Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rapid multiple‐level coevolution in experimental populations of yeast killer and nonkiller strains

Coevolution between different biological entities is considered an important evolutionary mechanism at all levels of biological organization. Here, we provide evidence for coevolution of a yeast killer strain (K) carrying cytoplasmic dsRNA viruses coding for anti‐competitor toxins and an isogenic toxin‐sensitive strain (S) during 500 generations of laboratory propagation. Signatures of coevolution developed at two levels. One of them was coadaptation of K and S. Killing ability of K first increased quickly and was followed by the rapid invasion of toxin‐resistant mutants derived from S, after which killing ability declined. High killing ability was shown to be advantageous when sensitive cells were present but costly when they were absent. Toxin resistance evolved via a two‐step process, presumably involving the fitness‐enhancing loss of one chromosome followed by selection of a recessive resistant mutation on the haploid chromosome. The other level of coevolution occurred between cell and killer virus. By swapping the killer viruses between ancestral and evolved strains, we could demonstrate that changes observed in both host and virus were beneficial only when combined, suggesting that they involved reciprocal changes. Together, our results show that the yeast killer system shows a remarkable potential for rapid multiple‐level coevolution.
Characteristics of Urban and Nonurban Youth Enrolled in a Statewide System-of-Care Initiative Serving Children and Families

Central goals of system-of-care initiatives for children and families have been to decrease the use of restrictive services while increasing the use of community-based resources. However, the menu of appropriate community services must in part be based on characteristics of children and families presenting within a particular community and may differ by urban and nonurban residence. The present study aimed to compare characteristics of child and adolescent clients from urban and nonurban communities in an attempt to begin to inform the development of appropriate community programming. Using intake data from all referrals to the 23 systems of care in Connecticut from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2002, comparisons were made between youth from urban and nonurban areas. Analyses demonstrated lower rates of bipolar disorder, hospital and foster-home placement and higher levels of caregiverreported intrapersonal strength and general child functioning among urban compared to nonurban youth. That these differences could not be attributed to correlates of urban residence, such as income, ethnicity, child poverty, high school dropout rates, and crowding, suggests the possibility that as yet unexamined variables might mitigate these risk factors.The continued examination of group differences meant to inform this important issue is warranted.
Genetic drift and mutational hazard in the evolution of salamander genomic gigantism

Salamanders have the largest nuclear genomes among tetrapods and, excepting lungfishes, among vertebrates as a whole. Lynch and Conery (2003) have proposed the mutational‐hazard hypothesis to explain variation in genome size and complexity. Under this hypothesis, noncoding DNA imposes a selective cost by increasing the target for degenerative mutations (i.e., the mutational hazard). Expansion of noncoding DNA, and thus genome size, is driven by increased levels of genetic drift and/or decreased mutation rates; the former determines the efficiency with which purifying selection can remove excess DNA, whereas the latter determines the level of mutational hazard. Here, we test the hypothesis that salamanders have experienced stronger long‐term, persistent genetic drift than frogs, a related clade with more typically sized vertebrate genomes. To test this hypothesis, we compared dN/dS and Kr/Kc values of protein‐coding genes between these clades. Our results do not support this hypothesis; we find that salamanders have not experienced stronger genetic drift than frogs. Additionally, we find evidence consistent with a lower nucleotide substitution rate in salamanders. This result, along with previous work showing lower rates of small deletion and ectopic recombination in salamanders, suggests that a lower mutational hazard may contribute to genomic gigantism in this clade.
Matching habitat choice in nomadic crossbills appears most pronounced when food is most limiting

Of the various forms of nonrandom dispersal, matching habitat choice, whereby individuals preferentially reside in habitats where they are best adapted, has relatively little empirical support. Here, I use mark‐recapture data to test for matching habitat choice in two nomadic ecotypes of North American Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra complex) that exist in the lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests in the South Hills, Idaho, every summer. Crossbills are adapted for foraging on seeds in conifer cones, and in the South Hills the cones are distinctive, favoring a relatively large bill. During a period when seed was most limiting, only the largest individuals approximating the average size of the locally adapted ecotype remained for a year or more. During a period when seed was less limiting, proportionately more individuals remained and the trend for larger individuals to remain was weaker. Although matching habitat choice is difficult to demonstrate, it likely contributed to the observed patterns. Otherwise, nearly unprecedented intensities of natural selection would be needed. Given the nomadic behavior of most crossbill ecotypes and the heterogeneous nature of conifer seed crops, matching habitat choice should be favored and likely contributes to their adaptation to alternative conifers and rapid diversification.
Experimental evolution of slowed cognitive aging in Drosophila melanogaster

Reproductive output and cognitive performance decline in parallel during aging, but it is unknown whether this reflects a shared genetic architecture or merely the declining force of natural selection acting independently on both traits. We used experimental evolution in Drosophila melanogaster to test for the presence of genetic variation for slowed cognitive aging, and assess its independence from that responsible for other traits’ decline with age. Replicate experimental populations experienced either joint selection on learning and reproduction at old age (Old + Learning), selection on late‐life reproduction alone (Old), or a standard two‐week culture regime (Young). Within 20 generations, the Old + Learning populations evolved a slower decline in learning with age than both the Old and Young populations, revealing genetic variation for cognitive aging. We found little evidence for a genetic correlation between cognitive and demographic aging: although the Old + Learning populations tended to show higher late‐life fecundity than Old populations, they did not live longer. Likewise, selection for late reproduction alone did not result in improved late‐life learning. Our results demonstrate that Drosophila harbor genetic variation for cognitive aging that is largely independent from genetic variation for demographic aging and suggest that these two aspects of aging may not necessarily follow the same trajectories.
Chromosome inversions and ecological plasticity in the main African malaria mosquitoes

Chromosome inversions have fascinated the scientific community, mainly because of their role in the rapid adaption of different taxa to changing environments. However, the ecological traits linked to chromosome inversions have been poorly studied. Here, we investigated the roles played by 23 chromosome inversions in the adaptation of the four major African malaria mosquitoes to local environments in Africa. We studied their distribution patterns by using spatially explicit modeling and characterized the ecogeographical determinants of each inversion range. We then performed hierarchical clustering and constrained ordination analyses to assess the spatial and ecological similarities among inversions. Our results show that most inversions are environmentally structured, suggesting that they are actively involved in processes of local adaptation. Some inversions exhibited similar geographical patterns and ecological requirements among the four mosquito species, providing evidence for parallel evolution. Conversely, common inversion polymorphisms between sibling species displayed divergent ecological patterns, suggesting that they might have a different adaptive role in each species. These results are in agreement with the finding that chromosomal inversions play a role in Anopheles ecotypic adaptation. This study establishes a strong ecological basis for future genome‐based analyses to elucidate the genetic mechanisms of local adaptation in these four mosquitoes.
Niche evolution and diversification in a Neotropical radiation of birds (Aves: Furnariidae)

Rapid diversification may be caused by ecological adaptive radiation via niche divergence. In this model, speciation is coupled with niche divergence and lineage diversification is predicted to be correlated with rates of niche evolution. Studies of the role of niche evolution in diversification have generally focused on ecomorphological diversification but climatic‐niche evolution may also be important. We tested these alternatives using a phylogeny of 298 species of ovenbirds (Aves: Furnariidae). We found that within Furnariidae, variation in species richness and diversification rates of subclades were best predicted by rate of climatic‐niche evolution than ecomorphological evolution. Although both are clearly important, univariate regression and multivariate model averaging more consistently supported the climatic‐niche as the best predictor of lineage diversification. Our study adds to the growing body of evidence, suggesting that climatic‐niche divergence may be an important driver of rapid diversification in addition to ecomorphological evolution. However, this pattern may depend on the phylogenetic scale at which rate heterogeneity is examined.
Sustainability of Drinking Water Supply Projects in Rural of North Gondar, Ethiopia

Background: Safe water supply coverage in the rural areas of Ethiopia is very marginal. The coverage still remains very low because of limited progress in water supply activities in these areas. Factors affecting the continued use of the outcome of water supply projects in the background of limited resources are not well studied. Objectives: To assess the utilization, functionality, community participation and sustainability of water projects. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in 11 randomly selected Peasant Associations located in North Gondar using a pre-tested structured questionnaire in a total of 768 house holds in the months of December 2001 to January 2002. Six focus group discussions and 114 physical site observations were conducted to check the interaction and linkages within the hierarchies of project management and of water supply projects. Results: Four hundred forty two (57.6%) households were using protected water sources. The average frequency of water collection was 2.04 times per day with the mean per capita water consumption of 6.68 liters per day. The duration of waiting time needed to collect water at the water points was positively associated with the respondents complains about the non-functionality of water points. Community participation as defined in terms of some kind of contribution to smallscale drinking water development was more associated with spring protections than hand dug well protection. Results from observational checklists showed that 77% of the protected springs and 52% of the hand-dug wells used to be none-functional at least once from the time when their service was commissioned. Only 30.0% of the visited small-scale water projects had guards, some form of fences, cloth washing stands, and animal water troughs that are positive efforts to the advantages of maximizing community services. While the existence of Water Committee and labor contribution were identified as strengths, lack of built in trust and poor coordination were cited as weakness in the focus group discussions. Conclusion and Recommendation: Available water projects were not effectively used because of the existing user high demand in one hand, and frequent non- functioning schemes and poor project coordination on the other hand. Enhancing community participation in sustaining the functions of water supply projects and strengthening the technical and resource capacity of Woreda Water Desks are strongly recommended to sustain the community water services. Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2003;(3):221-229
The Origin and Treatment of Schizophrenic Disorders

Because of the lack of conceptual clarity about schizophrenia, both the search for causes and the development of methods for treatment have posed a continuing challenge for psychiatry. This succinct, well-written volume based on the author's 1967 Salmon Lectures addresses itself successfully to both aspects of the challenge through a focused rather than comprehensive approach. Citing his own investigations and the work of others, the author defines and illustrates the nature of the disordered family settings in which the illness develops. Starting with an examination of the role of the family in the development of the child, he proceeds to a careful description and categorization of the intrafamilial circumstances that affect the growing child who will be vulnerable to schizophrenia. He illustrates the changes that occur in these disordered families and the developmental crises for the patient that precede the emergence of the first acute psychotic episode. In discussing the
Reversal of response to artificial selection on body size in a wild passerine

A general assumption in quantitative genetics is the existence of an intermediate phenotype with higher mean individual fitness in the average environment than more extreme phenotypes. Here, we investigate the evolvability and presence of such a phenotype in wild bird populations from an eleven‐year experiment with four years of artificial selection for long and short tarsus length, a proxy for body size. The experiment resulted in strong selection in the imposed directions. However, artificial selection was counteracted by reduced production of recruits in offspring of artificially selected parents. This resulted in weak natural selection against extreme trait values. Significant responses to artificial selection were observed at both the phenotypic and genetic level, followed by a significant return toward preexperimental means. During artificial selection, the annual observed phenotypic response closely followed the predicted response from quantitative genetic theory ( ryears = 0.96, rcohorts = 0.56). The rapid return to preexperimental means was induced by three interacting mechanisms: selection for an intermediate phenotype, immigration, and recombination between selected and unselected individuals. The results of this study demonstrates the evolvability of phenotypes and that selection may favor an intermediate phenotype in wild populations.
History cleans up messes: The impact of time in driving divergence and introgression in a tropical suture zone

Contact zones provide an excellent arena in which to address questions about how genomic divergence evolves during lineage divergence. They allow us to both infer patterns of genomic divergence in allopatric populations isolated from introgression and to characterize patterns of introgression after lineages meet. Thusly motivated, we analyze genome‐wide introgression data from four contact zones in three genera of lizards endemic to the Australian Wet Tropics. These contact zones all formed between morphologically cryptic lineage‐pairs within morphologically defined species, and the lineage‐pairs meeting in the contact zones diverged anywhere from 3.1 to 5.8 million years ago. By characterizing patterns of molecular divergence across an average of 11K genes and fitting geographic clines to an average of 7.5K variants, we characterize how patterns of genomic differentiation and introgression change through time. Across this range of divergences, we find that genome‐wide differentiation increases but becomes no less heterogeneous. In contrast, we find that introgression heterogeneity decreases dramatically, suggesting that time helps isolated genomes “congeal. ” Thus, this work emphasizes the pivotal role that history plays in driving lineage divergence.
Association Between Birth in a High Stroke Mortality State, Race, and Risk of Dementia

Importance Birth in a group of predominantly southern US states is robustly linked to increased stroke risk. Given the role of cerebrovascular disease in dementia risk, geographic patterning may also occur for dementia incidence. Objective To determine whether birth in 9 high stroke mortality states (HSMSs) is associated with dementia in a diverse cohort of individuals living in Northern California. Design, Setting, and Participants An observational cohort study included 7423 members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), an integrated health care delivery system, with health survey and clinical examination data available. Data were collected between 1964 and 1973 when the individuals were middle-aged and 1996 and 2015 when participants were in later life. Exposures Self-reported state of birth in an HSMS (top quintile of states for stroke mortality). Main Outcomes and Measures Dementia diagnoses obtained from electronic health records from January 1, 1996, to October 15, 2015. Place of birth, race, educational level, and midlife vascular risk factors data were collected between 1964 and 1973. Results Of the 7423 persons included in the analysis, 4049 (54.5%) were women; 1354 (18.2%) were black. The mean (SD) age of study participants at their first visit between 1963 and 1974 was 42.94 (1.73) years and mean (SD) age at the beginning of follow-up for dementia in 1996 was 71.14 (2.72) years. Dementia was diagnosed in 2254 (30.4%) of the participants and was more common among those born in an HSMS than those born outside of one (455 [39.0%] vs 1799 [28.8%]). Birth in an HSMS was 9.6 times more common for black participants (795 [58.7%]) than nonblack participants (371 [6.1%]). Overall, birth in an HSMS was associated with a 28% higher risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13-1.46) adjusted for age, sex, and race. Compared with nonblack persons born outside of an HSMS, black individuals born in an HSMS had the highest dementia risk (aHR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.48-1.88), followed by black individuals not born in an HSMS (aHR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.28-1.72), and nonblack persons born in an HSMS had a 46% increased risk (aHR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.23-1.74). Cumulative 20-year dementia risks at age 65 years were 30.13% (95% CI, 26.87%-32.93%) and 21.80% (95% CI, 20.51%-22.91%) for individuals born in and outside an HSMS, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance To our knowledge, this is the first study to date of place of birth and incident dementia and shows increased risk for individuals born in an HSMS, even though all participants subsequently resided in California. Birth in an HSMS was common among black participants. Place of birth has enduring consequences for dementia risk and may be a major contributor to racial disparities in dementia.
Cohort Profile Cohort Profile : The Social Inequality in Cancer ( SIC ) cohort study

The Social Inequality in Cancer (SIC) cohort study was established to determine pathways through which socioeconomic position affects morbidity and mortality, in particular common subtypes of cancer. Data from seven well-established cohort studies from Denmark were pooled. Combining these cohorts provided a unique opportunity to generate a large study population with long follow-up and sufficient statistical power to develop and apply new methods for quantification of the two basic mechanisms underlying social inequalities in cancer—mediation and interaction. The SIC cohort included 83 006 participants aged 20–98 years at baseline. A wide range of behavioural and biological risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, alcohol intake, hormone replacement therapy, body mass index, blood pressure and serum cholesterol were assessed by selfadministered questionnaires, physical examinations and blood samples. All participants were followed up in nationwide demographic and healthcare registries. For those interested in collaboration, further details can be obtained by contacting the Steering Committee at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, at inan@sund.ku. dk.
Intraspecific adaptive radiation: Competition, ecological opportunity, and phenotypic diversification within species

Intraspecific variation in resource‐use traits can have profound ecological and evolutionary implications. Among the most striking examples are resource polymorphisms, where alternative morphs that utilize different resources evolve within a population. An underappreciated aspect of their evolution is that the same conditions that favor resource polymorphism—competition and ecological opportunity—might foster additional rounds of diversification within already existing morphs. We examined these issues in spadefoot toad tadpoles that develop into either a generalist "omnivore" or a specialist "carnivore" morph. Specifically, we assessed the morphological diversity of tadpoles from natural ponds and experimentally induced carnivores reared on alternative diets. We also surveyed natural ponds to determine if the strength of intramorph competition and the diversity and abundance of dietary resources (measures of ecological opportunity) influenced the diversity of within‐morph variation. We found that five omnivore and four carnivore types were present in natural ponds; alternative diets led to shape differences, some of which mirrored variation in the wild; and both competition and ecological opportunity were associated with enhanced morphological diversity in natural ponds. Such fine‐scale intraspecific variation might represent an underappreciated form of biodiversity and might constitute a crucible of evolutionary innovation and diversification.
Sexually antagonistic evolution caused by male–male competition in the pistil

Although sexual selection and sexual conflict are important evolutionary forces in animals, their significance in plants is uncertain. In hermaphroditic organisms, such as many plants, sexual conflict may occur both between mating partners (interlocus conflict) and between male and female sex roles within an individual (intralocus conflict). We performed experimental evolution, involving lines that were crossed with either one or two pollen donors (monogamous or polyandrous lines), in the hermaphroditic plant (Collinsia heterophylla) where early fertilizations are associated with female fitness costs (reduced seed set). Artificial polyandry for four generations resulted in enhanced pollen performance and increased female fitness costs compared to the monogamous and source (starting material) lines. Female fitness was also reduced in the monogamous line, indicating a possible trade‐off between sex roles, resulting from early pollination. We performed a second experiment to investigate a potential harming effect of pollen performance on seed set. We found that high siring success of early arriving pollen competing with later‐arriving pollen was associated with high female fitness costs, consistent with an interlocus sexual conflict. Our study provides evidence for the importance of sexual selection in shaping evolution of plant reproductive strategies, but also pinpoints the complexity of sexual conflict in hermaphroditic species.