Three brain collections for comparative neuroanatomy and neuroimaging

In the context of increasing extinction rates and the potential loss of essential evolutionary biological and anthropological information, it is an important task to support efforts to prepare, preserve, and curate collections of histological brain sections; to disseminate information on such collections in the neuroscience community; and to make the collections publicly available. This review emphasizes the importance of complete, serially sectioned human brains of different ontogenetic stages as well as those of adult and old human individuals for neurobiological and medical research. Such histological sections enable microstructural analyses and anatomical evaluations of functional and structural neuroimaging data, for example, based on magnetic resonance imaging. Here, this review provides the first detailed and updated account of the content of the Stephan, Zilles, and Zilles-Amunts collections, which consist of serially sectioned and cell body- and myelin-stained histological preparations. Finally, this review will give an overview of past and recent research using these collections to increase our understanding of the detailed patterns of divergent brain evolution in primates as well as of the structural organization of the human brain.     

Datasets for evolutionary comparative genomics

Many decisions about genome sequencing projects are directed by perceived gaps in the tree of life, or towards model organisms. With the goal of a better understanding of biology through the lens of evolution, however, there are additional genomes that are worth sequencing. One such rationale for whole-genome sequencing is discussed here, along with other important strategies for understanding the phenotypic divergence of species.     

Datasets for evolutionary comparative genomics

Many decisions about genome sequencing projects are directed by perceived gaps in the tree of life, or towards model organisms. With the goal of a better understanding of biology through the lens of evolution, however, there are additional genomes that are worth sequencing. One such rationale for whole-genome sequencing is discussed here, along with other important strategies for understanding the phenotypic divergence of species.     

The Golgi method in current neurobiological research

The Golgi method more than hundred years old can reveal new results also in the current research of CNS. The study provides examples for using the Golgi method and demonstrates the types of neurons, the various types of interneurons, characterizes the stellate cells in layer IV of the cortex. The Golgi method is applicable for the observation of maturation process and also for demonstrating different pathological alterations of neurons in the CNS.     

phyloXML: XML for evolutionary biology and comparative genomics

Background  

Evolutionary trees are central to a wide range of biological studies. In many of these studies, tree nodes and branches need to be associated (or annotated) with various attributes. For example, in studies concerned with organismal relationships, tree nodes are associated with taxonomic names, whereas tree branches have lengths and oftentimes support values. Gene trees used in comparative genomics or phylogenomics are usually annotated with taxonomic information, genome-related data, such as gene names and functional annotations, as well as events such as gene duplications, speciations, or exon shufflings, combined with information related to the evolutionary tree itself. The data standards currently used for evolutionary trees have limited capacities to incorporate such annotations of different data types.     

The 19 genomes of Drosophila: a BAC library resource for genus-wide and genome-scale comparative evolutionary research

The genus Drosophila has been the subject of intense comparative phylogenomics characterization to provide insights into genome evolution under diverse biological and ecological contexts and to functionally annotate the Drosophila melanogaster genome, a model system for animal and insect genetics. Recent sequencing of 11 additional Drosophila species from various divergence points of the genus is a first step in this direction. However, to fully reap the benefits of this resource, the Drosophila community is faced with two critical needs: i.e., the expansion of genomic resources from a much broader range of phylogenetic diversity and the development of additional resources to aid in finishing the existing draft genomes. To address these needs, we report the first synthesis of a comprehensive set of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) resources for 19 Drosophila species from all three subgenera. Ten libraries were derived from the exact source used to generate 10 of the 12 draft genomes, while the rest were generated from a strategically selected set of species on the basis of salient ecological and life history features and their phylogenetic positions. The majority of the new species have at least one sequenced reference genome for immediate comparative benefit. This 19-BAC library set was rigorously characterized and shown to have large insert sizes (125-168 kb), low nonrecombinant clone content (0.3-5.3%), and deep coverage (9.1-42.9×). Further, we demonstrated the utility of this BAC resource for generating physical maps of targeted loci, refining draft sequence assemblies and identifying potential genomic rearrangements across the phylogeny.     

Annelids in evolutionary developmental biology and comparative genomics

Annelids have had a long history in comparative embryology and morphology, which has helped to establish them in zoology textbooks as an ideal system to understand the evolution of the typical triploblastic, coelomate, protostome condition. In recent years there has been a relative upsurge in embryological data, particularly with regard to the expression and function of developmental control genes. Polychaetes, as well as other annelids such as the parasitic leech, are now also entering the age of comparative genomics. All of this comparative data has had an important impact on our views of the ancestral conditions at various levels of the animal phylogeny, including the bilaterian ancestor and the nature of the annelid ancestor. Here we review some of the recent advances made in annelid comparative development and genomics, revealing a hitherto unsuspected level of complexity in these ancestors. It is also apparent that the transition to a parasitic lifestyle leads to, or requires, extensive modifications and derivations at both the genomic and embryological levels.     

Japan and human evolutionary research

The trends in evolutionary research in Japan have largely changed through the introduction of new methodologies such as molecular genetics and multivariate statistics since the 1960’s. The development of ecology and primatology brought another new wave into fields of physical anthropology. This paper reviews briefly general trends in anthropological research now on-going in Japan. Microevolutionary studies of the Japanese and neighboring populations which have a long history in Japan will be reviewed in more detail.     

Respiratory chemoreceptor function in vertebrates comparative and evolutionary aspects

The sensing of blood gas tensions and/or pH is an evolutionarilyconserved, homeostatic mechanism, observable in almost all speciesstudied from invertebrates to man. In vertebrates, a shift fromthe peripheral O₂-oriented sensing in fish, to the central CO₂/pHsensing in most tetrapods reflects the specific behavioral requirementsof these two groups whereby, in teleost fish, a highly O₂-orientedcontrol of breathing matches the ever-changing and low oxygenlevels in water, whilst the transition to air-breathing increasedthe importance of acid–base regulation and O₂-relateddrive, although retained, became relatively less important.The South American lungfish and tetrapods are probably sistergroups, a conclusion backed up by many similar features of respiratorycontrol. For example, the relative roles of peripheral and centralchemoreceptors are present both in the lungfish and in landvertebrates. In both groups, the central CO₂/pH receptors dominatethe ventilatory response to hypercarbia (60–80%), whilethe peripheral CO₂/pH receptors account for 20–30%. Somebasic components of respiratory control have changed littleduring evolution. This review presents studies that reflectthe current trends in the field of chemoreceptor function, andseveral laboratories are involved. An exhaustive review on theprevious literature, however, is beyond the intended scope ofthe article. Rather, we present examples of current trends inrespiratory function in vertebrates, ranging from fish to humans,and focus on both O₂ sensing and CO₂ sensing. As well, we considerthe impact of chronic levels of hypoxia—a physiologicalcondition in fish and in land vertebrates resident at high elevationsor suffering from one of the many cardiorespiratory diseasestates that predispose an animal to impaired ventilation orcardiac output. This provides a basis for a comparative physiologythat is informative about the evolution of respiratory functionsin vertebrates and about human disease. Currently, most detailis known for mammals, for which molecular biology and respiratoryphysiology have combined in the discovery of the mechanismsunderlying the responses of respiratory chemoreceptors. Ourreview includes new data on nonmammalian vertebrates, whichstresses that some chemoreceptor sites are of ancient origin.     

昆虫神经生物学研究技术:用钴回填法对神经元染色

观察神经元的结构是昆虫神经生物学研究中的重要内容。钴盐回填法是对神经元染色的最常用的技术之一。作者借对与蝗虫后足胫节上 2个钟形感器有关的感觉神经元染色介绍了这一方法 ,包括材料的钴回填、着色、固定、脱水、澄清等。