Delimitation of species is often complicated by discordance of morphological and genetic data. This may be caused by the existence of cryptic or polymorphic species. The latter case is particularly true for certain snail species showing an exceptionally high intraspecific genetic diversity. The present investigation deals with the Trochulus hispidus complex, which has a complicated taxonomy. Our analyses of the COI sequence revealed that individuals showing a T. hispidus phenotype are distributed in nine highly differentiated mitochondrial clades (showing p-distances up to 19%). The results of a parallel morphometric investigation did not reveal any differentiation between these clades, although the overall variability is quite high. The phylogenetic analyses based on 12S, 16S and COI sequences show that the T. hispidus complex is paraphyletic with respect to several other morphologically well-defined Trochulus species (T. clandestinus, T. villosus, T. villosulus and T. striolatus) which form well-supported monophyletic groups. The nc marker sequence (5.8S–ITS2–28S) shows only a clear separation of T. o. oreinos and T. o. scheerpeltzi, and a weakly supported separation of T. clandestinus, whereas all other species and the clades of the T. hispidus complex appear within one homogeneous group. The paraphyly of the T. hispidus complex reflects its complicated history, which was probably driven by geographic isolation in different glacial refugia and budding speciation. At our present state of knowledge, it cannot be excluded that several cryptic species are embedded within the T. hispidus complex. However, the lack of morphological differentiation of the T. hispidus mitochondrial clades does not provide any hints in this direction. Thus, we currently do not recommend any taxonomic changes. The results of the current investigation exemplify the limitations of barcoding attempts in highly diverse species such as T. hispidus.
The diagnosis of pulmonary sequestration has traditionally relied on angiographic demonstration of a systemic artery to the sequestered lung tissue. Rarely, extralobar sequestration can be associated with tension hydrothorax, which in the past has invariably led to fetal hydrops and death. The authors report the cases of three infants who had initially undergone color and spectral Doppler analysis; in two of them, extralobar sequestrations were associated with congenital hydrothorax. All three patients underwent surgical resection and histopathologic evaluation of their sequestrations. On the basis of the findings, the authors believe that torsion of the sequestration occludes the efferent venous and lymphatic channels, initiating the accumulation of pleural fluid and subsequent hydrops through systemic venous obstruction. Color Doppler made possible the identification of minute feeding vessels, obviating further diagnostic studies.
The size and echogenicity of the pancreas was evaluated with real-time and static sonography and correlated in an independent and retrospective manner with amylase values in 17 asymptomatic children, 19 children with acute pancreatitis, and 2 with chronic pancreatitis. A ratio of the greatest anteroposterior dimension of the body of the pancreas relative to the transverse lumbar vertebral body measurement (P/V ratio) greater than 0.3, when associated with a hypoechoic pancreatic parenchyma, was indicative of acute pancreatitis. The predictive value of a positive sonogram was found to be 0.93, whereas the predictive value of a negative sonogram was 0.78. These data indicate that sonography is a useful adjunct to amylase determinations in the detection of pancreatitis in children.
The genetic basis of phenotypic changes in extreme environments is a key but rather unexplored topic in animal evolution. Here we provide an exemplar case of evolution by relaxed selection in the Somalian cavefish Phreatichthys andruzzii that has evolved in the complete absence of light for at least 2.8 million years. This has resulted in extreme degenerative phenotypes, including complete eye loss and partial degeneration of the circadian clock. We have investigated the molecular evolution of the nonvisual photoreceptor melanopsin opn4m2, whose mutation contributes to the inability of peripheral clocks to respond to light. Our intra-and inter-species analyses suggest that the 'blind' clock in P. andruzzii evolved because of the loss of selective constraints on a trait that was no longer adaptive. Based on this change in selective regime, we estimate that the functional constraint on cavefish opn4m2 was relaxed at ∼ 5.3 Myr. This implies a long subterranean history, about half in complete isolation from the surface. The visual photoreceptor rhodopsin, expressed in the brain and implicated in photophobic behavior, shows similar evolutionary patterns, suggesting that extreme isolation in darkness led to a general weakening of evolutionary constraints on light-responsive mechanisms. Conversely, the same genes are still conserved in Garra barreimiae, a cavefish from Oman, that independently and more recently colonized subterranean waters and evolved troglomorphic traits. Our results contribute substantially to the open debate on the genetic bases of regressive evolution.
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