Cephenniini with prothoracic glands and internal cavities: new taxa,enigmatic characters and phylogeny of the Cephennomicrus group of genera (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae)

Genera of the Cephennomicrus group of the Cephenniini (Scydmaenitae) are revised, and the following new taxa are described: Trichokrater gen.n. , Trichokrater ekkentros sp.n. (type species of Trichokrater) (Borneo), Cephennococcus gen.n. , Cephennococcus kuchingensis sp.n. (type species of Cephennococcus) (Borneo), Cephennococcus kenyirensis sp.n. (West Malaysia), Cephennococcus crassus sp.n. (Borneo), Cephennococcus minutissimus sp.n. (West Malaysia), Pomphopsilla gen.n. , Pomphopsilla luhya sp.n. (type species of Pomphopsilla) (Kenya) and Pomphopsilla soror sp.n. (Kenya). Unique subcuticular pockets with setose openings on the pronotum of Trurlia and Trichokrater are identified as glandular structures. Enigmatic internal prothoracic cavities are described for the first time in Scydmaeninae (in Cephennococcus, Pomphopsilla and a female of an undescribed genus from Sulawesi); their fine structure and function remain unknown. Parsimony‐based cladistic analysis of the adult morphology of genera of Cephenniini provided robust evidence for a monophyly of the Cephennomicrus group, composed of Cephennomicrus, Cephennula, Lathomicrus, Pomphopsilla, Cephennococcus, Trurlia, Trichokrater and two undescribed Oriental genera known from females only; this distinct and well‐supported lineage is a sister group of Cephennodes + Hlavaciellus. The genus Cephennomicrus represented in the analysis by species belonging to three previously postulated species groups is not monophyletic, and a comprehensive study comprising more taxa is necessary to reclassify this heterogeneous group.     

Alkaline cooking and tortilla quality in maize grains from the humid,tropical lands of Mexico

Maize (Zea mays L.) tortilla is the major staple food for the Mexican population. Nine tropical maize genotypes were evaluated. All samples had white grains, a common characteristic in tropical maize, and therefore they were appropriate for nixtamalized flour industry. Grain, flour, masa and tortilla characteristics of each maize genotype were evaluated. Length, width, thickness, weight of 1000 grains and hardness of grain were determined. Moisture content, proteins, fat, ash, mean particle size, water absorption index, enthalpy, and flour temperature were also evaluated. Adhesiveness and cohesiveness were evaluated in masa. Moisture content, protein, capacity to puff up, roll making, tension and cutting strength were determined in tortillas. There were significant differences (p≤0.05) in most of the evaluated characteristics. Grain length values varied between 9.26 and 11.02 mm for populations 23 and 22, respectively. Grain hardness oscillated between 11.17 (population 32) and 14.75 (landrace Mejen). According to the weight of 1000 grains most genotypes had small grains. The minimum and maximum moisture values of flour and tortillas were 8.33-9.99% and 46.20-50.36%, respectively. The texture of tortillas elaborated from population 32 and landrace Mejen had the lowest tension and cutting strength, resulting the best genotypes for making tortilla.     

Thesaurus-based disambiguation of gene symbols

Background  

Massive text mining of the biological literature holds great promise of relating disparate information and discovering new knowledge. However, disambiguation of gene symbols is a major bottleneck.     

DNA divergence in and around the alcohol dehydrogenase locus in five closely related species of Hawaiian Drosophila

The alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) region from five planitibia subgroup species of Hawaiian picture-wing Drosophila has been cloned. A total of 15 kb of DNA in and around the Adh gene has been compared among the five species. Genetic distances were calculated to determine evolutionary relationships. These distances agree with previous distances determined by protein polymorphism and DNA hybridization techniques and can be interpreted in terms of specific island colonization and speciation (founder) events over the past 5 Myr. Examination of the restriction maps of the cloned Adh region from the five species shows many instances of small deletions, insertion of a transposable element in D. heteroneura, and the existence of a highly variable region on the 3' side of the Adh gene. Clustering relationships and rates of DNA change are calculated and compared with the relationship found for other species of Drosophila.      

Phylogenetic screening of the human genome: identification of differentially hybridizing repetitive sequence families

The phi-screen, a method of phylogenetic screening, can be employed to detect repetitive sequence families that differentially hybridize between closely related species. Such differences may involve sequence divergence or variations in copy number, including total presence versus absence of a family of repeated DNA. We present the results of a phi-screen comparing the human genome to that of the prosimian, Galago crassicaudatus. Three human repetitive families that are divergent or not present in galago have been detected. One of these families is described in detail; it is similar among the anthropoids but is present in a lower copy number and/or divergent form in prosimians. The family is clearly related to the transposon-like human element (THE) described by Paulson et al. (1985). THEs have long terminal repeats reminiscent of retroviruses but are unique in that they have no sequence similarity to known mammalian retroviruses. The sequence of a solo long terminal repeat, found unassociated with THE internal sequence, is presented. This family member, THE p2, is bordered by a 5-bp target-site repeat and is interrupted by the insertion of an Alu element. A solo THE element sequenced by Wiginton et al. (1986) contains an insertion of Alu at precisely the same position as does THE p2.