Polymorphism in developmental mode and its effect on population genetic structure of a spionid polychaete, Pygospio elegans

Population genetic structure of sedentary marine species is expected to be shaped mainly by the dispersal ability of their larvae. Long-lived planktonic larvae can connect populations through migration and gene flow, whereas species with nondispersive benthic or direct-developing larvae are expected to have genetically differentiated populations. Poecilogonous species producing different larval types are ideal when studying the effect of developmental mode on population genetic structure and connectivity. In the spionid polychaete Pygospio elegans, different larval types have been observed between, and sometimes also within, populations. We used microsatellite markers to study population structure of European P. elegans from the Baltic Sea (BS) and North Sea (NS). We found that populations with planktonic larvae had higher genetic diversity than did populations with benthic larvae. However, this pattern may not be related to developmental mode, since in P. elegans, developmental mode may be associated with geography. Benthic larvae were more commonly seen in the brackish BS and planktonic larvae were predominant in the NS, although both larval types also are found from both areas. Significant isolation-by-distance (IBD) was found overall and within regions. Most of the pair-wise F(ST) comparisons among populations were significant, although some geographically close populations with planktonic larvae were found to be genetically similar. However, these results, together with the pattern of IBD, autocorrelation within populations, as well as high estimated local recruitment, suggest that dispersal is limited in populations with planktonic larvae as well as in those with benthic larvae. The decrease in salinity between the NS and BS causes a barrier to gene flow in many marine species. In P. elegans, low, but significant, differentiation was detected between the NS and BS (3.34% in AMOVA), but no clear transition zone was observed, indicating that larvae are not hampered by the change in salinity.     

山地隔离和空间距离对高黎贡山灰腹地莺(Tesia cyaniventer)鸣唱特征的影响

鸟类鸣唱存在广泛的地理变异,研究鸟类鸣唱变异的模式及其影响因素可帮助解释自然界中广泛而复杂的鸣声变异现象。灰腹地莺（Tesia cyaniventer）是在高黎贡山海拔2000-2800 m分布的小型地栖性森林鸟类。高黎贡山南北走向的山脊海拔通常在3000m以上,这导致灰腹地莺东、西坡种群被山脊所隔离。该种小鸟鸣声洪亮易于鉴别,其鸣声地理变异可揭示山地对鸟类种群产生的隔离效应。在高黎贡山片马垭口和独龙江垭口的东西坡4个地点录制了灰腹地莺的鸣声（n=58）,基于声谱分析比较了种群间鸣唱的质量特征,发现种群间鸣唱型的共享程度极低,而音节型在4个种群间均有共享。进一步测量了11个鸣唱的数量特征参数,有6个参数在不同种群间有显著差异：最低频率、中心频率、频率宽度、起始音节频率、首二音节的时间间隔、句子平均音节数。种群间的两两比较表明,鸣声特征差异呈现"隔离-距离"共同作用的格局,但隔离的影响更大。研究表明山地系统中影响鸟类鸣声地理变异的因素较为复杂,山地隔离和空间距离均对灰腹地莺的鸣唱特征产生了影响。     

A bryophyte flora of Handa Island Sutherland

ABSTRACT

Background: Hybridization is a key driver of plant speciation, and understanding ongoing hybridization provides insights into the underlying process. We studied a hybrid complex in Mediterranean Cyclamen between common C. repandum and rare C. balearicum on Sardinia.

Aims: We analyzed variation in the frequency and morphology of different floral types to assess the degree of hybridization and analyze the ecological niche to better understand factors that influence the maintenance of hybrid populations.

Methods: We recorded the frequency of the different flower color-types in 45 populations and measured floral traits in 10 of them. We characterized the spatial extent and climatic niche of this hybrid complex. We analyzed floral type variation in four traits (flower size, style and anther length, herkogamy).

Results: Hybrid populations occupy a wide area on the NW coast of the island (~1000km2). Sites dominated by hybrid floral types are ecologically marginal for the common parent. The C. repandum-like type is present in all populations and shows a decrease in style and anther length and herkogamy in populations containing a greater proportion of hybrids.

Conclusions: This hybrid complex provides an ideal situation to examine reproductive isolation due to variation in the ecological niche of different floral types.     

Monogamy Has a Fixation Advantage Based on Fitness Variance in an Ideal Promiscuity Group

We consider an ideal promiscuity group of females, which implies that all males have the same average mating success. If females have concealed ovulation, then the males’ paternity chances are equal. We find that male-based monogamy will be fixed in females’ promiscuity group when the stochastic Darwinian selection is described by a Markov chain. We point out that in huge populations the relative advantage (difference between average fitness of different strategies) determines primarily the end of evolution; in the case of neutrality (means are equal) the smallest variance guarantees fixation (absorption) advantage; when the means and variances are the same, then the higher third moment determines which types will be fixed in the Markov chains.     

Habitat requirements of the Alpine marmot<Emphasis Type="Italic">Marmota marmota</Emphasis> in re-introduction areas of the Eastern Italian Alps. Formulation and validation of habitat suitability models

I analyzed the habitat selection of two Alpine marmotsMarmota marmota (Linnaeus, 1758) populations (A and B) re-introduced in the Friulian Dolomites Natural Park (Eastern Italian Alps) in 1977 and 1983 respectively. Population A showed a higher density of family units than the more recently introduced and still increasing population B. I mapped winter burrows and I conferred proportions of usage of habitat types with their availability by the Jacobs index. Population B positively selected fewer types of habitat than population A, and particularly selected those habitat types more strongly selected by A. Through stepwise discriminant function analysis and oneway ANOVA, I analyzed the characteristics of the winter burrow surroundings, by splitting up the two study areas into sample squares covering 1 ha each. The importance of the alpine meadows and pastures was subordinate to the presence of rocks, especially in the pastures. Comparing the results obtained separately for the two populations, the more recent and less dense population showed a more restrictive habitat and slope selection, in accordance with the ideal free distribution theory. In order to validate the habitat suitability model obtained by discriminant analysis I applied it to two other populations of Alpine marmots present in FDNP and in the Julian Prealps Natural Park.     

Mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium: advances, limitations and guidelines

Mapping by admixture linkage disequilibrium (MALD) is a theoretically powerful, although unproven, approach to mapping genetic variants that are involved in human disease. MALD takes advantage of long-range haplotypes that are generated by gene flow among recently admixed ethnic groups, such as African-Americans and Latinos. Under ideal circumstances, MALD will have more power to detect some genetic variants than other types of genome-wide association study that are carried out among more ethnically homogeneous populations. It will also require 200-500 times fewer markers, providing a significant economic advantage. The MALD approach is now being applied, with results expected in the near future.     

DNA polymorphism in the stem nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci: development of diagnostic markers for normal and giant races.

DNA polymorphism in the Ditylenchus dipsaci complex was investigated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to determine the relationships among populations growing mainly on Vicia faba and to develop diagnostic markers. Twenty-two populations of D. dipsaci originating from different geographical areas and one population of Ditylenchus myceliophagus were used. AFLP proved to be a powerful method to reveal intraspecific polymorphism even within the giant type. The analysis showed a clear distinction between the giant and normal populations, with genetic distances similar to those observed between normal populations and D. myceliophagus or giant populations and D. myceliophagus, strengthening the hypothesis that these two nematode types could be considered distinct species. Two specific AFLP markers differentiating the two types were converted into sequenced characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. Used in a multiplex PCR, the SCAR primers proved to be a rapid and efficient tool to identify the giant and the normal types of D. dipsaci.     

Detection of highly polymorphic microsatellite loci in a species with little allozyme polymorphism

Microsatellite loci are regions of DNA containing tandem repeats of a short sequence motif; they occur abundantly in all eukaryotic genomes and have been shown to be a rich source of highly polymorphic genetic markers in humans and other mammals. These loci are particularly suitable for population studies because they can be relatively easily scored using a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of each locus followed by electrophoresis to separate alleles. This paper details a method for finding these loci in any species. This method demonstrates that trinucleotide microsatellite loci are abundant and highly polymorphic in the social wasp Polistes annularis , whereas allozyme electrophoresis reveals very little polymorphism. The first six loci examined were all polymorphic with a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.62; in comparison average heterozygosity of 33 allozymes was 0.035. We suggest that this method can be used to detect variation where other methods have failed, making it an ideal tool for population and conservation geneticists who must deal with populations lacking other types of genetic variability.     

HIV Treatment as Prevention: Natural Experiments Highlight Limits of Antiretroviral Treatment as HIV Prevention

There is growing enthusiasm for increasing coverage of antiretroviral treatment among HIV-infected people for the purposes of preventing ongoing transmission. Treatment as prevention will face a number of barriers when implemented in real world populations, which will likely lead to the effectiveness of this strategy being lower than proposed by optimistic modelling scenarios or ideal clinical trial settings. Some settings, as part of their prevention and treatment strategies, have already attained rates of HIV testing and use of antiretroviral therapy—with high levels of viral suppression—that many countries would aspire to as targets for a treatment-as-prevention strategy. This review examines a number of these “natural experiments”, namely, British Columbia, San Francisco, France, and Australia, to provide commentary on whether treatment as prevention has worked in real world populations. This review suggests that the population-level impact of this strategy is likely to be considerably less than as inferred from ideal conditions.     

华山松吸收光谱及叶绿素荧光特性的地理变异

利用分离的叶绿体作实验材料,发现华山松(Pinus armandi Franch.)南方种源的4阶导数吸收光谱在680nm处峰值较大,在670nm处峰值较小,而北方种源中出现了在680nm处峰值较在670nm峰值小的类群,推断北方种群反应中心活力有下降趋势。南、北种源之间的低温(77K)荧光发射光谱有明显差异,PSⅠ、PSⅡ发射峰位置出现地理变动。低温荧光激发光谱分析表明,地理变异主要发生在叶绿素a的分子状态上。研究还表明,完整的针叶因为有角质层、松脂等物质干扰,检测不出光谱的差异,不是理想的实验材料。     

BIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION AND RACIAL AFFINITIES

1. The study of geographic variation and the racial affinities between populations is of central importance to systematics and evolutionary theory. When using phenotypic variation to measure the similarity between the populations of a species one should analyse the variation in several characters simultaneously. This is a statistical procedure and is known as multivariate analysis. Multivariate analysis of phenotypic variation, unlike some other methods, has the advantage of not being dependent on living specimens. 2. To obtain an adequate sample at each locality, and an adequate distribution of localities within a given geographic area, can be a major problem. The pooling of data from adjacent localities is discussed. 3. There are several sources of phenotypic variation within a species, e.g. sexual and ontogenetic variation. Failure to eliminate the non-geographic sources of variation can confuse the assessment of the similarity between populations. 4. Correlation between characters can reflect similar genetic control and/or similar patterns of geographic variation, the biological interpretation being influenced by whether the data come from one locality or many. 5. The influences of environmental induction and genetic control cannot easily be separated. Also, some characters may not be entirely homologous throughout the range of the species. 6. Most studies rely on far too few characters of a too restricted type to give an ‘overall’ assessment of the phenotypic similarity. This is one of the most neglected aspects of the study of geographic variation. 7. The various forms of clinal and categorical variation, the precise nature and position of sharp transition (hybrid) zones, the relationship between non-adjacent as well as adjacent populations and the phenotypic divergence between island populations, etc., all come under the heading of geographic variation. The ideal technique should be able to elucidate all types of geographic variation but some techniques can only be used effectively with a few of them. Moreover, techniques may be limited in their application because they require the data to conform to certain models, e.g. normal distribution. 8. The degree of phenotypic similarity between populations can be measured by a wide range of similarity coefficients. Comparison between even a small series of populations produces a large set (or matrix) of similarity coefficients that is difficult to interpret. However, the relationships between populations can be summarized in several ways and these may be loosely grouped into four categories; (i) network diagrams, (ii) contours and isometric plots, (iii) hierarchical clusters, and (iv) ordination methods. These methods are explained and their advantages and limitations discussed. 9. The hierarchical (dendritic) model of cluster analysis is unsuitable for analysing all but a few types of geographic variation. 10. There are several types of ordination technique. They all aim to summarize the variation of many characters in a reduced number of axes. One can either emphasize the biological interpretation of each separate axis, or treat the analysis as a classifying technique and assess the grouping of the populations in the space defined by the axes. Considerable care is needed in interpreting the results of both of these approaches. If correctly applied, ordination techniques generally can be used to analyse all the forms of geographical variation and are therefore recommended. Contrary to current practice they can be used with a large number of characters. The advantages and limitations of the various ordination techniques are discussed. 11. Contours and their three-dimensional isometric plots can be used to portray geographic variations in the information obtained from a multivariate analysis. However, contours and isometric plots are limited in their applicability and the amount of information they can convey. 12. The sophistication of some multivariate methods should not be allowed to cloak the scientific inadequacies of a study. The use of more than one technique and variety in the choice of pertinent parameters may be of value in indicating the reliability of the results.     

Geographical Variation in the Characteristics of Absorption Spectra and Fluorescence Spectra of Pinus armandi

By measuring the derivative absorption spectra of chloroplasts of different populations of Pinus armandi Franch., it was found that southern populations maintained higher absorption at 680 nm than at 670 nm, but some of the northern populations deviated the maximum absorption from 680 nm to 670 nm, which indicated that the activity of PS Ⅱ in some of the northern populations declined. Clear geographical differences also have been found in the positions of emission peaks of PS Ⅰ and PS Ⅱ in the fluorescence emission spectra at 77 K. Analysis of the fluorescence excitation spectra at 77 K revealed geographical changes in the absorption.status of Chl a. Besides, the experimental results indicated that the intact needles of Pinus armandi are not ideal materials to be used in detecting the geographical variation in photochemical reaction process because the presence of thicker coat, resin etc. can conceal the spectral differences in different populations.     

Ideal free distributions when individuals differ in competitive ability: phenotype-limited ideal free models

A series of prospective models is developed to investigate ideal free distributions in populations where individuals differ in competitive ability. The models are of three types. In the continuous-input models, there is continuous arrival of food or mates into each habitat patch, and competitors scramble to obtain as large a share as possible. In the interference models, the prey density in a particular patch stays constant but the presence of competitors slows down the rate at which prey are captured. In the kleptoparasitism model, individuals have food or females stolen from them by competitors higher in the dominance hierarchy, and in turn steal items from subordinates. A general result of the continuous-input and interference models is that the population of competitors can be truncated between patches so that the individuals with the highest competitive ability occur in the best patches, or in the patches where competitive differences are greatest. Individuals of lowest competitive ability occur in the poorest patches or where competitive differences are least, and intermediate phenotypes are ranked between these two extremes. Thus the ideal free prediction that all individuals will achieve equal fitness will not apply. However, in continuous-input cases where competitive differences between phenotypes remain constant across patches, this solution is only neutrally stable, and forms only one element of a set of equilibrium distributions. The fact that many empirical studies of continuous-input have found approximately equal mean fitness across patches may relate to this finding. Most interference studies contradict the simple ideal free solution by having different mean intake rates across patches; this may relate to the predicted positive correlation of competitive ability with patch quality. The kleptoparasitism model usually generated continuous cycling of individuals between habitat patches, though some correlation could be found between competitive ability and patch quality.     

Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis: Implications for Neurodegenerative and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Technical and experimental advances in microaspiration techniques, RNA amplification, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and cDNA microarray analysis have led to an increase in the number of studies of single-cell gene expression. In particular, the central nervous system (CNS) is an ideal structure to apply single-cell gene expression paradigms. Unlike an organ that is composed of one principal cell type, the brain contains a constellation of neuronal and noneuronal populations of cells. A goal is to sample gene expression from similar cell types within a defined region without potential contamination by expression profiles of adjacent neuronal subpopulations and noneuronal cells. The unprecedented resolution afforded by single-cell RNA analysis in combination with cDNA microarrays and qPCR-based analyses allows for relative gene expression level comparisons across cell types under different experimental conditions and disease states. The ability to analyze single cells is an important distinction from global and regional assessments of mRNA expression and can be applied to optimally prepared tissues from animal models as well as postmortem human brain tissues. This focused review illustrates the potential power of single-cell gene expression studies within the CNS in relation to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and schizophrenia, respectively.     

A piecewise linear modeling approach for testing competing theories of habitat selection: an example with mule deer in northern winter ranges

Habitat selection fundamentally drives the distribution of organisms across landscapes; density-dependent habitat selection (DDHS) is considered a central component of ecological theories explaining habitat use and population regulation. A preponderance of DDHS theories is based on ideal distributions, such that organisms select habitat according to either the ideal free, despotic, or pre-emptive distributions. Models that can be used to simultaneously test competing DDHS theories are desirable to help improve our understanding of habitat selection. We developed hierarchical, piecewise linear models that allow for simultaneous testing of DDHS theories and accommodate densities from multiple habitats and regional populations, environmental covariates, and random effects. We demonstrate the use of these models with data on mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) abundance and net energy costs in different snow depths within winter ranges of five regional populations in western Idaho, USA. Regional population density explained 40 % of the variation in population growth, and we found that deer were ideal free in winter ranges. Deer occupied habitats with lowest net energy costs at higher densities and at a higher rate than compared to habitats with intermediate and high energy costs. The proportion of a regional population in low energy cost habitat the previous year accounted for a significant amount of variation in population growth (17 %), demonstrating the importance of winter habitat selection in regulating deer populations. These linear models are most appropriate for empirical data collected from centralized habitat patches within the local range of a species where individuals are either year-round residents or migratory (but have already arrived from migration).     

不同地区青檀叶片的解剖及表皮特征的比较研究

采用石蜡切片技术和叶表皮离析法,对我国8个省共15个居群的青檀(Pteroceltis tatarinowii Maxim.)叶片特征进行了比较和分析.研究发现:各居群的栅栏组织细胞层数多数为2层,显示出一定的稳定性,但不同居群的叶片横切面解剖特征存在显著性差异.叶片上表皮细胞有多边形和不规则形两种类型,而下表皮细胞均为不规则形.上表皮细胞垂周壁为平直形、圆形、浅波形或深波形,差异较明显,下表皮细胞垂周壁则仅有深波形和浅波形两种.叶表皮毛的分布位置在各居群间不同,而表皮毛的类型在居群间稳定,且在多数居群中表皮毛与周围细胞形成花环结构.各居群的气孔器类型均为不规则型且均仅在下表皮随机分布,但气孔器的密度、大小等特征在不同居群间存在显著性差异.生境地的气候因子对青檀叶的特征产生一定的影响.结果表明:青檀叶的解剖特征在不同居群间差异性较大,青檀叶表皮的气孔密度等特征在居群间有一定差异,而气孔器类型和表皮细胞形状等特征较稳定,有一定的分类学价值.     

Trypanosoma vivax: sequence of antigenic variants in mice and goats

Three populations composed of different variable antigen types were derived from a clone of the recently isolated mouse-infective Trypanosoma vivax stock Zaria Y486. The antigenic composition of the trypanosome populations which appeared following infection of mice and goats with these populations was compared using the immune lysis test. Significant differences were observed in the antigenic composition of both the initial and relapse populations obtained from goats and mice. These observations suggest that there may be selective growth of different variable antigen types in different hosts with the result that the antigenic composition of a goat-derived population may be greatly altered following subinoculation into normal mice. This can be somewhat reduced however if goat derived populations are subinoculated into lethally irradiated mice. Two antigenically different T. vivax populations were also cyclically transmitted to individual goats in a preliminary study of the effect of tsetse transmission on the antigenic composition of the ingested populations. It was observed that the composition of the first detectable populations in the infected goats was similar but different from that ingested by the tsetse flies.     

Distinction between cultivated and wild chicory gene pools using AFLP markers

The cultivation area of industrial chicory, Cichorium intybus L. cv Sativum, coincides with the natural distribution area of its wild relative, C. intybus L., which could lead to gene flow between wild and cultivated types. The genetic diversity within and between the two types has therefore been studied using AFLP genotyping of samples from 12 wild populations collected in Belgium and ten commercial varieties. The genotyping of 233 individuals allowed the identification of 254 AFLP markers. Similar levels of genetic diversity were observed within wild populations and cultivated varieties, suggesting the absence of any strong bottleneck in the history of the cultivated types. The phylogenetic analysis pointed to a monophyletic origin of cultivated varieties as compared to the local wild populations studied, hence the two types of chicory form two separate gene pools. The genotyping of some individuals sampled in ruderal sites clearly showed that they belong to the cultivated gene pool, which suggests the existence of feral or weedy types. The low differentiation observed among wild populations indicates that gene flow might be important in this species.     

The organization of zooplankton epibiont communities

Recent findings suggest that a diverse set of interactions exists between crustacean zooplankton and the algae, protozoans and metazoans that live attached to them. The frequent molting of the crustacean exoskeleton keeps these epibiont populations in a state of constant renewal and makes this epibiont community an ideal experimental system for examining the organization of communities whose populations are distributed among ephemeral habitat patches.