The pikas of the subgenus Alienauroa were discovered merely 25 years ago, with the principal diversity of this group described only in 2017. This study integrates genomic, morphological, and distributional data from all specimens collected to date to advance the understanding of phylogeny, taxonomy, and distribution within these pika species. Our analyses delineate four distinct species: O. syrinx , O. sacraria , O. huanglonge...

Piscidins, fish-specific antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), play important roles in the innate immunity of fish against invading bacteria. In this study, a novel piscidin was identified in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) (MSPiscidin-4), which contained an active peptide of 25 aa with an amphipathic helix possessing distinct hydrophobic and positively charged regions. MSPiscidin-4 belongs to the Group I piscidins as determi...