An Evolutionary Perspective for Bimodal Respiration: A Biological Synthesis of Fish Air Breathing

SYNOPSIS: The broad phyletic distribution of bimodal breathingamong the fishes, the diversity of this group's aerial-respiratoryspecializations, and the numerous ways that bimodality has permeatedthe natural history of many species provide a broad perspectiveon the evolution and biological significance of bimodal breathing.The long term evolutionary view of bimodal breathing emphasizesits importance in the evolutionary transition to terrestriality;a key role in this process was played by the fishes which werethe first air-breathing vertebrates. On the other hand, in mostextant fishes bimodality has not led to terrestriality. Rather,auxiliary air breathing enables a species to remain in or toexploit an aquatic habitat from which it would otherwise beexcluded.     

Diversity of palm uses in the western Amazon

We used palm knowledge to understand the interaction between people and the rainforests and the factors that influence this dynamic process. We interviewed 278 informants in 12 villages in the Pastaza and Madidi areas of the western Amazon basin. Together they used 38 different palm species for 38 different uses in six use-categories (food, construction, utensils, ritual, medicine, commercial). Euterpe precatoria, Iriartea deltoidea, and Oenocarpus bataua were best known and were mentioned as useful by 76–72% of the informants in the 12 villages. There was a great variation in number of uses and in how widespread the uses were and five of the 38 useful palms were mentioned by only one informant. Among the socioeconomic factors analyzed, the residence village influenced the informants’ knowledge of palms and their uses more than any other factor. Length of education, prosperity and for how long the informant had lived in the village were also positively correlated to how many palms and palm uses were known. Gender differences in informants’ knowledge of palm uses were not observed in our data. We suggest, that the high importance of forest products to the livelihood of the villagers, the great variation in the knowledge they possess, and the fact that the differences between villages is so great, are important elements to consider when developing management plans for the sustainable use of the rainforest resources in the western Amazon.     

Diversity of Mechanical Architectures in Climbing Plants: An Evolutionary Perspective

Mechanical architectures of a wide range of climbing plants are reviewed from a wide phylogenetic range and evolutionary contingencies. They include an herbaceous lycopod (Lycopodiaceae) - a woody tropical liana (Apocynaceae), temperate climbers, herbs and shrubs (Ranunculacae), and two representative climbing palms (Arecoideae, Calamoideae). Trends in mechanical properties during development are reviewed and interpreted via changes in anatomical development of the stem and type of connection to host supports. The results indicate that there are some biomechanical features common to diverse climbing plants including (1) phases of relatively rigid stem growth where the climbing stem has to span between supports and (2) a mechanism to achieve greater compliancy towards the base or at points where the slender climbing stem is at risk from excessive mechanical stress. Evolutionary contingencies such as basal plesiomorphic constraint, complexification, simplification and developmental loss can drastically influence ways in which different plants have evolved different biomechanical climbing architectures. Two key developmental features controlling the biomechanics of the climbing stem are (1) the presence/absence of secondary growth and (2) the number, complexity and coordination of development of primary or secondary tissues with varying mechanical properties. Recent research has suggested that evolution of specialized climbing architectures can canalize subsequent evolution of alternative growth forms. The results suggest that the origin and type of climbing architecture can be heavily influenced by ancestral growth forms and architectures. Despite the extremely complex patterns of plant growth form evolution involving escapes to and from more specialized or simpler bauplans, selective pressure towards non-self-supporting growth forms is a remarkably persistent and iterative feature of growth form evolution in land plants.     

《生物多样性公约》介绍（之一）

《生物多样性公约》介绍（之一）白长波（国家环保局国际合作司,北京１０００３５）生物多样性公约》（英文为ＣｏｎｖｅｎｔｉｏｎｏｎＢｉｏｌｏｇｉｃａｌＤｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙ,以下简称《公约》）按其结构来划分,共分为三个部分：序言部分、４２项条款和两个附件。同...     

《生物多样性公约》介绍（之三）

《生物多样性公约》介绍（之三）白长波（国家环保局国际合作司,北京１０００３５）《生物多样性公约》（以下简称《公约》）第２３条至第４２条,基本上可以归纳为《公约》的程序性规定部分。这部分共２０条,分别就《公约》的组织结构、有法律约束力的附属文件、法律程...     

Fermentation Monitoring and Control: A Perspective

Abstract

One of the fastest growing fields in the pharmaceutical industry is the market for therapeutic glycoproteins. Today, these molecules play a major role in the treatment of various diseases, and include several protein classes, i.e., clotting factors, hormones, cytokines, antisera, enzymes, enzyme inhibitors, Ig-Fc-Fusion proteins, and monoclonal antibodies. Optimal glycosylation is critical for therapeutic glycoproteins, as glycans can influence their yield, immunogenicity and efficacy, which impact the costs and success of such treatments. While several mammalian cell expression systems currently used can produce therapeutic glycoproteins that are mostly decorated with human-like glycans, they can differ from human glycans by presenting two structures at the terminal and therefore most exposed position. First, natural human N-glycans are lacking the terminal Gal? 1–3Gal (alpha-Gal) modification;     

Ribosomal Multi-Operon Diversity: An Original Perspective on the Genus Aeromonas

16S rRNA gene (rrs) is considered of low taxonomic interest in the genus Aeromonas. Here, 195 Aeromonas strains belonging to populations structured by multilocus phylogeny were studied using an original approach that considered Ribosomal Multi-Operon Diversity. This approach associated pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to assess rrn operon number and distribution across the chromosome and PCR-temporal temperature gel electrophoresis (TTGE) to assess rrs V3 region heterogeneity. Aeromonads harbored 8 to 11 rrn operons, 10 operons being observed in more than 92% of the strains. Intraspecific variability was low or nul except for A. salmonicida and A. aquariorum suggesting that large chromosomic rearrangements might occur in these two species while being extremely rarely encountered in the evolution of other taxa. rrn operon number at 8 as well as PFGE patterns were shown valuable for taxonomic purpose allowing resolution of species complexes. PCR-TTGE revealed a high rate of strains (41.5%) displaying intragenomic rrs heterogeneity. Strains isolated from human samples more frequently displayed intragenomic heterogeneity than strains recovered from non-human and environmental specimens. Intraspecific variability ranged from 0 to 76.5% of the strains. The observation of species-specific TTGE bands, the recovery of identical V3 regions in different species and the variability of intragenomic heterogeneity (1–13 divergent nucleotides) supported the occurrence of mutations and horizontal transfer in aeromonad rrs evolution. Altogether, the presence of a high number of rrn operon, the high proportion of strains harboring divergent rrs V3 region and the previously demonstrated high level of genetic diversity argued in favor of highly adaptative capabilities of aeromonads. Outstanding features observed for A. caviae supported the ongoing process of adaptation to a specialized niche represented by the gut, previously hypothesized. 16S rRNA gene is an informative marker in the genus Aeromonas for both evolutionary and polyphasic taxonomic studies provided that multi-operon fingerprinting approaches are used.     

A Three-Tiered Approach to Long Term Monitoring Program Optimization

Long term monitoring optimization (LTMO) has proved a valuable method for reducing costs, assuring proper remedial decisions are made, and streamlining data collection and management requirements over the life of a monitoring program. A three-tiered approach for LTMO has been developed that combines a qualitative evaluation with an evaluation of temporal trends in contaminant concentrations, and a spatial statistical analysis. The results of the three evaluations are combined to determine the degree to which a monitoring program addresses the monitoring program objectives, and a decision algorithm is applied to assess the optimal frequency of monitoring and spatial distribution of the components of the monitoring network. Ultimately, application of the three-tiered method can be used to identify potential modifications in sampling locations and sampling frequency that will optimally meet monitoring objectives. To date, the three-tiered approach has been applied to monitoring programs at 18 sites and has been used to identify a potential average reduction of over one-third of well sampling events per year. This paper discusses the three-tiered approach methodology, including data compilation and site screening, qualitative evaluation decision logic, temporal trend evaluation, and spatial statistical analysis, illustrated using the results of a case study site. Additionally, results of multiple applications of the three-tiered LTMO approach are summarized, and future work is discussed.     

A Three-Tiered Approach to Long Term Monitoring Program Optimization

Long term monitoring optimization (LTMO) has proved a valuable method for reducing costs, assuring proper remedial decisions are made, and streamlining data collection and management requirements over the life of a monitoring program. A three-tiered approach for LTMO has been developed that combines a qualitative evaluation with an evaluation of temporal trends in contaminant concentrations, and a spatial statistical analysis. The results of the three evaluations are combined to determine the degree to which a monitoring program addresses the monitoring program objectives, and a decision algorithm is applied to assess the optimal frequency of monitoring and spatial distribution of the components of the monitoring network. Ultimately, application of the three-tiered method can be used to identify potential modifications in sampling locations and sampling frequency that will optimally meet monitoring objectives. To date, the three-tiered approach has been applied to monitoring programs at 18 sites and has been used to identify a potential average reduction of over one-third of well sampling events per year. This paper discusses the three-tiered approach methodology, including data compilation and site screening, qualitative evaluation decision logic, temporal trend evaluation, and spatial statistical analysis, illustrated using the results of a case study site. Additionally, results of multiple applications of the three-tiered LTMO approach are summarized, and future work is discussed.     

Biological Diversity in the Patent System

Biological diversity in the patent system is an enduring focus of controversy but empirical analysis of the presence of biodiversity in the patent system has been limited. To address this problem we text mined 11 million patent documents for 6 million Latin species names from the Global Names Index (GNI) established by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). We identified 76,274 full Latin species names from 23,882 genera in 767,955 patent documents. 25,595 species appeared in the claims section of 136,880 patent documents. This reveals that human innovative activity involving biodiversity in the patent system focuses on approximately 4% of taxonomically described species and between 0.8–1% of predicted global species. In this article we identify the major features of the patent landscape for biological diversity by focusing on key areas including pharmaceuticals, neglected diseases, traditional medicines, genetic engineering, foods, biocides, marine genetic resources and Antarctica. We conclude that the narrow focus of human innovative activity and ownership of genetic resources is unlikely to be in the long term interest of humanity. We argue that a broader spectrum of biodiversity needs to be opened up to research and development based on the principles of equitable benefit-sharing, respect for the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, human rights and ethics. Finally, we argue that alternative models of innovation, such as open source and commons models, are required to open up biodiversity for research that addresses actual and neglected areas of human need. The research aims to inform the implementation of the 2010 Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization and international debates directed to the governance of genetic resources. Our research also aims to inform debates under the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore at the World Intellectual Property Organization.