Fine-scale genetic structure among greater sage-grouse leks in central Nevada

BACKGROUND: Mating systems that reduce dispersal and lead to non-random mating might increase the potential for genetic structure to arise at fine geographic scales. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have a lek-based mating system and exhibit high site fidelity and skewed mating ratios. We quantified population structure by analyzing variation at 27,866 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 140 males from ten leks (within five lek complexes) occurring in a small geographic region in central Nevada. RESULTS: Lek complexes, and to a lesser extent individual leks, formed statistically identifiable clusters in ordination analyses, providing evidence for fine-scale geographic genetic differentiation. Lek geography predicted genetic differentiation even at a small geographic scale, which could be sharpened by strong site fidelity. Relatedness was also higher among individuals within lek complexes (and leks), suggesting that reproductive skew, where few males participate in most of the successful matings, could also potentially contribute to genetic differentiation. Models incorporating a habitat resistance surface as a proxy for potentially reduced movement due to landscape features indicated that both geographic distance and habitat suitability (i.e. preferred habitat) predicted genetic structure, with no significant effect of man-made barriers to movement (i.e. power lines and roads). Finally, we illustrate how data sets containing fewer loci (<4000) had less statistical precision and failed to detect the full degree of genetic structure. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that habitat features and lek site geography of sage-grouse shape fine scale genetic structure, and highlight how larger data sets can have increased precision and accuracy for quantifying ecologically relevant genetic structure over small geographic scales. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0702-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A phenotypic screen in zebrafish identifies a novel small-molecule inducer of ectopic tail formation suggestive of alterations in non-canonical Wnt/PCP signaling

Zebrafish have recently emerged as an attractive model for the in vivo bioassay-guided isolation and characterization of pharmacologically active small molecules of natural origin. We carried out a zebrafish-based phenotypic screen of over 3000 plant-derived secondary metabolite extracts with the goal of identifying novel small-molecule modulators of the BMP and Wnt signaling pathways. One of the bioactive plant extracts identified in this screen - Jasminum gilgianum, an Oleaceae species native to Papua New Guinea - induced ectopic tails during zebrafish embryonic development. As ectopic tail formation occurs when BMP or non-canonical Wnt signaling is inhibited during the tail protrusion process, we suspected a constituent of this extract to act as a modulator of these pathways. A bioassay-guided isolation was carried out on the basis of this zebrafish phenotype, identifying para-coumaric acid methyl ester (pCAME) as the active compound. We then performed an in-depth phenotypic analysis of pCAME-treated zebrafish embryos, including a tissue-specific marker analysis of the secondary tails. We found pCAME to synergize with the BMP-inhibitors dorsomorphin and LDN-193189 in inducing ectopic tails, and causing convergence-extension defects in compound-treated embryos. These results indicate that pCAME may interfere with non-canonical Wnt signaling. Inhibition of Jnk, a downstream target of Wnt/PCP signaling (via morpholino antisense knockdown and pharmacological inhibition with the kinase inhibitor SP600125) phenocopied pCAME-treated embryos. However, immunoblotting experiments revealed pCAME to not directly inhibit Jnk-mediated phosphorylation of c-Jun, suggesting additional targets of SP600125, and/or other pathways, as possibly being involved in the ectopic tail formation activity of pCAME. Further investigation of pCAME's mechanism of action will help determine this compound's pharmacological utility