A ROLE FOR LEARNING IN POPULATION DIVERGENCE OF MATE PREFERENCES

Learning and other forms of phenotypic plasticity have been suggested to enhance population divergence. Mate preferences can develop by learning, and species recognition might not be entirely genetic. We present data on female mate preferences of the banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) that suggest a role for learning in population divergence and species recognition. Populations of this species are either allopatric or sympatric with a phenotypically similar congener (C. virgo). These two species differ mainly in the amount of wing melanization in males, and wing patches thus mediate sexual isolation. In sympatry, sexually experienced females discriminate against large melanin wing patches in heterospecific males. In contrast, in allopatric populations within the same geographic region, females show positive (“open‐ended”) preferences for such large wing patches. Virgin C. splendens females do not discriminate against heterospecific males. Moreover, physical exposure experiments of such virgin females to con‐ or hetero‐specific males significantly influences their subsequent mate preferences. Species recognition is thus not entirely genetic and it is partly influenced by interactions with mates. Learning causes pronounced population divergence in mate preferences between these weakly genetically differentiated populations, and results in a highly divergent pattern of species recognition at a small geographic scale.     

THE EVOLUTION OF ALTERNATIVE REPRODUCTIVE TACTICS IN MALE CARDIOCONDYLA ANTS

Alternative reproductive tactics are often associated with discontinuous variation in morphology but may evolve independent from each other. Based on life‐history data and a phylogeny we examine how male morphology and reproductive behavior are linked in the evolution of the ant genus Cardiocondyla. Wingless Cardiocondyla males engage in lethal fighting for access to female sexuals, whereas winged males disperse and mate away from the nest. This basic pattern shows considerable variation across species. A phylogeny based on ～3 kbp sequence data shows that male diphenism and lethal fighting are ancestral traits tightly linked in evolution. Winged males were lost convergently in several species groups, apparently in response to the low probability of encountering female sexuals in nests without a resident fighter male. An early dichotomy separates two clades with alternative male morphologies and fighting behavior, but phenotype and fighting strategy are not correlated with the presence of winged males.     

DYNAMICS OF POLYPLOID FORMATION IN TRAGOPOGON (ASTERACEAE): RECURRENT FORMATION,GENE FLOW,AND POPULATION STRUCTURE

Polyploidy is a major feature of angiosperm evolution and diversification. Most polyploid species have formed multiple times, yet we know little about the genetic consequences of recurrent formations. Among the clearest examples of recurrent polyploidy are Tragopogon mirus and T. miscellus (Asteraceae), each of which has formed repeatedly in the last ～80 years from known diploid progenitors in western North America. Here, we apply progenitor‐specific microsatellite markers to examine the genetic contributions to each tetraploid species and to assess gene flow among populations of independent formation. These data provide fine‐scale resolution of independent origins for both polyploid species. Importantly, multiple origins have resulted in considerable genetic variation within both polyploid species; however, the patterns of variation detected in the polyploids contrast with those observed in extant populations of the diploid progenitors. The genotypes detected in the two polyploid species appear to represent a snapshot of historical population structure in the diploid progenitors, rather than modern diploid genotypes. Our data also indicate a lack of gene flow among polyploid plants of independent origin, even when they co‐occur, suggesting potential reproductive barriers among separate lineages in both polyploid species.     

THE BIOLOGY OF SPECIATION

Since Darwin published the “Origin,” great progress has been made in our understanding of speciation mechanisms. The early investigations by Mayr and Dobzhansky linked Darwin's view of speciation by adaptive divergence to the evolution of reproductive isolation, and thus provided a framework for studying the origin of species. However, major controversies and questions remain, including: When is speciation nonecological? Under what conditions does geographic isolation constitute a reproductive isolating barrier? and How do we estimate the “importance” of different isolating barriers? Here, we address these questions, providing historical background and offering some new perspectives. A topic of great recent interest is the role of ecology in speciation. “Ecological speciation” is defined as the case in which divergent selection leads to reproductive isolation, with speciation under uniform selection, polyploid speciation, and speciation by genetic drift defined as “nonecological.” We review these proposed cases of nonecological speciation and conclude that speciation by uniform selection and polyploidy normally involve ecological processes. Furthermore, because selection can impart reproductive isolation both directly through traits under selection and indirectly through pleiotropy and linkage, it is much more effective in producing isolation than genetic drift. We thus argue that natural selection is a ubiquitous part of speciation, and given the many ways in which stochastic and deterministic factors may interact during divergence, we question whether the ecological speciation concept is useful. We also suggest that geographic isolation caused by adaptation to different habitats plays a major, and largely neglected, role in speciation. We thus provide a framework for incorporating geographic isolation into the biological species concept (BSC) by separating ecological from historical processes that govern species distributions, allowing for an estimate of geographic isolation based upon genetic differences between taxa. Finally, we suggest that the individual and relative contributions of all potential barriers be estimated for species pairs that have recently achieved species status under the criteria of the BSC. Only in this way will it be possible to distinguish those barriers that have actually contributed to speciation from those that have accumulated after speciation is complete. We conclude that ecological adaptation is the major driver of reproductive isolation, and that the term “biology of speciation,” as proposed by Mayr, remains an accurate and useful characterization of the diversity of speciation mechanisms.     

Trypanosoma evansi: Pharmacological evidence of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

The role of calcium and its relevance have been deeply revised with respect to trypanosomatids, as the mechanism by which calcium enters trypanosomes was, until now, not well understood. There is evidence supporting the presence of a nAChR in another member of the trypanosomatidae family, Trypanosoma cruzi, these receptors being one entry path to calcium ions. The aims of this work were to determine if there was a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) in Trypanosoma evansi, and to subsequently perform a partial pharmacological characterization of this receptor.After being loaded with FURA-2AM, individual cells of T. evansi, were exposed to cholinergic compounds, and the cells displayed a dose-dependent response to carbachol. This observation indicated that a cholinergic receptor may be present in T. evansi. Although a dose-dependent response to muscarine could not be demonstrated, nicotine could promote an incremental dose-dependent response. The relative potency of this specific agonist of nAChR is in agreement with previous reports. The estimated affinity values were a K_d1 value of 29.6 ± 5.72 nM and a K_d2 value of 315.9 ± 26.6 nM, which is similar to the K_d value reported for the α4 nicotinic receptor. The Hill coefficients were determined to be an n₁ of 1.2 ± 0.3 and an n₂ of 4.2 ± 1.3. Finally, our calculations indicated that there are about 1020 receptors in each T. evansi parasite, which is approximately 15-fold lower than the number reported in Torpedo californica electric cells. These results suggest the presence of a nAChR in T. evansi, which is able to bind nicotinic ligands and induce calcium signals.     

Controlling death--compromising life: chronic disease, prognostication, and the new biotechnologies

Within the modern culture of control, patients and physicians seek to actively shape the uncertainty of prognostications concerning the course of disease and the anticipated effects of therapeutic and surgical interventions. This article discusses the results of a three-year ethnographic study of persons with cystic fibrosis (CF) who undergo double-lung transplant. It draws on interviews with a difficult-to-access patient group, adult CF sufferers, and investigates their dilemmas with regard to having or not having a double-lung transplant. It situates their decisions within a complex framework: the denial of death and disability in technological modernity, the consequent emphasis on cure and saving life at any cost, rather than the management of chronic illness, the extent to which health and illness constitute identity, and the problems of CF patients conceiving their life narrative when life will be short. This framework produces two key questions: Do patient beliefs in the progress narratives of medicine overshadow other considerations, and are biotechnologies such as organ transplant a calculated gamble on a better life or an uncertain reliance on biomedical expertise? I argue that risk interpretation is heavily influenced by the constant introduction of new therapeutics that intersect with social technologies of normalization to strongly influence patient decisions concerning the pursuit of high-risk surgeries such as organ transplant, surgeries that sometimes hasten a patient's decline and death.     

Development of a multiple internal control for clinical diagnostic real-time amplification assays

A major pitfall in most published genomic amplification methods for the detection and identification of human pathogens is that they do not include an internal amplification control in order to achieve an acceptable level of confidence for the absence of false-negative results. By applying composite primer technology, a single multiple internal amplification control DNA molecule was constructed to detect and quantify the hepatitis B virus, human polyomavirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Toxoplasma gondii and cytomegalovirus using real-time PCR. The multiple internal amplification control contains all forward and reverse primer binding regions targeted in the five distinct duplex PCRs, but with a unique probe hybridization site. Multiple internal amplification control detection sensitivity, assessed by Probit analysis, was 58 copies per PCR, associated with an extremely wide dynamic range (8 log(10) units). Moreover, in testing 614 patient samples, PCR inhibition occurred at a frequency of 0-8.8%. Similar multiple internal amplification controls for quantitative PCR-based assays could be designed to accommodate any infectious profiles in a particular institution as they are easy to make and inexpensive.