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VESELOVSKAYA, Elizaveta. "WHAT DID OUR ANCESTORS LOOK LIKE? OR, THE CAPABILITIES OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION." LIFE OF THE EARTH 43, no. 3 (August 25, 2021): 347–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m2439.0514-7468.2020_43_3/347-360.
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Anthropological Reconstruction Laboratory of the Center for Physical Anthropology, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS. The article relates the current state of the M.M. Gerasimov Laboratory of Anthropological Reconstruction of the Center for Physical Anthropology, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Emphasizing the role of the founder of the method of face reconstruction from the skull, the author discusses the latest improvements to this method. The data bank on the thickness of the facial integument in representatives of various ethnic groups, and the accumulated experience with regard to the relationships between facial features and the underlying structures of the skull, made it possible to create a program of craniofacial correspondence ‘The Algorithm of Appearance’, which significantly improves the process of reconstructing in vivo appearance based on the skull. The visual reconstruction of the appearance is supplemented by an anthropological description of the lifetime appearance, in terms of the ‘verbal portrait’ used in forensic science. A description of a unique collection of more than 300 sculptural and graphic portraits made on the basis of the skulls of ancient people and historical figures is given. Based on the examples of specific projects, the possibilities of anthropological reconstruction for solving applied and theoretical problems of science are shown. The reconstruction of the appearance of soldiers killed in the Second World War is the key patriotic direction of the Laboratory s work. Based on the results of these reconstructions, several fi were identifi Th Laboratory is currently at work on reconstructing the lifetime appearance of A.V. Suvorov on the basis of a death mask.
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Brady, Peggy L., and Mark S. Springer. "The effects of fossil taxa, hypothetical predicted ancestors, and a molecular scaffold on pseudoextinction analyses of extant placental orders." PLOS ONE 16, no. 9 (September 17, 2021): e0257338. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257338.
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Pseudoextinction analyses, which simulate extinction in extant taxa, use molecular phylogenetics to assess the accuracy of morphological phylogenetics. Previous pseudoextinction analyses have shown a failure of morphological phylogenetics to place some individual placental orders in the correct superordinal clade. Recent work suggests that the inclusion of hypothetical ancestors of extant placental clades, estimated by ancestral state reconstructions of morphological characters, may increase the accuracy of morphological phylogenetic analyses. However, these studies reconstructed direct hypothetical ancestors for each extant taxon based on a well-corroborated molecular phylogeny, which is not possible for extinct taxa that lack molecular data. It remains to be determined if pseudoextinct taxa, and by proxy extinct taxa, can be accurately placed when their immediate hypothetical ancestors are unknown. To investigate this, we employed molecular scaffolds with the largest available morphological data set for placental mammals. Each placental order was sequentially treated as pseudoextinct by exempting it from the molecular scaffold and recoding soft morphological characters as missing for all its constituent species. For each pseudoextinct data set, we omitted the pseudoextinct taxon and performed a parsimony ancestral state reconstruction to obtain hypothetical predicted ancestors. Each pseudoextinct order was then evaluated in seven parsimony analyses that employed combinations of fossil taxa, hypothetical predicted ancestors, and a molecular scaffold. In treatments that included fossils, hypothetical predicted ancestors, and a molecular scaffold, only 8 of 19 pseudoextinct placental orders (42%) retained the same interordinal placement as on the molecular scaffold. In treatments that included hypothetical predicted ancestors but not fossils or a scaffold, only four placental orders (21%) were recovered in positions that are congruent with the scaffold. These results indicate that hypothetical predicted ancestors do not increase the accuracy of pseudoextinct taxon placement when the immediate hypothetical ancestor of the taxon is unknown. Hypothetical predicted ancestors are not a panacea for morphological phylogenetics.
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Kondo, Beatrice, and Kevin E. Omland. "Ancestral State Reconstruction of Migration: Multistate Analysis Reveals Rapid Changes in New World Orioles (Icterus SPP)." Auk 124, no. 2 (April 1, 2007): 410–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/auk/124.2.410.
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AbstractDuring the past century, numerous theoretical articles explored the evolution of seasonal migration in birds; many of these focused on environmental or social conditions that may have led to the origin of migration. More recent work has focused not on the origin of migration, but on changes in migratory behavior that have occurred in modern species and their immediate ancestors. We used a novel approach, a multistate ancestral state reconstruction of migration, to examine patterns of migratory evolution in the New World orioles (Icterus spp.). Both the multistate and binary reconstructions indicated repeated gains in migration. However, the multistate method revealed details of how migration may be gained that the standard binary-state reconstructions would not have shown. Our maximum-likelihood reconstruction, using branch lengths based on a molecular phylogeny, suggested multiple instances of rapid gain of migration. Furthermore, we found that every migratory species' migration type differed from that of its closest relatives. Surprisingly, no partially migratory species was closely related to a fully migratory species. These novel patterns involving gain of migration demonstrate the utility of multistate ancestral reconstruction for examining changes in migratory behavior in closely related birds.Reconstrucción de Estados Ancestrales de la Migración: Análisis con Múltiples Estados de Carácter Revelan Cambios Rápidos en los Orioles del Nuevo Mundo (Icterus spp.)
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Santos, Priscila Karla Ferreira, Maria Cristina Arias, and Karen M. Kapheim. "Loss of developmental diapause as prerequisite for social evolution in bees." Biology Letters 15, no. 8 (August 2019): 20190398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0398.
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Diapause is a physiological arrest of development ahead of adverse environmental conditions and is a critical phase of the life cycle of many insects. In bees, diapause has been reported in species from all seven taxonomic families. However, they exhibit a variety of diapause strategies. These different strategies are of particular interest since shifts in the phase of the insect life cycle in which diapause occurs have been hypothesized to promote the evolution of sociality. Here we provide a comprehensive evaluation of this hypothesis with phylogenetic analysis and ancestral state reconstruction (ASR) of the ecological and evolutionary factors associated with diapause phase. We find that social lifestyle, latitude and voltinism are significant predictors of the life stage in which diapause occurs. ASR revealed that the most recent common ancestor of all bees likely exhibited developmental diapause and shifts to adult, reproductive, or no diapause have occurred in the ancestors of lineages in which social behaviour has evolved. These results provide fresh insight regarding the role of diapause as a prerequisite for the evolution of sociality in bees.
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Young, Nathan M., Terence D. Capellini, Neil T. Roach, and Zeresenay Alemseged. "Fossil hominin shoulders support an African ape-like last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, no. 38 (September 8, 2015): 11829–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511220112.
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Reconstructing the behavioral shifts that drove hominin evolution requires knowledge of the timing, magnitude, and direction of anatomical changes over the past ∼6–7 million years. These reconstructions depend on assumptions regarding the morphotype of the Homo–Pan last common ancestor (LCA). However, there is little consensus for the LCA, with proposed models ranging from African ape to orangutan or generalized Miocene ape-like. The ancestral state of the shoulder is of particular interest because it is functionally associated with important behavioral shifts in hominins, such as reduced arboreality, high-speed throwing, and tool use. However, previous morphometric analyses of both living and fossil taxa have yielded contradictory results. Here, we generated a 3D morphospace of ape and human scapular shape to plot evolutionary trajectories, predict ancestral morphologies, and directly test alternative evolutionary hypotheses using the hominin fossil evidence. We show that the most parsimonious model for the evolution of hominin shoulder shape starts with an African ape-like ancestral state. We propose that the shoulder evolved gradually along a single morphocline, achieving modern human-like configuration and function within the genus Homo. These data are consistent with a slow, progressive loss of arboreality and increased tool use throughout human evolution.
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Klim, Joanna, Arkadiusz Gładki, Roza Kucharczyk, Urszula Zielenkiewicz, and Szymon Kaczanowski. "Ancestral State Reconstruction of the Apoptosis Machinery in the Common Ancestor of Eukaryotes." G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics 8, no. 6 (April 27, 2018): 2121–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1534/g3.118.200295.
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Tullberg, B. S., M. Ah–King, and H. Temrin. "Phylogenetic reconstruction of parental–care systems in the ancestors of birds." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 357, no. 1419 (March 29, 2002): 251–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2001.0932.
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Due to the controversy surrounding incipient avian parental care, ancestral parental care systems were reconstructed in a phylogeny including major extant amniote lineages. Using two different resolutions for the basal avian branches, transitions between the states no care, female care, biparental care and male care were inferred for the most basal branches of the tree. Uniparental female care was inferred for the lineage to birds and crocodiles. Using a phylogeny where ratites and tinamous branch off early and an ordered character–state assumption, a transition to biparental care was inferred for the ancestor of birds. This ancestor could be any organism along the lineage leading from the crocodile–bird split up to modern birds, not necessarily the original bird. We discuss the support for alternative avian phylogenies and the homology in parental care between crocodiles and birds. We suggest that the phylogenetic pattern should be used as a starting point for a more detailed analysis of parental care systems in birds and their relatives.
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Ayuso-Fernández, Iván, Jorge Rencoret, Ana Gutiérrez, Francisco Javier Ruiz-Dueñas, and Angel T. Martínez. "Peroxidase evolution in white-rot fungi follows wood lignin evolution in plants." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 36 (August 19, 2019): 17900–17905. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1905040116.
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A comparison of sequenced Agaricomycotina genomes suggests that efficient degradation of wood lignin was associated with the appearance of secreted peroxidases with a solvent-exposed catalytic tryptophan. This hypothesis is experimentally demonstrated here by resurrecting ancestral fungal peroxidases, after sequence reconstruction from genomes of extant white-rot Polyporales, and evaluating their oxidative attack on the lignin polymer by state-of-the-art analytical techniques. Rapid stopped-flow estimation of the transient-state constants for the 2 successive one-electron transfers from lignin to the peroxide-activated enzyme (k2app and k3app) showed a progressive increase during peroxidase evolution (up to 50-fold higher values for the rate-limiting k3app). The above agreed with 2-dimensional NMR analyses during steady-state treatments of hardwood lignin, showing that its degradation (estimated from the normalized aromatic signals of lignin units compared with a control) and syringyl-to-guaiacyl ratio increased with the enzyme evolutionary distance from the first peroxidase ancestor. More interestingly, the stopped-flow estimations of electron transfer rates also showed how the most recent peroxidase ancestors that already incorporated the exposed tryptophan into their molecular structure (as well as the extant lignin peroxidase) were comparatively more efficient at oxidizing hardwood (angiosperm) lignin, while the most ancestral “tryptophanless” enzymes were more efficient at abstracting electrons from softwood (conifer) lignin. A time calibration of the ancestry of Polyporales peroxidases localized the appearance of the first peroxidase with a solvent-exposed catalytic tryptophan to 194 ± 70 Mya, coincident with the diversification of angiosperm plants characterized by the appearance of dimethoxylated syringyl lignin units.
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Prieto, M., Javier Etayo, and I. Olariaga. "A new lineage of mazaediate fungi in the Eurotiomycetes: Cryptocaliciomycetidae subclass. nov., based on the new species Cryptocalicium blascoi and the revision of the ascoma evolution." Mycological Progress 20, no. 7 (July 2021): 889–904. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11557-021-01710-y.
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AbstractThe class Eurotiomycetes (Ascomycota, Pezizomycotina) comprises important fungi used for medical, agricultural, industrial and scientific purposes. Eurotiomycetes is a morphologically and ecologically diverse monophyletic group. Within the Eurotiomycetes, different ascoma morphologies are found including cleistothecia and perithecia but also apothecia or stromatic forms. Mazaediate representatives (with a distinct structure in which loose masses of ascospores accumulate to be passively disseminated) have evolved independently several times. Here we describe a new mazaediate species belonging to the Eurotiomycetes. The multigene phylogeny produced (7 gene regions: nuLSU, nuSSU, 5.8S nuITS, mtSSU, RPB1, RPB2 and MCM7) placed the new species in a lineage sister to Eurotiomycetidae. Based on the evolutionary relationships and morphology, a new subclass, a new order, family and genus are described to place the new species: Cryptocalicium blascoi. This calicioid species occurs on the inner side of loose bark strips of Cupressaceae (Cupressus, Juniperus). Morphologically, C. blascoi is characterized by having minute apothecioid stalked ascomata producing mazaedia, clavate bitunicate asci with hemiamyloid reaction, presence of hamathecium and an apothecial external surface with dark violet granules that becomes turquoise green in KOH. The ancestral state reconstruction analyses support a common ancestor with open ascomata for all deep nodes in Eurotiomycetes and the evolution of closed ascomata (cleistothecioid in Eurotiomycetidae and perithecioid in Chaetothyriomycetidae) from apothecioid ancestors. The appropriateness of the description of a new subclass for this fungus is also discussed.
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Herdt, Georg. "ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE TOUMBA BUILDING AT LEFKANDI." Annual of the British School at Athens 110 (June 8, 2015): 203–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0068245415000027.
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The building at Toumba, Lefkandi, stands unique in its time and place. The remains of this monument are significant in terms of size and elaboration, and also on account of the way it has been reconstructed and interpreted as the ancestor of the Greek peripteral temple. The primary concern of this article is the structural evaluation of the architectural remains. In part due to the scant nature of the archaeological evidence behind the widely accepted reconstruction, the latter can be seen to have several structural shortcomings. In reassessing the structure several factors are considered, including the state of technology at the time of construction, the characteristics of the building materials employed, and the way they respond to the strains of load and the forces of nature. The process of reconciling such factors with the documented remnants of the building directs us towards a different reconstruction. It thus emerges that the building at Toumba is an implausible ancestor of Greek peripteroi, and an alternative solution without the iconic pre-peristasis is proposed here.
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Rozov, N. S. "Why Did Our Ancestors Need Syntax? Social Orders and Communication Concerns of (Proto)Sapiens." Social Psychology and Society 13, no. 2 (2022): 25–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.17759/sps.2022130203.
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Objective. Explanation of the late stages of glottogenesis (ordering of an utterance parts, the formation of full-fledged words from protowords, the appearance of the first syntax and grammar constructions) by means of theoretical reconstruction of social orders, challenges, communicative concerns, and practices of late erectus (proto-sapiens and early sapiens) based on indirect data, general laws of social psychology, individual and group behavior. Background. The research on the origin and evolution of language is being actively carried out in last decades. Special educational and research programs, laboratories, centers, societies, journal headings are multiplying; there are even magazines and whole book series devoted to this topic. This interest is determined by the fact that the origins of the main human features and merits such as consciousness, culture, thinking, cognition, are inextricably linked with the origin of language. In the last 10—15 years, attention has been growing to socio-psychological and paleo-sociological explanations of glottogenesis processes. This article develops this direction considering the achievements of domestic science, first the theoretical legacy of Leo Vygotsky. Methodology. An evolutionary approach with usage of multilevel selection mechanisms. Paleo-anthropological, paleo-psychological, and paleo-sociological reconstructions. Conclusions. The transition from the early stages of articulate speech to a proto-language and a full-fledged language was a multi-stage process of complexity and accuracy of utterances increasing. It was a response to step by step renewed techno-natural niches, social orders, and communicative concerns of proto-sapiens, and then early sapiens. The main role was played by the development of fire, collective cooking, joint meals, and the associated ritual practices of telling stories about events that occurred. The result was practice of distant normative control that led to further development language precision and complexity. In later stages, due to environmental and demographic factors in southern and eastern Africa, forced migrations and frequent intergroup clashes led not only to conflicts, but also to the formation of alliances. This formation required negotiations with higher levels of accuracy, logical consistency, and abstractness of communication.
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Nilogov, Aleksei Sergeevich. "Documentary reconstruction of patrilineal genealogy of V. M. Torosov." Genesis: исторические исследования, no. 1 (January 2022): 80–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.25136/2409-868x.2022.1.34938.
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This article explores the topic of documentary reconstruction of patrilineal genealogy of the Khakass public figure Vladislav Mikhailovich Torosov (1937–2018) based on such genealogical sources as church metric books and census lists of Minusinsk district of Yenisei province for the XIX – early XX centuries. The object of this research is the genealogy of Torosov family, while the subject is the archival and documentary reconstruction of their genealogy until the XVIII century. The source base consists of the collections of the State Archive of Krasnoyarsk Region, National Archive of the Republic of Khakassia, archive of the city of Minusinsk, as well as personal papers of V. M. Torosov and his descendants. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that this work is first within Khakass genealogy to reconstruct the patrilineal genealogy of the prominent political figure V. M. Torosov, whose father M. G. Torosov was repressed in 1937 and could not pass on the information on his ancestors to descendants. The interrupted bridge between generations severely affected the family in the desire to restore their history. As a result of genealogical reconstruction of the Torosov family belonging to the Khakass seok "piltyr" that was part of the Beltyrsky Ulus of the Sagay Steppe, the author acquires the scientifically verified data on the direct male ancestors of Torosov family until the mid XVIII century. Recommendation id made on the genetic-genealogical analysis of Torosov family by Y chromosome.
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Gong, Xun. "A phonological history of Amdo Tibetan rhymes." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 79, no. 2 (June 2016): 347–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x16000070.
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AbstractIn this study, a reconstruction is offered for the phonetic evolution of rhymes from Old Tibetan to modern-day Amdo Tibetan dialects. The relevant sound changes are proposed, along with their relative chronological precedence and the dating of some specific changes. Most interestingly, although Amdo Tibetan, identically to its ancestor Old Tibetan, does not have phonemic length, this study shows that Amdo Tibetan derives from an intermediate stage which, like many other Tibetan dialects, does make the distinction.
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Guzow-Krzemińska, Beata, Emmanuël Sérusiaux, Pieter P. G. van den Boom, A. Maarten Brand, Annina Launis, Anna Łubek, and Martin Kukwa. "Understanding the evolution of phenotypical characters in the Micarea prasina group (Pilocarpaceae) and descriptions of six new species within the group." MycoKeys 57 (July 31, 2019): 1–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.57.33267.
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Six new Micarea species are described from Europe. Phylogenetic analyses, based on three loci, i.e. mtSSU rDNA, Mcm7 and ITS rDNA and ancestral state reconstructions, were used to evaluate infra-group divisions and the role of secondary metabolites and selected morphological characters on the taxonomy in the M.prasina group. Two main lineages were found within the group. The Micareamicrococca clade consists of twelve species, including the long-known M.micrococca and the newly described M.microsorediata, M.nigra and M.pauli. Within this clade, most species produce methoxymicareic acid, with the exceptions of M.levicula and M.viridileprosa producing gyrophoric acid. The M.prasina clade includes the newly described M.azorica closely related to M.prasina s.str., M.aeruginoprasina sp. nov. and M.isidioprasina sp. nov. The species within this clade are characterised by the production of micareic acid, with the exception of M.herbarum which lacks any detectable substances and M.subviridescens that produces prasinic acid. Based on our reconstructions, it was concluded that the ancestor of the M.prasina group probably had a thallus consisting of goniocysts, which were lost several times during evolution, while isidia and soredia evolved independently at multiple times. Our research supported the view that the ancestor of M.prasina group did not produce any secondary substances, but they were gained independently in different lineages, such as methoxymicareic acid which is restricted to M.micrococca and allied species or micareic acid present in the M.prasina clade.
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Beck, Robin M. D., and Charles Baillie. "Improvements in the fossil record may largely resolve current conflicts between morphological and molecular estimates of mammal phylogeny." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 285, no. 1893 (December 12, 2018): 20181632. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1632.
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Phylogenies of mammals based on morphological data continue to show several major areas of conflict with the current consensus view of their relationships, which is based largely on molecular data. This raises doubts as to whether current morphological character sets are able to accurately resolve mammal relationships. We tested this under a hypothetical ‘best case scenario’ by using ancestral state reconstruction (under both maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood) to infer the morphologies of fossil ancestors for all clades present in a recent comprehensive DNA sequence-based phylogeny of mammals, and then seeing what effect the subsequent inclusion of these predicted ancestors had on unconstrained phylogenetic analyses of morphological data. We found that this resulted in topologies that are highly congruent with the current consensus phylogeny, at least when the predicted ancestors are assumed to be well preserved and densely sampled. Most strikingly, several analyses recovered the monophyly of clades that have never been found in previous morphology-only studies, such as Afrotheria and Laurasiatheria. Our results suggest that, at least in principle, improvements in the fossil record—specifically the discovery of fossil taxa that preserve the ancestral or near-ancestral morphologies of the nodes in the current consensus—may be sufficient to largely reconcile morphological and molecular estimates of mammal phylogeny, even using current morphological character sets.
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Li, J. Q., B. D. Wingfield, M. J. Wingfield, I. Barnes, A. Fourie, P. W. Crous, and S. F. Chen. "Mating genes in Calonectria and evidence for a heterothallic ancestral state." Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi 45, no. 1 (December 31, 2020): 163–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.3767/persoonia.2020.45.06.
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The genus Calonectria includes many important plant pathogens with a wide global distribution. In order to better understand the reproductive biology of these fungi, we characterised the structure of the mating type locus and flanking genes using the genome sequences for seven Calonectria species. Primers to amplify the mating type genes in other species were also developed. PCR amplification of the mating type genes and multi-gene phylogenetic analyses were used to investigate the mating strategies and evolution of mating type in a collection of 70 Calonectria species residing in 10 Calonectria species complexes. Results showed that the organisation of the MAT locus and flanking genes is conserved. In heterothallic species, a novel MAT gene, MAT1-2-12 was identified in the MAT1-2 idiomorph;the MAT1-1 idiomorph, in most cases, contained the MAT1-1-3 gene. Neither MAT1-1-3 nor MAT1-2-12 was found in homothallic Calonectria (Ca.) hongkongensis, Ca. lateralis, Ca. pseudoturangicola and Ca. turangicola. Four different homothallic MAT locus gene arrangements were observed. Ancestral state reconstruction analysis provided evidence that the homothallic state was basal in Calonectria and this evolved from a heterothallic ancestor.
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Raanan, Hagai, Saroj Poudel, Douglas H. Pike, Vikas Nanda, and Paul G. Falkowski. "Small protein folds at the root of an ancient metabolic network." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 13 (March 18, 2020): 7193–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1914982117.
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Life on Earth is driven by electron transfer reactions catalyzed by a suite of enzymes that comprise the superfamily of oxidoreductases (Enzyme Classification EC1). Most modern oxidoreductases are complex in their structure and chemistry and must have evolved from a small set of ancient folds. Ancient oxidoreductases from the Archean Eon between ca. 3.5 and 2.5 billion years ago have been long extinct, making it challenging to retrace evolution by sequence-based phylogeny or ancestral sequence reconstruction. However, three-dimensional topologies of proteins change more slowly than sequences. Using comparative structure and sequence profile-profile alignments, we quantify the similarity between proximal cofactor-binding folds and show that they are derived from a common ancestor. We discovered that two recurring folds were central to the origin of metabolism: ferredoxin and Rossmann-like folds. In turn, these two folds likely shared a common ancestor that, through duplication, recruitment, and diversification, evolved to facilitate electron transfer and catalysis at a very early stage in the origin of metabolism.
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Peredo, Carlos Mauricio, and Nicholas D. Pyenson. "Salishicetus meadi , a new aetiocetid from the late Oligocene of Washington State and implications for feeding transitions in early mysticete evolution." Royal Society Open Science 5, no. 4 (April 2018): 172336. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.172336.
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Living baleen whales, or Mysticeti, lack teeth and instead feed using keratinous baleen plates to sieve prey-laden water. This feeding strategy is profoundly different from that of their toothed ancestors, which processed prey using the differentiated dentition characteristic of mammals. The fossil record of mysticetes reveals stem members that include extinct taxa with dentition, illuminating the morphological states that preceded the loss of teeth and the subsequent origin of baleen. The relationships among stem mysticetes, including putative clades such as Mammalodontidae and Aetiocetidae, remain debatable. Aetiocetids are among the more species-rich clade of stem mysticetes, and known only from fossil localities along the North Pacific coastline. Here, we report a new aetiocetid, Salishicetus meadi gen. et sp. nov, from the late Oligocene of Washington State, USA. Salishicetus preserves a near-complete lower dentition with extensive occlusal wear, indicating that it processed prey using shearing cheek teeth in the same way as its stem cetacean ancestors. Using a matrix with all known species of aetiocetids, we recover a monophyletic Aetiocetidae, crownward of a basal clade of Mammalodontidae. The description of Salishicetus resolves phylogenetic relationships among aetiocetids, which provides a basis for reconstructing ancestral feeding morphology along the stem leading to crown Mysticeti.
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Léonard, Raphaël R., Eric Sauvage, Valérian Lupo, Amandine Perrin, Damien Sirjacobs, Paulette Charlier, Frédéric Kerff, and Denis Baurain. "Was the Last Bacterial Common Ancestor a Monoderm after All?" Genes 13, no. 2 (February 18, 2022): 376. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genes13020376.
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The very nature of the last bacterial common ancestor (LBCA), in particular the characteristics of its cell wall, is a critical issue to understand the evolution of life on earth. Although knowledge of the relationships between bacterial phyla has made progress with the advent of phylogenomics, many questions remain, including on the appearance or disappearance of the outer membrane of diderm bacteria (also called Gram-negative bacteria). The phylogenetic transition between monoderm (Gram-positive bacteria) and diderm bacteria, and the associated peptidoglycan expansion or reduction, requires clarification. Herein, using a phylogenomic tree of cultivated and characterized bacteria as an evolutionary framework and a literature review of their cell-wall characteristics, we used Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction to infer the cell-wall architecture of the LBCA. With the same phylogenomic tree, we further revisited the evolution of the division and cell-wall synthesis (dcw) gene cluster using homology- and model-based methods. Finally, extensive similarity searches were carried out to determine the phylogenetic distribution of the genes involved with the biosynthesis of the outer membrane in diderm bacteria. Quite unexpectedly, our analyses suggest that all cultivated and characterized bacteria might have evolved from a common ancestor with a monoderm cell-wall architecture. If true, this would indicate that the appearance of the outer membrane was not a unique event and that selective forces have led to the repeated adoption of such an architecture. Due to the lack of phenotypic information, our methodology cannot be applied to all extant bacteria. Consequently, our conclusion might change once enough information is made available to allow the use of an even more diverse organism selection.
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Straub, Kristina, Mona Linde, Cosimo Kropp, Samuel Blanquart, Patrick Babinger, and Rainer Merkl. "Sequence selection by FitSS4ASR alleviates ancestral sequence reconstruction as exemplified for geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase." Biological Chemistry 400, no. 3 (February 25, 2019): 367–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2018-0344.
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Abstract For evolutionary studies, but also for protein engineering, ancestral sequence reconstruction (ASR) has become an indispensable tool. The first step of every ASR protocol is the preparation of a representative sequence set containing at most a few hundred recent homologs whose composition determines decisively the outcome of a reconstruction. A common approach for sequence selection consists of several rounds of manual recompilation that is driven by embedded phylogenetic analyses of the varied sequence sets. For ASR of a geranylgeranylglyceryl phosphate synthase, we additionally utilized FitSS4ASR, which replaces this time-consuming protocol with an efficient and more rational approach. FitSS4ASR applies orthogonal filters to a set of homologs to eliminate outlier sequences and those bearing only a weak phylogenetic signal. To demonstrate the usefulness of FitSS4ASR, we determined experimentally the oligomerization state of eight predecessors, which is a delicate and taxon-specific property. Corresponding ancestors deduced in a manual approach and by means of FitSS4ASR had the same dimeric or hexameric conformation; this concordance testifies to the efficiency of FitSS4ASR for sequence selection. FitSS4ASR-based results of two other ASR experiments were added to the Supporting Information. Program and documentation are available at https://gitlab.bioinf.ur.de/hek61586/FitSS4ASR.
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Doria-Rose, N. A., G. H. Learn, A. G. Rodrigo, D. C. Nickle, F. Li, M. Mahalanabis, M. T. Hensel, et al. "Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Subtype B Ancestral Envelope Protein Is Functional and Elicits Neutralizing Antibodies in Rabbits Similar to Those Elicited by a Circulating Subtype B Envelope." Journal of Virology 79, no. 17 (September 1, 2005): 11214–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jvi.79.17.11214-11224.2005.
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ABSTRACT Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is a difficult target for vaccine development, in part because of its ever-expanding genetic diversity and attendant capacity to escape immunologic recognition. Vaccine efficacy might be improved by maximizing immunogen antigenic similarity to viruses likely to be encountered by vaccinees. To this end, we designed a prototype HIV-1 envelope vaccine using a deduced ancestral state for the env gene. The ancestral state reconstruction method was shown to be >95% accurate by computer simulation and 99.8% accurate when estimating the known inoculum used in an experimental infection study in rhesus macaques. Furthermore, the deduced ancestor gene differed from the set of sequences used to derive the ancestor by an average of 12.3%, while these latter sequences were an average of 17.3% different from each other. A full-length ancestral subtype B HIV-1 env gene was constructed and shown to produce a glycoprotein of 160 kDa that bound and fused with cells expressing the HIV-1 coreceptor CCR5. This Env was also functional in a virus pseudotype assay. When either gp160- or gp140-expressing plasmids and recombinant gp120 were used to immunize rabbits in a DNA prime-protein boost regimen, the artificial gene induced immunoglobulin G antibodies capable of weakly neutralizing heterologous primary HIV-1 strains. The results were similar for rabbits immunized in parallel with a natural isolate, HIV-1 SF162. Further design efforts to better present conserved neutralization determinants are warranted.
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Worsaae, Katrine, Gonzalo Giribet, and Alejandro Martínez. "The role of progenesis in the diversification of the interstitial annelid lineage Psammodrilidae." Invertebrate Systematics 32, no. 4 (2018): 774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/is17063.
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Psammodrilidae constitutes a family of understudied, nearly completely ciliated, small-sized annelids, whose systematic position in Annelida remains unsettled and whose internal phylogeny is here investigated for the first time. Psammodrilids possess hooked chaetae typical of macroscopic tube-dwelling semi-sessile annelids, such as Arenicolidae. Yet, several minute members resemble, with their conspicuous gliding by ciliary motion and vagile lifestyle, interstitial fauna, adapted to move between sand grains. Moreover, psammodrilids exhibit a range of unique features, for example, bendable aciculae, a collar region with polygonal unciliated cells, and a muscular pumping pharynx. We here present a combined phylogeny of Psammodrilidae including molecular and morphological data of all eight described species (two described herein as Psammodrilus didomenicoi, sp. nov. and P. norenburgi, sp. nov.) as well as four undescribed species. Ancestral character state reconstruction suggests the ancestor of Psammodrilidae was a semi-sessile larger form. Miniaturisation seems to have occurred multiple times independently within Psammodrilidae, possibly through progenesis, yielding small species with resemblance to a juvenile stage of the larger species. We find several new cryptic species and generally reveal an unexpected diversity and distribution of this small family. This success may be favoured by their adaptive morphology, here indicated to be genetically susceptible to progenesis.
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Nagy, Jenő, and Jácint Tökölyi. "Phylogeny, Historical Biogeography and the Evolution of Migration in Accipitrid Birds of Prey (Aves: Accipitriformes)." Ornis Hungarica 22, no. 1 (June 1, 2014): 15–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/orhu-2014-0008.
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Abstract Migration plays a fundamental part in the life of most temperate bird species. The regular, large-scale seasonal movements that characterize temperate migration systems appear to have originated in parallel with the postglacial northern expansion of tropical species. Migratoriness is also influenced by a number of ecological factors, such as the ability to survive harsh winters. Hence, understanding the origins and evolution of migration requires integration of the biogeographic history and ecology of birds in a phylogenetic context. We used molecular dating and ancestral state reconstruction to infer the origins and evolutionary changes in migratory behavior and ancestral area reconstruction to investigate historical patterns of range evolution in accipitrid birds of prey (Accipitriformes). Migration evolved multiple times in birds of prey, the earliest of which occurred in true hawks (Accipitrinae), during the middle Miocene period, according to our analyses. In most cases, a tropical ancestral distribution was inferred for the non-migratory ancestors of migratory lineages. Results from directional evolutionary tests indicate that migration evolved in the tropics and then increased the rate of colonization of temperate habitats, suggesting that temperate species might be descendants of tropical ones that dispersed into these seasonal habitats. Finally, we found that diet generalization predicts migratoriness in this group.
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Wood-Bailey, Amber P., Philip G. Cox, and Alana C. Sharp. "The evolution of unique cranial traits in leporid lagomorphs." PeerJ 10 (November 29, 2022): e14414. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14414.
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Background The leporid lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) are adapted to running and leaping (some more than others) and consequently have unique anatomical features that distinguish them from ochotonid lagomorphs (pikas) and from their rodent relatives. Two traits that have received some attention are fenestration of the lateral wall of the maxilla and facial tilting. These features are known to correlate with specialised locomotory form in that the faster running species will generally have fenestration that occupies the dorsal and the anteroventral surface of the maxillary corpus and a more acute facial tilt angle. Another feature is an intracranial joint that circumscribes the back of the skull, thought to facilitate skull mobility. This joint separates the anterior portion of the cranium (including the dentition, rostrum and orbit) from the posterior portion of the cranium (which encompasses the occipital and the auditory complex). Aside from the observation that the intracranial joint is absent in pikas (generalist locomotors) and appears more elaborate in genera with cursorial and saltatorial locomotory habits, the evolutionary history, biomechanical function and comparative anatomy of this feature in leporids lacks a comprehensive evaluation. Methodology The present work analysed the intracranial joint, facial tilting and lateral fenestration of the wall of the maxilla in the context of leporid evolutionary history using a Bayesian inference of phylogeny (18 genera, 23 species) and ancestral state reconstruction. These methods were used to gather information about the likelihood of the presence of these three traits in ancestral groups. Results Our phylogenetic analyses found it likely that the last common ancestor of living leporids had some facial tilting, but that the last common ancestor of all lagomorphs included in the dataset did not. We found that it was likely that the last common ancestor of living leporids had fenestration that occupies the dorsal, but not the anteroventral, surface of the maxillary corpus. We also found it likely that the last common ancestor of living leporids had an intracranial joint, but that the last common ancestor of all living lagomorphs did not. These findings provide a broader context to further studies of evolutionary history and will help inform the formulation and testing of functional hypotheses.
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LeMahieu, Michael. "Post-54: Reconstructing Civil War Memory in American Literature after Brown." American Literary History 33, no. 3 (August 5, 2021): 635–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/alh/ajab059.
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Abstract From a cultural fad of Confederate flags to a spate of schools named after Confederate generals, the 1954 Brown v. Board decision revived the memory of the US Civil War. In their collective effort of “massive resistance,” white southerners considered themselves carrying on the legacy of their Confederate ancestors, rebelling against the federal government and insisting upon states’ rights. In response to this revival, many mid-century writers revised Civil War memory. Ralph Ellison, for example, considered the Brown decision as yet another battle in an ongoing Civil War. The works of Black writers such as James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Pauli Murray, and Margaret Walker, as well as white writers such as Robert Lowell, Carson McCullers, Flannery O’Connor, and Robert Penn Warren, revise Lost Cause cultural narratives as they reconstruct four sites of Civil War memory: monuments, schools, textbooks, and grandparents. Writers in the twenty-first century have extended the interest in Civil War memory, from the essays of Ta-Nehisi Coates to the plays of Suzan-Lori Parks, to the fiction of George Saunders to the poetry of Natasha Trethewey and Kevin Young. The return of Civil War memory in twenty-first-century literature anticipates and represents the resurgence of civil rights protest against ongoing, state-sanctioned racial violence.
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Bateman, Richard M. "Hunting the Snark: the flawed search for mythical Jurassic angiosperms." Journal of Experimental Botany 71, no. 1 (September 20, 2019): 22–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erz411.
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Abstract Several recent palaeobotanical studies claim to have found and described pre-Cretaceous angiosperm macrofossils. With rare exceptions, these papers fail to define a flower, do not acknowledge that fossils require character-based rather than group-based classification, do not explicitly state which morphological features would unambiguously identify a fossil as angiospermous, ignore the modern conceptual framework of phylogeny reconstruction, and infer features in the fossils in question that are interpreted differently by (or even invisible to) other researchers. This unfortunate situation is compounded by the relevant fossils being highly disarticulated two-dimensional compression-impressions lacking anatomical preservation. Given current evidence, all supposed pre-Cretaceous angiosperms are assignable to other major clades among the gymnosperms sensu lato. By any workable morphological definition, flowers are not confined to, and therefore cannot delimit, the angiosperm clade. More precisely defined character states that are potentially diagnostic of angiosperms must by definition originate on the phylogenetic branch that immediately precedes the angiosperm crown group. Although the most reliable candidates for diagnostic characters (triploid endosperm reflecting double fertilization, closed carpel, bitegmic ovule, and phloem companion cells) are rarely preserved and/or difficult to detect unambiguously, similar characters have occasionally been preserved in high-quality permineralized non-angiosperm fossils. The angiosperm radiation documented by Early Cretaceous fossils involves only lineages closely similar to extant taxonomic families, lacks obvious morphological gaps, and (as agreed by both the fossil record and molecular phylogenies) was relatively rapid—all features that suggest a primary radiation. It is unlikely that ancestors of the crown group common ancestor would have fulfilled a character-based definition of (and thereby required expansion of the concept of) an angiosperm; they would instead form a new element of the non-angiosperm members of the ‘anthophyte’ grade, competing with Caytonia to be viewed as morphologically determined sister group for angiosperms. Conclusions drawn from molecular phylogenetics should not be allowed to routinely constrain palaeobotanical inferences; reciprocal illumination between different categories of data offers greater explanatory power than immediately resorting to Grand Syntheses. The Jurassic angiosperm—essentially a product of molecular phylogenetics—may have become the holy grail of palaeobotany but it appears equally mythical.
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Fischer, Valentin, Maxim S. Arkhangelsky, Ilya M. Stenshin, Gleb N. Uspensky, Nikolay G. Zverkov, and Roger B. J. Benson. "Peculiar macrophagous adaptations in a new Cretaceous pliosaurid." Royal Society Open Science 2, no. 12 (December 2015): 150552. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150552.
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During the Middle and Late Jurassic, pliosaurid plesiosaurs evolved gigantic body size and a series of craniodental adaptations that have been linked to the occupation of an apex predator niche. Cretaceous pliosaurids (i.e. Brachaucheninae) depart from this morphology, being slightly smaller and lacking the macrophagous adaptations seen in earlier forms. However, the fossil record of Early Cretaceous pliosaurids is poor, concealing the evolution and ecological diversity of the group. Here, we report a new pliosaurid from the Late Hauterivian (Early Cretaceous) of Russia. Phylogenetic analyses using reduced consensus methods recover it as the basalmost brachauchenine. This pliosaurid is smaller than other derived pliosaurids, has tooth alveoli clustered in pairs and possesses trihedral teeth with complex serrated carinae. Maximum-likelihood ancestral state reconstruction suggests early brachauchenines retained trihedral teeth from their ancestors, but modified this feature in a unique way, convergent with macrophagous archosaurs or sphenacodontoids. Our findings indicate that Early Cretaceous marine reptile teeth with serrated carinae cannot be unequivocally assigned to metriorhynchoid crocodylomorphs. Furthermore, they extend the known diversity of dental adaptations seen in Sauropterygia, the longest lived clade of marine tetrapods.
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Sanger, Thomas J., Marissa L. Gredler, and Martin J. Cohn. "Resurrecting embryos of the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus , to resolve vertebrate phallus evolution." Biology Letters 11, no. 10 (October 2015): 20150694. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0694.
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The breadth of anatomical and functional diversity among amniote external genitalia has led to uncertainty about the evolutionary origins of the phallus. In several lineages, including the tuatara, Sphenodon punctatus , adults lack an intromittent phallus, raising the possibility that the amniote ancestor lacked external genitalia and reproduced using cloacal apposition. Accordingly, a phallus may have evolved multiple times in amniotes. However, similarities in development across amniote external genitalia suggest that the phallus may have a single evolutionary origin. To resolve the evolutionary history of amniote genitalia, we performed three-dimensional reconstruction of Victorian era tuatara embryos to look for embryological evidence of external genital initiation. Despite the absence of an intromittent phallus in adult tuataras, our observations show that tuatara embryos develop genital anlagen. This illustrates that there is a conserved developmental stage of external genital development among all amniotes and suggests a single evolutionary origin of amniote external genitalia.
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Price, J. Jordan, and Simon C. Griffith. "Open cup nests evolved from roofed nests in the early passerines." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284, no. 1848 (February 8, 2017): 20162708. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2708.
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The architectural diversity of nests in the passerine birds (order Passeriformes) is thought to have played an important role in the adaptive radiation of this group, which now comprises more than half of avian species and occupies nearly all terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we present an extensive survey and ancestral state reconstruction of nest design across the passerines, focusing on early Australian lineages and including members of nearly all passerine families worldwide. Most passerines build open cup-shaped nests, whereas a minority build more elaborate domed structures with roofs. We provide strong evidence that, despite their relative rarity today, domed nests were constructed by the common ancestor of all modern passerines. Open cup nests evolved from enclosed domes at least four times independently during early passerine evolution, at least three of which occurred on the Australian continent, yielding several primarily cup-nesting clades that are now widespread and numerically dominant among passerines. Our results show that the ubiquitous and relatively simple cup-shaped nests of many birds today evolved multiple times convergently, suggesting adaptive benefits over earlier roofed designs.
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Mouton, le Fras, Alexander Flemming, Michael Bates, and Chris Broeckhoven. "The relationship between generation gland morphology and armour in Dragon Lizards (Smaug): a reassessment of ancestral states for the Cordylidae." Amphibia-Reptilia 39, no. 4 (2018): 457–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-20181032.
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Abstract To substantiate the claim of a relationship between generation gland morphology and degree of body armour in cordylid lizards, we studied the nine species in the genus Smaug. We predicted that well armoured species in this clade will have multi-layer generation glands, and lightly armoured species two-layer glands. Gland type was determined using standard histological techniques after sectioning a glandular patch of one adult male per species. A total of 133 specimens were examined for data on tail and occipital spine lengths (which were used as indicators of armour). We found that species with multi-layer generation glands (S. giganteus, S. breyeri, and S. vandami) have relatively long tail and occipital spines, while species with two-layer glands (S. mossambicus, S. regius, S. barbertonensis, S. warreni, and an undescribed species) have relatively short spines. Smaug depressus possesses both multi-layer and two-layer glands, and this variation was linked to regional variation in spine length. An ancestral state reconstruction for the Cordylidae showed that the two-layer state always results from the reduction of layers from a multi-layer precursor, and that reduction always culminates in two-layer glands and not in one-layer glands. This finding suggests that the one-layer state in the Ninurta-Chamaesaura-Pseudocordylus clade is most probably plesiomorphic, and therefore the ancestral state at the Cordylidae and Cordylinae nodes. Given the observed relationship between type of generation gland and body armour, this finding would suggest that the most recent common ancestor of the Cordylidae was lightly armoured.
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Arab, Daej A., Anna Namyatova, Theodore A. Evans, Stephen L. Cameron, David K. Yeates, Simon Y. W. Ho, and Nathan Lo. "Parallel evolution of mound-building and grass-feeding in Australian nasute termites." Biology Letters 13, no. 2 (February 2017): 20160665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0665.
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Termite mounds built by representatives of the family Termitidae are among the most spectacular constructions in the animal kingdom, reaching 6–8 m in height and housing millions of individuals. Although functional aspects of these structures are well studied, their evolutionary origins remain poorly understood. Australian representatives of the termitid subfamily Nasutitermitinae display a wide variety of nesting habits, making them an ideal group for investigating the evolution of mound building. Because they feed on a variety of substrates, they also provide an opportunity to illuminate the evolution of termite diets. Here, we investigate the evolution of termitid mound building and diet, through a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of Australian Nasutitermitinae. Molecular dating analysis indicates that the subfamily has colonized Australia on three occasions over the past approximately 20 Myr. Ancestral-state reconstruction showed that mound building arose on multiple occasions and from diverse ancestral nesting habits, including arboreal and wood or soil nesting. Grass feeding appears to have evolved from wood feeding via ancestors that fed on both wood and leaf litter. Our results underscore the adaptability of termites to ancient environmental change, and provide novel examples of parallel evolution of extended phenotypes.
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Yishan, Feng. "Historical, Cultural and Ethno-psychological Connotations of the Image of the Homeland in Chinese Literature." Humanitarian Vector 16, no. 1 (February 2021): 56–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.21209/1996-7853-2021-16-1-56-64.
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The relevance of the research is due to the interest of modern literary criticism in the study of conceptual images of national literatures formed by the basic universals of ethnic consciousness. The novelty lies in the appeal to the image of homeland in Chinese literature through the prism of the historical-etymological and historical-literary reconstruction of the concept that reflects the ethno-psychological foundations of Chinese consciousness. The problem of the study is comparing a number of lexemes, concepts, artistic images that have formed over the centuries the modern idea of the homeland in the Chinese picture of the world. The purpose of the work is to an alyze the evolution of the concept of “homeland” in the Chinese ethnic and national consciousness on the basis of dictionaries and works of Chinese literature from the Tang era to the 20th century. The methodology is based on the etymological, lexical and semantic reconstruction of the concept of “homeland” in the Chinese picture of the world, based on the historical and cultural context. The main research methods are comparative-historical and structural-semantic ones. As a result of the study, the author comes to the conclusion that the image of the homeland in the ethnic picture of the world of the Chinese was formed as the statehood and national identity of the peoples inhabiting China. In ancient China, the concept of homeland was associated with the place of birth of ancestors, native places, and the country of exodus of alien peoples. These connotations are most clearly found in the lyrics of the Tang era. By the beginning of the 20th century, with the rise of the national movement, the image of the Motherland, drawn from European culture, appeared in the Chinese ethnic consciousness. The Xinhai Revolution allowed the Chinese to discover the world and foreign lands. The image of the motherland-fatherland in this context appears as a correlate of the concept of a foreign land (Japan, England, America). The image of the Motherland, the Father land is used most actively in new Chinese literature during the period of anti-Japanese resistance. After the formation of the PRC and the formation of the national consciousness of a united China, which united many nationalities, among the connotative meanings of ideas about the homeland, the concept of the homeland as a home state is of primary importance. Keywords: the Chinese, ethnic consciousness, land of ancestors, Motherland, foreign land
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Winger, Benjamin M., Irby J. Lovette, and David W. Winkler. "Ancestry and evolution of seasonal migration in the Parulidae." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279, no. 1728 (July 13, 2011): 610–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.1045.
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Seasonal migration in birds is known to be highly labile and subject to rapid change in response to selection, such that researchers have hypothesized that phylogenetic relationships should neither predict nor constrain the migratory behaviour of a species. Many theories on the evolution of bird migration assume a framework that extant migratory species have evolved repeatedly and relatively recently from sedentary tropical or subtropical ancestors. We performed ancestral state reconstructions of migratory behaviour using a comprehensive, well-supported phylogeny of the Parulidae (the ‘wood-warblers’), a large family of Neotropical and Nearctic migratory and sedentary songbirds, and examined the rates of gain and loss of migration throughout the Parulidae. Counter to traditional hypotheses, our results suggest that the ancestral wood-warbler was migratory and that losses of migration have been at least as prevalent as gains throughout the history of Parulidae. Therefore, extant sedentary tropical radiations in the Parulidae represent losses of latitudinal migration and colonization of the tropics from temperate regions. We also tested for phylogenetic signal in migratory behaviour, and our results indicate that although migratory behaviour is variable within some wood-warbler species and clades, phylogeny significantly predicts the migratory distance of species in the Parulidae.
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Tomikawa, Ko, Masaki Kyono, Keiko Kuribayashi, and Takafumi Nakano. "The enigmatic groundwater amphipod Awacaris kawasawai revisited: synonymisation of the genus Sternomoera, with molecular phylogenetic analyses of Awacaris and Sternomoera species (Crustacea : Amphipoda : Pontogeneiidae)." Invertebrate Systematics 31, no. 2 (2017): 125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/is16037.
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Amphipod crustaceans are dominant in subterranean habitats, and members of eight genera are endemic to groundwater environments in the Japanese Archipelago. The taxonomic status of two of these genera remains unclear, because their original descriptions were incomplete. The descriptions of the enigmatic subterranean monotypic genus Awacaris and its type species, A. kawasawai Uéno, 1971, are revisited here. Awacaris kawasawai was originally described based on specimens from a subterranean stream at Himise Cave, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan. Recently, a new population of A. kawasawai was found at Saruta Cave, Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku. Detailed observation of the newly collected specimens reveals the presence of sternal gills, which is the diagnostic character of the pontogeneiid genus Sternomoera, making the validity of Sternomoera open to question. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 28S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I markers demonstrate that A. kawasawai forms a well-supported clade with the subterranean S. morinoi Tomikawa and Ishimaru, 2014. In addition, phylogenetic analysis reveals cryptic diversity in epigean species of Sternomoera. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests that catadromous Sternomoera species have evolved from freshwater ancestors. Based on our morphological and phylogenetic analysis of Awacaris and Sternomoera species, it is concluded here that Sternomoera should be treated as a subjective junior synonym of Awacaris.
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Abe, Francine R., and Bruce S. Lieberman. "Quantifying morphological change during an evolutionary radiation of Devonian trilobites." Paleobiology 38, no. 2 (2012): 292–307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1666/10047.1.
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The fossil record provides an important source of data on adaptive radiations, and indeed some of the earliest theoretical insights on the nature of these radiations were made by paleontologists. Here we focus on the diverse DevonianMetacryphaeusgroup calmoniid trilobites, known from the Malvinokaffric Realm, which have been considered a classic example of an adaptive radiation preserved in the fossil record. We use a geometric morphometric analysis in conjunction with phylogenetic and biogeographic patterns and data on speciation rates. Using ancestral character state reconstruction during speciation events, we quantify patterns of morphological change in order to assess the role ecological and geographical factors may have played in mediating this radiation. We found no significant differences between the amount of morphological change that occurred during speciation events when ancestors and descendants were in the same area as opposed to when they occupied different areas. Further, the magnitude of morphological divergence did not change through time or with cladogenetic rank. These patterns, in conjunction with the fact that the radiation occurs in a geographically heterogeneous region subjected to repeated episodes of sea-level rise and fall, suggest that at the macroevolutionary scale this radiation may have been motivated more by phenomena that facilitated geographic isolation than by competition.
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Van Der Wal, Cara, Shane T. Ahyong, Simon Y. W. Ho, and Nathan Lo. "The evolutionary history of Stomatopoda (Crustacea: Malacostraca) inferred from molecular data." PeerJ 5 (September 21, 2017): e3844. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3844.
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The crustacean order Stomatopoda comprises seven superfamilies of mantis shrimps, found in coastal waters of the tropics and subtropics. These marine carnivores bear notable raptorial appendages for smashing or spearing prey. We investigated the evolutionary relationships among stomatopods using phylogenetic analyses of three mitochondrial and two nuclear markers. Our analyses recovered the superfamily Gonodactyloidea as polyphyletic, withHemisquillaas the sister group to all other extant stomatopods. A relaxed molecular clock, calibrated by seven fossil-based age constraints, was used to date the origin and major diversification events of stomatopods. Our estimates suggest that crown-group stomatopods (Unipeltata) diverged from their closest crustacean relatives about 340 Ma (95% CRI [401–313 Ma]). We found that the specialized smashing appendage arose after the spearing appendage ∼126 Ma (95% CRI [174–87 Ma]). Ancestral state reconstructions revealed that the most recent common ancestor of extant stomatopods had eyes with six midband rows of hexagonal ommatidia. Hexagonal ommatidia are interpreted as plesiomorphic in stomatopods, and this is consistent with the malacostracan ground-plan. Our study provides insight into the evolutionary timescale and systematics of Stomatopoda, although further work is required to resolve with confidence the phylogenetic relationships among its superfamilies.
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Bell-Roberts, Louis, Angela E. Douglas, and Gijsbert D. A. Werner. "Match and mismatch between dietary switches and microbial partners in plant sap-feeding insects." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286, no. 1902 (May 15, 2019): 20190065. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0065.
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Some animal groups associate with the same vertically transmitted microbial symbionts over extended periods of evolutionary time, punctuated by occasional symbiont switches to different microbial taxa. Here we test the oft-repeated suggestion that symbiont switches are linked with host diet changes, focusing on hemipteran insects of the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. These insects include the only animals that feed on plant xylem sap through the life cycle, as well as taxa that feed on phloem sap and plant parenchyma cells. Ancestral state reconstruction provides strong statistical support for a xylem feeding auchenorrhynchan ancestor bearing the dual symbiosis with the primary symbiont Sulcia (Bacteroidetes) and companion symbiont ‘β-Sym’ (β-proteobacteria). We identified seven dietary transitions from xylem feeding (six to phloem feeding, one to parenchyma feeding), but no reversions to xylem feeding; five evolutionary losses of Sulcia , including replacements by yeast symbionts, exclusively in phloem/parenchyma-feeding lineages; and 14–15 losses of β-Sym, including nine transitions to a different bacterial companion symbiont. Our analysis indicates that, although companion symbiont switching is not associated with shifts in host diet, Sulcia is probably required for xylem-feeding. Furthermore, the ancestral auchenorrhynchan bearing Sulcia and β-Sym probably represents the sole evolutionary origin of xylem feeding in the animal kingdom.
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Holterman, M., G. Karssen, S. van den Elsen, H. van Megen, J. Bakker, and J. Helder. "Small Subunit rDNA-Based Phylogeny of the Tylenchida Sheds Light on Relationships Among Some High-Impact Plant-Parasitic Nematodes and the Evolution of Plant Feeding." Phytopathology® 99, no. 3 (March 2009): 227–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/phyto-99-3-0227.
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Cyst (Heteroderidae), root knot (Meloidogyne spp.), and lesion (Pratylenchus spp.) nematodes all belong to a single nematode order, Tylenchida. However, the relationships between and within these economically highly relevant groups, and their relatedness to other parasitic Tylenchida is unclear. We constructed a phylogeny of 116 Tylenchida taxa based on full length small subunit ribosomal DNA (small subunit [SSU] rDNA) sequences. Ancestral state reconstruction points at a gradual development of simple to more complex forms of plant parasitism. Good resolution was observed in distal clades that include cyst, root knot, and lesion nematodes, and monophyly of most families was confirmed. Our data suggest that root knot nematodes have evolved from an ancestral member of the genus Pratylenchus, but it remains unclear which species is closest to this branching point. Contrary to the notoriously polyphagous distal representatives, basal members of the genus Meloidogyne (and probably, their common ancestor) have narrow host ranges. Our analysis also shows that mitotic parthenogeny has arisen at least two times independently among root knot nematodes. In many cases resolution till species was observed, suggesting that SSU rDNA sequences have a potential for DNA barcode-based species identification with, due to the overall conserved nature of this gene, limited intra-species variation.
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Sachs, Joel L., Ryan G. Skophammer, Nidhanjali Bansal, and Jason E. Stajich. "Evolutionary origins and diversification of proteobacterial mutualists." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1775 (January 22, 2014): 20132146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2146.
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Mutualistic bacteria infect most eukaryotic species in nearly every biome. Nonetheless, two dilemmas remain unresolved about bacterial–eukaryote mutualisms: how do mutualist phenotypes originate in bacterial lineages and to what degree do mutualists traits drive or hinder bacterial diversification? Here, we reconstructed the phylogeny of the hyperdiverse phylum Proteobacteria to investigate the origins and evolutionary diversification of mutualistic bacterial phenotypes. Our ancestral state reconstructions (ASRs) inferred a range of 34–39 independent origins of mutualist phenotypes in Proteobacteria, revealing the surprising frequency with which host-beneficial traits have evolved in this phylum. We found proteobacterial mutualists to be more often derived from parasitic than from free-living ancestors, consistent with the untested paradigm that bacterial mutualists most often evolve from pathogens. Strikingly, we inferred that mutualists exhibit a negative net diversification rate (speciation minus extinction), which suggests that mutualism evolves primarily via transitions from other states rather than diversification within mutualist taxa. Moreover, our ASRs infer that proteobacterial mutualist lineages exhibit a paucity of reversals to parasitism or to free-living status. This evolutionary conservatism of mutualism is contrary to long-standing theory, which predicts that selection should often favour mutants in microbial mutualist populations that exploit or abandon more slowly evolving eukaryotic hosts.
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Singh, Kamal Jeet, Shaila Chandra, and Anju Saxena. "Tatapania gen. nov., a possible cone of Schizoneura gondwanensis Feistmantel from the Late Permian in the Tatapani-Ramkola Coalfield, India." Journal of Palaeosciences 60, no. (1-2) (December 31, 2011): 251–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.54991/jop.2011.170.
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Tatapania-a new genus of equisetalean fructifications, is represented by oblong-ovate bractless cones recorded from the Late Permian strata exposed in Banki Rivulet in Tatapani-Ramkola Coalfield, Chhattisgarh State, India. This is the first record of compact, conical and possibly terminal sphenophyte cones from the Lower Gondwana. The cones may have been related to Schizoneura gondwanensis as these are found in association with sterile equisetalean stems and leaves of Schizoneura gondwanensis in the same beds.
Two new species, viz. Tatapania indica and T. obcordata, have been instituted for the genus. Both species closely resemble cones of modern Equisetum. The presence of a compact cone similar to that of an extant Equisetum as early as Late Permian of Gondwana is interesting, especially when no member of Palaeozoic sphenophytes possessed such compact cones. The present find also supports the hypothetical model of Naugolnykh (2004a) wherein he proposed the evolution of the compact strobilus and peltate sporangiophore in modern Equisetum from the Late Palaeozoic ancestors. The double or single cones of Tatapania have been placed intermediate between Equisetites arenaceus with three cones attached together and Neocalamites carreri having single cone in the Naugolnykh’s evolution model of Equisetum. A reconstruction of Schizoneura gondwanensis plant having Tatapania cones attached on the apices of the leaf bearing branches has been attempted.
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Cantalapiedra, Juan L., Richard G. FitzJohn, Tyler S. Kuhn, Manuel Hernández Fernández, Daniel DeMiguel, Beatriz Azanza, Jorge Morales, and Arne Ø. Mooers. "Dietary innovations spurred the diversification of ruminants during the Caenozoic." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281, no. 1776 (February 7, 2014): 20132746. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2013.2746.
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Global climate shifts and ecological flexibility are two major factors that may affect rates of speciation and extinction across clades. Here, we connect past climate to changes in diet and diversification dynamics of ruminant mammals. Using novel versions of Multi-State Speciation and Extinction models, we explore the most likely scenarios for evolutionary transitions among diets in this clade and ask whether ruminant lineages with different feeding styles (browsing, grazing and mixed feeding) underwent differential rates of diversification concomitant with global temperature change. The best model of trait change had transitions from browsers to grazers via mixed feeding, with appreciable rates of transition to and from grazing and mixed feeding. Diversification rates in mixed-feeder and grazer lineages tracked the palaeotemperature curve, exhibiting higher rates during the Miocene thermal maxima. The origination of facultative mixed diet and grazing states may have triggered two adaptive radiations—one during the Oligocene–Miocene transition and the other during Middle-to-Late Miocene. Our estimate of mixed diets for basal lineages of both bovids and cervids is congruent with fossil evidence, while the reconstruction of browser ancestors for some impoverished clades—Giraffidae and Tragulidae—is not. Our results offer model-based neontological support to previous palaeontological findings and fossil-based hypothesis highlighting the importance of dietary innovations—especially mixed feeding—in the success of ruminants during the Neogene.
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Bachiller, C. P. "LOW COST 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF CAVE PAINTINGS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF COLOMBIAN HISTORICAL MEMORY: CASE STUDY INDIGENOUS ROCK ART OF THE SACRED PLACE “PIEDRAS DE TUNJO”." International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLVIII-2/W1-2022 (December 8, 2022): 251–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xlviii-2-w1-2022-251-2022.
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Abstract. Anthropic activities are produced by constant human activity in nature which, over time, account for the different civilizations. Rock art allows through pictorial manifestations to capture these anthropic activities, which in many parts of the world are preserved as cultural heritage. Colombia, unfortunately, has an incipient development with the conservation of its cultural and intangible heritage, which has had little progress in recent times, if it is about indigenous cave paintings (Méndez-Vargas, 2019). According to history, the first settlers of the Bogotá Savannah lived in the area currently called "Las Piedras de Tunjo" considered a sacred place by the Muiscas - our ancestors. This area located in the municipality of Facatativá, and is currently constituted as one of the five archaeological parks that Colombia has, is 27 hectares and is located at a height of 2600 meters above sea level. In 1912, Rosales, seeing the spatial richness, stated that these stones should be looked at with interest and carefully cared for, because apart from the rugged beauty of the site, they witnessed important events for Colombia. The pictographs on the rock are now believed to date back more than 12,000 years. Although there are multiple images and videos of the site, this project seeks to approach the 3D reconstruction of an area of the park through SfM photogrammetry (Structure-from-Motion - Westoby, 2012) with a low-cost and easy-to-implement methodology (Santagati et al., 2017; Tavera et al., 2019) to promote historical conservation and Colombian cultural heritage in an indigenous sacred place to democratize it. This work documents different experiments and their results, of the 3D reconstruction using different data sources and software that will allow it to be an input in archeology to better understand the indigenous history of the area that was deteriorated in the 20th century.
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Gumm, Jennifer M., and Tamra C. Mendelson. "The evolution of multi-component visual signals in darters (genus Etheostoma)." Current Zoology 57, no. 2 (April 1, 2011): 125–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/51.2.125.
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Abstract As complex traits evolve, each component of the trait may be under different selection pressures and could respond independently to distinct evolutionary forces. We used comparative methods to examine patterns of evolution in multiple components of a complex courtship signal in darters, specifically addressing the question of how nuptial coloration evolves across different areas of the body. Using spectral reflectance, we defined 4 broad color classes present on the body and fins of 17 species of freshwater fishes (genus Etheostoma) and quantified differences in hue within each color class. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests that most color traits were expressed in the most recent common ancestor of sampled species and that differences among species are mostly due to losses in coloration. The evolutionary lability of coloration varied across body regions; we found significant phylogenetic signal for orange color on the body but not for most colors on fins. Finally, patterns of color evolution and hue of the colors were correlated among the two dorsal fins and between the anterior dorsal and anal fins, but not between any of the fins and the body. The observed patterns support the hypothesis that different components of complex signals may be subject to distinct evolutionary pressures, and suggests that the combination of behavioral displays and morphology in communication may have a strong influence on patterns of signal evolution.
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Butzin, Nicholas C., Michael A. Secinaro, Kristen S. Swithers, J. Peter Gogarten, and Kenneth M. Noll. "Thermotoga lettingae Can Salvage Cobinamide To Synthesize Vitamin B12." Applied and Environmental Microbiology 79, no. 22 (September 6, 2013): 7006–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.01800-13.
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ABSTRACTWe recently reported that theThermotogalesacquired the ability to synthesize vitamin B12by acquisition of genes from two distantly related lineages,ArchaeaandFirmicutes(K. S. Swithers et al., Genome Biol. Evol. 4:730–739, 2012). Ancestral state reconstruction suggested that the cobinamide salvage gene cluster was present in theThermotogales' most recent common ancestor. We also predicted thatThermotoga lettingaecould not synthesize B12de novobut could use the cobinamide salvage pathway to synthesize B12. In this study, these hypotheses were tested, and we found thatTt. lettingaedid not synthesize B12de novobut salvaged cobinamide. The growth rate ofTt. lettingaeincreased with the addition of B12or cobinamide to its medium. It synthesized B12when the medium was supplemented with cobinamide, and no B12was detected in cells grown on cobinamide-deficient medium. Upstream of the cobinamide salvage genes is a putative B12riboswitch. In other organisms, B12riboswitches allow for higher transcriptional activity in the absence of B12. WhenTt. lettingaewas grown with no B12, the salvage genes were upregulated compared to cells grown with B12or cobinamide. Another gene cluster with a putative B12riboswitch upstream is thebtuFCDABC transporter, and it showed a transcription pattern similar to that of the cobinamide salvage genes. The BtuF proteins from species that can and cannot salvage cobinamides were shownin vitroto bind both B12and cobinamide. These results suggest thatThermotogalesspecies can use the BtuFCD transporter to import both B12and cobinamide, even if they cannot salvage cobinamide.
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Tsuyuki, Aoi, Yuki Oya, and Hiroshi Kajihara. "Reversible shifts between interstitial and epibenthic habitats in evolutionary history: Molecular phylogeny of the marine flatworm family Boniniidae (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida: Cotylea) with descriptions of two new species." PLOS ONE 17, no. 11 (November 23, 2022): e0276847. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276847.
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Tiny animals in various metazoan phyla inhabit the interstices between sand and/or gravel grains, and adaptive traits in their body plan, such as simplification and size reduction, have attracted research attention. Several possible explanations of how such animals colonized interstitial habitats have been proposed, but their adaptation to this environment has generally been regarded as irreversible. However, the actual evolutionary transitions are not well understood in almost all taxa. In the present study, we show reversible evolutionary shifts from interstitial to epibenthic habitats in the lineage of the polyclad flatworm genus Boninia. In addition, we establish two new species of this genus found from different microhabitats on a single beach in Okinawa Island, Japan: (i) the interstitial species Boninia uru sp. nov. from gravelly sediments and (ii) the epibenthic species Boninia yambarensis sp. nov. from rock undersurfaces. Our observations suggest that rigid microhabitat segregation exists between these two species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the partial 18S and 28S rDNA sequences of the new Boninia species and four other congeners, for which molecular sequences were available in public databases [Boninia antillara (epibenthic), Boninia divae (epibenthic), Boninia neotethydis (interstitial), and an unidentified Boninia sp. (habitat indeterminate)], revealed that the two interstitial species (B. neotethydis and B. uru sp. nov.) were not monophyletic among the three epibenthic species. According to ancestral state reconstruction analysis, the last common ancestor of the analyzed Boninia species inhabited interstitial realms, and a shift to the epibenthic environment occurred at least once. Such an “interstitial to noninterstitial” evolutionary route seems to be rare among Animalia; to date, it has been reported only in acochlidian slugs in the clade Hedylopsacea. Our phylogenetic tree also showed that the sympatric B. uru sp. nov. and B. yambarensis sp. nov. were not in a sister relationship, indicating that they colonized the same beach independently rather than descended in situ from a common ancestor that migrated and settled at the beach.
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TODA, MASANORI J., HANS BÄNZIGER, PRADEEP C. SATI, RAJENDRA S. FARTYAL, AWIT SUWITO, and TORU KATOH. "Taxonomy and evolution of asymmetric male genitalia in the subgenus Ashima Chen (Diptera: Drosophilidae: Phortica Schiner), with descriptions of seven new species." Zootaxa 4789, no. 1 (June 8, 2020): 1–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4789.1.1.
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The taxonomy of the subgenus Ashima of the genus Phortica is revised. A cladistic analysis of 66 morphological characters is conducted, covering 35 species (28 known and 7 new species: Phortica efragmentata sp. nov., P. andreagigoni sp. nov., P. watabei sp. nov., P. halimunensis sp. nov., P. akutsui sp. nov., P. kerinciensis sp. nov., and P. takehiroi sp. nov.) which correspond to 71.4% of 49 total spp. of Ashima. The resulting cladogram shows that the studied species are separated into several clades/subclades/cluster each highly supported with specific synapomorphies. Those clades/subclades/cluster are newly defined as the following species groups, subgroups or complex: the afoliolata, foliiseta, nigrifoliiseta and angulata species groups; the foliiseta, tanabei, nigrifoliiseta and glabra species subgroups; and the foliiseta species complex. The subgenus Ashima is peculiar in having the asymmetric male genitalia as the ground plan and showing the antisymmetry (i.e. intraspecific mirror-image variation) in some species but the directional asymmetry (i.e. side-fixed asymmetry) in others. The evolution of genital asymmetry in this subgenus is estimated by mapping the states (symmetry, directional asymmetry and antisymmetry) of bilateral structures of male genitalia on the cladogram. This ancestral state reconstruction estimates that the directional asymmetry of male genitalia has evolved at the ancestor of this subgenus and then changed to the antisymmetric state independently in two lineages, the angulata + nigrifoliiseta species groups and the foliiseta species complex. In this study, a standardized terminology recently proposed for the male terminalia of Drosophila melanogaster is extendedly adopted to describe the morphology of male terminalia in the subgenus Ashima, one group of the subfamily Steganinae.
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Grundler, Michael, and Daniel L. Rabosky. "Complex Ecological Phenotypes on Phylogenetic Trees: A Markov Process Model for Comparative Analysis of Multivariate Count Data." Systematic Biology 69, no. 6 (April 16, 2020): 1200–1211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syaa031.
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Abstract The evolutionary dynamics of complex ecological traits—including multistate representations of diet, habitat, and behavior—remain poorly understood. Reconstructing the tempo, mode, and historical sequence of transitions involving such traits poses many challenges for comparative biologists, owing to their multidimensional nature. Continuous-time Markov chains are commonly used to model ecological niche evolution on phylogenetic trees but are limited by the assumption that taxa are monomorphic and that states are univariate categorical variables. A necessary first step in the analysis of many complex traits is therefore to categorize species into a predetermined number of univariate ecological states, but this procedure can lead to distortion and loss of information. This approach also confounds interpretation of state assignments with effects of sampling variation because it does not directly incorporate empirical observations for individual species into the statistical inference model. In this study, we develop a Dirichlet-multinomial framework to model resource use evolution on phylogenetic trees. Our approach is expressly designed to model ecological traits that are multidimensional and to account for uncertainty in state assignments of terminal taxa arising from effects of sampling variation. The method uses multivariate count data across a set of discrete resource categories sampled for individual species to simultaneously infer the number of ecological states, the proportional utilization of different resources by different states, and the phylogenetic distribution of ecological states among living species and their ancestors. The method is general and may be applied to any data expressible as a set of observational counts from different categories. [Comparative methods; Dirichlet multinomial; ecological niche evolution; macroevolution; Markov model.]
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SANTOS-SILVA, JULIANA, ANA MARIA GOULART DE AZEVEDO TOZZI, MARCELO FRAGOMENI SIMON, NAZARETH GUEDES URQUIZA, and MATÍAS MORALES. "Evolution of trichome morphology in Mimosa (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae)." Phytotaxa 119, no. 1 (August 1, 2013): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.119.1.1.
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With more than 500 species, Mimosa L. is one of the largest genera of the Leguminosae. It exhibits considerable trichome diversity among species. Trichome types have been used as diagnostic characters, but some are not well known and have been poorly described in taxonomic works, causing some difficulties for species identification and description. The morphology of trichomes of 35 species was studied using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy to define the types of trichomes precisely. An ancestral character state reconstruction using a densely-sampled phylogeny of the genus was performed in order to investigate the evolution of trichome types in Mimosa. Two basic types of trichomes can be distinguished: glandular and non-glandular. The glandular trichomes can be sessile or stalked. The non-glandular trichomes can be unbranched or branched. Unbranched trichomes are unicellular and conical or cylindrical, whereas branched trichomes are multicellular and verruciform, medusiform, plumose, barbellate, stellate, stellate-lepidote, or lepidote. Character optimization analysis suggests that glandular and branched trichomes are derived and evolved independently in different lineages within Mimosa. The ancestral condition in Mimosa was probably non-glandular and unbranched trichomes, which was retained from piptadenioid ancestors. Our study provides a first insight into the evolutionary history of trichome morphology in the genus. Despite high levels of homoplasy, trichome morphology offers a set of characters that can be used for differentiating species and species groups in combination with other characters.
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Nesterenko, Viktoria. "“THE CITY TO WHICH I CANNOT RETURN”: THE SPACE OF TEMPORARY OCCUPIED DONETSK AND LUHANSK REGIONS IN THE MEMORIES OF CHILDREN FROM IDP FAMILIES." City: History, Culture, Society, no. 14 (January 5, 2023): 120–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.15407/mics2022.02.120.
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The purpose of this study was to determine the image of the Donbas cities carried by children who have become forced migrants. The article is based on interviews with individuals under the age of 18 in 2014 who were forced to flee their homes due to the conflict in Donbass. These interviews were conducted primarily in 2020 and 2021. The interviewees cannot return to their cities for various reasons; for some, attempting to cross the border between the so-called LPR and DPR could land them in prison due to the status or public standing of their families. It is important to note that frequently the child did not have the chance to say goodbye to the parental home because the departure was planned for several days or weeks in advance. The article analyzes, from the perspective of the psychology of overcoming a traumatic experience, how the inability to return and the absence of a farewell ceremony affect the current state of a person. It is important for a person to revisit places associated with his childhood and his family’s history at various stages of his life. Such locations include ancestral graves, parental homes, and others associated with significant life events. This situation is complicated by the fact that many respondents’ ancestors, such as grandfathers and grandmothers, chose to remain in territory not under Ukrainian government control. The inability to "say goodbye" traumatizes the psychological state of a person who has been deprived of his roots. What will happen if the images of immigrants and locals collide, how can a potential conflict be avoided, and what role can it play in the reintegration process? The article is relevant to the reconstruction of the cities of Donbass, which were previously in uncontrolled territory, because it raises the issue of image conflict and seeks a solution to this issue.
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Arribas, Paula, Carmelo Andújar, María Lourdes Moraza, Benjamin Linard, Brent C. Emerson, and Alfried P. Vogler. "Mitochondrial Metagenomics Reveals the Ancient Origin and Phylodiversity of Soil Mites and Provides a Phylogeny of the Acari." Molecular Biology and Evolution 37, no. 3 (October 31, 2019): 683–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz255.
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Abstract High-throughput DNA methods hold great promise for phylogenetic analysis of lineages that are difficult to study with conventional molecular and morphological approaches. The mites (Acari), and in particular the highly diverse soil-dwelling lineages, are among the least known branches of the metazoan Tree-of-Life. We extracted numerous minute mites from soils in an area of mixed forest and grassland in southern Iberia. Selected specimens representing the full morphological diversity were shotgun sequenced in bulk, followed by genome assembly of short reads from the mixture, which produced >100 mitochondrial genomes representing diverse acarine lineages. Phylogenetic analyses in combination with taxonomically limited mitogenomes available publicly resulted in plausible trees defining basal relationships of the Acari. Several critical nodes were supported by ancestral-state reconstructions of mitochondrial gene rearrangements. Molecular calibration placed the minimum age for the common ancestor of the superorder Acariformes, which includes most soil-dwelling mites, to the Cambrian–Ordovician (likely within 455–552 Ma), whereas the origin of the superorder Parasitiformes was placed later in the Carboniferous-Permian. Most family-level taxa within the Acariformes were dated to the Jurassic and Triassic. The ancient origin of Acariformes and the early diversification of major extant lineages linked to the soil are consistent with a pioneering role for mites in building the earliest terrestrial ecosystems.