Abstract—Cuscuta californica complex (sensu lato, s. l.) is a western North American group of species in which the infrastaminal scales are reduced, making the morphological delimitation of species particularly challenging. A revision of this group was prompted
by the discovery of an apparent new species from central California based primarily on molecular means. Driven by this finding, the morphological limits of C. californica s. l. species were comprehensively re-evaluated through a morphometric study. DNA sequences from plastid (trnL‐F
region and rbcL), nuclear ribosomal ITS and 26S rDNA, as well as a low-copy nuclear pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) gene were used to reconstruct evolutionary relationships among taxa. Last but not least, the host range of relevant taxa was determined using herbarium specimens. Molecular
results strongly supported the new species, C. difficilis, which was found to be morphologically separated from C. brachycalyx only by subtle calyx lobe and corolla tube shape differences. Despite sharing some of the hosts, all the members of C. californica s. l.
exhibited a differentiation of their host ranges. An identification key and description of the new species were provided together with a discussion on the systematics and host range of C. californica s. l.. Hybridization, accompanied by plastid capture, was suggested as a possible mechanism
of speciation for C. brachycalyx.
he hashtag, #womeninscience, has been used on Twitter over 100,000 times. Across the social media landscape, we hear about consistent underrepresentation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), but how many of us understand the how and why?One of the difficulties women face when it comes to discrimination in science is how they respond to it. Eden Hennessey, a social psychologist, has devoted her career to studying the cost of con-T 38
Monosomy 3 is a negative indicator for uveal melanoma (UM). A key tumor suppressor on chromosome 3 is the deubiquitinase BAP1, which usually has a second hit in cases with monosomy 3. Here, we investigated the role of Bap1 loss in the GNAQ Q209L mouse UM model. We found that heterozygous Bap1 mutations increased the proportion of lung lesions reaching an unusually large size and permitted the growth of liver lesions. Comparison of RNAseq data from mouse and human UM identified a set of 270 genes differentially expressed in the same direction when BAP1 is mutant. The most significant pathway in this gene set was Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). The expression of five apical junction complex genes known to be down-regulated in association with EMT was very significantly correlated with survival in human UM patients. Activation of EMT through Bap1 deficiency could increase melanoma plasticity and adaptation to new microenvironments.
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