scholarly journals Salinity-induced phenotypic plasticity in threespine stickleback sperm activation

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 20170516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette Taugbøl ◽  
Anna B. Mazzarella ◽  
Emily R. A. Cramer ◽  
Terje Laskemoen
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Osmotic Shock ◽  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Sperm Activation ◽  
Freshwater Population ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Sperm Mobility

Phenotypic expression may be and often is influenced by an organism's developmental environment, referred to as phenotypic plasticity. The sperm cells of teleosts have been found to be inactive in the seminal plasma and are activated by osmotic shock for most fish species, through release in either hypertonic (for marine fish) or hypotonic (for freshwater fish) water. If this is the case, the regulatory system of sperm mobility should be reversed in salt- and freshwater fish. We tested this hypothesis by first activating sperm of salt- and freshwater populations of threespine stickleback in salt- and freshwater. The sperm from saltwater stickleback could be activated in either salinity, which matches the freshwater colonization history of the species, whereas the sperm from the freshwater population acted as predicted by the osmotic shock theory and was activated in freshwater only. As the freshwater population used here was calculated to be thousands of years old, we went on to test whether the trait(s) were plastic and sperm from freshwater males still could be activated in saltwater after individuals were exposed to saltwater. After raising freshwater stickleback in saltwater, we found the mature males to have active sperm in both saltwater and freshwater. Further, we also found the sperm of wild-caught freshwater stickleback to be active in saltwater after exposing those mature males to saltwater for only 2 days. This illustrates that the ability for stickleback sperm to be activated in a range of water qualities is an environmentally induced plastic trait.

scholarly journals A Case of IFAP Syndrome with Severe Atopic Dermatitis

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Araújo ◽  
Miguel Gonçalves-Rocha ◽  
Cristina Resende ◽  
Ana Paula Vieira ◽  
Celeste Brito
Keyword(s):  
Missense Mutation ◽  
Histopathological Examination ◽  
Genetic Disorder ◽  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Hair Follicles ◽  
Skin Permeability ◽  
Severe Atopic Dermatitis ◽  
Permeability Barrier ◽  
First Year Of Life

Introduction.The IFAP syndrome is a rare X-linked genetic disorder characterized by the triad of follicular ichthyosis, atrichia, and photophobia.Case Report.A three-month-old Caucasian, male patient was observed with noncicatricial universal alopecia and persistent eczema from birth. He had dystrophic nails, spiky follicular hyperkeratosis, and photophobia which became apparent at the first year of life. Short stature and psychomotor developmental delay were also noticed. Histopathological examination of skin biopsy on left thigh showed epidermis with irregular acanthosis, lamellar orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis, and hair follicles fulfilled by parakeratotic hyperkeratosis. The chromosomal study showed a karyotype 46, XY. Total IgE was 374 IU/mL. One missense mutation c.1360G>C (p.Ala454Pro) in hemizygosity was detected on theMBTPS2gene thus confirming the diagnosis of IFAP syndrome.Conclusions.We describe a boy with a typical clinical presentation of IFAP syndrome and severe atopic manifestations. A novel missense mutation c.1360G>C (p.Ala454Pro) inMBTPS2gene was observed. The phenotypic expression of disease is quantitatively related to a reduced function of a key cellular regulatory system affecting cholesterol and endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis. It can cause epithelial disturbance with failure in differentiation of epidermal structures and abnormal skin permeability barrier. However, no correlation phenotype/genotype could be established.

scholarly journals Transgressivity in Key Functional Traits Rather Than Phenotypic Plasticity Promotes Stress Tolerance in A Hybrid Cordgrass

Plants ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 594
Author(s):  
Blanca Gallego-Tévar ◽  
Brenda J. Grewell ◽  
Rebecca E. Drenovsky ◽  
Jesús M. Castillo
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Phenotypic Expression

Hybridization might promote offspring fitness via a greater tolerance to environmental stressors due to heterosis and higher levels of phenotypic plasticity. Thus, analyzing the phenotypic expression of hybrids provides an opportunity to elucidate further plant responses to environmental stress. In the case of coastal salt marshes, sea level rise subjects hybrids, and their parents, to longer tidal submergence and higher salinity. We analyzed the phenotypic expression patterns in the hybrid Spartina densiflora x foliosa relative to its parental species, native S. foliosa, and invasive S. densiflora, from the San Francisco Estuary when exposed to contrasting salinities and inundations in a mesocosm experiment. 37% of the recorded traits displayed no variability among parents and hybrids, 3% showed an additive inheritance, 37% showed mid-parent heterosis, 18% showed best-parent heterosis, and 5% presented worst-parent heterosis. Transgressivity, rather than phenotypic plasticity, in key functional traits of the hybrid, such as tiller height, conveyed greater stress tolerance to the hybrid when compared to the tolerance of its parents. As parental trait variability increased, phenotypic transgressivity of the hybrid increased and it was more important in response to inundation than salinity. Increases in salinity and inundation associated with sea level rise will amplify the superiority of the hybrid over its parental species. These results provide evidence of transgressive traits as an underlying source of adaptive variation that can facilitate plant invasions. The adaptive evolutionary process of hybridization is thought to support an increased invasiveness of plant species and their rapid evolution.

Postglacial evolution in lateral plate morphs in Norwegian freshwater populations of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Klepaker
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Evolutionary Stage ◽  
Lateral Plate ◽  
Land Uplift ◽  
Founding Population ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Age Range

Norwegian freshwater stickleback populations were founded after the last glacial period, and the progressive uplift of the land has produced an age range (1000 – 13 000 years) of the stickleback habitats. Most of the freshwater populations of today have probably been formed by isolation of marine sticklebacks in the process of land uplift. The freshwater threespine stickleback is known for its great morphological variability. Three distinct morphs ("low," "partial," and "complete") are recognized on the basis of variation in the lateral row of plates. Among the Norwegian populations, all three morphs were found, but the low morph was by far the most common and occurred mostly in monomorphic populations. The presence of the complete and partial morphs was mostly restricted to young lakes near the sea. It is likely that the plate polymorphism in this region is a transitionary evolutionary stage from a founding population dominated by complete to a monomorphic low population. The hypothesis of a polytypic origin of the low morph is discussed, and an alternative hypothesis is proposed. Within each plate morph, the number of plates also varied, and populations with exceptionally low plate numbers were mostly confined to three different areas. Within these areas, populations with plateless specimens also occurred. These plateless specimens tended to inhabit old lakes. The low plate number and plateless populations were found in parts of Norway that were deglaciated early. The advanced plate reduction can therefore be a result of a longer period of isolation and freshwater evolution. Other populations may be on their way towards extreme plate reduction, but have not yet reached the level of platelessness.

Selection, linkage, and population structure interact to shape genetic variation among threespine stickleback genomes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas C. Nelson ◽  
Johnathan G. Crandall ◽  
Catherine M. Ituarte ◽  
Julian M Catchen ◽  
William A. Cresko
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Divergent Selection ◽  
Genetic Maps ◽  
Freshwater Habitats ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Combine Population ◽  
Stickleback Genome

AbstractThe outcome of selection on genetic variation depends on the geographic organization of individuals and populations as well as the syntenic organization of loci within the genome. Spatially variable selection between marine and freshwater habitats has had a significant and heterogeneous impact on patterns of genetic variation across the genome of threespine stickleback fish. When marine stickleback invade freshwater habitats, more than a quarter of the genome can respond to divergent selection, even in as little as 50 years. This process largely uses standing genetic variation that can be found ubiquitously at low frequency in marine populations, can be millions of years old, and is likely maintained by significant bidirectional gene flow. Here, we combine population genomic data of marine and freshwater stickleback from Cook Inlet, Alaska, with genetic maps of stickleback fish derived from those same populations to examine how linkage to loci under selection affects genetic variation across the stickleback genome. Divergent selection has had opposing effects on linked genetic variation on chromosomes from marine and freshwater stickleback populations: near loci under selection, marine chromosomes are depauperate of variation while these same regions among freshwater genomes are the most genetically diverse. Forward genetic simulations recapitulate this pattern when different selective environments also differ in population structure. Lastly, dense genetic maps demonstrate that the interaction between selection and population structure may impact large stretches of the stickleback genome. These findings advance our understanding of how the structuring of populations across geography influences the outcomes of selection, and how the recombination landscape broadens the genomic reach of selection.

scholarly journals The genomics of ecological vicariance in threespine stickleback fish

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Roesti ◽  
Benjamin Kueng ◽  
Dario Moser ◽  
Daniel Berner
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Level ◽  
Parallel Evolution ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Ancestral Population ◽  
Selective Sweeps ◽  
Population Genomic ◽  
Genomic Analyses ◽  
The Face ◽  
Freshwater Stickleback ◽  
Different Populations

Abstract Populations occurring in similar habitats and displaying similar phenotypes are increasingly used to explore parallel evolution at the molecular level. This generally ignores the possibility that parallel evolution can be mimicked by the fragmentation of an ancestral population followed by genetic exchange with ecologically different populations. Here we demonstrate such an ecological vicariance scenario in multiple stream populations of threespine stickleback fish divergent from a single adjacent lake population. On the basis of demographic and population genomic analyses, we infer the initial spread of a stream-adapted ancestor followed by the emergence of a lake-adapted population, that selective sweeps have occurred mainly in the lake population, that adaptive lake–stream divergence is maintained in the face of gene flow from the lake into the streams, and that this divergence involves major inversion polymorphisms also important to marine-freshwater stickleback divergence. Overall, our study highlights the need for a robust understanding of the demographic and selective history in evolutionary investigations.

How does long-term drought acclimation modify structure-function relationships? A quantitative approach to leaf phenotypic plasticity of barley

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (12) ◽  
pp. 1181 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Bresta ◽  
D. Nikolopoulos ◽  
V. Stavroulaki ◽  
P. Vahamidis ◽  
G. Economou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Structure Function ◽  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Reaction Norm ◽  
Carbon Gain ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Drought Acclimation ◽  
Trait Plasticity

Under drought conditions the growth and survival of a plant depend on its adaptive characteristics and acclimation ability. Adaptation refers to inherent morpho-physiological characters providing protection against water losses. Acclimation, however, is a special case of phenotypic plasticity: environment-dependent phenotypic expression resulting to a ‘new’ phenotype through drought-induced modulations in leaf morphology, anatomy and physiology. Given that phenotypic plasticity influences environmental tolerance, a multi-trait plasticity index could be of great importance. Therefore, we examined the acclimation processes of three different barley genotypes using a multi-trait plasticity assessment with emphasis on the leaf water economy-related traits. Our results showed that (i) the structure–function co-ordination during long-term drought acclimation follows the trade-off between carbon gain and water saving as well as the competition between investments in photosynthesis vs synthesis of protective compounds; (ii) the genotypes with smaller leaf area, narrower and denser veins, as well as smaller and denser stomata i.e. traits providing tolerance, exhibited less drastic adjustments under stress conditions, suggesting a trade-off between acclimation and tolerance-adaptation; and (iii) the slope values of a multi-trait ‘reaction norm’ based on regression analysis of PCA scores were indicative of the degree of plasticity for each genotype, providing an accurate representation of a complex set of data with single numeric results easily comparable.

scholarly journals Low plasma vitamin A concentrations in familial combined hyperlipidemia

1997 ◽  
Vol 43 (12) ◽  
pp. 2379-2383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Ribalta ◽  
Agnes E LaVille ◽  
Josefa Girona ◽  
Joan C Vallvé ◽  
Lluís Masana
Keyword(s):  
Retinoic Acid ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Phenotypic Expression ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Plasma Vitamin ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator ◽  
Familial Combined Hyperlipidemia ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Plasma Retinol

Abstract As many as 20% of the survivors of acute myocardial infarction present with the heritable form of hyperlipidemia, termed familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL). Some of the genes reported to be involved in this disorder, such as those for lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and apolipoprotein (apo) C-III, are controlled by a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)/retinoic acid receptor X (RXR) regulatory system, which is retinoic acid dependent. If, as we hypothesized, the availability of retinoic acid or its precursor retinol (vitamin A) could be altered in FCHL, this could help explain some aspects of the phenotypic expression of the disease. We therefore measured plasma retinol concentrations in 30 FCHL subjects and 56 controls. Plasma retinol concentrations in FCHL subjects were significantly lower than that of control subjects (1.96 ± 0.83 μmol/L vs 2.91 ± 1.23 μmol/L, respectively; P <0.0001). This novel finding of significantly decreased concentrations of plasma retinol in FCHL relative to control subjects gives support to the hypothesis that vitamin A might be involved in the expression of this disorder.

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