Most heterostylous plants possess a reciprocal arrangement of stigmas and anthers (reciprocal herkogamy), heteromorphic self-incompatibility, and ancillary polymorphisms of pollen and stigmas. The topographical complementarity hypothesis proposes that ancillary polymorphisms function in the rejection of incompatible pollen thus promoting disassortative pollination. Here, we test this hypothesis...

Background: Hyperbilirubinemia is a common problem in neonates. It is observed during the first week of the life in approximately 60% of term and 80% of preterm neonates. Kernicterus is a rare but serious consequence of undiagnosed hyperbilirubinemia. In this situation, indirect bilirubin deposit in the brain and causes transient dysfunction and occasionally permanent neuronal damage. The aim o...

Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that cause various reproduction alterations in their hosts, including cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), an incompatibility between sperm and egg that typically results in embryonic death. We investigate theoretically the effects of Wolbachia-induced bidirectional CI on levels of divergence between two populations, where there is migration in both directions ...

A major mechanism for bacterial resistance to antibiotics is through the acquisition of a plasmid coding for resistance-mediating proteins. Described herein is a strategy to eliminate these plasmids from bacteria, thus resensitizing the bacteria to antibiotics. This approach involves mimicking a natural mechanism for plasmid elimination, known as plasmid incompatibility. The compound apramycin ...

Almond is a highly heterozygous species with a high number of S-alleles controlling its gametophytic self-incompatibility system (GSI). In this work we have analysed Spanish local almond cultivars for S-RNase allele diversity. By cloning and sequencing five new S-RNase alleles were identified: S31 (804 bp) in 'Pou de Felanitx' and 'Totsol', S32 (855 bp) in 'Taiatona', S33 (1165 bp) in 'Pou d'Es...

Allelic differences at any one of at least 11 heterokaryon incompatibility (het) loci in Neurospora crassa trigger an incompatibility response: localized cell death at sites of hyphal anastomosis. We have isolated spontaneous and insertional suppressor mutants that are heterokaryon-compatible in spite of allelic differences at one or at several het loci. Some intra- and extragenic mutants toler...

Developmental failure caused by excess sperm (polyspermy) is thought to be an important mechanism driving the evolution of gamete-recognition proteins, reproductive isolation, and speciation in marine organisms. However, these theories assume that there is heritable variation in the susceptibility to polyspermy and that this variation is related to the overall affinity between sperm and eggs. T...

PURPOSE Mentorship is important for professional and academic growth; however, the role of mentorship in anesthesia is still being defined. We surveyed Canadian anesthesia residents to explore their perceptions of mentorship relationships. METHODS We administered a 20-item cross-sectional survey to program directors and anesthesia residents in all Canadian departments of anesthesia. Program d...

Males of Drosophila mojavensis whose Y chromosome is replaced by the Y chromosome of the sibling species Drosophila arizonae are sterile. It is shown that genetic material from the fourth chromosome of D. arizonae is necessary and sufficient, in single dose, to restore fertility in these males. In introgression and mapping experiments this material segregates as a single Mendelian factor (sperm...

BACKGROUND Wolbachia bacteria have invaded many arthropod species by inducing Cytoplasmic Incompatibility (CI). These symbionts represent fascinating objects of study for evolutionary biologists, but also powerful potential biocontrol agents. Here, we assess the density dynamics of Wolbachia infections in males and females of the mosquito Aedes albopitcus, an important vector of human pathogens...