Search results for "evolutionary"
showing 10 items of 4392 documents
Signatures of selection in the genome of Swedish warmblood horses selected for sport performance
2019
Abstract Background A growing demand for improved physical skills and mental attitude in modern sport horses has led to strong selection for performance in many warmblood studbooks. The aim of this study was to detect genomic regions with low diversity, and therefore potentially under selection, in Swedish Warmblood horses (SWB) by analysing high-density SNP data. To investigate if such signatures could be the result of selection for equestrian sport performance, we compared our SWB SNP data with those from Exmoor ponies, a horse breed not selected for sport performance traits. Results The genomic scan for homozygous regions identified long runs of homozygosity (ROH) shared by more than 85%…
Can Sex Inversion Be Environmentally Induced?
1980
Among teleosts simultaneous hermaphroditism and spontaneous sex inversion (either protogyny or protandry) occur in many families that inhabit tropical and subtropical marine waters. The tooth-carp Rivulus marmoratus is unique among these in being self-fertilizing. Most studies are descriptive work on gonad histology and reproductive behavior. Experimental investigations are scanty and do not yet provide fruitful ideas that might help to understand what is occurring in a fish when it changes sex. Behavioral observations and experiments led to the hypothesis that in certain coral reef fish sex inversion may be under social control. The term sex inversion requires closer examination in order t…
Genetic evidence confirms polygamous mating system in a crustacean parasite with multiple hosts.
2014
Mating systems are diverse in animals, notably in crustaceans, but can be inferred from a limited set of parameters. Baeza and Thiel (2007) proposed a model predicting mating systems of symbiotic crustaceans with three host characteristics and the risk of predation. These authors proposed five mating systems, ranging from monogamy to polygynandry (where multiple mating occurs for both genders). Using microsatellite loci, we tested the putatively mating system of the ectoparasite crab Dissodactylus primitivus. We determined the mating frequencies of males and females, parentage assignment (COLONY & GERUD software) as well as the contents of female spermathecae. Our results are globally consi…
Associations of Leisure-Time Physical Activity Trajectories with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption from Childhood to Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk…
2019
A physically active lifestyle and a diet rich in vegetables and fruits have a central role in promoting health. This study examined the associations between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) trajectories and fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) from childhood to middle age. The data were drawn from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study with six age cohorts. Participants were 9 to 18 years (n = 3536
Heterochromatin of the scarab beetle, Bubas bison (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) II. Evidence for AT-rich compartmentalization and a high amount of rDNA …
2005
An unexpected result arising from a previous characterization of the scarab beetle Bubas bison (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) heterochromatin was its unusual homogeneous reaction to different staining methods. In particular, silver stainability of heterochromatic ends of all chromosomes prevented identification of the number of rDNA transcriptionally active regions. Data formerly obtained using silver impregnation (Ag-NOR), C- G- and DAPI banding are here improved and completed by application of CMA(3) staining and rDNA FISH with the aim to investigate heterochromatin base composition and locate rDNA regions with respect to NOR-associated heterochromatin. Our results show that B. bison has a hi…
Evidence for an Association between Post-Fledging Dispersal and Microsatellite Multilocus Heterozygosity in a Large Population of Greater Flamingos
2013
10 pages; International audience; DISPERSAL CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE STAGES: departure, transience and settlement. Despite the fact that theoretical studies have emphasized the importance of heterozygosity on dispersal strategies, empirical evidence of its effect on different stages of dispersal is lacking. Here, using multi-event capture-mark-recapture models, we show a negative association between microsatellite multilocus heterozygosity (MLH; 10 loci; n = 1023) and post-fledging dispersal propensity for greater flamingos, Phoenicopterus roseus, born in southern France. We propose that the negative effects of inbreeding depression affects competitive ability and therefore more homozygous…
A high incidence of meiotic silencing of unsynapsed chromatin is not associated with substantial pachytene loss in heterozygous male mice carrying mu…
2009
Meiosis is a complex type of cell division that involves homologous chromosome pairing, synapsis, recombination, and segregation. When any of these processes is altered, cellular checkpoints arrest meiosis progression and induce cell elimination. Meiotic impairment is particularly frequent in organisms bearing chromosomal translocations. When chromosomal translocations appear in heterozygosis, the chromosomes involved may not correctly complete synapsis, recombination, and/or segregation, thus promoting the activation of checkpoints that lead to the death of the meiocytes. In mammals and other organisms, the unsynapsed chromosomal regions are subject to a process called meiotic silencing of…
Genetic polymorphism and high detrimental load in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster from cellar and vineyard
1987
Two Spanish natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster have been analysed with respect to genetic variability in third chromosome viability. The two populations, although from the same locality, belong to relatively different habitats: the inside of a cellar and a vineyard. The patterns of homozygote and heterozygote viability are similar in both populations. The homozygous detrimental loads estimated are very high and the values for the D:L (detrimental/lethal) ratio close to 2.5, which is higher than any previously found. The environmental variance of viability, average degrees of dominance of lethal genes and of viability polygenes and effective population sizes were estimated in eac…
Genetic elimination of known pheromones reveals the fundamental chemical bases of mating and isolation in Drosophila
1999
Overexpression of the UAS-tra transgene in Drosophila melanogaster females led to the complete elimination of their cuticular pheromones. According to current models of Drosophila behavior, these flies should induce no courtship. In fact, they are still attractive to conspecific males. Three classes of stimuli are shown to induce courtship, with different effects on male behavior: ( i ) known pheromones produced by control females, ( ii ) stimuli produced by living control and transgenic flies, and ( iii ) as-yet-undetermined pheromones present on both control and transgenic flies. Only the latter class of pheromones are required for mating. They appear to represent a layer of ancestral at…
Human Y-chromosome variation in the Western Mediterranean area: Implications for the peopling of the region
2001
Y-chromosome variation was analyzed in a sample of 1127 males from the Western Mediterranean area by surveying 16 biallelic and 4 multiallelic sites. Some populations from Northeastern Europe and the Middle East were also studied for comparison. All Y-chromosome haplotypes were included in a parsimonious genealogic tree consisting of 17 haplogroups, several of which displayed distinct geographic specificities. One of the haplogroups, HG9.2, has some features that are compatible with a spread into Europe from the Near East during the Neolithic period. However, the current distribution of this haplogroup would suggest that the Neolithic gene pool had a major impact in the eastern and central …