A model invalidation-based approach for elucidating biological signalling pathways,applied to the chemotaxis pathway in R. sphaeroides

Background  

Developing methods for understanding the connectivity of signalling pathways is a major challenge in biological research. For this purpose, mathematical models are routinely developed based on experimental observations, which also allow the prediction of the system behaviour under different experimental conditions. Often, however, the same experimental data can be represented by several competing network models.     

Genetic differentiation of the three species of genus Astragalus L. of section Cenantrum Bunge (Fabaceae)

Genetic differentiation based on allozyme data was detected between species of the genus Astragalus L., section Cenantrum Bunge (Fabaceae): A. frigidus (L.) A. Gray s. l., A. mongholicus Bunge s. 1., and A. sericeocanus Gontsch, which is endemic to the northeast coast of Lake Baikal. The results of allozyme analysis confirm the natural division of the section into subsections based on morphological features. Differences between A. frigidus (subsection Elliptica Gontsch.) and A. mongholicus and A. sericeocanus (subsection Semilunaria Gontsch.) were observed. These differences were caused by the presence of species-specific alleles and the allele frequencies of the primary alleles, D _N = 1.24. The genetic distance obtained for A. mongholicus and A. sericeocanus (0.10) corresponds to the status of closely related species of one subsection. Between populations of A. frigidus and between populations of A. mongholicus from the central part of areal, D _N = 0.02 and 0.03 respectively. This genetic distance corresponds to the interpopulation level and was determined by the allele frequencies. The peripheral population of A. mongholicus is separated (D _N = 0.36), which is probably due to the long isolation and the “founder effect.”

     

Unusual growth pattern in the Frasnian alveolitids (Tabulata) from the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland)

Abstract: Growth periodicity is a phenomenon occurring in fossil and modern corals. The most apparent feature is growth banding, and environmental changes are broadly accepted as controls on this phenomenon. If environment controls the growth, then all corallites within a colony should repeat the same growth pattern, as individuals are clones and must have shared the same environment. A study on several species of Alveolitidae (Anthozoa, Tabulata) from the Late Devonian (Early Frasnian) of the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland) shows that the growth pattern varies between neighbouring individuals within the same corallum. This contradicts observations of closely related Favositida as demonstrated on Pachyfavosites sp. from the Givetian of Avesnois, France, where neighbouring individuals repeat the same pattern. Therefore, environmental control on growth rhythm in Alveolitidae can be excluded; the causes of differences between individuals remain unknown.     

Rates and patterns of mitochondrial DNA sequence evolution in fringilline finches (fringilla spp.) and the greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

Rates and patterns of evolution in partial sequences of five mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b, ATPase 6, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5, tRNA(Glu), and the control region) were compared among taxa in the passerine bird genera Fringilla and Carduelis. Rates of divergence do not vary significantly among genes, even in comparisons with the control region. Rate variation among lineages is significant only for the control region and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5, and patterns of variation are consistent with the expectations of neutral theory. Base composition is biased in all genes but is stationary among lineages, and there is evidence for directional mutation pressure only in the control region. Despite these similarities, patterns of substitution differ among genes, consistent with alternative regimes of selective constraint. Rates of nonsynonymous substitution are higher in NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 than in other protein-coding genes, and transitions exist in elevated proportions relative to transversions. Transitions appear to accumulate linearly with time in tRNA(Glu), and despite exhibiting the highest overall rate of divergence among species, there are no transversional changes in this gene. Finally, for resolving phylogenetic relationships among Fringilla taxa, the combined protein-coding data are broadly similar to those of the control region in terms of phylogenetic informativeness and statistical support.