Paternity analysis reveals wide pollen dispersal and high multiple paternity in a small isolated population of the bird-pollinated Eucalyptus caesia (Myrtaceae).

Optimal foraging behaviour by nectavores is expected to result in a leptokurtic pollen dispersal distribution and predominantly near-neighbour mating. However, complex social interactions among nectarivorous birds may result in different mating patterns to those typically observed in insect-pollinated plants. Mating system, realised pollen dispersal and spatial genetic structure were examined in the bird-pollinated Eucalyptus caesia, a species characterised by small, geographically disjunct populations. Nine microsatellite markers were used to genotype an entire adult stand and 181 seeds from 28 capsules collected from 6 trees. Mating system analysis using MLTR revealed moderate to high outcrossing (tm=0.479-0.806) and low estimates of correlated paternity (rp=0.136±s.e. 0.048). Paternity analysis revealed high outcrossing rates (mean=0.72) and high multiple paternity, with 64 different sires identified for 181 seeds. There was a significant negative relationship between the frequency of outcross mating and distance between mating pairs. Realised mating events were more frequent than expected with random mating for plants <40 m apart. The overall distribution of pollen dispersal distances was platykurtic. Despite extensive pollen dispersal within the stand, three genetic clusters were detected by STRUCTURE analysis. These genetic clusters were strongly differentiated yet geographically interspersed, hypothesised to be a consequence of rare recruitment events coupled with extreme longevity. We suggest that extensive polyandry and pollen dispersal is a consequence of pollination by highly mobile honeyeaters and may buffer E. caesia against the loss of genetic diversity predicted for small and genetically isolated populations.

Mismatch in the distribution of floral ecotypes and pollinators: insights into the evolution of sexually deceptive orchids.

Plants are predicted to show floral adaptation to geographic variation in the most effective pollinator, potentially leading to reproductive isolation and genetic divergence. Many sexually deceptive orchids attract just a single pollinator species, limiting opportunities to experimentally investigate pollinator switching. Here, we investigate Drakaea concolor, which attracts two pollinator species. Using pollinator choice tests, we detected two morphologically similar ecotypes within D. concolor. The common ecotype only attracted Zaspilothynnus gilesi, whereas the rare ecotype also attracted an undescribed species of Pogonothynnus. The rare ecotype occurred at populations nested within the distribution of the common ecotype, with no evidence of ecotypes occurring sympatrically. Surveying for pollinators at over 100 sites revealed that ecotype identity was not correlated with wasp availability, with most orchid populations only attracting the rare Z. gilesi. Using microsatellite markers, genetic differentiation among populations was very low (GST = 0.011) regardless of ecotype, suggestive of frequent gene flow. Taken together, these results may indicate that the ability to attract Pogonothynnus has evolved recently, but this ecotype is yet to spread. The nested distribution of ecotypes, rather than the more typical formation of ecotypes in allopatry, illustrates that in sexually deceptive orchids, pollinator switching could occur throughout a species' range, resulting from multiple potentially suitable but unexploited pollinators occurring in sympatry. This unusual case of sympatric pollinators highlights D. concolor as a promising study system for further understanding the process of pollinator switching from ecological, chemical and genetic perspectives.

Contrasting impacts of pollen and seed dispersal on spatial genetic structure in the bird-pollinated Banksia hookeriana.

In plants, pollen- and seed-dispersal distributions are characteristically leptokurtic, with significant consequences for spatial genetic structure and nearest-neighbour mating. However, most studies to date have been on wind- or insect-pollinated species. Here, we assigned paternity to quantify effective pollen dispersal over 9 years of mating, contrasted this to seed dispersal and examined their effects on fine-scale spatial genetic structure, within the bird-pollinated shrub Banksia hookeriana (Proteaceae). We used 163 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism markers to assess genetic structure and pollen dispersal in a spatially discrete population of 112 plants covering 0.56 ha. Spatial autocorrelation analysis detected spatial genetic structure in the smallest distance class of 0-5 m (r=0.025), with no significant structure beyond 8 m. Experimentally quantified seed-dispersal distances for 337 seedlings showed a leptokurtic distribution around a median of 5 m, reaching a distance of 36 m. In marked contrast, patterns of pollen dispersal for 274 seeds departed strikingly from typical near-neighbour pollination, with a distribution largely corresponding to the spatial distribution of plants. We found very high multiple paternity, very low correlated paternity and an equal probability of siring for the 50 closest potential mates. Extensive pollen carryover was demonstrated by multiple siring in 83 of 86 (96.5%) two-seeded fruits. Highly mobile nectar-feeding birds facilitate this promiscuity through observed movements that were effectively random. As the incidence of bird-pollination is markedly greater in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region than elsewhere, our results have broad and novel significance for the evolution and conservation for many species in Gondwanan lineages.

Development of microsatellites from the rare ironstone endemic, Tetratheca paynterae ssp. paynterae and cross-species amplification.

Nineteen microsatellite markers were developed from Tetratheca paynterae ssp. paynterae, a rare and endangered, leafless, perennial shrub. Twelve loci were polymorphic in T. paynterae ssp. paynterae with two to 14 alleles per locus and mean expected heterozygosity of 0.62. Primer pairs were tested on four other Tetratheca species from ironstone ranges in southern Western Australia. Ten loci were polymorphic in T. paynterae ssp. cremnobata and T. aphylla ssp. aphylla, three in T. harperi and four in T. erubescens. The level of polymorphism was adequate for studies of genetic structure and mating systems in three of the five taxa.

Increased ecological amplitude through heterosis following wide outcrossing in Banksia ilicifolia R.Br. (Proteaceae).

To assess whether wide outcrossing (over 30 km) in the naturally fragmented Banksia ilicifolia R.Br. increases the ecological amplitude of offspring, we performed a comparative greenhouse growth study involving seedlings of three hand-pollinated progeny classes (self, local outcross, wide outcross) and a range of substrates and stress conditions. Outcrossed seedlings outperformed selfed seedlings, with the magnitude of inbreeding depression as high as 62% for seed germination and 37% for leaf area. Wide outcrossed seedlings outperformed local outcrossed seedlings, especially in non-native soils, facilitated in part by an improved capacity to overcome soil constraints through greater root carboxylate exudation. Soil type significantly affected seedling growth, and waterlogging and water deficit decreased growth, production of cluster roots, root exudation and total plant P uptake. Our results suggest that the interaction of narrow ecological amplitude and the genetic consequences of small fragmented populations may in part explain the narrow range of local endemics, but that wide outcrossing may provide opportunities for increased genetic variation, increased ecological amplitude and range expansion.

Anthropogenic disturbance promotes hybridization between Banksia species by altering their biology.

Putative hybrids between Banksia hookeriana and B. prionotes were identified among 12 of 106 populations of B. hookeriana located at or near anthropogenically disturbed sites, mainly roadways, but none in 156 undisturbed populations. Morphometrics and AFLP markers confirmed that a hybrid swarm existed in a selected disturbed habitat, whereas no intermediates were present where the two species co-occurred in undisturbed vegetation. Individuals of both species in disturbed habitats at 12 sites were more vigorous, with greater size and more flower heads than their counterparts in undisturbed vegetation. These more fecund plants also showed a shift in season and duration of flowering. By promoting earlier flowering of B. hookeriana plants and prolonging flowering of B. prionotes, anthropogenic disturbance broke the phenological barrier between these two species. We conclude that anthropogenic disturbance promotes hybridization through increasing opportunities for gene flow by reducing interpopulation separation, increasing gamete production and, especially, promoting coflowering.

Multiple genotypes of nonpathogenic H6N2 influenza viruses isolated from chickens in California.

From February 2000 through September 2001, a limited number of H6N2 influenza viruses were isolated from chickens in California. This report describes the genetic characterization of nine of these H6N2 viruses. All of the viruses analyzed had phylogenetically similar hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase molecules that suggested the viruses shared a recent common ancestor. The analysis of the HA sequence of these viruses with all available H6 viruses from different hosts and locations showed that these genes do not separate into well-defined North American and Eurasian lineages. The neuraminidase genes of the California viruses contain an 18 amino acid deletion, a possible adaptation to growth in chickens. Analysis of the remaining gene segments of the California viruses revealed that three distinct genotypes of H6N2 viruses were present.

Conservation genetics of the rare and endangered Leucopogon obtectus (Ericaceae).

Leucopogon obtectus Benth. is a declared rare species found in the kwongan vegetation in Western Australia. Plants on a mineral sand mine and the rehabilitation area are subject to disturbance. Genetic diversity was examined within and among all known populations using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) for conservation. Both molecular markers revealed a high percentage (> 89%) of polymorphic markers and a high mean genetic distance among individuals (D = 0.3). Analysis of molecular variance showed that 86.7% (RAPD) and 89.7% (AFLP) of variability was partitioned among individuals within populations. Exact tests showed no significant population differentiation. The analyses indicated that L. obtectus exhibits high levels of genetic diversity despite small population sizes. The high levels of variability among individuals and the lack of clear population differentiation suggest that this species comprises a single, genetically diverse group. Conservation and management of L. obtectus should concentrate on maintaining the high levels of genetic variability through mixing genotypes and promoting outcrossing.

The realized effect of postpollination sexual selection in a natural plant population.

The ultimate importance of postpollination sexual selection has remained elusive, largely because of the difficulty of assigning paternity in the field. Here I use a powerful new molecular marker (AFLP) for paternity analysis in a natural population of the outcrossing angiosperm Persoonia mollis (Proteaceae) to assess male reproductive success following equal pollination of 15 pollen donors on each of 6310 pistils. These results were contrasted with male reproductive success of these same plants following natural mating. Following equal pollination, there was a significant departure from equal siring success, indicating a potential for postpollination sexual selection. The most successful pollen donor sired more than twice the expected number of seeds, and this was largely consistent across recipient plants. However, siring success following natural mating was significantly different from siring success following artificial pollination and showed that the reproductive gains to be made from superior pollen performance did not translate into increased reproductive success following natural mating. As the ecological context for post-pollination sexual selection is strong in P. mollis, I suggest that pollen competition may ultimately have only a weak effect on non-random male mating success under natural conditions because the realized opportunities for pollen competition within pistils are limited.

Accurate gene diversity estimates from amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers.

Three procedures for the estimation of null allele frequencies and gene diversity from dominant multilocus data were empirically tested in natural populations of the outcrossing angiosperm Persoonia mollis (Proteaceae). The three procedures were the square root transform of the null homozygote frequency, the Lynch & Milligan procedure, and the Bayesian method. Genotypes for each of 116 polymorphic loci generated by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were inferred from segregation patterns in progeny arrays. Therefore, for the plus phenotype (band present), heterozygotes were distinguished from homozygotes. In contrast to previous studies, all three procedures produced very similar mean estimates of heterozygosity, which were in turn accurate estimators of the direct value (HO = 0.28). A second population of P. mollis displayed markedly lower levels of heterozygosity (HO = 0.20) but approximately twice as many polymorphic loci (284). These AFLP results show that biases in estimates of average null allele frequency and heterozygosity are largely eliminated in highly polymorphic dominant marker data sets displaying a J-shaped beta distribution with a high percentage of loci containing more than three null homozygotes and relatively few loci with no null homozygotes. This distribution may be typical of outcrossing angiosperms.

Evolution of swine H3N2 influenza viruses in the United States.

During 1998, severe outbreaks of influenza were observed in four swine herds in the United States. This event was unique because the causative agents, H3N2 influenza viruses, are infrequently isolated from swine in North America. Two antigenically distinct reassortant viruses (H3N2) were isolated from infected animals: a double-reassortant virus containing genes similar to those of human and swine viruses, and a triple-reassortant virus containing genes similar to those of human, swine, and avian influenza viruses (N. N. Zhou, D. A. Senne, J. S. Landgraf, S. L. Swenson, G. Erickson, K. Rossow, L. Liu, K.-J. Yoon, S. Krauss, and R. G. Webster, J. Virol. 73:8851-8856, 1999). Because the U.S. pig population was essentially naive in regard to H3N2 viruses, it was important to determine the extent of viral spread. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays of 4, 382 serum samples from swine in 23 states indicated that 28.3% of these animals had been exposed to classical swine-like H1N1 viruses and 20.5% had been exposed to the triple-reassortant-like H3N2 viruses. The HI data suggested that viruses antigenically related to the double-reassortant H3N2 virus have not become widespread in the U.S. swine population. The seroreactivity levels in swine serum samples and the nucleotide sequences of six additional 1999 isolates, all of which were of the triple-reassortant genotype, suggested that H3N2 viruses containing avian PA and PB2 genes had spread throughout much of the country. These avian-like genes cluster with genes from North American avian viruses. The worldwide predominance of swine viruses containing an avian-like internal gene component suggests that these genes may confer a selective advantage in pigs. Analysis of the 1999 swine H3N2 isolates showed that the internal gene complex of the triple-reassortant viruses was associated with three recent phylogenetically distinct human-like hemagglutinin (HA) molecules. Acquisition of HA genes from the human virus reservoir will significantly affect the efficacy of the current swine H3N2 vaccines. This finding supports continued surveillance of U.S. swine populations for influenza virus activity.

Rapid evolution of H5N1 influenza viruses in chickens in Hong Kong.

The H5N1 avian influenza virus that killed 6 of 18 persons infected in Hong Kong in 1997 was transmitted directly from poultry to humans. Viral isolates from this outbreak may provide molecular clues to zoonotic transfer. Here we demonstrate that the H5N1 viruses circulating in poultry comprised two distinguishable phylogenetic lineages in all genes that were in very rapid evolution. When introduced into new hosts, influenza viruses usually undergo rapid alteration of their surface glycoproteins, especially in the hemagglutinin (HA). Surprisingly, these H5N1 isolates had a large proportion of amino acid changes in all gene products except in the HA. These viruses maybe reassortants each of whose HA gene is well adapted to domestic poultry while the rest of the genome arises from a different source. The consensus amino acid sequences of "internal" virion proteins reveal amino acids previously found in human strains. These human-specific amino acids may be important factors in zoonotic transmission.

Low genetic diversity in Persoonia mollis (Proteaceae), a fire-sensitive shrub occurring in a fire-prone habitat.

Allozyme frequency data were used to estimate hierarchical levels of genetic diversity within and among the nine subspecies of the morphologically variable shrub Persoonia mollis R. Br. (Proteaceae). This species is a fire-sensitive component of the fire-prone sclerophyllous vegetation of south- eastern Australia. The total gene diversity (H(T)=0.139) within P. mollis was less than half that typically found within angiosperm species. However, P. mollis was typical of angiosperms in the way its gene diversity was distributed, with 78.3 per cent of the total gene diversity found within populations. Of the 21.7 per cent found among populations, 17.9 per cent was attributed to differences among subspecies and only 3.8 per cent attributed to differences among populations within subspecies. Heterozygosity (H(E)) within populations varied 10-fold from 0.023-0.206, with a comparatively low mean over all populations of 0.109. A significant deficit of heterozygotes for the outbreeding P. mollis is consistent with the 'heterozygosity paradox', is caused by a Wahlund effect, and suggests an average genetic neighbourhood size of between 3 and 60 plants. Explanations for these patterns and the weak correlation of these data with morphological variation are discussed. It is suggested that the high frequency and haphazard occurrence of fire plays a major role in affecting the levels and distribution of genetic diversity within P. mollis, and probably within other fire-sensitive plant species also occurring in fire-prone habitats, through relatively frequent localized extinction and subsequent recolonization.

Genetic reassortment in pandemic and interpandemic influenza viruses. A study of 122 viruses infecting humans.

The human influenza pandemics of 1957 and 1968 were caused by reassortant viruses that possessed internal gene segments from avian and human strains. Whether genetic reassortment of human and avian influenza viruses occurs during interpandemic periods and how often humans are infected with such reassortants is not known. To provide this information, we used dot-blot hybridization, partial nucleotide sequencing and subsequent phylogenetic analysis to examine the 6 internal genes of 122 viruses isolated in humans between 1933 and 1992 primarily from Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The internal genes of A/New Jersey/11/76 isolated from a human fatality at Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976 were found to be of porcine origin. Although none of the geographically and temporally diverse collection of 122 viruses was an avian-human or other reassortant, cognizance was made of the fact that there were two isolates from children from amongst 546 influenza A isolates obtained from The Netherlands from 1989-1994 which were influenza A reassortants containing genes of avian origin, viruses which have infected European pigs since 1983-1985. Thus, genetic reassortment between avian and human influenza strains does occur in the emergence of pandemic and interpandemic influenza A viruses. However, in the interpandemic periods the reassortants have no survival advantage, and the circulating interpandemic influenza viruses in humans do not appear to accumulate avian influenza virus genes.

Magnitude of beta-adrenoceptor-mediated responses of dog epicardial coronary arteries: inverse relation to diameter.

Regional blood flow patterns vary within myocardium to suggest that intrinsic regional differences occur in vasoregulation. Accordingly, we used standard in vitro methodology (isometric force transducer) to study adrenergic responses in epicardial left anterior descending (LAD) artery and right coronary arteries (RCA) obtained from dogs (n = 9). In the presence of propranolol (10(-6) M) and blockers of uptake 1 and 2, norepinephrine (NE) elicited minimal, if any, constriction. After preincubation with phentolamine (10(-6) M) and preconstriction with prostaglandin (PG)F2 alpha or a thromboxane (Tx)A2 analogue, maximum NE relaxation (as % of induced tone) for the RCA was 61 +/- 3 (SE) %, which was significantly greater than the LAD (46 +/- 5%, P < 0.01). ED50 values were not different. Endothelial removal and forskolin relaxations did not change the sensitivity or maximal response between arteries. Expressing beta-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation as a function of vessel diameter revealed a common regression for RCA and LAD (r = -0.56, P < 0.001). ED50 and diameter were minimally related. Thus the RCA has a greater beta-adrenoceptor response than the LAD in dogs. The difference appears to be reconciled by a common inverse relationship between vessel size and beta-adrenoceptor response. The difference was independent of alpha-adrenoceptor, endothelium, and second messenger processing, suggesting a mechanism based on beta-adrenoceptor density.

Increased susceptibility to inoculated Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) but unaltered tumor growth in mice treated with monoclonal antibody to L3T4 on mouse T-helper cells.

The importance of different lymphocyte cell populations in early recognition and destruction of tumor cells has not been fully established. Certainly natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes are involved. Using a recently developed monoclonal antibody (GK 1.5) that has been shown to have in vivo cytotoxic activity directed at L3T4-bearing T cells, we provide in these experiments evidence that T-helper cells are also important in early antitumor immunity. Development of progressive tumor growth after the subcutaneous inoculation of 10(5) Lewis lung carcinoma (3LL) cells was greater in antibody-treated mice (13 of 20 treated mice vs. 6 of 21 controls). Nevertheless, in those animals that developed tumors, the latentcy period (time from tumor cell inoculation until tumor first palpable) and tumor growth rate were no different in antibody-treated mice when compared with control animals. In subsequent experiments, animals were exposed to irradiated tumor cells in Freund's adjuvant on three occasions and tumor growth was then assessed. Growth was slower in the sensitized group. Administration of GK 1.5, however, did not enhance the tumor growth rates in either the previously sensitized or control groups. The results suggest that T-helper cells might be of greater functional importance in early tumor cell recognition and destruction and of lesser importance in the restraint of tumor growth, once the tumor has become established.