166 research outputs found
Bergmann\u27s Clines in Ectotherms: Illustrating a Life-History Perspective with Sceloporine Lizards
The generality and causes of Bergmann\u27s rule have been debated vigorously in the last few years, but Bergmann\u27s clines are rarely explained in the context of life-history theory. We used both traditional and phylogenetic comparative analyses to explore the causes of latitudinal and thermal clines in the body size of the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus). The proximate mechanism for larger body sizes in colder environments is delayed maturation, which results in a greater fecundity but a lower survival to maturity. Life-history theory predicts that a higher survivorship of juveniles in colder environments can favor the evolution of a Bergmann\u27s cline. Consistent with this theory, lizards in colder environments survive better as juveniles and delay maturation until reaching a larger body size than that of lizards in warmer environments. We expect similar relationships among temperature, survivorship, and age/size at maturity exist in other ectotherms that exhibit Bergmann\u27s clines. However, life-history traits of S. undulatus were more strongly related to latitude than they were to temperature, indicating that both abiotic and biotic factors should be considered as causes of Bergmann\u27s clines. Nonetheless, analyses of the costs and benefits of particular body sizes in different thermal environments will enhance our understanding of geographic variation
Variation in Size and Growth of the Great Scallop Pecten maximus along a Latitudinal Gradient
Understanding the relationship between growth and temperature will aid in the evaluation of thermal stress and threats to ectotherms in the context of anticipated climate changes. Most Pecten maximus scallops living at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere have a larger maximum body size than individuals further south, a common pattern among many ectotherms. We investigated differences in daily shell growth among scallop populations along the Northeast Atlantic coast from Spain to Norway. This study design allowed us to address precisely whether the asymptotic size observed along a latitudinal gradient, mainly defined by a temperature gradient, results from differences in annual or daily growth rates, or a difference in the length of the growing season. We found that low annual growth rates in northern populations are not due to low daily growth values, but to the smaller number of days available each year to achieve growth compared to the south. We documented a decrease in the annual number of growth days with age regardless of latitude. However, despite initially lower annual growth performances in terms of growing season length and growth rate, differences in asymptotic size as a function of latitude resulted from persistent annual growth performances in the north and sharp declines in the south. Our measurements of daily growth rates throughout life in a long-lived ectothermic species provide new insight into spatio-temporal variations in growth dynamics and growing season length that cannot be accounted for by classical growth models that only address asymptotic size and annual growth rate
Hydrodynamic modelling of protein conformation in solution: ELLIPS and HYDRO
The last three decades has seen some important
advances in our ability to represent the conformation of
proteins in solution on the basis of hydrodynamic measurements.
Advances in theoretical modeling capabilities have
been matched by commensurate advances in the precision of
hydrodynamic measurements. We consider the advances in
whole-body (simple ellipsoid-based) modeling—still useful
for providing an overall idea of molecular shape, particularly
for those systems where only a limited amount of data is
available—and outline the ELLIPS suite of algorithms
which facilitates the use of this approach. We then focus
on bead modeling strategies, particularly the surface or
shell–bead approaches and the HYDRO suite of algorithms.
We demonstrate how these are providing great insights into
complex issues such as the conformation of immunoglobulins
and other multi-domain complexes
Effect of P to A Mutation of the N-Terminal Residue Adjacent to the Rgd Motif on Rhodostomin: Importance of Dynamics in Integrin Recognition
Rhodostomin (Rho) is an RGD protein that specifically inhibits integrins. We found that Rho mutants with the P48A mutation 4.4–11.5 times more actively inhibited integrin α5β1. Structural analysis showed that they have a similar 3D conformation for the RGD loop. Docking analysis also showed no difference between their interactions with integrin α5β1. However, the backbone dynamics of RGD residues were different. The values of the R2 relaxation parameter for Rho residues R49 and D51 were 39% and 54% higher than those of the P48A mutant, which caused differences in S2, Rex, and τe. The S2 values of the P48A mutant residues R49, G50, and D51 were 29%, 14%, and 28% lower than those of Rho. The Rex values of Rho residues R49 and D51 were 0.91 s−1 and 1.42 s−1; however, no Rex was found for those of the P48A mutant. The τe values of Rho residues R49 and D51 were 9.5 and 5.1 times lower than those of P48A mutant. Mutational study showed that integrin α5β1 prefers its ligands to contain (G/A)RGD but not PRGD sequences for binding. These results demonstrate that the N-terminal proline residue adjacent to the RGD motif affect its function and dynamics, which suggests that the dynamic properties of the RGD motif may be important in Rho's interaction with integrin α5β1
Clutch size in populations and species of cnemidophorines (Squamata: Teiidae) on the eastern coast of Brazil
Recent advances in gecko adhesion and friction mechanisms and development of gecko-inspired dry adhesive surfaces
Effects of Hatching Time for Larval Ambystomatid Salamanders
In aquatic communities, the phenology of breeding may influence species interactions. In the early-breeding, marbled salamander, ambrystoma opacum, timing of pond filling may determine whether interactions among larvae are competitive or predatory
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