Unrestricted migration favours virulent pathogens in experimental metapopulations: evolutionary genetics of a rapacious life history

Understanding pathogen infectivity and virulence requires combining insights from epidemiology, ecology, evolution and genetics. Although theoretical work in these fields has identified population structure as important for pathogen life-history evolution, experimental tests are scarce. Here, we explore the impact of population structure on life-history evolution in phage T4, a viral pathogen of Escherichia coli. The host–pathogen system is propagated as a metapopulation in which migration between subpopulations is either spatially restricted or unrestricted. Restricted migration favours pathogens with low infectivity and low virulence. Unrestricted migration favours pathogens that enter and exit their hosts quickly, although they are less productive owing to rapid extirpation of the host population. The rise of such ‘rapacious’ phage produces a ‘tragedy of the commons’, in which better competitors lower productivity. We have now identified a genetic basis for a rapacious life history. Mutations at a single locus (rI) cause increased virulence and are sufficient to account for a negative relationship between phage competitive ability and productivity. A higher frequency of rI mutants under unrestricted migration signifies the evolution of rapaciousness in this treatment. Conversely, spatially restricted migration favours a more ‘prudent’ pathogen strategy, in which the tragedy of the commons is averted. As our results illustrate, profound epidemiological and ecological consequences of life-history evolution in a pathogen can have a simple genetic cause.     

北部湾中部海域底质沉积物中的有孔虫

本文对北部湾中部海域水深2.4m到61m、共计184个站位表层沉积物中的有孔虫进行研究。结果显示浮游有孔虫丰度非常低,种类也较稀少,仅在南侧水深较大的少数站位有发现,且含量不超过5%;而底栖有孔虫则较丰富,多数样品中以含有螺旋式与平旋式的玻璃质壳类型为主,暖水或大型底栖有孔虫分子常见。和其它海区相较而言,该海域底栖有孔虫中胶结壳类含量偏高,可能与沉积物底质颗粒较粗及海水盐度较低有关。该研究详细报道了底栖有孔虫主要属种在北部湾的分布特征。与海洋环境对比显示,水深和沉积物底质类型是影响这些属种平面分布的主要因素,而湾外温暖水团则是控制暖水种分子分布的另一重要因素。     

超声波骨密度测量技术的最新进展

骨质疏松等中老年的常见病和多发病也呈年轻化发展,如何进行有效的骨状况诊断,拥有一台可以信赖的、可以方便地应用的骨测量仪器显得更为重要。超声波骨测量技术是使用范围比较广泛的一种,本文对超声波测量法的最新发展进行了阐述。     

南京紫金山风景区紫堇属观赏植物调查及开发应用前景

通过对南京紫金山紫堇属野生观赏植物资源现状的调查,结合相关资料,从观赏特性、生态习性、园林应用等方面探讨了紫金山紫堇属植物的应用方向和前景,以期对紫堇属野生观赏植物资源的保护、开发、利用提供参考。     

长江中游地区野生百合资源调查及利用前景

通过对长江中游地区野生百合资源进行调查,发现长江中游地区有野生百合资源14个种和3个变种即野百合(Lilium brownii F. E. Brown ex Miellez var. brownii)、百合(L. brownii F. E. Brown ex Miellez var. viridulum Baker)、宜昌百合(L. leucanthum (Baker) Baker)、渥丹(L. concolor Salisb. var. concolor)、有斑百合(L. concolor Sali sb. var. pulchellum (Fisch.)Regel)、滇百合(L. baberianum Coll.et Hemsl)、大理百合(L.taliense Franch.)、药百合(L.speciosum Thunb. var. gloriosoides Baker)、湖北百合(L.henryi Baker)、南川百合(L. rosthornii Diels)、宝兴百合(L. duchartrei Franch.)、山丹(L. pumilum DC.)、川百合(L. davidii Duchartre)、条叶百合(L. callosum Sieb. et Zucc.)、乳头百合(L. papilliferum Franch.)、绿花百合(L. fargesii Franch.)和卷丹(L. tigrinum Ker Gawler)。对野生百合在长江中游地区分布现状、观赏特性及开发利用价值进行了分析,为百合新品种培育奠定基础。同时对长江中游地区野生百合资源的保护和合理开发利用提出建议。     

Intraspecific conflict over host manipulation between different larval stages of an acanthocephalan parasite

Competitive interactions between coinfecting parasites are expected to be strong when they affect transmission success. When transmission is enhanced by altering host behaviour, intraspecific conflict can lead to 'coinfection exclusion' by the first-in parasite or to a 'sabotage' of behavioural manipulation by the youngest noninfective parasite. We tested these hypotheses in the acanthocephalan parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis, reversing phototaxis in its intermediate host Gammarus pulex. No evidence was found for coinfection exclusion in gammarids sequentially exposed to infection. Behavioural manipulation was slightly weakened but not cancelled in gammarids infected with mixed larval stages. Therefore, coinfecting infective and noninfective larvae both suffered competition, potentially resulting in delayed transmission and increased risk of mortality, respectively. Consequently, noninfective larva is not just a 'passive passenger' in the manipulated host, which raises interesting questions about the selective pressures at play and the mechanisms underlying manipulation.     

The evolutionary path to terminal differentiation and division of labor in cyanobacteria

A common trait often associated with multicellularity is cellular differentiation, which is a spatial separation of tasks through the division of labor. In principle, the division of labor does not necessarily have to be constrained to a multicellular setting. In this study, we focus on the possible evolutionary paths leading to terminal differentiation in cyanobacteria. We develop mathematical models for two developmental strategies. First, of populations of terminally differentiated single cells surviving by the exchange of common goods. Second, of populations exhibiting terminal differentiation in a multicellular setting. After testing the two strategies against the effect of disruptive mutations (i.e. “cheater” mutants), we assess the effects of selection on the optimization of the ratio of vegetative (carbon fixing) to heterocystous (nitrogen fixing) cells, which in turn leads to the maximization of the carrying capacity for the population density. In addition, we compare the performance of differentiated populations to undifferentiated ones that temporally separate tasks in accordance to a day/night cycle. We then compare some predictions of our model with phylogenetic relationships derived from analyzing 16S rRNA sequences of different cyanobacterial strains. In line with studies indicating that group or spatial structure are ways to evolve cooperation and protect against the spread of cheaters, our work shows that compartmentalization afforded by multicellularity is required to maintain the vegetative/heterocyst division in cyanobacteria. We find that multicellularity allows for selection to optimize the carrying capacity. These results and the phylogenetic analysis indicates that terminally differentiated cyanobacteria evolved after undifferentiated species. In addition, we show that, in regimes of short daylight periods, terminally differentiated species perform worse than undifferentiated species that follow the day/night cycle; indicating that undifferentiated species have an evolutionary advantage in regimes of short daylight periods.     

Biological evidence against the panspermia theory

The following idea is analysed. Given that evolution on Earth seems to have passed through protocellular evolutionary stages of progenotes, this would appear to be incompatible with the panspermia theory because this observation would imply that the infection bringing life to the Earth started in these protocells, for which a low or null infective power is generally expected.     

The Dominance of Symmetry in the Evolution of Homo-oligomeric Proteins

The fact that aggregates of identical protein molecules are usually symmetric has remained an enigma. An idealized model of a soluble monomeric protein was constructed and accompanied through a simulated evolutionary process resulting in dimerization, in order to elucidate this peculiarity. The model showed that the probability of a symmetric association is by a factor of 100 or above higher than the probability of an asymmetric one. Unexpectedly, symmetry prevails in the dimer initiation phase much more than in the dimer improvement phase of evolution. The result is clear-cut and robust against a broad spectrum of model inadequacies. It rationalizes the predominance of symmetric homo-oligomers.     

Elimination of a cis-Proline-Containing Loop and Turn Optimization Stabilizes a Protein and Accelerates Its Folding

In the N2 domain of the gene-3-protein of phage fd, two consecutive β-strands are connected by a mobile loop of seven residues (157-163). The stability of this loop is low, and the Asp160-Pro161 bond at its tip shows conformational heterogeneity with 90% being in the cis and 10% in the trans form. The refolding kinetics of N2 are complex because the molecules with cis or trans isomers at Pro161 both fold to native-like conformations, albeit with different rates. We employed consensus design to shorten the seven-residue irregular loop around Pro161 to a four-residue type I′ turn without a proline. This increased the conformational stability of N2 by almost 10 kJ mol^− 1 and abolished the complexity of the folding kinetics. Turn sequences obtained from in vitro selections for increased stability strongly resembled those derived from the consensus design. Two other type I′ turns of N2 could also be stabilized by consensus design. For all three turns, the gain in stability originates from an increase in the rate of refolding. The turns form native-like structures early during refolding and thus stabilize the folding transition state. The crystal structure of the variant with all three stabilized turns confirms that the 157-163 loop was in fact shortened to a type I′ turn and that the other turns maintained their type I′ conformation after sequence optimization.