摘要: Taxonomic studies of the Odorrana versabilis group have been consistently disorganized, and they have often been incorrectly associated with an abandoned subgenus or genus Bamburana in existing literature. In this study, we conducted an integrative taxonomic analysis using molecular phylogenetic analysis of two mitochondrial gene fragments (16S rRNA and CO1) and morphological examination of 41 specimens collected during herpetological surveys in southern China. Our results confirmed the monophyly of O. versabilis group which exhibited distinct morphological traits. We also identified a cryptic lineage sister with O. exiliversabilis. Additionally, our study revealed that O. trankieni was nested within O. nasuta. Consequently, we redefined the morphological characteristics of the O. versabilis group, described a new species in this group, O. confusa sp. nov., and proposed that O. trankieni be considered a junior synonym of O. nasuta. One of the most significant findings of this study was the observation of distinct morphological changes in adult males across all species within the O. versabilis group between the non-breeding and breeding seasons. This study contributes to research on various aspects of Asian amphibian fauna, including taxonomy, ecology, evolution, and physiology.

摘要: Color variation among populations is thought to be either due to genetic variation or phenotype plasticity. In this study, we found that an agamid lizard, Phrynocephalus theobaldi, inhabiting elevations greater than any other reptile, displayed a significantly darker spotted marking on the central ventral abdomen in higher populations than in lower populations. The grey spotted area only occurred in elevations >4200 m, and also increased with increased elevation. The ratio of the size of the dark colored area to the degree of skin luminance/reflectance was used to test whether the lizard has a larger and darker spotted area at higher elevations. This ratio was significantly positively associated with elevation rather than substrate color. The lizard did not display sexual difference in this phenotype. Temperature had a significant influence on the brightness of central abdomen, but temperature-related plasticity of this trait was much smaller than the magnitude of the difference between higher (>4200 m) and lower showed that genetic inheritance, rather than phenotype plasticity, played a dominant role in this to be worthy of further research.

摘要: Gene expression changes contribute greatly to phenotypic variations in nature. Studying patterns of regulators of gene expression is important to fully understand the molecular mechanism underlying phenotypic variations. In horseshoe bats, the cochleae are finely tuned to echoes of call frequency. Here, using 2 recently diverged subspecies of the intermediate horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus affinis hainanus and R. a. himalayanus) with great acoustic variations as the system, we aim to explore relative roles of different regulators of gene expression (differential gene expression, alternative splicing (AS) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)) in phenotypic variation with a combination of Illumina short-read and Nanopore long-read RNA-seq data from the cochlea. Compared to R. a. hainanus, R. a. himalayanus exhibited much more upregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and multiple of them may play important roles in the maintenance and damage repair of auditory hair cells. We identified 411 differentially expressed lncRNAs and their target DEGs upregulated in R. a. himalayanus were also mainly involved in a protective mechanism for auditory hair cells. Using 3 different methods of AS analysis, we identified several candidate alternatively spliced genes (ASGs) that expressed different isoforms which may be associated with acoustic divergence of the 2 subspecies. We observed significantly less overlap than expected between DEGs and ASGs, supporting complementary roles of differential gene expression and AS in generating phenotypic variations. Overall, our study highlights the importance of a combination of short-read and long-read RNA-seq data in examining the regulation of gene expression changes responsible for phenotypic variations.

摘要: Most behavioral traits are known to be weakly heritable, possibly due to their extreme complexity and flexibility. Despite this general pattern, within-species variation in avian colony size choice has been reported to have a strong additive genetic component, but we are aware of no attempts to assess the heritability of avian sociality at the finer spatial scale. Here, we used an animal model and parent-offspring regression to quantify additive genetic variance in social phenotype (local nesting density) in a nonpasserine waterbird, the common tern Sterna hirundo. For this purpose, we used a novel experimental framework, where variation in the social environment was generated by providing birds with artificial patches of attractive nesting substrate that markedly varied in size. During 2011-2019, we collected data on social preferences for either low or high nesting density in over 250 individuals, either kin (mostly parent-offspring relationships) or non-kin recorded breeding multiple times across years. All heritability estimates of local nesting density were low (<0.10), irrespectively of fixed effects (sex and year) included in the models, data used in the modeling (all individuals vs. early recruits), or methodological approach (animal model vs. parent-offspring regression). We conclude that avian sociality, as measured at the local scale, may be much less heritable than colony size choice, as measured at the landscape level. Our study adds to the understanding of additive genetic variance in avian behavior, and it underlines a scale dependency in the heritability of behavioral traits.

摘要: Advances in single-cell sequencing technologies have made it possible to reveal the cellular basis of complex organ regeneration processes. In this review, we briefly introduce commonly used high-throughput single-cell sequencing platforms and their characteristics. We discuss in depth how single-cell sequencing techniques can be used in the study of regeneration to reveal stem/progenitor cell types and their developmental trajectories. From the perspective of stem cells, we review animal models of regenerative biology and organ models involved in regenerative medicine, with a focus on limb/fin/digit-tip regeneration. Finally, we discuss previous prospective work on improving systematic approaches to explore the origin and evolution of cellular diversity, as well as future research directions.