Variation in animal architecture: Genes, environment, and culture.

A new study investigates how stingless bee colonies inherit one of two architecturally distinct types of comb and proposes the primary mechanism of inheritance as stigmergy: among-individual coordination in comb building informed by environmental cues (i.e., social artefacts).

The repeatability of behavioural laterality during nest building in zebra finches.

Cerebral laterality is a widespread phenomenon across animals and refers to the specialization of the left and right hemispheres of the brain for perceptual, cognitive and behavioural tasks. Behavioural laterality occurs in several contexts, including foraging, mate selection, predator detection and tool manufacture. Behavioural laterality during nest building, however, has rarely been addressed.

Protocol to quantify bird nest morphology via image analyses using linear measurements and geometric landmarks.

Here, we present a protocol to quantify bird nest morphology via image analyses. We describe steps for collecting linear size measurements, placing geometric landmarks, and undertaking generalized Procrustes analysis to extract coordinate data. This protocol was designed to measure within- and among-individual variation in the morphology of dome nests built by captive zebra finches using coconut fiber in a laboratory environment.

The roles of social information, asocial information, and initial bias in nest-building decisions.

Animals can use asocial (e.g., environmental cues) or social (e.

Zebra finches have style: Nest morphology is repeatable and associated with experience.

We investigated whether birds build nests in repeatable styles and, if so, whether styles were associated with past nest-building experience. Laboratory, captive bred zebra finches in an Experimental group were given nest-building experience, whereas, birds in a Control group were not. Each pair (n = 20) then built four nests that underwent image analyses for nest size, geometric shape and entrance orientation.

Global, regional, and cryptic population structure in a high gene-flow transatlantic fish.

Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) is a transatlantic marine fish displaying large population sizes and a high potential for dispersal and gene-flow. These features are expected to result in weak population structure. Here, we investigated population genetic structure of lumpfish throughout its natural distribution in the North Atlantic using two approaches: I) 4,393 genome wide SNPs and 95 individuals from 10 locations, and II) 139 discriminatory SNPs and 1,669 individuals from 40 locations.

Genetic divergence and evidence of human-mediated translocation of two-fingered sloths (C) in Costa Rica.

Sloths are notoriously slow and consequently have limited dispersal ability, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the effects of habitat fragmentation and degradation. Sloths in Costa Rica are considered of conservation concern due to habitat loss, livestock production and increasing urbanization. Reintroductions from rescue centres are commonplace across the country, yet their genetic diversity and population structure are unknown, and there is currently little consideration of the genetic background prior to intervention or releases.

Genetic and phenotypic differentiation of lumpfish () across the North Atlantic: implications for conservation and aquaculture.

Demand for lumpfish () has increased exponentially over the last decade, both for their roe, which is used as a caviar substitute, and increasingly also as cleaner fish to control sea lice in salmon farming. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN and there are growing concerns that over-exploitation of wild stocks and translocation of hatchery-reared lumpfish may compromise the genetic diversity of native populations. We carried out a comparative analysis of genetic and phenotypic variation across the species' range to estimate the level of genetic and phenotypic differentiation, and determined patterns of gene flow at spatial scales relevant to management.

Scanning conformational space with a library of stereo- and regiochemically diverse aminoglycoside derivatives: the discovery of new ligands for RNA hairpin sequences.

A library of stereo- and regiochemically diverse aminoglycoside derivatives was screened at 1 microM using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) against RNA hairpin models of the bacterial A-site, and the HIV viral TAR and RRE sequences. In order to double the stereochemical diversity of the library, the compounds were screened against both enantiomers of each of these sequences. Remarkably, this initial screen suggested that the same four aminoglycoside derivatives bound most tightly to all three of the RNAs, suggesting that these compounds were good RNA binders which, nonetheless, discriminated poorly between the RNA sequences.

Synthesis and preliminary anticancer activity studies of C4 and C8-modified derivatives of catechin gallate (CG) and epicatechin gallate (ECG).

We have developed an improved and reliable method for stereoselective functionalization at C4 of naturally occurring (+)-catechin. Our method utilizes DDQ oxidation followed by trapping of the quinonemethide intermediate with allyl alcohol. The quinonemethide intermediate can be regenerated from the allyl ether by exposure to boron trifluoride diethyl etherate.

Redirection of carotenoid metabolism for the efficient production of taxadiene [taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene] in transgenic tomato fruit.

The taxanes are a group of polycyclic diterpenes produced by various species of yew. The potent anticancer drug paclitaxel (marketed as Taxol) is the commercially most important taxane with annual sales in 2000 exceeding 1.6 billion dollars.

Synthesis of a library of stereo- and regiochemically diverse aminoglycoside derivatives.

A library of forty modified aminoglycosides was prepared in which the configuration and regiochemistry of two or three rings was widely varied. The library was based around three core ring systems: the 2-deoxystreptamine ring system found in the natural products, and both enantiomers of (1R*,2R*,4R*,5R*)-2,5-diamino-cyclohexane-1,4-diol and (1R*,3R*,4R*,6R*)-4,6-diaminocyclohexane-1,3-diol. In each case, the core was modified by glycosylation with one or two sugar rings.