Flower constancy describes the phenomenon that pollinators tend to successively visit flowers of a single species during foraging,reducing reproductive interference in natural communities.The extent of flower constanc...Flower constancy describes the phenomenon that pollinators tend to successively visit flowers of a single species during foraging,reducing reproductive interference in natural communities.The extent of flower constancy is largely determined by the floral traits of co-flowering species.Both higher inter-specific and lower intraspecific differences of floral traits should contribute to a higher level of flower constancy.However,previous studies mainly focused on interspecific difference,and the intraspecific variation(consistency)of floral traits received much less attention.We hypothesise that selection may favour lower intraspecific floral trait variation in communities composed of multiple co-flowering congeners.We investigated the floral colour variation of three focal Pedicularis species that share pollinators in 19communities composed of either single or multiple Pedicularis species.Colour was quantified using image-based colour analysis as perceived by pollinators.We found that most of the intrapopulation floral colour variation was below the colour discrimination threshold of bumblebees,implying strongly constrained by the visual selection by pollinators.Contrary to the hypothesis,there is no significant difference in intraspecific floral colour variation between different community contexts.It may be due to the relatively large interspecific floral colour differences of most co-flowering species.The influence of community context on intraspecific variation may be reflected in floral traits other than colours.展开更多
Fruit colour is essential to seed dispersal,speciation,and biological diversity in global ecosystems.The relationship between fruit-colour variation and species diversification has long been of interest in evolutionar...Fruit colour is essential to seed dispersal,speciation,and biological diversity in global ecosystems.The relationship between fruit-colour variation and species diversification has long been of interest in evolutionary biology,but remains poorly understood at the genus level.Here,we used Callicarpa,a typical representative of pantropical angiosperm,to analyse whether fruit colours are correlated with biogeographic distribution,dispersal events,and diversification rate.We estimated a time-calibrated phylogeny for Callicarpa and reconstructed ancestral fruit colour.Utilizing phylogenetic methods,we estimated the major dispersal events across the phylogenetic tree and the most likely fruit colours related to each dispersal event,and tested whether the dispersal frequencies and distances of the four fruit colours between major biogeographical areas were equal.We then tested whether fruit colours are correlated with latitude,elevation,and diversification rate.Biogeographical reconstructions showed that Callicarpa originated in the East Asia and Southeast Asia during the Eocene(-35.53 Ma) and diverse species diverged mainly in the Miocene and lasted into the Pleistocene.Large-scale dispersal events were significantly associated with violet-fruited lineages.Furthermore,different fruit colours were markedly correlated with different latitudes and elevations(e.g.,violet fruits were correlated with higher latitudes and elevations;red fruits and black fruits with lower latitudes;white fruits with higher elevations).Notably,violet fruits were statistically associated with highest diversification rates,driving fruit colour variation among different regions globally.Our results contribute to further understanding why fruit colour is so variable at the genus level of angiosperms in different areas around the world.展开更多
The role of bare body parts in sexual signalling in birds has received relatively little attention.I describe how the bare-throated spurfowl males saturate the colours of their throats to attract females.Of the 23 Afr...The role of bare body parts in sexual signalling in birds has received relatively little attention.I describe how the bare-throated spurfowl males saturate the colours of their throats to attract females.Of the 23 Afrotropical spurfowl species,the bare-throated subgroup includes Yellow-necked Spurfowl(Pternistis leucosceptus),Rednecked Spurfowl(P.afer),Grey-breasted Spurfowl(P.rufopictus) and Swainson’s Spurfowl(P.swainsonii).The rest of the species include fully feathered throated spurfowls.Throat colour intensity of bare throats was scored using an extensive online digital photographic archive encompassing the four species across the year’s seasons.Each throat(n=836) was assigned to one of four colour-intensity categories to explore the relationship between colour intensities,breeding cycles,and environmental variation.Except for Swainson’s Spurfowl male saturation of throat colours correlated with monthly rainfall,which peaks one or two months before egg laying.Swainson’s Spurfowl peaks during egg laying.Yellow-necked Spurfowl has the largest bare throat.Bare-throated spurfowl males perform an elevated courtship display posture above the female to feature their throat colour.No such displays occur in feather-throated spurfowl.Males with low throat colour saturation harbour more ectoparasites on their bare throats than birds with saturated throats.Male Red-necked Spurfowls have significantly larger bare throats than females.The primary function of bare throats probably assists in thermoregulation,particularly in arid regions.The bare throat may have evolved a secondary role in mating.Yellow-necked,Red-necked,and Greybreasted Spurfowls use their saturated throat colours as ornaments to court females during the breeding season.Unobtrusive female throat colours(unsaturated) may discourage male interlopers and predation during egg laying.Saturation appears to be carotenoid-food based.The different colours among the bare-throated species may serve as prezygotic mechanisms that inhibit cross-breeding and explain why females also have coloured throats.展开更多
Several possible definitions of local injectivity for a homomorphism of an oriented graph G to an oriented graph H are considered. In each case, we determine the complexity of deciding whether there exists such a homo...Several possible definitions of local injectivity for a homomorphism of an oriented graph G to an oriented graph H are considered. In each case, we determine the complexity of deciding whether there exists such a homomorphism when G is given and H is a fixed tournament on three or fewer vertices. Each possible definition leads to a locally-injective oriented colouring problem. A dichotomy theorem is proved in each case.展开更多
Mobile games are gaining in popularity among students, although the factors driving engagement remain poorly understood. This study, conducted among 378 students studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Digit...Mobile games are gaining in popularity among students, although the factors driving engagement remain poorly understood. This study, conducted among 378 students studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Digital Sciences at the Université Virtuelle de Côte d’Ivoire, explores the influence of game assets and colours on player engagement. Using an online questionnaire, the study identified students’ gaming preferences and their perception of colours. The results show that the key elements most favoured by students are graphics, sound design, the game system, narrative, interactivity and accessibility. What’s more, colour plays a decisive role in their preferences and commitment to educational mobile games.展开更多
谷子(Setaria italica L.)是我国北方地区重要的粮食作物,籽粒营养丰富,且富含多种类黄酮物质,对生长发育和品质形成发挥着重要作用。目前谷子籽粒类黄酮合成及粒色形成相关调控机制研究较少。分析谷子类黄酮含量及粒色性状相关的QTL,...谷子(Setaria italica L.)是我国北方地区重要的粮食作物,籽粒营养丰富,且富含多种类黄酮物质,对生长发育和品质形成发挥着重要作用。目前谷子籽粒类黄酮合成及粒色形成相关调控机制研究较少。分析谷子类黄酮含量及粒色性状相关的QTL,为类黄酮合成关键基因的精细定位、克隆及功能研究奠定基础,同时,也为揭示谷子类黄酮合成及代谢机制和培育富含类黄酮谷子品种提供技术支撑。本研究以红粒色高类黄酮品种金苗红酒谷和黄粒色低类黄酮品种豫谷28为亲本构建的包含150个家系的重组自交系(RIL)群体为试验材料,在谷子成熟期对籽粒粒色和类黄酮含量相关性状进行分析。同时,采用复合区间作图法(composite interval mapping,CIM)对粒色和类黄酮含量进行QTL定位与分析,并对QTL置信区间内的候选基因进行预测。相关性分析表明,类黄酮含量与粒色呈显著正相关。共定位到4个与类黄酮含量相关和11个与粒色相关的QTL,分别位于1号、2号、5号、6号、7号、8号和9号染色体上,单个QTL的表型贡献率为2.01%~29.25%,6个为主效QTL,其中,qSC1-2和qFLA1-1、qSC7-1和qFLA7-1、qSC9-3和qFLA9-1为2个性状下共同定位到的QTL。通过基因预测与功能注释,筛选出QTL置信区间内5个与类黄酮物质合成及代谢相关的候选基因,表明类黄酮物质的合成、代谢及利用相关基因极有可能控制了这些基因的表达。15个QTL分别聚集于7条染色体上,基于基因功能注释,共筛选了5个与谷子类黄酮合成及代谢相关的候选基因,表明不同QTL位点参与到了共同遗传机制,并可通过分子标记辅助选择进行类黄酮合成及代谢等有利基因的聚合育种。展开更多
基金funded by the West Light Foundation of The Chinese Academy of Sciencesnational youth talent support programYunnan youth talents plan(YNWR-QNBJ-2018-183 to Y.N.)。
文摘Flower constancy describes the phenomenon that pollinators tend to successively visit flowers of a single species during foraging,reducing reproductive interference in natural communities.The extent of flower constancy is largely determined by the floral traits of co-flowering species.Both higher inter-specific and lower intraspecific differences of floral traits should contribute to a higher level of flower constancy.However,previous studies mainly focused on interspecific difference,and the intraspecific variation(consistency)of floral traits received much less attention.We hypothesise that selection may favour lower intraspecific floral trait variation in communities composed of multiple co-flowering congeners.We investigated the floral colour variation of three focal Pedicularis species that share pollinators in 19communities composed of either single or multiple Pedicularis species.Colour was quantified using image-based colour analysis as perceived by pollinators.We found that most of the intrapopulation floral colour variation was below the colour discrimination threshold of bumblebees,implying strongly constrained by the visual selection by pollinators.Contrary to the hypothesis,there is no significant difference in intraspecific floral colour variation between different community contexts.It may be due to the relatively large interspecific floral colour differences of most co-flowering species.The influence of community context on intraspecific variation may be reflected in floral traits other than colours.
基金funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant [31760045 and 31970220]Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province under Grant[2018GXNSFAA281132]。
文摘Fruit colour is essential to seed dispersal,speciation,and biological diversity in global ecosystems.The relationship between fruit-colour variation and species diversification has long been of interest in evolutionary biology,but remains poorly understood at the genus level.Here,we used Callicarpa,a typical representative of pantropical angiosperm,to analyse whether fruit colours are correlated with biogeographic distribution,dispersal events,and diversification rate.We estimated a time-calibrated phylogeny for Callicarpa and reconstructed ancestral fruit colour.Utilizing phylogenetic methods,we estimated the major dispersal events across the phylogenetic tree and the most likely fruit colours related to each dispersal event,and tested whether the dispersal frequencies and distances of the four fruit colours between major biogeographical areas were equal.We then tested whether fruit colours are correlated with latitude,elevation,and diversification rate.Biogeographical reconstructions showed that Callicarpa originated in the East Asia and Southeast Asia during the Eocene(-35.53 Ma) and diverse species diverged mainly in the Miocene and lasted into the Pleistocene.Large-scale dispersal events were significantly associated with violet-fruited lineages.Furthermore,different fruit colours were markedly correlated with different latitudes and elevations(e.g.,violet fruits were correlated with higher latitudes and elevations;red fruits and black fruits with lower latitudes;white fruits with higher elevations).Notably,violet fruits were statistically associated with highest diversification rates,driving fruit colour variation among different regions globally.Our results contribute to further understanding why fruit colour is so variable at the genus level of angiosperms in different areas around the world.
文摘The role of bare body parts in sexual signalling in birds has received relatively little attention.I describe how the bare-throated spurfowl males saturate the colours of their throats to attract females.Of the 23 Afrotropical spurfowl species,the bare-throated subgroup includes Yellow-necked Spurfowl(Pternistis leucosceptus),Rednecked Spurfowl(P.afer),Grey-breasted Spurfowl(P.rufopictus) and Swainson’s Spurfowl(P.swainsonii).The rest of the species include fully feathered throated spurfowls.Throat colour intensity of bare throats was scored using an extensive online digital photographic archive encompassing the four species across the year’s seasons.Each throat(n=836) was assigned to one of four colour-intensity categories to explore the relationship between colour intensities,breeding cycles,and environmental variation.Except for Swainson’s Spurfowl male saturation of throat colours correlated with monthly rainfall,which peaks one or two months before egg laying.Swainson’s Spurfowl peaks during egg laying.Yellow-necked Spurfowl has the largest bare throat.Bare-throated spurfowl males perform an elevated courtship display posture above the female to feature their throat colour.No such displays occur in feather-throated spurfowl.Males with low throat colour saturation harbour more ectoparasites on their bare throats than birds with saturated throats.Male Red-necked Spurfowls have significantly larger bare throats than females.The primary function of bare throats probably assists in thermoregulation,particularly in arid regions.The bare throat may have evolved a secondary role in mating.Yellow-necked,Red-necked,and Greybreasted Spurfowls use their saturated throat colours as ornaments to court females during the breeding season.Unobtrusive female throat colours(unsaturated) may discourage male interlopers and predation during egg laying.Saturation appears to be carotenoid-food based.The different colours among the bare-throated species may serve as prezygotic mechanisms that inhibit cross-breeding and explain why females also have coloured throats.
文摘Several possible definitions of local injectivity for a homomorphism of an oriented graph G to an oriented graph H are considered. In each case, we determine the complexity of deciding whether there exists such a homomorphism when G is given and H is a fixed tournament on three or fewer vertices. Each possible definition leads to a locally-injective oriented colouring problem. A dichotomy theorem is proved in each case.
文摘Mobile games are gaining in popularity among students, although the factors driving engagement remain poorly understood. This study, conducted among 378 students studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Digital Sciences at the Université Virtuelle de Côte d’Ivoire, explores the influence of game assets and colours on player engagement. Using an online questionnaire, the study identified students’ gaming preferences and their perception of colours. The results show that the key elements most favoured by students are graphics, sound design, the game system, narrative, interactivity and accessibility. What’s more, colour plays a decisive role in their preferences and commitment to educational mobile games.
文摘谷子(Setaria italica L.)是我国北方地区重要的粮食作物,籽粒营养丰富,且富含多种类黄酮物质,对生长发育和品质形成发挥着重要作用。目前谷子籽粒类黄酮合成及粒色形成相关调控机制研究较少。分析谷子类黄酮含量及粒色性状相关的QTL,为类黄酮合成关键基因的精细定位、克隆及功能研究奠定基础,同时,也为揭示谷子类黄酮合成及代谢机制和培育富含类黄酮谷子品种提供技术支撑。本研究以红粒色高类黄酮品种金苗红酒谷和黄粒色低类黄酮品种豫谷28为亲本构建的包含150个家系的重组自交系(RIL)群体为试验材料,在谷子成熟期对籽粒粒色和类黄酮含量相关性状进行分析。同时,采用复合区间作图法(composite interval mapping,CIM)对粒色和类黄酮含量进行QTL定位与分析,并对QTL置信区间内的候选基因进行预测。相关性分析表明,类黄酮含量与粒色呈显著正相关。共定位到4个与类黄酮含量相关和11个与粒色相关的QTL,分别位于1号、2号、5号、6号、7号、8号和9号染色体上,单个QTL的表型贡献率为2.01%~29.25%,6个为主效QTL,其中,qSC1-2和qFLA1-1、qSC7-1和qFLA7-1、qSC9-3和qFLA9-1为2个性状下共同定位到的QTL。通过基因预测与功能注释,筛选出QTL置信区间内5个与类黄酮物质合成及代谢相关的候选基因,表明类黄酮物质的合成、代谢及利用相关基因极有可能控制了这些基因的表达。15个QTL分别聚集于7条染色体上,基于基因功能注释,共筛选了5个与谷子类黄酮合成及代谢相关的候选基因,表明不同QTL位点参与到了共同遗传机制,并可通过分子标记辅助选择进行类黄酮合成及代谢等有利基因的聚合育种。
