Life Stages: Interactions and Spatial Patterns

In many stage-structured species, different life stages often occupy separate spatial niches in a heterogeneous environment. Life stages of the giant flour beetle Tribolium brevicornis (Leconte), in particular adults and pupae, occupy different locations in a homogeneous habitat. This unique spatial pattern does not occur in the well-studied stored grain pests T. castaneum (Herbst) and T. confusum (Duval). We propose density dependent dispersal as a causal mechanism for this spatial pattern. We model and explore the spatial dynamics of T. brevicornis with a set of four density dependent integrodifference and difference equations. The spatial model exhibits multiple attractors: a spatially uniform attractor and a patchy attractor with pupae and adults spatially separated. The model attractors are consistent with experimental observations.     

Analysis of Bacterial Spatial Patterns at the Initial Stage of Biofilm Formation

Using sophisticated microscopy techniques, we observed the spatial pattern of bacteria colonizing a sterile 316L stainless steel coupon as bulk water containing bacteria flowed across the coupon. The experiments used stainless steel of differing roughness and surface chemistry. The ultimate goal was to identify surface features which influence bacterial adsorption. The immediate statistical goal was to distinguish patterns consistent with complete spatial randomness from patterns showing regularity or aggregation. This goal was accomplished by using modified analyses of distance functions commonly applied in field ecology. The method protected against a potential multiple comparisons problem. For the null value of the distance function, we calculated tolerance envelopes such that the tolerance level was simultaneous for all distances of concern. Computer simulation experiments showed that the nominal level was accurate. The methodology was effective for detecting and describing patterns of colonization known not to be completely spatially random.     

Genetic Analysis of Invasive Plant Populations at Different Spatial Scales

Measuring genetic diversity requires selection of a spatial scale of analysis. Different levels of genetic structuring are revealed at different spatial scales, however, and the relative importance of factors driving genetic structuring varies along the spatial scale continuum. Unequal gene flow is a major factor determining genetic structure in plant populations at the local level, while the effect of selection imposed by environmental heterogeneity increases with the spatial scale of analysis. At a continental and global scale genetic structure of invasive plant populations is significantly affected by founder effect and propagule transport via human vectors. Although genetic analysis at one spatial scale provides only partial information about the invasion process, little published research reports such data for the same species at multiple scales. A multi-faceted approach to investigating the genetic structure of invasive plant species that incorporates sampling at different spatial and temporal scales would provide a more complete picture of the role of genetic forces in invasion.     

萼花臂尾轮虫种复合体遗传分化的空间格局

对采自中国东部八个地理区域中的萼花臂尾轮虫种复合体（Brachionus calyciflorus species complex）内124个轮虫克隆的核DNA ITS区进行了测序和分析,重建了萼花臂尾轮虫种复合体的系统发生树。研究发现73个单倍型聚合为三个支系,支系间序列差异百分比为4.2%－25.3%,表明萼花臂尾轮虫实际上是由三个隐种组成的种复合体,在广州、儋州和芜湖采样点均具有隐种共存现象。萼花臂尾轮虫种复合体的核苷酸多样性和单倍型多样性均较高,隐种III内各种群间遗传分化指数也较高,这可能是由于栖息地的片段化、有限的基因流以及在冰期瓶颈后拓殖种群的快速增长阻碍了有效基因流,加速了地理种群间的遗传分化。巢式支系分析显示部分巢支具有一定的系统地理格局,而Mantel检验表明种群间平均净遗传距离及遗传分化指数和地理距离间均没有显著的相关性。末次盛冰期之后的新仙女木事件（YD Event）可能对我国萼花臂尾轮虫隐种的分布和地理格局造成较大影响。在YD时期,三个萼花臂尾轮虫隐种可能退缩并共存于南岭以南地区的多个残遗种避难所,而此后的休眠卵长距离拓殖并伴随后期的栖息地片段化可能是形成当前地理格局的主要原因。萼花臂尾轮虫种复合体在全球范围内的地理分布可能与大陆板块构造运动有关。     

Genes Affecting the Expression of Cytochrome c in Yeast: Genetic Mapping and Genetic Interactions

The four mutant genes, cyc2, cyc3, cyc8 and cyc9, that affect the levels of the two iso-cytochromes c in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been characterized and mapped. Both cyc2 and cyc3 lower the amount of iso-1-cytochrome c and iso-2-cytochrome c; whereas, cyc8 and cyc9 increase the amount of iso-2-cytochrome c. The cyc2, cyc3, cyc8 and cyc9 genes are located, respectively, on chromosomes XV, I, II and III, and are, therefore, unlinked to each other and unlinked to CYC1, the structural gene of iso-1-cytochrome c and to CYC7, the structural gene of iso-2-cytochrome c. While some cyc3 mutants are completely or almost completely deficient in cyotchromes c, none of the cyc2 mutants contained less than 10% of parental level of cytochrome c even though over one-half of the mutants contain UAA or UAG nonsense mutations. Thus, it appears as if a complete block of the cyc2 gene product still allows the formation of a residual fraction of cytochrome c. The cyc2 and cyc3 mutant genes cause deficiencies even in the presence of CYC7, cyc8 and cyc9, which normally cause overproduction of iso-2-cytochrome c. We suggest that cyc2 and cyc3 may be involved with the regulation or maturation of the iso-cytochromes c. In addition to having high levels of iso-2-cytochromes c, the cyc8 and cyc9 mutants are associated with flocculent cells and other abnormal phenotypes. The cyc9 mutant was shown to be allelic with the tup1 mutant and to share its properties, which include the ability to utilize exogenous dTMP, a characteristic flocculent morphology, the lack of sporulation of homozygous diploids and low frequency of mating and abnormally shaped cells of alpha strains. The diverse abnormalities suggest that cyc8 and cyc9 are not simple regulatory mutants controlling iso-2-cytochrome c.     

Genetic Analysis of Size-Scaling Patterns in the Mouse Mandible

The relationship between multidimensional form of the adult mouse mandible and body size is examined from an ontogenetic perspective. The origin and ontogeny of phenotypic correlations are described in terms of genetic and environmental covariance patterns between adult skeletal morphology and growth in body weight. Different ontogenetic patterns are observed in the genetic correlations, and these can be related to the developmental as well as the functional aspects of mandibular form. The quantitative genetic aspects of craniomandibular growth and morphogenesis are explored, together with an examination of the impact of ontogenetic changes in the genetic variance-covariance structure on morphogenetic integration and evolution by selection.     

Spatial Patterns of Phytochrome Expression in Young Leaves of the Fern Adiantum capillus-veneris

The spatial distribution of phytochrome (PHY1) mRNA in the fernAdiantum was investigated by in situ hybridization. PHY1 mRNAsare expressed predominantly in the abaxial rather than the adaxialpart of the petiole of leaf croziers. Moreover, the signalsin light-grown croziers are predominantly nuclear in locationrather than cyto-plasmic. ⁴Present address: Department of Biology, Yale University, 165Prospect Street, New Haven, CT06520-8104, U.S.A.     

Analysis of Background-Dependent Genetic Interactions Without Inbred Strains

Experimental analysis of background dependenteffects of genetic interactions can be designed usingstrains generated by introgression of small geneticregions containing identical genotypes at loci in question into different inbred strains. We usea novel multilocus paradigm, denoted conditionalintergenic functional association (CIFA), to simulatethis procedure, with the trade-off of power forconvenience that is affordable when sufficiently strongeffects are present. We analyze nine enzyme loci atthree chromosomes in groups of D. melanogasterwith different developmental rates that showed similarallelic frequencies at individual loci. Resultsobtained suggest the presence of adaptive interactionbetween particular alleles at two loci when geneticvariation at seven background loci is eliminated.Biochemical considerations show that, in the resultingdevelopmental context, strong interaction between thesegenes may emerge from shifted control of the pentosephosphate pathway, with cascading effects on theglycolysis, TCA cycle, and biosynthetic pathways: one genemay assume control of the irreversible rate-limitingstep in the pentose phosphate pathway, whereas the othergene may assume control of the NADP⁺ levelthat regulates the same rate-limiting step as anelectron acceptor. The newly developing functionalgenomics research and the absence of inbreeding makeCIFA directly applicable to complex human traits inlarge samples.     

Similarity of Cortical Activity Patterns Predicts generalization Behavior

Humans and animals readily generalize previously learned knowledge to new situations. Determining similarity is critical for assigning category membership to a novel stimulus. We tested the hypothesis that category membership is initially encoded by the similarity of the activity pattern evoked by a novel stimulus to the patterns from known categories. We provide behavioral and neurophysiological evidence that activity patterns in primary auditory cortex contain sufficient information to explain behavioral categorization of novel speech sounds by rats. Our results suggest that category membership might be encoded by the similarity of the activity pattern evoked by a novel speech sound to the patterns evoked by known sounds. Categorization based on featureless pattern matching may represent a general neural mechanism for ensuring accurate generalization across sensory and cognitive systems.     

Urban Land Use Decouples Plant-Herbivore-Parasitoid Interactions at Multiple Spatial Scales

Intense urban and agricultural development alters habitats, increases fragmentation, and may decouple trophic interactions if plants or animals cannot disperse to needed resources. Specialist insects represent a substantial proportion of global biodiversity and their fidelity to discrete microhabitats provides a powerful framework for investigating organismal responses to human land use. We sampled site occupancy and densities for two plant-herbivore-parasitoid systems from 250 sites across a 360 km² urban/agricultural landscape to ask whether and how human development decouples interactions between trophic levels. We compared patterns of site occupancy, host plant density, herbivory and parasitism rates of insects at two trophic levels with respect to landcover at multiple spatial scales. Geospatial analyses were used to identify landcover characters predictive of insect distributions. We found that herbivorous insect densities were decoupled from host tree densities in urban landcover types at several spatial scales. This effect was amplified for the third trophic level in one of the two insect systems: despite being abundant regionally, a parasitoid species was absent from all urban/suburban landcover even where its herbivore host was common. Our results indicate that human land use patterns limit distributions of specialist insects. Dispersal constraints associated with urban built development are specifically implicated as a limiting factor.     

Summer Precipitation Predicts Spatial Distributions of Semiaquatic Mammals

Climate change is predicted to increase the frequency of droughts and intensity of seasonal precipitation in many regions. Semiaquatic mammals should be vulnerable to this increased variability in precipitation, especially in human-modified landscapes where dispersal to suitable habitat or temporary refugia may be limited. Using six years of presence-absence data (2007–2012) spanning years of record-breaking drought and flood conditions, we evaluated regional occupancy dynamics of American mink (Neovison vison) and muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) in a highly altered agroecosystem in Illinois, USA. We used noninvasive sign surveys and a multiseason occupancy modeling approach to estimate annual occupancy rates for both species and related these rates to summer precipitation. We also tracked radiomarked individuals to assess mortality risk for both species when moving in terrestrial areas. Annual model-averaged estimates of occupancy for mink and muskrat were correlated positively to summer precipitation. Mink and muskrats were widespread during a year (2008) with above-average precipitation. However, estimates of site occupancy declined substantially for mink (0.56) and especially muskrats (0.09) during the severe drought of 2012. Mink are generalist predators that probably use terrestrial habitat during droughts. However, mink had substantially greater risk of mortality away from streams. In comparison, muskrats are more restricted to aquatic habitats and likely suffered high mortality during the drought. Our patterns are striking, but a more mechanistic understanding is needed of how semiaquatic species in human-modified ecosystems will respond ecologically in situ to extreme weather events predicted by climate-change models.     

植物居群遗传变异的空间自相关分析

本文介绍了植物遗传变异空间自相关分析的理论、方法与应用 ,包括将基因型作为绝对型数据与等位基因频率作为连续型数据进行自相关分析的基本方法等。并对影响植物居群遗传变异空间结构的因素以及研究居群内遗传结构的重要意义作了评述     

植物居群遗传变异的空间自相关分析

本文介绍了植物遗传变异空间自相关分析的理论、方法与应用,包括将基因型作为绝对型数据与等位基因频率作为连续型数据进行自相关分析的基本方法等。并对影响植物居群遗传变异空间结构的因素以及研究居群内遗传结构的重要意义作了评述。     

Sox1基因在爪蟾早期发育中的时空表达图式

克隆了非洲爪蟾的Sox1基因并研究了它在非洲爪蟾早期发育过程中的时空表达图式,比较了Sox1—3基因在发育的脑和眼中的表达图式。序列比对分析显示Sox1—3蛋白在其HMG框结构域具有高度的保守性。通过RT-PCR方法分析了Sox1基因在爪蟾早期不同发育时段的表达情况,结果显示Sox1基因从未受精卵到尾芽期均有表达,但表达强度有所差异。原位杂交结果显示,在早期卵裂阶段和囊胚期,Sox1基因主要在动物极表达;从神经板期开始,Sox1基因主要在中枢神经系统和眼原基中表达。在蝌蚪期,Sox1与Sox2、Sox3在脑部和眼睛的表达区域有所不同。对于爪蟾Sox1基因时空表达图式的研究将有助于阐明SoxB1基因家族在脊椎动物神经系统发生过程中的作用。     

Spatial Genetic Structure Patterns of Phenotype-Limited and Boundary-Limited Expanding Populations: A Simulation Study

Range expansions may create a unique spatial genetic pattern characterized by alternate genetically homogeneous domains and allele frequency clines. Previous attempts to model range expansions have mainly focused on the loss of genetic diversity during expansions. Using individual-based models, we examined spatial genetic patterns under two expansion scenarios, boundary-limited range expansions (BLRE) and phenotype-limited range expansions (PhLRE). Our simulation revealed that the genetic diversity within populations lost quickly during the range expansion, while the genetic difference accumulated between populations. Consequently, accompanying the expansions, the overall diversity featured a slow decrease. Specifically, during BLREs, high speed of boundary motion facilitated the maintenance of total genetic diversity and sharpened genetic clines. Very slight constraints on boundary motion of BLREs drastically narrowed the homogeneous domains and increased the allele frequency fluctuations from those levels exhibited by PhLREs. Even stronger constraints, however, surprisingly brought the width of homogeneous domains and the allele frequency fluctuations back to the normal levels of PhLREs. Furthermore, high migration rates maintained a higher total genetic diversity than low ones did during PhLREs. Whereas, the total genetic diversities during BLREs showed a contrary pattern: higher when migration was low than those when migration was high. Besides, the increase of migration rates helped maintain a greater number of homogeneous domains during PhLREs, but their effects on the number of homogeneous domains during BLREs were not monotonous. Previous studies have showed that the homogenous domains can merge to form a few broad domains as the expansion went on, leading to fewer homogeneous domains. Our simulations, meanwhile, revealed that the range expansions could also rebuild homogeneous domains from the clines during the range expansion. It is possible that that the number of homogeneous domains was determined by the interaction of merging and newly emerging homogeneous domains.