Genetic diversity among Chinese sika deer （Cerrus nippon） populations and relationships between Chinese and Japanese sika deer

Sika deer （Cervus nippon） is a cervid endemic to mainland and insular Asia and endangered. We analyzed variation in the mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA） control region for four subspecies to understand the genetic diversity, population structure and evolutionary history in China. 335 bp were sequenced and eight haplotypes were identified based on 25 variable sites among the populations. Sika deer in China showed lower genetic diversity, sug- gesting a small effective population size due to habitat fragmentation, a low number of founder individuals, or the narrow breeding program. AMOVA analysis indicated that there was significant genetic subdivision among the four populations, but no correlation between the genetic and geographic distance. PhyIogenetic analyses also revealed that Chinese sika deer may be divided into three genetic clades, but the genetic structure among Chinese populations was inconsistent with subspecies designations and present geographic distribution. Including the sequence data of Japanese sika deer, the results indicated that Chinese populations were more closely related to Southern Japanese populations than to the Northern Japanese one, and the Taiwan population was closer to populations of Northeastern China and Sichuan than to those of Southern China.     

Evolutionary dynamics on graphs

Evolutionary dynamics have been traditionally studied in the context of homogeneous or spatially extended populations. Here we generalize population structure by arranging individuals on a graph. Each vertex represents an individual. The weighted edges denote reproductive rates which govern how often individuals place offspring into adjacent vertices. The homogeneous population, described by the Moran process, is the special case of a fully connected graph with evenly weighted edges. Spatial structures are described by graphs where vertices are connected with their nearest neighbours. We also explore evolution on random and scale-free networks. We determine the fixation probability of mutants, and characterize those graphs for which fixation behaviour is identical to that of a homogeneous population. Furthermore, some graphs act as suppressors and others as amplifiers of selection. It is even possible to find graphs that guarantee the fixation of any advantageous mutant. We also study frequency-dependent selection and show that the outcome of evolutionary games can depend entirely on the structure of the underlying graph. Evolutionary graph theory has many fascinating applications ranging from ecology to multi-cellular organization and economics.     

江西桃红岭国家级自然保护区梅花鹿种群生存力分析

梅花鹿华南亚种(Cervus nipponkopschi)是我国Ⅰ级重点保护野生动物。目前仅分布于江西、浙江、安徽等狭窄的区域内,形成多个孤立种群。根据梅花鹿种群的相关参数,借助漩涡模型Vortex 9.99,以江西桃红岭国家级自然保护区梅花鹿种群为研究对象,对其梅花鹿种群在1983年后100 a内的动态及敏感性进行了模拟分析。模型结果表明,在自然情况下,该种群在100 a内灭绝概率为0。第1阶段(1983-1998年)种群数量从60只快速增长至226只,第2阶段(1998-2011年)种群数量从226只增长到341只,第3阶段(2011-2083年)种群数量维持在352只左右,年均增长率分别为9.25%、3.32%、0.04%。虽然高死亡率、灾害延缓了种群增长的速度,近亲繁殖导致近100 a内基因杂合率下降了7.46%,但这些因素并没有显著影响桃红岭梅花鹿种群近100 a内的命运。在不考虑其它条件的情况下,环境容纳量对梅花鹿种群遗传多样性损失具有明显的影响,是限制该梅花鹿种群发展的重要因素。因此,改善生境质量,提高环境容纳量是促进该梅花鹿种群增长的有效途径。有计划的火烧、植被矮化以及开辟生境走廊,可以有效地改善鹿类环境容纳量,是当前梅花鹿保护亟待开展的工作。同时,应进一步提高当地社区居民的保护意识,杜绝偷猎盗猎,降低人类生产经营活动对梅花鹿的影响。     

Sexually antagonistic genetic variation for fitness in red deer

Evolutionary theory predicts the depletion of genetic variation in natural populations as a result of the effects of selection, but genetic variation is nevertheless abundant for many traits that are under directional or stabilizing selection. Evolutionary geneticists commonly try to explain this paradox with mechanisms that lead to a balance between mutation and selection. However, theoretical predictions of equilibrium genetic variance under mutation-selection balance are usually lower than the observed values, and the reason for this is unknown. The potential role of sexually antagonistic selection in maintaining genetic variation has received little attention in this debate, surprisingly given its potential ubiquity in dioecious organisms. At fitness-related loci, a given genotype may be selected in opposite directions in the two sexes. Such sexually antagonistic selection will reduce the otherwise-expected positive genetic correlation between male and female fitness. Both theory and experimental data suggest that males and females of the same species may have divergent genetic optima, but supporting data from wild populations are still scarce. Here we present evidence for sexually antagonistic fitness variation in a natural population, using data from a long-term study of red deer (Cervus elaphus). We show that male red deer with relatively high fitness fathered, on average, daughters with relatively low fitness. This was due to a negative genetic correlation between estimates of fitness in males and females. In particular, we show that selection favours males that carry low breeding values for female fitness. Our results demonstrate that sexually antagonistic selection can lead to a trade-off between the optimal genotypes for males and females; this mechanism will have profound effects on the operation of selection and the maintenance of genetic variation in natural populations.     

Population density affects sex ratio variation in red deer.

Many mammal populations show significant deviations from an equal sex ratio at birth, but these effects are notoriously inconsistent. This may be because more than one mechanism affects the sex ratio and the action of these mechanisms depends on environmental conditions. Here we show that the adaptive relationship between maternal dominance and offspring sex ratio previously demonstrated in red deer (Cervus elaphus), where dominant females produced more males, disappeared at high population density. The proportion of males born each year declined with increasing population density and with winter rainfall, both of which are environmental variables associated with nutritional stress during pregnancy. These changes in the sex ratio corresponded to reductions in fecundity, suggesting that they were caused by differential fetal loss. In contrast, the earlier association with maternal dominance is presumed to have been generated pre-implantation. The effects of one source of variation superseded the other within about two generations. Comparison with other ungulate studies indicates that positive associations between maternal quality and the proportion of male offspring born have only been documented in populations below carrying capacity.     

GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG CHINESE SIKA DEER (CERVUS NIPPON) POPULATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHINESE AND JAPANESE SIKA DEER

SIKA DEER,CERVUS NIPPON,WAS HISTORICALLY WIDE-SPREAD THROUGHOUT NORTHEASTERN ASIA,FROM THE USSURI REGION TO VIETNAM,INCLUDING THE KOREAN PENINSULA,MAINLAND CHINA AND TAIWAN,AND THE JAPANESE ARCHI-PELAGO,AND UP TO13SUBSPECIES HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED[1].THE FOS…     

濒危植物缙云卫矛形态分化的数量分析

对重庆市特有的濒危植物缙云卫矛(EuonymuschloranthoidesYang)形态分化进行了研究.结果表明:所测量的22个营养器官性状中有8个性状的变异达显著水平,6个达极显著水平;所测量的15个生殖器官性状的变异均没达到显著水平,说明个体之间在形态上有一定程度的分化;个体水平上聚类结果表明不同种群的个体大多混聚在一起,同时也有一些大的表征群不出现某些种群的个体,说明部分种群间有一定的分化;种群水平上的聚类结果表明东温泉的2个种群与其它种群之间存在明显的形态分化,这种分化可能与它们之间的地理隔离有关.     

Reinforcement drives rapid allopatric speciation

Allopatric speciation results from geographic isolation between populations. In the absence of gene flow, reproductive isolation arises gradually and incidentally as a result of mutation, genetic drift and the indirect effects of natural selection driving local adaptation. In contrast, speciation by reinforcement is driven directly by natural selection against maladaptive hybridization. This gives individuals that choose the traits of their own lineage greater fitness, potentially leading to rapid speciation between the lineages. Reinforcing natural selection on a population of one of the lineages in a mosaic contact zone could also result in divergence of the population from the allopatric range of its own lineage outside the zone. Here we test this with molecular data, experimental crosses, field measurements and mate choice experiments in a mosaic contact zone between two lineages of a rainforest frog. We show that reinforcing natural selection has resulted in significant premating isolation of a population in the contact zone not only from the other lineage but also, incidentally, from the closely related main range of its own lineage. Thus we show the potential for reinforcement to drive rapid allopatric speciation.     

Genetic segregation and the maintenance of sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction confronts evolutionary biology with a paradox: other things being equal, an asexual (all-female) population will have twice the reproductive potential of a competing sexual population and therefore should rapidly drive the sexual population to extinction. Thus, the persistence of sexual reproduction in most life forms implies a compensatory advantage to sexual reproduction. Work on this problem has emphasized the evolutionary advantages produced by the genetic recombination that accompanies sexual reproduction. Here we show that genetic segregation produces an advantage to sexual reproduction even in the absence of an advantage from recombination. Segregation in a diploid sexual population allows selection to carry a single advantageous mutation to a homozygous state, whereas two separate mutations are required in a parthenogenetic population. The complete fixation of advantageous mutations is thus delayed in a heterozygous state in asexual populations. Calculation of the selective load incurred suggests that it may offset the intrinsic twofold reproductive advantage of asexual reproduction and maintain sexual reproduction in diploid populations.     

Sex differences in emigration and mortality affect optimal management of deer populations

Populations of red deer that are limited by food, like those of many other ungulates, commonly include more females than males. We assessed the contribution of variation in sex- and age-specific rates of mortality and emigration to density-dependent changes in the adult sex ratio, using long-term observations and demographic experiments involving the red deer population on Rum, Scotland. We incorporated these effects in a stochastic model of local populations under different management regimes to show here that, when female numbers are allowed to increase to more than 60% of the ecological carrying capacity, the sustainable annual harvest of males from local deer populations will fall. Because males are typically culled by fee-paying hunters and generate more income than females, income will decrease as the male harvest falls. Because numbers of female deer throughout much of the Highlands probably exceed the threshold at which male density starts to be affected, many managers might be able to raise income from local deer populations by reducing female numbers, with potential benefits to the vegetation of Scottish Highland environments.     

Evolutionary biology: sex change and relative body size in animals

Organisms that change sex during their lifetime use a variety of strategies--they may be female first, male first or even repetitive sex changers. Natural selection should favour those individuals that change sex at a time when it increases their reproductive value. Allsop and West claim that the relative timing of sex change is invariant across all animals, with individuals changing sex at 72% of their maximum body size, and infer that natural selection for sex change must therefore be fundamentally similar across animals. Here we explain why we believe that Allsop and West's claims are not supported by their analysis or by their empirical data.     

四川大头茶过氧化物酶和细胞色素氧化酶同工酶变异的数量分析

运用同工酶电泳技术，测定了来自不同地理种源和不同演替群落的四川大头茶（Gordonia acuminata(pritz)Chang)8个居群112株个体功能叶片的过氧化物酶（POD），细胞色素氧化酶（CYT）的同工酶谱带，并进行编码；然后采用Rogers-Tanimoto结合系的组平均法（UPGMA）对各酶谱带进行聚类分析；结果表明：来自不同演替群落的四川大头茶居群及个体间存在着极明显的同工酶变异和遗传分化，来自相同演替群落的居群及个体间存在着极大的同工酶谱相似性和遗传相似性；环境因子在四川大头茶居群遗传分化过程中起着非常重要的作用；但不同的环境因子在不同居群的同工酶谱和遗传分化中所起的作用不同；群落演替类型对四川大头茶的同工酶谱和遗传分化起着重要作用的同时，地理种源却对该物种的同工酶谱和遗传分化影响不大。     

Roaring by red deer stags advances the date of oestrus in hinds

Some male mammals call loudly and repeatedly during the breeding season. Although the song of male birds is known to have effects on male-male competition, mate selection and ovulation, until now the loud calls of male mammals have been shown to affect only competition between males. Although it has been suggested that loud calling could also serve to attract females, the possibility that it has a direct effect on reproduction in females has not previously been investigated for any mammal. Here I report that roaring in red deer (Cervus elaphus) advances ovulation and that harem-holding males can improve their mating success by regular calling.     

多辐溲疏居群过氧化物酶同工酶分化的研究

运用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳，测试了采自四川南川县金佛山不同生境的多辐溲疏５个居群５０株个体的过氧化物酶同工酶，对酶谱带位置进行了二态编码，然后采用Ｒｏｇｅｒｓ－Ｔａｎｉｍｏｔｏ，Ｓｏｋａｌ－Ｍｉｃｈ－ｅｎｅｒ，Ｓｏｋａｌ－Ｓｎｅａｔｈ，Ｊａｃｃａｒｄ等结合系数用组平均法（ＵＰＧＭＡ）对各谱带位置进行了聚类分析．结果表明，相同生境同一居群内的个体间表现出较大的遗传同质性，而来源于不同生境的不同居群个体间却呈现出较大的遗传趋异性；同时，５个居群不但具有许多共同谱带，而且整体相聚的结合系数大多超过０．５，这表明５个居群在很早以前可能是属于同一大居群，在长期进化过程中，由于微生境的地理与气候因子选择，使得多辐溲疏现仅在金佛山海拔６００～１２００ｍ的约ｋｍ２范围内呈岛状分布；又由于其特殊的繁殖方式——居群内个体虽能杂交，但因该种仅能正常开花传粉，大部分种子败育，使得居群内个体遗传变异性不能通过有性生殖方式固定下来，仅能通过营养繁殖方式繁殖后代，而正是营养繁殖导致了居群内较大遗传同质性以及居群间的遗传趋异性．在整个进化过程中生境只不过是对那些遗传变异起到了选择固定作用     

Mating patterns in seminatural populations of mice influenced by MHC genotype

Because of the central role of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in immune recognition, it is often assumed that parasite-driven selection maintains the unprecendented genetic diversity of these genes. But associations between MHC genotype and specific infectious diseases have been difficult to identify with a few exceptions such as Marek's disease and malaria. Alternatively, MHC-related reproductive mechanisms such as selective abortion and mating preferences could be responsible for the diversity. To determine both the nature and strength of selection operating on MHC genes by we have studied components of selection in seminatural populations of mice (Mus musculus domesticus). Here we assess MHC-related patterns of reproduction and early (preweaning) mortality by analysing 1,139 progeny born in nine populations, and 662 progeny from laboratory matings. Reproductive mechanisms, primarily mating preferences, result in 27% fewer MHC-homozygous offspring than expected from random mating. MHC genotype had no detectable influence on neonatal (preweaning) mortality. These mating preferences are strong enough to account for most of the MHC genetic diversity found in natural populations of Mus.     

Contemporary fisherian life-history evolution in small salmonid populations

The relative importance of natural selection and random drift in phenotypic evolution has been discussed since the introduction of the first population genetic models. The empirical evidence used to evaluate the evolutionary theories of Fisher and Wright remains obscure because formal tests for neutral divergence or sensitive attempts to separate the effects of selection and drift are scarce, subject to error, and have not been interpreted in the light of well-known population demography. We combined quantitative genetic and microsatellite DNA analyses to investigate the determinants of contemporary life-history evolution in isolated populations of grayling (Thymallus thymallus, Salmonidae) that originated from a common source 80-120 years ago. Here we show that natural selection was the dominant diversifying agent in the evolution of the quantitative traits. However, the populations were founded by a small number of individuals, exhibit very low microsatellite-based effective sizes and show genetic imprints of severe 'bottlenecks'; which are conditions often suggested to constrain selection and favour drift. This study demonstrates a very clear case of fisherian evolution in small natural populations across a contemporary timescale.     

Mutual mate choice in the Asiatic toad, Bufo gargarizans, exerts stabilizing selection on body size

Sexual selection is critical to both reproduction and evolution.The effects of male–male competition and female choice regarding body size have been examined in a large number of taxa,including toad species.Males and females have different optimal reproductive strategies,achieving breeding advantages in discrepant ways.Further,the relative contributions of intra-and inter-sexual size selection vary among species.Thus,to understand the mechanisms affecting mating success,it is important to consider both male–male and male–female interactions simultaneously and elucidate their interrelationship.In this study,we measured body sizes of all mated and unmated individuals in a population of Asiatic toad(Bufo gargarizans)and counted fertilized eggs of several clutches.Based on correlation and regression techniques,we tested for female choice and intra-sexual competition among males relative to body size gradients,and we compared the relative importance of these two processes for mating success.Our results reveal that male–male competition and female choice simultaneously contribute to sexual selection in toads.Furthermore,both interactions are most intense among smaller toads.The synergistic trends of male–male competition and female choice support the mutual mate choice hypothesis and works to stabilize body size in B.gargarizans.Normal distributions of breeding success relative to body size were detected for both sexes,suggesting that medium-sized individuals enjoy a reproductive advantage in the population studied.     

坛紫菜单性组织培养的性逆转研究

为了进一步研究坛紫菜的单性组织发育特征并验证其可能存在的单性生殖途径,本文对坛紫菜雌、雄营养细胞、组织发育过程中两性生殖组织的形成和繁殖特征以及两种单性遗传来源的子代叶状体的性别发育特征进行观察研究.结果表明,单性营养细胞和组织能够通过性逆转产生两性生殖组织并形成丝状体,该繁殖方式不属于单性生殖.单性遗传来源的子代叶状...     

阿勒泰马鹿亚种介绍

阿勒泰马鹿是我国马鹿中的一个优良亚种。本研究对阿勒泰马鹿的栖息地及生境选择;相对数量及食性;阿勒泰马鹿亚种的特征及体足量衡度、产茸力、繁殖力、现状及提高繁殖力进行了调查分析。阿勒泰马鹿体尺量衡度都高于天山马鹿和东北马鹿,公鹿肩高平均141.19厘米;产茸量高于东北马鹿76.26％,高于天山马鹿63.94％,差异极显著(P<0.01)。因此利用阿勒泰马鹿优良种值改良我国马鹿的前景是必要的。     

林木改良中育种群的概念应用和发展

育种群是组成整个育种群体的多个亚群体,其意义相当于农作物育种的近交系。在美国的一些林木育种项目中,育种群已用来控制种子园的近交、捕获最大的遗传增益的有效措施。育种群的建立不会改变各群内的育种值,但每个育种群内的遗传变异会随近交系数的增加而增加,这为我们在群内选优提供了更大的选择余地。此外,建立育种群只增加一些档案记录工作,并不增加野外工作量。