Genetic variability among Paralaudakia microlepis (Blanford, 1874) (Sauria: Agamidae) populations in the Iranian Plateau

The small scaled rock agama, Paralaudakia microlepis, is an agamid lizard distributed across many parts of the Iranian Plateau. In the present paper, our aim is to study the genetic variability among different populations of this species in Iran. Based on the ND4 mitochondrial gene fragment, we uncovered high levels of genetic variability between three main clades of the species in Iran. Based on these results, the South Khorasan and Fars populations diverged firstly and then the Kerman and the Sistan-Baluchestan populations split. This pattern of divergence suggests an important role of the Zagros Mountain in the differentiation among populations of P. microlepis in Iran during the mid-Miocene. The Zagros uplift and subsequent aridification in the Iranian Plateau might have been involved in the variation among populations of this species because they are restricted to specific ecological niches. The greater genetic distances between the Fars and South Khorasan populations indicated that they have the potential to be described as different subspecies of P. microlepis. Comparison of all P. microlepis, P. erythrogastra and P. caucasia populations using both molecular and morphological characters is needed to make a strong taxonomic decision on the clade as a whole.

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Morphological description and DNA barcoding of some Diamesinae (Diptera, Chironomidae) from the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago and the Vaigach Island (Russian Arctic)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4802.3.13 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4802 (3) ◽

pp. 587-600

Author(s):

ANDREY B. KRASHENINNIKOV ◽

EUGENYI A. MAKARCHENKO ◽

ALEXANDER A. SEMENCHENKO ◽

MARIA V. GAVRILO ◽

KRISTINA A. VSHIVKOVA

Keyword(s):

Mitochondrial Gene ◽

Interspecific Variation ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Genetic Distances ◽

Morphological Description ◽

Russian Arctic ◽

Adult Males ◽

Severnaya Zemlya ◽

Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago

Chironomids of the Diamesinae subfamily from the Russian Arctic were studied using both morphological characters and molecular data. Adult males of Diamesa urvantsevi sp. nov., D. amplexivirilia Hansen, Arctodiamesa appendiculata (Lundström) from Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago and D. arctica (Boheman), Pseudokiefferiella sp. from Vaigach Island were described, redescribed, annotated and figured. A reference 658 bp barcode sequence from a fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I (COI) was used as a tool for species delimitation. For D. arctica (Boheman) and Pseudokiefferiella sp. close DNA barcodes from Norway were performed, which allowed to relate these specimens to the described species. Comparisons with corresponding regions of COI between each described species and close related congeneric species produced K2P genetic distances of 0.11–0.16, values well associated with interspecific variation. Phylogenetic relationships for genera Arctodiamesa Makarchenko and Pseudokiefferiella Zavřel were reconstructed for the first time.

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Molecular Identification of some Indian Muscid flies (Diptera: Muscidae) based on mitochondrial gene COII

10.1101/208314 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Devinder Singh ◽

Ramandeep Achint

Keyword(s):

Molecular Identification ◽

Nucleotide Diversity ◽

Diagnostic Marker ◽

Mitochondrial Gene ◽

Haplotype Diversity ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Genetic Distances ◽

Veterinary Importance ◽

Coii Gene ◽

Intraspecific Distance

ABSTRACTTaxonomic identification of flies having medical and veterinary importance is often complicated due to the lookalike morphological characters. Molecular identification of five Indian muscid flies (Musca domestica, Musca sorbens, Musca crassirostris, Stomoxys calcitrans and Haematobia irritans) has been attempted on the basis of mitochondrial COII gene. Sequences of 500-520 bp were analysed and found to be A+T rich. Rate of transitions was higher than transversions. The average haplotype diversity was 0.833 and nucleotide diversity was 0.02547 within the different species, which were calculated with the DnaSP Version 5.0. The genetic distances calculated by K2P model, showed the interspecific distances range more than 8.2%, while the intraspecific distance range had not exceed 0.8%. The 1000 bootstrapped Neighbour-joining tree and Maximum likelihood tree were constructed to establish the phylogenetic relationship between the different muscid species. The results show the robustness of COII gene as a diagnostic marker. The data obtained from this study would be worthy for medical and veterinary entomologists for precise identification of imperative muscid species.

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Geographic variation in morphology of the genus Agamura Blanford, 1874 in Iran

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/15685381-00003129 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 449-459 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Seyyed Saeed Hosseinian Yousefkhani ◽

Mansour Aliabadian ◽

Eskandar Rastegar-Pouyani ◽

Jamshid Darvish

Keyword(s):

Geographic Variation ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Principal Component ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Correct Classification ◽

Meristic Characters ◽

Iranian Plateau ◽

Different Populations ◽

Head Height ◽

Two Populations

The genusAgamurawas previously known from four species occurring on the Iranian Plateau, but was recently revised as a monotypic genus that excluded three species. In the present study, we examined different populations ofAgamura persicamorphologically. We found thatA. persicashows geographic variation with respect to two groups, with the eastern population considered asA. cruralisandA. persicaproposed for the western population. Separation between the two populations ofA. persicawas verified based upon ANOVA results for many morphological characters, including Head Height (HH), Interorbital distance (IO), Forelimb length (FLL), Number of scales across widest part of abdomen (NSA), Loreal scales (LOS), and Number of scales that separate two adjacent tubercles (NTV). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) based on metric and meristic characters confirmed the revision of the genusAgamura. Multivariate analysis indicated that all studied OTUs were assigned to the correct classification and have significantly different morphological characters.

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French Mediterranean islands as a refuge of relic earthworm species: Cataladrilus porquerollensis sp. nov. and Scherotheca portcrosana sp. nov. (Crassiclitellata, Lumbricidae)

European Journal of Taxonomy ◽

10.5852/ejt.2020.701 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel F. Marchán ◽

Thibaud Decaëns ◽

Darío J. Díaz Cosín ◽

Mickaël Hedde ◽

Emmanuel Lapied ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Genetic Distances ◽

Mediterranean Islands ◽

Branch Lengths ◽

Molecular Phylogenetic ◽

Near Shore ◽

Unidentified Species ◽

Endemic Genera

The area comprising the Pyrenees, Northeast Spain, Southern France and Corsica-Sardinia supports a large part of the diversity of Lumbricidae earthworms, including most species of the endemic genera Prosellodrilus, Cataladrilus and Scherotheca. In this region, the probability of encountering new species for science is significant, especially in scarcely sampled localities. In this study, we describe two unidentified species recently collected in the Hyères Archipelago (France), which we assigned to the genera Cataladrilus and Scherotheca based on morphological characters and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Other species of Scherotheca from Montpellier (including the type species of the genus, Sc. gigas gigas) were included in the analysis to clarify their conflicting systematics. A reduced molecular marker set (COI, 16S, 28S and ND1) proved as successful as larger marker sets for identifying phylogenetic relationships within the Lumbricidae. Remarkable disjunctions between both Cataladrilus porquerollensis Marchán & Decäens sp. nov., Scherotheca portcrosana Marchán & Decäens sp. nov. and their most closely related relatives, suggesting a strong influence of paleogeographic events on the earthworm fauna of the area and a possible role of near-shore islands as refugia for relict taxa. Genetic distances and branch lengths supported the elevation of some subspecies of Scherotheca to specific status as well as the retention of other subspecies, highlighting the importance of testing for such delimitation with molecular methods.

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A trait-based ecology to assess the acclimation of a sperm-dependent clonal fish compared to its sexual host

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.5896 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e5896 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Christelle Leung ◽

Sophie Breton ◽

Bernard Angers

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Genetic Variability ◽

Environmental Heterogeneity ◽

Common Garden ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Natural Conditions ◽

Changing Environments ◽

Comparable Level ◽

Epigenetic Processes

Background Survival in temporally or spatially changing environments is a prerequisite for the perpetuation of a given species. In addition to genetic variation, the role of epigenetic processes is crucial in the persistence of organisms. For instance, mechanisms such as developmental flexibility enable the adjustment of the phenotype of a given individual to changing conditions throughout its development. However, the extent of factors other than genetic variability, like epigenetic processes, in the production of alternative phenotype and the consequences in realized ecological niches is still unclear. Methods In this study, we compared the extent of realized niches between asexual and sexual individuals from different environments. We used a trait-based ecology approach exploiting trophic and locomotive structures to infer the environment that each biotype actually used. More specifically, we compared the morphology of the all-female clonal and sperm-dependent fish Chrosomus eos-neogaeus to that of their sexual host species C. eos in common garden and natural conditions. Results Transfer from natural to controlled conditions resulted in a similar shift in measured morphology for clonal and sexual individuals suggesting comparable level of flexibility in both kinds of organisms. However, clonal, but not sexual, individuals displayed a consistent phenotype when reared in uniform conditions indicating that in absence of genetic variation, one phenotype corresponds to one niche. This contrasted with results from natural conditions where clones were morphologically as variable as sexual individuals within a sampled site. In addition, similar phenotypic changes for both clonal and sexual individuals were observed among the majority of sampled sites, indicating that they responded similarly to the same environments. Discussion Our results indicated that clones can efficiently use different niches and may evolve in a range of environmental conditions comparable to that of a sexual species, thus underlying the importance of factors other than genetic variability, like epigenetic processes, for coping with environmental heterogeneity.

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Role of genetic variability in the renin-angiotensin system in diabetic and nondiabetic renal disease

Seminars in Nephrology ◽

10.1053/snep.2001.26804 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 580-592 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Arnold Boonstra ◽

Dick de Zeeuw ◽

Paul E. de Jong ◽

Gerjan Navis

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variability ◽

Renal Disease ◽

Renin Angiotensin System ◽

Angiotensin System ◽

Renin Angiotensin

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Microbiomes attached to fresh perennial ryegrass are temporally resilient and adapt to changing ecological niches

Microbiome ◽

10.1186/s40168-021-01087-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sharon A. Huws ◽

Joan E. Edwards ◽

Wanchang Lin ◽

Francesco Rubino ◽

Mark Alston ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Harvesting ◽

Perennial Ryegrass ◽

Transcriptional Activity ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Ecological Interactions ◽

Carbohydrate Degradation ◽

Host Nutrition ◽

Role Based ◽

Insight Into

Abstract Background Gut microbiomes, such as the rumen, greatly influence host nutrition due to their feed energy-harvesting capacity. We investigated temporal ecological interactions facilitating energy harvesting at the fresh perennial ryegrass (PRG)-biofilm interface in the rumen using an in sacco approach and prokaryotic metatranscriptomic profiling. Results Network analysis identified two distinct sub-microbiomes primarily representing primary (≤ 4 h) and secondary (≥ 4 h) colonisation phases and the most transcriptionally active bacterial families (i.e Fibrobacteriaceae, Selemondaceae and Methanobacteriaceae) did not interact with either sub-microbiome, indicating non-cooperative behaviour. Conversely, Prevotellaceae had most transcriptional activity within the primary sub-microbiome (focussed on protein metabolism) and Lachnospiraceae within the secondary sub-microbiome (focussed on carbohydrate degradation). Putative keystone taxa, with low transcriptional activity, were identified within both sub-microbiomes, highlighting the important synergistic role of minor bacterial families; however, we hypothesise that they may be ‘cheating’ in order to capitalise on the energy-harvesting capacity of other microbes. In terms of chemical cues underlying transition from primary to secondary colonisation phases, we suggest that AI-2-based quorum sensing plays a role, based on LuxS gene expression data, coupled with changes in PRG chemistry. Conclusions In summary, we show that fresh PRG-attached prokaryotes are resilient and adapt quickly to changing niches. This study provides the first major insight into the complex temporal ecological interactions occurring at the plant-biofilm interface within the rumen. The study also provides valuable insights into potential plant breeding strategies for development of the utopian plant, allowing optimal sustainable production of ruminants.

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Defining the niche for niche construction: evolutionary and ecological niches

Biology & Philosophy ◽

10.1007/s10539-021-09805-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Rose Trappes

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Niche Construction ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Niche Concept ◽

Definition Of ◽

Compare And Contrast ◽

Extreme Habitat

AbstractNiche construction theory (NCT) aims to transform and unite evolutionary biology and ecology. Much of the debate about NCT has focused on construction. Less attention has been accorded to the niche: what is it, exactly, that organisms are constructing? In this paper I compare and contrast the definition of the niche used in NCT with ecological niche definitions. NCT’s concept of the evolutionary niche is defined as the sum of selection pressures affecting a population. So defined, the evolutionary niche is narrower than the ecological niche. Moreover, when contrasted with a more restricted ecological niche concept, it has a slightly different extension. I point out three kinds of cases in which the evolutionary niche does not coincide with realized ecological niches: extreme habitat degradation, commensalism, and non-limiting or super-abundant resources. These conceptual differences affect the role of NCT in unifying ecology and evolutionary biology.

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First Record of the Alien Species Procambarus virginalis Lyko, 2017 in Fresh Waters of Sardinia and Insight into Its Genetic Variability

Life ◽

10.3390/life11070606 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 606

Author(s):

Daria Sanna ◽

Ilenia Azzena ◽

Fabio Scarpa ◽

Piero Cossu ◽

Angela Pira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variability ◽

Alien Species ◽

Procambarus Clarkii ◽

Mitochondrial Gene ◽

First Record ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Fresh Waters ◽

Mediterranean Island ◽

Marbled Crayfish ◽

Non Indigenous Species

In the fresh waters of Sardinia (Italy), the non-indigenous crayfish species Procambarus clarkii has been reported from 2005, but, starting from 2019, there have been several reports of a new non-indigenous crayfish in southern and central areas of this Mediterranean island, and its morphology suggests that this species may be the marbled crayfish Procambarus virginalis. Forty-seven individuals of this putative species were analyzed, using the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I as molecular marker to identify this crayfish and investigate the level of genetic variability within the recently established population. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses were carried out on a dataset including sequences from the Sardinian individuals and from all congenerics available in GenBank. Results showed that the new Sardinian crayfish belong to the species P. virginalis. All the sequences belonging to P. virginalis from European countries are identical, with only few exceptions found among Sardinian individuals. In conclusion, this paper highlights the occurrence of a new further alien species in the Sardinian fresh waters, which are already characterized by the high presence of non-indigenous species.

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New Species and New Records of Sponge-Inhabiting Barnacles (Cirripedia, Balanidae, Acastinae) from Australia

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13070290 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 290

Author(s):

Andrew M. Hosie ◽

Jane Fromont ◽

Kylie Munyard ◽

Diana S. Jones

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

New Records ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Genetic Distances ◽

Similar Species ◽

Diverse Group ◽

Undescribed Species

The subfamily Acastinae contains a diverse group of barnacles that are obligate symbionts of sponges and alcyonacean and antipatharian corals. Integrating morphological and genetic (COI) data to compare against known species, this paper reports on nine species of sponge-inhabiting barnacles of the subfamily Acastinae, including three undescribed species (Acasta caveata sp. nov., Euacasta acutaflava sp. nov., and E. excoriatrix sp. nov.) and three species previously not recorded in Australian waters (A. sandwichi, Pectinoacasta cancellorum, and P. sculpturata). The new species are distinguished from similar species by a suite of morphological characters as well as genetic distances. A lectotype for Pectinoacasta cancellorum is designated. Sponge hosts were identified for all specimens where possible and are represented by 19 species from eight families and five orders.

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