Search results for "SER"

The phylogenetic relationships of Przevalski's FinchUrocynchramus pylzowi, the most ancient Tibetan endemic passerine known to date

2016

Competing systematic hypotheses have placed the Tibetan endemic Przevalski's Finch Urocynchramus pylzowi either with the Old World buntings (Emberizidae) or with the cardueline finches (Fringillidae, Carduelinae). Recent studies based on limited genetic evidence instead suggest an isolated position within Passeroidea and advocate a separate family, Urocynchramidae, as had been suggested much earlier on the grounds of morphology. We provide a time-calibrated multi-locus phylogeny for Passeroidea including Przevalski's Finch based on three mitochondrial markers and three nuclear introns that placed U. pylzowi in a clade together with Estrildidae, Viduidae and Ploceidae. A sister group relatio…

Seasonal genetic variation associated with population dynamics of a poecilogonous polychaete worm

2017

Poecilogonous species show variation in developmental mode, with larvae that differ both morphologically and ecologically. The spionid polychaete Pygospio elegans shows variation in developmental mode not only between populations, but also seasonally within populations. We investigated the consequences of this developmental polymorphism on the spatial and seasonal genetic structure of P. elegans at four sites in the Danish Isefjord‐Roskilde‐Fjord estuary at six time points, from March 2014 until February 2015. We found genetic differentiation between our sampling sites as well as seasonal differentiation at two of the sites. The seasonal genetic shift correlated with the appearance of new s…

Studying the Function of the Phosphorylated Pathway of Serine Biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana

2017

Photorespiration is an essential pathway in photosynthetic organisms and is particularly important to detoxify and recycle 2-phosphoglycolate (2-PG), a by-product of oxygenic photosynthesis. The enzymes that catalyze the reactions in the photorespiratory core cycle and closely associated pathways have been identified; however, open questions remain concerning the metabolic network in which photorespiration is embedded. The amino acid serine represents one of the major intermediates in the photorespiratory pathway and photorespiration is thought to be the major source of serine in plants. The restriction of photorespiration to autotrophic cells raises questions concerning the source of serin…

Unravelling the scientific debate on how to address wolf-dog hybridization in Europe

2019

Anthropogenic hybridization is widely perceived as a threat to the conservation of biodiversity. Nevertheless, to date, relevant policy and management interventions are unresolved and highly convoluted. While this is due to the inherent complexity of the issue, we hereby hypothesize that a lack of agreement concerning management goals and approaches, within the scientific community, may explain the lack of social awareness on this phenomenon, and the absence of effective pressure on decision-makers. By focusing on wolf x dog hybridization in Europe, we hereby (a) assess the state of the art of issues on wolf x dog hybridization within the scientific community, (b) assess the conceptual base…

2016

Most large mammals have constantly been exposed to anthropogenic influence over decades or even centuries. Because of their long generation times and lack of sampling material, inferences of past population genetic dynamics, including anthropogenic impacts, have only relied on the analysis of the structure of extant populations. Here, we investigate for the first time the change in the genetic constitution of a natural red deer population over two centuries, using up to 200-year-old antlers (30 generations) stored in trophy collections. To the best of our knowledge, this is the oldest DNA source ever used for microsatellite population genetic analyses. We demonstrate that government policy …

2018

Parasitism is considered a major selective force in natural host populations. Infections can decrease host condition and vigour, and potentially influence, for example, host population dynamics and behavior such as mate choice. We studied parasite infections of two common marine fish species, the sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) and the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), in the brackish water Northern Baltic Sea. We were particularly interested in the occurrence of parasite taxa located in central sensory organs, such as eyes, potentially affecting fish behavior and mate choice. We found that both fish species harbored parasite communities dominated by taxa transmitted to fish through …

mtDNA diversity in rabbit population from Sicily (Italy)

2017

The European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (O.c) lives all over the world and it represents an important resource for many predators. It has been classified as a Near-Threatened species in the Red List of Vertebrates of Italy. It is present in mediterranean basin as two known subspecies: O.c. cuniculus and O.c. algirus. The mediterranean geographic distribution of the two subspecies is still not well known. In particular, in Sicily, lacking of deep studies, is based on the body size and morphological characteristics; there wasn’t a complete description of the actual existing subspecies and previous studies only reported the morphological characteristics of the sicilian rabbit population. In …

Detailed information on fruiting phenology provides new insights on wood-inhabiting fungal detection

2017

Abstract Fruiting phenology traits may have a large effect on the detection of fungal species. Detailed studies considering these biologically important traits are, however, surprisingly scarce. We conducted a rigorous fruit body monitoring of wood-inhabiting fungal occurrences over one fruiting season. Taxon-specific longevity of the fruiting was different between different morphological groups. This was mainly due to agaric fruiting being shorter than other groups. Different number and timing of surveys are needed to detect the majority of the fruiting taxa of different wood-inhabiting fungal groups.

Evolutionary history of two cryptic species of northern African jerboas

2020

Abstract Background: Climatic variation and geologic change both play significant roles in shaping species distributions, thus affecting their evolutionary history. In Sahara-Sahel, climatic oscillations shifted the desert extent during the Pliocene-Pleistocene interval, triggering the diversification of several species. Here, we investigated how these biogeographical and ecological events have shaped patterns of genetic diversity and divergence in African Jerboas, desert specialist rodents. We focused on two sister and cryptic species, Jaculus jaculus and J. hirtipes, where we (1) evaluated their genetic differentiation, (2) reconstructed their evolutionary and demographic history; (3) tes…

Can we rely on selected genetic markers for population identification? Evidence from coastal Atlantic cod

2018

Abstract The use of genetic markers under putative selection in population studies carries the potential for erroneous identification of populations and misassignment of individuals to population of origin. Selected markers are nevertheless attractive, especially in marine organisms that are characterized by weak population structure at neutral loci. Highly fecund species may tolerate the cost of strong selective mortality during early life stages, potentially leading to a shift in offspring genotypes away from the parental proportions. In Atlantic cod, recent genetic studies have uncovered different genotype clusters apparently representing phenotypically cryptic populations that coexist i…