Construction of a potato fraction library for the investigation of functional secondary metabolites

A potato fraction library was constructed to investigate functional secondary metabolites from 8 cultivars: Kitahime, Pilka, Sakurafubuki, Atlantic, Toyoshiro, Snowden, Kitamurasaki, and Northern Ruby, which were divided into flower, leaf, stem, roots, tuber peel, and tuber. Each fraction was a semi-purified extract and about 800 fractions were prepared for the library. They were analyzed by DAD-LC/MS to obtain structural information and were evaluated for various biological activities. LC/MS data showed that each part had a specific characteristic for their constituents supported by principal component analysis (PCA). Approximately 40% of fractions showed significant biological activities at 30 μg/mL, especially the flower fractions showed strong cytotoxicity. PCAs based on the activity and LC/MS data suggested that the strong cytotoxicity of flowers was derived from a complex mixture of potato glycoalkaloids. In addition, tuber peel fractions showed strong antimalarial activity, which had not been reported before. Also, some fractions showed significant antibacterial activities.     

Ancestry and evolution of seasonal migration in the Parulidae

Seasonal migration in birds is known to be highly labile and subject to rapid change in response to selection, such that researchers have hypothesized that phylogenetic relationships should neither predict nor constrain the migratory behaviour of a species. Many theories on the evolution of bird migration assume a framework that extant migratory species have evolved repeatedly and relatively recently from sedentary tropical or subtropical ancestors. We performed ancestral state reconstructions of migratory behaviour using a comprehensive, well-supported phylogeny of the Parulidae (the 'wood-warblers'), a large family of Neotropical and Nearctic migratory and sedentary songbirds, and examined the rates of gain and loss of migration throughout the Parulidae. Counter to traditional hypotheses, our results suggest that the ancestral wood-warbler was migratory and that losses of migration have been at least as prevalent as gains throughout the history of Parulidae. Therefore, extant sedentary tropical radiations in the Parulidae represent losses of latitudinal migration and colonization of the tropics from temperate regions. We also tested for phylogenetic signal in migratory behaviour, and our results indicate that although migratory behaviour is variable within some wood-warbler species and clades, phylogeny significantly predicts the migratory distance of species in the Parulidae.     

Nocturnality in synapsids predates the origin of mammals by over 100 million years

Nocturnality is widespread among extant mammals and often considered the ancestral behavioural pattern for all mammals. However, mammals are nested within a larger clade, Synapsida, and non-mammalian synapsids comprise a rich phylogenetic, morphological and ecological diversity. Even though non-mammalian synapsids potentially could elucidate the early evolution of diel activity patterns and enrich the understanding of synapsid palaeobiology, data on their diel activity are currently unavailable. Using scleral ring and orbit dimensions, we demonstrate that nocturnal activity was not an innovation unique to mammals but a character that appeared much earlier in synapsid history, possibly several times independently. The 24 Carboniferous to Jurassic non-mammalian synapsid species in our sample featured eye morphologies consistent with all major diel activity patterns, with examples of nocturnality as old as the Late Carboniferous (ca 300 Ma). Carnivores such as Sphenacodon ferox and Dimetrodon milleri, but also the herbivorous cynodont Tritylodon longaevus were likely nocturnal, whereas most of the anomodont herbivores are reconstructed as diurnal. Recognizing the complexity of diel activity patterns in non-mammalian synapsids is an important step towards a more nuanced picture of the evolutionary history of behaviour in the synapsid clade.     

Phylogeny and evolution of sexually selected tail ornamentation in widowbirds and bishops (Euplectes spp.)

Despite similar ecology, mating systems and female preferences for supernormal tails, the 17 species of African widowbirds and bishops (Euplectes spp.) show astonishing variation in male tail ornamentation. Whereas bishops retain their brown nonbreeding tails in nuptial plumage, widowbirds grow black nuptial tails, varying in length from a few centimetres in E. axillaris to the extreme half metre train of E. progne. Here, we phylogenetically reconstruct the evolution of the discrete trait, nuptial tail and the continuous trait, tail length, using a molecular phylogeny of 33 Euplectes subspecies. Unlike many recent findings of labile evolution of plumage ornaments, our results suggest that the nuptial tail of Euplectes is a derived and phylogenetically conserved ornamental trait that, once gained, shows directional evolution in its expression. Directionality is demonstrated in the trivial sense of a short‐tailed ancestor, and by contingency and randomization tests suggesting that branches with increasing tail length are overrepresented. This supports an early origin and strong retention of directional female mate choice in widowbirds and bishops, as previously indicated by empirical and experimental results, and provides a less labile, yet rapid scenario of sexually selected diversification.     

Application of both high-performance liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry shotgun and 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for streptococcal exoproteins gave reliable proteomic data

Streptococci secrete a large number of exoproteins including virulence-associated toxins and enzymes. To construct a reliable database of streptococcal exoproteins, we integrated the results that were derived from two approaches: LC-based shotgun proteomic analysis and 2-D PAGE-based proteomic analysis. We identified 74 and 82 proteins by LC-based and gel-based analysis, respectively. Forty-five proteins were identified by both methods. In addition, two proteins, one identified by both methods and the other only by LC-based shotgun analysis, were newly annotated. We therefore found the importance of combinational analysis by the two methods for the construction of a more reliable database.     

1-DE MS and 2-D LC-MS analysis of the mouse bronchoalveolar lavage proteome

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) is a complex mixture of proteins, which represents a unique clinically useful sampling of the lower respiratory tract. Many proteomic technologies can be used to characterize complex biological mixtures; however, it is not yet clear which technology(s) provide more information regarding the number of proteins identified and sequence coverage. In this study, we initially compared two common proteomic approaches, 2-D LC microESI MS/MS and 1-DE followed by gel slice digestion, peptide extraction and peptide identification by MS in characterization of the mouse BALF proteome; secondly, we identified 297 unique proteins from the mouse BALF proteome, greatly expanded the BALF proteome by about threefold regardless of species.