Partially incorrect fossil data augment analyses of discrete trait evolution in living species

Ancestral state reconstruction of discrete character traits is often vital when attempting to understand the origins and homology of traits in living species. The addition of fossils has been shown to alter our understanding of trait evolution in extant taxa, but researchers may avoid using fossils alongside extant species if only few are known, or if the designation of the trait of interest is uncertain. Here, I investigate the impacts of fossils and incorrectly coded fossils in the ancestral state reconstruction of discrete morphological characters under a likelihood model. Under simulated phylogenies and data, likelihood-based models are generally accurate when estimating ancestral node values. Analyses with combined fossil and extant data always outperform analyses with extant species alone, even when around one quarter of the fossil information is incorrect. These results are especially pronounced when model assumptions are violated, such as when there is a trend away from the root value. Fossil data are of particular importance when attempting to estimate the root node character state. Attempts should be made to include fossils in analysis of discrete traits under likelihood, even if there is uncertainty in the fossil trait data.     

水稻直链淀粉和蛋白质突变系筛选及其与主要农艺性状的关联分析

研究利用重离子辐照杂交籼稻9311创建农艺性状突变体库,使用化学方法筛选直链淀粉、蛋白质突变材料,并分析籽粒品质性状与农艺性状之间的相关性,为后续筛选直链淀粉、蛋白质突变体工作奠定基础。结果显示:在169份直链淀粉、蛋白质突变体中,直链淀粉含量变幅范围是7.64%~32.37%,其中高含量直链淀粉突变体材料有11份,低含量直链淀粉突变体材料有5份;蛋白质含量变幅范围是7.05%~13.79%,其中高蛋白突变体有34份,低蛋白突变体有3份。从169份突变体中筛选出直链淀粉、蛋白质含量都有梯度差异的突变体材料,筛选出材料的农艺性状分析结果表明:在直链淀粉、蛋白质突变体材料的农艺性状中,每穗实粒数、有效穗数、结实率和株高这四个农艺性状与籽粒品质性状间有关联,变异系数分别为37.53%、30.72%、24.70%、15.38%。相关性结果表明:直链淀粉含量和蛋白质含量呈负相关,直链淀粉含量与农艺性状呈正相关,蛋白质与农艺性状呈负相关,其中蛋白质含量和每穗实粒数、结实率呈极显著负相关,相关系数分别为-0.504、-0.592。     

Eco-physiological responses of linseed (Linum usitatissimum) to salt and alkali stresses

AimsEffects of salt and alkali stresses (NaCl-Na₂SO₄ and NaHCO₃-Na₂CO₃) were compared on growth, photosynthesis characters, ionic balance and osmotic adjustment of linseed (Linum usitatissimum), to elucidate the mechanisms of salt and alkali stress (high pH value) damage to plants, and their physiological adaptive mechanisms to the stresses. MethodsThe experiment was carried out in an artificial greenhouse. Plants grew at approximately 700 mmol·m^-2·s^-1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) in greenhouse under photoperiod of 15 h in light and 9 h in dark. In each plastic pot (17 cm diameter) which contained 2.5 kg of washed sand, 20 linseed seeds were sown. The seedlings were exposed to stresses lasting 14 days after 2 months.Important findingsThe inhibitory effects of alkali stress on linseed growth were more remarkable than those of salt stress, indicating that alkali and salt represent two distinct forms of stress. The alkali stress increased the Na⁺ content in shoots, damaged the photosynthetic system, and highly reduced the net photosynthetic rate and C assimilation capacity. Under salinity stress, the Na⁺ content increased, the K⁺ content decreased with increasing stress. Greater changes were observed under alkali than under salt stress. Alkali stress caused the massive influx of Na⁺, which probably explained that the harmful of alkali stress on plants was stronger than that of salt stress. Under alkali stress, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ decreased in roots, showing that high pH value around roots hindered the absorption of them. Fe²⁺ and Zn²⁺ had little effects on the osmotic adjustment, mainly because of they had a low ion content. Under salt stress, anion increased in order to balance the sharp increase of Na⁺. However, alkali stress made severe deficit of negative charge, broke the intracellular ionic balance and pH homeostasis, and caused a series of strain response. Our results showed that linseed enhanced the synthesis of soluble sugars to balance massive influx of Na⁺ under salt stress, but linseed enhanced the synthesis of organic acids to compensate for the shortage of inorganic anions, which might be a key pathway for the pH adjustment. In conclusion, the alkali stress (high pH value) clearly inhibited the growth, element absorption, ion homeostasis reconstruction of plants. Organic acid concentration is possibly a key adaptive factor for linseed to maintain intracellular ion balance and regulate high pH value under alkali stress.     

应用因子分析法研究茎瘤芥(榨菜)性状间的关系

应用因子分析法可把23份茎瘤芥品种资源的15个数量性状集约在5个主因子上,采用正交因子和斜交因子模型分析了性状间的遗传作用关系,并探讨了各因子间的关系及其生物学意义。     

Early queen infection shapes developmental dynamics and induces long-term disease protection in incipient ant colonies

Infections early in life can have enduring effects on an organism's development and immunity. In this study, we show that this equally applies to developing ‘superorganisms’––incipient social insect colonies. When we exposed newly mated Lasius niger ant queens to a low pathogen dose, their colonies grew more slowly than controls before winter, but reached similar sizes afterwards. Independent of exposure, queen hibernation survival improved when the ratio of pupae to workers was small. Queens that reared fewer pupae before worker emergence exhibited lower pathogen levels, indicating that high brood rearing efforts interfere with the ability of the queen's immune system to suppress pathogen proliferation. Early-life queen pathogen exposure also improved the immunocompetence of her worker offspring, as demonstrated by challenging the workers to the same pathogen a year later. Transgenerational transfer of the queen's pathogen experience to her workforce can hence durably reduce the disease susceptibility of the whole superorganism.     

常温和低温条件下不同浓度外源褪黑素对降香黄檀幼苗的生理生态影响

为探究外源褪黑素对不同温度下降香黄檀幼苗的生理生态影响,该研究开展了不同浓度外源褪黑素(300、500、600、700、900、1 200μmol·L^-1)对常温（白天28℃/夜晚25℃）和低温（白天8℃/夜晚5℃）下降香黄檀（Dalbergia odorifera）幼苗的生长发育、光合作用、叶片色素含量、叶片水分状况、膜系统等方面影响研究,并通过隶属函数分析综合评价筛选出具有促进降香黄檀幼苗生长发育和提高低温耐受性的最适外源褪黑素浓度。结果表明：（1）在常温下喷施各个浓度的褪黑素溶液,在生长发育（形态、茎高增长和株高增长）,光合作用参数[净光合速率（P_n）、气孔导度（G_s）、胞间二氧化碳浓度（C_i）和蒸腾速率（T_r）],光合色素[总叶绿素（Total Chl）、叶绿素a（Chl a）、叶绿素b（Chl b）和类胡萝卜素（Caro）]和可溶性蛋白含量上均有一定的提高。（2）低温胁迫处理下,喷施各个浓度的褪黑素溶液可在不同程度上缓解低温胁迫对植株形态、茎高增长、株高增长、P     

Inter‐specific brood parasitism and the evolution of avian reproductive strategies

Avian brood parasitism is a potent selective agent modulating host behaviors and morphology, although its role in determining diversification of avian breeding strategies remains elusive. Hitherto, the study of selection of brood parasites on host breeding strategies has been based on single reproductive trait approaches, which neglect that evolutionary responses to brood parasites may involve co‐ordinated changes in several aspects of reproduction. Here I consider covariation among reproductive traits to test whether parental breeding strategies of hosts of brown headed cowbird (BHC hereafter) in North America and the common cuckoo (CC hereafter) in Europe, two parasites with contrasting level of virulence, have evolved in response to brood parasitism. The effect of parasitism on avian breeding strategies differed between continents. Long term exposure to BHC parasitism selected for a lower breeding investment in North America, but not so CC parasitism in Europe. These results suggest a key role of parasite virulence on the evolution of avian breeding strategies and that brood parasitism has selected for a co‐ordinated breeding strategy of reducing parasitism costs by shortening and fractioning reproductive events within a single season in North America.     

Ecological and phylogenetic determinants of life-history patterns among ten loricariid species

We analysed the influence of ecological factors, phylogenetic history and trade-offs between traits on the life-history variation among 10 loricariid species of the middle Paraná River. We measured eight life-history variables and classified the life-history strategies following the equilibrium–periodic–opportunistic (EPO) model. Principal-component analysis of life-history traits segregated species along a gradient from small opportunistic (low fecundity, low parental investment) to large equilibrium (low-medium fecundity, high parental investment) species. A clear periodic strategist was absent in the analysed assemblage. Variation partitioning by canonical phylogenetic ordination analysis showed both a component of variation uniquely explained by phylogenetic history (PH; 32.2%) and a component shared between PH and ecological factors (EF; 37%). The EPO model is a useful tool for predicting correlations among life-history traits and understanding potential demographic responses of species to environmental variation. Life-history patterns observed throughout Loricariidae suggests that this family has diversified across all three endpoint strategies of the EPO model. Our study indicates that evolutionary lineage affiliation at the level of subfamily can be a strong predictor of the life-history strategy used by each species.     

Foliar characteristics,cambial activity and wood formation in Azadirachta indica A. Juss. as affected by coal–smoke pollution

This study, aimed at elucidating changes in the foliar and cambial behavior in Azadirachta indica (Neem tree) due to coal-smoke pollution, has revealed inhibitory effects of pollution stress on leaf pigments concentrations, nitrate reductase activity and the contents of reducing sugars and total N content, whereas stimulatory effects were given on stomatal index and nitrate and sulphur contents. Under smoke effects, stomatal conductance was low, leading to a drop in the net photosynthetic rate and a rise in the internal CO₂ concentration of leaf. Cambial reactivation in the stem was delayed at the polluted site. Although the total span of the cambial activity was reduced, greater amount of wood was observed to accumulate in the stem axis under heavy pollution stress. Vessel proportion in the wood increased, whereas size of vessel elements and xylem fibers decreased. “Vulnerability factor” (ratio between mean vessel diameter and mean vessel abundance) and “mesomorphic ratio” (multiplication product of vulnerability factor and mean length of vessel element) of the stem–wood, both declined with increase in the pollution stress, thus indicating a tendency of the species for shifting towards xeromorphy when grown under stress. Given the opposite trends of photosynthetic rate and wood increment, the carbon-partitioning pattern rather than the photosynthetic rate seems to have influenced the accumulation of new wood. The Neem tree proves to be suitable for growing in the polluted areas.     

August Weismann on Germ-Plasm Variation

August Weismann is famous for having argued against the inheritance of acquired characters. However, an analysis of his work indicates that Weismann always held that changes in external conditions, acting during development, were the necessary causes of variation in the hereditary material. For much of his career he held that acquired germ-plasm variation was inherited. An irony, which is in tension with much of the standard twentieth-century history of biology, thus exists – Weismann was not a Weismannian. I distinguish three claims regarding the germ-plasm: (1) its continuity,(2) its morphological sequestration, and (3) its variational sequestration. With respect to changes in Weismann's views on the cause of variation, I divide his career into four stages. For each stage I analyze his beliefs on the relative importance of changes in external conditions and sexual reproduction as causes ofvariation in the hereditary material. Weismann believed, and Weismannism denies, that variation, heredity, and development were deeply intertwined processes. This article is part of a larger project comparing commitments regarding variation during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.