Reproductive isolation of sympatric morphs in a population of Darwin's finches.

Recent research on speciation has identified a central role for ecological divergence, which can initiate speciation when (i) subsets of a species or population evolve to specialize on different ecological resources and (ii) the resulting phenotypic modes become reproductively isolated. Empirical evidence for these two processes working in conjunction, particularly during the early stages of divergence, has been limited. We recently described a population of the medium ground finch, Geospiza fortis, that features large and small beak morphs with relatively few intermediates.

Systematics and biogeography of New World sea catfishes (Siluriformes: Ariidae) as inferred from mitochondrial, nuclear, and morphological evidence.

Ariid or sea catfishes include around 150 species that inhabit marine, brackish, and freshwater environments along world's tropical and subtropical continental shelves. Phylogenetic relationships for 46 New World and three Old World species of ariids were hypothesized using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference reconstruction criteria on 2842 mitochondrial (cytochrome b, ATP synthase 8 and 6, ribosomal 12S and 16S) and 978 nuclear (rag2) nucleotide sites. The molecular topologies were compared to a previously compiled morphological dataset that was expanded herein to a total of 25 ariid species and 55 characters.

The West Indies as a laboratory of biogeography and evolution.

Islands have long provided material and inspiration for the study of evolution and ecology. The West Indies are complex historically and geographically, providing a rich backdrop for the analysis of colonization, diversification and extinction of species. They are sufficiently isolated to sustain endemic forms and close enough to sources of colonists to develop a dynamic interaction with surrounding continental regions.

Colour pattern as a single trait driving speciation in Hypoplectrus coral reef fishes?

Theory shows that speciation in the presence of gene flow occurs only under narrow conditions. One of the most favourable scenarios for speciation with gene flow is established when a single trait is both under disruptive natural selection and used to cue assortative mating. Here, we demonstrate the potential for a single trait, colour pattern, to drive incipient speciation in the genus Hypoplectrus (Serranidae), coral reef fishes known for their striking colour polymorphism.

The Sorcerer II Global Ocean Sampling expedition: northwest Atlantic through eastern tropical Pacific.

The world's oceans contain a complex mixture of micro-organisms that are for the most part, uncharacterized both genetically and biochemically. We report here a metagenomic study of the marine planktonic microbiota in which surface (mostly marine) water samples were analyzed as part of the Sorcerer II Global Ocean Sampling expedition. These samples, collected across a several-thousand km transect from the North Atlantic through the Panama Canal and ending in the South Pacific yielded an extensive dataset consisting of 7.

Peptide stabilized amphotericin B nanodisks.

Nanometer scale apolipoprotein A-I stabilized phospholipid disk complexes (nanodisks; ND) have been formulated with the polyene antibiotic amphotericin B (AMB). The present studies were designed to evaluate if a peptide can substitute for the function of the apolipoprotein component of ND with respect to particle formation and stability. An 18-residue synthetic amphipathic alpha-helical peptide, termed 4F (Ac-D-W-F-K-A-F-Y-D-K-V-A-E-K-F-K-E-A-F-NH(2)), solubilized vesicles comprised of egg phosphatidylcholine (egg PC), dipentadecanoyl PC or dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) at rates greater than or equal to solubilization rates observed with human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I; 243 amino acids).

The causes of evolutionary radiations in archipelagoes: passerine birds in the Lesser Antilles.

To investigate why some lineages undergo evolutionary radiation, we compare the passerine avifaunas of the Hawaiian and Galapagos archipelagoes, which have supported well-known radiations of birds, with those of the Lesser Antilles, which have not. We focus on four steps required for the buildup of diversity through allopatric speciation and secondary sympatry: genetic divergence in isolation, persistence of island populations, recolonization of source islands, and ecological compatibility in secondary sympatry. Analysis of genetic divergence among island populations in the Lesser Antilles reveals evidence of both prolonged independent evolution and re-expansion of differentiated island populations through the archipelago but little evidence of secondary sympatry of divergent genetic lineages.

The novel Tau mutation G335S: clinical, neuropathological and molecular characterization.

Mutations in Tau cause the inherited neurodegenerative disease, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17). Known coding region mutations cluster in the microtubule-binding region, where they alter the ability of tau to promote microtubule assembly. Depending on the tau isoforms, this region consists of three or four imperfect repeats of 31 or 32 amino acids, each of which contains a characteristic and invariant PGGG motif.

Low density lipoprotein subclasses in Asian and Caucasian adolescent boys.

South Asian adults are known to have very high rates of Coronary heart disease (CHD) and insulin resistance and, even as adolescents, may show higher risk factors for CHD. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of small, dense low density lipoprotein (sdLDL) subclasses in a cohort of adolescent boys. The specific objective was to investigate the relationship between measures of fatness, ethnicity and LDL diameter in this cohort.

Phylogeny and biogeography of 91 species of heroine cichlids (Teleostei: Cichlidae) based on sequences of the cytochrome b gene.

Heroini constitute the second largest tribe of Neotropical cichlids and show their greatest diversity in Mesoamerica. Although heroine species are morphologically and ecologically very diverse, they were all historically assigned to one single genus, Cichlasoma that was never formally revised from a phylogenetic point of view. Here, we present the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the tribe Heroini to date, based on the complete DNA sequence of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b, and the analysis of 204 individuals representing 91 species.

A conserved supergene locus controls colour pattern diversity in Heliconius butterflies.

We studied whether similar developmental genetic mechanisms are involved in both convergent and divergent evolution. Mimetic insects are known for their diversity of patterns as well as their remarkable evolutionary convergence, and they have played an important role in controversies over the respective roles of selection and constraints in adaptive evolution. Here we contrast three butterfly species, all classic examples of Müllerian mimicry.

The phylogenetic pattern of speciation and wing pattern change in neotropical Ithomia butterflies (Lepidoptera: nymphalidae).

Species level phylogenetic hypotheses can be used to explore patterns of divergence and speciation. In the tropics, speciation is commonly attributed to either vicariance, perhaps within climate-induced forest refugia, or ecological speciation caused by niche adaptation. Mimetic butterflies have been used to identify forest refugia as well as in studies of ecological speciation, so they are ideal for discriminating between these two models.

Microfauna associated with amoebic gill disease in sea-farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts.

A study of microfauna, associated with pathological changes in the gills of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., was conducted over 2001-2002. Monthly samples of 1(+) salmon smolts were taken, protozoan populations were quantified and gill health was assessed histologically.

Whole-body valine and cysteine kinetics and tissue fractional protein synthesis rates in lambs fed Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) and infected or not infected with adult Trichostrongylus colubriformis.

Poor growth during parasitic infection may be due to a redistribution of amino acids away from skeletal muscle protein synthesis to the intestinal site of infection. The effect of a Trichostrongylus colubriformis infection on whole-body amino acid kinetics and tissue fractional protein synthesis rates were determined in lambs fed fresh Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium; 800 g DM/d). Lambs were dosed with 6000 L3 Trichostrongylus colubriformis larvae daily for 6 d (n 6) or kept as parasite-free controls (n 6).

Speciation by hybridization in Heliconius butterflies.

Speciation is generally regarded to result from the splitting of a single lineage. An alternative is hybrid speciation, considered to be extremely rare, in which two distinct lineages contribute genes to a daughter species. Here we show that a hybrid trait in an animal species can directly cause reproductive isolation.

Genetic evidence of frequent long-distance recruitment in a vertebrate-dispersed tree.

The importance of dispersal for the maintenance of biodiversity, while long-recognized, has remained unresolved. We used molecular markers to measure effective dispersal in a natural population of the vertebrate-dispersed Neotropical tree, Simarouba amara (Simaroubaceae) by comparing the distances between maternal parents and their offspring and comparing gene movement via seed and pollen in the 50 ha plot of the Barro Colorado Island forest, Central Panama. In all cases (parent-pair, mother-offspring, father-offspring, sib-sib) distances between related pairs were significantly greater than distances to nearest possible neighbours within each category.

Polyphyly and gene flow between non-sibling Heliconius species.

Background: The view that gene flow between related animal species is rare and evolutionarily unimportant largely antedates sensitive molecular techniques. Here we use DNA sequencing to investigate a pair of morphologically and ecologically divergent, non-sibling butterfly species, Heliconius cydno and H. melpomene (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), whose distributions overlap in Central and Northwestern South America.

Vaginal cytology following primary hysterectomy for cervical cancer: is it useful?

Background: Vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VAIN) is usually detected in patients with synchronous or antecedent cervical or vulval intraepithelial or invasive cancer. VAIN has the potential to progress to malignancy.

Aims: To determine the incidence and severity and analyse the management of vaginal dysplasia in patients undergoing primary hysterectomy for cervical cancer.

Polyphyly of the hawk genera Leucopternis and Buteogallus (Aves, Accipitridae): multiple habitat shifts during the Neotropical buteonine diversification.

Background: The family Accipitridae (hawks, eagles and Old World vultures) represents a large radiation of predatory birds with an almost global distribution, although most species of this family occur in the Neotropics. Despite great morphological and ecological diversity, the evolutionary relationships in the family have been poorly explored at all taxonomic levels. Using sequences from four mitochondrial genes (12S, ATP8, ATP6, and ND6), we reconstructed the phylogeny of the Neotropical forest hawk genus Leucopternis and most of the allied genera of Neotropical buteonines.

The claw paw mutation reveals a role for Lgi4 in peripheral nerve development.

Peripheral nerve development results from multiple cellular interactions between axons, Schwann cells and the surrounding mesenchymal tissue. The delayed axonal sorting and hypomyelination throughout the peripheral nervous system of claw paw (clp) mutant mice suggest that the clp gene product is critical for these interactions. Here we identify the clp mutation as a 225-bp insertion in the Lgi4 gene.

Evolutionary history of the synbranchid eels (Teleostei: Synbranchidae) in Central America and the Caribbean islands inferred from their molecular phylogeny.

Swamp eels of the genera Synbranchus and Ophisternon are secondary freshwater fishes whose biogeography provides evidence of their long residence in Mesoamerica, while their impoverished species-level taxonomy might suggest a more recent diversification or a conservative morphology. We have inferred the phylogenetic relationships of Synbranchus marmoratus and Ophisternon aenigmaticum from 45 drainages throughout South, Central America, and Cuba based on mitochondrial genes (cytochrome b and ATPase 8/6). Phylogeographic analysis supported the monophyly of Mesoamerican O.

Spatial genetic structure of Simarouba amara Aubl. (Simaroubaceae), a dioecious, animal-dispersed Neotropical tree, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

Simarouba amara (Simaroubaceae) is a vertebrate-dispersed, insect-pollinated Neotropical tree found in lowland moist forest from upper Mesoamerica to the Amazon basin. We assessed the spatial genetic structure of S. amara within the 50-ha Forest Dynamics Plot on Barro Colorado Island in the Republic of Panama.

Gliomedin mediates Schwann cell-axon interaction and the molecular assembly of the nodes of Ranvier.

Accumulation of Na(+) channels at the nodes of Ranvier is a prerequisite for saltatory conduction. In peripheral nerves, clustering of these channels along the axolemma is regulated by myelinating Schwann cells through a yet unknown mechanism. We report the identification of gliomedin, a glial ligand for neurofascin and NrCAM, two axonal immunoglobulin cell adhesion molecules that are associated with Na+ channels at the nodes of Ranvier.

Phylogeny and comparative biogeography of Pionopsitta parrots and Pteroglossus toucans.

Studies of Neotropical birds, and their distributions and areas of endemism, in particular, have been central in the formulation of hypotheses proposed to explain the high species diversity in the Neotropics. We used mtDNA sequence data (ATPase 6 and 8, COI, and cyt b) to reconstruct the species-level phylogenies for two genera, Pionopsitta (Aves: Psittacidae) and Pteroglossus (Aves: Ramphastidae), compare our results with previous morphology-based phylogenetic analyses, and estimate the absolute timing of lineage and biogeographic divergences. Both the Pionopsitta and Pteroglossus phylogenies support a hypothesis of area relationships in which a divergence of the Serra do Mar (Atlantic Forest, Brazil) region of endemism is followed by the divergence of cis- and trans-Andean regions, then a split between the upper and lower Amazon basin, next the divergence of the Guyana area, and finally diversification of taxa in the upper Amazon basin's areas of endemism.