Search results for " life science"
showing 10 items of 12151 documents
Bird and amphipod parasites illustrate a gradient from adaptation to exaptation in complex life cycle.
2010
6 pages; International audience; Trophically transmitted parasites modify the phenotype of their hosts, sometimes in a way that facilitates transmission. Parasite-induced changes can be either part of a manipulative strategy evolved to improve the transmission success of the parasite, or simply by-products of infection with no health effect. In the former case, manipulation is regarded as a parasite adaptation driven by the probability of being eaten by a suitable next host. Here, we consider the fact that manipulation may also be an 'exaptation': a trait that evolved for a certain use, but which has been co-opted for a new use. According to this view, features built by natural selection fo…
Interpreting immunological indices: the importance of taking parasite community into account. An example in blackbirds Turdus merula.
2015
13 pages; International audience; Despite the intensive use of immune indices in immunoecology, whether to interpret the results of immune indices in terms of actual immune competence (i.e. ability to control and clear parasite infections as indicated by high values of immune indices associated with low parasite loads) or current immune activation (pathogenic infection being associated with high parasite load and high values of immune indices) is still an open question. Most studies to date have produced contrasting results focused on the effect of a single parasite species despite the fact that hosts usually harbour a community of parasites that influences one another's impact on host immu…
Chemical host detection and differential attraction in a parasitic pea crab infecting two echinoids
2011
Mechanisms of host detection and host choice are important for mobile parasites or symbionts that frequently move among host individuals. The parasitic pea crab Dissodactylus primitivus is an ectoparasite exploiting asymmetrically two spatangoid echinoid hosts, Meoma ventricosa and Plagiobrissus grandis. The entire life cycle takes place on M. ventricosa, while only adults colonize P. grandis, the host where female's fecundity is the greatest. Dissodactylus primitivus frequently exhibits host-switching, a behaviour that raises the question of host detection. To test if adult crabs are able to detect potential hosts and are attracted to the host where their fitness is greater, crab olfactory…
Host-manipulation by parasites: towards a neuroethological approach?
2009
2 pages; International audience
Parasite and host assemblages: embracing the reality will improve our knowledge of parasite transmission and virulence.
2010
10 pages; International audience; Interactions involving several parasite species (multi-parasitized hosts) or several host species (multi-host parasites) are the rule in nature. Only a few studies have investigated these realistic, but complex, situations from an evolutionary perspective. Consequently, their impact on the evolution of parasite virulence and transmission remains poorly understood. The mechanisms by which multiple infections may influence virulence and transmission include the dynamics of intrahost competition, mediation by the host immune system and an increase in parasite genetic recombination. Theoretical investigations have yet to be conducted to determine which of these…
GenExP, un logiciel simulateur de paysages agricoles pour l'étude de la diffusion de transgènes
2007
; The software GENEXP allows to simulate 2-dimensional agricultural landscapes by using a traditional algorithmic geometry. Based on real or realistic field-patterns, GENEXP provides multiannual maps of agricultural landscapes, which are used by softwares simulating the dispersal of GM pollen grains and seeds at various scales.; GENEXP est un simulateur de paysages agricoles qui engendre des découpages parcellaires en utilisant une géométrie algorithmique classique. GENEXP fournit, sur la base de parcellaires réels ou réalistes, des cartes pluriannuelles de paysages agricoles utilisables par des logiciels qui simulent la dispersion des pollens et des graines d'OGM à différentes échelles.
Première contribution à l'étude des mycorhizes des îles Kerguelen
1999
Abstract Until recently mycorrhizae had not been studied in the Antarctic region. Some studies have demonstrated that mycorrhizae occur in some southern circumpolar islands. This paper gives the first results on the mycorrhizae in the Kerguelen islands (Sub-antarctic). Twenty-one plant root systems, fixed in the field, were examined microscopically in the laboratory to determine their mycorrhizal status. No ectomycorrhiza, arbutoid or ericoid were noted. Six plant species showed vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae: Ranunculus biternatus, Galium antarcticum, Festuca erecta, Poa kerguelensis, Agrostis magellanica and Poa annua. However, the mycorrhizal status varied according to the site studied.
Historical and contemporary dynamics of adaptive differentiation in European oaks
2010
International audience
Population differentiation for adaptive traits and their underlying loci in forest trees : theoretical predictions and experimental results
2000
Population differentiation has been investigated in forest trees since provenance tests were established. A vast amount of results has accumulated in numerous reports and articles about intraspecific variation, that have been summarized in textbooks about forest genetics (Wright 1976). Provenance differences exist for almost any adaptive trait that has been measured in provenance test and for almost any species. These results contrast markedly with data based on biochemical markers as isozymes. As shown by the literature review by Hamrick et al. (1992), forest trees usually exhibit extremely low levels of differentiation for isozymes. Results derived from isozyme surveys are confirmed by ot…
Characterization of Fusarium oxysporum populations by growth parameter evaluation in microtiter plates
1997
Trophic competition for the C source is the main mechanism involved in the interaction between pathogenic and non-pathogenic populations of Fusarium oxysporum. Therefore, a phenotypical characterization based on the growth characteristics of these populations will provide classical genotypical characterizations with additionnal information of ecological significance.