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Multilocus DNA fingerprinting and genetic relatedness in plants: a case study with banana and tomato.

The technique of DNA fingerprinting is frequently used for studies of genetic diversity and relatedness in a wide range of organisms. In humans and animals, multilocus fingerprints are mainly applied to paternity and identity test cases, behavioral ecology, and the analysis of population structures. In plants and fungi, the frequent occurrence of "low-variability" fingerprint patterns additionally allows to use multilocus fingerprinting for studying taxonomical problems at an intraspecific level. In the present article, we (1) present an overview of such approaches in a series of plant species, (2) summarize our attempts to estimate genetic relationships within two cultivated plant species, banana and tomato, by band sharing data derived from oligonucleotide fingerprints, and (3) discuss the limitations and potentials of multilocus fingerprinting for the determination of genetic relatedness.

DNA Fingerprinting↗

Uniparental chromosome elimination at mitosis and interphase in wheat and pearl millet crosses involves micronucleus formation, progressive heterochromatinization, and DNA fragmentation.

Complete uniparental chromosome elimination occurs in several interspecific hybrids of plants. We studied the mechanisms underlying selective elimination of the paternal chromosomes during the development of wheat (Triticum aestivum) x pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) hybrid embryos. All pearl millet chromosomes were eliminated in a random sequence between 6 and 23 d after pollination. Parental genomes were spatially separated within the hybrid nucleus, and pearl millet chromatin destined for elimination occupied peripheral interphase positions. Structural reorganization of the paternal chromosomes occurred, and mitotic behavior differed between the parental chromosomes. We provide evidence for a novel chromosome elimination pathway that involves the formation of nuclear extrusions during interphase in addition to postmitotically formed micronuclei. The chromatin structure of nuclei and micronuclei is different, and heterochromatinization and DNA fragmentation of micronucleated pearl millet chromatin is the final step during haploidization.

Chromosomes, Plant↗

Mother and father self-reports of corporal punishment and severe physical aggression toward clinic-referred youth.

Examined the extent to which 359 mothers and 140 fathers of clinic-referred youth (ages 2 to 17) reported using corporal punishment and severe physical aggression when asked directly via intake screening questionnaires at a community mental health center; higher prevalence rates emerged compared to families in the general population. Clinic-referred parents reported greater use of corporal punishment for younger relative to older youth, sons relative to daughters, and by single relative to married mothers. In cases with reports from both parents, mothers used corporal punishment more frequently than fathers. Demographic factors were not linked to severe physical aggression, except for mothers' treatment of sons versus daughters. After controlling for demographic factors, maternal and paternal reports of child externalizing behavior accounted for significant variance in their own and their partner's use of corporal punishment, and in mothers' use of severe physical aggression.

Adolescent↗

Floral movements in response to thunderstorms improve reproductive effort in the alpine species Gentiana algida (Gentianaceae).

Studies of floral movements in response to environmental change are rare in the literature, and information about possible adaptive benefits appears nonexistent. The closure of the upright, tubular flowers of alpine gentian (Gentiana algida) were observed during the frequent afternoon thunderstorms characteristic of the central and southern Rocky Mountains (USA). Flowers closed within minutes of an approaching thunderstorm and reopened after direct sunlight returned. Corolla opening widths decreased ∼10%/min prior to rainfall, in close correspondence to declines in air and corolla temperatures. Identical floral behavior was also induced experimentally in the field and laboratory by artificial changes in corolla temperature. Corolla closure did not occur during experiments that simulated natural changes in solar irradiance, wind, or absolute humidity during a thunderstorm. Furthermore, individual G. algida plants forced experimentally to remain open during rain had substantial losses of pollen after single rain events (up to 34%) and if forced to remain open for the entire flowering period (59%). Subsequent seasonal reductions in female fitness (up to 73%) also occurred, including seed size and mass, number of ovules produced, number of viable seeds produced per ovule, and seed germination. Thus, corolla closing and opening in G. algida associated with frequent summer thunderstorms may be a behavioral adaptation that improves both paternal and maternal reproductive effort.

Journal Article↗

An eclectic approach to parent group education.

Many factors contribute to a need for parent education today. Parent education has changed over the past centuries as a result of our changing values, our increasing knowledge base, and changes in family structure. The parent education group attempts to meet the parents' need to validate their concerns and offer them process and skills that promote mental health in children. Two popular models of parent education, the reflective model and the behavioral model, stem from two schools of psychologic thought-the phenomenologic school and the behavioral school. Because of the weaknesses and strengths of each model, an eclectic model of parent education is proposed which facilitates an authoritative patern of parenting correlated with self-reliant, explorative, and self-controlled children. This eclectic model of parent education is perceived as being within the role description of the generalist nurse who has access to back-up specialists in the health care system. Many opportunities exist for the nurse to offer this type of health education.

Female↗

Extra-pair copulation and sperm competition in the zebra finch.

Most birds are monogamous, but recent studies have shown that extra-pair copulations (EPCs) occur frequently despite a range of paternity guards, including mate-guarding and frequent copulation. Although EPCs are known to result in extra-pair paternity, there are no previous quantitative estimates of the success of EPCs in fertilizing eggs. We present here estimates of the likelihood of success of extra-pair copulations in a monogamous passerine, the zebra finch Poephila guttata. We show that (1) EPCs occurring under semi-natural conditions in captivity result in extra-pair paternity, (2) sperm from the last male to mate has precedence over previous matings: a single EPC occurring last is disproportionately successful in fertilizing eggs, but EPCs followed by further pair copulations have a low probability of success. These results have important implications for sexual selection theory.

Animals↗

The genetic basis of problem behavior in 5-year-old dutch twin pairs.

Different instruments can be used in the assessment of psychopathology in young children. In the present study the psychometric properties of a subset of items of the Devereux Child Behavior (DCB) rating scale were evaluated and the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to the variance of derived problem behavior scales was estimated. Maternal and paternal ratings were obtained in about 7600 5-year-old Dutch twin pairs. Six problem scales were derived from exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and designated as emotional lability, aggressive behavior, attention problems, anxiety problems, physical coordination problems, and dependency. Univariate genetic analyses of the problem scales yielded large additive genetic effects. Heritability estimates ranged from 40% for aggressive behavior to 81% for attention problems. Shared environmental influences were found for aggressive behavior, anxiety problems, dependency, and emotional lability. Rater contrast and/or sibling interaction effects were found for attention problems and physical coordination.

Child, Preschool↗

Heritability of fearful-anxious endophenotypes in infant rhesus macaques: a preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: Research efforts to discover the genetic underpinnings of anxiety and depression is challenging because of the etiologic heterogeneity inherent to these disorders. These efforts might be aided by the study of related behavioral phenotypes in model organisms, such as monkeys. METHODS: Eighty-five rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) from the Oregon National Primate Research Center were drawn from a standard matriarchal colony and tested for behavioral response in four testing paradigms designed to elicit fearful-anxious reactions. Heritabilities were estimated using variance component-based quantitative genetic analyses with much of the genetic information arising from paternal half-sibs. RESULTS: Individual behaviors reflecting increased distress responses (e.g., vocalizations and teeth grinding) and behavioral inhibition (e.g., latency to leave mother, latency to inspect novel fruit) showed significant heritability, even though a small number of monkeys were assessed. Exploratory factor analyses identified seven clusters of behaviors across tests, some of which were found to be heritable. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that several specific fearful-anxious behaviors in infant rhesus monkeys are heritable within this colony. Accordingly, these phenotypes, which are believed to represent the genetic liability for anxiety and depression, are good candidates for further genetic investigation in this population.

Animals↗

Monogamy without biparental care in a dwarf antelope.

The only widely accepted explanations for the evolution of monogamy in mammals have been based on the benefits of biparental care of offspring. This is probably because, unless biparental care is important, the most competitive males would be expected to monopolize more than one female. This study investigates whether males are important for offspring survival in a monogamous dwarf antelope, Kirk's dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii), by testing three hypotheses that have been proposed to account for monogamy in mammals. In dik-diks, males could help their mates and young by: (i) defending resources; (ii) defending against infanticide by other males; and (iii) reducing predation risk. Because territorial defence was mainly sex-specific, males did not defend resources for their mates or offspring. Males also made no attempt to kill infants they had not sired, so there is no risk of infanticide. Nor was there any evidence that males reduced predation risk: females were not alerted to an approaching predator sooner when males were present, and only mothers responded to playbacks of the call of a predator which preys on juvenile but not adult dik-diks. This is the first conclusive evidence of the absence of paternal care in any monogamous mammal.

Animals↗

Nonrandom chromosome segregation in male meiosis of a sciarid fly: elimination of paternal chromosomes in first division is mediated by non-kinetochore microtubules.

The mechanism of nonrandom chromosome segregation and elimination in male first meiotic division of sciarid flies is one of the enigmas of classical cytogenetics. Interpretations of the available data regarding this unusual chromosome transport are contradictory [reviewed by Gerbi, 1986: "Germline-Soma Differentiations. Results and Problems of Cell Differentiation," Vol. 13:71-104]. In the present study of spermatogenesis in Trichosia pubescens the process is reinvestigated by indirect anti-tubulin immunofluorescence labeling of spindle microtubules and DAPI chromosome staining, partly in combination with ultrathin sectioning and electron microscopy. While the maternal homologues and the sex-limited (L) chromosomes seem to be transported very quickly toward the pole of the monopolar spindle, where they stay throughout first meiotic division, paternal homologues remain some distance from the pole, stick together, and, as an undifferentiated cluster of chromatin, withdraw from the pole in the course of division. Finally the paternal chromatin becomes eliminated in a cytoplasmic bud which is cast off. The different behavior of maternal homologues (and L chromosomes) and paternal homologues may be caused by differences in kinetochore structure and function. In contrast to maternal and L chromosomes, the paternal homologues do not display structurally defined kinetochore-like regions and seem to be unable to orient poleward. During the process of elimination, a prominent bundle of pole-oriented microtubules is associated with the paternal chromatin cluster. It is suggested that transport away from the pole is brought about by these microtubules. Thus, meiotic chromosome elimination in sciarids may be related to mechanisms involving "polar ejection forces" [Rieder et al., 1986: J. Cell Biol. 103:581-591].

Animals↗

Selectivity in paternal and infanticidal responses by male mice: effects of relatedness, location, and previous sexual partners.

Male mice tend to be infanticidal to unrelated infants but parental to their own offspring. The present study examines three hypotheses that might explain this apparent discrimination. There was no evidence of selective infanticide toward infants encountered for the first time on the basis of kinship, location, or cues associated with previous sexual partners. However, males tended to direct more paternal responses toward their own unfamiliar infants than toward unrelated infants, infants encountered in the male's home cage than those in the cage of another male, and when cues associated with a previous sexual partner were present. Data suggested that the responses of females to male intruders might influence the responses of those males. It was concluded that the infanticidal responses of male mice are mediated by a particular state of the male but that males in a noninfanticidal state may vary their paternal responsiveness on the basis of direct and indirect cues concerning relatedness.

Animals↗

Ethical theories for promoting health through behavioral change.

The various philosophical orientations for changing people's unhealthy behaviors are examined. The ethical theories of natural law, utilitarianism, paternalism and distributive justice are reviewed in relation to changing people's behaviors. Finally, the health educators' role in behavior change is examined and it is recommended that health educators may need to limit the conditions in which they intervene into the lives of others.

Behavior Control↗

Phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance brain spectroscopy of children at risk for a substance use disorder: preliminary results.

The purpose of this exploratory investigation was to evaluate the heuristic potential of 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in elucidating a neurobiologic component of the liability for a substance use disorder (SUD). We investigated 31P MRS spectra employing chemical shift imaging (CSI) derived from four distinct anatomic brain locations (i.e. frontal, occipital, right parietal, left parietal) in three groups of peripubertal children who are hypothesized to be at increasing levels of familial SUD risk. Specifically, we studied children with a positive paternal family history of SUD and a disruptive behavior disorder (DBD) diagnosis (SUD+/DBD+; n = 10), in contrast, to those with a positive paternal SUD history in the absence of other psychopathology (SUD+/DBD-; n = 13) and matched control children from normal families (SUD-/DBD-; n = 13). In addition, we examined neurocognitive tests of our subjects to determine any associations between cognitive capacities with regional 31P MRS spectra. The highest-risk sample (SUD+/DBD+) demonstrated a diminished proportion of phosphodiesters confined to the right parietal voxel. This right parietal phosphodiester proportion correlated only with the Information Scale score on a standard intelligence test for children. This suggested a relationship between general learning ability and motivation for academic achievement and right parietal physiology in the highest-risk sample. Variations in synaptic pruning could account for this observation.

Adolescent↗

Post-meiotic cell mediation of behavior in progeny of male rats treated with cyclophosphamide.

Transmission of the effects of paternal pre-fertilization exposure to a genotoxic drug being manifested in the F1 progeny is well established using the traditional rodent dominant lethal protocol [7]. More recently, the induction of genotoxic effects in the F1 progeny following chronic paternal exposure prior to fertilization has been described in rats using behavioral testing as an endpoint [1]. In our initial study, male F344 adult rats were treated chronically with 10 mg/kg cyclophosphamide (CP) or saline for 5 weeks (5 days of daily treatment and 2 days of rest). The present study describes the behavior of progeny whose fathers were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/kg CP and mated at different times post-injection. This design showed that post-meiotic germ cells are the most sensitive to the effects of CP as seen by behavioral testing of the F1 progeny.

Animals↗

Sperm competition mechanisms, confidence of paternity, and the evolution of paternal care in the golden egg bug (Phyllomorpha laciniata).

Theoretical models predict how paternal effort should vary depending on confidence of paternity and on the trade-offs between present and future reproduction. In this study we examine patterns of sperm precedence in Phyllomorpha laciniata and how confidence of paternity influences the willingness of males to carry eggs. Female golden egg bugs show a flexible pattern of oviposition behavior, which results in some eggs being carried by adults (mainly males) and some being laid on plants, where mortality rates are very high. Adults are more vulnerable to predators when carrying eggs; thus, it has been suggested that males should only accept eggs if there are chances that at least some of the eggs will be their true genetic offspring. We determined the confidence of paternity for naturally occurring individuals and its variation with the time. Paternity of eggs fertilized by the last males to mate with females previously mated in the field has been determined using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). The exclusion probability was 98%, showing that AFLP markers are suitable for paternity assignment. Sperm mixing seems the most likely mechanism of sperm competition, because the last male to copulate with field females sires an average of 43% of the eggs laid during the next five days. More importantly, the proportion of eggs sired does not change significantly during that period. We argue that intermediate levels of paternity can select for paternal care in this system because: (1) benefits of care in terms of offspring survival are very high; (2) males have nothing to gain from decreasing their parental effort in a given reproductive event because sperm mixing makes it difficult for males to reach high paternity levels and males are left with no cues to assess paternity; (3) males cannot chose to care for their offspring exclusively because they can neither discriminate their own eggs, nor can they predict when their own eggs will be produced; and (4) males suffer no loss of further matings with other females when they carry eggs. Thus, our findings do not support the traditional view that paternal investment is expected to arise only in species where confidence of paternity is high. The results suggest that females maximize the chances that several males will accept eggs at different times by promoting a mechanism of sperm mixing that ensures that all males that have copulated with a female have some chance of fathering offspring, that this probability remains constant with time, and that males have no cues as to when their own offspring will be produced.

Animals↗

Repressive coping and self-reports of parenting.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether women who possess a repressive coping style (repressors) self-report more positive judgments of their childhood on questionnaire and repertory grid measures compared with non-repressors. DESIGN: Repressors (low anxiety-high defensiveness) were compared with a composite group of non-repressors, containing some low anxious (low anxiety-low defensiveness), some high anxious (high anxiety-low defensiveness), some defensive high anxious (high anxiety-high defensiveness) and some non-extreme scorers. METHODS: Participants completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker, Tupling & Brown, 1979) and a 10 x 10 repertory grid, Self-Identification Form. RESULTS: On the PBI, repressors scored significantly higher than non-repressors on paternal care and significantly lower on paternal overprotection. There were no group differences for maternal measures. On the repertory grid, repressors compared with non-repressors perceived (a) themselves as significantly closer to their father, a woman they like, and their ideal partner, and significantly further from a woman they dislike, and a man they dislike; and (b) their father as significantly closer to a woman they like, a partner/person they admire, and an ideal partner. In addition, repressors were significantly tighter on construing than non-repressors. CONCLUSIONS: The results supported the hypothesis that repressors would rate their interactions with their fathers more positively than non-repressors when allowed to do so on self-report measures.

Adaptation, Psychological↗