European common frog (Rana temporaria) recolonized Switzerland from multiple glacial refugia in northern Italy via trans- and circum-Alpine routes.

The high mountain ranges of Western Europe had a profound effect on the biotic recolonization of Europe from glacial refugia. The Alps present a particularly interesting case because they form an absolute barrier to dispersal for most taxa, obstructing recolonization from multiple refugia in northern Italy. Here, we investigate the effect of the European Alps on the phylogeographic history of the European common frog Rana temporaria. Based on partial cytochrome b and COXI sequences from Switzerland, we find two mitochondrial lineages roughly north and south of the Alpine ridge, with contact zones between them in eastern and western Switzerland. The northern haplogroup falls within the previously identified Western European haplogroup, while the southern haplogroup is unique to Switzerland. We find that the lineages diverged ~110 kya, at approximately the onset of the last glacial glaciation; this indicates that they are from different glacial refugia. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that the northern and southern haplogroups colonized Switzerland via trans- and circum-Alpine routes from at least two separate refugia in northern Italy. Our results illustrate how a complex recolonization history of the central European Alps can arise from the semi-permeable barrier created by high mountains.

Phylogeography, more than elevation, accounts for sex chromosome differentiation in Swiss populations of the common frog (Rana temporaria).

Sex chromosomes in vertebrates range from highly heteromorphic (as in most birds and mammals) to strictly homomorphic (as in many fishes, amphibians, and nonavian reptiles). Reasons for these contrasted evolutionary trajectories remain unclear, but species such as common frogs with polymorphism in the extent of sex chromosome differentiation may potentially deliver important clues. By investigating 92 common frog populations from a wide range of elevations throughout Switzerland, we show that sex chromosome differentiation strongly correlates with alleles at the candidate sex-determining gene Dmrt1. Y-specific Dmrt1 haplotypes cluster into two main haplogroups, YA and YB , with a phylogeographic signal that parallels mtDNA haplotypes: YA populations, with mostly well-differentiated sex chromosomes, occur primarily south of the main alpine ridge that bisects Switzerland, whereas YB populations, with mostly undifferentiated (proto-)sex chromosomes, occur north of this ridge. Elevation has only a marginal effect, opposing previous suggestions of a major role for climate on sex chromosome differentiation. The Y-haplotype effect might result from differences in the penetrance of alleles at the sex-determining locus (such that sex reversal and ensuing X-Y recombination are more frequent in YB populations), and/or fixation of an inversion on YA (as supported by the empirical observation that YA haplotypes might not recombine in XYA females).

Alternative splicing in the fiddler crab cognate ecdysteroid receptor: variation in receptor isoform expression and DNA binding properties in response to hormone.

RXR cDNA cloning from three Uca species led to the identification of 4 conserved isoforms, indicative of alternative splicing in the hinge and ligand binding domains (LBD). Sequencing of overlapping clones from a Ucapugilator genomic library identified EcR isoforms matching previously identified cDNA variants; in addition, a cryptic exon in the LBD was detected and evidence for expression of this new isoform was obtained from next-generation sequencing. RNA-seq analysis also identified a new amino terminal EcR variant. EcR and RXR transcript abundance increases throughout ovarian maturation in U. pugilator, while cognate receptor transcript abundance remains constant in a related Indo-Pacific species with a different reproductive strategy. To examine if crab RXR LBD isoforms have different physical properties in vitro, electromobility shift assays were performed with different EcR isoforms. The cognate crab and fruit fly receptors differ in their responses to hormone. Ecdysteroids did not increase DNA binding for the crab heterodimers, while ecdysteroids stimulate binding for Drosophilamelanogaster EcR/USP heterodimers. In swapping experiments, UpEcR/USP heterodimers did not show ligand-responsive differences in DNA binding; both crab RXR LBD isoforms, however, conferred ligand-responsive increases in DNA binding with DmEcRs. These data indicate that both UpRXR LBD isoforms can heterodimerize with the heterologous DmEcR receptors and promote ligand and DNA binding. Unresponsiveness of the cognate receptors to ecdysteroid, however, suggest additional factors may be required to mediate endogenous, perhaps isoform-specific, differences in EcR conformation, consistent with previously reported effects of UpRXR isoforms on UpEcR ligand-binding affinities.

An organelle gatekeeper function for Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-16 (JIP3) at the axon initial segment.

Neurons must cope with extreme membrane trafficking demands to produce axons with organelle compositions that differ dramatically from those of the cell soma and dendrites; however, the mechanism by which they accomplish this is not understood. Here we use electron microscopy and quantitative imaging of tagged organelles to show that Caenorhabditis elegans axons lacking UNC-16 (JIP3/Sunday Driver) accumulate Golgi, endosomes, and lysosomes at levels up to 10-fold higher than wild type, while ER membranes are largely unaffected. Time lapse microscopy of tagged lysosomes in living animals and an analysis of lysosome distributions in various regions of unc-16 mutant axons revealed that UNC-16 inhibits organelles from escaping the axon initial segment (AIS) and moving to the distal synaptic part of the axon. Immunostaining of native UNC-16 in C. elegans neurons revealed a localized concentration of UNC-16 at the initial segment, although UNC-16 is also sparsely distributed in distal regions of axons, including the synaptic region. Organelles that escape the AIS in unc-16 mutants show bidirectional active transport within the axon commissure that occasionally deposits them in the synaptic region, where their mobility decreases and they accumulate. These results argue against the long-standing, untested hypothesis that JIP3/Sunday Driver promotes anterograde organelle transport in axons and instead suggest an organelle gatekeeper model in which UNC-16 (JIP3/Sunday Driver) selectively inhibits the escape of Golgi and endosomal organelles from the AIS. This is the first evidence for an organelle gatekeeper function at the AIS, which could provide a regulatory node for controlling axon organelle composition.

Does the speciation clock tick more slowly in the absence of heteromorphic sex chromosomes?

Squamates may be an attractive group in which to study the influence of sex chromosomes on speciation rates because of the repeated evolution of heterogamety (both XY and ZW), as well as an apparently large number of taxa with environmental sex-determination.