Color differences among feral pigeons (Columba livia) are not attributable to sequence variation in the coding region of the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R)

Genetic variation at the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) gene is correlated with melanin color variation in many birds. Feral pigeons (Columba livia) show two major melanin-based colorations: a red coloration due to pheomelanic pigment and a black coloration due to eumelanic pigment. Furthermore, within each color type, feral pigeons display continuous variation in the amount of melanin pigment present in the feathers, with individuals varying from pure white to a full dark melanic color. Coloration is highly heritable and it has been suggested that it is under natural or sexual selection, or both. Our objective was to investigate whether MC1R allelic variants are associated with plumage color in feral pigeons.We sequenced 888 bp of the coding sequence of MC1R among pigeons varying both in the type, eumelanin or pheomelanin, and the amount of melanin in their feathers. We detected 10 non-synonymous substitutions and 2 synonymous substitution but none of them were associated with a plumage type. It remains possible that non-synonymous substitutions that influence coloration are present in the short MC1R fragment that we did not sequence but this seems unlikely because we analyzed the entire functionally important region of the gene.Our results show that color differences among feral pigeons are probably not attributable to amino acid variation at the MC1R locus. Therefore, variation in regulatory regions of MC1R or variation in other genes may be responsible for the color polymorphism of feral pigeons.

Consommations et interventions en milieu festif

[Content] 1. Introduction. - 1.1. Mandat et questions d'évaluation. - 1.2. Méthode. - 2. Appréciation de la consommation en milieu festif dans le canton de Vaud par les professionnels. - 2.1 Consommation et profil de consommation. - 2.2. Prises de risque et conséquences. - 2.3 Interventions et besoins perçus. - 3. Revue de différentes interventions existantes en Suisse. - 3.1. Historique et objectifs des projets. - 4. Interventions actuelles dans le canton de Vaud. - 4.1. Interventions structurelles. - 5. Avantages et limites des différents types d'intervention répertoriés dans les cantons. - 5.1. Interventions structurelles. - 5.2 Interventions comportementales. - 5.3 Synthèse. - - 6 Conclusions et recommandations pour une intervention en milieu festif dans le canton de Vaud. - 6.1 Bilan du panel de professionnels. - 6.2 Modalités de l'intervention. - 6.3 Recommandations. - 7. Annexes. - 7.1. Fiches projets. - 7.1.1. REPER (secteur Information et projets). - 7.1.2. Fiesta. - 7.1.3. Pôle Prévention jurassien. - 7.1.4. danno.ch. - 7.1.5. Nuit blanche ?. - 7.1.6. saferparty.ch. - 7.1.7. rave it safe.

[Jeune homme endormi, profil gauche] : [estampe] / [gravé par Weisbrod]

Destinataire de l'envoi : Bentinck, Charlotte Sophie von Aldenburg (1715-1800 ; comtesse de)

Survival and early seedling growth of conifers with different shade tolerance in a Sitka spruce spacing trial and relationship to understorey light climate

Abstract

Fonder un nouveau mode de redistribution des aides sociales sur une philosophie de la personne?

Cet article présente un nouveau modèle de redistribution des aides sociales en France, le mécanisme de "l'allocation personnelle", fondé sur une nouvelle conception des mutuelles auxquelles est assigné un rôle de redistribution. L'enjeu de ce papier est de mettre en avant les fondements philosophiques qui sous-tendent cette nouvelle conception de la redistribution, en particulier la philosophie personnaliste.