scholarly journals Reevaluating the Species Status of the Southern Ghost Pipe, Monotropa brittonii (Ericaceae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1067-1079
Author(s):  
Ashley R. Keesling ◽  
Michael B. Broe ◽  
John V. Freudenstein
Keyword(s):  
Host Specificity ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Parasitic Plants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Species Status ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Fungal Host ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Ecological Differences

Abstract— Relationships among members of Ericaceae subfamily Monotropoideae have been difficult to resolve due to reduction and convergent evolution in these parasitic plants. All species in this subfamily are fully mycoheterotrophic, meaning they obtain nutrients by parasitizing fungi rather than through photosynthesis. Here, we examine relationships and host specificity in one of the most widespread species in this subfamily, Monotropa uniflora. We use several lines of evidence to investigate whether there is support for recognizing a segregate, M. brittonii, as distinct. Based on molecular and morphological analysis of Monotropa collected throughout its range in the United States, we find two distinct lineages, one of which corresponds morphologically and geographically to Small’s M. brittonii. We identified several morphological characters that differ between the two species. We also observed a high degree of fungal host specificity in M. brittonii, which appears to parasitize almost exclusively Lactifluus subgenus Lactariopsis section Albati. Additionally, M. brittonii was primarily collected from Florida scrub, which are xeric, shrub-dominated habitats that differ substantially from the mesic forests where M. uniflora typically occurs. Based on these molecular, morphological, and ecological differences, we support recognition of M. brittonii as distinct from M. uniflora.

scholarly journals Diversification Pattern of the Widespread Holarctic Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Bombus flavidus (Hymenoptera: Apidae): The East Side Story

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Lhomme ◽  
Sarah D Williams ◽  
Guillaume Ghisbain ◽  
Baptiste Martinet ◽  
Maxence Gérard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Social Parasite ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Species Status ◽  
Separate Species ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Taxonomic Approach ◽  
Wing Morphometrics

Abstract Recent bumble bee declines have made it increasingly important to resolve the status of contentious species for conservation purposes. Some of the taxa found to be threatened are the often rare socially parasitic bumble bees. Among these, the socially parasitic bumble bee, Bombus flavidus Eversmann, has uncertain species status. Although multiple separate species allied with B. flavidus have been suggested, until recently, recognition of two species, a Nearctic Bombus fernaldae (Franklin) and Palearctic B. flavidus, was favored. Limited genetic data, however, suggested that even these could be a single widespread species. We addressed the species status of this lineage using an integrative taxonomic approach, combining cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and nuclear sequencing, wing morphometrics, and secretions used for mate attraction, and explored patterns of color polymorphism that have previously confounded taxonomy in this lineage. Our results support the conspecificity of fernaldae and flavidus; however, we revealed a distinct population within this broader species confined to eastern North America. This makes the distribution of the social parasite B. flavidus the broadest of any bumble bee, broader than the known distribution of any nonparasitic bumble bee species. Color polymorphisms are retained across the range of the species, but may be influenced by local mimicry complexes. Following these results, B. flavidusEversmann, 1852 is synonymized with Bombus fernaldae (Franklin, 1911) syn. nov. and a subspecific status, Bombus flavidus appalachiensisssp. nov., is assigned to the lineage ranging from the Appalachians to the eastern boreal regions of the United States and far southeastern Canada.

Phylogenetic revision of the endemic New Zealand carabid genus OregusPutzeys (Coleoptera : Carabidae : Broscini)

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 625 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Pawson ◽  
R. M. Emberson ◽  
K. F. Armstrong ◽  
A. M. Paterson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Nadh Dehydrogenase ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Basal Clade ◽  
Upper South ◽  
Phylogenetic Revision ◽  
Northern Species

This study explores the taxonomy and phylogeny of the New Zealand endemic carabid beetle genus Oregus. The genus was previously known from two species, Oregus aereus, which is widespread throughout the South Island, and Oregus inaequalis, which is highly restricted in its distribution (only found on the outskirts of Dunedin City) and prioritised as a category B threatened species by the Department of Conservation. Both morphology and mitochondrial DNA sequences were used for phylogenetic analysis. Twenty-six DNA sequences of partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 were analysed. Analyses indicated four species – the existing O. aereus and O. inaequalis and two new morphologically cryptic species from the upper South Island, O. crypticus and O. septentrionalis. Oregus crypticus and O. septentrionalis form a basal clade and O. aereus is the most derived species. Oregus aereus remains the most widespread species, but the northern limit of its geographical range is now Porters Pass (approximately 150 km south of its historically assigned range). Male genitalic characters proved to be the most useful morphological characters. Oregus crypticus and O. septentrionalis are easily separated from O. aereus and O. inaequalis by external morphology. Differentiation between the two northern species was only possible by dissection of male genitalia or DNA sequencing. Oregus inaequalis remains highly restricted in its distribution (morphological analysis did not identify any new populations) and its species status is confirmed. Redescriptions are given for O. aereus and O. inaequalis and new descriptions and type designations are presented for O. crypticus and O. septentrionalis.

Morphological analysis of phylogenetic relationships among extant rhynchonellide brachiopods

2013 ◽  
Vol 87 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly A. Schreiber ◽  
Maria Aleksandra Bitner ◽  
Sandra J. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Morphological Features ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Current Classification ◽  
False Sense ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypotheses ◽  
High Degree

Rhynchonellida is the stratigraphically oldest and phylogenetically most basal of the extant rhynchonelliform brachiopod orders, yet phylogenetic relationships among rhynchonellides are poorly known. The fourteen named rhynchonellide superfamilies (four of which have extant representatives) were defined primarily on the basis of features of the dorsal cardinalia, particularly crural morphology, but their homology and polarity have not been investigated rigorously. Superfamily monophyly is unclear, as is the evolution of several distinctive rhynchonellide morphological features, such as crura.The purpose of this study is to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among extant rhynchonellide genera using skeletal characters, and to compare the results with the current classification, elucidating the evolution of morphological features in the process. We completed parsimony-based and Bayesian analyses using fifty-eight characters of the interior and exterior of the shell that vary among the nineteen extant genera. Our results are readily interpretable with respect to the classification, and indicate that Hemithiridoidea, Dimerelloidea, and (in some analyses) Pugnacoidea appear to be monophyletic. Species classified in Dimerelloidea and Pugnacoidea, and in certain cases Hemithiridoidea, each form derived subclades that evolve from within a paraphyletic Norelloidea at the base of each subclade. Raduliform crura appear to be the most basal, phylogenetically; five other crural morphologies evolve from the raduliform state. However, morphological characters currently uniting genera in rhynchonellide superfamilies are not clearly diagnostic and exhibit a relatively high degree of homoplasy overall, suggesting that consistency with the classification may be based on a false sense of confidence in rhynchonellide morphology to clearly elucidate evolutionary relationships. Published molecular phylogenetic hypotheses conflict with the morphological topologies, further supporting this possibility.The evolutionary trends among diagnostic characters of Recent rhynchonellides appear to reflect successive juvenilization in adult morphology in several subclades, suggesting that heterochrony may have played an important role in the evolution of the group.

Are Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker & Pritchard and Tetranychus malaysiensis Ehara (Acari: Tetranychidae) one species? Morphological and molecular evidences for synonymy between these two spider mite species and a note on invasiveness of T. macfarlanei on okra and eggplant in India

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 467
Author(s):  
Mahran Zeity ◽  
Nagappa Srinivas ◽  
Chinnamade Channegowde Gowda
Keyword(s):  
Spider Mite ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Mite Species ◽  
Coi Gene ◽  
High Similarity ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi ◽  
Mitochondrial Coi Gene ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Degree Of Similarity

Study of morphological characters of Tetranychus macfarlanei Baker & Pritchard and Tetranychus malaysiensis Ehara revealed high similarity by comparing all the important characters in addition to the characters pointed out by Ehara to separate those two species. Molecular phylogeny of seven Indian populations of T. macfarlanei and one population of T. malaysiensis from Philippines along with few distantly related species of Tetranychus was attempted. High degree of similarity between these two species at mitochondrial COI gene (96%) as well as ITS2 (rDNA) (96–99%) region was evident. Based on both morphological features and molecular data, T. malaysiensis is proposed as a junior synonym of T. macfarlanei based on ICZN’s law of priority. Also more female characters are prompted in this study to distinctly discriminate T. macfarlanei from its most resembling species, Tetranychus ludeni Zacher. Tetranychus macfarlanei has emerged as a pest of several cultivated crop plants in India. 

scholarly journals Erysiphe trifolii Causing Powdery Mildew of Lentil (Lens culinaris)

Plant Disease ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 93 (8) ◽  
pp. 797-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renuka N. Attanayake ◽  
Dean A. Glawe ◽  
Frank M. Dugan ◽  
Weidong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Powdery Mildew ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Its Sequences ◽  
Powdery Mildew Fungus ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Soybean Genotypes ◽  
Erysiphe Trifolii

The taxonomy of the powdery mildew fungus infecting lentil in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States was investigated on the basis of morphology and rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Anamorphic characters were in close agreement with descriptions of Erysiphe trifolii. However, teleomorphs formed chasmothecial appendages with highly branched apices, whereas E. trifolii has been described as producing flexuous or sometimes loosely branched appendages. Branched appendages have been described in Erysiphe diffusa, a fungus reported from species of Lens, Glycine, and Sophora, raising the possibility that the PNW fungus could be E. diffusa. Examination of morphological characters of an authentic specimen of E. trifolii from Austria determined that it included chasmothecial appendages resembling those seen in PNW specimens. Furthermore, ITS sequences from five powdery mildew samples collected from lentils in PNW greenhouses and fields from 2006 to 2008 were identical to one another, and exhibited higher similarity to sequences of E. trifolii (99%) than to those of any other Erysiphe spp. available in GenBank. Parsimony analysis grouped the lentil powdery mildew into a clade with Erysiphe baeumleri, E. trifolii, and E. trifolii–like Oidium sp., but indicated a more distant relationship to E. diffusa. In greenhouse inoculation studies, the lentil powdery mildew fungus did not infect soybean genotypes known to be susceptible to E. diffusa. The pathogenicity of E. trifolii on lentil was confirmed using modified Koch's postulates. This is the first report of E. trifolii infecting lentil. E. diffusa and E. trifolii have different host ranges, so the discovery of E. trifolii on lentil has implications both for determining species of powdery mildews on cool-season grain legumes, and in disease management.

Narrowing the mindware gap in medicine

Diagnosis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Croskerry
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Clinical Reasoning ◽  
Medical Errors ◽  
Medical Error ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
The United States ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Medical Educators ◽  
High Degree

Abstract Medical error is now recognized as one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Of the medical errors, diagnostic failure appears to be the dominant contributor, failing in a significant number of cases, and associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality. One of the significant contributors to diagnostic failure is the cognitive performance of the provider, how they think and decide about the process of diagnosis. This thinking deficit in clinical reasoning, referred to as a mindware gap, deserves the attention of medical educators. A variety of specific approaches are outlined here that have the potential to close the gap.

Framing the diaspora and the homeland: language ideologies in the Cuban diaspora

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (254) ◽  
pp. 49-69
Author(s):  
Gabriela G. Alfaraz
Keyword(s):  
Language Ideology ◽  
Language Ideologies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cuban Spanish ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Perceptual Dialectology ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
Cuban Diaspora ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
High Degree

Abstract This article discusses language ideologies in relation to political ideologies in the Cuban diaspora in the United States. The findings of three longitudinal attitude studies, two conducted using the methods of perceptual dialectology, and a third with the matched-guise method, indicated that the diaspora’s political beliefs have a robust effect on its beliefs about Cuban Spanish in the diaspora and in the homeland. The perceptions studies showed that the national variety has a high degree of prestige in the diaspora, and that it has very low prestige in Cuba. The results of the matched-guise test showed that participants were unable to differentiate voices recorded in the 1960s and the 1990s, and that social information about residence in Cuba or the diaspora was more important to judgments of correctness than the presence of nonstandard variants. It is argued that the diaspora’s language ideology is maintained through erasure and essentialization: social and linguistic facts are erased, and the homeland is racially essentialized. It is suggested that through its language ideology, the Cuban diaspora claims authenticity and legitimacy vis-à-vis the homeland.

scholarly journals Similarly Lethal Strains of Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Trigger Markedly Diverse Host Responses in a Zebrafish Model of Sepsis

mSphere ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia E. Barber ◽  
Brittany A. Fleming ◽  
Matthew A. Mulvey
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Host Responses ◽  
Inflammatory Condition ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Zebrafish Model ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Care Costs ◽  
Variable Impact ◽  
Degree Of Heterogeneity

ABSTRACT Sepsis is a life-threatening systemic inflammatory condition that is initiated by the presence of microorganisms in the bloodstream. In the United States, sepsis due to ExPEC and other pathogens kills well over a quarter of a million people each year and is associated with tremendous health care costs. A high degree of heterogeneity in the signs and symptomology of sepsis makes this disease notoriously difficult to effectively diagnose and manage. Here, using a zebrafish model of sepsis, we find that similarly lethal but genetically distinct ExPEC isolates can elicit notably disparate host responses. These variances are in part due to differences in the levels and types of flagellin that are expressed by the infecting ExPEC strains. A better understanding of the variable impact that bacterial factors like flagellin have on host responses during sepsis could lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to these often deadly infections. In individuals with sepsis, the infecting microbes are commonly viewed as generic inducers of inflammation while the host background is considered the primary variable affecting disease progression and outcome. To study the effects of bacterial strain differences on the maladaptive immune responses that are induced during sepsis, we employed a novel zebrafish embryo infection model using extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) isolates. These genetically diverse pathogens are a leading cause of sepsis and are becoming increasingly dangerous because of the rise of multidrug-resistant strains. Zebrafish infected with ExPEC isolates exhibit many of the pathophysiological features seen in septic human patients, including dysregulated inflammatory responses (cytokine storms), tachycardia, endothelial leakage, and progressive edema. However, only a limited subset of ExPEC isolates can trigger a sepsis-like state and death of the host when introduced into the bloodstream. Mirroring the situation in human patients, antibiotic therapy reduced ExPEC titers and improved host survival rates but was only effective within limited time frames that varied, depending on the infecting pathogen. Intriguingly, we find that phylogenetically distant but similarly lethal ExPEC isolates can stimulate markedly different host transcriptional responses, including disparate levels of inflammatory mediators. These differences correlate with the amounts of bacterial flagellin expression during infection, as well as differential activation of Toll-like receptor 5 by discrete flagellar serotypes. Altogether, this work establishes zebrafish as a relevant model of key aspects of human sepsis and highlights the ability of genetically distinct ExPEC isolates to induce divergent host responses independently of baseline host attributes. IMPORTANCE Sepsis is a life-threatening systemic inflammatory condition that is initiated by the presence of microorganisms in the bloodstream. In the United States, sepsis due to ExPEC and other pathogens kills well over a quarter of a million people each year and is associated with tremendous health care costs. A high degree of heterogeneity in the signs and symptomology of sepsis makes this disease notoriously difficult to effectively diagnose and manage. Here, using a zebrafish model of sepsis, we find that similarly lethal but genetically distinct ExPEC isolates can elicit notably disparate host responses. These variances are in part due to differences in the levels and types of flagellin that are expressed by the infecting ExPEC strains. A better understanding of the variable impact that bacterial factors like flagellin have on host responses during sepsis could lead to improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to these often deadly infections. Podcast: A podcast concerning this article is available.

Dimensions of Jewish-American Identity

1973 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 891-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itai Zak
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Identity ◽  
Jewish American ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
The Common ◽  
High Degree

The main problem posed in this study is: What are the content and structure of Jewish and American identity? The Jewish-American Identity Scale, which was adapted and refined for this study, was administered in 1971 to four samples, totaling 1006 Jewish-American college students from various parts of the United States. Initially, factor analysis was applied to the separate samples. Intersample comparisons of factor structures indicated a high degree of congruency; consequently, the samples were combined for subsequent analyses. Factor analysis of the test scores demonstrated that most of the common factor variance was appropriated by two relatively orthogonal factors. Items dealing with American identity and those dealing with Jewish identity had medium to high loadings on the two respective factors. These findings supported the hypothesis of the duality and the orthogonality of dimensions of Jewish and American identity, and cast doubt on the notion forwarded by some researchers that Jewish-American identity forms a bipolar continuum.

scholarly journals Molecular Systematics, Taxonomy and Distribution of the Pyrrhura Picta–Leucotis Complex

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Arndt ◽  
Michael Wink
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Molecular Phylogeny ◽  
Molecular Systematics ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
Nucleotide Sequences ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome ◽  
Species Status ◽  
New Subspecies ◽  
Paraphyletic Group

Introduction: The relationships within the Pyrrhura species complex are partly unresolved. In this study, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Pyrrhura picta-leucotis complex was carried out, covering all species except P. subandina. Material and Methods: We made a morphological analysis of 745 preserved specimens of all the taxa in different museums. Nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome gene were generated and used to reconstruct a molecular phylogeny of Pyrrhura. Results and Discussion: Our results show that the complex is divided into 6 main groups comprising 15 species. P. dilutissima, regarded up to now as a subspecies of P. peruviana, acquires species status and three new subspecies are described. We also provide evidence that P. roseifrons is a paraphyletic group, indicating the existence of probably 3 lineages of which 2 deserve species status.

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