WHEN MORPHOLOGY MISLEADS: INTERPOPULATION UNIFORMITY IN SEXUAL SELECTION MASKS GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN HARLEQUIN BEETLE-RIDING PSEUDOSCORPION POPULATIONS

Differences in secondary sexual characteristics of males often provide the most conspicuous means of distinguishing between closely related species. Does this therefore imply that the absence of differentiation in exaggerated male traits between allopatric populations provides evidence of a single, genetically cohesive species? We addressed this question with a comprehensive investigation of two populations (French Guiana and Panama) of the harlequin beetle-riding pseudoscorpion, Cordylochernes scorpioides. This highly sexually dimorphic pseudoscorpion is currently described as a single species, ranging throughout the Neotropics. Our morphometric analyses detected minimal differentiation between the two populations in all nine external morphological characters measured, including sexually dimorphic traits in males. Only in traits of the spermatophore was there any appreciable level of differentiation. Behavior differentiation and prezygotic reproductive isolation were also limited: 78.3% of males successfully transferred sperm to “foreign” females, and in 63.9% of these cases, females' eggs were successfully fertilized. By contrast, extensive divergence existed in two of nine electrophoretic loci, including an essentially fixed-allele difference at the Ldh locus. Most significantly, postzygotic reproductive isolation was complete, with heteropopulation zygotes invariably aborting early in development. These results strongly suggest that the two populations are, in fact, sibling species, a conclusion supported by our recently published findings on their marked divergence in minisatellite DNA. How can such interpopulation homogeneity in male sexually dimorphic traits exist in the face of strong genetic divergence? We propose that sexual selection, oscillating between favoring small and then large males, maintains such high levels of male variability within each population that it has obscured a speciation event in which genetic divergence and postzygotic incompatibility have clearly outpaced the evolution of prezygotic reproductive isolation.     

On the threshold of dispersal: hitchhiking on a giant fly favours exaggerated male traits in a male‐dimorphic pseudoscorpion

The evolution of exaggerated male traits is frequently driven by competition between males to control resources critical for female survival and/or reproductive success. For flightless arthropods specializing on patchy habitats, dispersal agents may represent one such critical resource. The Neotropical pseudoscorpion, Semeiochernes armiger, disperses to new habitats by attaching to the giant timber fly, Pantophthalmus tabaninus, as it ecloses from pupal boreholes within decaying Ficus trees. In a study that combined field observations of mating with experimental removal of individuals from a large, pre‐dispersal population, our morphometric analyses revealed that S. armiger is among the most highly sexually dimorphic pseudoscorpions known, with males possessing unusual, triangular‐shaped pedipalpal chelae (hands) and a male‐specific, dimorphic chela peg that exhibits threshold trait expression. Several lines of evidence indicate that extreme sexual dimorphism in S. armiger results from male competition to monopolize pantophthalmid bores as strategic sites for inseminating females on the verge of dispersal. Sexually dimorphic pedipalpal characters were significantly larger in males located in and around pantophthalmid boreholes, compared with males collected at the periphery of the pantophthalmid emergence zone. Removal of pseudoscorpions resulted in a significant decline in pedipalpal size of males associated with pantophthalmid bores, followed by a rebound in size after collected individuals were returned to the tree. Most significantly, field observations of mating indicate that this competition translates into intense selection for exaggerated male traits, with all traits of the sexually dimorphic chelae exhibiting highly significant sexual selection differentials in males. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London     

Autophagy promotes ferroptosis by degradation of ferritin

Macroautophagy/autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved degradation pathway that maintains homeostasis. Ferroptosis, a novel form of regulated cell death, is characterized by a production of reactive oxygen species from accumulated iron and lipid peroxidation. However, the relationship between autophagy and ferroptosis at the genetic level remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that autophagy contributes to ferroptosis by degradation of ferritin in fibroblasts and cancer cells. Knockout or knockdown of Atg5 (autophagy-related 5) and Atg7 limited erastin-induced ferroptosis with decreased intracellular ferrous iron levels, and lipid peroxidation. Remarkably, NCOA4 (nuclear receptor coactivator 4) was a selective cargo receptor for the selective autophagic turnover of ferritin (namely ferritinophagy) in ferroptosis. Consistently, genetic inhibition of NCOA4 inhibited ferritin degradation and suppressed ferroptosis. In contrast, overexpression of NCOA4 increased ferritin degradation and promoted ferroptosis. These findings provide novel insight into the interplay between autophagy and regulated cell death.     

TLR4-dependent upregulation of the platelet NLRP3 inflammasome promotes platelet aggregation in a murine model of hindlimb ischemia

Platelets play a critical role in the pathophysiology of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The mechanisms by which muscle ischemia regulates aggregation of platelets are poorly understood. We have recently identified the Nod-like receptor nucleotide-binding domain leucine rich repeat containing protein 3 (NLRP3) expressed by platelets as a critical regulator of platelet activation and aggregation, which may be triggered by activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). In this study, we performed femoral artery ligation (FAL) in transgenic mice with platelet-specific ablation of TLR4 (TLR4 PF4) and in NLRP3 knockout (NLRP3^?/?) mice. NLRP3 inflammasome activity of circulating platelets, as monitored by activation of caspase-1 and cleavage of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), was upregulated in mice subjected to FAL. Genetic ablation of TLR4 in platelets led to decreased platelet caspase 1 activation and platelet aggregation, which was reversed by the NLRP3 activator Nigericin. Two weeks after the induction of FAL, ischemic limb perfusion was increased in TLR4 PF4 and NLRP3^?/? mice as compared to control mice. Hence, activation of platelet TLR4/NLRP3 signaling plays a critical role in upregulating platelet aggregation and interfering with perfusion recovery in muscle ischemia and may represent a therapeutic target to improve limb salvage.     

Plant functional types and temperature control carbon input via roots in peatland soils

Plant and Soil - During historical yield improvement in soybean, breeders have seldom considered selection for root traits, generally focusing selection on yield traits. Yet, it is not known how...     

Approaches towards understanding methionine biosynthesis in higher plants

Summary. Plants are able to synthesise all amino acids essential for human and animal nutrition. Because the concentrations of some of these dietary constituents, especially methionine, lysine, and threonine, are often low in edible plant sources, research is being performed to understand the physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms that contribute to their transport, synthesis and accumulation in plants. This knowledge can be used to develop strategies allowing a manipulation of crop plants, eventually improving their nutritional quality. This article is intended to serve two purposes. The first is to provide a brief review on the physiology of methionine synthesis in higher plants. The second is to highlight some recent findings linked to the metabolism of methionine in plants due to its regulatory influence on the aspartate pathway and its implication in plant growth. This information can be used to develop strategies to improve methionine content of plants and to provide crops with a higher nutritional value. Received January 28, 2000 Accepted March 3, 2000     

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Double pronuclei injection of DNA into zygotes increases yields of transgenic mouse lines

Transgenic mice are increasingly used for gene function and regulation studies of mammalian genes. A major limitation is the necessity to produce a large number of founder animals to obtain one line with the desired expression pattern. We developed a method, the 'double pronuclei injection', that doubles the yield of transgenic mouse lines obtained from each injection session, thereby reducing the time, effort and costs of generating transgenic mice. Three transgenic vectors were microinjected into the male and female pronuclei of zygotes. Approximately half of the resulting born mice were transgenic. This represented a 60% increase in the yield of founders per injected zygote, and a 100% increase in the yield of transgenic mice per born animal, when compared to yields obtained using single pronucleus injection. This method should prove useful for generating large numbers of transgenic mice for gene regulation studies and for conditional gene ablation     

Evaluation of Locally Established Reference Intervals for Hematology and Biochemistry Parameters in Western Kenya

Background

Important differences have been demonstrated in laboratory parameters from healthy persons in different geographical regions and populations, mostly driven by a combination of genetic, demographic, nutritional, and environmental factors. Despite this, European and North American derived laboratory reference intervals are used in African countries for patient management, clinical trial eligibility, and toxicity determination; which can result in misclassification of healthy persons as having laboratory abnormalities.

Methods

An observational prospective cohort study known as the Kisumu Incidence Cohort Study (KICoS) was conducted to estimate the incidence of HIV seroconversion and identify determinants of successful recruitment and retention in preparation for an HIV vaccine/prevention trial among young adults and adolescents in western Kenya. Laboratory values generated from the KICoS were compared to published region-specific reference intervals and the 2004 NIH DAIDS toxicity tables used for the trial.

Results

About 1106 participants were screened for the KICoS between January 2007 and June 2010. Nine hundred and fifty-three participants aged 16 to 34 years, HIV-seronegative, clinically healthy, and non-pregnant were selected for this analysis. Median and 95% reference intervals were calculated for hematological and biochemistry parameters. When compared with both published region-specific reference values and the 2004 NIH DAIDS toxicity table, it was shown that the use of locally established reference intervals would have resulted in fewer participants classified as having abnormal hematological or biochemistry values compared to US derived reference intervals from DAIDS (10% classified as abnormal by local parameters vs. >40% by US DAIDS). Blood urea nitrogen was most often out of range if US based intervals were used: <10% abnormal by local intervals compared to >83% by US based reference intervals.

Conclusion

Differences in reference intervals for hematological and biochemical parameters between western and African populations highlight importance of developing local reference intervals for clinical care and trials in Africa.     

High-mobility group box 1 is essential for mitochondrial quality control

Mitochondria are organelles centrally important for bioenergetics as well as regulation of apoptotic death in eukaryotic cells. High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), an evolutionarily conserved chromatin-associated protein which maintains nuclear homeostasis, is also a critical regulator of mitochondrial function and morphology. We show that heat shock protein beta-1 (HSPB1 or HSP27) is the downstream mediator of this effect. Disruption of the HSPB1 gene in embryonic fibroblasts with wild-type HMGB1 recapitulates the mitochondrial fragmentation, deficits in mitochondrial respiration, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis observed with targeted deletion of HMGB1. Forced expression of HSPB1 reverses this phenotype in HMGB1 knockout cells. Mitochondrial effects mediated by HMGB1 regulation of HSPB1 expression serve as a defense against mitochondrial abnormality, enabling clearance and autophagy in the setting of cellular stress. Our findings reveal an essential role for HMGB1 in autophagic surveillance with important effects on mitochondrial quality control.