DNA barcoding of Iberian Peninsula and North Africa Tawny Owls Strix aluco suggests the Strait of Gibraltar as an important barrier for phylogeography

Eight subspecies have been proposed within the Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) species. However, recent molecular data have challenged this view, encouraging further work in this species complex. Here we reevaluated the taxonomic status between the North-Western African Tawny Owl, S. a. mauritanica, and its closest Iberian Tawny Owl population (from the S. a. sylvatica to S. a. aluco clade) separated by the Strait of Gibraltar. The Tawny Owl is a non-migratory and territorial species, and juvenile dispersal is restricted to a few kilometers around the natal site. This limited dispersal and the barrier imposed by the Strait of Gibraltar predicted a strong differentiation between the two populations. We tested this using DNA barcoding, Bayesian phylogenetic and species delimitation analysis. We found that an 81.1% of variation is due to the intergroups variation. In addition, the inter-intraspecific distances distribution revealed a barcoding gap among the two subspecies. Also, posterior probabilities and the PAB value allowed to reject the hypothesis that observed degree of distinctiveness is due to random coalescence processes. These findings clearly support the Strait of Gibraltar as an isolating barrier for this species. The subspecific status is confirmed and species status is even suggested for S. a. mauritanica.Peer reviewe

Mind the numt: Finding informative mitochondrial markers in a giant grasshopper genome

H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Grant/Award Number: 658706; Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades, Grant/Award Number: PID2019-104952GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033The barcoding of the mitochondrial COX1 gene has been instrumental in cataloguing the tree of life, and in providing insights in the phylogeographic history of species. Yet, this strategy has encountered difficulties in major clades characterized by large genomes, which contain a high frequency of nuclear pseudogenes originating from the mitochondrial genome (numts). Here, we use the meadow grasshopper (Chorthippus parallelus), which possesses a giant genome of ~13 Gb, to identify mitochondrial genes that are underrepresented as numts, and test their use as informative phylogeographic markers. We recover the same full mitochondrial sequence using both whole genome and transcriptome sequencing, including functional protein‐coding genes and tRNAs. We show that a region of the mitogenome containing the COX1 gene, typically used in DNA barcoding, has disproportionally higher diversity and coverage than the rest of the mitogenome, consistent with multiple insertions of that region into the nuclear genome. By designing new markers in regions of less elevated diversity and coverage, we identify two mitochondrial genes that are less likely to be duplicated as numts. We show that, while these markers show high levels of incomplete lineage sorting between subspecies, as expected for mitochondrial genes, genetic variation reflects their phylogeographic history accurately. These findings allow us to identify useful mitochondrial markers for future studies in C. parallelus, an important biological system for evolutionary biology. More generally, this study exemplifies how non‐PCR‐based methods using next‐generation sequencing can be used to avoid numts in species characterized by large genomes, which have remained challenging to study in taxonomy and evolution.H2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions 658706Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades PID2019-104952GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

A mobile insulator system to detect and disrupt cis-regulatory landscapes in vertebrates

et al.In multicellular organisms, cis-regulation controls gene expression in space and time. Despite the essential implication of cisregulation in the development and evolution of organisms and in human diseases, our knowledge about regulatory sequences largely derives from analyzing their activity individually and outside their genomic context. Indeed, the contribution of these sequences to the expression of their target genes in their genomic context is still largely unknown. Here we present a novel genetic screen designed to visualize and interrupt gene regulatory landscapes in vertebrates. In this screen, based on the random insertion of an engineered Tol2 transposon carrying a strong insulator separating two fluorescent reporter genes, we isolated hundreds of zebrafish lines containing insertions that disrupt the cis-regulation of tissue-specific expressed genes. We therefore provide a new easy-to-handle tool that will help to disrupt and chart the regulatory activity spread through the vast noncoding regions of the vertebrate genome.This study was supported by the Spanish and Andalusian Governments (JLGS grant numbers BFU2010-14839, CSD2007-00008, Proyecto de Excelencia CVI-3488, and JJC grant number BFU2011-22928), an EFSD/Lilly grant, and a Universidad Pablo de Olavide grant (JB grant number PPI0906). A.A. is an FPI fellow and J.B. is a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellow (JCI-2009-04014) of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. J.B. was also an FCT postdoctoral fellow (SFRH/BPD/38829/2007; POPH/FSE). M.L. is a Junta de Andalucia fellow.Peer Reviewe

Transposable element landscapes illuminate past evolutionary events in the endangered fern Vandenboschia speciosa

Vandenboschia speciosa is an endangered tetraploid fern species with a large genome (10.5 Gb). Its geographical distribution is characterized by disjoined tertiary flora refuges, with relict populations that survived past climate crises. Here we analyze the transposable elements (TEs) and found that they comprise about 76% of the V. speciosa genome, thus being the most abundant kind of DNA sequences in this gigantic genome. V. speciosa genome is composed of 51% and 5.6% of Class I and Class II elements, respectively. LTR retrotransposons were the most abundant TEs in this species (at least 42% of the genome), followed by non-LTR retrotransposons that constituted at least 8.7% of the genome of this species. We introduce an additional analysis to identify the nature of non-annotated elements (19% of the genome). A BLAST search of the non-annotated contigs against the V. speciosa TE database allowed determining the identity of almost half of them, which were most likely diverged sequence variants of the annotated TEs. In general, TE composition in V. speciosa resembles TE composition in seed plants. In addition, repeat landscapes revealed three episodes of amplification for all TEs, most likely due to demographic changes associated to past climate crises

Tandem Repeat DNA provides many cytological markers for hybrid zone analysis in two subspecies of the grasshopper chorthippus parallelus

Recent advances in next generation sequencing (NGS) have greatly increased our understanding of non-coding tandem repeat (TR) DNA. Here we show how TR DNA can be useful for the study of hybrid zones (HZ), as it serves as a marker to identify introgression in areas where two biological entities come in contact. We used Illumina libraries to analyse two subspecies of the grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus, which currently form a HZ in the Pyrenees. We retrieved a total of 152 TR sequences, and used fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) to map 77 families in purebred individuals from both subspecies. Our analysis revealed 50 TR families that could serve as markers for analysis of this HZ, using FISH. Differential TR bands were unevenly distributed between chromosomes and subspecies. Some of these TR families yielded FISH bands in only one of the subspecies, suggesting the amplification of these TR families after the geographic separation of the subspecies in the Pleistocene. Our cytological analysis of two TR markers along a transect of the Pyrenean hybrid zone showed asymmetrical introgression of one subspecies into the other, consistent with previous findings using other markers. These results demonstrate the reliability of TR-band markers for hybrid zone studie

Development and characterization of 15 novel polymorphic microsatellite loci for two important bot flies (Diptera, Oestridae) by next-generation sequencing

©2020. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This document is the Accepted, version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Parasitology Research. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-020-06824-yCephenemyia stimulator and Oestrus ovis are two important parasitic bot flies (Oestridae) species causing myiasis, with a potential negative impact on the welfare of the host. Using next-generation sequencing approach and bioinformatics tools, a large panel of possible microsatellites loci was obtained in both species. Primer pairs were designed for 15 selected microsatellite loci in C. stimulator and other 15 loci in O. ovis for PCR amplification. Loci amplification and analysis were performed in four populations of each species. The results demonstrated that all selected loci were polymorphic, with the number of alleles ranging from 2 to 6 per locus in C. stimulator and 3 to 13 per locus in O. ovis. This is the first time to describe these microsatellite loci for C. stimulator and O. ovis. These two sets of microsatellite markers could be further used for biogeographic and population genetics studies.Cephenemyia stimulator and Oestrus ovis, are two important parasitic bot flies (Oestridae) species causing myiasis, with a potential negative impact on the welfare of the host. Using next-generation sequencing approach and bioinformatics tools a large panel of possible microsatellites loci was obtained in both species. Primer pairs were designed for 15 selected microsatellite loci in C. stimulator and other 15 loci in O. ovis for PCR amplification. Loci amplification and analysis were performed in four populations of each species. The results demonstrated that all selected loci were polymorphic, with the number of alleles ranging from 2 to 6 per locus in C. stimulator and 3 to 13 per locus in O. ovis. This is the first time to describe these microsatellite loci for C. stimulator and O. ovis. These two sets of microsatellite markers could be further used for biogeographic and population genetics studies

Factores psicosociales de riesgo y burnout en policías: un análisis de redes

Work stress has been identified as a critical factor affecting mental health in police officers. Psychosocial factors increase the impact of work stress on police officers and,in the long run,contribute to the onset of burnout symptoms. In this research asample of 323 was studied to study the relationship between psychosocial risk factors and the probability of suffering burnout symptoms. The participant’s answers to the MBI-GSandF-PSICO(version4.0) were analysed by using network analysis.There sults show that psychosocial risk factors are strongly associated in network models when higher level of cynicism and emotional exhaustion are observed. Additionally, higher levels of burnout in police officers were observed when lower autonomy,higher psychological demands, role ambiguities and alower perceived social support were present. Results are discussed considering its theoretical and applied relevance to design healthier work environments an defficient psychologicalinterventionsEl estrés laboral crónico ha sido identificado como uno de los riesgos laborales más importantes que afecta a la salud mental de los agentes de policía. Existen ciertos factores psicosociales que incrementan el estrés laboral en la policía y que, a largo plazo, desencadenan síntomas compatibles con el burnout. En este trabajo se ha utilizado una muestra integrada por 323 policías para valorar la relación que se establece entre los factores psicosociales de riesgo y la probabilidad de experimentar síntomas compatibles con el burnout. Las respuestas de los participantes al MBI-GS y al F-PSICO (versión 4.0) fueron examinadas utilizando análisis de redes. Los resultados muestran que existen redes de factores psicosociales de riesgo más cohesionadas cuando los niveles de cinismo y agotamiento emocional son más elevados. Además, se observa mayor nivel de burnout asociados con una baja autonomía, altas demandas psicológicas, conflictos en el desempeño de rol y un bajo apoyo social percibido. Los resultados son discutidos en términos de su implicación teórica y de su utilidad práctica frente al diseño de entornos de trabajo más saludables, así como frente a la intervención psicológica

Eight Million Years of Satellite DNA Evolution in Grasshoppers of the Genus Schistocerca Illuminate the Ins and Outs of the Library Hypothesis

This study was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo-FAPESP (process number 2014/11763-8) and Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-CAPES. The authors are grateful to anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. O.M.P.-G. and F.J.R.-R. acknowledge the scholarship obtained from the Lawski Foundation (Sweden), H.S. to the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant No. IOS-1253493) and the United State Department of Agriculture (Hatch Grant TEX0-1-6584), D.A.M. was supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas-CONICET from Argentina. D.C.C.-d.-M. is recipient of a research productivity fellowship from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico-CNPq (process number 304758/2014-0). Computing ran on resources provided by the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) through Uppsala Multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Computational Science (UPPMAX). We also thank Alexander Suh (Uppsala University, Uppsala/Sweden) for helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript and to Cristiane Mileo (UNESP-Rio Claro/SP) for helping with some figures.Satellite DNA (satDNA) is an abundant class of tandemly repeated noncoding sequences, showing high rate of change in sequence, abundance, and physical location. However, the mechanisms promoting these changes are still controversial. The library model was put forward to explain the conservation of some satDNAs for long periods, predicting that related species share a common collection of satDNAs, which mostly experience quantitative changes. Here, we tested the library model by analyzing three satDNAs in ten species of Schistocerca grasshoppers. This group represents a valuable material because it diversified during the last 7.9 Myr across the American continent from the African desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), and this thus illuminates the direction of evolutionary changes. By combining bioinformatic and cytogenetic, we tested whether these three satDNA families found in S. gregaria are also present in nine American species, and whether differential gains and/or losses have occurred in the lineages. We found that the three satDNAs are present in all species but display remarkable interspecies differences in their abundance and sequences while being highly consistent with genus phylogeny. The number of chromosomal loci where satDNA is present was also consistent with phylogeny for two satDNA families but not for the other. Our results suggest eminently chance events for satDNA evolution. Several evolutionary trends clearly imply either massive amplifications or contractions, thus closely fitting the library model prediction that changes are mostly quantitative. Finally, we found that satDNA amplifications or contractions may influence the evolution of monomer consensus sequences and by chance playing a major role in driftlike dynamics.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo-FAPESP 2014/11763-8Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-CAPESLawski Foundation (Sweden)U.S. National Science Foundation IOS-1253493United State Department of Agriculture TEX0-1-6584CONICET from ArgentinaCNPq 304758/2014-