Habitat use, diet and body size of Heard Island weevils

Habitat use, diet and body-size variation are examined in weevils from Heard Island. with specific attention being given to the Ectemnorhinus viridis species complex. E. viridis shows marked altitudinal variation in body size and vestiture, but there are no consistent associations between body size and diet. nor are there consistent among-individual differences in conventional taxonomic characters. Thus, the status of E. viridis as a single, variable species is maintained. This species occurs from sea level to 600 rn and it feeds on vascular plants and bryophytes. Canonopsis sericeus also feeds on bryophytes and vascular plants and occurs over a narrower altitudinal range. Palirhoeus eatoni is restricted to the surpralittoral zone where it feeds on marine algae and lichens. Bothrometopus brei,is and B. gracilipes both feed on cryptogams, with the former species occurring from sea level to 450 m. and the latter from 50 to 550 m above sea level. In all species, males are smaller than females and there is a size cline such that populations from higher elevations are smaller than those at lower altitudes. This cline is the reverse of that found on the Prince Edward Islands which, unlike Heard Island, lie to the north of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone. This difference in body-size clines between weevils on the two island groups is ascribed to the shorter growing season on the colder Heard Island. The information presented here supports previous ideas regarding the evolution of the Ectemnorhinus-group of weevils on the South Indian Ocean Province Islands, although it suggests that subsequent tests of these hypotheses would profit from the inclusion of molecular systematic work.

Phylogenetic revision of Agapophytinae subf.n. (Diptera : Therevidae) based on molecular and morphological evidence

Agapophytinae subf.n. is a highly diverse lineage of Australasian Therevidae, comprising eight described and two new genera: Agapophytus Guerin-Meneville, Acupalpa Krober, Acraspisa Krober, Belonalys Krober, Bonjeania Irwin & Lyneborg, Parapsilocephala Krober, Acatopygia Krober, Laxotela Winterton & Irwin, Pipinnipons gen.n. and Patanothrix gen.n. A genus-level cladistic analysis of the subfamily was undertaken using sixty-eight adult morphological characters and c. 1000 base pairs of the elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) protein coding gene. The morphological data partition produced three most parsimonious cladograms, whereas the molecular data partition gave a single most parsimonious cladogram, which did not match any of the cladograms found in the morphological analysis. The level of congruence between the data partitions was determined using the partition homogeneity test (HTF) and Wilcoxon signed ranks rest. Despite being significantly incongruent in at least one of the incongruence tests, the partitions were combined in a simultaneous analysis. The combined data yielded a single cladogram that was better supported than that of the individual partitions analysed separately. The relative contributions of the data partitions to support for individual nodes on the combined cladogram were investigated using Partitioned Bremer Support. The level of support for many nodes on the combined cladogram was non-additive and often greater than the sum of support for the respective nodes on individual partitions. This synergistic interaction between incongruent data partitions indicates a common phylogenetic signal in both partitions. It also suggests that criteria for partition combination based solely on incongruence may be misleading. The phylogenetic relationships of the genera are discussed using the combined data. A key to genera of Agapophytinae is presented, with genera diagnosed and figured. Two new genera are described: Patanothrix with a new species (Pat. skevingtoni) and Pat. wilsoni (Mann) transferred from Parapsilocephala, and Pipinnipons with a new species (Pip. kroeberi). Pipinnipons fascipennis (Krober) is transferred from Squamopygin Krober and Pip. imitans (Mann) is transferred from Agapophytus. Agapophytus bicolor (Krober) is transferred from Parapsilocephala. Agapophytus varipennis Mann is synonymised with Aga, queenslandi Krober and Aga. flavicornis Mann is synonymised with Aga. pallidicornis (Krober).

Phylogenetic revision of Agapophytus Guerin (Diptera : Therevidae : Agapophytinae)

Morphologically diverse and species-rich, the endemic Australasian genus Agapophytus is revised. Eleven previously described species are redescribed and twenty-nine species are described for the first time: A. adonis, sp. nov., A. annamariae, sp. nov., A. antheliogynaion, sp. nov., A. asprolepidotos, sp. nov., A. atrilaticlavius, sp. nov., A. biluteus, sp. nov., A. borealis, sp. nov., A. caliginosus, sp. nov., A. cerrusus, sp. nov., A. chaetohypopion, sp. nov., A. chrysosisyrus, sp. nov., A. decorus, sp. nov., A. dieides, sp. nov., A. discolor, sp. nov., A. eli, sp. nov., A. fenestratum, sp. nov., A. galbicaudus, sp. nov., A. labifenestellus, sp. nov., A. laparoceles, sp. nov., A. lissohoplon, sp. nov., A. lyneborgi, sp. nov., A. notozophos, sp. nov., A. novaeguineae, sp. nov., A. pallidicrus, sp. nov., A. palmulus, sp. nov., A. paramonovi, sp. nov., A. septentrionalis, sp. nov., A. yeatesi, sp. nov. and A. zebra, sp. nov. All 40 species of Agapophytus were compared in a cladistic analysis with three species of Acupalpa Krober using 134 states across 58 adult morphological characters. The analysis resulted in 36 most parsimonious trees with a length of 240 steps. The phylogenetic relationships of the species of Agapophytus are discussed with three main clades recognised: A. dioctriaeformis clade, A. australasiae clade and A. queenslandi clade.

Familial Paget's disease of bone: Nonlinkage to the PDB1 and PDB2 loci on chromosomes 6p and 18q in a large pedigree

Paget's disease of bone is a common condition characterized by bone pain, deformity, pathological fracture, and an increased incidence of osteosarcoma. Genetic factors play a role in the pathogenesis of Paget's disease but the molecular basis remains largely unknown. Susceptibility loci for Paget's disease of bone have been mapped to chromosome 6p21.3 (PDB1) and 18q121.1-q22 (PDB2) in different pedigrees, We have identified a large pedigree of over 250 individuals with 49 informative individuals affected with Paget's disease of bone; 31 of whom are available for genotypic analysis. The disease is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in the pedigree with high penetrance by the sixth decade. Linkage analysis has been performed with markers at PDB1; these data show significant exclusion of linkage with log,, of the odds ratio (LOD) scores < -2 in this region. Linkage analysis of microsatellite markers from the PDB2 region has excluded linkage with this region, with a 30 cM exclusion region (LOD score < -2.0) centered on D18S42, These data confirm the genetic heterogeneity of Paget's disease of bone. Our hypothesis is that a novel susceptibility gene relevant to the pathogenesis of Paget's disease of bone lies elsewhere in the genome in the affected members of this pedigree and will be identified using a microsatellite genomewide scan followed by positional cloning.

Identifying the origin of single corneal cells by DNA fingerprinting - Part I - Implications for corneal limbal allografting

Purpose. To demonstrate that the combination of impression cytology and single cell DNA fingerprinting represents a powerful tool that is suitable for detecting transplanted cells after corneal limbal allografting. Methods, Fifty single cells were obtained by corneal impression cytology from 12 patients undergoing cataract surgery. Individual cells were isolated from samples by micromanipulation. Polymerase chain reaction and short tandem repeat profiling was used to obtain forensic standard DNA fingerprints from single cells. Blood samples taken at the time of impression cytology provided control fingerprints. Results, informative DNA fingerprints were obtained from all corneal samples and 66% (33 of 50 cells) of isolated single cells, Of all fingerprints obtained, most (91%, 30 of 33 fingerprints) corneal fingerprints matched corresponding blond sample fingerprints. At least one corneal fingerprint matched the corresponding blood sample fingerprint in 83% (10 of 12 patients) of the patients in the study, Conclusions. This extremely specific single cell DNA fingerprinting system permits accurate identification of individual corneal epithelial cells, allowing very reliable determination of their origin, which will enable host and donor cells to be distinguished from each other after keratolimbal allografting procedures. even if the host and donor are the same sex or siblings. These DNA fingerprinting methods allow assessment of quality and quantity of donor cell survival, as well as survival time. The extreme sensitivity and accuracy of the technique means that should contamination occur, it would be identified, thus ensuring meaningful results.

The marginal dentition of the Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri (Osteichthyes : Dipnoi)

The dentary, a component of the transient marginal dentition found in the mandible of juveniles of the living Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri, is a tooth plate exactly comparable to the tooth plates with radiating ridges that make up the marginal dentitions of Devonian dipnoans like Andreyevichthys, Orlovichthys and Ichnomylax. In N. forsteri, the dentary consists of two ridges, set almost in line with each other, and growing by the addition of cusps, of increasing sizes, to the extremity of each ridge. It is therefore equivalent to two ridges of a more normal tooth plate with radiating ridges. Despite its appearance, as a long row of sharp cusps ankylosed to a slender bone, and its position, embedded in soft tissue above the anterolabial margin of Meckel's cartilage, it is a tooth plate and is not comparable to the marginal dentitions of other vertebrates. Structure and development of the transient marginal dentition of this lungfish is another indication that dipnoans may not be the sister group of tetrapods.

Interaction between natural and sexual selection during the evolution of mate recognition

The interaction between natural and sexual selection is central to many theories of how mate choice and reproductive isolation evolve, but their joint effect on the evolution of mate recognition has not, to my knowledge, been investigated in an evolutionary experiment. Natural and sexual selection were manipulated in interspecific hybrid populations of Drosophila to determine their effects on the evolution of a mate recognition system comprised of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). The effect of natural selection in isolation indicated that CHCs were costly for males and females to produce. The effect of sexual selection in isolation indicated that females preferred males with a particular CHC composition. However, the interaction between natural and sexual selection had a greater effect on the evolution of the mate recognition system than either process in isolation. When natural and sexual selection were permitted to operate in combination, male CHCs became exaggerated to a greater extent than in the presence of sexual selection alone, and female CHCs evolved against the direction of natural selection. This experiment demonstrated that the interaction between natural and sexual selection is critical in determining the direction and magnitude of the evolutionary response of the mate recognition system.

Assessment of the ability to model proteins with leucine-rich repeats in light of the latest structural information

The three-dimensional structures of leucine-rich repeat (LRR) -containing proteins from five different families were previously predicted based on the crystal structure of the ribonuclease inhibitor. using an approach that combined homology-based modeling, structure-based sequence alignment of LRRs, and several rational assumptions. The structural models have been produced based on very limited sequence similarity, which, in general. cannot yield trustworthy predictions. Recently, the protein structures from three of these five families have been determined. In this report we estimate the quality of the modeling approach by comparing the models with the experimentally determined structures. The comparison suggests that the general architecture, curvature, interior/exterior orientations of side chains. and backbone conformation of the LRR structures can be predicted correctly. On the other hand. the analysis revealed that, in some cases. it is difficult to predict correctly the twist of the overall super-helical structure. Taking into consideration the conclusions from these comparisons, we identified a new family of bacterial LRR proteins and present its structural model. The reliability of the LRR protein modeling suggests that it would be informative to apply similar modeling approaches to other classes of solenoid proteins.

Microevolution in island forms: the roles of drift and directional selection in morphological divergence of a passerine bird

Theory predicts that in small isolated populations random genetic drift can lead to phenotypic divergence; however this prediction has rarely been tested quantitatively in natural populations. Here we utilize natural repeated island colonization events by members of the avian species complex, Zosterops lateralis, to assess whether or not genetic drift alone is an adequate explanation for the observed patterns of microevolutionary divergence in morphology. Morphological and molecular genetic characteristics of island and mainland populations are compared to test three predictions of drift theory: (1) that the pattern of morphological change is idiosyncratic to each island; (2) that there is concordance between morphological and neutral genetic shifts across island populations; and (3) for populations whose time of colonization is known, that the rate of morphological change is sufficiently slow to be accounted for solely by genetic drift. Our results are not consistent with these predictions. First, the direction of size shifts was consistently towards larger size, suggesting the action of a nonrandom process. Second, patterns of morphological divergence among recently colonized populations showed little concordance with divergence in neutral genetic characters. Third, rate tests of morphological change showed that effective population sizes were not small enough for random processes alone to account for the magnitude of microevolutionary change. Altogether, these three lines of evidence suggest that drift alone is not an adequate explanation of morphological differentiation in recently colonized island Zosterops and therefore we suggest that the observed microevolutionary changes are largely a result of directional natural selection.

Transpecific microsatellites for hard pines M. Shepherd, M. Cross, T. Maguire, M. Dieters, C. Williams, R. Henry

Microsatellites are difficult to recover from large plant genomes so cross-specific utilisation is an important source of markers. Fifty micro satellites were tested for cross-specific amplification and polymorphism to two New World hard pine species, slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii) and Caribbean pine (R caribaea var. hondurensis). Twenty-nine (58%) markers amplified in both hard pine species, and 23 of these 29 were polymorphic. Soft pine (subgenus Strobus) microsatellite markers did amplify, but none were polymorphic. Pinus elliottii var. elliottii and R caribaea var. hondurensis showed mutational changes in the flanking regions and the repeat motif that were informative for Pinus spp. phylogenetic relationships. Most allele length variation could be attributed to variability in repeat unit number. There was no evidence for ascertainment bias.

Spermatozoal morphology of the freshwater anomuran Aegla longirostri Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994 (Crustacea : Decapoda : Aeglidae) from South America

Unique sperm morphology is described for Aegla longirostri Bond-Buckup & Buckup, 1994. a representative of the freshwater anomuran family Aeglidae from South America. Comparisons of the spermatozoal ultrastructure of this species with that described for other anomurans indicate that A. longirostri has a distinct suite of spermatozoal characters. Within the Anomura, the aeglids share more spermatozoal characters with the superfamily Lomoidea. represented by the monotypic Australian endemic genus, Lomis, than to any previously described representative from the Galatheoidea, Hippoidea. or Paguroidea. A more basal ancestry, with an independent evolutionary lineage. within the Anomura is Postulated for the Aeglidae. A Superficial resemblance of the spermatozoal ultrastructure of A. longirostri to that described for a palinurid lobster, Jasus, and a thalassinidean mud shrimp, Neaxius, is also noted.

Low intraspecific variation in the rRNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the Australian paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus

Ixodes holocyclus has a narrow, discontinuous distribution along the east coast of Australia. We studied ticks from 17 localities throughout the geographic range of this tick. The ITS2 of I. holocyclus is 793 bp long. We found nucleotide variation at eight of the 588 nucleotide positions (1.4%) that were compared for all ticks. There were eight different nucleotide sequences. Most sequences were not restricted to a particular geographic region. However, sequences F, G and H, which had an adenine at position 197, were found only in the far north of Queensland - all other ticks had a guanine at this position. The low level of intraspecific variation in this tick (0.7%) contrasts with the sequence divergence between L holocyclus and its close relative, I. cornuatus (13.1 %). These data indicate that L holocyclus does not contain cryptic species despite possible geographic isolation of some populations. We conclude that variation in the ITS2 is likely to be informative about the phylogeny of the group.

Phylogenetic revision of Australian members of the Allomethus genus group (Diptera : Pipunculidae)

The Australian species of Allomethus and Claraeola are revised and include one described species, Claraeola erinys (Perkins), and five new species: Allomethus unicicolis sp. n., Claraeola cyclohirta sp. n., C. sicilis sp. n., C. spargosis sp. n., and C. yingka sp. n.. Claraeola hylaea (Perkins) is proposed to be a synonym of C. erinys (Perkins). A key to species is provided and male and female genitalia are illustrated. The Australian species are placed phylogenetically into a world context using available taxa within the Allomethus genus group. The phylogenetic relationships are discussed in light of a cladistic analysis involving 22 taxa and 60 characters.

A molecular phylogeny of rainbow skinks (Scincidae : Carlia): taxonomic and biogeographic implications

The phylogenetic relationships amongst 29 species of Carlia and Lygisaurus were estimated using a 726-base-pair segment of the protein-coding mitochondrial ND4 gene. Results do not support the recent resurrection of the genus Lygisaurus. Although most Lygisaurus species formed a single clade, this clade is nested within Carlia and includes Carlia parrhasius. Due to this new molecular evidence, and the paucity of diagnostic morphological characters separating the genera, Lygisaurus de Vis 1884 is re-synonymised with Carlia Gray 1845. Our analysis is also inconsistent with a previous suggestion that Lygisaurus timlowi should be removed to Menetia, a genus that is distantly related relative to outgroups used here. Intraspecific variation in Carlia is, in several instances, greater than interspecific distance. The most strikingly divergent lineages are found within C. rubrigularis, which appears to be paraphyletic, with southern populations more closely related to C. rhomboidalis than to northern populations of C. rubrigularis. The two C. rubrigularis-C. rhomboidalis lineages form part of a major polytomy at an intermediate level of divergence. Lack of resolution at this level, however, does not appear to be due to saturation or loss of phylogenetic signal. Rather, the polytomy probably reflects a period of relatively rapid diversification that occurred sometime during the Miocene.

Partitioned Bremer support and multiple trees

Partitioned Bremer support (PBS) is a valuable means of assessing congruence in combined data sets, but some aspects require clarification. When more than one equally parsimonious tree is found during the constrained search for trees lacking the node of interest, averaging PBS for each data set across these trees can conceal conflict, and PBS should ideally be examined for each constrained tree. Similarly, when multiple most parsimonious trees (MPTs) are generated during analysis of the combined data, PBS is usually calculated on the consensus tree. However, extra information can be obtained if PBS is calculated on each of the MPTs or even suboptimal trees. (C) 2002 The Willi Hennig Society. Published by Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.