Search results for "Anura"

Fossorial but widespread: the phylogeography of the common spadefoot toad (Pelobates fuscus), and the role of the Po Valley as a major source of gene…

2007

International audience; Pelobates fuscus is a fossorial amphibian that inhabits much of the European plain areas. To unveil traces of expansion and contraction events of the species' range, we sequenced 702 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. To infer the population history we applied phylogeographical methods, such as nested clade phylogeographical analysis (NCPA), and used summary statistics to analyse population structure under a neutral model of evolution. Populations were assigned to different drainage systems and we tested hypotheses of explicit refugial models using information from analysis of molecular variance, nucleotide diversity, effective population size estimation, NCP…

Developments in Amphibian Parental Care Research : History, Present Advances, and Future Perspectives

2020

Despite rising interest among scientists for over two centuries, parental care behavior has not been as thoroughly studied in amphibians as it has in other taxa. The first reports of amphibian parental care date from the early 18th century, when Maria Sibylla Merian went on a field expedition in Suriname and reported frog metamorphs emerging from their mother's dorsal skin. Reports of this and other parental behaviors in amphibians remained descriptive for decades, often as side notes during expeditions with another purpose. However, since the 1980s, experimental approaches have proliferated, providing detailed knowledge about the adaptive value of observed behaviors. Today, we recognize mo…

Modulation by oxotremorine and atropine of acetylcholine release evoked by electrical stimulation of the myenteric plexus of the guinea-pig ileum

1977

1. The effects of oxotremorine and atropine on the release of acetylcholine from longitudinal muscle strips of the guinea-pig ileum stimulated at frequencies between 0.1 and 3 Hz in the presence of eserine were investigated. In control experiments the acetylcholine output per stimulus declined with increasing frequencies of stimulation. 2. Oxotremorine inhibited the release of acetylcholine in a concentration-dependent fashion. At a concentration of 10−6 M oxotremorine, the release evoked by 0.1 Hz was reduced by 54%. With increasing frequencies of stimulation the inhibitory effect of oxotremorine became smaller. 3. Atropine enhanced the output of acetylcholine evoked by electrical stimulat…

El llano de inundación del Xúquer (País Valenciano): Geometría y repercusiones morfológicas y paisajísticas

1980

Out of Asia: Mitochondrial DNA Evidence for an Oriental Origin of Tiger Frogs, Genus Hoplobatrachus

2001

Most examples of intercontinental dispersal events after the Miocene contact between Africa and Asia involve mammal lineages. Among amphibians, a number of probably related groups are known from both continents, but their phylogenies are so far largely unresolved. To test the hypothesis of Miocene dispersal against a Mesozoic vicariance scenario in the context of Gondwana fragmentation, we analyzed fragments of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene (572 bp) in 40 specimens of 34 species of the anuran family Ranidae. Results corroborated the monophyly of tiger frogs (genus Hoplobatrachus), a genus with representatives in Africa and Asia. The African H. occipitalis was the sister group of the Asian…

Regulatory factor for the transcription of the ribosomal genes in amphibian oocytes.

1970

AMPHIBIAN oocytes provide very convenient material for the study of the mechanisms that control ribosomal RNA synthesis because their pattern of ribosomal RNA synthesis does not change greatly during oogenesis. During the lampbrush stage of oogenesis (stage 4) more than 97 per cent of the RNA synthesized per unit time in the oocytes is ribosomal. This happens because the genes for ribosomal RNA are specifically amplified3–5 to such an extent that the oocyte nucleus (germinal vesicle) has an rDNA content approximately 1,500 times more than the haploid amount4. On the other hand, in mature oocytes (stage 6) no ribosomal RNA is synthesized1,2, although the extra copies of the ribosomal cistron…

Recherches archéologiques franco-italo-hongroises en Hongrie. L'occupation celtique de la Grande Plaine hongroise

2006

Si presentano i risultati della campagna di scavo diretta dall'Eotvos Lorand University di Budapest, cui ha partecipato il Dipartimento di archeologia dell'Università di Bologna e l'UMR 5594/ CNRS dell'Universitè de Bourgogne rispettivamente per l'Italia e la Francia. Lo scavo consacrato all'esplorazione di una necropoli celtica della Grande Pianura ungherese - loc. Sajòpetri- si è rivelato di altissimo interesse: l'ampiezza del sepolcreto (64 tombe nel 2005) , la complessità dei suoi corredi, il livello di ricchezza ne fanno attualmente una delle necropoli più importanti del mondo celtico orientale. Il sepolcreto è importante anche per la presenza poco lontana di un vasto abitato la cui es…

Molecular characterization of hemocyanin and hexamerin from the firebrat Thermobia domestica (Zygentoma).

2008

Hexapods possess a tracheal system that enables the transport of oxygen to the inner organs. Although respiratory proteins have been considered unnecessary in most Hexapoda for this reason, we recently showed the presence of a functional hemocyanin in the stonefly Perla marginata. Here we report the identification and molecular characterization of a hemocyanin from Zygentoma (Thysanura). We obtained the full length cDNA of two distinct subunit types from the firebrat Thermobia domestica, and partial sequences of the orthologs from the silverfish Lepisma saccharina. The native T. domestica hemocyanin subunits both consist of 658 amino acids, but a signal peptide for transmembrane transport i…

Testing alternative vicariance scenarios in Western Mediterranean discoglossid frogs

2004

Dated molecular phylogenies are often used to interpret evolutionary history with respect to paleogeographic events. Where more than one interpretation is possible, it is desirable but difficult to assess the alternatives in an objective manner. The present work demonstrates a formalized method for testing molecular clock calibrations and biogeographic scenarios based on them. We assessed the plausibility of several previously published biogeographic hypotheses, using the frog genera Alytes, Discoglossus, and Bombina as model groups. Our data set comprised ca. 900bp of partial mitochondrial 16S and 12S rRNA gene sequences (both genes evolved in a clock-like manner across genera) from nearly…

Simple equipment to measure biomechanical quantities of muscles and organs which includes a polarity-programmable peak detector

1982

Biomechanical measurements of muscles and organs require appropriate measuring equipment. As far as the static properties are concerned, the excursion of the bender bar of stress should be without force. The bender bar of force, however, ideally should not elongate under load. Because natural frequency is the most important boundary condition, the bender bar should be developed with this in mind. The developed bars imposed an insignificant preload to the muscle or to the organ. The small changes in resistance occurring in the resistance strain gauges affixed to the bars require the use of a highly stable amplifier. A new amplifier was accordingly developed based on the principle of an instr…