| Echocardiographic parameters of captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). | A total of 163 echocardiographic studies on western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) were submitted for evaluation; 140 from 99 animals were suitable for analysis. Of these, 81 studies (42 studies from 35 males ranging in age from 11-41+ yr and 39 studies from 31 females ranging in age from 11-41+ yr) are reported here. Three studies from 3 females and 56 studies from 30 males were excluded from this report due to cardiac abnormalities. Cardiac parameters measured were aortic root (Ao ... | 2011 | 22204050 |
| Allelic Lineages of the Ficolin Genes (FCNs) Are Passed from Ancestral to Descendant Primates. | The ficolins recognize carbohydrates and acetylated compounds on microorganisms and dying host cells and are able to activate the lectin pathway of the complement system. In humans, three ficolin genes have been identified: FCN1, FCN2 and FCN3, which encode ficolin-1, ficolin-2 and ficolin-3, respectively. Rodents have only two ficolins designated ficolin-A and ficolin-B that are closely related to human ficolin-1, while the rodent FCN3 orthologue is a pseudogene. Ficolin-2 and ficolin-3 have so ... | 2011 | 22194813 |
| Cross-species transmission of simian foamy virus to humans in rural Gabon, central Africa. | In order to characterize simian foamy retroviruses (SFVs) in wild-born nonhuman primates (NHPs) in Gabon and to investigate cross-species transmission to humans, we obtained 497 NHP samples, composed of 286 blood and 211 tissue (bush meat) samples. Anti-SFV antibodies were found in 31 of 286 plasma samples (10.5%). The integrase gene sequence was found in 38/497 samples, including both blood and tissue samples, with novel SFVs in several Cercopithecus species. Of the 78 humans, mostly hunters, w ... | 2012 | 22072747 |
| differences in gorilla nettle-feeding between captivity and the wild: local traditions, species typical behaviors or merely the result of nutritional deficiencies? | behavioral and cognitive studies on captive apes often pay little attention to the specific environmental conditions of their study subjects. a recent report form byrne et al. (anim cogn doi: 10.1007/s10071-011-0403-8, 2011), comparing nettle-feeding techniques between captive and wild gorillas, claimed to document "the strongest evidence yet to come from any great ape that observational learning of a skilled conspecific" can allow social learning and culture in gorillas. an earlier study with s ... | 2011 | 21927847 |
| a new plan for the 800-pound gorilla (guerrilla): perinatal mortality in afghanistan: a 21st century counterinsurgency model for afghanistan. | afghanistan has the highest perinatal mortality rate in the entire world. one afghani woman dies every 30 minutes from perinatal- related event. one of eight afghani women will die from perinatal events. maternal mortality is (use percentage, not fractions) 1600/100,000 vs 13 /100,000 in the united states. afghanistan is one of the only countries in the world in which the average woman?s life expectancy is shorter than a males- despite the active, nationwide combat fought primarily by afghani ma ... | 2011 | 22173597 |
| frequent and recent human acquisition of simian foamy viruses through apes' bites in central africa. | human infection by simian foamy viruses (sfv) can be acquired by persons occupationally exposed to non-human primates (nhp) or in natural settings. this study aimed at getting better knowledge on sfv transmission dynamics, risk factors for such a zoonotic infection and, searching for intra-familial dissemination and the level of peripheral blood (pro)viral loads in infected individuals. we studied 1,321 people from the general adult population (mean age 49 yrs, 640 women and 681 men) and 198 ind ... | 2011 | 22046126 |
| hiv-1 group p is unable to antagonize human tetherin by vpu, env or nef. | abstract: background: a new subgroup of hiv-1, designated group p, was recently detected in two unrelated patients of cameroonian origin. hiv-1 group p phylogenetically clusters with sivgor suggesting that it is the result of a cross-species transmission from gorillas. until today, hiv-1 group p has only been detected in two patients and its degree of adaptation to the human host is largely unknown. previous data have shown that pandemic hiv-1 group m but not non-pandemic group o or rare group ... | 2011 | 22171785 |
| 'the big gorilla'. bjc healthcare has foothold in st. louis area. | | 2011 | 21936466 |
| the 800-pound gorilla: state lawmakers are trying to cut costs so the program will survive, even when millions more are added to the rolls. | | 2011 | 22069839 |
| Review and hypothesis: does graves' disease develop in non-human great apes? | Background: Graves' disease, caused by stimulatory thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) autoantibodies, has not been observed in animals. In contrast, Hashimoto's thyroiditis develops in chickens, rats, mice, dogs, and marmosets. Attempts to induce an immune response in mice to the luteinizing-hormone receptor suggested that autoantigen glycosylation was one parameter involved in breaking self-tolerance. Over evolution, TSHR glycosylation increased from three asparagine-linked-glycans (N-glycans) in fish ... | 2011 | 22066476 |
| park gazettement and integrated conservation and development as factors in community conflict at bwindi impenetrable forest, uganda. | conflicts between protected-area managers and local people are common, but the drivers of conflict are rarely analyzed. this limits opportunities to identify strategies that reduce conflict and the magnitude of resulting threats to conservation. integrated conservation and development (icd) was adopted at bwindi impenetrable forest, uganda, to reduce conflict during gazettement of the national park, but the success of this approach remains contested. we retrieved documents of conflict written by ... | 2011 | 22044616 |
| adrenal androgen production in catarrhine primates and the evolution of adrenarche. | adrenarche is a developmental event involving differentiation of the adrenal gland and production of adrenal androgens, and has been hypothesized to play a role in the extension of the preadolescent phase of human ontogeny. it remains unclear whether any nonhuman primate species shows a similar suite of endocrine, biochemical, and morphological changes as are encompassed by human adrenarche. here, we report serum concentrations of the adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone (dhea) and dehydroep ... | 2012 | 22271526 |
| testing the oxidative stress hypothesis of aging in primate fibroblasts: is there a correlation between species longevity and cellular ros production? | the present study was conducted to test predictions of the oxidative stress theory of aging assessing reactive oxygen species production and oxidative stress resistance in cultured fibroblasts from 13 primate species ranging in body size from 0.25 to 120 kg and in longevity from 20 to 90 years. we assessed both basal and stress-induced reactive oxygen species production in fibroblasts from five great apes (human, chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan), four old world monkeys (baboon, rhesus ... | 2012 | 22219516 |
| olfactory discrimination in the western lowland gorilla, gorilla gorilla gorilla. | the olfactory abilities of great apes have been subject to little empirical investigation, save for a few observational reports. this study, using an habituation/dishabituation task, provides experimental evidence for a core olfactory ability, namely, olfactory discrimination, in the gorilla. in experiment 1, six zoo-housed western lowland gorillas were individually presented with the same odour on four trials, and with a novel odour on the fifth trial. odours (almond and vanilla) were presented ... | 2012 | 22261746 |
| recovery of arcobacter spp. from nonlivestock species. | the genus arcobacter encompasses campylobacter-like organisms that grow in air at 25 degrees c. arcobacter has been detected or isolated from clinically healthy livestock as well as aborted fetuses and has been presumptively identified as either campylobacter or leptospira, based on its growth in selective semisolid media. because reports from nonlivestock species are limited, this study examined nine presumptive isolates of arcobacter spp. from an alpaca (vicugna pacos), black rhinoceros (dicer ... | 2011 | 22950328 |
| [malaria in hominids]. | malaria parasites (plasmodium spp) that infect great apes are very poorly documented malaria was first described in gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans in the early 20th century, but most studies were confined to a handful of chimpanzees in the 1930-1950s and a few orangutans in the 1970s. the three plasmodium species described in african great apes were very similar to those infecting humans. the most extensively studied was p reichenowi, because of its close phylogenetic relation to p. falcip ... | 2011 | 22844753 |
| the evolution and consequences of snar family transposition in primates. | the small nf90 associated rna (snar) family of small noncoding rnas (ncrna) appears to have evolved from retrotransposon ancestors at or soon after pivotal stages in primate evolution. snars are thought to be derived from a flam c-like (free left alu monomer) element through multiple short insertion/deletion (indel) and nucleotide (nt) substitution events. tracing snar's complex evolutionary history through primate genomes led to the recent discovery of two novel retrotransposons: the alu/snar r ... | 2011 | 22545241 |
| y-chromosome variation in hominids: intraspecific variation is limited to the polygamous chimpanzee. | we have previously demonstrated that the y-specific ampliconic fertility genes daz (deleted in azoospermia) and cdy (chromodomain protein y) varied with respect to copy number and position among chimpanzees (pan troglodytes). in comparison, seven y-chromosomal lineages of the bonobo (pan paniscus), the chimpanzee's closest living relative, showed no variation. we extend our earlier comparative investigation to include an analysis of the intraspecific variation of these genes in gorillas (gorilla ... | 2011 | 22216243 |
| consequences of non-intervention for infectious disease in african great apes. | infectious disease has recently joined poaching and habitat loss as a major threat to african apes. both "naturally" occurring pathogens, such as ebola and simian immunodeficiency virus (siv), and respiratory pathogens transmitted from humans, have been confirmed as important sources of mortality in wild gorillas and chimpanzees. while awareness of the threat has increased, interventions such as vaccination and treatment remain controversial. here we explore both the risk of disease to african a ... | 2011 | 22216162 |
| clinical management of a western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) with a cardiac resynchronization therapy device. | a 24-yr-old, male western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) was diagnosed with congestive heart failure using transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiology. new york heart association (nyha) class iii was assigned to the severity of the condition. over 16 mo, this progressed to nyha class iv despite increasing medical therapy. repeated evaluations suggested that implantation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy device with a defibrillator (crt-d) could benefit this animal based on c ... | 2011 | 22946404 |
| a new look at an old canal. | attempts to explain abducens vulnerability have centered around the petroclival segment of its pathway in the skull base, in particular, its relations to the dorello's canal and the petrosphenoidal ligament of grüber. this study aims to contribute to the definition of the dorello's canal and to the understanding of abducens vulnerability from an evolutionary perspective. the petroclival region and the dorello's canal in particular were examined in a sample of 86 primate skulls. the sample contai ... | 2011 | 22451800 |
| entodiniomorphid ciliates from the wild lowland gorilla with the description of a new genus and three new species. | the entodiniomorphid ciliates in gorilla in gabon, west africa, were surveyed and observed by light and scanning electron microscopy. as a result, 4 species belonging to the families troglodytellidae and cycloposthiidae were identified, and 3 of them were new to science. these species were described as goriliophilus thoracatus n.g., n.sp., troglodytella gabonensis n.sp., and prototapirella gorillae n.sp. sem observations of goriliophilus and troglodytella revealed in particular the surface struc ... | 2011 | 23196284 |
| genetic diversity of north american captive-born gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). | western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) are designated as critically endangered and wild populations are dramatically declining as a result of habitat destruction, fragmentation, diseases (e.g., ebola) and the illegal bushmeat trade. as wild populations continue to decline, the genetic management of the north american captive western lowland gorilla population will be an important component of the long-term conservation of the species. we genotyped 26 individuals from the north americ ... | 2012 | 23403930 |
| human-associated staphylococcus aureus strains within great ape populations in central africa (gabon). | the risk of serious infections caused by staphylococcus aureus is well-known. however, most studies regarding the distribution of (clinically relevant) s. aureus among humans and animals took place in the western hemisphere and only limited data are available from (central) africa. in this context, recent studies focused on s. aureus strains in humans and primates, but the question of whether humans and monkeys share related s. aureus strains or may interchange strains remained largely unsolved. ... | 2012 | 23398468 |
| a new isolation with migration model along complete genomes infers very different divergence processes among closely related great ape species. | we present a hidden markov model (hmm) for inferring gradual isolation between two populations during speciation, modelled as a time interval with restricted gene flow. the hmm describes the history of adjacent nucleotides in two genomic sequences, such that the nucleotides can be separated by recombination, can migrate between populations, or can coalesce at variable time points, all dependent on the parameters of the model, which are the effective population sizes, splitting times, recombinati ... | 2012 | 23284294 |
| ecological volatility and human evolution: a novel perspective on life history and reproductive strategy. | humans are characterized by a suite of traits that seem to differentiate them profoundly from closely related apes such as the gorilla, chimpanzee, and orang-utan. these traits include longevity, cooperative breeding, stacking of offspring, lengthy maturation, and a complex life-course profile of adiposity. when, how, and why these traits emerged during our evolutionary history is currently attracting considerable attention. most approaches to life history emphasize dietary energy availability a ... | 2012 | 23280924 |
| molecular anthropology and the subversion of paleoanthropology: an example of "the emperor's clothes" effect? | although the birth of "molecular systematics" may date to the turn of the twentieth century, the discipline did not gain momentum until the 1960s, when most paleoanthropologists believed that humans were distantly related to a great ape group (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan), within which the african apes were most closely related. from the beginning, interpretation of molecular data, initially protein immunoreactivity, conflicted with the interpretation of morphological data by favoring a human ... | 2012 | 23272601 |
| comparison of laryngeal mask airway use with endotracheal intubation during anesthesia of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). | the laryngeal mask airway is an alternative to endotracheal intubation that achieves control of the airway by creating a seal around the larynx with an inflatable cuff. this study compared use of the laryngeal mask airway with endotracheal intubation in anesthetized western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). eight adult gorillas were immobilized for routine and diagnostic purposes for a total of nine anesthetic events. during each anesthetic event, gorillas were either intubated (n = 4; ... | 2012 | 23272342 |
| placental invasion, preeclampsia risk and adaptive molecular evolution at the origin of the great apes: evidence from genome-wide analyses. | recent evidence from chimpanzees and gorillas has raised doubts that preeclampsia is a uniquely human disease. the deep extravillous trophoblast (evt) invasion and spiral artery remodeling that characterizes our placenta (and is abnormal in preeclampsia) is shared within great apes, setting homininae apart from hylobatidae and old world monkeys, which show much shallower trophoblast invasion and limited spiral artery remodeling. we hypothesize that the evolution of a more invasive placenta in th ... | 2012 | 23266291 |
| rna-dna differences in human mitochondria restore ancestral form of 16s ribosomal rna. | rna transcripts are generally identical to the underlying dna sequences. nevertheless, rna-dna differences (rdds) were found in the nuclear human genome and in plants and animals but not in human mitochondria. here by deep sequencing of human mitochondrial dna (mtdna) and rna, we identified three rdd sites at mtdna positions 295 (c-to-u), 13710 (a-to-u, a-to-g) and 2617 (a-to-u, a-to-g). position 2617, within the 16s rrna, harbored the most prevalent rdds (more than 30% a-to-u and ~15% a-to-g of ... | 2013 | 23913925 |
| gorilla gorilla gorilla gut: a potential reservoir of pathogenic bacteria as revealed using culturomics and molecular tools. | wild apes are considered to be the most serious reservoir and source of zoonoses. however, little data are available about the gut microbiota and pathogenic bacteria in gorillas. for this propose, a total of 48 fecal samples obtained from 21 gorilla gorilla gorilla individuals (as revealed via microsatellite analysis) were screened for human bacterial pathogens using culturomics and molecular techniques. by applying culturomics to one index gorilla and using specific media supplemented by plants ... | 2014 | 25417711 |
| wild gorillas as a potential reservoir of leishmania major. | vector-borne parasites of the genus leishmania are responsible for severe human diseases. cutaneous leishmaniasis, a common form of the disease, is most often caused by the transmission of leishmania major to humans by female phlebotomine sand flies. apes are increasingly being seen as a source of zoonotic diseases, including malaria and rickettsiosis. to examine whether gorillas harbor leishmania species, we screened fecal samples from wild western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in c ... | 2014 | 25001460 |
| long-term monitoring of microsporidia, cryptosporidium and giardia infections in western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) at different stages of habituation in dzanga sangha protected areas, central african republic. | infectious diseases pose one of the greatest threats to endangered species, and a risk of gastrointestinal parasite transmission from humans to wildlife has always been considered as a major concern of tourism. increased anthropogenic impact on primate populations may result in general changes in communities of their parasites, and also in a direct exchange of parasites between humans and primates. | 2013 | 23951255 |
| no evidence for transmission of antibiotic-resistant escherichia coli strains from humans to wild western lowland gorillas in lopé national park, gabon. | the intensification of human activities within the habitats of wild animals is increasing the risk of interspecies disease transmission. this risk is particularly important for great apes, given their close phylogenetic relationship with humans. areas of high human density or intense research and ecotourism activities expose apes to a high risk of disease spillover from humans. is this risk lower in areas of low human density? we determined the prevalence of escherichia coli antibiotic-resistant ... | 2012 | 22492436 |
| isolation of multiple drug-resistant enteric bacteria from feces of wild western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in gabon. | prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria in wildlife can reveal the actual level of anthropological burden on the wildlife. in this study, we isolated two multiple drug-resistant strains, gg6-2 and gg6-1-1, from 27 fresh feces of wild western lowland gorillas in moukalaba-doudou national park, gabon. isolates were identified as achromobacter xylosoxidans and providencia sp., respectively. minimum inhibitory concentrations of the following 12 drugs-ampicillin (abpc), cefazolin (cez), cefotaxime (ctx ... | 2015 | 25649412 |
| amoebic meningoencephalitis and disseminated infection caused by balamuthia mandrillaris in a western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla). | case description a 22-year-old male gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) housed in a zoo was evaluated for signs of lethargy, head-holding, and cervical stiffness followed by development of neurologic abnormalities including signs of depression, lip droop, and tremors. clinical findings physical examination under general anesthesia revealed a tooth root abscess and suboptimal body condition. a cbc and serum biochemical analysis revealed mild anemia, neutrophilia and eosinopenia consistent with a st ... | 2016 | 26799111 |
| bifidobacterium moukalabense sp. nov., isolated from the faeces of wild west lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla). | gram-staining-positive anaerobic rods were isolated from the faeces of a wild lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in moukalaba-doudou national park, gabon, and strain gg01(t) was taxonomically investigated. based on phylogenetic analyses and specific phenotypic characteristics, the strain belonged to the genus bifidobacterium. phylogenetic analysis of its 16s rrna gene sequence revealed that strain gg01(t) formed a single monophyletic cluster and had a distinct line of descent. based on 16 ... | 2014 | 24158945 |
| pathogenic eukaryotes in gut microbiota of western lowland gorillas as revealed by molecular survey. | although gorillas regarded as the largest extant species of primates and have a close phylogenetic relationship with humans, eukaryotic communities have not been previously studied in these populations. herein, 35 eukaryotic primer sets targeting the 18s rrna gene, internal transcribed spacer gene and other specific genes were used firstly to explore the eukaryotes in a fecal sample from a wild western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla). then specific real-time pcrs were achieved in addit ... | 2014 | 25231746 |
| characterization of enteroviruses from non-human primates in cameroon revealed virus types widespread in humans along with candidate new types and species. | enteroviruses (evs) infecting african non-human primates (nhp) are still poorly documented. this study was designed to characterize the genetic diversity of evs among captive and wild nhp in cameroon and to compare this diversity with that found in humans. stool specimens were collected in april 2008 in nhp housed in sanctuaries in yaounde and neighborhoods. moreover, stool specimens collected from wild nhp from june 2006 to october 2008 in the southern rain forest of cameroon were considered. r ... | 2014 | 25079078 |
| first case of disseminated cryptococcosis in a gorilla gorilla. | in humans, cryptococcus mainly infects individuals with hiv infection or other types of immunosuppression. here, we report the first case of disseminated cryptococcosis in a simian immunodeficiency virus-negative 27-year-old female gorilla gorilla presenting with lethargy, progressive weight loss and productive cough. the diagnosis was confirmed by positive lung biopsy culture, serum cryptococcal antigen, and cerebral histopathology demonstrating encapsulated yeasts. molecular characterisation o ... | 2014 | 24963815 |
| species association of hepatitis b virus (hbv) in non-human apes; evidence for recombination between gorilla and chimpanzee variants. | hepatitis b virus (hbv) infections are widely distributed in humans, infecting approximately one third of the world's population. hbv variants have also been detected and genetically characterised from old world apes; gorilla gorilla (gorilla), pan troglodytes (chimpanzee), pongo pygmaeus (orang-utan), nomascus nastusus and hylobates pileatus (gibbons) and from the new world monkey, lagothrix lagotricha (woolly monkey). to investigate species-specificity and potential for cross species transmiss ... | 2012 | 22432021 |
| hiv-1 group o origin, evolution, pathogenesis, and treatment: unraveling the complexity of an outlier 25 years later. | twenty-five years ago, an aberrant hiv-1 (now classified as hiv-1 group o) was described from a cameroonian hiv patient living in belgium. the epicenter of group o was later found to be in central africa, overlapping with the geographical location of the central chimpanzees (pan troglodytes troglodytes) and western gorillas (gorilla gorilla), the likely original hosts of group o. although the prevalence of group o has remained low at 1-2% in cameroon, some european countries (france, spain, belg ... | 2015 | 26450803 |
| human herpes simplex virus type 1 in confiscated gorilla. | in 2007, we detected human herpes simplex virus type 1, which caused stomatitis, in a juvenile confiscated eastern lowland gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri) that had a high degree of direct contact with human caretakers. our findings confirm that pathogens can transfer between nonhuman primate hosts and humans. | 2014 | 25341185 |
| african great apes are naturally infected with roseoloviruses closely related to human herpesvirus 7. | primates are naturally infected with herpesviruses. during the last 15 years, the search for homologues of human herpesviruses in nonhuman primates allowed the identification of numerous viruses belonging to the different herpesvirus subfamilies and genera. no simian homologue of human herpesvirus 7 (hhv7) has been reported to date. to investigate the putative existence of hhv7-like viruses in african great apes, we applied the consensus-degenerate hybrid oligonucleotide primers (codehop) progra ... | 2014 | 25187544 |
| neutralization properties of simian immunodeficiency viruses infecting chimpanzees and gorillas. | broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies (bnabs) represent powerful tools to combat human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (hiv-1) infection. here, we examined whether hiv-1-specific bnabs are capable of cross-neutralizing distantly related simian immunodeficiency viruses (sivs) infecting central (pan troglodytes troglodytes) (sivcpzptt) and eastern (pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) (sivcpzpts) chimpanzees (n = 11) as well as western gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) (sivgor) (n = 1). we foun ... | 2015 | 25900654 |
| in vivo cellular tropism of gorilla simian foamy virus in blood of infected humans. | simian foamy viruses (sfv) are retroviruses that are widespread among nonhuman primates. sfv can be transmitted to humans, giving rise to a persistent infection. only a few data are available concerning the distribution of sfv in human blood cells. here we purified blood mononuclear cell subsets from 11 individuals infected with a gorilla gorilla sfv strain and quantified sfv dna levels by quantitative pcr. sfv dna was detected in the majority of the cd8(+), cd4(+), and cd19(+) lymphocyte sample ... | 2014 | 25210185 |
| codetection of respiratory syncytial virus in habituated wild western lowland gorillas and humans during a respiratory disease outbreak. | pneumoviruses have been identified as causative agents in several respiratory disease outbreaks in habituated wild great apes. based on phylogenetic evidence, transmission from humans is likely. however, the pathogens have never been detected in the local human population prior to or at the same time as an outbreak. here, we report the first simultaneous detection of a human respiratory syncytial virus (hrsv) infection in western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and in the local human ... | 2016 | 27436109 |
| lactobacillus gorillae sp. nov., isolated from the faeces of captive and wild western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). | four strains of gram-staining-positive, anaerobic rods were isolated from the faeces of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla). three strains, kz01(t), kz02 and kz03, were isolated at the kyoto city zoo, japan, and one strain, gg02, was isolated in the moukalaba-doudou national park, gabon. these strains were investigated taxonomically. these strains belonged to the lactobacillus reuteri phylogenetic group according to phylogenetic analysis based on 16s rrna gene sequences and specif ... | 2014 | 25240022 |
| non contiguous-finished genome sequence and description of microbacterium gorillae sp. nov. | strain g3(t) (csur p207 = dsm 26203) was isolated from the fecal sample of a wild gorilla (gorilla gorilla subsp gorilla) from cameroon. it is a gram-positive, facultative anaerobic short rod. this strain exhibits a 16s rrna sequence similarity of 98.2 % with microbacterium thalassium, the closest validly published microbacterium species and member of the family microbacteriaceae. moreover, it shows a low maldi-tof-ms score (1.1 to 1.3) that does not allow any identification. thus, it is likely ... | 2016 | 27087892 |
| adult hookworms (necator spp.) collected from researchers working with wild western lowland gorillas. | in general, studies on the diversity of strongylid nematodes in endangered host species are complicated as material obtained by non-invasive sampling methods has limited value for generic and species identification. while egg morphology barely allows assignment to family, the morphology of cultivated infective third stage larvae provides a better resolution at the generic level but cannot be used for exact species identification. morphology-based taxonomic approaches greatly depend on the examin ... | 2016 | 26858023 |
| diversity of malaria parasites in great apes in gabon. | until 2009, the laverania subgenus counted only two representatives: plasmodium falciparum and plasmodium reichenowi. the recent development of non-invasive methods allowed re-exploration of plasmodial diversity in african apes. although a large number of great ape populations have now been studied regarding plasmodium infections in africa, there are still vast areas of their distribution that remained unexplored. gabon constitutes an important part of the range of western central african great ... | 2015 | 25889049 |
| ubiquitous hepatocystis infections, but no evidence of plasmodium falciparum-like malaria parasites in wild greater spot-nosed monkeys (cercopithecus nictitans). | western gorillas (gorilla gorilla) have been identified as the natural reservoir of the parasites that were the immediate precursor of plasmodium falciparum infecting humans. recently, a p. falciparum-like sequence was reported in a sample from a captive greater spot-nosed monkey (cercopithecus nictitans), and was taken to indicate that this species may also be a natural reservoir for p. falciparum-related parasites. to test this hypothesis we screened blood samples from 292 wild c. nictitans mo ... | 2012 | 22691606 |
| draft genome sequences of two salmonella enterica serotype infantis strains isolated from a captive western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and a cohabitant black and white tegu (tupinambis merianae) in brazil. | the draft genome sequences of two salmonella enterica serotype infantis isolates are reported here. one of the strains was isolated from a western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) with colitis. the second strain was isolated from a reptile that inhabited the same premises. whole-genome sequencing demonstrated that these isolates were not clonal. | 2016 | 26798099 |
| hemorrhagic colitis associated with salmonella enterica serotype infantis infection in a captive western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in brazil. | enteric diseases are among the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in gorillas, and it is often caused by bacteria. | 2014 | 24359673 |
| detection of viruses using discarded plants from wild mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. | infectious diseases pose one of the most significant threats to the survival of great apes in the wild. the critically endangered mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei) is at high risk for contracting human pathogens because approximately 60% of the population is habituated to humans to support a thriving ecotourism program. disease surveillance for human and non-human primate pathogens is important for population health and management of protected primate species. here, we evaluate discar ... | 2016 | 27331804 |
| differentiation of staphylococcus argenteus (formerly: staphylococcus aureus clonal complex 75) by mass spectrometry from s. aureus using the first strain isolated from a wild african great ape. | the species staphylococcus argenteus was separated recently from staphylococcus aureus (tong s.y., f. schaumburg, m.j. ellington, j. corander, b. pichon, f. leendertz, s.d. bentley, j. parkhill, d.c. holt, g. peters, and p.m. giffard, 2015). the objective of this work was to characterise the genome of a non-human s. argenteus strain, which had been isolated from the faeces of a wild-living western lowland gorilla in gabon, and analyse the spectrum of this species in matrix-assisted laser desorpt ... | 2017 | 27931949 |
| strongyloides infections of humans and great apes in dzanga-sangha protected areas, central african republic and in degraded forest fragments in bulindi, uganda. | dna sequence analysis was carried out on strongyloides spp. larvae obtained from fecal samples of local humans, a wild western lowland gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) and a central chimpanzee (pan troglodytes troglodytes) inhabiting dzanga-sangha protected areas (dspa), central african republic, and eastern chimpanzees (pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) living in degraded forest fragments on farmland in bulindi, uganda. from humans, both strongyloides fuelleborni and strongyloides stercoralis we ... | 2016 | 27180094 |
| applying behavioral conditioning to identify anticipatory behaviors. | the ability to predict regular events can be adaptive for nonhuman animals living in an otherwise unpredictable environment. animals may exhibit behavioral changes preceding a predictable event; such changes reflect anticipatory behavior. anticipatory behavior is broadly defined as a goal-directed increase in activity preceding a predictable event and can be useful for assessing well being in animals in captivity. anticipation may look different in different animals, however, necessitating metho ... | 2017 | 28375754 |
| 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 |
| teasing apart the contributions of hard dietary items on 3d dental microtextures in primates. | 3d dental microtexture analysis is a powerful tool for reconstructing the diets of extinct primates. this method is based on the comparison of fossils with extant species of known diet. the diets of primates are highly diversified and include fruits, seeds, grass, tree leaves, bark, roots, tubers, and animal resources. fruits remain the main component in the diets of most primates. we tested whether the proportion of fruit consumed is correlated with dental microtexture. two methods of microtext ... | 2012 | 22705031 |
| fecal microbial diversity and putative function in captive western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla), common chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), hamadryas baboons (papio hamadryas) and binturongs (arctictis binturong). | microbial populations in the gastrointestinal tract contribute to host health and nutrition. although gut microbial ecology is well studied in livestock and domestic animals, little is known of the endogenous populations inhabiting primates or carnivora. we characterized microbial populations in fecal cultures from gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla), common chimpanzees (pan troglodytes), hamadryas baboons (papio hamadryas) and binturongs (arctictis binturong) to compare the microbiomes associate ... | 2014 | 25236539 |
| 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 |
| molecular characterization, tissue expression profile and snp analysis of the porcine nr1h4 gene. | nuclear receptor subfamily 1, group h, member 4 (nr1h4) is a receptor for bile acids and has an important role in regulating energy metabolism in liver, muscle and adipose tissues in humans and animals. in this study, we cloned the full coding region of nr1h4 gene from porcine longissimus dorsi by rapid amplification of cdna end (race). results indicated that the open reading frame of nr1h4 covered 1461 bp encoding 486 amino acid residues and the deduced amino acid sequence was 91-94 % identical ... | 2014 | 25034892 |
| female and male life tables for seven wild primate species. | we provide male and female census count data, age-specific survivorship, and female age-specific fertility estimates for populations of seven wild primates that have been continuously monitored for at least 29 years: sifaka (propithecus verreauxi) in madagascar; muriqui (brachyteles hypoxanthus) in brazil; capuchin (cebus capucinus) in costa rica; baboon (papio cynocephalus) and blue monkey (cercopithecus mitis) in kenya; chimpanzee (pan troglodytes) in tanzania; and gorilla (gorilla beringei) i ... | 2016 | 26928014 |
| next generation sequencing (ngs) database for tandem repeats with multiple pattern 2°-shaft multicore string matching. | next generation sequencing (ngs) technologies have been rapidly applied in biomedical and biological research in recent years. to provide the comprehensive ngs resource for the research, in this paper , we have considered 10 loci/codi/repeats taga, tcat, gaat, agat, agaa, gata, tatc, cttt, tctg and tcta. then we developed the ngs tandem repeat database (tandemrepeatdb) for all the chromosomes of homo sapiens, callithrix jacchus, chlorocebus sabaeus, gorilla gorilla, macaca fascicularis, macaca m ... | 2016 | 26981434 |
| distribution of a community of mammals in relation to roads and other human disturbances in gabon, central africa. | we present the first community-level study of the associations of both roads and other human disturbances with the distribution of mammals in gabon (central africa). our study site was in an oil concession within a littoral mosaic landscape. we conducted surveys along 199 line transects and installed camera traps on 99 of these transects to document mammal presence and abundance. we used generalized linear mixed-effect models to document associations between variables related to the ecosystem (l ... | 2013 | 23410077 |
| applying clinically proven human techniques for contraception and fertility to endangered species and zoo animals: a review. | reversible contraception that does not alter natural behavior is a critical need for managing zoo populations. in addition to reversible contraception, other fertility techniques perfected in humans may be useful, such as in vitro fertilization (ivf) or oocyte and embryo banking for endangered species like amphibians and mexican wolves (canis lupus baileyi). furthermore, the genetics of human fertility can give a better understanding of fertility in more exotic species. collaborations were estab ... | 2013 | 24437091 |
| genetic characterization of simian foamy viruses infecting humans. | simian foamy viruses (sfvs) are retroviruses that are widespread among nonhuman primates (nhps). sfvs actively replicate in their oral cavity and can be transmitted to humans after nhp bites, giving rise to a persistent infection even decades after primary infection. very few data on the genetic structure of such sfvs found in humans are available. in the framework of ongoing studies searching for sfv-infected humans in south cameroon rainforest villages, we studied 38 sfv-infected hunters whose ... | 2012 | 23015714 |
| apes (gorilla gorilla, pan paniscus, p. troglodytes, pongo abelii) versus corvids (corvus corax, c. corone) in a support task: the effect of pattern and functionality. | apes (gorilla gorilla, pan paniscus, p. troglodytes, pong abelii) and corvids (corvus corax, c. corone) are among the most proficient and flexible tool users in the animal kingdom. although it has been proposed that this is the result of convergent evolution, little is known about whether this is limited to behavior or also includes the underlying cognitive mechanisms. we compared several species of apes (bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans) and corvids (carrion crows and common raven ... | 2012 | 22545765 |
| host specificity and basic ecology of mammomonogamus (nematoda, syngamidae) from lowland gorillas and forest elephants in central african republic. | syngamid strongylids of the genus mammomonogamus undoubtedly belong among the least known nematodes with apparent zoonotic potential and the real diversity of the genus remains hard to evaluate without extensive molecular data. eggs of mammomonogamus sp. are frequently found in feces of african forest elephants (loxodonta cyclotis) and western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) in dzanga-sangha protected areas. using sedimentation-based coproscopic techniques, we found the eggs of mammom ... | 2017 | 28274296 |
| non-contiguous-finished genome sequence and description of paenibacillus camerounensis sp. nov. | strain g4(t) was isolated from the stool sample of a wild gorilla (gorilla gorilla gorilla) from cameroon. it is a facultative anaerobic, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium. this strain exhibits a 16s rrna nucleotide sequence similarity of 97.48% with paenibacillus typhae, the phylogenetically closest species with standing nomenclature. moreover, the strain g4(t) presents some phenotypic differences when compared to other paenibacillus species and shows a low maldi-tof mass spectrometry score t ... | 2016 | 26714966 |
| forearm articular proportions and the antebrachial index in homo sapiens, australopithecus afarensis and the great apes. | when hominin bipedality evolved, the forearms were free to adopt nonlocomotor tasks which may have resulted in changes to the articular surfaces of the ulna and the relative lengths of the forearm bones. similarly, sex differences in forearm proportions may be more likely to emerge in bipeds than in the great apes given the locomotor constraints in gorilla, pan and pongo. to test these assumptions, ulnar articular proportions and the antebrachial index (radius length/ulna length) in homo sapiens ... | 2015 | 26256651 |
| non-contiguous finished genome sequence and description of gorillibacterium massiliense gen. nov, sp. nov., a new member of the family paenibacillaceae. | strain g5(t) gen. nov., sp. nov. is the type strain of gorillibacterium massiliense, a newly proposed genus within the family paenibacillaceae. this strain, whose genome is described here, was isolated in france from a stool sample of a wild gorilla gorilla subsp. gorilla from cameroon. g. massiliense is a facultatively anaerobic, gram negative rod. here we describe the features of this bacterium, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. the 5,546,433 bp long genome (1 chromoso ... | 2014 | 25197465 |
| estrogenic plant foods of red colobus monkeys and mountain gorillas in uganda. | phytoestrogens, or naturally occurring estrogen-mimicking compounds, are found in many human plant foods, such as soybeans (glycine max) and other legumes. because the consumption of phytoestrogens may result in both health benefits of protecting against estrogen-dependent cancers and reproductive costs of disrupting the developing endocrine system, considerable biomedical research has been focused on the physiological and behavioral effects of these compounds. despite this interest, little is k ... | 2012 | 22460223 |
| toughness of the virunga mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei) diet across an altitudinal gradient. | the robust masticatory system of mountain gorillas is thought to have evolved for the comminution of tough vegetation, yet, compared to other primates, the toughness of the mountain gorilla diet is unremarkable. this may be a result of low plant toughness in the mountain gorilla environment or of mountain gorillas feeding selectively on low-toughness foods. the goal of this paper is to determine how the toughness of the mountain gorilla diet varies across their habitat, which spans a large altit ... | 2017 | 28388822 |
| catastrophic decline of world's largest primate: 80% loss of grauer's gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri) population justifies critically endangered status. | grauer's gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri), the world's largest primate, is confined to eastern democratic republic of congo (drc) and is threatened by civil war and insecurity. during the war, armed groups in mining camps relied on hunting bushmeat, including gorillas. insecurity and the presence of several militia groups across grauer's gorilla's range made it very difficult to assess their population size. here we use a novel method that enables rigorous assessment of local community and ran ... | 2016 | 27760201 |
| prevalence of an unusual hypoplastic defect of the permanent maxillary lateral incisor in great apes. | in this article, i describe a previously unreported maxillary lateral incisor defect (mlid) of the enamel in great apes and evaluate potential general causes (genetic, systemic stress, or localized disturbance), as well as examine differences in prevalence among the represented taxa. this defect occurred only on the labial surface of the maxillary lateral incisor and extended from the cervical-mesial quarter of the crown to the mesial edge of the cementoenamel junction (cej). the study sample co ... | 2017 | 27643754 |
| validating faecal glucocorticoid metabolite analysis in the virunga mountain gorilla using a natural biological stressor. | the continued degradation of primate habitat worldwide is forcing many primate populations into small protected forest islands surrounded by high-density human populations. one well-studied example is the critically endangered mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei). decades of monitoring and research on rwanda's mountain gorillas offer a unique opportunity to use non-invasive endocrine analysis to address pressing questions about the conservation of this endangered population. the aims of ... | 2016 | 27602226 |
| trabecular architecture in the stw 352 fossil hominin calcaneus. | australopithecus africanus has been interpreted as having a rigid lateral foot. one mechanism contributing to a rigid foot during push-off in humans is a calcaneocuboid joint (ccj) with limited dorsiflexion and a "close-packed" talocalcaneal joint (tcj). in contrast, apes likely have a greater ccj range of motion and lack a close-packed tcj. differences in tarsal arthrokinematics may result in different joint loading environments. in homo sapiens, we tested the hypothesis that dorsal and plantar ... | 2016 | 27457551 |
| geographic variation in gorilla limb bones. | gorilla systematics has received increased attention over recent decades from primatologists, conservationists, and paleontologists. studies of geographic variation in dna, skulls, and teeth have led to new taxonomic proposals, such as recognition of two gorilla species, gorilla gorilla (western gorilla) and gorilla beringei (eastern gorilla). postcranial differences between mountain gorillas (g. beringei beringei) and western lowland gorillas (g. g. gorilla) have a long history of study, but di ... | 2016 | 27260175 |
| early alzheimer's disease-type pathology in the frontal cortex of wild mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei). | amyloid beta (aβ) and tau pathology have been described in the brains of captive aged great apes, but the natural progression of these age-related pathologies from wild great apes, including the gorilla, is unknown. in our previous study of western lowland gorillas (gorilla gorilla gorilla) who were housed in american zoos and aquariums-accredited facilities, we found an age-related increase in aβ-positive plaques and vasculature, tau-positive astrocytes, oligodendrocyte coiled bodies, and neuri ... | 2016 | 26923416 |
| food-associated calling in gorillas (gorilla g. gorilla) in the wild. | many nonhuman primates produce food-associated vocalizations upon encountering or ingesting particular food. concerning the great apes, only food-associated vocalizations of chimpanzees (pan troglodytes) and bonobos (pan paniscus) have been studied in detail, providing evidence that these vocalizations can be produced flexibly in relation to a variety of factors, such as the quantity and quality of food and/or the type of audience. only anecdotal evidence exists of eastern (gorilla beringei) and ... | 2016 | 26909518 |
| infant mortality risk and paternity certainty are associated with postnatal maternal behavior toward adult male mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei). | sexually selected infanticide is an important source of infant mortality in many mammalian species. in species with long-term male-female associations, females may benefit from male protection against infanticidal outsiders. we tested whether mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei) mothers in single and multi-male groups monitored by the dian fossey gorilla fund's karisoke research center actively facilitated interactions between their infants and a potentially protective male. we also eval ... | 2016 | 26863300 |
| the evolutionary origin and population history of the grauer gorilla. | gorillas living in western central africa (gorilla gorilla) are morphologically and genetically distinguishable from those living in eastern central africa (gorilla beringei). genomic analyses show eastern gorillas experienced a significant reduction in population size during the pleistocene subsequent to geographical isolation from their western counterparts. however, how these results relate more specifically to the recent biogeographical and evolutionary history of eastern gorillas remains po ... | 2016 | 26808111 |
| tooth wear and feeding ecology in mountain gorillas from volcanoes national park, rwanda. | ecological factors have a dramatic effect on tooth wear in primates, although it remains unclear how individual age contributes to functional crown morphology. the aim of this study is to determine how age and individual diet are related to tooth wear in wild mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei) from volcanoes national park, rwanda. | 2016 | 26597436 |
| group structure predicts variation in proximity relationships between male-female and male-infant pairs of mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei). | relationships between conspecifics are influenced by both ecological factors and the social organization they live in. systematic variation of both--consistent with predictions derived from socioecology models--is well documented, but there is considerable variation within species and populations that is poorly understood. the mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei) is unusual because, despite possessing morphology associated with male contest competition (e.g., extreme sexual dimorphism), they are ... | 2016 | 26386711 |
| audience effects, but not environmental influences, explain variation in gorilla close distance vocalizations-a test of the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. | close distance vocalizations are an integral part of primate vocal communication. they exhibit large acoustic variation which has been suggested to constitute flexible responses to the highly variable social setting of group living animals. however, a recent study suggested that acoustic variation in close distance calls of baboons may also arise from acoustic adaptations to environmental factors in order to counteract sound degradation. we tested whether the variation in calling rate and acoust ... | 2015 | 26352614 |
| intestinal flora modification of arthritis pattern in spondyloarthropathy. | the reactive form of spondyloarthropathy appears inducible by exposure to agents of infectious diarrhea, but do those organisms represent the tip of the iceberg, as indicated by renewed interest in gastrointestinal flora? prevalence of spondyloarthropathy (20% of chimpanzees [pan] and 28% of gorillas) is independent of subspecies and species, respectively. however, there are major differences in arthritis patterns, a characteristic shared with humans. | 2015 | 26267718 |
| new insights into the evolution of the human diet from faecal biomarker analysis in wild chimpanzee and gorilla faeces. | our understanding of early human diets is based on reconstructed biomechanics of hominin jaws, bone and teeth isotopic data, tooth wear patterns, lithic, taphonomic and zooarchaeological data, which do not provide information about the relative amounts of different types of foods that contributed most to early human diets. faecal biomarkers are proving to be a valuable tool in identifying relative proportions of plant and animal tissues in palaeolithic diets. a limiting factor in the application ... | 2015 | 26061730 |
| molecular phylogeny of anoplocephalid tapeworms (cestoda: anoplocephalidae) infecting humans and non-human primates. | anoplocephalid tapeworms of the genus bertiella stiles and hassall, 1902 and anoplocephala blanchard, 1848, found in the asian, african and american non-human primates are presumed to sporadic ape-to-man transmissions. variable nuclear (5.8s-its2; 28s rrna) and mitochondrial genes (cox1; nad1) of isolates of anoplocephalids originating from different primates (callicebus oenanthe, gorilla beringei, gorilla gorilla, pan troglodytes and pongo abelii) and humans from various regions (south america, ... | 2015 | 26046952 |
| the geographic distribution of genetic diversity within gorillas. | gorillas, like all non-human great apes, are endangered. understanding the distribution of genetic diversity across their range is important because low diversity may arise in small populations through increased inbreeding, and, by reducing reproductive fitness, may lead to decreased chances of persistence of a given population. previous studies found higher genetic diversity in the western (gorilla gorilla) than in the eastern gorillas (gorilla beringei), but rarely employed individuals of know ... | 2015 | 25975353 |
| tool use for food acquisition in a wild mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei). | on may 14, 2013, a wild, human-habituated, juvenile female mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei) in volcanoes national park, rwanda was observed utilizing a tool to acquire food. the young gorilla watched an adult male use his hand to collect ants from a hole in the ground, and then quickly withdrew his hand and move away from the hole, shaking his arm to presumably remove biting ants. the juvenile female engaged in similar behavior, withdrawing her hand covered in ants, and shaking her a ... | 2015 | 25452208 |
| brain organization of gorillas reflects species differences in ecology. | gorillas include separate eastern (gorilla beringei) and western (gorilla gorilla) african species that diverged from each other approximately 2 million years ago. although anatomical, genetic, behavioral, and socioecological differences have been noted among gorilla populations, little is known about variation in their brain structure. this study examines neuroanatomical variation between gorilla species using structural neuroimaging. postmortem magnetic resonance images were obtained of brains ... | 2015 | 25360547 |
| three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis of talar morphology in extant gorilla taxa from highland and lowland habitats. | western gorillas (gorilla gorilla) are known to climb significantly more often than eastern gorillas (gorilla beringei), a behavioral distinction attributable to major differences in their respective habitats (i.e., highland vs. lowland). genetic evidence suggests that the lineages leading to these taxa began diverging from one another between approximately 1 and 3 million years ago. thus, gorillas offer a special opportunity to examine the degree to which morphology of recently diverged taxa ma ... | 2015 | 25338937 |
| looking in apes as a source of human pathogens. | because of the close genetic relatedness between apes and humans, apes are susceptible to many human infectious agents and can serve as carriers of these pathogens. consequently, they present a serious health hazard to humans. moreover, many emerging infectious diseases originate in wildlife and continue to threaten human populations, especially vector-borne diseases described in great apes, such as malaria and rickettsiosis. these wild primates may be permanent reservoirs and important sources ... | 2014 | 25220240 |
| complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the eastern gorilla (gorilla beringei) and implications for african ape biogeography. | the western and eastern species of gorillas (gorilla gorilla and gorilla beringei) began diverging in the mid-pleistocene, but in a complex pattern with ongoing gene flow following their initial split. we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of 1 eastern and 1 western gorilla to provide the most accurate date for their mitochondrial divergence, and to analyze patterns of nucleotide substitutions. the most recent common ancestor of these genomes existed about 1.9 million years ago, slight ... | 2016 | 25189777 |
| the interpretive power of infraorbital foramen area in making dietary inferences in extant apes. | the infraorbital foramen (iof) is located below the orbit and transmits the sensory infraorbital nerve (ion) to mechanoreceptors located throughout the maxillary region. the size of the iof correlates with the size of the ion; thus, the iof appears to indicate relative touch sensitivity of maxillary region. in primates, iof size correlates well with diet. frugivores have relatively larger iofs than folivores or insectivores because fruit handling/processing requires increased touch sensitivity. ... | 2014 | 24898102 |
| occurrence and molecular analysis of balantidium coli in mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei) in the volcanoes national park, rwanda. | cysts morphologically resembling balantidium coli were identified in the feces of a mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei). confirmatory pcr and sequencing revealed two distinct b. coli-specific sequences (its-1, sub-types a0 and b1). this represents the first report of b. coli in this species, raising the possibility of infection from a reservoir host. | 2013 | 24502743 |
| fatty acids in mountain gorilla diets: implications for primate nutrition and health. | little is known about the fatty acid composition of foods eaten by wild primates. a total of 18 staple foods that comprise 97% of the annual dietary intake of the mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei) were analyzed for fatty acid concentrations. fruits and herbaceous leaves comprise the majority of the diet, with fruits generally having a higher mean percentage of fat (of dry matter; dm), as measured by ether extract (ee), than herbaceous leaves (13.0% ± sd 13.0% vs. 2.3 ± sd 0.8%). the mean daily ... | 2014 | 24243235 |
| tooth cusp sharpness as a dietary correlate in great apes. | mammalian molars have undergone heavy scrutiny to determine correlates between morphology and diet. here, the relationship between one aspect of occlusal morphology, tooth cusp radius of curvature (roc), and two broad dietary categories, folivory and frugivory, is analyzed in apes. the author hypothesizes that there is a relationship between tooth cusp roc and diet, and that folivores have sharper teeth than frugivores, and further test the correlation between tooth cusp roc and tooth cusp size. ... | 2014 | 24227163 |