Depth differential colonization and biodiversity of mycorrhizal fungi in four prairie grass species

Non-Peer ReviewedThe biodiversity of AMF at different soil depths was studied in pure stands of the grasses crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), green needlegrass (Nassella viridula Trin.) and western wheatgrass (Pascopyrum smithii (Rydb.) A. Löve), growing in southwest Saskatchewan. The biodiversity of AMF was described in roots from 3 to 15, and 30 to 45 cm depth sampled in 2006 using phylogenetic and molecular tools. Soil depth reduced root colonization and influenced AMF community composition, which was dominated by six AMF phylotypes of the genus Glomus. Three AMF phylotypes were common colonizers and three were preferentially associated with some grasses. AMF communities at different depths differed from each other in all plant stands, and diversity and richness of AMF phylotypes was higher at shallow depth, except in N. viridula which showed higher richness of AMF in deeper root samples. We conclude that although some AMF are general colonizers, some AMF have a strong host preference. Our results also indicate that soil depth is a important driver of AMF phylotype distribution, and suggest the existence of niche specialization in AMF along the soil profile, which is influenced by the host plant

Functional, Morphological, and Evolutionary Characterization of Hearing in Subterranean, Eusocial African Mole-Rats

Naked mole-rats are highly vocal, eusocial, subterranean rodents with, counterintuitively, poor hearing. The causes underlying their altered hearing are unknown. Moreover, whether altered hearing is degenerate or adaptive to their unique lifestyles is controversial. We used various methods to identify the factors contributing to altered hearing in naked and the related Damaraland mole-rats and to examine whether these alterations result from relaxed or adaptive selection. Remarkably, we found that cochlear amplification was absent from both species despite normal prestin function in outer hair cells isolated from naked mole-rats. Instead, loss of cochlear amplification appears to result from abnormal hair bundle morphologies observed in both species. By exploiting a well-curated deafness phenotype-genotype database, we identified amino acid substitutions consistent with abnormal hair bundle morphology and reduced hearing sensitivity. Amino acid substitutions were found in unique groups of six hair bundle link proteins. Molecular evolutionary analyses revealed shifts in selection pressure at both the gene and the codon level for five of these six hair bundle link proteins. Substitutions in three of these proteins are associated exclusively with altered hearing. Altogether, our findings identify the likely mechanism of altered hearing in African mole-rats, making them the only identified mammals naturally lacking cochlear amplification. Moreover, our findings suggest that altered hearing in African mole-rats is adaptive, perhaps tailoring hearing to eusocial and subterranean lifestyles. Finally, our work reveals multiple, unique evolutionary trajectories in African mole-rat hearing and establishes species members as naturally occurring disease models to investigate human hearing loss