Characteristics of the nuclear (18S, 5.8S, 28S and 5S) and mitochondrial (12S and 16S) rRNA genes of Apis mellifera (Insecta: Hymenoptera): structure, organization, and retrotransposable elements

As an accompanying manuscript to the release of the honey bee genome, we report the entire sequence of the nuclear (18S, 5.8S, 28S and 5S) and mitochondrial (12S and 16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-encoding gene sequences (rDNA) and related internally and externally transcribed spacer regions of Apis mellifera (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apocrita). Additionally, we predict secondary structures for the mature rRNA molecules based on comparative sequence analyses with other arthropod taxa and reference to recently published crystal structures of the ribosome. In general, the structures of honey bee rRNAs are in agreement with previously predicted rRNA models from other arthropods in core regions of the rRNA, with little additional expansion in non-conserved regions. Our multiple sequence alignments are made available on several public databases and provide a preliminary establishment of a global structural model of all rRNAs from the insects. Additionally, we provide conserved stretches of sequences flanking the rDNA cistrons that comprise the externally transcribed spacer regions (ETS) and part of the intergenic spacer region (IGS), including several repetitive motifs. Finally, we report the occurrence of retrotransposition in the nuclear large subunit rDNA, as R2 elements are present in the usual insertion points found in other arthropods. Interestingly, functional R1 elements usually present in the genomes of insects were not detected in the honey bee rRNA genes. The reverse transcriptase products of the R2 elements are deduced from their putative open reading frames and structurally aligned with those from another hymenopteran insect, the jewel wasp Nasonia (Pteromalidae). Stretches of conserved amino acids shared between Apis and Nasonia are illustrated and serve as potential sites for primer design, as target amplicons within these R2 elements may serve as novel phylogenetic markers for Hymenoptera. Given the impending completion of the sequencing of the Nasonia genome, we expect our report eventually to shed light on the evolution of the hymenopteran genome within higher insects, particularly regarding the relative maintenance of conserved rDNA genes, related variable spacer regions and retrotransposable elements

Renewal: Continential lithosphere evolution as a function of tectonic environment

The Cenozoic tectonic environment and stress regime of the southwestern United States have changed dramatically from compression during shallow-angle subduction during the Laramide orogeny in the early Cenozoic to the current mode of Basin and Range extension. Questions remain unresolved concerning the causes of this transition, including the timing of the initiation of extension (estimates range from 36 to 25 Ma), and is the Basin and Range simply an mega-example of back-arc extension, or is extension related to the subduction of an oceanic spreading center about 30 Ma? We have examined the patterns of magmagenesis and geochemical composition through Cenozoic time in southern New Mexico. We have defined four magma sources that have contributed to Cenozoic magmas. Immediately following the Laramide, magmas contain substantial contributions from the lower crust. Mid-Tertiary extension is related to the eruption of rhyolitic ash-flow tuffs and basalts. The basalts were generated by melting of the lithospheric mantle; intercalated rhyolites have a strong upper crustal signature. Eruption of basalts and andesites with sources in the lithospheric mantle and lower crust continued for several million years after rhyolitic volcanism ceased. The region was nearly void of volcanic activity for 16 million years despite continued extension, but at 10 Ma, basalts derived from the asthenosphere began to erupt

Small-scale convection at the edge of the Colorado Plateau: Implications for topography, magmatism, and evolution of Proterozoic lithosphere

The Colorado Plateau of the southwestern United States is characterized by a bowl-shaped high elevation, late Neogene–Quaternary magmatism at its edge, large gradients in seismic wave velocity across its margins, and relatively low lithospheric seismic wave velocities. We explain these observations by edge-driven convection following rehydration of Colorado Plateau lithosphere. A rapidly emplaced Cenozoic step in lithosphere thickness between the Colorado Plateau and adjacent extended Rio Grande rift and Basin and Range province causes small-scale convection in the asthenosphere. A lithospheric drip below the plateau is removing lithosphere material from the edge that is heated and metasomatized, resulting in magmatism. Edgedriven convection also drives margin uplift, giving the plateau its characteristic bowl shape. The edge-driven convection model shows good consistency with features resolved by seismic tomography

SAGE at 30

As you receive this issue of The Leading Edge the Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience (SAGE) will be starting our 30th field season. SAGE is a unique educational program that combines teaching and research as a partnership between universities, industry, government agencies and professional societies. SAGE includes a four-week period based in Santa Fe, New Mexico and one-week workshop in the following January for undergraduates, at San Diego State University, which allows us to enhance their research experience. We teach the principles and applications of refraction and reflection seismics, magnetics, gravity, GPS, several electromagnetic (EM) methods and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in a field-based, hands-on setting. The central research activity of SAGE is the acquisition and interpretation of geophysical field data. Students learn geophysics by doing geophysics—a discovery oriented approach. W. Scott Baldridge, Lawrence W. Braile, Shawn Biehler, George R. Jiracek, John F. Ferguson, Derrick Hasterok, Louise Pellerin, Paul A. Bedrosian and Darcy K. McPhee, Catherine M. Snelso