Description and Morphogenesis of a Chinese Population of Bakuella granulifera Foissner, Agatha and Berger, 2002 (Ciliophora, Hypotricha).

In this study, the morphology and morphogenesis of Bakuella granulifera Foissner, Agatha, and Berger, 2002, isolated from soil in the Chanba National Wetland Park, Xi'an, China, were studied based on in vivo observations and protargol staining. The Chinese population is distinctly smaller than the type population from Namibia. Details of the ontogenetic process are provided for the first time and are summarized as follows: (1) the parental adoral zone is partly retained; (2) the left of the endoral forms a rather wide anlage and the proximal adoral membranelles are renewed; (3) the parental midventral complex contributes to the formation of the FVT cirral anlagen; (4) the marginal rows anlagen and dorsal kineties anlagen develop intrakinetally; (5) no caudal cirri are produced; and (6) the macronuclear nodules fuse to a single mass.

Genetic diversity and structure of the Chinese lake gudgeon ().

Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome and d-loop sequences (2,137 bp) in 65 specimens of from five populations were identified as two lineages (I and II). The pairwise genetic distance between lineages I and II was 1.94%.

Two highly related odorant receptors specifically detect α-bile acid pheromones in sea lamprey ().

Pheromones play critical roles in habitat identification and reproductive behavior synchronization in the sea lamprey (). The bile acid 3-keto petromyzonol sulfate (3kPZS) is a major component of the sex pheromone mixture from male sea lamprey that induces specific olfactory and behavioral responses in conspecific individuals. Olfactory receptors interact directly with pheromones, which is the first step in their detection, but identifying the cognate receptors of specific pheromones is often challenging.

Effect of pathogenic bacteria on a novel C-type lectin, hemocyte and superoxide dismutase/ alkaline phosphatase activity in Onchidium reevesii.

Bacterial infection in the marine environment is a serious problem to maintain the stability of marine ecosystems. Nevertheless, there is little report so far for the biological effects of pathogenic bacteria in coastal ecosystems. Hence, we investigated the responses of shell-less Onchidium reevesii to resist against pathogenic bacterial infection.

Constitutive activity of a spermine receptor is maintained by a single site in the C-terminal.

Olfactory receptors are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that enable olfactory epithelia to detect odorants. These GPCRs may also show constitutive activity, which play important roles in the development and responses of odorant receptor neurons. However, little is known about the molecular characteristics that support the constitutive activities in olfactory receptors.

Morphogenetic characters of the model ciliate Euplotes vannus (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea): Notes on cortical pattern formation during conjugational and postconjugational reorganization.

Ciliated protists represent a morphologically and genetically distinct group of single-celled eukaryotes which can reproduce asexually and sexually. Morphogenesis occurs in both asexual and sexual modes of reproduction which is of interest for researchers investigating cell differentiation, regeneration, systematics and evolution. However, studies of morphogenesis have concentrated almost entirely on the asexual mode.

Morphology and phylogeny of four marine or brackish water spirotrich ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from China, with descriptions of two new species.

In this study, we investigated the morphology and molecular phylogeny of four marine or brackish spirotrichean ciliates found in China, namely: Caryotricha sinica sp. nov., Prodiscocephalus orientalis sp.

Multiple freshwater invasions of the tapertail anchovy (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae) of the Yangtze River.

Freshwater fish evolved from anadromous ancestors can be found in almost all continents. The roles of paleogeographic events and nature selection in speciation process often are under focus of research. We studied genetic diversity of anadromous and resident tapertail anchovies ( species complex) in the Yangtze River Basin using 4,434 nuclear loci, and tested the history of freshwater invasion of .

Morphology and Phylogeny of Two Novel Pleurostomatids (Ciliophora, Litostomatea), Establishing a New Genus.

Pleurostomatida Schewiakoff, 1896 is a cosmopolitan order of ciliates. In the present study, we investigated two new pleurostomatid species, Apolitonotus lynni gen. et sp.

Assexon: Assembling Exon Using Gene Capture Data.

Exon capture across species has been one of the most broadly applied approaches to acquire multi-locus data in phylogenomic studies of non-model organisms. Methods for assembling loci from short-read sequences (eg, Illumina platforms) that rely on mapping reads to a reference genome may not be suitable for studies comprising species across a wide phylogenetic spectrum; thus, de novo assembling methods are more generally applied. Current approaches for assembling targeted exons from short reads are not particularly optimized as they cannot (1) assemble loci with low read depth, (2) handle large files efficiently, and (3) reliably address issues with paralogs.

Metallothionein, hemocyte status and superoxide dismutase/aspartate aminotransferase activity are sensitive biomarkers of cadmium stress in Onchidium reevesii.

Metal pollution in the environment is a serious threat to the biological sustainability of coastal ecosystems. However, our current understanding of the biological effects of metals in these ecosystems is limited. Herein, we investigated the responses of the sea slug Onchidium reevesii to persistent sublethal Cd environmental stress.

Molecular systematics of Pampus (Perciformes: Stromateidae) based on thousands of nuclear loci using target-gene enrichment.

Pomfret fishes of the genus Pampus are commercially important in the Indo-Pacific region, yet the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy of Pampus remain contentious. Here, we sampled 151 specimens, representing all known species of the genus, as well as two outgroup species (two families). We collected sequences from 17,292 single-copy nuclear coding loci using target-gene enrichment and Illumina sequencing for a subset samples of P.

Identification of candidate reference genes for qRT-PCR normalization studies of salinity stress and injury in .

Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) is an undeniably effective tool for measuring levels of gene expression, but the accuracy and reliability of the statistical data obtained depend mainly on the basal expression of selected housekeeping genes in many samples. To date, there have been few analyses of stable housekeeping genes in under salinity stress and injury. In this study, the gene expression stabilities of seven commonly used housekeeping genes, , , , , , and , were investigated using BestKeeper, geNorm, NormFinder and RefFinfer.

Gene markers for exon capture and phylogenomics in ray-finned fishes.

Gene capture coupled with the next-generation sequencing has become one of the preferred methods of subsampling genomes for phylogenomic studies. Many exon markers have been developed in plants, sharks, frogs, reptiles, fishes, and others, but no universal exon markers have been tested in ray-finned fishes. Here, we identified a suite of "single-copy" protein-coding sequence (CDS) markers through comparing eight fish genomes, and tested them empirically in 83 species (33 families and nine orders or higher clades: Acipenseriformes, Lepisosteiformes, Elopomorpha, Osteoglossomorpha, Clupeiformes, Cypriniformes, Gobiaria, Carangaria, and Eupercaria; sensu Betancur et al.

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequences of the (Stylommatophora: Philomycidae) and Phylogenetic Analysis.

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) can provide information for phylogenetic analyses and evolutionary biology. We first sequenced, annotated, and characterized the mitogenome of in this study. The complete mitogenome was 14,347 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 23 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and two non-coding regions (A + T-rich region).

Morphology and SSU rDNA-based phylogeny of two Euplotes species from China: E. wuhanensis sp. n. and E. muscicola Kahl, 1932 (Ciliophora, Euplotida).

The living morphology, infraciliature and silverline system of two small Euplotes species, E. wuhanensis sp. n.

Phylogenomic analysis on the exceptionally diverse fish clade Gobioidei (Actinopterygii: Gobiiformes) and data-filtering based on molecular clocklikeness.

The use of genome-scale data to infer phylogenetic relationships has gained in popularity in recent years due to the progress made in target-gene capture and sequencing techniques. Data filtering, the approach of excluding data inconsistent with the model from analyses, presumably could alleviate problems caused by systematic errors in phylogenetic inference. Different data filtering criteria, such as those based on evolutionary rate and molecular clocklikeness as well as others have been proposed for selecting useful phylogenetic markers, yet few studies have tested these criteria using phylogenomic data.

Molecular systematics and phylogenetic analysis of the Asian endemic freshwater sleepers (Gobiiformes: Odontobutidae).

The Odontobutidae is a group of freshwater sleepers endemic to East and Southeast Asia. The composition of the Odontobutidae is controversial and the systematics position of some species (e.g.

Multilocus DNA barcoding - Species Identification with Multilocus Data.

Species identification using DNA sequences, known as DNA barcoding has been widely used in many applied fields. Current barcoding methods are usually based on a single mitochondrial locus, such as cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). This type of barcoding method does not always work when applied to species separated by short divergence times or that contain introgressed genes from closely related species.