BACKGROUND Genome size evolution is a complex process influenced by polyploidization, satellite DNA accumulation, and expansion of retroelements. How this process could be affected by different reproductive strategies is still poorly understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We analyzed differences in the number and distribution of major repetitive DNA elements in two closely related species...

There have been few studies on Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus). In 2008, these penguins washed ashore along the Brazilian coast in unusually high numbers, some reaching as far as northeast Brazil. As Magellanic penguins show little sexual dimorphism, sex determination by morphological features is not accurate. Here, we tested a molecular procedure for sexing specimens of S. ...

The phenomenon of consistent male dominance in typhoid ileal perforation (TIP) is not well understood. It cannot be explained on the basis of microbial virulence, Peyer's patch anatomy, ileal wall thickness, gastric acidity, host genetic factors, or sex-linked bias in hospital attendance. The cytokine response to an intestinal infection in males is predominantly proinflammatory as compared with...

Abstract Background/Introduction Age and sexual dimorphism contribute to the differential cardiometabolic dysfunctions associated with diet-induced obesity. However, underlying mechanisms remain elusive. RNA modifications via m6A methylation, is an emerging mediator of stability, translation localization responsible for regulation multiple biological functions. are regulated by “writers”, “eras...

Establishing the selfing, rate of parasites is important for studies in clinical and epidemiological medicine as well as evolutionary biology Sex allocation theory offers a relatively cheap and easy way to estimate selfing rates in natural parasite populations. Local mate competition (LMC) theory predicts that the optimal sex ratio (r*; defined as proportion males) is related to the selfing rat...