| 1. |
- Clark, Andrew G., et al.
(författare)
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Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny
- 2007
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 450:7167, s. 203-218
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species.
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| 2. |
- Calles, Olle
(författare)
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Re-establishment of connectivity for fish populations in regulated rivers
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The hydropower industry has altered connectivity in many rivers during the last century. Many fish species depend on both an intact longitudinal connectivity to be able to migrate between spawning, feeding and winter habitats, and vertical connectivity for development and survival of incubating embryos and larvae in the gravel. The objective of this thesis was to examine problems and remedial measures associated with disrupted longitudinal and vertical connectivity in regulated rivers. The issue of longitudinal connectivity was studied in the River Emån by evaluating the efficiency of two nature-like fishways for anadromous brown trout. Telemetry studies showed that the combined efficiency for the two fishways in 2001-2004 was 60.5%. The passage efficiencies of both fishways were high for trout (89-100%), but also for other species such as chub, perch, tench, burbot and roach (74%). The attraction efficiencies were largely dependent on power plant operation, and generally high for the fishway situated next to the tail-race and low for the fishway situated inside the former channel. More than half of the trout spawners were also observed using the fishways for downstream passage. The densities of brown trout yearlings upstream of the fishways were higher after the fishways were built than during pre-fishway years. Smolts produced upstream of the fishways were observed migrating downstream in 2003-2005. The percentage of smolts that passed both power plants in was 51%, with losses being attributed to predation (15%), turbine-induced mortality (16%) and other reasons (18%). Turbine-induced mortality was higher (40%) at the power plant with four small Francis runners, than at the power plant with one large Kaplan runner (12%). The issue of vertical connectivity was studied in three rivers in Värmland, one unregulated, and two regulated, one of which had no minimum flow requirements. In the unregulated river, temporal patterns in hyporheic water chemistry correlated to variation in surface water chemistry and discharge as expected. In the regulated rivers, the hyporheic water chemistry showed little correlation to discharge or surface water chemistry. The intra-gravel water chemistry conditions for brown trout eggs were more favourable in the unregulated river, characterised by high oxygen levels, than in the two regulated rivers. The regulated river with no minimum flow requirements had critically low oxygen levels at the end of the incubation period.
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| 3. |
- Zhang, Fan, et al.
(författare)
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VEGF-B is dispensable for blood vessel growth but critical for their survival, and VEGF-B targeting inhibits pathological angiogenesis
- 2009
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 106:15, s. 6152-6157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- VEGF-B, a homolog of VEGF discovered a long time ago, has not been considered an important target in antiangiogenic therapy. Instead, it has received little attention from the field. In this study, using different animal models and multiple types of vascular cells, we revealed that although VEGF-B is dispensable for blood vessel growth, it is critical for their survival. Importantly, the survival effect of VEGF-B is not only on vascular endothelial cells, but also on pericytes, smooth muscle cells, and vascular stem/progenitor cells. In vivo, VEGF-B targeting inhibited both choroidal and retinal neovascularization. Mechanistically, we found that the vascular survival effect of VEGF-B is achieved by regulating the expression of many vascular prosurvival genes via both NP-1 and VEGFR-1. Our work thus indicates that the function of VEGF-B in the vascular system is to act as a "survival," rather than an "angiogenic" factor and that VEGF-B inhibition may offer new therapeutic opportunities to treat neovascular diseases.
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| 4. |
- Österling, Martin, 1970-
(författare)
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Ecology of freshwater mussels in disturbed environments
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The number of species extinctions is increasing at an alarming rate. Long-lived freshwater mussels of the order Unionoida, which include a parasitic stage on a host fish, are highly threatened. Habitat degradation by turbidity and sedimentation is thought to be one major reason for their decline. The objective of this thesis was to examine recruitment patterns and identify the causes of the lack of recruitment in the threatened unionoid freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera). In addition, I investigated the effects of turbidity on non-endangered dreissenid mussels, where turbidity was manipulated through use of bioturbating mayflies.In a survey of 107 Swedish streams, mussel population size and trout density were both positively correlated to recruitment probability of M. margaritifera. A more in-depth study of the age-structure of nine populations revealed that four of these populations showed no signs of recruitment over the last ten years. Within-stream variation in recruitment was high as both mussels and trout had patchy distribution, and may be important for population regulation. Moreover, examination of different life stages revealed no differences in the gravid mussel stage or the stage when mussels infect salmonid fish. Instead, differences were observed for the juvenile, benthic stage, presumably related to differences in turbidity and sedimentation. High turbidity may affect filter-feeding efficiency of mussels and high sedimentation may reduce survival by clogging sediments, thereby altering, for example, oxygen and food conditions. In the study of the effects of turbidity, bioturbating mayflies increased turbidity and filter-feeding dreissenid mussels reduced turbidity. Mussel growth both decreased and increased with increasing turbidity, depending on sediment type.Turbidity and sedimentation often impact entire stream systems, and a holistic, catchment-based management strategy may be needed to reduce the effects of sedimentation on freshwater pearl mussels. The effects of restoration take a long time and must start soon if recruitment of mussels is to be re-established. Restoration may also be more urgent in some streams than in others, as the maximum age of M. margaritifera populations in my study differed by as much as 60 years. As mussel and trout densities seem to be important for recruitment success, one conservation method may be to concentrate mussels into sites where trout density is high.
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