Evolution and regulation of developmental plasticity: body size and pigmentation in Drosophila

"Phenotypic variation is a universal property of biological organisms and is the raw material for evolution by natural selection. Patterns of phenotypic variation in natural populations are greatly dependent on the external environment. Beyond filtering phenotypic variation in the process of natural selection, the environment can also play an instructive role leading to the production of phenotypic variants during development. Environmental cues, such as temperature or nutrition, can influence developmental rates and trajectories and lead to the production of different phenotypes from the same genotype; a phenomenon called developmental plasticity. In the wild, organisms are exposed to a variety of environmental cues that might affect the development of several traits in different manners.(...)

Evolution and regulation of developmental plasticity: body size and pigmentation in Drosophila

"Phenotypic variation is a universal property of biological organisms and is the raw material for evolution by natural selection. Patterns of phenotypic variation in natural populations are greatly dependent on the external environment. Beyond filtering phenotypic variation in the process of natural selection, the environment can also play an instructive role leading to the production of phenotypic variants during development. Environmental cues, such as temperature or nutrition, can influence developmental rates and trajectories and lead to the production of different phenotypes from the same genotype; a phenomenon called developmental plasticity. In the wild, organisms are exposed to a variety of environmental cues that might affect the development of several traits in different manners.(...)

Genomics of Developmental Plasticity in Animals

Developmental plasticity refers to the property by which the same genotype produces distinct phenotypes depending on the environmental conditions under which development takes place. By allowing organisms to produce phenotypes adjusted to the conditions that adults will experience, developmental plasticity can provide the means to cope with environmental heterogeneity. Developmental plasticity can be adaptive and its evolution can be shaped by natural selection. It has also been suggested that developmental plasticity can facilitate adaptation and promote diversification. Here, we summarize current knowledge on the evolution of plasticity and on the impact of plasticity on adaptive evolution, and we identify recent advances and important open questions about the genomics of developmental plasticity in animals. We give special attention to studies using transcriptomics to identify genes whose expression changes across developmental environments and studies using genetic mapping to identify loci that contribute to variation in plasticity and can fuel its evolution.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Digest: The guppy project: Predicting evolution in the wild

ABSTRACT Is the evolution of sexual traits predictable in the wild? Using replicate experimental guppy populations, Kemp et al. (2018) addressed this question and found that males evolved more elaborate ornamentation in response to a manipulation that increased the influence of sexual selection. Moreover, the study reveals that evolutionary trajectories of male ornamentation are causally affected by female preference and the environmental conditions under which sexual coloration is displayed and perceived. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reservedPeer reviewe

“Towards a Works List for Louise Talma”

A bibliography of composer Louise Talma's composition

Many ways to make darker flies: Intra- and inter-specific variation in Drosophila body pigmentation components

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

La protección de los derechos fundamentales de las personas LGTBI

Producción CientíficaEl presente volumen, realizado en el marco del Proyecto estatal "España ante Europa: retos nacionales en materia de derechos fundamentales" (DER2016-75993-P), se articula en torno a dos partes bien diferenciadas. En la primera se examina la protección de los derechos fundamentales de las personas LGTBI en perspectiva internacional y comparada. Comprende un estudio de Ignacio Álvarez Rodríguez sobre el papel desempeñado por la ONU a este respecto; otro de José Díaz Lafuente acerca de los avances habidos en el seno de la UE en este terreno; y un tercero sobre el Consejo de Europa, a cargo de Francisco Ruiz-Risueño Montoya, en el que se disecciona críticamente la muy relevante jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos recaída sobre la materia. Esta primera parte se completa con un estudio comparado de Anna Lorenzetti sobre la situación jurídica de las personas LGTBI en diversos Estados europeos. En la segunda parte de la obra se analizan temas específicos que presentan especial interés para el colectivo LGTBI. María Díaz Crego aborda la discriminación por orientación sexual; Miguel Ángel Presno Libera se ocupa del discurso del odio contra las minorías sexuales: Pilar Benavente examina el registro y la filiación de parejas LGTBI; Francisco Javier Matia Portilla se pregunta si sería conveniente regular la gestación subrogada en nuestro país; y finalmente Antonio Arroyo Gil concluye con una reflexión jurídica sobre la intersexualidad.Departamento de Derecho Constitucional, Procesal y Eclesiástico del EstadoMinisterio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (DER2016-75993-P

Control oficial dels productes vitivinícoles: aplicació del SICA en establiments del sector del vi; criteris de flexibilitat

Petits cellers; Requisits d’higiene; APPCC; Criteris flexibilitat; SICAPequeñas bodegas; Requisitos de higiene; APPCC; Criterios flexibilidad; SICASmall wineries; Hygiene requirements; HACCP; Criteria of flexibility; SICADurant el procés de treball de la comunitat de pràctica (CoP) s’ha establert un cronograma d’actuacions. Els objectius que s’han prioritzat són: a) Donar informació sobre la importància dels establiments relacionats amb el món del vi i el vi escumós a Catalunya i la distribució territorial que tenen. b) Donar informació sobre els perills que s’han detectat aquests darrers anys en vins i vins escumosos, que han estat motiu de notificacions d’alerta a la Unió Europea o d’alguna incidència a Catalunya. c) Posar a disposició dels inspectors un recull de la normativa que afecta el sector vitivinícola. d) Elaborar un protocol d’inspecció que proporcioni una eina eficaç i útil per efectuar el control oficial dels establiments que elaboren i/o envasen productes vitivinícoles. e) Elaborar material de suport per als inspectors que faciliti la interpretació de les preguntes del protocol que poden generar dubtes en relació amb les pràctiques enològiques i la informació alimentària. f) Realitzar consultes a Serveis Centrals en relació amb diversos punts de la normativa que presenten dubtes d’interpretació per obtenir criteris homogenis i poder incloure’ls en el material de suport per als inspectors. g) Elaborar documents que incloguin els requisits mínims que han de tenir els establiments que realitzen activitats relacionades amb productes vitivinícoles i els criteris de flexibilitat que es podrien aplicar en casos determinats. Aquest ha estat un treball que la CoP ha realitzat durant dos anys.Durante el proceso de trabajo de la comunidad de práctica (CoP) se ha establecido un cronograma de actuaciones. Los objetivos que se han priorizado son: a) Dar información sobre la importancia de los establecimientos relacionados con el mundo del vino y el vino espumoso en Cataluña y su distribución territorial. b) Dar información sobre los peligros que se han detectado estos últimos años en vinos y vinos espumosos, que han sido motivo de notificaciones de alerta en la Unión Europea o de alguna incidencia en Cataluña. c) Poner a disposición de los inspectores una recopilación de la normativa que afecta al sector vitivinícola. d) Elaborar un protocolo de inspección que proporcione una herramienta eficaz y útil para efectuar el control oficial de los establecimientos que elaboren y/o envasen productos vitivinícolas. e) Elaborar material de soporte para los inspectores que facilite la interpretación de las preguntas del protocolo que pueden generar dudas en relación con las prácticas enológicas y la información alimentaria. f) Realizar consultas a Servicios Centrales en relación con varios puntos de la normativa que presenten dudas de interpretación para obtener criterios homogéneos y poder incluirlos en el material de soporte para los inspectores. g) Elaborar documentos que incluyan los requisitos mínimos que deben tener los establecimientos que realizan actividades relacionadas con productos vitivinícolas y los criterios de flexibilidad que podrían aplicarse en casos determinados. Éste ha sido un trabajo que la CoP ha realizado durante dos años.During the work process of the community of practice (CoP) a schedule has been established of performances. The objectives that have been prioritized are: a) Give information about the importance of establishments related to the world of wine and wine sparkling wine in Catalonia and its territorial distribution. b) Provide information on the dangers that have been detected in recent years in wines and sparkling wines, which have been the reason for alert notifications in the European Union or an incident in Catalonia. c) Make a compilation of the regulations that affect the wine sector available to inspectors. d) Develop an inspection protocol that provides an effective and useful tool for carrying out official control of establishments that produce and/or package wine products. e) Prepare support material for inspectors that facilitates the interpretation of protocol questions that may raise doubts in relation to oenological practices and food information. f) Make inquiries to Central Services in relation to various points of the regulations that present doubts of interpretation in order to obtain homogeneous criteria and be able to include them in the support material for inspectors. g) Prepare documents that include the minimum requirements that must be met by establishments that carry out activities related to wine products and the flexibility criteria that could be applied in specific cases. This has been work that the CoP has done for two years

Improved chromosome-level genome assembly of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) integrating Pacific Biosciences long reads and a high-density linkage map

Background The Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) butterfly is a model system for metapopulation dynamics research in fragmented landscapes. Here, we provide a chromosome-level assembly of the butterfly's genome produced from Pacific Biosciences sequencing of a pool of males, combined with a linkage map from population crosses. Results The final assembly size of 484 Mb is an increase of 94 Mb on the previously published genome. Estimation of the completeness of the genome with BUSCO indicates that the genome contains 92-94% of the BUSCO genes in complete and single copies. We predicted 14,810 genes using the MAKER pipeline and manually curated 1,232 of these gene models. Conclusions The genome and its annotated gene models are a valuable resource for future comparative genomics, molecular biology, transcriptome, and genetics studies on this species.Peer reviewe

Exploring APOE genotype effects on Alzheimer's disease risk and amyloid β burden in individuals with subjective cognitive decline: The FundacioACE Healthy Brain Initiative (FACEHBI) study baseline results

Introduction: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) has been proposed as a potential preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, the genetic and biomarker profiles of SCD individuals remain mostly unexplored. Methods: We evaluated apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4's effect in the risk of presenting SCD, using the Fundacio ACE Healthy Brain Initiative (FACEHBI) SCD cohort and Spanish controls, and performed a meta-analysis addressing the same question. We assessed the relationship between APOE dosage and brain amyloid burden in the FACEHBI SCD and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohorts. Results: Analysis of the FACEHBI cohort and the meta-analysis demonstrated SCD individuals presented higher allelic frequencies of APOE ε4 with respect to controls. APOE dosage explained 9% (FACEHBI cohort) and 11% (FACEHBI and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohorts) of the variance of cerebral amyloid levels. Discussion: The FACEHBI sample presents APOE ε4 enrichment, suggesting that a pool of AD patients is nested in our sample. Cerebral amyloid levels are partially explained by the APOE allele dosage, suggesting that other genetic or epigenetic factors are involved in this AD endophenotype