Genetic identification of asteroid larvae from Tasmania, Australia, by PCR–RFLP

Studies of seastar larvae in the Derwent River (Tasmania) were hampered by identification uncertainties. A genetic test was developed, based on PCR amplification of a 1300 bp mitochondrial DNA region followed by digestion with three restriction enzymes. The restriction profiles of adults of 14 seastar species were determined. The test was validated for larvae as laboratory-raised larvae of two species had the appropriate composite haplotypes. Approximately 80% of planktotrophic seastar larvae from Derwent River plankton samples were identified as the recently introduced northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis . The two other larval seastars identified were Coscinasterias muricata and Patiriella regularis .     

HYBRIDIZATION OF SYMPATRIC PATIRIELLA SPECIES (ECHINODERMATA: ASTEROIDEA) IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Three species of the asteroid genus Patiriella occur sympatrically in New South Wales and the possibility for hybridization among them was examined through a series of cross-fertilization experiments. Patiriella calcar and P. gunnii are morphologically distinct as adults but indistinguishable as larvae. Patiriella exigua is morphologically distinct in both its adult and larval morphologies. The gametes of P. calcar and P. gunnii were reciprocally compatible: laboratory crosses between these species produced viable hybrid juveniles. In crosses between female P. calcar and male P. gunnii, most of the juveniles metamorphosed with an arm number intermediate between that of the parents, whereas crosses between female P. gunnii and male P. calcar produced juveniles with an arm number more similar to the maternal phenotype. Heterospecific crosses with P. exigua resulted in low fertilization rates, and viable hybrids were not produced. This species appears capable of self-fertilization. Because hybrids between P. calcar and P. gunnii were viable, neither gametic incompatibility nor hybrid inviability appears to ensure reproductive isolation between these species. Ecological or habitat segregation and temporal separation in breeding may isolate these species in the field. The results demonstrate that if gamete surface recognition molecules are involved in fertilization of P. calcar and P. gunnii, then they are not strongly species specific, at least at the sperm concentrations used in this study. Reproductive isolation between these species has evolved despite their gametic compatibility. In contrast, P. exigua is isolated from its congeners because of gametic incompatibility and several features characteristic of its reproduction and development. The implications of these findings for reproductive isolation and speciation of Patiriella and for the evolution of reproductive isolation in free-spawning marine organisms are discussed.     

Seven Hox gene sequences from the asterinid starfish Patiriella exigua (Echinodermata: Asteroidea)

Partial homeobox gene fragments were amplified from Patiriella exigua genomic DNA by PCR using degenerate primers. The primers spanned a region of 82 nucleotides within the homeobox, encompassing amino acids 21–47 of the homeodomain. The deduced amino acid sequences of the seven Hox gene sequences plus one Xlox-type gene sequence from P. exigua are presented and compared with similar sequences from other organisms. This work is a preliminary step in the analysis of the evolution of development in the Patiriella species group and the roles of Hox gene expression therein.     

A freezing technique that maintains viability of sperm from the starfish Pisaster ochraceus

Embryos and larvae of the starfish Pisaster ochraceus are excellent for studying different aspects of early development. They are clear, easily obtained, and easy to culture, making them useful for morphological studies. In addition, the adults are large, produce large numbers of gametes, and early development is synchronous so that sufficient material for biochemical work can also be obtained. One major drawback is that they have a short breeding season. Gravid adult females can be maintained in the laboratory almost year round by controlling light conditions. Unfortunately, even under carefully controlled light and temperature conditions, by late autumn, the testes of most males undergo involution making it difficult to obtain sufficient sperm to raise cultures in the autumn, winter, and early spring. In order to overcome this shortcoming, our laboratory has experimented with techniques for freezing the sperm. This has involved testing a number of different cooling rates and cryoprotectants (CPAs) in order to develop a combination that maintained viability of some of the sperms. This article presents a technique that includes a combination of cooling conditions and a cocktail of CPAs that preserves the viability of sufficient sperm such that, when combined with careful rearing techniques, it allows us to produce normal healthy larvae almost year around.     

Residual biparental oral-brooding in the blackchin fish, Sarotherodon melanotheron Rüppell

Sarotherodon melanotheron generally shows a paternal brooding habit, but females of one of the strains in Ghana also exhibit the potential for oral-brooding.     

三种耧斗菜属植物柱头的特征

为了深入了解植物捕获花粉的机制和生殖策略,我们对3种耧斗菜属Aquilegia L.植物华北耧斗菜A. yabeana Kitagawa、无距耧斗菜A. ecalcarata Maxim.和秦岭耧斗菜A. incurvata P. K. Hsiao的雌蕊进行了扫描电镜和荧光显微镜观察,发现其柱头发育的特殊式样。其柱头位于花柱的腹缝面,由花柱腹缝两侧细胞发育成柱头乳突,在花期中从顶端朝花柱基部渐次成熟。伴随花柱向外弯曲,成熟的柱头表面相继呈现,逐渐增加了花粉落置的空间。这种柱头发育的式样通过延长柱头的可授期,增加了植物在不可预测的传粉环境下的繁殖机会。     

Effects of cytoplasmic genes on sperm viability and sperm morphology in a seed beetle: implications for sperm competition theory?

Sperm competition theory predicts that sperm traits influencing male fertilizing ability will evolve adaptively. However, it has been suggested that some sperm traits may be at least partly encoded by mitochondrial genes. If true, this may constrain the adaptive evolution of such traits because mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is maternally inherited and there is thus no selection on mtDNA in males. Phenotypic variation in such traits may nevertheless be high because mutations in mtDNA that have deleterious effects on male traits, but neutral or beneficial effects in females, may be maintained by random processes or selection in females. We used backcrossing to create introgression lines of seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus), carrying orthogonal combinations of distinct lineages of cytoplasmic and nuclear genes, and then assayed sperm viability and sperm length in all lines. We found sizeable cytoplasmic effects on both sperm traits and our analyses also suggested that the cytoplasmic effects varied across nuclear genetic backgrounds. We discuss some potential implications of these findings for sperm competition theory.     

Brachyury (T) Expression in Embryos of a Larvacean Urochordate, Oikopleura dioica, and the Ancestral Role of T

The Brachyury, or T, gene is required for notochord development in animals occupying all three chordate subphyla and probably also had this role in the last common ancestor of the chordate lineages. In two chordate subphyla (vertebrates and cephalochordates), T is also expressed during gastrulation in involuting endodermal and mesodermal cells, and in vertebrates at least, this expression domain is required for proper development. In the basally diverging chordate subphylum Urochordata, animals in the class Ascidiacea do not employ T during gastrulation in endodermal or nonaxial mesodermal cells, and it has been suggested that nonnotochordal roles for T were acquired in the cephalochordate–vertebrate lineage after it split with Urochordata. To test this hypothesis, we cloned T from Oikopleura dioica, a member of the urochordate class Appendicularia (or Larvacea), which diverged basally in the subphylum. Investigation of the expression pattern in developing Oikopleura embryos showed early expression in presumptive notochord precursor cells, in the notochord, and in parts of the developing gut and cells of the endodermal strand. We conclude that the ancestral role of T likely included expression in the developing gut and became necessary in chordates for construction of the notochord.     

鹿科动物的染色体组型及其进化

染色体是遗传物质的主要携带者。在动植物进化过程中,染色体在数量和结构上的变化,无疑对物种形成起重要的作用。染色体的变化往往引起基因的重新排列和遗传物质的增加或丢失。染色体在结构和数量上的差异还往往造成两个本来很相近的群体间的生殖隔离而形成新种。染色体组型和染色体的带型都代表着种的特性,它为不同动物在分类研究和确定其在进化过程中的位置提供了一个新的和重要的标准。可是,染色体的结构既是稳定的,同时又是可变的。染色体组型的改变是以染色体组的结构特点为基础