Parvalbumins were isolated from skeletal muscles of a tropical amphibian, Leptodactylus insularis, and three new isotypes were identified. The total concentration of parvalbumins in L. insularis was the same as the total amounts found in an amphibian from the temperate or variable zone (Rana temporaria). Muscles of the thigh and foreleg had the maximum parvalbumin concentration (0.35 mmol.kg wet weight-1). Samples from pectoralis and rectus abdominis muscles had significantly less (0.29 mmol.kg-1). Three previously unknown parvalbumin isotypes (IV, IIIa, and IIIb) were isolated from the tropical amphibian. They were different from the isotypes (IVa and IVb) predominant in R. temporaria skeletal muscle. Parvalbumins are thought to have a role in the short-term removal of myoplasmic Ca2+ during muscle relaxation. Hence, the unique isotypes in L. insularis may reflect optimal molecular adaptations retained during the animal's evolution in a constantly warm environment.
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Ecohealth
January 2025
Guangxi Key Laboratory for Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530000, People's Republic of China.
Chytridiomycosis is a wildlife disease that has caused significant declines in amphibian populations and species extinctions worldwide. Asia, where the causal pathogens Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamndrivorans (Bsal) originated, has not witnessed mass die-offs.
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Tropical Herpetology Lab, Graduate Program in Zoology, Department of Biological Sciences, State University of Santa Cruz, Ilhéus 45662-900, BA, Brazil.
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Zoology, Instituto de Biología, UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico.
The Species Group contains eleven species of terraranan frogs distributed from eastern Honduras to eastern Panama. All species have remarkable color pattern polymorphisms, which may contribute to potential taxonomic problems. We performed exhaustive sampling throughout the geographic distribution of the group to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of all named species based on two mitochondrial markers and nuclear ddRAD loci.
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Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey.
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Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskiye Gory, 10 GSP-1, Moscow, Russia.
Animal translocations provide striking examples of the human footprint on biodiversity. Combining continental-wide genomic and DNA-barcoding analyses, we reconstructed the historical biogeography of the Asian black-spined toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), a toxic commensal amphibian that currently threatens two biodiversity hotspots through biological invasions (Wallacea and Madagascar). The results emphasize a complex diversification shaped by speciation and mitochondrial introgression that comprises two distinct species.
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