A Synthesis of Game Theory and Quantitative Genetic Models of Social Evolution.

Two popular approaches for modeling social evolution, evolutionary game theory and quantitative genetics, ask complementary questions but are rarely integrated. Game theory focuses on evolutionary outcomes, with models solving for evolutionarily stable equilibria, whereas quantitative genetics provides insight into evolutionary processes, with models predicting short-term responses to selection. Here we draw parallels between evolutionary game theory and interacting phenotypes theory, which is a quantitative genetic framework for understanding social evolution.

A generalist nematode destabilises plant competition: no evidence for direct effects, but strong evidence for indirect effects on rhizobium abundance.

Difficulties quantifying pathogen load and mutualist abundance limit our ability to connect disease dynamics to host community ecology. For example, specific predictions about how differential pathogen load is hypothesised to drive host competitive outcomes are rarely tested. Additionally, although infection is known to affect mutualists, we rarely measure the magnitude of pathogen effects on mutualist abundance across host competitive contexts.

New distributional, biological and taxonomic information on the genus Eulophinusia Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae).

The genus Eulophinusia Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), previously known from Australia and India, is newly recorded from the Americas (Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic). The morphological diagnosis of the genus is enhanced through the discovery of an unnoticed and unique feature - an intricate jigsaw-like microsculptural pattern on the mesoscutellum. The new species described here, Eulophinusia andreamezae Hansson, is a hyperparasitoid.

MicroRNA156-mediated changes in leaf composition lead to altered photosynthetic traits during vegetative phase change.

Plant morphology and physiology change with growth and development. Some of these changes are due to change in plant size and some are the result of genetically programmed developmental transitions. In this study we investigate the role of the developmental transition, vegetative phase change (VPC), on morphological and photosynthetic changes.

Capuchin monkey rituals: an interdisciplinary study of form and function.

Many white-faced capuchin monkey dyads in Lomas Barbudal, Costa Rica, practise idiosyncratic interaction sequences that are not part of the species-typical behavioural repertoire. These interactions often include uncomfortable or risky elements. These interactions exhibit the following characteristics commonly featured in definitions of rituals in humans: (i) they involve an unusual intensity of focus on the partner, (ii) the behaviours have no immediate utilitarian purpose, (iii) they sometimes involve 'sacred objects', (iv) the distribution of these behaviours suggests that they are invented and spread via social learning, and (v) many behaviours in these rituals are repurposed from other behavioural domains (e.

SKP1 drives the prophase I to metaphase I transition during male meiosis.

The meiotic prophase I to metaphase I (PI/MI) transition requires chromosome desynapsis and metaphase competence acquisition. However, control of these major meiotic events is poorly understood. Here, we identify an essential role for SKP1, a core subunit of the SKP1-Cullin-F-box (SCF) ubiquitin E3 ligase, in the PI/MI transition.

Predictive Pattern Classification Can Distinguish Gender Identity Subtypes from Behavior and Brain Imaging.

The exact neurobiological underpinnings of gender identity (i.e., the subjective perception of oneself belonging to a certain gender) still remain unknown.

Evaluating methods for extraction of α-cellulose from leaves of Melaleuca quinquenervia for stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis.

Rationale: Purification of α-cellulose from plant tissues is commonly conducted to facilitate the reliable measurement of stable isotope ratios. Prior research has shown that different plant species and tissues react differently to standardised cellulose extraction techniques. Thus, no single method can be applied to all materials and careful consideration must be undertaken when selecting an extraction technique.

Closed-loop stimulation of temporal cortex rescues functional networks and improves memory.

Memory failures are frustrating and often the result of ineffective encoding. One approach to improving memory outcomes is through direct modulation of brain activity with electrical stimulation. Previous efforts, however, have reported inconsistent effects when using open-loop stimulation and often target the hippocampus and medial temporal lobes.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization has little consequence for plant heavy metal uptake in contaminated field soils.

The factors affecting plant uptake of heavy metals from metalliferous soils are deeply important to the remediation of polluted areas. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), soil-dwelling fungi that engage in an intimate exchange of nutrients with plant roots, are thought to be involved in plant metal uptake as well. Here, we used a novel field-based approach to investigate the effects of AMF on plant metal uptake from soils in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, USA contaminated with heavy metals from a nearby zinc smelter.

A Global View of RNA-Protein Interactions Identifies Post-transcriptional Regulators of Root Hair Cell Fate.

The Arabidopsis thaliana root epidermis is comprised of two cell types, hair and nonhair cells, which differentiate from the same precursor. Although the transcriptional programs regulating these events are well studied, post-transcriptional factors functioning in this cell fate decision are mostly unknown. Here, we globally identify RNA-protein interactions and RNA secondary structure in hair and nonhair cell nuclei.

Social inheritance can explain the structure of animal social networks.

The social network structure of animal populations has major implications for survival, reproductive success, sexual selection and pathogen transmission of individuals. But as of yet, no general theory of social network structure exists that can explain the diversity of social networks observed in nature, and serve as a null model for detecting species and population-specific factors. Here we propose a simple and generally applicable model of social network structure.

Applying the Brakes: When to Stop Eating.

The nucleus accumbens regulates consummatory behaviors, such as eating. In this issue of Neuron, O'Connor et al. (2015) identify dopamine receptor 1-expressing neurons that project to the lateral hypothalamus as mediating rapid control over feeding behavior.

Accelerated reproductive aging in females lacking a novel centromere protein SYCP2L.

Menopause results from loss of ovarian function and marks the end of a woman's reproductive life. Alleles of the human SYCP2L locus are associated with age at natural menopause (ANM). SYCP2L is a paralogue of the synaptonemal complex protein SYCP2 and is expressed exclusively in oocytes.

Spatial Regulation of Kinetochore Microtubule Attachments by Destabilization at Spindle Poles in Meiosis I.

To ensure accurate chromosome segregation in cell division, erroneous kinetochore-microtubule (MT) attachments are recognized and destabilized . Improper attachments typically lack tension between kinetochores and are positioned off-center on the spindle. Low tension is a widely accepted mechanism for recognizing errors , but whether chromosome position regulates MT attachments has been difficult to test.

Centromere strength provides the cell biological basis for meiotic drive and karyotype evolution in mice.

Mammalian karyotypes (number and structure of chromosomes) can vary dramatically over short evolutionary time frames. There are examples of massive karyotype conversion, from mostly telocentric (centromere terminal) to mostly metacentric (centromere internal), in 10(2)-10(5) years. These changes typically reflect rapid fixation of Robertsonian (Rb) fusions, a common chromosomal rearrangement that joins two telocentric chromosomes at their centromeres to create one metacentric.

Diversity of ageing across the tree of life.

Evolution drives, and is driven by, demography. A genotype moulds its phenotype's age patterns of mortality and fertility in an environment; these two patterns in turn determine the genotype's fitness in that environment. Hence, to understand the evolution of ageing, age patterns of mortality and reproduction need to be compared for species across the tree of life.

Engineering a prokaryotic apocytochrome c as an efficient substrate for Saccharomyces cerevisiae cytochrome c heme lyase.

Cytochromes c are heme proteins that require multiple maturation components, such as heme lyases, for cofactor incorporation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two heme lyases that are specific for apocytochromes c (CCHL) or c(1) (CC(1)HL). CCHL can covalently attach heme b groups to apocytochrome c substrates of eukaryotic but not prokaryotic origin.

It takes a community to raise the prevalence of a zoonotic pathogen.

By definition, zoonotic pathogens are not strict host-species specialists in that they infect humans and at least one nonhuman reservoir species. The majority of zoonotic pathogens infect and are amplified by multiple vertebrate species in nature, each of which has a quantitatively different impact on the distribution and abundance of the pathogen and thus on disease risk. Unfortunately, when new zoonotic pathogens emerge, the dominant response by public health scientists is to search for a few, or even the single, most important reservoirs and to ignore other species that might strongly influence transmission.

Introducing short roots in a desert perennial: anatomy and spatiotemporal foraging responses to increased precipitation.

• The desert flora possesses diverse root architectures that result in fast growth in response to precipitation. We introduce the short root, a previously undescribed second-order root in the aridland chamaephyte Cryptantha flava, and explore fine root production. • We describe the short root anatomy and associated fine roots, correlate standing fine root crop with soil moisture, and explore the architectural level - the short root, third-order lateral roots, or the whole root system - at which fine roots are induced by watering and the amount of water required.

Synthesis of new (-)-bestatin-based inhibitor libraries reveals a novel binding mode in the S1 pocket of the essential malaria M1 metalloaminopeptidase.

The malarial PfA-M1 metallo-aminopeptidase is considered a putative drug target. The natural product dipeptide mimetic, bestatin, is a potent inhibitor of PfA-M1. Herein we present a new, efficient, and high-yielding protocol for the synthesis of bestatin derivatives from natural and unnatural N-Boc-d-amino acids.

Methane flux in non-wetland soils in response to nitrogen addition: a meta-analysis.

The controls on methane (CH4) flux into and out of soils are not well understood. Environmental variables including temperature, precipitation, and nitrogen (N) status can have strong effects on the magnitude and direction (e.g.

An IACUC perspective on songbirds and their use in neurobiological research.

Laboratory research using songbirds as a model system for investigating basic questions of neurobiological function has expanded rapidly and recently, with approximately 120 laboratories working with songbirds worldwide. In the United States alone, of the approximately 80 such laboratories nearly a third have been established in the past 10 years. Yet many animal facilities are not outfitted to manage these animals, and as a consequence laboratories often use alternative housing arrangements established by institutional animal care and use committees (IACUCs).