Book Reviews

Martine Rothblatt Unzipped Genes: Taking Charge of Baby-Making in the Millennium James W. Walters What is a Person? An Ethical Exploration Rosemary Tong Feminist Approaches to Bioethics: Theoretical Reflections and Practical Applications Barthar Maria Knoppers, Timothy Caulfield & T. Douglas Kinsella Legal Rights and Human Genetic Material Deborah Lynn Steinberg Bodies in Glass: Genetics, Eugenics, Embryo Ethics Donald Evans Creating the Child: the Ethics, Law and Practice of Assisted Procreation Mark Rothstein Genetic Secrets: Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality in the Genetic Era     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviews in this Article: Good Intentions: How Big Business and the Medical Establishment Are Corrupting the Fight Against AIDS, Alzheimer's, Cancer and More, by Bruce Nussbaum. If I Were A Rich Man Could I Buy A Pancreas?: and other essays on the ethics of health care, by Arthur L. Caplan. Bloomington and Indianapolis Competency. A Study of Informal Competency Determinations in Primary Care. Edited by M.A. Gardell Cutter and E.E. Shelp. Ethics and Nursing Practice: A case study approach, by Ruth Chadwick and Win Tadd. Basingstoke Spare Parts: Organ Replacement in American Society by Renée C. Fox and Judith P. Swazey     

Reviews

Book reviewed in this article: Larsson, P. & Weider , L. J. (eds.) 1995: Cladocera as model organisms in biology. Poncin, P., Berrebi, J., Philippart, C. & Ruwet , J.-Cl. eds, 1993: Biologie des Barbus européens, africains et asiatiques. Birkhead , T. 1993: Great Auk Islands. A field biologist in the Arctic. Expert-Center for Taxonomic Identification (ETI) (ed.) 1994: Birds of Europe. Packer , C. 1994: Into Africa Norton, B. G., Hutchins, M., Stevens, E. F., Maple, T. L. & Wuichet , J. (eds.) 1995: Ethics on the ark.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book Reviews in this Article:
Accountability of Bioethics Committees and Consultants by Sigrid Fry Revere.
Research Ethics in Practice : The Animal Ethics Committees in Sweden,
The Beginning of Human Life edited by Fritz K. Beller and Robert F. Weir. Dordecht
Dementia und Aging: Ethics, Values, ad Policy Choices , edited by Robert H. Binstock, Stephen G. Post and Peter J. White-house.
Least Worst Death — Essays in Bioethics on the End of Life by Margaret Pabst Battin.
All God's Mistakes — Genetic Counseling in a Pediatric Hospital by Charles L. Bosk.
Informed Consent: Patient Autonomy and Physician Beneficence within Clinical Medicine by Stephen Wear.     

Genetic parameters of intra- and inter-specific hybrids of Eucalyptus globulus and E. nitens

Intra-specific hybrids within Eucalyptus nitens and E. globulus were compared directly with inter-specific E. nitens × globulus using common parents. Diameter (age 2, 4, 6, 10 years) and Pilodyn (age 6 years) were used as indirect measures of growth and wood density, respectively. Genetic parameters were estimated for all cross types and traits. A direct comparison of the general combining ability with the general hybridising ability was made. Heterosis was estimated for intra- and inter-specific hybrids. The intra-specific hybrids in both species exhibit intermediate heritabilities and levels of additive genetic variance. The inter-specific F1 E. nitens × globulus exhibited high incidence of abnormalities at young ages and high levels of later age mortality. The mean performance of surviving inter-specific F1 hybrids was generally intermediate for all traits, to varying degrees, between the parental intra-specific crosses, and there is little evidence for significant heterosis. Different provenances of E. globulus may exhibit different responses to hybridisation. In this case, the inter-specific F1 hybrids, using Taranna E. globulus, appear to perform worse on average than those using King Island provenance for growth traits. There is evidence that specific hybrid families are produced that outperform most of the pure species families for one or other of the traits examined; however, there is no reliable quantitative genetic method of predicting which parents should be used.     

Comparisons of morphology and neritic distributions of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Euphausia crystallorophias</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Euphausia superba</Emphasis> furcilia during autumn and winter west of the Antarctic Peninsula

Euphausia crystallorophias and E. superba larvae often overlap in distribution in Antarctic coastal regions. Here, we describe the morphology and ecology of E. crystallorophias furcilia stages F3–F6, with emphasis on characteristics that distinguish them from E. superba, based on samples collected west of the Antarctic Peninsula during autumn and winter 2001 and 2002. During autumn most E. crystallorophias occurred as F4s (53%) and F5s (35%), while E. superba occurred in all furcilia stages (F1–F6). During winter, F6 was the dominant stage (>67%) for both species. On average, body lengths of E. crystallorophias larval stages were significantly greater than those of E. superba. During autumn, densities of the two species were similar (range: 0.003–11.8 m^–3) at many on-shelf stations, with lower densities during winter. Where both species occurred, >58% of E. crystallorophias furcilia were collected between 50 and 100 m depth, while 82% of E. superba were shallower (25–50 m). Younger stages of E. crystallorophias occurred more frequently (54% of F3s) in water >100 m than older stages (11% of F6s). Thus, many larval E. crystallorophias were vertically segregated from E. superba, thereby reducing grazing competition between the young of these morphologically similar species.     

Climate change alters the trophic niche of a declining apex marine predator

Changes in the world's oceans have altered nutrient flow, and affected the viability of predator populations when prey species become unavailable. These changes are integrated into the tissues of apex predators over space and time and can be quantified using stable isotopes in the inert feathers of historical and contemporary avian specimens. We measured δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in Flesh‐footed Shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes) from Western and South Australia from 1936–2011. The Flesh‐footed Shearwaters more than doubled their trophic niche (from 3.91 ± 1.37 ‰² to 10.00 ± 1.79 ‰²), and dropped an entire trophic level in 75 years (predicted δ¹⁵N decreased from +16.9 ‰ to + 13.5 ‰, and δ¹³C from ?16.9 ‰ to ?17.9 ‰) – the largest change in δ¹⁵N yet reported in any marine bird, suggesting a relatively rapid shift in the composition of the Indian Ocean food web, or changes in baseline δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values. A stronger El Niño‐Southern Oscillation results in a weaker Leeuwin Current in Western Australia, and decreased Flesh‐footed Shearwater δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N. Current climate forecasts predict this trend to continue, leading to increased oceanic ‘tropicalization' and potentially competition between Flesh‐footed Shearwaters and more tropical sympatric species with expanding ranges. Flesh‐footed Shearwater populations are declining, and current conservation measures aimed primarily at bycatch mitigation are not restoring populations. Widespread shifts in foraging, as shown here, may explain some of the reported decline. An improved understanding and ability to mitigate the impacts of global climactic changes is therefore critical to the long‐term sustainability of this declining species.     

Systematic revision and molecular phylogeny of the land snail genus Fruticocampylaea (Gastropoda: Hygromiidae) from the Caucasus region

This paper presents a systematic revision and a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Caucasian land snail genus Fruticocampylaea. The genus is newly delimited based on the reduction of the cavities adjoining the seminal duct in the penial papilla. Shell and genitalia of all five species (F. narzanensis, F. kobensis, F. tushetica sp. nov., F. christophori, F. daghestana) are described and figures provided. All synonyms and all locality records are listed. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences (fragments of cox1, 16S rDNA, ITS2 and 28S rDNA) confirm the monophyly of Fruticocampylaea. The reduction of the dart apparatus and the conical plug, via which the dart apparatus inserts into the vagina, as well as the molecular phylogenetic analyses, suggests a sister group relationship between Fruticocampylaea and Circassina (without Abchasohela). Furthermore, the molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that the Fruticocampylaea species originated in a rapid radiation. The uplift of the Greater Caucasus in the Late Miocene or Pliocene or climatic changes at the end of the Pliocene or in the early Pleistocene may have caused the radiation of Fruticocampylaea. Low intraspecific variability can be explained by population bottlenecks during Pleistocene glacial periods followed by postglacial population increase.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AB15158D-21A3-4945-8D49-F7DE8E406E2B     

The quorum-sensing system AvsR-AvsI regulates both long-chain and short-chain acyl-homoserine lactones in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium vitis</Emphasis> E26

Agrobacterium vitis strain E26 is a nonpathogenic bacterium isolated from grape crown gall. In this study, the identification of a luxR-luxI type quorum-sensing system in strain E26 is reported. This system is involved in the induction of hypersensitive response on tobacco, but not its biocontrol activity. The deduced components AvsI_E26 and AvsR_E26 show the greatest similarity to AvsI_F2/5 and AvsR_F2/5, respectively from A. vitis strain F2/5. The mutant in AvsI_E26 abolished the production of both long-chain and short-chain acyl-homoserine lactones signals as well as the ability to cause hypersensitive response on tobacco. Complementaion of avsI _E26 and avsR _E26 genes restored the lost phenotypes to the level of wild type E26. In pot trial, no significant difference on biocontrol efficiency against grapevine crown gall was found between the wide type E26 and its quorum sensing negative mutants. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Ethics and Aging: The Right to Live, the Right to Die, edited by James E. Thornton and Earl R. Winkler
Medical Ethics, edited by Robert M. Veatch
A Casebook in Medical Ethics, by Terence F. Ackerman and Carson R. Strong     

Gene frequencies of caprine αs1-casein polymorphism in Spanish goat breeds

Using electrophoretic techniques (PAGE-SDS and IEF), we report allelic frequencies of caprine α_s1-casein (Cn) locus in four Spanish milking breeds: Murciana-Granadina, Malagueña, Payoya and Canaria. The E allele (intermediate content of α_s1-Cn in milk) was predominant in dairy breeds Murciana-Granadina, E:0.59; Malagueña, E:0.65 and Payoya, E:0.76, while alleles A and B (high content of α_s1-Cn) were more frequent in the Canaria dairy breed (A:0.28 and B:0.32). Among the Spanish breeds, Canaria represents a particular case where 60% of the alleles were of the high type (A and B). The ethnical group Canaria Palmera was particularly high in the frequency of alleles A and B (91%) very similar to the Italian Garganica breed (98%). The low frequency of F allele (reduced level of α_s1-Cn) in Spanish breeds (Murciana-Granadina, F:0.08; Malagueña, F:0.04; Payoya, F:0.00 and Canaria, F: and Saanen breeds. It is important to note that in the Payoya breed no low or null alleles (F, D, 0) were detected. It seems unlikely that genetic selection for milk production has had a significant influence in determining the α_s1-Cn allelic distribution in goat populations. The direct relationship existing between these allelic variants and differences in the Cn content and in the physico-chemical properties of milk, can be used as a tool in the improvement of milk processing quality and cheese yields of Spanish milking breeds.     

Rhagada revisited: on the taxonomy of species from the Kimberley and Dampierland,Western Australia (Pulmonata,Camaenidae)

The genus Rhagada is the second most diverse camaenid genus in Australia. We examined anatomical and mitochondrial characters of previously unidentified material from the Kimberley that was earmarked to potentially represent new species in recently published molecular phylogenetic studies. Our comparisons revealed that specimens from Gibbings Island (‘R. sp. Gibbings’) were morphologically and genetically most similar to Rhagada cygna from the Dampier Peninsula. Hence, ‘R. sp. Gibbings’ is considered to be identical to R. cygna. In addition, we found that R. cygna as so delimited is not clearly distinguished from the second species on the Dampier Peninsula, Rhagada bulgana. Both species differ rather subtly in anatomical and mitochondrial characters, indicating their close relationships and potentially incomplete evolutionary differentiation. Furthermore, we describe two new species based on comparative morphology and mitochondrial sequences: Rhagada worora n. sp. from the Prince Regent Reserve in the Kimberley and Rhagada karajarri n. sp. from Dampierland. The present study confirms that species in Rhagada are best identified by means of both morphological and molecular data.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:556E1866-6F9E-4CC0-8ACF-CD56E929501F     

A new species of frog-eyed gecko,genus Teratoscincus Strauch, 1863 (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), from southeastern Iran

Herein we describe a new species of Teratoscincus Strauch, 1863 from remote desert areas of the Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran. Based on morphological characters, this species, Teratoscincus sistanense sp. n., has a close relationship with T. microlepis and is distinct from all other members of its genus by the number of small scales around the midbody. We provide information about the ecology, biology and conservation of this new species. A comparison with the other three Iranian species of Teratoscincus and an updated key to this genus in Iran are presented.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:77F54322-6CCA-46F1-A74B-B8A75E1F1F8D     

AFLP mapping of QTLs for in vitro organogenesis traits using recombinant inbred lines in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Genetic control for two in vitro organogenesis traits, the number of shoots per explant plated (S/E) and the number of shoots per regenerating explant (S/RE), was investigated in 75 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of sunflower and their two parents (PAC-2 and RHA-266). Genetic variability was observed among the 75 RILs for the organogenesis traits studied. Some RILs presented significant differences when compared with the best parental line (RHA-266). Genetic gain, in terms of the percentage of the best parent, for 32% of the selected RILs was significant. A set of 99RILs from the same cross including the 75 mentioned above was screened with 333 AFLP markers and a linkage map was constructed based on 264 linked loci. Six putative QTLs for the S/RE (tentatively named osr) and seven QTLs for the S/E (ose) trait were detected using composite interval mapping. For each trait, the QTLs explained 52% (ose) and 67% (osr) of the total phenotypic variance. These results suggested that additive gene effects predominate in explaining a large proportion of the observed genetic variation associated with regeneration ability. The coincidental location of QTLs for S/E and S/RE is discussed. Received: 20 September 1999 / Accepted: 16 May 2000     

Both farnesyl diphosphate synthase genes are involved in the production of alarm pheromone in the green peach aphid Myzus persicae

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS) catalyzes the formation of FPP, providing the precursor for the biosynthesis of (E)‐β‐farnesene (EβF) in plants, but it is unknown if FPPS supplies the precursor for the biosynthesis of EβF, the major component of aphid alarm pheromone, though our previous studies support the hypothesis that EβF is synthesized by the aphid itself. Here, we used two cohorts of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae separately, reared on pepper plant and artificial diet to test the correlations among droplet emission, EβF quantity, and FPPS gene expression. It was found that the proportion of aphids emitting cornicle droplets and the quantity of EβF per milligram of aphid were both significantly different between the two cohorts, which were positively correlated with the expression of the two FPPS genes ( MpFPPS1/ 2) in M. persicae. These results were further confirmed by RNAi‐mediated knockdown of MpFPPS1/ 2. Specifically, knockdown of MpFPPS1/ 2 imposed no significant cost on the survival of aphid but remarkably increased the number of offspring per aphid; most importantly, knockdown of MpFPPS1/ 2 significantly reduced the proportion of aphids emitting droplets and the quantity of EβF calculated as per the weight of aphid. Our results suggest that both FPPS genes are involved in the production of EβF in M. persicae and cornicle droplet emission is closely associated with the EβF release in the aphid.