Inversions in evolution of man and closely related species

By the comparative study of the karyotypes of many Primates, 35 inversions (25 peri- and 10 paracentric) having accumulated during evolution of species related to man were reconstructed. Some of them originated human chromosomes from more ancestral chromosomes still present in other primate species. Their detection in man would indicate the occurrence of reverse mutations. Other inversions occurred in ancestral chromosomes identical to those of man, and originated chromosomes of other Primates species. Their detection in man would indicate the occurrence of a convergent mutation. It is shown that such reverse and convergent mutations do occur. They are too frequently observed than by mere chance among patients ascertained in human cytogenetic laboratories. Their excess is still larger among radiation induced inversions in human cells. This demonstrates the nonrandom occurrence of inversions. In addition, it is concluded that inversions which have accumulated during evolution are more representative of mutagenesis than those detected in human cytogenetic laboratories.     

Molecular relationships between closely related strains and species of nematodes

Summary Electrophoretic comparisons have been made for 24 enzymes in theBergerac andBristol strains ofCaenorhabditis elegans and the related species,Caenorhabditis briggsae. No variation was detected between the two strains ofC. elegans. In contrast, the two species,C. elegans andC. briggsae exhibited electrophoretic differences in 22 of 24 enzymes. A consensus 5S rRNA sequence was determined forC. elegans and found to be identical to that fromC. briggsae. By analogy with other species with relatively well established fossil records it can be inferred that the time of divergence between the two nematode species is probably in the tens of millions of years.The limited anatomical evolution during a time period in which proteins undergo extensive changes supports the hypothesis that anatomical evolution is not dependent on overall protein changes.     

The systematics of Porphyra: character evolution in closely related species

Isozymes, vegetative and reproductive morphology, seasonality, vertical and geographic distributions and chromosomes were compared for six pairs of putative sibling species of Porphyra (P. abbottae/P. torta, P. fallax subsp. fallax/P. fallax subsp. conwayae, P. amplissima/P. cuneiformis, P. fucicola/P. leucostica, P. miniata/P. variegata, P. umbilicalis/P. umbilicalis) and among five species in a complex (P. brumalis, P. kurogii, P. linearis, P. pseudolinearis, and P. purpurea.) Geographic distribution and zymograms for certain proteins showed the greatest change between species pairs: only one pair of species had identical distributions, and most species pairs were disjunct; every species had a different allozyme for GOT-1, whereas all species had apparently identical proteins for phycoerythrin. Seasonality and habitat exhibited moderate differentiation: Northeast Pacific sibling species were characterized by a high intertidal winter species pairing with a mid intertidal spring species, whereas all but one of the other species pairs exhibited nearly identical vertical distributions and seasonalities. There were few changes in morphology: most species pairs had essentially identical morphologies and coloration and the same arrangement of reproductive cells. Chromosome numbers and karyotypes were identical for species pairs and in the species complex. These results provide evidence for different rates of evolution of different characters in the genus Porphyra.     

Molecular evolution of immunoglobulin and fibronectin domains in titin and related muscle proteins.

The family of regulatory and structural muscle proteins, which includes the giant kinases titin, twitchin and projectin, has sequences composed predominantly of serially linked immunoglobulin I set (Ig) and fibronectin type III (FN3) domains. This paper explores the evolutionary relationships between 16 members of this family. In titin, groups of Ig and FN3 domains are arranged in a regularly repeating pattern of seven and 11 domains. The 11-domain super-repeat has its origins in the seven-domain super-repeat and a model for the duplications which gave rise to this super-repeat is proposed. A super-repeat composed solely of immunoglobulin domains is found in the skeletal muscle isoform of titin. Twitchin and projectin, which are presumed to be orthologs, have undergone significant insertion/deletion of domains since their divergence. The common ancestry of myomesin, skelemin and M-protein is shown. The relationship between myosin binding proteins (MyBPs) C and H is confirmed, and MyBP-H is proposed to have given rise to MyBP-C by the acquisition of some titin domains.     

An analysis of G matrix variation in two closely related cricket species,Gryllus firmus and G. pennsylvanicus

An important issue in evolutionary biology is understanding the pattern of G matrix variation in natural populations. We estimated four G matrices based on the morphological traits of two cricket species, Gryllus firmus and G. pennsylvanicus, each reared in two environments. We used three matrix comparison approaches, including the Flury hierarchy, to improve our ability to perceive all aspects of matrix variation. Our results demonstrate that different methods perceive different aspects of the matrices, which suggests that, until more is known about these methods, future studies should use several different statistical approaches. We also found that the differences in G matrices within a species can be larger than the differences between species. We conclude that the expression of the genetic architecture can vary with the environment and that future studies should compare G matrices across several environments. We also conclude that G matrices can be conserved at the level of closely related species.     

Inferring species relationships among Camellia chrysanthoides and its closely related species for developing conservation strategies

Accurate species classification is important for developing conservation strategies for endangered species. Camellia chrysanthoides and its closely related species are currently threatened. However, the taxonomy of these species is complex and contentious. A total of 87 individuals from nine populations of C. chrysanthoides and its close relatives were collected and analyzed using two nuclear genes (PAL and waxy) and a chloroplast DNA fragment. Molecular and morphological evidence demonstrates that C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha share floral traits and nuclear and chloroplast haplotypes, suggesting that they should be treated as a single species. Our nuclear results indicated that C. parvipetala is genetically close to C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha. A barrier to gene flow between C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha populations and the high number of private nuclear haplotypes in C. parvipetala suggest that C. chrysanthoides, C. micrantha and C. parvipetala should be recognized as three independent conservation units.     

Molecular evolution and phylogeny of theDrosophila virilis species group as inferred by two-dimensional electrophoresis

Summary Systematic relationship among the 12 species of theDrosophila virilis species group, andDrosophila robusta, were investigated by the use of two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). A total of 389 protein characters (about 200 loci) were scored and analyzed both phylogenetically and phenetically. The resulting phylogeny was found to be largely concordant with the current views of evolution among these species based on other independent morphological, chromosomal, electrophoretic, and immunological data sets, although some notable differences were observed. The 2-DE data also appeared to be useful for constructing a molecular clock to date the absolute times of divergence among the species. It appears from this analysis that the evolution of the major clades within the species group occurred about 20 million years ago. Previous suggestions that the rate of molecular evolution was different between the virilis and montana phylads was not confirmed. The technique of 2-DE seems to be an excellent tool for reconstructing phylogenies and should be particularly valuable for examining relatively closely related species.     

Correlated evolution of chloroplast heat shock protein expression in closely related plant species

Interspecific variation in chloroplast low molecular weight (cLMW) HSP (heat shock protein) expression was examined with respect to phylogeny, species specific leaf area, chlorophyll fluorescence, and mean environmental conditions within species ranges. Eight species of Ceanothus (Rhamnaceae) were heat shocked for 4 h at several different temperatures. Leaf samples were collected immediately after the heat shock, and cLMW HSP expression was quantified using Western blots. At 45°C species from the subgenus Cerastes had significantly greater cLMW HSP expression than species from the subgenus Ceanothus. Specific leaf area was negatively correlated with cLMW HSP expression after the 45°C heat treatment. In addition, chlorophyll fluorescence (F(v)/F(m)) 1 h after the heat shocks was positively correlated with cLMW HSP expression. Contrary to our prediction, there was no correlation between July maximum temperature within species ranges and cLMW HSP expression. These results suggest that evolutionary differentiation in cLMW HSP expression is associated with leaf physiological parameters and related aspects of life history, yet associations between climatic conditions within species ranges and cLMW HSP expression require further study.     

Molecular stability of chicken and rabbit immunoglobulin G.

Molecular stability of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulin G (IgY) and that of rabbit IgG were compared by measuring antibody activities and conformational changes. Stability of rabbit IgG to acid denaturation was much higher than that of IgY. Conformation of the IgY molecule was readily changed in acidic conditions, resulting in a rapid loss of antibody activity. Much less stable natures of IgY to heat-treatment and guanidine-HCl denaturation than rabbit IgG were also observed. Differences in the structure between the two immunoglobulins that might participate in their different stability were inferred from their amino acid sequence data. Importance of the intramolecular disulfide linkage in the rabbit light chain and some other structural differences were suggested.     

Structural divergence among genomes of closely related baculoviruses and its implications for baculovirus evolution

Baculoviruses are members of a large, well-characterized family of dsDNA viruses that have been identified from insects of the orders Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera. Baculovirus genomes from different virus species generally exhibit a considerable degree of structural diversity. However, some sequenced baculovirus genomes from closely related viruses are structurally very similar and share overall nucleotide sequence identities in excess of 95%. This review focuses on the comparative analysis of partial and complete nucleotide sequences from two groups of closely related baculoviruses with broad host ranges: (a) group I multiple nucleopolyhedroviruses (MNPVs) from a cluster including Autographa californica (Ac)MNPV, Rachiplusia ou (Ro)MNPV, and Plutella xylostella (Plxy)MNPV; and (b) granuloviruses (GVs) from a cluster including Xestia c-nigrum (Xecn)GV and Helicoverpa armigera (Hear)GV. Even though the individual viruses in these clusters share high nucleotide sequence identities, a significant degree of genomic rearrangement (in the form of insertions, deletions, and homologous recombination resulting in allelic replacement) is evident from alignments of their genomes. These observations suggest an important role for recombination in the early evolution and biological characteristics of baculoviruses of these two groups.     

Biogeography of the chaetodontidae: an analysis of allopatry among closely related species

Synopsis A recent survey of chaetodontid osteology has produced a hypothesis of relationships among 22 osteologically distinct genera and subgenera. Fourteen supra-specific taxa have distributions that are Indo-Pacific or larger. Most sister taxa inferred by osteology are broadly sympatric. The basal dichotomy within the large genusChaetodon contrasts monophyletic groups centered in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific with little overlap. Divergence of Atlantic and Indo-Pacific distributions is correlated with the closing of the Tethys seaway 18–13 million years ago. Distributional data of Burgess (1978) and Allen (1980) are reevaluated in the context of putative species pairs and complexes. Species in nearly two thirds of these complexes (18 of 31) are distributed allopatrically. Eight complexes are examined in more detail. Five of these eight contain at least one peripherically isolated species. Distributions of species in four complexes indicate that previously wide-spread species were cleaved more symmetrically. Sympatric distributions within two species pairs indicate that the more narrowly distributed species in each pair arose through central isolation within a broadly distributed ancestor. The area of central isolation corresponds to the classical center of origin. A new hypothesis of vicariance followed by dispersal may partially explain the diversity gradient so prominently featured in dispersal-oriented tropical marine biogeography.