Sabellaria wilsoni sp.n. (Polychaeta, Sabellariidae) from the southeast coast of Brazil

A new species of Sabellaria is described from the southeast coast of Brazil and compared with related species known from South or North America.     

Insulin sensitivity and inhibition by forskolin, dipyridamole and pentobarbital of glucose transport in three L6 muscle cell lines

L6 skeletal muscle myoblasts stably overexpressing glucose transporter GLUT1 or GLUT4 with exofa- cial myc-epitope tags were characterized for their response to insulin. In clonally selected cultures, 2-deoxyglucose uptake into L6-GLUT1myc myoblasts and myotubes was linear within the time of study. In L6-GLUT1myc and L6-GLUT4myc myoblasts, 100 nmol/L insulin treatment increased the GLUT1 content of the plasma membrane by 1.58±0.01 fold and the GLUT4 content 1.96±0.11 fold, as well as the 2-deoxyglucose uptake 1.53±0.09 and 1.86±0.17 fold respectively, all by a wortmannin-inhibitable manner. The phosphorylation of Akt in these two cell lines was increased by insulin. L6-GLUT1myc myoblasts showed a dose-dependent stimulation of glucose uptake by insulin, with unaltered sensitiv- ity and maximal responsiveness compared with wild type cells. By contrast, the improved insulin re- sponsiveness and sensitivity of glucose uptake were observed in L6-GLUT4myc myoblasts. Earlier studies indicated that forskolin might affect insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. A 65% decrease of insulin-stimulated 2-deoxyglucose uptake in GLUT4myc cells was not due to an effect on GLUT4 mobi- lization to the plasma membrane, but instead on direct inhibition of GLUT4. Forskolin and dipyridamole are more potent inhibitors of GLUT4 than GLUT1. Alternatively, pentobarbital inhibits GLUT1 more than GLUT4. The use of these inhibitors confirmed that the overexpressed GLUT1 or GLUT4 are the major functional glucose transporters in unstimulated and insulin-stimulated L6 myoblasts. Therefore, L6-GLUT1myc and L6-GLUT4myc cells provide a platform to screen compounds that may have differ- ential effects on GLUT isoform activity or may influence GLUT isoform mobilization to the cell surface of muscle cells.     

Population genetics and conservation of critically small cycad populations: a case study of the Albany Cycad,Encephalartos latifrons (Lehmann)

Declining populations of less than 250 mature individuals are symptomatic of many Critically Endangered cycads, which, globally, comprise the most threatened group of organisms as a result of collecting and habitat loss. Survival plans focus on law enforcement, reintroduction, and augmentation programmes using plants from the wild and botanical gardens. Augmentation is one of the few remaining options for cycad populations, although the assumed benefits remain untested and there is a possibility that augmentation from different sources could compromise the genetic integrity of existing populations, especially when garden plants have no provenance data. We studied Encephalartos latifrons, a South African endemic, which is a typical Critically Endangered cycad. We studied the extent and structure of genetic diversity in wild and ex situ populations to assess the potential benefits and risks associated with augmentation programmes. We examined 86 plants using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). The 417 AFLP markers thus generated yielded a unique DNA ‘fingerprint’ for each plant. Wild populations retain high levels of genetic diversity and this is reflected among the ex situ holdings at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden. No population differentiation is evident, indicating a single panmictic population, consistent with moderately high levels of gene flow between subpopulations and a sexual mode of reproduction. Bayesian clustering identified four genotype groups in the wild, as well as a genotype group only found in ex situ collections. Our results indicate that E. latifrons would benefit from augmentation programmes, including the use of undocumented collections, and careful management of breeding plants would increase the heterogeneity of propagules. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 105 , 293–308.     

Influence of diel behaviour in the morphology of decapod natantia

Natantia is a group of decapod species showing morphologically convergent adaptations for swimming behaviour (i.e. the shrimps and prawns morphotype). Different categories are identified in relation to water column or seabed zones where the diel behaviour takes place (i.e. pelagic and nektobenthic submorphotypes). In the present study, we hypothesized a morphological convergence in different pelagic and nektobenthic species based on common nocturnal or diurnal behaviour. We analysed the pattern of morphological variation in 56 Atlanto-Mediterranean species by measuring biometric and morphometric (i.e. landmarks) characters. We also extensively reviewed the literature, recompiling information on species diel behaviour and type of displacement. That information was organized in different grouping variables and their categories: Diel-Behaviour (categories: Diurnal and Nocturnal); Sub-Morphotype (categories: Nektobenthic and Pelagic); and Classification-Status (categories: Penaeidea or Caridea). Soft independent modelling of class analogy analysis was performed per each variable to group species in each category and consequently obtain a morphological model of reference. The results obtained indicate that species sharing the same type of diel behaviour present morphological convergence in characters located in the cephalothorax and rostrum areas. Differences in the size of eyes were not related to nocturnal or diurnal rhythms but to the type of displacement (i.e. pelagic and nektobenthic). The results were interpreted assuming that visual predators exert a morphological selection on natantia depending on the presence o absence of environmental light when animals are active.  © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2009, 96 , 517–532.     

Morphometric analysis and taxonomic revision of the Vriesea paraibica complex (Bromeliaceae)

The species related to Vriesea paraibica (Bromeliaceae, Tillandsioideae) have controversial taxonomic limits. For several decades, this group has been identified in herbarium collections as V. × morreniana, an artificial hybrid that does not grow in natural habitats. The aim of this study was to assess the morphological variation in the V. paraibica complex through morphometric analyses of natural populations. Two sets of analyses were performed: the first involved six natural populations (G1) and the second was carried out on taxa that emerged from the first analysis, but using material from herbarium collections (G2). Univariate ANOVA was used, as well as discriminant analysis of 16 morphometric variables in G1 and 18 in G2. The results of the analyses of the two groups were similar and led to the selection of diagnostic traits of four species. Lengths of the lower and median floral bracts were significant for the separation of red and yellow floral bracts. Vriesea paraibica and V. interrogatoria have red bracts; these two species are differentiated by the widths of the lower and median portions of the inflorescence and by scape length. These structures are larger in the former and smaller in the latter. Of the species with yellow floral bracts, V. eltoniana is distinguished by longer leaf blades and scapes and V. flava is characterized by its shorter sepal lengths. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 159 , 163–181.     

THE EXTRAORDINARY TRILOBITE FENESTRASPIS (DALMANITIDAE, SYNPHORIINAE) FROM THE LOWER DEVONIAN OF BOLIVIA

Abstract:  The hitherto poorly known, monotypic trilobite genus Fenestraspis from the Lower Devonian of Bolivia is revised and its original assignment to the Synphoriinae supported. The thoracic morphology of the genus remains very poorly known. Fenestraspis is morphologically unusual because of the development of extensive fenestrae in the pleural region of the pygidium and apparently of the thorax; the presence of upwardly directed spines on the cephalon, thorax and pygidium; and the exceptionally large and highly elevated eyes with the palpebral rim projecting outwards above the visual surface. The function of the fenestrae remains uncertain. If they formed openings in the body of the trilobite in life they may have allowed circulation of oxygenated water to the limb exites so that respiration could have been maintained while the trilobite was enrolled. If they were covered with a flexible membrane, they may have been secondary respiratory structures or had a sensory function. The Synphoriinae is regarded as a subfamily of the Dalmanitidae rather than as an independent family of the Dalmanitoidea as proposed by some authors. The type species of the poorly known monotypic genus Dalmanitoides from the Lower Devonian of Argentina is illustrated photographically for the first time and compared with Fenestraspis .     

Microsatellite loci for the stingless bee Melipona rufiventris (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Eight microsatellite primers were developed from ISSR (intersimple sequence repeats) markers for the stingless bee Melipona rufiventris. These primers were tested in 20 M. rufiventris workers, representing a single population from Minas Gerais state. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 5 (mean = 2.63) and the observed and expected heterozygosity values ranged from 0.00 to 0.44 (mean = 0.20) and from 0.05 to 0.68 (mean = 0.31), respectively. Several loci were also polymorphic in M. quadrifasciata, M. bicolor, M. mandacaia and Partamona helleri and should prove useful in population studies of other stingless bees.     

A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life‐history traits

Longevity is a major characteristic of animals that has long fascinated scientists. In this work, we present a comprehensive database of animal longevity records and related life‐history traits entitled AnAge, which we compiled and manually curated from an extensive literature. AnAge started as a collection of longevity records, but has since been expanded to include quantitative data for numerous other life‐history traits, including body masses at different developmental stages, reproductive data such as age at sexual maturity and measurements of reproductive output, and physiological traits related to metabolism. AnAge features over 4000 vertebrate species and is a central resource for applying the comparative method to studies of longevity and life‐history evolution across the tree of life. Moreover, by providing a reference value for longevity and other life‐history traits, AnAge can prove valuable to a broad range of biologists working in evolutionary biology, ecology, zoology, physiology and conservation biology. AnAge is freely available online ( http://genomics.senescence.info/species/ ).     

Pliocene and Pleistocene events shaping the genetic diversity within the central corridor of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Dinoponera lucida (Formicidae; Ponerinae) is an extinction‐threatened species of ant which is endemic in the central corridor of the Atlantic Forest. We used mitochondrial sequences of the Cox1, Cox2 and Cytb genes in order to infer some aspects of the evolutionary history and phylogeography of this ant. High genetic divergence and population structure were observed for the whole species. The current pattern of D. lucida diversity seems to be shaped during different geological times: middle Pliocene, early Pleistocene and mainly late Pleistocene, when the reduction of populations generated a structure pattern of the genetic variation of this species. Our data show that this structure results from the maintenance of populations of D. lucida within very small putative refuges to the south of the central Bahia refugium. We thus argue that, for some Atlantic forest endemic species, especially those resistant to very small fragments of forest, such as D. lucida, the small putative refuges were as important as, or even more important than, larger and stable refuges for the creation and maintenance of diversity, adding another piece to the puzzle of the mechanisms underlying local endemism. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 101 , 949–960.