Living in the city: urban environments shape the evolution of a native annual plant

Urban environments are warmer, have higher levels of atmospheric CO₂ and have altered patterns of disturbance and precipitation than nearby rural areas. These differences can be important for plant growth and are likely to create distinct selective environments. We planted a common garden experiment with seeds collected from natural populations of the native annual plant Lepidium virginicum, growing in five urban and nearby rural areas in the northern United States to determine whether and how urban populations differ from those from surrounding rural areas. When grown in a common environment, plants grown from seeds collected from urban areas bolted sooner, grew larger, had fewer leaves, had an extended time between bolting and flowering, and produced more seeds than plants grown from seeds collected from rural areas. Interestingly, the rural populations exhibited larger phenotypic differences from one another than urban populations. Surprisingly, genomic data revealed that the majority of individuals in each of the urban populations were more closely related to individuals from other urban populations than they were to geographically proximate rural areas – the one exception being urban and rural populations from New York which were nearly identical. Taken together, our results suggest that selection in urban environments favors different traits than selection in rural environments and that these differences can drive adaptation and shape population structure.     

Mimicry vs. similarity: which resemblances between brood parasites and their hosts are mimetic and which are not?

Mimicry is one of the most conspicuous and puzzling phenomena in nature. The best-known examples come from insects and brood parasitic birds. Unfortunately, the term 'mimicry' is used indiscriminately and inconsistently in the brood parasitic literature despite the obvious fact that similarities of eggs, nestlings and adults of brood parasites to their hosts could result from many different processes (phylogenetic constraint, predation, intraspecific arms-races, vocal imitation, exploitation of pre-existing preferences, etc.). In this note I wish to plead for a more careful use of the term. I review various processes leading to a similarity between propagules (both eggs and nestlings) of brood parasites and their hosts and stress that: (1) mimetic and non-mimetic similarities should be differentiated, (2) a mere similarity of host and parasite propagules provides no evidence for mimicry, (3) mimicry is more usefully understood as a (coevolutionary) process rather than an appearance, and (4) mimicry terminology should reflect the process which led to mimetic similarity. Accepting the mimicry hypothesis requires both the experimental approach and rejection of alternative hypotheses explaining similarities of host and parasite propagules.  © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 84 , 69–78.     

Effect of pH on the structure and stability of Bacillus circulans ssp. alkalophilus phosphoserine aminotransferase: thermodynamic and crystallographic studies

pH is one of the key parameters that affect the stability and function of proteins. We have studied the effect of pH on the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate-dependent enzyme phosphoserine aminotransferase produced by the facultative alkaliphile Bacillus circulans ssp. alkalophilus using thermodynamic and crystallographic analysis. Enzymatic activity assay showed that the enzyme has maximum activity at pH 9.0 and relative activity less than 10% at pH 7.0. Differential scanning calorimetry and circular dichroism experiments revealed variations in the stability and denaturation profiles of the enzyme at different pHs. Most importantly, release of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate and protein thermal denaturation were found to occur simultaneously at pH 6.0 in contrast to pH 8.5 where denaturation preceded cofactor's release by approximately 3 degrees C. To correlate the observed differences in thermal denaturation with structural features, the crystal structure of phosphoserine aminotransferase was determined at 1.2 and 1.5 A resolution at two different pHs (8.5 and 4.6, respectively). Analysis of the two structures revealed changes in the vicinity of the active site and in surface residues. A conformational change in a loop involved in substrate binding at the entrance of the active site has been identified upon pH change. Moreover, the number of intramolecular ion pairs was found reduced in the pH 4.6 structure. Taken together, the presented kinetics, thermal denaturation, and crystallographic data demonstrate a potential role of the active site in unfolding and suggest that subtle but structurally significant conformational rearrangements are involved in the stability and integrity of phosphoserine aminotransferase in response to pH changes.     

广西扶绥南山洞新发现的人类化石和蒙古野驴化石——末次冰期华南气候变化的哺乳动物化石新证据

广西扶绥县南山洞发现人类化石及哺乳动物化石。人类化石包括2枚智人牙齿化石,分别是左下第三臼齿和右下第二臼齿,其形态特征与广西其他山洞发现的智人化石相似,归入晚期智人。哺乳动物化石多为华南大熊猫———剑齿象动物群成员,时代属更新世晚期。该地点新发现的蒙古野驴化石属华南晚更新世动物群的首次发现。南山洞所有化石发现于洞内浅褐色砂质粘土中,堆积物第二层钙板层的铀系年龄为30—40ka。蒙古野驴的出现暗示中国南方大陆可能在末次冰期出现过干冷的气候环境。     

Gene flow across a climatic barrier between hybridizing avian species, California and Gambel's quail (Callipepla californica and C. gambelii)

Allopatric species commonly interbreed in a restricted margin between their ranges. The particular factors that permit interbreeding between species determine the extent of hybridization and its significance for evolution and conservation. Using California quail and Gambel's quail (Callipepla californica and C. gambelii) that naturally hybridize in a narrow region between relatively mesic and xeric environments, I assessed the exchange of genetic and phenotypic traits in relation to vegetative and climatic features (temperature and precipitation) that characterize the area of range overlap, and I examined genetic and phenotypic traits within the hybrid zone over a five-year period in relation to variation in precipitation. Using microsatellite markers, this study reveals that genetic, plumage, and morphometric traits are tightly associated with vegetation, rainfall, and temperature profiles through the abrupt transition from one parental species to the other across the hybrid zone. Results show that the hybrid zone has remained clinal, stationary, and bounded over the five-year study period. There was no evidence of introgression outside the narrow hybrid zone. Interannual climatic fluctuations are associated with internal hybrid zone dynamics but did not alter the shape and position of the zone. A transect through the hybrid zone revealed rapid and episodic genetic mixing within the zone. Possible long-term consequences of this restricted hybridization for the evolution of the two parental species are discussed in the light of changing environments.     

The mechanical significance of morphological variation in the macaque mandibular symphysis during mastication

Catarrhine symphyseal morphology displays considerable variation. Although this has been related to dentition, phylogeny, sexual dimorphism, and facial orientation, most emphasis has been given to the functional significance of the symphysis to mechanical loading during mastication. The current state of knowledge regarding the mechanical significance of the symphysis is based on a combination of in vivo experimental and comparative studies on Macaca fascicularis. These approaches have provided considerable insight into the stereotypical patterns of loading in the symphyseal region during chewing and hypotheses related to the associated symphyseal morphologies. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to assess how in silico manipulation translates into the mechanical loading hypotheses previously proposed experimentally. In particular, this study tests the form-function relationship of the symphysis of an adult M. fascicularis mandible during lateral transverse bending and dorsoventral shear of the mandibular symphysis, and a series of modified hypothetical morphologies including absence/presence of tori and variation in the inclination and depth of the symphysis. FEA results of this study support previous findings that stresses associated with lateral transverse bending and dorsoventral shear of the mandibular symphysis can be minimized via an increased labio-lingual thickness in the superior transverse torus, an oblique symphyseal inclination, and/or an increased symphyseal depth. The finding that reduction of strains related to lateral transverse bending and dorsoventral shear can be achieved through a number of different morphologies contributes to our understanding of the influence of morphological and/or developmental constraints, such as dental development, on symphyseal form.     

Are environmental factors responsible for geographic variation in the sex ratio of the Greenlandic seed‐bug Nysius groenlandicus?

Until recently nothing indicated an unequal sex ratio in the widespread Greenland seed‐bug Nysius groenlandicus (Zetterstedt) (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae). However, recently populations more or less devoid of males were discovered in high arctic Northeast Greenland. This initiated an inspection of the entire material of the species collected in Greenland and now preserved at the Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen. It was found that the sex ratio varied significantly among different locations. In most cases females were most abundant, but males were either scarce or absent only in samples from Northeast Greenland, indicating that here the species reproduces asexually. This paper demonstrates that the differing sex distributions can be explained by climatic factors (temperature, precipitation) and that the degree of continentality (distance from the open sea) promotes female‐biased sex ratios.     

Influence of abiotic factors on the structure of the population of the brown alga <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fucus vesiculosus</Emphasis> in East Murman (Barents Sea)

The peculiarities of the structure of the population of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus in East Murman at different combinations of abiotic factors were studied. Salinity below 10‰ and high surf activity reduced the average life span of the plants (to 1 year) and caused a significant predominance of female specimens (60–90% of the fertile specimens). The proportion of female specimens increased with age. The greatest average age (3 branchings) and the highest survival of F. vesiculosus occurred in the wave-protected parts of bays. The distribution of F. vesiculosus was related to water movement intensity, salinity, and substrate type. The size-weight characteristics of F. vesiculosus thalli were decreased during maximum salinity fluctuations. The optimal conditions for this species were those existing on a weakly protected shore with short-term fluctuations of salinity (24–25‰).     

Epigenetic inheritance and plant evolution

Being sessile organisms, plants show a high degree of developmental plasticity to cope with a constantly changing environment. While plasticity in plants is largely controlled genetically, recent studies have demonstrated the importance of epigenetic mechanisms, especially DNA methylation, for gene regulation and phenotypic plasticity in response to internal and external stimuli. Induced epigenetic changes can be a source of phenotypic variations in natural plant populations that can be inherited by progeny for multiple generations. Whether epigenetic phenotypic changes are advantageous in a given environment, and whether they are subject to natural selection is of great interest, and their roles in adaptation and evolution are an area of active research in plant ecology. This review is focused on the role of heritable epigenetic variation induced by environmental changes, and its potential influence on adaptation and evolution in plants.     

Foraging shifts and visual preadaptation in ecologically diverse bats

Changes in behaviour may initiate shifts to new adaptive zones, with physical adaptations for novel environments evolving later. While new mutations are commonly considered engines of adaptive change, sensory evolution enabling access to new resources might also arise from standing genetic diversity, and even gene loss. We examine the relative contribution of molecular adaptations, measured by positive and relaxed selection, acting on eye‐expressed genes associated with shifts to new adaptive zones in ecologically diverse bats from the superfamily Noctilionoidea. Collectively, noctilionoids display remarkable ecological breadth, from highly divergent echolocation to flight strategies linked to specialized insectivory, the parallel evolution of diverse plant‐based diets (e.g., nectar, pollen and fruit) from ancestral insectivory, and—unusually for echolocating bats—often have large, well‐developed eyes. We report contrasting levels of positive selection in genes associated with the development, maintenance and scope of visual function, tracing back to the origins of noctilionoids and Phyllostomidae (the bat family with most dietary diversity), instead of during shifts to novel diets. Generalized plant visiting was not associated with exceptional molecular adaptation, and exploration of these novel niches took place in an ancestral phyllostomid genetic background. In contrast, evidence for positive selection in vision genes was found at subsequent shifts to either nectarivory or frugivory. Thus, neotropical noctilionoids that use visual cues for identifying food and roosts, as well as for orientation, were effectively preadapted, with subsequent molecular adaptations in nectar‐feeding lineages and the subfamily Stenodermatinae of fig‐eating bats fine‐tuning pre‐existing visual adaptations for specialized purposes.