Corrigendum to "Nucleotide sequence and results of test of adaptive evolution in the α-globin gene of octodontoid rodents" [Data Brief 15 (2017) 517-521].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2017.09.017.].

Nucleotide sequence and results of test of adaptive evolution in the α-globin gene of octodontoid rodents.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled "Molecular adaptive convergence in the α-globin gene in subterranean octodontid rodents" (Tomasco et al., 2017) [1]. This article shows the nucleotide sequences of α-globin subunit gene of hemoglobin of several South American caviomorph rodents, including subterranean and fossorial species. These sequences are deposited in Genbank, with accession numbers ranging from MF169881 to MF169898. Of a total of 429 nucleotides analyzed (143 codons), 100 variable sites and 43 amino acid replacements were reported. In this article we also show the results of TreeSaap (Woolley et al., 2003) [2] and MEME (Murrell et al., 2012) [3], that identified some replacement changes as interesting for future studies of adaptive evolution in this large rodent radiation.

Characterization of Nosema ceranae Genetic Variants from Different Geographic Origins.

In recent years, large-scale colony losses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) have been reported and the infection with the microsporidia Nosema ceranae has been involved. However, the effect of N. ceranae at the colony level and its role in colony losses vary in different geographic areas. This difference may be related to the presence of multiple N. ceranae genetic variants resulting in different biological consequences. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of 75 N. ceranae samples obtained from 13 countries and Hawaii through inter-sequence single repetition (ISSR) and evaluated if two of these genetic variants triggered different immune responses when infecting Apis mellifera iberiensis. The genetic diversity analysis showed that 41% of the samples had the same DNA amplification pattern, including samples from most European countries except Spain, while the remaining samples showed high variability. Infection assays were performed to analyze the infection levels and the immune response of bees infected with N. ceranae from Spain and Uruguay. The infected bees presented similar infection levels, and both isolates downregulated the expression of abaecin, confirming the ability of the microsporidia to depress the immune response. Only N. ceranae from Uruguay downregulated the expression level of imd compared to control bees. On the other hand, both genetic variants triggered different expression levels of lysozyme. As imd and lysozyme play important roles in the response to pathogens, these results could reflect differences in the biological consequences of N. ceranae variants in A. mellifera infection.

Comparative respiratory strategies of subterranean and fossorial octodontid rodents to cope with hypoxic and hypercapnic atmospheres.

Subterranean rodents construct large and complex burrows and spend most of their lives underground, while fossorial species construct simpler burrows and are more active above ground. An important constraint faced by subterranean mammals is the chronic hypoxia and hypercapnia of the burrow atmosphere. The traits, regarded as "adaptations of rodents to hypoxia and hypercapnia", have been evaluated in only a few subterranean species. In addition, well-studied subterranean taxa are very divergent to their sister groups, making it difficult to assess the adaptive path leading to subterranean life. The closely related sister genera Octodon and Spalacopus of Neotropical rodents offer a unique opportunity to trace the evolution of physiological mechanisms. We studied the ventilatory responses of selected octodontid rodents to selective pressures imposed by the subterranean niche under the working hypothesis that life underground, in hypoxic and hypercapnic conditions, promotes convergent physiological changes. To perform this study we used the following species: Spalacopus cyanus (the subterranean coruros) and Octodon degus (the fossorial degus) from central Chile. Ventilatory tidal volume and respiratory frequency were measured in non-anaesthetized spontaneously breathing animals. Acute hypoxic challenges (O(2) 1-15%) and hypercapnia (CO(2) 10%) were induced to study respiratory strategies using non-invasive whole body pletismography techniques. Our results show that coruros have a larger ventilatory response to acute hypoxia as than degus. On the other hand, hypercapnic respiratory responses in coruros seem to be attenuated when compared to those in degus. Our results suggest that coruros and degus have different respiratory strategies to survive in the hypoxic and hypercapnic atmospheres present in their burrows.