Sex-specific genetic (co)variances of standard metabolic rate, body mass and locomotor activity in Drosophila melanogaster.

A longstanding focus in evolutionary physiology concerns the causes and consequences of variation in maintenance metabolism. Insight into this can be gained by estimating the sex-specific genetic architecture of maintenance metabolism alongside other, potentially correlated traits on which selection may also act, such as body mass and locomotor activity. This may reveal potential genetic constraints affecting the evolution of maintenance metabolism.

Transcriptomic analysis of the trade-off between endurance and burst-performance in the frog Xenopus allofraseri.

Background: Variation in locomotor capacity among animals often reflects adaptations to different environments. Despite evidence that physical performance is heritable, the molecular basis of locomotor performance and performance trade-offs remains poorly understood. In this study we identify the genes, signaling pathways, and regulatory processes possibly responsible for the trade-off between burst performance and endurance observed in Xenopus allofraseri, using a transcriptomic approach.

Quantifying selection on standard metabolic rate and body mass in Drosophila melanogaster.

Standard metabolic rate (SMR), defined as the minimal energy expenditure required for self-maintenance, is a key physiological trait. Few studies have estimated its relationship with fitness, most notably in insects. This is presumably due to the difficulty of measuring SMR in a large number of very small individuals.

Sex-Specific Among-Individual Covariation in Locomotor Activity and Resting Metabolic Rate in .

A key endeavor in evolutionary physiology is to identify sources of among- and within-individual variation in resting metabolic rate (RMR). Although males and females often differ in whole-organism RMR due to sexual size dimorphism, sex differences in RMR sometimes persist after conditioning on body mass, suggesting phenotypic differences between males and females in energy-expensive activities contributing to RMR. One potential difference is locomotor activity, yet its relationship with RMR is unclear and different energy budget models predict different associations.

Label-Free Quantitative Proteomics in Yeast.

Label-free bottom-up shotgun MS-based proteomics is an extremely powerful and simple tool to provide high quality quantitative analyses of the yeast proteome with only microgram amounts of total protein. Although the experimental design of this approach is rather straightforward and does not require the modification of growth conditions, proteins or peptides, several factors must be taken into account to benefit fully from the power of this method. Key factors include the choice of an appropriate method for the preparation of protein extracts, careful evaluation of the instrument design and available analytical capabilities, the choice of the quantification method (intensity-based vs.

Sexual differences in exploration behavior in Xenopus tropicalis?

The two sexes of a species often differ in many ways. How sexes differ depends on the selective context, with females often investing more in reproductive output and males in territory defense and resource acquisition. This also implies that behavioral strategies may differ between the two sexes, allowing them to optimize their fitness in a given ecological context.