Principles of Signalling Systems

2011 ◽  
pp. 7-28
Keyword(s):  
Signalling Systems

scholarly journals Vocal plasticity in a reptile

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1855) ◽  
pp. 20170451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Brumm ◽  
Sue Anne Zollinger
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Vocal Plasticity ◽  
Lombard Effect ◽  
Gekko Gecko ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Signalling Systems

Sophisticated vocal communication systems of birds and mammals, including human speech, are characterized by a high degree of plasticity in which signals are individually adjusted in response to changes in the environment. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first evidence for vocal plasticity in a reptile. Like birds and mammals, tokay geckos ( Gekko gecko ) increased the duration of brief call notes in the presence of broadcast noise compared to quiet conditions, a behaviour that facilitates signal detection by receivers. By contrast, they did not adjust the amplitudes of their call syllables in noise (the Lombard effect), which is in line with the hypothesis that the Lombard effect has evolved independently in birds and mammals. However, the geckos used a different strategy to increase signal-to-noise ratios: instead of increasing the amplitude of a given call type when exposed to noise, the subjects produced more high-amplitude syllable types from their repertoire. Our findings demonstrate that reptile vocalizations are much more flexible than previously thought, including elaborate vocal plasticity that is also important for the complex signalling systems of birds and mammals. We suggest that signal detection constraints are one of the major forces driving the evolution of animal communication systems across different taxa.

scholarly journals Awakening the oocyte: controlling primordial follicle development

Reproduction ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen A McLaughlin ◽  
Skye C McIver
Keyword(s):  
Population Control ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Primordial Follicle ◽  
Domestic Animal ◽  
Follicle Growth ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Primordial Follicles ◽  
Control Oocyte ◽  
Signalling Systems

Oocytes are sequestered in primordial follicles before birth and remain quiescent in the ovary, often for decades, until recruited into the growing pool throughout the reproductive years. Therefore, activation of follicle growth is a major biological checkpoint that controls female reproductive potential. However, we are only just beginning to elucidate the cellular mechanisms required for either maintenance of the quiescent primordial follicle pool or initiation of follicle growth. Understanding the intracellular signalling systems that control oocyte maintenance and activation has significant implications for improving female reproductive productivity and longevity in mammals, and has application in domestic animal husbandry, feral animal population control and infertility in women.

Crosstalk between insulin and angiotensin II signalling systems

2009 ◽  
Vol 107 (02) ◽  
pp. 133-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Folli ◽  
M. J. A. Saad ◽  
L. Velloso ◽  
H. Hansen ◽  
O. Carandente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Angiotensin Ii ◽  
Signalling Systems

scholarly journals Modular evolution of phosphorylation-based signalling systems

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1602) ◽  
pp. 2540-2555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Jin ◽  
Tony Pawson
Keyword(s):  
Protein Kinases ◽  
Genetic Recombination ◽  
Cell Signalling ◽  
Peptide Motifs ◽  
Regulatory Processes ◽  
Modular Evolution ◽  
Interaction Domains ◽  
Evolutionary Progression ◽  
Signalling Systems ◽  
Selection Of

Phosphorylation sites are formed by protein kinases (‘writers’), frequently exert their effects following recognition by phospho-binding proteins (‘readers’) and are removed by protein phosphatases (‘erasers’). This writer–reader–eraser toolkit allows phosphorylation events to control a broad range of regulatory processes, and has been pivotal in the evolution of new functions required for the development of multi-cellular animals. The proteins that comprise this system of protein kinases, phospho-binding targets and phosphatases are typically modular in organization, in the sense that they are composed of multiple globular domains and smaller peptide motifs with binding or catalytic properties. The linkage of these binding and catalytic modules in new ways through genetic recombination, and the selection of particular domain combinations, has promoted the evolution of novel, biologically useful processes. Conversely, the joining of domains in aberrant combinations can subvert cell signalling and be causative in diseases such as cancer. Major inventions such as phosphotyrosine (pTyr)-mediated signalling that flourished in the first multi-cellular animals and their immediate predecessors resulted from stepwise evolutionary progression. This involved changes in the binding properties of interaction domains such as SH2 and their linkage to new domain types, and alterations in the catalytic specificities of kinases and phosphatases. This review will focus on the modular aspects of signalling networks and the mechanism by which they may have evolved.

Experimental analysis of the control of expression of the homeobox-gene Msx-1 in the developing limb and face

Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Brown ◽  
S.E. Wedden ◽  
G.H. Millburn ◽  
L.G. Robson ◽  
R.E. Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Homeobox Gene ◽  
Host Tissue ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Limb Mesenchyme ◽  
The Face ◽  
Mesenchyme Cells ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Signalling Systems ◽  
Control Of Expression

Mouse mesenchyme was grafted into chick embryos to investigate the control of mesenchymal expression of Msx-1 in the developing limb and face. In situ hybridization, using species-specific probes, allows a comparison between Msx-1 expression in the graft and the host tissue. The results show that Msx-1 expression in both limb-to-limb and face-to-face grafts corresponds closely with the level of Msx-1 expression in the surrounding chick mesenchyme. Cells in grafts that end up within the host domain of Msx-1 express the gene irrespective of whether they were from normally expressing, or non-expressing, regions. Therefore Msx-1 expression in both the developing limb and the developing face appears to be position-dependent. Mesenchyme from each of the three major facial primordia behaved in the same way when grafted to the chick maxillary primordium. Reciprocal grafts between face and limb gave a different result: Msx-1 expression was activated when facial mesenchyme was grafted to the limb but not when limb mesenchyme was grafted to the face. This suggests either that there are quantitative or qualitative differences in two local signalling systems or that additional factors determine the responsiveness of the mesenchyme cells.

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