Tracking the evolution of insecticide resistance in the mosquito Culex pipiens.

The evolution of pesticide resistance provides some of the most striking examples of darwinian evolution occurring over a human life span. Identification of resistance alleles opens an outstanding framework in which to study the evolution of adaptive mutations from the beginning of pesticide application, the evolution of interactions between alleles (dominance) or between loci (epistasis). Here we show that resistance alleles can also be used as markers to dissect population processes at a microevolutionary scale. We have focused on the antagonistic roles of selection and migration involved in the dynamics of local adaptation with reference to allelic frequencies at two resistance loci in the mosquito Culex pipiens. We find that their frequencies follow an annual cycle of large amplitude (25%), and we precisely unravel the seasonal variation of migration and selection underlying this cycle. Our results provide a firm basis on which to devise an insecticide treatment strategy that will better control the evolution of resistance genes and the growth of mosquito populations.     

Investigating Genotype 1a HCV Drug Resistance in NS5A Region via Bayesian Inference

Hepatitis C virus(HCV) treatment is on the cutting edge of medicine. Due to the high rate of mutations and low fidelity of HCV replication, resistant strains quickly become dominant in a viral population under the selection pressure of a drug. In this paper, we examined the drug resistance mechanism in the NS5 A region of genotype1 a HCV virus by comparing the sequence data from interferon-ribavirin treated and untreated patients. To find the drug resistance difference, we used innovative Bayesian probability models to detect mutation combinations and inferred detailed interaction structures of these mutations. We aim to provide reference to drug design and mutation mechanism understanding through our work.     

克雷伯氏菌引起婴儿腹泻的病原分离鉴定及耐药性检测

通过对急性腹泻患儿粪便标本镜检、细菌分离培养、生化特性、药敏试验和致病性分析后分离鉴定出克雷伯氏菌．药敏试验结果显示对头孢哌酮、丁胺卡那霉索较敏感．在临床小儿感染性腹泻的诊治中，应注意肺炎克雷伯氏杆菌的分离鉴定和选用敏感抗生素对症治疗，以防止滥用广谱抗生紊及耐药性的形成，     

Coevolution with viruses drives the evolution of bacterial mutation rates

Bacteria with greatly elevated mutation rates (mutators) are frequently found in natural and laboratory populations, and are often associated with clinical infections. Although mutators may increase adaptability to novel environmental conditions, they are also prone to the accumulation of deleterious mutations. The long-term maintenance of high bacterial mutation rates is therefore likely to be driven by rapidly changing selection pressures, in addition to the possible slow transition rate by point mutation from mutators to non-mutators. One of the most likely causes of rapidly changing selection pressures is antagonistic coevolution with parasites. Here we show whether coevolution with viral parasites could drive the evolution of bacterial mutation rates in laboratory populations of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. After fewer than 200 bacterial generations, 25% of the populations coevolving with phages had evolved 10- to 100-fold increases in mutation rates owing to mutations in mismatch-repair genes; no populations evolving in the absence of phages showed any significant change in mutation rate. Furthermore, mutator populations had a higher probability of driving their phage populations extinct, strongly suggesting that mutators have an advantage against phages in the coevolutionary arms race. Given their ubiquity, bacteriophages may play an important role in the evolution of bacterial mutation rates.     

The role of parasites in sympatric and allopatric host diversification

Exploiters (parasites and predators) are thought to play a significant role in diversification, and ultimately speciation, of their hosts or prey. Exploiters may drive sympatric (within-population) diversification if there are a variety of exploiter-resistance strategies or fitness costs associated with exploiter resistance. Exploiters may also drive allopatric (between-population) diversification by creating different selection pressures and increasing the rate of random divergence. We examined the effect of a virulent viral parasite (phage) on the diversification of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens in spatially structured microcosms. Here we show that in the absence of phages, bacteria rapidly diversified into spatial niche specialists with similar patterns of diversity across replicate populations. In the presence of phages, sympatric diversity was greatly reduced, as a result of phage-imposed reductions in host density decreasing competition for resources. In contrast, allopatric diversity was greatly increased as a result of phage-imposed selection for resistance, which caused populations to follow divergent evolutionary trajectories. These results show that exploiters can drive diversification between populations, but may inhibit diversification within populations by opposing diversifying selection that arises from resource competition.     

Genetic mechanisms of floral trait correlations in a natural population

Genetic correlations among traits are important in evolution, as they can constrain evolutionary change or reflect past selection for combinations of traits. Constraints and integration depend on whether the correlations are caused by pleiotropy or linkage disequilibrium, but these genetic mechanisms underlying correlations remain largely unknown in natural populations. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping studies do not adequately address the mechanisms of within-population genetic correlations because they rely on crosses between distinct species, inbred lines or selected lines (see ref. 5), and they cannot distinguish moderate linkage disequilibrium from pleiotropy because they commonly rely on only one or two episodes of recombination. Here I report that after nine generations of enforced random mating (nine episodes of recombination), correlations between six floral traits in wild radish plants are unchanged, showing that pleiotropy generates the correlations. There is no evidence for linkage disequilibrium despite previous correlational selection acting on one functionally integrated pair of traits. This study provides direct evidence of the genetic mechanisms underlying correlations between quantitative traits in a natural population and suggests that there may be constraints on the independent evolution of pairs of highly correlated traits.     

Cooperation and competition in pathogenic bacteria

Explaining altruistic cooperation is one of the greatest challenges for evolutionary biology. One solution to this problem is if costly cooperative behaviours are directed towards relatives. This idea of kin selection has been hugely influential and applied widely from microorganisms to vertebrates. However, a problem arises if there is local competition for resources, because this leads to competition between relatives, reducing selection for cooperation. Here we use an experimental evolution approach to test the effect of the scale of competition, and how it interacts with relatedness. The cooperative trait that we examine is the production of siderophores, iron-scavenging agents, in the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. As expected, our results show that higher levels of cooperative siderophore production evolve in the higher relatedness treatments. However, our results also show that more local competition selects for lower levels of siderophore production and that there is a significant interaction between relatedness and the scale of competition, with relatedness having less effect when the scale of competition is more local. More generally, the scale of competition is likely to be of particular importance for the evolution of cooperation in microorganisms, and also the virulence of pathogenic microorganisms, because cooperative traits such as siderophore production have an important role in determining virulence.     

Rapid evolution in response to high-temperature selection

Temperature is an important environmental factor affecting all organisms, and there is ample evidence from comparative physiology that species and even conspecific populations can adapt genetically to different temperature regimes. But the effect of these adaptations on fitness and the rapidity of their evolution is unknown, as is the extent to which they depend on pre-existing genetic variation rather than new mutations. We have begun a study of the evolutionary adaptation of Escherichia coli to different temperature regimes, taking advantage of the large population sizes and short generation times in experiments on this bacterial species. We report significant improvement in temperature-specific fitness of lines maintained at 42 degrees C for 200 generations (about one month). These changes in fitness are due to selection on de novo mutations and show that some biological systems can evolve rapidly in response to changes in environmental factors such as temperature.     

Intraspecific competition favours niche width expansion in Drosophila melanogaster

Ecologists have proposed that when interspecific competition is reduced, competition within a species becomes a potent evolutionary force leading to rapid diversification. This view reflects the observation that populations invading species-poor communities frequently evolve broader niches. Niche expansion can be associated with an increase in phenotypic variance (known as character release), with the evolution of polymorphisms, or with divergence into many species using distinct resources (adaptive radiation). The relationship between intraspecific competition and diversification is known from theory, and has been used as the foundation for some models of speciation. However, there has been little empirical proof that niches evolve in response to intraspecific competition. To test this hypothesis, I introduced cadmium-intolerant Drosophila melanogaster populations to environments containing both cadmium-free and cadmium-laced resources. Here I show that populations experiencing high competition adapted to cadmium more rapidly than low competition populations. This provides experimental confirmation that competition in a population can drive niche expansion onto new resources for which competition is less severe.     

以抗生素抗性为选择标记的毛壳菌种间原生质体融合

以抗生素抗性为选择标记进行角毛壳菌和球毛壳菌种间原生质体融合。角毛壳菌CH21-I-402菌株对潮霉素有抗性、对G418敏感,球毛壳菌CH08对潮霉素和G418敏感。根癌农杆菌介导的新霉素磷酸转移酶基因转化球毛壳菌,得到成功转化新霉素磷酸转移酶基因的球毛壳菌菌株,转化子对G418抗性提高3~4倍,对潮霉素仍然比较敏感。以耐潮霉素、不耐G418的角毛壳菌和不耐潮霉素、耐G418的球毛壳菌为出发菌株,以PEG6000为助融剂进行原生质体融合,用G418和潮霉素抗性进行筛选,获得再生菌株。经AFLP分析表明:再生菌株PF1、PF26为融合菌株,融合菌株菌落形态均与亲本存在明显差异。     

Genetic correlations between morphology and antipredator behaviour in natural populations of the garter snake Thamnophis ordinoides

The genetic coupling of morphology and behaviour means that the evolution of the two types of traits will not be independent: changes in behaviour will result in changes in morphology and vice versa. This might explain nonadaptive differences in morphology through indirect selection on correlated characters of other categories. Genetic correlations between morphology and behaviour are also the basis for some models of sympatric speciation and of the stability of polymorphisms. Morphology and behaviour are often correlated in nature and a genetic basis for such couplings has been demonstrated. I present here evidence that colour pattern and antipredator behaviour are genetically coupled in natural populations of the garter snake Thamnophis ordinoides. Similar phenotypic correlations between pattern and behaviour exist among species of North American snakes, indicating that selection for particular combinations of traits may help to maintain genetic covariances and colour polymorphism in Thamnophis ordinoides.     

Evolution of a bacteria/plasmid association

Associations between bacteria and their accessory elements (viruses, plasmids and transposons) range from antagonistic to mutualistic. A number of previous studies have demonstrated that plasmid carriage reduces bacterial fitness in the absence of selection for specific functions such as antibiotic resistance. Many studies have demonstrated increased fitness of evolving microbial populations in laboratory environments, but we are aware of only one study in which fitness gains were partitioned between a plasmid and its host. Here, we examine the evolution of an association between a plasmid and its bacterial host. Carriage of the non-conjugative plasmid pACYC184 initially reduced the fitness of Escherichia coli B in the absence of antibiotic. We then cultured plasmid-bearing bacteria for 500 generations in the presence of antibiotic. The fitness of each combination of host and plasmid, with and without the culture history, was determined by competing it against a baseline strain. The results indicate adaptation by the host genome, but no plasmid adaptation. We also competed the evolved host, transformed with the baseline plasmid, against its isogenic plasmid-free counterpart. The plasmid now increased the fitness of its host.     

大肠杆菌耐药机制中激活外排泵和减少摄入量的研究进展

概述了大肠杆菌中激活外排泵和减少摄入量这两个重要的耐药机制和克服它们的新策略,主要包括近年来在理解外排泵系统的物理结构、功能和调控子中的进步和有利于开发以外排泵为靶位的药物研究进展。     

Intensity of sexual selection along the anisogamy-isogamy continuum

Research into the evolution of giant sperm has uncovered a paradox within the foundations of sexual selection theory. Postcopulatory sexual selection on males (that is, sperm competition and cryptic female choice) can lead to decreased sperm numbers by favouring the production of larger sperm. However, a decline in sperm numbers is predicted to weaken selection on males and increase selection on females. As isogamy is approached (that is, as investment per gamete by males approaches that by females), sperm become less abundant, ova become relatively less rare, and competition between males for fertilization success is predicted to weaken. Sexual selection for longer sperm, therefore, is expected to be self limiting. Here we examine this paradox in Drosophila along the anisogamy-isogamy continuum using intraspecific experimental evolution techniques and interspecific comparative techniques. Our results confirm the big-sperm paradox by showing that the sex difference in sexual selection gradients decreases as sperm size increases. However, a resolution to the paradox is provided when this finding is interpreted in concert with the 'opportunity for selection' and the 'opportunity for sexual selection'. Furthermore, we show that most of the variation in measures of selection intensity is explained by sperm length and relative investment in sperm production.     

Sodium channel mutation leading to saxitoxin resistance in clams increases risk of PSP

Bivalve molluscs, the primary vectors of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans, show marked inter-species variation in their capacity to accumulate PSP toxins (PSTs) which has a neural basis. PSTs cause human fatalities by blocking sodium conductance in nerve fibres. Here we identify a molecular basis for inter-population variation in PSP resistance within a species, consistent with genetic adaptation to PSTs. Softshell clams (Mya arenaria) from areas exposed to 'red tides' are more resistant to PSTs, as demonstrated by whole-nerve assays, and accumulate toxins at greater rates than sensitive clams from unexposed areas. PSTs lead to selective mortality of sensitive clams. Resistance is caused by natural mutation of a single amino acid residue, which causes a 1,000-fold decrease in affinity at the saxitoxin-binding site in the sodium channel pore of resistant, but not sensitive, clams. Thus PSTs might act as potent natural selection agents, leading to greater toxin resistance in clam populations and increased risk of PSP in humans. Furthermore, global expansion of PSP to previously unaffected coastal areas might result in long-term changes to communities and ecosystems.     

Host-plant adaptation drives the parallel evolution of reproductive isolation

Parallel evolution of similar traits in independent populations that inhabit ecologically similar environments strongly implicates natural selection as the cause of evolution. Parallel speciation is a special form of parallel evolution where traits that determine reproductive isolation evolve repeatedly, in closely related populations, as by-products of adaptation to ecological conditions. The outcome of such parallel evolution is that ecologically divergent pairs of populations exhibit greater levels of reproductive isolation than ecologically similar pairs of populations of a similar or younger age. The parallel evolution of reproductive isolation provides strong evidence for natural selection in the process of speciation, but only one conclusive example from nature is known. Populations of the walking-stick insect Timema cristinae that use different host-plant species have diverged in body size and shape, host preference, behaviour and the relative frequency of two highly cryptic colour-pattern morphs. Here we report that divergent selection for host adaptation, and not genetic drift, has promoted the parallel evolution of sexual isolation in this species. Our findings represent a clear demonstration that host-plant adaptation can play a crucial and repeatable role in the early stages of speciation.     

肠球菌临床耐药性分析及耐药基因vanM在屎肠球菌中的检测

目的了解肠球菌临床分离株耐药性及vanM基因在屎肠球菌的分布情况,为临床合理用药及探讨耐药机制提供依据.方法采用VITEK60全自动微生物分析仪对肠球菌进行鉴定及药敏试验,按NCCLS/CLSI标准判断并统计分析结果;PCR法检测耐万古霉素、替考拉宁菌株中的耐药基因vanM,并对阳性基因进行测序,分析耐药基因与耐药性的关系.结果临床分离肠球菌共506株,其中屎肠球菌277株,粪肠球菌229株.尿液标本来源比例最高,为167株（33%）;粪便标本114株（22.5%）;痰液标本78株（15.4%）;胆汁标本57株（11.3%）;脓液标本54株（10.7%）;其他来源36株（7.1%）.药敏结果显示：肠球菌对大部分临床抗菌药高度耐药,屎肠球菌对β-内酰胺类抗菌药物（氨苄西林）、喹诺酮类（左氧氟沙星）、糖肽类（万古霉素、替考拉宁）的耐药率明显高于粪肠球菌（P〈0.05）.vanM基因在耐万古霉素菌株中的检出率为100%,耐替考拉宁菌株检出率为90%.结论屎肠球菌可引起临床各类感染,屎肠球菌对大多数抗生素的耐药率明显高于粪肠球菌,且呈多重耐药趋势.vanM基因可能在糖肽类药物万古霉素、替考拉宁耐药机制中发挥重要作用.     

采用多目标差分进化的移动Ad Hoc网络节能路由算法

为了在节点的能量消耗和最优路由之间找到一个平衡,根据多目标差分进化算法原理,提出一种基于多目标差分进化的移动Ad Hoc网络节能路由算法.该算法把路由代价和网络生存时间作为2个优化目标,采用适应值变换的约束处理技术、非支配排序和拥挤距离技术进行优化.在优化过程中,提出适合差分进化算法的变异、交叉和选择策略.结果表明:该算法在网络生存时间和最优路由方面具有较好的优势,并保证了较高的包传递率.     

Positive Darwinian selection in human population: A review

This paper reviews a large number of genes under positive Darwinian selection in modern human populations, such as brain development genes, immunity genes, reproductive related genes, percep- tion receptors. The research on the evolutionary property of these genes will provide important insight into human evolution and disease mechanisms. With the increase of population genetics and com- parative genomics data, more and more evidences indicate that positive Darwinian selection plays an indispensable role in the origin and evolution of human beings. This paper will also summarize the methods to detect positive selection, analyze the interference factors faced and make suggestions for further research on positive selection.     

Emergence of cooperation and evolutionary stability in finite populations

To explain the evolution of cooperation by natural selection has been a major goal of biologists since Darwin. Cooperators help others at a cost to themselves, while defectors receive the benefits of altruism without providing any help in return. The standard game dynamical formulation is the 'Prisoner's Dilemma', in which two players have a choice between cooperation and defection. In the repeated game, cooperators using direct reciprocity cannot be exploited by defectors, but it is unclear how such cooperators can arise in the first place. In general, defectors are stable against invasion by cooperators. This understanding is based on traditional concepts of evolutionary stability and dynamics in infinite populations. Here we study evolutionary game dynamics in finite populations. We show that a single cooperator using a strategy like 'tit-for-tat' can invade a population of defectors with a probability that corresponds to a net selective advantage. We specify the conditions required for natural selection to favour the emergence of cooperation and define evolutionary stability in finite populations.