Oceanographic barriers,divergence, and admixture: Phylogeography and taxonomy of two putative subspecies of short‐finned pilot whale

Genomic phylogeography plays an important role in describing evolutionary processes and their geographic, ecological, or cultural drivers. These drivers are often poorly understood in marine environments, which have fewer obvious barriers to mixing than terrestrial environments. Taxonomic uncertainty of some taxa (e.g., cetaceans), due to the difficulty in obtaining morphological data, can hamper our understanding of these processes. One such taxon, the short‐finned pilot whale, is recognized as a single global species but includes at least two distinct morphological forms described from stranding and drive hunting in Japan, the “Naisa” and “Shiho” forms. Using samples (n = 735) collected throughout their global range, we examine phylogeographic patterns of divergence by comparing mitogenomes and nuclear SNP loci. Our results suggest three types within the species: an Atlantic Ocean type, a western/central Pacific and Indian Ocean (Naisa) type, and an eastern Pacific Ocean and northern Japan (Shiho) type. mtDNA control region differentiation indicates these three types form two subspecies, separated by the East Pacific Barrier: Shiho short‐finned pilot whale, in the eastern Pacific Ocean and northern Japan, and Naisa short‐finned pilot whale, throughout the remainder of the species' distribution. Our data further indicate two diverging populations within the Naisa subspecies, in the Atlantic Ocean and western/central Pacific and Indian Oceans, separated by the Benguela Barrier off South Africa. This study reveals a process of divergence and speciation within a globally‐distributed, mobile marine predator, and indicates the importance of the East Pacific Barrier to this evolutionary process.     

Characterization of the full‐length human Grb7 protein and a phosphorylation representative mutant

It is well known the dimerization state of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), in conjunction with binding partners such as the growth factor receptor bound protein 7 (Grb7) protein, plays an important role in cell signaling regulation. Previously, we proposed, downstream of RTKs, that the phosphorylation state of Grb7SH2 domain tyrosine residues could control Grb7 dimerization, and dimerization may be an important regulatory step in Grb7 binding to RTKs. In this manner, additional dimerization‐dependent regulation could occur downstream of the membrane‐bound kinase in RTK‐mediated signaling pathways. Extrapolation to the full‐length (FL) Grb7 protein, and the ability to test this hypothesis further, has been hampered by the availability of large quantities of pure and stable FL protein. Here, we report the biophysical characterization of the FL Grb7 protein and also a mutant representing a tyrosine‐phosphorylated Grb7 protein form. Through size exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation, we show the phosphorylated‐tyrosine‐mimic Y492E‐FL‐Grb7 protein (Y492E‐FL‐Grb7) is essentially monomeric at expected physiological concentrations. It has been shown previously the wild‐type FL Grb7(WT‐FLGrb7) protein is dimeric with a dissociation constant (Kd) of approximately 11μM. Our studies here measure a FL protein dimerization K_d of WT‐FL‐Grb7 within one order of magnitude at approximately 1μM. The approximate size and shape of the WT‐FL‐Grb7 in comparison the tyrosine‐phosphorylation mimic Y492E‐FL‐Grb7 protein was determined by dynamic light scattering methods. In vitro phosphorylation of the Grb7SH2 domain indicates only one of the available tyrosine residues is phosphorylated, suggesting the same phosphorylation pattern could be relevant in the FL protein. The biophysical characterization studies in total are interpreted with a view towards understanding the functionally active Grb7 protein conformation.     

Archaic and contemporary topographic diversification of Upper Mississippi River forests

Topographic diversity is an important component of environmental heterogeneity. Topographic diversity within the Upper Mississippi River floodplain has been degraded because of modifications for navigation improvement. Efforts aimed at restoring topographic diversity in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain have been extensive but have not focused on reversing the effects of forest loss and degradation. We investigated habitat features associated with Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) locations both within and outside of river floodplains and hypothesized this species would select topographically diverse habitats. Both topographic diversity and the distance to the upland forest/floodplain forest interface were useful predictors of Cerulean Warbler presence. We conclude that incorporation of topographic diversity into floodplain forest restoration planning would likely benefit Cerulean Warblers and the other species with similar habitat requirements. Incorporating topographic diversity into floodplain forest conservation planning will be challenging on major rivers that serve multiple purposes.     

Using behavioral observation for the longitudinal study of anger regulation in middle childhood

Assessing anger regulation via self-reports is fraught with problems, especially among children. Behavioral observation provides an ecologically valid alternative for measuring anger regulation. The present study uses data from two waves of a longitudinal study to present a behavioral observation approach for measuring anger regulation in middle childhood. At T1, 599 children from Germany (6–10 years old) were observed during an anger eliciting task, and the use of anger regulation strategies was coded. At T2, 3 years later, the observation was repeated with an age-appropriate version of the same task. Partial metric measurement invariance over time demonstrated the structural equivalence of the two versions. Maladaptive anger regulation between the two time points showed moderate stability. Validity was established by showing correlations with aggressive behavior, peer problems, and conduct problems (concurrent and predictive criterion validity). The study presents an ecologically valid and economic approach to assessing anger regulation strategies in situ.     

Grey mould of strawberry,a devastating disease caused by the ubiquitous necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea

The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea causes grey mould, a commercially damaging disease of strawberry. This pathogen affects fruit in the field, storage, transport and market. The presence of grey mould is the most common reason for fruit rejection by growers, shippers and consumers, leading to significant economic losses. Here, we review the biology and epidemiology of the pathogen, mechanisms of infection and the genetics of host plant resistance. The development of grey mould is affected by environmental and genetic factors; however, little is known about how B. cinerea and strawberry interact at the molecular level. Despite intensive efforts, breeding strawberry for resistance to grey mould has not been successful, and the mechanisms underlying tolerance to B. cinerea are poorly understood and under-investigated. Current control strategies against grey mould include pre- and postharvest fungicides, yet they are generally ineffective and expensive. In this review, we examine available research on horticultural management, chemical and biological control of the pathogen in the field and postharvest storage, and discuss their relevance for integrative disease management. Additionally, we identify and propose approaches for increasing resistance to B. cinerea in strawberry by tapping into natural genetic variation and manipulating host factors via genetic engineering and genome editing.     

Heritabilities,social environment effects and genetic correlations of social behaviours in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate

Social animals interact frequently with conspecifics, and their behaviour is influenced by social context, environmental cues and the behaviours of interaction partners, allowing for adaptive, flexible adjustments to social encounters. This flexibility can be limited by part of the behavioural variation being genetically determined. Furthermore, behaviours can be genetically correlated, potentially constraining independent evolution. Understanding social behaviour thus requires carefully disentangling genetic, environmental, maternal and social sources of variations as well as the correlation structure between behaviours. Here, we assessed heritability, maternal, common environment and social effects of eight social behaviours in Neolamprologus pulcher, a cooperatively breeding cichlid. We bred wild‐caught fish in a paternal half‐sibling design and scored ability to defend a resource against conspecifics, to integrate into a group and the propensity to help defending the group territory (“helping behaviour”). We assessed genetic, social and phenotypic correlations within clusters of behaviours predicted to be functionally related, namely “competition,” “aggression,” “aggression‐sociability,” “integration” and “integration‐help.” Helping behaviour and two affiliative behaviours were heritable, whereas there was little evidence for a genetic basis in all other traits. Phenotypic social effects explained part of the variation in a sociable and a submissive behaviour, but there were no maternal or common environment effects. Genetic and phenotypic correlation within clusters was mostly positive. A group's social environment influenced covariances of social behaviours. Genetic correlations were similar in magnitude but usually exceeding the phenotypic ones, indicating that conclusions about the evolution of social behaviours in this species could be provisionally drawn from phenotypic data in cases where data for genetic analyses are unobtainable.