Tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, has a common tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism, (TCAT)(n). We asked whether variation at (TCAT)(n) may influence the autonomic nervous system and its response to environmental stress. To understand the role of heredity in such traits, we turned to a human twin study design. Both biochemical and physiological autonom...

Most QTL detection studies in pigs have been carried out in experimental F(2) populations. However, segregation of a QTL must be confirmed within a purebred population for successful implementation of marker-assisted selection. Previously, QTL for meat quality and carcass traits were detected on SSC 7 in a Duroc purebred population. The objectives of the present study were to carry out a whole-...

Temporally changing environmental conditions occur in most parts of the world and can exert strong pressure on the immune defense of organisms. Seasonality may result in changes in physiological traits over the year, and such changes may be essential for the optimization of defense against infections. Evidence from field and laboratory studies suggest the existence of links between environmenta...

Invasive alien species can have serious adverse impacts on both the environment and the economy. Being able to predict the impacts of an alien species could assist in preventing or reducing these impacts. This study aimed to establish whether there are any life history traits consistently correlated with the impacts of alien birds across two continents, Europe and Australia, as a first step tow...

Males and females share most of their genetic material yet often experience very different selection pressures. Some traits that are adaptive when expressed in males may therefore be maladaptive when expressed in females. Recent studies demonstrating negative correlations in fitness between parents and their opposite-sex progeny suggest that natural selection may favor a reduction in trait corr...

We investigated physiological traits associated with a reproductive-resting stage in adult female harpacticoid copepods, Coullana canadensis (Willey). Our hypothesis was this stage represents a life-history strategy that could increase ®tness by improving winter survivorship and future reproductive success in spring. To test if physiological rates are suppressed in this stage, we compared gut-c...

Wheat (Triticum spp) is one of the first domesticated food crops. It represents the first source of calories (after rice) and an important source of proteins in developing countries. As a result of the Green Revolution, wheat yield sharply increased due to the use of improved varieties, irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers. The rate of increase in world wheat production, however, slowed afte...

in this research the effect of potrecine, spermine and spermidine on the postharvest life of cut red carnation (corsa) and some physiological trait was investigated in horticultural lab of azad university. therefore, an experiment based on completely randomized block design with tree levels of putrescine (1, 2 and 3) mm and spermidine (0.5, 1 and 2) and spermine (1, 2 and 3) mm with 3 replicati...