Search results for "CLASSIFICATION"
showing 10 items of 29475 documents
Targeting antibiotic resistant bacteria with phages reduces bacterial density in an insect host
2018
Phage therapy is attracting growing interest among clinicians as antibiotic resistance continues becoming harder to control. However, clinical trials and animal model studies on bacteriophage treatment are still scarce and results on the efficacy vary. Recent research suggests that using traditional antimicrobials in concert with phage could have desirable synergistic effects that hinder the evolution of resistance. Here, we present a novel insect gut model to study phage-antibiotic interaction in a system where antibiotic resistance initially exists in very low frequency and phage specifically targets the resistance bearing cells. We demonstrate that while phage therapy could not reduce th…
RAPD evidence for a sister group relationship of the presumed progenitor-derivative species pairSenecio nebrodensis andS. viscosus (Asteraceae)
1998
The phylogenetic and phenetic analysis of 109 RAPD polymorphisms inS. nebrodensis, a perennial and self-incompatible endemic of four mountain ranges in Spain, andS. viscosus, a self-compatible annual widespread in Europe, as well asS. lividus, S. sylvaticus andS. vulgaris revealed a sister group relationship between the first two species. This result contrasts sharply with the earlier hypothesis based on isozyme variation thatS. viscosus originated from within a paraphyleticS. nebrodensis and that the two species represent a progenitor-derivative pair. After considering possible reasons for the sister group relationship found, including the possibility of rooting artefacts, it is concluded …
Origin of the Metazoan Immune System: Identification of the Molecules and Their Functions in Sponges
2011
SYNOPSIS. During the evolutionary transition to Metazoa, cell-cell- as well as cell-matrix recognition molecules have been formed, which made a further step in evolution possible, the establishment of an immune system. Sponges [Porifera] represent the oldest still extant metazoan phylum and consequently testify to major features of the common metazoan ancestor, the Urmetazoa. Most studies with respect to evolution and phylogeny in sponges have been performed with the marine demosponges Suberites domuncula and Geodia cydonium. These animals possess effective defense systems against microbes and parasites which involve engulfment of bacteria into specific cells, but also signal transduction p…
Reproductive biology and conservation implications of three endangered snapdragon species (Antirrhinum, Plantaginaceae)
2009
About 32% of Antirrhinum species are considered to be endangered; however, no field studies have focused on their reproductive biology. In this work, several aspects of the reproductive biology (flowering phenology, floral biology, breeding system) and potential limits on seed quantity and quality (pollen limitation, inbreeding depression) were studied in natural populations of three endangered species of the genus (Antirrhinum charidemi, Antirrhinum subbaeticum, Antirrhinum valentinum). Results disclose that all three species need insect visitors for seed production since fruit set after autonomous self-pollination was lower than under hand cross-pollination. A. charidemi and A. valentinum…
Growth and production of three macrozoobenthic species in the Gulf of Riga, including comparisons with other areas
1999
Three soft-bottom stations in the southern part of the Gulf of Riga were studied during the period December 1993 to January 1995. The amphipods, Monoporeia affinis and Pontoporeia femorata, and the poychaete Marenzelleria viridis, were analysed for production, using the cohort growth method. Animals were also analysed for carbon and nitrogen content in a CHN-analyser. Based on size measurements, the quantitative data were divided into age-classes and the growth of each cohort was calculated first as wet weight and then converted into carbon and nitrogen content. Total annual production of each species was calculated as well as turnover ratios. The turnover ratio for Monoporeia affinis was e…
Population dynamics and tolerance to desiccation in a crustacean ostracod adapted to life in small ephemeral water bodies
2011
AbstractGiven their small size, isolation and unpredictability, temporary rockpools present high environmental stress and impoverished communities of species that have adapted to such stressful conditions. Special adaptations of the invertebrates living in these habitats include tolerance to desiccation and fast ontogenetic development in order to maintain stable populations and face high risk of extinction. Dozens of small rockpools (mostly with Ø<1m) can be found in east Spain on limestone substrate, where the only known Iberian populations of Heterocypris bosniaca Petkovski et al. (2000), an ostracod species with geographic parthenogenesis, have been recently found. In this survey, two o…
Factors influencing the extent of inbreeding depression: an example from scots pine
1999
Detailed studies suggest that the level of inbreeding depression may vary between populations. In a study of Scots pine from Finland, the level of inbreeding depression was much lower in northern than in southern populations. We have examined theoretically whether population genetic factors, such as the level of selfing, intensity of selection against heterozygotes or homozygotes, level of mutation, a bottleneck, finite population size, or the level of polyembryony could account for this difference. Higher selfing or stronger selection against heterozygotes in the north, both at biologically reasonable levels, appear to produce changes consistent with the observed differences and we conside…
The significance of relatedness and gene flow on population genetic structure in the subsocial spider Eresus cinnaberinus (Araneae: Eresidae)
1998
Interdemic selection, inbreeding and highly structured populations have been invoked to explain the evolution of cooperative social behaviour in the otherwise solitary and cannibalistic spiders. The family Eresidae consists of species ranging from solitary and intermediate subsocial to species exhibiting fully cooperative social behaviour. In this study we, in a hierarchical analysis, investigated relatedness of putative family clusters, inbreeding and population genetic structure of the subsocial spider Eresus cinnaberinus. Five hierarchical levels of investigation ranging from large scale genetic structure (distances of 250 and 50 km level 1 and 2) over microgeographic structure (20 km 2 …
Stepping stones of life: natal dispersal in the group-living but noncooperative speckled warbler
2003
In most cooperatively breeding birds the offspring of one sex, usually male, delays dispersal to remain on the natal territory and helps its parents to rear subsequent young. Thus delayed dispersal could be the first step in the evolution of cooperative breeding. We studied natal dispersal in a population of the group-living speckled warbler, Chthonicola sagittata, based on observations of a colour-banded population over 3 years. Unlike other group-living members of the Acanthizinae, all juvenile males in this population dispersed to settle on foreign territories as subordinates, which do not help rear the young. Speckled warblers showed all the life history traits that are thought to resul…
Characterization and classification of different genotypes in a population of Cucumis melo based on their ability to regenerate shoots from leaf expl…
1995
Variability of the in vitro organogenic response from leaf explants of a seed population of Cueumis melo L. ev. Cantaloupe Charentais was analyzed to detect genotypic variability among individual seeds for shoot regeneration. Variation in shoot regeneration frequency among plants from different seeds was compared to that found among clonal replicas of each original plant. Clonal propagation was performed using in vitro culture of apical and axillary buds of axenic plants to avoid somaclonal variation. Results demonstrate the existence of highly significant differences among plants from the seed population. Regeneration frequency of leaf explants derived from clonally propagated sets of a si…