The danger of applying the breeder's equation in observational studies of natural populations

The breeder's equation, which predicts evolutionary change when a phenotypic covariance exists between a heritable trait and fitness, has provided a key conceptual framework for studies of adaptive microevolution in nature. However, its application requires strong assumptions to be made about the causation of fitness variation. In its univariate form, the breeder's equation assumes that the trait of interest is not correlated with other traits having causal effects on fitness. In its multivariate form, the validity of predicted change rests on the assumption that all such correlated traits have been measured and incorporated into the analysis. Here, we (i) highlight why these assumptions are likely to be seriously violated in studies of natural, rather than artificial, selection and (ii) advocate wider use of the Robertson–Price identity as a more robust, and less assumption‐laden, alternative to the breeder's equation for applications in evolutionary ecology.     

Circulating soluble CD4 directly prevents host resistance and delayed-type hypersensitivity response to Cryptococcus neoformans in mice

In the present study, we examined the effect of soluble CD4 (sCD4) on host resistance and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) response to Cryptococcus neoformans using a novel mutant mouse that exhibits a defect in the expression of membrane-bound CD4 but secretes high levels of sCD4 in the serum. In these mice, host resistance to this pathogen was impaired as indicated by an increased number of live pathogens in the lung. To elucidate the mechanism of immunodeficiency, three different sets of experiments were conducted. First, administration of anti-CD4 mAb restored the attenuated host defense. Second, in CD4 gene-disrupted (CD4KO) mice, host resistance was not attenuated compared to control mice. Third, implantation of sCD4 gene-transfected myeloma cells rendered the CD4KO mice susceptible to this infection, while similar treatment with mock-transfected cells did not show such an effect. These results indicated that immunodeficiency in the mutant mice was attributed to the circulating sCD4 rather than to the lack of CD4+ T cells. In addition, DTH response to C. neoformans evaluated by footpad swelling was reduced in the mutant mice compared to that in the control, and the reduced response was restored by the administration of anti-CD4 mAb. Finally, serum levels of IFN-gamma, IL-12 and IL-18 in the mutant mice were significantly reduced, while there was no difference in Th2 cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-10. Considered collectively, our results demonstrated that sCD4 could directly prevent host resistance and DTH response to C. neoformans through interference with the production of Th1-type cytokines.     

中国东南高海拔黄山松生长对气候的响应——以浙江省九龙山和安徽省牯牛降为例

利用中国浙江省西南部九龙山自然保护区和安徽省南部牯牛降的高海拔黄山松树轮径向宽度资料,分别建立了2个树轮宽度差值年表(RES).由子样本信号强度(SSS)>0.8判定,九龙山年表(JLS01)的可靠时段为1884—2010年,牯牛降年表(GNJ01)的可靠时段为1837—2008年.将采样点周围气象站气象数据做算术平均代表区域气候状况,利用相关函数检验了两年表与区域气象数据的月降水量、月平均温度、月平均相对湿度、月总云量和月日照时数的关系.结果表明： 2个高海拔点树木径向生长主要受夏季(上年6、7月,当年6月)水热条件的影响.九龙山年表与上年6、7月温度呈显著正相关,与上年6、7月和当年6月降水及相对湿度呈显著负相关,与上年7月总云量呈显著负相关,与上年6、7月日照时数呈显著正相关;牯牛降年表与上年7月温度呈显著正相关,与上年7月和当年6月降水及相对湿度呈显著负相关,与上年6月总云量呈显著负相关,与上年7月、当年6月日照时数呈显著正相关.由于高海拔地区温度较低,夏季温度的升高有利于该地区树木生长,同时较多降水对应的高相对湿度、高云量和低日照时数,限制了光合作用产物的合成,导致树木的径向生长受到抑制.
     

Extension of the CS past the US can facilitate conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response

Five experiments were conducted in which the onset of a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) preceded the unconditioned stimulus (US) by 500 ms. Across experiments, the offset of the CS was extended past the offset of the US by values ranging from 0 ms to 40000 ms. Extensions of the CS of 2000 ms or greater produced acquisition of a conditioned response (CR) that was as fast or faster than in the no-extension condition (0 ms). While extension of a forward tone CS after the US enhanced excitatory conditioning, insertion of another CS (light) in a purely backward relationship with the US passed only a retardation test, indicative of latent inhibition, and not a summation test needed for conditioned inhibition. The results add to the evidence that excitatory and inhibitory processes are both engaged following US offset. Alternative theories of CS processing are discussed.     

不同品种春小麦根系对低钾胁迫的生物学响应

采用水培法,以3个春小麦品种(加春1号、2号、4号)为试验材料,研究了低钾胁迫下不同品种春小麦根系的形态学与生理学特征。结果表明:(1)与对照相比,低钾胁迫下小麦的根重、根数、总根长、总吸收面积、根活力、根系SOD及POD活性、根系活性吸收面积均明显降低,但根冠比有所增加,不同春小麦品种间的变化趋势相似,但变化幅度存在明显差异。(2)供试品种小麦根系的形态与生理学特征在同一供钾水平下和不同供钾水平间均存在着明显的差异,表明这两种性状的差异是由基因型和环境因素共同决定的,因此,根系形态学和生理学特征可以作为筛选高效吸收钾小麦品种的参考指标。(3)供试的3个春小麦品种中‘加春4号’对低钾环境的适应性最强。     

GLP-1 Receptor Signaling in Astrocytes Regulates Fatty Acid Oxidation,Mitochondrial Integrity,and Function

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Mitogenomic phylogeny of the Percichthyidae and Centrarchiformes (Percomorphaceae): comparison with recent nuclear gene-based studies and simultaneous analysis

Delineation of the fish family Percichthyidae (Percomorphaceae) has a long and convoluted history, with recent morphological-based studies restricting species members to South American and Australian freshwater and catadromous temperate perches. Four recent nuclear gene-based phylogenetic studies, however, found that the Percichthyidae was not monophyletic and was nested within a newly discovered inter-familial clade of Percomorphaceae, the Centrarchiformes, which comprises the Centrarchidae and 12 other families. Here, we reexamined the systematics of the Percichthyidae and Centrarchiformes based on new mitogenomic information. Our mitogenomic results are globally congruent with the recent nuclear gene-based studies although the overall amount of phylogenetic signal of the mitogenome is lower. They do not support the monophyly of the Percichthyidae, because the catadromous genus Percalates is not exclusively related to the freshwater percichthyids. The Percichthyidae (minus Percalates) and Percalates belong to a larger clade, equivalent to the Centrarchiformes, but their respective sister groups are unresolved. Because all recent analyses recover a monophyletic Centrarchiformes but with substantially different intra-relationships, we performed a simultaneous analysis for a character set combining the mitogenome and 19 nuclear genes previously published, for 22 centrarchiform taxa. This analysis furthermore indicates that the Centrarchiformes are divided into three lineages and the superfamily Cirrhitoidea is monophyletic as well as the temperate and freshwater centrarchiform perch-like fishes. It also clarifies some of the relationships within the freshwater Percichthyidae.     

European springtime temperature synchronises ibex horn growth across the eastern Swiss Alps

Direct effects of climate change on animal physiology, and indirect impacts from disruption of seasonal synchrony and breakdown of trophic interactions are particularly severe in Arctic and Alpine ecosystems. Unravelling biotic from abiotic drivers, however, remains challenging because high‐resolution animal population data are often limited in space and time. Here, we show that variation in annual horn growth (an indirect proxy for individual performance) of 8043 male Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) over the past four decades is well synchronised among eight disjunct colonies in the eastern Swiss Alps. Elevated March to May temperatures, causing premature melting of Alpine snowcover, earlier plant phenology and subsequent improvement of ibex food resources, fuelled annual horn growth. These results reveal dependency of local trophic interactions on large‐scale climate dynamics, and provide evidence that declining herbivore performance is not a universal response to global warming even for high‐altitude populations that are also harvested.