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4,489 results for “transitivity”
Data from: Bacterial communities within Phengaris (Maculinea) alcon caterpillars are shifted following transition from solitary living to social parasitism of Myrmica ant colonies
Bacterial symbionts are known to facilitate a wide range of physiological processes and ecological interactions for their hosts. In spite of this, caterpillars with highly diverse life histories appear to lack resident microbiota. Gut physiology, endogenous digestive enzymes, and limited social interactions may contribute to this pattern, but the consequences of shifts in social activity and diet on caterpillar microbiota are largely unknown. Phengaris alcon caterpillars undergo particularly dramatic social and dietary shifts when they parasitize Myrmica ant colonies, rapidly transitioning from solitary herbivory to ant tending (i.e., receiving protein‐rich regurgitations through trophallaxis). This unique life history provides a model for studying interactions between social living, diet, and caterpillar microbiota. Here, we characterized and compared bacterial communities within P. alcon caterpillars before and after their association with ants, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR. After being adopted by ants, bacterial communities within P. alcon caterpillars shifted substantially, with a significant increase in alpha diversity and greater consistency in bacterial community composition in terms of beta dissimilarity. We also characterized the bacterial communities within their host ants (Myrmica schencki), food plant (Gentiana cruciata), and soil from ant nest chambers. These data indicated that the aforementioned patterns were influenced by bacteria derived from caterpillars' surrounding environments, rather than through transfers from ants. Thus, while bacterial communities are substantially reorganized over the life cycle of P. alcon caterpillars, it appears that they do not rely on transfers of bacteria from host ants to complete their development.
Data from: Impacts of ocean acidification on sea urchin growth across the juvenile to mature adult life-stage transition is mitigated by warming
Understanding how growth trajectories of calcifying invertebrates are affected by changing climate requires acclimation experiments that follow development across life history transitions. In a long-term acclimation study, the effects of increased acidification and temperature on survival and growth of the tropical sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla from the early juvenile (5 mm test diameter- TD) through the developmental transition to the mature adult (60 mm TD) were investigated. Juveniles were reared in a combination of three temperature and three pH/pCO2 treatments, including treatments commensurate with global change projections. Elevated temperature and pCO2/pH both affected growth, but there was no interaction between these factors. The urchins grew more slowly at pH 7.6, but not at pH 7.8. Slow growth may be influenced by the inability to compensate coelomic fluid acid-base balance at pH 7.6. Growth was faster at +3 and +6 °C compared to that in ambient temperature. Acidification and warming had strong and interactive effects on reproductive potential. Warming increased the gonad index, but acidification decreased it. At pH 7.6 there were virtually no gonads in any urchins regardless of temperature. The T. gratilla were larger at maturity under combined near-future warming and acidification scenarios (+3 °C/pH 7.8). Although the juveniles grew and survived in near-future warming and acidification conditions, chronic exposure to these stressors from an early stage altered allocation to somatic and gonad growth. In the absence of phenotypic adjustment, the interactive effects of warming and acidification on the benthic life phases of sea urchins may compromise reproductive fitness and population maintenance as global climatic change unfolds.
Data from: Reproductive assurance drives transitions to self-fertilization in experimental Caenorhabditis elegans
Background: Evolutionary transitions from outcrossing between individuals to selfing are partly responsible for the great diversity of animal and plant reproduction systems. The hypothesis of 'reproductive assurance' suggests that transitions to selfing occur because selfers that are able to reproduce on their own ensure the persistence of populations in environments where mates or pollination agents are unavailable. Here we test this hypothesis by performing experimental evolution in Caenorhabditis elegans. Results: We show that self-compatible hermaphrodites provide reproductive assurance to a male-female population facing a novel environment where outcrossing is limiting. Invasions of hermaphrodites in male-female populations, and subsequent experimental evolution in the novel environment, led to successful transitions to selfing and adaptation. Adaptation was not due to the loss of males during transitions, as shown by evolution experiments in exclusively hermaphroditic populations and in male-hermaphrodite populations. Instead, adaptation was due to the displacement of females by hermaphrodites. Genotyping of single-nucleotide polymorphisms further indicated that the observed evolution of selfing rates was not due to selection of standing genetic diversity. Finally, numerical modelling and evolution experiments in male-female populations demonstrate that the improvement of male fitness components may diminish the opportunity for reproductive assurance. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that reproductive assurance can drive the transition from outcrossing to selfing, and further suggest that the success of transitions to selfing hinges on adaptation of obligate outcrossing populations to the environment where outcrossing was once a limiting factor.
No state change in pelagic fish production and biodiversity during the Eocene-Oligocene Transition
The Eocene-Oligocene (E/O) boundary ~33.9 million years ago, has been described as a state change in the Earth system marked by the permanent glaciation of Antarctica and a proposed increase in oceanic productivity. Here we quantified the response of fish production and biodiversity to this event using microfossil fish teeth (ichthyoliths) in seven deep-sea sediment cores from around the world. Ichthyolith accumulation rate (a proxy for fish biomass production) shows no synchronous trends across the E/O. Ichthyolith accumulation in the Southern Ocean and Pacific Gyre sites is an order of magnitude lower than the equatorial and Atlantic sites, demonstrating that the Southern Ocean was not a highly productive ecosystem for fish before or after the E/O. Further, tooth morphotype diversity and assemblage composition remained stable across the interval, indicating little change in the biodiversity or ecological role of open ocean fish. While the E/O boundary was a major global climate change event, its impact on pelagic fish was relatively muted. Our results support recent findings of whale and krill diversification which suggest that the pelagic ecosystem restructuring commonly attributed to the E/O transition likely occurred much later, in the late Oligocene or Miocene.
Data from: Environmental drivers of crocodyliform extinction across the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition
Crocodyliforms have a much richer evolutionary history than represented by their extant descendants, including several independent marine and terrestrial radiations during the Mesozoic. However, heterogeneous sampling of their fossil record has obscured their macroevolutionary dynamics, and obfuscated attempts to reconcile external drivers of these patterns. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of crocodyliform biodiversity through the Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) transition using subsampling and phylogenetic approaches and apply maximum-likelihood methods to fit models of extrinsic variables to assess what mediated these patterns. A combination of fluctuations in sea-level and episodic perturbations to the carbon and sulfur cycles was primarily responsible for both a marine and non-marine crocodyliform biodiversity decline through the J/K boundary, primarily documented in Europe. This was tracked by high extinction rates at the boundary and suppressed origination rates throughout the Early Cretaceous. The diversification of Eusuchia and Notosuchia likely emanated from the easing of ecological pressure resulting from the biodiversity decline, which also culminated in the extinction of the marine thalattosuchians in the late Early Cretaceous. Through application of rigorous techniques for estimating biodiversity, our results demonstrate that it is possible to tease apart the complex array of controls on diversification patterns in major archosaur clades.
Comparative study on photocatalytic activity of transition metals (Ag and Ni doped ZnO) nanomaterials synthesised via sol-gel method
Ag and Ni/ZnO photocatalyst nanostructures were successfully synthesized by a sol-gel method. In this work, the photocatalyst sample was systematically studied based on several factors affecting the performance of photocatalyst which are size, morphology, band gap, textural properties and the number of active sites presence on the surface of the nanocatalyst. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed that Ag/ZnO nanomaterials experienced multiple phases, meanwhile for Ni/ZnO the phase of nanomaterials were pure and single phase for stochiometry less than 5%. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) showed almost all of the synthesised nanomaterials possessed a mixture of nanorods and spherical-like shape morphology. The Ag/ZnO showed high photocatalytic activity, producing at least 14th trials of nanocatalyst reusability on the degradation of Methyl Orange under UV irradiation. Interestingly this phenomenon was not observed in larger surface area of Ni/ZnO nanomaterials which supposedly favour photocatalytic activity, but instead producing poor photocatalytic performance. The main reason were studied and exposed by temperature-programmed desorption of carbon dioxide (TPD–CO2) which showed that incorporation of Ag into ZnO lattice has enhanced the number of active sites on the surface of the nanocatalyst. Whereas incorporation of Ni in ZnO has lowered the number of active sites with respect to undoped ZnO. Active sites measurement is effective and significant, providing opportunities in developing an intensive study as an additional factor.
Data from: Integrating fuzzy logic and statistics to improve reliabile definition of biogeographic regions and transition zones
The present study uses the amphibian species of the Mediterranean Region to develop a consistent procedure based on fuzzy sets with which biogeographic regions and biotic transition zones can be objectively detected and reliably mapped. Biogeographical regionalizations are abstractions of the geographical organization of life on Earth that provide frameworks for cataloguing species and ecosystems, for answering basic questions in biogeography, evolutionary biology and systematics, and for assessing priorities for conservation. On the other hand, limits between regions may form sharply defined boundaries along some parts of their borders, whereas elsewhere they may consist of broad transition zones. The fuzzy set approach provided a heuristic way to analyze the complexity of the biota within an area; significantly different regions were detected whose mutual limits were sometimes fuzzy, sometimes clearly crisp. Most of the regionalizations described in the literature for the Mediterranean Region present a certain degree of convergence when they are compared within the context of fuzzy interpretation, as many of the differences found between regionalizations are located in transition zones, according to our case study. Compared to other classification procedures based on fuzzy sets, the novelty of our method is that both fuzzy logic and statistics are used together in a synergy in order to avoid arbitrary decisions in the definition of biogeographic regions and transition zones.
Data from: Applying ecological site concepts and state-and-transition models to a grazed riparian rangeland
Ecological sites and state-and-transition models are useful tools for generating and testing hypotheses about drivers of vegetation composition in rangeland systems. These models have been widely implemented in upland rangelands, but comparatively little attention has been given to developing ecological site concepts for rangeland riparian areas, and additional environmental criteria may be necessary to classify riparian ecological sites. Between 2013 and 2016, fifteen study reaches on five creeks were studied at Tejon Ranch in southern California. Data were collected to describe the relationship between riparian vegetation composition, environmental variables, and livestock management; and to explore the utility of ecological sites and state-and-transition models for describing riparian vegetation communities and for creating hypotheses about drivers of vegetation change. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to classify the environmental and vegetation data (15 stream reaches 4 years) into two ecological sites and eight community phases that comprised three vegetation states. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was used to determine the influence of abiotic site variables, annual precipitation, and cattle activity on vegetation clusters. Channel slope explained the greatest amount of variation in vegetation clusters; however, soil texture, geology, watershed size, and elevation were also selected as important predictors of vegetation composition. The classification tree built with this limited set of abiotic predictor variables explained 90% of the observed vegetation clusters. Cattle grazing and annual precipitation were not linked to qualitative differences in vegetation. Abiotic variables explained almost all of the observed riparian vegetation dynamics—and the divisions in the CART analysis corresponded roughly to the ecological sites—suggesting that ecological sites are well-suited for understanding and predicting change in this highly variable system. These findings support continued development of riparian ecological site concepts and state-and-transition models to aid decision making for conservation and management of rangeland riparian areas.
Data from: CRISPR-Cas9 mediated CD133 knockout inhibits colon cancer invasion through reduced epithelial-mesenchymal transition
We previously reported that CD133, as a putative cancer stem cell marker, plays an important role in cell proliferation and invasion in colon cancer. To understand the role of CD133 expression in colon cancer, we evaluated the inhibitory effect of CD133 in colon cancer cells. In this study, we generated CD133knockout colon cancer cells (LoVo) using the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system. CD133+ colon cancer cells (LoVo) were infected with the lentiviral vector carrying CD133 gRNA and purified cell by culturing single cell colonies. CD133knockout cells was validated by western blot and flow cytometry analysis. In functional study, we observed a significant reduction in cell proliferation and colony formation in CRISPR-Cas9 mediated CD133 knockout cells in compare with control (P < 0.001). We also found the anticancer effect of stattic was dependent on CD133 expression in colon cancer cells. Although CD133knockout cells could not completely block the tumorigenic property, they showed remarkable inhibitory effects on the ability of cell migration and invasion (P < 0.001). In addition, we examined the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related protein expression by western blot. The result clearly showed a loss of vimentin expression in CD133knockout cells. Therefore, CRISPR-Cas9 mediated CD133knockout can be an effective treatment modality for CD133+ colon cancer through reducing the characteristics of cancer stem cells.
Data from: Geographic population structure of the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae suggests a role for the forest-savannah biome transition as a barrier to gene flow
The primary Afrotropical malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto has a complex population structure. In western Africa, this species is split into two molecular forms and displays local and regional variation in chromosomal arrangements and behaviours. To investigate patterns of macro-geographic population substructure, 25 An. gambiae samples from 12 African countries were genotyped at 13 microsatellite loci. This analysis detected the presence of additional population structuring, with the M-form being subdivided into distinct west, central and southern African genetic clusters. These clusters are coincident with the central African rainforest belt and northern and southern savannah biomes, which suggests restrictions to gene flow associated with the transition between these biomes. By contrast geographically patterned population substructure appears much weaker within the S-form.
Figures of Conductivity Transitions of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3±d andLa0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-d in Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-d Matrix for Dual-Phase Oxygen Transport Membranes
<p>Figures of the article "Conductivity Transitions of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3±d andLa0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-d in Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-d Matrix for Dual-Phase Oxygen Transport Membranes"</p>
Data from: Widespread and persistent invasions of terrestrial habitats coincident with larval feeding behavior transitions during snail-killing fly evolution (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)
Background: Transitions in habitats and feeding behaviors were fundamental to the diversification of life on Earth. There is ongoing debate regarding the typical directionality of transitions between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and the mechanisms responsible for the preponderance of terrestrial to aquatic transitions. Snail-killing flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) represent an excellent model system to study such transitions because their larvae display a range of feeding behaviors, being predators, parasitoids or saprophages of a variety of mollusks in freshwater, shoreline and dry terrestrial habitats. The remarkable genus Tetanocera (Tetanocerini) occupies five larval feeding groups and all of the habitat types mentioned above. This study has four principal objectives: (i) construct a robust estimate of phylogeny for Tetanocera and Tetanocerini, (ii) estimate the evolutionary transitions in larval feeding behaviors and habitats, (iii) test the monophyly of feeding groups and (iv) identify mechanisms underlying sciomyzid habitat and feeding behavior evolution. Results: Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses of molecular data provided strong support that the Sciomyzini, Tetanocerini and Tetanocera are monophyletic. However, the monophyly of many behavioral groupings was rejected via phylogenetic constraint analyses. We determined that (i) the ancestral sciomyzid lineage was terrestrial, (ii) there was a single terrestrial to aquatic habitat transition early in the evolution of the Tetanocerini and (iii) there were at least 10 independent aquatic to terrestrial habitat transitions and at least 15 feeding behavior transitions during tetanocerine phylogenesis. The ancestor of Tetanocera was aquatic with five lineages making independent transitions to terrestrial habitats and seven making independent transitions in feeding behaviors. Conclusions: The preponderance of aquatic to terrestrial transitions in sciomyzids goes against the trend generally observed across eukaryotes. Damp shoreline habitats are likely transitional where larvae can change habitat but still have similar prey available. Transitioning from aquatic to terrestrial habitats is likely easier than the reverse for sciomyzids because morphological characters associated with air-breathing while under the water's surface are lost rather than gained, and sciomyzids originated and diversified during a general drying period in Earth's history. Our results imply that any animal lineage having aquatic and terrestrial members, respiring the same way in both habitats and having the same type of food available in both habitats could show a similar pattern of multiple independent habitat transitions coincident with changes in behavioral and morphological traits.
Data from: Late Triassic (Julian) conodont biostratigraphy of a transition from reefal limestones to deep-water environments on the Cimmerian terranes (Taurus mountains, southern Turkey)
Sections at Aşağiyaylabel and Yukariyaylabel, Taurus Mountains, southern Turkey, provide a rare opportunity to investigate conodont faunas in detail across a reef to slope transition. Intensive sampling of limestone beds (wackestones to packstones) through approximately 3 m at these locations has led to the recognition of a new lower Carnian (Julian 1/2) conodont fauna within the Kartoz and Kasimlar formations. Members of the subfamilies Paragondolellinae and Pseudofurnishiinae are recognized. The genus Kraussodontus is reported for the first time from the Taurus Mountains. Mosherella postkockeli and Mosherella praebudaensis sp. nov. occur within the lower Carnian Carbonate Member of the Kasimlar Formation from the Taurus Platform Units. The discovery of the new conodont assemblages from Aşağiyaylabel and Yukariyaylabel facilitates a correlation with faunal assemblages worldwide.
Data from: Study of morphological variation of northern Neotropical Ariidae reveals conservatism despite macrohabitat transitions
Background: Morphological convergence triggered by trophic adaptations is a common pattern in adaptive radiations. The study of shape variation in an evolutionary context is usually restricted to well-studied fish models. We take advantage of the recently revised systematics of New World Ariidae and investigate skull shape evolution in six genera of northern Neotropical Ariidae. They constitute a lineage that diversified in the marine habitat but repeatedly adapted to freshwater habitats. 3D geometric morphometrics was applied for the first time in catfish skulls and phylogenetically informed statistical analyses were performed to test for the impact of habitat on skull diversification after habitat transition in this lineage. Results: We found that skull shape is conserved throughout phylogeny. A morphospace analysis revealed that freshwater and marine species occupy extreme ends of the first principal component axis and that they exhibit similar Procrustes variances. Yet freshwater species occupy the smallest shape space compared to marine and brackish species (based on partial disparity), and marine and freshwater species have the largest Procrustes distance to each other. We observed a single case of shape convergence as derived from 'C-metrics', which cannot be explained by the occupation of the same habitat. Conclusions: Although Ariidae occupy such a broad spectrum of different habitats from sea to freshwater, the morphospace analysis and analyses of shape and co-variation with habitat in a phylogenetic context shows that conservatism dominates skull shape evolution among ariid genera.
Murine polyomavirus DNA transitions through spatially distinct nuclear replication subdomains during infection
<p>The replication of small DNA viruses requires both host DNA replication and repair factors that are often recruited to subnuclear domains termed viral replication centers (VRCs). Aside from serving as a spatial focus for viral replication, little is known about these dynamic areas in the nucleus. We investigated the organization and function of VRCs during murine polyomavirus (MuPyV) infection using 3D structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM). We localized MuPyV replication center components, such as the viral large T-antigen (LT) and the cellular replication protein A (RPA), to spatially distinct subdomains within VRCs. We found that viral DNA (vDNA) trafficked sequentially through these subdomains post-synthesis, suggesting their distinct functional roles in vDNA processing. Additionally, we observed disruption of VRC organization and vDNA trafficking during mutant MuPyV infections or inhibition of DNA synthesis. These results reveal a dynamic organization of VRC components that coordinates virus replication.</p>
Data from: State transitions: a major mortality risk for seasonal species
Ageing results from the accumulation of multifactorial damage over time. However, the temporal distribution of this damage remains unknown. In seasonal species, transitions between seasons are critical periods of massive physiological remodelling. We hypothesised that these recurrent peaks of physiological remodelling are costly in terms of survival. We tested whether captive small primates exposed to an experimentally increased frequency of seasonal transitions die sooner than individuals living under natural seasonality. The results show that experiencing one additional season per year increases the mortality hazard by a factor of 3 to 4, whereas the expected number of seasons lived is only slightly impacted by the seasonal rhythm. These results demonstrate that physiological transitions between periods of high and low metabolic activity represent a major mortality risk for seasonal organisms, which has been ignored until now.
Data from: Field manipulations of resources mediate the transition from intraspecific competition to facilitation
1. Population density affects individual performance, though its effects are often mixed. For sessile species, increases in population density typically reduce performance. Still, cases of positive density dependence do occur in these systems and demand explanation. The stress gradient hypothesis (SGH) predicts that under stressful conditions, positive effects of facilitation may outweigh the negative effects of competition. 2. While some elements of the SGH are well studied, its potential to explain intraspecific facilitation has received little attention. Further, there have been questions regarding whether the SGH holds if the stressor is a resource. Most studies of interactions between the environment and intraspecific facilitation have relied on natural environmental gradients; manipulative studies are much rarer. 3. To test the effects of intraspecific density and resources, we manipulated resource availability over natural population densities for the marine bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata. 4. We found negative effects of density on colony performance in low resource environments, but mainly positive density-dependence in high resource environments. By adding resources, competition effects were reduced and the positive effects of facilitation were revealed. 5. Our results suggest that resource availability mediates the relative strength of competition and facilitation in our system. We also suggest that intraspecific facilitation is more common than may be appreciated and that environmental variation may act as mediators to the balance between negative and positive density-dependence.
Data from: Evolutionary implications of a new transitional blastozoan echinoderm from the mid Cambrian of Czech Republic
The primitive blastozoan Felbabkacystis luckae n. gen. n. sp. is described from the Drumian Jince Formation, Barrandian area (Czech Republic) based on eleven fairly well-preserved specimens. Its unique body plan organization is composed of a relatively long stalk-like imbricate structure directly connected to the aboral imbricate cup of the test and of an adoral vaulted tessellate test supporting the ambulacral and brachiolar systems. Its bipartite test, called prototheca, highlights the evolution of the body wall among blastozoans. Felbabkacystis n. gen. shows the combination of plesiomorphic (imbricate stalk-like appendage) and derived features (highly domed peristome, elongate epispires). The new genus is interpreted as a transitional form between calyx-bearing and theca-bearing blastozoans, and is attributed to the new Family Felbabkacystidae. The lithology, the associated fauna and the possession of a long stalk suggest that Felbabkacystis was probably a low-level suspension feeder in relatively deep settings.
Data from: Timing of shoot development transitions affects degree of perenniality in Arabidopsis lyrata (Brassicaceae)
Background: Perenniality is best understood in quantitative terms, involving the relationship between production vs. turnover of meristems, biomass, or energy reserves. Previous quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies using divergent populations of the perennial rock cress Arabidopsis lyrata have shown that trade-offs in vegetative growth vs. reproduction are due to cascading effects of differences in early vegetative development, which contribute to local adaptation. However, details of the developmental differences and how they affect perenniality remained unclear. In this study, we investigated in detail the developmental differences in perenniality between populations. A. lyrata from Norway and North Carolina populations, representing contrasting environments and degrees of perenniality, were grown under controlled conditions, and data were collected on plant phenology and shoot-level development. We tested hypotheses that differences in perenniality involve strict allocation of lateral meristems to vegetative vs. reproductive fates, or alternatively quantitative effects of pre-reproductive vegetative development. Results: The two populations showed large differences in the degree of vegetative development on individual shoots prior to reproductive transitions. The number of leaves produced on shoots prior to bolting, and not strict meristem allocation or variation in apical dominance, was able to explain variation in the number of inflorescences on individual plants. These results suggested that allocation of time to shoot vegetative vs. reproductive development could be a major factor in resource allocation differences between the populations. Conclusions: Based on these results and those of previous QTL studies, we propose a model in which the degree of shoot vegetative development shapes the developmental context for reproduction and subsequent vegetative growth in different environments. Climate-specific effects of shoot development patterns on reproductive output and survival may result in divergent evolutionary trajectories along a perenniality continuum, which may have broader relevance for plant life history evolution.
Data from: Aggressive behaviours track transitions in seasonal phenotypes of female Siberian hamsters
Seasonally breeding animals exhibit profound physiological and behavioural responses to changes in ambient day length (photoperiod), including changes in reproductive function and territorial aggression. Species where aggression persists when gonads are regressed and circulating levels of gonadal hormones are low, such as Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) and song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), challenge the well-established framework that gonadal hormones are important mediators of aggression. A solution to this apparent paradox is that a season-specific increase in sensitivity to hormones in brain areas associated with aggression offsets low levels of gonadal hormones during periods of reproductive quiescence. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated photoperiod to induce natural fluctuations in seasonal phenotype across multiple stages of the annual reproductive cycle in female Siberian hamsters that display increased aggression during short-day reproductive quiescence, suggesting that behaviour persists independent of gonadal steroids. Females were housed in long "summer" days or short "winter" days for 10, 24 or 30 weeks to capture gonadal regression, transition back to a reproductively functional state and full gonadal recrudescence, respectively. Long-day animals maintained reproductive functionality and displayed low aggression across all time points. By week 10, short-day reproductively responsive females underwent gonadal regression and displayed increased aggression; non-responsive animals showed no such changes. At week 24, animals were in a transitional period and displayed an intermediate phenotype with respect to reproduction and aggression. By week 30, short-day females were fully recrudesced and returned to long-day-like levels of aggression. Consistent with our hypothesis, gonadally regressed females displayed decreases in 17β-oestradiol (oestradiol) levels, but site-specific increases in the abundance of brain oestrogen receptor-alpha (ERα) in regions associated with aggression, but not reproduction. Increased site-specific ERα may function as a compensatory mechanism to allow increased responsiveness to oestradiol in regulating aggression in lieu of high circulating concentrations of hormones. Collectively, these results broaden our understanding of how breeding phenology maps onto social behaviour and the mechanisms that have evolved to coordinate behaviours that occur in non-breeding contexts.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.