Age structure and multi-model growth estimation of longnose stingray Hypanus guttatus (Dasyatidae: Myliobatoidei) from north-east Brazil

We collected 729 Hypanus guttatus from the northern coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN), of which 196 were used to estimate age and growth. Ninety-five were male (12.7 to 57.0 cm disc width; W_D) and 101 were female (13.0 to 88.5 cm W_D); females were significantly larger than males. Cross sections of vertebrae showed band-pairs ranging from 0 to > 14 in females and from 0 to 9 in males. New-borns presented an opaque edge at birth in vertebrae without a birthmark. The average percentage of error (APE; %E) for the entire sample provided evidence that ages were repeatable. The mean monthly marginal increment (I_M) indicates annual band-pair formation from August to November. The annual cycle model for one band-pair deposition provided the best fit to data based on the AIC, with peaks between August and October, similar to that found in the I_M analysis, suggesting an annual formation pattern. A multi-model approach that included four models based on the observed mean W_D at age indicated a modified von Bertalanffy growth model as the best for describing the species growth: W₀ (W_D at birth) = 14.6 cm for both sexes; females W_∞ = 98.61 cm (95% CI = 87.34–114.61 cm); k = 0.112 year⁻¹ (CI = 0.086–0.148 year⁻¹); males W_∞ = 60.22 cm (CI = 55.66–65.35 cm); k = 0.219 year⁻¹ (CI = 0.185–0.276 year⁻¹). The age-at-maturity in males and females is 5 years and 7 years, respectively. The age composition shows that most (84%) specimens were aged 0 to 2 years. The information provided here is essential for analytical assessments of H. guttatus, which is subject to significant fishing pressure mainly on new-borns and juveniles.     

Asymmetric dispersal and colonization success of Amazonian plant-ants queens

Background

The dispersal ability of queens is central to understanding ant life-history evolution, and plays a fundamental role in ant population and community dynamics, the maintenance of genetic diversity, and the spread of invasive ants. In tropical ecosystems, species from over 40 genera of ants establish colonies in the stems, hollow thorns, or leaf pouches of specialized plants. However, little is known about the relative dispersal ability of queens competing for access to the same host plants.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We used empirical data and inverse modeling—a technique developed by plant ecologists to model seed dispersal—to quantify and compare the dispersal kernels of queens from three Amazonian ant species that compete for access to host-plants. We found that the modal colonization distance of queens varied 8-fold, with the generalist ant species (Crematogaster laevis) having a greater modal distance than two specialists (Pheidole minutula, Azteca sp.) that use the same host-plants. However, our results also suggest that queens of Azteca sp. have maximal distances that are four-sixteen times greater than those of its competitors.

Conclusions/Significance

We found large differences between ant species in both the modal and maximal distance ant queens disperse to find vacant seedlings used to found new colonies. These differences could result from interspecific differences in queen body size, and hence wing musculature, or because queens differ in their ability to identify potential host plants while in flight. Our results provide support for one of the necessary conditions underlying several of the hypothesized mechanisms promoting coexistence in tropical plant-ants. They also suggest that for some ant species limited dispersal capability could pose a significant barrier to the rescue of populations in isolated forest fragments. Finally, we demonstrate that inverse models parameterized with field data are an excellent means of quantifying the dispersal of ant queens.     

Euploidy in Ricinus: EUPLOIDY EFFECTS ON PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVITY AND CONTENT OF CHLOROPHYLL-PROTEINS

The effects of nuclear genome duplication on the chlorophyll-protein content and photochemical activity of chloroplasts, and photosynthetic rates in leaf tissue, have been evaluated in haploid, diploid, and tetraploid individuals of the castor bean, Ricinus communis L. Analysis of this euploid series revealed that both photosystem II (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol reduction) and photosystem I oxygen uptake (N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine to methyl viologen) decrease in plastids isolated from cells with increasingly larger nuclear complement sizes. Photosynthetic O₂-evolution and ¹⁴CO₂-fixation rates in leaf tissue from haploid, diploid, and tetraploid individuals were also found to decrease with the increase in size of the nuclear genome. Six chlorophyll-protein complexes, in addition to a zone of detergent complexed free pigment, were resolved from sodium dodecyl sulfate-solubilized thylakoid membranes from cells of all three ploidy levels. In addition to the P700-chlorophyll a-protein complex and the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein complex, four minor complexes were revealed, two containing only chlorophyll a and two containing both chlorophyll a and b. The relative distribution of chlorophyll among the resolved chlorophyll-protein complexes and free pigment was found to be similar for all three ploidy levels.     

Cytokine Profiles at Admission Can Be Related to Outcome in AIDS Patients with Cryptococcal Meningitis

Cryptococcal meningitis (CM) remains as common life-threatening AIDS-defining illness mainly in resource-limited settings. Previous reports suggested that baseline cytokine profiles can be associated to fungal burden and clinical outcome. This study aimed to evaluate the baseline cytokine profiles in AIDS patients with CM and its relation with the outcome at weeks 2 and 10. Thirty AIDS patients with CM diagnosed by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Cryptococcus neoformans positive culture, India ink stain and cryptococcal antigen test were prospectively evaluated. As controls, 56 HIV-infected patients without CM and 48 non-HIV individuals were included. Baseline CSF and sera levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p40, IL-17A, INF-γ and TNF-α were measured by ELISA. Of 30 CM patients, 24 (80%) were male, median age of 38.1. The baseline CSF high fungal burden and positive blood culture were associated with a positive CSF culture at week 2 (p = 0.043 and 0.029). Most CSF and sera cytokines presented higher levels in CM patients than control subjects (p < 0.05). CSF levels of IL-8, IL-12p40, IL-17A, TNF-α, INF-γ and sera TNF-α were significantly higher among survivors at weeks 2 and 10 (p < 0.05). Patients with increased intracranial pression exhibited CSF IL-10 high levels and poor outcome at week 10 (p = 0.032). Otherwise, baseline CSF log10 IFN-γ and IL-17A were negatively correlated with fungal burden (r = -0.47 and -0.50; p = 0.0175 and 0.0094, respectively). The mortality rate was 33% (10/30) at week 2 and 57% (17/30) at week 10. The severity of CM and the advanced immunodeficiency at admission were related to a poor outcome in these patients. Otherwise, the predominant Th1 cytokines profile among survivors confirms its pivotal role to infection control and would be a prognostic marker in cryptococcal meningitis.     

Conservation implications of genetic structure in the narrowest endemic quillwort from the Eastern Amazon

The quillwort Isoëtes cangae is a critically endangered species occurring in a single lake in Serra dos Carajás, Eastern Amazon. Low genetic diversity and small effective population sizes (N _e) are expected for narrow endemic species (NES). Conservation biology studies centered in a single species show some limitations, but they are still useful considering the limited time and resources available for protection of species at risk of extinction. Here, we evaluated the genetic diversity, population structure, N _e, and minimum viable population (MVP) of I. cangae to provide information for effective conservation programs. Our analyses were based on 55 individuals collected from the Amendoim Lake and 35,638 neutral SNPs. Our results indicated a single panmictic population, moderate levels of genetic diversity, and N _e in the order of thousands, contrasting the expected for NES. Negative F_IS values were also found, suggesting that I. cangae is not under risk of inbreeding depression. Our findings imply that I. cangae contains enough genetic diversity to ensure evolutionary potential and that all individuals should be treated as one demographic unit. These results provide essential information to optimize ex situ conservation efforts and genetic diversity monitoring, which are currently applied to guide I. cangae conservation plans.     

1,3-Propanediol production in a two-step process fermentation from renewable feedstock

In this work, the production of 1,3-propanediol from glucose and molasses was studied in a two-step process using two recombinant microorganisms. The first step of the process is the conversion of glucose or other sugar into glycerol by the metabolic engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain HC42 adapted to high (>200 g l⁻¹) glucose concentrations. The second step, carried out in the same bioreactor, was performed by the engineered strain Clostridium acetobutylicum DG1 (pSPD5) that converts glycerol to 1,3-propanediol. This two-step strategy led to a flexible process, resulting in a 1,3-propanediol production and yield that depended on the initial sugar concentration. Below 56.2 g l⁻¹ of sugar concentration, cultivation on molasses or glucose showed no significant differences. However, at higher molasses concentrations, glycerol initially produced by yeast could not be totally converted into 1,3-propanediol by C. acetobutylicum and a lower 1,3-propanediol overall yield was observed. In our hand, the best results were obtained with an initial glucose concentration of 103 g l⁻¹, leading to a final 1,3-propanediol concentration of 25.5 g l⁻¹, a productivity of 0.16 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹ and 1,3-propanediol yields of 0.56 g g⁻¹ glycerol and 0.24 g g⁻¹ sugar, which is the highest value reported for a two-step process. For an initial sugar concentration (from molasses) of 56.2 g l⁻¹, 27.4 g l⁻¹ of glycerol were produced, leading to 14.6 g l⁻¹ of 1.3-propanediol and similar values of productivity, 0.15 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹, and overall yield, 0.26 g g⁻¹ sugar.     

Life history of the predatory mite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytoseiulus fragariae</Emphasis> on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetranychus evansi</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetranychus urticae</Emphasis> (Acari: Phytoseiidae,Tetranychidae) at five temperatures

Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard and Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) are important pests of Solanaceae in many countries. Several studies have demonstrated that T. urticae is an acceptable prey to many predatory mites, although the suitability of this prey depends on the host plant. T. evansi, has been shown to be an unfavorable prey to most predatory mites that have been tested against it. The predator Phytoseiulus fragariae Denmark and Schicha (Acari: Phytoseiidae) has been found in association with the two species in Brazil. The objective of this work was to compare biological parameters of P. fragariae on T. evansi and on T. urticae as prey. The study was conducted under laboratory conditions at 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C. At all temperatures, survivorship was lower on T. evansi than on T. urticae. No predator reached adulthood at 10°C on the former species; even on the latter species, only about 36% of the predators reached adulthood at 10°C. For both prey, in general, duration of each life stage was shorter, total fecundity was lower and intrinsic rate of population increase (r _m ) was higher with increasing temperatures. The slower rate of development of P. fragariae on T. evansi resulted in a slightly higher thermal requirement (103.9 degree-days) on that prey than on T. urticae (97.1 degree-days). The values of net reproduction rate (R ₀), intrinsic rate of increase (r _m ) and finite rate of increase (λ) were significantly higher on T. urticae, indicating faster population increase of the predator on this prey species. The highest value of r _m of the predator was 0.154 and 0.337 female per female per day on T. evansi and on T. urticae, respectively. The results suggested that P. fragariae cannot be considered a good predator of T. evansi.     

Mammalian keratin associated proteins (KRTAPs) subgenomes: disentangling hair diversity and adaptation to terrestrial and aquatic environments

Background

Adaptation of mammals to terrestrial life was facilitated by the unique vertebrate trait of body hair, which occurs in a range of morphological patterns. Keratin associated proteins (KRTAPs), the major structural hair shaft proteins, are largely responsible for hair variation.

Results

We exhaustively characterized the KRTAP gene family in 22 mammalian genomes, confirming the existence of 30 KRTAP subfamilies evolving at different rates with varying degrees of diversification and homogenization. Within the two major classes of KRTAPs, the high cysteine (HS) subfamily experienced strong concerted evolution, high rates of gene conversion/recombination and high GC content. In contrast, high glycine-tyrosine (HGT) KRTAPs showed evidence of positive selection and low rates of gene conversion/recombination. Species with more hair and of higher complexity tended to have more KRATP genes (gene expansion). The sloth, with long and coarse hair, had the most KRTAP genes (175 with 141 being intact). By contrast, the “hairless” dolphin had 35 KRTAPs and the highest pseudogenization rate (74% relative to the 19% mammalian average). Unique hair-related phenotypes, such as scales (armadillo) and spines (hedgehog), were correlated with changes in KRTAPs. Gene expression variation probably also influences hair diversification patterns, for example human have an identical KRTAP repertoire as apes, but much less hair.

Conclusions

We hypothesize that differences in KRTAP gene repertoire and gene expression, together with distinct rates of gene conversion/recombination, pseudogenization and positive selection, are likely responsible for micro and macro-phenotypic hair diversification among mammals in response to adaptations to ecological pressures.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-779) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.