Precision in sex allocation is influenced by mate choice in Drosophila melanogaster

Theory predicts that a 1 : 1 sex ratio is favoured in the absence of countervailing selection pressures. In an experiment with Drosophila melanogaster, we found significantly greater variation in the offspring sex ratios of freely mated flies than would be expected by the binomial distribution. In a surprise result, control flies given no mate choice exhibited significant under-dispersal in their sex ratio variation, possibly from sperm limitation. Both treatments, however, produced populations with a 1 : 1 sex ratio. This supports the hypothesis that sexually antagonistic selection for reproductive success in sons, and fecundity in daughters, may overcome selection for an equal sex ratio. Such precision in sex allocation may allow for the maintenance of genetic variation underlying trade-offs between male and female reproductive success.     

Inferring local adaptation from QST-FST comparisons: neutral genetic and quantitative trait variation in European populations of great snipe

We applied a phenotypic QST (PST) vs. FST approach to study spatial variation in selection among great snipe (Gallinago media) populations in two regions of northern Europe. Morphological divergence between regions was high despite low differentiation in selectively neutral genetic markers, whereas populations within regions showed very little neutral divergence and trait differentiation. QST > FST was robust against altering assumptions about the additive genetic proportions of variance components. The homogenizing effect of gene flow (or a short time available for neutral divergence) has apparently been effectively counterbalanced by differential natural selection, although one trait showed some evidence of being under uniform stabilizing selection. Neutral markers can hence be misleading for identifying evolutionary significant units, and adopting the PST-FST approach might therefore be valuable when common garden experiments is not an option. We discuss the statistical difficulties of documenting uniform selection as opposed to divergent selection, and the need for estimating measurement error. Instead of only comparing overall QST and FST values, we advocate the use of partial matrix permutation tests to analyse pairwise QST differences among populations, while statistically controlling for neutral differentiation.     

Maternal corticosteroids influence primary offspring sex ratio in a free-ranging passerine bird

When fitness benefits of investment in sons and daughters differ,animals are predicted to manipulate the sex ratio of their offspring.Sex ratio manipulation occurs in many taxa, but the mechanismsunderlying the phenomenon in vertebrates remain largely unknown.Factors favoring skewed sex ratios, such as reduced maternalcondition or food availability, also induce elevated corticosteroids.Recent experimental studies support a causal relationship betweencorticosteroids and sex ratio. Evidence of a natural correlationbetween maternal corticosteroids and offspring sex ratio hasbeen lacking, however. Without such evidence, the importanceof corticosteroids in influencing sex ratios in natural populationswas unknown. We measured baseline corticosteroids in 19 free-rangingfemale white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and thesex ratios of their offspring. Females with high corticosteroidsproduced more daughters than females with low hormone levels.We then conducted a controlled, field-based experiment investigatingthe effects of moderately increased maternal corticosteroidson offspring sex ratios to determine if the observed correlationreflects a causal relationship between maternal corticosteroidsand offspring sex ratio. Hormone-implanted females producedmore female embryos than control females. These findings providethe first evidence of a natural correlation between maternalcorticosteroids and offspring sex ratios in free-ranging birds,and the first experimental evidence of a causal link betweenmoderate increases in corticosteroids and biased primary sexratios.     

Evaluation of an experimental product based on Bacillus thuringiensis sorovar. israelensis against Aedes aegypti larvae (Diptera:Culicidae)

The larvicidal activity of an experimental formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) against Aedes aegypti larvae was evaluated under laboratory and simulated field conditions (SFC). Samples of technical powder (TP) were assayed to establish the LC₅₀ and the potency of the product. The larvicidal activity of the TP and the tablet (T) were evaluated under SFC to assess the efficacy and the residual activity, measured against Ae. aegypti larvae. Either a T or 250 mg of TP were added to 50 L of water in plastic containers. Containers were exposed to sunlight or kept in the shade. Results showed a LC₅₀ of 0.26 mg/L and a potency of 750 ITU/mg. In spite of differences in the toxicity amongst TP and T samples, all of them killed 98–100% of the larvae and the mortality remained high for six months, in the shade. The replacement of 20% or 60% of the water volume did not affect the activity of the product. Seasonal differences influenced the persistence of the product in containers exposed to sunlight. Both formulations showed an excellent performance, especially when kept in the shade. The Bti tablet evaluated in this study is potentially very useful in programs to control dengue vectors.     

The potential of mass rearing of Monoksa dorsiplana (Pteromalidae) a native gregarious ectoparasitoid of Pseudopachymeria spinipes (Bruchidae) in South America

In Chile and Uruguay, the gregarious Pteromalidae (Monoksa dorsiplana) has been discovered emerging from seeds of the persistent pods of Acacia caven attacked by the univoltin bruchid Pseudopachymeria spinipes. We investigated the potential for mass rearing of this gregarious ectoparasitoid on an alternative bruchid host, Callosobruchus maculatus, to use it against the bruchidae of native and cultured species of Leguminosea seeds in South America.The mass rearing of M. dorsiplana was carried out in a population cage where the density of egg-laying females per infested seed was increased from 1:1 on the first day to 5:1 on the last (fifth) day. Under these experimental conditions egg-clutch size per host increased, and at the same time the mortality of eggs laid also increased. The density of egg-laying females influenced the sex ratio which tended towards a balance of sons and daughters, in contrast to the sex ratio of a single egg-laying female per host (1 son to 7 daughters). The mean weight of adults emerging from a parasitized host was negatively correlated with the egg-clutch size, i.e. as egg-clutch size increased, adult weight decreased.All these results show that mass rearing of the gregarious ectoparasitoid M. dorsiplana was possible under laboratory conditions on an alternative bruchid host C. maculatus. As M. dorsiplana is a natural enemy of larval and pupal stages of bruchidae, the next step was to investigate whether the biological control of bruchid C. maculatus was possible in an experimental structure of stored beans.     

Do rats time filled and empty intervals of equal duration differently?

The goal was to determine whether rats time filled and empty intervals of equal duration differently. Each of five rats was trained for 50 sessions on an instrumental appetitive head entry procedure in which food was available (primed) every 120 s. On "empty" cycles, 30s prior to the next food prime, a 0.5-s pulse of white noise was presented. On "filled" cycles, 30s prior to the next food prime, white noise came on and stayed on until food was delivered. The two types of cycles were presented with equal probability. The results showed that the rats timed both the food-to-food interval and the stimulus-to-food interval. A comparison of the response gradients on filled and empty cycles following stimulus presentation showed better temporal discrimination on filled cycles. The results were modeled using a Packet theory of timing, with a linear averaging rule to combine the temporal information provided by the stimulus and food. The model fits to the individual response gradients were evaluated with a Turing test.     

Diversification and adaptive evolution of putative sweet taste receptors in threespine stickleback

The threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus is known to include several morphologically and ecologically divergent forms. Its phenotypic traits related to feeding vary among forms, and are considered to be a result of adaptations to various environments to find foods effectively. To examine whether the diversification of feeding modes in the stickleback involves genetic changes of the sense of taste, taste receptor family 1 (T1R) genes in stickleback were analyzed and compared with those in other model fishes. Ten T1R genes and 2 pseudogenes were identified from the stickleback genomic sequences. In particular, putative sweet taste receptors (T1R2s) highly increased in number in stickleback (8 genes and 2 pseudogenes) compared to other fishes (2-3 genes). Maximum likelihood estimations of nonsynonymous-synonymous nucleotide substitution rate have indicated that stickleback T1R2 are under positive selection. Expression analysis by RT-PCR revealed that most stickleback T1R genes were expressed in the taste organs; however, at least two T1R2 genes were not expressed in the taste organs, suggesting that the expression levels of these T1R2 genes may be fluctuated through the life history. In addition, sequencing analysis showed that several T1R2 genes in an anadromous form stickleback individual collected from the western Pacific (Japan) were substantially different from those in genomic data derived from a freshwater form individual collected in North America. This suggested that intra-specific variations of stickleback T1R2 genes were considerably large. Our results imply that, in stickleback, T1R2s have diversified through adaptation to various environments, probably to perceive substances important for its survival and reproduction.     

Molecular and karyological aspects of Batoidea (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchi) phylogeny

Although considerable progress has been made in elucidating the relationships within the Chondrichthyes, there is no agreement as it concerns the systematics of Batoidea, the most derived superorder among cartilaginous fishes, and many different interpretations exist. Our investigation provides the first assessment of relationships among the described batoid species using sequences from both mtDNA and nuclear genes as well as karyological morphology. Our work consists primarily in reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Batoidea by examining the mtDNA (16S) and nuclear gene (18S) sequences from 11 batoid species. The three analytical methods (NJ, MP and Bayesian analysis) grouped Rajiformes, Myliobatiformes and Rhinobatiformes. In these trees the two torpedoes diverge from the other batoid fishes. We also compare the molecular data with the available karyological evidence, which consist of the diploid number and the karyotype morphology of eight species belonging to the four orders examined. The results show that the karyological structure in the different species is generally consistent with the various phylogenetical trees, and that Torpediniformes confirm their unique genome organization.     

Inflammatory obstruction of the olfactory clefts and olfactory loss in humans: a new syndrome?

The first step in the olfactory perception is the activation by odorants of sensory neurones in the olfactory epithelium. In humans, this sensory epithelium is located at 2 narrow passages, the olfactory clefts, at the upper part of the nasal cavities. Little is known about the physiology of these clefts. We examined, in 34 patients, the impact of obstructed clefts upon detection and postlearning identification of 5 odorants. The location and extension of the obstructions were assessed using endoscopy, CT scans, and MRI. The inflammatory obstruction was usually bilateral, extending anteroposteriorly, and confined to the clefts, with no sign of obstruction or any inflammatory disease in the rest of the nasal cavities and sinuses. When tested with 5 odorants, these patients showed greatly impaired olfaction compared with a group of 73 normosmic subjects. The majority of these 34 patients had sensory deficits equivalent to that found in another group of 41 congenital anosmic patients, where inspection with MRI indicated the lack of olfactory bulbs. This study demonstrates that the olfactory clefts, in human, function as an entity that is different from other regions of the nasal cavity and is the target for local inflammatory events that are apparently not responding to corticoid and antibiotic treatments.     

Likelihood and approximate likelihood analyses of genetic structure in a linear habitat: performance and robustness to model mis-specification

We evaluate the performance of maximum likelihood (ML) analysis of allele frequency data in a linear array of populations. The parameters are a mutation rate and either the dispersal rate in a stepping stone model or a dispersal rate and a scale parameter in a geometric dispersal model. An approximate procedure known as maximum product of approximate conditional (PAC) likelihood is found to perform as well as ML. Mis-specification biases may occur because the importance sampling algorithm is formally defined in term of mutation and migration rates scaled by the total size of the population, and this size may differ widely in the statistical model and in reality. As could be expected, ML generally performs well when the statistical model is correctly specified. Otherwise, mutation rate estimates are much closer to mutation probability scaled by number of demes in the statistical model than scaled by number of demes in reality when mutation probability is high and dispersal is most limited. This mis-specification bias actually has practical benefits. However, opposite results are found in opposite conditions. Migration rate estimates show roughly similar trends, but they may not always be easily interpreted as low-bias estimates of dispersal rate under any scaling. Estimation of the dispersal scale parameter is also affected by mis-specification of the number of demes, and the different biases compensate each other in such a way that good estimation of the so-called neighborhood size (or more precisely the product of population density and mean-squared parent-offspring dispersal distance) is achieved. Results congruent with these findings are found in an application to a damselfly data set.