Genetic and morphological divergence in the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus(Echinodermata,Echinoidea)across the African Mediterranean coast

The present investigation focuses on population structure analysis of the purple sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus across the African Mediterranean coast, with the main aim of assessing the influence of the Siculo-Tunisian Strait on gene flow disruption in this highly dispersive echinoid species. For this purpose, patterns of morphological and genetic variation were assessed among its populations from the western and eastern Mediterranean coasts. A total of 302 specimens from seven Tunisian sites were collected and examined for morphometric variability at twelve morphometric traits. Concordant results, inferred from CDA（canonical discriminant analyses）, pairwise NPMANOVA（non parametric multivariate analysis of variance） comparisons and MDS（multidimensional scaling） plot, unveiled significant inter-population differences in the measured traits among the studied populations. Furthermore, the combined use of the one way ANOSIM（analysis of similarities） and the Discriminant/Hotelling analysis allowed unravelling two morphologically differentiated groups assigned to both western and eastern Mediterranean basins. The SIMPER（similarity percentages） routine analysis showed that total dry weight, test diameter and spine length were major contributors to the morphometric separation between locations and between groups. Pattern of phenotypic divergence discerned in P. lividus across the Siculo-Tunisian Strait is interestingly in congruence with that inferred from the genetic investigation of the purple sea urchin populations from the same region based on the analysis of the mt DNA COI（cytochrome oxidase I） gene in 314 specimens from nineteen locations covering a wider geographic transect, streching westward to the Algerian coast and eastward to the Libyan littoral. The specific haplotypic composition characterizing each Mediterranean basin,as inferred from the minimum spanning network, confirmed the geographic partioning of genetic variation, as revealed by F-statistics and AMOVA（analysis of molecular variance） analyses, yielding significant genetic differentiation between eastern and western Mediterranean populations. The newly detected phylogeographic patterns, observed for the first time in P. lividus throughout the explored distribution range, suggest the involvement of different biotic and abiotic processes in shaping such variation, and provide evidence that a large and geographically exhaustive dataset is necessary to unveil phylogeographic structure within widespread marine species, previously cathegorized as panmictic in part of their distribution range.

Genetic analysis of morphological index and its related taxonomic traits for classification of indica

The Cheng index distinguishes indica andjaponica rice based on six taxonomic traits.This index has been widely used for classifi- cation of indica and japonica varieties in China.In this study,a double haploid(DH)popula-tion derived from anther culture of ZYQ8/JX17 F,a typical inter-subspecies hybrid,was used to investigate the six taxonomictraits,i.e.leaf hairiness(LH),color of hullwhen heading(CHH),hairiness of hull(HH),length of the first and second panicle internode(LPI),length/width of grain(L/W),andphenol reaction(PH).The morphological in- dex(MI)was also calculated.Based on themolecular linkage map constructed from this

Comparative Genetics of Floral Morphology in Diploid and Allotetraploid Gossypium

The cultivated Gossypium A genome diploid species G.arboreum and G.herbaceum and the allotetraploid species G.hirsutum and G.barbadense share common morphology for various floral traits,

Morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding of Pampus echinogaster(Basilewsky, 1855)

The morphological similarities of Pampus fishes have led to considerable confusion in species-level identification,and no accurate information on neotype or DNA barcoding of Pampus echinogaster is available. Two hundred and seven specimens of P. echinogaster were collected from the coastal waters of Dandong, Dongying, Qingdao,Nantong, Zhoushan, Wenzhou, Changle, Taiwan, and Wakayama（Japan）, from June 2010 to April 2013. The diagnostic characteristics of P. echinogaster are as follows： dorsal fin VIII-XI-43–51, anal fin V-VIII-43–49, pectoral fin 22–27, caudal fin 19–22, pelvic fin absent; first gill rakers sparse, slender（pointed）, 3–4＋12–16=15–20; vertebrae39–41; transverse occipital canal on top of head moderately small, wavy ridges not reaching upper origin of pectoral fin; ventral branch of lateral line canal spare, shorter than dorsal branch of lateral line canal. By combining congener sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I（COI） gene from Gen Bank, two absolute groups were detected among all specimens, which further indicated that two valid species were present based on genetic differences in amino acid sequences and the distance between the groups. The sequences of Group 1 can be regarded as DNA barcoding of P. echinogaster. The correct morphological redescription and DNA barcoding of P.echinogaster are presented here to provide a guarantee for efficient and accurate studies, a theoretical basis for classification, and enable appropriate fishery management and conservation strategies for the genus Pampus in the future.

Lotus Leaf‑Derived Gradient Hierarchical Porous C/MoS2 Morphology Genetic Composites with Wideband and Tunable Electromagnetic Absorption Performance

Inspired by the nature,lotus leaf-derived gradient hierarchical porous C/MoS2 morphology genetic composites(GHPCM)were successfully fabricated through an in situ strategy.The biological microstructure of lotus leaf was well preserved after treatment.Different pores with gradient pore sizes ranging from 300 to 5μm were hierarchically distributed in the composites.In addition,the surface states of lotus leaf resulted in the Janus-like morphologies of MoS2.The GHPCM exhibit excellent electromagnetic wave absorption performance,with the minimum reflection loss of−50.1 dB at a thickness of 2.4 mm and the maximum effective bandwidth of 6.0 GHz at a thickness of 2.2 mm.The outstanding performance could be attributed to the synergy of conductive loss,polarization loss,and impedance matching.In particularly,we provided a brand-new dielectric sum-quotient model to analyze the electromagnetic performance of the non-magnetic material system.It suggests that the specific sum and quotient of permittivity are the key to keep reflection loss below−10 dB within a certain frequency range.Furthermore,based on the concept of material genetic engineering,the dielectric constant could be taken into account to seek for suitable materials with designable electromagnetic absorption performance.

Research Progress on Genetic Diversity of Cultivated Soybean Germplasm Resources in China

In this paper,by analyzing the genetic diversity of cultivated soybean germplasm resources in China,the environmental and genotypic factors that affect the genetic diversity of cultivated soybean germplasm resources were explored to further expand the genetic basis of the existing germplasm resources of cultivated soybean in China. Moreover,research progress on genetic diversity of cultivated soybean in China was summarized,which not only revealed the geographical characteristics of genetic diversity of cultivated soybean in China,but also proposed direction for research of genetic diversity of soybean.