in evolutionary biology is how traits unique to humans, such as their high cognitive abilities, erect bipedalism, and hairless skin, are encoded in the genome. recent advances in genomics have begun to reveal differences between the genomes of the great apes. it has become evident that one of the many mutation types, segmental duplication, has drastically increased in the primate genomes, and most remarkably in the human genome. genes contained in these segm ...	2013	23782070
wild chimpanzees can perform social grooming and social play behaviors simultaneously.	reliable evidence was obtained of the simultaneous performance of social grooming and social play behaviors by individuals among wild chimpanzees of the m group in mahale mountains national park. i observed three cases of this performance: in an old female, a young female, and an adult male. while the agent was grooming the back of an adult bimanually, an infant or a juvenile approached the agent. the agent then started playing with the infant/juvenile using only the right hand, while simultaneo ...	2013	23779262