Trait-specific responses of wild bee communities to landscape composition, configuration and local factors.

PubMed

Hopfenmüller, Sebastian; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Holzschuh, Andrea

2014-01-01

Land-use intensification and loss of semi-natural habitats have induced a severe decline of bee diversity in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats like calcareous grasslands are among the most important bee habitats in central Europe, but they are threatened by decreasing habitat area and quality, and by homogenization of the surrounding landscape affecting both landscape composition and configuration. In this study we tested the importance of habitat area, quality and connectivity as well as landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in calcareous grasslands. We made detailed trait-specific analyses as bees with different traits might differ in their response to the tested factors. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on 23 calcareous grassland patches in Southern Germany with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality (i.e. steep slopes). Cuckoo bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration and large habitat area whereas habitat specialists were only affected by the local factors habitat area and habitat quality. Small social generalists were positively influenced by habitat area whereas large social generalists (bumblebees) were positively affected by landscape composition (high percentage of semi-natural habitats). Our results emphasize a strong dependence of habitat specialists on local habitat characteristics, whereas cuckoo bees and bumblebees are more likely affected by the surrounding landscape. We conclude that a combination of large high-quality patches and heterogeneous landscapes maintains high bee species richness and communities with diverse trait composition. Such diverse communities might stabilize pollination services provided to crops and wild plants on local and landscape scales.

Trait-Specific Responses of Wild Bee Communities to Landscape Composition, Configuration and Local Factors

PubMed Central

Hopfenmüller, Sebastian; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Holzschuh, Andrea

2014-01-01

Land-use intensification and loss of semi-natural habitats have induced a severe decline of bee diversity in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats like calcareous grasslands are among the most important bee habitats in central Europe, but they are threatened by decreasing habitat area and quality, and by homogenization of the surrounding landscape affecting both landscape composition and configuration. In this study we tested the importance of habitat area, quality and connectivity as well as landscape composition and configuration on wild bees in calcareous grasslands. We made detailed trait-specific analyses as bees with different traits might differ in their response to the tested factors. Species richness and abundance of wild bees were surveyed on 23 calcareous grassland patches in Southern Germany with independent gradients in local and landscape factors. Total wild bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration, large habitat area and high habitat quality (i.e. steep slopes). Cuckoo bee richness was positively affected by complex landscape configuration and large habitat area whereas habitat specialists were only affected by the local factors habitat area and habitat quality. Small social generalists were positively influenced by habitat area whereas large social generalists (bumblebees) were positively affected by landscape composition (high percentage of semi-natural habitats). Our results emphasize a strong dependence of habitat specialists on local habitat characteristics, whereas cuckoo bees and bumblebees are more likely affected by the surrounding landscape. We conclude that a combination of large high-quality patches and heterogeneous landscapes maintains high bee species richness and communities with diverse trait composition. Such diverse communities might stabilize pollination services provided to crops and wild plants on local and landscape scales. PMID:25137311

Joint Analysis of Strain and Parent-of-Origin Effects for Recombinant Inbred Intercrosses Generated from Multiparent Populations with the Collaborative Cross as an Example.

PubMed

Liu, Yanyan; Xiong, Sican; Sun, Wei; Zou, Fei

2018-02-02

Multiparent populations (MPP) have become popular resources for complex trait mapping because of their wider allelic diversity and larger population size compared with traditional two-way recombinant inbred (RI) strains. In mice, the collaborative cross (CC) is one of the most popular MPP and is derived from eight genetically diverse inbred founder strains. The strategy of generating RI intercrosses (RIX) from MPP in general and from the CC in particular can produce a large number of completely reproducible heterozygote genomes that better represent the (outbred) human population. Since both maternal and paternal haplotypes of each RIX are readily available, RIX is a powerful resource for studying both standing genetic and epigenetic variations of complex traits, in particular, the parent-of-origin (PoO) effects, which are important contributors to many complex traits. Furthermore, most complex traits are affected by >1 genes, where multiple quantitative trait locus mapping could be more advantageous. In this paper, for MPP-RIX data but taking CC-RIX as a working example, we propose a general Bayesian variable selection procedure to simultaneously search for multiple genes with founder allelic effects and PoO effects. The proposed model respects the complex relationship among RIX samples, and the performance of the proposed method is examined by extensive simulations. Copyright © 2018 Liu et al.

Modeling genetic and non-genetic variation of feed efficiency and its partial relationships between component traits as a function of management and environmental factors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Feed efficiency (FE), characterized as the ability to convert feed nutrients into saleable milk or meat directly affects the profitability of dairy production, is of increasing economic importance in the dairy industry. We conjecture that FE is a complex trait whose variation and relationships or pa...

Adrenal cortex expression quantitative trait loci in a German Holstein × Charolais cross.

PubMed

Brand, Bodo; Scheinhardt, Markus O; Friedrich, Juliane; Zimmer, Daisy; Reinsch, Norbert; Ponsuksili, Siriluck; Schwerin, Manfred; Ziegler, Andreas

2016-10-06

The importance of the adrenal gland in regard to lactation and reproduction in cattle has been recognized early. Caused by interest in animal welfare and the impact of stress on economically important traits in farm animals the adrenal gland and its function within the stress response is of increasing interest. However, the molecular mechanisms and pathways involved in stress-related effects on economically important traits in farm animals are not fully understood. Gene expression is an important mechanism underlying complex traits, and genetic variants affecting the transcript abundance are thought to influence the manifestation of an expressed phenotype. We therefore investigated the genetic background of adrenocortical gene expression by applying an adaptive linear rank test to identify genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) for adrenal cortex transcripts in cattle. A total of 10,986 adrenal cortex transcripts and 37,204 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analysed in 145 F2 cows of a Charolais × German Holstein cross. We identified 505 SNPs that were associated with the abundance of 129 transcripts, comprising 482 cis effects and 17 trans effects. These SNPs were located on all chromosomes but X, 16, 24 and 28. Associated genes are mainly involved in molecular and cellular functions comprising free radical scavenging, cellular compromise, cell morphology and lipid metabolism, including genes such as CYP27A1 and LHCGR that have been shown to affect economically important traits in cattle. In this study we showed that adrenocortical eQTL affect the expression of genes known to contribute to the phenotypic manifestation in cattle. Furthermore, some of the identified genes and related molecular pathways were previously shown to contribute to the phenotypic variation of behaviour, temperament and growth at the onset of puberty in the same population investigated here. We conclude that eQTL analysis appears to be a useful approach providing insight into the molecular and genetic background of complex traits in cattle and will help to understand molecular networks involved.

Emotion and Transformational Leadership in Graduate Faculty-Student Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Jason R.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among transformational leadership, emotional complexity, and positive/negative emotions of leaders and followers. How leader openness, emotional complexity, gender, and trait affect may influence the extent to which leaders use various types of leadership and mentoring, and how all of…

Assessing the value of phenotypic information from non-genotyped animals for QTL mapping of complex traits in real and simulated populations.

PubMed

Melo, Thaise P; Takada, Luciana; Baldi, Fernando; Oliveira, Henrique N; Dias, Marina M; Neves, Haroldo H R; Schenkel, Flavio S; Albuquerque, Lucia G; Carvalheiro, Roberto

2016-06-21

QTL mapping through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) is challenging, especially in the case of low heritability complex traits and when few animals possess genotypic and phenotypic information. When most of the phenotypic information is from non-genotyped animals, GWAS can be performed using the weighted single-step GBLUP (WssGBLUP) method, which permits to combine all available information, even that of non-genotyped animals. However, it is not clear to what extent phenotypic information from non-genotyped animals increases the power of QTL detection, and whether factors such as the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the population and weighting SNPs in WssGBLUP affect the importance of using information from non-genotyped animals in GWAS. These questions were investigated in this study using real and simulated data. Analysis of real data showed that the use of phenotypes of non-genotyped animals affected SNP effect estimates and, consequently, QTL mapping. Despite some coincidence, the most important genomic regions identified by the analyses, either using or ignoring phenotypes of non-genotyped animals, were not the same. The simulation results indicated that the inclusion of all available phenotypic information, even that of non-genotyped animals, tends to improve QTL detection for low heritability complex traits. For populations with low levels of LD, this trend of improvement was less pronounced. Stronger shrinkage on SNPs explaining lower variance was not necessarily associated with better QTL mapping. The use of phenotypic information from non-genotyped animals in GWAS may improve the ability to detect QTL for low heritability complex traits, especially in populations in which the level of LD is high.

Affect Response to Simulated Information Attack during Complex Task Performance

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-02

AND FRUSTRATION ........................ 42 FIGURE 27. TASK LOAD INDEX OF MENTAL DEMAND, TEMPORAL DEMAND, AND PHYSICAL DEMAND...situational awareness, affect, and trait characteristics interact with human performance during cyberspace attacks in the physical and information...Operator state was manipulated using emotional stimulation portrayed through the presentation of video segments. The effect of emotions on

Identifying candidate genes affecting developmental time in Drosophila melanogaster: pervasive pleiotropy and gene-by-environment interaction

PubMed Central

Mensch, Julián; Lavagnino, Nicolás; Carreira, Valeria Paula; Massaldi, Ana; Hasson, Esteban; Fanara, Juan José

2008-01-01

Background Understanding the genetic architecture of ecologically relevant adaptive traits requires the contribution of developmental and evolutionary biology. The time to reach the age of reproduction is a complex life history trait commonly known as developmental time. In particular, in holometabolous insects that occupy ephemeral habitats, like fruit flies, the impact of developmental time on fitness is further exaggerated. The present work is one of the first systematic studies of the genetic basis of developmental time, in which we also evaluate the impact of environmental variation on the expression of the trait. Results We analyzed 179 co-isogenic single P[GT1]-element insertion lines of Drosophila melanogaster to identify novel genes affecting developmental time in flies reared at 25°C. Sixty percent of the lines showed a heterochronic phenotype, suggesting that a large number of genes affect this trait. Mutant lines for the genes Merlin and Karl showed the most extreme phenotypes exhibiting a developmental time reduction and increase, respectively, of over 2 days and 4 days relative to the control (a co-isogenic P-element insertion free line). In addition, a subset of 42 lines selected at random from the initial set of 179 lines was screened at 17°C. Interestingly, the gene-by-environment interaction accounted for 52% of total phenotypic variance. Plastic reaction norms were found for a large number of developmental time candidate genes. Conclusion We identified components of several integrated time-dependent pathways affecting egg-to-adult developmental time in Drosophila. At the same time, we also show that many heterochronic phenotypes may arise from changes in genes involved in several developmental mechanisms that do not explicitly control the timing of specific events. We also demonstrate that many developmental time genes have pleiotropic effects on several adult traits and that the action of most of them is sensitive to temperature during development. Taken together, our results stress the need to take into account the effect of environmental variation and the dynamics of gene interactions on the genetic architecture of this complex life-history trait. PMID:18687152

The genetic architecture of Drosophila sensory bristle number.

PubMed Central

Dilda, Christy L; Mackay, Trudy F C

2002-01-01

We have mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for Drosophila mechanosensory bristle number in six recombinant isogenic line (RIL) mapping populations, each of which was derived from an isogenic chromosome extracted from a line selected for high or low, sternopleural or abdominal bristle number and an isogenic wild-type chromosome. All RILs were evaluated as male and female F(1) progeny of crosses to both the selected and the wild-type parental chromosomes at three developmental temperatures (18 degrees, 25 degrees, and 28 degrees ). QTL for bristle number were mapped separately for each chromosome, trait, and environment by linkage to roo transposable element marker loci, using composite interval mapping. A total of 53 QTL were detected, of which 33 affected sternopleural bristle number, 31 affected abdominal bristle number, and 11 affected both traits. The effects of most QTL were conditional on sex (27%), temperature (14%), or both sex and temperature (30%). Epistatic interactions between QTL were also common. While many QTL mapped to the same location as candidate bristle development loci, several QTL regions did not encompass obvious candidate genes. These features are germane to evolutionary models for the maintenance of genetic variation for quantitative traits, but complicate efforts to understand the molecular genetic basis of variation for complex traits. PMID:12524340

Selection and explosive growth alter genetic architecture and hamper the detection of causal rare variants

PubMed Central

Zaitlen, Noah A.; Ye, Chun Jimmie; Witte, John S.

2016-01-01

The role of rare alleles in complex phenotypes has been hotly debated, but most rare variant association tests (RVATs) do not account for the evolutionary forces that affect genetic architecture. Here, we use simulation and numerical algorithms to show that explosive population growth, as experienced by human populations, can dramatically increase the impact of very rare alleles on trait variance. We then assess the ability of RVATs to detect causal loci using simulations and human RNA-seq data. Surprisingly, we find that statistical performance is worst for phenotypes in which genetic variance is due mainly to rare alleles, and explosive population growth decreases power. Although many studies have attempted to identify causal rare variants, few have reported novel associations. This has sometimes been interpreted to mean that rare variants make negligible contributions to complex trait heritability. Our work shows that RVATs are not robust to realistic human evolutionary forces, so general conclusions about the impact of rare variants on complex traits may be premature. PMID:27197206

A powerful approach reveals numerous expression quantitative trait haplotypes in multiple tissues.

PubMed

Ying, Dingge; Li, Mulin Jun; Sham, Pak Chung; Li, Miaoxin

2018-04-26

Recently many studies showed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affect gene expression and contribute to development of complex traits/diseases in a tissue context-dependent manner. However, little is known about haplotype's influence on gene expression and complex traits, which reflects the interaction effect between SNPs. In the present study, we firstly proposed a regulatory region guided eQTL haplotype association analysis approach, and then systematically investigate the expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) haplotypes in 20 different tissues by the approach. The approach has a powerful design of reducing computational burden by the utilization of regulatory predictions for candidate SNP selection and multiple testing corrections on non-independent haplotypes. The application results in multiple tissues showed that haplotype-based eQTLs not only increased the number of eQTL genes in a tissue specific manner, but were also enriched in loci that associated with complex traits in a tissue-matched manner. In addition, we found that tag SNPs of eQTL haplotypes from whole blood were selectively enriched in certain combination of regulatory elements (e.g. promoters and enhancers) according to predicted chromatin states. In summary, this eQTL haplotype detection approach, together with the application results, shed insights into synergistic effect of sequence variants on gene expression and their susceptibility to complex diseases. The executable application "eHaplo" is implemented in Java and is publicly available at http://grass.cgs.hku.hk/limx/ehaplo/. jonsonfox@gmail.com, limiaoxin@mail.sysu.edu.cn. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The impact of pre-existing anxiety on affective and cognitive processing of a Virtual Reality analogue trauma.

PubMed

Schweizer, Tina; Schmitz, Julian; Plempe, Laura; Sun, Dali; Becker-Asano, Christian; Leonhart, Rainer; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna

2017-01-01

Dysfunctional processing of traumatic events may be in particular related to high trait anxiety as a pre-traumatic risk factor for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, as this has rarely been investigated in prospective, experimental studies, we aimed to analyse the association between high trait anxiety and affective as well as cognitive processing of stress using a new prospective Virtual Reality analogue trauma paradigm to overcome limitations of retrospective or current analogue designs. Individuals with high and low trait anxiety (N = 80) were exposed to a multi-sensory Virtual Reality emergency scenario while psychophysiological stress response, emotion regulation and intrusive memories were assessed. Our results showed that high trait anxiety individuals display increased (i) subjective stress responses, (ii) emotion dysregulation and (iii) intrusive memories upon VR analogue trauma exposure. In particular, our sample of high trait anxiety individuals displayed limited access to different emotion regulation strategies as well as increased worry and rumination regarding perceived intrusive memories. Considering the complex interplay of multiple risk factors, our findings suggests that peri-traumatic affective processing seems to mediate high trait anxiety and post-traumatic intrusive memories thereby pointing out the central role of peri-traumatic processes for intrusion development. In addition, HA as a modulating pre-traumatic risk factor might further increase the risk of later dysfunctional processing of an analogue trauma by interacting with factors of affective processing during analogue trauma exposure. Implications of these findings which may contribute to a higher risk to develop PTSD are discussed.

The impact of pre-existing anxiety on affective and cognitive processing of a Virtual Reality analogue trauma

PubMed Central

Schmitz, Julian; Plempe, Laura; Sun, Dali; Becker-Asano, Christian; Leonhart, Rainer; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna

2017-01-01

Dysfunctional processing of traumatic events may be in particular related to high trait anxiety as a pre-traumatic risk factor for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, as this has rarely been investigated in prospective, experimental studies, we aimed to analyse the association between high trait anxiety and affective as well as cognitive processing of stress using a new prospective Virtual Reality analogue trauma paradigm to overcome limitations of retrospective or current analogue designs. Individuals with high and low trait anxiety (N = 80) were exposed to a multi-sensory Virtual Reality emergency scenario while psychophysiological stress response, emotion regulation and intrusive memories were assessed. Our results showed that high trait anxiety individuals display increased (i) subjective stress responses, (ii) emotion dysregulation and (iii) intrusive memories upon VR analogue trauma exposure. In particular, our sample of high trait anxiety individuals displayed limited access to different emotion regulation strategies as well as increased worry and rumination regarding perceived intrusive memories. Considering the complex interplay of multiple risk factors, our findings suggests that peri-traumatic affective processing seems to mediate high trait anxiety and post-traumatic intrusive memories thereby pointing out the central role of peri-traumatic processes for intrusion development. In addition, HA as a modulating pre-traumatic risk factor might further increase the risk of later dysfunctional processing of an analogue trauma by interacting with factors of affective processing during analogue trauma exposure. Implications of these findings which may contribute to a higher risk to develop PTSD are discussed. PMID:29287111

A systems-genetics approach and data mining tool to assist in the discovery of genes underlying complex traits in Oryza sativa.

PubMed

Ficklin, Stephen P; Feltus, Frank Alex

2013-01-01

Many traits of biological and agronomic significance in plants are controlled in a complex manner where multiple genes and environmental signals affect the expression of the phenotype. In Oryza sativa (rice), thousands of quantitative genetic signals have been mapped to the rice genome. In parallel, thousands of gene expression profiles have been generated across many experimental conditions. Through the discovery of networks with real gene co-expression relationships, it is possible to identify co-localized genetic and gene expression signals that implicate complex genotype-phenotype relationships. In this work, we used a knowledge-independent, systems genetics approach, to discover a high-quality set of co-expression networks, termed Gene Interaction Layers (GILs). Twenty-two GILs were constructed from 1,306 Affymetrix microarray rice expression profiles that were pre-clustered to allow for improved capture of gene co-expression relationships. Functional genomic and genetic data, including over 8,000 QTLs and 766 phenotype-tagged SNPs (p-value < = 0.001) from genome-wide association studies, both covering over 230 different rice traits were integrated with the GILs. An online systems genetics data-mining resource, the GeneNet Engine, was constructed to enable dynamic discovery of gene sets (i.e. network modules) that overlap with genetic traits. GeneNet Engine does not provide the exact set of genes underlying a given complex trait, but through the evidence of gene-marker correspondence, co-expression, and functional enrichment, site visitors can identify genes with potential shared causality for a trait which could then be used for experimental validation. A set of 2 million SNPs was incorporated into the database and serve as a potential set of testable biomarkers for genes in modules that overlap with genetic traits. Herein, we describe two modules found using GeneNet Engine, one with significant overlap with the trait amylose content and another with significant overlap with blast disease resistance.

A Systems-Genetics Approach and Data Mining Tool to Assist in the Discovery of Genes Underlying Complex Traits in Oryza sativa

PubMed Central

Ficklin, Stephen P.; Feltus, Frank Alex

2013-01-01

Many traits of biological and agronomic significance in plants are controlled in a complex manner where multiple genes and environmental signals affect the expression of the phenotype. In Oryza sativa (rice), thousands of quantitative genetic signals have been mapped to the rice genome. In parallel, thousands of gene expression profiles have been generated across many experimental conditions. Through the discovery of networks with real gene co-expression relationships, it is possible to identify co-localized genetic and gene expression signals that implicate complex genotype-phenotype relationships. In this work, we used a knowledge-independent, systems genetics approach, to discover a high-quality set of co-expression networks, termed Gene Interaction Layers (GILs). Twenty-two GILs were constructed from 1,306 Affymetrix microarray rice expression profiles that were pre-clustered to allow for improved capture of gene co-expression relationships. Functional genomic and genetic data, including over 8,000 QTLs and 766 phenotype-tagged SNPs (p-value < = 0.001) from genome-wide association studies, both covering over 230 different rice traits were integrated with the GILs. An online systems genetics data-mining resource, the GeneNet Engine, was constructed to enable dynamic discovery of gene sets (i.e. network modules) that overlap with genetic traits. GeneNet Engine does not provide the exact set of genes underlying a given complex trait, but through the evidence of gene-marker correspondence, co-expression, and functional enrichment, site visitors can identify genes with potential shared causality for a trait which could then be used for experimental validation. A set of 2 million SNPs was incorporated into the database and serve as a potential set of testable biomarkers for genes in modules that overlap with genetic traits. Herein, we describe two modules found using GeneNet Engine, one with significant overlap with the trait amylose content and another with significant overlap with blast disease resistance. PMID:23874666

Dissection of complex adult traits in a mouse synthetic population.

PubMed

Burke, David T; Kozloff, Kenneth M; Chen, Shu; West, Joshua L; Wilkowski, Jodi M; Goldstein, Steven A; Miller, Richard A; Galecki, Andrzej T

2012-08-01

Finding the causative genetic variations that underlie complex adult traits is a significant experimental challenge. The unbiased search strategy of genome-wide association (GWAS) has been used extensively in recent human population studies. These efforts, however, typically find only a minor fraction of the genetic loci that are predicted to affect variation. As an experimental model for the analysis of adult polygenic traits, we measured a mouse population for multiple phenotypes and conducted a genome-wide search for effector loci. Complex adult phenotypes, related to body size and bone structure, were measured as component phenotypes, and each subphenotype was associated with a genomic spectrum of candidate effector loci. The strategy successfully detected several loci for the phenotypes, at genome-wide significance, using a single, modest-sized population (N = 505). The effector loci each explain 2%-10% of the measured trait variation and, taken together, the loci can account for over 25% of a trait's total population variation. A replicate population (N = 378) was used to confirm initially observed loci for one trait (femur length), and, when the two groups were merged, the combined population demonstrated increased power to detect loci. In contrast to human population studies, our mouse genome-wide searches find loci that individually explain a larger fraction of the observed variation. Also, the additive effects of our detected mouse loci more closely match the predicted genetic component of variation. The genetic loci discovered are logical candidates for components of the genetic networks having evolutionary conservation with human biology.

The genetic architecture of growth and fillet traits in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

PubMed

Tsai, Hsin Yuan; Hamilton, Alastair; Guy, Derrick R; Tinch, Alan E; Bishop, Stephen C; Houston, Ross D

2015-05-19

Performance and quality traits such as harvest weight, fillet weight and flesh color are of economic importance to the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry. The genetic factors underlying these traits are of scientific and commercial interest. However, such traits are typically polygenic in nature, with the number and size of QTL likely to vary between studies and populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic basis of several growth and fillet traits measured at harvest in a large farmed salmon population by using SNP markers. Due to the marked heterochiasmy in salmonids, an efficient two-stage mapping approach was applied whereby QTL were detected using a sire-based linkage analysis, a sparse SNP marker map and exploiting low rates of recombination, while a subsequent dam-based analysis focused on the significant chromosomes with a denser map to confirm QTL and estimate their position. The harvest traits all showed significant heritability, ranging from 0.05 for fillet yield up to 0.53 for the weight traits. In the sire-based analysis, 1695 offspring with trait records and their 20 sires were successfully genotyped for the SNPs on the sparse map. Chromosomes 13, 18, 19 and 20 were shown to harbor genome-wide significant QTL affecting several growth-related traits. The QTL on chr. 13, 18 and 20 were detected in the dam-based analysis using 512 offspring from 10 dams and explained approximately 6-7 % of the within-family variation in these traits. We have detected several QTL affecting economically important complex traits in a commercial salmon population. Overall, the results suggest that the traits are relatively polygenic and that QTL tend to be pleiotropic (affecting the weight of several components of the harvested fish). Comparison of QTL regions across studies suggests that harvest trait QTL tend to be relatively population-specific. Therefore, the application of marker or genomic selection for improvement in these traits is likely to be most effective when the discovery population is closely related to the selection candidates (e.g. within-family genomic selection).

Exercise and diet affect quantitative trait loci for body weight and composition traits in an advanced intercross population of mice

PubMed Central

Kelly, Scott A.; Hua, Kunjie; Pomp, Daniel

2012-01-01

Driven by the recent obesity epidemic, interest in understanding the complex genetic and environmental basis of body weight and composition is great. We investigated this by searching for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting a number of weight and adiposity traits in a G10 advanced intercross population produced from crosses of mice in inbred strain C57BL/6J with those in a strain selected for high voluntary wheel running. The mice in this population were fed either a high-fat or a control diet throughout the study and also measured for four exercise traits prior to death, allowing us to test for pre- and postexercise QTLs as well as QTL-by-diet and QTL-by-exercise interactions. Our genome scan uncovered a number of QTLs, of which 40% replicated QTLs previously found for similar traits in an earlier (G4) generation. For those replicated QTLs, the confidence intervals were reduced from an average of 19 Mb in the G4 to 8 Mb in the G10. Four QTLs on chromosomes 3, 8, 13, and 18 were especially prominent in affecting the percentage of fat in the mice. About of all QTLs showed interactions with diet, exercise, or both, their genotypic effects on the traits showing a variety of patterns depending on the diet or level of exercise. It was concluded that the indirect effects of these QTLs provide an underlying genetic basis for the considerable variability in weight or fat loss typically found among individuals on the same diet and/or exercise regimen. PMID:23048196

Trait anxiety affects decision-making differently in healthy men and women: towards gender-specific endophenotypes of anxiety.

PubMed

de Visser, L; van der Knaap, L J; van de Loo, A J A E; van der Weerd, C M M; Ohl, F; van den Bos, R

2010-05-01

Excessive levels of trait anxiety are a risk factor for psychiatric conditions, including anxiety disorders and substance abuse. High trait anxiety has been associated with altered cognitive functioning, in particular with an attentional bias towards aversive stimuli. Decision-making is a crucial aspect of cognitive functioning that relies on the correct processing and control of emotional stimuli. Interestingly, anxiety and decision-making share underlying neural substrates, involving cortico-limbic pathways, including the amygdala, striatum and medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. In the present study, we investigated the relationship between trait anxiety, measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and complex decision-making, measured by the Iowa Gambling Task, in healthy male and female volunteers. The main focus of this study was the inclusion of gender as a discriminative factor. Indeed, we found distinct gender-specific effects of trait anxiety: in men, both low and high anxiety groups showed impaired decision-making compared to medium anxiety individuals, whereas in women only high anxiety individuals performed poorly. Furthermore, anxiety affected decision-making in men early in the task, i.e. the exploration phase, as opposed to an effect on performance in women during the second part of the test, i.e. the exploitation phase. These findings were related to different profiles of trait anxiety in men and women, and were independent of performance in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and cortisol levels. Our data show gender-specific effects of trait anxiety on emotional decision-making. We suggest gender-specific endophenotypes of anxiety to exist, that differentially affect cognitive functioning. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-Random Variability in Functional Composition of Coral Reef Fish Communities along an Environmental Gradient.

PubMed

Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah G; Taylor, Marc H; Husain, Aidah A A; Teichberg, Mirta C; Ferse, Sebastian C A

2016-01-01

Changes in the coral reef complex can affect predator-prey relationships, resource availability and niche utilisation in the associated fish community, which may be reflected in decreased stability of the functional traits present in a community. This is because particular traits may be favoured by a changing environment, or by habitat degradation. Furthermore, other traits can be selected against because degradation can relax the association between fishes and benthic habitat. We characterised six important ecological traits for fish species occurring at seven sites across a disturbed coral reef archipelago in Indonesia, where reefs have been exposed to eutrophication and destructive fishing practices for decades. Functional diversity was assessed using two complementary indices (FRic and RaoQ) and correlated to important environmental factors (live coral cover and rugosity, representing local reef health, and distance from shore, representing a cross-shelf environmental gradient). Indices were examined for both a change in their mean, as well as temporal (short-term; hours) and spatial (cross-shelf) variability, to assess whether fish-habitat association became relaxed along with habitat degradation. Furthermore, variability in individual traits was examined to identify the traits that are most affected by habitat change. Increases in the general reef health indicators, live coral cover and rugosity (correlated with distance from the mainland), were associated with decreases in the variability of functional diversity and with community-level changes in the abundance of several traits (notably home range size, maximum length, microalgae, detritus and small invertebrate feeding and reproductive turnover). A decrease in coral cover increased variability of RaoQ while rugosity and distance both inversely affected variability of FRic; however, averages for these indices did not reveal patterns associated with the environment. These results suggest that increased degradation of coral reefs is associated with increased variability in fish community functional composition resulting from selective impacts on specific traits, thereby affecting the functional response of these communities to increasing perturbations.

Non-Random Variability in Functional Composition of Coral Reef Fish Communities along an Environmental Gradient

PubMed Central

Plass-Johnson, Jeremiah G.; Taylor, Marc H.; Husain, Aidah A. A.; Teichberg, Mirta C.; Ferse, Sebastian C. A.

2016-01-01

Changes in the coral reef complex can affect predator-prey relationships, resource availability and niche utilisation in the associated fish community, which may be reflected in decreased stability of the functional traits present in a community. This is because particular traits may be favoured by a changing environment, or by habitat degradation. Furthermore, other traits can be selected against because degradation can relax the association between fishes and benthic habitat. We characterised six important ecological traits for fish species occurring at seven sites across a disturbed coral reef archipelago in Indonesia, where reefs have been exposed to eutrophication and destructive fishing practices for decades. Functional diversity was assessed using two complementary indices (FRic and RaoQ) and correlated to important environmental factors (live coral cover and rugosity, representing local reef health, and distance from shore, representing a cross-shelf environmental gradient). Indices were examined for both a change in their mean, as well as temporal (short-term; hours) and spatial (cross-shelf) variability, to assess whether fish-habitat association became relaxed along with habitat degradation. Furthermore, variability in individual traits was examined to identify the traits that are most affected by habitat change. Increases in the general reef health indicators, live coral cover and rugosity (correlated with distance from the mainland), were associated with decreases in the variability of functional diversity and with community-level changes in the abundance of several traits (notably home range size, maximum length, microalgae, detritus and small invertebrate feeding and reproductive turnover). A decrease in coral cover increased variability of RaoQ while rugosity and distance both inversely affected variability of FRic; however, averages for these indices did not reveal patterns associated with the environment. These results suggest that increased degradation of coral reefs is associated with increased variability in fish community functional composition resulting from selective impacts on specific traits, thereby affecting the functional response of these communities to increasing perturbations. PMID:27100189

On the Origin of Complex Adaptive Traits: Progress Since the Darwin Versus Mivart Debate.

PubMed

Suzuki, Takao K

2017-06-01

The evolutionary origin of complex adaptive traits has been a controversial topic in the history of evolutionary biology. Although Darwin argued for the gradual origins of complex adaptive traits within the theory of natural selection, Mivart insisted that natural selection could not account for the incipient stages of complex traits. The debate starting from Darwin and Mivart eventually engendered two opposite views: gradualism and saltationism. Although this has been a long-standing debate, the issue remains unresolved. However, recent studies have interrogated classic examples of complex traits, such as the asymmetrical eyes of flatfishes and leaf mimicry of butterfly wings, whose origins were debated by Darwin and Mivart. Here, I review recent findings as a starting point to provide a modern picture of the evolution of complex adaptive traits. First, I summarize the empirical evidence that unveils the evolutionary steps toward complex traits. I then argue that the evolution of complex traits could be understood within the concept of "reducible complexity." Through these discussions, I propose a conceptual framework for the formation of complex traits, named as reducible-composable multicomponent systems, that satisfy two major characteristics: reducibility into a sum of subcomponents and composability to construct traits from various additional and combinatorial arrangements of the subcomponents. This conceptual framework provides an analytical foundation for exploring evolutionary pathways to build up complex traits. This review provides certain essential avenues for deciphering the origin of complex adaptive traits. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Expression and Regulation of Attachment-Related Emotions in Children with Conduct Problems and Callous-Unemotional Traits.

PubMed

Dadds, Mark R; Gale, Nyree; Godbee, Megan; Moul, Caroline; Pasalich, Dave S; Fink, Elian; Hawes, David J

2016-08-01

Callous-unemotional traits (CU) are defined by low responsiveness to, and unfeeling disregard for the emotions of others. There is controversial evidence, however, that children with high CU traits can demonstrate affective responsiveness under certain conditions, namely those associated with attachment threat. We tested this using 'fear + amusing' and 'attachment rich' stimuli from the Lion King film. Of N = 76, 4-14 years old children, 56 were clinic-referred children divided into high and low CU traits groups, and 20 children were drawn from the community. Participants watched film sequences of fearful, attachment-related and neutral stimuli and their affective responses and emotion-regulation strategies were coded by independent observers. Children in the high CU traits group were able to disengage from the fear stimuli by showing more 'happiness' to a brief slapstick interlude. In the attachment scenario, high CU children expressed similar or trends toward higher emotional responses and emotion regulation strategies, compared to low-CU children and control children. The results support the idea that high CU children may have the potential for emotional responsiveness to complex emotional stimuli in attachment contexts. Implications of these results for the development of interventions are discussed.

A Multi-Trait, Meta-analysis for Detecting Pleiotropic Polymorphisms for Stature, Fatness and Reproduction in Beef Cattle

PubMed Central

Bolormaa, Sunduimijid; Pryce, Jennie E.; Reverter, Antonio; Zhang, Yuandan; Barendse, William; Kemper, Kathryn; Tier, Bruce; Savin, Keith; Hayes, Ben J.; Goddard, Michael E.

2014-01-01

Polymorphisms that affect complex traits or quantitative trait loci (QTL) often affect multiple traits. We describe two novel methods (1) for finding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with one or more traits using a multi-trait, meta-analysis, and (2) for distinguishing between a single pleiotropic QTL and multiple linked QTL. The meta-analysis uses the effect of each SNP on each of n traits, estimated in single trait genome wide association studies (GWAS). These effects are expressed as a vector of signed t-values (t) and the error covariance matrix of these t values is approximated by the correlation matrix of t-values among the traits calculated across the SNP (V). Consequently, t'V−1t is approximately distributed as a chi-squared with n degrees of freedom. An attractive feature of the meta-analysis is that it uses estimated effects of SNPs from single trait GWAS, so it can be applied to published data where individual records are not available. We demonstrate that the multi-trait method can be used to increase the power (numbers of SNPs validated in an independent population) of GWAS in a beef cattle data set including 10,191 animals genotyped for 729,068 SNPs with 32 traits recorded, including growth and reproduction traits. We can distinguish between a single pleiotropic QTL and multiple linked QTL because multiple SNPs tagging the same QTL show the same pattern of effects across traits. We confirm this finding by demonstrating that when one SNP is included in the statistical model the other SNPs have a non-significant effect. In the beef cattle data set, cluster analysis yielded four groups of QTL with similar patterns of effects across traits within a group. A linear index was used to validate SNPs having effects on multiple traits and to identify additional SNPs belonging to these four groups. PMID:24675618

Study designs for identification of rare disease variants in complex diseases: the utility of family-based designs.

PubMed

Ionita-Laza, Iuliana; Ottman, Ruth

2011-11-01

The recent progress in sequencing technologies makes possible large-scale medical sequencing efforts to assess the importance of rare variants in complex diseases. The results of such efforts depend heavily on the use of efficient study designs and analytical methods. We introduce here a unified framework for association testing of rare variants in family-based designs or designs based on unselected affected individuals. This framework allows us to quantify the enrichment in rare disease variants in families containing multiple affected individuals and to investigate the optimal design of studies aiming to identify rare disease variants in complex traits. We show that for many complex diseases with small values for the overall sibling recurrence risk ratio, such as Alzheimer's disease and most cancers, sequencing affected individuals with a positive family history of the disease can be extremely advantageous for identifying rare disease variants. In contrast, for complex diseases with large values of the sibling recurrence risk ratio, sequencing unselected affected individuals may be preferable.

Disentangling Vulnerabilities from Outcomes: Distinctions between Trait Affect and Depressive Symptoms in Adolescent and Adult Samples

PubMed Central

Harding, Kaitlin A.; Willey, Brittany; Ahles, Joshua; Mezulis, Amy

2016-01-01

Background Trait negative affect and trait positive affect are affective vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms in adolescence and adulthood. While trait affect and the state affect characteristic of depressive symptoms are proposed to be theoretically distinct, no studies have established that these constructs are statistically distinct. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to determine whether the trait affect (e.g. temperament dimensions) that predicts depressive symptoms and the state affect characteristic of depressive symptoms are statistically distinct among early adolescents and adults. We hypothesized that trait negative affect, trait positive affect, and depressive symptoms would represent largely distinct factors in both samples. Method Participants were 268 early adolescents (53.73% female) and 321 young adults (70.09% female) who completed self-report measures of demographic information, trait affect, and depressive symptoms. Results Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation for both samples indicated distinct adolescent factor loadings and overlapping adult factor loadings. Confirmatory factor analyses in both samples supported distinct but related relationships between trait NA, trait PA, and depressive symptoms. Limitations Study limitations include our cross-sectional design that prevented examination of self-reported fluctuations in trait affect and depressive symptoms and the unknown potential effects of self-report biases among adolescents and adults. Conclusions Findings support existing theoretical distinctions between adolescent constructs but highlight a need to revise or remove items to distinguish measurements of adult trait affect and depressive symptoms. Adolescent trait affect and depressive symptoms are statistically distinct, but adult trait affect and depressive symptoms statistically overlap and warrant further consideration. PMID:27085163

Models of Cultural Niche Construction with Selection and Assortative Mating

PubMed Central

Feldman, Marcus W.

2012-01-01

Niche construction is a process through which organisms modify their environment and, as a result, alter the selection pressures on themselves and other species. In cultural niche construction, one or more cultural traits can influence the evolution of other cultural or biological traits by affecting the social environment in which the latter traits may evolve. Cultural niche construction may include either gene-culture or culture-culture interactions. Here we develop a model of this process and suggest some applications of this model. We examine the interactions between cultural transmission, selection, and assorting, paying particular attention to the complexities that arise when selection and assorting are both present, in which case stable polymorphisms of all cultural phenotypes are possible. We compare our model to a recent model for the joint evolution of religion and fertility and discuss other potential applications of cultural niche construction theory, including the evolution and maintenance of large-scale human conflict and the relationship between sex ratio bias and marriage customs. The evolutionary framework we introduce begins to address complexities that arise in the quantitative analysis of multiple interacting cultural traits. PMID:22905167

Selection and explosive growth alter genetic architecture and hamper the detection of causal rare variants.

PubMed

Uricchio, Lawrence H; Zaitlen, Noah A; Ye, Chun Jimmie; Witte, John S; Hernandez, Ryan D

2016-07-01

The role of rare alleles in complex phenotypes has been hotly debated, but most rare variant association tests (RVATs) do not account for the evolutionary forces that affect genetic architecture. Here, we use simulation and numerical algorithms to show that explosive population growth, as experienced by human populations, can dramatically increase the impact of very rare alleles on trait variance. We then assess the ability of RVATs to detect causal loci using simulations and human RNA-seq data. Surprisingly, we find that statistical performance is worst for phenotypes in which genetic variance is due mainly to rare alleles, and explosive population growth decreases power. Although many studies have attempted to identify causal rare variants, few have reported novel associations. This has sometimes been interpreted to mean that rare variants make negligible contributions to complex trait heritability. Our work shows that RVATs are not robust to realistic human evolutionary forces, so general conclusions about the impact of rare variants on complex traits may be premature. © 2016 Uricchio et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Quantitative trait loci for energy balance traits in an advanced intercross line derived from mice divergently selected for heat loss

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Merlyn K.; Thorn, Stephanie R.; Valdar, William; Pomp, Daniel

2014-01-01

Obesity in human populations, currently a serious health concern, is considered to be the consequence of an energy imbalance in which more energy in calories is consumed than is expended. We used interval mapping techniques to investigate the genetic basis of a number of energy balance traits in an F11 advanced intercross population of mice created from an original intercross of lines selected for increased and decreased heat loss. We uncovered a total of 137 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for these traits at 41 unique sites on 18 of the 20 chromosomes in the mouse genome, with X-linked QTLs being most prevalent. Two QTLs were found for the selection target of heat loss, one on distal chromosome 1 and another on proximal chromosome 2. The number of QTLs affecting the various traits generally was consistent with previous estimates of heritabilities in the same population, with the most found for two bone mineral traits and the least for feed intake and several body composition traits. QTLs were generally additive in their effects, and some, especially those affecting the body weight traits, were sex-specific. Pleiotropy was extensive within trait groups (body weights, adiposity and organ weight traits, bone traits) and especially between body composition traits adjusted and not adjusted for body weight at sacrifice. Nine QTLs were found for one or more of the adiposity traits, five of which appeared to be unique. The confidence intervals among all QTLs averaged 13.3 Mb, much smaller than usually observed in an F2 cross, and in some cases this allowed us to make reasonable inferences about candidate genes underlying these QTLs. This study combined QTL mapping with genetic parameter analysis in a large segregating population, and has advanced our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex traits related to obesity. PMID:24918027

FOLATE AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: PREFACE

EPA Science Inventory

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a complex developmental trait in which several genes, interacting with environmental factors, create the phenotype. In the United States, the rate of NTDs has been reported to range from 4 to 10 per 10,000 live births, and NTDs affect approximately...

Intelligence: shared genetic basis between Mendelian disorders and a polygenic trait.

PubMed

Franić, Sanja; Groen-Blokhuis, Maria M; Dolan, Conor V; Kattenberg, Mathijs V; Pool, René; Xiao, Xiangjun; Scheet, Paul A; Ehli, Erik A; Davies, Gareth E; van der Sluis, Sophie; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Hansell, Narelle K; Martin, Nicholas G; Hudziak, James J; van Beijsterveldt, Catherina E M; Swagerman, Suzanne C; Hulshoff Pol, Hilleke E; de Geus, Eco J C; Bartels, Meike; Ropers, H Hilger; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Boomsma, Dorret I

2015-10-01

Multiple inquiries into the genetic etiology of human traits indicated an overlap between genes underlying monogenic disorders (eg, skeletal growth defects) and those affecting continuous variability of related quantitative traits (eg, height). Extending the idea of a shared genetic basis between a Mendelian disorder and a classic polygenic trait, we performed an association study to examine the effect of 43 genes implicated in autosomal recessive cognitive disorders on intelligence in an unselected Dutch population (N=1316). Using both single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)- and gene-based association testing, we detected an association between intelligence and the genes of interest, with genes ELP2, TMEM135, PRMT10, and RGS7 showing the strongest associations. This is a demonstration of the relevance of genes implicated in monogenic disorders of intelligence to normal-range intelligence, and a corroboration of the utility of employing knowledge on monogenic disorders in identifying the genetic variability underlying complex traits.

Clinical and evoked pain, personality traits, and emotional states: can familial confounding explain the associations?

PubMed

Strachan, Eric; Poeschla, Brian; Dansie, Elizabeth; Succop, Annemarie; Chopko, Laura; Afari, Niloofar

2015-01-01

Pain is a complex phenomenon influenced by context and person-specific factors. Affective dimensions of pain involve both enduring personality traits and fleeting emotional states. We examined how personality traits and emotional states are linked with clinical and evoked pain in a twin sample. 99 female twin pairs were evaluated for clinical and evoked pain using the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and dolorimetry, and completed the 120-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and ratings of stress and mood. Using a co-twin control design we examined a) the relationship of personality traits and emotional states with clinical and evoked pain and b) whether genetics and common environment (i.e. familial factors) may account for the associations. Neuroticism was associated with the sensory component of the MPQ; this relationship was not confounded by familial factors. None of the emotional state measures was associated with the MPQ. PANAS negative affect was associated with lower evoked pressure pain threshold and tolerance; these associations were confounded by familial factors. There were no associations between IPIP traits and evoked pain. A relationship exists between neuroticism and clinical pain that is not confounded by familial factors. There is no similar relationship between negative emotional states and clinical pain. In contrast, the relationship between negative emotional states and evoked pain is strong while the relationship with enduring personality traits is weak. The relationship between negative emotional states and evoked pain appears to be non-causal and due to familial factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Association analysis of the monoamine oxidase A gene in bipolar affective disorder by using family-based internal controls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Noethen, M.M.; Eggermann, K.; Propping, P.

1995-10-01

It is well accepted that association studies are a major tool in investigating the contribution of single genes to the development of diseases that do not follow simple Mendelian inheritance pattern (so-called complex traits). Such major psychiatric diseases as bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia clearly fall into this category of diseases. 7 refs., 1 tab.

Trait Affect, Emotion Regulation, and the Generation of Negative and Positive Interpersonal Events.

PubMed

Hamilton, Jessica L; Burke, Taylor A; Stange, Jonathan P; Kleiman, Evan M; Rubenstein, Liza M; Scopelliti, Kate A; Abramson, Lyn Y; Alloy, Lauren B

2017-07-01

Positive and negative trait affect and emotion regulatory strategies have received considerable attention in the literature as predictors of psychopathology. However, it remains unclear whether individuals' trait affect is associated with responses to state positive affect (positive rumination and dampening) or negative affect (ruminative brooding), or whether these affective experiences contribute to negative or positive interpersonal event generation. Among 304 late adolescents, path analyses indicated that individuals with higher trait negative affect utilized dampening and brooding rumination responses, whereas those with higher trait positive affect engaged in rumination on positive affect. Further, there were indirect relationships between trait negative affect and fewer positive and negative interpersonal events via dampening, and between trait positive affect and greater positive and negative interpersonal events via positive rumination. These findings suggest that individuals' trait negative and positive affect may be associated with increased utilization of emotion regulation strategies for managing these affects, which may contribute to the occurrence of positive and negative events in interpersonal relationships. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Highly polygenic variation in environmental perception determines dauer larvae formation in growing populations of Caenorhabditis elegans.

PubMed

Green, James W M; Stastna, Jana J; Orbidans, Helen E; Harvey, Simon C

2014-01-01

Determining how complex traits are genetically controlled is a requirement if we are to predict how they evolve and how they might respond to selection. This requires understanding how distinct, and often more simple, life history traits interact and change in response to environmental conditions. In order to begin addressing such issues, we have been analyzing the formation of the developmentally arrested dauer larvae of Caenorhabditis elegans under different conditions. We find that 18 of 22 previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting dauer larvae formation in growing populations, assayed by determining the number of dauer larvae present at food patch exhaustion, can be recovered under various environmental conditions. We also show that food patch size affects both the ability to detect QTLs and estimates of effect size, and demonstrate that an allele of nath-10 affects dauer larvae formation in growing populations. To investigate the component traits that affect dauer larvae formation in growing populations we map, using the same introgression lines, QTLs that affect dauer larvae formation in response to defined amounts of pheromone. This identifies 36 QTLs, again demonstrating the highly polygenic nature of the genetic variation underlying dauer larvae formation. These data indicate that QTLs affecting the number of dauer larvae at food exhaustion in growing populations of C. elegans are highly reproducible, and that nearly all can be explained by variation affecting dauer larvae formation in response to defined amounts of pheromone. This suggests that most variation in dauer larvae formation in growing populations is a consequence of variation in the perception of the food and pheromone environment (i.e. chemosensory variation) and in the integration of these cues.

Effects of rearing environment and population origin on responses to repeated behavioural trials in cane toads (Rhinella marina).

PubMed

Gruber, Jodie; Whiting, Martin J; Brown, Gregory; Shine, Richard

2018-05-02

Behavioural response to repeated trials in captivity can be driven by many factors including rearing environment, population of origin, habituation to captivity/trial conditions and an individual's behavioural type (e.g., bold versus shy). We tested the effect of rearing environment (captive raised common-garden versus wild-caught) and population origin (range-edge versus range-front) on the responses of invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) to repeated exploration and risk-taking assays in captivity. We found that behavioural responses to identical assays performed on two occasions were complex and showed few consistent patterns based on rearing environment or population of origin. However, behavioural traits were repeatable across Trial Blocks when all sample populations were grouped together, indicating general consistency in individual toad behaviour across repeated behavioural assays. Our findings exemplify the complexity and unpredictability of behavioural responses and their effects on the repeatability and interpretation of behavioural traits across repeated behavioural assays in captivity. To meaningfully interpret the results from repeated behavioural assays, we need to consider how multiple factors may affect behavioural responses to these tests and importantly, how these responses may affect the repeatability of behavioural traits across time. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

A principal component meta-analysis on multiple anthropometric traits identifies novel loci for body shape

PubMed Central

Ried, Janina S.; Jeff M., Janina; Chu, Audrey Y.; Bragg-Gresham, Jennifer L.; van Dongen, Jenny; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S.; Cadby, Gemma; Eklund, Niina; Eriksson, Joel; Esko, Tõnu; Feitosa, Mary F.; Goel, Anuj; Gorski, Mathias; Hayward, Caroline; Heard-Costa, Nancy L.; Jackson, Anne U.; Jokinen, Eero; Kanoni, Stavroula; Kristiansson, Kati; Kutalik, Zoltán; Lahti, Jari; Luan, Jian'an; Mägi, Reedik; Mahajan, Anubha; Mangino, Massimo; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Monda, Keri L.; Nolte, Ilja M.; Pérusse, Louis; Prokopenko, Inga; Qi, Lu; Rose, Lynda M.; Salvi, Erika; Smith, Megan T.; Snieder, Harold; Stančáková, Alena; Ju Sung, Yun; Tachmazidou, Ioanna; Teumer, Alexander; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; van der Harst, Pim; Walker, Ryan W.; Wang, Sophie R.; Wild, Sarah H.; Willems, Sara M.; Wong, Andrew; Zhang, Weihua; Albrecht, Eva; Couto Alves, Alexessander; Bakker, Stephan J. L.; Barlassina, Cristina; Bartz, Traci M.; Beilby, John; Bellis, Claire; Bergman, Richard N.; Bergmann, Sven; Blangero, John; Blüher, Matthias; Boerwinkle, Eric; Bonnycastle, Lori L.; Bornstein, Stefan R.; Bruinenberg, Marcel; Campbell, Harry; Chen, Yii-Der Ida; Chiang, Charleston W. K.; Chines, Peter S.; Collins, Francis S; Cucca, Fracensco; Cupples, L Adrienne; D'Avila, Francesca; de Geus, Eco J .C.; Dedoussis, George; Dimitriou, Maria; Döring, Angela; Eriksson, Johan G.; Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni; Farrall, Martin; Ferreira, Teresa; Fischer, Krista; Forouhi, Nita G.; Friedrich, Nele; Gjesing, Anette Prior; Glorioso, Nicola; Graff, Mariaelisa; Grallert, Harald; Grarup, Niels; Gräßler, Jürgen; Grewal, Jagvir; Hamsten, Anders; Harder, Marie Neergaard; Hartman, Catharina A.; Hassinen, Maija; Hastie, Nicholas; Hattersley, Andrew Tym; Havulinna, Aki S.; Heliövaara, Markku; Hillege, Hans; Hofman, Albert; Holmen, Oddgeir; Homuth, Georg; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Hui, Jennie; Husemoen, Lise Lotte; Hysi, Pirro G.; Isaacs, Aaron; Ittermann, Till; Jalilzadeh, Shapour; James, Alan L.; Jørgensen, Torben; Jousilahti, Pekka; Jula, Antti; Marie Justesen, Johanne; Justice, Anne E.; Kähönen, Mika; Karaleftheri, Maria; Tee Khaw, Kay; Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka M.; Kinnunen, Leena; Knekt, Paul B.; Koistinen, Heikki A.; Kolcic, Ivana; Kooner, Ishminder K.; Koskinen, Seppo; Kovacs, Peter; Kyriakou, Theodosios; Laitinen, Tomi; Langenberg, Claudia; Lewin, Alexandra M.; Lichtner, Peter; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Lindström, Jaana; Linneberg, Allan; Lorbeer, Roberto; Lorentzon, Mattias; Luben, Robert; Lyssenko, Valeriya; Männistö, Satu; Manunta, Paolo; Leach, Irene Mateo; McArdle, Wendy L.; Mcknight, Barbara; Mohlke, Karen L.; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Mills, Rebecca; Montasser, May E.; Morris, Andrew P.; Müller, Gabriele; Musk, Arthur W.; Narisu, Narisu; Ong, Ken K.; Oostra, Ben A.; Osmond, Clive; Palotie, Aarno; Pankow, James S.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Penninx, Brenda W.; Pichler, Irene; Pilia, Maria G.; Polašek, Ozren; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Raitakari, Olli T; Rankinen, Tuomo; Rao, D. C.; Rayner, Nigel W.; Ribel-Madsen, Rasmus; Rice, Treva K.; Richards, Marcus; Ridker, Paul M.; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Ryan, Kathy A.; Sanna, Serena; Sarzynski, Mark A.; Scholtens, Salome; Scott, Robert A.; Sebert, Sylvain; Southam, Lorraine; Sparsø, Thomas Hempel; Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur; Stirrups, Kathleen; Stolk, Ronald P.; Strauch, Konstantin; Stringham, Heather M.; Swertz, Morris A.; Swift, Amy J.; Tönjes, Anke; Tsafantakis, Emmanouil; van der Most, Peter J.; Van Vliet-Ostaptchouk, Jana V.; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Vartiainen, Erkki; Venturini, Cristina; Verweij, Niek; Viikari, Jorma S.; Vitart, Veronique; Vohl, Marie-Claude; Vonk, Judith M.; Waeber, Gérard; Widén, Elisabeth; Willemsen, Gonneke; Wilsgaard, Tom; Winkler, Thomas W.; Wright, Alan F.; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M.; Hua Zhao, Jing; Carola Zillikens, M.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Bouchard, Claude; Chambers, John C.; Chasman, Daniel I.; Cusi, Daniele; Gansevoort, Ron T.; Gieger, Christian; Hansen, Torben; Hicks, Andrew A.; Hu, Frank; Hveem, Kristian; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Kajantie, Eero; Kooner, Jaspal S.; Kuh, Diana; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laakso, Markku; Lakka, Timo A.; Lehtimäki, Terho; Metspalu, Andres; Njølstad, Inger; Ohlsson, Claes; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; Palmer, Lyle J.; Pedersen, Oluf; Perola, Markus; Peters, Annette; Psaty, Bruce M.; Puolijoki, Hannu; Rauramaa, Rainer; Rudan, Igor; Salomaa, Veikko; Schwarz, Peter E. H.; Shudiner, Alan R.; Smit, Jan H.; Sørensen, Thorkild I. A.; Spector, Timothy D.; Stefansson, Kari; Stumvoll, Michael; Tremblay, Angelo; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Uitterlinden, André G.; Uusitupa, Matti; Völker, Uwe; Vollenweider, Peter; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Watkins, Hugh; Wilson, James F.; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Abecasis, Goncalo R.; Boehnke, Michael; Borecki, Ingrid B.; Deloukas, Panos; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Fox, Caroline; Groop, Leif C.; Heid, Iris M.; Hunter, David J.; Kaplan, Robert C.; McCarthy, Mark I.; North, Kari E.; O'Connell, Jeffrey R.; Schlessinger, David; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Strachan, David P.; Frayling, Timothy; Hirschhorn, Joel N.; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Loos, Ruth J. F.

2016-01-01

Large consortia have revealed hundreds of genetic loci associated with anthropometric traits, one trait at a time. We examined whether genetic variants affect body shape as a composite phenotype that is represented by a combination of anthropometric traits. We developed an approach that calculates averaged PCs (AvPCs) representing body shape derived from six anthropometric traits (body mass index, height, weight, waist and hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio). The first four AvPCs explain >99% of the variability, are heritable, and associate with cardiometabolic outcomes. We performed genome-wide association analyses for each body shape composite phenotype across 65 studies and meta-analysed summary statistics. We identify six novel loci: LEMD2 and CD47 for AvPC1, RPS6KA5/C14orf159 and GANAB for AvPC3, and ARL15 and ANP32 for AvPC4. Our findings highlight the value of using multiple traits to define complex phenotypes for discovery, which are not captured by single-trait analyses, and may shed light onto new pathways. PMID:27876822

Genomic selection and complex trait prediction using a fast EM algorithm applied to genome-wide markers

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The information provided by dense genome-wide markers using high throughput technology is of considerable potential in human disease studies and livestock breeding programs. Genome-wide association studies relate individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from dense SNP panels to individual measurements of complex traits, with the underlying assumption being that any association is caused by linkage disequilibrium (LD) between SNP and quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting the trait. Often SNP are in genomic regions of no trait variation. Whole genome Bayesian models are an effective way of incorporating this and other important prior information into modelling. However a full Bayesian analysis is often not feasible due to the large computational time involved. Results This article proposes an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm called emBayesB which allows only a proportion of SNP to be in LD with QTL and incorporates prior information about the distribution of SNP effects. The posterior probability of being in LD with at least one QTL is calculated for each SNP along with estimates of the hyperparameters for the mixture prior. A simulated example of genomic selection from an international workshop is used to demonstrate the features of the EM algorithm. The accuracy of prediction is comparable to a full Bayesian analysis but the EM algorithm is considerably faster. The EM algorithm was accurate in locating QTL which explained more than 1% of the total genetic variation. A computational algorithm for very large SNP panels is described. Conclusions emBayesB is a fast and accurate EM algorithm for implementing genomic selection and predicting complex traits by mapping QTL in genome-wide dense SNP marker data. Its accuracy is similar to Bayesian methods but it takes only a fraction of the time. PMID:20969788

Phenotypic integration among trabecular and cortical bone traits establishes mechanical functionality of inbred mouse vertebrae.

PubMed

Tommasini, Steven M; Hu, Bin; Nadeau, Joseph H; Jepsen, Karl J

2009-04-01

Conventional approaches to identifying quantitative trait loci (QTLs) regulating bone mass and fragility are limited because they examine cortical and trabecular traits independently. Prior work examining long bones from young adult mice and humans indicated that skeletal traits are functionally related and that compensatory interactions among morphological and compositional traits are critical for establishing mechanical function. However, it is not known whether trait covariation (i.e., phenotypic integration) also is important for establishing mechanical function in more complex, corticocancellous structures. Covariation among trabecular, cortical, and compositional bone traits was examined in the context of mechanical functionality for L(4) vertebral bodies across a panel of 16-wk-old female AXB/BXA recombinant inbred (RI) mouse strains. The unique pattern of randomization of the A/J and C57BL/6J (B6) genome among the RI panel provides a powerful tool that can be used to measure the tendency for different traits to covary and to study the biology of complex traits. We tested the hypothesis that genetic variants affecting vertebral size and mass are buffered by changes in the relative amounts of cortical and trabecular bone and overall mineralization. Despite inheriting random sets of A/J and B6 genomes, the RI strains inherited nonrandom sets of cortical and trabecular bone traits. Path analysis, which is a multivariate analysis that shows how multiple traits covary simultaneously when confounding variables like body size are taken into consideration, showed that RI strains that tended to have smaller vertebrae relative to body size achieved mechanical functionality by increasing mineralization and the relative amounts of cortical and trabecular bone. The interdependence among corticocancellous traits in the vertebral body indicated that variation in trabecular bone traits among inbred mouse strains, which is often thought to arise from genetic factors, is also determined in part by the adaptive response to variation in traits describing the cortical shell. The covariation among corticocancellous traits has important implications for genetic analyses and for interpreting the response of bone to genetic and environmental perturbations.

Association analysis of multiple traits by an approach of combining P values.

PubMed

Chen, Lili; Wang, Yong; Zhou, Yajing

2018-03-01

Increasing evidence shows that one variant can affect multiple traits, which is a widespread phenomenon in complex diseases. Joint analysis of multiple traits can increase statistical power of association analysis and uncover the underlying genetic mechanism. Although there are many statistical methods to analyse multiple traits, most of these methods are usually suitable for detecting common variants associated with multiple traits. However, because of low minor allele frequency of rare variant, these methods are not optimal for rare variant association analysis. In this paper, we extend an adaptive combination of P values method (termed ADA) for single trait to test association between multiple traits and rare variants in the given region. For a given region, we use reverse regression model to test each rare variant associated with multiple traits and obtain the P value of single-variant test. Further, we take the weighted combination of these P values as the test statistic. Extensive simulation studies show that our approach is more powerful than several other comparison methods in most cases and is robust to the inclusion of a high proportion of neutral variants and the different directions of effects of causal variants.

Borderline personality disorder traits and their relationship with dimensions of normative personality: a web-based cohort and twin study

PubMed Central

Kendler, K. S.; Myers, J.; Reichborn-Kjennerud, T.

2011-01-01

Objective To describe the structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for four dimensions of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and to understand the source of resemblance of these dimensions and normal personality. Method A web-based sample (n = 44,112 including 542 twin pairs) completed items from 4 scales of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology Basic Questionnaire and the Big Five Inventory. Results A one-factor common pathway model best fits the 4 BPD scales producing a highly heritable latent liability (heritability = 60%) and strong loadings on all 4 dimensions. Affective instability had the lowest trait-specific genetic loading, suggesting that it was a core feature of BPD. A complex pattern of genetic and environmental associations was found between the big five personality traits and BPD dimensions. The strongest genetic correlations with the BPD traits were generally seen for neuroticism (positive), followed by conscientiousness and agreeableness, both negative. Conclusion In the general population, these four BPD dimensions reflect one underlying highly heritable factor. The association between normative personality and dimensions of BPD is complex with high degrees of genetic correlation. PMID:21198457

Borderline personality disorder traits and their relationship with dimensions of normative personality: a web-based cohort and twin study.

PubMed

Kendler, K S; Myers, J; Reichborn-Kjennerud, T

2011-05-01

To describe the structure of genetic and environmental risk factors for four dimensions of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and to understand the source of resemblance of these dimensions and normal personality. A web-based sample (n = 44,112 including 542 twin pairs) completed items from 4 scales of the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology Basic Questionnaire and the Big Five Inventory. A one-factor common pathway model best fits the 4 BPD scales producing a highly heritable latent liability (heritability = 60%) and strong loadings on all 4 dimensions. Affective instability had the lowest trait-specific genetic loading, suggesting that it was a core feature of BPD. A complex pattern of genetic and environmental associations was found between the big five personality traits and BPD dimensions. The strongest genetic correlations with the BPD traits were generally seen for neuroticism (positive), followed by conscientiousness and agreeableness, both negative. In the general population, these four BPD dimensions reflect one underlying highly heritable factor. The association between normative personality and dimensions of BPD is complex with high degrees of genetic correlation. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

A power study of bivariate LOD score analysis of a complex trait and fear/discomfort with strangers

PubMed Central

Ji, Fei; Lee, Dayoung; Mendell, Nancy Role

2005-01-01

Complex diseases are often reported along with disease-related traits (DRT). Sometimes investigators consider both disease and DRT phenotypes separately and sometimes they consider individuals as affected if they have either the disease or the DRT, or both. We propose instead to consider the joint distribution of the disease and the DRT and do a linkage analysis assuming a pleiotropic model. We evaluated our results through analysis of the simulated datasets provided by Genetic Analysis Workshop 14. We first conducted univariate linkage analysis of the simulated disease, Kofendrerd Personality Disorder and one of its simulated associated traits, phenotype b (fear/discomfort with strangers). Subsequently, we considered the bivariate phenotype, which combined the information on Kofendrerd Personality Disorder and fear/discomfort with strangers. We developed a program to perform bivariate linkage analysis using an extension to the Elston-Stewart peeling method of likelihood calculation. Using this program we considered the microsatellites within 30 cM of the gene pleiotropic for this simulated disease and DRT. Based on 100 simulations of 300 families we observed excellent power to detect linkage within 10 cM of the disease locus using the DRT and the bivariate trait. PMID:16451570

A power study of bivariate LOD score analysis of a complex trait and fear/discomfort with strangers.

PubMed

Ji, Fei; Lee, Dayoung; Mendell, Nancy Role

2005-12-30

Complex diseases are often reported along with disease-related traits (DRT). Sometimes investigators consider both disease and DRT phenotypes separately and sometimes they consider individuals as affected if they have either the disease or the DRT, or both. We propose instead to consider the joint distribution of the disease and the DRT and do a linkage analysis assuming a pleiotropic model. We evaluated our results through analysis of the simulated datasets provided by Genetic Analysis Workshop 14. We first conducted univariate linkage analysis of the simulated disease, Kofendrerd Personality Disorder and one of its simulated associated traits, phenotype b (fear/discomfort with strangers). Subsequently, we considered the bivariate phenotype, which combined the information on Kofendrerd Personality Disorder and fear/discomfort with strangers. We developed a program to perform bivariate linkage analysis using an extension to the Elston-Stewart peeling method of likelihood calculation. Using this program we considered the microsatellites within 30 cM of the gene pleiotropic for this simulated disease and DRT. Based on 100 simulations of 300 families we observed excellent power to detect linkage within 10 cM of the disease locus using the DRT and the bivariate trait.

Detection of expression quantitative trait Loci in complex mouse crosses: impact and alleviation of data quality and complex population substructure.

PubMed

Iancu, Ovidiu D; Darakjian, Priscila; Kawane, Sunita; Bottomly, Daniel; Hitzemann, Robert; McWeeney, Shannon

2012-01-01

Complex Mus musculus crosses, e.g., heterogeneous stock (HS), provide increased resolution for quantitative trait loci detection. However, increased genetic complexity challenges detection methods, with discordant results due to low data quality or complex genetic architecture. We quantified the impact of theses factors across three mouse crosses and two different detection methods, identifying procedures that greatly improve detection quality. Importantly, HS populations have complex genetic architectures not fully captured by the whole genome kinship matrix, calling for incorporating chromosome specific relatedness information. We analyze three increasingly complex crosses, using gene expression levels as quantitative traits. The three crosses were an F(2) intercross, a HS formed by crossing four inbred strains (HS4), and a HS (HS-CC) derived from the eight lines found in the collaborative cross. Brain (striatum) gene expression and genotype data were obtained using the Illumina platform. We found large disparities between methods, with concordance varying as genetic complexity increased; this problem was more acute for probes with distant regulatory elements (trans). A suite of data filtering steps resulted in substantial increases in reproducibility. Genetic relatedness between samples generated overabundance of detected eQTLs; an adjustment procedure that includes the kinship matrix attenuates this problem. However, we find that relatedness between individuals is not evenly distributed across the genome; information from distinct chromosomes results in relatedness structure different from the whole genome kinship matrix. Shared polymorphisms from distinct chromosomes collectively affect expression levels, confounding eQTL detection. We suggest that considering chromosome specific relatedness can result in improved eQTL detection.

The Complex Minds of Teenagers: Neuroanatomy of Personality Differs between Sexes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankstein, Udi; Chen, Jerry Y. W.; Mincic, Adina M.; McGrath, Patricia A.; Davis, Karen D.

2009-01-01

Extraversion and neuroticism influence behaviour and mood. Extreme expressions of these personality traits may predispose individuals to developing chronic functional pains and mood disorders that predominantly affect women. We acquired anatomical MRI scans and personality scores from healthy male and female adolescents and measured gray matter…

Adverse effects of stress on microbiota

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The complex communities of microorganisms that colonize the gastrointestinal tract impact the health status of an animal. The health of an animal as well as production traits are also affected by exposure to stress. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of dehorning stress on the gut ...

The good, the bad and the flexible: plant interactions with pollinators and herbivores over space and time are moderated by plant compensatory responses

PubMed Central

Lay, C. R.; Linhart, Y. B.; Diggle, P. K.

2011-01-01

Background and Aims Plants are sessile organisms that face selection by both herbivores and pollinators. Herbivores and pollinators may select on the same traits and/or mediate each others' effects. Erysimum capitatum (Brassicaceae) is a widespread and variable plant species with generalized pollination that is attacked by a number of herbivores. The following questions were addressed. (a) Are pollinators and herbivores attracted by similar plant traits? (b) Does herbivory affect pollinator preferences? (c) Do pollinators and/or herbivores affect fitness and select on plant traits? (d) Do plant compensatory responses affect the outcome of interactions among plants, pollinators and herbivores? (e) Do interactions among E. capitatum and its pollinators and herbivores differ among sites and years? Methods In 2005 and 2006, observational and experimental studies were combined in four populations at different elevations to examine selection by pollinators and herbivores on floral traits of E. capitatum. Key Results Pollinator and herbivore assemblages varied spatially and temporally, as did their effects on plant fitness and selection. Both pollinators and herbivores preferred plants with more flowers, and herbivory sometimes reduced pollinator visitation. Pollinators did not select on plant traits in any year or population and E. capitatum was not pollen limited; however, supplemental pollen resulted in altered plant resource allocation. Herbivores reduced fitness and selected for plant traits in some populations, and these effects were mediated by plant compensatory responses. Conclusions Individuals of Erysimum capitatum are visited by diverse groups of pollinators and herbivores that shift in abundance and importance in time and space. Compensatory reproductive mechanisms mediate interactions with both pollinators and herbivores and may allow E. capitatum to succeed in this complex selective environment. PMID:21724655

Invasion complexity at large spatial scales is an emergent property of interactions among landscape characteristics and invader traits

PubMed Central

Jordan, Nicholas R.; Forester, James D.

2018-01-01

Invasion potential should be part of the evaluation of candidate species for any species introduction. However, estimating invasion risks remains a challenging problem, particularly in complex landscapes. Certain plant traits are generally considered to increase invasive potential and there is an understanding that landscapes influence invasions dynamics, but little research has been done to explore how those drivers of invasions interact. We evaluate the relative roles of, and potential interactions between, plant invasiveness traits and landscape characteristics on invasions with a case study using a model parameterized for the potentially invasive biomass crop, Miscanthus × giganteus. Using that model we simulate invasions on 1000 real landscapes to evaluate how landscape characteristics, including both composition and spatial structure, affect invasion outcomes. We conducted replicate simulations with differing strengths of plant invasiveness traits (dispersal ability, establishment ability, population growth rate, and the ability to utilize dispersal corridors) to evaluate how the importance of landscape characteristics for predicting invasion patterns changes depending on the invader details. Analysis of simulations showed that the presence of highly suitable habitat (e.g., grasslands) is generally the strongest determinant of invasion dynamics but that there are also more subtle interactions between landscapes and invader traits. These effects can also vary between different aspects of invasion dynamics (short vs. long time scales and population size vs. spatial extent). These results illustrate that invasions are complex emergent processes with multiple drivers and effective management needs to reflect the ecology of the species of interest and the particular goals or risks for which efforts need to be optimized. PMID:29771923

Functional Gene Discovery and Characterization of Genes and Alleles Affecting Wood Biomass Yield and Quality in Populus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Busov, Victor

Adoption of biofuels as economically and environmentally viable alternative to fossil fuels would require development of specialized bioenergy varieties. A major goal in the breeding of such varieties is the improvement of lignocellulosic biomass yield and quality. These are complex traits and understanding the underpinning molecular mechanism can assist and accelerate their improvement. This is particularly important for tree bioenergy crops like poplars (species and hybrids from the genus Populus), for which breeding progress is extremely slow due to long generation cycles. A variety of approaches have been already undertaken to better understand the molecular bases of biomass yield andmore » quality in poplar. An obvious void in these undertakings has been the application of mutagenesis. Mutagenesis has been instrumental in the discovery and characterization of many plant traits including such that affect biomass yield and quality. In this proposal we use activation tagging to discover genes that can significantly affect biomass associated traits directly in poplar, a premier bioenergy crop. We screened a population of 5,000 independent poplar activation tagging lines under greenhouse conditions for a battery of biomass yield traits. These same plants were then analyzed for changes in wood chemistry using pyMBMS. As a result of these screens we have identified nearly 800 mutants, which are significantly (P<0.05) different when compared to wild type. Of these majority (~700) are affected in one of ten different biomass yield traits and 100 in biomass quality traits (e.g., lignin, S/G ration and C6/C5 sugars). We successfully recovered the position of the tag in approximately 130 lines, showed activation in nearly half of them and performed recapitulation experiments with 20 genes prioritized by the significance of the phenotype. Recapitulation experiments are still ongoing for many of the genes but the results are encouraging. For example, we have shown successful recapitulation for a fascilin-like gene that when overexpressed increase many biomass-yield associated traits. Genes discovered through activation tagging showed polymorphisms in P. trichocarpa association mapping population linked to the traits modified by the activation tagging. This suggests that putative alleles that are associated with improvement of the trait o interest can be discovered and used in marker associated selection. This will significantly simplify and accelerate the breeding efforts.« less

Trait Affectivity and Nonreferred Adolescent Conduct Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loney, Bryan R.; Lima, Elizabeth N.; Butler, Melanie A.

2006-01-01

This study examined for profiles of positive trait affectivity (PA) and negative trait affectivity (NA) associated with adolescent conduct problems. Prior trait affectivity research has been relatively biased toward the assessment of adults and internalizing symptomatology. Consistent with recent developmental modeling of antisocial behavior, this…

Revisiting the Holy Grail: using plant functional traits to understand ecological processes.

PubMed

Funk, Jennifer L; Larson, Julie E; Ames, Gregory M; Butterfield, Bradley J; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Firn, Jennifer; Laughlin, Daniel C; Sutton-Grier, Ariana E; Williams, Laura; Wright, Justin

2017-05-01

One of ecology's grand challenges is developing general rules to explain and predict highly complex systems. Understanding and predicting ecological processes from species' traits has been considered a 'Holy Grail' in ecology. Plant functional traits are increasingly being used to develop mechanistic models that can predict how ecological communities will respond to abiotic and biotic perturbations and how species will affect ecosystem function and services in a rapidly changing world; however, significant challenges remain. In this review, we highlight recent work and outstanding questions in three areas: (i) selecting relevant traits; (ii) describing intraspecific trait variation and incorporating this variation into models; and (iii) scaling trait data to community- and ecosystem-level processes. Over the past decade, there have been significant advances in the characterization of plant strategies based on traits and trait relationships, and the integration of traits into multivariate indices and models of community and ecosystem function. However, the utility of trait-based approaches in ecology will benefit from efforts that demonstrate how these traits and indices influence organismal, community, and ecosystem processes across vegetation types, which may be achieved through meta-analysis and enhancement of trait databases. Additionally, intraspecific trait variation and species interactions need to be incorporated into predictive models using tools such as Bayesian hierarchical modelling. Finally, existing models linking traits to community and ecosystem processes need to be empirically tested for their applicability to be realized. © 2016 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Power Analysis of Artificial Selection Experiments Using Efficient Whole Genome Simulation of Quantitative Traits

PubMed Central

Kessner, Darren; Novembre, John

2015-01-01

Evolve and resequence studies combine artificial selection experiments with massively parallel sequencing technology to study the genetic basis for complex traits. In these experiments, individuals are selected for extreme values of a trait, causing alleles at quantitative trait loci (QTL) to increase or decrease in frequency in the experimental population. We present a new analysis of the power of artificial selection experiments to detect and localize quantitative trait loci. This analysis uses a simulation framework that explicitly models whole genomes of individuals, quantitative traits, and selection based on individual trait values. We find that explicitly modeling QTL provides qualitatively different insights than considering independent loci with constant selection coefficients. Specifically, we observe how interference between QTL under selection affects the trajectories and lengthens the fixation times of selected alleles. We also show that a substantial portion of the genetic variance of the trait (50–100%) can be explained by detected QTL in as little as 20 generations of selection, depending on the trait architecture and experimental design. Furthermore, we show that power depends crucially on the opportunity for recombination during the experiment. Finally, we show that an increase in power is obtained by leveraging founder haplotype information to obtain allele frequency estimates. PMID:25672748

Selection methods for resistance to and tolerance of helminths in livestock

PubMed Central

McManus, Concepta; Paim, Tiago do Prado; de Melo, Cristiano Barros; Brasil, Bruno S. A. F.; Paiva, Samuel R.

2014-01-01

Helminthiases are among the most important livestock diseases worldwide, in particular for small ruminants, which are the focus of this review. Resource Allocation Theory implies that high-productivity farm animals proportionate insufficient resources for adequate coping with stressful conditions. Significant differences between breeds and within breeds are seen, as well as genotype vs. environment interactions. With improvement of genetic host resistance to infection, transmission of infection will be impacted. On the other hand, genetic improvement of resilience can lead to a reduction in clinical signs of disease, but not necessarily reduce transmission of infection to other animals. Faecal egg count (FEC) is the main measurement used to evaluate helminthiasis load, despite the fact that the protocols and analytical methods can affect the results, and the FEC data frequently shows aggregative, negative skewed distribution, and a high coefficient of variation. Mass selection where heritability is generally medium to low generally produces slow results and low economic returns. Many studies have been published linking resistance to nematodes in livestock to Quantitative Trait Loci and most studies have concentrated on chromosomes where the major histocompatibility complex region is located. Nevertheless, these complex traits have been seen to be affected by thousands of variants that each has a small effect. More recent studies have shown that genome-wide selection strategies can be useful in selecting animals for improved production and resistance traits in this case. PMID:25350972

Genome-wide association studies dissect the genetic networks underlying agronomical traits in soybean.

PubMed

Fang, Chao; Ma, Yanming; Wu, Shiwen; Liu, Zhi; Wang, Zheng; Yang, Rui; Hu, Guanghui; Zhou, Zhengkui; Yu, Hong; Zhang, Min; Pan, Yi; Zhou, Guoan; Ren, Haixiang; Du, Weiguang; Yan, Hongrui; Wang, Yanping; Han, Dezhi; Shen, Yanting; Liu, Shulin; Liu, Tengfei; Zhang, Jixiang; Qin, Hao; Yuan, Jia; Yuan, Xiaohui; Kong, Fanjiang; Liu, Baohui; Li, Jiayang; Zhang, Zhiwu; Wang, Guodong; Zhu, Baoge; Tian, Zhixi

2017-08-24

Soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) is one of the most important oil and protein crops. Ever-increasing soybean consumption necessitates the improvement of varieties for more efficient production. However, both correlations among different traits and genetic interactions among genes that affect a single trait pose a challenge to soybean breeding. To understand the genetic networks underlying phenotypic correlations, we collected 809 soybean accessions worldwide and phenotyped them for two years at three locations for 84 agronomic traits. Genome-wide association studies identified 245 significant genetic loci, among which 95 genetically interacted with other loci. We determined that 14 oil synthesis-related genes are responsible for fatty acid accumulation in soybean and function in line with an additive model. Network analyses demonstrated that 51 traits could be linked through the linkage disequilibrium of 115 associated loci and these links reflect phenotypic correlations. We revealed that 23 loci, including the known Dt1, E2, E1, Ln, Dt2, Fan, and Fap loci, as well as 16 undefined associated loci, have pleiotropic effects on different traits. This study provides insights into the genetic correlation among complex traits and will facilitate future soybean functional studies and breeding through molecular design.

Genetic Variation in the MAPK/ERK Pathway Affects Contact Hypersensitivity Responses.

PubMed

Legrand, Julien M D; Roy, Edwige; Baz, Batoul; Mukhopadhyay, Pamela; Wong, Ho Yi; Ram, Ramesh; Morahan, Grant; Walker, Graeme; Khosrotehrani, Kiarash

2018-05-10

Using a genetic resource that enables rapid mapping of genes for complex traits, we demonstrate dramatic diversity between murine strains in response to immune challenge. We identified several candidate genes that point to the MAPK/ERK pathway as a key modulator of this process. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The geometric framework for nutrition reveals interactions between protein and carbohydrate during larval growth in honey bees

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In holometabolous insects, larval nutrition affects adult body size, a life history trait with a profound influence on performance and fitness. Individual nutritional components of larval diet are often complex and may interact with one another, necessitating the use of a geometric framework for und...

Fostering Authentic Problem Seeking: A Step toward Social Justice Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruce-Davis, Micah N.; Gilson, Cindy M.; Matthews, Michael S.

2017-01-01

Because of these learners' potential as future leaders, it is imperative that educators develop gifted students' ability to identify and solve complex social justice problems. Nourishing students' affective traits, including empathy for others, understanding of themselves, and the ability to connect to others in local and global society, will help…

Consequences of Parental Divorce for Child Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Hyun Sik

2011-01-01

In this article, I propose a three-stage estimation model to examine the effect of parental divorce on the development of children's cognitive skills and noncognitive traits. Using a framework that includes pre-, in-, and post-divorce time periods, I disentangle the complex factors affecting children of divorce. I use the Early Childhood…

Concurrent and Prospective Effects of Psychopathic Traits on Affective and Cognitive Empathy in a Community Sample of Late Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brouns, Bart H. J.; de Wied, Minet Annette; Keijsers, Loes; Branje, Susan; van Goozen, Stephanie H. M.; Meeus, Wim H. J.

2013-01-01

Background: A deficit in affective rather than cognitive empathy is thought to be central to psychopathic traits. However, empirical evidence for empathy deficits in adolescents with psychopathic traits is limited. We investigated the concurrent and prospective effects of psychopathic traits on affective and cognitive trait empathy in late…

Sexual selection and the evolution of genital shape and complexity in water striders.

PubMed

Rowe, Locke; Arnqvist, Göran

2012-01-01

Animal genitalia show two striking but incompletely understood evolutionary trends: a great evolutionary divergence in the shape of genitalic structures, and characteristic structural complexity. Both features are thought to result from sexual selection, but explicit comparative tests are hampered by the fact that it is difficult to quantify both morphological complexity and divergence in shape. We undertake a comparative study of multiple nongenitalic and male genital traits in a clade of 15 water strider species to quantify complexity and shape divergence. We show that genital structures are more complex and their shape more divergent among species than nongenital traits. Further, intromittent genital traits are more complex and have evolved more divergently than nonintromittent genital traits. More importantly, shape and complexity of nonintromittent genital traits show correlated evolution with indices of premating sexual selection and intromittent genital traits with postmating sexual selection, suggesting that the evolution of different components of genital morphology are shaped independently by distinct forms of sexual selection. Our quantitative results provide direct comparative support for the hypothesis that sexual selection is associated with morphological complexity in genitalic traits and highlight the importance of quantifying morphological shape and complexity, rather than size in studies of genital evolution. © 2011 The Author(s). Evolution © 2011 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Adaptive Value of Phenological Traits in Stressful Environments: Predictions Based on Seed Production and Laboratory Natural Selection

PubMed Central

Glorieux, Cédric; Cuguen, Joel; Roux, Fabrice

2012-01-01

Phenological traits often show variation within and among natural populations of annual plants. Nevertheless, the adaptive value of post-anthesis traits is seldom tested. In this study, we estimated the adaptive values of pre- and post-anthesis traits in two stressful environments (water stress and interspecific competition), using the selfing annual species Arabidopsis thaliana. By estimating seed production and by performing laboratory natural selection (LNS), we assessed the strength and nature (directional, disruptive and stabilizing) of selection acting on phenological traits in A. thaliana under the two tested stress conditions, each with four intensities. Both the type of stress and its intensity affected the strength and nature of selection, as did genetic constraints among phenological traits. Under water stress, both experimental approaches demonstrated directional selection for a shorter life cycle, although bolting time imposes a genetic constraint on the length of the interval between bolting and anthesis. Under interspecific competition, results from the two experimental approaches showed discrepancies. Estimation of seed production predicted directional selection toward early pre-anthesis traits and long post-anthesis periods. In contrast, the LNS approach suggested neutrality for all phenological traits. This study opens questions on adaptation in complex natural environment where many selective pressures act simultaneously. PMID:22403624

Genetic Analysis of Kernel Traits in Maize-Teosinte Introgression Populations.

PubMed

Liu, Zhengbin; Garcia, Arturo; McMullen, Michael D; Flint-Garcia, Sherry A

2016-08-09

Seed traits have been targeted by human selection during the domestication of crop species as a way to increase the caloric and nutritional content of food during the transition from hunter-gather to early farming societies. The primary seed trait under selection was likely seed size/weight as it is most directly related to overall grain yield. Additional seed traits involved in seed shape may have also contributed to larger grain. Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) kernel weight has increased more than 10-fold in the 9000 years since domestication from its wild ancestor, teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis). In order to study how size and shape affect kernel weight, we analyzed kernel morphometric traits in a set of 10 maize-teosinte introgression populations using digital imaging software. We identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) for kernel area and length with moderate allelic effects that colocalize with kernel weight QTL. Several genomic regions with strong effects during maize domestication were detected, and a genetic framework for kernel traits was characterized by complex pleiotropic interactions. Our results both confirm prior reports of kernel domestication loci and identify previously uncharacterized QTL with a range of allelic effects, enabling future research into the genetic basis of these traits. Copyright © 2016 Liu et al.

Genetic Analysis of Kernel Traits in Maize-Teosinte Introgression Populations

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhengbin; Garcia, Arturo; McMullen, Michael D.; Flint-Garcia, Sherry A.

2016-01-01

Seed traits have been targeted by human selection during the domestication of crop species as a way to increase the caloric and nutritional content of food during the transition from hunter-gather to early farming societies. The primary seed trait under selection was likely seed size/weight as it is most directly related to overall grain yield. Additional seed traits involved in seed shape may have also contributed to larger grain. Maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) kernel weight has increased more than 10-fold in the 9000 years since domestication from its wild ancestor, teosinte (Z. mays ssp. parviglumis). In order to study how size and shape affect kernel weight, we analyzed kernel morphometric traits in a set of 10 maize-teosinte introgression populations using digital imaging software. We identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) for kernel area and length with moderate allelic effects that colocalize with kernel weight QTL. Several genomic regions with strong effects during maize domestication were detected, and a genetic framework for kernel traits was characterized by complex pleiotropic interactions. Our results both confirm prior reports of kernel domestication loci and identify previously uncharacterized QTL with a range of allelic effects, enabling future research into the genetic basis of these traits. PMID:27317774

The effects of trait and state affect on diurnal cortisol slope among children affected by parental HIV/AIDS in rural China.

PubMed

Chen, Lihua; Chi, Peilian; Li, Xiaoming; Zilioli, Samuele; Zhao, Junfeng; Zhao, Guoxiang; Lin, Danhua

2017-08-01

Affect is believed to be one of the most prominent proximal psychological pathway through which more distal psychosocial factors influence physiology and ultimately health. The current study examines the relative contributions of trait affect and state affect to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, with particular focus on cortisol slope, in children affected by parental HIV/AIDS. A sample of 645 children (8-15 years old) affected by parental HIV/AIDS in rural China completed a multiple-day naturalistic salivary cortisol protocol. Trait and state affect, demographics, and psychosocial covariates were assessed via self-report. Hierarchical linear modeling was used for estimating the effects of trait affect and state affect on cortisol slope. Confidence intervals for indirect effects were estimated using the Monte Carlo method. Our results indicated that both trait and state negative affect (NA) predicted flatter (less "healthy") diurnal cortisol slopes. Subsequent analyses revealed that children's state NA mediated the effect of their trait NA on diurnal cortisol slope. The same relationships did not emerge for trait and state positive affect. These findings provide a rationale for future interventions that target NA as a modifiable antecedent of compromised health-related endocrine processes among children affected by parental HIV/AIDS.

Dissecting repulsion linkage in the dwarfing gene Dw3 region for sorghum plant height provides insights into heterosis.

PubMed

Li, Xin; Li, Xianran; Fridman, Eyal; Tesso, Tesfaye T; Yu, Jianming

2015-09-22

Heterosis is a main contributor to yield increase in many crop species. Different mechanisms have been proposed for heterosis: dominance, overdominance, epistasis, epigenetics, and protein metabolite changes. However, only limited examples of molecular dissection and validation of these mechanisms are available. Here, we present an example of discovery and validation of heterosis generated by a combination of repulsion linkage and dominance. Using a recombinant inbred line population, a separate quantitative trait locus (QTL) for plant height (qHT7.1) was identified near the genomic region harboring the known auxin transporter Dw3 gene. With two loci having repulsion linkage between two inbreds, heterosis in the hybrid can appear as a single locus with an overdominance mode of inheritance (i.e., pseudo-overdominance). Individually, alleles conferring taller plant height exhibited complete dominance over alleles conferring shorter height. Detailed analyses of different height components demonstrated that qHT7.1 affects both the upper and lower parts of the plant, whereas Dw3 affects only the part below the flag leaf. Computer simulations show that repulsion linkage could influence QTL detection and estimation of effect in segregating populations. Guided by findings in linkage mapping, a genome-wide association study of plant height with a sorghum diversity panel pinpointed genomic regions underlying the trait variation, including Dw1, Dw2, Dw3, Dw4, and qHT7.1. Multilocus mixed model analysis confirmed the advantage of complex trait dissection using an integrated approach. Besides identifying a specific genetic example of heterosis, our research indicated that integrated molecular dissection of complex traits in different population types can enable plant breeders to fine tune the breeding process for crop production.

Signatures of negative selection in the genetic architecture of human complex traits.

PubMed

Zeng, Jian; de Vlaming, Ronald; Wu, Yang; Robinson, Matthew R; Lloyd-Jones, Luke R; Yengo, Loic; Yap, Chloe X; Xue, Angli; Sidorenko, Julia; McRae, Allan F; Powell, Joseph E; Montgomery, Grant W; Metspalu, Andres; Esko, Tonu; Gibson, Greg; Wray, Naomi R; Visscher, Peter M; Yang, Jian

2018-05-01

We develop a Bayesian mixed linear model that simultaneously estimates single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability, polygenicity (proportion of SNPs with nonzero effects), and the relationship between SNP effect size and minor allele frequency for complex traits in conventionally unrelated individuals using genome-wide SNP data. We apply the method to 28 complex traits in the UK Biobank data (N = 126,752) and show that on average, 6% of SNPs have nonzero effects, which in total explain 22% of phenotypic variance. We detect significant (P < 0.05/28) signatures of natural selection in the genetic architecture of 23 traits, including reproductive, cardiovascular, and anthropometric traits, as well as educational attainment. The significant estimates of the relationship between effect size and minor allele frequency in complex traits are consistent with a model of negative (or purifying) selection, as confirmed by forward simulation. We conclude that negative selection acts pervasively on the genetic variants associated with human complex traits.

Comparative quantitative trait locus mapping of maize flowering-related traits in an F2:3 and recombinant inbred line population.

PubMed

Liu, Y H; Yi, Q; Hou, X B; Zhang, X G; Zhang, J J; Liu, H M; Hu, Y F; Huang, Y B

2016-06-30

Flowering-related traits in maize are affected by complex factors and are important for the improvement of cropping systems in the maize zone. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) detected using different materials and methods usually vary. In the present study, 266 maize (Zea mays) F2:3 families and 301 recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from a cross between 08-641 (founding parent from southeast China) and Ye478 (founding parent from China) were evaluated for four flowering-related traits, including days to tasseling (DTT), days to pollen shedding (DPS), days to silking (DTS), and anthesis-silking interval. Sixty-six QTLs controlling the target traits were detected in the F2:3 and RIL populations via single environment analysis and joint analysis across all environments (JAAE). The QTLs explained 0.8-13.47% of the phenotypic variation, with 12 QTLs explaining more than 10%. The results of meta-QTL (MQTL) analysis indicated that 41 QTLs could be integrated into 14 MQTLs. One MQTL included 2.9 QTLs, ranging from two to ten QTLs for one to three traits. QTLs, including MQTL1-1 and MQTL9-1, were detected across the F2:3 and RIL populations via SAE and JAAE. Among the MQTLs, nine QTLs were integrated into MQTL9-1 and affected DTT, DPS, and DTS, with the favored allele being derived from 08-641. MQTL3-2 showed high phenotypic variation and was suitable for fine mapping to determine the genetic mechanisms of flowering. MQTL3-2 could be applied to improve inbred lines using marker-assisted selection.

Effect prediction of identified SNPs linked to fruit quality and chilling injury in peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch].

PubMed

Martínez-García, Pedro J; Fresnedo-Ramírez, Jonathan; Parfitt, Dan E; Gradziel, Thomas M; Crisosto, Carlos H

2013-01-01

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are a fundamental source of genomic variation. Large SNP panels have been developed for Prunus species. Fruit quality traits are essential peach breeding program objectives since they determine consumer acceptance, fruit consumption, industry trends and cultivar adoption. For many cultivars, these traits are negatively impacted by cold storage, used to extend fruit market life. The major symptoms of chilling injury are lack of flavor, off flavor, mealiness, flesh browning, and flesh bleeding. A set of 1,109 SNPs was mapped previously and 67 were linked with these complex traits. The prediction of the effects associated with these SNPs on downstream products from the 'peach v1.0' genome sequence was carried out. A total of 2,163 effects were detected, 282 effects (non-synonymous, synonymous or stop codon gained) were located in exonic regions (13.04 %) and 294 placed in intronic regions (13.59 %). An extended list of genes and proteins that could be related to these traits was developed. Two SNP markers that explain a high percentage of the observed phenotypic variance, UCD_SNP_1084 and UCD_SNP_46, are associated with zinc finger (C3HC4-type RING finger) family protein and AOX1A (alternative oxidase 1a) protein groups, respectively. In addition, phenotypic variation suggests that the observed polymorphism for SNP UCD_SNP_1084 [A/G] mutation could be a candidate quantitative trait nucleotide affecting quantitative trait loci for mealiness. The interaction and expression of affected proteins could explain the variation observed in each individual and facilitate understanding of gene regulatory networks for fruit quality traits in peach.

Evaluation of Affective Traits of Medical Technology Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fogleman, Janice M.

An observational rating instrument was developed to measure affective traits of medical technology students. Fourteen categories of behavioral traits evaluated by medical technology programs were identified, based on results of a national survey. These traits were then grouped according to the affective domains established by Krathwohl, Bloom, and…

A Strategy for Identifying Quantitative Trait Genes Using Gene Expression Analysis and Causal Analysis.

PubMed

Ishikawa, Akira

2017-11-27

Large numbers of quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting complex diseases and other quantitative traits have been reported in humans and model animals. However, the genetic architecture of these traits remains elusive due to the difficulty in identifying causal quantitative trait genes (QTGs) for common QTL with relatively small phenotypic effects. A traditional strategy based on techniques such as positional cloning does not always enable identification of a single candidate gene for a QTL of interest because it is difficult to narrow down a target genomic interval of the QTL to a very small interval harboring only one gene. A combination of gene expression analysis and statistical causal analysis can greatly reduce the number of candidate genes. This integrated approach provides causal evidence that one of the candidate genes is a putative QTG for the QTL. Using this approach, I have recently succeeded in identifying a single putative QTG for resistance to obesity in mice. Here, I outline the integration approach and discuss its usefulness using my studies as an example.

Interactive effects of trait and state affect on top-down control of attention

PubMed Central

Hur, Juyoen; Miller, Gregory A.; McDavitt, Jenika R.B.; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Crocker, Laura D.; Infantolino, Zachary P.; Towers, David N.; Warren, Stacie L.

2015-01-01

Few studies have investigated how attentional control is affected by transient affective states while taking individual differences in affective traits into consideration. In this study, participants completed a color-word Stroop task immediately after undergoing a positive, neutral or negative affective context manipulation (ACM). Behavioral performance was unaffected by any ACM considered in isolation. For individuals high in trait negative affect (NA), performance was impaired by the negative but not the positive or neutral ACM. Neuroimaging results indicate that activity in primarily top-down control regions of the brain (inferior frontal gyrus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) was suppressed in the presence of emotional arousal (both negative and positive ACMs). This effect appears to have been exacerbated or offset by co-occurring activity in other top-down control regions (parietal) and emotion processing regions (orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and nucleus accumbens) as a function of the valence of state affect (positive or negative) and trait affect (trait NA or trait PA). Neuroimaging results are consistent with behavioral findings. In combination, they indicate both additive and interactive influences of trait and state affect on top-down control of attention. PMID:25556211

The Influence of Affective Empathy and Autism Spectrum Traits on Empathic Accuracy

PubMed Central

aan het Rot, Marije; Hogenelst, Koen

2014-01-01

Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by interpersonal deficits and has been associated with limited cognitive empathy, which includes perspective taking, theory of mind, and empathic accuracy (EA). The capacity for affective empathy may also be impaired. In the present study we aimed to determine if EA in normally developing individuals with varying levels of autism spectrum traits is moderated by trait affective empathy. Fifty male and fifty female participants (‘perceivers’) completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale to assess autism spectrum traits and trait affective empathy, respectively. EA was assessed using a Dutch-language version of a previously developed task and involved rating the feelings of others (‘targets’) verbally recounting autobiographical emotional events. Targets varied in trait emotional expressivity, assessed using the Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire. Perceivers with more autism spectrum traits performed worse on the EA task, particularly when their trait affective empathy was relatively low. Interpersonal deficits in autism spectrum disorder may be partially explained by low cognitive empathy. Further, they might be aggravated by a limited capacity for affective empathy. PMID:24905105

Interspecies Systems Biology Uncovers Metabolites Affecting C. elegans Gene Expression and Life History Traits

PubMed Central

Watson, Emma; MacNeil, Lesley T.; Ritter, Ashlyn D.; Yilmaz, L. Safak; Rosebrock, Adam P.; Caudy, Amy A.; Walhout, Albertha J. M.

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Diet greatly influences gene expression and physiology. In mammals, elucidating the effects and mechanisms of individual nutrients is challenging due to the complexity of both the animal and its diet. Here we used an interspecies systems biology approach with Caenorhabditis elegans and two if its bacterial diets, Escherichia coli and Comamonas aquatica, to identify metabolites that affect the animal’s gene expression and physiology. We identify vitamin B12 as the major dilutable metabolite provided by Comamonas aq. that regulates gene expression, accelerates development and reduces fertility, but does not affect lifespan. We find that vitamin B12 has a dual role in the animal: it affects development and fertility via the methionine/S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) cycle and breaks down the short-chain fatty acid propionic acid preventing its toxic buildup. Our interspecies systems biology approach provides a paradigm for understanding complex interactions between diet and physiology. PMID:24529378

GENETIC VARIATION IN BABOON CRANIOFACIAL SEXUAL DIMORPHISM

PubMed Central

Willmore, Katherine E.; Roseman, Charles C.; Rogers, Jeffrey; Richtsmeier, Joan T.; Cheverud, James M.

2010-01-01

Sexual dimorphism is a widespread phenomenon and contributes greatly to intraspecies variation. Despite a long history of active research, the genetic basis of dimorphism for complex traits remains unknown. Understanding the sex-specific differences in genetic architecture for cranial traits in a highly dimorphic species could identify possible mechanisms through which selection acts to produce dimorphism. Using distances calculated from three-dimensional landmark data from CT scans of 402 baboon skulls from a known genealogy, we estimated genetic variance parameters in both sexes to determine the presence of gene-by-sex (G × S) interactions and X-linked heritability. We hypothesize that traits exhibiting the greatest degree of sexual dimorphism (facial traits in baboons) will demonstrate either stronger G × S interactions or X-linked effects. We found G × S interactions and X-linked effects for a few measures that span the areas connecting the face to the neurocranium but for no traits restricted to the face. This finding suggests that facial traits will have a limited response to selection for further evolution of dimorphism in this population. We discuss the implications of our results with respect to the origins of cranial sexual dimorphism in this baboon sample, and how the genetic architecture of these traits affects their potential for future evolution. PMID:19210535

Callous-unemotional traits and empathy deficits: Mediating effects of affective perspective-taking and facial emotion recognition.

PubMed

Lui, Joyce H L; Barry, Christopher T; Sacco, Donald F

2016-09-01

Although empathy deficits are thought to be associated with callous-unemotional (CU) traits, findings remain equivocal and little is known about what specific abilities may underlie these purported deficits. Affective perspective-taking (APT) and facial emotion recognition may be implicated, given their independent associations with both empathy and CU traits. The current study examined how CU traits relate to cognitive and affective empathy and whether APT and facial emotion recognition mediate these relations. Participants were 103 adolescents (70 males) aged 16-18 attending a residential programme. CU traits were negatively associated with cognitive and affective empathy to a similar degree. The association between CU traits and affective empathy was partially mediated by APT. Results suggest that assessing mechanisms that may underlie empathic deficits, such as perspective-taking, may be important for youth with CU traits and may inform targets of intervention.

Quantitative analysis of bristle number in Drosophila mutants identifies genes involved in neural development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Norga, Koenraad K.; Gurganus, Marjorie C.; Dilda, Christy L.; Yamamoto, Akihiko; Lyman, Richard F.; Patel, Prajal H.; Rubin, Gerald M.; Hoskins, Roger A.; Mackay, Trudy F.; Bellen, Hugo J.

2003-01-01

BACKGROUND: The identification of the function of all genes that contribute to specific biological processes and complex traits is one of the major challenges in the postgenomic era. One approach is to employ forward genetic screens in genetically tractable model organisms. In Drosophila melanogaster, P element-mediated insertional mutagenesis is a versatile tool for the dissection of molecular pathways, and there is an ongoing effort to tag every gene with a P element insertion. However, the vast majority of P element insertion lines are viable and fertile as homozygotes and do not exhibit obvious phenotypic defects, perhaps because of the tendency for P elements to insert 5' of transcription units. Quantitative genetic analysis of subtle effects of P element mutations that have been induced in an isogenic background may be a highly efficient method for functional genome annotation. RESULTS: Here, we have tested the efficacy of this strategy by assessing the extent to which screening for quantitative effects of P elements on sensory bristle number can identify genes affecting neural development. We find that such quantitative screens uncover an unusually large number of genes that are known to function in neural development, as well as genes with yet uncharacterized effects on neural development, and novel loci. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings establish the use of quantitative trait analysis for functional genome annotation through forward genetics. Similar analyses of quantitative effects of P element insertions will facilitate our understanding of the genes affecting many other complex traits in Drosophila.

Selection methods for resistance to and tolerance of helminths in livestock.

PubMed

McManus, Concepta; do Prado Paim, Tiago; de Melo, Cristiano Barros; Brasil, Bruno S A F; Paiva, Samuel R

2014-01-01

Helminthiases are among the most important livestock diseases worldwide, in particular for small ruminants, which are the focus of this review. Resource Allocation Theory implies that high-productivity farm animals proportionate insufficient resources for adequate coping with stressful conditions. Significant differences between breeds and within breeds are seen, as well as genotype vs. environment interactions. With improvement of genetic host resistance to infection, transmission of infection will be impacted. On the other hand, genetic improvement of resilience can lead to a reduction in clinical signs of disease, but not necessarily reduce transmission of infection to other animals. Faecal egg count (FEC) is the main measurement used to evaluate helminthiasis load, despite the fact that the protocols and analytical methods can affect the results, and the FEC data frequently shows aggregative, negative skewed distribution, and a high coefficient of variation. Mass selection where heritability is generally medium to low generally produces slow results and low economic returns. Many studies have been published linking resistance to nematodes in livestock to Quantitative Trait Loci and most studies have concentrated on chromosomes where the major histocompatibility complex region is located. Nevertheless, these complex traits have been seen to be affected by thousands of variants that each has a small effect. More recent studies have shown that genome-wide selection strategies can be useful in selecting animals for improved production and resistance traits in this case. © C. McManus et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2014.

The Many Faces of Affect: A Multilevel Model of Drinking Frequency/Quantity and Alcohol Dependence Symptoms Among Young Adults

PubMed Central

Simons, Jeffrey S.; Wills, Thomas A.; Neal, Dan J.

2016-01-01

This research tested a multilevel structural equation model of associations between 3 aspects of affective functioning (state affect, trait affect, and affective lability) and 3 alcohol outcomes (likelihood of drinking, quantity on drinking days, and dependence symptoms) in a sample of 263 college students. Participants provided 49 days of experience sampling data over 1.3 years in a longitudinal burst design. Within-person results: At the daily level, positive affect was directly associated with greater likelihood and quantity of alcohol consumption. Daily negative affect was directly associated with higher consumption on drinking days and with higher dependence symptoms. Between-person direct effects: Affect lability was associated with higher trait negative, but not positive, affect. Trait positive affect was inversely associated with the proportion of drinking days, whereas negative affectivity predicted a greater proportion of drinking days. Affect lability exhibited a direct association with dependence symptoms. Between-person indirect effects: Trait positive affect was associated with fewer dependence symptoms via proportion of drinking days. Trait negative affect was associated with greater dependence symptoms via proportion of drinking days. The results distinguish relations of positive and negative affect to likelihood versus amount of drinking and state versus trait drinking outcomes, and highlight the importance of affect variability for predicting alcohol dependence symptoms. PMID:24933278

Emotional processing and psychopathic traits in male college students: An event-related potential study.

PubMed

Medina, Amy L; Kirilko, Elvira; Grose-Fifer, Jillian

2016-08-01

Emotional processing deficits are often considered a hallmark of psychopathy. However, there are relatively few studies that have investigated how the late positive potential (LPP) elicited by both positive and negative emotional stimuli is modulated by psychopathic traits, especially in undergraduates. Attentional deficits have also been posited to be associated with emotional blunting in psychopathy, consequently, results from previous studies may have been influenced by task demands. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between the neural correlates of emotional processing and psychopathic traits by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) during a task with a relatively low cognitive load. A group of male undergraduates were classified as having either high or low levels of psychopathic traits according to their total scores on the Psychopathic Personality Inventory - Revised (PPI-R). A subgroup of these participants then passively viewed complex emotional and neutral images from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) while their EEGs were recorded. As hypothesized, in general the late LPP elicited by emotional pictures was found to be significantly reduced for participants with high Total PPI-R scores relative to those with low scores, especially for pictures that were rated as less emotionally arousing. Our data suggest that male undergraduates with high, but subclinical levels of psychopathic traits did not maintain continued higher-order processing of affective information, especially when it was perceived to be less arousing in nature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Toddler Emotional States, Temperamental Traits, and Their Interaction: Associations with Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting

PubMed Central

Fields, Margaret A.; Cole, Pamela M.; Maggi, Mirella C.

2016-01-01

We investigated the degree to which toddlers’ observed emotional states, toddlers’ temperamental traits, and their interaction accounted for variance in mothers’ and fathers’ parenting. Main effects of two emotional states (positive emotion and negative emotion), three temperamental traits (negative affectivity, effortful control, and surgency) as well as state-by-trait interactions, were examined in relation to parental sensitivity, positive affect, and negative affect. The hypothesis that toddlers’ temperamental traits would moderate the association between their observed emotional states and parenting was partially supported. Significant state-by-trait interactions were found in models predicting the probability that mothers and fathers expressed negative affect towards their toddlers. For parental sensitivity and positive affect, only main effects of temperament and/or emotion expression accounted for variance in parenting. PMID:28479643

Genetic variation in adaptability and pleiotropy in budding yeast

PubMed Central

Mitchell, James Kameron; Bloom, Joshua S; Kruglyak, Leonid

2017-01-01

Evolution can favor organisms that are more adaptable, provided that genetic variation in adaptability exists. Here, we quantify this variation among 230 offspring of a cross between diverged yeast strains. We measure the adaptability of each offspring genotype, defined as its average rate of adaptation in a specific environmental condition, and analyze the heritability, predictability, and genetic basis of this trait. We find that initial genotype strongly affects adaptability and can alter the genetic basis of future evolution. Initial genotype also affects the pleiotropic consequences of adaptation for fitness in a different environment. This genetic variation in adaptability and pleiotropy is largely determined by initial fitness, according to a rule of declining adaptability with increasing initial fitness, but several individual QTLs also have a significant idiosyncratic role. Our results demonstrate that both adaptability and pleiotropy are complex traits, with extensive heritable differences arising from naturally occurring variation. PMID:28826486

Genetic variation in adaptability and pleiotropy in budding yeast.

PubMed

Jerison, Elizabeth R; Kryazhimskiy, Sergey; Mitchell, James Kameron; Bloom, Joshua S; Kruglyak, Leonid; Desai, Michael M

2017-08-17

Evolution can favor organisms that are more adaptable, provided that genetic variation in adaptability exists. Here, we quantify this variation among 230 offspring of a cross between diverged yeast strains. We measure the adaptability of each offspring genotype, defined as its average rate of adaptation in a specific environmental condition, and analyze the heritability, predictability, and genetic basis of this trait. We find that initial genotype strongly affects adaptability and can alter the genetic basis of future evolution. Initial genotype also affects the pleiotropic consequences of adaptation for fitness in a different environment. This genetic variation in adaptability and pleiotropy is largely determined by initial fitness, according to a rule of declining adaptability with increasing initial fitness, but several individual QTLs also have a significant idiosyncratic role. Our results demonstrate that both adaptability and pleiotropy are complex traits, with extensive heritable differences arising from naturally occurring variation.

Interactive effects of trait and state affect on top-down control of attention.

PubMed

Hur, Juyoen; Miller, Gregory A; McDavitt, Jenika R B; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Crocker, Laura D; Infantolino, Zachary P; Towers, David N; Warren, Stacie L; Heller, Wendy

2015-08-01

Few studies have investigated how attentional control is affected by transient affective states while taking individual differences in affective traits into consideration. In this study, participants completed a color-word Stroop task immediately after undergoing a positive, neutral or negative affective context manipulation (ACM). Behavioral performance was unaffected by any ACM considered in isolation. For individuals high in trait negative affect (NA), performance was impaired by the negative but not the positive or neutral ACM. Neuroimaging results indicate that activity in primarily top-down control regions of the brain (inferior frontal gyrus and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) was suppressed in the presence of emotional arousal (both negative and positive ACMs). This effect appears to have been exacerbated or offset by co-occurring activity in other top-down control regions (parietal) and emotion processing regions (orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala and nucleus accumbens) as a function of the valence of state affect (positive or negative) and trait affect (trait NA or trait PA). Neuroimaging results are consistent with behavioral findings. In combination, they indicate both additive and interactive influences of trait and state affect on top-down control of attention. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Positive affect protects against deficient safety learning during extinction of fear of movement-related pain in healthy individuals scoring relatively high on trait anxiety.

PubMed

Meulders, Ann; Meulders, Michel; Vlaeyen, Johan W S

2014-06-01

From a treatment perspective, it is highly relevant to pinpoint individual vulnerability factors for resistance to exposure treatment in highly fearful chronic pain patients. Previous fear conditioning research showed that healthy individuals scoring relatively high on trait anxiety display sustained fear to safety cues during extinction. In the context of fear of movement-related pain, this intriguing question has been largely neglected so far. Even more importantly, positive psychological traits such as trait positive affect may function as protective factors against the spreading of fear to safe movements and improve exposure treatment outcomes. In this study, healthy participants completed a trait anxiety and trait positive affect questionnaire and underwent acquisition and extinction of fear of movement-related pain using an experimental voluntary movement paradigm. During acquisition, one movement (CS+) was paired with a painful stimulus and another movement was not (CS-). During extinction, the CS+ was no longer reinforced. Results show failure of fear inhibition to the CS- during extinction in healthy individuals scoring relatively high on trait anxiety or relatively low on positive affect. These findings seem to suggest that safety learning is more vulnerable in healthy people with a high anxious disposition and/or relatively lower levels of positive affect. In addition, this is the first study to show that the negative impact of high trait anxiety on fear inhibition to safety cues during extinction can be countered by high levels of positive affect. These findings may have important clinical implications. Both low positive affect and high trait anxiety are associated with impaired fear inhibition to nonpainful movements during fear extinction. Interestingly, high levels of positive affect buffer against the negative impact of trait anxiety. Increasing positive affect during exposure may counter the effects of trait vulnerabilities and improve treatment outcomes. Copyright © 2014 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prediction of reduction in aggressive behaviour of growing pigs using skin lesion traits as selection criteria.

PubMed

Desire, S; Turner, S P; D'Eath, R B; Doeschl-Wilson, A B; Lewis, C R G; Roehe, R

2016-08-01

Aggression at regrouping is a common issue in pig farming. Skin lesions are genetically and phenotypically correlated with aggression and have been shown to have a significant heritable component. This study predicts the magnitude of reduction in complex aggressive behavioural traits when using lesion numbers on different body regions at two different time points as selection criteria, to identify the optimum skin lesion trait for selection purposes. In total, 1146 pigs were mixed into new social groups, and skin lesions were counted 24 h (SL24h) and 3 weeks (SL3wk) post-mixing, on the anterior, centre and posterior regions of the body. An animal model was used to estimate genetic parameters for skin lesion traits and 14 aggressive behavioural traits. Estimated breeding values (EBVs) and phenotypic values were scaled and standardised to allow direct comparison across multiple traits. Individuals with SL24h and SL3wk EBVs in the least aggressive 10% of the population were compared with the population mean to predict the expected genetic and phenotypic response in aggressive behaviour to selection. At mixing, selection for low anterior lesions was predicted to affect substantially more behavioural traits of aggressiveness than lesions obtained on other body parts, with EBVs between -0.21 and -1.17 SD below the population mean. Individuals with low central SL24h EBVs also had low EBVs for aggressive traits (-0.33 to -0.55). Individuals with high SL3wk EBVs had low EBVs for aggression at mixing (between -0.24 and -0.53 SD below the population mean), although this was predicted to affect fewer traits than selection against SL24h. These results suggest that selection against anterior SL24h would result in the greatest genetic and phenotypic reduction in aggressive behaviour recorded at mixing. Selection for increased SL3wk was predicted to reduce aggression at mixing; however, current understanding about aggressive behaviour under stable social conditions is insufficient to recommend using this trait for selection purposes.

Identification and verification of differentially expressed genes in the caprine hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis that are associated with litter size.

PubMed

Feng, Tao; Cao, Gui-Ling; Chu, Ming-Xing; Di, Ran; Huang, Dong-Wei; Liu, Qiu-Yue; Pan, Zhang-Yuan; Jin, Mei; Zhang, Ying-Jie; Li, Ning

2015-02-01

Litter size is a favorable economic trait for the goat industry, but remains a complex trait controlled by multiple genes in multiple organs. Several genes have been identified that may affect embryo survival, follicular development, and the health of fetuses during pregnancy. Jining Grey goats demonstrate the largest litter size among goat breeds indigenous to China. In order to better understand the genetic basis of this trait, six suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA libraries were constructed using pooled mRNAs from hypothalamuses, pituitaries, and ovaries of sexually mature and adult polytocous Jining Grey goats, as testers, versus the pooled corresponding mRNAs of monotocous Liaoning Cashmere goats, as drivers. A total of 1,458 true-positive clones--including 955 known genes and 481 known and 22 unknown expressed sequence tags--were obtained from the SSH libraries by sequencing and alignment. The known genes were categorized into cellular processes and signaling information storage and processing, and metabolism. Three genes (FTH1, GH, and SAA) were selected to validate the SSH results by quantitative real-time PCR; all three were up-regulated in the corresponding tissues in the tester group indicating that these are candidate genes associated with the large litter size of Jining Grey goats. Several other identified genes may affect embryo survival, follicular development, and health during pregnancy. This study provides insights into the mechanistic basis by which the caprine hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis affects reproductive traits and provides a theoretical basis for goat production and breeding. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Developmental temperature affects the expression of ejaculatory traits and the outcome of sperm competition in Callosobruchus maculatus.

PubMed

Vasudeva, R; Deeming, D C; Eady, P E

2014-09-01

The outcome of post-copulatory sexual selection is determined by a complex set of interactions between the primary reproductive traits of two or more males and their interactions with the reproductive traits of the female. Recently, a number of studies have shown the primary reproductive traits of both males and females express phenotypic plasticity in response to the thermal environment experienced during ontogeny. However, how plasticity in these traits affects the dynamics of sperm competition remains largely unknown. Here, we demonstrate plasticity in testes size, sperm size and sperm number in response to developmental temperature in the bruchid beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Males reared at the highest temperature eclosed at the smallest body size and had the smallest absolute and relative testes size. Males reared at both the high- and low-temperature extremes produced both fewer and smaller sperm than males reared at intermediate temperatures. In the absence of sperm competition, developmental temperature had no effect on male fertility. However, under conditions of sperm competition, males reared at either temperature extreme were less competitive in terms of sperm offence (P(2)), whereas those reared at the lowest temperature were less competitive in terms of sperm defence (P(1)). This suggests the developmental pathways that regulate the phenotypic expression of these ejaculatory traits are subject to both natural and sexual selection: natural selection in the pre-ejaculatory environment and sexual selection in the post-ejaculatory environment. In nature, thermal heterogeneity during development is commonplace. Therefore, we suggest the interplay between ecology and development represents an important, yet hitherto underestimated component of male fitness via post-copulatory sexual selection. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Identification of female-specific QTLs affecting an emotionality-related behavior in rats.

PubMed

Ramos, A; Moisan, M P; Chaouloff, F; Mormède, C; Mormède, P

1999-09-01

The influence of genetic factors on psychological traits and disorders has been repeatedly demonstrated; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying such an influence remain largely unknown. Anxiety-related disorders constitute the most common class of mental disorder in humans, with women being diagnosed far more frequently than men. A better understanding of the genetic and gender-related mechanisms mediating anxiety traits should enable the development of more rational methods for preventing and treating anxiety disorders. In this study we have aimed to identify, for the first time, quantitative trait loci (QTL) influencing anxiety/emotionality-related traits in rats. To this end, two strains-Lewis (LEW) and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR)-that differ for several behavioral measures of anxiety/emotionality were intercrossed. A QTL analysis of the F2 population revealed suggestive loci for various traits, including behaviors in the elevated plus-maze and blood pressure. In addition, one major QTL explaining 50.4% of the total variance (LOD = 7.22) was identified on chromosome 4 for the locomotion in the central and aversive area of the open field. Two other relevant QTLs have been recently mapped near this chromosomic region in the rat, which also harbors Tac1r, the gene encoding for the substance P receptor. Our major QTL affected females but not males and its effect depended on the type of cross (LEW or SHR grandmothers). The present results reveal a complex genetic basis underlying emotional behaviors and they confirm the existence of interactions between genetic factors and sex for this kind of trait. Further investigation of the loci identified herein may give clues to the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety-related ones.

Variants in TTC25 affect autistic trait in patients with autism spectrum disorder and general population.

PubMed

Vojinovic, Dina; Brison, Nathalie; Ahmad, Shahzad; Noens, Ilse; Pappa, Irene; Karssen, Lennart C; Tiemeier, Henning; van Duijn, Cornelia M; Peeters, Hilde; Amin, Najaf

2017-08-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder with a complex genetic architecture. To identify genetic variants underlying ASD, we performed single-variant and gene-based genome-wide association studies using a dense genotyping array containing over 2.3 million single-nucleotide variants in a discovery sample of 160 families with at least one child affected with non-syndromic ASD using a binary (ASD yes/no) phenotype and a quantitative autistic trait. Replication of the top findings was performed in Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and Erasmus Rucphen Family (ERF) cohort study. Significant association of quantitative autistic trait was observed with the TTC25 gene at 17q21.2 (effect size=10.2, P-value=3.4 × 10 -7 ) in the gene-based analysis. The gene also showed nominally significant association in the cohort-based ERF study (effect=1.75, P-value=0.05). Meta-analysis of discovery and replication improved the association signal (P-value meta =1.5 × 10 -8 ). No genome-wide significant signal was observed in the single-variant analysis of either the binary ASD phenotype or the quantitative autistic trait. Our study has identified a novel gene TTC25 to be associated with quantitative autistic trait in patients with ASD. The replication of association in a cohort-based study and the effect estimate suggest that variants in TTC25 may also be relevant for broader ASD phenotype in the general population. TTC25 is overexpressed in frontal cortex and testis and is known to be involved in cilium movement and thus an interesting candidate gene for autistic trait.

Social trait judgment and affect recognition from static faces and video vignettes in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

McIntosh, Lindsey G.; Park, Sohee

2014-01-01

Social impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, present from the pre-morbid stage and predictive of outcome, but the etiology of this deficit remains poorly understood. Successful and adaptive social interactions depend on one’s ability to make rapid and accurate judgments about others in real time. Our surprising ability to form accurate first impressions from brief exposures, known as “thin slices” of behavior has been studied very extensively in healthy participants. We sought to examine affect and social trait judgment from thin slices of static or video stimuli in order to investigate the ability of schizophrenic individuals to form reliable social impressions of others. 21 individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and 20 matched healthy participants (HC) were asked to identify emotions and social traits for actors in standardized face stimuli as well as brief video clips. Sound was removed from videos to remove all verbal cues. Clinical symptoms in SZ and delusional ideation in both groups were measured. Results showed a general impairment in affect recognition for both types of stimuli in SZ. However, the two groups did not differ in the judgments of trustworthiness, approachability, attractiveness, and intelligence. Interestingly, in SZ, the severity of positive symptoms was correlated with higher ratings of attractiveness, trustworthiness, and approachability. Finally, increased delusional ideation in SZ was associated with a tendency to rate others as more trustworthy, while the opposite was true for HC. These findings suggest that complex social judgments in SZ are affected by symptomatology. PMID:25037526

The role of polyploidy in shaping morphological diversity in natural populations of Phlox amabilis.

PubMed

Chansler, Matthew T; Ferguson, Carolyn J; Fehlberg, Shannon D; Prather, L Alan

2016-09-01

Studies of natural populations of polyploids increasingly highlight complex patterns of variation in ploidy and geographic distribution of cytotypes. As our understanding of the complexity of polyploidy grows, our understanding of the morphological correlates of polyploidy should expand as well. Here we examine in what ways, and to what degree, polyploidy affects the overall phenotype of a species across its distribution when there are three ploidies and geographic complexity in cytotype distribution. We measured 31 morphological traits from stems, leaves, and flowers from up to 25 individuals from 11 sites across the distribution of Phlox amabilis. Chromosome counts and flow cytometry confirmed and expanded upon earlier research documenting diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid populations, and also identified a site with two ploidies. Univariate and multivariate statistics were used to characterize the morphological effects of polyploidy. We detected significant associations between morphology and ploidy in 11 traits spread across vegetative and reproductive structures. Generally, diploid individuals differed from polyploid individuals to a greater extent, and in different ways, than tetraploid and hexaploid plants differed from each other. Multivariate morphometrics demonstrated that the two primary axes of overall variation are driven by morphological traits associated with polyploidy, and individuals of different ploidies can be discriminated with 95% success. Polyploidy plays a major role in shaping overall morphological diversity in natural populations of P. amabilis. © 2016 Botanical Society of America.

Association of candidate genes with drought tolerance traits in diverse perennial ryegrass accessions

Treesearch

Xiaoqing Yu; Guihua Bai; Shuwei Liu; Na Luo; Ying Wang; Douglas S. Richmond; Paula M. Pijut; Scott A. Jackson; Jianming Yu; Yiwei Jiang

2013-01-01

Drought is a major environmental stress limiting growth of perennial grasses in temperate regions. Plant drought tolerance is a complex trait that is controlled by multiple genes. Candidate gene association mapping provides a powerful tool for dissection of complex traits. Candidate gene association mapping of drought tolerance traits was conducted in 192 diverse...

Floral function: effects of traits on pollinators, male and female pollination success, and female fitness across three species of milkweeds (Asclepias).

PubMed

La Rosa, Raffica J; Conner, Jeffrey K

2017-01-01

Central questions in plant reproductive ecology are whether the functions of floral traits in hermaphrodites create conflict between sexes that could slow evolution, and whether individual floral traits function in pollinator attraction, efficiency, or both. We studied how floral traits affect pollinator visitation and efficiency, and how they affect male and female function and female fitness within and across three Asclepias species that differ in floral morphology. Using separate multiple regressions, we regressed pollen removal, deposition, and fruit number onto six floral traits. We also used path analyses integrating these variables with pollinator visitation data for two of the species to further explore floral function and its effects on fruit production. Most traits affected male pollination success only, and these effects often differed between species. The exception was increased slit length, which increased pollinia insertion in two of the species. There were no interspecific differences in the effects of the traits on female pollination success. All traits except horn reach affected pollination efficiency in at least one species, and horn reach and two hood dimensions were the only traits to affect pollinator attraction, but in just one species. Traits tended to function in only one sex, and more traits affected function through pollinator efficiency than through attraction. There was no significant link between female pollination success and female fitness in any of the three species; this pattern is consistent with fruit production not being limited by pollen deposition. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Postnatal nutrition influences male attractiveness and promotes plasticity in male mating preferences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noguera, José C.; Metcalfe, Neil B.; Monaghan, Pat

2017-12-01

Poor early-life nutrition could reduce adult reproductive success by negatively affecting traits linked to sexual attractiveness such as song complexity. If so, this might favor strategic mate choice, allowing males with less complex songs to tailor their mating tactics to maximize the reproductive benefits. However, this possibility has been ignored in theoretical and empirical studies. By manipulating the micronutrient content of the diet (e.g., low or high) during the postnatal period of male zebra finches, we show for the first time (1) that males reared on a poor (low) micronutrient diet had less complex songs as adults; (2) that these males, in contrast to the high micronutrient diet group, were more selective in their mating strategies, discriminating against those females most likely to reduce their clutch size when paired with males having less complex songs; and (3) that by following different mating strategies, males reared on the contrasting diets obtained similar reproductive benefits. These results suggest that early-life dietary conditions can induce multiple and long-lasting effects on male and female reproductive traits. Moreover, the results seem to reflect a previously unreported case of adaptive plasticity in mate choice in response to a nutritionally mediated reduction in sexual attractiveness.

Exploiting Differential Gene Expression and Epistasis to Discover Candidate Genes for Drought-Associated QTLs in Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Lovell, John T; Mullen, Jack L; Lowry, David B; Awole, Kedija; Richards, James H; Sen, Saunak; Verslues, Paul E; Juenger, Thomas E; McKay, John K

2015-04-01

Soil water availability represents one of the most important selective agents for plants in nature and the single greatest abiotic determinant of agricultural productivity, yet the genetic bases of drought acclimation responses remain poorly understood. Here, we developed a systems-genetic approach to characterize quantitative trait loci (QTLs), physiological traits and genes that affect responses to soil moisture deficit in the TSUxKAS mapping population of Arabidopsis thaliana. To determine the effects of candidate genes underlying QTLs, we analyzed gene expression as a covariate within the QTL model in an effort to mechanistically link markers, RNA expression, and the phenotype. This strategy produced ranked lists of candidate genes for several drought-associated traits, including water use efficiency, growth, abscisic acid concentration (ABA), and proline concentration. As a proof of concept, we recovered known causal loci for several QTLs. For other traits, including ABA, we identified novel loci not previously associated with drought. Furthermore, we documented natural variation at two key steps in proline metabolism and demonstrated that the mitochondrial genome differentially affects genomic QTLs to influence proline accumulation. These findings demonstrate that linking genome, transcriptome, and phenotype data holds great promise to extend the utility of genetic mapping, even when QTL effects are modest or complex. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

Borderline Personality Disorder and Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5): Dimensional personality assessment with DSM-5.

PubMed

Calvo, Natalia; Valero, Sergi; Sáez-Francàs, Naia; Gutiérrez, Fernando; Casas, Miguel; Ferrer, Marc

2016-10-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis has been considered highly controversial. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) proposes an alternative hybrid diagnostic model for personality disorders (PD), and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) has adequate psychometric properties and has been widely used for the assessment of the dimensional component. Our aim was to analyze the utility of the personality traits presented in Section III of the DSM-5 for BPD diagnosis in an outpatient clinical sample, using the Spanish version of the PID-5. Two clinical samples were studied: BPD sample (n=84) and non-BPD sample (n=45). Between-sample differences in PID-5 scores were analyzed. The BPD sample obtained significantly higher scores in most PID-5 trait facets and domains. Specifically and after regression logistic analyses, in BPD patients, the domains of Negative Affectivity and Disinhibition, and the trait facets of emotional lability, [lack of] restricted affectivity, and impulsivity were more significantly associated with BPD. Although our findings are only partially consistent with the algorithm proposed by DSM-5, we consider that the combination of the PID-5 trait domains and facets could be useful for BPD dimensional diagnosis, and could further our understanding of BPD diagnosis complexity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantification of the effects of architectural traits on dry mass production and light interception of tomato canopy under different temperature regimes using a dynamic functional–structural plant model

PubMed Central

Chen, Tsu-Wei; Nguyen, Thi My Nguyet; Kahlen, Katrin; Stützel, Hartmut

2014-01-01

There is increasing interest in evaluating the environmental effects on crop architectural traits and yield improvement. However, crop models describing the dynamic changes in canopy structure with environmental conditions and the complex interactions between canopy structure, light interception, and dry mass production are only gradually emerging. Using tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) as a model crop, a dynamic functional–structural plant model (FSPM) was constructed, parameterized, and evaluated to analyse the effects of temperature on architectural traits, which strongly influence canopy light interception and shoot dry mass. The FSPM predicted the organ growth, organ size, and shoot dry mass over time with high accuracy (>85%). Analyses of this FSPM showed that, in comparison with the reference canopy, shoot dry mass may be affected by leaf angle by as much as 20%, leaf curvature by up to 7%, the leaf length:width ratio by up to 5%, internode length by up to 9%, and curvature ratios and leaf arrangement by up to 6%. Tomato canopies at low temperature had higher canopy density and were more clumped due to higher leaf area and shorter internodes. Interestingly, dry mass production and light interception of the clumped canopy were more sensitive to changes in architectural traits. The complex interactions between architectural traits, canopy light interception, dry mass production, and environmental conditions can be studied by the dynamic FSPM, which may serve as a tool for designing a canopy structure which is ‘ideal’ in a given environment. PMID:25183746

Neuroscience of resilience and vulnerability for addiction medicine: From genes to behavior.

PubMed

Morrow, Jonathan D; Flagel, Shelly B

2016-01-01

Addiction is a complex behavioral disorder arising from roughly equal contributions of genetic and environmental factors. Behavioral traits such as novelty-seeking, impulsivity, and cue-reactivity have been associated with vulnerability to addiction. These traits, at least in part, arise from individual variation in functional neural systems, such as increased striatal dopaminergic activity and decreased prefrontal cortical control over subcortical emotional and motivational responses. With a few exceptions, genetic studies have largely failed to consistently identify specific alleles that affect addiction liability. This may be due to the multifactorial nature of addiction, with different genes becoming more significant in certain environments or in certain subsets of the population. Epigenetic mechanisms may also be an important source of risk. Adolescence is a particularly critical time period in the development of addiction, and environmental factors at this stage of life can have a large influence on whether inherited risk factors are actually translated into addictive behaviors. Knowledge of how individual differences affect addiction liability at the level of genes, neural systems, behavioral traits, and sociodevelopmental trajectories can help to inform and improve clinical practice. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resource quality affects weapon and testis size and the ability of these traits to respond to selection in the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata.

PubMed

Sasson, Daniel A; Munoz, Patricio R; Gezan, Salvador A; Miller, Christine W

2016-04-01

The size of weapons and testes can be central to male reproductive success. Yet, the expression of these traits is often extremely variable. Studies are needed that take a more complete organism perspective, investigating the sources of variation in both traits simultaneously and using developmental conditions that mimic those in nature. In this study, we investigated the components of variation in weapon and testis sizes using the leaf-footed cactus bug, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae) on three natural developmental diets. We show that the developmental diet has profound effects on both weapon and testis expression and scaling. Intriguingly, males in the medium-quality diet express large weapons but have relatively tiny testes, suggesting complex allocation decisions. We also find that heritability, evolvability, and additive genetic variation are highest in the high-quality diet for testis and body mass. This result suggests that these traits may have an enhanced ability to respond to selection during a small window of time each year when this diet is available. Taken together, these results illustrate that normal, seasonal fluctuations in the nutritional environment may play a large role in the expression of sexually selected traits and the ability of these traits to respond to selection.

Exploiting induced variation to dissect quantitative traits in barley.

PubMed

Druka, Arnis; Franckowiak, Jerome; Lundqvist, Udda; Bonar, Nicola; Alexander, Jill; Guzy-Wrobelska, Justyna; Ramsay, Luke; Druka, Ilze; Grant, Iain; Macaulay, Malcolm; Vendramin, Vera; Shahinnia, Fahimeh; Radovic, Slobodanka; Houston, Kelly; Harrap, David; Cardle, Linda; Marshall, David; Morgante, Michele; Stein, Nils; Waugh, Robbie

2010-04-01

The identification of genes underlying complex quantitative traits such as grain yield by means of conventional genetic analysis (positional cloning) requires the development of several large mapping populations. However, it is possible that phenotypically related, but more extreme, allelic variants generated by mutational studies could provide a means for more efficient cloning of QTLs (quantitative trait loci). In barley (Hordeum vulgare), with the development of high-throughput genome analysis tools, efficient genome-wide identification of genetic loci harbouring mutant alleles has recently become possible. Genotypic data from NILs (near-isogenic lines) that carry induced or natural variants of genes that control aspects of plant development can be compared with the location of QTLs to potentially identify candidate genes for development--related traits such as grain yield. As yield itself can be divided into a number of allometric component traits such as tillers per plant, kernels per spike and kernel size, mutant alleles that both affect these traits and are located within the confidence intervals for major yield QTLs may represent extreme variants of the underlying genes. In addition, the development of detailed comparative genomic models based on the alignment of a high-density barley gene map with the rice and sorghum physical maps, has enabled an informed prioritization of 'known function' genes as candidates for both QTLs and induced mutant genes.

Natural Genetic Variation Influences Protein Abundances in C. elegans Developmental Signalling Pathways

PubMed Central

Singh, Kapil Dev; Roschitzki, Bernd; Snoek, L. Basten; Grossmann, Jonas; Zheng, Xue; Elvin, Mark; Kamkina, Polina; Schrimpf, Sabine P.; Poulin, Gino B.; Kammenga, Jan E.; Hengartner, Michael O.

2016-01-01

Complex traits, including common disease-related traits, are affected by many different genes that function in multiple pathways and networks. The apoptosis, MAPK, Notch, and Wnt signalling pathways play important roles in development and disease progression. At the moment we have a poor understanding of how allelic variation affects gene expression in these pathways at the level of translation. Here we report the effect of natural genetic variation on transcript and protein abundance involved in developmental signalling pathways in Caenorhabditis elegans. We used selected reaction monitoring to analyse proteins from the abovementioned four pathways in a set of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) generated from the wild-type strains N2 (Bristol) and CB4856 (Hawaii) to enable quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping. About half of the cases from the 44 genes tested showed a statistically significant change in protein abundance between various strains, most of these were however very weak (below 1.3-fold change). We detected a distant QTL on the left arm of chromosome II that affected protein abundance of the phosphatidylserine receptor protein PSR-1, and two separate QTLs that influenced embryonic and ionizing radiation-induced apoptosis on chromosome IV. Our results demonstrate that natural variation in C. elegans is sufficient to cause significant changes in signalling pathways both at the gene expression (transcript and protein abundance) and phenotypic levels. PMID:26985669

Genome-Wide Mapping of Loci Explaining Variance in Scrotal Circumference in Nellore Cattle

PubMed Central

Utsunomiya, Yuri T.; Carmo, Adriana S.; Neves, Haroldo H. R.; Carvalheiro, Roberto; Matos, Márcia C.; Zavarez, Ludmilla B.; Ito, Pier K. R. K.; Pérez O'Brien, Ana M.; Sölkner, Johann; Porto-Neto, Laercio R.; Schenkel, Flávio S.; McEwan, John; Cole, John B.; da Silva, Marcos V. G. B.; Van Tassell, Curtis P.; Sonstegard, Tad S.; Garcia, José Fernando

2014-01-01

The reproductive performance of bulls has a high impact on the beef cattle industry. Scrotal circumference (SC) is the most recorded reproductive trait in beef herds, and is used as a major selection criterion to improve precocity and fertility. The characterization of genomic regions affecting SC can contribute to the identification of diagnostic markers for reproductive performance and uncover molecular mechanisms underlying complex aspects of bovine reproductive biology. In this paper, we report a genome-wide scan for chromosome segments explaining differences in SC, using data of 861 Nellore bulls (Bos indicus) genotyped for over 777,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Loci that excel from the genome background were identified on chromosomes 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 18 and 21. The majority of these regions were previously found to be associated with reproductive and body size traits in cattle. The signal on chromosome 14 replicates the pleiotropic quantitative trait locus encompassing PLAG1 that affects male fertility in cattle and stature in several species. Based on intensive literature mining, SP4, MAGEL2, SH3RF2, PDE5A and SNAI2 are proposed as novel candidate genes for SC, as they affect growth and testicular size in other animal models. These findings contribute to linking reproductive phenotypes to gene functions, and may offer new insights on the molecular biology of male fertility. PMID:24558400

Identification, Replication, and Functional Fine-Mapping of Expression Quantitative Trait Loci in Primary Human Liver Tissue

PubMed Central

Stanaway, Ian B.; Gamazon, Eric R.; Smith, Joshua D.; Mirkov, Snezana; Ramirez, Jacqueline; Liu, Wanqing; Lin, Yvonne S.; Moloney, Cliona; Aldred, Shelly Force; Trinklein, Nathan D.; Schuetz, Erin; Nickerson, Deborah A.; Thummel, Ken E.; Rieder, Mark J.; Rettie, Allan E.; Ratain, Mark J.; Cox, Nancy J.; Brown, Christopher D.

2011-01-01

The discovery of expression quantitative trait loci (“eQTLs”) can help to unravel genetic contributions to complex traits. We identified genetic determinants of human liver gene expression variation using two independent collections of primary tissue profiled with Agilent (n = 206) and Illumina (n = 60) expression arrays and Illumina SNP genotyping (550K), and we also incorporated data from a published study (n = 266). We found that ∼30% of SNP-expression correlations in one study failed to replicate in either of the others, even at thresholds yielding high reproducibility in simulations, and we quantified numerous factors affecting reproducibility. Our data suggest that drug exposure, clinical descriptors, and unknown factors associated with tissue ascertainment and analysis have substantial effects on gene expression and that controlling for hidden confounding variables significantly increases replication rate. Furthermore, we found that reproducible eQTL SNPs were heavily enriched near gene starts and ends, and subsequently resequenced the promoters and 3′UTRs for 14 genes and tested the identified haplotypes using luciferase assays. For three genes, significant haplotype-specific in vitro functional differences correlated directly with expression levels, suggesting that many bona fide eQTLs result from functional variants that can be mechanistically isolated in a high-throughput fashion. Finally, given our study design, we were able to discover and validate hundreds of liver eQTLs. Many of these relate directly to complex traits for which liver-specific analyses are likely to be relevant, and we identified dozens of potential connections with disease-associated loci. These included previously characterized eQTL contributors to diabetes, drug response, and lipid levels, and they suggest novel candidates such as a role for NOD2 expression in leprosy risk and C2orf43 in prostate cancer. In general, the work presented here will be valuable for future efforts to precisely identify and functionally characterize genetic contributions to a variety of complex traits. PMID:21637794

Toward a definition of affective instability.

PubMed

Renaud, Suzane M; Zacchia, Camillo

2012-01-01

Affective instability is a psychophysiological symptom observed in some psychopathologies. It is a complex construct that encompasses (1) primary emotions, or affects, and secondary emotions, with each category having its own characteristics, amplitude, and duration, (2) rapid shifting from neutral or valenced affect to intense affect, and (3) dysfunctional modulation of emotions. Affective instability is often confused with mood lability, as in bipolar disorders, as well as with other terms. To clarify the concept, we searched databases for the term affective instability and read related articles on the topic. In this article we situate the term within the current affective nomenclature and human emotional experience, explore its psychophysiological features, and place it within the context of psychopathology. We explain why the term can potentially be confused with mood pathology and then define affective instability as an inherited temperamental trait modulated by developmental experience.

A Genetically Informed Cross-lagged Analysis of Autistic-Like Traits and Affective Problems in Early Childhood

PubMed Central

Micalizzi, Lauren; Ronald, Angelica; Saudino, Kimberly J.

2015-01-01

A genetically informed cross-lagged model was applied to twin data to explore etiological links between autistic-like traits and affective problems in early childhood. The sample comprised 310 same-sex twin pairs (143 monozygotic and 167 dizygotic; 53% male). Autistic-like traits and affective problems were assessed at ages 2 and 3 using parent ratings. Both constructs were related within and across age (r = .30−.53) and showed moderate stability (r = .45−.54). Autistic-like traits and affective problems showed genetic and environmental influences at both ages. Whereas at age 2, the covariance between autistic-like traits and affective problems was entirely due to environmental influences (shared and nonshared), at age 3, genetic factors also contributed to the covariance between constructs. The stability paths, but not the cross-lagged paths, were significant, indicating that there is stability in both autistic-like traits and affective problems but they do not mutually influence each other across age. Stability effects were due to genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental influences. Substantial novel genetic and nonshared environmental influences emerge at age 3 and suggest change in the etiology of these constructs over time. During early childhood, autistic-like traits tend to occur alongside affective problems and partly overlapping genetic and environmental influences explain this association. PMID:26456961

On the temporal stability of personality: evidence for differential stability and the role of life experiences.

PubMed

Vaidya, Jatin G; Gray, Elizabeth K; Haig, Jeffrey; Watson, David

2002-12-01

The authors investigated the stability of personality and trait affect in young adults. In Studies 1 and 2, young adults were retested on a Big Five personality measure and a trait affect inventory over a 2.5-year and a 2-month period, respectively. Results from Study 1 point to positive mean-level changes; participants scored higher on Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness at Time 2. Affectively, participants experienced less negative affect and more positive affect at Time 2. Results from both retests provide clear evidence of differential stability. Affective traits were consistently less stable than the Big Five. Other analyses suggest that life events influence the stability of affective traits more than the Big Five.

Brain derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) and personality traits: the modifying effect of season of birth and sex.

PubMed

Kazantseva, A; Gaysina, D; Kutlumbetova, Yu; Kanzafarova, R; Malykh, S; Lobaskova, M; Khusnutdinova, E

2015-01-02

Personality traits are complex phenotypes influenced by interactions of multiple genetic variants of small effect and environmental factors. It has been suggested that the brain derived neurotrophic factor gene (BDNF) is involved in personality traits. Season of birth (SOB) has also been shown to affect personality traits due to its influences on brain development during prenatal and early postnatal periods. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of BDNF on personality traits; and the modifying effects of SOB and sex on associations between BDNF and personality traits. A sample of 1018 young adults (68% women; age range 17-25years) of Caucasian origin from the Russian Federation was assessed on personality traits (Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, Persistence, Self-directedness, Cooperativeness, Self-transcendence) with the Temperament and Character Inventory-125 (TCI-125). Associations between personality traits and 12 BDNF SNPs were tested using linear regression models. The present study demonstrated the effect of rs11030102 on Persistence in females only (PFDR=0.043; r(2)=1.3%). There were significant interaction effects between Val66Met (rs6265) and SOB (PFDR=0.048, r(2)=1.4%), and between rs2030323 and SOB (PFDR=0.042, r(2)=1.3%), on Harm Avoidance. Our findings provide evidence for the modifying effect of SOB on the association between BDNF and Harm Avoidance, and for the modifying effect of sex on the association between BDNF and Persistence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genetic Map Construction and Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) Detection of Growth-Related Traits in Litopenaeus vannamei for Selective Breeding Applications

PubMed Central

Andriantahina, Farafidy; Liu, Xiaolin; Huang, Hao

2013-01-01

Growth is a priority trait from the point of view of genetic improvement. Molecular markers linked to quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been regarded as useful for marker-assisted selection (MAS) in complex traits as growth. Using an intermediate F2 cross of slow and fast growth parents, a genetic linkage map of Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeusvannamei , based on amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers was constructed. Meanwhile, QTL analysis was performed for growth-related traits. The linkage map consisted of 451 marker loci (429 AFLPs and 22 SSRs) which formed 49 linkage groups with an average marker space of 7.6 cM; they spanned a total length of 3627.6 cM, covering 79.50% of estimated genome size. 14 QTLs were identified for growth-related traits, including three QTLs for body weight (BW), total length (TL) and partial carapace length (PCL), two QTLs for body length (BL), one QTL for first abdominal segment depth (FASD), third abdominal segment depth (TASD) and first abdominal segment width (FASW), which explained 2.62 to 61.42% of phenotypic variation. Moreover, comparison of linkage maps between L . vannamei and Penaeus japonicus was applied, providing a new insight into the genetic base of QTL affecting the growth-related traits. The new results will be useful for conducting MAS breeding schemes in L . vannamei . PMID:24086466

Biting the hand that feeds: current opinion on the interpersonal causes, correlates, and consequences of borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Crowell, Sheila E

2016-01-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex psychiatric diagnosis characterized by dysregulated behaviors, emotions, cognitions, and interpersonal relationships. In recent years, developmental psychopathologists have sought to identify early origins of BPD, with the ultimate goal of developing and providing effective preventative interventions for those at highest risk. In addition to heritable biological sensitivities, many scholars assert that environmental and interpersonal risk factors contribute to the emergence and maintenance of key borderline traits. Nonetheless, many BPD researchers examine only affected individuals, neglecting the family, peer, couple, and other dynamic contextual forces that impinge upon individual-level behavior. In the past decade, however, theoretical and empirical research has increasingly explored the interpersonal causes, correlates, and consequences of BPD. Such work has resulted in novel research and clinical theories intended to better understand and improve interpersonal dynamics among those with borderline traits. A major objective for the field is to better characterize how interpersonal dynamics affect (and are affected by) the behaviors, emotions, and thoughts of vulnerable individuals to either reduce or heighten risk for BPD.

Global genetic differentiation of complex traits shaped by natural selection in humans.

PubMed

Guo, Jing; Wu, Yang; Zhu, Zhihong; Zheng, Zhili; Trzaskowski, Maciej; Zeng, Jian; Robinson, Matthew R; Visscher, Peter M; Yang, Jian

2018-05-14

There are mean differences in complex traits among global human populations. We hypothesize that part of the phenotypic differentiation is due to natural selection. To address this hypothesis, we assess the differentiation in allele frequencies of trait-associated SNPs among African, Eastern Asian, and European populations for ten complex traits using data of large sample size (up to ~405,000). We show that SNPs associated with height ([Formula: see text]), waist-to-hip ratio ([Formula: see text]), and schizophrenia ([Formula: see text]) are significantly more differentiated among populations than matched "control" SNPs, suggesting that these trait-associated SNPs have undergone natural selection. We further find that SNPs associated with height ([Formula: see text]) and schizophrenia ([Formula: see text]) show significantly higher variance in linkage disequilibrium (LD) scores across populations than control SNPs. Our results support the hypothesis that natural selection has shaped the genetic differentiation of complex traits, such as height and schizophrenia, among worldwide populations.

Marine benthic ecological functioning over decreasing taxonomic richness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Törnroos, Anna; Bonsdorff, Erik; Bremner, Julie; Blomqvist, Mats; Josefson, Alf B.; Garcia, Clement; Warzocha, Jan

2015-04-01

Alterations to ecosystem function due to reductions in species richness are predicted to increase as humans continue to affect the marine environment, especially in coastal areas, which serve as the interface between land and sea. The potential functional consequences due to reductions in species diversity have attracted considerable attention recently but little is known about the consequence of such loss in natural communities. We examined how the potential for function is affected by natural reductions in taxon richness using empirical (non-simulated) coastal marine benthic macrofaunal data from the Skagerrak-Baltic Sea region (N. Europe), where taxon richness decreases 25-fold, from 151 to 6 taxa. To estimate functional changes we defined multiple traits (10 traits and 51 categories) on which trait category richness, functional diversity (FD) and number of taxa per trait category were calculated. Our results show that decrease in taxon richness leads to an overall reduction in function but functional richness remains comparatively high even at the lowest level of taxon richness. Although the taxonomic reduction was sharp, up to 96% of total taxon richness, we identified both potential thresholds in functioning and subtler changes where function was maintained along the gradient. The functional changes were not only caused by reductions in taxa per trait category, some categories were maintained or even increased. Primarily, the reduction in species richness altered trait categories related to feeding, living and movement and thus potentially could have an effect on various ecosystem processes. This highlights the importance of recognising ecosystem multifunctionality, especially at low taxonomic richness. We also found that in this system rare species (singletons) did not stand for the functional complexities and changes. Our findings were consistent with theoretical and experimental predictions and suggest that a large proportion of the information about alterations of function is found in measures such as functional diversity and number of taxa per trait category.

Directed evolution and synthetic biology applications to microbial systems.

PubMed

Bassalo, Marcelo C; Liu, Rongming; Gill, Ryan T

2016-06-01

Biotechnology applications require engineering complex multi-genic traits. The lack of knowledge on the genetic basis of complex phenotypes restricts our ability to rationally engineer them. However, complex phenotypes can be engineered at the systems level, utilizing directed evolution strategies that drive whole biological systems toward desired phenotypes without requiring prior knowledge of the genetic basis of the targeted trait. Recent developments in the synthetic biology field accelerates the directed evolution cycle, facilitating engineering of increasingly complex traits in biological systems. In this review, we summarize some of the most recent advances in directed evolution and synthetic biology that allows engineering of complex traits in microbial systems. Then, we discuss applications that can be achieved through engineering at the systems level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling adaptation of wetland plants under changing environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muneepeerakul, R.; Muneepeerakul, C. P.

2010-12-01

An evolutionary-game-theoretic approach is used to study the changes in traits of wetland plants in response to environmental changes, e.g., altered patterns of rainfall and nutrients. Here, a wetland is considered as a complex adaptive system where plants can adapt their strategies and influence one another. The system is subject to stochastic rainfall, which controls the dynamics of water level, soil moisture, and alternation between aerobic and anaerobic conditions in soil. Based on our previous work, a plant unit is characterized by three traits, namely biomass nitrogen content, specific leaf area, and allocation to rhizome. These traits control the basic functions of plants such as assimilation, respiration, and nutrient uptake, while affecting their environment through litter chemistry, root oxygenation, and thus soil microbial dynamics. The outcome of this evolutionary game, i.e., the best-performing plant traits against the backdrop of these interactions and feedbacks, is analyzed and its implications on important roles of wetlands in supporting our sustainability such as carbon sequestration in biosphere, nutrient cycling, and repository of biodiversity are discussed.

Be Happy, Don't Wait: The Role of Trait Affect in Job Search

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turban, Daniel B.; Lee, Felissa K.; Veiga, Serge P. da Motta; Haggard, Dana L.; Wu, Sharon Y.

2013-01-01

In this study we developed and tested a self-regulatory model of trait affect in job search. Specifically, we theorized that trait positive and negative affect would influence both motivation control and procrastination, and these mediating variables would, in turn, influence job search outcomes through job search intensity. Using longitudinal…

Affective Traits in Schizophrenia and Schizotypy

PubMed Central

Horan, William P.; Blanchard, Jack J.; Clark, Lee Anna; Green, Michael F.

2008-01-01

This article reviews empirical studies of affective traits in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, population-based investigations of vulnerability to psychosis, and genetic and psychometric high-risk samples. The review focuses on studies that use self-report trait questionnaires to assess Negative Affectivity (NA) and Positive Affectivity (PA), which are conceptualized in contemporary models of personality as broad, temperamentally-based dispositions to experience corresponding emotional states. Individuals with schizophrenia report a pattern of stably elevated NA and low PA throughout the illness course. Among affected individuals, these traits are associated with variability in several clinically important features, including functional outcome, quality of life, and stress reactivity. Furthermore, evidence that elevated NA and low PA (particularly the facet of anhedonia) predict the development of psychosis and are detectable in high-risk samples suggests that these traits play a role in vulnerability to schizophrenia, though they are implicated in other forms of psychopathology as well. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for treatment, etiological models, and future research to advance the study of affective traits in schizophrenia and schizotypy. PMID:18667393

The Moderating Role of Anxiety in the Associations of Callous-Unemotional Traits with Self-Report and Laboratory Measures of Affective and Cognitive Empathy.

PubMed

Kahn, Rachel E; Frick, Paul J; Golmaryami, Farrah N; Marsee, Monica A

2017-04-01

In a sample of detained male adolescents (n = 107; Mean age = 15.50; SD = 1.30), we tested whether anxiety moderated the association of CU traits with self-report and computerized measures of affective (emotional reactivity) and cognitive (affective facial recognition and Theory of Mind [ToM]) empathy. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that CU traits were negatively associated with self-reports of affective empathy and this association was not moderated by level of anxiety. Significant interactions revealed that CU traits were negatively associated with cognitive empathy (self-report) only at high levels of anxiety, whereas CU traits were positively associated with cognitive empathy on the ToM task only at low levels of anxiety. CU traits were also associated with greater fear recognition accuracy at low levels of anxiety. Implications for understanding and treating different variants of CU traits (i.e., primary and secondary) are discussed.

PERCEIVED RACISM AND NEGATIVE AFFECT: ANALYSES OF TRAIT AND STATE MEASURES OF AFFECT IN A COMMUNITY SAMPLE

PubMed Central

BRONDOLO, ELIZABETH; BRADY, NISHA; THOMPSON, SHOLA; TOBIN, JONATHAN N.; CASSELLS, ANDREA; SWEENEY, MONICA; MCFARLANE, DELANO; CONTRADA, RICHARD J.

2008-01-01

Racism is a significant psychosocial stressor that is hypothesized to have negative psychological and physical health consequences. The Reserve Capacity Model (Gallo & Matthews, 2003) suggests that low socioeconomic status may influence health through its effects on negative affect. We extend this model to study the effects of racism, examining the association of lifetime perceived racism to trait and daily negative affect. A multiethnic sample of 362 American–born Black and Latino adults completed the Perceived Ethnic Discrimination Questionnaire–Community Version (PEDQ–CV). Trait negative affect was assessed with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and state negative affect was measured using ecological momentary assessments (EMA), in the form of an electronic diary. Analyses revealed a significant relationship of lifetime perceived racism to both daily negative affect and trait negative affect, even when controlling for trait hostility and socioeconomic status. The relationship of perceived racism to negative affect was moderated by education, such that the relationships were strongest for those with less than a high school education. The findings support aspects of the Reserve Capacity Model and identify pathways through which perceived racism may affect health status. PMID:19079772

Associations of borderline personality disorder traits with stressful events and emotional reactivity in women with bulimia nervosa.

PubMed

Pearson, Carolyn M; Lavender, Jason M; Cao, Li; Wonderlich, Stephen A; Crosby, Ross D; Engel, Scott G; Mitchell, James E; Peterson, Carol B; Crow, Scott J

2017-07-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) traits are common among those with bulimia nervosa (BN). However, how these traits impact the state experience of precipitants of BN behavior, such as stressful events and emotional reactivity, has not been determined. Thus, the purpose of this naturalistic study was to examine this trait-state association in BN. Women with DSM-IV BN (N = 133) completed a baseline measure of personality pathology traits, and subsequently recorded their affective state and the frequency and perception of 3 types of stressful events (interpersonal, work/environment, and daily hassles) several times per day for 2 weeks using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Pearson correlations assessed the associations between BPD traits (affective lability, identity problems, insecure attachment, and cognitive dysregulation) and (a) frequency of stressful events and (b) perception of stressful events. Generalized linear models (GLM) were used to evaluate the relationship between BPD traits and changes in negative affect following stressful events. Results revealed that while all traits were significantly associated with perceived stressfulness, certain BPD traits were significantly associated with the frequency of stressful events. Individuals with higher trait insecure attachment experienced larger increases in negative affect following interpersonal stressful events. These findings suggest that interventions focused on addressing stressful events and enhancing adaptive emotional responses to interpersonal events may be particularly useful for a subset of individuals with BN with BPD-related personality characteristics, including insecure attachment, affective lability, and identity problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Phenotypic plasticity in a complex world: interactive effects of food and temperature on fitness components of a seed beetle.

PubMed

Stillwell, R Craig; Wallin, William G; Hitchcock, Lisa J; Fox, Charles W

2007-08-01

Most studies of phenotypic plasticity investigate the effects of an individual environmental factor on organism phenotypes. However, organisms exist in an ecologically complex world where multiple environmental factors can interact to affect growth, development and life histories. Here, using a multifactorial experimental design, we examine the separate and interactive effects of two environmental factors, rearing host species (Vigna radiata, Vigna angularis and Vigna unguiculata) and temperature (20, 25, 30 and 35 degrees C), on growth and life history traits in two populations [Burkina Faso (BF) and South India (SI)] of the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus. The two study populations of beetles responded differently to both rearing host and temperature. We also found a significant interaction between rearing host and temperature for body size, growth rate and female lifetime fecundity but not larval development time or larval survivorship. The interaction was most apparent for growth rate; the variance in growth rate among hosts increased with increasing temperature. However, the details of host differences differed between our two study populations; the degree to which V. unguiculata was a better host than V. angularis or V. radiata increased at higher temperatures for BF beetles, whereas the degree to which V. unguiculata was the worst host increased at higher temperatures for SI beetles. We also found that the heritabilities of body mass, growth rate and fecundity were similar among rearing hosts and temperatures, and that the cross-temperature genetic correlation was not affected by rearing host, suggesting that genetic architecture is generally stable across rearing conditions. The most important finding of our study is that multiple environmental factors can interact to affect organism growth, but the degree of interaction, and thus the degree of complexity of phenotypic plasticity, varies among traits and between populations.

Concurrent and prospective effects of psychopathic traits on affective and cognitive empathy in a community sample of late adolescents.

PubMed

Brouns, Bart H J; de Wied, Minet Annette; Keijsers, Loes; Branje, Susan; van Goozen, Stephanie H M; Meeus, Wim H J

2013-09-01

A deficit in affective rather than cognitive empathy is thought to be central to psychopathic traits. However, empirical evidence for empathy deficits in adolescents with psychopathic traits is limited. We investigated the concurrent and prospective effects of psychopathic traits on affective and cognitive trait empathy in late adolescence. A community sample of 107 males and 126 females who were approximately 16-year olds at Time 1 participated in four annual waves. Sex-specific classes of adolescents' psychopathic traits were created using Latent Class Analyses. Subsequently, we investigated class differences in level and development of empathy. For both sexes, Latent Class Analyses produced two classes: one class with low and one with moderate levels of psychopathic traits. Consistent with our hypothesis, for both sexes, adolescents with moderate levels of psychopathic traits reported lower mean levels of affective empathy than adolescents with low levels of psychopathic traits. In addition, female adolescents with moderate psychopathic traits reported lower mean levels of cognitive empathy. Male adolescents showed a trend in this direction. No differences between classes were found in development of empathy, which increased over years. This is the first study to show that male and female adolescents with higher levels of psychopathic traits have lower levels of affective empathy not only concurrently but also prospectively over a 3-year period. Females additionally showed a similar pattern on cognitive empathy. In this community sample, developmental results suggest that adolescents with higher levels of psychopathic traits have relative rather than absolute empathy deficits. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2013 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Seed removal by scatter-hoarding rodents: the effects of tannin and nutrient concentration.

PubMed

Wang, Bo; Yang, Xiaolan

2015-04-01

The mutualistic interaction between scatter-hoarding rodents and seed plants have a long co-evolutionary history. Plants are believed to have evolved traits that influence the foraging behavior of rodents, thus increasing the probability of seed removal and caching, which benefits the establishment of seedlings. Tannin and nutrient content in seeds are considered among the most essential factors in this plant-animal interaction. However, most previous studies used different species of plant seeds, rendering it difficult to tease apart the relative effect of each single nutrient on rodent foraging behavior due to confounding combinations of nutrient contents across seed species. Hence, to further explore how tannin and different nutritional traits of seed affect scatter-hoarding rodent foraging preferences, we manipulated tannin, fat, protein and starch content levels, and also seed size levels by using an artificial seed system. Our results showed that both tannin and various nutrients significantly affected rodent foraging preferences, but were also strongly affected by seed size. In general, rodents preferred to remove seeds with less tannin. Fat addition could counteract the negative effect of tannin on seed removal by rodents, while the effect of protein addition was weaker. Starch by itself had no effect, but it interacted with tannin in a complex way. Our findings shed light on the effects of tannin and nutrient content on seed removal by scatter-hoarding rodents. We therefore, believe that these and perhaps other seed traits should interactively influence this important plant-rodent interaction. However, how selection operates on seed traits to counterbalance these competing interests/factors merits further study. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Network-based integration of systems genetics data reveals pathways associated with lignocellulosic biomass accumulation and processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mizrachi, Eshchar; Verbeke, Lieven; Christie, Nanette

As a consequence of their remarkable adaptability, fast growth, and superior wood properties, eucalypt tree plantations have emerged as key renewable feedstocks (over 20 million ha globally) for the production of pulp, paper, bioenergy, and other lignocellulosic products. However, most biomass properties such as growth, wood density, and wood chemistry are complex traits that are hard to improve in long-lived perennials. Systems genetics, a process of harnessing multiple levels of component trait information (e.g., transcript, protein, and metabolite variation) in populations that vary in complex traits, has proven effective for dissecting the genetics and biology of such traits. We havemore » applied a network-based data integration (NBDI) method for a systems-level analysis of genes, processes and pathways underlying biomass and bioenergy-related traits using a segregating Eucalyptus hybrid population. We show that the integrative approach can link biologically meaningful sets of genes to complex traits and at the same time reveal the molecular basis of trait variation. Gene sets identified for related woody biomass traits were found to share regulatory loci, cluster in network neighborhoods, and exhibit enrichment for molecular functions such as xylan metabolism and cell wall development. These findings offer a framework for identifying the molecular underpinnings of complex biomass and bioprocessing-related traits. Furthermore, a more thorough understanding of the molecular basis of plant biomass traits should provide additional opportunities for the establishment of a sustainable bio-based economy.« less

Network-based integration of systems genetics data reveals pathways associated with lignocellulosic biomass accumulation and processing

DOE PAGES

Mizrachi, Eshchar; Verbeke, Lieven; Christie, Nanette; ...

2017-01-17

As a consequence of their remarkable adaptability, fast growth, and superior wood properties, eucalypt tree plantations have emerged as key renewable feedstocks (over 20 million ha globally) for the production of pulp, paper, bioenergy, and other lignocellulosic products. However, most biomass properties such as growth, wood density, and wood chemistry are complex traits that are hard to improve in long-lived perennials. Systems genetics, a process of harnessing multiple levels of component trait information (e.g., transcript, protein, and metabolite variation) in populations that vary in complex traits, has proven effective for dissecting the genetics and biology of such traits. We havemore » applied a network-based data integration (NBDI) method for a systems-level analysis of genes, processes and pathways underlying biomass and bioenergy-related traits using a segregating Eucalyptus hybrid population. We show that the integrative approach can link biologically meaningful sets of genes to complex traits and at the same time reveal the molecular basis of trait variation. Gene sets identified for related woody biomass traits were found to share regulatory loci, cluster in network neighborhoods, and exhibit enrichment for molecular functions such as xylan metabolism and cell wall development. These findings offer a framework for identifying the molecular underpinnings of complex biomass and bioprocessing-related traits. Furthermore, a more thorough understanding of the molecular basis of plant biomass traits should provide additional opportunities for the establishment of a sustainable bio-based economy.« less

Network-based integration of systems genetics data reveals pathways associated with lignocellulosic biomass accumulation and processing.

PubMed

Mizrachi, Eshchar; Verbeke, Lieven; Christie, Nanette; Fierro, Ana C; Mansfield, Shawn D; Davis, Mark F; Gjersing, Erica; Tuskan, Gerald A; Van Montagu, Marc; Van de Peer, Yves; Marchal, Kathleen; Myburg, Alexander A

2017-01-31

As a consequence of their remarkable adaptability, fast growth, and superior wood properties, eucalypt tree plantations have emerged as key renewable feedstocks (over 20 million ha globally) for the production of pulp, paper, bioenergy, and other lignocellulosic products. However, most biomass properties such as growth, wood density, and wood chemistry are complex traits that are hard to improve in long-lived perennials. Systems genetics, a process of harnessing multiple levels of component trait information (e.g., transcript, protein, and metabolite variation) in populations that vary in complex traits, has proven effective for dissecting the genetics and biology of such traits. We have applied a network-based data integration (NBDI) method for a systems-level analysis of genes, processes and pathways underlying biomass and bioenergy-related traits using a segregating Eucalyptus hybrid population. We show that the integrative approach can link biologically meaningful sets of genes to complex traits and at the same time reveal the molecular basis of trait variation. Gene sets identified for related woody biomass traits were found to share regulatory loci, cluster in network neighborhoods, and exhibit enrichment for molecular functions such as xylan metabolism and cell wall development. These findings offer a framework for identifying the molecular underpinnings of complex biomass and bioprocessing-related traits. A more thorough understanding of the molecular basis of plant biomass traits should provide additional opportunities for the establishment of a sustainable bio-based economy.

Dissecting the genetics of complex traits using summary association statistics.

PubMed

Pasaniuc, Bogdan; Price, Alkes L

2017-02-01

During the past decade, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been used to successfully identify tens of thousands of genetic variants associated with complex traits and diseases. These studies have produced extensive repositories of genetic variation and trait measurements across large numbers of individuals, providing tremendous opportunities for further analyses. However, privacy concerns and other logistical considerations often limit access to individual-level genetic data, motivating the development of methods that analyse summary association statistics. Here, we review recent progress on statistical methods that leverage summary association data to gain insights into the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases.

Dissecting the genetics of complex traits using summary association statistics

PubMed Central

Pasaniuc, Bogdan; Price, Alkes L.

2017-01-01

During the past decade, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified tens of thousands of genetic variants associated with complex traits and diseases. These studies have produced extensive repositories of genetic variation and trait measurements across large numbers of individuals, providing tremendous opportunities for further analyses. However, privacy concerns and other logistical considerations often limit access to individual-level genetic data, motivating the development of methods that analyze summary association statistics. Here we review recent progress on statistical methods that leverage summary association data to gain insights into the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases. PMID:27840428

Effects of larvicidal and larval nutritional stresses on Anopheles gambiae development, survival and competence for Plasmodium falciparum.

PubMed

Vantaux, Amélie; Ouattarra, Issiaka; Lefèvre, Thierry; Dabiré, Kounbobr Roch

2016-04-23

Many studies have shown that the environment in which larvae develop can influence adult characteristics with consequences for the transmission of pathogens. We investigated how two environmental stresses (larviciding and nutritional stress) interact to affect Anopheles gambiae (previously An. gambiae S molecular form) life history traits and its susceptibility for field isolates of its natural malaria agent Plasmodium falciparum. Larvae were reared in the presence or not of a sub-lethal concentration of larvicide and under a high and low food regimen. Development time, individual size, adult survival and competence for P. falciparum were assessed. Individuals under low food regimen took more time to develop, had a lower development success and were smaller while there was no main effect of larvicide exposure on these traits. However, larvicide exposure impacted individual size in interaction with nutritional stress. Female survival was affected by the interaction between gametocytemia, parasite exposure and larval diet, as well as the interaction between gametocytemia, parasite exposure and larvicidal stress, and the interaction between gametocytemia, larvicidal exposure and larval diet. Among the 951 females dissected 7 days post-infection, 559 (58.78%) harboured parasites. Parasite prevalence was significantly affected by the interaction between larvicidal stress and larval diet. Indeed, females under low food regimen had a higher prevalence than females under high food regimen and this difference was greater under larvicidal stress. The two stresses did not impact parasite intensity. We found that larval nutritional and larvicidal stresses affect mosquito life history traits in complex ways, which could greatly affect P. falciparum transmission. Further studies combining field-based trials on larvicide use and mosquito experimental infections would give a more accurate understanding of the effects of this vector control tool on malaria transmission.

Association of candidate genes with drought tolerance traits in diverse perennial ryegrass accessions

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yiwei

2013-01-01

Drought is a major environmental stress limiting growth of perennial grasses in temperate regions. Plant drought tolerance is a complex trait that is controlled by multiple genes. Candidate gene association mapping provides a powerful tool for dissection of complex traits. Candidate gene association mapping of drought tolerance traits was conducted in 192 diverse perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) accessions from 43 countries. The panel showed significant variations in leaf wilting, leaf water content, canopy and air temperature difference, and chlorophyll fluorescence under well-watered and drought conditions across six environments. Analysis of 109 simple sequence repeat markers revealed five population structures in the mapping panel. A total of 2520 expression-based sequence readings were obtained for a set of candidate genes involved in antioxidant metabolism, dehydration, water movement across membranes, and signal transduction, from which 346 single nucleotide polymorphisms were identified. Significant associations were identified between a putative LpLEA3 encoding late embryogenesis abundant group 3 protein and a putative LpFeSOD encoding iron superoxide dismutase and leaf water content, as well as between a putative LpCyt Cu-ZnSOD encoding cytosolic copper-zinc superoxide dismutase and chlorophyll fluorescence under drought conditions. Four of these identified significantly associated single nucleotide polymorphisms from these three genes were also translated to amino acid substitutions in different genotypes. These results indicate that allelic variation in these genes may affect whole-plant response to drought stress in perennial ryegrass. PMID:23386684

Trait variation and genetic diversity in a banana genomic selection training population

PubMed Central

Nyine, Moses; Uwimana, Brigitte; Swennen, Rony; Batte, Michael; Brown, Allan; Christelová, Pavla; Hřibová, Eva; Lorenzen, Jim

2017-01-01

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important crop in the African Great Lakes region in terms of income and food security, with the highest per capita consumption worldwide. Pests, diseases and climate change hamper sustainable production of bananas. New breeding tools with increased crossbreeding efficiency are being investigated to breed for resistant, high yielding hybrids of East African Highland banana (EAHB). These include genomic selection (GS), which will benefit breeding through increased genetic gain per unit time. Understanding trait variation and the correlation among economically important traits is an essential first step in the development and selection of suitable GS models for banana. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that trait variations in bananas are not affected by cross combination, cycle, field management and their interaction with genotype. A training population created using EAHB breeding material and its progeny was phenotyped in two contrasting conditions. A high level of correlation among vegetative and yield related traits was observed. Therefore, genomic selection models could be developed for traits that are easily measured. It is likely that the predictive ability of traits that are difficult to phenotype will be similar to less difficult traits they are highly correlated with. Genotype response to cycle and field management practices varied greatly with respect to traits. Yield related traits accounted for 31–35% of principal component variation under low and high input field management conditions. Resistance to Black Sigatoka was stable across cycles but varied under different field management depending on the genotype. The best cross combination was 1201K-1xSH3217 based on selection response (R) of hybrids. Genotyping using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed that the training population was genetically diverse, reflecting a complex pedigree background, which was mostly influenced by the male parents. PMID:28586365

Genetic differentiation in life history traits and thermal stress performance across a heterogeneous dune landscape in Arabidopsis lyrata.

PubMed

Wos, Guillaume; Willi, Yvonne

2018-05-26

Over very short spatial scales, the habitat of a species can differ in multiple abiotic and biotic factors. These factors may impose natural selection on several traits and can cause genetic differentiation within a population. We studied multivariate genetic differentiation in a plant species of a sand dune landscape by linking environmental variation with differences in genotypic trait values and gene expression levels to find traits and candidate genes of microgeographical adaptation. Maternal seed families of Arabidopsis lyrata were collected in Saugatuck Dunes State Park, Michigan, USA, and environmental parameters were recorded at each collection site. Offspring plants were raised in climate chambers and exposed to one of three temperature treatments: regular occurrence of frost, heat, or constant control conditions. Several traits were assessed: plant growth, time to flowering, and frost and heat resistance. The strongest trait-environment association was between a fast switch to sexual reproduction and weaker growth under frost, and growing in the open, away from trees. The second strongest association was between the trait combination of small plant size and early flowering under control conditions combined with large size under frost, and the combination of environmental conditions of growing close to trees, at low vegetation cover, on dune bottoms. Gene expression analysis by RNA-seq revealed candidate genes involved in multivariate trait differentiation. The results support the hypothesis that in natural populations, many environmental factors impose selection, and that they affect multiple traits, with the relative direction of trait change being complex. The results highlight that heterogeneity in the selection environment over small spatial scales is a main driver of the maintenance of adaptive genetic variation within populations.

Trait variation and genetic diversity in a banana genomic selection training population.

PubMed

Nyine, Moses; Uwimana, Brigitte; Swennen, Rony; Batte, Michael; Brown, Allan; Christelová, Pavla; Hřibová, Eva; Lorenzen, Jim; Doležel, Jaroslav

2017-01-01

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important crop in the African Great Lakes region in terms of income and food security, with the highest per capita consumption worldwide. Pests, diseases and climate change hamper sustainable production of bananas. New breeding tools with increased crossbreeding efficiency are being investigated to breed for resistant, high yielding hybrids of East African Highland banana (EAHB). These include genomic selection (GS), which will benefit breeding through increased genetic gain per unit time. Understanding trait variation and the correlation among economically important traits is an essential first step in the development and selection of suitable GS models for banana. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that trait variations in bananas are not affected by cross combination, cycle, field management and their interaction with genotype. A training population created using EAHB breeding material and its progeny was phenotyped in two contrasting conditions. A high level of correlation among vegetative and yield related traits was observed. Therefore, genomic selection models could be developed for traits that are easily measured. It is likely that the predictive ability of traits that are difficult to phenotype will be similar to less difficult traits they are highly correlated with. Genotype response to cycle and field management practices varied greatly with respect to traits. Yield related traits accounted for 31-35% of principal component variation under low and high input field management conditions. Resistance to Black Sigatoka was stable across cycles but varied under different field management depending on the genotype. The best cross combination was 1201K-1xSH3217 based on selection response (R) of hybrids. Genotyping using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers revealed that the training population was genetically diverse, reflecting a complex pedigree background, which was mostly influenced by the male parents.

Social trait judgment and affect recognition from static faces and video vignettes in schizophrenia.

PubMed

McIntosh, Lindsey G; Park, Sohee

2014-09-01

Social impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, present from the pre-morbid stage and predictive of outcome, but the etiology of this deficit remains poorly understood. Successful and adaptive social interactions depend on one's ability to make rapid and accurate judgments about others in real time. Our surprising ability to form accurate first impressions from brief exposures, known as "thin slices" of behavior has been studied very extensively in healthy participants. We sought to examine affect and social trait judgment from thin slices of static or video stimuli in order to investigate the ability of schizophrenic individuals to form reliable social impressions of others. 21 individuals with schizophrenia (SZ) and 20 matched healthy participants (HC) were asked to identify emotions and social traits for actors in standardized face stimuli as well as brief video clips. Sound was removed from videos to remove all verbal cues. Clinical symptoms in SZ and delusional ideation in both groups were measured. Results showed a general impairment in affect recognition for both types of stimuli in SZ. However, the two groups did not differ in the judgments of trustworthiness, approachability, attractiveness, and intelligence. Interestingly, in SZ, the severity of positive symptoms was correlated with higher ratings of attractiveness, trustworthiness, and approachability. Finally, increased delusional ideation in SZ was associated with a tendency to rate others as more trustworthy, while the opposite was true for HC. These findings suggest that complex social judgments in SZ are affected by symptomatology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adaptive introgression of abiotic tolerance traits in the sunflower Helianthus annuus.

PubMed

Whitney, Kenneth D; Randell, Rebecca A; Rieseberg, Loren H

2010-07-01

*Adaptive trait introgression is increasingly recognized as common. However, it is unclear whether adaptive genetic exchanges typically affect only a single trait, or instead affect multiple aspects of the phenotype. Here, we examine introgression of abiotic tolerance traits between two hybridizing North American sunflower species, Helianthus annuus and Helianthus debilis. *In two common gardens in the hybrid range, we measured 10 ecophysiological, phenological, and architectural traits for parents and their natural and artificial hybrids, and examined how fitness covaried with trait values. *Eight of the 10 traits showed patterns consistent with introgression from H. debilis into H. annuus, and suggested that H. debilis-like traits allowing rapid growth and reproduction before summer heat and drought have been favored in the hybrid range. Natural selection currently favors BC(1) hybrids with H. debilis-like branching traits. *We demonstrate that introgression has altered multiple aspects of the H. annuus phenotype in an adaptive manner, has affected traits relevant to both biotic and abiotic environments, and may have aided expansion of the H. annuus range into central Texas, USA.

Camelina sativa, an oilseed at the nexus between model system and commercial crop.

PubMed

Malik, Meghna R; Tang, Jihong; Sharma, Nirmala; Burkitt, Claire; Ji, Yuanyuan; Mykytyshyn, Marie; Bohmert-Tatarev, Karen; Peoples, Oliver; Snell, Kristi D

2018-06-07

The rapid assessment of metabolic engineering strategies in plants is aided by crops that provide simple, high throughput transformation systems, a sequenced genome, and the ability to evaluate the resulting plants in field trials. Camelina sativa provides all of these attributes in a robust oilseed platform. The ability to perform field evaluation of Camelina is a useful, and in some studies essential benefit that allows researchers to evaluate how traits perform outside the strictly controlled conditions of a greenhouse. In the field the plants are subjected to higher light intensities, seasonal diurnal variations in temperature and light, competition for nutrients, and watering regimes dictated by natural weather patterns, all which may affect trait performance. There are difficulties associated with the use of Camelina. The current genetic resources available for Camelina pale in comparison to those developed for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana; however, the sequence similarity of the Arabidopsis and Camelina genomes often allows the use of Arabidopsis as a reference when additional information is needed. Camelina's genome, an allohexaploid, is more complex than other model crops, but the diploid inheritance of its three subgenomes is straightforward. The need to navigate three copies of each gene in genome editing or mutagenesis experiments adds some complexity but also provides advantages for gene dosage experiments. The ability to quickly engineer Camelina with novel traits, advance generations, and bulk up homozygous lines for small-scale field tests in less than a year, in our opinion, far outweighs the complexities associated with the crop.

Performance of Djallonké sheep under an extensive system of production in Faranah, Guinea.

PubMed

Mourad, M; Gbanamou, G; Balde, I B

2001-10-01

A total of 147 ewes, 4 rams and 188 lambs of their progeny of the Djallonké breed of sheep were used to study the factors affecting reproductive and growth traits and the causes of lamb mortality. Data on ewes were collected during a 12-month period, while those on the lambs born to 123 of the ewes were collected until they were 12 months of age. The average fertility and abortion rates were 0.84 and 0.09. The fertility rate increased and the abortion rate decreased with increasing age of the ewes (p<0.05). The number of lambs born per ewe joined, litter weight at birth per ewe joined and litter weight at weaning per ewe joined were 1.28, 3.5 kg and 17 kg, respectively. The average numbers of lambs born per ewe, lambs born alive per ewe, lambs born dead per ewe and lambs per ewe that died between birth and weaning were 1.53, 1.43, 0.03 and 0.3, respectively. The age of the ewes significantly (p<0.05) affected all these traits except the number of dead lambs and the index of fertility (94%). The age of the ewes significantly (p<0.05) affected the birth weight and the weight at 6 and 12 months of age, whereas the lambing season significantly (p<0.05) affected all the growth traits studied. The type of birth was the most important source of variation in body weights of lambs. Sex had no significant (p>0.05) effect on the growth traits studied. The complex 'starvation-bad management-light body weight at birth' caused 48% of the lamb mortality between birth and weaning, while diarrhoea, pneumonia and internal and external parasites caused approximately 52% of the lamb mortality over the same period. The seasonal raw mortality rate of the lambs before weaning was highest in the humid season.

Direct power comparisons between simple LOD scores and NPL scores for linkage analysis in complex diseases.

PubMed

Abreu, P C; Greenberg, D A; Hodge, S E

1999-09-01

Several methods have been proposed for linkage analysis of complex traits with unknown mode of inheritance. These methods include the LOD score maximized over disease models (MMLS) and the "nonparametric" linkage (NPL) statistic. In previous work, we evaluated the increase of type I error when maximizing over two or more genetic models, and we compared the power of MMLS to detect linkage, in a number of complex modes of inheritance, with analysis assuming the true model. In the present study, we compare MMLS and NPL directly. We simulated 100 data sets with 20 families each, using 26 generating models: (1) 4 intermediate models (penetrance of heterozygote between that of the two homozygotes); (2) 6 two-locus additive models; and (3) 16 two-locus heterogeneity models (admixture alpha = 1.0,.7,.5, and.3; alpha = 1.0 replicates simple Mendelian models). For LOD scores, we assumed dominant and recessive inheritance with 50% penetrance. We took the higher of the two maximum LOD scores and subtracted 0.3 to correct for multiple tests (MMLS-C). We compared expected maximum LOD scores and power, using MMLS-C and NPL as well as the true model. Since NPL uses only the affected family members, we also performed an affecteds-only analysis using MMLS-C. The MMLS-C was both uniformly more powerful than NPL for most cases we examined, except when linkage information was low, and close to the results for the true model under locus heterogeneity. We still found better power for the MMLS-C compared with NPL in affecteds-only analysis. The results show that use of two simple modes of inheritance at a fixed penetrance can have more power than NPL when the trait mode of inheritance is complex and when there is heterogeneity in the data set.

Vector-virus interactions and transmission dynamics of West Nile virus.

PubMed

Ciota, Alexander T; Kramer, Laura D

2013-12-09

West Nile virus (WNV; Flavivirus; Flaviviridae) is the cause of the most widespread arthropod-borne viral disease in the world and the largest outbreak of neuroinvasive disease ever observed. Mosquito-borne outbreaks are influenced by intrinsic (e.g., vector and viral genetics, vector and host competence, vector life-history traits) and extrinsic (e.g., temperature, rainfall, human land use) factors that affect virus activity and mosquito biology in complex ways. The concept of vectorial capacity integrates these factors to address interactions of the virus with the arthropod host, leading to a clearer understanding of their complex interrelationships, how they affect transmission of vector-borne disease, and how they impact human health. Vertebrate factors including host competence, population dynamics, and immune status also affect transmission dynamics. The complexity of these interactions are further exacerbated by the fact that not only can divergent hosts differentially alter the virus, but the virus also can affect both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts in ways that significantly alter patterns of virus transmission. This chapter concentrates on selected components of the virus-vector-vertebrate interrelationship, focusing specifically on how interactions between vector, virus, and environment shape the patterns and intensity of WNV transmission.

Vector-Virus Interactions and Transmission Dynamics of West Nile Virus

PubMed Central

Ciota, Alexander T.; Kramer, Laura D.

2013-01-01

West Nile virus (WNV; Flavivirus; Flaviviridae) is the cause of the most widespread arthropod-borne viral disease in the world and the largest outbreak of neuroinvasive disease ever observed. Mosquito-borne outbreaks are influenced by intrinsic (e.g., vector and viral genetics, vector and host competence, vector life-history traits) and extrinsic (e.g., temperature, rainfall, human land use) factors that affect virus activity and mosquito biology in complex ways. The concept of vectorial capacity integrates these factors to address interactions of the virus with the arthropod host, leading to a clearer understanding of their complex interrelationships, how they affect transmission of vector-borne disease, and how they impact human health. Vertebrate factors including host competence, population dynamics, and immune status also affect transmission dynamics. The complexity of these interactions are further exacerbated by the fact that not only can divergent hosts differentially alter the virus, but the virus also can affect both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts in ways that significantly alter patterns of virus transmission. This chapter concentrates on selected components of the virus-vector-vertebrate interrelationship, focusing specifically on how interactions between vector, virus, and environment shape the patterns and intensity of WNV transmission. PMID:24351794

Disentangling the Correlated Evolution of Monogamy and Cooperation.

PubMed

Dillard, Jacqueline R; Westneat, David F

2016-07-01

Lifetime genetic monogamy, by increasing sibling relatedness, has been proposed as an important causal factor in the evolution of altruism. Monogamy, however, could influence the subsequent evolution of cooperation in other ways. We present several alternative, non-mutually exclusive, evolutionary processes that could explain the correlated evolution of monogamy and cooperation. Our analysis of these possibilities reveals that many ecological or social factors can affect all three variables of Hamilton's Rule simultaneously, thus calling for a more holistic, systems-level approach to studying the evolution of social traits. This perspective reveals novel dimensions to coevolutionary relationships and provides solutions for assigning causality in complex cases of correlated social trait evolution, such as the sequential evolution of monogamy and cooperation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mapping complex traits as a dynamic system

PubMed Central

Sun, Lidan; Wu, Rongling

2017-01-01

Despite increasing emphasis on the genetic study of quantitative traits, we are still far from being able to chart a clear picture of their genetic architecture, given an inherent complexity involved in trait formation. A competing theory for studying such complex traits has emerged by viewing their phenotypic formation as a “system” in which a high-dimensional group of interconnected components act and interact across different levels of biological organization from molecules through cells to whole organisms. This system is initiated by a machinery of DNA sequences that regulate a cascade of biochemical pathways to synthesize endophenotypes and further assemble these endophenotypes toward the end-point phenotype in virtue of various developmental changes. This review focuses on a conceptual framework for genetic mapping of complex traits by which to delineate the underlying components, interactions and mechanisms that govern the system according to biological principles and understand how these components function synergistically under the control of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to comprise a unified whole. This framework is built by a system of differential equations that quantifies how alterations of different components lead to the global change of trait development and function, and provides a quantitative and testable platform for assessing the multiscale interplay between QTLs and development. The method will enable geneticists to shed light on the genetic complexity of any biological system and predict, alter or engineer its physiological and pathological states. PMID:25772476

Genome-Wide Association Study for Muscle Fat Content and Abdominal Fat Traits in Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

PubMed Central

Zheng, Xianhu; Kuang, Youyi; Lv, Weihua; Cao, Dingchen; Sun, Zhipeng; Sun, Xiaowen

2016-01-01

Muscle fat content is an important phenotypic trait in fish, as it affects the nutritional, technical and sensory qualities of flesh. To identify loci and candidate genes associated with muscle fat content and abdominal fat traits, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using the common carp 250 K SNP assay in a common carp F2 resource population. A total of 18 loci surpassing the genome-wide suggestive significance level were detected for 4 traits: fat content in dorsal muscle (MFdo), fat content in abdominal muscle (MFab), abdominal fat weight (AbFW), and AbFW as a percentage of eviscerated weight (AbFP). Among them, one SNP (carp089419) affecting both AbFW and AbFP reached the genome-wide significance level. Ten of those loci were harbored in or near known genes. Furthermore, relative expressions of 5 genes related to MFdo were compared using dorsal muscle samples with high and low phenotypic values. The results showed that 4 genes were differentially expressed between the high and low phenotypic groups. These genes are, therefore, prospective candidate genes for muscle fat content: ankyrin repeat domain 10a (ankrd10a), tetratricopeptide repeat, ankyrin repeat and coiled-coil containing 2 (tanc2), and four jointed box 1 (fjx1) and choline kinase alpha (chka). These results offer valuable insights into the complex genetic basis of fat metabolism and deposition. PMID:28030623

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect

PubMed Central

Ladd, Sandra L.; Gabrieli, John D. E.

2015-01-01

The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effect. Participants’ trait (Study 1) and state (Study 2) anxiety were characterized with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Greater trait and state anxiety correlated with greater negative affect and lesser positive affect. In both experiments, greater anxiety was associated with a reduced mere exposure effect. Measures of fluency (response times at study and test) were unrelated to the mere exposure effect. These findings support the role of affective processes in the mere exposure effect, and offer a new insight into the nature of anxiety such that anxiety is associated with a reduced experience of positive affect typically associated with familiarity. PMID:26074851

Trait and state anxiety reduce the mere exposure effect.

PubMed

Ladd, Sandra L; Gabrieli, John D E

2015-01-01

The mere exposure effect refers to an affective preference elicited by exposure to previously unfamiliar items. Although it is a well-established finding, its mechanism remains uncertain, with some positing that it reflects affective processes and others positing that it reflects perceptual or motor fluency with repeated items. Here we examined whether individual differences in trait and state anxiety, which have been associated with the experience of emotion, influence the mere exposure effect. Participants' trait (Study 1) and state (Study 2) anxiety were characterized with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Greater trait and state anxiety correlated with greater negative affect and lesser positive affect. In both experiments, greater anxiety was associated with a reduced mere exposure effect. Measures of fluency (response times at study and test) were unrelated to the mere exposure effect. These findings support the role of affective processes in the mere exposure effect, and offer a new insight into the nature of anxiety such that anxiety is associated with a reduced experience of positive affect typically associated with familiarity.

Evolutionary consequence of a change in life cycle complexity: A link between precocious development and evolution toward female-biased sex allocation in a hermaphroditic parasite.

PubMed

Kasl, Emily L; McAllister, Chris T; Robison, Henry W; Connior, Matthew B; Font, William F; Criscione, Charles D

2015-12-01

The evolutionary consequences of changes in the complex life cycles of parasites are not limited to the traits that directly affect transmission. For instance, mating systems that are altered due to precocious sexual maturation in what is typically regarded as an intermediate host may impact opportunities for outcrossing. In turn, reproductive traits may evolve to optimize sex allocation. Here, we test the hypothesis that sex allocation evolved toward a more female-biased function in populations of the hermaphroditic digenean trematode Alloglossidium progeneticum that can precociously reproduce in their second hosts. In these precocious populations, parasites are forced to self-fertilize as they remain encysted in their second hosts. In contrast, parasites in obligate three-host populations have more opportunities to outcross in their third host. We found strong support that in populations with precocious development, allocation to male resources was greatly reduced. We also identified a potential phenotypically plastic response in a body size sex allocation relationship that may be driven by the competition for mates. These results emphasize how changes in life cycle patterns that alter mating systems can impact the evolution of reproductive traits in parasites. © 2015 The Author(s). Evolution © 2015 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Joint analysis of quantitative trait loci and major-effect causative mutations affecting meat quality and carcass composition traits in pigs.

PubMed

Cherel, Pierre; Pires, José; Glénisson, Jérôme; Milan, Denis; Iannuccelli, Nathalie; Hérault, Frédéric; Damon, Marie; Le Roy, Pascale

2011-08-29

Detection of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting meat quality traits in pigs is crucial for the design of efficient marker-assisted selection programs and to initiate efforts toward the identification of underlying polymorphisms. The RYR1 and PRKAG3 causative mutations, originally identified from major effects on meat characteristics, can be used both as controls for an overall QTL detection strategy for diversely affected traits and as a scale for detected QTL effects. We report on a microsatellite-based QTL detection scan including all autosomes for pig meat quality and carcass composition traits in an F2 population of 1,000 females and barrows resulting from an intercross between a Pietrain and a Large White-Hampshire-Duroc synthetic sire line. Our QTL detection design allowed side-by-side comparison of the RYR1 and PRKAG3 mutation effects seen as QTLs when segregating at low frequencies (0.03-0.08), with independent QTL effects detected from most of the same population, excluding any carrier of these mutations. Large QTL effects were detected in the absence of the RYR1 and PRKGA3 mutations, accounting for 12.7% of phenotypic variation in loin colour redness CIE-a* on SSC6 and 15% of phenotypic variation in glycolytic potential on SSC1. We detected 8 significant QTLs with effects on meat quality traits and 20 significant QTLs for carcass composition and growth traits under these conditions. In control analyses including mutation carriers, RYR1 and PRKAG3 mutations were detected as QTLs, from highly significant to suggestive, and explained 53% to 5% of the phenotypic variance according to the trait. Our results suggest that part of muscle development and backfat thickness effects commonly attributed to the RYR1 mutation may be a consequence of linkage with independent QTLs affecting those traits. The proportion of variation explained by the most significant QTLs detected in this work is close to the influence of major-effect mutations on the least affected traits, but is one order of magnitude lower than effect on variance of traits primarily affected by these causative mutations. This suggests that uncovering physiological traits directly affected by genetic polymorphisms would be an appropriate approach for further characterization of QTLs.

Joint analysis of quantitative trait loci and major-effect causative mutations affecting meat quality and carcass composition traits in pigs

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Detection of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting meat quality traits in pigs is crucial for the design of efficient marker-assisted selection programs and to initiate efforts toward the identification of underlying polymorphisms. The RYR1 and PRKAG3 causative mutations, originally identified from major effects on meat characteristics, can be used both as controls for an overall QTL detection strategy for diversely affected traits and as a scale for detected QTL effects. We report on a microsatellite-based QTL detection scan including all autosomes for pig meat quality and carcass composition traits in an F2 population of 1,000 females and barrows resulting from an intercross between a Pietrain and a Large White-Hampshire-Duroc synthetic sire line. Our QTL detection design allowed side-by-side comparison of the RYR1 and PRKAG3 mutation effects seen as QTLs when segregating at low frequencies (0.03-0.08), with independent QTL effects detected from most of the same population, excluding any carrier of these mutations. Results Large QTL effects were detected in the absence of the RYR1 and PRKGA3 mutations, accounting for 12.7% of phenotypic variation in loin colour redness CIE-a* on SSC6 and 15% of phenotypic variation in glycolytic potential on SSC1. We detected 8 significant QTLs with effects on meat quality traits and 20 significant QTLs for carcass composition and growth traits under these conditions. In control analyses including mutation carriers, RYR1 and PRKAG3 mutations were detected as QTLs, from highly significant to suggestive, and explained 53% to 5% of the phenotypic variance according to the trait. Conclusions Our results suggest that part of muscle development and backfat thickness effects commonly attributed to the RYR1 mutation may be a consequence of linkage with independent QTLs affecting those traits. The proportion of variation explained by the most significant QTLs detected in this work is close to the influence of major-effect mutations on the least affected traits, but is one order of magnitude lower than effect on variance of traits primarily affected by these causative mutations. This suggests that uncovering physiological traits directly affected by genetic polymorphisms would be an appropriate approach for further characterization of QTLs. PMID:21875434

Psychosocial predictors of affect in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.

PubMed

Peñacoba, Cecilia; González, M José; Santos, Noelia; Romero, Martín

2014-02-01

In this paper we propose to study the role of psychosocial variables in affect in adult patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, considering that affect is a key variable in treatment adherence. Seventy-four patients (average age 33,24 ± 10,56) with metal multibracket-fixed orthodontic treatment were included. Patients were assessed twice. The first stage, at the beginning of treatment, included assessment of dental impact (Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire), trait anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), self-esteem (Rosenberg's self-esteem scale), and self-efficacy (General Self-efficacy Scale). In the second stage, 6 months later, positive and negative affect towards treatment was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Dental social impact differentiates between patients with high and low negative affect, while self-efficacy differentiates between patients with high and low positive affect. Trait anxiety and self-esteem differentiate between both types of affect (positive and negative). Trait anxiety and self-esteem (when trait anxiety weight is controlled) are significant predictor variables of affective balance. These results have important practical implications, because it seems essential to adopt a bio-psychosocial model incorporating assessment methods focusing on day-to-day changes in mood and well-being.

Linguistic Diversity and Traffic Accidents: Lessons from Statistical Studies of Cultural Traits

PubMed Central

Roberts, Seán; Winters, James

2013-01-01

The recent proliferation of digital databases of cultural and linguistic data, together with new statistical techniques becoming available has lead to a rise in so-called nomothetic studies [1]–[8]. These seek relationships between demographic variables and cultural traits from large, cross-cultural datasets. The insights from these studies are important for understanding how cultural traits evolve. While these studies are fascinating and are good at generating testable hypotheses, they may underestimate the probability of finding spurious correlations between cultural traits. Here we show that this kind of approach can find links between such unlikely cultural traits as traffic accidents, levels of extra-martial sex, political collectivism and linguistic diversity. This suggests that spurious correlations, due to historical descent, geographic diffusion or increased noise-to-signal ratios in large datasets, are much more likely than some studies admit. We suggest some criteria for the evaluation of nomothetic studies and some practical solutions to the problems. Since some of these studies are receiving media attention without a widespread understanding of the complexities of the issue, there is a risk that poorly controlled studies could affect policy. We hope to contribute towards a general skepticism for correlational studies by demonstrating the ease of finding apparently rigorous correlations between cultural traits. Despite this, we see well-controlled nomothetic studies as useful tools for the development of theories. PMID:23967132

Linguistic diversity and traffic accidents: lessons from statistical studies of cultural traits.

PubMed

Roberts, Seán; Winters, James

2013-01-01

The recent proliferation of digital databases of cultural and linguistic data, together with new statistical techniques becoming available has lead to a rise in so-called nomothetic studies [1]-[8]. These seek relationships between demographic variables and cultural traits from large, cross-cultural datasets. The insights from these studies are important for understanding how cultural traits evolve. While these studies are fascinating and are good at generating testable hypotheses, they may underestimate the probability of finding spurious correlations between cultural traits. Here we show that this kind of approach can find links between such unlikely cultural traits as traffic accidents, levels of extra-martial sex, political collectivism and linguistic diversity. This suggests that spurious correlations, due to historical descent, geographic diffusion or increased noise-to-signal ratios in large datasets, are much more likely than some studies admit. We suggest some criteria for the evaluation of nomothetic studies and some practical solutions to the problems. Since some of these studies are receiving media attention without a widespread understanding of the complexities of the issue, there is a risk that poorly controlled studies could affect policy. We hope to contribute towards a general skepticism for correlational studies by demonstrating the ease of finding apparently rigorous correlations between cultural traits. Despite this, we see well-controlled nomothetic studies as useful tools for the development of theories.

Rapid evolution of hosts begets species diversity at the cost of intraspecific diversity.

PubMed

Frickel, Jens; Theodosiou, Loukas; Becks, Lutz

2017-10-17

Ecosystems are complex food webs in which multiple species interact and ecological and evolutionary processes continuously shape populations and communities. Previous studies on eco-evolutionary dynamics have shown that the presence of intraspecific diversity affects community structure and function, and that eco-evolutionary feedback dynamics can be an important driver for its maintenance. Within communities, feedbacks are, however, often indirect, and they can feed back over many generations. Here, we studied eco-evolutionary feedbacks in evolving communities over many generations and compared two-species systems (virus-host and prey-predator) with a more complex three-species system (virus-host-predator). Both indirect density- and trait-mediated effects drove the dynamics in the complex system, where host-virus coevolution facilitated coexistence of predator and virus, and where coexistence, in return, lowered intraspecific diversity of the host population. Furthermore, ecological and evolutionary dynamics were significantly altered in the three-species system compared with the two-species systems. We found that the predator slowed host-virus coevolution in the complex system and that the virus' effect on the overall population dynamics was negligible when the three species coexisted. Overall, we show that a detailed understanding of the mechanism driving eco-evolutionary feedback dynamics is necessary for explaining trait and species diversity in communities, even in communities with only three species.

Cortical and Autonomic Stress Responses in Adults with High Versus Low Levels of Trait Anxiety: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Brugnera, A; Zarbo, C; Adorni, R; Compare, A; Sakatani, K

2017-01-01

Stress responses are mediated by complex patterns of cortical and autonomic activity. Earlier studies showed increased recruitment of the right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and parasympathetic withdrawal during a stress task; however, it remains unclear whether these responses change in relation to different levels of psychopathological symptoms, such as trait anxiety. The present study examines the effect of a mathematical task (with a control condition and a stressful/experimental condition) on the PFC and autonomic activity, using a two-channel near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and an ECG monitoring system. After a preliminary screening of 65 subjects, a sample of 12 individuals (6 with the highest and 6 with the lowest scores on an anxiety questionnaire, i.e. the STAI trait) was selected. The two groups were similar regarding demographic variables (age, sex, body mass index) and baseline STAI-state scores. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to compare changes from baseline in oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb), heart rate (HR) and root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) between the two groups. Individuals affected by high levels of trait anxiety showed a reduced bilateral PFC activity during the entire experimental procedure compared to those with low anxiety. No differences in NIRS channels were found between the two groups. During both conditions, RMSSD was lower among individuals affected by high levels of anxious symptoms. Finally, throughout the procedure, changes in HR were higher in the anxious group. Overall, these findings suggest a reduced PFC activity and a larger parasympathetic withdrawal during a stress task in individuals with high levels of trait anxiety compared to those with low anxiety. These results could represent a starting point for future NIRS and ECG studies on the relationship between mental disorders and acute stress responses.

Localization of canine brachycephaly using an across breed mapping approach.

PubMed

Bannasch, Danika; Young, Amy; Myers, Jeffrey; Truvé, Katarina; Dickinson, Peter; Gregg, Jeffrey; Davis, Ryan; Bongcam-Rudloff, Eric; Webster, Matthew T; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Pedersen, Niels

2010-03-10

The domestic dog, Canis familiaris, exhibits profound phenotypic diversity and is an ideal model organism for the genetic dissection of simple and complex traits. However, some of the most interesting phenotypes are fixed in particular breeds and are therefore less tractable to genetic analysis using classical segregation-based mapping approaches. We implemented an across breed mapping approach using a moderately dense SNP array, a low number of animals and breeds carefully selected for the phenotypes of interest to identify genetic variants responsible for breed-defining characteristics. Using a modest number of affected (10-30) and control (20-60) samples from multiple breeds, the correct chromosomal assignment was identified in a proof of concept experiment using three previously defined loci; hyperuricosuria, white spotting and chondrodysplasia. Genome-wide association was performed in a similar manner for one of the most striking morphological traits in dogs: brachycephalic head type. Although candidate gene approaches based on comparable phenotypes in mice and humans have been utilized for this trait, the causative gene has remained elusive using this method. Samples from nine affected breeds and thirteen control breeds identified strong genome-wide associations for brachycephalic head type on Cfa 1. Two independent datasets identified the same genomic region. Levels of relative heterozygosity in the associated region indicate that it has been subjected to a selective sweep, consistent with it being a breed defining morphological characteristic. Genotyping additional dogs in the region confirmed the association. To date, the genetic structure of dog breeds has primarily been exploited for genome wide association for segregating traits. These results demonstrate that non-segregating traits under strong selection are equally tractable to genetic analysis using small sample numbers.

Affective traits link to reliable neural markers of incentive anticipation.

PubMed

Wu, Charlene C; Samanez-Larkin, Gregory R; Katovich, Kiefer; Knutson, Brian

2014-01-01

While theorists have speculated that different affective traits are linked to reliable brain activity during anticipation of gains and losses, few have directly tested this prediction. We examined these associations in a community sample of healthy human adults (n=52) as they played a Monetary Incentive Delay task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). Factor analysis of personality measures revealed that subjects independently varied in trait Positive Arousal and trait Negative Arousal. In a subsample (n=14) retested over 2.5years later, left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activity during anticipation of large gains (+$5.00) and right anterior insula activity during anticipation of large losses (-$5.00) showed significant test-retest reliability (intraclass correlations>0.50, p's<0.01). In the full sample (n=52), trait Positive Arousal correlated with individual differences in left NAcc activity during anticipation of large gains, while trait Negative Arousal correlated with individual differences in right anterior insula activity during anticipation of large losses. Associations of affective traits with neural activity were not attributable to the influence of other potential confounds (including sex, age, wealth, and motion). Together, these results demonstrate selective links between distinct affective traits and reliably-elicited activity in neural circuits associated with anticipation of gain versus loss. The findings thus reveal neural markers for affective dimensions of healthy personality, and potentially for related psychiatric symptoms. © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fisher's geometrical model emerges as a property of complex integrated phenotypic networks.

PubMed

Martin, Guillaume

2014-05-01

Models relating phenotype space to fitness (phenotype-fitness landscapes) have seen important developments recently. They can roughly be divided into mechanistic models (e.g., metabolic networks) and more heuristic models like Fisher's geometrical model. Each has its own drawbacks, but both yield testable predictions on how the context (genomic background or environment) affects the distribution of mutation effects on fitness and thus adaptation. Both have received some empirical validation. This article aims at bridging the gap between these approaches. A derivation of the Fisher model "from first principles" is proposed, where the basic assumptions emerge from a more general model, inspired by mechanistic networks. I start from a general phenotypic network relating unspecified phenotypic traits and fitness. A limited set of qualitative assumptions is then imposed, mostly corresponding to known features of phenotypic networks: a large set of traits is pleiotropically affected by mutations and determines a much smaller set of traits under optimizing selection. Otherwise, the model remains fairly general regarding the phenotypic processes involved or the distribution of mutation effects affecting the network. A statistical treatment and a local approximation close to a fitness optimum yield a landscape that is effectively the isotropic Fisher model or its extension with a single dominant phenotypic direction. The fit of the resulting alternative distributions is illustrated in an empirical data set. These results bear implications on the validity of Fisher's model's assumptions and on which features of mutation fitness effects may vary (or not) across genomic or environmental contexts.

Characterizing Male–Female Interactions Using Natural Genetic Variation in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Reinhart, Michael; Carney, Tara; Clark, Andrew G.

2015-01-01

Drosophila melanogaster females commonly mate with multiple males establishing the opportunity for pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection. Traits impacting sexual selection can be affected by a complex interplay of the genotypes of the competing males, the genotype of the female, and compatibilities between the males and females. We scored males from 96 2nd and 94 3rd chromosome substitution lines for traits affecting reproductive success when mated with females from 3 different genetic backgrounds. The traits included male-induced female refractoriness, male remating ability, the proportion of offspring sired under competitive conditions and male-induced female fecundity. We observed significant effects of male line, female genetic background, and strong male by female interactions. Some males appeared to be “generalists” and performed consistently across the different females; other males appeared to be “specialists” and performed very well with a particular female and poorly with others. “Specialist” males did not, however, prefer to court those females with whom they had the highest reproductive fitness. Using 143 polymorphisms in male reproductive genes, we mapped several genes that had consistent effects across the different females including a derived, high fitness allele in Acp26Aa that may be the target of adaptive evolution. We also identified a polymorphism upstream of PebII that may interact with the female genetic background to affect male-induced refractoriness to remating. These results suggest that natural variation in PebII might contribute to the observed male–female interactions. PMID:25425680

Depressive Symptoms and Their Interactions With Emotions and Personality Traits Over Time: Interaction Networks in a Psychiatric Clinic.

PubMed

Semino, Laura N; Marksteiner, Josef; Brauchle, Gernot; Danay, Erik

2017-04-13

Associations between depression, personality traits, and emotions are complex and reciprocal. The aim of this study is to explore these interactions in dynamical networks and in a linear way over time depending on the severity of depression. Participants included 110 patients with depressive symptoms (DSM-5 criteria) who were recruited between October 2015 and February 2016 during their inpatient stay in a general psychiatric hospital in Hall in Tyrol, Austria. The patients filled out the Beck Depression Inventory-II, a German emotional competence questionnaire (Emotionale Kompetenz Fragebogen), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the German versions of the Big Five Inventory-short form and State-Trait-Anxiety-Depression Inventory regarding symptoms, emotions, and personality during their inpatient stay and at a 3-month follow-up by mail. Network and regression analyses were performed to explore interactions both in a linear and a dynamical way at baseline and 3 months later. Regression analyses showed that emotions and personality traits gain importance for the prediction of depressive symptoms with decreasing symptomatology at follow-up (personality: baseline, adjusted R2 = 0.24, P < .001; follow-up, adjusted R2 = 0.65, P < .001). Network analyses additionally showed that the interaction network of depression, emotions, and personality traits is significantly denser and more interconnected (network comparison test: P = .03) at follow-up than at baseline, meaning that with decreased symptoms interconnections get stronger. During depression, personality traits and emotions are walled off and not strongly interconnected with depressive symptoms in networks. With decreasing depressive symptomatology, interfusing of these areas begins and interconnections become stronger. This finding has practical implications for interventions in an acute depressive state and with decreased symptoms. The network approach offers a new perspective on interactions and is a way to make the complexity of these interactions more tangible. © Copyright 2017 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Ancestral Exposure to Stress Generates New Behavioral Traits and a Functional Hemispheric Dominance Shift.

PubMed

Ambeskovic, Mirela; Soltanpour, Nasrin; Falkenberg, Erin A; Zucchi, Fabiola C R; Kolb, Bryan; Metz, Gerlinde A S

2017-03-01

In a continuously stressful environment, the effects of recurrent prenatal stress (PS) accumulate across generations and generate new behavioral traits in the absence of genetic variation. Here, we investigated if PS or multigenerational PS across 4 generations differentially affect behavioral traits, laterality, and hemispheric dominance in male and female rats. Using skilled reaching and skilled walking tasks, 3 findings support the formation of new behavioral traits and shifted laterality by multigenerational stress. First, while PS in the F1 generation did not alter paw preference, multigenerational stress in the F4 generation shifted paw preference to favor left-handedness only in males. Second, multigenerational stress impaired skilled reaching and skilled walking movement abilities in males, while improving these abilities in females beyond the levels of controls. Third, the shift toward left-handedness in multigenerationally stressed males was accompanied by increased dendritic complexity and greater spine density in the right parietal cortex. Thus, cumulative multigenerational stress generates sexually dimorphic left-handedness and dominance shift toward the right hemisphere in males. These findings explain the origins of apparently heritable behavioral traits and handedness in the absence of DNA sequence variations while proposing epigenetic mechanisms. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Extent of QTL Reuse During Repeated Phenotypic Divergence of Sympatric Threespine Stickleback.

PubMed

Conte, Gina L; Arnegard, Matthew E; Best, Jacob; Chan, Yingguang Frank; Jones, Felicity C; Kingsley, David M; Schluter, Dolph; Peichel, Catherine L

2015-11-01

How predictable is the genetic basis of phenotypic adaptation? Answering this question begins by estimating the repeatability of adaptation at the genetic level. Here, we provide a comprehensive estimate of the repeatability of the genetic basis of adaptive phenotypic evolution in a natural system. We used quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping to discover genomic regions controlling a large number of morphological traits that have diverged in parallel between pairs of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus species complex) in Paxton and Priest lakes, British Columbia. We found that nearly half of QTL affected the same traits in the same direction in both species pairs. Another 40% influenced a parallel phenotypic trait in one lake but not the other. The remaining 10% of QTL had phenotypic effects in opposite directions in the two species pairs. Similarity in the proportional contributions of all QTL to parallel trait differences was about 0.4. Surprisingly, QTL reuse was unrelated to phenotypic effect size. Our results indicate that repeated use of the same genomic regions is a pervasive feature of parallel phenotypic adaptation, at least in sticklebacks. Identifying the causes of this pattern would aid prediction of the genetic basis of phenotypic evolution. Copyright © 2015 by the Genetics Society of America.

From metamorphosis to maturity in complex life cycles: equal performance of different juvenile life history pathways.

PubMed

Schmidt, Benedikt R; Hödl, Walter; Schaub, Michael

2012-03-01

Performance in one stage of a complex life cycle may affect performance in the subsequent stage. Animals that start a new stage at a smaller size than conspecifics may either always remain smaller or they may be able to "catch up" through plasticity, usually elevated growth rates. We study how size at and date of metamorphosis affected subsequent performance in the terrestrial juvenile stage and lifetime fitness of spadefoot toads (Pelobates fuscus). We analyzed capture-recapture data of > 3000 individuals sampled during nine years with mark-recapture models to estimate first-year juvenile survival probabilities and age-specific first-time breeding probabilities of toads, followed by model selection to assess whether these probabilities were correlated with size at and date of metamorphosis. Males attained maturity after two years, whereas females reached maturity 2-4 years after metamorphosis. Age at maturity was weakly correlated with metamorphic traits. In both sexes, first-year juvenile survival depended positively on date of metamorphosis and, in males, also negatively on size at metamorphosis. In males, toads that metamorphosed early at a small size had the highest probability to reach maturity. However, because very few toadlets metamorphosed early, the vast majority of male metamorphs had a very similar probability to reach maturity. A matrix projection model constructed for females showed that different juvenile life history pathways resulted in similar lifetime fitness. We found that the effects of date of and size at metamorphosis on different juvenile traits cancelled each other out such that toads that were small or large at metamorphosis had equal performance. Because the costs and benefits of juvenile life history pathways may also depend on population fluctuations, ample phenotypic variation in life history traits may be maintained.

A simple model clarifies the complicated relationships of complex networks

PubMed Central

Zheng, Bojin; Wu, Hongrun; Kuang, Li; Qin, Jun; Du, Wenhua; Wang, Jianmin; Li, Deyi

2014-01-01

Real-world networks such as the Internet and WWW have many common traits. Until now, hundreds of models were proposed to characterize these traits for understanding the networks. Because different models used very different mechanisms, it is widely believed that these traits origin from different causes. However, we find that a simple model based on optimisation can produce many traits, including scale-free, small-world, ultra small-world, Delta-distribution, compact, fractal, regular and random networks. Moreover, by revising the proposed model, the community-structure networks are generated. By this model and the revised versions, the complicated relationships of complex networks are illustrated. The model brings a new universal perspective to the understanding of complex networks and provide a universal method to model complex networks from the viewpoint of optimisation. PMID:25160506

Integrating genome-wide association study summaries and element-gene interaction datasets identified multiple associations between elements and complex diseases.

PubMed

He, Awen; Wang, Wenyu; Prakash, N Tejo; Tinkov, Alexey A; Skalny, Anatoly V; Wen, Yan; Hao, Jingcan; Guo, Xiong; Zhang, Feng

2018-03-01

Chemical elements are closely related to human health. Extensive genomic profile data of complex diseases offer us a good opportunity to systemically investigate the relationships between elements and complex diseases/traits. In this study, we applied gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) approach to detect the associations between elements and complex diseases/traits though integrating element-gene interaction datasets and genome-wide association study (GWAS) data of complex diseases/traits. To illustrate the performance of GSEA, the element-gene interaction datasets of 24 elements were extracted from the comparative toxicogenomics database (CTD). GWAS summary datasets of 24 complex diseases or traits were downloaded from the dbGaP or GEFOS websites. We observed significant associations between 7 elements and 13 complex diseases or traits (all false discovery rate (FDR) < 0.05), including reported relationships such as aluminum vs. Alzheimer's disease (FDR = 0.042), calcium vs. bone mineral density (FDR = 0.031), magnesium vs. systemic lupus erythematosus (FDR = 0.012) as well as novel associations, such as nickel vs. hypertriglyceridemia (FDR = 0.002) and bipolar disorder (FDR = 0.027). Our study results are consistent with previous biological studies, supporting the good performance of GSEA. Our analyzing results based on GSEA framework provide novel clues for discovering causal relationships between elements and complex diseases. © 2017 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

Integrating Gene Expression with Summary Association Statistics to Identify Genes Associated with 30 Complex Traits.

PubMed

Mancuso, Nicholas; Shi, Huwenbo; Goddard, Pagé; Kichaev, Gleb; Gusev, Alexander; Pasaniuc, Bogdan

2017-03-02

Although genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified thousands of risk loci for many complex traits and diseases, the causal variants and genes at these loci remain largely unknown. Here, we introduce a method for estimating the local genetic correlation between gene expression and a complex trait and utilize it to estimate the genetic correlation due to predicted expression between pairs of traits. We integrated gene expression measurements from 45 expression panels with summary GWAS data to perform 30 multi-tissue transcriptome-wide association studies (TWASs). We identified 1,196 genes whose expression is associated with these traits; of these, 168 reside more than 0.5 Mb away from any previously reported GWAS significant variant. We then used our approach to find 43 pairs of traits with significant genetic correlation at the level of predicted expression; of these, eight were not found through genetic correlation at the SNP level. Finally, we used bi-directional regression to find evidence that BMI causally influences triglyceride levels and that triglyceride levels causally influence low-density lipoprotein. Together, our results provide insight into the role of gene expression in the susceptibility of complex traits and diseases. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implicit Processing of Visual Emotions Is Affected by Sound-Induced Affective States and Individual Affective Traits

PubMed Central

Quarto, Tiziana; Blasi, Giuseppe; Pallesen, Karen Johanne; Bertolino, Alessandro; Brattico, Elvira

2014-01-01

The ability to recognize emotions contained in facial expressions are affected by both affective traits and states and varies widely between individuals. While affective traits are stable in time, affective states can be regulated more rapidly by environmental stimuli, such as music, that indirectly modulate the brain state. Here, we tested whether a relaxing or irritating sound environment affects implicit processing of facial expressions. Moreover, we investigated whether and how individual traits of anxiety and emotional control interact with this process. 32 healthy subjects performed an implicit emotion processing task (presented to subjects as a gender discrimination task) while the sound environment was defined either by a) a therapeutic music sequence (MusiCure), b) a noise sequence or c) silence. Individual changes in mood were sampled before and after the task by a computerized questionnaire. Additionally, emotional control and trait anxiety were assessed in a separate session by paper and pencil questionnaires. Results showed a better mood after the MusiCure condition compared with the other experimental conditions and faster responses to happy faces during MusiCure compared with angry faces during Noise. Moreover, individuals with higher trait anxiety were faster in performing the implicit emotion processing task during MusiCure compared with Silence. These findings suggest that sound-induced affective states are associated with differential responses to angry and happy emotional faces at an implicit stage of processing, and that a relaxing sound environment facilitates the implicit emotional processing in anxious individuals. PMID:25072162

Genetic studies of plasma analytes identify novel potential biomarkers for several complex traits

PubMed Central

Deming, Yuetiva; Xia, Jian; Cai, Yefei; Lord, Jenny; Del-Aguila, Jorge L.; Fernandez, Maria Victoria; Carrell, David; Black, Kathleen; Budde, John; Ma, ShengMei; Saef, Benjamin; Howells, Bill; Bertelsen, Sarah; Bailey, Matthew; Ridge, Perry G.; Hefti, Franz; Fillit, Howard; Zimmerman, Earl A.; Celmins, Dzintra; Brown, Alice D.; Carrillo, Maria; Fleisher, Adam; Reeder, Stephanie; Trncic, Nadira; Burke, Anna; Tariot, Pierre; Reiman, Eric M.; Chen, Kewei; Sabbagh, Marwan N.; Beiden, Christine M.; Jacobson, Sandra A.; Sirrel, Sherye A.; Doody, Rachelle S.; Villanueva-Meyer, Javier; Chowdhury, Munir; Rountree, Susan; Dang, Mimi; Kowall, Neil; Killiany, Ronald; Budson, Andrew E.; Norbash, Alexander; Johnson, Patricia Lynn; Green, Robert C.; Marshall, Gad; Johnson, Keith A.; Sperling, Reisa A.; Snyder, Peter; Salloway, Stephen; Malloy, Paul; Correia, Stephen; Bernick, Charles; Munic, Donna; Stern, Yaakov; Honig, Lawrence S.; Bell, Karen L.; Relkin, Norman; Chaing, Gloria; Ravdin, Lisa; Paul, Steven; Flashman, Laura A.; Seltzer, Marc; Hynes, Mary L.; Santulli, Robert B.; Bates, Vernice; Capote, Horacio; Rainka, Michelle; Friedl, Karl; Murali Doraiswamy, P.; Petrella, Jeffrey R.; Borges-Neto, Salvador; James, Olga; Wong, Terence; Coleman, Edward; Schwartz, Adam; Cellar, Janet S.; Levey, Allan L.; Lah, James J.; Behan, Kelly; Scott Turner, Raymond; Johnson, Kathleen; Reynolds, Brigid; Pearlson, Godfrey D.; Blank, Karen; Anderson, Karen; Obisesan, Thomas O.; Wolday, Saba; Allard, Joanne; Lerner, Alan; Ogrocki, Paula; Tatsuoka, Curtis; Fatica, Parianne; Farlow, Martin R.; Saykin, Andrew J.; Foroud, Tatiana M.; Shen, Li; Faber, Kelly; Kim, Sungeun; Nho, Kwangsik; Marie Hake, Ann; Matthews, Brandy R.; Brosch, Jared R.; Herring, Scott; Hunt, Cynthia; Albert, Marilyn; Onyike, Chiadi; D’Agostino, Daniel; Kielb, Stephanie; Graff-Radford, Neill R; Parfitt, Francine; Kendall, Tracy; Johnson, Heather; Petersen, Ronald; Jack, Clifford R.; Bernstein, Matthew; Borowski, Bret; Gunter, Jeff; Senjem, Matt; Vemuri, Prashanthi; Jones, David; Kantarci, Kejal; Ward, Chad; Mason, Sara S.; Albers, Colleen S.; Knopman, David; Johnson, Kris; Chertkow, Howard; Hosein, Chris; Mintzer, Jacob; Spicer, Kenneth; Bachman, David; Grossman, Hillel; Mitsis, Effie; Pomara, Nunzio; Hernando, Raymundo; Sarrael, Antero; Potter, William; Buckholtz, Neil; Hsiao, John; Kittur, Smita; Galvin, James E.; Cerbone, Brittany; Michel, Christina A.; Pogorelec, Dana M.; Rusinek, Henry; de Leon, Mony J; Glodzik, Lidia; De Santi, Susan; Johnson, Nancy; Chuang-Kuo; Kerwin, Diana; Bonakdarpour, Borna; Weintraub, Sandra; Grafman, Jordan; Lipowski, Kristine; Mesulam, Marek-Marsel; Scharre, Douglas W.; Kataki, Maria; Adeli, Anahita; Kaye, Jeffrey; Quinn, Joseph; Silbert, Lisa; Lind, Betty; Carter, Raina; Dolen, Sara; Borrie, Michael; Lee, T-Y; Bartha, Rob; Martinez, Walter; Villena, Teresa; Sadowsky, Carl; Khachaturian, Zaven; Ott, Brian R.; Querfurth, Henry; Tremont, Geoffrey; Frank, Richard; Fleischman, Debra; Arfanakis, Konstantinos; Shah, Raj C.; deToledo-Morrell, Leyla; Sorensen, Greg; Finger, Elizabeth; Pasternack, Stephen; Rachinsky, Irina; Drost, Dick; Rogers, John; Kertesz, Andrew; Furst, Ansgar J.; Chad, Stevan; Yesavage, Jerome; Taylor, Joy L.; Lane, Barton; Rosen, Allyson; Tinklenberg, Jared; Black, Sandra; Stefanovic, Bojana; Caldwell, Curtis; Robin Hsiung, Ging-Yuek; Mudge, Benita; Assaly, Michele; Fox, Nick; Schultz, Susan K.; Boles Ponto, Laura L.; Shim, Hyungsub; Ekstam Smith, Karen; Burns, Jeffrey M.; Swerdlow, Russell H.; Brooks, William M.; Marson, Daniel; Griffith, Randall; Clark, David; Geldmacher, David; Brockington, John; Roberson, Erik; Natelson Love, Marissa; DeCarli, Charles; Carmichael, Owen; Olichney, John; Maillard, Pauline; Fletcher, Evan; Nguyen, Dana; Preda, Andrian; Potkin, Steven; Mulnard, Ruth A.; Thai, Gaby; McAdams-Ortiz, Catherine; Landau, Susan; Jagust, William; Apostolova, Liana; Tingus, Kathleen; Woo, Ellen; Silverman, Daniel H.S.; Lu, Po H.; Bartzokis, George; Thompson, Paul; Donohue, Michael; Thomas, Ronald G.; Walter, Sarah; Gessert, Devon; Brewer, James; Vanderswag, Helen; Sather, Tamie; Jiminez, Gus; Balasubramanian, Archana B.; Mason, Jennifer; Sim, Iris; Aisen, Paul; Davis, Melissa; Morrison, Rosemary; Harvey, Danielle; Thal, Lean; Beckett, Laurel; Neylan, Thomas; Finley, Shannon; Weiner, Michael W.; Hayes, Jacqueline; Rosen, Howard J.; Miller, Bruce L.; Perry, David; Massoglia, Dino; Brawman-Mentzer, Olga; Schuff, Norbert; Smith, Charles D.; Hardy, Peter; Sinha, Partha; Oates, Elizabeth; Conrad, Gary; Koeppe, Robert A.; Lord, Joanne L.; Heidebrink, Judith L.; Arnold, Steven E.; Karlawish, Jason H.; Wolk, David; Clark, Christopher M.; Trojanowki, John Q.; Shaw, Leslie M.; Lee, Virginia; Korecka, Magdalena; Figurski, Michal; Toga, Arthur W.; Crawford, Karen; Neu, Scott; Schneider, Lon S.; Pawluczyk, Sonia; Beccera, Mauricio; Teodoro, Liberty; Spann, Bryan M.; Womack, Kyle; Mathews, Dana; Quiceno, Mary; Foster, Norm; Montine, Tom; Fruehling, J. Jay; Harding, Sandra; Johnson, Sterling; Asthana, Sanjay; Carlsson, Cynthia M.; Petrie, Eric C.; Peskind, Elaine; Li, Gail; Porsteinsson, Anton P.; Goldstein, Bonnie S.; Martin, Kim; Makino, Kelly M.; Ismail, M. Saleem; Brand, Connie; Smith, Amanda; Ashok Raj, Balebail; Fargher, Kristin; Kuller, Lew; Mathis, Chet; Ann Oakley, Mary; Lopez, Oscar L.; Simpson, Donna M.; Sink, Kaycee M.; Gordineer, Leslie; Williamson, Jeff D.; Garg, Pradeep; Watkins, Franklin; Cairns, Nigel J.; Raichle, Marc; Morris, John C.; Householder, Erin; Taylor-Reinwald, Lisa; Holtzman, David; Ances, Beau; Carroll, Maria; Creech, Mary L.; Franklin, Erin; Mintun, Mark A.; Schneider, Stacy; Oliver, Angela; Duara, Ranjan; Varon, Daniel; Greig, Maria T.; Roberts, Peggy; Varma, Pradeep; MacAvoy, Martha G.; Carson, Richard E.; van Dyck, Christopher H.; Davies, Peter; Holtzman, David; Morris, John C.; Bales, Kelly; Pickering, Eve H.; Lee, Jin-Moo; Heitsch, Laura; Kauwe, John; Goate, Alison; Piccio, Laura; Cruchaga, Carlos

2016-01-01

Genome-wide association studies of 146 plasma protein levels in 818 individuals revealed 56 genome-wide significant associations (28 novel) with 47 analytes. Loci associated with plasma levels of 39 proteins tested have been previously associated with various complex traits such as heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Type 2 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. These data suggest that these plasma protein levels may constitute informative endophenotypes for these complex traits. We found three potential pleiotropic genes: ABO for plasma SELE and ACE levels, FUT2 for CA19-9 and CEA plasma levels, and APOE for ApoE and CRP levels. We also found multiple independent signals in loci associated with plasma levels of ApoH, CA19-9, FetuinA, IL6r, and LPa. Our study highlights the power of biological traits for genetic studies to identify genetic variants influencing clinically relevant traits, potential pleiotropic effects, and complex disease associations in the same locus.

Detection of genetic variants affecting cattle behaviour and their impact on milk production: a genome-wide association study.

PubMed

Friedrich, Juliane; Brand, Bodo; Ponsuksili, Siriluck; Graunke, Katharina L; Langbein, Jan; Knaust, Jacqueline; Kühn, Christa; Schwerin, Manfred

2016-02-01

Behaviour traits of cattle have been reported to affect important production traits, such as meat quality and milk performance as well as reproduction and health. Genetic predisposition is, together with environmental stimuli, undoubtedly involved in the development of behaviour phenotypes. Underlying molecular mechanisms affecting behaviour in general and behaviour and productions traits in particular still have to be studied in detail. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study in an F2 Charolais × German Holstein cross-breed population to identify genetic variants that affect behaviour-related traits assessed in an open-field and novel-object test and analysed their putative impact on milk performance. Of 37,201 tested single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs), four showed a genome-wide and 37 a chromosome-wide significant association with behaviour traits assessed in both tests. Nine of the SNPs that were associated with behaviour traits likewise showed a nominal significant association with milk performance traits. On chromosomes 14 and 29, six SNPs were identified to be associated with exploratory behaviour and inactivity during the novel-object test as well as with milk yield traits. Least squares means for behaviour and milk performance traits for these SNPs revealed that genotypes associated with higher inactivity and less exploratory behaviour promote higher milk yields. Whether these results are due to molecular mechanisms simultaneously affecting behaviour and milk performance or due to a behaviour predisposition, which causes indirect effects on milk performance by influencing individual reactivity, needs further investigation. © 2015 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Systems genetics approaches to understand complex traits

PubMed Central

Civelek, Mete; Lusis, Aldons J.

2014-01-01

Systems genetics is an approach to understand the flow of biological information that underlies complex traits. It uses a range of experimental and statistical methods to quantitate and integrate intermediate phenotypes, such as transcript, protein or metabolite levels, in populations that vary for traits of interest. Systems genetics studies have provided the first global view of the molecular architecture of complex traits and are useful for the identification of genes, pathways and networks that underlie common human diseases. Given the urgent need to understand how the thousands of loci that have been identified in genome-wide association studies contribute to disease susceptibility, systems genetics is likely to become an increasingly important approach to understanding both biology and disease. PMID:24296534

Does Positive Affect Influence Health?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pressman, Sarah D.; Cohen, Sheldon

2005-01-01

This review highlights consistent patterns in the literature associating positive affect (PA) and physical health. However, it also raises serious conceptual and methodological reservations. Evidence suggests an association of trait PA and lower morbidity and of state and trait PA and decreased symptoms and pain. Trait PA is also associated with…

Comparison of narrative and expository writing in students with and without language-learning disabilities.

PubMed

Koutsoftas, Anthony D; Gray, Shelley

2012-10-01

Students with language-learning disabilities (LLD) demonstrate difficulties with written language, especially in the areas of productivity, complexity, and grammar. It is not clear how these deficits affect their performance on high-stakes tests, such as those required by the No Child Left Behind Act (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). This study used writing samples to compare how students with and without LLD scored on analytic writing measures that are typically used in writing research and on a more holistic measure of writing, the six-traits writing rubric (STWR; Education Northwest, 2006), which is used in high-stakes writing assessments. Fifty-six 4th and 5th graders with typical development (TD) or LLD produced 1 narrative and 1 expository writing sample. Measures of oral language ability and handwriting accuracy-speed were also obtained. The narrative and expository samples were scored using 5-6 separate analytic measures and 6 separate traits on the STWR. On narratives, the TD group scored significantly higher than the LLD group on 5 analytic measures and all 6 traits. Similarly, for expository, the TD group outscored the LLD group on 3 analytic measures and all 6 traits. Results demonstrate that the analytic scores of productivity, sentence complexity, and lexical diversity were correlated significantly with a higher overall score on the STWR for narrative writing samples only. Results of this study suggest that exclusive use of analytic scores to select treatment goals and document writing progress may not translate into increased scores on writing rubrics, particularly for expository writing samples.

Different Phylogenetic and Environmental Controls of First-order Root Morphological and Chemical Traits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, R.; Wang, Q.; Zhao, N.; Yu, G.; He, N.

2017-12-01

Fine roots are the most distal roots that act as the primary belowground organs in acquiring limiting nutrients and water from the soil. However, limited by the inconsistency in definitions of fine roots and the different protocols among studies, knowledge of root system traits has, to date, still lagged far behind our understanding of above-ground traits. In particular, whether variation in fine root traits among the plant species along a single root economics spectrum and this underlying mechanism are still hotly debated. In this study, we sampled the first-order root using the standardized protocols, and measured six important root traits related to resource use strategies, from 181 plant species from subtropical to boreal forests. Base on this large dataset, we concluded that different phylogenetic and environmental factors affected on root thickness and nutrient, resulting in the decoupled pattern between them. Specifically, variation in species-level traits related to root thickness (including root diameter, RD and specific root length, SRL) was restricted by common ancestry and little plastic to the changing environments, whereas the large-scale variation in woody root nutrient was mainly controlled by environmental differences, especially soil variables. For community-level traits, mean annual temperature (MAT) mainly influenced the community-level root thickness through the direct effect of changes in plant species composition, while soil P had a positive influence effect on community-level root nitrogen concentration (CWM_RN), reflecting the strong influence of soil fertility on belowground root nutrient. The different environmental constraints and selective pressures acting between root thickness and nutrient traits allows for multiple ecological strategies to adapt to complex environmental conditions. In addition, strong relationships between community-level root traits and environmental variables, due to environmental filters, indicate that in contrast with individual species-level trait, community-aggregated root traits could be used to improve our ability to predict how the distribution of vegetation will change in response to a changing climate.

VARIATIONS AT A QUANTITATIVE TRAIT LOCUS (QTL) AFFECT DEVELOPMENT OF BEHAVIOR IN LEAD-EXPOSED DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

PubMed Central

Hirsch, Helmut V. B.; Possidente, Debra; Averill, Sarah; Despain, Tamira Palmetto; Buytkins, Joel; Thomas, Valerie; Goebel, W. Paul; Shipp-Hilts, Asante; Wilson, Diane; Hollocher, Kurt; Possidente, Bernard; Lnenicka, Greg; Ruden, Douglas M.

2009-01-01

We developed Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study correlated behavioral, neuronal and genetic effects of the neurotoxin lead, known to affect cognitive and behavioral development in children. We showed that, as in vertebrates, lead affects both synaptic development and complex behaviors (courtship, fecundity, locomotor activity) in Drosophila. By assessing differential behavioral responses to developmental lead exposure among recombinant inbred Drosophila lines (RI), derived from parental lines Oregon R and Russian 2b, we have now identified a genotype by environment interaction (GEI) for a behavioral trait affected by lead. Drosophila Activity Monitors (TriKinetics, Waltham, MA), which measure activity by counting the number of times a single fly in a small glass tube walks through an infrared beam aimed at the middle of the tube, were used to measure activity of flies, reared from eggs to 4 days of adult age on either control or lead-contaminated medium, from each of 75 RI lines. We observed a significant statistical association between the effect of lead on average daytime activity across lines and one marker locus, 30AB, on chromosome 2; we define this as a Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) associated with behavioral effects of developmental lead exposure. When 30AB was from Russian 2b, lead significantly increased locomotor activity, whereas, when 30AB was from Oregon R, lead decreased it. 30AB contains about 125 genes among which are likely “candidate genes” for the observed lead-dependent behavioral changes. Drosophila are thus a useful, underutilized model for studying behavioral, synaptic and genetic changes following chronic exposure to lead or other neurotoxins during development. PMID:19428504

Trait Positive Affect Buffers the Effects of Acute Stress on Skin Barrier Recovery

PubMed Central

Robles, Theodore F.; Brooks, Kathryn P.; Pressman, Sarah D.

2010-01-01

Objective This study examines the role of self-reported trait positive affect (PA) on skin barrier recovery after skin disruption, and whether the role of trait PA in wound healing is consistent with the direct effects model or the stress-buffering model of PA and health. Design Sixty healthy participants (mean age 22.7 ± 3.9 years) completed a self-report measure of trait positive and negative affect, underwent a “tape-stripping” procedure that disrupts normal skin barrier function, and were randomly assigned to a Stress (Trier Social Stress Test) or No Stress (reading task) condition. Main Outcome Measures Skin barrier recovery was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss up to 2 hr after skin disruption. Results Multilevel modeling indicated that greater trait PA was related to faster skin barrier recovery (p < .05). The effects of PA on skin barrier recovery were independent of levels of trait NA. Conclusion These findings suggest that trait PA may influence skin barrier recovery following a brief stressor. In addition, these results provide additional evidence that trait PA can positively impact objective health outcomes. PMID:19450044

Affect, Behavior, Cognition, and Desire in the Big Five: An Analysis of Item Content and Structure

PubMed Central

Wilt, Joshua; Revelle, William

2015-01-01

Personality psychology is concerned with affect (A), behavior (B), cognition (C) and desire (D), and personality traits have been defined conceptually as abstractions used to either explain or summarize coherent ABC (and sometimes D) patterns over time and space. However, this conceptual definition of traits has not been reflected in their operationalization, possibly resulting in theoretical and practical limitations to current trait inventories. Thus, the goal of this project was to determine the affective, behavioral, cognitive and desire (ABCD) components of Big-Five personality traits. The first study assessed the ABCD content of items measuring Big-Five traits in order to determine the ABCD composition of traits and identify items measuring relatively high amounts of only one ABCD content. The second study examined the correlational structure of scales constructed from items assessing ABCD content via a large, web-based study. An assessment of Big-Five traits that delineates ABCD components of each trait is presented, and the discussion focuses on how this assessment builds upon current approaches of assessing personality. PMID:26279606

Response Monitoring and Adjustment: Differential Relations with Psychopathic Traits

PubMed Central

Bresin, Konrad; Finy, M. Sima; Sprague, Jenessa; Verona, Edelyn

2014-01-01

Studies on the relation between psychopathy and cognitive functioning often show mixed results, partially because different factors of psychopathy have not been considered fully. Based on previous research, we predicted divergent results based on a two-factor model of psychopathy (interpersonal-affective traits and impulsive-antisocial traits). Specifically, we predicted that the unique variance of interpersonal-affective traits would be related to increased monitoring (i.e., error-related negativity) and adjusting to errors (i.e., post-error slowing), whereas impulsive-antisocial traits would be related to reductions in these processes. Three studies using a diverse selection of assessment tools, samples, and methods are presented to identify response monitoring correlates of the two main factors of psychopathy. In Studies 1 (undergraduates), 2 (adolescents), and 3 (offenders), interpersonal-affective traits were related to increased adjustment following errors and, in Study 3, to enhanced monitoring of errors. Impulsive-antisocial traits were not consistently related to error adjustment across the studies, although these traits were related to a deficient monitoring of errors in Study 3. The results may help explain previous mixed findings and advance implications for etiological models of psychopathy. PMID:24933282

Leaf-trait plasticity and species vulnerability to climate change in a Mongolian steppe.

PubMed

Liancourt, Pierre; Boldgiv, Bazartseren; Song, Daniel S; Spence, Laura A; Helliker, Brent R; Petraitis, Peter S; Casper, Brenda B

2015-09-01

Climate change is expected to modify plant assemblages in ways that will have major consequences for ecosystem functions. How climate change will affect community composition will depend on how individual species respond, which is likely related to interspecific differences in functional traits. The extraordinary plasticity of some plant traits is typically neglected in assessing how climate change will affect different species. In the Mongolian steppe, we examined whether leaf functional traits under ambient conditions and whether plasticity in these traits under altered climate could explain climate-induced biomass responses in 12 co-occurring plant species. We experimentally created three probable climate change scenarios and used a model selection procedure to determine the set of baseline traits or plasticity values that best explained biomass response. Under all climate change scenarios, plasticity for at least one leaf trait correlated with change in species performance, while functional leaf-trait values in ambient conditions did not. We demonstrate that trait plasticity could play a critical role in vulnerability of species to a rapidly changing environment. Plasticity should be considered when examining how climate change will affect plant performance, species' niche spaces, and ecological processes that depend on plant community composition. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Tradeoffs limit the evolution of male traits that are attractive to females

PubMed Central

Wagner, William E.; Beckers, Oliver M.; Tolle, Amanda E.; Basolo, Alexandra L.

2012-01-01

Tradeoffs occur between a variety of traits in a diversity of organisms, and these tradeoffs can have major effects on ecological and evolutionary processes. Far less is known, however, about tradeoffs between male traits that affect mate attraction than about tradeoffs between other types of traits. Previous results indicate that females of the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, prefer male songs with higher chirp rates and longer chirp durations. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that a tradeoff between these traits affects the evolution of male song. The two traits were negatively correlated among full-sibling families, consistent with a genetically based tradeoff, and the tradeoff was stronger when nutrients were limiting. In addition, for males from 12 populations reared in a common environment, the traits were negatively correlated within populations, the strength of the tradeoff was largely invariant across populations, and the within-population tradeoff predicted how the traits have evolved among populations. A widespread tradeoff thus affects male trait evolution. Finally, for males from four populations assayed in the field, the traits were negatively correlated within and among populations. The tradeoff is thus robust to the presence of environmental factors that might mask its effects. Together, our results indicate there is a fundamental tradeoff between male traits that: (i) limits the ability of males to produce multiple attractive traits; (ii) limits how male traits evolve; and (iii) might favour plasticity in female mating preferences. PMID:22456890

Nutritional habits, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition in cardiovascular and metabolic traits in Turkish population.

PubMed

Karaca, Sefayet; Erge, Sema; Cesuroglu, Tomris; Polimanti, Renato

2016-06-01

Cardiovascular and metabolic traits (CMT) are influenced by complex interactive processes including diet, lifestyle, and genetic predisposition. The present study investigated the interactions of these risk factors in relation to CMTs in the Turkish population. We applied bootstrap agglomerative hierarchical clustering and Bayesian network learning algorithms to identify the causative relationships among genes involved in different biological mechanisms (i.e., lipid metabolism, hormone metabolism, cellular detoxification, aging, and energy metabolism), lifestyle (i.e., physical activity, smoking behavior, and metropolitan residency), anthropometric traits (i.e., body mass index, body fat ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio), and dietary habits (i.e., daily intakes of macro- and micronutrients) in relation to CMTs (i.e., health conditions and blood parameters). We identified significant correlations between dietary habits (soybean and vitamin B12 intakes) and different cardiometabolic diseases that were confirmed by the Bayesian network-learning algorithm. Genetic factors contributed to these disease risks also through the pleiotropy of some genetic variants (i.e., F5 rs6025 and MTR rs180508). However, we also observed that certain genetic associations are indirect since they are due to the causative relationships among the CMTs (e.g., APOC3 rs5128 is associated with low-density lipoproteins cholesterol and, by extension, total cholesterol). Our study applied a novel approach to integrate various sources of information and dissect the complex interactive processes related to CMTs. Our data indicated that complex causative networks are present: causative relationships exist among CMTs and are affected by genetic factors (with pleiotropic and non-pleiotropic effects) and dietary habits. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowing right from wrong, but just not always feeling it: relations among callous-unemotional traits, psychopathological symptoms, and cognitive and affective morality judgments in 8- to 12-year-old boys.

PubMed

Feilhauer, Johanna; Cima, Maaike; Benjamins, Caroline; Muris, Peter

2013-12-01

The present research expands our understanding of cognitive and affective morality by exploring associations with callous-unemotional (CU) traits and externalizing symptoms. Participants were 46 8- to 12-year-old boys from the community who completed the Affective Morality Index, the Youth Self-Report, and the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits. A pattern of results was found indicating that in particular the combination of high CU traits and high externalizing symptoms was associated with lack of affective morality, and an increased perceived likelihood of recommitting antisocial acts (recidivism). The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Sensory response system of social behavior tied to female reproductive traits.

PubMed

Tsuruda, Jennifer M; Amdam, Gro V; Page, Robert E

2008-01-01

Honey bees display a complex set of anatomical, physiological, and behavioral traits that correlate with the colony storage of surplus pollen (pollen hoarding). We hypothesize that the association of these traits is a result of pleiotropy in a gene signaling network that was co-opted by natural selection to function in worker division of labor and foraging specialization. By acting on the gene network, selection can change a suite of traits, including stimulus/response relationships that affect individual foraging behavior and alter the colony level trait of pollen hoarding. The 'pollen-hoarding syndrome' of honey bees is the best documented syndrome of insect social organization. It can be exemplified as a link between reproductive anatomy (ovary size), physiology (yolk protein level), and foraging behavior in honey bee strains selected for pollen hoarding, a colony level trait. The syndrome gave rise to the forager-Reproductive Ground Plan Hypothesis (RGPH), which proposes that the regulatory control of foraging onset and foraging preference toward nectar or pollen was derived from a reproductive signaling network. This view was recently challenged. To resolve the controversy, we tested the associations between reproductive anatomy, physiology, and stimulus/response relationships of behavior in wild-type honey bees. Central to the stimulus/response relationships of honey bee foraging behavior and pollen hoarding is the behavioral trait of sensory sensitivity to sucrose (an important sugar in nectar). To test the linkage of reproductive traits and sensory response systems of social behavior, we measured sucrose responsiveness with the proboscis extension response (PER) assay and quantified ovary size and vitellogenin (yolk precursor) gene expression in 6-7-day-old bees by counting ovarioles (ovary filaments) and by using semiquantitative real time RT-PCR. We show that bees with larger ovaries (more ovarioles) are characterized by higher levels of vitellogenin mRNA expression and are more responsive to sucrose solutions, a trait that is central to division of labor and foraging specialization. Our results establish that in wild-type honey bees, ovary size and vitellogenin mRNA level covary with the sucrose sensory response system, an important component of foraging behavior. This finding validates links between reproductive physiology and behavioral-trait associations of the pollen-hoarding syndrome of honey bees, and supports the forager-RGPH. Our data address a current evolutionary debate, and represent the first direct demonstration of the links between reproductive anatomy, physiology, and behavioral response systems that are central to the control of complex social behavior in insects.

Affective traits link to reliable neural markers of incentive anticipation

PubMed Central

Wu, Charlene C.; Samanez-Larkin, Gregory R.; Katovich, Kiefer; Knutson, Brian

2013-01-01

While theorists have speculated that different affective traits are linked to reliable brain activity during anticipation of gains and losses, few have directly tested this prediction. We examined these associations in a community sample of healthy human adults (n = 52) as they played a Monetary Incentive Delay Task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI). Factor analysis of personality measures revealed that subjects independently varied in trait Positive Arousal and Negative Arousal. In a subsample (n = 14) retested over 2.5 years later, left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) activity during anticipation of large gains (+$5.00) and right anterior insula activity during anticipation of large losses (−$5.00) showed significant test-retest reliability (intraclass correlations > 0.50, p’s < 0.01). In the full sample (n = 52), trait Positive Arousal correlated with individual differences in left NAcc activity during anticipation of large gains, while trait Negative Arousal correlated with individual differences in right anterior insula activity during anticipation of large losses. Associations of affective traits with neural activity were not attributable to the influence of other potential confounds (including sex, age, wealth, and motion). Together, these results demonstrate selective links between distinct affective traits and reliably-elicited activity in neural circuits associated with anticipation of gain versus loss. The findings thus reveal neural markers for affective dimensions of healthy personality, and potentially for related psychiatric symptoms. PMID:24001457

QTL analysis of genotype x environment interactions affecting cotton fiber quality.

PubMed

Paterson, A H; Saranga, Y; Menz, M; Jiang, C-X; Wright, R J

2003-02-01

Cotton is unusual among major crops in that large acreages are grown under both irrigated and rainfed conditions, making genotype x environment interactions of even greater importance than usual in designing crop-improvement strategies. We describe the impact of well-watered versus water-limited growth conditions on the genetic control of fiber quality, a complex suite of traits that collectively determine the utility of cotton. Fiber length, length uniformity, elongation, strength, fineness, and color (yellowness) were influenced by 6, 7, 9, 21, 25 and 11 QTLs (respectively) that could be detected in one or more treatments. The genetic control of cotton fiber quality was markedly affected both by general differences between growing seasons ("years") and by specific differences in water management regimes. Seventeen QTLs were detected only in the water-limited treatment while only two were specific to the well-watered treatment, suggesting that improvement of fiber quality under water stress may be even more complicated than improvement of this already complex trait under well-watered conditions. In crops such as cotton with widespread use of both irrigated and rainfed production systems, the need to manipulate larger numbers of genes to confer adequate quality under both sets of conditions will reduce the expected rate of genetic gain. These difficulties may be partly ameliorated by efficiencies gained through identification and use of diagnostic DNA markers, including those identified herein.

Beyond size–number trade-offs: clutch size as a maternal effect

PubMed Central

Brown, Gregory P.; Shine, Richard

2009-01-01

Traditionally, research on life-history traits has viewed the link between clutch size and offspring size as a straightforward linear trade-off; the product of these two components is taken as a measure of maternal reproductive output. Investing more per egg results in fewer but larger eggs and, hence, offspring. This simple size–number trade-off has proved attractive to modellers, but our experimental studies on keelback snakes (Tropidonophis mairii, Colubridae) reveal a more complex relationship between clutch size and offspring size. At constant water availability, the amount of water taken up by a snake egg depends upon the number of adjacent eggs. In turn, water uptake affects hatchling size, and therefore an increase in clutch size directly increases offspring size (and thus fitness under field conditions). This allometric advantage may influence the evolution of reproductive traits such as growth versus reproductive effort, optimal age at female maturation, the body-reserve threshold required to initiate reproduction and nest-site selection (e.g. communal oviposition). The published literature suggests that similar kinds of complex effects of clutch size on offspring viability are widespread in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Our results also challenge conventional experimental methodologies such as split-clutch designs for laboratory incubation studies: by separating an egg from its siblings, we may directly affect offspring size and thus viability. PMID:19324614

Accuracy of whole-genome prediction using a genetic architecture-enhanced variance-covariance matrix.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhe; Erbe, Malena; He, Jinlong; Ober, Ulrike; Gao, Ning; Zhang, Hao; Simianer, Henner; Li, Jiaqi

2015-02-09

Obtaining accurate predictions of unobserved genetic or phenotypic values for complex traits in animal, plant, and human populations is possible through whole-genome prediction (WGP), a combined analysis of genotypic and phenotypic data. Because the underlying genetic architecture of the trait of interest is an important factor affecting model selection, we propose a new strategy, termed BLUP|GA (BLUP-given genetic architecture), which can use genetic architecture information within the dataset at hand rather than from public sources. This is achieved by using a trait-specific covariance matrix ( T: ), which is a weighted sum of a genetic architecture part ( S: matrix) and the realized relationship matrix ( G: ). The algorithm of BLUP|GA (BLUP-given genetic architecture) is provided and illustrated with real and simulated datasets. Predictive ability of BLUP|GA was validated with three model traits in a dairy cattle dataset and 11 traits in three public datasets with a variety of genetic architectures and compared with GBLUP and other approaches. Results show that BLUP|GA outperformed GBLUP in 20 of 21 scenarios in the dairy cattle dataset and outperformed GBLUP, BayesA, and BayesB in 12 of 13 traits in the analyzed public datasets. Further analyses showed that the difference of accuracies for BLUP|GA and GBLUP significantly correlate with the distance between the T: and G: matrices. The new strategy applied in BLUP|GA is a favorable and flexible alternative to the standard GBLUP model, allowing to account for the genetic architecture of the quantitative trait under consideration when necessary. This feature is mainly due to the increased similarity between the trait-specific relationship matrix ( T: matrix) and the genetic relationship matrix at unobserved causal loci. Applying BLUP|GA in WGP would ease the burden of model selection. Copyright © 2015 Zhang et al.

Natural Genetic Variation and Candidate Genes for Morphological Traits in Drosophila melanogaster

PubMed Central

Carreira, Valeria Paula; Mensch, Julián; Hasson, Esteban; Fanara, Juan José

2016-01-01

Body size is a complex character associated to several fitness related traits that vary within and between species as a consequence of environmental and genetic factors. Latitudinal and altitudinal clines for different morphological traits have been described in several species of Drosophila and previous work identified genomic regions associated with such variation in D. melanogaster. However, the genetic factors that orchestrate morphological variation have been barely studied. Here, our main objective was to investigate genetic variation for different morphological traits associated to the second chromosome in natural populations of D. melanogaster along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients in Argentina. Our results revealed weak clinal signals and a strong population effect on morphological variation. Moreover, most pairwise comparisons between populations were significant. Our study also showed important within-population genetic variation, which must be associated to the second chromosome, as the lines are otherwise genetically identical. Next, we examined the contribution of different candidate genes to natural variation for these traits. We performed quantitative complementation tests using a battery of lines bearing mutated alleles at candidate genes located in the second chromosome and six second chromosome substitution lines derived from natural populations which exhibited divergent phenotypes. Results of complementation tests revealed that natural variation at all candidate genes studied, invected, Fasciclin 3, toucan, Reticulon-like1, jing and CG14478, affects the studied characters, suggesting that they are Quantitative Trait Genes for morphological traits. Finally, the phenotypic patterns observed suggest that different alleles of each gene might contribute to natural variation for morphological traits. However, non-additive effects cannot be ruled out, as wild-derived strains differ at myriads of second chromosome loci that may interact epistatically with mutant alleles. PMID:27459710

A change in climate causes rapid evolution of multiple life-history traits and their interactions in an annual plant.

PubMed

Franks, S J; Weis, A E

2008-09-01

Climate change is likely to spur rapid evolution, potentially altering integrated suites of life-history traits. We examined evolutionary change in multiple life-history traits of the annual plant Brassica rapa collected before and after a recent 5-year drought in southern California. We used a direct approach to examining evolutionary change by comparing ancestors and descendants. Collections were made from two populations varying in average soil moisture levels, and lines propagated from the collected seeds were grown in a greenhouse and experimentally subjected to conditions simulating either drought (short growing season) or high precipitation (long growing season) years. Comparing ancestors and descendants, we found that the drought caused many changes in life-history traits, including a shift to earlier flowering, longer duration of flowering, reduced peak flowering and greater skew of the flowering schedule. Descendants had thinner stems and fewer leaf nodes at the time of flowering than ancestors, indicating that the drought selected for plants that flowered at a smaller size and earlier ontogenetic stage rather than selecting for plants to develop more rapidly. Thus, there was not evidence for absolute developmental constraints to flowering time evolution. Common principal component analyses showed substantial differences in the matrix of trait covariances both between short and long growing season treatments and between populations. Although the covariances matrices were generally similar between ancestors and descendants, there was evidence for complex evolutionary changes in the relationships among the traits, and these changes depended on the population and treatment. These results show that a full appreciation of the impacts of global change on phenotypic evolution will entail an understanding of how changes in climatic conditions affect trait values and the structure of relationships among traits.

Quantitative trait loci affecting response to crowding stress in an F2 generation of rainbow trout produced through phenotypic selection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Selective breeding programs for salmonids typically aim to improve traits associated with growth and disease resistance. It has been established that stressors common to production environments can adversely affect these and other traits which are important to producers and consumers. Previously,...

Narrating personality change.

PubMed

Lodi-Smith, Jennifer; Geise, Aaron C; Roberts, Brent W; Robins, Richard W

2009-03-01

The present research investigated the longitudinal relations between personality traits and narratives. Specifically, the authors examined how individual differences in 170 college students' narratives of personality change (a) were predicted by personality traits at the beginning of college, (b) related to actual changes and perceived changes in personality traits during college, and (c) related to changes in emotional health during college. Individual differences in narratives of personality trait change told in the 4th year of college fell into 2 dimensions: affective processing, characterized by positive emotions, and exploratory processing, characterized by meaning making and causal processing. Conscientious, open, and extraverted freshmen told exploratory stories of change as seniors. Emotionally healthy freshmen told stories of change that were high in positive affect. Both positive affective and exploratory stories corresponded to change in emotional stability and conscientiousness during college above and beyond the effects of perceived changes in these traits. In addition, both positive affective and exploratory narratives corresponded to increases in emotional health during college independent of the effects of changes in personality traits. These findings improve our understanding of how individuals conceptualize their changing identity over time.

Narrating Personality Change

PubMed Central

Lodi-Smith, Jennifer; Geise, Aaron C.; Roberts, Brent W.; Robins, Richard W.

2009-01-01

The present research investigated the longitudinal relations between personality traits and narratives. Specifically, the authors examined how individual differences in 170 college students' narratives of personality change (a) were predicted by personality traits at the beginning of college, (b) related to actual changes and perceived changes in personality traits during college, and (c) related to changes in emotional health during college. Individual differences in narratives of personality trait change told in the 4th year of college fell into 2 dimensions: affective processing, characterized by positive emotions, and exploratory processing, characterized by meaning making and causal processing. Conscientious, open, and extraverted freshmen told exploratory stories of change as seniors. Emotionally healthy freshmen told stories of change that were high in positive affect. Both positive affective and exploratory stories corresponded to change in emotional stability and conscientiousness during college above and beyond the effects of perceived changes in these traits. In addition, both positive affective and exploratory narratives corresponded to increases in emotional health during college independent of the effects of changes in personality traits. These findings improve our understanding of how individuals conceptualize their changing identity over time. PMID:19254112

Partial connectivity increases cultural accumulation within groups.

PubMed

Derex, Maxime; Boyd, Robert

2016-03-15

Complex technologies used in most human societies are beyond the inventive capacities of individuals. Instead, they result from a cumulative process in which innovations are gradually added to existing cultural traits across many generations. Recent work suggests that a population's ability to develop complex technologies is positively affected by its size and connectedness. Here, we present a simple computer-based experiment that compares the accumulation of innovations by fully and partially connected groups of the same size in a complex fitness landscape. We find that the propensity to learn from successful individuals drastically reduces cultural diversity within fully connected groups. In comparison, partially connected groups produce more diverse solutions, and this diversity allows them to develop complex solutions that are never produced in fully connected groups. These results suggest that explanations of ancestral patterns of cultural complexity may need to consider levels of population fragmentation and interaction patterns between partially isolated groups.

Partial connectivity increases cultural accumulation within groups

PubMed Central

Boyd, Robert

2016-01-01

Complex technologies used in most human societies are beyond the inventive capacities of individuals. Instead, they result from a cumulative process in which innovations are gradually added to existing cultural traits across many generations. Recent work suggests that a population’s ability to develop complex technologies is positively affected by its size and connectedness. Here, we present a simple computer-based experiment that compares the accumulation of innovations by fully and partially connected groups of the same size in a complex fitness landscape. We find that the propensity to learn from successful individuals drastically reduces cultural diversity within fully connected groups. In comparison, partially connected groups produce more diverse solutions, and this diversity allows them to develop complex solutions that are never produced in fully connected groups. These results suggest that explanations of ancestral patterns of cultural complexity may need to consider levels of population fragmentation and interaction patterns between partially isolated groups. PMID:26929364

A Powerful Approach to Estimating Annotation-Stratified Genetic Covariance via GWAS Summary Statistics.

PubMed

Lu, Qiongshi; Li, Boyang; Ou, Derek; Erlendsdottir, Margret; Powles, Ryan L; Jiang, Tony; Hu, Yiming; Chang, David; Jin, Chentian; Dai, Wei; He, Qidu; Liu, Zefeng; Mukherjee, Shubhabrata; Crane, Paul K; Zhao, Hongyu

2017-12-07

Despite the success of large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on complex traits, our understanding of their genetic architecture is far from complete. Jointly modeling multiple traits' genetic profiles has provided insights into the shared genetic basis of many complex traits. However, large-scale inference sets a high bar for both statistical power and biological interpretability. Here we introduce a principled framework to estimate annotation-stratified genetic covariance between traits using GWAS summary statistics. Through theoretical and numerical analyses, we demonstrate that our method provides accurate covariance estimates, thereby enabling researchers to dissect both the shared and distinct genetic architecture across traits to better understand their etiologies. Among 50 complex traits with publicly accessible GWAS summary statistics (N total ≈ 4.5 million), we identified more than 170 pairs with statistically significant genetic covariance. In particular, we found strong genetic covariance between late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two major neurodegenerative diseases, in single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with high minor allele frequencies and in SNPs located in the predicted functional genome. Joint analysis of LOAD, ALS, and other traits highlights LOAD's correlation with cognitive traits and hints at an autoimmune component for ALS. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

E-Index for Differentiating Complex Dynamic Traits

PubMed Central

Qi, Jiandong; Sun, Jianfeng; Wang, Jianxin

2016-01-01

While it is a daunting challenge in current biology to understand how the underlying network of genes regulates complex dynamic traits, functional mapping, a tool for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), has been applied in a variety of cases to tackle this challenge. Though useful and powerful, functional mapping performs well only when one or more model parameters are clearly responsible for the developmental trajectory, typically being a logistic curve. Moreover, it does not work when the curves are more complex than that, especially when they are not monotonic. To overcome this inadaptability, we therefore propose a mathematical-biological concept and measurement, E-index (earliness-index), which cumulatively measures the earliness degree to which a variable (or a dynamic trait) increases or decreases its value. Theoretical proofs and simulation studies show that E-index is more general than functional mapping and can be applied to any complex dynamic traits, including those with logistic curves and those with nonmonotonic curves. Meanwhile, E-index vector is proposed as well to capture more subtle differences of developmental patterns. PMID:27064292

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL)-Guided Metabolic Engineering of a Complex Trait.

PubMed

Maurer, Matthew J; Sutardja, Lawrence; Pinel, Dominic; Bauer, Stefan; Muehlbauer, Amanda L; Ames, Tyler D; Skerker, Jeffrey M; Arkin, Adam P

2017-03-17

Engineering complex phenotypes for industrial and synthetic biology applications is difficult and often confounds rational design. Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstocks is a complex trait that requires multiple host systems to utilize, detoxify, and metabolize a mixture of sugars and inhibitors present in plant hydrolysates. Here, we demonstrate an integrated approach to discovering and optimizing host factors that impact fitness of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during fermentation of a Miscanthus x giganteus plant hydrolysate. We first used high-resolution Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping and systematic bulk Reciprocal Hemizygosity Analysis (bRHA) to discover 17 loci that differentiate hydrolysate tolerance between an industrially related (JAY291) and a laboratory (S288C) strain. We then used this data to identify a subset of favorable allelic loci that were most amenable for strain engineering. Guided by this "genetic blueprint", and using a dual-guide Cas9-based method to efficiently perform multikilobase locus replacements, we engineered an S288C-derived strain with superior hydrolysate tolerance than JAY291. Our methods should be generalizable to engineering any complex trait in S. cerevisiae, as well as other organisms.

Alexithymia Components Are Differentially Related to Explicit Negative Affect But Not Associated with Explicit Positive Affect or Implicit Affectivity.

PubMed

Suslow, Thomas; Donges, Uta-Susan

2017-01-01

Alexithymia represents a multifaceted personality construct defined by difficulties in recognizing and verbalizing emotions and externally oriented thinking. According to clinical observations, experience of negative affects is exacerbated and experience of positive affects is decreased in alexithymia. Findings from research based on self-report indicate that all alexithymia facets are negatively associated with the experience of positive affects, whereas difficulties identifying and describing feelings are related to heightened negative affect. Implicit affectivity, which can be measured using indirect assessment methods, relates to processes of the impulsive system. The aim of the present study was to examine, for the first time, the relations between alexithymia components and implicit and explicit positive and negative affectivity in healthy adults. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered to two hundred and forty-one healthy individuals along with measures of depression and trait anxiety. Difficulties identifying feelings were correlated with explicit negative trait affect, depressive mood and trait anxiety. Difficulties describing feelings showed smaller but also significant correlations with depressive mood and trait anxiety but were not correlated with explicit state or trait affect as assessed by the PANAS. Externally oriented thinking was not significantly correlated with any of the implicit and explicit affect measures. According to our findings, an externally oriented, concrete way of thinking appears to be generally unrelated to dispositions to develop positive or negative affects. Difficulties identifying feelings seem to be associated with increased conscious negative affects but not with a heightened disposition to develop negative affects at an automatic response level.

An Unbiased Systems Genetics Approach to Mapping Genetic Loci Modulating Susceptibility to Severe Streptococcal Sepsis

PubMed Central

Abdeltawab, Nourtan F.; Aziz, Ramy K.; Kansal, Rita; Rowe, Sarah L.; Su, Yin; Gardner, Lidia; Brannen, Charity; Nooh, Mohammed M.; Attia, Ramy R.; Abdelsamed, Hossam A.; Taylor, William L.; Lu, Lu; Williams, Robert W.; Kotb, Malak

2008-01-01

Striking individual differences in severity of group A streptococcal (GAS) sepsis have been noted, even among patients infected with the same bacterial strain. We had provided evidence that HLA class II allelic variation contributes significantly to differences in systemic disease severity by modulating host responses to streptococcal superantigens. Inasmuch as the bacteria produce additional virulence factors that participate in the pathogenesis of this complex disease, we sought to identify additional gene networks modulating GAS sepsis. Accordingly, we applied a systems genetics approach using a panel of advanced recombinant inbred mice. By analyzing disease phenotypes in the context of mice genotypes we identified a highly significant quantitative trait locus (QTL) on Chromosome 2 between 22 and 34 Mb that strongly predicts disease severity, accounting for 25%–30% of variance. This QTL harbors several polymorphic genes known to regulate immune responses to bacterial infections. We evaluated candidate genes within this QTL using multiple parameters that included linkage, gene ontology, variation in gene expression, cocitation networks, and biological relevance, and identified interleukin1 alpha and prostaglandin E synthases pathways as key networks involved in modulating GAS sepsis severity. The association of GAS sepsis with multiple pathways underscores the complexity of traits modulating GAS sepsis and provides a powerful approach for analyzing interactive traits affecting outcomes of other infectious diseases. PMID:18421376

Six quantitative trait loci influence task thresholds for hygienic behaviour in honeybees (Apis mellifera).

PubMed

Oxley, Peter R; Spivak, Marla; Oldroyd, Benjamin P

2010-04-01

Honeybee hygienic behaviour provides colonies with protection from many pathogens and is an important model system of the genetics of a complex behaviour. It is a textbook example of complex behaviour under simple genetic control: hygienic behaviour consists of two components--uncapping a diseased brood cell, followed by removal of the contents--each of which are thought to be modulated independently by a few loci of medium to large effect. A worker's genetic propensity to engage in hygienic tasks affects the intensity of the stimulus required before she initiates the behaviour. Genetic diversity within colonies leads to task specialization among workers, with a minority of workers performing the majority of nest-cleaning tasks. We identify three quantitative trait loci that influence the likelihood that workers will engage in hygienic behaviour and account for up to 30% of the phenotypic variability in hygienic behaviour in our population. Furthermore, we identify two loci that influence the likelihood that a worker will perform uncapping behaviour only, and one locus that influences removal behaviour. We report the first candidate genes associated with engaging in hygienic behaviour, including four genes involved in olfaction, learning and social behaviour, and one gene involved in circadian locomotion. These candidates will allow molecular characterization of this distinctive behavioural mode of disease resistance, as well as providing the opportunity for marker-assisted selection for this commercially significant trait.

HaploReg v4: systematic mining of putative causal variants, cell types, regulators and target genes for human complex traits and disease.

PubMed

Ward, Lucas D; Kellis, Manolis

2016-01-04

More than 90% of common variants associated with complex traits do not affect proteins directly, but instead the circuits that control gene expression. This has increased the urgency of understanding the regulatory genome as a key component for translating genetic results into mechanistic insights and ultimately therapeutics. To address this challenge, we developed HaploReg (http://compbio.mit.edu/HaploReg) to aid the functional dissection of genome-wide association study (GWAS) results, the prediction of putative causal variants in haplotype blocks, the prediction of likely cell types of action, and the prediction of candidate target genes by systematic mining of comparative, epigenomic and regulatory annotations. Since first launching the website in 2011, we have greatly expanded HaploReg, increasing the number of chromatin state maps to 127 reference epigenomes from ENCODE 2012 and Roadmap Epigenomics, incorporating regulator binding data, expanding regulatory motif disruption annotations, and integrating expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) variants and their tissue-specific target genes from GTEx, Geuvadis, and other recent studies. We present these updates as HaploReg v4, and illustrate a use case of HaploReg for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-associated SNPs with putative brain regulatory mechanisms. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Negative Affect Mediates the Relation Between Trait Urgency and Behavioral Distress Tolerance

PubMed Central

Borges, Allison M.; Dahne, Jennifer; Lim, Aaron C.; MacPherson, Laura

2017-01-01

Distress tolerance is associated with a range of psychopathology and risk-taking behavior. Current research suggests that the behavioral ability to persist at goal-directed behavior when distressed may be malleable. However, little is known about the contributing factors that underlie individual differences in distress tolerance. Trait urgency, or the tendency to act impulsively in the context of acute changes in affect, may predict distress tolerance because the prepotent response to avoid or remove an aversive state may undermine persistence. To date, most research has examined the role of negative urgency, a valenced subfactor of urgency, in relation to distress tolerance. However, the broad trait of urgency may be associated with a greater change in affect that precedes the inability to tolerate distress. The current study examined whether greater changes in negative affect was indeed a mediator in the relationship between trait urgency and behavioral distress tolerance. The effects of both positive and negative urgency on affect change were examined to investigate the potential contribution of the broader urgency trait. The results suggest that a greater change in negative affect over the course of a stressor mediated the association between both subfactors of urgency and distress tolerance. These findings suggest that trait urgency, regardless of valence, may be associated with experiencing greater changes in affect that ultimately undermine the ability to tolerate distress. These findings also highlight important components of distress tolerance that could inform behavioral interventions. PMID:28080084

Negative affect mediates the relation between trait urgency and behavioral distress tolerance.

PubMed

Borges, Allison M; Dahne, Jennifer; Lim, Aaron C; MacPherson, Laura

2017-06-01

Distress tolerance is associated with a range of psychopathology and risk-taking behavior. Current research suggests that the behavioral ability to persist at goal-directed behavior when distressed may be malleable. However, little is known about the contributing factors that underlie individual differences in distress tolerance. Trait urgency, or the tendency to act impulsively in the context of acute changes in affect, may predict distress tolerance because the prepotent response to avoid or remove an aversive state may undermine persistence. To date, most research has examined the role of negative urgency, a valenced subfactor of urgency, in relation to distress tolerance. However, the broad trait of urgency may be associated with a greater change in affect that precedes the inability to tolerate distress. The current study examined whether greater changes in negative affect was indeed a mediator in the relationship between trait urgency and behavioral distress tolerance. The effects of both positive and negative urgency on affect change were examined to investigate the potential contribution of the broader urgency trait. The results suggest that a greater change in negative affect over the course of a stressor mediated the association between both subfactors of urgency and distress tolerance. These findings suggest that trait urgency, regardless of valence, may be associated with experiencing greater changes in affect that ultimately undermine the ability to tolerate distress. These findings also highlight important components of distress tolerance that could inform behavioral interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Trait mindfulness modulates neuroendocrine and affective responses to social evaluative threat.

PubMed

Brown, Kirk Warren; Weinstein, Netta; Creswell, J David

2012-12-01

Individual differences in mindfulness have been associated with numerous self-report indicators of stress, but research has not examined how mindfulness may buffer neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses under controlled laboratory conditions. The present study investigated the role of trait mindfulness in buffering cortisol and affective responses to a social evaluative stress challenge versus a control task. Participants completed measures of trait mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation before being randomized to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) or a control task. At points throughout the session, participants provided five saliva samples to assess cortisol response patterns, and completed four self-report measures of anxiety and negative affect to assess psychological responses. In accord with hypotheses, higher trait mindfulness predicted lower cortisol responses to the TSST, relative to the control task, as well as lower anxiety and negative affect. These relations remained significant when controlling for the role of other variables that predicted cortisol and affective responses. The findings suggest that trait mindfulness modulates cortisol and affective responses to an acute social stressor. Further research is needed to understand the neural pathways through which mindfulness impacts these responses. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid evolution of hosts begets species diversity at the cost of intraspecific diversity

PubMed Central

Frickel, Jens; Theodosiou, Loukas

2017-01-01

Ecosystems are complex food webs in which multiple species interact and ecological and evolutionary processes continuously shape populations and communities. Previous studies on eco-evolutionary dynamics have shown that the presence of intraspecific diversity affects community structure and function, and that eco-evolutionary feedback dynamics can be an important driver for its maintenance. Within communities, feedbacks are, however, often indirect, and they can feed back over many generations. Here, we studied eco-evolutionary feedbacks in evolving communities over many generations and compared two-species systems (virus–host and prey–predator) with a more complex three-species system (virus–host–predator). Both indirect density- and trait-mediated effects drove the dynamics in the complex system, where host–virus coevolution facilitated coexistence of predator and virus, and where coexistence, in return, lowered intraspecific diversity of the host population. Furthermore, ecological and evolutionary dynamics were significantly altered in the three-species system compared with the two-species systems. We found that the predator slowed host–virus coevolution in the complex system and that the virus’ effect on the overall population dynamics was negligible when the three species coexisted. Overall, we show that a detailed understanding of the mechanism driving eco-evolutionary feedback dynamics is necessary for explaining trait and species diversity in communities, even in communities with only three species. PMID:28973943

The transformative potential of an integrative approach to pregnancy.

PubMed

Eidem, Haley R; McGary, Kriston L; Capra, John A; Abbot, Patrick; Rokas, Antonis

2017-09-01

Complex traits typically involve diverse biological pathways and are shaped by numerous genetic and environmental factors. Pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies are further complicated by extensive communication across multiple tissues in two individuals, interactions between two genomes-maternal and fetal-that obscure causal variants and lead to genetic conflict, and rapid evolution of pregnancy-associated traits across mammals and in the human lineage. Given the multi-faceted complexity of human pregnancy, integrative approaches that synthesize diverse data types and analyses harbor tremendous promise to identify the genetic architecture and environmental influences underlying pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies. We review current research that addresses the extreme complexities of traits and pathologies associated with human pregnancy. We find that successful efforts to address the many complexities of pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies often harness the power of many and diverse types of data, including genome-wide association studies, evolutionary analyses, multi-tissue transcriptomic profiles, and environmental conditions. We propose that understanding of pregnancy and its pathologies will be accelerated by computational platforms that provide easy access to integrated data and analyses. By simplifying the integration of diverse data, such platforms will provide a comprehensive synthesis that transcends many of the inherent challenges present in studies of pregnancy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative genetics of immunity and life history under different photoperiods.

PubMed

Hammerschmidt, K; Deines, P; Wilson, A J; Rolff, J

2012-05-01

Insects with complex life-cycles should optimize age and size at maturity during larval development. When inhabiting seasonal environments, organisms have limited reproductive periods and face fundamental decisions: individuals that reach maturity late in season have to either reproduce at a small size or increase their growth rates. Increasing growth rates is costly in insects because of higher juvenile mortality, decreased adult survival or increased susceptibility to parasitism by bacteria and viruses via compromised immune function. Environmental changes such as seasonality can also alter the quantitative genetic architecture. Here, we explore the quantitative genetics of life history and immunity traits under two experimentally induced seasonal environments in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus. Seasonality affected the life history but not the immune phenotypes. Individuals under decreasing day length developed slower and grew to a bigger size. We found ample additive genetic variance and heritability for components of immunity (haemocyte densities, proPhenoloxidase activity, resistance against Serratia marcescens), and for the life history traits, age and size at maturity. Despite genetic covariance among traits, the structure of G was inconsistent with genetically based trade-off between life history and immune traits (for example, a strong positive genetic correlation between growth rate and haemocyte density was estimated). However, conditional evolvabilities support the idea that genetic covariance structure limits the capacity of individual traits to evolve independently. We found no evidence for G × E interactions arising from the experimentally induced seasonality.

Do Core Interpersonal and Affective Traits of PCL-R Psychopathy Interact with Antisocial Behavior and Disinhibition to Predict Violence?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennealy, Patrick J.; Skeem, Jennifer L.; Walters, Glenn D.; Camp, Jacqueline

2010-01-01

The utility of psychopathy measures in predicting violence is largely explained by their assessment of social deviance (e.g., antisocial behavior; disinhibition). A key question is whether social deviance "interacts" with the core interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy to predict violence. Do core psychopathic traits multiply the (already…

Affective touch awareness in mental health and disease relates to autistic traits - An explorative neurophysiological investigation.

PubMed

Croy, Ilona; Geide, Helen; Paulus, Martin; Weidner, Kerstin; Olausson, Håkan

2016-11-30

Affective touch is important for social interaction within families and groups and there is evidence that unmyelinated C tactile fibers are involved in this process. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders show alterations in the perception and processing of affective touch. sThus, we hypothesized that affective touch awareness based on C tactile fiber activation is impaired in individuals with high levels of autistic trait. The pleasantness perception of optimal and suboptimal C tactile stimuli was tested in an explorative study in 70 patients recruited from an outpatient psychotherapy clinic and 69 healthy comparison subjects. All participants completed questionnaires about autistic traits, depressive symptomatology, childhood maltreatment, and about the daily amount of touch. Relative to comparison subjects, patients reported engaging in touch less frequently in daily life and rated touch less pleasant. Reduced valence ratings of touch were explained by childhood maltreatment but not by any particular disorder or depression severity. Among all tested variables, the affective touch awareness correlated with autistic traits only - in patients as well as in comparison subjects. Taken together, individuals with mental health issues have a lower baseline of expression and reception of affective touch. Autistic traits and childhood maltreatment modulate the experience of affective touch. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A summary of eight traits of Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera and Araneae, occurring in grasslands in Germany

PubMed Central

Gossner, Martin M; Simons, Nadja K; Achtziger, Roland; Blick, Theo; Dorow, Wolfgang H.O; Dziock, Frank; Köhler, Frank; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Weisser, Wolfgang W

2015-01-01

Analyses of species traits have increased our understanding of how environmental drivers such as disturbances affect the composition of arthropod communities and related processes. There are, however, few studies on which traits in the arthropod community are affected by environmental changes and which traits affect ecosystem functioning. The assembly of arthropod traits of several taxa is difficult because of the large number of species, limited availability of trait databases and differences in available traits. We sampled arthropod species data from a total of 150 managed grassland plots in three regions of Germany. These plots represent the spectrum from extensively used pastures to mown pastures to intensively managed and fertilized meadows. In this paper, we summarize information on body size, dispersal ability, feeding guild and specialization (within herbivores), feeding mode, feeding tissue (within herbivorous suckers), plant part (within herbivorous chewers), endophagous lifestyle (within herbivores), and vertical stratum use for 1,230 species of Coleoptera, Hemiptera (Heteroptera, Auchenorrhyncha), Orthoptera (Saltatoria: Ensifera, Caelifera), and Araneae, sampled by sweep-netting between 2008 and 2012. We compiled traits from various literature sources and complemented data from reliable internet sources and the authors’ experience. PMID:25977817

A summary of eight traits of Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera and Araneae, occurring in grasslands in Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gossner, Martin M.; Simons, Nadja K.; Achtziger, Roland; Blick, Theo; Dorow, Wolfgang H. O.; Dziock, Frank; Köhler, Frank; Rabitsch, Wolfgang; Weisser, Wolfgang W.

2015-03-01

Analyses of species traits have increased our understanding of how environmental drivers such as disturbances affect the composition of arthropod communities and related processes. There are, however, few studies on which traits in the arthropod community are affected by environmental changes and which traits affect ecosystem functioning. The assembly of arthropod traits of several taxa is difficult because of the large number of species, limited availability of trait databases and differences in available traits. We sampled arthropod species data from a total of 150 managed grassland plots in three regions of Germany. These plots represent the spectrum from extensively used pastures to mown pastures to intensively managed and fertilized meadows. In this paper, we summarize information on body size, dispersal ability, feeding guild and specialization (within herbivores), feeding mode, feeding tissue (within herbivorous suckers), plant part (within herbivorous chewers), endophagous lifestyle (within herbivores), and vertical stratum use for 1,230 species of Coleoptera, Hemiptera (Heteroptera, Auchenorrhyncha), Orthoptera (Saltatoria: Ensifera, Caelifera), and Araneae, sampled by sweep-netting between 2008 and 2012. We compiled traits from various literature sources and complemented data from reliable internet sources and the authors’ experience.

Impulsive responding in threat and reward contexts as a function of PTSD symptoms and trait disinhibition.

PubMed

Sadeh, Naomi; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Hayes, Jasmeet P

2018-01-01

We examined current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, trait disinhibition, and affective context as contributors to impulsive and self-destructive behavior in 94 trauma-exposed Veterans. Participants completed an affective Go/No-Go task (GNG) with different emotional contexts (threat, reward, and a multidimensional threat/reward condition) and current PTSD, trait disinhibition, and risky/self-destructive behavior measures. PTSD interacted with trait disinhibition to explain recent engagement in risky/self-destructive behavior, with Veterans scoring high on trait disinhibition and current PTSD symptoms reporting the highest levels of these behaviors. On the GNG task, commission errors were also associated with the interaction of PTSD symptoms and trait disinhibition. Specifically, PTSD symptoms were associated with greater commission errors in threat vs. reward contexts for individuals who were low on trait disinhibition. In contrast, veterans high on PTSD and trait disinhibition exhibited the greatest number of commission errors in the multidimensional affective context that involved both threat and reward processing. Results highlight the interactive effects of PTSD and disinhibited personality traits, as well as threat and reward systems, as risk factors for impulsive and self-destructive behavior in trauma-exposed groups. Findings have clinical implications for understanding heterogeneity in the expression of PTSD and its association with disinhibited behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of prosocial, neutral, and violent video games on college students' affect.

PubMed

Saleem, Muniba; Anderson, Craig A; Gentile, Douglas A

2012-01-01

Recent research reveals that playing prosocial video games increases prosocial cognitions and helpful behaviors [Gentile el al., 2009; Greitemeyer and Osswald, 2009; 2010; 2011]. These results are consistent with social-cognitive models of social behavior [e.g., the "General Learning Model," Buckley and Anderson, 2006]. The social-cognitive learning models suggest that in addition to influencing cognitions, media content may also influence affect. However, past studies on prosocial video games have failed to find a significant effect on affective measures [Greitemeyer and Osswald, 2010]. The present research examined the effects of prosocial, neutral, and violent video games on state hostility and positive affect. Also examined were moderating effects of trait aggressiveness, trait altruistic helping, and trait egoistic helping. Prosocial games reduced state hostility and increased positive state affect. Violent video games had the opposite effects. These effects were moderated by trait physical aggression. Altruistic participants reported relatively more positive affect and less state hostility. Egoistic participants reported relatively more aggravated and mean feelings. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Integrated genomics and molecular breeding approaches for dissecting the complex quantitative traits in crop plants.

PubMed

Kujur, Alice; Saxena, Maneesha S; Bajaj, Deepak; Laxmi; Parida, Swarup K

2013-12-01

The enormous population growth, climate change and global warming are now considered major threats to agriculture and world's food security. To improve the productivity and sustainability of agriculture, the development of highyielding and durable abiotic and biotic stress-tolerant cultivars and/climate resilient crops is essential. Henceforth, understanding the molecular mechanism and dissection of complex quantitative yield and stress tolerance traits is the prime objective in current agricultural biotechnology research. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in plant genomics and molecular breeding research pertaining to conventional and next-generation whole genome, transcriptome and epigenome sequencing efforts, generation of huge genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic resources and development of modern genomics-assisted breeding approaches in diverse crop genotypes with contrasting yield and abiotic stress tolerance traits. Unfortunately, the detailed molecular mechanism and gene regulatory networks controlling such complex quantitative traits is not yet well understood in crop plants. Therefore, we propose an integrated strategies involving available enormous and diverse traditional and modern -omics (structural, functional, comparative and epigenomics) approaches/resources and genomics-assisted breeding methods which agricultural biotechnologist can adopt/utilize to dissect and decode the molecular and gene regulatory networks involved in the complex quantitative yield and stress tolerance traits in crop plants. This would provide clues and much needed inputs for rapid selection of novel functionally relevant molecular tags regulating such complex traits to expedite traditional and modern marker-assisted genetic enhancement studies in target crop species for developing high-yielding stress-tolerant varieties.

Poly-Omic Prediction of Complex Traits: OmicKriging

PubMed Central

Wheeler, Heather E.; Aquino-Michaels, Keston; Gamazon, Eric R.; Trubetskoy, Vassily V.; Dolan, M. Eileen; Huang, R. Stephanie; Cox, Nancy J.; Im, Hae Kyung

2014-01-01

High-confidence prediction of complex traits such as disease risk or drug response is an ultimate goal of personalized medicine. Although genome-wide association studies have discovered thousands of well-replicated polymorphisms associated with a broad spectrum of complex traits, the combined predictive power of these associations for any given trait is generally too low to be of clinical relevance. We propose a novel systems approach to complex trait prediction, which leverages and integrates similarity in genetic, transcriptomic, or other omics-level data. We translate the omic similarity into phenotypic similarity using a method called Kriging, commonly used in geostatistics and machine learning. Our method called OmicKriging emphasizes the use of a wide variety of systems-level data, such as those increasingly made available by comprehensive surveys of the genome, transcriptome, and epigenome, for complex trait prediction. Furthermore, our OmicKriging framework allows easy integration of prior information on the function of subsets of omics-level data from heterogeneous sources without the sometimes heavy computational burden of Bayesian approaches. Using seven disease datasets from the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC), we show that OmicKriging allows simple integration of sparse and highly polygenic components yielding comparable performance at a fraction of the computing time of a recently published Bayesian sparse linear mixed model method. Using a cellular growth phenotype, we show that integrating mRNA and microRNA expression data substantially increases performance over either dataset alone. Using clinical statin response, we show improved prediction over existing methods. PMID:24799323

Larval traits show temporally consistent constraints, but are decoupled from post-settlement juvenile growth, in an intertidal fish.

PubMed

Thia, Joshua A; Riginos, Cynthia; Liggins, Libby; Figueira, Will F; McGuigan, Katrina

2018-05-05

1.Complex life-cycles may evolve to dissociate distinct developmental phases in an organism's lifetime. However, genetic or environmental factors may restrict trait independence across life stages, constraining ontogenetic trajectories. Quantifying covariance across life-stages and their temporal variability is fundamental in understanding life-history phenotypes and potential distributions and consequences for selection. 2.We studied developmental constraints in an intertidal fish (Bathygobius cocosensis: Gobiidae) with a discrete pelagic larval phase and benthic juvenile phase. We tested whether traits occurring earlier in life affected those expressed later, and whether larval traits were decoupled from post-settlement juvenile traits. Sampling distinct cohorts from three annual breeding seasons afforded tests of temporally variability in trait covariance. 3.From otoliths (fish ear stones), we measured hatch size, larval duration, pelagic growth (larval traits) and early post-settlement growth (juvenile trait) in 124 juvenile B. cocoensis. We used path analyses to model trait relationships with respect to their chronological expression, comparing models among seasons. We also modelled the effect of season and hatch date on each individual trait to quantify their inherent variability. 4.Our path analyses demonstrated a decoupling of larval traits on juvenile growth. Within the larval phase, longer larval durations resulted in greater pelagic growth, and larger size-at-settlement. There was also evidence that larger hatch size might reduce larval durations, but this effect was only marginally significant. Although pelagic and post-settlement growth were decoupled, pelagic growth had post-settlement consequences: individuals with high pelagic growth were among the largest fish at settlement, and remained among the largest early post-settlement. We observed no evidence that trait relationships varied among breeding seasons, but larval duration differed among breeding seasons, and was shorter for larvae hatching later within each season. 5.Overall, we demonstrate mixed support for the expectation that traits in different life-stages are independent. While post-settlement growth was decoupled from larval traits, pelagic development had consequences for the size of newly settled juveniles. Temporal consistency in trait covariances implies that genetic and/or environmental factors influencing them were stable over our three-year study. Our work highlights the importance of individual developmental experiences and temporal variability in understanding population distributions of life-history traits. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Variation in flooding-induced morphological traits in natural populations of white clover (Trifolium repens) and their effects on plant performance during soil flooding

PubMed Central

Huber, Heidrun; Jacobs, Elke; Visser, Eric J. W.

2009-01-01

Background and Aims Soil flooding leads to low soil oxygen concentrations and thereby negatively affects plant growth. Differences in flooding tolerance have been explained by the variation among species in the extent to which traits related to acclimation were expressed. However, our knowledge of variation within natural species (i.e. among individual genotypes) in traits related to flooding tolerance is very limited. Such data could tell us on which traits selection might have taken place, and will take place in future. The aim of the present study was to show that variation in flooding-tolerance-related traits is present among genotypes of the same species, and that both the constitutive variation and the plastic variation in flooding-induced changes in trait expression affect the performance of genotypes during soil flooding. Methods Clones of Trifolium repens originating from a river foreland were subjected to either drained, control conditions or to soil flooding. Constitutive expression of morphological traits was recorded on control plants, and flooding-induced changes in expression were compared with these constitutive expression levels. Moreover, the effect of both constitutive and flooding-induced trait expression on plant performance was determined. Key Results Constitutive and plastic variation of several morphological traits significantly affected plant performance. Even relatively small increases in root porosity and petiole length contributed to better performance during soil flooding. High specific leaf area, by contrast, was negatively correlated with performance during flooding. Conclusions The data show that different genotypes responded differently to soil flooding, which could be linked to variation in morphological trait expression. As flooded and drained conditions exerted different selection pressures on trait expression, the optimal value for constitutive and plastic traits will depend on the frequency and duration of flooding. These data will help us understanding the mechanisms affecting short- and long-term dynamics in flooding-prone ecosystems. PMID:18713824

MicroRNA-guided prioritization of genome-wide association signals reveals the importance of microRNA-target gene networks for complex traits in cattle.

PubMed

Fang, Lingzhao; Sørensen, Peter; Sahana, Goutam; Panitz, Frank; Su, Guosheng; Zhang, Shengli; Yu, Ying; Li, Bingjie; Ma, Li; Liu, George; Lund, Mogens Sandø; Thomsen, Bo

2018-06-19

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are key modulators of gene expression and so act as putative fine-tuners of complex phenotypes. Here, we hypothesized that causal variants of complex traits are enriched in miRNAs and miRNA-target networks. First, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for seven functional and milk production traits using imputed sequence variants (13~15 million) and >10,000 animals from three dairy cattle breeds, i.e., Holstein (HOL), Nordic red cattle (RDC) and Jersey (JER). Second, we analyzed for enrichments of association signals in miRNAs and their miRNA-target networks. Our results demonstrated that genomic regions harboring miRNA genes were significantly (P < 0.05) enriched with GWAS signals for milk production traits and mastitis, and that enrichments within miRNA-target gene networks were significantly higher than in random gene-sets for the majority of traits. Furthermore, most between-trait and across-breed correlations of enrichments with miRNA-target networks were significantly greater than with random gene-sets, suggesting pleiotropic effects of miRNAs. Intriguingly, genes that were differentially expressed in response to mammary gland infections were significantly enriched in the miRNA-target networks associated with mastitis. All these findings were consistent across three breeds. Collectively, our observations demonstrate the importance of miRNAs and their targets for the expression of complex traits.

Improving breeding efficiency in potato using molecular and quantitative genetics.

PubMed

Slater, Anthony T; Cogan, Noel O I; Hayes, Benjamin J; Schultz, Lee; Dale, M Finlay B; Bryan, Glenn J; Forster, John W

2014-11-01

Potatoes are highly heterozygous and the conventional breeding of superior germplasm is challenging, but use of a combination of MAS and EBVs can accelerate genetic gain. Cultivated potatoes are highly heterozygous due to their outbreeding nature, and suffer acute inbreeding depression. Modern potato cultivars also exhibit tetrasomic inheritance. Due to this genetic heterogeneity, the large number of target traits and the specific requirements of commercial cultivars, potato breeding is challenging. A conventional breeding strategy applies phenotypic recurrent selection over a number of generations, a process which can take over 10 years. Recently, major advances in genetics and molecular biology have provided breeders with molecular tools to accelerate gains for some traits. Marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be effectively used for the identification of major genes and quantitative trait loci that exhibit large effects. There are also a number of complex traits of interest, such as yield, that are influenced by a large number of genes of individual small effect where MAS will be difficult to deploy. Progeny testing and the use of pedigree in the analysis can provide effective identification of the superior genetic factors that underpin these complex traits. Recently, it has been shown that estimated breeding values (EBVs) can be developed for complex potato traits. Using a combination of MAS and EBVs for simple and complex traits can lead to a significant reduction in the length of the breeding cycle for the identification of superior germplasm.

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but ethnophaulisms can alter the portrayal of immigrants to children.

PubMed

Mullen, Brian

2004-02-01

An archival study examined the portrayal of ethnic immigrants to children as a function of the prevailing cognitive representation of those ethnic immigrant groups in ethnophaulisms. The complexity in ethnophaulisms (and, to a lesser degree, the valence in ethnophaulisms) predicted the portrayal of ethnic immigrant groups. Overall, ethnic immigrant groups characterized in terms of ethnophaulisms of low complexity were less frequently present in children's literature, children from these ethnic groups were described more in terms of physical appearance than in terms of personal traits, fictional child characters from those ethnic groups were portrayed with smaller heads and with lower verbal complexity, and the folksongs attributed to these groups had a more negative affective tone. The implications of these results for approaches to intergroup relations are considered.

"Give, but Give until It Hurts": The Modulatory Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence on the Motivation to Help.

PubMed

Agnoli, Sergio; Pittarello, Andrea; Hysenbelli, Dorina; Rubaltelli, Enrico

2015-01-01

Two studies investigated the effect of trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) on people's motivation to help. In Study 1, we developed a new computer-based paradigm that tested participants' motivation to help by measuring their performance on a task in which they could gain a hypothetical amount of money to help children in need. Crucially, we manipulated participants' perceived efficacy by informing them that they had been either able to save the children (positive feedback) or unable to save the children (negative feedback). We measured trait EI using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF) and assessed participants' affective reactions during the experiment using the PANAS-X. Results showed that high and low trait EI participants performed differently after the presentation of feedback on their ineffectiveness in helping others in need. Both groups showed increasing negative affective states during the experiment when the feedback was negative; however, high trait EI participants better managed their affective reactions, modulating the impact of their emotions on performance and maintaining a high level of motivation to help. In Study 2, we used a similar computerized task and tested a control situation to explore the effect of trait EI on participants' behavior when facing failure or success in a scenario unrelated to helping others in need. No effect of feedback emerged on participants' emotional states in the second study. Taken together our results show that trait EI influences the impact of success and failure on behavior only in affect-rich situation like those in which people are asked to help others in need.

Insular Activity during Passive Viewing of Aversive Stimuli Reflects Individual Differences in State Negative Affect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meriau, Katja; Wartenburger, Isabell; Kazzer, Philipp; Prehn, Kristin; Villringer, Arno; van der Meer, Elke; Heekeren, Hauke R.

2009-01-01

People differ with regard to how they perceive, experience, and express negative affect. While trait negative affect reflects a stable, sustained personality trait, state negative affect represents a stimulus limited and temporally acute emotion. So far, little is known about the neural systems mediating the relationship between negative affect…

The Impact of Personality Traits on the Affective Category of English Language Learning Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fazeli, Seyed Hossein

2011-01-01

The present study aims at discovering the impact of personality traits in the prediction use of the Affective English Language Learning Strategies (AELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Affective English Language Learning Strategies based on Affective category of…

The Relationship among Leisure Interests, Personality Traits, Affect, and Mood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkinson, Todd J.; Hansen, Jo-Ida C.

2006-01-01

The present study examined relationships between leisure interests and the Big Five personality traits, positive and negative affect, and moods. Regression analysis identified particular personality but not mood or affect variables as significant predictors of leisure factor scores. Further exploration through factor analysis revealed factor…

Latent Trait Theory in the Affective Domain--Applications of the Rasch Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curry, Allen R.; Riegel, N. Blyth

The Rasch model of test theory is described in general terms, compared with latent trait theory, and shown to have interesting applications for the measurement of affective as well as cognitive traits. Three assumption of the Rasch model are stated to support the conclusion that calibration of the items and tests is independent of the examinee…

Recent progress in the genetics of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

PubMed

Pravenec, M; Křen, V; Landa, V; Mlejnek, P; Musilová, A; Šilhavý, J; Šimáková, M; Zídek, V

2014-01-01

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) is the most widely used animal model of essential hypertension and accompanying metabolic disturbances. Recent advances in sequencing of genomes of BN-Lx and SHR progenitors of the BXH/HXB recombinant inbred (RI) strains as well as accumulation of multiple data sets of intermediary phenotypes in the RI strains, including mRNA and microRNA abundance, quantitative metabolomics, proteomics, methylomics or histone modifications, will make it possible to systematically search for genetic variants involved in regulation of gene expression and in the etiology of complex pathophysiological traits. New advances in manipulation of the rat genome, including efficient transgenesis and gene targeting, will enable in vivo functional analyses of selected candidate genes to identify QTL at the molecular level or to provide insight into mechanisms whereby targeted genes affect pathophysiological traits in the SHR.

Neural responses to nostalgia-evoking music modeled by elements of dynamic musical structure and individual differences in affective traits.

PubMed

Barrett, Frederick S; Janata, Petr

2016-10-01

Nostalgia is an emotion that is most commonly associated with personally and socially relevant memories. It is primarily positive in valence and is readily evoked by music. It is also an idiosyncratic experience that varies between individuals based on affective traits. We identified frontal, limbic, paralimbic, and midbrain brain regions in which the strength of the relationship between ratings of nostalgia evoked by music and blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal was predicted by affective personality measures (nostalgia proneness and the sadness scale of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales) that are known to modulate the strength of nostalgic experiences. We also identified brain areas including the inferior frontal gyrus, substantia nigra, cerebellum, and insula in which time-varying BOLD activity correlated more strongly with the time-varying tonal structure of nostalgia-evoking music than with music that evoked no or little nostalgia. These findings illustrate one way in which the reward and emotion regulation networks of the brain are recruited during the experiencing of complex emotional experiences triggered by music. These findings also highlight the importance of considering individual differences when examining the neural responses to strong and idiosyncratic emotional experiences. Finally, these findings provide a further demonstration of the use of time-varying stimulus-specific information in the investigation of music-evoked experiences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of biological priors enhances understanding of genetic architecture and genomic prediction of complex traits within and between dairy cattle breeds.

PubMed

Fang, Lingzhao; Sahana, Goutam; Ma, Peipei; Su, Guosheng; Yu, Ying; Zhang, Shengli; Lund, Mogens Sandø; Sørensen, Peter

2017-08-10

A better understanding of the genetic architecture underlying complex traits (e.g., the distribution of causal variants and their effects) may aid in the genomic prediction. Here, we hypothesized that the genomic variants of complex traits might be enriched in a subset of genomic regions defined by genes grouped on the basis of "Gene Ontology" (GO), and that incorporating this independent biological information into genomic prediction models might improve their predictive ability. Four complex traits (i.e., milk, fat and protein yields, and mastitis) together with imputed sequence variants in Holstein (HOL) and Jersey (JER) cattle were analysed. We first carried out a post-GWAS analysis in a HOL training population to assess the degree of enrichment of the association signals in the gene regions defined by each GO term. We then extended the genomic best linear unbiased prediction model (GBLUP) to a genomic feature BLUP (GFBLUP) model, including an additional genomic effect quantifying the joint effect of a group of variants located in a genomic feature. The GBLUP model using a single random effect assumes that all genomic variants contribute to the genomic relationship equally, whereas GFBLUP attributes different weights to the individual genomic relationships in the prediction equation based on the estimated genomic parameters. Our results demonstrate that the immune-relevant GO terms were more associated with mastitis than milk production, and several biologically meaningful GO terms improved the prediction accuracy with GFBLUP for the four traits, as compared with GBLUP. The improvement of the genomic prediction between breeds (the average increase across the four traits was 0.161) was more apparent than that it was within the HOL (the average increase across the four traits was 0.020). Our genomic feature modelling approaches provide a framework to simultaneously explore the genetic architecture and genomic prediction of complex traits by taking advantage of independent biological knowledge.

Integrative approaches for large-scale transcriptome-wide association studies

PubMed Central

Gusev, Alexander; Ko, Arthur; Shi, Huwenbo; Bhatia, Gaurav; Chung, Wonil; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Jansen, Rick; de Geus, Eco JC; Boomsma, Dorret I; Wright, Fred A; Sullivan, Patrick F; Nikkola, Elina; Alvarez, Marcus; Civelek, Mete; Lusis, Aldons J.; Lehtimäki, Terho; Raitoharju, Emma; Kähönen, Mika; Seppälä, Ilkka; Raitakari, Olli T.; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laakso, Markku; Price, Alkes L.; Pajukanta, Päivi; Pasaniuc, Bogdan

2016-01-01

Many genetic variants influence complex traits by modulating gene expression, thus altering the abundance levels of one or multiple proteins. Here, we introduce a powerful strategy that integrates gene expression measurements with summary association statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify genes whose cis-regulated expression is associated to complex traits. We leverage expression imputation to perform a transcriptome wide association scan (TWAS) to identify significant expression-trait associations. We applied our approaches to expression data from blood and adipose tissue measured in ~3,000 individuals overall. We imputed gene expression into GWAS data from over 900,000 phenotype measurements to identify 69 novel genes significantly associated to obesity-related traits (BMI, lipids, and height). Many of the novel genes are associated with relevant phenotypes in the Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel. Our results showcase the power of integrating genotype, gene expression and phenotype to gain insights into the genetic basis of complex traits. PMID:26854917

Congenital Chromosomal Syndromes—A Model for Pathogenesis

PubMed Central

Rohde, Russell A.

1965-01-01

The origin of anomalies in the chromosomal syndromes is believed to be both polyetiologic and polypathogenetic. Whereas some malformations quite clearly appear to result from single gene mutations or from genic imbalance due to individual monosomic or trisomic loci, other anomalies (singly or in complex patterns) are better interpreted as originating from disturbances in particular biochemical pathways which affect the development of a variety of traits. Additional phenogenetic studies and the use of sophisticated biochemical analysis in persons with complex patterns of anomalies should provide a truer understanding of disease mechanisms and provide guidance for future studies which are aimed at the treatment and prevention of these intriguing misadventures of Nature. PMID:5318572

Can Psychological, Social and Demographical Factors Predict Clinical Characteristics Symptomatology of Bipolar Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia?

PubMed

Maciukiewicz, Malgorzata; Pawlak, Joanna; Kapelski, Pawel; Łabędzka, Magdalena; Skibinska, Maria; Zaremba, Dorota; Leszczynska-Rodziewicz, Anna; Dmitrzak-Weglarz, Monika; Hauser, Joanna

2016-09-01

Schizophrenia (SCH) is a complex, psychiatric disorder affecting 1 % of population. Its clinical phenotype is heterogeneous with delusions, hallucinations, depression, disorganized behaviour and negative symptoms. Bipolar affective disorder (BD) refers to periodic changes in mood and activity from depression to mania. It affects 0.5-1.5 % of population. Two types of disorder (type I and type II) are distinguished by severity of mania episodes. In our analysis, we aimed to check if clinical and demographical characteristics of the sample are predictors of symptom dimensions occurrence in BD and SCH cases. We included total sample of 443 bipolar and 439 schizophrenia patients. Diagnosis was based on DSM-IV criteria using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. We applied regression models to analyse associations between clinical and demographical traits from OPCRIT and symptom dimensions. We used previously computed dimensions of schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder as quantitative traits for regression models. Male gender seemed protective factor for depression dimension in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder sample. Presence of definite psychosocial stressor prior disease seemed risk factor for depressive and suicidal domain in BD and SCH. OPCRIT items describing premorbid functioning seemed related with depression, positive and disorganised dimensions in schizophrenia and psychotic in BD. We proved clinical and demographical characteristics of the sample are predictors of symptom dimensions of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We also saw relation between clinical dimensions and course of disorder and impairment during disorder.

Facial attractiveness.

PubMed

Little, Anthony C

2014-11-01

Facial attractiveness has important social consequences. Despite a widespread belief that beauty cannot be defined, in fact, there is considerable agreement across individuals and cultures on what is found attractive. By considering that attraction and mate choice are critical components of evolutionary selection, we can better understand the importance of beauty. There are many traits that are linked to facial attractiveness in humans and each may in some way impart benefits to individuals who act on their preferences. If a trait is reliably associated with some benefit to the perceiver, then we would expect individuals in a population to find that trait attractive. Such an approach has highlighted face traits such as age, health, symmetry, and averageness, which are proposed to be associated with benefits and so associated with facial attractiveness. This view may postulate that some traits will be universally attractive; however, this does not preclude variation. Indeed, it would be surprising if there existed a template of a perfect face that was not affected by experience, environment, context, or the specific needs of an individual. Research on facial attractiveness has documented how various face traits are associated with attractiveness and various factors that impact on an individual's judgments of facial attractiveness. Overall, facial attractiveness is complex, both in the number of traits that determine attraction and in the large number of factors that can alter attraction to particular faces. A fuller understanding of facial beauty will come with an understanding of how these various factors interact with each other. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:621-634. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1316 CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sensitivity assessment of freshwater macroinvertebrates to pesticides using biological traits.

PubMed

Ippolito, A; Todeschini, R; Vighi, M

2012-03-01

Assessing the sensitivity of different species to chemicals is one of the key points in predicting the effects of toxic compounds in the environment. Trait-based predicting methods have proved to be extremely efficient for assessing the sensitivity of macroinvertebrates toward compounds with non specific toxicity (narcotics). Nevertheless, predicting the sensitivity of organisms toward compounds with specific toxicity is much more complex, since it depends on the mode of action of the chemical. The aim of this work was to predict the sensitivity of several freshwater macroinvertebrates toward three classes of plant protection products: organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. Two databases were built: one with sensitivity data (retrieved, evaluated and selected from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ECOTOX database) and the other with biological traits. Aside from the "traditional" traits usually considered in ecological analysis (i.e. body size, respiration technique, feeding habits, etc.), multivariate analysis was used to relate the sensitivity of organisms to some other characteristics which may be involved in the process of intoxication. Results confirmed that, besides traditional biological traits, related to uptake capability (e.g. body size and body shape) some traits more related to particular metabolic characteristics or patterns have a good predictive capacity on the sensitivity to these kinds of toxic substances. For example, behavioral complexity, assumed as an indicator of nervous system complexity, proved to be an important predictor of sensitivity towards these compounds. These results confirm the need for more complex traits to predict effects of highly specific substances. One key point for achieving a complete mechanistic understanding of the process is the choice of traits, whose role in the discrimination of sensitivity should be clearly interpretable, and not only statistically significant.

The genetic architecture of maize (Zea mays L.) kernel weight determination.

PubMed

Alvarez Prado, Santiago; López, César G; Senior, M Lynn; Borrás, Lucas

2014-09-18

Individual kernel weight is an important trait for maize yield determination. We have identified genomic regions controlling this trait by using the B73xMo17 population; however, the effect of genetic background on control of this complex trait and its physiological components is not yet known. The objective of this study was to understand how genetic background affected our previous results. Two nested stable recombinant inbred line populations (N209xMo17 and R18xMo17) were designed for this purpose. A total of 408 recombinant inbred lines were genotyped and phenotyped at two environments for kernel weight and five other traits related to kernel growth and development. All traits showed very high and significant (P < 0.001) phenotypic variability and medium-to-high heritability (0.60-0.90). When N209xMo17 and R18xMo17 were analyzed separately, a total of 23 environmentally stable quantitative trait loci (QTL) and five epistatic interactions were detected for N209xMo17. For R18xMo17, 59 environmentally stable QTL and 17 epistatic interactions were detected. A joint analysis detected 14 stable QTL regardless of the genetic background. Between 57 and 83% of detected QTL were population specific, denoting medium-to-high genetic background effects. This percentage was dependent on the trait. A meta-analysis including our previous B73xMo17 results identified five relevant genomic regions deserving further characterization. In summary, our grain filling traits were dominated by small additive QTL with several epistatic and few environmental interactions and medium-to-high genetic background effects. This study demonstrates that the number of detected QTL and additive effects for different physiologically related grain filling traits need to be understood relative to the specific germplasm. Copyright © 2014 Alvarez Prado et al.

Berry and phenology-related traits in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.): From Quantitative Trait Loci to underlying genes

PubMed Central

Costantini, Laura; Battilana, Juri; Lamaj, Flutura; Fanizza, Girolamo; Grando, Maria Stella

2008-01-01

Background The timing of grape ripening initiation, length of maturation period, berry size and seed content are target traits in viticulture. The availability of early and late ripening varieties is desirable for staggering harvest along growing season, expanding production towards periods when the fruit gets a higher value in the market and ensuring an optimal plant adaptation to climatic and geographic conditions. Berry size determines grape productivity; seedlessness is especially demanded in the table grape market and is negatively correlated to fruit size. These traits result from complex developmental processes modified by genetic, physiological and environmental factors. In order to elucidate their genetic determinism we carried out a quantitative analysis in a 163 individuals-F1 segregating progeny obtained by crossing two table grape cultivars. Results Molecular linkage maps covering most of the genome (2n = 38 for Vitis vinifera) were generated for each parent. Eighteen pairs of homologous groups were integrated into a consensus map spanning over 1426 cM with 341 markers (mainly microsatellite, AFLP and EST-derived markers) and an average map distance between loci of 4.2 cM. Segregating traits were evaluated in three growing seasons by recording flowering, veraison and ripening dates and by measuring berry size, seed number and weight. QTL (Quantitative Trait Loci) analysis was carried out based on single marker and interval mapping methods. QTLs were identified for all but one of the studied traits, a number of them steadily over more than one year. Clusters of QTLs for different characters were detected, suggesting linkage or pleiotropic effects of loci, as well as regions affecting specific traits. The most interesting QTLs were investigated at the gene level through a bioinformatic analysis of the underlying Pinot noir genomic sequence. Conclusion Our results revealed novel insights into the genetic control of relevant grapevine features. They provide a basis for performing marker-assisted selection and testing the role of specific genes in trait variation. PMID:18419811

Anxiety promotes memory for mood-congruent faces but does not alter loss aversion

PubMed Central

Charpentier, Caroline J.; Hindocha, Chandni; Roiser, Jonathan P.; Robinson, Oliver J.

2016-01-01

Pathological anxiety is associated with disrupted cognitive processing, including working memory and decision-making. In healthy individuals, experimentally-induced state anxiety or high trait anxiety often results in the deployment of adaptive harm-avoidant behaviours. However, how these processes affect cognition is largely unknown. To investigate this question, we implemented a translational within-subjects anxiety induction, threat of shock, in healthy participants reporting a wide range of trait anxiety scores. Participants completed a gambling task, embedded within an emotional working memory task, with some blocks under unpredictable threat and others safe from shock. Relative to the safe condition, threat of shock improved recall of threat-congruent (fearful) face location, especially in highly trait anxious participants. This suggests that threat boosts working memory for mood-congruent stimuli in vulnerable individuals, mirroring memory biases in clinical anxiety. By contrast, Bayesian analysis indicated that gambling decisions were better explained by models that did not include threat or treat anxiety, suggesting that: (i) higher-level executive functions are robust to these anxiety manipulations; and (ii) decreased risk-taking may be specific to pathological anxiety. These findings provide insight into the complex interactions between trait anxiety, acute state anxiety and cognition, and may help understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive anxiety. PMID:27098489

Phylogeny-based comparative methods question the adaptive nature of sporophytic specializations in mosses.

PubMed

Huttunen, Sanna; Olsson, Sanna; Buchbender, Volker; Enroth, Johannes; Hedenäs, Lars; Quandt, Dietmar

2012-01-01

Adaptive evolution has often been proposed to explain correlations between habitats and certain phenotypes. In mosses, a high frequency of species with specialized sporophytic traits in exposed or epiphytic habitats was, already 100 years ago, suggested as due to adaptation. We tested this hypothesis by contrasting phylogenetic and morphological data from two moss families, Neckeraceae and Lembophyllaceae, both of which show parallel shifts to a specialized morphology and to exposed epiphytic or epilithic habitats. Phylogeny-based tests for correlated evolution revealed that evolution of four sporophytic traits is correlated with a habitat shift. For three of them, evolutionary rates of dual character-state changes suggest that habitat shifts appear prior to changes in morphology. This suggests that they could have evolved as adaptations to new habitats. Regarding the fourth correlated trait the specialized morphology had already evolved before the habitat shift. In addition, several other specialized "epiphytic" traits show no correlation with a habitat shift. Besides adaptive diversification, other processes thus also affect the match between phenotype and environment. Several potential factors such as complex genetic and developmental pathways yielding the same phenotypes, differences in strength of selection, or constraints in phenotypic evolution may lead to an inability of phylogeny-based comparative methods to detect potential adaptations.

Anxiety promotes memory for mood-congruent faces but does not alter loss aversion.

PubMed

Charpentier, Caroline J; Hindocha, Chandni; Roiser, Jonathan P; Robinson, Oliver J

2016-04-21

Pathological anxiety is associated with disrupted cognitive processing, including working memory and decision-making. In healthy individuals, experimentally-induced state anxiety or high trait anxiety often results in the deployment of adaptive harm-avoidant behaviours. However, how these processes affect cognition is largely unknown. To investigate this question, we implemented a translational within-subjects anxiety induction, threat of shock, in healthy participants reporting a wide range of trait anxiety scores. Participants completed a gambling task, embedded within an emotional working memory task, with some blocks under unpredictable threat and others safe from shock. Relative to the safe condition, threat of shock improved recall of threat-congruent (fearful) face location, especially in highly trait anxious participants. This suggests that threat boosts working memory for mood-congruent stimuli in vulnerable individuals, mirroring memory biases in clinical anxiety. By contrast, Bayesian analysis indicated that gambling decisions were better explained by models that did not include threat or treat anxiety, suggesting that: (i) higher-level executive functions are robust to these anxiety manipulations; and (ii) decreased risk-taking may be specific to pathological anxiety. These findings provide insight into the complex interactions between trait anxiety, acute state anxiety and cognition, and may help understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive anxiety.

Ecological strategies in california chaparral: Interacting effects of soils, climate, and fire on specific leaf area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anacker, Brian; Rajakaruna, Nishanta; Ackerly, David; Harrison, Susan; Keeley, Jon E.; Vasey, Michael

2011-01-01

Background: High values of specific leaf area (SLA) are generally associated with high maximal growth rates in resource-rich conditions, such as mesic climates and fertile soils. However, fire may complicate this relationship since its frequency varies with both climate and soil fertility, and fire frequency selects for regeneration strategies (resprouting versus seeding) that are not independent of resource-acquisition strategies. Shared ancestry is also expected to affect the distribution of resource-use and regeneration traits.Aims: We examined climate, soil, and fire as drivers of community-level variation in a key functional trait, SLA, in chaparral in California.Methods: We quantified the phylogenetic, functional, and environmental non-independence of key traits for 87 species in 115 plots.Results: Among species, SLA was higher in resprouters than seeders, although not after phylogeny correction. Among communities, mean SLA was lower in harsh interior climates, but in these climates it was higher on more fertile soils and on more recently burned sites; in mesic coastal climates, mean SLA was uniformly high despite variation in soil fertility and fire history.Conclusions: We conclude that because important correlations exist among both species traits and environmental filters, interpreting the functional and phylogenetic structure of communities may require an understanding of complex interactive effects.

Positive Traits in the Bipolar Spectrum: The Space between Madness and Genius

PubMed Central

Greenwood, Tiffany A.

2017-01-01

Bipolar disorder is a severe, lifelong mood disorder for which little is currently understood of the genetic mechanisms underlying risk. By examining related dimensional phenotypes, we may further our understanding of the disorder. Creativity has a historical connection with the bipolar spectrum and is particularly enhanced among unaffected first-degree relatives and those with bipolar spectrum traits. This suggests that some aspects of the bipolar spectrum may confer advantages, while more severe expressions of symptoms negatively influence creative accomplishment. Creativity is a complex, multidimensional construct with both cognitive and affective components, many of which appear to reflect a shared genetic vulnerability with bipolar disorder. It is suggested that a subset of bipolar risk variants confer advantages as positive traits according to an inverted-U-shaped curve with clinically unaffected allele carriers benefitting from the positive traits and serving to maintain the risk alleles in the population. The association of risk genes with creativity in healthy individuals (e.g., NRG1), as well as an overall sharing of common genetic variation between bipolar patients and creative individuals, provides support for this model. Current findings are summarized from a multidisciplinary perspective to demonstrate the feasibility of research in this area to reveal the mechanisms underlying illness. PMID:28277566

Evaluating physiological responses of plants to salinity stress

PubMed Central

Negrão, S.; Schmöckel, S. M.; Tester, M.

2017-01-01

Background Because soil salinity is a major abiotic constraint affecting crop yield, much research has been conducted to develop plants with improved salinity tolerance. Salinity stress impacts many aspects of a plant’s physiology, making it difficult to study in toto. Instead, it is more tractable to dissect the plant’s response into traits that are hypothesized to be involved in the overall tolerance of the plant to salinity. Scope and conclusions We discuss how to quantify the impact of salinity on different traits, such as relative growth rate, water relations, transpiration, transpiration use efficiency, ionic relations, photosynthesis, senescence, yield and yield components. We also suggest some guidelines to assist with the selection of appropriate experimental systems, imposition of salinity stress, and obtaining and analysing relevant physiological data using appropriate indices. We illustrate how these indices can be used to identify relationships amongst the proposed traits to identify which traits are the most important contributors to salinity tolerance. Salinity tolerance is complex and involves many genes, but progress has been made in studying the mechanisms underlying a plant’s response to salinity. Nevertheless, several previous studies on salinity tolerance could have benefited from improved experimental design. We hope that this paper will provide pertinent information to researchers on performing proficient assays and interpreting results from salinity tolerance experiments. PMID:27707746

Effects of structural complexity on within-canopy light environments and leaf traits in a northern mixed deciduous forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fotis, A. T.; Curtis, P.

2016-12-01

Canopy structure influences forest productivity through its effects on the distribution of radiation and the light-induced changes in leaf physiological traits. Due to the difficulty of accessing and measuring forest canopies, few field-based studies have quantitatively linked these divergent scales of canopy functioning. The objective of our study was to investigate how canopy structure affects light profiles within a forest canopy and whether leaves of mature trees adjust morphologically and biochemically to the light environments characteristic of canopies with different structural complexity. We used a combination of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and hemispherical photographs to quantify canopy structure and light environments, respectively, and a telescoping pole to sample leaves. Leaf mass per area (LMA), nitrogen on an area basis (Narea) and chlorophyll on a mass basis (Chlmass) were measured in four co-dominant species (Acer rubrum, Fagus grandifolia, Pinus strobus and Quercus rubra) at different heights in plots with similar leaf area index (LAI) but contrasting canopy complexity (rugosity). We found that more complex canopies had greater porosity and reduced light variability in the midcanopy while total light interception was unchanged relative to less complex canopies. Leaves of F. grandifolia, Q. rubra, and P. strobus shifted towards sun-acclimation phenotypes with increasing canopy complexity while leaves of A. rubrum became more shade-acclimated (lower LMA) in the upper canopy of more complex stands, despite no differences in total light interception. Broadleaf species showed further acclimation by increasing Narea and reducing Chlmass as LMA increased, while P. strobus showed no change in Narea and Chlmass with increasing LMA. Our results provide new insight on how light distribution and leaf acclimation in mature trees might be altered when natural and anthropogenic disturbances cause structural changes in the canopy.

Maternal effects of the English grain aphids feeding on the wheat varieties with different resistance traits.

PubMed

Hu, Xiang-Shun; Zhang, Zhan-Feng; Zhu, Tong-Yi; Song, Yue; Wu, Li-Juan; Liu, Xiao-Feng; Zhao, Hui-Yan; Liu, Tong-Xian

2018-05-09

The maternal effects of the English grain aphid, Sitobion avenae on offspring phenotypes and performance on wheat varieties with different resistance traits were examined. We found that both conditioning wheat varieties(the host plant for over 3 months) and transition wheat varieties affected the biological parameters of aphid offspring after they were transferred between wheat varieties with different resistance traits. The conditioning varieties affected weight gain, development time (DT), and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r m ), whereas transition varieties affected the fecundity, r m , net reproductive rate, and fitness index. The conditioning and transition wheat varieties had significant interaction effects on the aphid offspring's DT, mean relative growth rate, and fecundity. Our results showed that there was obvious maternal effects on offspring when S. avenae transferred bwteen wheat varieties with different resistance level, and the resistance traits of wheat varieties could induce an interaction between the conditioning and transition wheat varieties to influence the growth, development, reproduction, and even population dynamics of S. avenae. The conditioning varieties affected life-history traits related to individual growth and development to a greater extent, whereas transition varieties affected fecundity and population parameters more.

The contribution of individual psychological resilience in determining the professional quality of life of Australian nurses

PubMed Central

Hegney, Desley G.; Rees, Clare S.; Eley, Robert; Osseiran-Moisson, Rebecca; Francis, Karen

2015-01-01

Research Topic: The aim of this study was to determine the relative contribution of trait negative affect and individual psychological resilience in explaining the professional quality of life of nurses. Materials and Methods: One thousand, seven hundred and forty-three Australian nurses from the public, private, and aged care sectors completed an online Qualtrics survey. The survey collected demographic data as well as measures of depression, anxiety and stress, trait negative affect, resilience, and professional quality of life. Results: Significant positive relationships were observed between anxiety, depression and stress, trait negative affectivity, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress (compassion fatigue). Significant negative relationships were observed between each of the aforementioned variables and resilience and compassion satisfaction (CS). Results of mediated regression analysis indicated that resilience partially mediates the relationship between trait negative affect and CS. Conclusion: Results confirm the importance of both trait negative affect and resilience in explaining positive aspects of professional quality of life. Importantly, resilience was confirmed as a key variable impacting levels of CS and thus a potentially important variable to target in interventions aimed at improving nurse’s professional quality of life. PMID:26539150

Advanced complex trait analysis.

PubMed

Gray, A; Stewart, I; Tenesa, A

2012-12-01

The Genome-wide Complex Trait Analysis (GCTA) software package can quantify the contribution of genetic variation to phenotypic variation for complex traits. However, as those datasets of interest continue to increase in size, GCTA becomes increasingly computationally prohibitive. We present an adapted version, Advanced Complex Trait Analysis (ACTA), demonstrating dramatically improved performance. We restructure the genetic relationship matrix (GRM) estimation phase of the code and introduce the highly optimized parallel Basic Linear Algebra Subprograms (BLAS) library combined with manual parallelization and optimization. We introduce the Linear Algebra PACKage (LAPACK) library into the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) analysis stage. For a test case with 8999 individuals and 279,435 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we reduce the total runtime, using a compute node with two multi-core Intel Nehalem CPUs, from ∼17 h to ∼11 min. The source code is fully available under the GNU Public License, along with Linux binaries. For more information see http://www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/software-products/acta. a.gray@ed.ac.uk Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

The effect of phenotypic traits and external cues on natal dispersal movements.

PubMed

Delgado, María del Mar; Penteriani, Vincenzo; Revilla, Eloy; Nams, Vilis O

2010-05-01

1. Natal dispersal has the potential to affect most ecological and evolutionary processes. However, despite its importance, this complex ecological process still represents a significant gap in our understanding of animal ecology due to both the lack of empirical data and the intrinsic complexity of dispersal dynamics. 2. By studying natal dispersal of 74 radiotagged juvenile eagle owls Bubo bubo (Linnaeus), in both the wandering and the settlement phases, we empirically addressed the complex interactions by which individual phenotypic traits and external cues jointly shape individual heterogeneity through the different phases of dispersal, both at nightly and weekly temporal scales. 3. Owls in poorer physical conditions travelled shorter total distances during the wandering phase, describing straighter paths and moving slower, especially when crossing heterogeneous habitats. In general, the owls in worse condition started dispersal later and took longer times to find further settlement areas. Net distances were also sex biased, with females settling at further distances. Dispersing individuals did not seem to explore wandering and settlement areas by using a search image of their natal surroundings. Eagle owls showed a heterogeneous pattern of patch occupancy, where few patches were highly visited by different owls whereas the majority were visited by just one individual. During dispersal, the routes followed by owls were an intermediate solution between optimized and randomized ones. Finally, dispersal direction had a marked directionality, largely influenced by dominant winds. These results suggest an asymmetric and anisotropic dispersal pattern, where not only the number of patches but also their functions can affect population viability. 4. The combination of the information coming from the relationships among a large set of factors acting and integrating at different spatial and temporal scales, under the perspective of heterogeneous life histories, are a fruitful ground for future understanding of natal dispersal.

Anxiety and depression, personality traits relevant to tinnitus: A scoping review.

PubMed

Durai, Mithila; Searchfield, Grant

2016-11-01

Scoping reviews of existing literature were conducted to identify key personality traits relevant to tinnitus, and examine the relationship between affective disorders and tinnitus. The methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley was followed. Sixty studies were chosen for charting the data, 14 studies examined personality traits exclusively, 31 studies examined affective disorders exclusively, and 15 studies investigated both. The presence of one or more specific personality traits of high neuroticism, low extraversion, high stress reaction, higher alienation, lower social closeness, lower well-being, lower self control, lower psychological acceptance, presence of a type D personality, and externalized locus of control were associated with tinnitus distress. Anxiety and depression were more prevalent among the tinnitus clinical population and at elevated levels. Personality traits have a consistent association with the distress experienced by adult tinnitus help-seekers, and help-seekers are also more likely to experience affective symptoms and/or disorders.

Linking stable and dynamic features of positive affect to sleep.

PubMed

Ong, Anthony D; Exner-Cortens, Deinera; Riffin, Catherine; Steptoe, Andrew; Zautra, Alex; Almeida, David M

2013-08-01

Poor sleep contributes to adult morbidity and mortality. The study examined the extent to which trait positive affect (PA) and PA reactivity, defined as the magnitude of change in daily PA in response to daily events, were linked to sleep outcomes. Analyses are based on data from 100 respondents selected from the National Survey of Midlife in the United States. Multilevel analyses indicated that higher levels of trait PA were associated with greater morning rest and better overall sleep quality. In contrast, PA reactivity was associated with diminished sleep efficiency. Finally, interactions between PA reactivity and trait PA emerged on all three sleep measures, such that higher event-related change in daily positive affect was associated with impaired sleep, especially among individuals high in trait PA. Results suggest that high trait PA, when coupled with high PA reactivity, may contribute to poor sleep.

Cognitive and affective empathy in children with conduct problems: additive and interactive effects of callous-unemotional traits and autism spectrum disorders symptoms.

PubMed

Pasalich, Dave S; Dadds, Mark R; Hawes, David J

2014-11-30

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) symptoms are characterized by problems in empathy; however, these behavioral features are rarely examined together in children with conduct problems. This study investigated additive and interactive effects of CU traits and ASD symptoms in relation to cognitive and affective empathy in a non-ASD clinic-referred sample. Participants were 134 children aged 3 to 9 years (M=5.60; 79% boys) with oppositional defiant/conduct disorder, and their parents. Clinicians, teachers, and parents reported on dimensions of child behavior, and parental reports of family dysfunction and direct observations of parental warmth/responsiveness assessed quality of family relationships. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that, over and above the effects of child conduct problem severity and quality of family relationships, both ASD symptoms and CU traits were uniquely associated with deficits in cognitive empathy. Moreover, CU traits demonstrated an independent association with affective empathy, and this relationship was moderated by ASD symptoms. That is, there was a stronger negative association between CU traits and affective empathy at higher versus lower levels of ASD symptoms. These findings suggest including both CU traits and ASD-related social impairments in models delineating the atypical development of empathy in children with conduct problems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dung beetles as drivers of ecosystem multifunctionality: Are response and effect traits interwoven?

PubMed

Piccini, Irene; Nervo, Beatrice; Forshage, Mattias; Celi, Luisella; Palestrini, Claudia; Rolando, Antonio; Roslin, Tomas

2018-03-01

Rapid biodiversity loss has emphasized the need to understand how biodiversity affects the provisioning of ecological functions. Of particular interest are species and communities with versatile impacts on multiple parts of the environment, linking processes in the biosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere to human interests in the anthroposphere (in this case, cattle farming). In this study, we examine the role of a specific group of insects - beetles feeding on cattle dung - on multiple ecological functions spanning these spheres (dung removal, soil nutrient content and greenhouse gas emissions). We ask whether the same traits which make species prone to extinction (i.e. response traits) may also affect their functional efficiency (as effect traits). To establish the link between response and effect traits, we first evaluated whether two traits (body mass and nesting strategy, the latter categorized as tunnelers or dwellers) affected the probability of a species being threatened. We then tested for a relationship between these traits and ecosystem functioning. Across Scandinavian dung beetle species, 75% of tunnelers and 30% of dwellers are classified as threatened. Hence, nesting strategy significantly affects the probability of a species being threatened, and constitutes a response trait. Effect traits varied with the ecological function investigated: density-specific dung removal was influenced by both nesting strategy and body mass, whereas methane emissions varied with body mass and nutrient recycling with nesting strategy. Our findings suggest that among Scandinavian dung beetles, nesting strategy is both a response and an effect trait, with tunnelers being more efficient in providing several ecological functions and also being more sensitive to extinction. Consequently, functionally important tunneler species have suffered disproportionate declines, and species not threatened today may be at risk of becoming so in the near future. This linkage between effect and response traits aggravates the consequences of ongoing biodiversity loss. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variation in the Williams syndrome GTF2I gene and anxiety proneness interactively affect prefrontal cortical response to aversive stimuli.

PubMed

Jabbi, M; Chen, Q; Turner, N; Kohn, P; White, M; Kippenhan, J S; Dickinson, D; Kolachana, B; Mattay, V; Weinberger, D R; Berman, K F

2015-08-18

Characterizing the molecular mechanisms underlying the heritability of complex behavioral traits such as human anxiety remains a challenging endeavor for behavioral neuroscience. Copy-number variation (CNV) in the general transcription factor gene, GTF2I, located in the 7q11.23 chromosomal region that is hemideleted in Williams syndrome and duplicated in the 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7), is associated with gene-dose-dependent anxiety in mouse models and in both Williams syndrome and Dup7. Because of this recent preclinical and clinical identification of a genetic influence on anxiety, we examined whether sequence variation in GTF2I, specifically the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs2527367, interacts with trait and state anxiety to collectively impact neural response to anxiety-laden social stimuli. Two hundred and sixty healthy adults completed the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire Harm Avoidance (HA) subscale, a trait measure of anxiety proneness, and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while matching aversive (fearful or angry) facial identity. We found an interaction between GTF2I allelic variations and HA that affects brain response: in individuals homozygous for the major allele, there was no correlation between HA and whole-brain response to aversive cues, whereas in heterozygotes and individuals homozygous for the minor allele, there was a positive correlation between HA sub-scores and a selective dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) responsivity during the processing of aversive stimuli. These results demonstrate that sequence variation in the GTF2I gene influences the relationship between trait anxiety and brain response to aversive social cues in healthy individuals, supporting a role for this neurogenetic mechanism in anxiety.

Genomic Correlates of Relationship QTL Involved in Fore- versus Hind Limb Divergence in Mice

PubMed Central

Pavlicev, Mihaela; Wagner, Günter P.; Noonan, James P.; Hallgrímsson, Benedikt; Cheverud, James M.

2013-01-01

Divergence of serially homologous elements of organisms is a common evolutionary pattern contributing to increased phenotypic complexity. Here, we study the genomic intervals affecting the variational independence of fore- and hind limb traits within an experimental mouse population. We use an advanced intercross of inbred mouse strains to map the loci associated with the degree of autonomy between fore- and hind limb long bone lengths (loci affecting the relationship between traits, relationship quantitative trait loci [rQTL]). These loci have been proposed to interact locally with the products of pleiotropic genes, thereby freeing the local trait from the variational constraint due to pleiotropic mutations. Using the known polymorphisms (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) between the parental strains, we characterized and compared the genomic regions in which the rQTL, as well as their interaction partners (intQTL), reside. We find that these two classes of QTL intervals harbor different kinds of molecular variation. SNPs in rQTL intervals more frequently reside in limb-specific cis-regulatory regions than SNPs in intQTL intervals. The intQTL loci modified by the rQTL, in contrast, show the signature of protein-coding variation. This result is consistent with the widely accepted view that protein-coding mutations have broader pleiotropic effects than cis-regulatory polymorphisms. For both types of QTL intervals, the underlying candidate genes are enriched for genes involved in protein binding. This finding suggests that rQTL effects are caused by local interactions among the products of the causal genes harbored in rQTL and intQTL intervals. This is the first study to systematically document the population-level molecular variation underlying the evolution of character individuation. PMID:24065733

Sequential recruitment of study participants may inflate genetic heritability estimates.

PubMed

Noce, Damia; Gögele, Martin; Schwienbacher, Christine; Caprioli, Giulia; De Grandi, Alessandro; Foco, Luisa; Platzgummer, Stefan; Pramstaller, Peter P; Pattaro, Cristian

2017-06-01

After the success of genome-wide association studies to uncover complex trait loci, attempts to explain the remaining genetic heritability (h 2 ) are mainly focused on unraveling rare variant associations and gene-gene or gene-environment interactions. Little attention is paid to the possibility that h 2 estimates are inflated as a consequence of the epidemiological study design. We studied the time series of 54 biochemical traits in 4373 individuals from the Cooperative Health Research In South Tyrol (CHRIS) study, a pedigree-based study enrolling ten participants/day over several years, with close relatives preferentially invited within the same day. We observed distributional changes of measured traits over time. We hypothesized that the combination of such changes with the pedigree structure might generate a shared-environment component with consequent h 2 inflation. We performed variance components (VC) h 2 estimation for all traits after accounting for the enrollment period in a linear mixed model (two-stage approach). Accounting for the enrollment period caused a median h 2 reduction of 4%. For 9 traits, the reduction was of >20%. Results were confirmed by a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis with all VCs included at the same time (one-stage approach). The electrolytes were the traits most affected by the enrollment period. The h 2 inflation was independent of the h 2 magnitude, laboratory protocol changes, and length of the enrollment period. The enrollment process may induce shared-environment effects even under very stringent and standardized operating procedures, causing h 2 inflation. Including the day of participation as a random effect is a sensitive way to avoid overestimation.

Personality Traits of Minority Arab Teachers in the Arab Educational System in Israel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abu Hussain, Jamal; Abu Hussain, Nadia

2017-01-01

The present research examined the personality traits prevalent among Arab teachers as a minority in the Arab educational system in Israel. Personality traits has much significance in the prediction of human behavior in various situations. Personality traits affect a person's behavior. Usually personality traits do not change, and they are…

Personality and Stressor-Related Affect

PubMed Central

Leger, Kate A.; Charles, Susan T.; Turiano, Nicholas A.; Almeida, David M.

2015-01-01

Greater increases in negative affect and greater decreases in positive affect on days stressors occur portend poorer mental and physical health years later. Although personality traits influence stressor-related affect, only neuroticism and extraversion among the Big Five personality traits have been examined in any detail. Moreover, personality traits may shape how people appraise daily stressors, yet few studies have examined how stressor-related appraisals may account for associations between personality and stressor-related affect. Two studies used participants (N=2022, age 30–84) from the National Study of Daily Experiences II (NSDE II) to examine the associations between Big Five personality traits and stressor-related affect, in addition to how appraisals may account for these relationships. Results from Study 1 indicate that higher levels of extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience, and lower levels of neuroticism, are related to less stressor-related negative affect. Only agreeableness was associated with stressor-related positive affect, such that higher levels were related to greater decreases in positive affect on days stressors occur. The second study found that stressor-related appraisals partially accounted for the significant associations between stressor-related negative affect and personality. Implications for these findings in relation to how personality may influence physical and emotional health are discussed. PMID:26796984

Investigating genetic loci that encode plant-derived paleoclimate proxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bender, A. L. D.; Suess, M.; Chitwood, D. H.; Bradley, A. S.

2016-12-01

Long chain (>C25) n-alkanes in sediments predominantly derive from terrestrial plant waxes. Hydrogen isotope ratios (δD) of leaf wax hydrocarbons correlate with δDH2O of precipitation and are commonly used as paleoclimate proxies. However, biological variability in the isotopic fractionations between water and plant materials also affects the n-alkane δD values. Correct interpretation of this paleoclimate proxy requires that we resolve genetic and environmental effects. Genetic variability underlying differences in leaf wax structure and isotopic composition can be quantitatively determined through the use of model organisms. Interfertile Solanum sect. Lycopersicon (tomato) species provide an ideal model species complex for this approach. We used a set of 76 precisely defined near-isogenic lines (introgression lines [ILs]) in which small genomic regions from the wild tomato relative Solanum pennellii have been introduced into the genome of the domestic tomato, S. lycopersicum. By characterizing quantitative traits of these ILs (leaf wax structure and isotopic composition), we can resolve the degree to which each trait is regulated by genetic versus environmental factors. We present data from two growth experiments conducted with all 76 ILs. In this study, we quantify leaf wax traits, including δD values, δ13C values, and structural metrics including the methylation index (a variable that describes the ratio of iso­- and anteiso- to n-alkanes). Among ILs, δD values vary by up to 35‰ and 60‰ for C31 and C33 n-alkanes, respectively. Many ILs have methylation indices that are discernably different from the parent domesticated tomato (p < 0.001), which suggests that methylation is a highly polygenic trait. This pattern is similar to the genetics that control leaf shape, another trait commonly used as a paleoclimate proxy. Based on our preliminary analysis, we propose candidate genes that control aspects of plant physiology that affect these quantitative traits. Our results have important implications for uncovering the degree to which we can expect environmental versus genetic factors to modulate variability in n-alkane δD values. These findings can inform the interpretation of the proxy signal recovered from the geological record.

Small- and Large-Effect Quantitative Trait Locus Interactions Underlie Variation in Yeast Sporulation Efficiency

PubMed Central

Lorenz, Kim; Cohen, Barak A.

2012-01-01

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) with small effects on phenotypic variation can be difficult to detect and analyze. Because of this a large fraction of the genetic architecture of many complex traits is not well understood. Here we use sporulation efficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model complex trait to identify and study small-effect QTL. In crosses where the large-effect quantitative trait nucleotides (QTN) have been genetically fixed we identify small-effect QTL that explain approximately half of the remaining variation not explained by the major effects. We find that small-effect QTL are often physically linked to large-effect QTL and that there are extensive genetic interactions between small- and large-effect QTL. A more complete understanding of quantitative traits will require a better understanding of the numbers, effect sizes, and genetic interactions of small-effect QTL. PMID:22942125

“Give, but Give until It Hurts”: The Modulatory Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence on the Motivation to Help

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Two studies investigated the effect of trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) on people’s motivation to help. In Study 1, we developed a new computer-based paradigm that tested participants’ motivation to help by measuring their performance on a task in which they could gain a hypothetical amount of money to help children in need. Crucially, we manipulated participants’ perceived efficacy by informing them that they had been either able to save the children (positive feedback) or unable to save the children (negative feedback). We measured trait EI using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Short Form (TEIQue-SF) and assessed participants’ affective reactions during the experiment using the PANAS-X. Results showed that high and low trait EI participants performed differently after the presentation of feedback on their ineffectiveness in helping others in need. Both groups showed increasing negative affective states during the experiment when the feedback was negative; however, high trait EI participants better managed their affective reactions, modulating the impact of their emotions on performance and maintaining a high level of motivation to help. In Study 2, we used a similar computerized task and tested a control situation to explore the effect of trait EI on participants’ behavior when facing failure or success in a scenario unrelated to helping others in need. No effect of feedback emerged on participants’ emotional states in the second study. Taken together our results show that trait EI influences the impact of success and failure on behavior only in affect-rich situation like those in which people are asked to help others in need. PMID:26121350

Dissociable relations between amygdala subregional networks and psychopathy trait dimensions in conduct-disordered juvenile offenders.

PubMed

Aghajani, Moji; Colins, Olivier F; Klapwijk, Eduard T; Veer, Ilya M; Andershed, Henrik; Popma, Arne; van der Wee, Nic J; Vermeiren, Robert R J M

2016-11-01

Psychopathy is a serious psychiatric phenomenon characterized by a pathological constellation of affective (e.g., callous, unemotional), interpersonal (e.g., manipulative, egocentric), and behavioral (e.g., impulsive, irresponsible) personality traits. Though amygdala subregional defects are suggested in psychopathy, the functionality and connectivity of different amygdala subnuclei is typically disregarded in neurocircuit-level analyses of psychopathic personality. Hence, little is known of how amygdala subregional networks may contribute to psychopathy and its underlying trait assemblies in severely antisocial people. We addressed this important issue by uniquely examining the intrinsic functional connectivity of basolateral (BLA) and centromedial (CMA) amygdala networks in relation to affective, interpersonal, and behavioral traits of psychopathy, in conduct-disordered juveniles with a history of serious delinquency (N = 50, mean age = 16.83 ± 1.32). As predicted, amygdalar connectivity profiles exhibited dissociable relations with different traits of psychopathy. Interpersonal psychopathic traits not only related to increased connectivity of BLA and CMA with a corticostriatal network formation accommodating reward processing, but also predicted stronger CMA connectivity with a network of cortical midline structures supporting sociocognitive processes. In contrast, affective psychopathic traits related to diminished CMA connectivity with a frontolimbic network serving salience processing and affective responding. Finally, behavioral psychopathic traits related to heightened BLA connectivity with a frontoparietal cluster implicated in regulatory executive functioning. We suggest that these trait-specific shifts in amygdalar connectivity could be particularly relevant to the psychopathic phenotype, as they may fuel a self-centered, emotionally cold, and behaviorally disinhibited profile. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4017-4033, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hydrodynamic Trait Coordination and Cost-Benefit Tradeoffs throughout the Isohydric-Anisohydric Continuum in Trees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirfenderesgi, G.; Matheny, A. M.; Bohrer, G.

2017-12-01

Whole-plant hydraulic performance depends on the integrated function of complexes of traits, such as embolism resistance and xylem anatomy, stomatal closure mechanisms, hydraulic architecture, and root properties. The diversity of such traits produces a wide range of response strategies to both short-term variation of soil moisture and VPD, and to long-term changes to climate and hydrological cycles which affect water availability. This study aims to assess the role of different hydraulic trait combinations in trees' vulnerability to limitations in soil water availability. We use a quantitative hydrodynamic modeling framework which allows studying the influence of each suits of plant hydraulic traits independently, and assess how the different trait groups interact with each other to form viable hydraulic strategies in response to reduced soil moisture availability. We utilize the advanced plant hydrodynamic model, FETCH2, which resolves plant functional hydrodynamics, using parameters that represent emergent physiological traits at the root, stem and leaf levels. FETCH2 simulates the integrated plant-level transpiration and water capacitance, provided hydraulic traits and environmental forcing. We define a multi-dimensional hydraulic "trait space" by considering a broad continuum of hydraulic traits at each of the leaf, stem, and root levels. We test the consequences of different strategies under a range of environmental conditions, representing typical wet, intermediate, and dry conditions, based on as observations in a research forest in Northern Michigan, USA. We evaluate the degree to which simulated trees suffer hydraulic failure due to cavitation, resulting in loss of xylem conductivity, or carbon starvation, through leaf water-potential-driven reduction of stomatal conductance. Our result demonstrated that risk-prone leaf strategy when combined with risk-adverse xylem traits may expose plant to the risk of hydraulic failure due to declining water potential during period of low soil moisture and high VPD. However, if this strategy is coupled with deep roots, the plant is less likely to experience water stress even during periods of low soil water availability and high evaporative demand.

Methods for meta-analysis of multiple traits using GWAS summary statistics.

PubMed

Ray, Debashree; Boehnke, Michael

2018-03-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for complex diseases have focused primarily on single-trait analyses for disease status and disease-related quantitative traits. For example, GWAS on risk factors for coronary artery disease analyze genetic associations of plasma lipids such as total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides (TGs) separately. However, traits are often correlated and a joint analysis may yield increased statistical power for association over multiple univariate analyses. Recently several multivariate methods have been proposed that require individual-level data. Here, we develop metaUSAT (where USAT is unified score-based association test), a novel unified association test of a single genetic variant with multiple traits that uses only summary statistics from existing GWAS. Although the existing methods either perform well when most correlated traits are affected by the genetic variant in the same direction or are powerful when only a few of the correlated traits are associated, metaUSAT is designed to be robust to the association structure of correlated traits. metaUSAT does not require individual-level data and can test genetic associations of categorical and/or continuous traits. One can also use metaUSAT to analyze a single trait over multiple studies, appropriately accounting for overlapping samples, if any. metaUSAT provides an approximate asymptotic P-value for association and is computationally efficient for implementation at a genome-wide level. Simulation experiments show that metaUSAT maintains proper type-I error at low error levels. It has similar and sometimes greater power to detect association across a wide array of scenarios compared to existing methods, which are usually powerful for some specific association scenarios only. When applied to plasma lipids summary data from the METSIM and the T2D-GENES studies, metaUSAT detected genome-wide significant loci beyond the ones identified by univariate analyses. Evidence from larger studies suggest that the variants additionally detected by our test are, indeed, associated with lipid levels in humans. In summary, metaUSAT can provide novel insights into the genetic architecture of a common disease or traits. © 2017 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.

New insights from monogenic diabetes for “common” type 2 diabetes

PubMed Central

Tallapragada, Divya Sri Priyanka; Bhaskar, Seema; Chandak, Giriraj R.

2015-01-01

Boundaries between monogenic and complex genetic diseases are becoming increasingly blurred, as a result of better understanding of phenotypes and their genetic determinants. This had a large impact on the way complex disease genetics is now being investigated. Starting with conventional approaches like familial linkage, positional cloning and candidate genes strategies, the scope of complex disease genetics has grown exponentially with scientific and technological advances in recent times. Despite identification of multiple loci harboring common and rare variants associated with complex diseases, interpreting and evaluating their functional role has proven to be difficult. Information from monogenic diseases, especially related to the intermediate traits associated with complex diseases comes handy. The significant overlap between traits and phenotypes of monogenic diseases with related complex diseases provides a platform to understand the disease biology better. In this review, we would discuss about one such complex disease, type 2 diabetes, which shares marked similarity of intermediate traits with different forms of monogenic diabetes. PMID:26300908

Mapping of quantitative trait loci controlling adaptive traits in coastal Douglas-fir. III

Treesearch

Kathleen D. Jermstad; Daniel L. Bassoni; Keith S. Jech; Gary A. Ritchie; Nicholas C. Wheeler; David B. Neale

2003-01-01

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) were mapped in the woody perennial Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) for complex traits controlling the timing of growth initiation and growth cessation. QTL were estimated under controlled environmental conditions to identify QTL interactions with photoperiod, moisture stress, winter chilling, and spring...

Larval traits carry over to affect post-settlement behaviour in a common coral reef fish.

PubMed

Dingeldein, Andrea L; White, J Wilson

2016-07-01

Most reef fishes begin life as planktonic larvae before settling to the reef, metamorphosing and entering the benthic adult population. Different selective forces determine survival in the planktonic and benthic life stages, but traits established in the larval stage may carry over to affect post-settlement performance. We tested the hypothesis that larval traits affect two key post-settlement fish behaviours: social group-joining and foraging. Certain larval traits of reef fishes are permanently recorded in the rings in their otoliths. In the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum), prior work has shown that key larval traits recorded in otoliths (growth rate, energetic condition at settlement) carry over to affect post-settlement survival on the reef, with higher-larval-condition fish experiencing less post-settlement mortality. We hypothesized that this selective mortality is mediated by carry-over effects on post-settlement antipredator behaviours. We predicted that better-condition fish would forage less and be more likely to join groups, both behaviours that would reduce predation risk. We collected 550 recently settled bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) from three reef sites off St. Croix (USVI) and performed two analyses. First, we compared each settler's larval traits to the size of its social group to determine whether larval traits influenced group-joining behaviour. Secondly, we observed foraging behaviour in a subset of grouped and solitary fish (n = 14) for 1-4 days post-settlement. We then collected the fish and tested whether larval traits influenced the proportion of time spent foraging. Body length at settlement, but not condition, affected group-joining behaviour; smaller fish were more likely to remain solitary or in smaller groups. However, both greater length and better condition were associated with greater proportions of time spent foraging over four consecutive days post-settlement. Larval traits carry over to affect post-settlement behaviour, although not as we expected: higher quality larvae join groups more frequently (safer) but then forage more. Foraging is risky but may allow faster post-settlement growth, reducing mortality risk in the long run. This shows that behaviour likely serves as a mechanistic link connecting larval traits to post-settlement selective mortality. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.

The Association Between Callous-Unemotional Traits, Externalizing Problems, and Gender in Predicting Cognitive and Affective Morality Judgments in Adolescence.

PubMed

Fragkaki, Iro; Cima, Maaike; Meesters, Cor

2016-09-01

Morality deficits have been linked to callous-unemotional traits and externalizing problems in response to moral dilemmas, but these associations are still obscure in response to antisocial acts in adolescence. Limited evidence on young boys suggested that callous-unemotional traits and externalizing problems were associated with affective but not cognitive morality judgments. The present study investigated these associations in a community sample of 277 adolescents (M age  = 15.35, 64 % females). Adolescents with high callous-unemotional traits showed deficits in affective but not cognitive morality, indicating that they can identify the appropriate moral emotions in others, but experience deviant moral emotions when imagining themselves committing antisocial acts. Externalizing problems and male gender were also strongly related to deficits in affective morality, but they had smaller associations with deficits in cognitive morality too. Implications for treatment and the justice system are discussed.

Resiliency in the Face of Adversity: A Short Longitudinal Test of the Trait Hypothesis.

PubMed

Karaırmak, Özlem; Figley, Charles

2017-01-01

Resilience represents coping with adversity and is in line with a more positive paradigm for viewing responses to adversity. Most research has focused on resilience as coping-a state-based response to adversity. However, a competing hypothesis views resilience or resiliency as a trait that exists across time and types of adversity. We tested undergraduates enrolled in social work classes at a large southern university at two time periods during a single semester using measures of adversity, positive and negative affect, and trait-based resiliency. Consistent with the trait-based resiliency, and in contrast to state-based resilience, resiliency scores were not strongly correlated with adversity at both testing points but were with positive affect, and resiliency scores remained the same over time despite adversity variations. There was no gender or ethnic group difference in resilience scores. Black/African Americans reported significantly less negative affect and more positive affect than White/Caucasians.

Adapting to life’s slings and arrows: Individual differences in resilience when recovering from an anticipated threat

PubMed Central

Waugh, Christian E.; Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Taylor, Stephan F.

2009-01-01

Following highly negative events, people are deemed resilient if they maintain psychological stability and experience fewer mental health problems. The current research investigated how trait resilience (Block & Kremen, 1996, ER89) influences recovery from anticipated threats. Participants viewed cues (‘aversive’, ‘threat’, ‘safety’) that signified the likelihood of an upcoming picture (100% aversive, 50/50 aversive/neutral, or 100% neutral; respectively), and provided continuous affective ratings during the cue, picture, and after picture offset (recovery period). Participants high in trait resilience (HighR) exhibited more complete affective recovery (compared to LowR) after viewing a neutral picture that could have been aversive. Although other personality traits previously associated with resilience (i.e., optimism, extraversion, neuroticism) predicted affective responses during various portions of the task, none mediated the influence of trait resilience on affective recovery. PMID:19649310

Understanding organizational commitment: A meta-analytic examination of the roles of the five-factor model of personality and culture.

PubMed

Choi, Daejeong; Oh, In-Sue; Colbert, Amy E

2015-09-01

We examined the relationships between the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality traits and three forms of organizational commitment (affective, normative, and continuance commitment) and their variability across individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Meta-analytic results based on 55 independent samples from 50 studies (N = 18,262) revealed that (a) all FFM traits had positive relationships with affective commitment; (b) all FFM traits had positive relationships with normative commitment; and (c) Emotional Stability, Extraversion, and Openness to Experience had negative relationships with continuance commitment. In particular, Agreeableness was found to be the trait most strongly related to both affective and normative commitment. The results also showed that Agreeableness had stronger relationships with affective and normative commitment in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures. We provide theoretical and practical implications of these findings for personality, job attitudes, and employee selection and retention. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Ecology of zoonotic infectious diseases in bats: current knowledge and future directions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hayman, D.T.; Bowen, R.A.; Cryan, P.M.; McCracken, G.F.; O'Shea, T.J.; Peel, A.J.; Gilbert, A.; Webb, C.T.; Wood, J.L.

2013-01-01

Bats are hosts to a range of zoonotic and potentially zoonotic pathogens. Human activities that increase exposure to bats will likely increase the opportunity for infections to spill over in the future. Ecological drivers of pathogen spillover and emergence in novel hosts, including humans, involve a complex mixture of processes, and understanding these complexities may aid in predicting spillover. In particular, only once the pathogen and host ecologies are known can the impacts of anthropogenic changes be fully appreciated. Cross-disciplinary approaches are required to understand how host and pathogen ecology interact. Bats differ from other sylvatic disease reservoirs because of their unique and diverse lifestyles, including their ability to fly, often highly gregarious social structures, long lifespans and low fecundity rates. We highlight how these traits may affect infection dynamics and how both host and pathogen traits may interact to affect infection dynamics. We identify key questions relating to the ecology of infectious diseases in bats and propose that a combination of field and laboratory studies are needed to create data-driven mechanistic models to elucidate those aspects of bat ecology that are most critical to the dynamics of emerging bat viruses. If commonalities can be found, then predicting the dynamics of newly emerging diseases may be possible. This modelling approach will be particularly important in scenarios when population surveillance data are unavailable and when it is unclear which aspects of host ecology are driving infection dynamics.

Ecology of Zoonotic Infectious Diseases in Bats: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

PubMed Central

Hayman, D T S; Bowen, R A; Cryan, P M; McCracken, G F; O’Shea, T J; Peel, A J; Gilbert, A; Webb, C T; Wood, J L N

2013-01-01

Bats are hosts to a range of zoonotic and potentially zoonotic pathogens. Human activities that increase exposure to bats will likely increase the opportunity for infections to spill over in the future. Ecological drivers of pathogen spillover and emergence in novel hosts, including humans, involve a complex mixture of processes, and understanding these complexities may aid in predicting spillover. In particular, only once the pathogen and host ecologies are known can the impacts of anthropogenic changes be fully appreciated. Cross-disciplinary approaches are required to understand how host and pathogen ecology interact. Bats differ from other sylvatic disease reservoirs because of their unique and diverse lifestyles, including their ability to fly, often highly gregarious social structures, long lifespans and low fecundity rates. We highlight how these traits may affect infection dynamics and how both host and pathogen traits may interact to affect infection dynamics. We identify key questions relating to the ecology of infectious diseases in bats and propose that a combination of field and laboratory studies are needed to create data-driven mechanistic models to elucidate those aspects of bat ecology that are most critical to the dynamics of emerging bat viruses. If commonalities can be found, then predicting the dynamics of newly emerging diseases may be possible. This modelling approach will be particularly important in scenarios when population surveillance data are unavailable and when it is unclear which aspects of host ecology are driving infection dynamics. PMID:22958281

Imaging-Genetics in Dyslexia: Connecting risk genetic variants to brain neuroimaging and ultimately to reading impairments

PubMed Central

Eicher, John D.; Gruen, Jeffrey R.

2013-01-01

Dyslexia is a common pediatric disorder that affects 5-17% of schoolchildren in the United States. It is marked by unexpected difficulties in fluent reading despite adequate intelligence, opportunity, and instruction. Classically, neuropsychologists have studied dyslexia using a variety of neurocognitive batteries to gain insight into the specific deficits and impairments in affected children. Since dyslexia is a complex genetic trait with high heritability, analyses conditioned on performance on these neurocognitive batteries have been used to try to identify associated genes. This has led to some successes in identifying contributing genes, although much of the heritability remains unexplained. Additionally, the lack of relevant human brain tissue for analysis and the challenges of modeling a uniquely human trait in animals are barriers to advancing our knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology. In vivo imaging technologies, however, present new opportunities to examine dyslexia and reading skills in a clearly relevant context in human subjects. Recent investigations have started to integrate these imaging data with genetic data in attempts to gain a more complete and complex understanding of reading processes. In addition to bridging the gap from genetic risk variant to a discernible neuroimaging phenotype and ultimately to the clinical impairments in reading performance, the use of neuroimaging phenotypes will reveal novel risk genes and variants. In this article, we briefly discuss the genetic and imaging investigations and take an in-depth look at the recent imaging-genetics investigations of dyslexia. PMID:23916419

The Relationship Between Early Life Events, Parental Attachment, and Psychopathic Tendencies in Adolescent Detainees.

PubMed

Christian, Erica J; Meltzer, Christine L; Thede, Linda L; Kosson, David S

2017-04-01

Despite increasing interest in understanding psychopathic traits in youth, the role of early environmental factors in the development of psychopathic traits is not well understood. No prior studies have directly examined the relationship between early life events and psychopathic traits. We examined links between life events in the first 4 years of life and indices of the core affective and interpersonal components of psychopathy. Additionally, we examined relationships between early life events, psychopathic traits, and attachment to parents among 206 adjudicated adolescents. Results indicated that the total number of early life events was positively correlated with indices of the affective component of psychopathy. Moreover, psychopathic traits moderated the relationship between the number of early life events and later reports of attachment to parents. Findings suggest that early environmental factors could have important implications for the development of psychopathic traits and may impact attachment to parents for youth with psychopathic traits.

Phenotyping: Using Machine Learning for Improved Pairwise Genotype Classification Based on Root Traits

PubMed Central

Zhao, Jiangsan; Bodner, Gernot; Rewald, Boris

2016-01-01

Phenotyping local crop cultivars is becoming more and more important, as they are an important genetic source for breeding – especially in regard to inherent root system architectures. Machine learning algorithms are promising tools to assist in the analysis of complex data sets; novel approaches are need to apply them on root phenotyping data of mature plants. A greenhouse experiment was conducted in large, sand-filled columns to differentiate 16 European Pisum sativum cultivars based on 36 manually derived root traits. Through combining random forest and support vector machine models, machine learning algorithms were successfully used for unbiased identification of most distinguishing root traits and subsequent pairwise cultivar differentiation. Up to 86% of pea cultivar pairs could be distinguished based on top five important root traits (Timp5) – Timp5 differed widely between cultivar pairs. Selecting top important root traits (Timp) provided a significant improved classification compared to using all available traits or randomly selected trait sets. The most frequent Timp of mature pea cultivars was total surface area of lateral roots originating from tap root segments at 0–5 cm depth. The high classification rate implies that culturing did not lead to a major loss of variability in root system architecture in the studied pea cultivars. Our results illustrate the potential of machine learning approaches for unbiased (root) trait selection and cultivar classification based on rather small, complex phenotypic data sets derived from pot experiments. Powerful statistical approaches are essential to make use of the increasing amount of (root) phenotyping information, integrating the complex trait sets describing crop cultivars. PMID:27999587

Genetic Marker Discovery in Complex Traits: A Field Example on Fat Content and Composition in Pigs.

PubMed

Pena, Ramona Natacha; Ros-Freixedes, Roger; Tor, Marc; Estany, Joan

2016-12-14

Among the large number of attributes that define pork quality, fat content and composition have attracted the attention of breeders in the recent years due to their interaction with human health and technological and sensorial properties of meat. In livestock species, fat accumulates in different depots following a temporal pattern that is also recognized in humans. Intramuscular fat deposition rate and fatty acid composition change with life. Despite indication that it might be possible to select for intramuscular fat without affecting other fat depots, to date only one depot-specific genetic marker ( PCK1 c.2456C>A) has been reported. In contrast, identification of polymorphisms related to fat composition has been more successful. For instance, our group has described a variant in the stearoyl-coA desaturase ( SCD ) gene that improves the desaturation index of fat without affecting overall fatness or growth. Identification of mutations in candidate genes can be a tedious and costly process. Genome-wide association studies can help in narrowing down the number of candidate genes by highlighting those which contribute most to the genetic variation of the trait. Results from our group and others indicate that fat content and composition are highly polygenic and that very few genes explain more than 5% of the variance of the trait. Moreover, as the complexity of the genome emerges, the role of non-coding genes and regulatory elements cannot be disregarded. Prediction of breeding values from genomic data is discussed in comparison with conventional best linear predictors of breeding values. An example based on real data is given, and the implications in phenotype prediction are discussed in detail. The benefits and limitations of using large SNP sets versus a few very informative markers as predictors of genetic merit of breeding candidates are evaluated using field data as an example.

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence Attachment, Affect and Sex

PubMed Central

Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J.; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M.; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-01-01

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents. PMID:27468997

Cortisol Stress Response Variability in Early Adolescence: Attachment, Affect and Sex.

PubMed

Cameron, Catherine Ann; McKay, Stacey; Susman, Elizabeth J; Wynne-Edwards, Katherine; Wright, Joan M; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-01-01

Attachment, affect, and sex shape responsivity to psychosocial stress. Concurrent social contexts influence cortisol secretion, a stress hormone and biological marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Patterns of attachment, emotion status, and sex were hypothesized to relate to bifurcated, that is, accentuated and attenuated, cortisol reactivity. The theoretical framework for this study posits that multiple individual differences mediate a cortisol stress response. The effects of two psychosocial stress interventions, a modified Trier Social Stress Test for Teens and the Frustration Social Stressor for Adolescents were developed and investigated with early adolescents. Both of these protocols induced a significant stress reaction and evoked predicted bifurcation in cortisol responses; an increase or decrease from baseline to reactivity. In Study I, 120 predominantly middle-class, Euro-Canadian early adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years were studied. The girls' attenuated cortisol reactivity to the public performance stressor related significantly to their self-reported lower maternal-attachment and higher trait-anger. In Study II, a community sample of 146 predominantly Euro-Canadian middle-class youth, with an average age of 14.5 years participated. Their self-reports of higher trait-anger and trait-anxiety, and lower parental attachment by both sexes related differentially to accentuated and attenuated cortisol reactivity to the frustration stressor. Thus, attachment, affect, sex, and the stressor contextual factors were associated with the adrenal-cortical responses of these adolescents through complex interactions. Further studies of individual differences in physiological responses to stress are called for in order to clarify the identities of concurrent protective and risk factors in the psychosocial stress and physiological stress responses of early adolescents.

Childhood parental bonding affects adulthood trait anxiety through self-esteem.

PubMed

Shimura, Akiyoshi; Takaesu, Yoshikazu; Nakai, Yukiei; Murakoshi, Akiko; Ono, Yasuyuki; Matsumoto, Yasunori; Kusumi, Ichiro; Inoue, Takeshi

2017-04-01

The association between trait anxiety and parental bonding has been suggested. However, the mechanism remains uncertain and there is no study focused on general adult population. We investigated the association and the mechanism between childhood parental bonding and adulthood trait anxiety in the general adult population. A cross-sectional retrospective survey was conducted in 2014 with 853 adult volunteers from the general population. The Parental Bonding Instrument, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI-Y) were self-administered. Structural equation modelling was used for the analysis. Childhood parental bonding affected adulthood trait anxiety indirectly mediated by self-esteem. Trait anxiety was decreased by parental care and increased by parental overprotection through self-esteem. This model explained 51.1% of the variability in STAI-Y trait anxiety scores. This study suggests an important role of self-esteem as a mediator between childhood parental bonding and adulthood trait anxiety. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Genetic Complexity and Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping of Yeast Morphological Traits

PubMed Central

Nogami, Satoru; Ohya, Yoshikazu; Yvert, Gaël

2007-01-01

Functional genomics relies on two essential parameters: the sensitivity of phenotypic measures and the power to detect genomic perturbations that cause phenotypic variations. In model organisms, two types of perturbations are widely used. Artificial mutations can be introduced in virtually any gene and allow the systematic analysis of gene function via mutants fitness. Alternatively, natural genetic variations can be associated to particular phenotypes via genetic mapping. However, the access to genome manipulation and breeding provided by model organisms is sometimes counterbalanced by phenotyping limitations. Here we investigated the natural genetic diversity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cellular morphology using a very sensitive high-throughput imaging platform. We quantified 501 morphological parameters in over 50,000 yeast cells from a cross between two wild-type divergent backgrounds. Extensive morphological differences were found between these backgrounds. The genetic architecture of the traits was complex, with evidence of both epistasis and transgressive segregation. We mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for 67 traits and discovered 364 correlations between traits segregation and inheritance of gene expression levels. We validated one QTL by the replacement of a single base in the genome. This study illustrates the natural diversity and complexity of cellular traits among natural yeast strains and provides an ideal framework for a genetical genomics dissection of multiple traits. Our results did not overlap with results previously obtained from systematic deletion strains, showing that both approaches are necessary for the functional exploration of genomes. PMID:17319748

From genotype to phenotype: unraveling the complexities of cold adaptation in forest trees

Treesearch

Glenn T. Howe; Sally N. Aitken; David B. Neale; Kathleen D. Jermstad; Nicholas C. Wheeler; Tony H.H Chen

2003-01-01

Adaptation to winter cold in temperate and boreal trees involves complex genetic, physiological, and developmental processes. Genecological studies demonstrate the existence of steep genetic clines for cold adaptation traits in relation to environmental (mostly temperature related) gradients. Population differentiation is generally stronger for cold adaptation traits...

Genetics and alcoholism.

PubMed

Edenberg, Howard J; Foroud, Tatiana

2013-08-01

Alcohol is widely consumed; however, excessive use creates serious physical, psychological and social problems and contributes to the pathogenesis of many diseases. Alcohol use disorders (that is, alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse) are maladaptive patterns of excessive drinking that lead to serious problems. Abundant evidence indicates that alcohol dependence (alcoholism) is a complex genetic disease, with variations in a large number of genes affecting a person's risk of alcoholism. Some of these genes have been identified, including two genes involved in the metabolism of alcohol (ADH1B and ALDH2) that have the strongest known affects on the risk of alcoholism. Studies continue to reveal other genes in which variants affect the risk of alcoholism or related traits, including GABRA2, CHRM2, KCNJ6 and AUTS2. As more variants are analysed and studies are combined for meta-analysis to achieve increased sample sizes, an improved picture of the many genes and pathways that affect the risk of alcoholism will be possible.

A Semiparametric Approach for Composite Functional Mapping of Dynamic Quantitative Traits

PubMed Central

Yang, Runqing; Gao, Huijiang; Wang, Xin; Zhang, Ji; Zeng, Zhao-Bang; Wu, Rongling

2007-01-01

Functional mapping has emerged as a powerful tool for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) that control developmental patterns of complex dynamic traits. Original functional mapping has been constructed within the context of simple interval mapping, without consideration of separate multiple linked QTL for a dynamic trait. In this article, we present a statistical framework for mapping QTL that affect dynamic traits by capitalizing on the strengths of functional mapping and composite interval mapping. Within this so-called composite functional-mapping framework, functional mapping models the time-dependent genetic effects of a QTL tested within a marker interval using a biologically meaningful parametric function, whereas composite interval mapping models the time-dependent genetic effects of the markers outside the test interval to control the genome background using a flexible nonparametric approach based on Legendre polynomials. Such a semiparametric framework was formulated by a maximum-likelihood model and implemented with the EM algorithm, allowing for the estimation and the test of the mathematical parameters that define the QTL effects and the regression coefficients of the Legendre polynomials that describe the marker effects. Simulation studies were performed to investigate the statistical behavior of composite functional mapping and compare its advantage in separating multiple linked QTL as compared to functional mapping. We used the new mapping approach to analyze a genetic mapping example in rice, leading to the identification of multiple QTL, some of which are linked on the same chromosome, that control the developmental trajectory of leaf age. PMID:17947431

Identification of genotyping-by-sequencing sequence tags associated with milling performance and end-use quality traits in hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wheat quality is defined by culinary end-uses and processing characteristics. Wheat breeders are interested to identify quantitative trait loci for grain, milling, and end-use quality traits because it is imperative to understand the genetic complexity underlying quantitatively inherited traits to ...

Does structural complexity determine the morphology of assemblages? An experimental test on three continents.

PubMed

Gibb, Heloise; Parr, Catherine L

2013-01-01

Understanding how species will respond to global change depends on our ability to distinguish generalities from idiosyncrasies. For diverse, but poorly known taxa, such as insects, species traits may provide a short-cut to predicting species turnover. We tested whether ant traits respond consistently to habitat complexity across geographically independent ant assemblages, using an experimental approach and baits. We repeated our study in six paired simple and complex habitats on three continents with distinct ant faunas. We also compared traits amongst ants with different foraging strategies. We hypothesised that ants would be larger, broader, have longer legs and more dorsally positioned eyes in simpler habitats. In agreement with predictions, ants had longer femurs and dorsally positioned eyes in simple habitats. This pattern was most pronounced for ants that discovered resources. Body size and pronotum width responded as predicted for experimental treatments, but were inconsistent across continents. Monopolising ants were smaller, with shorter femurs than those that occupied or discovered resources. Consistent responses for several traits suggest that many, but not all, aspects of morphology respond predictably to habitat complexity, and that foraging strategy is linked with morphology. Some traits thus have the potential to be used to predict the direction of species turnover, changes in foraging strategy and, potentially, evolution in response to changes in habitat structure.

Biodiversity in a complex world: consolidation and progress in functional biodiversity research.

PubMed

Hillebrand, Helmut; Matthiessen, Birte

2009-12-01

The global decline of biodiversity caused by human domination of ecosystems worldwide is supposed to alter important process rates and state variables in these ecosystems. However, there is considerable debate on the prevalence and importance of biodiversity effects on ecosystem function (BDEF). Here, we argue that much of the debate stems from two major shortcomings. First, most studies do not directly link the traits leading to increased or decreased function to the traits needed for species coexistence and dominance. We argue that implementing a trait-based approach and broadening the perception of diversity to include trait dissimilarity or trait divergence will result in more realistic predictions on the consequences of altered biodiversity. Second, the empirical and theoretical studies do not reflect the complexity of natural ecosystems, which makes it difficult to transfer the results to natural situations of species loss. We review how different aspects of complexity (trophic structure, multifunctionality, spatial or temporal heterogeneity, and spatial population dynamics) alter our perception of BDEF. We propose future research avenues concisely testing whether acknowledging this complexity will strengthen the observed biodiversity effects. Finally, we propose that a major future task is to disentangle biodiversity effects on ecosystem function from direct changes in function due to human alterations of abiotic constraints.

The Development of the Meta-Affective Trait Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, Esen; Kirbulut, Zubeyde Demet

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a Meta-Affective Trait Scale (MATS) to measure the meta-affective inclinations related to emotions that students have while they are studying for their classes. First, a pilot study was performed with 380 10th-grade students. Results of the exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure of the…

Traits and trade-offs in whole-tree hydraulic architecture along the vertical axis of Eucalyptus grandis.

PubMed

Pfautsch, Sebastian; Aspinwall, Michael J; Drake, John E; Chacon-Doria, Larissa; Langelaan, Rob J A; Tissue, David T; Tjoelker, Mark G; Lens, Frederic

2018-01-25

Sapwood traits like vessel diameter and intervessel pit characteristics play key roles in maintaining hydraulic integrity of trees. Surprisingly little is known about how sapwood traits covary with tree height and how such trait-based variation could affect the efficiency of water transport in tall trees. This study presents a detailed analysis of structural and functional traits along the vertical axes of tall Eucalyptus grandis trees. To assess a wide range of anatomical and physiological traits, light and electron microscopy was used, as well as field measurements of tree architecture, water use, stem water potential and leaf area distribution. Strong apical dominance of water transport resulted in increased volumetric water supply per unit leaf area with tree height. This was realized by continued narrowing (from 250 to 20 µm) and an exponential increase in frequency (from 600 to 13 000 cm-2) of vessels towards the apex. The widest vessels were detected at least 4 m above the stem base, where they were associated with the thickest intervessel pit membranes. In addition, this study established the lower limit of pit membrane thickness in tall E. grandis at ~375 nm. This minimum thickness was maintained over a large distance in the upper stem, where vessel diameters continued to narrow. The analyses of xylem ultrastructure revealed complex, synchronized trait covariation and trade-offs with increasing height in E. grandis. Anatomical traits related to xylem vessels and those related to architecture of pit membranes were found to increase efficiency and apical dominance of water transport. This study underlines the importance of studying tree hydraulic functioning at organismal scale. Results presented here will improve understanding height-dependent structure-function patterns in tall trees. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Sunflower Hybrid Breeding: From Markers to Genomic Selection

PubMed Central

Dimitrijevic, Aleksandra; Horn, Renate

2018-01-01

In sunflower, molecular markers for simple traits as, e.g., fertility restoration, high oleic acid content, herbicide tolerance or resistances to Plasmopara halstedii, Puccinia helianthi, or Orobanche cumana have been successfully used in marker-assisted breeding programs for years. However, agronomically important complex quantitative traits like yield, heterosis, drought tolerance, oil content or selection for disease resistance, e.g., against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum have been challenging and will require genome-wide approaches. Plant genetic resources for sunflower are being collected and conserved worldwide that represent valuable resources to study complex traits. Sunflower association panels provide the basis for genome-wide association studies, overcoming disadvantages of biparental populations. Advances in technologies and the availability of the sunflower genome sequence made novel approaches on the whole genome level possible. Genotype-by-sequencing, and whole genome sequencing based on next generation sequencing technologies facilitated the production of large amounts of SNP markers for high density maps as well as SNP arrays and allowed genome-wide association studies and genomic selection in sunflower. Genome wide or candidate gene based association studies have been performed for traits like branching, flowering time, resistance to Sclerotinia head and stalk rot. First steps in genomic selection with regard to hybrid performance and hybrid oil content have shown that genomic selection can successfully address complex quantitative traits in sunflower and will help to speed up sunflower breeding programs in the future. To make sunflower more competitive toward other oil crops higher levels of resistance against pathogens and better yield performance are required. In addition, optimizing plant architecture toward a more complex growth type for higher plant densities has the potential to considerably increase yields per hectare. Integrative approaches combining omic technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and phenomics) using bioinformatic tools will facilitate the identification of target genes and markers for complex traits and will give a better insight into the mechanisms behind the traits. PMID:29387071

Using a system of differential equations that models cattle growth to uncover the genetic basis of complex traits.

PubMed

Freua, Mateus Castelani; Santana, Miguel Henrique de Almeida; Ventura, Ricardo Vieira; Tedeschi, Luis Orlindo; Ferraz, José Bento Sterman

2017-08-01

The interplay between dynamic models of biological systems and genomics is based on the assumption that genetic variation of the complex trait (i.e., outcome of model behavior) arises from component traits (i.e., model parameters) in lower hierarchical levels. In order to provide a proof of concept of this statement for a cattle growth model, we ask whether model parameters map genomic regions that harbor quantitative trait loci (QTLs) already described for the complex trait. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with a Bayesian hierarchical LASSO method in two parameters of the Davis Growth Model, a system of three ordinary differential equations describing DNA accretion, protein synthesis and degradation, and fat synthesis. Phenotypic and genotypic data were available for 893 Nellore (Bos indicus) cattle. Computed values for parameter k 1 (DNA accretion rate) ranged from 0.005 ± 0.003 and for α (constant for energy for maintenance requirement) 0.134 ± 0.024. The expected biological interpretation of the parameters is confirmed by QTLs mapped for k 1 and α. QTLs within genomic regions mapped for k 1 are expected to be correlated with the DNA pool: body size and weight. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which were significant for α mapped QTLs that had already been associated with residual feed intake, feed conversion ratio, average daily gain (ADG), body weight, and also dry matter intake. SNPs identified for k 1 were able to additionally explain 2.2% of the phenotypic variability of the complex ADG, even when SNPs for k 1 did not match the genomic regions associated with ADG. Although improvements are needed, our findings suggest that genomic analysis on component traits may help to uncover the genetic basis of more complex traits, particularly when lower biological hierarchies are mechanistically described by mathematical simulation models.

Commentary: Fundamental problems with candidate gene-by-environment interaction studies - reflections on Moore and Thoemmes (2016).

PubMed

Border, Richard; Keller, Matthew C

2017-03-01

Moore and Thoemmes elaborate on one particular source of difficulty in the study of candidate gene-by-environment interactions (cG × E): how different biologically plausible configurations of gene-environment covariation can bias estimates of cG × E when not explicitly modeled. However, even if cG × E investigators were able to account for the sources of bias Moore and Thoemmes elaborate, it is unlikely that conventional approaches would yield reliable results. Published cG × E findings to date have generally employed inadequate analytic procedures, have relied on samples orders of magnitude too small to detect plausible effects, and have relied on a particular candidate gene approach that has been unfruitful and largely jettisoned in mainstream genetic analyses of complex traits. Analytic procedures for the study of gene-environment interplay must evolve to meet the challenges that the genetic architecture of complex traits presents, and investigators must collaborate on grander scales if we hope to begin to understand how specific genes and environments combine to affect behavior. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Quantitative trait loci analyses and RNA-seq identify genes affecting stress response in rainbow trout

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genomic analyses have the potential to impact aquaculture production traits by identifying markers as proxies for traits which are expensive or difficult to measure and characterizing genetic variation and biochemical mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation. One such trait is the response of rai...

Child Psychopathic Traits Moderate Relationships between Parental Affect and Child Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeh, Michelle T.; Chen, Pan; Raine, Adrian; Baker, Laura A.; Jacobson, Kristen C.

2011-01-01

Objective: Previous studies show that children with psychopathic traits may be less responsive to parenting. Although harsh/inconsistent parenting is associated with increased problem behaviors in children low on psychopathic traits, children high on psychopathic traits show consistently high levels of problem behavior regardless of negative…

Impact of three global change drivers on a Mediterranean shrub.

PubMed

Matesanz, Silvia; Escudero, Adrián; Valladares, Fernando

2009-09-01

Global change is not restricted to climate change, and plant species generally face multiple human-driven disturbances constraining their viability. Most importantly, interactions among these drivers frequently generate nonadditive effects that cannot be predicted based on single-factor studies. Our goal was to assess the joint effects of three global change drivers that are especially relevant in Mediterranean ecosystems, namely, fragmentation, reduced habitat quality, and climate change on Centaurea hyssopifolia, a gypsum specialist plant. We carried out a two-year study (2005-2006) in natural populations of this plant in large (>11 ha) and small (< 1.5 ha) fragments. Within each fragment, we identified areas of contrasting habitat quality as revealed by plant cover and nutrient content, and within each combination of habitat quality and fragment size we performed a rainfall manipulation experiment simulating the most likely future climate scenario for the region. Survival, growth, phenology, and reproductive success of selected plants were monitored. The three drivers profoundly affected responses of Centaurea hyssopifolia in both study years, phenology being mainly affected by changes in habitat quality and reductions in rainfall and reproductive traits being mainly affected by fragmentation. Plants in sites of poor habitat quality and plants in the dry treatment advanced most of their phenophases (flowering and dispersing earlier) and showed reduced growth rate and increased fraction of senescent leaves. Plants growing in small fragments had lower survival, lower number of viable seeds, and a reduced seed set compared to those from large fragments. We found significant synergistic interactions among drivers. For example, the interaction between fragmentation and habitat quality led to lower survival and lower relative growth in plants from small and poor-quality habitat sites. Our results highlight the importance of studies addressing simultaneously all relevant drivers of global change potentially affecting plant performance under natural conditions. In addition, the complex responses of phenology and reproductive traits of C. hyssopifolia emphasize the need for studies integrating traits from vegetative to reproductive and from the organ to the whole-plant level.

The happy personality: a meta-analysis of 137 personality traits and subjective well-being.

PubMed

DeNeve, K M; Cooper, H

1998-09-01

This meta-analysis used 9 literature search strategies to examine 137 distinct personality constructs as correlates of subjective well-being (SWB). Personality was found to be equally predictive of life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect, but significantly less predictive of negative affect. The traits most closely associated with SWB were repressive-defensiveness, trust, emotional stability, locus of control-chance, desire for control, hardiness, positive affectivity, private collective self-esteem, and tension. When personality traits were grouped according to the Big Five factors, Neuroticism was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, happiness, and negative affect. Positive affect was predicted equally well by Extraversion and Agreeableness. The relative importance of personality for predicting SWB, how personality might influence SWB, and limitations of the present review are discussed.

Complex physiological traits as biomarkers of the sub-lethal toxicological effects of pollutant exposure in fishes.

PubMed

McKenzie, D J; Garofalo, E; Winter, M J; Ceradini, S; Verweij, F; Day, N; Hayes, R; van der Oost, R; Butler, P J; Chipman, J K; Taylor, E W

2007-11-29

Complex physiological traits, such as routine aerobic metabolic rate or exercise performance, are indicators of the functional integrity of fish that can reveal sub-lethal toxicological effects of aquatic pollutants. These traits have proved valuable in laboratory investigations of the sub-lethal effects of heavy metals, ammonia and various xenobiotics. It is not known, however, whether they can also function as biomarkers of the complex potential range of effects upon overall functional integrity caused by exposure to mixtures of chemicals in polluted natural environments. The current study used portable swimming respirometers to compare exercise performance and respiratory metabolism of fish exposed in cages for three weeks to either clean or polluted sites on three urban European river systems: the river Lambro, Milan, Italy; the rivers Blythe, Cole and Tame, Birmingham, UK; and the river Amstel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The UK and Italian rivers were variously polluted with high levels of both bioavailable heavy metals and organics, and the Amstel by mixtures of bioavailable organics at high concentrations. In both the UK and Italy, indigenous chub (Leuciscus cephalus) exposed to clean or polluted sites swam equally well in an initial performance test, but the chub from polluted sites could not repeat this performance after a brief recovery interval. These animals were unable to raise the metabolic rate and allocate oxygen towards exercise in the second trial, an effect confirmed in successive campaigns in Italy. Swimming performance was therefore a biomarker indicator of pollutant exposure in chub exposed at these sites. Exposure to polluted sites on the river Amstel did not affect the repeat swimming performance of cultured cloned carp (Cyprinus carpio), indicating either a species-specific tolerance or relative absence of heavy metals. However, measurements of oxygen uptake during swimming revealed increased rates of routine aerobic metabolism in both chub and carp at polluted sites in all of the rivers studied, indicating a sub-lethal metabolic loading effect. Therefore, the physiological traits of exercise performance and metabolic rate have potential as biomarkers of the overall sub-lethal toxic effects of exposure to complex mixtures of pollutants in rivers, and may also provide insight into why fish do not colonize some polluted environments.

Ensemble learning of QTL models improves prediction of complex traits

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) models can provide useful insights into trait genetic architecture because of their straightforward interpretability, but are less useful for genetic prediction due to difficulty in including the effects of numerous small effect loci without overfitting. Tight linkage ...

Nested association mapping for dissecting complex traits using Peanut 58K SNP array

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and linkage mapping have been the two most predominant strategies to dissect complex traits, but are limited by the occurrence of false positives reported for GWAS, and low resolution in the case of linkage analysis. This has led to the development of a joint a...

The genetic architecture of a complex ecological trait: host plant use in the specialist moth, HELIOTHIS SUBFLEXA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The study of the genetic basis of ecological adaptation remains in its infancy, and most studies have focused on phenotypically simple traits. Host plant use by herbivorous insects is phenotypically complex. While research has illuminated the evolutionary determinants of host use, knowledge of its...

The Genetic Architecture of Complex Traits in Teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis): New Evidence from Association Mapping

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Our previous association analyses showed that variation at major regulatory genes contributes to standing variation for complex traits in Balsas teosinte, the progenitor of maize. This study expands our previous association mapping effort in teosinte by testing 123 markers in 52 candidate genes for ...

Association analysis of three diverse rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm collections for loci regulating grain quality traits

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In rice (Oryza sativa L.), end-use/cooking quality is vital for producers and millions of consumers worldwide. Grain quality is a complex trait with interacting genetic and environmental factors. Deciphering the complex genetic architecture associated with grain quality, will provide vital informati...

Handling Complexity in Animal and Plant Science Research-From Single to Functional Traits: Are We There Yet?

PubMed

Roberts, Jessica; Power, Aoife; Chandra, Shaneel; Chapman, James; Cozzolino, Daniel

2018-05-28

The current knowledge of the main factors governing livestock, crop and plant quality as well as yield in different species is incomplete. For example, this can be evidenced by the persistence of benchmark crop varieties for many decades in spite of the gains achieved over the same period. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that molecular breeding based on DNA markers has led to advances in breeding (animal and crops). However, these advances are not in the way that it was anticipated initially by the researcher in the field. According to several scientists, one of the main reasons for this was related to the evidence that complex target traits such as grain yield, composition or nutritional quality depend on multiple factors in addition to genetics. Therefore, some questions need to be asked: are the current approaches in molecular genetics the most appropriate to deal with complex traits such as yield or quality? Are the current tools for phenotyping complex traits enough to differentiate among genotypes? Do we need to change the way that data is collected and analysed?

Offenders with mental health problems and problematic substance use: affective psychopathic personality traits as potential barriers to participation in substance abuse interventions.

PubMed

Durbeej, Natalie; Palmstierna, Tom; Berman, Anne H; Kristiansson, Marianne; Gumpert, Clara Hellner

2014-01-01

Substance abuse is related to re-offending, and treatment of substance abuse may reduce criminal recidivism. Offender characteristics including problem severity, violence risk and psychopathic personality traits may be positively or negatively associated with participation in substance abuse treatment. We explored the relationships between such characteristics and participation in substance abuse interventions among Swedish offenders with mental health problems and problematic substance use. Our analyses revealed that problem severity regarding drugs, employment, and family/social situations predicted intervention participation, and that affective psychopathic personality traits were negatively associated with such participation. Thus, affective psychopathic personality traits could be considered as potential barriers to participation in substance abuse interventions. Among offenders with mental health problems and problematic substance use, such personality traits should be taken into account in order to optimize treatment participation and treatment outcome. Approaches used in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) could be applicable for these patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breeding and Genetics Symposium: networks and pathways to guide genomic selection.

PubMed

Snelling, W M; Cushman, R A; Keele, J W; Maltecca, C; Thomas, M G; Fortes, M R S; Reverter, A

2013-02-01

Many traits affecting profitability and sustainability of meat, milk, and fiber production are polygenic, with no single gene having an overwhelming influence on observed variation. No knowledge of the specific genes controlling these traits has been needed to make substantial improvement through selection. Significant gains have been made through phenotypic selection enhanced by pedigree relationships and continually improving statistical methodology. Genomic selection, recently enabled by assays for dense SNP located throughout the genome, promises to increase selection accuracy and accelerate genetic improvement by emphasizing the SNP most strongly correlated to phenotype although the genes and sequence variants affecting phenotype remain largely unknown. These genomic predictions theoretically rely on linkage disequilibrium (LD) between genotyped SNP and unknown functional variants, but familial linkage may increase effectiveness when predicting individuals related to those in the training data. Genomic selection with functional SNP genotypes should be less reliant on LD patterns shared by training and target populations, possibly allowing robust prediction across unrelated populations. Although the specific variants causing polygenic variation may never be known with certainty, a number of tools and resources can be used to identify those most likely to affect phenotype. Associations of dense SNP genotypes with phenotype provide a 1-dimensional approach for identifying genes affecting specific traits; in contrast, associations with multiple traits allow defining networks of genes interacting to affect correlated traits. Such networks are especially compelling when corroborated by existing functional annotation and established molecular pathways. The SNP occurring within network genes, obtained from public databases or derived from genome and transcriptome sequences, may be classified according to expected effects on gene products. As illustrated by functionally informed genomic predictions being more accurate than naive whole-genome predictions of beef tenderness, coupling evidence from livestock genotypes, phenotypes, gene expression, and genomic variants with existing knowledge of gene functions and interactions may provide greater insight into the genes and genomic mechanisms affecting polygenic traits and facilitate functional genomic selection for economically important traits.

Genetic Basis of Haloperidol Resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Is Complex and Dose Dependent

PubMed Central

Wang, Xin; Kruglyak, Leonid

2014-01-01

The genetic basis of most heritable traits is complex. Inhibitory compounds and their effects in model organisms have been used in many studies to gain insights into the genetic architecture underlying quantitative traits. However, the differential effect of compound concentration has not been studied in detail. In this study, we used a large segregant panel from a cross between two genetically divergent yeast strains, BY4724 (a laboratory strain) and RM11_1a (a vineyard strain), to study the genetic basis of variation in response to different doses of a drug. Linkage analysis revealed that the genetic architecture of resistance to the small-molecule therapeutic drug haloperidol is highly dose-dependent. Some of the loci identified had effects only at low doses of haloperidol, while other loci had effects primarily at higher concentrations of the drug. We show that a major QTL affecting resistance across all concentrations of haloperidol is caused by polymorphisms in SWH1, a homologue of human oxysterol binding protein. We identify a complex set of interactions among the alleles of the genes SWH1, MKT1, and IRA2 that are most pronounced at a haloperidol dose of 200 µM and are only observed when the remainder of the genome is of the RM background. Our results provide further insight into the genetic basis of drug resistance. PMID:25521586

Dissociable relations between amygdala subregional networks and psychopathy trait dimensions in conduct‐disordered juvenile offenders

PubMed Central

Colins, Olivier F.; Klapwijk, Eduard T.; Veer, Ilya M.; Andershed, Henrik; Popma, Arne; van der Wee, Nic J.; Vermeiren, Robert R.J.M.

2016-01-01

Abstract Psychopathy is a serious psychiatric phenomenon characterized by a pathological constellation of affective (e.g., callous, unemotional), interpersonal (e.g., manipulative, egocentric), and behavioral (e.g., impulsive, irresponsible) personality traits. Though amygdala subregional defects are suggested in psychopathy, the functionality and connectivity of different amygdala subnuclei is typically disregarded in neurocircuit‐level analyses of psychopathic personality. Hence, little is known of how amygdala subregional networks may contribute to psychopathy and its underlying trait assemblies in severely antisocial people. We addressed this important issue by uniquely examining the intrinsic functional connectivity of basolateral (BLA) and centromedial (CMA) amygdala networks in relation to affective, interpersonal, and behavioral traits of psychopathy, in conduct‐disordered juveniles with a history of serious delinquency (N = 50, mean age = 16.83 ± 1.32). As predicted, amygdalar connectivity profiles exhibited dissociable relations with different traits of psychopathy. Interpersonal psychopathic traits not only related to increased connectivity of BLA and CMA with a corticostriatal network formation accommodating reward processing, but also predicted stronger CMA connectivity with a network of cortical midline structures supporting sociocognitive processes. In contrast, affective psychopathic traits related to diminished CMA connectivity with a frontolimbic network serving salience processing and affective responding. Finally, behavioral psychopathic traits related to heightened BLA connectivity with a frontoparietal cluster implicated in regulatory executive functioning. We suggest that these trait‐specific shifts in amygdalar connectivity could be particularly relevant to the psychopathic phenotype, as they may fuel a self‐centered, emotionally cold, and behaviorally disinhibited profile. Hum Brain Mapp 37:4017–4033, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:27453465

Local Genetic Correlation Gives Insights into the Shared Genetic Architecture of Complex Traits.

PubMed

Shi, Huwenbo; Mancuso, Nicholas; Spendlove, Sarah; Pasaniuc, Bogdan

2017-11-02

Although genetic correlations between complex traits provide valuable insights into epidemiological and etiological studies, a precise quantification of which genomic regions disproportionately contribute to the genome-wide correlation is currently lacking. Here, we introduce ρ-HESS, a technique to quantify the correlation between pairs of traits due to genetic variation at a small region in the genome. Our approach requires GWAS summary data only and makes no distributional assumption on the causal variant effect sizes while accounting for linkage disequilibrium (LD) and overlapping GWAS samples. We analyzed large-scale GWAS summary data across 36 quantitative traits, and identified 25 genomic regions that contribute significantly to the genetic correlation among these traits. Notably, we find 6 genomic regions that contribute to the genetic correlation of 10 pairs of traits that show negligible genome-wide correlation, further showcasing the power of local genetic correlation analyses. Finally, we report the distribution of local genetic correlations across the genome for 55 pairs of traits that show putative causal relationships. Copyright © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in gratitude: examining appraisals, narratives, the willingness to express emotions, and changes in psychological needs.

PubMed

Kashdan, Todd B; Mishra, Anjali; Breen, William E; Froh, Jeffrey J

2009-06-01

Previous work suggests women might possess an advantage over men in experiencing and benefiting from gratitude. We examined whether women perceive and react to gratitude differently than men. In Study 1, women, compared with men, evaluated gratitude expression to be less complex, uncertain, conflicting, and more interesting and exciting. In Study 2, college students and older adults described and evaluated a recent episode when they received a gift. Women, compared with men, reported less burden and obligation and greater gratitude. Upon gift receipt, older men reported the least positive affect when their benefactors were men. In Studies 2 and 3, women endorsed higher trait gratitude compared with men. In Study 3, over 3 months, women with greater gratitude were more likely to satisfy needs to belong and feel autonomous; gratitude had the opposite effect in men. The willingness to openly express emotions partially mediated gender differences, and effects could not be attributed to global trait affect. Results demonstrated that men were less likely to feel and express gratitude, made more critical evaluations of gratitude, and derived fewer benefits. Implications for the study and therapeutic enhancement of gratitude are discussed.

Affective temperaments in anorexia nervosa: The relevance of depressive and anxious traits.

PubMed

Marzola, Enrica; Fassino, Secondo; Amianto, Federico; Abbate-Daga, Giovanni

2017-08-15

Affective temperaments have been so far understudied in anorexia nervosa (AN) despite the relevance of personality and both affective and anxious comorbidity with regard to vulnerability, course, and outcome of this deadly disorder. Ninety-eight female inpatients diagnosed with AN and 131 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in this study and completed the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) in addition to assessments of eating psychopathology, depression, and anxiety. AN patients and HCs differed in all affective temperaments. The diagnostic subtypes of AN differed as well with binge-purging individuals being more cyclothymic and anxious than those with restricting-type AN. TEMPS-A scores correlated with body mass index and eating psychopathology but not with duration of illness. Concerning comorbidity, grater scores on the depressive and lower scores on the hyperthymic temperaments were found in depressed patients. Those who had either an anxious or irritable temperament were significantly more diagnosed with an anxious disorder than those who did not show this temperament. When logistic regression was performed, high depressive/low hyperthymic and high irritable/anxious traits resulted to be associated with depressive and anxious comorbidity, respectively, independently of confounding factors. Cross-sectional design, some patients on medications, few baseline clinical differences between diagnostic subtypes, no other personality assessments. An affective continuum strongly associated with mood and anxious comorbidity emerged in AN. Such an evaluation could have several research and clinical implications given the need of improving treatment individualization and early interventions for such a complex disorder. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The influence of personality traits on smokers' affect, withdrawal and cessation intervention outcome.

PubMed

Cui, Yong; Tang, Rui; Lam, Cho Y; Cinciripini, Paul M; Robinson, Jason D

2016-03-01

The personality traits of harm avoidance (HA), novelty seeking (NS), and reward dependence (RD), as measured by the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), have been linked to smoking behavior. The extent to which these traits are associated with smoking withdrawal and cessation outcome is unclear. We sought to address this question among 131 treatment-seeking smokers who were randomly assigned to either a smoking cessation treatment (four 30-min behavioral counseling sessions) or a control condition. We found that HA was positively associated with baseline depressive symptoms, baseline negative affect, and post-quit withdrawal, and negatively associated with positive affect at both baseline and post-quit. Additionally, we found that smokers with higher HA scores were more likely to be abstinent. NS was negatively associated with post-quit positive affect and positively associated with post-quit negative affect and withdrawal. RD was not found to be related to any outcome measures. Our findings suggest that, despite experiencing greater baseline and post-quit negative affect, smokers higher in trait harm avoidance are more likely to quit smoking. The treatment and theoretical ramifications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Male pregnancy and the evolution of body segmentation in seahorses and pipefishes.

PubMed

Hoffman, Eric A; Mobley, Kenyon B; Jones, Adam G

2006-02-01

The evolution of complex traits, which are specified by the interplay of multiple genetic loci and environmental effects, is a topic of central importance in evolutionary biology. Here, we show that body and tail vertebral numbers in fishes of the pipefish and seahorse family (Syngnathidae) can serve as a model for studies of quantitative trait evolution. A quantitative genetic analysis of body and tail vertebrae from field-collected families of the Gulf pipefish, Syngnathus scovelli, shows that both traits exhibit significantly positive additive genetic variance, with heritabilities of 0.75 +/- 0.13 (mean +/- standard error) and 0.46 +/- 0.18, respectively. We do not find any evidence for either phenotypic or genetic correlations between the two traits. Pipefish are characterized by male pregnancy, and phylogenetic consideration of body proportions suggests that the position of eggs on the pregnant male's body may have contributed to the evolution of vertebral counts. In terms of numbers of vertebrae, tail-brooding males have longer tails for a given trunk size than do trunk-brooding males. Overall, these results suggest that vertebral counts in pipefish are heritable traits, capable of a response to selection, and they may have experienced an interesting history of selection due to the phenomenon of male pregnancy. Given that these traits vary among populations within species as well as among species, they appear to provide an excellent model for further research on complex trait evolution. Body segmentation may thus afford excellent opportunities for comparative study of homologous complex traits among disparate vertebrate taxa.

Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Wheat Plant Traits across Environments by Combining Crop Modeling and Global Sensitivity Analysis

PubMed Central

Casadebaig, Pierre; Zheng, Bangyou; Chapman, Scott; Huth, Neil; Faivre, Robert; Chenu, Karine

2016-01-01

A crop can be viewed as a complex system with outputs (e.g. yield) that are affected by inputs of genetic, physiology, pedo-climatic and management information. Application of numerical methods for model exploration assist in evaluating the major most influential inputs, providing the simulation model is a credible description of the biological system. A sensitivity analysis was used to assess the simulated impact on yield of a suite of traits involved in major processes of crop growth and development, and to evaluate how the simulated value of such traits varies across environments and in relation to other traits (which can be interpreted as a virtual change in genetic background). The study focused on wheat in Australia, with an emphasis on adaptation to low rainfall conditions. A large set of traits (90) was evaluated in a wide target population of environments (4 sites × 125 years), management practices (3 sowing dates × 3 nitrogen fertilization levels) and CO2 (2 levels). The Morris sensitivity analysis method was used to sample the parameter space and reduce computational requirements, while maintaining a realistic representation of the targeted trait × environment × management landscape (∼ 82 million individual simulations in total). The patterns of parameter × environment × management interactions were investigated for the most influential parameters, considering a potential genetic range of +/- 20% compared to a reference cultivar. Main (i.e. linear) and interaction (i.e. non-linear and interaction) sensitivity indices calculated for most of APSIM-Wheat parameters allowed the identification of 42 parameters substantially impacting yield in most target environments. Among these, a subset of parameters related to phenology, resource acquisition, resource use efficiency and biomass allocation were identified as potential candidates for crop (and model) improvement. PMID:26799483

Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Wheat Plant Traits across Environments by Combining Crop Modeling and Global Sensitivity Analysis.

PubMed

Casadebaig, Pierre; Zheng, Bangyou; Chapman, Scott; Huth, Neil; Faivre, Robert; Chenu, Karine

2016-01-01

A crop can be viewed as a complex system with outputs (e.g. yield) that are affected by inputs of genetic, physiology, pedo-climatic and management information. Application of numerical methods for model exploration assist in evaluating the major most influential inputs, providing the simulation model is a credible description of the biological system. A sensitivity analysis was used to assess the simulated impact on yield of a suite of traits involved in major processes of crop growth and development, and to evaluate how the simulated value of such traits varies across environments and in relation to other traits (which can be interpreted as a virtual change in genetic background). The study focused on wheat in Australia, with an emphasis on adaptation to low rainfall conditions. A large set of traits (90) was evaluated in a wide target population of environments (4 sites × 125 years), management practices (3 sowing dates × 3 nitrogen fertilization levels) and CO2 (2 levels). The Morris sensitivity analysis method was used to sample the parameter space and reduce computational requirements, while maintaining a realistic representation of the targeted trait × environment × management landscape (∼ 82 million individual simulations in total). The patterns of parameter × environment × management interactions were investigated for the most influential parameters, considering a potential genetic range of +/- 20% compared to a reference cultivar. Main (i.e. linear) and interaction (i.e. non-linear and interaction) sensitivity indices calculated for most of APSIM-Wheat parameters allowed the identification of 42 parameters substantially impacting yield in most target environments. Among these, a subset of parameters related to phenology, resource acquisition, resource use efficiency and biomass allocation were identified as potential candidates for crop (and model) improvement.

Major Contribution of Flowering Time and Vegetative Growth to Plant Production in Common Bean As Deduced from a Comparative Genetic Mapping.

PubMed

González, Ana M; Yuste-Lisbona, Fernando J; Saburido, Soledad; Bretones, Sandra; De Ron, Antonio M; Lozano, Rafael; Santalla, Marta

2016-01-01

Determinacy growth habit and accelerated flowering traits were selected during or after domestication in common bean. Both processes affect several presumed adaptive traits such as the rate of plant production. There is a close association between flowering initiation and vegetative growth; however, interactions among these two crucial developmental processes and their genetic bases remain unexplored. In this study, with the aim to establish the genetic relationships between these complex processes, a multi-environment quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping approach was performed in two recombinant inbred line populations derived from inter-gene pool crosses between determinate and indeterminate genotypes. Additive and epistatic QTLs were found to regulate flowering time, vegetative growth, and rate of plant production. Moreover, the pleiotropic patterns of the identified QTLs evidenced that regions controlling time to flowering traits, directly or indirectly, are also involved in the regulation of plant production traits. Further QTL analysis highlighted one QTL, on the lower arm of the linkage group Pv01, harboring the Phvul.001G189200 gene, homologous to the Arabidopsis thaliana TERMINAL FLOWER1 ( TFL1 ) gene, which explained up to 32% of phenotypic variation for time to flowering, 66% for vegetative growth, and 19% for rate of plant production. This finding was consistent with previous results, which have also suggested Phvul.001G189200 (PvTFL1y ) as a candidate gene for determinacy locus. The information here reported can also be applied in breeding programs seeking to optimize key agronomic traits, such as time to flowering, plant height and an improved reproductive biomass, pods, and seed size, as well as yield.

Major Contribution of Flowering Time and Vegetative Growth to Plant Production in Common Bean As Deduced from a Comparative Genetic Mapping

PubMed Central

González, Ana M.; Yuste-Lisbona, Fernando J.; Saburido, Soledad; Bretones, Sandra; De Ron, Antonio M.; Lozano, Rafael; Santalla, Marta

2016-01-01

Determinacy growth habit and accelerated flowering traits were selected during or after domestication in common bean. Both processes affect several presumed adaptive traits such as the rate of plant production. There is a close association between flowering initiation and vegetative growth; however, interactions among these two crucial developmental processes and their genetic bases remain unexplored. In this study, with the aim to establish the genetic relationships between these complex processes, a multi-environment quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping approach was performed in two recombinant inbred line populations derived from inter-gene pool crosses between determinate and indeterminate genotypes. Additive and epistatic QTLs were found to regulate flowering time, vegetative growth, and rate of plant production. Moreover, the pleiotropic patterns of the identified QTLs evidenced that regions controlling time to flowering traits, directly or indirectly, are also involved in the regulation of plant production traits. Further QTL analysis highlighted one QTL, on the lower arm of the linkage group Pv01, harboring the Phvul.001G189200 gene, homologous to the Arabidopsis thaliana TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) gene, which explained up to 32% of phenotypic variation for time to flowering, 66% for vegetative growth, and 19% for rate of plant production. This finding was consistent with previous results, which have also suggested Phvul.001G189200 (PvTFL1y) as a candidate gene for determinacy locus. The information here reported can also be applied in breeding programs seeking to optimize key agronomic traits, such as time to flowering, plant height and an improved reproductive biomass, pods, and seed size, as well as yield. PMID:28082996

CNV-association meta-analysis in 191,161 European adults reveals new loci associated with anthropometric traits.

PubMed

Macé, Aurélien; Tuke, Marcus A; Deelen, Patrick; Kristiansson, Kati; Mattsson, Hannele; Nõukas, Margit; Sapkota, Yadav; Schick, Ursula; Porcu, Eleonora; Rüeger, Sina; McDaid, Aaron F; Porteous, David; Winkler, Thomas W; Salvi, Erika; Shrine, Nick; Liu, Xueping; Ang, Wei Q; Zhang, Weihua; Feitosa, Mary F; Venturini, Cristina; van der Most, Peter J; Rosengren, Anders; Wood, Andrew R; Beaumont, Robin N; Jones, Samuel E; Ruth, Katherine S; Yaghootkar, Hanieh; Tyrrell, Jessica; Havulinna, Aki S; Boers, Harmen; Mägi, Reedik; Kriebel, Jennifer; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Perola, Markus; Nieminen, Markku; Lokki, Marja-Liisa; Kähönen, Mika; Viikari, Jorma S; Geller, Frank; Lahti, Jari; Palotie, Aarno; Koponen, Päivikki; Lundqvist, Annamari; Rissanen, Harri; Bottinger, Erwin P; Afaq, Saima; Wojczynski, Mary K; Lenzini, Petra; Nolte, Ilja M; Sparsø, Thomas; Schupf, Nicole; Christensen, Kaare; Perls, Thomas T; Newman, Anne B; Werge, Thomas; Snieder, Harold; Spector, Timothy D; Chambers, John C; Koskinen, Seppo; Melbye, Mads; Raitakari, Olli T; Lehtimäki, Terho; Tobin, Martin D; Wain, Louise V; Sinisalo, Juha; Peters, Annette; Meitinger, Thomas; Martin, Nicholas G; Wray, Naomi R; Montgomery, Grant W; Medland, Sarah E; Swertz, Morris A; Vartiainen, Erkki; Borodulin, Katja; Männistö, Satu; Murray, Anna; Bochud, Murielle; Jacquemont, Sébastien; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Hansen, Thomas F; Oldehinkel, Albertine J; Mangino, Massimo; Province, Michael A; Deloukas, Panos; Kooner, Jaspal S; Freathy, Rachel M; Pennell, Craig; Feenstra, Bjarke; Strachan, David P; Lettre, Guillaume; Hirschhorn, Joel; Cusi, Daniele; Heid, Iris M; Hayward, Caroline; Männik, Katrin; Beckmann, Jacques S; Loos, Ruth J F; Nyholt, Dale R; Metspalu, Andres; Eriksson, Johan G; Weedon, Michael N; Salomaa, Veikko; Franke, Lude; Reymond, Alexandre; Frayling, Timothy M; Kutalik, Zoltán

2017-09-29

There are few examples of robust associations between rare copy number variants (CNVs) and complex continuous human traits. Here we present a large-scale CNV association meta-analysis on anthropometric traits in up to 191,161 adult samples from 26 cohorts. The study reveals five CNV associations at 1q21.1, 3q29, 7q11.23, 11p14.2, and 18q21.32 and confirms two known loci at 16p11.2 and 22q11.21, implicating at least one anthropometric trait. The discovered CNVs are recurrent and rare (0.01-0.2%), with large effects on height (>2.4 cm), weight (>5 kg), and body mass index (BMI) (>3.5 kg/m 2 ). Burden analysis shows a 0.41 cm decrease in height, a 0.003 increase in waist-to-hip ratio and increase in BMI by 0.14 kg/m 2 for each Mb of total deletion burden (P = 2.5 × 10 -10 , 6.0 × 10 -5 , and 2.9 × 10 -3 ). Our study provides evidence that the same genes (e.g., MC4R, FIBIN, and FMO5) harbor both common and rare variants affecting body size and that anthropometric traits share genetic loci with developmental and psychiatric disorders.Individual SNPs have small effects on anthropometric traits, yet the impact of CNVs has remained largely unknown. Here, Kutalik and co-workers perform a large-scale genome-wide meta-analysis of structural variation and find rare CNVs associated with height, weight and BMI with large effect sizes.

Autistic traits and social anxiety predict differential performance on social cognitive tasks in typically developing young adults

PubMed Central

Burk, Joshua A.; Fleckenstein, Katarina; Kozikowski, C. Teal

2018-01-01

The current work examined the unique contribution that autistic traits and social anxiety have on tasks examining attention and emotion processing. In Study 1, 119 typically-developing college students completed a flanker task assessing the control of attention to target faces and away from distracting faces during emotion identification. In Study 2, 208 typically-developing college students performed a visual search task which required identification of whether a series of 8 or 16 emotional faces depicted the same or different emotions. Participants with more self-reported autistic traits performed more slowly on the flanker task in Study 1 than those with fewer autistic traits when stimuli depicted complex emotions. In Study 2, participants higher in social anxiety performed less accurately on trials showing all complex faces; participants with autistic traits showed no differences. These studies suggest that traits related to autism and to social anxiety differentially impact social cognitive processing. PMID:29596523

Fitness consequences of larval traits persist across the metamorphic boundary.

PubMed

Crean, Angela J; Monro, Keyne; Marshall, Dustin J

2011-11-01

Metamorphosis is thought to provide an adaptive decoupling between traits specialized for each life-history stage in species with complex life cycles. However, an increasing number of studies are finding that larval traits can carry-over to influence postmetamorphic performance, suggesting that these life-history stages may not be free to evolve independently of each other. We used a phenotypic selection framework to compare the relative and interactive effects of larval size, time to hatching, and time to settlement on postmetamorphic survival and growth in a marine invertebrate, Styela plicata. Time to hatching was the only larval trait found to be under directional selection, individuals that took more time to hatch into larvae survived better after metamorphosis but grew more slowly. Nonlinear selection was found to act on multivariate trait combinations, once again acting in opposite directions for selection acting via survival and growth. Individuals with above average values of larval traits were most likely to survive, but surviving individuals with intermediate larval traits grew to the largest size. These results demonstrate that larval traits can have multiple, complex fitness consequences that persist across the metamorphic boundary; and thus postmetamorphic selection pressures may constrain the evolution of larval traits. © 2011 The Author(s). Evolution© 2011 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Mutant alcohol dehydrogenase leads to improved ethanol tolerance in Clostridium thermocellum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Steven D; Guss, Adam M; Karpinets, Tatiana V

2011-01-01

Clostridium thermocellum is a thermophilic, obligately anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium that is a candidate microorganism for converting cellulosic biomass into ethanol through consolidated bioprocessing. Ethanol intolerance is an important metric in terms of process economics, and tolerance has often been described as a complex and likely multigenic trait for which complex gene interactions come into play. Here, we resequence the genome of an ethanol-tolerant mutant, show that the tolerant phenotype is primarily due to a mutated bifunctional acetaldehyde-CoA/alcohol dehydrogenase gene (adhE), hypothesize based on structural analysis that cofactor specificity may be affected, and confirm this hypothesis using enzyme assays. Biochemical assaysmore » confirm a complete loss of NADH-dependent activity with concomitant acquisition of NADPH-dependent activity, which likely affects electron flow in the mutant. The simplicity of the genetic basis for the ethanol-tolerant phenotype observed here informs rational engineering of mutant microbial strains for cellulosic ethanol production.« less

Dispositional Affect Moderates the Stress-Buffering Effect of Social Support on Risk for Developing the Common Cold.

PubMed

Janicki Deverts, Denise; Cohen, Sheldon; Doyle, William J

2017-10-01

The aim was to examine whether trait positive and negative affect (PA, NA) moderate the stress-buffering effect of perceived social support on risk for developing a cold subsequent to being exposed to a virus that causes mild upper respiratory illness. Analyses were based on archival data from 694 healthy adults (M age  = 31.0 years, SD = 10.7 years; 49.0% female; 64.6% Caucasian). Perceived social support and perceived stress were assessed by self-report questionnaire and trait affect by aggregating responses to daily mood items administered by telephone interview across several days. Subsequently, participants were exposed to a virus that causes the common cold and monitored for 5 days for clinical illness (infection + objective signs of illness). Two 3-way interactions emerged-Support × Stress × PA and Support × Stress × NA. The nature of these effects was such that among persons with high trait PA or low trait NA, greater social support attenuated the risk of developing a cold when under high but not low perceived stress; this stress-buffering effect did not emerge among persons with low trait PA or high trait NA. Dispositional affect might be used to identify individuals who may be most responsive to social support and support-based interventions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Object relations predicts borderline personality disorder symptoms beyond emotional dysregulation, negative affect, and impulsivity.

PubMed

Huprich, Steven K; Nelson, Sharon M; Paggeot, Amy; Lengu, Ketrin; Albright, Jeremy

2017-01-01

Many studies have determined that the traits of emotional dysregulation, negative affect, and impulsivity are the strongest predictors of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although psychodynamic, empirically supported BPD treatments (i.e., transference-focused, mentalization based) focus upon changing the internal representations of self and other, no studies have simultaneously evaluated the contribution of object relations in relation to these traits in predicting BPD symptoms. This study sought to determine the combined effects of emotional dysregulation, negative affect, impulsivity, and object relations in the prediction of BPD through the use of mediation modeling in 4 a priori hypothesized relationships among these variables. One hundred sixty-nine psychiatric outpatients and 171 undergraduate students were evaluated with self-reported trait and object relations measures and were administered 2 semistructured diagnostic interviews for BPD. Although all trait and object relations measures were correlated with BPD symptoms, the best fitting model was one in which object relations partially mediated the relationship of negative affect and impulsivity with BPD symptoms. Direct effects of the traits were also observed in mediation. Self-reported object relational quality had more of an effect on the prediction of BPD than previously recognized within a trait-framework, thus further supporting the model explicated in psychodynamic and relationally based treatments for BPD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Big Five personality traits: are they really important for the subjective well-being of Indians?

PubMed

Tanksale, Deepa

2015-02-01

This study empirically examined the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and subjective well-being (SWB) in India. SWB variables used were life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. A total of 183 participants in the age range 30-40 years from Pune, India, completed the personality and SWB measures. Backward stepwise regression analysis showed that the Big Five traits accounted for 17% of the variance in life satisfaction, 35% variance in positive affect and 28% variance in negative affect. Conscientiousness emerged as the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. In line with the earlier research findings, neuroticism and extraversion were found to predict negative affect and positive affect, respectively. Neither openness to experience nor agreeableness contributed to SWB. The research emphasises the need to revisit the association between personality and SWB across different cultures, especially non-western cultures. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

QTL affecting stress response to crowding in a rainbow trout broodstock population

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background Genomic analyses have the potential to impact selective breeding programs by identifying markers that serve as proxies for traits which are expensive or difficult to measure. Also, identifying genes affecting traits of interest enhances our understanding of their underlying biochemical ...

Spontaneous evaluative inferences and their relationship to spontaneous trait inferences.

PubMed

Schneid, Erica D; Carlston, Donal E; Skowronski, John J

2015-05-01

Three experiments are reported that explore affectively based spontaneous evaluative impressions (SEIs) of stimulus persons. Experiments 1 and 2 used modified versions of the savings in relearning paradigm (Carlston & Skowronski, 1994) to confirm the occurrence of SEIs, indicating that they are equivalent whether participants are instructed to form trait impressions, evaluative impressions, or neither. These experiments also show that SEIs occur independently of explicit recall for the trait implications of the stimuli. Experiment 3 provides a single dissociation test to distinguish SEIs from spontaneous trait inferences (STIs), showing that disrupting cognitive processing interferes with a trait-based prediction task that presumably reflects STIs, but not with an affectively based social approach task that presumably reflects SEIs. Implications of these findings for the potential independence of spontaneous trait and evaluative inferences, as well as limitations and important steps for future study are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Empathic Responsiveness in Amygdala and Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Youths with Psychopathic Traits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Abigail A.; Finger, Elizabeth C.; Fowler, Katherine A.; Adalio, Christopher J.; Jurkowitz, Ilana T. N.; Schechter, Julia C.; Pine, Daniel S.; Decety, Jean; Blair, R. J. R.

2013-01-01

Background: Psychopathic traits are associated with increases in antisocial behaviors such as aggression and are characterized by reduced empathy for others' distress. This suggests that psychopathic traits may also impair empathic pain sensitivity. However, whether psychopathic traits affect responses to the pain of others versus the self…

Violent media exposure, aggression and CU traits in adolescence: Testing the selection and socialization hypotheses.

PubMed

Rydell, Ann-Margret

2016-10-01

We investigated the role of exposure to violent action for later aggression and for later callous-unemotional traits in a sample of Swedish adolescents (N = 77-85), testing the selection and socialization hypotheses. Adolescents reported on violent delinquency and on callous-unemotional (CU) traits at age 15, on their media habits at age 16 and on reactive and proactive aggression and CU traits at age 18. The socialization hypothesis was supported with regard to aggression, that is, violent delinquency did not affect consumption of violent action, but controlling for violent delinquency, consumption of violent action added to proactive aggression and, marginally, to reactive aggression. The selection hypothesis was supported with regard to CU traits, that is, high levels of CU traits predicted frequent consumption of violent action, but consumption of violent action did not affect later levels of CU traits. Frequent violent media use was associated with later aggression. The associations between CU traits and violent media need further study. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of anthropogenic salinization on biological traits and community composition of stream macroinvertebrates.

PubMed

Szöcs, Eduard; Coring, Eckhard; Bäthe, Jürgen; Schäfer, Ralf B

2014-01-15

Salinization of rivers resulting from industrial discharge or road-deicing can adversely affect macroinvertebrates. Trait-based approaches are a promising tool in ecological monitoring and may perform better than taxonomy-based approaches. However only little is known how and which biological traits are affected by salinization. We investigated the effects of anthropogenic salinization on macroinvertebrate communities and biological traits in the Werra River, Germany and compared the taxonomic and trait response. We found a change in macroinvertebrate community and trait composition. Communities at saline sites were characterized by the three exotic species Gammarus tigrinus, Apocorophium lacustre and Potamopyrgus antipodarum. The frequencies of trait modalities long life cycle duration, respiration by gill, ovoviviparity, shredder and multivoltinism were statistically significantly increased at saline sites. The trait-based ordination resulted in a higher explained variance than the taxonomy-based ordination, indicating a better performance of the trait-based approach, resulting in a better discrimination between saline and non-saline sites. Our results are in general agreement with other studies from Europe, indicating a trait convergence for saline streams, being dominated by the traits ovoviviparity and multivoltinism. Three further traits (respiration by gill, life cycle duration and shredders) responded strongly to salinization, but this may primarily be attributed to the dominance of a single invasive species, G. tigrinus, at the saline sites in the Werra River. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Daily diary study of personality disorder traits: Momentary affect and cognitive appraisals in response to stressful events.

PubMed

Jarnecke, Amber M; Miller, Michelle L; South, Susan C

2017-01-01

Difficulties in emotional expression and emotion regulation are core features of many personality disorders (PDs); yet, we know relatively little about how individuals with PDs affectively respond to stressful situations. The present study seeks to fill this gap in the literature by examining how PD traits are associated with emotional responses to subjective daily stressors, while accounting for cognition and type of stressor experienced (interpersonal vs. noninterpersonal). PD features were measured with the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality-2 (SNAP-2) diagnostic scores. Participants (N = 77) completed a 1-week experience sampling procedure that measured affect and cognition related to a current stressor 5 times per day. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine whether and how baseline PD features, momentary cognitions, and type of stressor predicted level of affect. Results demonstrated that paranoid, borderline, and avoidant PD traits predicted negative affect beyond what could be accounted for by cognitions and type of stressor. No PD traits predicted positive affect after accounting for the effects of cognitive appraisals and type of stressor. Findings have implications for validating the role of affect in PDs and understanding how individuals with PDs react in the presence of daily hassles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Unemotional on all counts: Evidence of reduced affective responses in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits across emotion systems and valences.

PubMed

Fanti, Kostas A; Panayiotou, Georgia; Lombardo, Michael V; Kyranides, Melina Nicole

2016-01-01

The current study aimed to identify atypical neurophysiological activity associated with deficient affective processing in individuals with high callous-unemotional traits (CU). Fifty-six participants (M age = 20.52; 46% male) divided in two groups, differentiated on levels of CU traits, were invited to participate in the experimental phase of the study. Medial prefrontal cortex activity, measured with functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, and facial electro-myography activity were recorded during videos depicting violent, comedy and neutral scenes. Individuals high on CU traits showed similar medial prefrontal cortex oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO(2)) activity to positive and negative films, while the pre-frontal cortical responses of low CU individuals were more pronounced to positive than negative materials. High CU participants also showed reduced facial electromyography at the corrugator muscle in response to violent films, which was not differentiated from their responses to comedy films. These findings suggest that individuals high on CU traits show reduced but not absent (i.e., flat) affect to emotional material. Deficits in processing positive and negative valent material, measured with different neuro-physiological modalities, might be essential to understand CU traits.

Personality and performance are affected by age and early life parameters in a small primate.

PubMed

Zablocki-Thomas, Pauline B; Herrel, Anthony; Hardy, Isabelle; Rabardel, Lucile; Perret, Martine; Aujard, Fabienne; Pouydebat, Emmanuelle

2018-05-01

A whole suite of parameters is likely to influence the behavior and performance of individuals as adults, including correlations between phenotypic traits or an individual's developmental context. Here, we ask the question whether behavior and physical performance traits are correlated and how early life parameters such as birth weight, litter size, and growth can influence these traits as measured during adulthood. We studied 486 captive gray mouse lemurs ( Microcebus murinus ) and measured two behavioral traits and two performance traits potentially involved in two functions: exploration behavior with pull strength and agitation score with bite force. We checked for the existence of behavioral consistency in behaviors and explored correlations between behavior, performance, morphology. We analyzed the effect of birth weight, growth, and litter size, while controlling for age, sex, and body weight. Behavior and performance were not correlated with one another, but were both influenced by age. Growth rate had a positive effect on adult morphology, and birth weight significantly affected emergence latency and bite force. Grip strength was not directly affected by early life traits, but bite performance and exploration behavior were impacted by birth weight. This study shows how early life parameters impact personality and performance.

A carotenogenic mini-pathway introduced into white corn does not affect development or agronomic performance

PubMed Central

Zanga, Daniela; Capell, Teresa; Slafer, Gustavo A.; Christou, Paul; Savin, Roxana

2016-01-01

High-carotenoid corn (Carolight®) has been developed as a vehicle to deliver pro-vitamin A in the diet and thus address vitamin A deficiency in at-risk populations in developing countries. Like any other novel crop, the performance of Carolight® must be tested in different environments to ensure that optimal yields and productivity are maintained, particularly in this case to ensure that the engineered metabolic pathway does not attract a yield penalty. Here we compared the performance of Carolight® with its near isogenic white corn inbred parental line under greenhouse and field conditions, and monitored the stability of the introduced trait. We found that Carolight® was indistinguishable from its near isogenic line in terms of agronomic performance, particularly grain yield and its main components. We also established experimentally that the functionality of the introduced trait was indistinguishable when plants were grown in a controlled environment or in the field. Such thorough characterization under different agronomic conditions is rarely performed even for first-generation traits such as herbicide tolerance and pest resistance, and certainly not for complex second-generation traits such as the metabolic remodeling in the Carolight® variety. Our results therefore indicate that Carolight® can now be incorporated into breeding lines to generate hybrids with locally adapted varieties for further product development and assessment. PMID:27922071

A carotenogenic mini-pathway introduced into white corn does not affect development or agronomic performance.

PubMed

Zanga, Daniela; Capell, Teresa; Slafer, Gustavo A; Christou, Paul; Savin, Roxana

2016-12-06

High-carotenoid corn (Carolight®) has been developed as a vehicle to deliver pro-vitamin A in the diet and thus address vitamin A deficiency in at-risk populations in developing countries. Like any other novel crop, the performance of Carolight® must be tested in different environments to ensure that optimal yields and productivity are maintained, particularly in this case to ensure that the engineered metabolic pathway does not attract a yield penalty. Here we compared the performance of Carolight® with its near isogenic white corn inbred parental line under greenhouse and field conditions, and monitored the stability of the introduced trait. We found that Carolight® was indistinguishable from its near isogenic line in terms of agronomic performance, particularly grain yield and its main components. We also established experimentally that the functionality of the introduced trait was indistinguishable when plants were grown in a controlled environment or in the field. Such thorough characterization under different agronomic conditions is rarely performed even for first-generation traits such as herbicide tolerance and pest resistance, and certainly not for complex second-generation traits such as the metabolic remodeling in the Carolight® variety. Our results therefore indicate that Carolight® can now be incorporated into breeding lines to generate hybrids with locally adapted varieties for further product development and assessment.

Quantitative trait loci × environment interactions for plant morphology vary over ontogeny in Brassica rapa.

PubMed

Dechaine, Jennifer M; Brock, Marcus T; Iniguez-Luy, Federico L; Weinig, Cynthia

2014-01-01

Growth in plants occurs via the addition of repeating modules, suggesting that the genetic architecture of similar subunits may vary between earlier- and later-developing modules. These complex environment × ontogeny interactions are not well elucidated, as studies examining quantitative trait loci (QTLs) expression over ontogeny have not included multiple environments. Here, we characterized the genetic architecture of vegetative traits and onset of reproduction over ontogeny in recombinant inbred lines of Brassica rapa in the field and glasshouse. The magnitude of genetic variation in plasticity of seedling internodes was greater than in those produced later in ontogeny. We correspondingly detected that QTLs for seedling internode length were environment-specific, whereas later in ontogeny the majority of QTLs affected internode lengths in all treatments. The relationship between internode traits and onset of reproduction varied with environment and ontogenetic stage. This relationship was observed only in the glasshouse environment and was largely attributable to one environment-specific QTL. Our results provide the first evidence of a QTL × environment × ontogeny interaction, and provide QTL resolution for differences between early- and later-stage plasticity for stem elongation. These results also suggest potential constraints on morphological evolution in early vs later modules as a result of associations with reproductive timing. © 2013 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2013 New Phytologist Trust.

Cognitive and affective trait and state factors influencing the long-term symptom course in remitted depressed patients.

PubMed

Timm, Christina; Ubl, Bettina; Zamoscik, Vera; Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich; Reinhard, Iris; Huffziger, Silke; Kirsch, Peter; Kuehner, Christine

2017-01-01

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a high risk for relapses and chronic developments. Clinical characteristics such as residual symptoms have been shown to negatively affect the long-term course of MDD. However, it is unclear so far how trait repetitive negative thinking (RNT) as well as cognitive and affective momentary states, the latter experienced during daily-life, affect the long-term course of MDD. We followed up 57 remitted depressed (rMDD) individuals six (T2) and 36 (T3) months after baseline. Clinical outcomes were time to relapse, time spent with significant symptoms as a marker of chronicity, and levels of depressive symptoms at T2 and T3. Predictors assessed at baseline included residual symptoms and trait RNT. Furthermore, momentary daily life affect and momentary rumination, and their variation over the day were assessed at baseline using ambulatory assessment (AA). In multiple models, residual symptoms and instability of daily-life affect at baseline independently predicted a faster time to relapse, while chronicity was significantly predicted by trait RNT. Multilevel models revealed that depressive symptom levels during follow-up were predicted by baseline residual symptom levels and by instability of daily-life rumination. Both instability features were linked to a higher number of anamnestic MDD episodes. Our findings indicate that trait RNT, but also affective and cognitive processes during daily life impact the longer-term course of MDD. Future longitudinal research on the role of respective AA-phenotypes as potential transdiagnostic course-modifiers is warranted.

Traits across the personality hierarchy differentially relate to positive and negative affect: Evidence for the predictive validity of empirically derived meta-traits.

PubMed

Hengartner, Michael P; Graf, Markus; Schreiber, Marc

2017-05-01

There is increasing interest in the construct validity of higher-order domains of the Big Five personality traits. A total of 831 persons from the Swiss population completed the International Personality Item Pool and an adaptation of the Positive and Negative Affect Scales. Using Goldberg's bass-ackwards method, we found evidence for the general factor of personality (GFP) and the two meta-traits of positive emotionality (blend of low neuroticism and high extraversion) and constraint (blend of high agreeableness and conscientiousness). In association with positive affect, the explanatory power of the GFP (r = 0.43) and positive emotionality (r = 0.37) was largely superior to extraversion (r = 0.24), conscientiousness (r = 0.18), agreeableness (r = 0.09) and openness (r = 0.04), although not neuroticism (r = -0.34). In association with negative affect, neuroticism (r = 0.41), the GFP (r = -0.36) and positive emotionality (r = -0.35) were the most powerful single predictors. We conclude that the higher-order structure of personality is best explained by the meta-traits of positive emotionality and constraint, which correspond closely to the well-established superfactors of internalizing and externalizing. We further demonstrate that these have substantial criterion validity when broad positive and negative affect is the outcome of interest. These findings help to relate Big Five meta-traits to pathological personality. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Urgency traits moderate daily relations between affect and drinking to intoxication among young adults

PubMed Central

Bold, Krysten W.; Fucito, Lisa M.; DeMartini, Kelly S.; Leeman, Robert F.; Kranzler, Henry R.; Corbin, William R.; O’Malley, Stephanie S.

2016-01-01

Background Young adults with higher trait urgency (i.e., a tendency to act rashly in response to heightened affect) may be especially vulnerable to heavy drinking. The current study examined 1) the influence of urgency on daily relations between affect and drinking to intoxication, and 2) whether urgency influenced the effectiveness of naltrexone (vs. placebo) for reducing alcohol use. Methods This study is a secondary analysis of data from 126 (n=40 female) heavy drinking young adults, ages 18–25, enrolled in a double-blind, 8-week clinical trial comparing brief motivational intervention and either naltrexone or placebo. Multilevel models examined whether trait urgency moderated daily relations between positive and negative affect and drinking to intoxication, measured by an estimated blood-alcohol concentration (eBAC) at or above the legal limit (≥0.08g%). Person-level interactions examined whether naltrexone was more effective than placebo at reducing the odds of eBAC≥0.08g% for individuals with higher vs. lower trait urgency. Results On days of greater within-person positive or negative affect, young adults with higher urgency were more likely to drink to intoxication than those with lower urgency. Naltrexone reduced the odds of drinking to intoxication significantly more than placebo, independent of positive or negative urgency. Conclusions Although naltrexone treatment reduced drinking overall, young adults with higher trait urgency were still at increased risk for hazardous drinking following times of strong positive or negative mood. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce the risk of heavy drinking among young adults with high trait urgency. PMID:27875802

Urgency traits moderate daily relations between affect and drinking to intoxication among young adults.

PubMed

Bold, Krysten W; Fucito, Lisa M; DeMartini, Kelly S; Leeman, Robert F; Kranzler, Henry R; Corbin, William R; O'Malley, Stephanie S

2017-01-01

Young adults with higher trait urgency (i.e., a tendency to act rashly in response to heightened affect) may be especially vulnerable to heavy drinking. The current study examined 1) the influence of urgency on daily relations between affect and drinking to intoxication, and 2) whether urgency influenced the effectiveness of naltrexone (vs. placebo) for reducing alcohol use. This study is a secondary analysis of data from 126 (n=40 female) heavy drinking young adults, ages 18-25, enrolled in a double-blind, 8-week clinical trial comparing brief motivational intervention and either naltrexone or placebo. Multilevel models examined whether trait urgency moderated daily relations between positive and negative affect and drinking to intoxication, measured by an estimated blood-alcohol concentration (eBAC) at or above the legal limit (≥0.08g%). Person-level interactions examined whether naltrexone was more effective than placebo at reducing the odds of eBAC≥0.08g% for individuals with higher vs. lower trait urgency. On days of greater within-person positive or negative affect, young adults with higher urgency were more likely to drink to intoxication than those with lower urgency. Naltrexone reduced the odds of drinking to intoxication significantly more than placebo, independent of positive or negative urgency. Although naltrexone treatment reduced drinking overall, young adults with higher trait urgency were still at increased risk for hazardous drinking following times of strong positive or negative mood. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce the risk of heavy drinking among young adults with high trait urgency. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

How emotional traits and affective temperaments relate to cocaine experimentation, abuse and dependence in a large sample.

PubMed

Fuscaldo, Liane V; Bisol, Luisa W; Lara, Diogo R

2013-03-01

The contribution of specific traits in cocaine experimentation, abuse and addiction is not yet clear. Our aim was to evaluate how temperament was associated with cocaine experimentation, abuse and dependence using a recently developed scale for the assessment of emotional traits (e.g. anger, volition) and affective temperaments (e.g. cyclothymic). An anonymous web-survey provides the optimal means to evaluate sensitive issues such as drug related behavior in the general population. The data was collected by the Brazilian Internet Study on Temperament and Psychopathology (BRAINSTEP), which included the Affective and Emotional Composite Temperament Scale (AFECTS) and the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST). The final sample consisted of 28,587 subjects (26.6% males, mean age=30.8±9.8yrs). Trait analysis was controlled for age, gender, ethanol and marijuana use. For emotional traits, Caution, Coping and Control were significantly lower in the cocaine-using groups when compared to controls, particularly in those with cocaine dependence. Anger and Desire increased in relation to the degree of cocaine involvement. The associations with Emotional Sensitivity and Volition were less robust. For affective temperaments, greater cocaine use was related to a lower proportion of stable types (obsessive, euthymic and hyperthymic) and the anxious type, and to a higher proportion of cyclothymic and euphoric temperaments in both sexes. Specific externalized and unstable traits were associated with cocaine related behavior. Addressing these traits may be important for recovery and prevention strategies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pluck or Luck: Does Trait Variation or Chance Drive Variation in Lifetime Reproductive Success?

PubMed

Snyder, Robin E; Ellner, Stephen P

2018-04-01

While there has been extensive interest in how intraspecific trait variation affects ecological processes, outcomes are highly variable even when individuals are identical: some are lucky, while others are not. Trait variation is therefore important only if it adds substantially to the variability produced by luck. We ask when trait variation has a substantial effect on variability in lifetime reproductive success (LRS), using two approaches: (1) we partition the variation in LRS into contributions from luck and trait variation and (2) we ask what can be inferred about an individual's traits and with what certainty, given their observed LRS. In theoretical stage- and size-structured models and two empirical case studies, we find that luck usually dominates the variance of LRS. Even when individuals differ substantially in ways that affect expected LRS, unless the effects of luck are substantially reduced (e.g., low variability in reproductive life span or annual fecundity), most variance in lifetime outcomes is due to luck, implying that departures from "null" models omitting trait variation will be hard to detect. Luck also obscures the relationship between realized LRS and individual traits. While trait variation may influence the fate of populations, luck often governs the lives of individuals.

Does trait affectivity predict work-to-family conflict and enrichment beyond job characteristics?

PubMed

Tement, Sara; Korunka, Christian

2013-01-01

The present study examines whether negative and positive affectivity (NA and PA, respectively) predict different forms of work-to-family conflict (WFC-time, WFC-strain, WFC-behavior) and enrichment (WFE-development, WFE-affect, WFE-capital) beyond job characteristics (workload, autonomy, variety, workplace support). Furthermore, interactions between job characteristics and trait affectivity while predicting WFC and WFE were examined. Using a large sample of Slovenian employees (N = 738), NA and PA were found to explain variance in WFC as well as in WFE above and beyond job characteristics. More precisely, NA significantly predicted WFC, whereas PA significantly predicted WFE. In addition, several interactive effects were found to predict forms of WFC and WFE. These results highlight the importance of trait affectivity in work-family research. They provide further support for the crucial impact of job characteristics as well.

Identifying Specific Genes Controlling Complex Traits Through A Genome-Wide Screen For cis-Acting Regulatory Elements - An Example Using Marek's Disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The identification of specific genes underlying phenotypic variation of complex traits remains one of the greatest challenges in biology despite having genome sequences and more powerful tools. Most genome-wide screens lack sufficient resolving power as they typically depend on linkage. One altern...

Comprehensive Identification Of Specific Genes Controlling Complex Traits Through A Genome-Wide Screen for Cis-Acting Regulatory Elements - An Example Using Marek's Disease

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The comprehensive identification of genes underlying phenotypic variation of complex traits remains a major challenge. Most genome-wide screens lack sufficient resolving power as they typically depend on linkage. An alternate method is to screen for allele-specific expression (ASE), a simple yet pow...

Not all anxious individuals get lost: Trait anxiety and mental rotation ability interact to explain performance in map-based route learning in men.

PubMed

Thoresen, John C; Francelet, Rebecca; Coltekin, Arzu; Richter, Kai-Florian; Fabrikant, Sara I; Sandi, Carmen

2016-07-01

Navigation through an environment is a fundamental human activity. Although group differences in navigational ability are documented (e.g., gender), little is known about traits that predict these abilities. Apart from a well-established link between mental rotational abilities and navigational learning abilities, recent studies point to an influence of trait anxiety on the formation of internal cognitive spatial representations. However, it is unknown whether trait anxiety affects the processing of information obtained through externalized representations such as maps. Here, we addressed this question by taking into account emerging evidence indicating impaired performance in executive tasks by high trait anxiety specifically in individuals with lower executive capacities. For this purpose, we tested 104 male participants, previously characterised on trait anxiety and mental rotation ability, on a newly-designed map-based route learning task, where participants matched routes presented dynamically on a city map to one presented immediately before (same/different judgments). We predicted an interaction between trait anxiety and mental rotation ability, specifically that performance in the route learning task would be negatively affected by anxiety in participants with low mental rotation ability. Importantly, and as predicted, an interaction between anxiety and mental rotation ability was observed: trait anxiety negatively affected participants with low-but not high-mental rotation ability. Our study reveals a detrimental role of trait anxiety in map-based route learning and specifies a disadvantage in the processing of map representations for high-anxious individuals with low mental rotation abilities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of mature maize (Zea mays L.) root system architecture and complexity in a diverse set of Ex-PVP inbreds and hybrids.

PubMed

Hauck, Andrew L; Novais, Joana; Grift, Tony E; Bohn, Martin O

2015-01-01

The mature root system is a vital plant organ, which is critical to plant performance. Commercial maize (Zea mays L.) breeding has resulted in a steady increase in plant performance over time, along with noticeable changes in above ground vegetative traits, but the corresponding changes in the root system are not presently known. In this study, roughly 2500 core root systems from field trials of a set of 10 diverse elite inbreds formerly protected by Plant Variety Protection plus B73 and Mo17 and the 66 diallel intercrosses among them were evaluated for root traits using high throughput image-based phenotyping. Overall root architecture was modeled by root angle (RA) and stem diameter (SD), while root complexity, the amount of root branching, was quantified using fractal analysis to obtain values for fractal dimension (FD) and fractal abundance (FA). For each trait, per se line effects were highly significant and the most important contributor to trait performance. Mid-parent heterosis and specific combining ability was also highly significant for FD, FA, and RA, while none of the traits showed significant general combining ability. The interaction between the environment and the additive line effect was also significant for all traits. Within the inbred and hybrid generations, FD and FA were highly correlated (rp ≥ 0.74), SD was moderately correlated to FD and FA (0.69 ≥ rp ≥ 0.48), while the correlation between RA and other traits was low (0.13 ≥ rp ≥ -0.40). Inbreds with contrasting effects on complexity and architecture traits were observed, suggesting that root complexity and architecture traits are inherited independently. A more comprehensive understanding of the maize root system and the way it interacts with the environment will be useful for defining adaptation to nutrient acquisition and tolerance to stress from drought and high plant densities, critical factors in the yield gains of modern hybrids.

Mapping, fine mapping, and molecular dissection of quantitative trait Loci in domestic animals.

PubMed

Georges, Michel

2007-01-01

Artificial selection has created myriad breeds of domestic animals, each characterized by unique phenotypes pertaining to behavior, morphology, physiology, and disease. Most domestic animal populations share features with isolated founder populations, making them well suited for positional cloning. Genome sequences are now available for most domestic species, and with them a panoply of tools including high-density single-nucleotide polymorphism panels. As a result, domestic animal populations are becoming invaluable resources for studying the molecular architecture of complex traits and of adaptation. Here we review recent progress and issues in the positional identification of genes underlying complex traits in domestic animals. As many phenotypes studied in animals are quantitative, we focus on mapping, fine mapping, and cloning of quantitative trait loci.

Advances in cereal genomics and applications in crop breeding.

PubMed

Varshney, Rajeev K; Hoisington, David A; Tyagi, Akhilesh K

2006-11-01

Recent advances in cereal genomics have made it possible to analyse the architecture of cereal genomes and their expressed components, leading to an increase in our knowledge of the genes that are linked to key agronomically important traits. These studies have used molecular genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) of several complex traits that are important in breeding. The identification and molecular cloning of genes underlying QTLs offers the possibility to examine the naturally occurring allelic variation for respective complex traits. Novel alleles, identified by functional genomics or haplotype analysis, can enrich the genetic basis of cultivated crops to improve productivity. Advances made in cereal genomics research in recent years thus offer the opportunities to enhance the prediction of phenotypes from genotypes for cereal breeding.

Integrating modelling and phenotyping approaches to identify and screen complex traits - Illustration for transpiration efficiency in cereals.

PubMed

Chenu, K; van Oosterom, E J; McLean, G; Deifel, K S; Fletcher, A; Geetika, G; Tirfessa, A; Mace, E S; Jordan, D R; Sulman, R; Hammer, G L

2018-02-21

Following advances in genetics, genomics, and phenotyping, trait selection in breeding is limited by our ability to understand interactions within the plants and with their environments, and to target traits of most relevance for the target population of environments. We propose an integrated approach that combines insights from crop modelling, physiology, genetics, and breeding to identify traits valuable for yield gain in the target population of environments, develop relevant high-throughput phenotyping platforms, and identify genetic controls and their values in production environments. This paper uses transpiration efficiency (biomass produced per unit of water used) as an example of a complex trait of interest to illustrate how the approach can guide modelling, phenotyping, and selection in a breeding program. We believe that this approach, by integrating insights from diverse disciplines, can increase the resource use efficiency of breeding programs for improving yield gains in target populations of environments.

Effect of trait anxiety on prefrontal control mechanisms during emotional conflict.

PubMed

Comte, Magali; Cancel, Aïda; Coull, Jennifer T; Schön, Daniele; Reynaud, Emmanuelle; Boukezzi, Sarah; Rousseau, Pierre-François; Robert, Gabriel; Khalfa, Stéphanie; Guedj, Eric; Blin, Olivier; Weinberger, Daniel R; Fakra, Eric

2015-06-01

Converging evidence points to a link between anxiety proneness and altered emotional functioning, including threat-related biases in selective attention and higher susceptibility to emotionally ambiguous stimuli. However, during these complex emotional situations, it remains unclear how trait anxiety affects the engagement of the prefrontal emotional control system and particularly the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a core region at the intersection of the limbic and prefrontal systems. Using an emotional conflict task and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated in healthy subjects the relations between trait anxiety and both regional activity and functional connectivity (psychophysiological interaction) of the ACC. Higher levels of anxiety were associated with stronger task-related activation in ACC but with reduced functional connectivity between ACC and lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC). These results support the hypothesis that when one is faced with emotionally incompatible information, anxiety leads to inefficient high-order control, characterized by insufficient ACC-LPFC functional coupling and increases, possibly compensatory, in activation of ACC. Our findings provide a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of the neural circuitry underlying anxiety and may offer potential treatment markers for anxiety disorders. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sugars in peach fruit: a breeding perspective

PubMed Central

Cirilli, Marco; Bassi, Daniele; Ciacciulli, Angelo

2016-01-01

The last decade has been characterized by a decrease in peach (Prunus persica) fruit consumption in many countries, foremost due to unsatisfactory quality. The sugar content is one of the most important quality traits perceived by consumers, and the development of novel peach cultivars with sugar-enhanced content is a primary objective of breeding programs to revert the market inertia. Nevertheless, the progress reachable through classical phenotypic selection is limited by the narrow genetic bases of peach breeding material and by the complex quantitative nature of the trait, which is deeply affected by environmental conditions and agronomical management. The development of molecular markers applicable in MAS or MAB has become an essential strategy to boost the selection efficiency. Despite the enormous advances in ‘omics’ sciences, providing powerful tools for plant genotyping, the identification of the genetic bases of sugar-related traits is hindered by the lack of adequate phenotyping methods that are able to address strong within-plant variability. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of the metabolic pathways and physiological mechanisms regulating sugar accumulation in peach fruit, the main advances in phenotyping approaches and genetic background, and finally addressing new research priorities and prospective for breeders. PMID:26816618

Use of cytokinins as agrochemicals.

PubMed

Koprna, Radoslav; De Diego, Nuria; Dundálková, Lucie; Spíchal, Lukáš

2016-02-01

Plant hormones cytokinins regulate various aspects of plant growth and development. For their positive effects on branching, delaying of senescence, nutrient remobilisation, flower and seed set control they became interesting substances in search for potential agrochemicals. From the 1970' of the last century exogenous application of cytokinins have been tested in field conditions to improve yield traits of world-wide important crops such as wheat, rice, maize, barley, and soybean. Despite the extensive testing summarized in this work, so far cytokinins haven't found their stable place among commercialized plant growth regulators, mainly due to the complexity of their effects. Here we bring an overview of the outcomes obtained in pot and field experiments using cytokinin exogenous treatments, summarize the ways of application and point to the affected traits in various field crops, vegetables, cotton and fruit trees. Further, we present here outcomes of field trials performed with a derivative of N(6)-benzyladenine, 2-chloro-6-(3-methoxybenzyl)aminopurine, in spring barley and winter wheat. The effect on yield forming traits such as number of tillers, grains per ear, number of ears and the final yield was evaluated and compared after spraying of the both crops in different phenological stages. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural mechanisms of attentional control differentiate trait and state negative affect.

PubMed

Crocker, Laura D; Heller, Wendy; Spielberg, Jeffrey M; Warren, Stacie L; Bredemeier, Keith; Sutton, Bradley P; Banich, Marie T; Miller, Gregory A

2012-01-01

The present research examined the hypothesis that cognitive processes are modulated differentially by trait and state negative affect (NA). Brain activation associated with trait and state NA was measured by fMRI during an attentional control task, the emotion-word Stroop. Performance on the task was disrupted only by state NA. Trait NA was associated with reduced activity in several regions, including a prefrontal area that has been shown to be involved in top-down, goal-directed attentional control. In contrast, state NA was associated with increased activity in several regions, including a prefrontal region that has been shown to be involved in stimulus-driven aspects of attentional control. Results suggest that NA has a significant impact on cognition, and that state and trait NA disrupt attentional control in distinct ways.

Visual Complexity Attenuates Emotional Processing in Psychopathy: Implications for Fear-Potentiated Startle Deficits

PubMed Central

Sadeh, Naomi; Verona, Edelyn

2012-01-01

A long-standing debate is the extent to which psychopathy is characterized by a fundamental deficit in attention or emotion. We tested the hypothesis that the interplay of emotional and attentional systems is critical for understanding processing deficits in psychopathy. Sixty-three offenders were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and fear-potentiated startle (FPS) were collected while participants viewed pictures selected to disentangle an existing confound between perceptual complexity and emotional content in the pictures typically used to study fear deficits in psychopathy. As predicted, picture complexity moderated emotional processing deficits. Specifically, the affective-interpersonal features of psychopathy were associated with greater allocation of attentional resources to processing emotional stimuli at initial perception (visual N1) but only when picture stimuli were visually-complex. Despite this, results for the late positive potential indicated that emotional pictures were less attentionally engaging and held less motivational significance for individuals high in affective-interpersonal traits. This deficient negative emotional processing was observed later in their reduced defensive fear reactivity (FPS) to high-complexity unpleasant pictures. In contrast, the impulsive-antisocial features of psychopathy were associated with decreased sensitivity to picture complexity (visual N1) and unrelated to emotional processing as assessed by ERP and FPS. These findings are the first to demonstrate that picture complexity moderates FPS deficits and implicate the interplay of attention and emotional systems as deficient in psychopathy. PMID:22187225

Alexithymia and Affect Intensity of Fine Artists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botella, Marion; Zenasni, Franck; Lubart, Todd

2015-01-01

Research on creative artists has examined mainly their personality traits or cognitive abilities. However, it seems important to explore also their emotional traits to complete the profile. This study examines two emotional characteristics: alexithymia and affect intensity. Even if most research suggests that artists are less alexithymic and…

The Evolution of Biological Complexity in Digital Organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ofria, Charles

2013-03-01

When Darwin first proposed his theory of evolution by natural selection, he realized that it had a problem explaining the origins of traits of ``extreme perfection and complication'' such as the vertebrate eye. Critics of Darwin's theory have latched onto this perceived flaw as a proof that Darwinian evolution is impossible. In anticipation of this issue, Darwin described the perfect data needed to understand this process, but lamented that such data are ``scarcely ever possible'' to obtain. In this talk, I will discuss research where we use populations of digital organisms (self-replicating and evolving computer programs) to elucidate the genetic and evolutionary processes by which new, highly-complex traits arise, drawing inspiration directly from Darwin's wistful thinking and hypotheses. During the process of evolution in these fully-transparent computational environments we can measure the incorporation of new information into the genome, a process akin to a natural Maxwell's Demon, and identify the original source of any such information. We show that, as Darwin predicted, much of the information used to encode a complex trait was already in the genome as part of simpler evolved traits, and that many routes must be possible for a new complex trait to have a high probability of successfully evolving. In even more extreme examples of the evolution of complexity, we are now using these same principles to examine the evolutionary dynamics the drive major transitions in evolution; that is transitions to higher-levels of organization, which are some of the most complex evolutionary events to occur in nature. Finally, I will explore some of the implications of this research to other aspects of evolutionary biology and as well as ways that these evolutionary principles can be applied toward solving computational and engineering problems.

Nitrogen and phosphorus availabilities interact to modulate leaf trait scaling relationships across six plant functional types in a controlled-environment study.

PubMed

Crous, Kristine Y; O'Sullivan, Odhran S; Zaragoza-Castells, Joana; Bloomfield, Keith J; Negrini, A Clarissa A; Meir, Patrick; Turnbull, Matthew H; Griffin, Kevin L; Atkin, Owen K

2017-08-01

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) have key roles in leaf metabolism, resulting in a strong coupling of chemical composition traits to metabolic rates in field-based studies. However, in such studies, it is difficult to disentangle the effects of nutrient supply per se on trait-trait relationships. Our study assessed how high and low N (5 mM and 0.4 mM, respectively) and P (1 mM and 2 μM, respectively) supply in 37 species from six plant functional types (PTFs) affected photosynthesis (A) and respiration (R) (in darkness and light) in a controlled environment. Low P supply increased scaling exponents (slopes) of area-based log-log A-N or R-N relationships when N supply was not limiting, whereas there was no P effect under low N supply. By contrast, scaling exponents of A-P and R-P relationships were altered by P and N supply. Neither R : A nor light inhibition of leaf R was affected by nutrient supply. Light inhibition was 26% across nutrient treatments; herbaceous species exhibited a lower degree of light inhibition than woody species. Because N and P supply modulates leaf trait-trait relationships, the next generation of terrestrial biosphere models may need to consider how limitations in N and P availability affect trait-trait relationships when predicting carbon exchange. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

Integrating Nonadditive Genomic Relationship Matrices into the Study of Genetic Architecture of Complex Traits.

PubMed

Nazarian, Alireza; Gezan, Salvador A

2016-03-01

The study of genetic architecture of complex traits has been dramatically influenced by implementing genome-wide analytical approaches during recent years. Of particular interest are genomic prediction strategies which make use of genomic information for predicting phenotypic responses instead of detecting trait-associated loci. In this work, we present the results of a simulation study to improve our understanding of the statistical properties of estimation of genetic variance components of complex traits, and of additive, dominance, and genetic effects through best linear unbiased prediction methodology. Simulated dense marker information was used to construct genomic additive and dominance matrices, and multiple alternative pedigree- and marker-based models were compared to determine if including a dominance term into the analysis may improve the genetic analysis of complex traits. Our results showed that a model containing a pedigree- or marker-based additive relationship matrix along with a pedigree-based dominance matrix provided the best partitioning of genetic variance into its components, especially when some degree of true dominance effects was expected to exist. Also, we noted that the use of a marker-based additive relationship matrix along with a pedigree-based dominance matrix had the best performance in terms of accuracy of correlations between true and estimated additive, dominance, and genetic effects. © The American Genetic Association 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Does Structural Complexity Determine the Morphology of Assemblages? An Experimental Test on Three Continents

PubMed Central

Gibb, Heloise; Parr, Catherine L.

2013-01-01

Understanding how species will respond to global change depends on our ability to distinguish generalities from idiosyncrasies. For diverse, but poorly known taxa, such as insects, species traits may provide a short-cut to predicting species turnover. We tested whether ant traits respond consistently to habitat complexity across geographically independent ant assemblages, using an experimental approach and baits. We repeated our study in six paired simple and complex habitats on three continents with distinct ant faunas. We also compared traits amongst ants with different foraging strategies. We hypothesised that ants would be larger, broader, have longer legs and more dorsally positioned eyes in simpler habitats. In agreement with predictions, ants had longer femurs and dorsally positioned eyes in simple habitats. This pattern was most pronounced for ants that discovered resources. Body size and pronotum width responded as predicted for experimental treatments, but were inconsistent across continents. Monopolising ants were smaller, with shorter femurs than those that occupied or discovered resources. Consistent responses for several traits suggest that many, but not all, aspects of morphology respond predictably to habitat complexity, and that foraging strategy is linked with morphology. Some traits thus have the potential to be used to predict the direction of species turnover, changes in foraging strategy and, potentially, evolution in response to changes in habitat structure. PMID:23691137

Environmental variability and acoustic signals: a multi-level approach in songbirds.

PubMed

Medina, Iliana; Francis, Clinton D

2012-12-23

Among songbirds, growing evidence suggests that acoustic adaptation of song traits occurs in response to habitat features. Despite extensive study, most research supporting acoustic adaptation has only considered acoustic traits averaged for species or populations, overlooking intraindividual variation of song traits, which may facilitate effective communication in heterogeneous and variable environments. Fewer studies have explicitly incorporated sexual selection, which, if strong, may favour variation across environments. Here, we evaluate the prevalence of acoustic adaptation among 44 species of songbirds by determining how environmental variability and sexual selection intensity are associated with song variability (intraindividual and intraspecific) and short-term song complexity. We show that variability in precipitation can explain short-term song complexity among taxonomically diverse songbirds, and that precipitation seasonality and the intensity of sexual selection are related to intraindividual song variation. Our results link song complexity to environmental variability, something previously found for mockingbirds (Family Mimidae). Perhaps more importantly, our results illustrate that individual variation in song traits may be shaped by both environmental variability and strength of sexual selection.

The Allelic Landscape of Human Blood Cell Trait Variation and Links to Common Complex Disease.

PubMed

Astle, William J; Elding, Heather; Jiang, Tao; Allen, Dave; Ruklisa, Dace; Mann, Alice L; Mead, Daniel; Bouman, Heleen; Riveros-Mckay, Fernando; Kostadima, Myrto A; Lambourne, John J; Sivapalaratnam, Suthesh; Downes, Kate; Kundu, Kousik; Bomba, Lorenzo; Berentsen, Kim; Bradley, John R; Daugherty, Louise C; Delaneau, Olivier; Freson, Kathleen; Garner, Stephen F; Grassi, Luigi; Guerrero, Jose; Haimel, Matthias; Janssen-Megens, Eva M; Kaan, Anita; Kamat, Mihir; Kim, Bowon; Mandoli, Amit; Marchini, Jonathan; Martens, Joost H A; Meacham, Stuart; Megy, Karyn; O'Connell, Jared; Petersen, Romina; Sharifi, Nilofar; Sheard, Simon M; Staley, James R; Tuna, Salih; van der Ent, Martijn; Walter, Klaudia; Wang, Shuang-Yin; Wheeler, Eleanor; Wilder, Steven P; Iotchkova, Valentina; Moore, Carmel; Sambrook, Jennifer; Stunnenberg, Hendrik G; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Kaptoge, Stephen; Kuijpers, Taco W; Carrillo-de-Santa-Pau, Enrique; Juan, David; Rico, Daniel; Valencia, Alfonso; Chen, Lu; Ge, Bing; Vasquez, Louella; Kwan, Tony; Garrido-Martín, Diego; Watt, Stephen; Yang, Ying; Guigo, Roderic; Beck, Stephan; Paul, Dirk S; Pastinen, Tomi; Bujold, David; Bourque, Guillaume; Frontini, Mattia; Danesh, John; Roberts, David J; Ouwehand, Willem H; Butterworth, Adam S; Soranzo, Nicole

2016-11-17

Many common variants have been associated with hematological traits, but identification of causal genes and pathways has proven challenging. We performed a genome-wide association analysis in the UK Biobank and INTERVAL studies, testing 29.5 million genetic variants for association with 36 red cell, white cell, and platelet properties in 173,480 European-ancestry participants. This effort yielded hundreds of low frequency (<5%) and rare (<1%) variants with a strong impact on blood cell phenotypes. Our data highlight general properties of the allelic architecture of complex traits, including the proportion of the heritable component of each blood trait explained by the polygenic signal across different genome regulatory domains. Finally, through Mendelian randomization, we provide evidence of shared genetic pathways linking blood cell indices with complex pathologies, including autoimmune diseases, schizophrenia, and coronary heart disease and evidence suggesting previously reported population associations between blood cell indices and cardiovascular disease may be non-causal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhancing knowledge and technology adoption in a misunderstood discipline: The weight trait project

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Currently several commercial DNA marker panels are available for complex traits. In the fall of 2009, the American Angus Association integrated the results of an Angus-specific marker panel into their national cattle evaluation for carcass traits. Despite this advancement, there still exists treme...

Systems genetics: a paradigm to improve discovery of candidate genes and mechanisms underlying complex traits.

PubMed

Feltus, F Alex

2014-06-01

Understanding the control of any trait optimally requires the detection of causal genes, gene interaction, and mechanism of action to discover and model the biochemical pathways underlying the expressed phenotype. Functional genomics techniques, including RNA expression profiling via microarray and high-throughput DNA sequencing, allow for the precise genome localization of biological information. Powerful genetic approaches, including quantitative trait locus (QTL) and genome-wide association study mapping, link phenotype with genome positions, yet genetics is less precise in localizing the relevant mechanistic information encoded in DNA. The coupling of salient functional genomic signals with genetically mapped positions is an appealing approach to discover meaningful gene-phenotype relationships. Techniques used to define this genetic-genomic convergence comprise the field of systems genetics. This short review will address an application of systems genetics where RNA profiles are associated with genetically mapped genome positions of individual genes (eQTL mapping) or as gene sets (co-expression network modules). Both approaches can be applied for knowledge independent selection of candidate genes (and possible control mechanisms) underlying complex traits where multiple, likely unlinked, genomic regions might control specific complex traits. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The curvilinear relationship between work pressure and momentary task performance: the role of state and trait core self-evaluations.

PubMed

Hofmans, Joeri; Debusscher, Jonas; Dóci, Edina; Spanouli, Andromachi; De Fruyt, Filip

2015-01-01

Whereas several studies have demonstrated that core self-evaluations (CSE)-or one's appraisals about one's own self-worth, capabilities, and competences-relate to job outcomes, less is known about the mechanisms underlying these relationships. In the present study, we address this issue by examining the role of within- and between-person variation in CSE in the relationship between work pressure and task performance. We hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates to task performance in a curvilinear way, (b) state CSE mediates the curvilinear relationship between work pressure and task performance, and (c) the relationship between work pressure and state CSE is moderated by trait CSE. Our hypotheses were tested via a 10-day daily diary study with 55 employees in which trait CSE was measured at baseline, while work pressure, task performance, and state CSE were assessed on a daily basis. Bayesian multilevel path analysis showed that work pressure affects task performance via state CSE, with state CSE increasing as long as the employee feels that (s)he is able to handle the work pressure, while it decreases when the level of work pressure exceeds the employees' coping abilities. Moreover, we found that for people low on trait CSE, the depleting effect of work pressure via state CSE happens for low levels of work pressure, while for people high in trait CSE the depleting effect is located at high levels of work pressure. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of work pressure on task performance is driven by a complex interplay of between- and within-person differences in CSE.

Association genetics of coastal Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii, Pinaceae). I. Cold-hardiness related traits.

PubMed

Eckert, Andrew J; Bower, Andrew D; Wegrzyn, Jill L; Pande, Barnaly; Jermstad, Kathleen D; Krutovsky, Konstantin V; St Clair, J Bradley; Neale, David B

2009-08-01

Adaptation to cold is one of the greatest challenges to forest trees. This process is highly synchronized with environmental cues relating to photoperiod and temperature. Here, we use a candidate gene-based approach to search for genetic associations between 384 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers from 117 candidate genes and 21 cold-hardiness related traits. A general linear model approach, including population structure estimates as covariates, was implemented for each marker-trait pair. We discovered 30 highly significant genetic associations [false discovery rate (FDR) Q < 0.10] across 12 candidate genes and 10 of the 21 traits. We also detected a set of 7 markers that had elevated levels of differentiation between sampling sites situated across the Cascade crest in northeastern Washington. Marker effects were small (r(2) < 0.05) and within the range of those published previously for forest trees. The derived SNP allele, as measured by a comparison to a recently diverged sister species, typically affected the phenotype in a way consistent with cold hardiness. The majority of markers were characterized as having largely nonadditive modes of gene action, especially underdominance in the case of cold-tolerance related phenotypes. We place these results in the context of trade-offs between the abilities to grow longer and to avoid fall cold damage, as well as putative epigenetic effects. These associations provide insight into the genetic components of complex traits in coastal Douglas fir, as well as highlight the need for landscape genetic approaches to the detection of adaptive genetic diversity.

The Role of Personality Traits through Habit and Intention on Determining Future Preferences of Public Transport Use

PubMed Central

Yazdanpanah, Mahdi; Hadji Hosseinlou, Mansour

2017-01-01

A complex set of factors may affect transportation mode choice. While earlier studies have often considered objective factors in determining preferences of public transport use as a sustainable transportation, subjective factors such as personality traits are underexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of personality traits on the number of future public transport use. Additionally, “car habit” and “intention toward using public modes” were considered to be important. For this purpose, a case study from departure passengers at Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA, Tehran, Iran) was conducted between January and February 2015 at IKIA. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) shows that only neuroticism and extraversion personality traits were significant in determining future public transportation mode choice. However, the model indicates that these traits indirectly influence intention and car habit. Neuroticism was found to have a total effect of −0.022 on future public transport use, which represents a negative association with public transport use, while extraversion positively influenced future public transport use with a total effect of 0.031. Moreover, the results found interestingly that car access had a better fit to the data than the number of cars in household (NCH); both had significant positive effect on car habit, but only car access had a significant influence on intention. Furthermore, the effect of socio-demographic variables such as age, gender, educational level, income level, and body mass index (BMI) were determined to be significant in identifying choice of future transport mode to airports, which is explained in the discussion section of this paper. PMID:28218641

Genetic architecture and temporal patterns of biomass accumulation in spring barley revealed by image analysis.

PubMed

Neumann, Kerstin; Zhao, Yusheng; Chu, Jianting; Keilwagen, Jens; Reif, Jochen C; Kilian, Benjamin; Graner, Andreas

2017-08-10

Genetic mapping of phenotypic traits generally focuses on a single time point, but biomass accumulates continuously during plant development. Resolution of the temporal dynamics that affect biomass recently became feasible using non-destructive imaging. With the aim to identify key genetic factors for vegetative biomass formation from the seedling stage to flowering, we explored growth over time in a diverse collection of two-rowed spring barley accessions. High heritabilities facilitated the temporal analysis of trait relationships and identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL). Biomass QTL tended to persist only a short period during early growth. More persistent QTL were detected around the booting stage. We identified seven major biomass QTL, which together explain 55% of the genetic variance at the seedling stage, and 43% at the booting stage. Three biomass QTL co-located with genes or QTL involved in phenology. The most important locus for biomass was independent from phenology and is located on chromosome 7HL at 141 cM. This locus explained ~20% of the genetic variance, was significant over a long period of time and co-located with HvDIM, a gene involved in brassinosteroid synthesis. Biomass is a dynamic trait and is therefore orchestrated by different QTL during early and late growth stages. Marker-assisted selection for high biomass at booting stage is most effective by also including favorable alleles from seedling biomass QTL. Selection for dynamic QTL may enhance genetic gain for complex traits such as biomass or, in the future, even grain yield.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Personality Traits in the Long Life Family Study

PubMed Central

Bae, Harold T.; Sebastiani, Paola; Sun, Jenny X.; Andersen, Stacy L.; Daw, E. Warwick; Terracciano, Antonio; Ferrucci, Luigi; Perls, Thomas T.

2013-01-01

Personality traits have been shown to be associated with longevity and healthy aging. In order to discover novel genetic modifiers associated with personality traits as related with longevity, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on personality factors assessed by NEO-five-factor inventory in individuals enrolled in the Long Life Family Study (LLFS), a study of 583 families (N up to 4595) with clustering for longevity in the United States and Denmark. Three SNPs, in almost perfect LD, associated with agreeableness reached genome-wide significance (p < 10−8) and replicated in an additional sample of 1279 LLFS subjects, although one (rs9650241) failed to replicate and the other two were not available in two independent replication cohorts, the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging and the New England Centenarian Study. Based on 10,000,000 permutations, the empirical p-value of 2 × 10−7 was observed for the genome-wide significant SNPs. Seventeen SNPs that reached marginal statistical significance in the two previous GWASs (p-value <10−4 and 10−5), were also marginally significantly associated in this study (p-value <0.05), although none of the associations passed the Bonferroni correction. In addition, we tested age-by-SNP interactions and found some significant associations. Since scores of personality traits in LLFS subjects change in the oldest ages, and genetic factors outweigh environmental factors to achieve extreme ages, these age-by-SNP interactions could be a proxy for complex gene–gene interactions affecting personality traits and longevity. PMID:23658558

Whole Genome Analysis for Beef Tenderness

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Meat tenderness is the single most important trait affecting palatability and consumer satisfaction with beef products. Current breeding values for meat tenderness traits have low accuracy because progeny phenotypes are not generally recorded. Selection for this trait could be accelerated by DNA m...

Genetic architecture of wood properties based on association analysis and co-expression networks in white spruce.

PubMed

Lamara, Mebarek; Raherison, Elie; Lenz, Patrick; Beaulieu, Jean; Bousquet, Jean; MacKay, John

2016-04-01

Association studies are widely utilized to analyze complex traits but their ability to disclose genetic architectures is often limited by statistical constraints, and functional insights are usually minimal in nonmodel organisms like forest trees. We developed an approach to integrate association mapping results with co-expression networks. We tested single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 2652 candidate genes for statistical associations with wood density, stiffness, microfibril angle and ring width in a population of 1694 white spruce trees (Picea glauca). Associations mapping identified 229-292 genes per wood trait using a statistical significance level of P < 0.05 to maximize discovery. Over-representation of genes associated for nearly all traits was found in a xylem preferential co-expression group developed in independent experiments. A xylem co-expression network was reconstructed with 180 wood associated genes and several known MYB and NAC regulators were identified as network hubs. The network revealed a link between the gene PgNAC8, wood stiffness and microfibril angle, as well as considerable within-season variation for both genetic control of wood traits and gene expression. Trait associations were distributed throughout the network suggesting complex interactions and pleiotropic effects. Our findings indicate that integration of association mapping and co-expression networks enhances our understanding of complex wood traits. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Emotional Complexity and Emotional Well-being in Older Adults: Risks of High Neuroticism

PubMed Central

Ready, Rebecca E.; Åkerstedt, Anna M.; Mroczek, Daniel K.

2011-01-01

Older and midlife adults tend to report greater emotional complexity and greater emotional wellbeing than younger adults but there is variability in these factors across the lifespan. The current study determined how the personality trait of Neuroticism at baseline predicts emotional complexity and emotional well-being 10 years later; a goal was to determine if Neuroticism is a stronger predictor of these emotion outcomes with increasing age in adulthood. Data were from two waves of the MIDUS projects (N = 1,503; aged 34 to 84). Greater Neuroticism predicted less emotional complexity as indicated by associations between Positive (PA) and Negative Affect (NA), particularly for older participants. Neuroticism predicted lower emotional well-being and this association was stronger for older and midlife than for younger adults. Overall, high Neuroticism may be greater liability for poor emotion outcomes for older and perhaps for midlife adults than for younger persons. Clinical and theoretical implications of this conclusion are discussed. PMID:21854349

Affective temperament and executive functions in emergency medicine professionals.

PubMed

Jaracz, Marcin; Paciorek, Przemysław; Buciński, Adam; Borkowska, Alina

2014-10-01

Recent studies indicate that choice of profession is related to differences in affective temperament, which is probably due to various predispositions needed to efficiently perform particular professions. The aim of the present study was to assess affective temperament and executive functions in a sample of emergency medicine professionals. 75 emergency medicine professionals were enrolled in the study. Affective temperament was assessed by means of TEMPS-A. Executive functions were assessed by means of Trail Making Test and Stroop Color Word Interference Test. Subjects showed significantly higher rates of hyperthymic, compared to depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperaments. The principal component analysis revealed that hyperthymic temperament contributes to a different factor, than the remaining ones. Higher rates of depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperaments were related to poorer performance in Trail Making Test, whereas hyperthymic temperament had the opposite effect. Due to the size of the sample, results of the present study may have lacked power to show all the relationships between tested variables. Hyperthymic temperament promotes efficient performance of complex tasks under time pressure. Depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperaments have the opposite effect. This makes hyperthymic temperament a desirable trait in emergency medicine professionals, performing complex medical tasks under extreme conditions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A two level mutation-selection model of cultural evolution and diversity.

PubMed

Salazar-Ciudad, Isaac

2010-11-21

Cultural evolution is a complex process that can happen at several levels. At the level of individuals in a population, each human bears a set of cultural traits that he or she can transmit to its offspring (vertical transmission) or to other members of his or her society (horizontal transmission). The relative frequency of a cultural trait in a population or society can thus increase or decrease with the relative reproductive success of its bearers (individual's level) or the relative success of transmission (called the idea's level). This article presents a mathematical model on the interplay between these two levels. The first aim of this article is to explore when cultural evolution is driven by the idea's level, when it is driven by the individual's level and when it is driven by both. These three possibilities are explored in relation to (a) the amount of interchange of cultural traits between individuals, (b) the selective pressure acting on individuals, (c) the rate of production of new cultural traits, (d) the individual's capacity to remember cultural traits and to the population size. The aim is to explore the conditions in which cultural evolution does not lead to a better adaptation of individuals to the environment. This is to contrast the spread of fitness-enhancing ideas, which make individual bearers better adapted to the environment, to the spread of "selfish" ideas, which spread well simply because they are easy to remember but do not help their individual bearers (and may even hurt them). At the same time this article explores in which conditions the adaptation of individuals is maximal. The second aim is to explore how these factors affect cultural diversity, or the amount of different cultural traits in a population. This study suggests that a larger interchange of cultural traits between populations could lead to cultural evolution not improving the adaptation of individuals to their environment and to a decrease of cultural diversity. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Domesticated, Genetically Engineered, and Wild Plant Relatives Exhibit Unintended Phenotypic Differences: A Comparative Meta-Analysis Profiling Rice, Canola, Maize, Sunflower, and Pumpkin

PubMed Central

Hernández-Terán, Alejandra; Wegier, Ana; Benítez, Mariana; Lira, Rafael; Escalante, Ana E.

2017-01-01

Agronomic management of plants is a powerful evolutionary force acting on their populations. The management of cultivated plants is carried out by the traditional process of human selection or plant breeding and, more recently, by the technologies used in genetic engineering (GE). Even though crop modification through GE is aimed at specific traits, it is possible that other non-target traits can be affected by genetic modification due to the complex regulatory processes of plant metabolism and development. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis profiling the phenotypic consequences of plant breeding and GE, and compared modified cultivars with wild relatives in five crops of global economic and cultural importance: rice, maize, canola, sunflower, and pumpkin. For these five species, we analyzed the literature with documentation of phenotypic traits that are potentially related to fitness for the same species in comparable conditions. The information was analyzed to evaluate whether the different processes of modification had influenced the phenotype in such a way as to cause statistical differences in the state of specific phenotypic traits or grouping of the organisms depending on their genetic origin [wild, domesticated with genetic engineering (domGE), and domesticated without genetic engineering (domNGE)]. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that, given that transgenic plants are a construct designed to impact, in many cases, a single trait of the plant (e.g., lepidopteran resistance), the phenotypic differences between domGE and domNGE would be either less (or inexistent) than between the wild and domesticated relatives (either domGE or domNGE). We conclude that (1) genetic modification (either by selective breeding or GE) can be traced phenotypically when comparing wild relatives with their domesticated relatives (domGE and domNGE) and (2) the existence and the magnitude of the phenotypic differences between domGE and domNGE of the same crop suggest consequences of genetic modification beyond the target trait(s). PMID:29259610

Subgenual anterior cingulate-insula resting-state connectivity as a neural correlate to trait and state stress resilience.

PubMed

Shao, Robin; Lau, Way K W; Leung, Mei-Kei; Lee, Tatia M C

2018-07-01

Accumulating evidence indicates important roles of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and rostral limbic regions such as the anterior insula, in regulating stress-related affective responses and negative affect states in general. However, research is lacking in simultaneously assessing the inter-relations between trait and state affective responses to stress, and the functional connectivity between the subgenual anterior cingulate and anterior insula. This preliminary research involved matched healthy participants with high (N = 10) and low (N = 10) self-reported trait stress resilience, and assessed their affective and subgenual anterior cingulate-anterior insula resting-state functional connectivity patterns before and after a psychosocial stress task. We found that while the low-resilience group displayed higher trait negative affect and perceived greater task-related stress, only the high-resilience group showed increase of negative affect, along with greater decrease of left subgenual anterior cingulate-right anterior insula connectivity, following stress induction. Moreover, the functional connectivity change mediated group difference in affect change following stress task. We speculate that the contingent increase of negative affect, and the associated temporary decoupling of subgenual anterior cingulate-insula circuitry, may represent a normative and adaptive stress response underpinned by adaptive and dynamic interplay between the default mode and salience networks. Such findings, if consolidated, have important implications for promoting stress resilience and reducing risk for stress-related affective disorders. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Mediating Effect of Prefrontal Asymmetry on the Relationship between the COMT Val158Met SNP and Trait Consummatory Positive Affect

PubMed Central

Katz, Andrea C.; Sarapas, Casey; Bishop, Jeffrey R.; Patel, Shitalben R.; Shankman, Stewart A.

2014-01-01

The Val158Met rs4680 polymorphism in the COMT gene regulates dopamine catabolism in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Dopamine’s involvement in reward experience suggests those with the Met variant may exhibit trait-level sensitivity to reward due to more post-synaptic dopamine in the PFC. A physiological mediator of this association may be greater relative left asymmetry in the PFC, a putative biomarker for trait positive emotionality. Electroencephalograms of 120 participants were measured during a task that assesses two aspects of reward processing: pre-reward anticipation and post-reward consummatory affect. Participants provided genetics samples and completed the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale, which assesses trait-level anticipatory and consummatory positive affect. Met carriers had higher TEPS-Consummatory scores. This effect was mediated by greater relative left activation in the post-reward phase of the task. No effects were observed for the pre-reward phase. Results suggest that frontal asymmetry is an endophenotype between COMT genotype and trait reward responsivity. PMID:25195915

In Vivo fitness associated with high virulence in a vertebrate virus is a complex trait regulated by host entry, replication, and shedding

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wargo, Andrew R.; Kurath, Gael

2011-01-01

The relationship between pathogen fitness and virulence is typically examined by quantifying only one or two pathogen fitness traits. More specifically, it is regularly assumed that within-host replication, as a precursor to transmission, is the driving force behind virulence. In reality, many traits contribute to pathogen fitness, and each trait could drive the evolution of virulence in different ways. Here, we independently quantified four viral infection cycle traits, namely, host entry, within-host replication, within-host coinfection fitness, and shedding, in vivo, in the vertebrate virus Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). We examined how each of these stages of the viral infection cycle contributes to the fitness of IHNV genotypes that differ in virulence in rainbow trout. This enabled us to determine how infection cycle fitness traits are independently associated with virulence. We found that viral fitness was independently regulated by each of the traits examined, with the largest impact on fitness being provided by within-host replication. Furthermore, the more virulent of the two genotypes of IHNV we used had advantages in all of the traits quantified. Our results are thus congruent with the assumption that virulence and within-host replication are correlated but suggest that infection cycle fitness is complex and that replication is not the only trait associated with virulence.

Trait rumination and response to negative evaluative lab-induced stress: neuroendocrine, affective, and cognitive outcomes.

PubMed

Vrshek-Schallhorn, Suzanne; Velkoff, Elizabeth A; Zinbarg, Richard E

2018-04-06

Theoretical models of depression posit that, under stress, elevated trait rumination predicts more pronounced or prolonged negative affective and neuroendocrine responses, and that trait rumination hampers removing irrelevant negative information from working memory. We examined several gaps regarding these models in the context of lab-induced stress. Non-depressed undergraduates completed a rumination questionnaire and either a negative-evaluative Trier Social Stress Test (n = 55) or a non-evaluative control condition (n = 69), followed by a modified Sternberg affective working memory task assessing the extent to which irrelevant negative information can be emptied from working memory. We measured shame, negative and positive affect, and salivary cortisol four times. Multilevel growth curve models showed rumination and stress interactively predicted cortisol reactivity; however, opposite predictions, greater rumination was associated with blunted cortisol reactivity to stress. Elevated trait rumination interacted with stress to predict augmented shame reactivity. Rumination and stress did not significantly interact to predict working memory performance, but under control conditions, rumination predicted greater difficulty updating working memory. Results support a vulnerability-stress model of trait rumination with heightened shame reactivity and cortisol dysregulation rather than hyper-reactivity in non-depressed emerging adults, but we cannot provide evidence that working memory processes are critical immediately following acute stress.

Determinants of pre-procedural state anxiety and negative affect in first-time colposcopy patients: implications for intervention.

PubMed

Kola, S; Walsh, J C

2012-07-01

Women experience significant emotional distress in relation to further diagnostic evaluation of pre-cancerous cell changes of the cervix. However, less is known about the specific variables that contribute to elevated state anxiety and negative affect prior to colposcopy. The study aims to identify psychosocial factors that predict distress in this patient group, which can help in the development of more sophisticated interventions to reduce psychological distress. Socio-demographic variables, scores for state anxiety, negative affect, trait anxiety, fear of pain, coping style, pain-related expectancy and knowledge were assessed in 164 first-time colposcopy patients immediately before the colposcopy examination. Twenty-six per cent of variance in pre-colposcopy state anxiety was significantly explained by marital status, parity, trait anxiety, fear of minor pain and expectations of discomfort. Twenty-nine per cent of variance in pre-colposcopy negative affect was significantly explained by trait anxiety and expectations of pain. Women who are single, have children, are high trait anxious, and anticipate pain and discomfort appear to be at risk for pre-colposcopy distress. Interventions aimed at reducing pre-colposcopy psychological distress should include situation-specific variables that are amenable to change, and trait anxious women are likely to benefit from interventions to reduce distress. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Negative Urgency, Distress Tolerance, and Substance Abuse Among College Students

PubMed Central

Kaiser, Alison J.; Milich, Richard; Lynam, Donald R.; Charnigo, Richard J.

2012-01-01

Objective Negative affect has been consistently linked with substance use/problems in prior research. The present study sought to build upon these findings by exploring how an individual’s characteristic responding to negative affect impacts substance abuse risk. Trait negative affect was examined in relation to substance abuse outcomes along with two variables tapping into response to negative affect: Distress Tolerance, an individual’s perceived ability to tolerate negative affect, and Negative Urgency, the tendency to act rashly while experiencing distress. Method Participants were 525 first-year college students (48.1% male, 81.1% Caucasian), who completed self-report measures assessing personality traits and alcohol-related problems, and a structured interview assessing past and current substance use. Relations were tested using Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial regression models, and each of the personality variables was tested in a model on its own, and in a model where all three traits were accounted for. Results Negative Urgency emerged as the best predictor, relating to every one of the substance use outcome variables even when trait negative affect and Distress Tolerance were accounted for. Conclusions These findings suggest that Negative Urgency is an important factor to consider in developing prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing substance use and problems. PMID:22698894

The Relative Salience of Daily and Enduring Influences on Off-Job Reactions to Work Stress.

PubMed

Calderwood, Charles; Ackerman, Phillip L

2016-12-01

Work stress is an important determinant of employee health and wellness. The occupational health community is recognizing that one contributor to these relationships may be the presence of negative off-job reactivity to work, which we argue involves continued thoughts directed towards work (cognitive reactivity), continued negative mood stemming from work (affective reactivity), and the alteration of post-work behaviours in response to work factors (behavioural reactivity). We explored the relative contributions of daily work stressors, affective traits, and subjective job stress perceptions to negative off-job reactivity. These relationships were evaluated in a study of hospital nurses (n = 75), who completed trait measures and then provided self-assessments of daily work stress and off-job reactions for four work days. The results of several multilevel analyses indicated that a main-effects model best described the data when predicting cognitive, affective, and behavioural reactivity from daily work stressors, affective traits, and subjective job stress perceptions. A series of multilevel dominance analyses revealed that subjective job stress perceptions dominated the prediction of behavioural reactivity, while trait negative affect dominated the prediction of affective reactivity. Theoretical implications and the relative salience of daily and enduring contributors to negative off-job reactivity are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Personality and affective forecasting: trait introverts underpredict the hedonic benefits of acting extraverted.

PubMed

Zelenski, John M; Whelan, Deanna C; Nealis, Logan J; Besner, Christina M; Santoro, Maya S; Wynn, Jessica E

2013-06-01

People report enjoying momentary extraverted behavior, and this does not seem to depend on trait levels of introversion-extraversion. Assuming that introverts desire enjoyment, this finding raises the question, why do introverts not act extraverted more often? This research explored a novel explanation, that trait introverts make an affective forecasting error, underpredicting the hedonic benefits of extraverted behavior. Study 1 (n = 97) found that trait introverts forecast less activated positive and pleasant affect and more negative and self-conscious affect (compared to extraverts) when asked to imagine acting extraverted, but not introverted, across a variety of hypothetical situations. Studies 2-5 (combined n = 495) found similar results using a between-subjects approach and laboratory situations. We replicated findings that people enjoy acting extraverted and that this does not depend on disposition. Accordingly, the personality differences in affective forecasts represent errors. In these studies, introverts tended to be less accurate, particularly by overestimating the negative affect and self-consciousness associated with their extraverted behavior. This may explain why introverts do not act extraverted more often (i.e., they overestimate hedonic costs that do not actually materialize) and have implications for understanding, and potentially trying to change, introverts' characteristically lower levels of happiness. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Neural Mechanisms of Attentional Control Differentiate Trait and State Negative Affect

PubMed Central

Crocker, Laura D.; Heller, Wendy; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Warren, Stacie L.; Bredemeier, Keith; Sutton, Bradley P.; Banich, Marie T.; Miller, Gregory A.

2012-01-01

The present research examined the hypothesis that cognitive processes are modulated differentially by trait and state negative affect (NA). Brain activation associated with trait and state NA was measured by fMRI during an attentional control task, the emotion-word Stroop. Performance on the task was disrupted only by state NA. Trait NA was associated with reduced activity in several regions, including a prefrontal area that has been shown to be involved in top-down, goal-directed attentional control. In contrast, state NA was associated with increased activity in several regions, including a prefrontal region that has been shown to be involved in stimulus-driven aspects of attentional control. Results suggest that NA has a significant impact on cognition, and that state and trait NA disrupt attentional control in distinct ways. PMID:22934089

QTLs for important breeding characteristics in the doubled haploid oat progeny.

PubMed

Tanhuanpää, Pirjo; Manninen, Outi; Kiviharju, Elina

2010-06-01

A homozygous mapping population, consisting of doubled haploid (DH) oat (Avena sativa L.) plants generated through anther culture of F1 plants from the cross between the Finnish cultivar 'Aslak' and the Swedish cultivar 'Matilda', was used to construct an oat linkage map. Ten agronomic and quality traits were analyzed in the DH plants from field trials in 2005 and 2006. Leaf blotch (caused by Pyrenophora avenae) resistance was also evaluated in a greenhouse test with 2 different isolates. One to 8 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were found to be associated with each trait studied. Some chromosomal regions affected more than 1 trait; for example, 4 regions affected both protein and oil content. This study gives valuable information to oat breeders concerning the inheritance of important traits, and it provides potential tools to assist breeding.

A cognitive neuroscience perspective on psychopathy: evidence for paralimbic system dysfunction.

PubMed

Kiehl, Kent A

2006-06-15

Psychopathy is a complex personality disorder that includes interpersonal and affective traits such as glibness, lack of empathy, guilt or remorse, shallow affect, and irresponsibility, and behavioral characteristics such as impulsivity, poor behavioral control, and promiscuity. Much is known about the assessment of psychopathy; however, relatively little is understood about the relevant brain disturbances. The present review integrates data from studies of behavioral and cognitive changes associated with focal brain lesions or insults and results from psychophysiology, cognitive psychology and cognitive and affective neuroscience in health and psychopathy. The review illustrates that the brain regions implicated in psychopathy include the orbital frontal cortex, insula, anterior and posterior cingulate, amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus, and anterior superior temporal gyrus. The relevant functional neuroanatomy of psychopathy thus includes limbic and paralimbic structures that may be collectively termed 'the paralimbic system'. The paralimbic system dysfunction model of psychopathy is discussed as it relates to the extant literature on psychopathy.

Trait emotional intelligence and mental distress: the mediating role of positive and negative affect.

PubMed

Kong, Feng; Zhao, Jingjing; You, Xuqun

2012-01-01

Over the past decade, emotional intelligence (EI) has received much attention in the literature. Previous studies indicated that higher trait or ability EI was associated with greater mental distress. The present study focused on mediating effects of positive and negative affect on the association between trait EI and mental distress in a sample of Chinese adults. The participants were 726 Chinese adults (384 females) with an age range of 18-60 years. Data were collected by using the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that EI was a significant predictor of positive affect, negative affect and mental distress. Further mediation analysis showed that positive and negative affect acted as partial mediators of the relationship between EI and mental distress. Furthermore, effect contrasts showed that there was no significant difference between the specific indirect effects through positive affect and through negative affect. This result indicated that positive affect and negative affect played an equally important function in the association between EI and distress. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.

Social stress reactivity alters reward and punishment learning

PubMed Central

Frank, Michael J.; Allen, John J. B.

2011-01-01

To examine how stress affects cognitive functioning, individual differences in trait vulnerability (punishment sensitivity) and state reactivity (negative affect) to social evaluative threat were examined during concurrent reinforcement learning. Lower trait-level punishment sensitivity predicted better reward learning and poorer punishment learning; the opposite pattern was found in more punishment sensitive individuals. Increasing state-level negative affect was directly related to punishment learning accuracy in highly punishment sensitive individuals, but these measures were inversely related in less sensitive individuals. Combined electrophysiological measurement, performance accuracy and computational estimations of learning parameters suggest that trait and state vulnerability to stress alter cortico-striatal functioning during reinforcement learning, possibly mediated via medio-frontal cortical systems. PMID:20453038

Social stress reactivity alters reward and punishment learning.

PubMed

Cavanagh, James F; Frank, Michael J; Allen, John J B

2011-06-01

To examine how stress affects cognitive functioning, individual differences in trait vulnerability (punishment sensitivity) and state reactivity (negative affect) to social evaluative threat were examined during concurrent reinforcement learning. Lower trait-level punishment sensitivity predicted better reward learning and poorer punishment learning; the opposite pattern was found in more punishment sensitive individuals. Increasing state-level negative affect was directly related to punishment learning accuracy in highly punishment sensitive individuals, but these measures were inversely related in less sensitive individuals. Combined electrophysiological measurement, performance accuracy and computational estimations of learning parameters suggest that trait and state vulnerability to stress alter cortico-striatal functioning during reinforcement learning, possibly mediated via medio-frontal cortical systems.

Genetic analysis of the wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) volatile composition.

PubMed

Urrutia, María; Rambla, José L; Alexiou, Konstantinos G; Granell, Antonio; Monfort, Amparo

2017-12-01

The volatile composition of wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) fruit differs from that of the cultivated strawberry, having more intense and fruity aromas. Over the last few years, the diploid F. vesca has been recognized as a model species for genetic studies of cultivated strawberry (F. x ananassa), and here a previously developed F. vesca/F. bucharica Near Isogenic Line collection (NIL) was used to explore genetic variability of fruit quality traits. Analysis of fruit volatiles by GC-MS in our NIL collection revealed a complex and highly variable profile. One hundred compounds were unequivocally identified, including esters, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, terpenoids, furans and lactones. Those in a subset, named key volatile compounds (KVCs), are likely contributors to the special aroma/flavour of wild strawberry. Genetic analysis revealed 50 major quantitative trait loci (QTL) including 14 QTL for KVCs, and one segregating as a dominant monogenetic trait for nerolidol. The most determinant regions affecting QTLs for KVCs, were mapped on LG5 and LG7. New candidate genes for the volatile QTL are proposed, based on differences in gene expression between NILs containing specific fragments of F. bucharica and the F. vesca recurrent genome. A high percentage of these candidate genes/alleles were colocalized within the boundaries of introgressed regions that contain QTLs, appearing to affect volatile metabolite accumulation acting in cis. A NIL collection is a good tool for the genetic dissection of volatile accumulation in wild strawberry fruit and a source of information for genes and alleles which may enhance aroma in cultivated strawberry. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.

Genetic variation of growth dynamics in maize (Zea mays L.) revealed through automated non-invasive phenotyping.

PubMed

Muraya, Moses M; Chu, Jianting; Zhao, Yusheng; Junker, Astrid; Klukas, Christian; Reif, Jochen C; Altmann, Thomas

2017-01-01

Hitherto, most quantitative trait loci of maize growth and biomass yield have been identified for a single time point, usually the final harvest stage. Through this approach cumulative effects are detected, without considering genetic factors causing phase-specific differences in growth rates. To assess the genetics of growth dynamics, we employed automated non-invasive phenotyping to monitor the plant sizes of 252 diverse maize inbred lines at 11 different developmental time points; 50 k SNP array genotype data were used for genome-wide association mapping and genomic selection. The heritability of biomass was estimated to be over 71%, and the average prediction accuracy amounted to 0.39. Using the individual time point data, 12 main effect marker-trait associations (MTAs) and six pairs of epistatic interactions were detected that displayed different patterns of expression at various developmental time points. A subset of them also showed significant effects on relative growth rates in different intervals. The detected MTAs jointly explained up to 12% of the total phenotypic variation, decreasing with developmental progression. Using non-parametric functional mapping and multivariate mapping approaches, four additional marker loci affecting growth dynamics were detected. Our results demonstrate that plant biomass accumulation is a complex trait governed by many small effect loci, most of which act at certain restricted developmental phases. This highlights the need for investigation of stage-specific growth affecting genes to elucidate important processes operating at different developmental phases. © 2016 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Gendered contexts: psychopathy and drug use in relation to sex work and exchange

PubMed Central

Edwards, Bethany G.; Verona, Edelyn

2016-01-01

Few scholars have examined psychopathology correlates of sex work. It has been suggested that sex work may reflect manifestations of impulsive-antisocial psychopathic traits (e.g., reckless disregard, delinquency) in women more than men. The current work examined relative contributions of drug dependence and distinct psychopathic features in relation to traditional forms of sex work (i.e., prostitution) in women, along with gender differences in psychopathy relationships with casual forms of sex exchange (i.e., trading sex for necessities). Study 1 included 171 community-dwelling women offenders, and Study 2 included 319 participants (42.3% women) with histories of drug use and/or violence. Participants completed the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, prostitution was measured as self-report and/or public record data across studies, and sex exchange in Study 2 was assessed using a questionnaire based on prior research on sexual risk-taking. Findings across both studies demonstrated that while psychopathic traits, particularly impulsive-antisocial features, were associated with prostitution in women above the use of drugs, drug dependence did not moderate the relationship between psychopathic traits and prostitution in women. Analyses of Study 2 data revealed that impulsive-antisocial traits were associated with sex exchange at low, but not high, levels of interpersonal-affective traits across participants. As well, interpersonal-affective traits were significantly positively related to sex exchange in men and not significantly (and negatively) related in women. In sum, impulsive-antisocial traits related to prostitution among women, suggesting that women may manifest these traits within intimate contexts. Moreover, findings indicated gender differences in the manifestation of interpersonal-affective traits within sexual exchange contexts. PMID:27030996

Gendered contexts: Psychopathy and drug use in relation to sex work and exchange.

PubMed

Edwards, Bethany G; Verona, Edelyn

2016-05-01

Few scholars have examined psychopathology correlates of sex work. It has been suggested that sex work may reflect manifestations of impulsive-antisocial psychopathic traits (e.g., reckless disregard, delinquency) in women more than men. The current work examined relative contributions of drug dependence and distinct psychopathic features in relation to traditional forms of sex work (i.e., prostitution) in women, along with gender differences in psychopathy relationships with casual forms of sex exchange (i.e., trading sex for necessities). Study 1 included 171 community-dwelling women offenders, and Study 2 included 319 participants (42.3% women) with histories of drug use and/or violence. Participants completed the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version, prostitution was measured as self-report and/or public record data across studies, and sex exchange in Study 2 was assessed using a questionnaire based on prior research on sexual risk-taking. Findings across both studies demonstrated that although psychopathic traits, particularly impulsive-antisocial features, were associated with prostitution in women above the use of drugs, drug dependence did not moderate the relationship between psychopathic traits and prostitution in women. Analyses of Study 2 data revealed that impulsive-antisocial traits were associated with sex exchange at low, but not high, levels of interpersonal-affective traits across participants. As well, interpersonal-affective traits were significantly positively related to sex exchange in men and not significantly (and negatively) related in women. In sum, impulsive-antisocial traits related to prostitution among women, suggesting that women may manifest these traits within intimate contexts. Moreover, findings indicated gender differences in the manifestation of interpersonal-affective traits within sexual exchange contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Defining the breeding goal for a sheep breed including production and functional traits using market data.

PubMed

Theodoridis, A; Ragkos, A; Rose, G; Roustemis, D; Arsenos, G

2017-11-16

In this study, the economic values for production and functional traits of dairy sheep are estimated through the application of a profit function model using farm-level technical and economic data. The traits incorporated in the model were milk production, prolificacy, fertility, milking speed, longevity and mastitis occurrence. The economic values for these traits were derived as the approximate partial derivative of the specified profit function. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted in order to examine how potential changes in input and output prices would affect the breeding goal. The estimated economic values of the traits revealed their economic impact on the definition of the breeding goal for the specified production system. Milk production and fertility had the highest economic values (€40.30 and €20.28 per standard genetic deviation (SDa)), while, mastitis only had a low negative value of -0.57 €/SDa. Therefore, breeding for clinical mastitis will have a minor impact on farm profitability because it affects a small proportion of the flock and has low additive variance. The production traits, which include milk production, prolificacy and milking speed, contributed most to the breeding goal (70.0%), but functional traits still had a considerable share (30.0%). The results of this study highlight the importance of the knowledge of economic values of traits in the design of a breeding program. It is also suggested that the production and functional traits under consideration can be categorized as those which can be efficiently treated through genetic improvement (e.g. milk production and fertility) while others would be better dealt with through managerial interventions (e.g. mastitis occurrence). Also, sub-clinical mastitis that affects a higher proportion of flocks could have a higher contribution to breeding goals.

Impacts of Population Structure and Analytical Models in Genome-Wide Association Studies of Complex Traits in Forest Trees: A Case Study in Eucalyptus globulus

PubMed Central

Garcia, Martín N.; Acuña, Cintia; Borralho, Nuno M. G.; Grattapaglia, Dario; Marcucci Poltri, Susana N.

2013-01-01

The promise of association genetics to identify genes or genomic regions controlling complex traits has generated a flurry of interest. Such phenotype-genotype associations could be useful to accelerate tree breeding cycles, increase precision and selection intensity for late expressing, low heritability traits. However, the prospects of association genetics in highly heterozygous undomesticated forest trees can be severely impacted by the presence of cryptic population and pedigree structure. To investigate how to better account for this, we compared the GLM and five combinations of the Unified Mixed Model (UMM) on data of a low-density genome-wide association study for growth and wood property traits carried out in a Eucalyptus globulus population (n = 303) with 7,680 Diversity Array Technology (DArT) markers. Model comparisons were based on the degree of deviation from the uniform distribution and estimates of the mean square differences between the observed and expected p-values of all significant marker-trait associations detected. Our analysis revealed the presence of population and family structure. There was not a single best model for all traits. Striking differences in detection power and accuracy were observed among the different models especially when population structure was not accounted for. The UMM method was the best and produced superior results when compared to GLM for all traits. Following stringent correction for false discoveries, 18 marker-trait associations were detected, 16 for tree diameter growth and two for lignin monomer composition (S∶G ratio), a key wood property trait. The two DArT markers associated with S∶G ratio on chromosome 10, physically map within 1 Mbp of the ferulate 5-hydroxylase (F5H) gene, providing a putative independent validation of this marker-trait association. This study details the merit of collectively integrate population structure and relatedness in association analyses in undomesticated, highly heterozygous forest trees, and provides additional insights into the nature of complex quantitative traits in Eucalyptus. PMID:24282578

Pathways of Leymus chinensis Individual Aboveground Biomass Decline in Natural Semiarid Grassland Induced by Overgrazing: A Study at the Plant Functional Trait Scale

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhen; Wu, Xinhong; Li, Xinle; Hu, Jing; Shi, Hongxiao; Guo, Fenghui; Zhang, Yong; Hou, Xiangyang

2015-01-01

Natural grassland productivity, which is based on an individual plant’s aboveground biomass (AB) and its interaction with herbivores, can obviously affect terrestrial ecosystem services and the grassland’s agricultural production. As plant traits have been linked to both AB and ecosystem success, they may provide a useful approach to understand the changes in individual plants and grassland productivity in response to grazing on a generic level. Unfortunately, the current lack of studies on how plant traits affect AB affected by herbivores leaves a major gap in our understanding of the mechanism of grassland productivity decline. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the paths of overgrazing-induced decline in the individual AB of Leymus chinensis (the dominant species of meadow-steppe grassland in northern China) on a plant functional trait scale. Using a paired-sampling approach, we compared the differences in the functional traits of L. chinensis in long-term grazing-excluded and experimental grazing grassland plots over a continuous period of approximately 20 years (located in meadow steppe lands in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China). We found a highly significant decline in the individual height and biomass (leaf, stem, and the whole plant) of L. chinensis as a result of overgrazing. Biomass allocation and leaf mass per unit area were significantly affected by the variation in individual size. Grazing clearly enhanced the sensitivity of the leaf-to-stem biomass ratio in response to variation in individual size. Moreover, using a method of standardized major axis estimation, we found that the biomass in the leaves, stems, and the plant as a whole had highly significant allometric scaling with various functional traits. Also, the slopes of the allometric equations of these relationships were significantly altered by grazing. Therefore, a clear implication of this is that grazing promotes an asymmetrical response of different plant functional traits to variation in individual plant size, which influences biomass indirectly. Furthermore, we detected paths of individual AB decline in L. chinensis induced by grazing by fitting to a structural equation model. These results indicate that grazing causes AB decline primarily through a ‘bottom-up’ effect on plant height and stem traits. However, leaf traits, via the process of allometric scaling, affect plant AB indirectly. PMID:25942588

Pathways of Leymus chinensis Individual Aboveground Biomass Decline in Natural Semiarid Grassland Induced by Overgrazing: A Study at the Plant Functional Trait Scale.

PubMed

Li, Xiliang; Liu, Zhiying; Wang, Zhen; Wu, Xinhong; Li, Xinle; Hu, Jing; Shi, Hongxiao; Guo, Fenghui; Zhang, Yong; Hou, Xiangyang

2015-01-01

Natural grassland productivity, which is based on an individual plant's aboveground biomass (AB) and its interaction with herbivores, can obviously affect terrestrial ecosystem services and the grassland's agricultural production. As plant traits have been linked to both AB and ecosystem success, they may provide a useful approach to understand the changes in individual plants and grassland productivity in response to grazing on a generic level. Unfortunately, the current lack of studies on how plant traits affect AB affected by herbivores leaves a major gap in our understanding of the mechanism of grassland productivity decline. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the paths of overgrazing-induced decline in the individual AB of Leymus chinensis (the dominant species of meadow-steppe grassland in northern China) on a plant functional trait scale. Using a paired-sampling approach, we compared the differences in the functional traits of L. chinensis in long-term grazing-excluded and experimental grazing grassland plots over a continuous period of approximately 20 years (located in meadow steppe lands in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China). We found a highly significant decline in the individual height and biomass (leaf, stem, and the whole plant) of L. chinensis as a result of overgrazing. Biomass allocation and leaf mass per unit area were significantly affected by the variation in individual size. Grazing clearly enhanced the sensitivity of the leaf-to-stem biomass ratio in response to variation in individual size. Moreover, using a method of standardized major axis estimation, we found that the biomass in the leaves, stems, and the plant as a whole had highly significant allometric scaling with various functional traits. Also, the slopes of the allometric equations of these relationships were significantly altered by grazing. Therefore, a clear implication of this is that grazing promotes an asymmetrical response of different plant functional traits to variation in individual plant size, which influences biomass indirectly. Furthermore, we detected paths of individual AB decline in L. chinensis induced by grazing by fitting to a structural equation model. These results indicate that grazing causes AB decline primarily through a 'bottom-up' effect on plant height and stem traits. However, leaf traits, via the process of allometric scaling, affect plant AB indirectly.

Love, eye contact and the developmental origins of empathy v. psychopathy.

PubMed

Dadds, Mark R; Allen, Jennifer L; Oliver, Bonamy R; Faulkner, Nathan; Legge, Katherine; Moul, Caroline; Woolgar, Matthew; Scott, Stephen

2012-03-01

A propensity to attend to other people's emotions is a necessary condition for human empathy. To test our hypothesis that psychopathic disorder begins as a failure to attend to the eyes of attachment figures, using a `love' scenario in young children. Children with oppositional defiant disorder, assessed for callous-unemotional traits, and a control group were observed in a love interaction with mothers. Eye contact and affection were measured for each dyad. There was no group difference in affection and eye contact expressed by the mothers. Compared with controls, children with oppositional defiant disorder expressed lower levels of affection back towards their mothers; those with high levels of callous-unemotional traits showed significantly lower levels of affection than the children lacking these traits. As predicted, the former group showed low levels of eye contact toward their mothers. Low eye contact was not correlated with maternal coercive parenting or feelings toward the child, but was correlated with psychopathic fearlessness in their fathers. Impairments in eye contact are characteristic of children with callous-unemotional traits, and these impairments are independent of maternal behaviour.

Effects of structural complexity on within-canopy light environments and leaf traits in a northern mixed deciduous forest.

PubMed

Fotis, Alexander T; Curtis, Peter S

2017-10-01

Canopy structure influences forest productivity through its effects on the distribution of radiation and the light-induced changes in leaf physiological traits. Due to the difficulty of accessing and measuring forest canopies, few field-based studies have quantitatively linked these divergent scales of canopy functioning. The objective of our study was to investigate how canopy structure affects light profiles within a forest canopy and whether leaves of mature trees adjust morphologically and biochemically to the light environments characteristic of canopies with different structural complexity. We used a combination of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and hemispherical photographs to quantify canopy structure and light environments, respectively, and a telescoping pole to sample leaves. Leaf mass per area (LMA), nitrogen on an area basis (Narea) and chlorophyll on a mass basis (Chlmass) were measured in red maple (Acer rubrum), american beech (Fagus grandifolia), white pine (Pinus strobus), and northern red oak (Quercus rubra) at different heights in plots with similar leaf area index but contrasting canopy complexity (rugosity). We found that more complex canopies had greater porosity and reduced light variability in the midcanopy while total light interception was unchanged relative to less complex canopies. Leaf phenotypes of F. grandifolia, Q. rubra and P. strobus were more sun-acclimated in the midstory of structurally complex canopies while leaf phenotypes of A. rubrum were more shade-acclimated (lower LMA) in the upper canopy of more complex stands, despite no differences in total light interception. Broadleaf species showed further differences in acclimation with increased Narea and reduced Chlmass in leaves with higher LMA, while P. strobus showed no change in Narea and Chlmass with higher LMA. Our results provide new insight on how light distribution and leaf acclimation in mature trees might be altered when natural and anthropogenic disturbances cause structural changes in the canopy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

From cultural traditions to cumulative culture: parameterizing the differences between human and nonhuman culture.

PubMed

Kempe, Marius; Lycett, Stephen J; Mesoudi, Alex

2014-10-21

Diverse species exhibit cultural traditions, i.e. population-specific profiles of socially learned traits, from songbird dialects to primate tool-use behaviours. However, only humans appear to possess cumulative culture, in which cultural traits increase in complexity over successive generations. Theoretically, it is currently unclear what factors give rise to these phenomena, and consequently why cultural traditions are found in several species but cumulative culture in only one. Here, we address this by constructing and analysing cultural evolutionary models of both phenomena that replicate empirically attestable levels of cultural variation and complexity in chimpanzees and humans. In our model of cultural traditions (Model 1), we find that realistic cultural variation between populations can be maintained even when individuals in different populations invent the same traits and migration between populations is frequent, and under a range of levels of social learning accuracy. This lends support to claims that putative cultural traditions are indeed cultural (rather than genetic) in origin, and suggests that cultural traditions should be widespread in species capable of social learning. Our model of cumulative culture (Model 2) indicates that both the accuracy of social learning and the number of cultural demonstrators interact to determine the complexity of a trait that can be maintained in a population. Combining these models (Model 3) creates two qualitatively distinct regimes in which there are either a few, simple traits, or many, complex traits. We suggest that these regimes correspond to nonhuman and human cultures, respectively. The rarity of cumulative culture in nature may result from this interaction between social learning accuracy and number of demonstrators. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasticity first: molecular signatures of a complex morphological trait in filamentous cyanobacteria.

PubMed

Koch, Robin; Kupczok, Anne; Stucken, Karina; Ilhan, Judith; Hammerschmidt, Katrin; Dagan, Tal

2017-08-31

Filamentous cyanobacteria that differentiate multiple cell types are considered the peak of prokaryotic complexity and their evolution has been studied in the context of multicellularity origins. Species that form true-branching filaments exemplify the most complex cyanobacteria. However, the mechanisms underlying the true-branching morphology remain poorly understood despite of several investigations that focused on the identification of novel genes or pathways. An alternative route for the evolution of novel traits is based on existing phenotypic plasticity. According to that scenario - termed genetic assimilation - the fixation of a novel phenotype precedes the fixation of the genotype. Here we show that the evolution of transcriptional regulatory elements constitutes a major mechanism for the evolution of new traits. We found that supplementation with sucrose reconstitutes the ancestral branchless phenotype of two true-branching Fischerella species and compared the transcription start sites (TSSs) between the two phenotypic states. Our analysis uncovers several orthologous TSSs whose transcription level is correlated with the true-branching phenotype. These TSSs are found in genes that encode components of the septosome and elongasome (e.g., fraC and mreB). The concept of genetic assimilation supplies a tenable explanation for the evolution of novel traits but testing its feasibility is hindered by the inability to recreate and study the evolution of present-day traits. We present a novel approach to examine transcription data for the plasticity first route and provide evidence for its occurrence during the evolution of complex colony morphology in true-branching cyanobacteria. Our results reveal a route for evolution of the true-branching phenotype in cyanobacteria via modification of the transcription level of pre-existing genes. Our study supplies evidence for the 'plasticity-first' hypothesis and highlights the importance of transcriptional regulation in the evolution of novel traits.

The role of trait and ability emotional intelligence in bulimic symptoms.

PubMed

Gardner, Kathryn Jane; Quinton, Stephanie; Qualter, Pamela

2014-04-01

Bulimia is characterized by poor affect regulation, yet the role of emotional intelligence (EI) is little understood. This study examined associations between EI and bulimic symptoms using 235 women from community and student populations. They completed measures of trait and ability EI, and the Eating Disorders Diagnostic Scale. Results showed that deficiencies in different aspects of trait EI and/or ability EI are a function of symptom type: binge eating, compensatory behaviours or weight and shape concerns. Consistent with affect regulation models, self-regulatory aspects of trait EI were related to two bulimic symptoms: binge eating and weight and shape concerns. Ability-based self-emotion management was not important, and explanatory power of lower-level EI facets (traits or abilities) was not superior to more broadly defined EI factors. Results support the conclusion that trait and ability EI may maintain subclinical levels of bulimic symptoms but have different paths. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attitudes without Objects: Evidence for a Dispositional Attitude, its Measurement, and its Consequences

PubMed Central

Hepler, Justin; Albarracin, Dolores

2013-01-01

We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive versus negative attitudes, a trait termed the Dispositional Attitude. Across four studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual pre-existing attitudes, (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits, and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the big-five and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PMID:23586409

Attitudes without objects: evidence for a dispositional attitude, its measurement, and its consequences.

PubMed

Hepler, Justin; Albarracín, Dolores

2013-06-01

We hypothesized that individuals may differ in the dispositional tendency to have positive vs. negative attitudes, a trait termed the dispositional attitude. Across 4 studies, we developed a 16-item Dispositional Attitude Measure (DAM) and investigated its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and predictive validity. DAM scores were (a) positively correlated with positive affect traits, curiosity-related traits, and individual preexisting attitudes; (b) negatively correlated with negative affect traits; and (c) uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated traits. Dispositional attitudes also significantly predicted the valence of novel attitudes while controlling for theoretically relevant traits (such as the Big 5 and optimism). The dispositional attitude construct represents a new perspective in which attitudes are not simply a function of the properties of the stimuli under consideration, but are also a function of the properties of the evaluator. We discuss the intriguing implications of dispositional attitudes for many areas of research, including attitude formation, persuasion, and behavior prediction. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Human-aided admixture may fuel ecosystem transformation during biological invasions: theoretical and experimental evidence.

PubMed

Molofsky, Jane; Keller, Stephen R; Lavergne, Sébastien; Kaproth, Matthew A; Eppinga, Maarten B

2014-04-01

Biological invasions can transform our understanding of how the interplay of historical isolation and contemporary (human-aided) dispersal affects the structure of intraspecific diversity in functional traits, and in turn, how changes in functional traits affect other scales of biological organization such as communities and ecosystems. Because biological invasions frequently involve the admixture of previously isolated lineages as a result of human-aided dispersal, studies of invasive populations can reveal how admixture results in novel genotypes and shifts in functional trait variation within populations. Further, because invasive species can be ecosystem engineers within invaded ecosystems, admixture-induced shifts in the functional traits of invaders can affect the composition of native biodiversity and alter the flow of resources through the system. Thus, invasions represent promising yet under-investigated examples of how the effects of short-term evolutionary changes can cascade across biological scales of diversity. Here, we propose a conceptual framework that admixture between divergent source populations during biological invasions can reorganize the genetic variation underlying key functional traits, leading to shifts in the mean and variance of functional traits within invasive populations. Changes in the mean or variance of key traits can initiate new ecological feedback mechanisms that result in a critical transition from a native ecosystem to a novel invasive ecosystem. We illustrate the application of this framework with reference to a well-studied plant model system in invasion biology and show how a combination of quantitative genetic experiments, functional trait studies, whole ecosystem field studies and modeling can be used to explore the dynamics predicted to trigger these critical transitions.

Personality domains and traits that predict self-reported aberrant driving behaviours in a southeastern US university sample.

PubMed

Beanland, Vanessa; Sellbom, Martin; Johnson, Alexandria K

2014-11-01

Personality traits are meaningful predictors of many significant life outcomes, including mortality. Several studies have investigated the relationship between specific personality traits and driving behaviours, e.g., aggression and speeding, in an attempt to identify traits associated with elevated crash risk. These studies, while valuable, are limited in that they examine only a narrow range of personality constructs and thus do not necessarily reveal which traits in constellation best predict aberrant driving behaviours. The primary aim of this study was to use a comprehensive measure of personality to investigate which personality traits are most predictive of four types of aberrant driving behaviour (Aggressive Violations, Ordinary Violations, Errors, Lapses) as indicated by the Manchester Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ). We recruited 285 young adults (67% female) from a university in the southeastern US. They completed self-report questionnaires including the DBQ and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, which indexes 5 broad personality domains (Antagonism, Detachment, Disinhibition, Negative Affectivity, Psychoticism) and 25 specific trait facets. Confirmatory factor analysis showed adequate evidence for the DBQ internal structure. Structural regression analyses revealed that the personality domains of Antagonism and Negative Affectivity best predicted both Aggressive Violations and Ordinary Violations, whereas the best predictors of both Errors and Lapses were Negative Affectivity, Disinhibition and to a lesser extent Antagonism. A more nuanced analysis of trait facets revealed that Hostility was the best predictor of Aggressive Violations; Risk-taking and Hostility of Ordinary Violations; Irresponsibility, Separation Insecurity and Attention Seeking of Errors; and Perseveration and Irresponsibility of Lapses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring the links between personality traits and motivations to play online games.

PubMed

Park, Jowon; Song, Yosep; Teng, Ching-I

2011-12-01

The present study explores the links between personality traits and motivations to play online games. We identified the underlying dimensions of motivations to play online games, examined how personality traits predict motivation, and investigated how personality traits predict online gaming behavior (i.e., playing time and preference for game genres). Factor analyses identified five motivational factors: relationships, adventure, escapism, relaxation, and achievement. The regression analyses indicated that two personality traits, extraversion and agreeableness, predicted various motivations; however, personality traits did not affect the playing time and game genre preference.

Does plant architectural complexity increase with increasing habitat complexity? A test with a pioneer shrub in the Brazilian Cerrado.

PubMed

Silveira, F A O; Oliveira, E G

2013-05-01

Understanding variation in plant traits in heterogeneous habitats is important to predict responses to changing environments, but trait-environment associations are poorly known along ecological gradients. We tested the hypothesis that plant architectural complexity increases with habitat complexity along a soil fertility gradient in a Cerrado (Neotropical savanna) area in southeastern Brazil. Plant architecture and productivity (estimated as the total number of healthy infructescences) of Miconia albicans (SW.) Triana were examined in three types of vegetation which together form a natural gradient of increasing soil fertility, tree density and canopy cover: grasslands (campo sujo, CS), shrublands (cerrado sensu strico, CE) and woodlands (cerradão, CD). As expected, plants growing at the CS were shorter and had a lower branching pattern, whereas plants at the CD were the tallest. Unexpectedly, however, CD plants did not show higher architectural complexity compared to CE plants. Higher architectural similarity between CE and CD plants compared to similarity between CS and CE plants suggests reduced expression of functional architectural traits under shade. Plants growing at the CE produced more quaternary shoots, leading to a larger number of infructescences. This higher plant productivity in CE indicates that trait variation in ecological gradients is more complex than previously thought. Nematode-induced galls accounted for fruit destruction in 76.5% infructescences across physiognomies, but percentage of attack was poorly related to architectural variables. Our data suggest shade-induced limitation in M. albicans architecture, and point to complex phenotypic variation in heterogeneous habitats in Neotropical savannas.

Uncovering a Nuisance Influence of a Phenological Trait of Plants Using a Nonlinear Structural Equation: Application to Days to Heading and Culm Length in Asian Cultivated Rice (Oryza Sativa L.).

PubMed

Onogi, Akio; Ideta, Osamu; Yoshioka, Takuma; Ebana, Kaworu; Yamasaki, Masanori; Iwata, Hiroyoshi

2016-01-01

Phenological traits of plants, such as flowering time, are linked to growth phase transition. Thus, phenological traits often influence other traits through the modification of the duration of growth period. This influence is a nuisance in plant breeding because it hampers genetic evaluation of the influenced traits. Genetic effects on the influenced traits have two components, one that directly affects the traits and one that indirectly affects the traits via the phenological trait. These cannot be distinguished by phenotypic evaluation and ordinary linear regression models. Consequently, if a phenological trait is modified by introgression or editing of the responsible genes, the phenotypes of the influenced traits can change unexpectedly. To uncover the influence of the phenological trait and evaluate the direct genetic effects on the influenced traits, we developed a nonlinear structural equation (NSE) incorporating a nonlinear influence of the phenological trait. We applied the NSE to real data for cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.): days to heading (DH) as a phenological trait and culm length (CL) as the influenced trait. This showed that CL of the cultivars that showed extremely early heading was shortened by the strong influence of DH. In a simulation study, it was shown that the NSE was able to infer the nonlinear influence and direct genetic effects with reasonable accuracy. However, the NSE failed to infer the linear influence in this study. When no influence was simulated, an ordinary bi-trait linear model (OLM) tended to infer the genetic effects more accurately. In such cases, however, by comparing the NSE and OLM using an information criterion, we could assess whether the nonlinear assumption of the NSE was appropriate for the data analyzed. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the NSE in revealing the phenotypic influence of phenological traits.

Uncovering a Nuisance Influence of a Phenological Trait of Plants Using a Nonlinear Structural Equation: Application to Days to Heading and Culm Length in Asian Cultivated Rice (Oryza Sativa L.)

PubMed Central

Onogi, Akio; Ideta, Osamu; Yoshioka, Takuma; Ebana, Kaworu; Yamasaki, Masanori; Iwata, Hiroyoshi

2016-01-01

Phenological traits of plants, such as flowering time, are linked to growth phase transition. Thus, phenological traits often influence other traits through the modification of the duration of growth period. This influence is a nuisance in plant breeding because it hampers genetic evaluation of the influenced traits. Genetic effects on the influenced traits have two components, one that directly affects the traits and one that indirectly affects the traits via the phenological trait. These cannot be distinguished by phenotypic evaluation and ordinary linear regression models. Consequently, if a phenological trait is modified by introgression or editing of the responsible genes, the phenotypes of the influenced traits can change unexpectedly. To uncover the influence of the phenological trait and evaluate the direct genetic effects on the influenced traits, we developed a nonlinear structural equation (NSE) incorporating a nonlinear influence of the phenological trait. We applied the NSE to real data for cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.): days to heading (DH) as a phenological trait and culm length (CL) as the influenced trait. This showed that CL of the cultivars that showed extremely early heading was shortened by the strong influence of DH. In a simulation study, it was shown that the NSE was able to infer the nonlinear influence and direct genetic effects with reasonable accuracy. However, the NSE failed to infer the linear influence in this study. When no influence was simulated, an ordinary bi-trait linear model (OLM) tended to infer the genetic effects more accurately. In such cases, however, by comparing the NSE and OLM using an information criterion, we could assess whether the nonlinear assumption of the NSE was appropriate for the data analyzed. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the NSE in revealing the phenotypic influence of phenological traits. PMID:26859143

Genetic factors controlling wool shedding in a composite Easycare sheep flock.

PubMed

Matika, O; Bishop, S C; Pong-Wong, R; Riggio, V; Headon, D J

2013-12-01

Historically, sheep have been selectively bred for desirable traits including wool characteristics. However, recent moves towards extensive farming and reduced farm labour have seen a renewed interest in Easycare breeds. The aim of this study was to quantify the underlying genetic architecture of wool shedding in an Easycare flock. Wool shedding scores were collected from 565 pedigreed commercial Easycare sheep from 2002 to 2010. The wool scoring system was based on a 10-point (0-9) scale, with score 0 for animals retaining full fleece and 9 for those completely shedding. DNA was sampled from 200 animals of which 48 with extreme phenotypes were genotyped using a 50-k SNP chip. Three genetic analyses were performed: heritability analysis, complex segregation analysis to test for a major gene hypothesis and a genome-wide association study to map regions in the genome affecting the trait. Phenotypes were treated as a continuous or binary variable and categories. High estimates of heritability (0.80 when treated as a continuous, 0.65-0.75 as binary and 0.75 as categories) for shedding were obtained from linear mixed model analyses. Complex segregation analysis gave similar estimates (0.80 ± 0.06) to those above with additional evidence for a major gene with dominance effects. Mixed model association analyses identified four significant (P < 0.05) SNPs. Further analyses of these four SNPs in all 200 animals revealed that one of the SNPs displayed dominance effects similar to those obtained from the complex segregation analyses. In summary, we found strong genetic control for wool shedding, demonstrated the possibility of a single putative dominant gene controlling this trait and identified four SNPs that may be in partial linkage disequilibrium with gene(s) controlling shedding. © 2013 University of Edinburgh, Animal Genetics © 2013 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

How rare bone diseases have informed our knowledge of complex diseases.

PubMed

Johnson, Mark L

2016-01-01

Rare bone diseases, generally defined as monogenic traits with either autosomal recessive or dominant patterns of inheritance, have provided a rich database of genes and associated pathways over the past 2-3 decades. The molecular genetic dissection of these bone diseases has yielded some major surprises in terms of the causal genes and/or involved pathways. The discovery of genes/pathways involved in diseases such as osteopetrosis, osteosclerosis, osteogenesis imperfecta and many other rare bone diseases have all accelerated our understanding of complex traits. Importantly these discoveries have provided either direct validation for a specific gene embedded in a group of genes within an interval identified through a complex trait genome-wide association study (GWAS) or based upon the pathway associated with a monogenic trait gene, provided a means to prioritize a large number of genes for functional validation studies. In some instances GWAS studies have yielded candidate genes that fall within linkage intervals associated with monogenic traits and resulted in the identification of causal mutations in those rare diseases. Driving all of this discovery is a complement of technologies such as genome sequencing, bioinformatics and advanced statistical analysis methods that have accelerated genetic dissection and greatly reduced the cost. Thus, rare bone disorders in partnership with GWAS have brought us to the brink of a new era of personalized genomic medicine in which the prevention and management of complex diseases will be driven by the molecular understanding of each individuals contributing genetic risks for disease.

Chronic human disturbance affects plant trait distribution in a seasonally dry tropical forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sfair, Julia C.; de Bello, Francesco; de França, Thaysa Q.; Baldauf, Cristina; Tabarelli, Marcelo

2018-02-01

The effects of human disturbance on biodiversity can be mediated by environmental conditions, such as water availability, climate and nutrients. In general, disturbed, dry or nutrient-depleted soils areas tend to have lower taxonomic diversity. However, little is known about how these environmental conditions affect functional composition and intraspecific variability in tropical dry forests. We studied a seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) under chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD) along rainfall and soil nutrient gradients to understand how these factors influence the taxonomic and functional composition. Specifically we evaluated two aspects of CAD, wood extraction and livestock pressure (goat and cattle grazing), along soil fertility and rainfall gradients on shrub and tree traits, considering species turnover and intraspecific variability. In addition, we also tested how the traits of eight populations of the most frequent species are affected by wood extraction, livestock pressure, rainfall and soil fertility. In general, although CAD and environmental gradients affected each trait of the most widespread species differently, the most abundant species also had a greater variation of traits. Considering species turnover, wood extraction is associated with species with a smaller leaf area and lower investment in leaf mass, probably due to the indirect effects of this disturbance type on the vegetation, i.e. the removal of branches and woody debris clears the vegetation, favouring species that minimize water loss. Livestock pressure, on the other hand, affected intraspecific variation: the herbivory caused by goats and cattle promoted individuals which invest more in wood density and leaf mass. In this case, the change of functional composition observed is a direct effect of the disturbance, such as the decrease of palatable plant abundance by goat and cattle herbivory. In synthesis, CAD, rainfall and soil fertility can affect trait distribution at community and species levels, which can have significant implications for the ecosystem functioning of SDTF under increasing levels of disturbance, climate change and soil nutrient depletion.

Affect, Risk and Uncertainty in Decision-Marking an Integrated Computational-Empirical Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-26

OF ABSTRACT UU 18. NUMBER O PAGES 61 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON Eva Hudlicka, Ph.D. 19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (include area code...developed by Hudlicka (2002; 2003). MAMID was designed with the explicit purpose to model the effects of affective states and personality traits on...influenced by risk and uncertainty? • How do personality traits and affective states facilitate or prevent the expression of particular types of

The role of latitudinal, genetic and temperature variation in the induction of diapause of Papilio glaucus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae).

PubMed

Ryan, Sean F; Valella, Patti; Thivierge, Gabrielle; Aardema, Matthew L; Scriber, J Mark

2018-04-01

A key adaptation in insects for dealing with variable environmental conditions is the ability to diapause. The tiger swallowtail butterflies, Papilio glaucus and P. canadensis are ideal species to explore the genetic causes and population genetic consequences of diapause because divergence in this trait is believed to be a salient factor in maintaining a hybrid zone between these species. Yet little is known about the factors that influence diapause induction in this system. Here we explored how spatial (latitudinal), environmental (temperature) and genetic (hybridization) factors affect diapause induction in this system. Specifically, a series of growth chamber experiments using wild caught individuals from across the eastern United States were performed to: (1) evaluate how critical photoperiod varies with latitude, (2) isolate the stage in which induction occurs, (3) test whether changes in temperature affected rates of diapause induction, and (4) explore how the incidence of diapause is affected in hybrid offspring. We find that induction occurs in the larval stage, is not sensitive to a relatively broad range of temperatures, appears to have a complex genetic basis (i.e., is not simply a dominant trait following a Mendelian inheritance pattern) and that the critical photoperiod increases by 0.4 h with each increasing degree in latitude. This work deepens our understanding of how spatial, environmental and genetic variation influences a key seasonal adaptation (diapause induction) in a well-developed ecological model system and will make possible future studies that explore how climatic variation affects the population dynamics and genetics of this system. © 2016 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Combining landscape variables and species traits can improve the utility of climate change vulnerability assessments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nadeau, Christopher P.; Fuller, Angela K.

2016-01-01

Conservation organizations worldwide are investing in climate change vulnerability assessments. Most vulnerability assessment methods focus on either landscape features or species traits that can affect a species vulnerability to climate change. However, landscape features and species traits likely interact to affect vulnerability. We compare a landscape-based assessment, a trait-based assessment, and an assessment that combines landscape variables and species traits for 113 species of birds, herpetofauna, and mammals in the northeastern United States. Our aim is to better understand which species traits and landscape variables have the largest influence on assessment results and which types of vulnerability assessments are most useful for different objectives. Species traits were most important for determining which species will be most vulnerable to climate change. The sensitivity of species to dispersal barriers and the species average natal dispersal distance were the most important traits. Landscape features were most important for determining where species will be most vulnerable because species were most vulnerable in areas where multiple landscape features combined to increase vulnerability, regardless of species traits. The interaction between landscape variables and species traits was important when determining how to reduce climate change vulnerability. For example, an assessment that combines information on landscape connectivity, climate change velocity, and natal dispersal distance suggests that increasing landscape connectivity may not reduce the vulnerability of many species. Assessments that include landscape features and species traits will likely be most useful in guiding conservation under climate change.

The effect of induced mutations on quantitative traits in Arabidopsis thaliana: Natural versus artificial conditions.

PubMed

Stearns, Frank W; Fenster, Charles B

2016-12-01

Mutations are the ultimate source of all genetic variations. New mutations are expected to affect quantitative traits differently depending on the extent to which traits contribute to fitness and the environment in which they are tested. The dogma is that the preponderance of mutations affecting fitness will be skewed toward deleterious while their effects on nonfitness traits will be bidirectionally distributed. There are mixed views on the role of stress in modulating these effects. We quantify mutation effects by inducing mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana (Columbia accession) using the chemical ethylmethane sulfonate. We measured the effects of new mutations relative to a premutation founder for fitness components under both natural (field) and artificial (growth room) conditions. Additionally, we measured three other quantitative traits, not expected to contribute directly to fitness, under artificial conditions. We found that induced mutations were equally as likely to increase as decrease a trait when that trait was not closely related to fitness (traits that were neither survivorship nor reproduction). We also found that new mutations were more likely to decrease fitness or fitness-related traits under more stressful field conditions than under relatively benign artificial conditions. In the benign condition, the effect of new mutations on fitness components was similar to traits not as closely related to fitness. These results highlight the importance of measuring the effects of new mutations on fitness and other traits under a range of conditions.

Complex life cycles and the responses of insects to climate change.

PubMed

Kingsolver, Joel G; Woods, H Arthur; Buckley, Lauren B; Potter, Kristen A; MacLean, Heidi J; Higgins, Jessica K

2011-11-01

Many organisms have complex life cycles with distinct life stages that experience different environmental conditions. How does the complexity of life cycles affect the ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms to climate change? We address this question by exploring several recent case studies and synthetic analyses of insects. First, different life stages may inhabit different microhabitats, and may differ in their thermal sensitivities and other traits that are important for responses to climate. For example, the life stages of Manduca experience different patterns of thermal and hydric variability, and differ in tolerance to high temperatures. Second, life stages may differ in their mechanisms for adaptation to local climatic conditions. For example, in Colias, larvae in different geographic populations and species adapt to local climate via differences in optimal and maximal temperatures for feeding and growth, whereas adults adapt via differences in melanin of the wings and in other morphological traits. Third, we extend a recent analysis of the temperature-dependence of insect population growth to demonstrate how changes in temperature can differently impact juvenile survival and adult reproduction. In both temperate and tropical regions, high rates of adult reproduction in a given environment may not be realized if occasional, high temperatures prevent survival to maturity. This suggests that considering the differing responses of multiple life stages is essential to understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of climate change. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved.

graph-GPA: A graphical model for prioritizing GWAS results and investigating pleiotropic architecture.

PubMed

Chung, Dongjun; Kim, Hang J; Zhao, Hongyu

2017-02-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified tens of thousands of genetic variants associated with hundreds of phenotypes and diseases, which have provided clinical and medical benefits to patients with novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets. However, identification of risk variants associated with complex diseases remains challenging as they are often affected by many genetic variants with small or moderate effects. There has been accumulating evidence suggesting that different complex traits share common risk basis, namely pleiotropy. Recently, several statistical methods have been developed to improve statistical power to identify risk variants for complex traits through a joint analysis of multiple GWAS datasets by leveraging pleiotropy. While these methods were shown to improve statistical power for association mapping compared to separate analyses, they are still limited in the number of phenotypes that can be integrated. In order to address this challenge, in this paper, we propose a novel statistical framework, graph-GPA, to integrate a large number of GWAS datasets for multiple phenotypes using a hidden Markov random field approach. Application of graph-GPA to a joint analysis of GWAS datasets for 12 phenotypes shows that graph-GPA improves statistical power to identify risk variants compared to statistical methods based on smaller number of GWAS datasets. In addition, graph-GPA also promotes better understanding of genetic mechanisms shared among phenotypes, which can potentially be useful for the development of improved diagnosis and therapeutics. The R implementation of graph-GPA is currently available at https://dongjunchung.github.io/GGPA/.

The interaction of state and trait aspects of self-focused attention affects genital, but not subjective, sexual arousal in sexually functional women.

PubMed

van Lankveld, Jacques; Bergh, Simone

2008-04-01

In this study we investigated the effects of state and trait aspects of self-focused attention on genital and subjective sexual arousal of sexually functional, healthy women during presentation of audiovisual erotic stimuli. Psychophysiological sexual response was measured as vaginal pulse amplitude using a vaginal photoplethysmograph. Experiential aspects of sexual arousal were measured both during stimulus presentation and retrospectively after stimulus offset. Trait level of sexual self-focus was measured with the Sexual Self-Consciousness Scale. State self-focus was induced by switching on a TV camera that pointed at the participant's face and upper torso. A manipulation check revealed that both groups experienced equally elevated levels of self-focused attention of their physical appearance. Induction of state self-focus per se did not affect genital responses, but an interaction effect of self-focus and participants' level of trait sexual self-focus was revealed. Compared with women with low scores on this trait, women with high scores exhibited smaller genital responses when state self-focus was induced. Both groups did not differ when no self-focus was induced. Increase of state self-focus did not affect subjective sexual arousal, but participants with a high level of trait sexual self-focus reported stronger subjective arousal, compared with those with low trait level. The results were discussed with reference to previous work in this field. Some implications for treatment of sexual arousal disorder were discussed.

Implicit affectivity in patients with borderline personality disorder.

PubMed

Dukalski, Bibiana; Quirin, Markus; Kersting, Anette; Suslow, Thomas; Donges, Uta-Susan

2017-01-01

It has been argued that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is related to an enhanced affective reactivity. According to findings from research based on self-report, individuals with BPD develop and feel more negative and less positive affect than healthy individuals. Implicit affectivity, which can be measured using indirect assessment methods, relates to processes of the impulsive, intuitive system. In the present study, implicit and explicit affectivity was examined in patients suffering from BPD compared to healthy persons. Thirty-five women with BPD and 35 healthy women participated in the study. Implicit affectivity was assessed using the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT). Measures of explicit state and trait affectivity were also administered. BPD women had lower explicit positive state and trait affect scores and higher negative state and trait affect scores than healthy women. They had also lower implicit positive affect but they did not differ from healthy women regarding implicit negative affect. Total number of comorbid disorders was correlated with both implicit positive and implicit negative affect. According to our data, BPD patients exhibit reduced implicit positive affect as well as reduced explicit positive affect compared to healthy persons. According to our IPANAT data, BPD patients are characterized by a normal disposition to develop negative affective reactions which is in line with a number of findings from psycho-physiological research on BPD. Self-reports of negative affectivity in BPD could be biased by negative distortion.

Juvenile Psychopathic Personality Traits are Associated with Poor Reading Achievement

PubMed Central

DeLisi, Matt; Beaver, Kevin M.; Wexler, Jade; Barth, Amy; Fletcher, Jack

2011-01-01

The current study sought to further the understanding of the linkage between maladaptive behavior and cognitive problems by examining the relations between psychopathic personality traits and reading comprehension performance. Data were derived from a study of 432 predominately African-American and Hispanic middle-school students. Dependent variables consisted of three measures of reading comprehension. Psychopathy measures included the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional traits (ICU—teacher rated) and the self-reported Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory (YPI). Findings from regression models indicated that self-report and teacher ratings of psychopathy were statistically significant inverse predictors of reading performance. Specifically, affective facets of psychopathy were potent predictors of reading comprehension over and above ADHD, IQ, and an impulsivity component of psychopathy. Study results extend the utility of psychopathy construct generally and affective traits specifically to reading achievement, which has broad implications. Findings are discussed with respect to future research and prevention. PMID:20957434

Host Genome Influence on Gut Microbial Composition and Microbial Prediction of Complex Traits in Pigs.

PubMed

Camarinha-Silva, Amelia; Maushammer, Maria; Wellmann, Robin; Vital, Marius; Preuss, Siegfried; Bennewitz, Jörn

2017-07-01

The aim of the present study was to analyze the interplay between gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota, host genetics, and complex traits in pigs using extended quantitative-genetic methods. The study design consisted of 207 pigs that were housed and slaughtered under standardized conditions, and phenotyped for daily gain, feed intake, and feed conversion rate. The pigs were genotyped with a standard 60 K SNP chip. The GIT microbiota composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing technology. Eight from 49 investigated bacteria genera showed a significant narrow sense host heritability, ranging from 0.32 to 0.57. Microbial mixed linear models were applied to estimate the microbiota variance for each complex trait. The fraction of phenotypic variance explained by the microbial variance was 0.28, 0.21, and 0.16 for daily gain, feed conversion, and feed intake, respectively. The SNP data and the microbiota composition were used to predict the complex traits using genomic best linear unbiased prediction (G-BLUP) and microbial best linear unbiased prediction (M-BLUP) methods, respectively. The prediction accuracies of G-BLUP were 0.35, 0.23, and 0.20 for daily gain, feed conversion, and feed intake, respectively. The corresponding prediction accuracies of M-BLUP were 0.41, 0.33, and 0.33. Thus, in addition to SNP data, microbiota abundances are an informative source of complex trait predictions. Since the pig is a well-suited animal for modeling the human digestive tract, M-BLUP, in addition to G-BLUP, might be beneficial for predicting human predispositions to some diseases, and, consequently, for preventative and personalized medicine. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

A computational interactome for prioritizing genes associated with complex agronomic traits in rice (Oryza sativa).

PubMed

Liu, Shiwei; Liu, Yihui; Zhao, Jiawei; Cai, Shitao; Qian, Hongmei; Zuo, Kaijing; Zhao, Lingxia; Zhang, Lida

2017-04-01

Rice (Oryza sativa) is one of the most important staple foods for more than half of the global population. Many rice traits are quantitative, complex and controlled by multiple interacting genes. Thus, a full understanding of genetic relationships will be critical to systematically identify genes controlling agronomic traits. We developed a genome-wide rice protein-protein interaction network (RicePPINet, http://netbio.sjtu.edu.cn/riceppinet) using machine learning with structural relationship and functional information. RicePPINet contained 708 819 predicted interactions for 16 895 non-transposable element related proteins. The power of the network for discovering novel protein interactions was demonstrated through comparison with other publicly available protein-protein interaction (PPI) prediction methods, and by experimentally determined PPI data sets. Furthermore, global analysis of domain-mediated interactions revealed RicePPINet accurately reflects PPIs at the domain level. Our studies showed the efficiency of the RicePPINet-based method in prioritizing candidate genes involved in complex agronomic traits, such as disease resistance and drought tolerance, was approximately 2-11 times better than random prediction. RicePPINet provides an expanded landscape of computational interactome for the genetic dissection of agronomically important traits in rice. © 2017 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Searching new signals for production traits through gene-based association analysis in three Italian cattle breeds.

PubMed

Capomaccio, Stefano; Milanesi, Marco; Bomba, Lorenzo; Cappelli, Katia; Nicolazzi, Ezequiel L; Williams, John L; Ajmone-Marsan, Paolo; Stefanon, Bruno

2015-08-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been widely applied to disentangle the genetic basis of complex traits. In cattle breeds, classical GWAS approaches with medium-density marker panels are far from conclusive, especially for complex traits. This is due to the intrinsic limitations of GWAS and the assumptions that are made to step from the association signals to the functional variations. Here, we applied a gene-based strategy to prioritize genotype-phenotype associations found for milk production and quality traits with classical approaches in three Italian dairy cattle breeds with different sample sizes (Italian Brown n = 745; Italian Holstein n = 2058; Italian Simmental n = 477). Although classical regression on single markers revealed only a single genome-wide significant genotype-phenotype association, for Italian Holstein, the gene-based approach identified specific genes in each breed that are associated with milk physiology and mammary gland development. As no standard method has yet been established to step from variation to functional units (i.e., genes), the strategy proposed here may contribute to revealing new genes that play significant roles in complex traits, such as those investigated here, amplifying low association signals using a gene-centric approach. © 2015 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Plant traits related to nitrogen uptake influence plant-microbe competition.

PubMed

Moreau, Delphine; Pivato, Barbara; Bru, David; Busset, Hugues; Deau, Florence; Faivre, Céline; Matejicek, Annick; Strbik, Florence; Philippot, Laurent; Mougel, Christophe

2015-08-01

Plant species are important drivers of soil microbial communities. However, how plant functional traits are shaping these communities has received less attention though linking plant and microbial traits is crucial for better understanding plant-microbe interactions. Our objective was to determine how plant-microbe interactions were affected by plant traits. Specifically we analyzed how interactions between plant species and microbes involved in nitrogen cycling were affected by plant traits related to 'nitrogen nutrition in interaction with soil nitrogen availability. Eleven plant species, selected along an oligotrophic-nitrophilic gradient, were grown individually in a nitrogen-poor soil with two levels of nitrate availability. Plant traits for both carbon and nitrogen nutrition were measured and the genetic structure and abundance of rhizosphere. microbial communities, in particular the ammonia oxidizer and nitrate reducer guilds, were analyzed. The structure of the bacterial community in the rhizosphere differed significantly between plant species and these differences depended on nitrogen availability. The results suggest that the rate of nitrogen uptake per unit of root biomass and per day is a key plant trait, explaining why the effect of nitrogen availability on the structure of the bacterial community depends on the plant species. We also showed that the abundance of nitrate reducing bacteria always decreased with increasing nitrogen uptake per unit of root biomass per day, indicating that there was competition for nitrate between plants and nitrate reducing bacteria. This study demonstrates that nitrate-reducing microorganisms may be adversely affected by plants with a high nitrogen uptake rate. Our work puts forward the role of traits related to nitrogen in plant-microbe interactions, whereas carbon is commonly considered as the main driver. It also suggests that plant traits related to ecophysiological processes, such as nitrogen uptake rates, are more relevant for understanding plant-microbe interactions than composite traits, such as nitrophily, which are related to a number of ecophysiological processes.

A population genetic interpretation of GWAS findings for human quantitative traits

PubMed Central

Bullaughey, Kevin; Hudson, Richard R.; Sella, Guy

2018-01-01

Human genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are revealing the genetic architecture of anthropomorphic and biomedical traits, i.e., the frequencies and effect sizes of variants that contribute to heritable variation in a trait. To interpret these findings, we need to understand how genetic architecture is shaped by basic population genetics processes—notably, by mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift. Because many quantitative traits are subject to stabilizing selection and because genetic variation that affects one trait often affects many others, we model the genetic architecture of a focal trait that arises under stabilizing selection in a multidimensional trait space. We solve the model for the phenotypic distribution and allelic dynamics at steady state and derive robust, closed-form solutions for summary statistics of the genetic architecture. Our results provide a simple interpretation for missing heritability and why it varies among traits. They predict that the distribution of variances contributed by loci identified in GWASs is well approximated by a simple functional form that depends on a single parameter: the expected contribution to genetic variance of a strongly selected site affecting the trait. We test this prediction against the results of GWASs for height and body mass index (BMI) and find that it fits the data well, allowing us to make inferences about the degree of pleiotropy and mutational target size for these traits. Our findings help to explain why the GWAS for height explains more of the heritable variance than the similarly sized GWAS for BMI and to predict the increase in explained heritability with study sample size. Considering the demographic history of European populations, in which these GWASs were performed, we further find that most of the associations they identified likely involve mutations that arose shortly before or during the Out-of-Africa bottleneck at sites with selection coefficients around s = 10−3. PMID:29547617

Linking agricultural practices, mycorrhizal fungi, and traits mediating plant-insect interactions.

PubMed

Barber, Nicholas A; Kiers, E Toby; Theis, Nina; Hazzard, Ruth V; Adler, Lynn S

2013-10-01

Agricultural management has profound effects on soil communities. Activities such as fertilizer inputs can modify the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) communities, which form important symbioses with the roots of most crop plants. Intensive conventional agricultural management may select for less mutualistic AMF with reduced benefits to host plants compared to organic management, but these differences are poorly understood. AMF are generally evaluated based on their direct growth effects on plants. However, mycorrhizal colonization also may alter plant traits such as tissue nutrients, defensive chemistry, or floral traits, which mediate important plant-insect interactions like herbivory and pollination. To determine the effect of AMF from different farming practices on plant performance and traits that putatively mediate species interactions, we performed a greenhouse study by inoculating Cucumis sativus (cucumber, Cucurbitaceae) with AMF from conventional farms, organic farms, and a commercial AMF inoculum. We measured growth and a suite of plant traits hypothesized to be important predictors of herbivore resistance and pollinator attraction. Several leaf and root traits and flower production were significantly affected by AMF inoculum. Both conventional and organic AMF reduced leaf P content but increased Na content compared to control and commercial AMF. Leaf defenses were unaffected by AMF treatments, but conventional AMF increased root cucurbitacin C, the primary defensive chemical of C. sativus, compared to organic AMF. These effects may have important consequences for herbivore preference and population dynamics. AMF from both organic and conventional farms decreased flower production relative to commercial and control treatments, which may reduce pollinator attraction and plant reproduction. AMF from both farm types also reduced seed germination, but effects on plant growth were limited. Our results suggest that studies only considering AMF effects on growth may overlook changes in plant traits that have the potential to influence interactions, and hence yield, on farms. Given the effects of AMF on plant traits documented here, and the great importance of both herbivores and pollinators to wild and cultivated plants, we advocate for comprehensive assessments of mycorrhizal effects in complex community contexts, with the aim of incorporating multispecies interactions both above and below the soil surface.

Limited plasticity in the phenotypic variance-covariance matrix for male advertisement calls in the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus

PubMed Central

Pitchers, W. R.; Brooks, R.; Jennions, M. D.; Tregenza, T.; Dworkin, I.; Hunt, J.

2013-01-01

Phenotypic integration and plasticity are central to our understanding of how complex phenotypic traits evolve. Evolutionary change in complex quantitative traits can be predicted using the multivariate breeders’ equation, but such predictions are only accurate if the matrices involved are stable over evolutionary time. Recent work, however, suggests that these matrices are temporally plastic, spatially variable and themselves evolvable. The data available on phenotypic variance-covariance matrix (P) stability is sparse, and largely focused on morphological traits. Here we compared P for the structure of the complex sexual advertisement call of six divergent allopatric populations of the Australian black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus. We measured a subset of calls from wild-caught crickets from each of the populations and then a second subset after rearing crickets under common-garden conditions for three generations. In a second experiment, crickets from each population were reared in the laboratory on high- and low-nutrient diets and their calls recorded. In both experiments, we estimated P for call traits and used multiple methods to compare them statistically (Flury hierarchy, geometric subspace comparisons and random skewers). Despite considerable variation in means and variances of individual call traits, the structure of P was largely conserved among populations, across generations and between our rearing diets. Our finding that P remains largely stable, among populations and between environmental conditions, suggests that selection has preserved the structure of call traits in order that they can function as an integrated unit. PMID:23530814

Affective traits of psychopathy are linked to white-matter abnormalities in impulsive male offenders.

PubMed

Vermeij, Anouk; Kempes, Maaike M; Cima, Maaike J; Mars, Rogier B; Brazil, Inti A

2018-04-26

Psychopathy is a personality disorder typified by lack of empathy and impulsive antisocial behavior. Psychopathic traits may partly relate to disrupted connections between brain regions. The aim of the present study was to link abnormalities in microstructural integrity of white-matter tracts to the severity of different psychopathic traits in 15 male offenders with impulse control problems and 10 without impulse control problems. Psychopathic traits were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-revised (PCL-R). Diffusion-weighted MRI was used to examine white-matter tracts. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of white-matter integrity, was calculated for each voxel. Clusters of voxels showing a significant relationship with psychopathy severity were submitted to probabilistic tractography. No significant correlations between psychopathy severity and FA were present in the whole group of impulsive and nonimpulsive offenders. In impulsive offenders, interpersonal-affective traits (PCL-R Factor 1) were negatively correlated with FA in the anterior and posterior temporal lobe and orbitofrontal area. Further analyses indicated that elevated affective traits (PCL-R Facet 2) were specifically related to reduced FA in the right temporal lobe. Our findings suggest that white-matter abnormalities in temporal and frontotemporal tracts may be linked to the interpersonal-affective deficits of psychopathy in offenders with relatively severe impulse control problems. Our study offers novel insights into the relationships between the four facets of psychopathy and disrupted structural connectivity, and may provide new leads for further characterization of different subtypes of antisocial populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Experimentally altered rainfall regimes and host root traits affect grassland arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities.

PubMed

Deveautour, Coline; Donn, Suzanne; Power, Sally A; Bennett, Alison E; Powell, Jeff R

2018-04-01

Future climate scenarios predict changes in rainfall regimes. These changes are expected to affect plants via effects on the expression of root traits associated with water and nutrient uptake. Associated microorganisms may also respond to these new precipitation regimes, either directly in response to changes in the soil environment or indirectly in response to altered root trait expression. We characterized arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in an Australian grassland exposed to experimentally altered rainfall regimes. We used Illumina sequencing to assess the responses of AM fungal communities associated with four plant species sampled in different watering treatments and evaluated the extent to which shifts were associated with changes in root traits. We observed that altered rainfall regimes affected the composition but not the richness of the AM fungal communities, and we found distinctive communities in the increased rainfall treatment. We found no evidence of altered rainfall regime effects via changes in host physiology because none of the studied traits were affected by changes in rainfall. However, specific root length was observed to correlate with AM fungal richness, while concentrations of phosphorus and calcium in root tissue and the proportion of root length allocated to fine roots were correlated to community composition. Our study provides evidence that climate change and its effects on rainfall may influence AM fungal community assembly, as do plant traits related to plant nutrition and water uptake. We did not find evidence that host responses to altered rainfall drive AM fungal community assembly in this grassland ecosystem. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Progress in genetic research of human height].

PubMed

Chen, Kaixu; Wang, Weilan; Zhang, Fuchun; Zheng, Xiufen

2015-08-01

It is well known that both environmental and genetic factors contribute to adult height variation in general population. However, heritability studies have shown that the variation in height is more affected by genetic factors. Height is a typical polygenic trait which has been studied by traditional linkage analysis and association analysis to identify common DNA sequence variation associated with height, but progress has been slow. More recently, with the development of genotyping and DNA sequencing technologies, tremendous achievements have been made in genetic research of human height. Hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with human height have been identified and validated with the application of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) methodology, which deepens our understanding of the genetics of human growth and development and also provides theoretic basis and reference for studying other complex human traits. In this review, we summarize recent progress in genetic research of human height and discuss problems and prospects in this research area which may provide some insights into future genetic studies of human height.

Personality traits and environmental choices: On the search for understanding.

PubMed

Farizo, Begoña A; Oglethorpe, David; Soliño, Mario

2016-10-01

In this paper we hypothesize that individuals will choose among alternative courses of action for power generation from wind farms according to their personality profiles. Through a factor analysis we found that certain characteristics of personality do indeed have an effect on environmental choice. The study involves an extensive survey based on the Big Five Traits model to find a pattern of choice that will help to better understand environmental decisions and be useful for policy makers to identify target groups and preview reactions to different courses of action. The research is potentially useful for the better preparation and design of publicity material, awareness raising campaigns and information provision for complex or unpopular policies affecting the environment or in environmental education in general. This research is especially interested in shedding some light on how personality is involved in the processes of environmental decision making, despite the limitations of the present study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of parenting quality on adolescents' personality resemblance to their parents. The TRAILS study.

PubMed

Langenhof, M Rohaa; Komdeur, Jan; Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2016-08-01

This study considers the development of resemblance between 741 adolescents and their biological parents, across six NEO-PI-R personality traits known to be important in psychological problems: anger-hostility, impulsiveness, vulnerability, assertiveness, excitement-seeking, and self-discipline. We modelled the association between perceived parental warmth and rejection at age eleven and personality resemblance to parents at about age sixteen. Parenting experienced during early adolescence was related to the degree and direction in which adolescents resembled their parents five years later in life. Rejection, especially from fathers, significantly predicted a smaller resemblance to both the parents. Girls were more strongly affected by parental quality than boys, and there was some indication that adolescents responded in opposite ways to parenting from mothers and fathers. This study is a first step in uncovering the complex interplay between parenting, gender, and the current generation's ability to develop personality traits independent from the previous generation. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting College Students' Positive Psychology Associated Traits with Executive Functioning Dimensions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Seth

2016-01-01

More research is needed that investigates how positive psychology-associated traits are predicted by neurocognitive processes. Correspondingly, the purpose of this study was to ascertain how, and to what extent, four traits, namely, grit, optimism, positive affect, and life satisfaction were predicted by the executive functioning (EF) dimensions…

How Do Trait Dimensions Map onto ADHD Symptom Domains?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martel, Michelle M.; Nigg, Joel T.; von Eye, Alexander

2009-01-01

Theories of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) implicate dysfunctional regulation mechanisms that have been conceptually grouped into "top-down" control and "bottom-up" affective/reactive processes. This dual-process account can be invoked in relation to temperament or personality traits and may clarify how traits relate to ADHD. Two…

Allelic variants of ADH, ALDH and the five factor model of personality in alcohol dependence syndrome

PubMed Central

Salujha, S. K.; Chaudhury, S.; Menon, P. K.; Srivastava, K.; Gupta, A.

2014-01-01

Background: The etiology of alcohol dependence is a complex interplay of biopsychosocial factors. The genes for alcohol-metabolizing enzymes: Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH2 and ADH3) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) exhibit functional polymorphisms. Vulnerability of alcohol dependence may also be in part due to heritable personality traits. Aim: To determine whether any association exists between polymorphisms of ADH2, ADH3 and ALDH2 and alcohol dependence syndrome in a group of Asian Indians. In addition, the personality of these patients was assessed to identify traits predisposing to alcoholism. Materials and Methods: In this study, 100 consecutive males with alcohol dependence syndrome attending the psychiatric outpatient department of a tertiary care service hospital and an equal number of matched healthy controls were included with their consent. Blood samples of all the study cases and controls were collected and genotyped for the ADH2, ADH3 and ALDH2 loci. Personality was evaluated using the neuroticism, extraversion, openness (NEO) personality inventory and sensation seeking scale. Results: Allele frequencies of ADH2*2 (0.50), ADH3*1 (0.67) and ALSH2*2 (0.09) were significantly low in the alcohol dependent subjects. Personality traits of NEO personality inventory and sensation seeking were significantly higher when compared to controls. Conclusions: The functional polymorphisms of genes coding for alcohol metabolizing enzymes and personality traits of NEO and sensation seeking may affect the propensity to develop dependence. PMID:25535445

Effect of genetic architecture on the prediction accuracy of quantitative traits in samples of unrelated individuals.

PubMed

Morgante, Fabio; Huang, Wen; Maltecca, Christian; Mackay, Trudy F C

2018-06-01

Predicting complex phenotypes from genomic data is a fundamental aim of animal and plant breeding, where we wish to predict genetic merits of selection candidates; and of human genetics, where we wish to predict disease risk. While genomic prediction models work well with populations of related individuals and high linkage disequilibrium (LD) (e.g., livestock), comparable models perform poorly for populations of unrelated individuals and low LD (e.g., humans). We hypothesized that low prediction accuracies in the latter situation may occur when the genetics architecture of the trait departs from the infinitesimal and additive architecture assumed by most prediction models. We used simulated data for 10,000 lines based on sequence data from a population of unrelated, inbred Drosophila melanogaster lines to evaluate this hypothesis. We show that, even in very simplified scenarios meant as a stress test of the commonly used Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (G-BLUP) method, using all common variants yields low prediction accuracy regardless of the trait genetic architecture. However, prediction accuracy increases when predictions are informed by the genetic architecture inferred from mapping the top variants affecting main effects and interactions in the training data, provided there is sufficient power for mapping. When the true genetic architecture is largely or partially due to epistatic interactions, the additive model may not perform well, while models that account explicitly for interactions generally increase prediction accuracy. Our results indicate that accounting for genetic architecture can improve prediction accuracy for quantitative traits.

Social context influences chemical communication in D. melanogaster males.

PubMed

Kent, Clement; Azanchi, Reza; Smith, Ben; Formosa, Amanda; Levine, Joel D

2008-09-23

Chemical communication mediates social interactions in insects. For the fruit fly, D. melanogaster, the chemical display is a key fitness trait because it leads to mating. An exchange of cues that resembles a dialogue between males and females is enacted by pheromones, chemical signals that pass between individual flies to alter physiology and behavior. Chemical signals also affect the timing of locomotor activity and sleep. We investigated genetic and environmental determinants of chemical communication. To evaluate the role of the social environment, we extracted a chemical blend from individual males selected from groups composed of one genotype and compared these extracts to those from groups of mixed genotypes. To evaluate the role of the physical environment, these comparisons were performed under a light-dark cycle or in constant darkness. Here, we show that chemical signaling is affected by the social environment, light-dark cycle, and genotype as well as the complex interplay of these variables. Gene-by-environment interactions produce highly significant effects on chemical signaling. We also examined individual responses within the groups. Strikingly, the response of one wild-type fly to another is modulated by the genotypic composition of his neighbors. Chemical signaling in D. melanogaster may be a "fickle" trait that depends on the individual's social background.

The genetic regulatory network centered on Pto-Wuschela and its targets involved in wood formation revealed by association studies.

PubMed

Yang, Xiaohui; Wei, Zunzheng; Du, Qingzhang; Chen, Jinhui; Wang, Qingshi; Quan, Mingyang; Song, Yuepeng; Xie, Jianbo; Zhang, Deqiang

2015-11-09

Transcription factors (TFs) regulate gene expression and can strongly affect phenotypes. However, few studies have examined TF variants and TF interactions with their targets in plants. Here, we used genetic association in 435 unrelated individuals of Populus tomentosa to explore the variants in Pto-Wuschela and its targets to decipher the genetic regulatory network of Pto-Wuschela. Our bioinformatics and co-expression analysis identified 53 genes with the motif TCACGTGA as putative targets of Pto-Wuschela. Single-marker association analysis showed that Pto-Wuschela was associated with wood properties, which is in agreement with the observation that it has higher expression in stem vascular tissues in Populus. Also, SNPs in the 53 targets were associated with growth or wood properties under additive or dominance effects, suggesting these genes and Pto-Wuschela may act in the same genetic pathways that affect variation in these quantitative traits. Epistasis analysis indicated that 75.5% of these genes directly or indirectly interacted Pto-Wuschela, revealing the coordinated genetic regulatory network formed by Pto-Wuschela and its targets. Thus, our study provides an alternative method for dissection of the interactions between a TF and its targets, which will strength our understanding of the regulatory roles of TFs in complex traits in plants.

Environmental and genetic factors affecting milk yield and quality in three Italian sheep breeds.

PubMed

Selvaggi, Maria; D'Alessandro, Angela Gabriella; Dario, Cataldo

2017-02-01

The aims of the study described in the Research Communication were to determine the level of influence of some environmental factors on milk yield and quality traits, including lactose, and lactation length in ewes belonging to three different Italian breeds and to estimate the heritability for the same traits. A total of 2138 lactation records obtained from 535 ewes belonging to three different Italian breeds (Comisana, Leccese, and Sarda) were used. Breed significantly affected all of the considered traits. Moreover, year of lambing affected milk yield and lactation length without influence on milk quality traits. Parity affected significantly only the milk yield, whereas type of birth showed its effect on milk yield, fat, protein, and lactose yield. On the whole, the presently reported heritability estimates are within the range of those already obtained in other dairy breeds by other authors, with values for lactation length being very low in all the investigated populations. Considering the heritability estimates for lactose content and yield, to the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of information on these parameters in ovine species and this is the first report on heritability of lactose content and yield in dairy sheep breeds. Our results suggest that genetic variability for milk traits other than lactation length is adequate for selection indicating a good response to selection in these breeds.

The influence of trait-negative affect and compassion satisfaction on compassion fatigue in Australian nurses.

PubMed

Craigie, Mark; Osseiran-Moisson, Rebecca; Hemsworth, David; Aoun, Samar; Francis, Karen; Brown, Janie; Hegney, Desley; Rees, Clare

2016-01-01

For this study, we examined the nature of the unique relationships trait-negative affect and compassion satisfaction had with compassion fatigue and its components of secondary traumatic stress and burnout in 273 nurses from 1 metropolitan tertiary acute hospital in Western Australia. Participants completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale (Stamm, 2010), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (Lovibond & Lovibond, 2004), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983). Bivariate correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were performed to examine and investigate 4 hypotheses. The results demonstrate a clear differential pattern of relationships with secondary traumatic stress and burnout for both trait-negative affect and compassion satisfaction. Trait-negative affect was clearly the more important factor in terms of its contribution to overall compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress. In contrast, compassion satisfaction's unique protective relationship only related to burnout, and not secondary traumatic stress. The results are therefore consistent with the view that compassion satisfaction may be an important internal resource that protects against burnout, but is not directly influential in protecting against secondary traumatic stress for nurses working in an acute-care hospital environment. With the projected nursing workforce shortages in Australia, it is apparent that a further understanding is warranted of how such personal variables may work as protective and risk factors. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

How personality traits affect clinician-supervisors' work engagement and subsequently their teaching performance in residency training.

PubMed

Scheepers, Renée A; Arah, Onyebuchi A; Heineman, Maas Jan; Lombarts, Kiki M J M H

2016-11-01

Clinician-supervisors often work simultaneously as doctors and teachers. Supervisors who are more engaged for their teacher work are evaluated as better supervisors. Work engagement is affected by the work environment, yet the role of supervisors' personality traits is unclear. This study examined (i) the impact of supervisors' personality traits on work engagement in their doctors' and teachers' roles and (ii) how work engagement in both roles affects their teaching performance. Residents evaluated supervisors' teaching performance, using the validated System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities. Supervisors' reported work engagement in doctor and teacher roles separately using the validated Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Supervisors' personality traits were measured using the Big Five Inventory's five factor model covering conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, emotional stability and openness. Overall, 549 (68%) residents and 636 (78%) supervisors participated. Conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness were positively associated with supervisors' engagement in their teacher work, which was subsequently positively associated with teaching performance. Conscientious, extraverted, and agreeable supervisors showed more engagement with their teacher work, which made them more likely to deliver adequate residency training. In addition to optimizing the work environment, faculty development and career planning could be tailor-made to fit supervisors' personality traits.

Novel throughput phenotyping platforms in plant genetic studies.

PubMed

Montes, Juan M; Melchinger, Albrecht E; Reif, Jochen C

2007-10-01

Unraveling the genetic basis of complex traits in plants is limited by the lack of appropriate phenotyping platforms that enable high-throughput screening of many genotypes in multilocation field trials. Near-infrared spectroscopy on agricultural harvesters and spectral reflectance of plant canopies have recently been reported as promising components of novel phenotyping platforms. Understanding the genetic basis of complex traits is now within reach with the use of these new techniques.

Decomposing genomic variance using information from GWA, GWE and eQTL analysis.

PubMed

Ehsani, A; Janss, L; Pomp, D; Sørensen, P

2016-04-01

A commonly used procedure in genome-wide association (GWA), genome-wide expression (GWE) and expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analyses is based on a bottom-up experimental approach that attempts to individually associate molecular variants with complex traits. Top-down modeling of the entire set of genomic data and partitioning of the overall variance into subcomponents may provide further insight into the genetic basis of complex traits. To test this approach, we performed a whole-genome variance components analysis and partitioned the genomic variance using information from GWA, GWE and eQTL analyses of growth-related traits in a mouse F2 population. We characterized the mouse trait genetic architecture by ordering single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on their P-values and studying the areas under the curve (AUCs). The observed traits were found to have a genomic variance profile that differed significantly from that expected of a trait under an infinitesimal model. This situation was particularly true for both body weight and body fat, for which the AUCs were much higher compared with that of glucose. In addition, SNPs with a high degree of trait-specific regulatory potential (SNPs associated with subset of transcripts that significantly associated with a specific trait) explained a larger proportion of the genomic variance than did SNPs with high overall regulatory potential (SNPs associated with transcripts using traditional eQTL analysis). We introduced AUC measures of genomic variance profiles that can be used to quantify relative importance of SNPs as well as degree of deviation of a trait's inheritance from an infinitesimal model. The shape of the curve aids global understanding of traits: The steeper the left-hand side of the curve, the fewer the number of SNPs controlling most of the phenotypic variance. © 2015 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

Receiver discriminability drives the evolution of complex sexual signals by sexual selection.

PubMed

Cui, Jianguo; Song, Xiaowei; Zhu, Bicheng; Fang, Guangzhan; Tang, Yezhong; Ryan, Michael J

2016-04-01

A hallmark of sexual selection by mate choice is the evolution of exaggerated traits, such as longer tails in birds and more acoustic components in the calls of birds and frogs. Trait elaboration can be opposed by costs such as increased metabolism and greater predation risk, but cognitive processes of the receiver can also put a brake on trait elaboration. For example, according to Weber's Law traits of a fixed absolute difference will be more difficult to discriminate as the absolute magnitude increases. Here, we show that in the Emei music frog (Babina daunchina) increases in the fundamental frequency between successive notes in the male advertisement call, which increases the spectral complexity of the call, facilitates the female's ability to compare the number of notes between calls. These results suggest that female's discriminability provides the impetus to switch from enhancement of signaling magnitude (i.e., adding more notes into calls) to employing a new signal feature (i.e., increasing frequency among notes) to increase complexity. We suggest that increasing the spectral complexity of notes ameliorates some of the effects of Weber's Law, and highlights how perceptual and cognitive biases of choosers can have important influences on the evolution of courtship signals. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Integrating Genomic Analysis with the Genetic Basis of Gene Expression: Preliminary Evidence of the Identification of Causal Genes for Cardiovascular and Metabolic Traits Related to Nutrition in Mexicans123

PubMed Central

Bastarrachea, Raúl A.; Gallegos-Cabriales, Esther C.; Nava-González, Edna J.; Haack, Karin; Voruganti, V. Saroja; Charlesworth, Jac; Laviada-Molina, Hugo A.; Veloz-Garza, Rosa A.; Cardenas-Villarreal, Velia Margarita; Valdovinos-Chavez, Salvador B.; Gomez-Aguilar, Patricia; Meléndez, Guillermo; López-Alvarenga, Juan Carlos; Göring, Harald H. H.; Cole, Shelley A.; Blangero, John; Comuzzie, Anthony G.; Kent, Jack W.

2012-01-01

Whole-transcriptome expression profiling provides novel phenotypes for analysis of complex traits. Gene expression measurements reflect quantitative variation in transcript-specific messenger RNA levels and represent phenotypes lying close to the action of genes. Understanding the genetic basis of gene expression will provide insight into the processes that connect genotype to clinically significant traits representing a central tenet of system biology. Synchronous in vivo expression profiles of lymphocytes, muscle, and subcutaneous fat were obtained from healthy Mexican men. Most genes were expressed at detectable levels in multiple tissues, and RNA levels were correlated between tissue types. A subset of transcripts with high reliability of expression across tissues (estimated by intraclass correlation coefficients) was enriched for cis-regulated genes, suggesting that proximal sequence variants may influence expression similarly in different cellular environments. This integrative global gene expression profiling approach is proving extremely useful for identifying genes and pathways that contribute to complex clinical traits. Clearly, the coincidence of clinical trait quantitative trait loci and expression quantitative trait loci can help in the prioritization of positional candidate genes. Such data will be crucial for the formal integration of positional and transcriptomic information characterized as genetical genomics. PMID:22797999

Epistatic effects between pairs of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a, growth hormone, growth hormone receptor, non-SMC condensin I complex, subunit G and stearoyl-CoA desaturase genes on carcass, price-related and fatty acid composition traits in Japanese Black cattle.

PubMed

Komatsu, Masanori; Nishino, Kagetomo; Fujimori, Yuki; Haga, Yasutoshi; Iwama, Nagako; Arakawa, Aisaku; Aihara, Yoshito; Takeda, Hisato; Takahashi, Hideaki

2018-02-01

Growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (GHSR1a), growth hormone (GH), growth hormone receptor (GHR), non-SMC condensin I complex, subunit G (NCAPG) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), are known to play important roles in growth and lipid metabolisms. Single and epistatic effects of the five genes on carcass, price-related and fatty acid (FA) composition traits were analyzed in a commercial Japanese Black cattle population of Ibaraki Prefecture. A total of 650 steers and 116 heifers for carcass and price-related traits, and 158 steers for FA composition traits were used in this study. Epistatic effects between pairs of the five genes were found in several traits. Alleles showing strain-specific differences in the five genes had significant single and epistatic effects in some traits. The data suggest that a TG-repeat polymorphism of the GHSR1a.5'UTR-(TG) n locus plays a central role in gene-gene epistatic interaction of FA composition traits in the adipose tissue of Japanese Black cattle. © 2017 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Identification of Genomic Regions Associated with Phenotypic Variation between Dog Breeds using Selection Mapping

PubMed Central

Derrien, Thomas; Axelsson, Erik; Rosengren Pielberg, Gerli; Sigurdsson, Snaevar; Fall, Tove; Seppälä, Eija H.; Hansen, Mark S. T.; Lawley, Cindy T.; Karlsson, Elinor K.; Bannasch, Danika; Vilà, Carles; Lohi, Hannes; Galibert, Francis; Fredholm, Merete; Häggström, Jens; Hedhammar, Åke; André, Catherine; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Hitte, Christophe; Webster, Matthew T.

2011-01-01

The extraordinary phenotypic diversity of dog breeds has been sculpted by a unique population history accompanied by selection for novel and desirable traits. Here we perform a comprehensive analysis using multiple test statistics to identify regions under selection in 509 dogs from 46 diverse breeds using a newly developed high-density genotyping array consisting of >170,000 evenly spaced SNPs. We first identify 44 genomic regions exhibiting extreme differentiation across multiple breeds. Genetic variation in these regions correlates with variation in several phenotypic traits that vary between breeds, and we identify novel associations with both morphological and behavioral traits. We next scan the genome for signatures of selective sweeps in single breeds, characterized by long regions of reduced heterozygosity and fixation of extended haplotypes. These scans identify hundreds of regions, including 22 blocks of homozygosity longer than one megabase in certain breeds. Candidate selection loci are strongly enriched for developmental genes. We chose one highly differentiated region, associated with body size and ear morphology, and characterized it using high-throughput sequencing to provide a list of variants that may directly affect these traits. This study provides a catalogue of genomic regions showing extreme reduction in genetic variation or population differentiation in dogs, including many linked to phenotypic variation. The many blocks of reduced haplotype diversity observed across the genome in dog breeds are the result of both selection and genetic drift, but extended blocks of homozygosity on a megabase scale appear to be best explained by selection. Further elucidation of the variants under selection will help to uncover the genetic basis of complex traits and disease. PMID:22022279

Identification of genomic regions associated with phenotypic variation between dog breeds using selection mapping.

PubMed

Vaysse, Amaury; Ratnakumar, Abhirami; Derrien, Thomas; Axelsson, Erik; Rosengren Pielberg, Gerli; Sigurdsson, Snaevar; Fall, Tove; Seppälä, Eija H; Hansen, Mark S T; Lawley, Cindy T; Karlsson, Elinor K; Bannasch, Danika; Vilà, Carles; Lohi, Hannes; Galibert, Francis; Fredholm, Merete; Häggström, Jens; Hedhammar, Ake; André, Catherine; Lindblad-Toh, Kerstin; Hitte, Christophe; Webster, Matthew T

2011-10-01

The extraordinary phenotypic diversity of dog breeds has been sculpted by a unique population history accompanied by selection for novel and desirable traits. Here we perform a comprehensive analysis using multiple test statistics to identify regions under selection in 509 dogs from 46 diverse breeds using a newly developed high-density genotyping array consisting of >170,000 evenly spaced SNPs. We first identify 44 genomic regions exhibiting extreme differentiation across multiple breeds. Genetic variation in these regions correlates with variation in several phenotypic traits that vary between breeds, and we identify novel associations with both morphological and behavioral traits. We next scan the genome for signatures of selective sweeps in single breeds, characterized by long regions of reduced heterozygosity and fixation of extended haplotypes. These scans identify hundreds of regions, including 22 blocks of homozygosity longer than one megabase in certain breeds. Candidate selection loci are strongly enriched for developmental genes. We chose one highly differentiated region, associated with body size and ear morphology, and characterized it using high-throughput sequencing to provide a list of variants that may directly affect these traits. This study provides a catalogue of genomic regions showing extreme reduction in genetic variation or population differentiation in dogs, including many linked to phenotypic variation. The many blocks of reduced haplotype diversity observed across the genome in dog breeds are the result of both selection and genetic drift, but extended blocks of homozygosity on a megabase scale appear to be best explained by selection. Further elucidation of the variants under selection will help to uncover the genetic basis of complex traits and disease.

Pre and Post-copulatory Selection Favor Similar Genital Phenotypes in the Male Broad Horned Beetle

PubMed Central

House, Clarissa M.; Sharma, M. D.; Okada, Kensuke; Hosken, David J.

2016-01-01

Sexual selection can operate before and after copulation and the same or different trait(s) can be targeted during these episodes of selection. The direction and form of sexual selection imposed on characters prior to mating has been relatively well described, but the same is not true after copulation. In general, when male–male competition and female choice favor the same traits then there is the expectation of reinforcing selection on male sexual traits that improve competitiveness before and after copulation. However, when male–male competition overrides pre-copulatory choice then the opposite could be true. With respect to studies of selection on genitalia there is good evidence that male genital morphology influences mating and fertilization success. However, whether genital morphology affects reproductive success in more than one context (i.e., mating versus fertilization success) is largely unknown. Here we use multivariate analysis to estimate linear and nonlinear selection on male body size and genital morphology in the flour beetle Gnatocerus cornutus, simulated in a non-competitive (i.e., monogamous) setting. This analysis estimates the form of selection on multiple traits and typically, linear (directional) selection is easiest to detect, while nonlinear selection is more complex and can be stabilizing, disruptive, or correlational. We find that mating generates stabilizing selection on male body size and genitalia, and fertilization causes a blend of directional and stabilizing selection. Differences in the form of selection across these bouts of selection result from a significant alteration of nonlinear selection on body size and a marginally significant difference in nonlinear selection on a component of genital shape. This suggests that both bouts of selection favor similar genital phenotypes, whereas the strong stabilizing selection imposed on male body size during mate acquisition is weak during fertilization. PMID:27371390

Interactions between Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci and associations of selected molecular markers with quality traits in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) DH lines.

PubMed

Krystkowiak, Karolina; Langner, Monika; Adamski, Tadeusz; Salmanowicz, Bolesław P; Kaczmarek, Zygmunt; Krajewski, Paweł; Surma, Maria

2017-02-01

The quality of wheat depends on a large complex of genes and environmental factors. The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci controlling technological quality traits and their stability across environments, and to assess the impact of interaction between alleles at loci Glu-1 and Glu-3 on grain quality. DH lines were evaluated in field experiments over a period of 4 years, and genotyped using simple sequence repeat markers. Lines were analysed for grain yield (GY), thousand grain weight (TGW), protein content (PC), starch content (SC), wet gluten content (WG), Zeleny sedimentation value (ZS), alveograph parameter W (APW), hectolitre weight (HW), and grain hardness (GH). A number of QTLs for these traits were identified in all chromosome groups. The Glu-D1 locus influenced TGW, PC, SC, WG, ZS, APW, GH, while locus Glu-B1 affected only PC, ZS, and WG. Most important marker-trait associations were found on chromosomes 1D and 5D. Significant effects of interaction between Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci on technological properties were recorded, and in all types of this interaction positive effects of Glu-D1 locus on grain quality were observed, whereas effects of Glu-B1 locus depended on alleles at Glu-3 loci. Effects of Glu-A3 and Glu-D3 loci per se were not significant, while their interaction with alleles present at other loci encoding HMW and LMW were important. These results indicate that selection of wheat genotypes with predicted good bread-making properties should be based on the allelic composition both in Glu-1 and Glu-3 loci, and confirm the predominant effect of Glu-D1d allele on technological properties of wheat grains.

The curvilinear relationship between work pressure and momentary task performance: the role of state and trait core self-evaluations

PubMed Central

Hofmans, Joeri; Debusscher, Jonas; Dóci, Edina; Spanouli, Andromachi; De Fruyt, Filip

2015-01-01

Whereas several studies have demonstrated that core self-evaluations (CSE)–or one’s appraisals about one’s own self-worth, capabilities, and competences–relate to job outcomes, less is known about the mechanisms underlying these relationships. In the present study, we address this issue by examining the role of within- and between-person variation in CSE in the relationship between work pressure and task performance. We hypothesized that (a) work pressure relates to task performance in a curvilinear way, (b) state CSE mediates the curvilinear relationship between work pressure and task performance, and (c) the relationship between work pressure and state CSE is moderated by trait CSE. Our hypotheses were tested via a 10-day daily diary study with 55 employees in which trait CSE was measured at baseline, while work pressure, task performance, and state CSE were assessed on a daily basis. Bayesian multilevel path analysis showed that work pressure affects task performance via state CSE, with state CSE increasing as long as the employee feels that (s)he is able to handle the work pressure, while it decreases when the level of work pressure exceeds the employees’ coping abilities. Moreover, we found that for people low on trait CSE, the depleting effect of work pressure via state CSE happens for low levels of work pressure, while for people high in trait CSE the depleting effect is located at high levels of work pressure. Together, our findings suggest that the impact of work pressure on task performance is driven by a complex interplay of between- and within-person differences in CSE. PMID:26579053

The Five-Factor Model personality traits in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis.

PubMed

Ohi, Kazutaka; Shimada, Takamitsu; Nitta, Yusuke; Kihara, Hiroaki; Okubo, Hiroaki; Uehara, Takashi; Kawasaki, Yasuhiro

2016-06-30

Personality is one of important factors in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia because it affects patients' symptoms, cognition and social functioning. Several studies have reported specific personality traits in patients with schizophrenia compared with healthy subjects. However, the results were inconsistent among studies. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) measures five personality traits: Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), Openness (O), Agreeableness (A) and Conscientiousness (C). Here, we performed a meta-analysis of these personality traits assessed by the NEO-FFI in 460 patients with schizophrenia and 486 healthy subjects from the published literature and investigated possible associations between schizophrenia and these traits. There was no publication bias for any traits. Because we found evidence of significant heterogeneity in all traits among the studies, we applied a random-effect model to perform the meta-analysis. Patients with schizophrenia showed a higher score for N and lower scores for E, O, A and C compared with healthy subjects. The effect sizes of these personality traits ranged from moderate to large. These differences were not affected by possible moderator factors, such as gender distribution and mean age in each study, expect for gender effect for A. These findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia have a different personality profile compared with healthy subjects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The complexity underlying invasiveness precludes the identification of invasive traits: A comparative study of invasive and non-invasive heterocarpic Atriplex congeners

PubMed Central

Doudová, Jana; Douda, Jan; Mandák, Bohumil

2017-01-01

Heterocarpy enables species to effectively spread under unfavourable conditions by producing two or more types of fruit differing in ecological characteristics. Although it is frequent in annuals occupying disturbed habitats that are vulnerable to invasion, there is still a lack of congeneric studies addressing the importance of heterocarpy for species invasion success. We compared two pairs of heterocarpic Atriplex species, each of them comprising one invasive and one non-invasive non-native congener. In two common garden experiments, we (i) simulated the influence of different levels of nutrients and population density on plants grown from different types of fruits and examined several traits that are generally positively associated with invasion success, and (ii) grew plants in a replacement series experiment to evaluate resource partitioning between them and to compare their competitive ability. We found that specific functional traits or competitiveness of species cannot explain the invasiveness of Atriplex species, indicating that species invasiveness involves more complex interactions of traits that are important only in certain ecological contexts, i.e. in specific environmental conditions and only some habitats. Interestingly, species trait differences related to invasion success were found between plants growing from the ecologically most contrasting fruit types. We suggest that fruit types differing in ecological behaviour may be essential in the process of invasion or in the general spreading of heterocarpic species, as they either the maximize population growth (type C fruit) or enhance the chance of survival of new populations (type A fruit). Congeners offer the best available methodical framework for comparing traits among phylogenetically closely related invasive and non-invasive species. However, as indicated by our results, this approach is unlikely to reveal invasive traits because of the complexity underlying invasiveness. PMID:28445514

Personality differentially affects individual mate choice decisions in female and male Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

PubMed

Chen, Bo-Jian; Liu, Kai; Zhou, Lin-Jun; Gomes-Silva, Guilherme; Sommer-Trembo, Carolin; Plath, Martin

2018-01-01

Consistent individual differences in behavioral tendencies (animal personality) can affect individual mate choice decisions. We asked whether personality traits affect male and female mate choice decisions similarly and whether potential personality effects are consistent across different mate choice situations. Using western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) as our study organism, we characterized focal individuals (males and females) twice for boldness, activity, and sociability/shoaling and found high and significant behavioral repeatability. Additionally, each focal individual was tested in two different dichotomous mate choice tests in which it could choose between computer-animated stimulus fish of the opposite sex that differed in body size and activity levels, respectively. Personality had different effects on female and male mate choice: females that were larger than average showed stronger preferences for large-bodied males with increasing levels of boldness/activity (i.e., towards more proactive personality types). Males that were larger than average and had higher shoaling tendencies showed stronger preferences for actively swimming females. Size-dependent effects of personality on the strength of preferences for distinct phenotypes of potential mating partners may reflect effects of age/experience (especially in females) and social dominance (especially in males). Previous studies found evidence for assortative mate choice based on personality types or hypothesized the existence of behavioral syndromes of individuals' choosiness across mate choice criteria, possibly including other personality traits. Our present study exemplifies that far more complex patterns of personality-dependent mate choice can emerge in natural systems.

Three year stability of Five-Factor Model personality traits in relation to changes in symptom levels in patients with schizophrenia or related disorders.

PubMed

Boyette, Lindy-Lou; Nederlof, Jan; Meijer, Carin; de Boer, Froukje; de Haan, Lieuwe

2015-09-30

Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits are related to a wide range of clinical outcome in patients with psychotic disorders. However, it is not sufficiently clear whether psychotic illness, particularly fluctuation in negative symptoms and psychotic relapse, affects personality. The current study examined the 3-year temporal stability of FFM traits in 91 patients with non-affective psychotic disorders with a maximum duration of illness of 10 years and 32 control subjects without a (family member with) a diagnosis of psychotic illness. In patients, change in negative symptoms predicted changes in Neuroticism and (inversely) in Extraversion and Openness. However, when correcting for depressive symptoms, negative symptoms no longer predicted change in any FFM trait. Clinical characteristics, such as psychotic relapse, were also not found to be related to change in FFM traits. Patients showed a slight increase in Conscientiousness levels, the other FFM traits showed mean-level stability. Rank-order stability of the FFM traits was moderate to strong, although weaker for Neuroticism in patients. Our findings indicate that psychotic symptoms exert limited effect on the stability of FFM traits in patients with psychotic disorders. Consistent with general population findings, one should guard against state-trait confusion between Neuroticism/Extraversion and depression. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Role of Affective and Cognitive Individual Differences in Social Perception.

PubMed

Aquino, Antonio; Haddock, Geoffrey; Maio, Gregory R; Wolf, Lukas J; Alparone, Francesca R

2016-06-01

Three studies explored the connection between social perception processes and individual differences in the use of affective and cognitive information in relation to attitudes. Study 1 revealed that individuals high in need for affect (NFA) accentuated differences in evaluations of warm and cold traits, whereas individuals high in need for cognition (NFC) accentuated differences in evaluations of competent and incompetent traits. Study 2 revealed that individual differences in NFA predicted liking of warm or cold targets, whereas individual differences in NFC predicted perceptions of competent or incompetent targets. Furthermore, the effects of NFA and NFC were independent of structural bases and meta-bases of attitudes. Study 3 revealed that differences in the evaluation of warm and cold traits mediated the effects of NFA and NFC on liking of targets. The implications for social perception processes and for individual differences in affect-cognition are discussed. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Inter-individual differences in trait negative affect moderate cortisol's effects on memory formation: preliminary findings from two studies.

PubMed

Abercrombie, Heather C; Wirth, Michelle M; Hoks, Roxanne M

2012-05-01

Acute emotional arousal moderates the effects of cortisol on memory. However, it is currently unknown how stable inter-individual differences (i.e., traits) moderate cortisol's effects on memory. In two studies using within-subjects designs - 31 healthy males in Study 1 and 42 healthy subjects (22 female) in Study 2 - we measured trait negative affect (NA) and presented emotional and neutral pictures. In Study 1, we manipulated endogenous cortisol levels using a speech stressor following encoding. In Study 2, using a randomized placebo-controlled design, we pharmacologically manipulated cortisol levels prior to encoding (0.1mg/kg hydrocortisone vs. saline infused over 30min). Free recall for pictures was subsequently assessed. Trait NA repeatedly moderated the relationship between cortisol and memory formation. Findings suggested the speculative conclusion that the direction of effects may vary by sex. In males, cortisol was related to memory facilitation in subjects with lower Trait NA. Conversely, females with higher Trait NA showed greater cortisol-related increases in memory. Trait NA may be a stable inter-individual difference predicting neurocognitive effects of cortisol during stressors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The relationship between personality and the response to acute psychological stress.

PubMed

Xin, Yuanyuan; Wu, Jianhui; Yao, Zhuxi; Guan, Qing; Aleman, André; Luo, Yuejia

2017-12-04

The present study examined the relationship between personality traits and the response to acute psychological stress induced by a standardized laboratory stress induction procedure (the Trier Social Stress Test, TSST). The stress response was measured with a combination of cardiovascular reactivity, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity, and subjective affect (including positive affect, negative affect and subjective controllability) in healthy individuals. The Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) approach was applied to account for the relationship between personality traits and stress responses. Results suggested that higher neuroticism predicted lower heart rate stress reactivity, lower cortisol stress response, more decline of positive affect and lower subjective controllability. Individuals higher in extraversion showed smaller cortisol activation to stress and less increase of negative affect. In addition, higher openness score was associated with lower cortisol stress response. These findings elucidate that neuroticism, extraversion and openness are important variables associated with the stress response and different dimensions of personality trait are associated with different aspects of the stress response.

Alexithymia, emotion, and somatic complaints.

PubMed

Lundh, L G; Simonsson-Sarnecki, M

2001-06-01

Alexithymia, by definition, involves difficulties in identifying and describing emotions and has been assumed to be associated with somatization (i.e., a tendency to express psychological distress in somatic rather than emotional form). Empirical research so far, however, has produced no convincing evidence that alexithymia is more associated with somatic complaints than with emotional complaints or that alexithymia correlates with somatic complaints when negative affect is controlled for. In the present study, alexithymia, as measured by the TAS-20, showed no association with somatic complaints in a community sample of 137 individuals when trait anxiety and depression were controlled. Alexithymia did correlate negatively with positive affect, and positively with negative affect. The former association, however, was much more robust, whereas the latter association was found mainly on subjective trait measures of negative affect (as distinct from state measures and more objective trait measures derived from daily recordings during an 8-week period). It is suggested that the association between alexithymia and lack of positive affect deserves more attention in future research.

When Field Experiments Yield Unexpected Results: Lessons Learned from Measuring Selection in White Sands Lizards

PubMed Central

Hardwick, Kayla M.; Harmon, Luke J.; Hardwick, Scott D.; Rosenblum, Erica Bree

2015-01-01

Determining the adaptive significance of phenotypic traits is key for understanding evolution and diversification in natural populations. However, evolutionary biologists have an incomplete understanding of how specific traits affect fitness in most populations. The White Sands system provides an opportunity to study the adaptive significance of traits in an experimental context. Blanched color evolved recently in three species of lizards inhabiting the gypsum dunes of White Sands and is likely an adaptation to avoid predation. To determine whether there is a relationship between color and susceptibility to predation in White Sands lizards, we conducted enclosure experiments, quantifying survivorship of Holbrookia maculate exhibiting substrate-matched and substrate-mismatched phenotypes. Lizards in our study experienced strong predation. Color did not have a significant effect on survival, but we found several unexpected relationships including variation in predation over small spatial and temporal scales. In addition, we detected a marginally significant interaction between sex and color, suggesting selection for substrate matching may be stronger for males than females. We use our results as a case study to examine six major challenges frequently encountered in field-based studies of natural selection, and suggest that insight into the complexities of selection often results when experiments turn out differently than expected. PMID:25714838

Mobility as an emergent property of biological organization: Insights from experimental evolution.

PubMed

Wallace, Ian J; Garland, Theodore

2016-05-06

Anthropologists accept that mobility is a critical dimension of human culture, one that links economy, technology, and social relations. Less often acknowledged is that mobility depends on complex and dynamic interactions between multiple levels of our biological organization, including anatomy, physiology, neurobiology, and genetics. Here, we describe a novel experimental approach to examining the biological foundations of mobility, using mice from a long-term artificial selection experiment for high levels of voluntary exercise on wheels. In this experiment, mice from selectively bred lines have evolved to run roughly three times as far per day as those from nonselected control lines. We consider three insights gleaned from this experiment as foundational principles for the study of mobility from the perspective of biological evolution. First, an evolutionary change in mobility will necessarily be associated with alterations in biological traits both directly and indirectly connected to mobility. Second, changing mobility will result in trade-offs and constraints among some of the affected traits. Third, multiple solutions exist to altering mobility, so that various combinations of adjustments to traits linked with mobility can achieve the same overall behavioral outcome. We suggest that anthropological knowledge of variation in human mobility might be improved by greater research attention to its biological dimensions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

When does female multiple mating evolve to adjust inbreeding? Effects of inbreeding depression, direct costs, mating constraints, and polyandry as a threshold trait

PubMed Central

Duthie, A. Bradley; Bocedi, Greta; Reid, Jane M.

2016-01-01

Polyandry is often hypothesized to evolve to allow females to adjust the degree to which they inbreed. Multiple factors might affect such evolution, including inbreeding depression, direct costs, constraints on male availability, and the nature of polyandry as a threshold trait. Complex models are required to evaluate when evolution of polyandry to adjust inbreeding is predicted to arise. We used a genetically explicit individual‐based model to track the joint evolution of inbreeding strategy and polyandry defined as a polygenic threshold trait. Evolution of polyandry to avoid inbreeding only occurred given strong inbreeding depression, low direct costs, and severe restrictions on initial versus additional male availability. Evolution of polyandry to prefer inbreeding only occurred given zero inbreeding depression and direct costs, and given similarly severe restrictions on male availability. However, due to its threshold nature, phenotypic polyandry was frequently expressed even when strongly selected against and hence maladaptive. Further, the degree to which females adjusted inbreeding through polyandry was typically very small, and often reflected constraints on male availability rather than adaptive reproductive strategy. Evolution of polyandry solely to adjust inbreeding might consequently be highly restricted in nature, and such evolution cannot necessarily be directly inferred from observed magnitudes of inbreeding adjustment. PMID:27464756

The causes and ecological correlates of head scale asymmetry and fragmentation in a tropical snake.

PubMed

Brown, Gregory P; Madsen, Thomas; Dubey, Sylvain; Shine, Rick

2017-09-12

The challenge of identifying the proximate causes and ecological consequences of phenotypic variation can be facilitated by studying traits that are usually but not always bilaterally symmetrical; deviations from symmetry likely reflect disrupted embryogenesis. Based on a 19-year mark-recapture study of >1300 slatey-grey snakes (Stegonotus cucullatus) in tropical Australia, and incubation of >700 eggs, we document developmental and ecological correlates of two morphological traits: asymmetry and fragmentation of head scales. Asymmetry was directional (more scales on the left side) and was higher in individuals with lower heterozygosity, but was not heritable. In contrast, fragmentation was heritable and was higher in females than males. Both scale asymmetry and fragmentation were increased by rapid embryogenesis but were not affected by hydric conditions during incubation. Snakes with asymmetry and fragmentation exhibited slightly lower survival and increased (sex-specific) movements, and females with more scale fragmentation produced smaller eggs. Counterintuitively, snakes with more asymmetry had higher growth rates (possibly reflecting trade-offs with other traits), and snakes with more fragmentation had fewer parasites (possibly due to lower feeding rates). Our data paint an unusually detailed picture of the complex genetic and environmental factors that, by disrupting early embryonic development, generate variations in morphology that have detectable correlations with ecological performance.

The abundance of cis-acting loci leading to differential allele expression in F1 mice and their relationship to loci harboring genes affecting complex traits.

PubMed

Yeo, Seungeun; Hodgkinson, Colin A; Zhou, Zhifeng; Jung, Jeesun; Leung, Ming; Yuan, Qiaoping; Goldman, David

2016-08-11

Genome-wide surveys have detected cis-acting quantitative trait loci altering levels of RNA transcripts (RNA-eQTLs) by associating SNV alleles to transcript levels. However, the sensitivity and specificity of detection of cis- expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) by genetic approaches, reliant as it is on measurements of transcript levels in recombinant inbred strains or offspring from arranged crosses, is unknown, as is their relationship to QTL's for complex phenotypes. We used transcriptome-wide differential allele expression (DAE) to detect cis-eQTLs in forebrain and kidney from reciprocal crosses between three mouse inbred strains, 129S1/SvlmJ, DBA/2J, and CAST/EiJ and C57BL/6 J. Two of these crosses were previously characterized for cis-eQTLs and QTLs for various complex phenotypes by genetic analysis of recombinant inbred (RI) strains. 5.4 %, 1.9 % and 1.5 % of genes assayed in forebrain of B6/129SF1, B6/DBAF1, and B6/CASTF1 mice, respectively, showed differential allelic expression, indicative of cis-acting alleles at these genes. Moreover, the majority of DAE QTLs were observed to be tissue-specific with only a small fraction showing cis-effects in both tissues. Comparing DAE QTLs in F1 mice to cis-eQTLs previously mapped in RI strains we observed that many of the cis-eQTLs were not confirmed by DAE. Additionally several novel DAE-QTLs not identified as cis-eQTLs were identified suggesting that there are differences in sensitivity and specificity for QTL detection between the two methodologies. Strain specific DAE QTLs in B6/DBAF1 mice were located in excess at candidate genes for alcohol use disorders, seizures, and angiogenesis previously implicated by genetic linkage in C57BL/6J × DBA/2JF2 mice or BXD RI strains. Via a survey for differential allele expression in F1 mice, a substantial proportion of genes were found to have alleles altering expression in cis-acting fashion. Comparing forebrain and kidney, many or most of these alleles were tissue-specific in action. The identification of strain specific DAE QTLs, can assist in assessment of candidate genes located within the large intervals associated with trait QTLs.

Stability and change of personality traits, self-esteem, and well-being: Introducing the meta-analytic stability and change model of retest correlations.

PubMed

Anusic, Ivana; Schimmack, Ulrich

2016-05-01

The stability of individual differences is a fundamental issue in personality psychology. Although accumulating evidence suggests that many psychological attributes are both stable and change over time, existing research rarely takes advantage of theoretical models that capture both stability and change. In this article, we present the Meta-Analytic Stability and Change model (MASC), a novel meta-analytic model for synthesizing data from longitudinal studies. MASC is based on trait-state models that can separate influences of stable and changing factors from unreliable variance (Kenny & Zautra, 1995). We used MASC to evaluate the extent to which personality traits, life satisfaction, affect, and self-esteem are influenced by these different factors. The results showed that the majority of reliable variance in personality traits is attributable to stable influences (83%). Changing factors had a greater influence on reliable variance in life satisfaction, self-esteem, and affect than in personality (42%-56% vs. 17%). In addition, changing influences on well-being were more stable than changing influences on personality traits, suggesting that different changing factors contribute to personality and well-being. Measures of affect were less reliable than measures of the other 3 constructs, reflecting influences of transient factors, such as mood on affective judgments. After accounting for differences in reliability, stability of affect did not differ from other well-being variables. Consistent with previous research, we found that stability of individual differences increases with age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Metabolomic profiles indicate distinct physiological pathways affected by two loci with major divergent effect on Bos taurus growth and lipid deposition.

PubMed

Weikard, Rosemarie; Altmaier, Elisabeth; Suhre, Karsten; Weinberger, Klaus M; Hammon, Harald M; Albrecht, Elke; Setoguchi, Kouji; Takasuga, Akiko; Kühn, Christa

2010-10-01

Identifying trait-associated genetic variation offers new prospects to reveal novel physiological pathways modulating complex traits. Taking advantage of a unique animal model, we identified the I442M mutation in the non-SMC condensin I complex, subunit G (NCAPG) gene and the Q204X mutation in the growth differentiation factor 8 (GDF8) gene as substantial modulators of pre- and/or postnatal growth in cattle. In a combined metabolomic and genotype association approach, which is the first respective study in livestock, we surveyed the specific physiological background of the effects of both loci on body-mass gain and lipid deposition. Our data provided confirming evidence from two historically and geographically distant cattle populations that the onset of puberty is the key interval of divergent growth. The locus-specific metabolic patterns obtained from monitoring 201 plasma metabolites at puberty mirror the particular NCAPG I442M and GDF8 Q204X effects and represent biosignatures of divergent physiological pathways potentially modulating effects on proportional and disproportional growth, respectively. While the NCAPG I442M mutation affected the arginine metabolism, the 204X allele in the GDF8 gene predominantly raised the carnitine level and had concordant effects on glycerophosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins. Our study provides a conclusive link between the well-described growth-regulating functions of arginine metabolism and the previously unknown specific physiological role of the NCAPG protein in mammalian metabolism. Owing to the confirmed effect of the NCAPG/LCORL locus on human height in genome-wide association studies, the results obtained for bovine NCAPG might add valuable, comparative information on the physiological background of genetically determined divergent mammalian growth.

Motivational valence alters memory formation without altering exploration of a real-life spatial environment.

PubMed

Chiew, Kimberly S; Hashemi, Jordan; Gans, Lee K; Lerebours, Laura; Clement, Nathaniel J; Vu, Mai-Anh T; Sapiro, Guillermo; Heller, Nicole E; Adcock, R Alison

2018-01-01

Volitional exploration and learning are key to adaptive behavior, yet their characterization remains a complex problem for cognitive science. Exploration has been posited as a mechanism by which motivation promotes memory, but this relationship is not well-understood, in part because novel stimuli that motivate exploration also reliably elicit changes in neuromodulatory brain systems that directly alter memory formation, via effects on neural plasticity. To deconfound interrelationships between motivation, exploration, and memory formation we manipulated motivational state prior to entering a spatial context, measured exploratory responses to the context and novel stimuli within it, and then examined motivation and exploration as predictors of memory outcomes. To elicit spontaneous exploration, we used the physical space of an art exhibit with affectively rich content; we expected motivated exploration and memory to reflect multiple factors, including not only motivational valence, but also individual differences. Motivation was manipulated via an introductory statement framing exhibit themes in terms of Promotion- or Prevention-oriented goals. Participants explored the exhibit while being tracked by video. They returned 24 hours later for recall and spatial memory tests, followed by measures of motivation, personality, and relevant attitude variables. Promotion and Prevention condition participants did not differ in terms of group-level exploration time or memory metrics, suggesting similar motivation to explore under both framing contexts. However, exploratory behavior and memory outcomes were significantly more closely related under Promotion than Prevention, indicating that Prevention framing disrupted expected depth-of-encoding effects. Additionally, while trait measures predicted exploration similarly across framing conditions, traits interacted with motivational framing context and facial affect to predict memory outcomes. This novel characterization of motivated learning implies that dissociable behavioral and biological mechanisms, here varying as a function of valence, contribute to memory outcomes in complex, real-life environments.

Motivational valence alters memory formation without altering exploration of a real-life spatial environment

PubMed Central

Hashemi, Jordan; Gans, Lee K.; Lerebours, Laura; Clement, Nathaniel J.; Vu, Mai-Anh T.; Sapiro, Guillermo; Heller, Nicole E.; Adcock, R. Alison

2018-01-01

Volitional exploration and learning are key to adaptive behavior, yet their characterization remains a complex problem for cognitive science. Exploration has been posited as a mechanism by which motivation promotes memory, but this relationship is not well-understood, in part because novel stimuli that motivate exploration also reliably elicit changes in neuromodulatory brain systems that directly alter memory formation, via effects on neural plasticity. To deconfound interrelationships between motivation, exploration, and memory formation we manipulated motivational state prior to entering a spatial context, measured exploratory responses to the context and novel stimuli within it, and then examined motivation and exploration as predictors of memory outcomes. To elicit spontaneous exploration, we used the physical space of an art exhibit with affectively rich content; we expected motivated exploration and memory to reflect multiple factors, including not only motivational valence, but also individual differences. Motivation was manipulated via an introductory statement framing exhibit themes in terms of Promotion- or Prevention-oriented goals. Participants explored the exhibit while being tracked by video. They returned 24 hours later for recall and spatial memory tests, followed by measures of motivation, personality, and relevant attitude variables. Promotion and Prevention condition participants did not differ in terms of group-level exploration time or memory metrics, suggesting similar motivation to explore under both framing contexts. However, exploratory behavior and memory outcomes were significantly more closely related under Promotion than Prevention, indicating that Prevention framing disrupted expected depth-of-encoding effects. Additionally, while trait measures predicted exploration similarly across framing conditions, traits interacted with motivational framing context and facial affect to predict memory outcomes. This novel characterization of motivated learning implies that dissociable behavioral and biological mechanisms, here varying as a function of valence, contribute to memory outcomes in complex, real-life environments. PMID:29558526

Practical applications of the bioinformatics toolbox for narrowing quantitative trait loci.

PubMed

Burgess-Herbert, Sarah L; Cox, Allison; Tsaih, Shirng-Wern; Paigen, Beverly

2008-12-01

Dissecting the genes involved in complex traits can be confounded by multiple factors, including extensive epistatic interactions among genes, the involvement of epigenetic regulators, and the variable expressivity of traits. Although quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis has been a powerful tool for localizing the chromosomal regions underlying complex traits, systematically identifying the causal genes remains challenging. Here, through its application to plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) in mice, we demonstrate a strategy for narrowing QTL that utilizes comparative genomics and bioinformatics techniques. We show how QTL detected in multiple crosses are subjected to both combined cross analysis and haplotype block analysis; how QTL from one species are mapped to the concordant regions in another species; and how genomewide scans associating haplotype groups with their phenotypes can be used to prioritize the narrowed regions. Then we illustrate how these individual methods for narrowing QTL can be systematically integrated for mouse chromosomes 12 and 15, resulting in a significantly reduced number of candidate genes, often from hundreds to <10. Finally, we give an example of how additional bioinformatics resources can be combined with experiments to determine the most likely quantitative trait genes.

Climate change and functional traits affect population dynamics of a long-lived seabird.

PubMed

Jenouvrier, Stéphanie; Desprez, Marine; Fay, Remi; Barbraud, Christophe; Weimerskirch, Henri; Delord, Karine; Caswell, Hal

2018-07-01

Recent studies unravelled the effect of climate changes on populations through their impact on functional traits and demographic rates in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, but such understanding in marine ecosystems remains incomplete. Here, we evaluate the impact of the combined effects of climate and functional traits on population dynamics of a long-lived migratory seabird breeding in the southern ocean: the black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris, BBA). We address the following prospective question: "Of all the changes in the climate and functional traits, which would produce the biggest impact on the BBA population growth rate?" We develop a structured matrix population model that includes the effect of climate and functional traits on the complete BBA life cycle. A detailed sensitivity analysis is conducted to understand the main pathway by which climate and functional trait changes affect the population growth rate. The population growth rate of BBA is driven by the combined effects of climate over various seasons and multiple functional traits with carry-over effects across seasons on demographic processes. Changes in sea surface temperature (SST) during late winter cause the biggest changes in the population growth rate, through their effect on juvenile survival. Adults appeared to respond to changes in winter climate conditions by adapting their migratory schedule rather than by modifying their at-sea foraging activity. However, the sensitivity of the population growth rate to SST affecting BBA migratory schedule is small. BBA foraging activity during the pre-breeding period has the biggest impact on population growth rate among functional traits. Finally, changes in SST during the breeding season have little effect on the population growth rate. These results highlight the importance of early life histories and carry-over effects of climate and functional traits on demographic rates across multiple seasons in population response to climate change. Robust conclusions about the roles of various phases of the life cycle and functional traits in population response to climate change rely on an understanding of the relationships of traits to demographic rates across the complete life cycle. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd oxn behalf of British Ecological Society.

Evolution of ultraviolet vision in the largest avian radiation - the passerines.

PubMed

Ödeen, Anders; Håstad, Olle; Alström, Per

2011-10-24

Interspecific variation in avian colour vision falls into two discrete classes: violet sensitive (VS) and ultraviolet sensitive (UVS). They are characterised by the spectral sensitivity of the most shortwave sensitive of the four single cones, the SWS1, which is seemingly under direct control of as little as one amino acid substitution in the cone opsin protein. Changes in spectral sensitivity of the SWS1 are ecologically important, as they affect the abilities of birds to accurately assess potential mates, find food and minimise visibility of social signals to predators. Still, available data have indicated that shifts between classes are rare, with only four to five independent acquisitions of UV sensitivity in avian evolution. We have classified a large sample of passeriform species as VS or UVS from genomic DNA and mapped the evolution of this character on a passerine phylogeny inferred from published molecular sequence data. Sequencing a small gene fragment has allowed us to trace the trait changing from one stable state to another through the radiation of the passeriform birds. Their ancestor is hypothesised to be UVS. In the subsequent radiation, colour vision changed between UVS and VS at least eight times. The phylogenetic distribution of SWS1 cone opsin types in Passeriformes reveals a much higher degree of complexity in avian colour vision evolution than what was previously indicated from the limited data available. Clades with variation in the colour vision system are nested among clades with a seemingly stable VS or UVS state, providing a rare opportunity to understand how an ecologically important trait under simple genetic control may co-evolve with, and be stabilised by, associated traits in a character complex.

Long-term dynamics of adaptive evolution in a globally important phytoplankton species to ocean acidification

PubMed Central

Schlüter, Lothar; Lohbeck, Kai T.; Gröger, Joachim P.; Riebesell, Ulf; Reusch, Thorsten B. H.

2016-01-01

Marine phytoplankton may adapt to ocean change, such as acidification or warming, because of their large population sizes and short generation times. Long-term adaptation to novel environments is a dynamic process, and phenotypic change can take place thousands of generations after exposure to novel conditions. We conducted a long-term evolution experiment (4 years = 2100 generations), starting with a single clone of the abundant and widespread coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi exposed to three different CO2 levels simulating ocean acidification (OA). Growth rates as a proxy for Darwinian fitness increased only moderately under both levels of OA [+3.4% and +4.8%, respectively, at 1100 and 2200 μatm partial pressure of CO2 (Pco2)] relative to control treatments (ambient CO2, 400 μatm). Long-term adaptation to OA was complex, and initial phenotypic responses of ecologically important traits were later reverted. The biogeochemically important trait of calcification, in particular, that had initially been restored within the first year of evolution was later reduced to levels lower than the performance of nonadapted populations under OA. Calcification was not constitutively lost but returned to control treatment levels when high CO2–adapted isolates were transferred back to present-day control CO2 conditions. Selection under elevated CO2 exacerbated a general decrease of cell sizes under long-term laboratory evolution. Our results show that phytoplankton may evolve complex phenotypic plasticity that can affect biogeochemically important traits, such as calcification. Adaptive evolution may play out over longer time scales (>1 year) in an unforeseen way under future ocean conditions that cannot be predicted from initial adaptation responses. PMID:27419227

Complex and changing patterns of natural selection explain the evolution of the human hip.

PubMed

Grabowski, Mark; Roseman, Charles C

2015-08-01

Causal explanations for the dramatic changes that occurred during the evolution of the human hip focus largely on selection for bipedal function and locomotor efficiency. These hypotheses rest on two critical assumptions. The first-that these anatomical changes served functional roles in bipedalism-has been supported in numerous analyses showing how postcranial changes likely affected locomotion. The second-that morphological changes that did play functional roles in bipedalism were the result of selection for that behavior-has not been previously explored and represents a major gap in our understanding of hominin hip evolution. Here we use evolutionary quantitative genetic models to test the hypothesis that strong directional selection on many individual aspects of morphology was responsible for the large differences observed across a sample of fossil hominin hips spanning the Plio-Pleistocene. Our approach uses covariance among traits and the differences between relatively complete fossils to estimate the net selection pressures that drove the major transitions in hominin hip evolution. Our findings show a complex and changing pattern of natural selection drove hominin hip evolution, and that many, but not all, traits hypothesized to play functional roles in bipedalism evolved as a direct result of natural selection. While the rate of evolutionary change for all transitions explored here does not exceed the amount expected if evolution was occurring solely through neutral processes, it was far above rates of evolution for morphological traits in other mammalian groups. Given that stasis is the norm in the mammalian fossil record, our results suggest that large shifts in the adaptive landscape drove hominin evolution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization, expression profiles, intracellular distribution and association analysis of porcine PNAS-4 gene with production traits.

PubMed

Mo, Delin; Zhu, Zhengmao; te Pas, Marinus F W; Li, Xinyun; Yang, Shulin; Wang, Heng; Wang, Huanling; Li, Kui

2008-06-30

In a previous screen to identify differentially expressed genes associated with embryonic development, the porcine PNAS-4 gene had been found. Considering differentially expressed genes in early stages of muscle development are potential candidate genes to improve meat quality and production efficiency, we determined how porcine PNAS-4 gene regulates meat production. Therefore, this gene has been sequenced, expression analyzed and associated with meat production traits. We cloned the full-length cDNA of porcine PNAS-4 gene encoding a protein of 194 amino acids which was expressed in the Golgi complex. This gene was mapped to chromosome 10, q11-16, in a region of conserved synteny with human chromosome 1 where the human homologous gene was localized. Real-time PCR revealed that PNAS-4 mRNA was widely expressed with highest expression levels in skeletal muscle followed by lymph, liver and other tissues, and showed a down-regulated expression pattern during prenatal development while a up-regulated expression pattern after weaning. Association analysis revealed that allele C of SNP A1813C was prevalent in Chinese indigenous breeds whereas A was dominant allele in Landrace and Large White, and the pigs with homozygous CC had a higher fat content than those of the pigs with other genotypes (P < 0.05). Porcine PNAS-4 protein tagged with green fluorescent protein accumulated in the Golgi complex, and its mRNA showed a widespread expression across many tissues and organs in pigs. It may be an important factor affecting the meat production efficiency, because its down-regulated expression pattern during early embryogenesis suggests involvement in increase of muscle fiber number. In addition, the SNP A1813C associated with fat traits might be a genetic marker for molecular-assisted selection in animal breeding.

Linking Belowground Plant Traits With Ecosystem Processes: A Multi-Biome Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iversen, C. M.; Norby, R. J.; Childs, J.; McCormack, M. L.; Walker, A. P.; Hanson, P. J.; Warren, J.; Sloan, V. L.; Sullivan, P. F.; Wullschleger, S.; Powell, A. S.

2015-12-01

Fine plant roots are short-lived, narrow-diameter roots that play an important role in ecosystem carbon, water, and nutrient cycling in biomes ranging from the tundra to the tropics. Root ecologists make measurements at a millimeter scale to answer a question with global implications: In response to a changing climate, how do fine roots modulate the exchange of carbon between soils and the atmosphere and how will this response affect our future climate? In a Free-Air CO2 Enrichment experiment in Oak Ridge, TN, elevated [CO2] caused fine roots to dive deeper into the soil profile in search of limiting nitrogen, which led to increased soil C storage in deep soils. In contrast, the fine roots of trees and shrubs in an ombrotrophic bog are constrained to nutrient-poor, oxic soils above the average summer water table depth, though this may change with warmer, drier conditions. Tundra plant species are similarly constrained to surface organic soils by permafrost or waterlogged soils, but have many adaptations that alter ecosystem C fluxes, including aerenchyma that oxygenate the rhizosphere but also allow direct methane flux to the atmosphere. FRED, a global root trait database, will allow terrestrial biosphere models to represent the complexity of root traits across the globe, informing both model representation of ecosystem C and nutrient fluxes, but also the gaps where measurements are needed on plant-soil interactions (for example, in the tropical biome). While the complexity of mm-scale measurements may never have a place in large-scale global models, close collaboration between empiricists and modelers can help to guide the scaling of important, yet small-scale, processes to quantify their important roles in larger-scale ecosystem fluxes.

Trait positive affect is associated with hippocampal volume and change in caudate volume across adolescence.

PubMed

Dennison, Meg; Whittle, Sarah; Yücel, Murat; Byrne, Michelle L; Schwartz, Orli; Simmons, Julian G; Allen, Nicholas B

2015-03-01

Trait positive affect (PA) in childhood confers both risk and resilience to psychological and behavioral difficulties in adolescence, although explanations for this association are lacking. Neurodevelopment in key areas associated with positive affect is ongoing throughout adolescence, and is likely to be related to the increased incidence of disorders of positive affect during this period of development. The aim of this study was to prospectively explore the relationship between trait indices of PA and brain development in subcortical reward regions during early to mid-adolescence in a community sample of adolescents. A total of 89 (46 male, 43 female) adolescents participated in magnetic resonance imaging assessments during both early and mid-adolescence (mean age at baseline = 12.6 years, SD = 0.45; mean follow-up period = 3.78 years, SD = 0.21) and also completed self-report measures of trait positive and negative affect (at baseline). To examine the specificity of these effects, the relation between negative affect and brain development was also examined. The degree of volume reduction in the right caudate over time was predicted by PA. Independent of time, larger hippocampal volumes were associated with higher PA, and negative affect was associated with smaller left amygdala volume. The moderating effect of negative affect on the development of the left caudate varied as a function of lifetime psychiatric history. These findings suggest that early to mid-adolescence is an important period whereby neurodevelopmental processes may underlie key phenotypes conferring both risk and resilience for emotional and behavioral difficulties later in life.

Out of the blue: Untangling the association between impulsivity and planning in self-harm.

PubMed

Rawlings, Jodie; Shevlin, Mark; Corcoran, Rhiannon; Morriss, Richard; Taylor, Peter James

2015-09-15

Planned and unplanned acts of self-harm may have distinct clinical and psychological correlates. Trait impulsivity is one factor that might be expected to determine whether self-harm is planned. Research so far has focussed on suicide attempts and little is known about how individuals engaging in planned and unplanned acts of self-harm differ. The aim of the current study was to examine how individuals who report planned self-harm, unplanned self-harm, and no self-harm differ in terms of impulsivity and affective symptoms (depression, anxiety, and activated mood). An online survey of University students (n = 1350) was undertaken including measures of impulsivity, affective symptoms and self-harm. Analyses made use of a multinomial logistic regression model with affective and cognitive forms of impulsivity estimated as latent variables. Trait affective impulsivity, but not cognitive, was a general risk factor for whether self-harm occurred. There was no evidence of differences between planned and unplanned self-harm. Affective symptoms of depression and anxiety mediated the relationship between affective impulsivity and self-harm. The study was cross-sectional, relied on a student sample which may not generalise to other populations. Trait affective impulsivity is associated with self-harm but it appears to be mediated by depression and anxiety symptoms. The exact relationships between trait affective impulsivity, depression, anxiety and self-harm require further longitudinal research in clinical populations but might lead to improved risk assessment and new therapeutic approaches to self-harm. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Developmental trends in alcohol use initiation and escalation from early- to middle-adolescence: Prediction by urgency and trait affect

PubMed Central

Spillane, Nichea S.; Merrill, Jennifer E.; Jackson, Kristina M.

2016-01-01

Studies on adolescent drinking have not always been able to distinguish between initiation and escalation of drinking, because many studies include samples in which initiation has already occurred; hence initiation and escalation are often confounded. The present study draws from a dual-process theoretical framework to investigate: if changes in the likelihood of drinking initiation and escalation are predicted by a tendency towards rash action when experiencing positive and negative emotions (positive and negative urgency); and whether trait positive and negative affect moderate such effects. Alcohol naïve adolescents (n=944; age: M=12.16, SD=.96; 52% female) completed 6 semi-annual assessments of trait urgency and affect (wave-1) and alcohol use (waves 2–6). A two-part random-effects model was used to estimate changes in the likelihood of any alcohol use vs. escalation in the volume of use amongst initiators. Main effects suggest a significant association between positive affect and change in level of alcohol use amongst initiators, such that lower positive affect predicted increased alcohol involvement. This main effect was qualified by a significant interaction between positive urgency and positive affect predicting changes in the escalation of drinking, such that the effect of positive urgency was augmented for those high on trait positive affect, though only at extremely high levels of positive affect. Results suggest risk factors in the development of drinking depend on whether initiation or escalation is investigated. A more nuanced understanding of the early developmental phases of alcohol involvement can inform prevention and intervention efforts. PMID:27031086

Genetic Improvement of Switchgrass and Other Herbaceous Plants for Use as Biomass Fuel Feedstock

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vogel, K.P.

2001-01-11

It should be highly feasible to genetically modify the feedstock quality of switchgrass and other herbaceous plants using both conventional and molecular breeding techniques. Effectiveness of breeding to modify herbages of switchgrass and other perennial and annual herbaceous species has already been demonstrated. The use of molecular markers and transformation technology will greatly enhance the capability of breeders to modify the plant structure and cell walls of herbaceous plants. It will be necessary to monitor gene flow to remnant wild populations of plants and have strategies available to curtail gene flow if it becomes a potential problem. It also willmore » be necessary to monitor plant survival and long-term productivity as affected by genetic changes that improve forage quality. Information on the conversion processes that will be used and the biomass characteristics that affect conversion efficiency and rate is absolutely essential as well as information on the relative economic value of specific traits. Because most forage or biomass quality characteristics are highly affected by plant maturity, it is suggested that plant material of specific maturity stages be used in research to determining desirable feedstock quality characteristics. Plant material could be collected at various stages of development from an array of environments and storage conditions that could be used in conversion research. The same plant material could be used to develop NIRS calibrations that could be used by breeders in their selection programs and also to develop criteria for a feedstock quality assessment program. Breeding for improved feedstock quality will likely affect the rate of improvement of biomass production per acre. If the same level of resources are used, multi-trait breeding simply reduces the selection pressure and hence the breeding progress that can be made for a single trait unless all the traits are highly correlated. Since desirable feedstock traits are likely to be similar to IVDMD, it is likely that they will not be highly positively correlated with yield. Hence to achieve target yields and improve specific quality traits, it will likely be necessary to increase the resources available to plant breeders. Marker assisted selection will be extremely useful in breeding for quality traits, particularly for traits that can be affected by modifying a few genes. Genetic markers are going to be needed for monitoring gene flow to wild populations. Transformation will be a very useful tool for determining the affects of specific genes on biomass feedstock quality.« less

Identification of quantitative trait loci affecting resistance to gastro-intestinal parasites in a double backcross population of Red Maasai and Dorper sheep

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A genome-wide scan for quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting gastrointestinal (GI) nematode resistance was completed using a double backcross sheep population derived from Red Maasai and Dorper ewes bred to F1 rams. These breeds were chosen, because Red Maasai sheep are known to be more tolerant ...

Genome-wide association study for identifying loci that affect fillet yield, carcass, and body weight traits in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fillet yield (FY, %) is an economically important trait in rainbow trout aquaculture that affects production efficiency. Despite that, FY has not received much attention in breeding programs because it is difficult to measure on a large number of fish and it cannot be directly measured on breeding c...

Examining High-School Students' Preferences toward Learning Environments, Personal Beliefs and Concept Learning in Web-Based Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Fang-Ying; Chang, Cheng-Chieh

2009-01-01

The purpose of the study is to explore three kinds of personal affective traits among high-school students and their effects on web-based concept learning. The affective traits include personal preferences about web-based learning environments, personal epistemological beliefs, and beliefs about web-based learning. One hundred 11th graders…

Personality Traits and Positive/Negative Affects: An Analysis of Meaning in Life among Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isik, Serife; Üzbe, Nazife

2015-01-01

This study examines the impact of positive and negative affects and personality traits on meaning in life in an adult population. The sample consisted of 335 subjects: 190 females and 145 males, and a Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), positive and negative schedule (PANAS), and adjective-based personality scale (ABPT) were used in the research.…

Divide and conquer: intermediate levels of population fragmentation maximize cultural accumulation.

PubMed

Derex, Maxime; Perreault, Charles; Boyd, Robert

2018-04-05

Identifying the determinants of cumulative cultural evolution is a key issue in the interdisciplinary field of cultural evolution. A widely held view is that large and well-connected social networks facilitate cumulative cultural evolution because they promote the spread of useful cultural traits and prevent the loss of cultural knowledge through factors such as drift. This view stems from models that focus on the transmission of cultural information, without considering how new cultural traits actually arise. In this paper, we review the literature from various fields that suggest that, under some circumstances, increased connectedness can decrease cultural diversity and reduce innovation rates. Incorporating this idea into an agent-based model, we explore the effect of population fragmentation on cumulative culture and show that, for a given population size, there exists an intermediate level of population fragmentation that maximizes the rate of cumulative cultural evolution. This result is explained by the fact that fully connected, non-fragmented populations are able to maintain complex cultural traits but produce insufficient variation and so lack the cultural diversity required to produce highly complex cultural traits. Conversely, highly fragmented populations produce a variety of cultural traits but cannot maintain complex ones. In populations with intermediate levels of fragmentation, cultural loss and cultural diversity are balanced in a way that maximizes cultural complexity. Our results suggest that population structure needs to be taken into account when investigating the relationship between demography and cumulative culture.This article is part of the theme issue 'Bridging cultural gaps: interdisciplinary studies in human cultural evolution'. © 2018 The Author(s).

A Memory Advantage for Untrustworthy Faces

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rule, Nicholas O.; Slepian, Michael L.; Ambady, Nalini

2012-01-01

Inferences of others' social traits from their faces can influence how we think and behave towards them, but little is known about how perceptions of people's traits may affect downstream cognitions, such as memory. Here we explored the relationship between targets' perceived social traits and how well they were remembered following a single brief…

Novel genetic capacitors and potentiators for the natural genetic variation of sensory bristles and their trait specificity in Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Takahashi, Kazuo H

2015-11-01

Cryptic genetic variation (CGV) is defined as the genetic variation that has little effect on phenotypic variation under a normal condition, but contributes to heritable variation under environmental or genetic perturbations. Genetic buffering systems that suppress the expression of CGV and store it in a population are called genetic capacitors, and the opposite systems are called genetic potentiators. One of the best-known candidates for a genetic capacitor and potentiator is the molecular chaperone protein, HSP90, and one of its characteristics is that it affects the genetic variation in various morphological traits. However, it remains unclear whether the wide-ranging effects of HSP90 on a broad range of traits are a general feature of genetic capacitors and potentiators. In the current study, I searched for novel genetic capacitors and potentiators for quantitative bristle traits of Drosophila melanogaster and then investigated the trait specificity of their genetic buffering effect. Three bristle traits of D. melanogaster were used as the target traits, and the genomic regions with genetic buffering effects were screened using the 61 genomic deficiencies examined previously for genetic buffering effects in wing shape. As a result, four and six deficiencies with significant effects on increasing and decreasing the broad-sense heritability of the bristle traits were identified, respectively. Of the 18 deficiencies with significant effects detected in the current study and/or by the previous study, 14 showed trait-specific effects, and four affected the genetic buffering of both bristle traits and wing shape. This suggests that most genetic capacitors and potentiators exert trait-specific effects, but that general capacitors and potentiators with effects on multiple traits also exist. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.