When size makes a difference: allometry, life-history and morphological evolution of capuchins (Cebus) and squirrels (Saimiri) monkeys (Cebinae, Platyrrhini)

Background

How are morphological evolution and developmental changes related? This rather old and intriguing question had a substantial boost after the 70s within the framework of heterochrony (changes in rates or timing of development) and nowadays has the potential to make another major leap forward through the combination of approaches: molecular biology, developmental experimentation, comparative systematic studies, geometric morphometrics and quantitative genetics. Here I take an integrated approach combining life-history comparative analyses, classical and geometric morphometrics applied to ontogenetic series to understand changes in size and shape which happen during the evolution of two New World Monkeys (NWM) sister genera.

Results

Cebus and Saimiri share the same basic allometric patterns in skull traits, a result robust to sexual and ontogenetic variation. If adults of both genera are compared in the same scale (discounting size differences) most differences are small and not statistically significant. These results are consistent using both approaches, classical and geometric Morphometrics. Cebus is a genus characterized by a number of peramorphic traits (adult-like) while Saimiri is a genus with paedomorphic (child like) traits. Yet, the whole clade Cebinae is characterized by a unique combination of very high pre-natal growth rates and relatively slow post-natal growth rates when compared to the rest of the NWM. Morphologically Cebinae can be considered paedomorphic in relation to the other NWM. Geometric morphometrics allows the precise separation of absolute size, shape variation associated with size (allometry), and shape variation non-associated with size. Interestingly, and despite the fact that they were extracted as independent factors (principal components), evolutionary allometry (those differences in allometric shape associated with intergeneric differences) and ontogenetic allometry (differences in allometric shape associated with ontogenetic variation within genus) are correlated within these two genera. Furthermore, morphological differences produced along these two axes are quite similar. Cebus and Saimiri are aligned along the same evolutionary allometry and have parallel ontogenetic allometry trajectories.

Conclusion

The evolution of these two Platyrrhini monkeys is basically due to a size differentiation (and consequently to shape changes associated with size). Many life-history changes are correlated or may be the causal agents in such evolution, such as delayed on-set of reproduction in Cebus and larger neonates in Saimiri.     

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alter plant allometry and biomass-density relationships

Background and Aims

Plant biomass–density relationships during self-thinning are determined mainly by allometry. Both allometry and biomass–density relationship have been shown to vary with abiotic conditions, but the effects of biotic interactions have not been investigated. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can promote plant growth and affect plant form. Here experiments were carried out to test whether AMF affect plant allometry and the self-thinning trajectory.

Methods

Two experiments were conducted on Medicago sativa L., a leguminous species known to be highly dependent on mycorrhiza. Two mycorrhizal levels were obtained by applying benomyl (low AMF) or not (high AMF). Experiment 1 investigated the effects of AMF on plant growth in the absence of competition. Experiment 2 was a factorial design with two mycorrhizal levels and two plant densities (6000 and 17 500 seeds m⁻²). Shoot biomass, root biomass and canopy radius were measured 30, 60, 90 and 120 d after sowing. The allometric relationships among these aspects of size were estimated by standardized major axis regression on log-transformed data.

Key Results

Shoot biomass in the absence of competition was lower under low AMF treatment. In self-thinning populations, the slope of the log (mean shoot biomass) vs. log density relationship was significantly steeper for the high AMF treatment (slope = –1·480) than for the low AMF treatment (–1·133). The canopy radius–biomass allometric exponents were not significantly affected by AMF level, but the root–shoot allometric exponent was higher in the low AMF treatment. With a high level of AMF, the biomass–density exponent can be predicted from the above-ground allometric model of self-thinning, while this was not the case when AMF were reduced by fungicide.

Conclusions

AMF affected the importance of below-ground relative to above-ground interactions and changed root vs. shoot allocation. This changed allometric allocation of biomass and altered the self-thinning trajectory.     

The cost of myrmecophytism: insights from allometry of stem secondary growth

Background and Aims

Plant defence traits against herbivores incur production costs that are usually difficult to measure. However, estimating these costs is a prerequisite for characterizing the plant defence strategy as a whole. Myrmecophytes are plants that provide symbiotic ants with specialized nesting cavities, called domatia, in exchange for protection against herbivores. In the particular case of stem domatia, production of extra wood seems to be the only associated cost, making this indirect defence trait a particularly suitable model for estimating the cost of defence.

Methods

Measurements were made of growth pattern and cumulative production cost of domatia over secondary growth in the myrmecophyte Leonardoxa africana subsp. africana, whose internodes display both a solid basal segment and a hollow distal part (the domatium), thus allowing paired comparison of investment in wood.

Key Results

Previous studies showed that ‘overconstruction’ of the hollow part of internodes during primary growth is needed for mechanical support. In this study, it is shown that the relationship between the woody cross-sectional area of the solid and hollow parts of internodes is negatively allometric at the beginning of secondary growth and nearly isometric later on. Thus, in hollow stems, the first phase of slow secondary growth compensates for the ‘overconstruction’ of the ring of wood during primary growth. Moreover, the cumulative production cost of a domatium (estimated as the additional volume of wood required for a hollow stem compared with a solid one) is very high at the beginning of secondary growth and then quickly tends to zero.

Conclusions

Making domatia incurs high costs early in ontogeny, costs that are then amortized later in development of stems and of individual plants. Characterizing ontogenetic variation of the net cost of this peculiar defence mechanism will help us build more accurate theoretical models of resource allocation in myrmecophytes.     

Prediction of in situ root decomposition rates in an interspecific context from chemical and morphological traits

Background and Aims

We quantitatively relate in situ root decomposition rates of a wide range of trees and herbs used in agroforestry to root chemical and morphological traits in order to better describe carbon fluxes from roots to the soil carbon pool across a diverse group of plant species.

Methods

In situ root decomposition rates were measured over an entire year by an intact core method on ten tree and seven herb species typical of agroforestry systems and were quantified using decay constants (k values) from Olson''s single exponential model. Decay constants were related to root chemical (total carbon, nitrogen, soluble carbon, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin) and morphological (specific root length, specific root length) traits. Traits were measured for both absorbing and non-absorbing roots.

Key Results

From 61 to 77 % of the variation in the different root traits and 63 % of that in root decomposition rates was interspecific. N was positively correlated, but total carbon and lignin were negatively correlated with k values. Initial root traits accounted for 75 % of the variation in interspecific decomposition rates using partial least squares regressions; partial slopes attributed to each trait were consistent with functional ecology expectations.

Conclusions

Easily measured initial root traits can be used to predict rates of root decomposition in soils in an interspecific context.     

Models of ontogenetic allometry in cladoceran morphology studies

Ontogenetic variation of morphological traits in cladocerans is usually analysed by a simple allometry function. We found that common cyclomorphic and inducible traits in Bosmina and Daphnia sometimes deviate from simple allometry, however. Consequently, simple allometric analysis may at times be inadequate since important aspects of the ontogenetic development may not be revealed. We suggest that other allometric models should be used more extensively in ontogenetic studies of cladocerans morphology. Especially, complex allometric functions may help analyse the effects of size-selective predation on morphological defence traits when predators prefer prey of intermediate size. Guest editor: Piet Spaak Cladocera: Proceedings of the 7th International Symposium on Cladocera     

Common allometric response of open-grown leader shoots to tree height in co-occurring deciduous broadleaved trees

Background and Aims

Morphology of crown shoots changes with tree height. The height of forest trees is usually correlated with the light environment and this makes it difficult to separate the effects of tree size and of light conditions on the morphological plasticity of crown shoots. This paper addresses the tree-height dependence of shoot traits under full-light conditions where a tree crown is not shaded by other crowns.

Methods

Focus is given to relationships between tree height and top-shoot traits, which include the shoot''s leaf-blades and non-leafy mass, its total leaf-blade area and the length and basal diameter of the shoot''s stem. We examine the allometric characteristics of open-grown current-year leader shoots at the tops of forest tree crowns up to 24 m high and quantify their responses to tree height in 13 co-occurring deciduous hardwood species in a cool-temperate forest in northern Japan.

Key Results

Dry mass allocated to leaf blades in a leader shoot increased with tree height in all 13 species. Specific leaf area decreased with tree height. Stem basal area was almost proportional to total leaf area in a leader shoot, where the proportionality constant did not depend on tree height, irrespective of species. Stem length for a given stem diameter decreased with tree height.

Conclusions

In the 13 species observed, height-dependent changes in allometry of leader shoots were convergent. This finding suggests that there is a common functional constraint in tree-height development. Under full-light conditions, leader shoots of tall trees naturally experience more severe water stress than those of short trees. We hypothesize that the height dependence of shoot allometry detected reflects an integrated response to height-associated water stress, which contributes to successful crown expansion and height gain.     

Extreme Cranial Ontogeny in the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus

Background

Extended neoteny and late stage allometric growth increase morphological disparity between growth stages in at least some dinosaurs. Coupled with relatively low dinosaur density in the Upper Cretaceous of North America, ontogenetic transformational representatives are often difficult to distinguish. For example, many hadrosaurids previously reported to represent relatively small lambeosaurine species were demonstrated to be juveniles of the larger taxa. Marginocephalians (pachycephalosaurids + ceratopsids) undergo comparable and extreme cranial morphological change during ontogeny.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Cranial histology, morphology and computer tomography reveal patterns of internal skull development that show the purported diagnostic characters for the pachycephalosaurids Dracorex hogwartsia and Stygimoloch spinifer are ontogenetically derived features. Coronal histological sections of the frontoparietal dome of an adult Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis reveal a dense structure composed of metaplastic bone with a variety of extremely fibrous and acellular tissue. Coronal histological sections and computer tomography of a skull and frontoparietal dome of Stygimoloch spinifer reveal an open intrafrontal suture indicative of a subadult stage of development. These dinosaurs employed metaplasia to rapidly grow and change the size and shape of their horns, cranial ornaments and frontoparietal domes, resulting in extreme cranial alterations during late stages of growth. We propose that Dracorex hogwartsia, Stygimoloch spinifer and Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis are the same taxon and represent an ontogenetic series united by shared morphology and increasing skull length.

Conclusions/Significance

Dracorex hogwartsia (juvenile) and Stygimoloch spinifer (subadult) are reinterpreted as younger growth stages of Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis (adult). This synonymy reduces the number of pachycephalosaurid taxa from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and demonstrates the importance of cranial ontogeny in evaluating dinosaur diversity and taxonomy. These growth stages reflect a continuum rather than specific developmental steps defined by “known” terminal morphologies.     

Variation in the ontogenetic allometry of horn length in bovids along a body mass continuum

Allometric relationships describe the proportional covariation between morphological, physiological, or life‐history traits and the size of the organisms. Evolutionary allometries estimated among species are expected to result from species differences in ontogenetic allometry, but it remains uncertain whether ontogenetic allometric parameters and particularly the ontogenetic slope can evolve. In bovids, the nonlinear evolutionary allometry between horn length and body mass in males suggests systematic changes in ontogenetic allometry with increasing species body mass. To test this hypothesis, we estimated ontogenetic allometry between horn length and body mass in males and females of 19 bovid species ranging from ca. 5 to 700 kg. Ontogenetic allometry changed systematically with species body mass from steep ontogenetic allometries over a short period of horn growth in small species to shallow allometry with the growth period of horns matching the period of body mass increase in the largest species. Intermediate species displayed steep allometry over long period of horn growth. Females tended to display shallower ontogenetic allometry with longer horn growth compared to males, but these differences were weak and highly variable. These findings show that ontogenetic allometric slope evolved across species possibly as a response to size‐related changes in the selection pressures acting on horn length and body mass.     

Root–shoot allometry of tropical forest trees determined in a large-scale aeroponic system

Background and Aims

This study is a first step in a multi-stage project aimed at determining allometric relationships among the tropical tree organs, and carbon fluxes between the various tree parts and their environment. Information on canopy–root interrelationships is needed to improve understanding of above- and below-ground processes and for modelling of the regional and global carbon cycle. Allometric relationships between the sizes of different plant parts will be determined.

Methods

Two tropical forest species were used in this study: Ceiba pentandra (kapok), a fast-growing tree native to South and Central America and to Western Africa, and Khaya anthotheca (African mahogany), a slower-growing tree native to Central and Eastern Africa. Growth and allometric parameters of 12-month-old saplings grown in a large-scale aeroponic system and in 50-L soil containers were compared. The main advantage of growing plants in aeroponics is that their root systems are fully accessible throughout the plant life, and can be fully recovered for harvesting.

Key Results

The expected differences in shoot and root size between the fast-growing C. pentandra and the slower-growing K. anthotheca were evident in both growth systems. Roots were recovered from the aeroponically grown saplings only, and their distribution among various diameter classes followed the patterns expected from the literature. Stem, branch and leaf allometric parameters were similar for saplings of each species grown in the two systems.

Conclusions

The aeroponic tree growth system can be utilized for determining the basic allometric relationships between root and shoot components of these trees, and hence can be used to study carbon allocation and fluxes of whole above- and below-ground tree parts.     

Root–shoot growth responses during interspecific competition quantified using allometric modelling

Background and Aims

Plant competition studies are restricted by the difficulty of quantifying root systems of competitors. Analyses are usually limited to above-ground traits. Here, a new approach to address this issue is reported.

Methods

Root system weights of competing plants can be estimated from: shoot weights of competitors; combined root weights of competitors; and slopes (scaling exponents, α) and intercepts (allometric coefficients, β) of ln-regressions of root weight on shoot weight of isolated plants. If competition induces no change in root : shoot growth, α and β values of competing and isolated plants will be equal. Measured combined root weight of competitors will equal that estimated allometrically from measured shoot weights of each competing plant. Combined root weights can be partitioned directly among competitors. If, as will be more usual, competition changes relative root and shoot growth, the competitors'' combined root weight will not equal that estimated allometrically and cannot be partitioned directly. However, if the isolated-plant α and β values are adjusted until the estimated combined root weight of competitors matches the measured combined root weight, the latter can be partitioned among competitors using their new α and β values. The approach is illustrated using two herbaceous species, Dactylis glomerata and Plantago lanceolata.

Key Results

Allometric modelling revealed a large and continuous increase in the root : shoot ratio by Dactylis, but not Plantago, during competition. This was associated with a superior whole-plant dry weight increase in Dactylis, which was ultimately 2·5-fold greater than that of Plantago. Whole-plant growth dominance of Dactylis over Plantago, as deduced from allometric modelling, occurred 14–24 d earlier than suggested by shoot data alone.

Conclusion

Given reasonable assumptions, allometric modelling can analyse competitive interactions in any species mixture, and overcomes a long-standing problem in studies of competition.     

Interspecific prediction of photosynthetic light response curves using specific leaf mass and leaf nitrogen content: effects of differences in soil fertility and growth irradiance

Background and Aims

Previous work has shown that the entire photosynthetic light response curve, based on both Mitscherlich and Michaelis–Menten functions, could be predicted in an interspecific context through allometric relations linking the parameters of these functions to two static leaf traits: leaf nitrogen (N) content and leaf mass per area (LMA). This paper describes to what extent these allometric relations are robust to changes in soil fertility and the growth irradiance of the plants.

Methods

Plants of 25 herbaceous species were grown under controlled conditions in factorial combinations of low/high soil fertility and low/high growth irradiance. Net photosynthetic rates per unit dry mass were measured at light intensities ranging from 0 to 700 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).

Key Results

The differing growth environments induced large changes in N, LMA and in each of the parameter estimates of the Mitscherlich and Michaelis–Menten functions. However, the differing growth environments induced only small (although significant) changes in the allometric relationships linking N and LMA to the parameters of the two functions. As a result, 88 % (Mitcherlich) and 89 % (Michaelis–Menten) of the observed net photosynthetic rates over the full range of light intensities (0–700 µmol m⁻² s⁻¹ PAR) and across all four growth environments could be predicted using only N and LMA using the same allometric relations.

Conclusions

These results suggest the possibility of predicting net photosynthetic rates in nature across species over the full range of light intensities using readily available data.     

Ontogenetic patterns in the mechanisms of tolerance to herbivory in Plantago

Background and Aims

Herbivory and plant defence differ markedly among seedlings and juvenile and mature plants in most species. While ontogenetic patterns of chemical resistance have been the focus of much research, comparatively little is known about how tolerance to damage changes across ontogeny. Due to dramatic shifts in plant size, resource acquisition, stored reserves and growth, it was predicted that tolerance and related underlying mechanisms would differ among ontogenetic stages.

Methods

Ontogenetic patterns in the mechanisms of tolerance were investigated in Plantago lanceolata and P. major (Plantaginaceae) using the genetic sib-ship approach. Pot-grown plants were subjected to 50 % defoliation at the seedling, juvenile and mature stages and either harvested in the short-term to look at plasticity in growth and photosynthesis in response to damage or allowed to grow through seed maturation to measure phenology, shoot compensation and reproductive fitness.

Key Results

Tolerance to defoliation was high in P. lanceolata, but low in P. major, and did not vary among ontogenetic stages in either species. Mechanisms underlying tolerance did vary across ontogeny. In P. lanceolata, tolerance was significantly related to flowering (juveniles) and pre-damage shoot biomass (mature plants). In P. major, tolerance was significantly related to pre-damage root biomass (seedlings) and induction of non-photochemical quenching, a photosynthetic parameter (juveniles).

Conclusions

Biomass partitioning was very plastic in response to damage and showed associations with tolerance in both species, indicating a strong role in plant defence. In contrast, photosynthesis and phenology showed weaker responses to damage and were related to tolerance only in certain ontogenetic stages. This study highlights the pivotal role of ontogeny in plant defence and herbivory. Additional studies in more species are needed to determine how seedlings tolerate herbivory in general and whether mechanisms vary across ontogeny in consistent patterns.     

A comparative analysis of leaf shape of wheat, barley and maize using an empirical shape model

Background and Aims

The phenotypes of grasses show differences depending on growth conditions and ontogenetic stage. Understanding these responses and finding suitable mathematical formalizations are an essential part of the development of plant and crop models. Usually, a marked change in architecture between juvenile and adult plants is observed, where dimension and shape of leaves are likely to change. In this paper, the plasticity of leaf shape is analysed according to growth conditions and ontogeny.

Methods

Leaf shape of Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare and Zea mays cultivars grown under varying conditions was measured using digital image processing. An empirical leaf shape model was fitted to measured shape data of single leaves. Obtained values of model parameters were used to analyse the patterns in leaf shape.

Key Results

The model was able to delineate leaf shape of all studied species. The model error was small. Differences in leaf shape between juvenile and adult leaves in T. aestivum and H. vulgare were observed. Varying growth conditions impacted leaf dimensions but did not impact leaf shape of the respective species.

Conclusions

Leaf shape of the studied T. aestivum and H. vulgare cultivars was remarkably stable for a comparable ontogenetic stage (leaf rank), but differed between stages. Along with other aspects of grass architecture, leaf shape changed during the transition from juvenile to adult growth phase. Model-based analysis of leaf shape is a method to investigate these differences. Presented results can be integrated into architectural models of plant development to delineate leaf shape for different species, cultivars and environmental conditions.     

Broad geographic covariation between floral traits and the mating system in Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia (Onagraceae): multiple stable mixed mating systems across the species' range?

Background and Aims

Plants vary widely in the extent to which seeds are produced via self-fertilization vs. outcrossing, and evolutionary change in the mating system is thought to be accompanied by genetic differentiation in a syndrome of floral traits. We quantified the pattern of variation and covariation in floral traits and the proportion of seeds outcrossed (t) to better understand the evolutionary processes involved in mating system differentiation among and within populations of the short-lived Pacific coastal dune endemic Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia across its geographic range in western North America.

Methods

We quantified corolla width and herkogamy, two traits expected to influence the mating system, for 48 populations sampled in the field and for a sub-sample of 29 populations grown from seed in a glasshouse. We also measured several other floral traits for 9–19 populations, estimated t for 16 populations using seven allozyme polymorphisms, and measured the strength of self-incompatibility for nine populations.

Key Results

Floral morphology and self-incompatibility varied widely but non-randomly, such that populations could be assigned to three phenotypically and geographically divergent groups. Populations spanned the full range of outcrossing (t = 0·001–0·992), which covaried with corolla width, herkogamy and floral life span. Outcrossing also correlated with floral morphology within two populations that exhibited exceptional floral variation.

Conclusions

Populations of C. cheiranthifolia seem to have differentiated into three modal mating systems: (1) predominant outcrossing associated with self-incompatibility and large flowers; (2) moderate selfing associated with large but self-compatible flowers; and (3) higher but not complete selfing associated with small, autogamous, self-compatible flowers. The transition to complete selfing has not occurred even though the species appears to possess the required genetic capacity. We hypothesize that outcrossing populations in this species have evolved to different stable states of mixed mating.     

Flower power: its association with bee power and floral functional morphology in papilionate legumes

Background and Aims

A test was made of the hypothesis that papilionate legume flowers filter pollinators according to their ability to exert strength to open flowers to access rewards. In addition, interactions with pollen vectors were expected to explain the structural complexity of the architecture of these flowers since operative flower strength may be determined by a combination of morphological traits which form part of an intrafloral functional module.

Methods

Six papilionate species were studied: Collaea argentina, Desmodium uncinatum, Galactia latisiliqua, Lathyrus odoratus, Spartium junceum and Tipuana tipu. Measurements were made of the strength needed to open keels and the strength that pollinators were capable of exerting. Morphological traits of all petals were also measured to determine which of them could be either mutually correlated or correlated with operative strength and moment of strength and participated in a functional module.

Key Results

It was observed that pollinators were capable in all cases of exerting forces higher and often several times higher than that needed to access floral rewards, and no association could be detected between floral operative strength and strength exerted by the corresponding pollinators. On the other hand, strong and significant correlations were found among morphometric traits and, of these, with operative strength and moment. This was particularly evident among traits of the keel and the wings, presumably involved in the functioning of the floral moveable mechanism.

Conclusions

Though visitors are often many times stronger than the operative strength of the flowers they pollinate, exceptionally weak bees such as Apis mellifera cannot open the strongest flowers. On the other hand, strong correlations among certain petal morphometric traits (particularly between the keel and wings) give support to the idea that an intrafloral module is associated with the functioning of the mechanism of these legume flowers. In addition, the highly significant correlations found across petals support the view of functional phenotypic integration transcending the ontogenetic organization of flower structure.     

The allometry of host-pathogen interactions

Background

Understanding the mechanisms that control rates of disease progression in humans and other species is an important area of research relevant to epidemiology and to translating studies in small laboratory animals to humans. Body size and metabolic rate influence a great number of biological rates and times. We hypothesize that body size and metabolic rate affect rates of pathogenesis, specifically the times between infection and first symptoms or death.

Methods and Principal Findings

We conducted a literature search to find estimates of the time from infection to first symptoms (t_S) and to death (t_D) for five pathogens infecting a variety of bird and mammal hosts. A broad sampling of diseases (1 bacterial, 1 prion, 3 viruses) indicates that pathogenesis is controlled by the scaling of host metabolism. We find that the time for symptoms to appear is a constant fraction of time to death in all but one disease. Our findings also predict that many population-level attributes of disease dynamics are likely to be expressed as dimensionless quantities that are independent of host body size.

Conclusions and Significance

Our results show that much variability in host pathogenesis can be described by simple power functions consistent with the scaling of host metabolic rate. Assessing how disease progression is controlled by geometric relationships will be important for future research. To our knowledge this is the first study to report the allometric scaling of host/pathogen interactions.     

In Vitro HIV-1 Evolution in Response to Triple Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors & In Silico Phenotypic Analysis

Background

Effectiveness of ART regimens strongly depends upon complex interactions between the selective pressure of drugs and the evolution of mutations that allow or restrict drug resistance.

Methods

Four clinical isolates from NRTI-exposed, NNRTI-naive subjects were passaged in increasing concentrations of NVP in combination with 1 µM 3 TC and 2 µM ADV to assess selective pressures of multi-drug treatment. A novel parameter inference procedure, based on a stochastic viral growth model, was used to estimate phenotypic resistance and fitness from in vitro combination passage experiments.

Results

Newly developed mathematical methods estimated key phenotypic parameters of mutations arising through selective pressure exerted by 3 TC and NVP. Concentrations of 1 µM 3 TC maintained the M184V mutation, which was associated with intrinsic fitness deficits. Increasing NVP concentrations selected major NNRTI resistance mutations. The evolutionary pathway of NVP resistance was highly dependent on the viral genetic background, epistasis as well as stochasticity. Parameter estimation indicated that the previously unrecognized mutation L228Q was associated with NVP resistance in some isolates.

Conclusion

Serial passage of viruses in the presence of multiple drugs may resemble the selection of mutations observed among treated individuals and populations in vivo and indicate evolutionary preferences and restrictions. Phenotypic resistance estimated here “in silico” from in vitro passage experiments agreed well with previous knowledge, suggesting that the unique combination of “wet-” and “dry-lab” experimentation may improve our understanding of HIV-1 resistance evolution in the future.     

Nitrogen stress response of a hybrid species: a gene expression study

Background and Aims

Low soil fertility limits growth and productivity in many natural and agricultural systems, where the ability to sense and respond to nutrient limitation is important for success. Helianthus anomalus is an annual sunflower of hybrid origin that is adapted to desert sand-dune substrates with lower fertility than its parental species, H. annuus and H. petiolaris. Previous studies have shown that H. anomalus has traits generally associated with adaptation to low-fertility habitats, including a lower inherent relative growth rate and longer leaf lifetime.

Methods

Here, a cDNA microarray is used to identify gene expression differences that potentially contribute to increased tolerance of low fertility of the hybrid species by comparing the nitrogen stress response of all three species with high- and low-nutrient treatments.

Key Results

Relative to the set of genes on the microarray, the genes showing differential expression in the hybrid species compared with its parents are enriched in stress-response genes, developmental genes, and genes involved in responses to biotic or abiotic stimuli. After a correction for multiple comparisons, five unique genes show a significantly different response to nitrogen limitation in H. anomalus compared with H. petiolaris and H. annuus. The Arabidopsis thaliana homologue of one of the five genes, catalase 1, has been shown to affect the timing of leaf senescence, and thus leaf lifespan.

Conclusions

The five genes identified in this analysis will be examined further as candidate genes for the adaptive stress response in H. anomalus. Genes that improve growth and productivity under nutrient stress could be used to improve crops for lower soil fertility which is common in marginal agricultural settings.