Stochastic switching is an example of phenotypic bet hedging, where offspring can express a phenotype different from that of their parents. Phenotypic switching is well documented in viruses, yeast, and bacteria and has been extensively studied when the selection pressures vary through time. However, there has been little work on the evolution of phenotypic switching under both spatially and te...

This study reports the rates of phenotypic switching in strains of Candida albicans isolated from superficial and invasive infections. Of 19 invasive strains, 68% showed switching activity, often at very high rates, compared with only 28% of 40 strains isolated from superficial sites (P = 0.004).

Understanding the architecture of genetic variation, that is the number, effect, location, and interaction, of genes responsible for phenotypic variability in nature is important for the understanding of microevolutionary processes. In this study, we have used a quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach to uncover the genetic architecture of fitness-relevant traits associated with reproduction and...

this investigation aimed to assess genetics of body conformation and feed efficiency traits in a control line of rhode island red (rir) chicken taking single hatched out pedigreed 100 chicks at central avian research institute, izatnagar, india. data was analyzed by least squares analysis of variance. least squares means of chick weight (cw), body weight (bw), shank length (sl), keel length (kl...

In recent years, likelihood-based approaches have been used with increasing frequency to evaluate macroevolutionary hypotheses of phenotypic evolution under distinct evolutionary processes in a phylogenetic context (e.g., Brownian motion, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck, etc.), and to compare one or more evolutionary rates for the same phenotypic trait along a phylogeny. It is also of interest to determine ...

The present investigation aimed to conduct a genetic study of dairy cattle and buffalo bulls based on economic traits and their phenotypic correlation. The means of various economic traits in both the species are presented. Cattle bulls reported a better libido score, Flehmen response, requirement of mounting stimulus and semen volume, conception rate and expected predicted difference for milk ...

The phenotypic view of selection assumes that genetic responses can be predicted from selective forces and heritability or in the classical quantitative genetic equation: R = h2S. However, data on selection in bird populations show that often no selection response is found, despite consistent selective forces on phenotypes and significant heritable variation. Such discrepancies may arise due to...

The leaves of angiosperms contain highly complex venation networks consisting of recursively nested, hierarchically organized loops. We describe a new phenotypic trait of reticulate vascular networks based on the topology of the nested loops. This phenotypic trait encodes information orthogonal to widely used geometric phenotypic traits, and thus constitutes a new dimension in the leaf venation...

Polyphenisms-the expression of discrete phenotypic morphs in response to environmental variation-are examples of phenotypic plasticity that may potentially be adaptive in the face of predictable environmental heterogeneity. In the butterfly Bicyclus anynana, we examine the hormonal regulation of phenotypic plasticity that involves divergent developmental trajectories into distinct adult morphs ...

Coevolutionary interactions depend upon a phenotypic interface of traits in each species that mediate the outcome of interactions among individuals. These phenotypic interfaces usually involve performance traits, such as locomotion or resistance to toxins, that comprise an integrated suite of physiological, morphological and behavioral traits. The reciprocal selection from species interactions ...