1,139 research outputs found
Can Sines: A family of tRNA derived retroposons specific to superfamily Canoidea
No full textA repetitive element of approximately 200 bp was cloned from harbour seal (Phoca vitulina concolour) genomic DNA. The sequence of the element revealed putative RNA polymerase III control boxes, a poly A tail and direct terminal repeats characteristic of SINEs. Sequence and secondary structural similarities suggest that the SINE is derived from a tRNA, possibly tRNAalanine. Southern blot analysis indicated that the element is predominately dispersed in unique regions of the seal genome, but may also be present in other repetitive sequences, such as tandemly arrayed satellite DNA. Based on slot-blot hybridization analysis, we estimate that 1.3 x 106 copies of the SINE are present in the harbour seal genome; SINE copy number based on the number of clones isolated from a size-selected library, however, is an order of magnitude lower ( 1 - 3 x 1 0 5 copies), an estimate consistent with the abundance of SINEs in other mammalian genomes. Database searches found similar sequences have been isolated from dog (Canis familiaris) and mink (Mustela vison). These, and the seal SINE sequences are characterized by an internal CT dinucleotide microsatellite in the tRNA-unrelated region. Hybridization of genomic DNA from representative species of a wide range of mammalian orders to an oligonucleotide (30mer) probe complementary to a conserved region of the SINE confirmed that the element is unique to carnivores of the superfamily Canoidea
Spatial genetic structure of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) at the northern limit of their native range
No full textThis is a manuscript version of an article published as: Haines, J.A., Nason, S.E., Skurdal, A.M.M., Bourchier, T., Boutin, S., Taylor, R.W., McAdam, A.G., Lane, J.E., Kelley, A.D., Humphries, M.M., Gorrell, J.C., Dantzer, B., Coltman, D.W., & Hämäläinen, A. (2020). Sex- and context-specific associations between personality and a measure of fitness but no link with life history traits. Animal Behaviour, 167, 23-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.06.013The Canadian Rocky Mountains are one of the few places on Earth where the spatial genetic structure of wide-ranging species has been relatively unaffected by anthropogenic disturbance. We characterized the spatial genetic structure of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis Shaw, 1804) in the northern portion of their range. Using microsatellites from 1495 individuals and mitochondrial DNA sequences from 188 individuals, we examined both broad- and fine-scale spatial genetic structure, assessed sex-biased gene flow within the northern portion of the species range, and identified geographic patterns of genetic diversity. We found that broad-scale spatial genetic structure was consistent with barriers to movement created by major river valleys. The fine-scale spatial genetic structure was characterized by a strong isolation-by-distance pattern, and analysis of neighborhood size using spatial autocorrelation indicated gene flow frequently occurred over distances of up to 100 km. However, analysis of sex-specific spatial autocorrelation and analysis of mitochondrial haplotype distributions failed to detect any evidence of sex-biased gene flow. Finally, our analyses reveal decreasing genetic diversity with increasing latitude, consistent with patterns of post-glacial recolonization of the Rocky Mountains.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/23294/Gorrell.CJZ.pdf?sequence=3This is an author supplied, accepted manuscript version of an article published as: Deakin, S., Gorrell, J.C.,
Kneteman, J., Hik, D.S., Jobin, R.M., & Coltman, D.W. (2020). Spatial genetic structure of Rocky Mountain
bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) at the northern limit of their native range. Canadian Journal
of Zoology, 98(5), 317-330. DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2019-0183
Canadian Journal of Zoology is available online at: http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/journal/cjz, and this
article is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2019-0183.Post-print versio
Ontogenetic patterns in heritable variation for body size: using random regression models in a wild ungulate population
No full textBody size is an important determinant of fitness in many organisms. While size will typically change over the lifetime of an individual, heritable components of phenotypic variance may also show ontogenetic variation. We estimated genetic (additive and maternal) and environmental covariance structures for a size trait (June weight) measured over the first 5 years of life in a natural population of bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis. We also assessed the utility of random regression models for estimating these structures. Additive genetic variance was found for June weight, with heritability increasing over ontogeny because of declining environmental variance. This pattern, mirrored at the phenotypic level, likely reflects viability selection acting on early size traits. Maternal genetic effects were significant at ages 0 and 1, having important evolutionary implications for early weight, but declined with age being negligible by age 2. Strong positive genetic correlations between age-specific traits suggest that selection on June weight at any age will likely induce positively correlated responses across ontogeny. Random regression modeling yielded similar results to traditional methods. However, by facilitating more efficient data use where phenotypic sampling is incomplete, random regression should allow better estimation of genetic (co)variances for size and growth traits in natural populations
Poe's biopics : representations of the author in D.W. Griffith's Edgar Allen Poe and James Mcteigue's The raven
No full textLiterary biopics often reinforce romantic images regarding the creative process, emphasizing biographic and author-centered approaches to literature previously denounced by Roland Barthes (1977). Curiously, one of the most famous critics of such romantic conceptions, Edgar Allan Poe, has himself been a victim of this very same treatment, his literary production being taken as part and result of his controversial biography in a number of works. This article analyzes two biographical films, or biopics, about the renowned poet, D.W. Griffith’s Edgar Allen Poe (sic) (1909) and James McTeigue’s The Raven (2012). The analysis of these works indicates that both reinforce the merge of the artist’s life and oeuvre, as well as the blurring of borders between fact and fiction, author and character, high and mass culture, thus contributing to the characterization of the biopic as a fitting example of historiographic metafiction. (Hutcheon, 1988).Cinebiografias literárias frequentemente reforçam visões românticas quanto ao fazer artístico, reiterando a visão biografista e a centralidade do autor há muito denunciadas por Roland Barthes (1977). Curiosamente, um dos mais célebres críticos de tais concepções românticas, Edgar Allan Poe, viu-se vítima desse mesmo tratamento ao ter sua produção literária apropriada como parte e reflexo de sua controversa biografia em diversas obras. O presente artigo debruça-se sobre dois filmes biográficos, ou biopics, acerca do célebre poeta, Edgar Allen Poe (sic), de D.W. Griffith (1909), e O Corvo, de James McTeigue (2012). A análise das obras aponta que ambas reiteram a fusão entre vida e obrado artista, bem como o apagamento das fronteiras entre fato histórico e ficção, entre autor e personagem, alta cultura e cultura de massa, contribuindo para a caracterização do gênero biopic como um dos mais bem-acabados exemplos de metaficção historiográfica (Hutcheon, 1988)
Adopting kin enhances inclusive fitness in asocial red squirrels
No full textOrphaned animals benefit from being adopted, but it is unclear why an adopting parent should
incur the costs of rearing extra young. Such altruistic parental behaviour could be favoured if it
is directed towards kin and the inclusive benefits of adoption exceed the costs. Here, we report
the occurrence of adoption (five occurrences among 2,230 litters over 19 years) in asocial red
squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). Adoptions were always between kin, while orphans without nearby kin were never adopted. Adoptions were confined exclusively to circumstances in which the benefits to the adopted juvenile (b), discounted by the degree of relatedness between the surrogate and the orphan (r), exceeded the fitness costs of adding an extra juvenile to her
litter (c), as predicted by Hamilton's rule (rb>c) for the evolution of altruism. By focusing on
adoption in an asocial species, our study provides a clear test of Hamilton's rule that explains
the persistence of occasional altruism in a natural mammal population.https://viuspace.viu.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/3207/Gorrell.NC.pdf?sequence=4This is an electronic version of an article that was originally published as: Gorrell, J.C., McAdam, A.G.,
Coltman, D.W., Humphries, M.M., & Boutin, S. (2010). Adopting kin enhances inclusive fitness in asocial
red squirrels. Nature Communications, 1, 1-4. DOI: 10.1038/ncomss1022.
Nature Communications is published by Macmillan Publishers, part of Springer Nature. More
information about the journal can be found at: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/. This article can be
accessed on the Nature.com website at: http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1022
Author Correction:A cattle graph genome incorporating global breed diversity
No full textThe original version of this Article omitted from the author list the 12th and 13th authors Dennis Muhanguzi and Wilson Amanyire, who are from the ‘School of Biosecurity, Biotechnology and Laboratory Sciences (SBLS), College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, P.O Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda’. Consequently, the final sentence of the Author Contributions incorrectly read ‘D.W., P.T., E.A.J.C., C.E., E.T.O., E.R.A., A. Tijjani, K.M., A.F., B.R.F., A.Q., U.C. and P.W. provided samples and expertise for the studies’. This has been replaced with ‘D.W., P.T., W.A., D.M., E.A.J.C., C.E., E.T.O., E.R.A., A. Tijjani, K.M., A.F., B.R.F., A.Q., U.C. and P.W. provided samples and expertise for the studies’. This has been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article
Author Co-Citation Analysis (ACA): a powerful tool for representing implicit knowledge of scholar knowledge workers
No full textIn the last decade, knowledge has emerged as one of the most important and valuable organizational assets. Gradually this importance caused to emergence of new discipline entitled ―knowledge management‖. However one of the major challenges of knowledge management is conversion implicit or tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. Thus Making knowledge visible so that it can be better accessed, discussed, valued or generally managed is a long-standing objective in knowledge management. Accordingly in this paper author co- citation analysis (ACA) will be proposed as an efficient technique of knowledge visualization in academia (Scholar knowledge workers)
Seasonal, spatial, and maternal effects on gut microbiome in wild red squirrels
No full textOur understanding of gut microbiota has been limited primarily to findings from human and laboratory animals, but what shapes the gut microbiota in nature remains largely unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted a comprehensive study of gut microbiota of a well-studied North American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) population. Red squirrels are territorial, solitary, and live in a highly seasonal environment and therefore represent a very attractive system to study factors that drive the temporal and spatial dynamics of gut microbiota.https://viurrspace.ca/bitstream/handle/10613/5417/Gorrell.Microbiome.pdf?sequence=4This is an electronic version of an article that was published as: Ren, T., Boutin, S., Humphries, M.M.,
Dantzer, B., Gorrell, J.C., Coltman, D.W., McAdam, A.G., & Wu, M. (2017). Seasonal, spatial, and
maternal effects on gut microbiome in wild red squirrels. Microbiome, 5, 1-14. DOI: 10.1186/s40168-
017-0382-3
Microbiome is an open access journal published by BioMed Central. More information about the journal
can be found at: https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/. This article can be accessed at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40168-017-0382-3.Article 16
Birds of a feather do not always lek together: Genetic diversity and kinship structure of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Alberta
No full textEndangered species are sensitive to the genetic effects of fragmentation, small population size, and inbreeding, so effective management requires a thorough understanding of their breeding systems and genetic diversity. The Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a lekking species that has declined by 66–92% during the past 35 years in Alberta. Our goals were to assess the genetic diversity of Greater Sage-Grouse in Alberta and to determine the degree of sex-specific relatedness within and among leks. Six hundred and four individuals sampled in 1998–2007 were genotyped at 13 microsatellite loci. Levels of genetic diversity were high, with the exception of one recently founded lek, and did not change over time. Overall, we did not observe isolation-bydistance among leks, and most leks were not differentiated from one another, which suggests that gene flow occurs across the study area. Males and females exhibited similar patterns of isolation-by-distance, so dispersal was not sex-specific. Overall relatedness was close to zero for both sexes at the level of the province, lek, and year, which suggests that neither sex forms strong kin associations. However, we found relatedness within leks at the year level to be greater than zero, which indicates interannual variation. We also found no evidence that Greater Sage-Grouse follow the typical avian pattern of male philopatry. Although the species is endangered in Alberta and occurs in fragmented habitat, it has maintained genetic diversity and connectivity
Spatial Genetic Structure of a Symbiotic Beetle-Fungal System: Toward Multi-Taxa Integrated Landscape Genetics
No full textSpatial patterns of genetic variation in interacting species can identify shared features that are important to gene flow and can elucidate co-evolutionary relationships. We assessed concordance in spatial genetic variation between the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and one of its fungal symbionts, Grosmanniaclavigera, in western Canada using neutral genetic markers. We examined how spatial heterogeneity affects genetic variation within beetles and fungi and developed a novel integrated landscape genetics approach to assess reciprocal genetic influences between species using constrained ordination. We also compared landscape genetic models built using Euclidean distances based on allele frequencies to traditional pair-wise Fst. Both beetles and fungi exhibited moderate levels of genetic structure over the total study area, low levels of structure in the south, and more pronounced fungal structure in the north. Beetle genetic variation was associated with geographic location while that of the fungus was not. Pinevolume and climate explained beetle genetic variation in the northern region of recent outbreak expansion. Reciprocal genetic relationships were only detectedin the south where there has been alonger history of beetle infestations. The Euclidean distance and Fst-based analyses resulted in similar models in the north and over the entire study area, but differences between methods in the south suggest that genetic distances measures should be selected based on ecological and evolutionary contexts. The integrated landscape genetics framework we present is powerful, general, and can be applied to other systems to quantify the biotic and abiotic determinants of spatial genetic variation within and among taxa
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