Characterizing fitness landscapes associated with polymorphic adaptive traits enables investigation of mechanisms allowing transitions between fitness peaks. Here, we explore how natural selection can promote genetic mechanisms preventing heterozygous phenotypes from falling into non-adaptive valleys. Polymorphic mimicry is an ideal system to investigate such fitness landscapes, because the dir...

The Chah-Shur clay deposit is located in150 km southeast of Isfahan. Eocene igneous rocks ‎and Quaternary deposits cover the area. Eocene volcanic rocks include andesite and tuffs ‎which relating to magmatic activities of Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt. Alteration of the ‎vitric and lithic tuff units has produced the clay deposit. Based on the petrographic studies, ‎the main minerals in tuff uni...

Defensin is a gene family with antimicrobial peptides and thought to be effector molecules in innate immunity. Defensins are cationic, cystein-rich antimicrobial peptide components of the mammalian innate system1. They are members of a supergene family consisting of αand β‚ subtypes, located in a cluster at chromosome 82. These two Regulation of Human Beta-Defensin 3(hBD-3) in Human Keratinocyt...

Background Single-nucleotide polymorphism within the gene encoding Vitamin D receptor (VDR) – a member of the nuclear receptor supergene family, is associated with several infectious diseases. The receptor belongs to the family of trans-acting transcriptional regulatory factors. Studies on VDR gene polymorphism reveals Fok I, Taq I, & Apa I restriction site variants to be significantly associat...