Related GMR Articles
The evolution of the metazoa has been characterized by gene redundancy, generated by polyploidy, tandem duplication and retrotransposition. Polyploidy can be detected by looking for duplicated chromosomes or segments of orthologous chromosomes in post-polyploid animals. It has been proposed that the evolutionary role of polyploidy is to provide extra-copies of genes, whose subsequent ... more
Our theory is embarrassingly simple. What made today’s prokaryotes and modern cyanobacteria so robust is the fact that in their origin, back in the Archean (3 billion years ago), selection did not play a central role in evolution, it had only a transitory role. Asexual reproduction, mutation, drift and sampling variance in local demes were more important especially when they were ... more
We examined the variation in mitochondrial DNA by sequencing the D-loop region in wild and domestic (large-white breed) pigs, in hybrids between domestic and wild pigs, and in Monteiro pigs. A D-loop fragment of approximately 330 bp was amplified by PCR. Sequencing of DNA amplicons identified haplotypes previously described as European and Asian types. Monteiro pigs and wild pigs had ... more
Polyploidy is a prominent and significant force in plant evolution, taking place since ancient times and continuing until today. Recent cytogenetic studies in the genus Brachiaria using germplasm collected from wild African savannas in the 1980s revealed that most species and accessions within species are polyploid. Diploid, tetraploid, and pentaploid accessions have been found. ... more
The genus Ctenomys (Rodentia: Ctenomyidae) shows several taxonomic inconsistencies. In this study, we used an integrative approach including DNA sequences, karyotypes, and geometric morphometrics to evaluate the taxonomic validity of a nominal species, Ctenomys bicolor, which was described based on only one specimen in 1912 by Miranda Ribeiro, and since then neglected. ... more
The fruit peach originated in China and has a history of domestication of more than 4000 years. Numerous local cultivars were selected during the long course of cultivation, and a great morphological diversity exists. To study the diversity and genetic background of local peach cultivars in China, a set of 158 accessions from different ecological regions, together with 27 modern varieties ... more
We described five novel microsatellite loci for the piracema fish species Prochilodus lineatus (Characiformes), endemic to South America and of extreme importance to both commercial and artisanal fisheries across its occurrence area. A primary, unenriched genomic library was constructed and radioactively screened for repetitive motifs. Positive clones were automatically ... more
Myostatin is a negative regulator of the growth and development of skeletal muscle mass. In fish, myostatin is expressed in several organs in addition to skeletal muscle. To understand the mechanisms regulating myostatin gene expression in the sea perch, Lateolabrax japonicus, we examined the methylation status of the myostatin gene promoter region in several tissues (liver, eye, kidney, brain ... more
Steindachneridion melanodermatum is a large Brazilian catfish, highly prized for sport fishing and for its meat. Specimens of this species, both caught in nature from Iguacu River and F1 fish born in captivity, were analyzed with regard to patterns of RAPD molecular markers. Genetic similarity ranged from 0.57 to 0.95; two groups were determined for the wild specimens ... more