The earliest beetle identified

2009 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 931-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Béthoux
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Ecological Preferences ◽  
Environmental Perturbations ◽  
Development Cycle ◽  
Mazon Creek ◽  
Evolutionary Success ◽  
Living Organisms

Holometabolan insects, including beetles (Coleoptera), represent about half of all living organisms. Their development cycle, allowing larvae and adults to exploit distinct ecological niches, is traditionally advocated as a critical adaptation resulting in this extraordinary diversity. Herein I report the occurrence of a beetle from the Pennsylvanian deposit of Mazon Creek (IL, USA). It predates the diversification of Coleoptera by at least 65 million years. This identification supports the view that, early in their history, hyper-diverse extant holometabolan lineages were dominated by Palaeozoic lineages, mostly extinct. End-Permian environmental perturbations might have played an important role in the Triassic radiation of holometabolans. However, it is hypothesized that ecological preferences of holometabolans might have resulted in an earlier diversification of moderate importance, correlating to that of seed plants, their putative host plants. The evolutionary success of ‘holometaboly’ might be the result of a sequence of favorable events.

scholarly journals On the Diversification of the Translation Apparatus across Eukaryotes

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greco Hernández ◽  
Christopher G. Proud ◽  
Thomas Preiss ◽  
Armen Parsyan
Keyword(s):  
Model Organisms ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Translational Machinery ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Profound Knowledge ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Translation Apparatus ◽  
Fundamental Process ◽  
Organismal Complexity ◽  
Living Organisms

Diversity is one of the most remarkable features of living organisms. Current assessments of eukaryote biodiversity reaches 1.5 million species, but the true figure could be several times that number. Diversity is ingrained in all stages and echelons of life, namely, the occupancy of ecological niches, behavioral patterns, body plans and organismal complexity, as well as metabolic needs and genetics. In this review, we will discuss that diversity also exists in a key biochemical process, translation, across eukaryotes. Translation is a fundamental process for all forms of life, and the basic components and mechanisms of translation in eukaryotes have been largely established upon the study of traditional, so-called model organisms. By using modern genome-wide, high-throughput technologies, recent studies of many nonmodel eukaryotes have unveiled a surprising diversity in the configuration of the translation apparatus across eukaryotes, showing that this apparatus is far from being evolutionarily static. For some of the components of this machinery, functional differences between different species have also been found. The recent research reviewed in this article highlights the molecular and functional diversification the translational machinery has undergone during eukaryotic evolution. A better understanding of all aspects of organismal diversity is key to a more profound knowledge of life.

scholarly journals Through the eyes of a pathogen: light perception and signal transduction inAcinetobacter baumannii

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 2363-2373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Pezza ◽  
Marisel Tuttobene ◽  
Inés Abatedaga ◽  
Lorena Valle ◽  
Claudio D. Borsarelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal Transduction ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Light Perception ◽  
Environmental Stimulus ◽  
Living Organisms

Sunlight is a ubiquitous environmental stimulus for the great majority of living organisms on Earth; therefore it is logical to expect the development of “seeing mechanisms” which lead them to successfully adapt to particular ecological niches.

scholarly journals Population genomics and demographic sampling of the ant-plant Vachellia drepanolobium and its symbiotic ants from sites across its range in East Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Boyle ◽  
Dino Martins ◽  
Paul M. Musili ◽  
Naomi E. Pierce
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Species Coexistence ◽  
Population Genomics ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Landscape Genomics ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Environmental Perturbations ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractThe association between the African ant plant, Vachellia drepanolobium, and the ants that inhabit it has provided insight into the boundaries between mutualism and parasitism, the response of symbioses to environmental perturbations, and the ecology of species coexistence. We use a landscape genomics approach at sites sampled throughout the range of this system in Kenya to investigate the demographics and genetic structure of the different partners in the association. We find that different species of ant associates of V. drepanolobium show striking differences in their spatial distribution throughout Kenya, and these differences are only partly correlated with abiotic factors. A comparison of the population structure of the host plant and its three obligately arboreal ant symbionts, Crematogaster mimosae, Crematogaster nigriceps, and Tetraponera penzigi, shows that the ants exhibit somewhat similar patterns of structure throughout each of their respective ranges, but that this does not correlate in any clear way with the respective genetic structure of the populations of their host plants. A lack of evidence for local coadaptation in this system suggests that all partners have evolved to cope with a wide variety of biotic and abiotic conditions.

scholarly journals Positive interactions support complex networks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianalberto Losapio ◽  
Marcelino de la Cruz ◽  
Adrián Escudero ◽  
Bernhard Schmid ◽  
Christian Schöb
Keyword(s):  
Complex Networks ◽  
Network Architecture ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Environmental Perturbations ◽  
Alpine Plant Communities ◽  
The Face ◽  
Living Organisms

Ecologists have recognised the effects of biotic interactions on the spatial distribution of living organisms. Yet, the spatial structure of plant interaction networks in real-world ecosystems has remained elusive so far. Using spatial pattern and network analyses, we found that alpine plant communities are organised in spatially variable and complex networks. Specifically, the cohesiveness of complex networks is promoted by short-distance positive plant interactions. At fine spatial scale, where positive mutual interactions prevailed, networks were characterised by a large connected component. With increasing scale, when negative interactions took over, network architecture became more hierarchical with many detached components that show a network collapse. This study highlights the crucial role of positive interactions for maintaining species diversity and the resistance of communities in the face of environmental perturbations.

scholarly journals Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of marine nematode Litoditis marina acclimated to different salinities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusu Xie ◽  
Liusuo Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Global Climate ◽  
Cell Volume Regulation ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Abiotic Factor ◽  
Marine Nematode ◽  
Salinity Response ◽  
Stress Protection ◽  
Adaptive Mechanisms ◽  
Living Organisms

Salinity is a critical abiotic factor for all living organisms. The ability to adapt to different salinity environments determines an organism′s survival and ecological niches. Litoditis marina is a euryhaline marine nematode widely distributed in coastal ecosystems all over the world, although numerous genes involved in its salinity response have been reported, the adaptive mechanisms underlying its euryhalinity remain unexplored. Here, we utilized worms which have been acclimated to either low salinity or high salinity conditions and evaluated their basal gene expression at both transcriptomic and proteomic levels. We found that several conserved regulators, including osmolytes biosynthesis genes, transthyretin-like family genes, V-type H+-transporting ATPase and potassium channel genes, were involved in both short-term salinity stress response and long-term acclimation processes. In addition, we identified genes related to cell volume regulation, such as actin regulatory genes, Rho family small GTPases and diverse ion transporters, might contribute to hyposaline acclimation, while the glycerol biosynthesis genes gpdh-1 and gpdh-2 accompanied hypersaline acclimation in L. marina. Furthermore, gpdh-2 might play an essential role in transgenerational inheritance of osmotic stress protection in L. marina as in its relative nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Hereby, this study paves the way for further in-depth exploration on adaptive mechanisms underlying euryhalinity, and may also contribute to the studies of healthy ecosystems in the context of global climate change.

Flying features of winged aphids on potato seed plants during 2004-2006

10.12737/1365 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-121
Author(s):  
Замалиева ◽  
Faniya Zamalieva ◽  
Прищепенко ◽  
Elena Prishchepenko
Keyword(s):  
Potato Virus ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Aphis Fabae ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Potato Seed ◽  
Repeated Infection ◽  
Aphis Nasturtii ◽  
Seed System

The most important problem of the introduction of advanced potatoes seed system is to protect against repeated infection the healthy potatoes by viruses in the open field. In our republic the greatest risk to re-infection the healthy potatoes seed is Y - potato virus. The principal vectors of Y – potato virus, developing the largest number, are three types of aphids - buckthorn (Aphis nasturtii), alder (Aphis frangulae) and bean (Aphis fabae). The bean aphid is dominant, in some years its size rises up to 2406 copies. Relatively low coefficient of harmfulness (0.1 equivalent unit), provided the mass settlement on the plants can significantly increase the contamination of potatoes seed. The climatic conditions of the growing season, precipitation, relative humidity, which significantly affect the development and dispersal of aphids on host plants are of great importance.

scholarly journals Competing for space of aphids

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alijon Xusanov
Keyword(s):  
Host Plants ◽  
Species Selection ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Relative Independence ◽  
Direct Competition ◽  
Different Types

Diversity of ecological niches among aphid entomocenosis increased, most likely, in the process of evolution, due to unsuitability for one or two species selection in the direction of direct competition compared with the advantage of selection in the direction of differentiation niches, reliable provision of resources of different types in terms of maintaining of both species and the relative independence from the competition with other species for resources of host plants....

scholarly journals Ecological space of the sod-lithogenic soils on the red-brown clays animal community

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 120-134
Author(s):  
K. V. Andrusevych
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Edaphic Factors ◽  
Ecological Specialization ◽  
Vital Activity ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Soil Mesofauna ◽  
Animal Community ◽  
Living Organisms

The ecological niche is the keystone conception of theoretical ecology. But for its use methodical difficulties appears which can be solved with the help of the number of statistical techniques which includes OMI-analyses. This procedure has given the possibility of visualization of the ecological niche of soil animal community of the sod-lithogenic soils on the red-brown clays. The phenomenon of differentiation of the ecological niche demands the explanation of structuring ecological space and detects of dominant factors which have influenced for the physiognomy of communities of soil animals. The important problem is also to evaluate the role of ecological specialization of animals, which expresses in the terms ecomorphical structure. The usage of RLQ-analyses has permitted to quantity estimate the influence of vegetation features and edaphic factors on the spatial distribution of soil mesofauna. The researching polygon is characterized both the presence of patch with optimal vital activity terms, and with unfavorable conditions. Mesopedobionts within researching polygon have been established as not being ecologically homogeneous. The functional groups A and B embrace in the majority of endogeic animals such as larvae of beetles. The ecologically diverse ecomorphic properties of these groups with high density of the animal community may be determined by the axis number 1. These groups concentrate within 3–4 meters diameter patches with most favorable conditions for vital activity. Such patches are marginal for this polygon. The functional group C is presented by gerpetobiont animals which are able to migrate and relatively tolerant to edaphic factors. That is why centroid of given group is most closely located to the typical condition of this polygon. Considered indicators of soil as environment of living organisms permit to estimate the community’s ecological niche. The quantity characteristics of species ecological niches within researching polygon such as specialization and marginality have been estimated. At first for the characteristics of soil animals’ ecological niches have been used phytoindicator scales and ecomorphical analyses of the vegetations structure and also physiognomy types of it. The selection of functional groups of soil animals and applied for them ecomorphical characteristics are present high information values and conformity of indicator scales for the description of real current types of conditions of ecosystems.

scholarly journals Phytosterol Profiles, Genomes and Enzymes – An Overview

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Darnet ◽  
Aurélien Blary ◽  
Quentin Chevalier ◽  
Hubert Schaller
Keyword(s):  
Analytical Chemistry ◽  
Candidate Genes ◽  
Tree Of Life ◽  
Seed Plants ◽  
Functional Assays ◽  
Unicellular Eukaryotes ◽  
Fast Pace ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

The remarkable diversity of sterol biosynthetic capacities described in living organisms is enriched at a fast pace by a growing number of sequenced genomes. Whereas analytical chemistry has produced a wealth of sterol profiles of species in diverse taxonomic groups including seed and non-seed plants, algae, phytoplanktonic species and other unicellular eukaryotes, functional assays and validation of candidate genes unveils new enzymes and new pathways besides canonical biosynthetic schemes. An overview of the current landscape of sterol pathways in the tree of life is tentatively assembled in a series of sterolotypes that encompass major groups and provides also peculiar features of sterol profiles in bacteria, fungi, plants, and algae.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document