Homeotic change in segment identity derives the human vertebral formula from a chimpanzee-like one.

Objectives: One of the most contentious issues in paleoanthropology is the nature of the last common ancestor of humans and our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos (panins). The numerical composition of the vertebral column has featured prominently, with multiple models predicting distinct patterns of evolution and contexts from which bipedalism evolved. Here, we study total numbers of vertebrae from a large sample of hominoids to quantify variation in and patterns of regional and total numbers of vertebrae in hominoids.

Breeding crops for improved mineral nutrition under climate change conditions.

Improvements in understanding how climate change may influence chemical and physical processes in soils, how this may affect nutrient availability, and how plants may respond to changed availability of nutrients will influence crop breeding programmes. The effects of increased atmospheric CO2 and warmer temperatures, both individually and combined, on soil microbial activity, including mycorrhizas and N-fixing organisms, are evaluated, together with their implications for nutrient availability. Potential changes to plant growth, and the combined effects of soil and plant changes on nutrient uptake, are discussed.

A partial hominoid innominate from the Miocene of Pakistan: description and preliminary analyses.

We describe a partial innominate, YGSP 41216, from a 12.3 Ma locality in the Siwalik Group of the Potwar Plateau in Pakistan, assigned to the Middle Miocene ape species Sivapithecus indicus. We investigate the implications of its morphology for reconstructing positional behavior of this ape.

Stability of quantitative trait loci for growth and wood properties across multiple pedigrees and environments in Eucalyptus globulus.

· Eucalypts are one of the most planted tree genera worldwide, and there is increasing interest in marker-assisted selection for tree improvement. Implementation of marker-assisted selection requires a knowledge of the stability of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). This study aims to investigate the stability of QTLs for wood properties and growth across contrasting sites and multiple pedigrees of Eucalyptus globulus.

Genetic control of interactions among individuals: contrasting outcomes of indirect genetic effects arising from neighbour disease infection and competition in a forest tree.

Indirect genetic effects (IGEs) are heritable effects of individuals on trait values of their conspecifics. IGEs may substantially affect response to selection, but empirical studies on IGEs are sparse and their magnitude and correlation with direct genetic effects are largely unknown in plants. Here we used linear mixed models to estimate genetic (co)variances attributable to direct and indirect effects for growth and foliar disease damage in a large pedigreed population of Eucalyptus globulus.

Sources of variation in self-incompatibility in the Australian forest tree, Eucalyptus globulus.

Background And Aims: One of the major factors affecting the outcrossing rate in Eucalyptus globulus is thought to be the inherent self-incompatibility (SI) level of the female tree. SI in this species is mainly due to late-acting pre- and post-zygotic mechanisms operating in the ovary, and not S alleles. This study aimed to assess the phenotypic variation in SI levels within E.

A hominoid distal tibia from the Miocene of Pakistan.

A distal tibia, YGSP 1656, from the early Late Miocene portion of the Chinji Formation in Pakistan is described. The fossil is 11.4 million years old and is one of only six postcranial elements now assigned to Sivapithecus indicus.

Isotopic ecology and dietary profiles of Liberian chimpanzees.

An extensive suite of isotopic data (delta(13)C, delta(15)N, and delta(18)O) from enamel apatite and bone collagen of adult male and female wild chimpanzees establishes baseline values for Pan troglodytes verus in a primary rainforest setting. The Ganta chimpanzee sample derives from a restricted region in northern Liberia. Diet is examined using stable light isotopes at three life stages-infant, young juvenile, and adult-and developmental differences are investigated within and between individual males and females.

Ecological changes in Miocene mammalian record show impact of prolonged climatic forcing.

Geohistorical records reveal the long-term impacts of climate change on ecosystem structure. A 5-myr record of mammalian faunas from floodplain ecosystems of South Asia shows substantial change in species richness and ecological structure in relation to vegetation change as documented by stable isotopes of C and O from paleosols. Between 8.

Hybrid weakness controlled by the dosage-dependent lethal (DL) gene system in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is caused by a shoot-derived inhibitory signal leading to salicylic acid-associated root death.

Certain crosses of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) result in temperature-dependent hybrid weakness associated with a severe root phenotype. This is controlled by the interaction of the root- and shoot-expressed semidominant alleles dosage-dependent lethal 1 (DL(1)) and DL(2), which communicate via long-distance signaling. Previously, apparent reciprocal effects on root growth and the restoration of normal root growth by exogenous sucrose led to the hypothesis that the dosage-dependent lethal (DL) system may control root-shoot carbon partitioning.

Signalling mechanisms underlying the morphological responses of the root system to nitrogen in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Plants display considerable developmental plasticity in response to changing environmental conditions. The adaptations of the root system to variations in N supply are an excellent example of such developmental plasticity. In Arabidopsis, four morphological adaptations to the N supply have been characterized: (i) a localized stimulatory effect of external nitrate on lateral root elongation; (ii) a systemic inhibitory effect of high tissue nitrate concentrations on the activation of lateral root meristems; (iii) a suppression of lateral root initiation by high C:N ratios, and (iv) an inhibition of primary root growth and stimulation of root branching by external L-glutamate.

Morphological affinities of the Sahelanthropus tchadensis (Late Miocene hominid from Chad) cranium.

The recent reconstruction of the Sahelanthropus tchadensis cranium (TM 266-01-60-1) provides an opportunity to examine in detail differences in cranial shape between this earliest-known hominid, African apes, and other hominid taxa. Here we compare the reconstruction of TM 266-01-60-1 with crania of African apes, humans, and several Pliocene hominids. The results not only confirm that TM 266-01-60-1 is a hominid but also reveal a unique mosaic of characters.

Virtual cranial reconstruction of Sahelanthropus tchadensis.

Previous research in Chad at the Toros-Menalla 266 fossiliferous locality (about 7 million years old) uncovered a nearly complete cranium (TM 266-01-60-1), three mandibular fragments and several isolated teeth attributed to Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Of this material, the cranium is especially important for testing hypotheses about the systematics and behavioural characteristics of this species, but is partly distorted from fracturing, displacement and plastic deformation. Here we present a detailed virtual reconstruction of the TM 266 cranium that corrects these distortions.

New material of the earliest hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad.

Discoveries in Chad by the Mission Paleoanthropologique Franco-Tchadienne have substantially changed our understanding of early human evolution in Africa. In particular, the TM 266 locality in the Toros-Menalla fossiliferous area yielded a nearly complete cranium (TM 266-01-60-1), a mandible, and several isolated teeth assigned to Sahelanthropus tchadensis and biochronologically dated to the late Miocene epoch (about 7 million years ago). Despite the relative completeness of the TM 266 cranium, there has been some controversy about its morphology and its status in the hominid clade.

The anthropoid postcranial axial skeleton: comments on development, variation, and evolution.

Within-species phenotypic variation is the raw material on which natural selection acts to shape evolutionary change, and understanding more about the developmental genetics of intraspecific as well as interspecific phenotypic variation is an important component of the Evo-Devo agenda. The axial skeleton is a useful system to analyze from such a perspective. Its development is increasingly well understood, and between-species differences in functionally important developmental parameters are well documented.

A new hominid from the Upper Miocene of Chad, Central Africa.

The search for the earliest fossil evidence of the human lineage has been concentrated in East Africa. Here we report the discovery of six hominid specimens from Chad, central Africa, 2,500 km from the East African Rift Valley. The fossils include a nearly complete cranium and fragmentary lower jaws.

New Sivapithecus postcranial specimens from the Siwaliks of Pakistan.

Several new postcranial elements of Sivapithecus from the Siwaliks of Pakistan are described. These include a distal femur from the U-level of the Dhok Pathan Formation, a navicular from the Chinji Formation, and seven manual and pedal phalanges from the Nagri Formation. The functional morphology of these elements adds new detail to the reconstruction of Sivapithecus positional behavior.

Postcranial functional morphology of Morotopithecus bishopi, with implications for the evolution of modern ape locomotion.

The large-bodied hominoid from Moroto, Uganda has until recently been known only from proconsulid like craniodental remains and some vertebrae with modern ape like features. The discovery of two partial femora and the glenoid portion of a scapula demonstrates that the functional anatomy of Morotopithecus differed markedly from other early and middle Miocene hominoids. Previous studies have consistently associated the vertebral remains with a short, stiff back and with orthograde postures.

The Raw and the Stolen. Cooking and the Ecology of Human Origins.

Cooking is a human universal that must have had widespread effects on the nutrition, ecology, and social relationships of the species that invented it. The location and timing of its origins are unknown, but it should have left strong signals in the fossil record. We suggest that such signals are detectable at ca.

A hominoid genus from the early Miocene of Uganda.

Fossils from a large-bodied hominoid from early Miocene sediments of Uganda, along with material recovered in the 1960s, show features of the shoulder and vertebral column that are significantly similar to those of living apes and humans. The large-bodied hominoid from Uganda dates to at least 20.6 million years ago and thus represents the oldest known hominoid sharing these derived characters with living apes and humans.

Genetic and morphological records of the Hominoidea and hominid origins: a synthesis.

Molecular genetics has had a major impact on phylogenetics, although many hominoid paleontologists and morphologists ignore or remain unaware of genetic data. However, substantial genetic evidence shows chimpanzees and humans as closest relatives. Living hominoids share many postcranial similarities, many of which are retained from the extant hominoid common ancestor.