A narrow hybrid zone between the grasshoppers Stenobothrus clavatus and Stenobothrus rubicundus (Orthoptera: Gomphocerinae): female preferences for courtship songs

Two grasshopper species, Stenobothrus rubicundus and Stenobothrus clavatus, were previously shown to hybridize in a narrow contact zone on Mount Tomaros in northern Greece. The species are characterized by complex and completely different courtship songs. In the present study, we investigated female preferences for the courtship songs of S. rubicundus, S. clavatus and hybrids in playback experiments. Playback of the courtship songs revealed assortative preferences in females of the parental species: they significantly more often preferred the songs of conspecific males. Hybrid females showed a lower selectivity than parental females, responding somewhat equally eager to playback of the songs of S. clavatus, S. rubicundus, and natural hybrid song, although less actively to the F₁ hybrid song. The results suggest that hybrid males may lose to males of parental species, whereas hybrid females would even have an advantage over parental females. Comparison of responses of females from allopatric populations and Mount Tomaros to different song types shows no evidence for reinforcement. Asymmetry found in female preferences may have implications for the structure of the hybrid zone. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London     

Acclimation-induced changes in cell membrane composition and influence on cryotolerance of in vitro shoots of native plant species

Cell membranes are the primary sites of cryopreservation injury and measuring changes to membrane composition arising from cold acclimation may assist with providing a rationale for optimising cryopreservation methods. Shoot tips from two south-west Western Australian species, Grevillea scapigera and Loxocarya cinerea, and Arabidopsis thaliana (reference species) were subjected to cryopreservation using the droplet vitrification protocol. Two pre-conditioning regimes involving a constant temperature (23 °C, CT with a 12 h light/dark cycle) or an alternating temperature (AT) regime (20/10 °C with a 12 h light/dark cycle) were compared. Soluble sugars, sterols and phospholipids present in the shoot tips were analysed. Use of AT pre-conditioning (acclimation) resulted in a modest decrease in cryotolerance in A. thaliana, increased cryotolerance in G. scapigera, and increased survival in the non-frozen control explants of L. cinerea in comparison to CT pre-conditioning. Increased cryotolerance was accompanied by a higher total sugar sterol and phospholipid content, as well as an increase in strong hydrating phospholipid classes such as phosphatidylcholine. The double bond index of bound fatty acyl chains of phospholipids was greater after AT pre-conditioning, mostly due to a higher amount of monoenes in A. thaliana and trienes in G. scapigera and L. cinerea. These findings suggest that AT pre-conditioning treatments for in vitro plants can have a positive influence on cryotolerance for some plant species and this may be related to observed changes in the overall composition of cell membranes. However, alternative factors (e.g. oxidative stress) may be equally important with other species (e.g. L. cinerea).     

The curious case of Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae): evidence for genetic homogeneity throughout the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent basins

Over the last few decades, advances in molecular techniques have led to the detection of strong geographic population structure and cryptic speciation in many benthic marine taxa, even those with long‐lived pelagic larval stages. Polychaete annelids, in particular, generally show a high degree of population divergence, especially in mitochondrial genes. Rarely have molecular studies confirmed the presence of ‘cosmopolitan’ species. The amphinomid polychaete Hermodice carunculata was long considered the sole species within its genus, with a reported distribution throughout the Atlantic and adjacent basins. However, recent studies have indicated morphological differences, primarily in the number of branchial filaments, between the East and West Atlantic populations; these differences were invoked to re‐instate Hermodice nigrolineata, formerly considered a junior synonym of H. carunculata. We utilized sequence data from two mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, 16S rDNA) markers and one nuclear (internal transcribed spacer) marker to examine the genetic diversity of Hermodice throughout its distribution range in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of Guinea. Our analyses revealed generally low genetic divergences among collecting localities and between the East and West Atlantic, although phylogenetic trees based on mitochondrial data indicate the presence of a private lineage in the Mediterranean Sea. A re‐evaluation of the number of branchial filaments confirmed differences between East and West Atlantic populations; however, the differences were not diagnostic and did not reflect the observed genetic population structure. Rather, we suspect that the number of branchial filaments is a function of oxygen saturation in the environment. Our results do not support the distinction between H. carunculata in the West Atlantic and H. nigrolineata in the East Atlantic. Instead, they re‐affirm the older notion that H. carunculata is a cohesive species with a broad distribution across the Atlantic Ocean.     

The impact of paternity on male–infant association in a primate with low paternity certainty

In multimale groups where females mate promiscuously, male–infant associations have rarely been studied. However, recent studies have shown that males selectively support their offspring during agonistic conflicts with other juveniles and that father's presence accelerates offspring maturation. Furthermore, it was shown that males invest in unrelated infants to enhance future mating success with the infant's mother. Hence, infant care might provide fitness gain for males. Here, we investigate male–infant associations in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), a primate with low paternity certainty as females mate with multiple partners and males ensure paternity less efficiently through mate‐guarding. We combined behavioural data with genetic paternity analyses of one cohort of the semi‐free‐ranging population of Cayo Santiago (Puerto Rico) and recorded affiliative and aggressive interactions between focal subjects and adult males from birth to sexual maturation (0–4 years) of focal subjects. Our results revealed that 9.6% of all interactions of focal subjects involved an adult male and 94% of all male–infant interactions were affiliative, indicating the rareness of male–infant aggression. Second and most interestingly, sires were more likely to affiliate with their offspring than nonsires with unrelated infants. This preference was independent of mother's proximity and emphasized during early infancy. Male–infant affiliation rose with infant age and was pronounced between adult males and male rather than female focal subjects. Overall, our results suggest that male–infant affiliation is also an important component in structuring primate societies and affiliation directed towards own offspring presumably represent low‐cost paternal care.     

Yield of glyphosate-resistant sugar beets and efficiency of weed management systems with glyphosate and conventional herbicides under German and Polish crop production

In sugar beet production, weed control is one of the most important and most expensive practices to ensure yield. Since glyphosate-resistant sugar beets are not yet approved for cultivation in the EU, little commercial experience exists with these sugar beets in Europe. Experimental field trials were conducted at five environments (Germany, Poland, 2010, 2011) to compare the effects of glyphosate with the effects of conventional weed control programs on the development of weeds, weed control efficiency and yield. The results show that the glyphosate weed control programs compared to the conventional methods decreased not only the number of herbicide applications but equally in magnitude decreased the dosage of active ingredients. The results also showed effective weed control with glyphosate when the weed covering was greater and sugar beets had a later growth stage of four true leaves. Glyphosate-resistant sugar beets applied with the glyphosate herbicide two or three times had an increase in white sugar yield from 4 to 18 % in comparison to the high dosage conventional herbicide systems. In summary, under glyphosate management sugar beets can positively contribute to the increasingly demanding requirements regarding efficient sugar beet cultivation and to the demands by society and politics to reduce the use of chemical plant protection products in the environment.     

Manipulation of activity and orientation of membrane-reconstituted di-tripeptide transport protein DtpT of Lactococcus lactis

The di-tripeptide transport system (DtpT) of Lactococcus lactis was purified to apparent homogeneity by pre-extraction of crude membrane vesicles with octaethylene glycol monodecyl ether (C₁₀E₈), followed by solubilization with n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside (DDM) and chromatography on a Ni-NTA resin. The DtpT protein was reconstituted into detergent-destabilized preformed liposomes prepared from E. coli phospholipid/ phosphatidylcholine. A variety of detergents were tested for their ability to mediate the membrane reconstitution of DtpT and their effectiveness to yield proteoliposomes with a high transport activity. The highest activities were obtained with TX₁₀₀, C₁₂E₈ and DM, whereas DDM yielded relatively poor activities, in particular when this detergent was used at concentrations beyond the onset of solubilization of the preformed liposomes. Parallel with the low activity, significant losses of lipid were observed when the reconstitution was performed at high DDM concentrations. This explained at least part of the reduced transport activity as the DtpT protein was highly dependent on the final lipid-to-protein ratios in the proteoliposomes. Consistent with the difference in mechanism of DDM- and TX₁₀₀-mediated membrane protein reconstitution, the orientation of the DtpT protein in the membrane was random with DDM and inside-in when T₁₀₀ was used. The methodology to determine the orientation of membrane-reconstituted proteins from the accessibility of cysteines for thiol-specific reagents is critically evaluated.