Molluscan shell colour

The phylum Mollusca is highly speciose, and is the largest phylum in the marine realm. The great majority of molluscs are shelled, including nearly all bivalves, most gastropods and some cephalopods. The fabulous and diverse colours and patterns of molluscan shells are widely recognised and have been appreciated for hundreds of years by collectors and scientists alike. They serve taxonomists as characters that can be used to recognise and distinguish species, however their function for the animal is sometimes less clear and has been the focus of many ecological and evolutionary studies. Despite these studies, almost nothing is known about the evolution of colour in molluscan shells. This review summarises for the first time major findings of disparate studies relevant to the evolution of shell colour in Mollusca and discusses the importance of colour, including the effects of visual and non‐visual selection, diet and abiotic factors. I also summarise the evidence for the heritability of shell colour in some taxa and recent efforts to understand the molecular mechanisms underpinning synthesis of shell colours. I describe some of the main shell pigments found in Mollusca (carotenoids, melanin and tetrapyrroles, including porphyrins and bile pigments), and their durability in the fossil record. Finally I suggest that pigments appear to be distributed in a phylogenetically relevant manner and that the synthesis of colour is likely to be energetically costly.     

Herbivore regulation of plant abundance in aquatic ecosystems

Herbivory is a fundamental process that controls primary producer abundance and regulates energy and nutrient flows to higher trophic levels. Despite the recent proliferation of small‐scale studies on herbivore effects on aquatic plants, there remains limited understanding of the factors that control consumer regulation of vascular plants in aquatic ecosystems. Our current knowledge of the regulation of primary producers has hindered efforts to understand the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems, and to manage such ecosystems effectively. We conducted a global meta‐analysis of the outcomes of plant–herbivore interactions using a data set comprised of 326 values from 163 studies, in order to test two mechanistic hypotheses: first, that greater negative changes in plant abundance would be associated with higher herbivore biomass densities; second, that the magnitude of changes in plant abundance would vary with herbivore taxonomic identity. We found evidence that plant abundance declined with increased herbivore density, with plants eliminated at high densities. Significant between‐taxa differences in impact were detected, with insects associated with smaller reductions in plant abundance than all other taxa. Similarly, birds caused smaller reductions in plant abundance than echinoderms, fish, or molluscs. Furthermore, larger reductions in plant abundance were detected for fish relative to crustaceans. We found a positive relationship between herbivore species richness and change in plant abundance, with the strongest reductions in plant abundance reported for low herbivore species richness, suggesting that greater herbivore diversity may protect against large reductions in plant abundance. Finally, we found that herbivore–plant nativeness was a key factor affecting the magnitude of herbivore impacts on plant abundance across a wide range of species assemblages. Assemblages comprised of invasive herbivores and native plant assemblages were associated with greater reductions in plant abundance compared with invasive herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and mixed‐nativeness plants, and native herbivores and native plants. By contrast, assemblages comprised of native herbivores and invasive plants were associated with lower reductions in plant abundance compared with both mixed‐nativeness herbivores and native plants, and native herbivores and native plants. However, the effects of herbivore–plant nativeness on changes in plant abundance were reduced at high herbivore densities. Our mean reductions in aquatic plant abundance are greater than those reported in the literature for terrestrial plants, but lower than aquatic algae. Our findings highlight the need for a substantial shift in how biologists incorporate plant–herbivore interactions into theories of aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning. Currently, the failure to incorporate top‐down effects continues to hinder our capacity to understand and manage the ecological dynamics of habitats that contain aquatic plants.     

Effects of landscape features on gene flow of valley oaks (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus lobata</Emphasis>)

Landscape features affect habitat connectivity and patterns of gene flow and hence influence genetic structure among populations. We studied valley oak (Quercus lobata), a threatened species of California (USA) savannas and oak woodlands, with a distribution forming a ring around the Central Valley grasslands. Our main goal was to determine the role of topography and land cover on patterns of gene flow and to test whether elevation or land cover forms stronger barriers to gene flow among valley oak populations. We sampled valley oaks in 12 populations across the range of this species, genotyped each tree at eight nuclear microsatellite loci, and created a series of resistance surfaces by assigning different resistance values to land cover type and elevation. We also estimated recent migration rates and evaluated them with regard to landscape features. There was a significant but weak relationship between Euclidian distance and genetic distance. There was no relationship between genetic distances and land cover, but a significant relationship between genetic distances and elevation resistance. We conclude that gene flow is restricted by high elevations in the northern part of the valley oak range and by high elevations and the Central Valley further south. Migration rate analysis indicated some gene flow occurring east–west but we suggest that the high connectivity in the northern Central Valley is facilitating the formation of these links. We predict that southern populations may become more differentiated in the future through genetic isolation and local adaptation taking place in the face of climate change.     

Subgroups of Paediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Might Differ Significantly in Genetic Predisposition to Asparaginase Hypersensitivity

L-asparaginase (ASP) is a key element in the treatment of paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). However, hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs) to ASP are major challenges in paediatric patients. Our aim was to investigate genetic variants that may influence the risk to Escherichia coli-derived ASP hypersensitivity. Sample and clinical data collection was carried out from 576 paediatric ALL patients who were treated according to protocols from the Berlin—Frankfurt—Münster Study Group. A total of 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GRIA1 and GALNT10 genes were genotyped. Patients with GRIA1 rs4958351 AA/AG genotype showed significantly reduced risk to ASP hypersensitivity compared to patients with GG genotype in the T-cell ALL subgroup (OR = 0.05 (0.01–0.26); p = 4.70E-04), while no such association was found in pre-B-cell ALL. In the medium risk group two SNPs of GRIA1 (rs2055083 and rs707176) were associated significantly with the occurrence of ASP hypersensitivity (OR = 0.21 (0.09–0.53); p = 8.48E-04 and OR = 3.02 (1.36–6.73); p = 6.76E-03, respectively). Evaluating the genders separately, however, the association of rs707176 with ASP HSRs was confined only to females. Our results suggest that genetic variants of GRIA1 might influence the risk to ASP hypersensitivity, but subgroups of patients can differ significantly in this respect.     

Synthetic prions with novel strain-specified properties

Prions are infectious proteins that possess multiple self-propagating structures. The information for strains and structural specific barriers appears to be contained exclusively in the folding of the pathological isoform, PrP^Sc. Many recent studies determined that de novo prion strains could be generated in vitro from the structural conversion of recombinant (rec) prion protein (PrP) into amyloidal structures. Our aim was to elucidate the conformational diversity of pathological recPrP amyloids and their biological activities, as well as to gain novel insights in characterizing molecular events involved in mammalian prion conversion and propagation. To this end we generated infectious materials that possess different conformational structures. Our methodology for the prion conversion of recPrP required only purified rec full-length mouse (Mo) PrP and common chemicals. Neither infected brain extracts nor amplified PrP^Sc were used. Following two different in vitro protocols recMoPrP converted to amyloid fibrils without any seeding factor. Mouse hypothalamic GT1 and neuroblastoma N2a cell lines were infected with these amyloid preparations as fast screening methodology to characterize the infectious materials. Remarkably, a large number of amyloid preparations were able to induce the conformational change of endogenous PrP^C to harbor several distinctive proteinase-resistant PrP forms. One such preparation was characterized in vivo habouring a synthetic prion with novel strain specified neuropathological and biochemical properties.     

A real-time computational model for estimating kinematics of ankle ligaments

Background: An accurate assessment of ankle ligament kinematics is crucial in understanding the injury mechanisms and can help to improve the treatment of an injured ankle, especially when used in conjunction with robot-assisted therapy. A number of computational models have been developed and validated for assessing the kinematics of ankle ligaments. However, few of them can do real-time assessment to allow for an input into robotic rehabilitation programs. Method: An ankle computational model was proposed and validated to quantify the kinematics of ankle ligaments as the foot moves in real-time. This model consists of three bone segments with three rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs) and 12 ankle ligaments. This model uses inputs for three position variables that can be measured from sensors in many ankle robotic devices that detect postures within the foot–ankle environment and outputs the kinematics of ankle ligaments. Validation of this model in terms of ligament length and strain was conducted by comparing it with published data on cadaver anatomy and magnetic resonance imaging. Results: The model based on ligament lengths and strains is in concurrence with those from the published studies but is sensitive to ligament attachment positions. Conclusions: This ankle computational model has the potential to be used in robot-assisted therapy for real-time assessment of ligament kinematics. The results provide information regarding the quantification of kinematics associated with ankle ligaments related to the disability level and can be used for optimizing the robotic training trajectory.     

Video registration as a method for studying kinetic parameters of chlorophyll fluorescence in Ficus benjamina leaves

A method of imaging and analysis of fluorescence kinetic parameters distributed over leaf area is described in details. Video data recorded by the CCD-camera were processed using free programs VirtualDub and ImageJ. The method allows not only to image the distribution of fluorescence decrease ratio (Rfd), but also to obtain fluorescence induction curves, which are corresponded to any region of interest selected within the leaf image. A considerable mosaicism of shade leaves of Ficus benjamina L. was shown on the basis of Rfd values, whose functional significance is discussed from the point of view of adaptation to different light intensities. A pronounced non-uniformity of F. benjamina leaves was revealed in relation to the retention time of the secondary fluorescence maximum (peak M). A method of differential imaging was proposed to allow visualization of this non-uniformity and to demonstrate the existence of the previously unknown phenomenon of secondary chlorophyll fluorescence “wave” in leaves. It was also shown the absence of M peak in the chlorophyll-deficient, lacking the mesophyll leaf sectors, where the residual chlorophyll is originated from guard cell chloroplasts.     

Search for lectins in seeds of tropical trees of Kerala, India

Tissue specific plant lectins were searched in the seeds of 44 tropical trees of Kerala, India. Seeds of only 12 plant species showed lectin activity. N-acetyl-D-galactosamine was the best inhibitor of lectin activity for the majority of the seeds. Lectin activity in the seeds of 4 species were not inhibited by any of the mono- or polysaccharides used. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.