Nonspecific inherited risk factors for acute respiratory diseases in children living in the western part of the Baikal-Amur railway

Variation of 9 polymorphic loci was compared in 2 groups of children from Russian native and migrant population of Western area of Baikal-Amur Railway--those who suffered from acute respiratory diseases during first year of life and their parents, and normal children and their parents. Frequencies of genotypes 1-1 (HP locus). 00 (ABO locus), and pp (F locus) were significantly higher in normal children than in the affected ones. Heterozygosity observed in native parents of the diseased children was lower as compared with other groups. It was possible to distinguish two groups, according to the degree of genic similarity: the first one included healthy children and their parents from migrant and native population, the second one included all affected children and their parents. Significance of association between phenotypes at 3 loci (HP, ABO, P) and predisposition of the children to acute respiratory diseases were evaluated. A conclusion was made that in children of both migrant and native Russian parents similar combinations of anthropological traits and gene markers are the factors of their nonspecific resistance to acute respiratory diseases.     

The sound of symmetry: Voice as a marker of developmental instability

Low fluctuating asymmetry (FA, a measure of deviation from bilateral symmetry) appears to be a phenotypic marker of reproductive viability and health. In the present study, we investigated whether ratings of voice attractiveness were correlated with variations in FA. Several bilateral traits were measured to calculate a FA index and independent raters who did not know and never saw the subjects assessed the attractiveness of recordings of each subject's voice. Voices of subjects with greater bilateral symmetry were rated as more attractive by members of both sexes than those with asymmetrical traits.     

广西农村留守儿童人格特质特点及其影响因素研究

目的:了解广西农村留守儿童人格特质的特点及其影响因素。方法:运用儿童十四种人格特质问卷(CPQ)对1477名留守儿童和286名非留守儿童进行问卷调查。结果:(1)留守儿童和非留守儿童在大多数人格维度上并不存在显著差异;(2)留守儿童人格特质多维度皆存在显著的性别和年级差异;(3)留守儿童人格特质不同家庭经济状况、父母文化程度、父母与留守儿童的联系频率之间存在显著的差异。结论:"留守"只是一个较远端的环境变量,留守状态并不足以直接导致儿童人格特征的改变;家庭经济状况、父母文化程度、父母与留守儿童的联系频率和性别、年龄皆为影响留守儿童人格特质的重要影响因素。     

Genetic analysis of bilateral dermatoglyphic asymmetry in twins and their parents

The data for this study were collected on 64 twin pairs (30 MZ and 34 DZ) and their 128 parents. Two following hypotheses were evaluated: 1. Bilateral asymmetry is significantly genetically controlled; 2. The twinning phenomenon would affect the magnitude of bilateral asymmetry. The results revealed no statistically significant differences between mean values of MZ and DZ twins and their parents for the majority of the traits. Significant differences were recorded for only 6 of 96 comparisons (6%). Analysis of variance revealed separated sources of MZ, DZ and singleton variance. F-ratios, contrasting variances between different groups were significant for 26 of 96 comparisons (27%) showing heterogeneity of variance between zygosities and between twins and their parents. In addition, environmental covariance appeared to be larger for MZ than DZ with respect to directional asymmetry (DA) for all 16 traits and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) for 14 traits. These observations showed complex environmental determinism for bilateral asymmetry for the majority of dermatoglyphic traits. Significant genetic variance ratios (GVRs) were observed for four variables (25%) with respect to DA and three variables (18.75%) with respect to FA. All these significant GVRs were rendered insignificant because of evidence of greater environmental covariance for MZ twins, except possibly for DA for URC4.     

Expression of anatomical leaf traits in homoploid hybrids between deciduous and evergreen species of Vaccinium

We investigated the anatomical expression of leaf traits in hybrids between evergreen Vaccinium vitis‐idaea and deciduous V. myrtillus. We compared parents from four populations with their respective F1 hybrids and tested whether (i) transgression can be the source of novel anatomical traits in hybrids; (ii) expression of transgressive traits is more probable for traits with similar values in parents and intermediate for more distinct values, as predicted by theory; and (iii) independent origin of hybrids leads to identical trait expression profiles among populations. We found that anatomical leaf traits can be divided into four categories based on their similarity to parents: intermediate, parental‐like, transgressive and non‐significant. Contrary to the common view, parental‐like trait values were equally important in shaping the hybrid profile, as were intermediate traits. Transgression was revealed in 17/144 cases and concerned mainly cell and tissue sizes. As predicted by theory, we observed transgressive segregation more often when there was little phenotypic divergence, but intermediate values when parental traits were differentiated. It is likely that cell and tissue sizes are phylogenetically more conserved due to stabilising selection, whereas traits such as leaf thickness and volume fraction of the intercellular spaces, showing a consistent intermediate pattern across populations, are more susceptible to directional selection. Hybrid populations showed little similarity in expression profile, with only three traits identically expressed across all populations. Thus local adaptation of parental species and specific genetic background may be of importance.     

Growth and fluctuating asymmetry of human newborns: Influence of inbreeding and parental education

Historically, medical concerns about the deleterious effects of closely inbred marriages have focused on the risk posed by recessive Mendelian disease, with much less attention to developmental instability. We studied the effects of inbreeding (first‐cousin marriage) on growth and fluctuating asymmetry of 200 full‐term infants (101 inbred and 99 outbred) whose parents were of similar socioeconomic status in Sivas Province, Turkey. In addition to differences in their mean inbreeding coefficients (f = 1/16 for first cousins and f < 1/1,024 for unrelated parents), the consanguineous parents were less well educated (3 years, on average for both husbands and wives). We measured weight, height, head circumference, and chest circumference of the newborns, as well as four bilateral traits (ear width, ear length, and second and fourth digit lengths). After taking education into account, none of the measures of size (weight, height, head circumference, and chest circumference) and fluctuating asymmetry differed between the inbred and outbred groups. Male children of well‐educated parents, however, were larger and had less fluctuating asymmetry. Female children of well‐educated parents weighed more than those of less well‐educated parents, but were otherwise indistinguishable for height, head circumference, chest circumference, and fluctuating asymmetry. We conclude that inbreeding depression causes neither an increase in fluctuating asymmetry of full‐term newborns, nor a decrease in body size. Unmeasured variables correlated with education appear to have an effect on fluctuating asymmetry and size of male children and only a weak effect on size (weight) of female children. Am J Phys Anthropol 153:45–51, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Facial Identity Recognition in the Broader Autism Phenotype

Background

The ‘broader autism phenotype’ (BAP) refers to the mild expression of autistic-like traits in the relatives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Establishing the presence of ASD traits provides insight into which traits are heritable in ASD. Here, the ability to recognise facial identity was tested in 33 parents of ASD children.

Methodology and Results

In experiment 1, parents of ASD children completed the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT), and a questionnaire assessing the presence of autistic personality traits. The parents, particularly the fathers, were impaired on the CFMT, but there were no associations between face recognition ability and autistic personality traits. In experiment 2, parents and probands completed equivalent versions of a simple test of face matching. On this task, the parents were not impaired relative to typically developing controls, however the proband group was impaired. Crucially, the mothers'' face matching scores correlated with the probands'', even when performance on an equivalent test of matching non-face stimuli was controlled for.

Conclusions and Significance

Components of face recognition ability are impaired in some relatives of ASD individuals. Results suggest that face recognition skills are heritable in ASD, and genetic and environmental factors accounting for the pattern of heritability are discussed. In general, results demonstrate the importance of assessing the skill level in the proband when investigating particular characteristics of the BAP.     

Differential facial resemblance of young children to their parents: who do children look like more?

In humans, paternal investment is highly variable and is modulated by paternity uncertainty. Facial phenotypic similarity between a father and a child is one possible paternity indicator. However, whether such paternal-biased traits are expressed in children is unclear, as previous empirical results are contradictory. Therefore, we quantified the facial resemblance between a child and each of his or her parents, from birth to 6 years old. Resemblance was assessed from pictures of the face by nonrelated judges. We found that, at all ages, children resemble both their parents more than would be expected by chance, although there is a differential resemblance toward one or the other parent depending on the age and sex of the child. For newborns, boys and girls resemble their mothers more, this differential resemblance persisting through time for girls. For boys, an inversion occurs and they resemble their fathers more between 2 and 3 years of age. The resemblance ascribed by the parents shows that, at birth, mothers ascribe a resemblance to the father, as previously found, although assessment by external judges revealed the opposite. These results suggest that facial appearance is a cue for kin recognition between a father and a child. Patterns of differential resemblance are discussed within the context of evolutionary theories on parental investment.     

An argument for the use of total side frequencies of bilateral nonmetric skeletal traits in population distance analysis: The regression of symmetry on incidence

In population studies based on frequencies of bilateral nonmetric skeletal traits, the choice between sampling by individuals or by sides should depend less on the exigencies imposed by fragmentary remains than on fundamental assumptions about the biological meaning of symmetry/asymmetry. Though the latter has been interpreted in various ways, little attention has focused on the possibility that bilateral correlation is meaningful in quantifying genetic liability for a trait. Analysis of two independent mandibular features, mylohyoid bridge and suppressed third molar, in Indian and Eskimo population samples (total N ? 1,200) reveals a statistically significant pattern of increasing bilateral occurrence with increasing population incidence. This pattern is consistent with the theory that liability for a “quasi-continuous” variant is normally distributed with constant increment between thresholds on an underlying scale. According to theory, phenotypes with more pronounced expression (bilateral occurrence) have greater genetic potential than those with less pronounced expression (unilateral occurrence). Therefore, scoring traits in total left and right sides, by giving greater weight to bilaterally affected individuals, may provide a better estimate of the liability for the trait in the population. Viewed in a theoretical context broader than that of the sampling debate, this pattern of positive regression of symmetry on incidence means that prevalence of unilateral occurrence probably cannot be used to assess the relative strength of genetic versus nongenetic control of threshold variants.     

Assessing genetic variation to predict the breeding value of winter triticale cultivars and lines

The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses for selection of the best parents for breeding of hybrid winter triticale. Phenotypic diversity was measured for 8 agronomic traits in 10 parents and 27 F1 hybrids. Genotypic diversity was measured by 91 AFLP markers. Coefficients of correlation of genetic similarity (AFLP-GS) with both Euclidean distances and mean values of the traits were generally not significant. A correction of the preliminary binary matrix into trait-specific derived matrices increased the values of 5 correlation coefficients to a significant level. The correlation of AFLP-GS with mid-parent heterosis of grain weight per plant was low but significant (r = -0.452). Our study confirms the effectiveness of marker preselection for obtaining AFLP-GS better correlated with heterosis. The use of derived matrices is promising for reducing the number of cross combinations tested for specific combining ability.     

Jamaican Symmetry Project: long-term study of fluctuating asymmetry in rural Jamaican children.

Fluctuating asymmetry, small deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry, is negatively correlated with health and positively correlated with sexual selection in human adults, but the accumulation, persistence, and fitness implications of asymmetries during childhood are largely unknown. Here, we introduce the Jamaican Symmetry Project, a long-term study of fluctuating asymmetry and its physical and behavioral correlates in rural Jamaican children. The project is based on an initial sample of 285 children (156 boys and 129 girls), aged 5 to 11 years. We describe the design of the project and the methodology of measuring 10 paired morphometric traits. All traits except hand width showed fluctuating asymmetry. Fluctuating asymmetries of the legs tended to be related and were less than half as great as fluctuating asymmetries of the arms and ears. Therefore the legs may show high developmental stability resulting from selection for mechanical efficiency. A fluctuating asymmetry composite score revealed that boys have significantly lower fluctuating asymmetry than girls and that this effect resides mainly in the elbows. There were significant positive relationships between composite fluctuating asymmetry and age, height, and weight, but multiple regression analyses showed that age was negatively related to fluctuating asymmetry, whereas body size was positively correlated. These findings are compared with results from recent English studies.     

Patterns of fluctuating asymmetry in flowers: Implications for sexual selection in plants

Characters in animals used in signalling and subjected to strong directional selection often demonstrate (i) an elevated level of fluctuating asymmetry (small random deviations from bilateral symmetry) and (ii) a negative relationship between the degree of individual fluctuating asymmetry and the size of a given character. We tested these two predictions in plants since flowers are subjected to strong directional selection and are involved in signalling to pollinators, whereas leaves are supposed not to be directly involved in signalling. The overall level of fluctuating asymmetry in a number of plant species with bilaterally or radially symmetric flowers was not generally higher in floral traits than in leaves. The level of fluctuating asymmetry in plants was sometimes significantly consistent within individuals. The absolute degree of individual fluctuating asymmetry in floral traits was generally negatively related to the size of the trait, while there was a positive relationship for leaves. The degree of individual fluctuating asymmetry in floral traits was marginally negatively related to the degree of individual fluctuating asymmetry in leaf traits. These patterns of fluctuating asymmetry in plants suggest that (i) the degree of asymmetry in flowers signals different aspects of quality than does the degree of asymmetry in leaves, and that (ii) fluctuating asymmetry in flowers often reflects the phenotypic quality of individual plants.     

Symmetry: attractive not only to females

Fluctuating asymmetry in bilateral traits has been proposed to reflect aspects of individual quality, and has hence been suggested to act as a cue in mate choice. Since sexual selection generally acts more strongly on males, numerous studies have focused on female preferences for symmetrical partners, while very little is known about potential male symmetry preferences. In the present experiment, we tested whether bluethroat males are sensitive to symmetry in an artificial ornament. Using different combinations of blue and orange leg bands, females were made symmetrical or asymmetrical. In outdoor aviaries placed in breeding habitat, males were allowed to choose between a symmetrical and an asymmetrical female. We found that males associated more with symmetrical than asymmetrical females, indicating a preference for symmetry. The magnitude of the symmetry preference of bluethroat males was similar to that of females of the same species.     

Relationships between species’ floral traits and pollinator visitation in a temperate grassland

Knowledge about plant–plant interactions for pollinator service at the plant community level is still scarce, although such interactions may be important to seed production and hence the population dynamics of individual plant species and the species compositions of communities. An important step towards a better understanding of pollination interactions at the community level is to assess if the variation in floral traits among plant species explain the variation in flower visitation frequency among those species. We investigated the relative importance of various floral traits for the visitation frequency of all insects, and bumblebees and flies separately, to plant species by measuring the visitation frequency to all insect-pollinated species in a community during an entire flowering season. Visitation frequency was identified to be strongly positive related to the visual display area and the date of peak flowering of plant species. Categorical variables, such as flower form and symmetry, were important to the visitation frequency of flies only. We constructed floral similarity measures based on the species’ floral traits and found that the floral similarity for all species’ traits combined and the continuous traits separately were positively related to individual visitation frequency. On the other hand, plant species with similar categorical floral traits did not have similar visitation frequencies. In conclusion, our results show that continuous traits, such as flower size and/or density, are more important for the variation in visitation frequency among plant species than thought earlier. Furthermore, differences in visitation frequency among pollinator groups give a poor support to the expectations derived from the classical pollination syndromes.     

Fluctuating asymmetry in the otoliths of larval fish as an indicator of condition: conceptual and methodological aspects

Developmental instability, measured as fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in bilateral traits, has been used widely as an indicator of genetic or environmental stress in a variety of plant and animal taxa. FA arises as small deviations from perfect bilateral symmetry which reflect 'mistakes' in developmental processes resulting from the inability of the genotype to buffer itself effectively against environmental perturbations. Recently, it has been proposed that FA in the otoliths can be used as an indicator of condition in larval fish. This paper reviews the conceptual and methodological aspects of FA relevant to its potential use as a measure of well-being. Its simplicity makes FA an attractive tool to measure developmental precision and condition. However, there are several pitfalls, such as measuring error or potentially size dependence. Subtle asymmetries, i.e. between sides variation of a trait at the individual level, may not always be indicative of condition and should be interpreted with caution. The past-growth record of otoliths may provide a powerful means of studying the development of asymmetries at the level of the individual.     

木薯种质的遗传多样性评价及高产种质初级筛选

为加强木薯现有选育材料和引进种质的研究利用,本研究以主栽品种SC8和SC205为对照,对142份选育材料和8份瑞士引进新种质进行了16个表型性状的鉴定和EST-SSR标记,分析和评价其遗传多样性;运用主成分分析法挖掘高产木薯种质。分子标记聚类分析表明种质间的遗传相似系数均值为0.652,基于表型性状的聚类遗传相似系数均值为0.186,2种聚类结果之间差异显著,但均表明种质间有一定的遗传差异。2年产量相关性状调查结果差异极显著,表明受环境影响较大。产量相关性状的主成分分析结果表明,C322综合评价表现最好,G74综合评价表现最差,同时,有47份选育材料的综合评价优于2份对照。在今后杂交育种工作中可选择亲缘关系较远且表型差异互补的种质作为杂交亲本,以进一步聚合优良性状,改良不利性状。     

Fluctuating asymmetry in red junglefowl

Fluctuating asymmetry, the random deviation from perfect bilateral symmetry, has recently attracted considerable attention. Levels of asymmetry have been shown to correlate with measures of individual quality. We measured asymmetry in a variety of ornamental and non-ornamental traits in red junglefowl, Gallus gallus and examined the patterns of asymmetry among different traits within an individual. All ornamental traits had significantly higher levels of fluctuating asymmetry than did non-ornamental traits. However, inter-trait correlations of asymmetry were low for both ornamental and non-ornamental traits. We then correlated measures of asymmetry with several potential indicators of male quality, including comb size, body size, and body condition. We found little evidence that asymmetry in any measured trait reflected male quality. We measured asymmetry in ornamental traits at several stages of development and found no relationship between male condition and changes in asymmetry over time. Our results indicate that it is necessary to employ caution when choosing traits to be measured in studies of fluctuating asymmetry and that a relationship between asymmetry and individual quality cannot be assumed.     

桉树及其杂交种叶片形态的遗传变异特征

为了解桉树重要性状在杂交种亲本、子代间的遗传变异规律,以尾叶桉(Eucalyptus urophylla)为母本、粗皮桉(E. pellita)和细叶桉(E. tereticornis)为父本、8个全同胞杂交子代为材料,对亲本和子代的叶片形态性状进行了分析。结果表明,亲缘关系近的尾叶桉和粗皮桉的叶片性状大多无显著差异;但他们与亲缘关系远的细叶桉间的差异显著;尾粗桉与父母本间的性状无显著差异或仅与母本差异显著,属偏父本型;尾细桉与双亲间的多数性状都差异显著,且多偏向于母本。在树种内的家系间或个体间,叶片数量性状差异显著,而质量性状仅叶面革质厚度、叶面朝向差异显著;杂交种家系部分性状有超亲现象,且尾细桉家系超亲频率显著高于尾粗桉。叶长、叶长宽比、形状因子、叶色、叶面革质是区别叶片形态特征的决定性状。     

Influence of the Personality Traits of Parent and Children on the Autonomic Regulation of Heart Rate in Children of Preschool Age and Adolescents

The relationship between personality traits and autonomic regulation of heart rate in children of preschool age and adolescents was studied. Significant positive correlations of the parameter of trait anxiety in children of preschool age with the index of tension (IT) of the cardiovascular system and of the value of extro/introversion of parents (mothers) with the IT of children were obtained. A relationship was revealed between school anxiety and the state of autonomic regulation of the heart rate in children of preschool age and adolescents.     

Floral symmetry is associated with flower size and pollen production but not insect visitation rates in Geranium robertianum (Geraniaceae)

The degree to which fine‐scaled variation in floral symmetry is associated with variation in plant fitness remains unresolved, as does the question of whether floral symmetry is in itself a target of pollinator‐mediated selection. Geranium robertianum (Geraniaceae) is a broadly distributed species whose five‐petaled flowers vary widely with respect to their degree of rotational asymmetry. In this study, we used a naturally occurring population of plants to investigate whether floral rotational asymmetry and leaf bilateral symmetry were phenotypically correlated with a series of fitness‐related traits, and also used an experimental array with model flowers to investigate the preference of insect visitors for varying degrees of floral size and symmetry. We found that leaf asymmetry was not associated with any of the phenotypic traits measured, and that the degree of floral rotational asymmetry was strongly associated with decreased flower size and decreased pollen production. Our experimental arrays showed that insect visitors did not discriminate among model flowers on the basis of size or symmetry alone; however, insect visitors preferentially visited smaller, symmetric model flowers over larger, severely asymmetric model flowers. Taken together, our results suggest that floral and leaf symmetry in G. robertianum are not likely strong indicators of phenotypic quality, and that floral symmetry is unlikely to be a target of pollinator‐mediated selection. However, the relationship between floral asymmetry and pollen production may provide a role for fecundity selection on symmetry in this species. These data importantly add to the growing literature on the adaptive nature of floral symmetry in the wild.