Nasal airflow simulations suggest convergent adaptation in Neanderthals and modern humans.

Both modern humans (MHs) and Neanderthals successfully settled across western Eurasian cold-climate landscapes. Among the many adaptations considered as essential to survival in such landscapes, changes in the nasal morphology and/or function aimed to humidify and warm the air before it reaches the lungs are of key importance. Unfortunately, the lack of soft-tissue evidence in the fossil record turns difficult any comparative study of respiratory performance. Here, we reconstruct the internal nasal cavity of a Neanderthal plus two representatives of climatically divergent MH populations (southwestern Europeans and northeastern Asians). The reconstruction includes mucosa distribution enabling a realistic simulation of the breathing cycle in different climatic conditions via computational fluid dynamics. Striking across-specimens differences in fluid residence times affecting humidification and warming performance at the anterior tract were found under cold/dry climate simulations. Specifically, the Asian model achieves a rapid air conditioning, followed by the Neanderthals, whereas the European model attains a proper conditioning only around the medium-posterior tract. In addition, quantitative-genetic evolutionary analyses of nasal morphology provided signals of stabilizing selection for MH populations, with the removal of Arctic populations turning covariation patterns compatible with evolution by genetic drift. Both results indicate that, departing from important craniofacial differences existing among Neanderthals and MHs, an advantageous species-specific respiratory performance in cold climates may have occurred in both species. Fluid dynamics and evolutionary biology independently provided evidence of nasal evolution, suggesting that adaptive explanations regarding complex functional phenotypes require interdisciplinary approaches aimed to quantify both performance and evolutionary signals on covariation patterns.

Teor e composição do óleo essencial de quatro acessos e duas cultivares de manjericão (Ocimum basilicum L. ) / Essential oil composition and content of different accessions and cultivars of basil (Ocimum basilicum L. )

O objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o teor e a composição química dos óleos essenciais de quatro acessos silvestres de manjericão (Ocimum basilicum L.), provenientes de diferentes regiões geográficas, e duas cultivares comerciais cultivados sob as mesmas condições edafoclimáticas. As sementes dos acessos foram coletadas nos município de Gurupi-TO (GUR) e de Monte Alegre-GO (MAL, MVE e FPS) e as sementes da cultivar comercial manjericão roxo (MR) foram adquiridas no comércio de Gurupi e da cultivar Maria Bonita (MB) foram fornecidas pelo Horto de Plantas Medicinais da Universidade Federal de Lavras. O plantio foi realizado em vasos com capacidade de dez litros utilizando-se como substrato: solo de barranco e esterco bovino na proporção 2:1. O óleo essencial foi obtido por hidrodestilação em aparelho tipo Clevenger e a identificação e a porcentagem relativa dos compostos do óleo essencial foi realizada por Cromatografia à Gás acoplada a Detector de Espectrometria de Massas. Foram identificados trinta e nove substâncias nos óleos essenciais obtidos, abrangendo monoterpenos, sesquiterpenos e fenilpropanoides. Nas cultivares MB e MR o composto majoritário foi o linalol, enquanto nos acessos silvestres (MAL, GUR, FPS e MVE) o composto em maior quantidade foi o (E)-cinamato de metila. O maior teor de óleo essencial foi obtido na cultivar Maria Bonita (3,77%).

The objective of this study was to evaluate the essential oil chemical composition and content of four wild accessions of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), from different geographical regions, and two commercial cultivars grown under the same edaphoclimatic conditions. The seeds of the accessions were collected in the municipality of Gurupi, state of Tocantins (GUR), and Monte Alegre, state ofGoiás (MAL, MVE and FPS), and the seeds of the commercial cultivar of purple basil (MR) were acquired in the Gurupi market and the seeds of the commercial cultivar Maria Bonita (MB) were provided by the Garden of Medicinal Plants of the Federal University of Lavras. The seeds were planted in pots with a capacity of ten liters using as substrate soil from earth works and cattle manure in the proportion of 2:1. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger-type apparatus, and the identification and the relative percentage of the compounds of the essential oil were performed by Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry Detector. Thirty-nine compounds were identified in the essential oils obtained, which were divided into monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and phenylpropanoids. In the cultivars MB and MR, the major compound was linalool, and in the wild accessions (MAL, GUR, FPS and MVE) it was the (E)-methyl cinnamate. The highest content of essential oil was obtained from the cultivar Maria Bonita (3.77%).

Estudo da divergência genética por características morfológicas entre acessos de mentrasto (Ageratum conyzoides L. ) coletados no estado do Tocantins em diferentes épocas / Genetic divergence study by morphologic traits among mentrasto (Ageratum conyzoides L. ) accessions collected in the state of Tocantins in different period

Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a divergência genética entre nove acessos de mentrasto (Ageratum conyzoides) por métodos multivariados utilizando caracteres morfológicos, em quatro épocas de colheita. Os nove acessos de mentrasto foram obtidos de plantas que ocorrem naturalmente nas cinco regiões climáticas do Estado do Tocantins. Em cada época de colheita foram avaliadas as características como biomassa fresca da parte aérea, biomassa seca, área foliar, número de folhas, floração e altura. Pela análise de agrupamento (método de Tocher) foram formados dois grupos na primeira e quarta épocas de colheita, três grupos na segunda época e quatro grupos na terceira época de colheita. Observou-se variação na constituição dos grupos pelos acessos nas épocas de colheita. A divergência genética entre acessos de mentrasto, avaliada por caracteres morfológicos, foi influenciada pelo estádio de desenvolvimento da espécie. A existência de variabilidade entre os acessos coletados em diferentes localidades fornece subsídio para a coleta sistematizada de germoplasma em A. conyzoides no Estado do Tocantins.

This study aimed to analyze the genetic divergence among nine mentrasto (Ageratum conyzoides) accessions by multivariate methods using morphologic traits for four harvesting periods. The nine accessions of mentrasto were obtained from plants that occur naturally in five climatic regions of the state of Tocantins. At each harvesting period, the following traits were evaluated: fresh biomass of the aerial part, dry biomass, leaf area, number of leaves, flowering and height. The grouping analysis (Tocher's method) identified two groups, in the first and fourth harvest periods, three groups in the second harvest period and four groups in the third harvest period. Variation was observed for the group constitutions among the different harvesting periods. The genetic divergence among mentrasto accessions, evaluated by morphologic traits, was influenced by developmental stage of specie. The existence of genetic variability among accessions from different regions supports the systematic collection of A. conyzoides germplasm in the state of Tocantins.