scholarly journals Trait differences among discrete morphs of a color polymorphic lizard, Podarcis erhardii

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10284
Author(s):  
Kinsey M. Brock ◽  
Simon Baeckens ◽  
Colin M. Donihue ◽  
José Martín ◽  
Panayiotis Pafilis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Color Polymorphism ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Chemical Signal ◽  
White Males ◽  
Color Morphs ◽  
Signal Profile ◽  
Selection Of

Color polymorphism defies evolutionary expectations as striking phenotypic variation is maintained within a single species. Color and other traits mediate social interactions, and stable polymorphism within a population is hypothesized to be related to correlational selection of other phenotypic traits among color morphs. Here, we report on a previously unknown throat color polymorphism in the Aegean Wall Lizard (Podarcis erhardii) and examine morph-correlated differences in traits important to social behavior and communication: maximum bite force capacity and chemical signal profile. We find that both sexes of P. erhardii have three color morphs: orange, yellow, and white. Moreover, orange males are significantly larger and tend to bite harder than yellow and white males. Although the established color polymorphism only partially matches the observed intraspecific variation in chemical signal signatures, the chemical profile of the secretions of orange males is significantly divergent from that of white males. Our findings suggest that morph colors are related to differences in traits that are crucial for social interactions and competitive ability, illustrating the need to look beyond color when studying polymorphism evolution.

scholarly journals Genomic Analysis, Progress and Future Perspectives in Dairy Cattle Selection: A Review

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 599
Author(s):  
Miguel A. Gutierrez-Reinoso ◽  
Pedro M. Aponte ◽  
Manuel Garcia-Herreros
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Progeny Testing ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Genetic Progress ◽  
Breeding Programs ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Selection Of

Genomics comprises a set of current and valuable technologies implemented as selection tools in dairy cattle commercial breeding programs. The intensive progeny testing for production and reproductive traits based on genomic breeding values (GEBVs) has been crucial to increasing dairy cattle productivity. The knowledge of key genes and haplotypes, including their regulation mechanisms, as markers for productivity traits, may improve the strategies on the present and future for dairy cattle selection. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) such as quantitative trait loci (QTL), single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), or single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction (ssGBLUP) methods have already been included in global dairy programs for the estimation of marker-assisted selection-derived effects. The increase in genetic progress based on genomic predicting accuracy has also contributed to the understanding of genetic effects in dairy cattle offspring. However, the crossing within inbred-lines critically increased homozygosis with accumulated negative effects of inbreeding like a decline in reproductive performance. Thus, inaccurate-biased estimations based on empirical-conventional models of dairy production systems face an increased risk of providing suboptimal results derived from errors in the selection of candidates of high genetic merit-based just on low-heritability phenotypic traits. This extends the generation intervals and increases costs due to the significant reduction of genetic gains. The remarkable progress of genomic prediction increases the accurate selection of superior candidates. The scope of the present review is to summarize and discuss the advances and challenges of genomic tools for dairy cattle selection for optimizing breeding programs and controlling negative inbreeding depression effects on productivity and consequently, achieving economic-effective advances in food production efficiency. Particular attention is given to the potential genomic selection-derived results to facilitate precision management on modern dairy farms, including an overview of novel genome editing methodologies as perspectives toward the future.

Effective Breeding Size and the Adaptive Significance of color Polymorphism in the Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans) in Illinois, U. S. A.

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Color Polymorphism ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Color Morph ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Acris Crepitans ◽  
Color Morphs ◽  
Population Breeding ◽  
Cricket Frog

A three year field study was conducted to investigate the adaptive significance of color polymorphism in the cricket frog, Acris crepitans, in Illinois, U. S. A. Effective population breeding sizes were determined at seven different locations. Population characteristics in Illinois were compared with those from Texas. The three color morphs appear to be of equal survival value for cricket frogs in Illinois. Although strong selection may occur in Texas, small effective breeding sizes suggest that chance plays a major role in determining color morph frequencies in Illinois.

scholarly journals The Influence of Environmental Features on the Morphometric Variation in Mauritia flexuosa L.f. Fruits and Seeds

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1304
Author(s):  
Nilo L. Sander ◽  
Carolina J. da Silva ◽  
Aline V. M. Duarte ◽  
Bruno W. Zago ◽  
Carla Galbiati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Species ◽  
Fruit Weight ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Sequential Method ◽  
Morphometric Variation ◽  
Pair Group ◽  
Mauritia Flexuosa ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Fresh Pulp

The environmental heterogeneity may reflect the different morphological and phenotypic traits of individuals belonging to a single species. We used 14 morphological traits of Mauritia flexuosa L.f. to understanding the relation between environment and phenotypic traits. Twenty-five fruits were collected from each of the 10 individuals sampled in each study site: Chapada dos Guimarães (CG), Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade (VB), and Alta Floresta (AF). We analyzed the genetic divergence, using the standardized Euclidean distance, the sequential method of Tocher, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), and the projection of the distances onto 2D plane, and calculated the relative importance of the traits evaluated. The analysis showed the partition of individuals into three main groups: Two groups comprising the majority of individuals. Fresh fruit weight, pulp rate, fresh pulp weight, and moisture rate were the traits that most helped explaining the difference between materials. The results shown in the current study evidenced the influence of these three different environments on the biometric traits of M. flexuosa. Such influence has led to the formation of Alta Floresta and Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade individuals in different groups, whereas the Chapada dos Guimarães individuals were able to permeate the two other groups, although they showed stronger tendency to group with individuals from Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade.

scholarly journals Plain faces are more expressive: comparative study of facial colour, mobility and musculature in primates

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 20140275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharlene E. Santana ◽  
Seth D. Dobson ◽  
Rui Diogo
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Facial Features ◽  
Facial Nucleus ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Colour Patterns

Facial colour patterns and facial expressions are among the most important phenotypic traits that primates use during social interactions. While colour patterns provide information about the sender's identity, expressions can communicate its behavioural intentions. Extrinsic factors, including social group size, have shaped the evolution of facial coloration and mobility, but intrinsic relationships and trade-offs likely operate in their evolution as well. We hypothesize that complex facial colour patterning could reduce how salient facial expressions appear to a receiver, and thus species with highly expressive faces would have evolved uniformly coloured faces. We test this hypothesis through a phylogenetic comparative study, and explore the underlying morphological factors of facial mobility. Supporting our hypothesis, we find that species with highly expressive faces have plain facial colour patterns. The number of facial muscles does not predict facial mobility; instead, species that are larger and have a larger facial nucleus have more expressive faces. This highlights a potential trade-off between facial mobility and colour patterning in primates and reveals complex relationships between facial features during primate evolution.

Tree climbing by the snail Cepaea nemoralis (L.): a possible method for regulating temperature and hydration

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1010-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Jaremovic ◽  
C. David Rollo
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Daily Temperature ◽  
Maximum Daily Temperature ◽  
Cepaea Nemoralis ◽  
Color Morphs ◽  
Selection Of

Three sheltering strategies employed by the snail Cepaea nemoralis are described: climbing objects, aestivating on the soil surface, and returning to underground refuges. The number of snails that climbed bushes was analysed by correlation regression. An equation incorporating maximum daily temperature, rainfall for the last 3 days, and the interaction of these factors explained 95% of the variation observed (P < 0.0001). Snails more than 1.8 m above the ground were significantly more dehydrated than those individuals found lower (P < 0.05). The distance climbed by snails, however, was not related to their size (P = 0.4112). The interrelationship of habitat structure, sheltering behavior, and microclimate is discussed in relation to selection of color morphs.

scholarly journals III. Resin canals in the canadian spruce (Picea canadensis (Mill.) B. S. P.)-An anatomical study, especially in relation to traumatic effects and their bearing on phylogeny

1926 ◽  
Vol 214 (411-420) ◽  
pp. 63-111 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Anatomical Study ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Adjacent Area ◽  
Local Material ◽  
Nursery Stock ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Secondary Wood ◽  
Resin Canals ◽  
Conifer Wood ◽  
Selection Of

Every student of conifer wood structure is familiar with the importance that in modern anatomical work is attached to the occurrence and distribution of resin canals. It is apparent in classification, identification, and, above all, in discussions of phylogeny. For example, the Pineæ are said to be distinguished by the normal occurrence of resin canals throughout the secondary wood, the Abieteæ by their occurrence practically only in response to wounding. The canals in the latter case are considered by some as being “revived” by injury and by others as in the process of acquirement. However, important though resin canals undoubtedly are, too little is known with regard to them to warrant many of the prevailing conclusions. There has been no systematic study of their origin and distribution, even in a single species. It was to make a beginning towards the filling in of this gap in our knowledge that the present study was undertaken. The spruce was chosen partly because of the abundance of local material, both in nurseries and in the wild state. In fact, although nursery stock was ultimately made use of to perhaps a greater extent than the material from the woods, the study could probably not have been completed on this material alone, so obscure did the principle underlying the distribution of the resin canals seem when viewed merely from a study of nursery plants. There were, however, additional reasons of a scientific nature for the selection of the genus Picea. The resin canals, occurring apparently normally in the wood, are not nearly so abundant as they are in the pines, and are more irregular in distribution. Two low-power photographs have been made to illustrate these points. In Picea sometimes resin canals are completely lacking in an annual ring, whereas in the adjacent area they are fairly abundant (Plate 8, Photo. 1), but not so numerous nor so evenly distributed as they are in the pine, where every ring of the section shows several (Photo. 2); nor is their radial distribution in the year's growth uniform. They occur at various regions in either spring or summer wood, even to the very borders of both, although usually they are more abundant in the earlier part of the season's growth. The distribution of what are ordinarily considered normal .resin canals is thus very sporadic in Picea. Again, in the region of wounds, tangential series quite like those so frequently figured as typical of Abies, are plentiful ( cf . Photos. 23 and 24, Plate 9, the former of Picea, the latter of Abies).

scholarly journals Genomic Diversity ofLactobacillus salivarius

2010 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 954-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma J. Raftis ◽  
Elisa Salvetti ◽  
Sandra Torriani ◽  
Giovanna E. Felis ◽  
Paul W. O'Toole
Keyword(s):  
Hot Spots ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Genomic Variation ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Comparative Genomic ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Lactobacillus Salivarius ◽  
Genome Content ◽  
High Level ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACTStrains ofLactobacillus salivariusare increasingly employed as probiotic agents for humans or animals. Despite the diversity of environmental sources from which they have been isolated, the genomic diversity ofL. salivariushas been poorly characterized, and the implications of this diversity for strain selection have not been examined. To tackle this, we applied comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to 33 strains derived from humans, animals, or food. The CGH, based on total genome content, including small plasmids, identified 18 major regions of genomic variation, or hot spots for variation. Three major divisions were thus identified, with only a subset of the human isolates constituting an ecologically discernible group. Omission of the small plasmids from the CGH or analysis by MLST provided broadly concordant fine divisions and separated human-derived and animal-derived strains more clearly. The two gene clusters for exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis corresponded to regions of significant genomic diversity. The CGH-based groupings of these regions did not correlate with levels of production of bound or released EPS. Furthermore, EPS production was significantly modulated by available carbohydrate. In addition to proving difficult to predict from the gene content, EPS production levels correlated inversely with production of biofilms, a trait considered desirable in probiotic commensals.L. salivariusdisplays a high level of genomic diversity, and while selection ofL. salivariusstrains for probiotic use can be informed by CGH or MLST, it also requires pragmatic experimental validation of desired phenotypic traits.

scholarly journals Selection for antibiotic resistance is reduced when embedded in a natural microbial community

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uli Klümper ◽  
Mario Recker ◽  
Lihong Zhang ◽  
Xiaole Yin ◽  
Tong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Natural Microbial Community ◽  
Cost Of Resistance ◽  
Selection For ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractAntibiotic resistance has emerged as one of the most pressing, global threats to public health. In single-species experiments selection for antibiotic resistance occurs at very low antibiotic concentrations. However, it is unclear how far these findings can be extrapolated to natural environments, where species are embedded within complex communities. We competed isogenic strains of Escherichia coli, differing exclusively in a single chromosomal resistance determinant, in the presence and absence of a pig fecal microbial community across a gradient of antibiotic concentration for two relevant antibiotics: gentamicin and kanamycin. We show that the minimal selective concentration was increased by more than one order of magnitude for both antibiotics when embedded in the community. We identified two general mechanisms were responsible for the increase in minimal selective concentration: an increase in the cost of resistance and a protective effect of the community for the susceptible phenotype. These findings have implications for our understanding of the evolution and selection of antibiotic resistance, and can inform future risk assessment efforts on antibiotic concentrations.

scholarly journals New approaches to the selection of genetic markers associated with multifactorial phenotypic traits

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-210
Author(s):  
G. G. Kutelev ◽  
A. B. Krivoruchko ◽  
A. E. Trandina ◽  
A. M. Ivanov ◽  
D. V. Cherkashin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Markers ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Candidate Gene Approach ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Diagnostic Efficiency ◽  
Full Genome ◽  
Structural Variations ◽  
Molecular Genetic Markers ◽  
Selection Of

Modern approaches to searching for associations between the studied phenotype and structural variations of the human genome are analyzed. Most complex phenotypic traits, including diseases, do not follow the laws of Mendelian inheritance, but have a multi-factor nature, that is, a significant contribution to their development is made by the genetic component in combination with the influence of environmental factors. In General, there are several approaches to the design of a limited set of polymorphic markers for point genotyping. Selection of individual molecular genetic markers is carried out based on either their statistically significant Association with the studied multivariate feature, or their functional significance for the implementation of this feature. The candidate gene approach allows you to focus on one or more polymorphic variants in the region of a gene (allelic variant), the product of which is likely involved in the development of a disease or trait. The cheaper procedure for full-genome screening using ultra-high-density microchips has made available another approach for searching for genetic predispositions - full - genome Association search. We believe that the unification of both approaches into a single algorithm for the choice of molecular genetic markers to conduct point genotyping will allow for both markers selected based on a priori assumptions about the functional significance of candidate genes, and Association with the studied trait on the basis of genome-wide associations search. This approach will optimize the diagnostic efficiency of the created test suite.

scholarly journals Subset selection of markers for genome-enabled prediction of genetic val-ues using radial basis function neural networks

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabela de Castro Sant' Anna ◽  
Gabi Nunes Silva ◽  
Moysés Nascimento ◽  
Cosme Damiao Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Radial Basis Function ◽  
Basis Function ◽  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
Subset Selection ◽  
Predictive Ability ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Radial Basis ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Selection Of

This paper aimed to evaluate the efficiency of subset selection of markers for genome-enabled prediction of genetic values using radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN). For this purpose, an F1 population from hybridization of divergent parents with 500 individuals geno-typed with 1,000 SNP-type markers was simulated. Phenotypic traits were determined by adopting three different gene action models – additive, additive-dominant, and epistasic , com-plying with two dominance situations: partial and complete with quantitative traits admitting heritability (h2) equal to 30 and 60%, each one controlled by 50 loci, considering two alleles per locus, totaling 12 different scenarios. To evaluate the predictive ability of RR_BLUP and the neural networks, a cross-validation procedure with five replicates were trained using 80% of the individuals of the population. Two methods were used: dimensionality reduction and stepwise regression. The square of the correlation between the predicted genomic estimated breeding val-ue (GEBV) and the phenotype value was used to measure predictive reliability. For h2 = 0.3 in the additive scenario, the R2 values were 59% for neural network (RBFNN) and 57% for RR-BLUP, and in the epistatic scenario, R2 values were 50% and 41%, respectively. Additionally, when analyzing the mean-squared error root, the difference in performance between the tech-niques is even greater. For the additive scenario, the estimates were 91 for RR-BLUP and 5 for neural networks and, in the most critical scenario, they were 427 for RR-BLUP and 20 for neu-ral network. The results showed that the use of neural networks and variable selection tech-niques allows capturing epistasis interactions, leading to an improvement in the accuracy of pre-diction of the genetic value and, mainly, to a large reduction of the mean square error, which indicates greater genomic value.

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