人工饲养条件下东方田鼠指名亚种繁殖特性及其幼仔的生长发育

在实验室饲养条件下, 对东方田鼠指名亚种繁殖特性和幼仔生长发育进行了初步观察。该鼠全年均可繁殖, 平均每胎产仔3.8 ±1.5 只, 妊娠期20～21 d , 繁殖间隔期39.3 ±26.4 d , 雌雄比为1.48。幼鼠3 日龄耳壳完全直立, 4 日龄开始长下门齿, 5 日龄长上门齿, 7～8 日龄睁眼, 20 日龄可断奶, 55 日龄左右性成熟。3 种生长模型(Logistic 方程、Gompertz 方程和Von Bertalanffy 方程) 对体重、体长、尾和后足的生长过程的拟合优度均很高,择优选用Von Bertalanffy 方程对体重、体长和尾长进行描述, 选用Logistic 方程对后足长的生长过程进行描述。将该鼠的生长发育过程划分为4 个阶段, 乳鼠阶段: 初生至10 日龄; 幼鼠阶段: 11 日龄至20 日龄; 亚成年阶段: 21至55 日龄; 成年阶段: 56 日龄以后。对指名亚种和长江亚种生长、繁殖特性异同亦作了初步分析。     

蓝尾石龙子的生长、两性异形及雌性繁殖

报道蓝尾石龙子（Eumeces elegans)的生长、两性异形和雌性繁殖,性成熟个体体色的两性差异显著,成年雄性体长、头长和头宽显著大于成年雌性,幼体体长生长率无显著的两性差异。成年雄体体长生长率显著大于成年雌体,因此,个体大小的两性异形是性成熟后发生的,体长小于50mm的幼体,头长和头宽无性差异;当体长大于50mm。雄性头长和头宽随体长的生长率显著大于雌性。并导致头部大小的两性异形,并随个体发育变得越来越显著,蓝尾石龙子产卵雌体的最小体长为69.3mm,大于此体长的雌体均年产单窝卵。窝卵数、窝卵重和平均卵重均与雌体体长呈正相关,平均值分别为6.4、2.783和0.554g。窝卵数与雌体产后状态无关,蓝尾石龙子雌体主要通过增加窝卵数和卵大小来增加繁殖输出。     

黑斑侧褶蛙的两性异形和雌性繁殖特征

测定了黑斑侧褶蛙成体的体长、体重、头长、头宽、眼径、鼓膜径、前肢长、后肢长等形态指标以及雌体的怀卵数量。黑斑侧褶蛙雌体的体长和体重显著大于雄体。其它局部形态特征指标与体长呈正相关,协方差分析表明,雄体的鼓膜径大于雌体,其余形态指标不存在明显的两性差异。黑斑侧褶蛙雌体怀卵数量与体长和体重皆成正相关关系,表明黑斑侧褶蛙通过增加个体大小增加繁殖输出。     

中国大陆地区白头鹎两个亚种的表型特征分析

选取体长、翅长、尾长、跗蹠长、嘴峰长、嘴宽、嘴高共7个量度指标,对在我国大陆地区分布的白头鹎Pycnonotus sinensis两个亚种共331号标本(指名亚种P.s.sinensis 239个,两广亚种P.s.hainanus 92个)进行了测量,运用统计软件SPSS 13.0对测量数据进行了比较分析,结果表明:指名亚种的翅长、跗蹠长、嘴宽和嘴高均大于两广亚种.指名亚种性别间的翅长、尾长、跗蹠长、嘴高和体长差异显著,而两广亚种性别间翅长、尾长、跗蹠长、嘴峰长和嘴宽差异显著,均是雄性个体大于雌性个体.将两个亚种的各量度性状与纬度进行相关分析,发现指名亚种雄性个体的体长与纬度呈弱的负相关,两广亚种的嘴高与纬度呈弱的正相关,其雄性个体的跗蹠长与纬度呈正相关.此外,对白头鹎指名亚种枕部白斑的宽窄度进行了等级划分并数量化,发现其宽度随季节而变化,在繁殖季节达到最大,支持其起饰羽作用的假说.     

孵化温度与性别对乌龟幼体大小和生长的影响

以温度依赖型性别决定(TSD)物种乌龟(Chinemys reevesii)为对象,应用17β-雌二醇和芳香化酶抑制剂Fadrozole处理26、28和30℃条件下孵化的卵,抑制孵化温度对后代性别的作用,获得性别逆转幼体。通过比较幼体形态、游泳能力和生长特征的孵化温度和性别间差异,检验TSD适应意义的Charnov-Bull假设。雌雄幼体的孵化期因孵化温度不同而不同,在26℃条件下,雄性幼体的孵化期长于雌性幼体,而在28和30℃条件下,孵化期则无两性差异。幼体大小与孵化温度和性别有关。低温幼体大于高温幼体,雌性幼体大于雄性幼体。幼体的游泳能力既不受孵化温度的影响,也无两性差异。幼体生长与孵化温度无关,但存在两性差异,雌体生长速度显著快于雄体。Charnov-Bull假设预测,TSD Ia型物种的高温雌体适合度应高于低温雌体,而高温雄体适合度则应低于低温雄体。研究结果与上述预测不符,故不支持该假设。     

东方田鼠指名亚种和长江亚种筑巢行为

为了解东方田鼠（Microtus fortis）筑巢行为在不同环境条件下的适应性进化。在实验室内采用48 h等级法和连续144 h巢材获取重量法,比较了东方田鼠长江亚种（M. f. calamorumt）和指名亚种（M. f. fortis）筑巢行为。结果表明,东方田鼠指名亚种和长江亚种皆能主动获取巢材并建筑质量良好的巢,具有稳定的筑巢行为;东方田鼠两个亚种的筑巢行为在利用巢材能力（P < 0.01）和获取巢材能力（P < 0.05）上皆具有显著性差异;指名亚种雌雄个体在利用巢材（P < 0.05）和获取巢材的能力（P < 0.05）上皆具有显著差异,而长江亚种在这两个方面都不存在性别差异。     

东方田鼠长江亚种和指名亚种基因组DNA序列比较分析

根据东方田鼠基因组DNA序列片段(CenBank登录号：AF277394),通过PCR方法扩增东方田鼠长江亚种(Microtus fortis calamorum)和宁夏指名亚种(Microtus fortis fortis)基因组DNA,得到-670bp左右的特异扩增片段。将PCR扩增产物克隆到pGEM-Teasy裁体,进行DNA序列分析,并用生物信息学方法比较东方田鼠长江亚种与指名亚种之间该序列的差异。结果表明：在东方田鼠两个亚种中共发现19个不同的等位基因,不同的个体在该序列存在广泛的单个核苷酸多态性(SNP),多态性位点多达25个;变换类型包括：转换(G→A、A→G、T→C、C→T)、颠换(G→T、A→T、T→A、C→A)、插入(CA)和缺失(TGTTTT)。东方田鼠长江亚种和指名亚种两个种群之间存在明显差别,尤其是在146、192、223、224、235位,但两种群间同源性仍高达98％。同时采用系统发育树(phylogenetic tree)分析方法,对两个亚种的亲缘关系进行了分析和比较,结果显示,东方田鼠长江亚种和宁夏指名亚种基因组DNA明显的分为两大组别。     

棕色田鼠生长及年龄指标的评价

本文应用主成份分析法研究了棕色田鼠的体重、体长、胴体重、尾长、后足长、颅全长 颧宽等７项生长指标及其在鼠体生长和年龄评价上的代表性。结果表明,头骨增长是本生长最具主导地位的指标,后足长和胴本重次之,体重与鼠体生长的相关性较低,体长在７项指标中最不具代表性。考虑到精确性和实用性,确定胴体重为鉴定棕色田鼠年龄的最佳指标。     

泽陆蛙(Fejervarya limnocharis)两性异形的个体发育和雌体繁殖

2010年3月下旬-7月上旬于浙江富阳市农田采集680只泽陆蛙(Fejervarya limnocharis),研究了泽陆蛙成体和幼体的个体大小和局部形态特征的两性异形;通过解剖雌体获得窝卵数、测量抱对个体获得形态数据,研究了雌体大小与生育力关系以及抱对两性个体体形大小的相关性.结果表明:捕获个体中,雌性和雄性成体的最小体长分别为33mm和30 mm;雄性成体个体数显著超过雌性成体,两性幼体个体数无显著差异;两性成体头部大小、四肢长随体长呈同速增长,眼径和体重随体长呈异速增长,两性幼体所有被检形态特征均随体长呈同速增长;雌性成体平均体长显著大干雄性成体,去除体长差异的影响后发现,除眼径无显著的两性差异外,其余被检形态特征均为雌性大于雄性;幼体除雌性体重大于雄性外,其余被检形态特征均无两性差异;窝卵数与雌体大小(体长和体重)呈显著的正相关;两性抱对个体的体长无显著相关性;泽陆蛙雄性成体体形小于雌性成体的个体大小两性异形模式可能决定于驱使雄性向较大体形发展的进化驱动力相对较弱,雌性增大体形可增加繁殖输出,故向较大体形发展的进化驱动力相对较强;除体重外,其余被检形态特征的两性异形均形成于性成熟之后.     

北草蜥的交配行为

在围栏条件下,观测北草蜥(Takydromus septentrionalis)的交配过程,分析其行为模式,旨在建立北草蜥交配行为谱,探讨雄性交配成功率与个体特征的关系。北草蜥交配行为的一般模式为:雌雄接近→咬尾→咬腹→交媾。该行为过程的持续时间分别为0.53m、1.77m、0.47m和141.3m。所观察到的51对成功交配中,70%的配对为雄体>雌体,且雄体平均体长和体重显著大于配对雌体。雄体的交配成功率与其体长成正相关,但与头长、头宽、尾长、体重及体色均无显著相关性。     

The complete mitochondrial genome of Microtus fortis calamorum (Arvicolinae, Rodentia) and its phylogenetic analysis

Microtus fortis is a special resource of rodent in China. It is a promising experimental animal model for the study on the mechanism of Schistosome japonicum resistance. The first complete mitochondrial genome sequence for Microtus fortis calamorum, a subspecies of M. fortis (Arvicolinae, Rodentia), was reported in this study. The mitochondrial genome sequence of M. f. calamorum (Genbank: JF261175) showed a typical vertebrate pattern with 13 protein coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs and one major noncoding region (CR region).The extended termination associated sequences (ETAS-1 and ETAS-2) and conserved sequence block 1 (CSB-1) were found in the CR region. The putative origin of replication for the light strand (O(L)) of M. f. calamorum was 35bp long and showed high conservation in stem and adjacent sequences, but the difference existed in the loop region among three species of genus Microtus. In order to investigate the phylogenetic position of M. f. calamorum, the phylogenetic trees (Maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods) were constructed based on 12 protein-coding genes (except for ND6 gene) on H strand from 16 rodent species. M. f. calamorum was classified into genus Microtus, Arvcicolinae for the highly phylogenetic relationship with Microtus kikuchii (Taiwan vole). Further phylogenetic analysis results based on the cytochrome b gene ranged from M. f. calamorum to one of the subspecies of M. fortis, which formed a sister group of Microtus middendorfii in the genus Microtus.     

东方田鼠室内繁殖与生长发育观察

目的　探寻室内东方田鼠的繁殖与生长发育规律。方法　以F4代鼠及其仔代(F5)为对象,分别观察其繁殖与生长发育情况。结果　室内东方田鼠一年四季均具有繁殖能力,春(3～4月)秋(10～11月)两季为繁殖高峰期;雌雄单一配对比多性比配对的母鼠繁殖率明显提高;母鼠怀孕期20～21d,窝产仔数3～11只,平均(4.8±1.5)只,初生重2.5～4.4g;幼鼠3　d龄耳壳全部竖立,6～8d龄被毛长全,7～11d龄开眼,10～11d牙齿长齐;15d龄左右具有采食能力,20d龄可完全断奶;60～70d龄可见个别雌鼠阴门开孔,75～90d龄可见多数雌鼠阴门开孔和雄鼠睾丸明显下位;3月龄后体重、身长增长不显著。结论　开放式(普通级)饲养环境下,室内东方田鼠的繁殖季节、窝产仔数及初生重与野生东方田鼠基本相似;种群密度、性比对雌鼠的繁殖率有明显影响;2～3月龄为性成熟期,3～4月龄为体成熟和初配时期。但成熟时间存在个体差异,同时受饲料营养和环境因素的影响。     

Genome-wide association study reveals the genetic basis of growth trait in yellow catfish with sexual size dimorphism

Sexual size dimorphism has been widely observed in a large number of animals including fish species. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a powerful tool to dissect the genetic basis of complex traits, whereas the sex-differences in the genomics of animal complex traits have been ignored in the GWAS analysis. Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) is an important aquaculture fish in China with significant sexual size dimorphism. In this study, GWAS was conducted to identify candidate SNPs and genes related to body length (BL) and body weight (BW) in 125 female yellow catfish from a breeding population. In total, one BL-related SNP and three BW-related SNPs were identified to be significantly associated with the traits. Besides, one of these SNPs (Chr15:19195072) was shared in both the BW and BL traits in female yellow catfish, which was further validated in 185 male individuals and located on the exon of stat5b gene. Transgenic yellow catfish and zebrafish that expressed yellow catfish stat5b showed increased growth rate and reduction of sexual size dimorphism. These results not only reveal the genetic basis of growth trait and sexual size dimorphism in fish species, but also provide useful information for the marker-assisted breeding in yellow catfish.     

Impacts of floral gender and whole-plant gender on floral evolution in Ecballium elaterium (Cucurbitaceae)

Investigation of gender specialization in plants has led to several theories on the evolution of sexual dimorphism: reproductive compensation, based on enhanced reproductive efficiency with gender specialization (flowers should be larger on dioecious plants); Bateman's Principle, based on sex-specific selection (display for pollinator attraction in males and seed set in females); and intersexual floral mimicry, based on mimicry of a reward-providing gender by a non-reward providing gender (reduced dimorphism in dioecious plants due to increased spatial separation of male and female flowers). These theories were evaluated in Ecballium elaterium, which contains two subspecies, elaterium (monoecious) and dioicum (dioecious). Our results show that flowers of the dioecious subspecies are larger and allocate more to reproductive organs than do flowers of the monoecious subspecies. Both subspecies are sexually dimorphic (male flowers larger than female flowers). Variance in flower size among populations is greater in the dioecious subspecies. Finally, there is sufficient genetic variation to enable ongoing response to selection; genetic correlation constraints on independent response of female and male flowers may be stronger in the monoecious subspecies. Our findings provide support for aspects of all three theories, suggesting that the evolution of floral dimorphism is based on a complex interplay of factors.     

洞庭湖区东方田鼠种群暴发期间的行为特征观察

2007年6月下旬洞庭湖区东方田鼠(Microtus fortis calamorum)再度暴发,作者观察到其种群暴发期间的迁移、栖息与取食行为具有典型的"逃难"与临时"集群"特征,大多数东方田鼠在迁移过程中死亡,迁到大堤的鼠聚集在大石下、木头下、矮灌木和草丛等较隐蔽场所,一个月后扩散到农田和荒地中,多扩散到杂草茂盛的荒地内。迁移过程中不仅取食农作物,而且取食老树皮等,农作物损失严重。了解其在迁移期间的行为特征,可为了解东方田鼠的生活史适应特性和防控东方田鼠危害提供依据。     

Sexual dimorphism, female reproduction and egg incubation in the oriental leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus bowringii) from southern China

We studied sexual dimorphism, female reproduction and egg incubation of the oriental leaf-toed gecko (Hemidactylus bowringii) from a population in southern China. The largest male and female in our sample were 60 and 57 mm snout-vent length (SVL), respectively. Males are the larger sex; sexual dimorphism in head size and tail length (TL) is evident in juveniles and adults, with males having larger heads as well as longer tails than females. Oviposition occurred between late May and late July. Females switched from laying two eggs early in the breeding season to 1-2 eggs later in the season. Clutch mass and egg mass were both independent of female SVL, whereas relative clutch mass was negatively correlated with female SVL. The previous conclusion that female H. bowringii lay a single clutch of eggs per breeding season is unlikely to be true. Thermal environments experienced by H. bowringii eggs affect incubation length as well as morphological and locomotor phenotypes of hatchlings. Hatchlings from eggs incubated at 30 degrees C were larger (SVL, tail length and body mass) and performed better in the racetrack than their counterparts from eggs incubated at 24 degrees C. Temperatures suitable for embryonic development are relatively high in H. bowringii, primarily as a consequence of the adaptive response to warm environments in southern China.     

Big-bodied males help us recognize that females have big pelves

Schultz ([1949] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 7:401-424) presented a conundrum: among primates, sexual dimorphism of the pelvis is a developmental adjunct to dimorphism in other aspects of the body, albeit in the converse direction. Among species in which males are larger than females in body size, females are larger than males in some pelvic dimensions; species with little sexual dimorphism in nonpelvic size show little pelvic dimorphism. Obstetrical difficulty does not explain this relationship. The present study addresses this issue, evaluating the relationship between pelvic and femoral sexual dimorphism in 12 anthropoid species. The hypothesis is that species in which males are significantly larger than females in femoral size will have a higher incidence, magnitude, and variability of pelvic sexual dimorphism, with females having relatively larger pelves than males, compared with species monomorphic in femoral size. The results are consistent with the hypothesis. The proposed explanation is that the default pelvic anatomy in adulthood is that of the female; testosterone redirects growth from the default type to that of the male by differentially enhancing and repressing growth among the pelvic dimensions. Testosterone also influences sexual dimorphism of the femur. The magnitude of the pelvic response to testosterone is greater in species that are sexually dimorphic in the femur than in those that are monomorphic.     

Pelvic dimorphism in relation to body size and body size dimorphism in humans

Many mammalian species display sexual dimorphism in the pelvis, where females possess larger dimensions of the obstetric (pelvic) canal than males. This is contrary to the general pattern of body size dimorphism, where males are larger than females. Pelvic dimorphism is often attributed to selection relating to parturition, or as a developmental consequence of secondary sexual differentiation (different allometric growth trajectories of each sex). Among anthropoid primates, species with higher body size dimorphism have higher pelvic dimorphism (in converse directions), which is consistent with an explanation of differential growth trajectories for pelvic dimorphism. This study investigates whether the pattern holds intraspecifically in humans by asking: Do human populations with high body size dimorphism also display high pelvic dimorphism? Previous research demonstrated that in some small-bodied populations, relative pelvic canal size can be larger than in large-bodied populations, while others have suggested that larger-bodied human populations display greater body size dimorphism. Eleven human skeletal samples (total N: male = 229, female = 208) were utilized, representing a range of body sizes and geographical regions. Skeletal measurements of the pelvis and femur were collected and indices of sexual dimorphism for the pelvis and femur were calculated for each sample [ln(M/F)]. Linear regression was used to examine the relationships between indices of pelvic and femoral size dimorphism, and between pelvic dimorphism and female femoral size. Contrary to expectations, the results suggest that pelvic dimorphism in humans is generally not correlated with body size dimorphism or female body size. These results indicate that divergent patterns of dimorphism exist for the pelvis and body size in humans. Implications for the evaluation of the evolution of pelvic dimorphism and rotational childbirth in Homo are considered.