Search results for "General Agricultural and Biological Sciences"
showing 10 items of 1320 documents
Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the mechanisms underpinning ageing and fecundity in social insects.
2021
The exceptional longevity of social insect queens despite their lifelong high fecundity remains poorly understood in ageing biology. To gain insights into the mechanisms that might underlie ageing in social insects, we compared gene expression patterns between young and old castes (both queens and workers) across different lineages of social insects (two termite, two bee and two ant species). After global analyses, we paid particular attention to genes of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling (IIS)/target of rapamycin (TOR)/juvenile hormone (JH) network, which is well known to regulate lifespan and the trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance in solitary insects…
Différenciation morphologique et génétique des populations de douroucoulis (Aotus infulatus, Primates, Platyrhiniens, Cebidae) provenant des rives dr…
2007
11 pages; La morphologie crânienne de 28 spécimens de douroucoulis (genre Aotus), provenant du Bassin amazonien, a été étudiée à l'aide de méthodes de morphométrie géométrique en trois dimensions. De nouveaux résultats concernant la distinction morphologique de populations de l'espèce Aotus infulatus, réparties de part et d'autre du rio Tocantins, sont proposés. Ces résultats morphologiques concordent avec la distinction génétique de ces populations publiée par Schneider – et Sampaio –, et indiquent probablement de récents et rapides changements évolutifs au sein de cette espèce. Les résultats de cette étude ont une application taxinomique, mais pourraient également ouvrir de nouvelles pers…
Exploration of the Oxynoticeratidae ornamental morphospace using the discrete cosine transform (DCT) to analyze rib patterns.
2006
The discrete cosine transform (DCT) is a Fourier-related transform widely used in signal processing and well suited to analyzing open outlines such as ammonite ribs. The method is applied here to depict and decipher the ribbing morphospace of a large group of Lower Jurassic ammonites composed of the Oxynoticeratidae and their close ancestors. Because they are clearly associated with buoyancy and/or swimming ability, the usually clearly involute, comparatively smooth and compressed shells of these ammonites may well be misleading taxonomic markers. In this context, quantitative analysis of the ribbing pattern using the DCT may significantly improve our perception of the ornamental patterns e…
Climatic influence on the growth pattern ofPanthasaurus maleriensisfrom the Late Triassic of India deduced from paleohistology
2020
Metoposaurids are representatives of the extinct amphibian clade Temnospondyli, found on almost every continent exclusively in the Late Triassic deposits. Osteohistologically, it is one of the best-known temnospondyl groups, analyzed with a wide spectrum of methods, such as morphology, morphometry, bone histology or computed modelling. The least known member of Metoposauridae isPanthasaurus maleriensisfrom the Pranhita-Godavari basin in Central India, being geographically the most southern record of this family. For the first time the bone histology of this taxon was studied with a focus on the intraspecific variability of the histological framework and the relationship between the observed…
Ornamentation of dermal bones of Metoposaurus krasiejowensis and its ecological implications
2018
Background Amphibians are animals strongly dependent on environmental conditions, like temperature, water accessibility, and the trophic state of the reservoirs. Thus, they can be used in modern palaeoenvironmental analysis, reflecting ecological condition of the biotope. Methods To analyse the observed diversity in the temnospondyl Metoposaurus krasiejowensis from Late Triassic deposits in Krasiejów (Opole Voivodeship, Poland), the characteristics of the ornamentation (such as grooves, ridges, tubercules) of 25 clavicles and 13 skulls were observed on macro- and microscales, including the use of a scanning electron microscope for high magnification. The different ornamentation patterns fo…
Merging cranial histology and 3D-computational biomechanics : A review of the feeding ecology of a Late Triassic temnospondyl amphibian
2021
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a useful method for understanding form and function. However, modelling of fossil taxa invariably involves assumptions as a result of preservation-induced loss of information in the fossil record. To test the validity of predictions from FEA, given such assumptions, these results could be compared to independent lines of evidence for cranial mechanics. In the present study a new concept of using bone microstructure to predict stress distribution in the skull during feeding is put forward and a correlation between bone microstructure and results of computational biomechanics (FEA) is carried out. The bony framework is a product of biological optimisation; bon…
Visible implant elastomer (VIE) success in early larval stages of a tropical amphibian species
2020
AbstractAnimals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, but being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioral studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohorts. Animals with complex life cycles are notoriously hard to mark because of the distortion or loss of the tag across metamorphosis. In frogs, few studies have attempted larval tagging and none have been conducted on a tropical species. Here, we present the first successful account of VIE tagging in early larval stages (Gosner stage 25) of the dyeing poison…
Condition-dependent ecdysis and immunocompetence in the amphipod crustacean, Gammarus pulex.
2010
The exoskeleton of arthropods forms an efficient protection against pathogens, but this first line of defence is periodically weakened during ecdysis, increasing the opportunity for surrounding pathogens to invade the body cavity. Since the richness of pathogens in the environment can be spatially and temporally variable, arthropods may have a fitness advantage in moulting in a place and time of low infection risk. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that the amphipod crustacean, Gammarus pulex , exhibits temporal adjustment of the moult cycle in response to elevated risks of infection. Interestingly, this phenomenon is variable between two populations and independent of levels of im…
Anti-Inflammatory and Cytoprotective Effect of Plant Sterol and Galactooligosaccharides-Enriched Beverages in Caco-2 Cells
2019
Plant sterol (PS) (1 g/100 mL) enriched milk-based fruit beverages with or without galactooligosaccharides (GOS) (1.8 g/100 mL) were used in differentiated Caco-2 cells. Their potential cytopreventive effect against oxidative stress induced by cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) and their anti-inflammatory properties were evaluated. Preincubation (24 h) with bioaccessible fractions from beverages without and with GOS (MfB and MfB-G) completely prevented the COPs (60 μM/4 h) induced oxidative stress independent to GOS presence with exception to calcium influx and GSH content, where a partial protective effect was observed. Besides, MfB produced a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of IL-8 (4…
Decline in coccolithophore diversity and impact on coccolith morphogenesis along a natural CO2 gradient
2014
A natural pH gradient caused by marine CO2 seeps off Vulcano Island (Italy) was used to assess the effects of ocean acidification on coccolithophores, which are abundant planktonic unicellular calcifiers. Such seeps are used as natural laboratories to study the effects of ocean acidification on marine ecosystems, since they cause long-term changes in seawater carbonate chemistry and pH, exposing the organisms to elevated CO2 concentrations and therefore mimicking future scenarios. Previous work at CO2 seeps has focused exclusively on benthic organisms. Here we show progressive depletion of 27 coccolithophore species, in terms of cell concentrations and diversity, along a calcite saturation …