Seed cone anatomy of Cheirolepidiaceae (Coniferales): Reinterpreting Pararaucaria patagonica Wieland

? Premise of the study: Seed cone morphology and anatomy reflect some of the most important changes in the phylogeny and evolutionary biology of conifers. Reexamination of the enigmatic Jurassic seed cone Pararaucaria patagonica reveals previously unknown systematically informative characters that demonstrate affinities with the Cheirolepidiaceae. This paper documents, for the first time, internal anatomy for seed cones of this important extinct Mesozoic conifer family, which may represent the ghost lineage leading to modern Pinaceae. ? Methods: Morphology and anatomy of cones from the Jurassic La Matilde Formation in Patagonia are described from a combination of polished wafers and thin section preparations. New photographic techniques are employed to reveal histological details of thin sections in which organic cell wall remains are not preserved. Specific terminology for conifer seed cones is proposed to help clarify hypotheses of homology for the various structures of the cones. ? Key results: Specimens are demonstrated to have trilobed ovuliferous scale tips along with a seed enclosing pocket of ovuliferous scale tissue. Originally thought to represent a seed wing in P. patagonica, this pocket-forming tissue is comparable to the flap of tissue covering seeds of compressed cheirolepidiaceous cones and is probably the most diagnostic character for seed cones of the family. ? Conclusions: Pararaucaria patagonica is assigned to Cheirolepidiaceae, documenting anatomical features for seed cones of the family and providing evidence for the antiquity of pinoid conifers leading to the origin of Pinaceae. A list of key morphological and anatomical characters for seed cones of Cheirolepidiaceae is developed to facilitate assignment of a much broader range of fossil remains to the family. This confirms the presence of Cheirolepidiaceae in the Jurassic of the Southern Hemisphere, which was previously suspected from palynological records.     

Phylogenetic utility of the nuclear gene arginine decarboxylase: an example from Brassicaceae

Arginine decarboxylase (ADC) is an important enzyme in the production of putrescine and polyamines in plants. It is encoded by a single or low-copy nuclear gene that lacks introns in sequences studied to date. The rate of Adc amino acid sequence evolution is similar to that of ndhF for the angiosperm family studied. Highly conserved regions provide several target sites for PCR priming and sequencing and aid in nucleotide and amino acid sequence alignment across a range of taxonomic levels, while a variable region provides an increased number of potentially informative characters relative to ndhF for the taxa surveyed. The utility of the Adc gene in plant molecular systematic studies is demonstrated by analysis of its partial nucleotide sequences obtained from 13 representatives of Brassicaceae and 3 outgroup taxa, 2 from the mustard oil clade (order Capparales) and 1 from the related order Malvales. Two copies of the Adc gene, Adc1 and Adc2, are found in all members of the Brassicaceae studied to data except the basal genus Aethionema. The resulting Adc gene tree provides robust phylogenetic data regarding relationships within the complex mustard family, as well as independent support for proposed tribal realignments based on other molecular data sets such as those from chloroplast DNA.      

Anatomically preserved Cycadeoidea (Cycadeoidaceae), with a reevaluation of systematic characters for the seed cones of Bennettitales

Four anatomically preserved ovulate cycadeoid cones have been recovered from three localities in Upper Cretaceous (Turonian/Coniacian-Late Campanian) sediments of Vancouver and Hornby Islands, British Columbia, Canada. All of the specimens are preserved by calcareous cellular permineralization and are quite similar to seed cones described as several species of Cycadeoidea and Bennettites. These cones, described as Cycadeoidea maccafferyi sp. nov., consist of tightly packed interseminal scales and ovulate sporophylls with terminal ovules. Two specimens also preserve remains of a small receptacle. Interseminal scales and ovulate sporophylls are oriented parallel to one another. Ovules are distinctly stellate at the base of the micropylar tube, and the sarcotesta consists of both longitudinally oriented tubular cells and large radially elongated cells attached to the sclerotesta. The vascular strand below each ovule is highly contorted in a pattern that is characteristic of contractile tissue in the roots of living plants. These specimens are the most recent anatomically preserved cycadeoid cones yet discovered, revealing details of the reproductive biology shortly before extinction of the clade. Superb preservation of the British Columbia cones confirms that Bennettitales lack a cupule, have radial seeds, and have a vascularized nucellus (but no integumentary tracheids), and that no pollen chamber is produced. Together with a new species of Williamsonia preserved at one of the same localities, these specimens reveal a clear set of contrasting systematic characters for differentiating between isolated seed cones of Williamsoniaceae and Cycadeoidaceae.     

The structure and evolution of the spider monkey delta-globin gene

We have isolated the delta-globin gene of the New-World spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi, and compared its nucleotide sequence with those of other primate delta- and beta-globin genes. Among primate delta-globin genes, the rate of nonsynonymous substitutions is much less than the rate of synonymous substitutions. This suggests that primate delta- globin genes may remain under evolutionary conservation, perhaps because hemoglobin A2 has an as yet unknown physiological importance.      

Global transcriptional response of pig brain and lung to natural infection by Pseudorabies virus

Background  

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is an alphaherpesviruses whose native host is pig. PRV infection mainly causes signs of central nervous system disorder in young pigs, and respiratory system diseases in the adult.     

Similar hypotensive responses to resistance exercise with and without blood flow restriction

Low intensity resistance exercise (RE) with blood flow restriction (BFR) has gained attention in the literature due to the beneficial effects on functional and morphological variables, similar to those observed during traditional RE without BFR, while the effects of BFR on post-exercise hypotension remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to compare the blood pressure (BP) response of trained normotensive individuals to RE with and without BFR. In this cross-over randomized trial, eight male subjects (23.8 ± 4 years, 74 ± 3 kg, 174 ± 4 cm) completed two exercise protocols: traditional RE (3 x 10 repetitions at 70% one-repetition maximum [1-RM]) and low intensity RE (3 x 15 repetitions at 20% 1-RM) with BFR. Blood pressure measurements were performed after 15 min of seated rest (0), immediately after and 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 40 min, 50 min and 60 min after the experimental sessions. Similar hypotensive effects for systolic BP (SBP) were observed for both protocols (P < 0.05) after exercise, with no differences between groups (P > 0.05) and no statistically significant difference for diastolic BP (P > 0.05). These results suggest that in normotensive trained individuals, both traditional RE and RE with BFR induce hypotension for SBP, which is important to prevent cardiovascular disturbances.     

Disentangling the relative importance of climate,size and competition on tree growth in Iberian forests: implications for forest management under global change

Most large‐scale multispecies studies of tree growth have been conducted in tropical and cool temperate forests, whereas Mediterranean water‐limited ecosystems have received much less attention. This limits our understanding of how growth of coexisting tree species varies along environmental gradients in these forests, and the implications for species interactions and community assembly under current and future climatic conditions. Here, we quantify the absolute effect and relative importance of climate, tree size and competition as determinants of tree growth patterns in Iberian forests, and explore interspecific differences in the two components of competitive ability (competitive response and effect) along climatic and size gradients. Spatially explicit neighborhood models were developed to predict tree growth for the 15 most abundant Iberian tree species using permanent‐plot data from the Spanish Second and Third National Forest Inventory (IFN). Our neighborhood analyses showed a climatic and size effect on tree growth, but also revealed that competition from neighbors has a comparatively much larger impact on growth in Iberian forests. Moreover, the sensitivity to competition (i.e. competitive response) of target trees varied markedly along climatic gradients causing significant rank reversals in species performance, particularly under xeric conditions. We also found compelling evidence for strong species‐specific competitive effects in these forests. Altogether, these results constitute critical new information which not only furthers our understanding of important theoretical questions about the assembly of Mediterranean forests, but will also be of help in developing new guidelines for adapting forests in this climatic boundary to global change. If we consider the climatic gradients of this study as a surrogate for future climatic conditions, then we should expect absolute growth rates to decrease and sensitivity to competition to increase in most forests of the Iberian Peninsula (in all but the northern Atlantic forests), making these management considerations even more important in the future.     

The evolutionary history of the amylase multigene family in Drosophila pseudoobscura

In Drosophila pseudoobscura, the amylase (Amy) multigene family is contained within a series of inversions, or gene arrangements, on the third chromosome. The Standard (ST), Santa Cruz (SC), and Tree Line (TL) inversions are central to the phylogeny of arrangements, and have clusters of other arrangements derived from them. The gene arrangements belonging to each of these three clusters have a characteristic number of Amy genes, ranging from three in ST to two in SC to one in TL. This distribution pattern can reflect a history of either duplications or deletions, although the data available in the past did not permit a decision between these alternatives. We provide unambiguous evidence that three Amy genes were present before the divergence of the ST, SC, and TL arrangements. Thus, the current status of the Amy multigene family is the result of deletions in the TL and SC arrangements, which created three new pseudogenes: TL Amy2-psi, TL Amy3-psi, and SC Amy3- psi. Analysis of pseudogene sequences revealed that, in the SC and ST arrangements, pseudogene evolution has been retarded, most likely due to the homogenization effect of gene conversion. Finally, by determining the original copy number, we have reconstructed the evolutionary history of the Amy multigene family and linked it with the evolution of the central gene arrangements.