Artificial Selection and Domestication: Modern Lessons from Darwin’s Enduring Analogy

It is clear from his published works that Charles Darwin considered domestication to be very useful in exploring and explaining mechanisms of evolutionary change. Not only did domestication occupy the introductory chapter of On the Origin of Species, but he revisited the topic in a two-volume treatise less than a decade later. In addition to drawing much of his information about heredity from studies of domesticated animals and plants, Darwin saw important parallels between the process of artificial selection by humans and natural selection by the environment. There was resistance to this analogy even among Darwin’s contemporary supporters when it was proposed, and there also has been disagreement among historians and philosophers regarding the role that the analogy with artificial selection actually played in the discovery of natural selection. Regardless of these issues, the analogy between artificial and natural selection remains important in both research and education in evolution. In particular, the present article reviews ten lessons about evolution that can be drawn from the modern understanding of domestication and artificial selection. In the process, a basic overview is provided of current approaches and knowledge in this rapidly advancing field.

Hommage à rené delépine à l'occasion de son départ à la retraite

A tribute to René Delépine on the occasion of his retirement. The career of René Delépine is reviewed on the occasion of his retirement. When he was a student, a meeting with Jean Feldmann led to a lifelong inclination towards phycology. Eventually appointed to the position of assistant professor at the University of Paris-VI (University Pierre-et-Marie-Curie), René Delépine worked and published primarily on the taxonomy of antarctic and subantarctic marine algae but he was also interested in seaweed aquaculture and utilizations. After organizing the national colloque ValVA (Valorisation des végétaux aquatiques), he became increasingly involved in the commercial application of seaweeds. His main activity, however, remained university teaching for which he was always enthusiastic, especially for teaching in the field and on the subject of the utilizations of algae. A list of his publications is given at the end of this article.     

Martin Gibbs and the peaceful uses of nuclear radiation, <Superscript>14</Superscript>C

This abstract is a prologue to this paper. Prior to his health failing, Martin Gibbs began writing remembrances of his education and beginning a science career, particularly on the peaceful uses of nuclear radiation, at the U.S. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Camp Upton, NY. Two years before his death Martin provided one of us (Govindjee) a draft text narrating his science beginnings in anticipation of publication in Photosynthesis Research. Govindjee edited his draft and returned it to him. Later, when it became difficult for him to complete it, he phoned Govindjee and expressed the desire that Govindjee publish this story, provided he kept it close to his original. Certain parts of Martin’s narrations have appeared without references (Gibbs 1999). The Gibbs family made a similar request since the narrations contained numerous early personal accounts. Clanton Black recently presented an elegant tribute on Martin Gibbs and his entire science career (Black 2008). Clanton was given the draft, which he and Govindjee then agreed to finish. This chronicle is their effort to place Gibbs’s narrations about his education and his maturation scientifically, in context with the beginnings of biological chemistry work with carbon-14 at the BNL (see Gibbs 1999). Further, these events are placed in context with those times of newly discovered radioisotopes which became available as part of the intensive nuclear research of World War II (WW II). Carbon-14, discovered during WW II nuclear research in 1940, was extremely useful and quickly led to the rapid discovery of new carbon metabolism pathways and biochemical cycles, e.g., photosynthetic carbon assimilation, within a decade after WW II.

A novel compound heterozygous variant Of SLC12A3 Gene in A Pedigree with Gitelman Syndrome Co-Existent with Thyroid Dysfunction

Objective: Gitelman syndrome (GS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by salt wasting and hypokalemia resulting from mutations in the SLC12A3 (solute carrier family 12 member 3) gene, which encodes the thiazide-sensitive sodium-chloride cotransporter. To date, more than 488 mutations of the SLC12A3 gene have been discovered in patients with GS. In this study, we reported a GS pedigree complicated by thyroid diseases or thyroid dysfunction.Methods: Sanger sequencing and next-generation sequencing analysis were performed to determine the SLC12A3 gene mutations in a GS pedigree including the 16-year old male patient with GS and his family members within 3 generations. Chemiluminescence immunoassays were used to detect thyroid hormone and antibody concentrations.Results: Genetic analysis of the SLC12A3 gene identified 2 mutations in the 16-year old male patient with GS concomitant with Graves disease (GD) and his younger sister accompanied by abnormal thyroid function. Additionally, one mutation site (c.1456G>A) in SLC12A3 gene was found in his father, paternal uncle and elder female cousin, who were complicated by subclinical hypothyroidism or autoantibody against thyroid. The other mutation site (c.2102_2107 delACAAGA) in SLC12A3 gene, a novel mutated variant of SLC12A3 gene, was carried by his mother and maternal grandfather.Conclusion: Two mutation sites were documented in the pedigree with GS, and one has not been reported before. Moreover, we found a mutation at nucleotide c.1456 G>A in the SLC12A3 gene that may affect thyroid function. However, further studies are needed to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms.Abbreviations: FT3 = free triiodothyronine; FT4 = free tetraiodothyronine; GD = Graves disease; GS = Gitelman syndrome; SLC12A3 = solute carrier family 12 member 3; TGAb = thyroglobulin antibody; TPOAb = thyroid peroxidase antibody; TSH = thyroid-stimulating hormone; TT3 = total triiodothyronine; TT4 = total tetraiodothyronine     

Measurement error in racial and ethnic statistics

In the United States, the racial and ethnic statistics published by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) assume that each member of the U.S. population has a race and ethnicity and that if a member is black or white with respect to his risk of one disease, he is the same race with respect to his risk of another. Such an assumption is mistaken. Race and ethnicity are taken by the NCHS to be an intrinsic property of members of a population, when they should be taken to depend on interest. The actual or underlying race or ethnicity of members of a population depends on the risk whose variation within the population we wish to describe or explain.

Building on Mendel

The first anniversary of efforts to develop a fitting tribute to Gregor Mendel at the abbey where he carried out his work sees the project team now looking outside. Nigel Williams reports.     

Le dossier Vavilov

Vavilov’s dossier. Gould revived the memory of N.I. Vavilov, a victim of the Stalinian system and misjudged among occidental evolutionists. His contribution is impressive in applied research (phytogeography, his list of world-wide plant resources, a unique collection of germplasms intact and always available) as well as in theoretical research work on artificial selection, immunitary relationships between parasite and plant, the bases of his Law of homologous series in hereditary variations, and centers of origin of cultivated plants. Darwinian concept of natural selection were essential for him, but he considered that the evolutionary changes were not only produced by random variations, but by preset channels, recognising the internal constraints of heredity. His heritage has always been maintained in his Institutes. His Evolutionary theories are now confirmed by molecular genetics and systematics. S.J. Gould was the first to revive Vavilov’s memory and scientific importance. During his studies on the gastropod Cerion Gould recognised the balance between external and internal constraints in Evolution. To cite this article: M. Debrenne, F. Debrenne, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003).     

Un portrait de Stephen Jay Gould

A portrait of Stephen Jay Gould. From 1982 to 2002, as Stephen Jay Gould's translator and friend, I came to greatly value his personal qualities as a man, and admire him as a fine scientist and theorist. To cite this article: M. Blanc, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003).     

Du microcosme évolutif à la théorie générale : les escargots,Steve Gould et l’évolution

From an Evolutionary Microcosm to general theory: Land Snails, Steve Gould and Evolution. From 1962 to the end of his career, Stephen Jay Gould has studied the land snails of the genera Poecilozonites and then Cerion. Snails have provided him material to develop his morphometric methods, to analyze shell growth, and may have been at the origin of his work on ontogeny and phylogeny. Their variation, which he interpreted in terms of adaptation until the beginning of the 1980s, has been later reanalyzed by him in terms of non-adaptive evolution and contingency. Growth and variation of the shell allowed Gould to define constraint and canalisation in evolution. In their taxonomic work, Gould and Woodruff have practiced a definition of biological species as the group of populations allowing maximal congruence of their morphological characters, genetic characters and geographic distribution, of which potential interfecundity is necessary, but not sufficient. To cite this article: S. Tillier, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003).     

Gould biométricien

Gould as a biometrician. Between 1965 and 1973, S.G. Gould published numerous papers on allometry, which established his scientific reputation. This topic allowed him to be aware of the consequences of problems of scale on morphologic evolution. To cite this article: J. Gayon, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003).     

A biologist's thinking man

Philosopher Daniel Dennett believes he has an evolutionary explanation for one of biology's most difficult concepts: free will. Nigel Williams reports on his latest book.     

Vector and scalar fields in modeling of spatial variations of growth rates within plant organs

The paper confronts a question having broad implication: if it is assumed that growth is symplastic and that the anticlinal and periclinal orientations of newly formed cell walls are maintained during growth, what can then be inferred about the field of the displacement velocity vectors, V, in a growing organ? An answer is approached by describing the V field by means of a scalar field, G, such that V = μ grad G, where μ is a simple function of G. The G field can be fully specified if the pattern of displacement lines and magnitudes of V along one displacement line are known. This may, for example, be along the axis or along a meridional line on the surface. The V field allows calculations of linear, areal and volume growth rate patterns in space as well as expansions in time.     

Five Misunderstandings About Cultural Evolution

Recent debates about memetics have revealed some widespread misunderstandings about Darwinian approaches to cultural evolution. Drawing from these debates, this paper disputes five common claims: (1) mental representations are rarely discrete, and therefore models that assume discrete, gene-like particles (i.e., replicators) are useless; (2) replicators are necessary for cumulative, adaptive evolution; (3) content-dependent psychological biases are the only important processes that affect the spread of cultural representations; (4) the “cultural fitness” of a mental representation can be inferred from its successful transmission; and (5) selective forces only matter if the sources of variation are random. We close by sketching the outlines of a unified evolutionary science of culture.

The vascular plant collections of R. S. Williams from Bolivia and Peru (1901–1902)

The life and career of Robert Statham Williams (1859–1945) is sketched. His trip to Bolivia and Peru in 1901–1902 is discussed at length and an itinerary, with dates, is provided. Details concerning the numbering and distribution of his vascular plant collections are given, and notes are provided concerning the typification of the new species that Henry Hurd Rusby (1855–1940) based on these collections. An annotated catalog of vascular plant species described from Williams' Bolivian and Peruvian plant collections is appended, as is a gazetteer of the place names cited in Williams' field books and publications based on Williams' vascular and cryptogamic plant collections. One new combination,Oxypetalum apoloensis, and one new name,Acalypha rusbyi, are proposed. Lectotypes are designated forGothofreda apoloensis andCedrela brunellioides.     

Specific spectral assignments for acetoxyl-group resonances in proton magnetic resonance spectra of methyl β-D-glucopyranoside tetraacetate and related derivatives

Methyl β-D-glucopyranoside tetraacetates (1) having a trideuterioacetyl group at O-2 (1a), O-3, (1b), O-4 (1c), and O-6 (1d) were synthesized by unambiguous routes to permit assignment of each individual acetoxyl-group signal in the p.m.r. spectrum of 1. The 6-acetoxyl resonance appears at lower field than signals of the other acetoxyl groups in carbon tetrachloride, chloroform-d, and methyl sulfoxide-d₆, but in pyridine-d₅ and benzene-d₆, the 2-acetoxyl-group signal appears at lower field. The acetoxyl resonances of methyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-6-O-trityl-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), methyl 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-4,6-O-benzylidene-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), methyl 2,3,6-tri-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), and methyl 2,3-di-O-acetyl-6-O-trityl-β-D-glucopyranoside (12) were assigned similarly after synthesis of the 2-(trideuterioacetyl) (2a, 3a, 5a, 6a, 7a, and 12a), 3-(trideuterioacetyl) (2b, 3b, 5b, 6b, 7b, and 12b), 4-(trideuterioacetyl) (2c and 3c), and 6-(trideuterioacetyl) (7c) analogues. In chloroform-d and benzene-d₆, the 4-acetoxyl resonance appeared at about 0.3 p.p.m. to higher field than the other acetoxyl-group signals of 2. In chloroform-d and methyl sulfoxide-d₆, the 3-acetoxyl resonance is observed at highest field in compounds 1, 3, and 5. In all of these instances, the 4-hydroxyl group is substituted by an acetyl or benzylidene group. When no 4-substituent is present (compounds 6, 7, and 12), the 3-acetoxyl group resonates at lower field than the other acetoxyl groups.     

What Explains Differences in Men’s and Women’s Production?

Researchers commonly use long-term average production inequalities to characterize cross-cultural patterns in foraging divisions of labor, but little is known about how the strategies of individuals shape such inequalities. Here, we explore the factors that lead to daily variation in how much men produce relative to women among Martu, contemporary foragers of the Western Desert of Australia. We analyze variation in foraging decisions on temporary foraging camps and find that the percentage of total camp production provided by each gender varies primarily as a function of men’s average bout successes with large, mobile prey. When men target large prey, either their success leads to a large proportional contribution to the daily harvest, or their failure results in no contribution. When both men and women target small reliable prey, production inequalities by gender are minimized. These results suggest that production inequalities among Martu emerge from stochastic variation in men’s foraging success on large prey measured against the backdrop of women’s consistent production of small, low-variance resources.

Haeckel,un darwinien allemand ?

German biologist Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) is often considered the most renowned Darwinian in his country since, as early as 1862, he declared that he accepted the conclusions Darwin had reached three years before in On the Origin of Species, and afterwards, he continuously proclaimed himself a supporter of the English naturalist and championed the evolutionary theory. Nevertheless, if we examine carefully his books, in particular his General Morphology (1866), we can see that he carries on a tradition very far from Darwin's thoughts. In spite of his acceptance of the idea of natural selection, that he establishes as an argument for materialism, he adopts, indeed, a conception of evolution that is, in some respects, rather close to Lamarck's views. He is, thus, a good example of the ambiguities of the reception of Darwinism in Germany in the second part of the 19th century. To cite this article: S. Schmitt, C. R. Biologies 332 (2009).     

Materteral and Avuncular Tendencies in Samoa

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult males, whereas gynephilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult females. In Independent Samoa, androphilic males, most of whom are effeminate or transgendered, are referred to as fa’afafine, which means “in the manner of a woman.” Previous research has established that fa’afafine report significantly higher avuncular tendencies relative to gynephilic men. We hypothesized that Samoan fa’afafine might adopt feminine gender role orientations with respect to childcare activity. If so, then the fa’afafine’s femininity might be a proximate mechanism for promoting their elevated avuncular tendencies. Our analyses indicated that fa’afafine had significantly higher willingness to assist in the childcare of nieces and nephews than childless women, mothers, or men, none of whom differed from each other on this measure. Thus, femininity does not appear to explain the fa’afafine’s pattern of avuncular tendencies, nor the women’s pattern of materteral (i.e., aunt-like) tendencies, relative to gynephilic men. We discuss how the fa’afafine “third” gender status might influence the expression of their elevated avuncular tendencies.

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of certain CDK2 inhibitors based on pyrazole and pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidine scaffold with apoptotic activity

Different series of novel pyrazole and pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidine derivatives (2a-g), (3a-c), (7a-d) and (10a-e) were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit CDK2/cyclin A2 enzyme in vitro. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the newly synthesized compounds was screened against four different human cancer cell lines. The CDK2/cyclin A2 enzyme inhibitory activity revealed that compounds (2d) and (2 g) are among the most active with inhibitory activity values of 60% and 40%, respectively, while compounds (7d) and (10b) exhibited the highest activity among the newly synthesized derivatives against four tumor cell lines (HepG2, MCF-7, A549 and Caco2) with IC50 values 24.24, 14.12, 30.03 and 29.27 μM and 17.12, 10.05, 29.95 and 25.24 μM, respectively. Flow cytometry cell cycle assay was carried for compounds (7d) and (10b) to investigate their apoptotic activity. The obtained results revealed that they induced cell-cycle arrest in the G0-G1phase and reinforced apoptotic DNA fragmentation. Molecular modeling studies have been carried out to gain further understanding the binding mode of the target compounds together with field alignment to define the similar field properties.