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.     

In situ Os isotopes in abyssal peridotites bridge the isotopic gap between MORBs and their source mantle

Abyssal peridotites are assumed to represent the mantle residue of mid-ocean-ridge basalts (MORBs). However, the osmium isotopic compositions of abyssal peridotites and MORB do not appear to be in equilibrium, raising questions about the cogenetic relationship between those two reservoirs. However, the cause of this isotopic mismatch is mainly due to a drastic filtering of the data based on the possibility of osmium contamination by sea water. Here we present a detailed study of magmatic sulphides (the main carrier of osmium) in abyssal peridotites and show that the 187Os/188Os ratio of these sulphides is of primary mantle origin and can reach radiogenic values suggesting equilibrium with MORB. Thus, the effect of sea water on the osmium systematics of abyssal peridotites has been overestimated and consequently there is no true osmium isotopic gap between MORBs and abyssal peridotites.     

The free and protein amino acids ofClavariopsis aquatica,de wild

Résumé On a trouvé queClavariopsis aquatica tolère une grande acidité. Le pourcentage des amino-acides qui composent la protéine fongique a été très peu affecté par la source d'azote et n'a aucun rapport avec la composition de la masse commune des amino-acides libres. La pourcentage des amino-acides qui composent la protéine correspond à un pourcentage de guanine/cytosine de 25.     

Transverse and longitudinal variation in woody riparian vegetation along a montane river

This study explores how the relationship between flow and riparian vegetation varies along a montane river. We mapped occurrence of woody riparian plant communities along 58 km of the San Miguel River in southwestern Colorado. We determined the recurrence interval of inundation for each plant community by combining step-backwater hydraulic modeling at 4 representative reaches with Log-Pearson analysis of 4 stream gaging stations. Finally, we mapped bottomland surficial geology and used a Geographic Information System to overlay the coverages of geology and vegetation. Plant communities were distinctly arrayed along the hydrologic gradient. The Salix exigua Nuttall (sandbar willow) community occurred mostly on surfaces with a recurrence interval of inundation shorter than 2.2 years; the Betula occidentalis Hooker (river birch) community peaked on sites with recurrence intervals of inundation between 2.2 and 4.6 years. The hydrologic position occupied by communities dominated by Populus angustifolia James (narrowleaf cottonwood) was strongly related to age of trees and species composition of understory shrubs. The fraction of riparian vegetation on surfaces historically inundated by the river decreased in the upstream direction from almost 100% near Uravan to <50% along the South Fork of the San Miguel River. In upstream reaches much of the physical disturbance necessary to maintain riparian vegetation is provided by valley-side processes including debris flows, floods from minor tributaries, landslides, and beaver activity. Where valley-side processes are important, prediction of riparian vegetation change based on alterations of river flow will be incomplete.     

Orientation in birds: a foreword

The Editors wish to thank Professor P. Berthold for coordinating this multi-author review.     

华南贵东杂岩体单颗粒锆石激光探针ICPMS U-Pb定年及其成岩意义

系统的单颗粒锆石激光探针ICPMS U-Pb同位素定年表明, 贵东杂岩体是印支期~燕山期多次岩浆侵入形成的复式杂岩体, 其中鲁溪岩体(239 ± 5 Ma)、下庄岩体(235.8 ± 7.6 Ma)是印支期花岗岩; 隘子岩体(160.1 ± 6.1 Ma)、司前岩体(151 ± 11 Ma)是燕山期花岗岩. 下庄岩体中1275~2137 Ma残留锆石的发现, 表明贵东花岗岩杂岩体的物质来源与华南元古宙陆壳基底有关. 详细的单颗粒锆石激光探针ICPMS U-Pb同位素定年为研究该杂岩体的形成演化与构造作用、成矿作用的关系提供了重要的依据.