Project description:Intricate species delimitation in Gynoxys (Senecioneae, Asteraceae): insights from a taxonomic revision of the gynoxyoids for Bolivia
Project description:Leaf tissue was sampled from clonal palms producing normal and mantled fruits. RNAseq libraries were generated and sequenced on Illumina platform. Differential expression analysis was carried out between the normal and mantled groups of palms.
Project description:Leaf tissue was sampled from normal and mantled clonal palms producing normal and mantled fruits respectively. ChIP-Seq libraries for histone modifications H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 were generated and sequenced on Illumina platform. Genomic regions associated with specific histone marks were identified.
Project description:BackgroundRobust species delimitations are fundamental for conservation, evolutionary, and systematic studies, but they can be difficult to estimate, particularly in rapid and recent radiations. The consensus that species concepts aim to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages is clear, but the criteria used to distinguish evolutionary lineages differ based on the perceived importance of the various characteristics of evolving populations. We examined three different species-delimitation criteria (monophyly, absence of genetic intermediates, and diagnosability) to determine whether currently recognized species of Hawaiian Pritchardia are distinct lineages.ResultsData from plastid and nuclear genes, microsatellite loci, and morphological characters resulted in various levels of lineage subdivision that were likely caused by differing evolutionary rates between data sources. Additionally, taxonomic entities may be confounded because of the effects of incomplete lineage sorting and/or gene flow. A coalescent species tree was largely congruent with the simultaneous analysis, consistent with the idea that incomplete lineage sorting did not mislead our results. Furthermore, gene flow among populations of sympatric lineages likely explains the admixture and lack of resolution between those groups.ConclusionsDelimiting Hawaiian Pritchardia species remains difficult but the ability to understand the influence of the evolutionary processes of incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization allow for mechanisms driving species diversity to be inferred. These processes likely extend to speciation in other Hawaiian angiosperm groups and the biota in general and must be explicitly accounted for in species delimitation.
Project description:Seminal fluid protein (SFP) composition is complex and commonly assumed to be rapidly divergent due to functional interactions with both sperm and the female reproductive tract (FRT), both of which evolve rapidly. In addition to sperm, seminal fluid may contain structures, such as mating plugs and spermatophores. Here, we investigate the evolutionary diversification of a lesser-known ejaculate structure: the spermatostyle, which has independently arisen in several families of beetles and true bugs. We characterized the spermatostyle proteome, in addition to spermatostyle and FRT morphology, in six species of whirligig beetles (family Gyrinidae). Spermatostyles were enriched for proteolytic enzymes, and assays confirmed they possess proteolytic activity. Sperm leucyl aminopeptidases (S-LAPs) were particularly abundant, and their localization to spermatostyles was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Although there was evidence for functional conservation of spermatostyle proteomes across species, phylogenetic regressions suggest evolutionary covariation between protein composition and the morphology of both spermatostyles and FRTs. We postulate that S-LAPs (and other proteases) have evolved a novel structural role in spermatostyles and discuss spermatostyles as adaptations for delivering male-derived materials to females.
Project description:Genomic surveys of yeast hybrid species isolated from the wild and from human-related environment, aimed at the reconstruction of the natural evolution of Saccharomyces spp. evolution
Project description:We investigated seminal fluid (SF) diversification in a recently diverged passerine species pair (Passer domesticus and P. hispaniolensis) using a combination of proteomic and comparative evolutionary genomic approaches. Specifically, using tandem MS/MS semi-quantitative proteomic methods we identified and compared the SF proteome of two species of Passer sparrows - the house and Spanish sparrow. This analysis revealed consistencies with known aspects of SF protein biology and function in other taxa, including the presence of a diversity of immune and antimicrobial proteins