Phylogeography of the leaf beetle Chrysolina virgata in wetlands of Japan inferred from the distribution of mitochondrial haplotypes

The genetic differentiation among populations of the leaf beetle Chrysolina virgata living in wetlands of Japan was studied based on the sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene region (750 bp). Two distinct lineages of mitochondrial haplotypes were found: one (clade A) consisted of 26 haplotypes distributed over the distribution range of C. virgata between north‐east Honshu and Kyushu, whereas the other (clade B) was monotypic and confined to a small region in north‐east Honshu where it coexisted with clade A. Nested clade analysis for these haplotypes suggested that range expansion and following differentiation due to isolation by distance might have resulted in the present distribution pattern of the haplotypes in clade A. We discuss the evolutionary process leading to the occurrence of two distinct haplotype clades in Japan in terms of repeated colonization from the continent and range expansion and contraction during climatic changes.     

High altitude tissue adaptation in Andean coots: capillarity,fibre area,fibre type and enzymatic activities of skeletal muscle

Capillarity, fibre types, fibre area and enzyme activities of different skeletal muscles (pectoralis, extensor digitorum longus), tibialis anterior, plantaris and the myocardium were compared in Andean coot (Fulica americana peruviana) native to high altitude (Junín, Perú, 4200 m) and the same species nesting at sea level. Numbers of capillaries per square millimeter were higher in all high-altitude muscles when compared with sea-level muscles (P<0.0001). Moreover, values for capillaries per fibre and capillaries in contact with each fibre were higher in digitorum and tibialis high-altitude muscles. Muscle fibres were classified as Type I, Type IIA or Type IIB on the basis of their myofibrillar ATPase pH lability. Pectoralis muscle of high-altitude and sea-level coots presented only fibres of Type IIA. In contrast, all the leg muscles studied showed a mosaic pattern of the three fibre types. Fibre areas were determined using a Leitz Texture Analysis System. Significant differences in fibre area were observed (P<0.01) between high-altitude and sea-level muscles. Mean muscle fibre diameters were also lower in the high-altitude group than in the sea-level group. The enzyme activities studied were hexokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase. The oxidative capacity, as reflected by citrate synthetase and hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase activities, was greater for myocardial and pectoralis than for leg muscles. However, analysis of maximal enzyme activities showed that there were no significant differences between the glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities of high-altitude and sea-level coots. These results suggest that in Andean coots genetically adapted to high altitude, changes in muscle capillarity and fibre size, in addition to high haemoglobin O₂ affinity and low haemoglobin concentration, are sufficient to allow adequate energy production without increases in enzymatic activities.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumin - C:F ratio Capillaries per fibre - CAF Capillaries in contact with each fibre - CD capillary density (mm^-2) - CS citrate synthetase - EDL muscularis digitorum longus - fra fraction reduction area - HA high altitude - HAD hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase - HK hexokinase - LDH lactate dehydrogenase - P ₅₀ PO₂ at which hemoglobin is half saturated with O₂ - P _aO₂ arterial partial pressure of oxygen - PAS periodic acid-schiff - PEC muscularis pectoralis - PLA muscularis planaris - P _tO₂ mean tissue oxygen pressure - P _vO₂ mixed venous partial pressure of oxygen - SD standard deviation - SL sea level - TA muscularis tibialis anterior - TAS texture analysis system     

Local cold exposure of Andean Indians during normal and simulated activities.

Thermal resonses of Andean Indians were measured during several customary tasks associated with cold exposure in the highlands of southern Peru. These included surface temperature measurements of women while they washed clothing in the river and similar measurements of men while they constructed a diversion channel in the same river. A third test measured the effects of alcohol consumption on body temperatures during light activity. Women maintained slightly warmer hand than foot temperatures. Men maintained nearly equal hand and foot temperatures during the exposure period. Among male subjects the foot rewarmed at a faster rate than the hand. The results from the field studies compared favorably with results from earlier laboratory exposure tests. Comparisons between the river water exposure tests for males and females showed a consistent pattern where females maintained warmer hand and foot temperatures than males. These findings were in accord with previous laboratory studies among Quechua Indians and with the findings reported for other ethnic groups who experience natural cold stress. Alcohol ingestion appeared to have minimal effect in mitigating cold stress response during light activity. This finding was counter to earlier laboratory tests of resting subjects.     

Older than New Caledonia emergence? A molecular phylogenetic study of the eneopterine crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea)

Aim A New Caledonian insect group was studied in a world‐wide phylogenetic context to test: (1) whether local or regional island clades are older than 37 Ma, the postulated re‐emergence time of New Caledonia; (2) whether these clades show evidence for local radiations or multiple colonizations; and (3) whether there is evidence for relict taxa with long branches in phylogenetic trees that relate New Caledonian species to geographically distant taxa. Location New Caledonia, south‐west Pacific. Methods We sampled 43 cricket species representing all tribes of the subfamily Eneopterinae and 15 of the 17 described genera, focusing on taxa distributed in the South Pacific and around New Caledonia. One nuclear and three mitochondrial genes were analysed using Bayesian and parsimony methods. Phylogenetic divergence times were estimated using a relaxed clock method and several calibration criteria. Results The analyses indicate that, under the most conservative dating scenario, New Caledonian eneopterines are 5–16 million years old. The largest group in the Pacific region dates to 18–29 Ma. New Caledonia has been colonized in two phases: the first around 10.6 Ma, with the subsequent diversification of the endemic genus Agnotecous, and the second with more recent events around 1–4 Ma. The distribution of the sister group of Agnotecous and the lack of phylogenetic long branches in the genus refute an assumption of major extinction events in this clade and the hypothesis of local relicts. Main conclusions Our phylogenetic studies invalidate a simple scenario of local persistence of this group in New Caledonia since 80 Ma, either by survival on the New Caledonian island since its rift from Australia, or, if one accepts the submergence of New Caledonia, by local island‐hopping among other subaerial islands, now drowned, in the region during periods of New Caledonian submergence.     

The large mimosoid genus Inga Mill. (tribe Ingeae,Caesalpinioideae) is nodulated by diverse Bradyrhizobium strains in its main centers of diversity in Brazil

Inga (Caesalpinioideae) is the type genus of the Ingeae tribe in the mimosoid clade. It comprises about 300 species, all trees or treelets, and has an exclusively neotropical distribution, with Brazil as its main center of diversity. In this study, we analyzed the diversity of 40 strains of rhizobia isolated from root nodules collected from ten species of Inga belonging to different types of vegetation in Brazil. Sequences of their housekeeping genes (dnaK, recA, rpoB, gyrB and glnII), 16S rRNA genes, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, as well as their symbiosis-essential genes (nodC and nifH) were used to characterize them genetically. The ability of the rhizobia to form nodules on Inga spp., and on the promiscuous legume siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum) was also evaluated. A multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) combined with an analysis of the ITS region showed that the isolates were distributed into four main groups (A-D) within the large genus Bradyrhizobium. Analysis of the nodC and nifH genes showed that the isolates formed a separate branch from all described species of Bradyrhizobium, except for B. ingae. Most of the tested isolates formed nodules on siratro and all isolates tested nodulated Inga spp. Our results suggest a unique co-evolutionary history of Bradyrhizobium and Inga and demonstrate the existence of potential new species of microsymbionts nodulating this important and representative genus of leguminous tree from the Caesalpinioideae mimosoid clade.     

A new species of Hiptage (Malpighiaceae) from Nujiang Gorge,southwest China

Hiptage lushuiensis, a new species from the Hengduan Mountains, northwestern Yunnan Province, China, is described and illustrated here. This species was found growing at the margin of an open forest in the Nujiang Gorge of Lushui City. Hiptage lushuiensis is distinctive for its pink petals, 2 or more calyx glands, and large and pink samara with white hairs. This species is isolated in the deep gorge (25°51′N, 98°51′E, altitude 917 m), at the northern edge distribution range of the genus. These distinctive morphological differences and the geographic isolation suggest a history of long-distance dispersal and allopatric speciation. Hiptage lushuiensis has a shorter filament but larger herkogamy than related species, suggesting that H. lushuiensis may have adapted to other pollinators with short but fat body such as Amegilla or Bombus spp.     

Vibrio taketomensis sp. nov. by genome taxonomy

Two novel strains C4III282^T and C4III291 were isolated from seawater collected a site off the Taketomi coral reef. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA sequences revealed that the two strains belong to the genus Vibrio. MLSA using eight protein-coding genes (ftsZ, gapA, gyrB, mreB, pyrH, recA, rpoA, and topA) showed that C4III282^T and C4III291 are closely related to the members of the Ponticus clade, namely Vibrio panuliri JCM 19500^T, Vibrio ponticus DSM 16217^T, and “Vibrio rhodolitus” G98. ANI and in silico DDH values with members of the Ponticus clade were 77.6-78.7% and 22.2-23.1, respectively. The name Vibrio taketomensis sp. nov. is proposed with C4III282^T (CAIM 1928^T = DSM 106943^T = JCM 33434^T) as the type strain.     

Reassessment of the Microbial Role in Mn-Fe Nodule Genesis in Andean Paleosols

The presence of Mn-Fe nodules in the epipedons (surface horizons) of paleosols of presumed Upper Neogene age in the northwestern Venezuelan Andes have been interpreted as products of inorganic oxidation and reduction processes operating over the full range of glacial and interglacial cycles that affected paleosol morphogenesis. New microscopic/chemical data from combined SEM-EDS-FIB analyses of representative Mn-Fe nodules indicate microbes play an important role in Mn/Fe precipitation leading to their genesis in alpine Mollisols (Argiustolls). Although the prevailing new data are based mainly on fossil forms of filamentous bacteria and fungi and other biogenic pseudomorphs that may represent the former resident bacteria, the presence of extant microbes must await field experiments/collection, followed by a molecular microbiology approach to determine the biological drivers of metal precipitation. As in other terrestrial niche environments, microbes are seen here to play a role, perhaps a key one, in the morphogenesis of paleosols of importance in upper Neogene paleoenvironmental reconstruction.     

Generalist Species Have a Central Role In a Highly Diverse Plant–Frugivore Network

Analysis of plant–frugivore interactions provides a quantitative framework for integrating community structure and ecosystem function in terms of how the roles and attributes of individual species contribute to network structure and resilience. In this study, we used centrality metrics to rank and detect the most important species in a mutualistic network of fruit‐eating birds and plants in a cloud forest in the Colombian Andes. We identified a central core of ten bird and seven plant species in a network of 135 species that perform dual roles as local hubs and connectors. The birds were mostly large forest frugivores, such as cracids, cotingas, and toucans, which consume fruits of all sizes. The plants were species of intermediate successional stages with small‐ to medium‐sized seeds that persist in mature forest or forest borders (e.g., Miconia, Cecropia, Ficus). We found the resilience of our network depends on super‐generalist species, because their elimination makes the network more prone to disassemble than random extinctions, potentially disrupting seed‐dispersal processes. At our study site, extirpation of large frugivores has already been documented, and if this continues, the network might collapse despite its high diversity. Our results suggest that generalist species play critical roles in ecosystem function and should be incorporated into conservation and monitoring programs.