What do languages tell us about human microevolution?

Analysis of cultural traits, especially from linguistic data, is increasingly being used to interpret gene-frequency variation among human populations. Evolutionary processes are inferred using two major approaches, one based on reconstruction of demographic events in time, and the other based on location of factors of evolutionary relevance in space. This review discusses some assumptions underlying these approaches, and suggests that they may lead to different, although not incompatible, conclusions.     

What do names tell us about our former occupations?

The paper will analyze some linguistic, primarily onomastic evidence of still existent or extinct crafts and occupations within the framework of the former social structure. Many one time crafts became extinct in the course of time, but traces of their former diffusion and importance can be reconstructed from their onomastic, primarily, anthroponomastic reflections. Similar surnames motivated by occupation can be found all across Europe. Some surname statistics in various European countries are given in the paper.     

Renal organogenesis: What can it tell us about renal repair and regeneration?

The increasing prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the absence of new treatment modalities has become a strong driver for innovation in nephrology. An increasing understanding of stem cell biology has kindled the prospects of regenerative options for kidney disease. However, the kidney itself is not a regenerative organ, as all the nephrons are formed during embryonic development. Here, we will investigate advances in the molecular genetics of renal organogenesis, including what this can tell us about lineage relationships, and discuss how this may serve to inform us about both the normal processes of renal repair and options for regenerative therapies.     

What can DNA tell us about biological invasions?

It is often hoped that population genetics can answer questions about the demographic and geographic dynamics of recent biological invasions. Conversely, invasions with well-known histories are sometimes billed as opportunities to test methods of population genetic inference. In both cases, underappreciated limitations constrain the usefulness of genetic methods. The most significant is that human-caused invasions have occurred on historical timescales that are orders of magnitude smaller than the timescales of mutation and genetic drift for most multicellular organisms. Analyses based on the neutral theory of molecular evolution cannot resolve such rapid dynamics. Invasion histories cannot be reconstructed in the same way as biogeographic changes occurring over millenia. Analyses assuming equilibrium between mutation, drift, gene flow, and selection will rarely be applicable, and even methods designed for explicitly non-equilibrium questions often require longer timescales than the few generations of most invasions of current concern. We identified only a few population genetic questions that are tractable over such short timescales. These include comparison of alternative hypotheses for the geographic origin of an invasion, testing for bottlenecks, and hybridization between native and invasive species. When proposing population genetic analysis of a biological invasion, we recommend that biologists ask (i) whether the questions to be addressed will materially affect management practice or policy, and (ii) whether the proposed analyses can really be expected to address important population genetic questions. Despite our own enthusiasm for population genetic research, we conclude that genetic analysis of biological invasions is justified only under exceptional circumstances.     

What does fMRI tell us about neuronal activity?

In recent years, cognitive neuroscientists have taken great advantage of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as a non-invasive method of measuring neuronal activity in the human brain. But what exactly does fMRI tell us? We know that its signals arise from changes in local haemodynamics that, in turn, result from alterations in neuronal activity, but exactly how neuronal activity, haemodynamics and fMRI signals are related is unclear. It has been assumed that the fMRI signal is proportional to the local average neuronal activity, but many factors can influence the relationship between the two. A clearer understanding of how neuronal activity influences the fMRI signal is needed if we are correctly to interpret functional imaging data.     

What can dolphins tell us about primate evolution?

Fifty-five million years ago, a furry, hoofed mammal about the size of a dog ventured into the shallow brackish remnant of the Tethys Sea and set its descendants on a path that would lead to their complete abandonment of the land. These early ancestors of cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) thereafter set on an evolutionary course that is arguably the most unusual of any mammal that ever lived. Primates and cetaceans, because of their adaptation to exclusively different physical environments, have had essentially nothing to do with each other throughout their evolution as distinct orders. In fact, the closest phylogenetic relatives of cetaceans are even-toed ungulates.     

What does Drosophila genetics tell us about speciation?

Studies of hybrid inviability, sterility and 'speciation genes' in Drosophila have given insight into the genetic changes that result in reproductive isolation. Here, I survey some extraordinary and important advances in Drosophila speciation research. However, 'reproductive isolation' is not the same as 'speciation', and this Drosophila work has resulted in a lopsided view of speciation. In particular, Drosophila are not always well-suited to investigating ecological and other selection-driven primary causes of speciation in nature. Recent advances have made use of far less tractable, but more charismatic organisms, such as flowering plants, vertebrates and larger insects. Work with these organisms has complemented Drosophila studies of hybrid unfitness to provide a more complete understanding of speciation.     

What does structure tell us about virus evolution?

Viruses are the most abundant life form and infect practically all organisms. Consequently, these obligate parasites are a major cause of human suffering and economic loss. The organization and origins of this enormous virosphere are profound open questions in biology. It has generally been considered that viruses infecting evolutionally widely separated organisms (e.g. bacteria and humans) are also distinct. However, recent research contradicts this picture. Structural analyses of virion architecture and coat protein topology have revealed unexpected similarities, not visible in sequence comparisons, suggesting a common origin for viruses that infect hosts residing in different domains of life (bacteria, archaea and eukarya).     

What can Drosophila tell us about serpins,thrombosis and dementia?

The validity of the fruit-fly as a model of human disease has been confirmed in a striking way by Green and colleagues.1 They show that the mutations causing a necrotic disease phenotype in Drosophila, precisely mirror those resulting in a group of well-studied but perplexing diseases in the human. These diseases, ranging from thrombosis to dementia, arise from mutations causing a conformational instability of serpin protease inhibitors. The findings provide clues as to the unusual severity and variable onset of such conformational diseases and demonstrate the potential of Drosophila as a model for their future study.     

What does population structure analysis reveal about the Pterostylis longifolia complex (Orchidaceae)?

Morphologically similar groups of species are common and pose significant challenges for taxonomists. Differences in approaches to classifying unique species can result in some species being overlooked, whereas others are wrongly conserved. The genetic diversity and population structure of the Pterostylis longifolia complex (Orchidaceae) in Tasmania was investigated to determine if four species, and potential hybrids, could be distinguished through genomic AFLP and chloroplast restriction‐fragment‐length polymorphism (RFLP) markers. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) results indicated that little genetic variation was present among taxa, whereas PCoA analyses revealed genetic variation at a regional scale irrespective of taxa. Population genetic structure analyses identified three clusters that correspond to regional genetic and single taxon‐specific phenotypic variation. The results from this study suggest that “longifolia” species have persisted throughout the last glacial maximum in Tasmania and that the complex may be best treated as a single taxon with several morphotypes. These results could have serious evolutionary and conservation implications as taxonomic changes could result in the instatement of a single, widespread taxon in which rarer morphotypes are not protected.     

What can mathematical modeling tell us about hybrid invasions?

Compared to the vast theoretical literature on the dynamics of single species invasions, relatively few models have dealt with the emergence of invasive hybrids. Here, we review the variety of modeling approaches that have been used to study the dynamics of hybridization, outlining the underlying assumptions and highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. We summarize the predicted outcomes for the persistence for the native species and the resulting genetic composition of the native–exotic–hybrid complex under a variety of model scenarios. We highlight promising future directions for theoretical investigation and its integration with experimental studies.     

What does sexual trait FA tell us about stress?

There is widespread acceptance that fluctuating asymmetry (FA) increases under environmental and genetic stress. Fluctuating asymmetry in sexual traits is thought to be particularly sensitive to stress and to reflect genetic and phenotypic quality. Recent experimental studies show that the relationship between FA and stress is inconsistent, and there is little evidence that sexual traits are especially responsive to stress.     

What else can green monkeys tell us about AIDS?

Although the development of an HIV vaccine may eventually provide a means of controlling AIDS in developed countries, more immediate and less sophisticated methods are going to have to be developed for use in the rural regions of Africa where AIDS may already have reached epidemic proportions. Evidence from several studies of wild primates suggests that plant secondary compounds may commonly act as control agents for a variety of different pathogens. Although studies of laboratory populations of green monkeys indicate that their resistance to AIDS is likely to be genetic, we argue that it may be worth screening some of the plants eaten by African primates in the hope of coming up with compounds that exhibit suitable anti-viral activity. Any compounds isolated in this way are likely to be much cheaper to manufacture than laboratory-produced drugs and may also have been already screened for unpleasant side-effects.     

What does feeding system morphology tell us about feeding?

Feeding is the set of behaviors whereby organisms acquire and process the energy required for survival and reproduction. Thus, feeding system morphology is presumably subject to selection to maintain or improve feeding performance. Relationships among feeding system morphology, feeding behavior, and diet not only explain the morphological diversity of extant primates, but can also be used to reconstruct feeding behavior and diet in fossil taxa. Dental morphology has long been known to reflect aspects of feeding behavior and diet but strong relationships of craniomandibular morphology to feeding behavior and diet have yet to be defined.