Late-life fecundity has been shown to plateau at late ages in Drosophila analogously to late-life mortality rates. In this study, we test an evolutionary theory of late life based on the declining force of natural selection that can explain the occurrence of these late-life plateaus in Drosophila. We also examine the viability of eggs laid by late-age females and test a population genetic mecha...

a total of 48 female spirlins alburnoides sp. from the kesselian stream (south caspian sea basin, northern iran) were examined during a period from july 2008 to june 2009 to obtain data on fecundity, and to determine the spawning season of this carp. the mean absolute fecundity of females spirlin was 1722.92 (653.88) eggs. the fecundity has positive correlation with the size of the female. the...

Analysis of selective sweeps to pinpoint causative genomic regions involved in chicken domestication has revealed a strong selective sweep on chromosome 4 in layer chickens. The autoregulatory α-adrenergic receptor 2C (ADRA2C) gene is the closest to the selective sweep and was proposed as an important gene in the domestication of layer chickens. The ADRA2C promoter region was also hypermethylat...

Abstract The efficacy and high specificity of the RNA interference pathway has prompted its exploration as a potential molecular management tool for many insect pests, including destructive southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, in which gene knockdown mortality via double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) have already been demonstrated laboratory. nucleotide sequence dsRNAs requires an ...

A cost of reproduction, where lifespan and fecundity are negatively correlated, is of widespread occurrence. Mutations in insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) pathways and dietary restriction (DR) can extend lifespan in model organisms but do not always reduce fecundity, suggesting that the link between lifespan and fecundity is not inevitable. Understanding the molecular basis of the cost of reproducti...

The influence of blood meal and mating on Triatoma brasiliensis (Neiva) female fecundity, fertility, life-span and the preoviposition period were investigated under laboratory conditions. Nourishment increased fecundity, fertility and adult lifespan, whereas mating increased fecundity, fertility and decreased the preoviposition period. Females also required more than one mating to reach their f...

New genes originate frequently across diverse taxa. Given that genetic networks are typically comprised of robust, co-evolved interactions, the emergence of new genes raises an intriguing question: how do new genes interact with pre-existing genes? Here, we show that a recently originated gene rapidly evolved new gene networks and impacted sex-biased gene expression in Drosophila. This 4-6 mill...