Kind granddaughters of angry grandmothers: The effect of domestication on vocalization in cross-bred silver foxes

The genetic basis of the effects of domestication has previously been examined in relation to morphological, physiological and behavioural traits, but not for vocalizations. According to Belyaev [Belyaev, D.K., 1979. Destabilizing selection as a factor in domestication. J. Hered. 70, 301-308], directional selection for tame behaviour toward humans resulted in domestication. This hypothesis has been confirmed experimentally on the farm-bred silver fox Vulpes vulpes population that has undergone 45 years of artificial selection for tameness and 35 years of selection for aggressiveness. These foxes, with their precisely known attitudes toward people, provide a means of examining vocal indicators of tameness and aggressiveness to establish the genetic basis for vocal production in canids. We examined vocalizations toward people in foxes selected for tameness and aggressiveness compared to those of three kinds of crosses: Hybrids (Tame × Aggressive), A-Backcrosses (Aggressive × Hybrid) and T-Backcrosses (Tame × Hybrid). We report the effects of selection for tameness on usage and structure of different vocalizations and suggest that vocal indicators for tameness and aggressiveness toward people are discrete phenotypic traits in silver foxes.     

Vocalization toward conspecifics in silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) selected for tame or aggressive behavior toward humans

We examined the production of different vocalizations in three strains of silver fox (unselected, aggressive, and tame) attending three kinds of behavior (aggressive, affiliative, and neutral) in response to their same-strain conspecifics. This is a follow-up to previous experiments which demonstrated that in the presence of humans, tame foxes produced cackles and pants but never coughed or snorted, whilst aggressive foxes produced coughs and snorts but never cackled or panted. Thus, cackle/pant and cough/snort were indicative of the tame and aggressive fox strains respectively toward humans. Wild-type unselected foxes produced cough and snort toward humans similarly to aggressive foxes. Here, we found that vocal responses to conspecifics were similar in tame, aggressive and unselected fox strains. Both cackle/pant and cough/snort occurred in foxes of all strains. The difference in the use of cackle/pant and cough/snort among these strains toward humans and toward conspecifics suggest that silver foxes do not perceive humans as their conspecifics. We speculate that these vocalizations are produced in response to a triggering internal state, affiliative or aggressive, that is suppressed by default in these fox strains toward humans as a result of their strict selection for tame or aggressive behavior, whilst still remaining flexible toward conspecifics.     

Gestation length variation in domesticated horses and its relation to breed and body size diversity

The domestication process and selective breeding reportedly alter some life history variables. In horses, it has been claimed that gestation length is particularly variable. Some of the factors influencing gestation length are already known and can be grouped into environmental and genetic factors, but the effects of breed and body size have rarely been evaluated. In this study we tested the influence of breed and body size on gestation length for 25 horse breeds from Central Europe. The mean gestation length for all breeds was 342.3 ± 10.2 days and we found significant differences among breeds with a variation of up to 11 days. Body size did not show a significant correlation with gestation length. Our data suggest that breed affiliation explains part of the large variability of gestation length in horses.     

Veranderungen von Hirn- und Augengröißen bei wilden und domestizierten Truthühnern (Meleagris gallopavo L., 1758)1

Reductions of brain and eye weight in the wild and domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Studied is the intraspecific relationship between brain and eye weight to total body weight in native turkes and domestic strains. Brain. The turkeys show a common allometric exponent of a = 0.25. Differences in sex are found only within wild turkeys; gobbler and hen differ by 17.9 %. A reduction in brain weight of 35.2 % between wild male and domestic turkeys and of 23.8 % between wild hen and domestic turkeys are observed. Eyes. Differences in sex within each class independent from body size are not found. But there exist considerable reductions in eye weight from wild to domestic state. In wild turkeys eye weight is by 26.9 % heavier than in domestic strains. Changes in brain size are compared with observations found in other fowls. The two heritable complexes wildness and domesticity are discussed with evolutional, functional and environmental connexions.     

Tequila and other <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agave</Emphasis> spirits from west-central Mexico: current germplasm diversity,conservation and origin

Current germplasm diversity used in the production of Agave spirits in west-central México is in danger of erosion due to an expansion in the cultivation of the clone A. tequilana Weber var. azul, used for the elaboration of the famous drink “Tequila”. In order to define critical areas of in situ conservation and to determine the role of local native and mestizo cultures in the generation and maintenance of diversity, an ethnobotanical exploration was conducted in the center and south of the state of Jalisco. Results situate the nucleus of greatest diversity at present in the south of Jalisco and indicate that this is a result of a continuous process of selection initiated by the indigenous population for the production of food and fermented drinks, which continued into the final years of the 16th century but with a new objective: distillation using the Filipino technology introduced to west-central Mexico through Colima. More than 20 variants were found to be cultivated by the traditional farmers, the majority relating to the A. angustifolia Haw. complex. We discuss the possibilities of in situ germplasm conservation and its legal protection.     

远志的人工栽培技术

远志是一种常用野生中药材，近年由于需求量的增加，野生资源受到灭绝性的的采挖，药源趋于枯竭。野生远志多生于山坡或草丛中，人工驯化以无性繁殖为主。     

African origins of modern asses as seen from paleontology and DNA: what about the Atlas wild ass?

As a contribution to the still open debate on the multiple african origins of the domesticated donkey, this work focuses on the wild ass of the Maghreb. It follows the recent paleontological review of the equids from Lac Karâr, a middle Pleistocene site in Northern Algeria, where most of the faunal remains were attributed to wild asses (Equus africanus Heuglin and Fitzinger, 1866). The morphometric resemblance between the equid of Lac Karâr, and Equus melkiensis Bagtach, Hadjouis and Eisenmann, 1984 which might correspond to the equid commonly referred to, as the Atlas wild ass (vernacular name) and, by descent, to Equus tabeti Arambourg, 1970, the only subspecies of ass from the early Pleistocene in Northern Africa, highlights the need for extensive biomolecular and radiometric studies on this wild and robust ass, endemic to the Maghreb. This is especially important given that progress in extracting ancient DNA from equids has been demonstrated by several recent studies and that remains of wild asses are still being uncovered in many late Pleistocene to Holocene (Neolithic) deposits in the Maghreb. The results from such studies could substantially improve the knowledge on the origin of asses. In particular, these analyses could shed light on the, as yet, undetermined clade 2 which may originate from the wild ass of the Maghreb as recently hypothesized by several authors. The archaeological and genetic data reviewed in this paper focuses on the ancient range of the Atlas wild ass mainly from sites in the northern part of the Maghreb; it contributes to current debates regarding this subspecies as one of the possible ancestors of modern asses. In addition, the paper identifies directions for further genetic researches on the extant donkey of the Maghreb.     

核基因组微卫星标记揭示大理茶参与了普洱茶的驯化过程?

利用11个核基因组微卫星标记对普洱茶3个居群、大理茶3个居群及过渡型大理茶2个居群共104株古茶树进行了遗传学分析。研究表明，普洱茶、大理茶和过渡型大理茶居群的遗传多样性相对较低，平均等位基因(Na)为4?852，平均香农多样性指数(I)为1?17，平均期望杂合度(He)和观测杂合度( Ho)分别为0?59和0?52，其中大理茶的遗传多样性水平低于普洱茶和过渡型大理茶。 AMOVA分析表明，普洱茶和大理茶之间遗传分化显著( FST＝0?305)，遗传变异主要在居群内(分别为93?51％和89?41％)，而居群间的遗传变异较低(分别为6?49％和10?59％)。主成分分析和STRUCTURE聚类分析均支持大理茶和普洱茶为不同的组，过渡型大理茶主要由大理茶驯化而来，并在栽培过程中与大理茶产生了遗传分化。在混栽的大理茶和普洱茶居群间存在由大理茶向普洱茶的明显基因渐渗，证实了大理茶参与了普洱茶的驯化过程。最后，讨论并提出了对大理茶和普洱茶古茶树资源保护的相关建议。