Contents of Volume 53

Plant Molecular Biology -     

Eye size variation reflects habitat and daily activity patterns in colubrid snakes

The functioning of the vertebrate eye depends on its absolute size, which is presumably adapted to specific needs. Eye size variation in lidless and spectacled colubrid snakes was investigated, including 839 specimens belonging to 49 genera, 66 species and subspecies. Variations of adult eye diameters (EDs) in both absolute and relative terms between species were correlated with parameters reflecting behavioral ecology. In absolute terms, eye of arboreal species was larger than in terrestrial and semiaquatic species. For diurnal species, EDs of terrestrial species do not differ from semiaquatic species; for nocturnal species the ED of terrestrial species is larger than fossorial species but not different from semiaquatic species. In relative terms, ED did not differ significantly by habitat for diurnal species. Although the ED of terrestrial species is larger than fossorial species there were no differences for nocturnal species between semiaquatic and fossorial snakes. In contrast to other vertebrates studied to date, colubrid EDs in absolute and relative terms are larger in diurnal than in nocturnal species. These observations suggest that among colubrid snakes, eye size variation reflects adaptation to specific habitats, foraging strategies and daily activities, independently of phylogeny. J. Morphol. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Chewing lice from high‐altitude and migrating birds in Yunnan,China, with descriptions of two new species of Guimaraesiella

In total, 366 birds representing 55 species in 24 families and eight orders, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera, Ischnocera) in two high‐altitude localities in Yunnan Province, China. In Ailaoshan, almost all of the birds examined were resident passeriforms, of which 36% were parasitized by chewing lice. In Jinshanyakou, most birds were on migration, and included both passerine and non‐passerine birds. Of the passerine birds caught in Jinshanyakou, only one bird (0.7%) was parasitized by chewing lice. The prevalence of Myrsidea and Brueelia‐complex lice on birds caught in Ailaoshan was higher than in previous reports. Of the chewing lice identifiable to species level, three represent new records for China: Actornithophilus hoplopteri (Mjöberg, 1910), Maculinirmus ljosalfar Gustafsson & Bush, 2017 and Quadraceps sinensis Timmermann, 1954. In total, 17 new host records are included, of which we describe two as new species in the Brueelia‐complex: Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) ailaoshanensis sp. nov. ex Schoeniparus dubius dubius (Hume, 1874) and G. (C.) montisodalis sp. nov. ex Fulvetta manipurensis tonkinensis Delacour & Jabouille, 1930. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9FC3D8EE‐2CED‐4DBE‐A1DB‐471B71260D27 .     

Predicting Metabolic Pathways of Small Molecules and Enzymes Based on Interaction Information of Chemicals and Proteins

Metabolic pathway analysis, one of the most important fields in biochemistry, is pivotal to understanding the maintenance and modulation of the functions of an organism. Good comprehension of metabolic pathways is critical to understanding the mechanisms of some fundamental biological processes. Given a small molecule or an enzyme, how may one identify the metabolic pathways in which it may participate? Answering such a question is a first important step in understanding a metabolic pathway system. By utilizing the information provided by chemical-chemical interactions, chemical-protein interactions, and protein-protein interactions, a novel method was proposed by which to allocate small molecules and enzymes to 11 major classes of metabolic pathways. A benchmark dataset consisting of 3,348 small molecules and 654 enzymes of yeast was constructed to test the method. It was observed that the first order prediction accuracy evaluated by the jackknife test was 79.56% in identifying the small molecules and enzymes in a benchmark dataset. Our method may become a useful vehicle in predicting the metabolic pathways of small molecules and enzymes, providing a basis for some further analysis of the pathway systems.     

Loci controlling lymphocyte production of interferon γ after alloantigen stimulation in vitro and their co-localization with genes controlling lymphocyte infiltration of tumors and tumor susceptibility

Low infiltration of lymphocytes into cancers is associated with poor prognosis, but the reasons why some patients exhibit a low and others a high infiltration of tumors are unknown. Previously we mapped four loci (Lynf1–Lynf4) controlling lymphocyte infiltration of mouse lung tumors. These loci do not encode any of the molecules that are involved in traffic of lymphocytes. Here we report a genetic relationship between these loci and the control of production of IFNγ in allogeneic mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC). We found that IFNγ production by lymphocytes of O20/A mice is lower than by lymphocytes of OcB-9/Dem mice (both H2 ^pz ) stimulated in MLC by irradiated splenocytes of C57BL/10SnPh (H2 ^b ) or BALB/cHeA (H2 ^d ) mice, or by ConA. IFNγ production in MLCs of individual (O20 × OcB-9)F₂ mice stimulated by irradiated C57BL/10 splenocytes and genotyped for microsatellite markers revealed four IFNγ-controlling loci (Cypr4-Cypr7), each of which is closely linked with one of the four Lynf loci and with a cluster of susceptibility genes for different tumors. This suggests that inherited differences in certain lymphocyte responses may modify their propensity to infiltrate tumors and their capacity to affect tumor growth.     

Integrated species delimitation and conservation implications of an endangered weevil Pachyrhynchus sonani (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Green and Orchid Islands of Taiwan

Oceanic islands are productive habitats for generating new species and high endemism, which is primarily due to their geographical isolation, smaller population sizes and local adaptation. However, the short divergence times and subtle morphological or ecological divergence of insular organisms may obscure species identity, so the cryptic endemism on islands may be underestimated. The endangered weevil Pachyrhynchus sonani Kôno (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Pachyrhynchini) is endemic to Green Island and Orchid Island of the Taiwan‐Luzon Archipelago and displays widespread variation in coloration and host range, thus raising questions regarding its species boundaries and degree of cryptic diversity. We tested the species boundaries of P. sonani using an integrated approach that combined morphological (body size and shape, genital shape, coloration and cuticular scale), genetic (four genes and restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing, RAD‐seq) and ecological (host range and distribution) diversity. The results indicated that all the morphological datasets for male P. sonani, except for the colour spectrum, reveal overlapping but statistically significant differences between islands. In contrast, the morphology of the female P. sonani showed minimum divergence between island populations. The populations of P. sonani on the two islands were significantly different in their host ranges, and the genetic clustering and phylogenies of P. sonani established two valid evolutionary species. Integrated species delimitation combining morphological, molecular and ecological characters supported two distinct species of P. sonani from Green Island and Orchid Island. The Green Island population was described as P. jitanasaius sp.n. Chen & Lin, and it is recommended that its threatened conservation status be recognized. Our findings suggest that the inter‐island speciation of endemic organisms inhabiting both islands may be more common than previously thought, and they highlight the possibility that the cryptic diversity of small oceanic islands may still be largely underestimated.