INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
COMMENTARY
- Loss-of-function approaches in comparative physiology: is there a future for knockdown experiments in the era of genome editing?
Summary: We discuss the merits and pitfalls of current knockdown and knockout approaches and advocate for the continued use of knockdown experiments in order to maintain progress in physiological research.
SHORT COMMUNICATION
- Does the left aorta provide proton-rich blood to the gut when crocodilians digest a meal?
Summary: Blood in the left aorta of American alligators does not contain elevated PCO2 levels during digestion.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Natural polymorphism in protein kinase G modulates functional senescence in Drosophila melanogaster
Summary: PKG, encoded by the polymorphic foraging gene, confers hypoxia tolerance at the expense of lifespan and healthy aging, indicating a novel role for PKG in aging and senescence.
- Variation in sexual brain size dimorphism over the breeding cycle in the three-spined stickleback
Summary: Sex-specific changes in brain size over the breeding cycle in the three-spined stickleback may be the reason for varying estimates of sexual brain size dimorphism across studies of this species.
- Increased apical sodium-dependent glucose transporter abundance in the ctenidium of the giant clam Tridacna squamosa upon illumination
Summary: The giant clam Tridacna squamosa expresses an apical sodium/glucose cotransporter 1 homolog in the ctenidium that could participate in light-enhanced glucose absorption.
- Sensory feedback independent pre-song vocalizations correlate with time to song initiation
Summary: The number and progression of introductory notes to song in the zebra finch are not affected by removal of sensory feedback.
- Work loop dynamics of the pigeon (Columba livia) humerotriceps demonstrate potentially diverse roles for active wing morphing
Highlighted Article: In pigeons, natural variation in wingbeat frequency, and humerotriceps activation phase and duration, indicate functional plasticity that can effectively power different flight behaviors.
- Pollen reverses decreased lifespan, altered nutritional metabolism and suppressed immunity in honey bees (Apis mellifera) treated with antibiotics
Highlighted Article: Bacteria in pollen confer the ability to inhibit virus replication, extend lifespan and improve overall health in honey bees treated with antibiotics.
- Context-dependent scaling of kinematics and energetics during contests and feeding in mantis shrimp
Editors' Choice: Behavioral context alters kinematic and energetic scaling in animals with spring-powered movements. Variable spring compression likely underlies these context-specific changes, which have implications for theories of contest and feeding behavior.
- Cutaneous respiration by diving beetles from underground aquifers of Western Australia (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)
Highlighted Article: Subterranean diving beetles survive permanently under water using cutaneous respiration, making them independent of visits to the surface to collect air, but restricting them to a small size.
- Interspecific scaling of blood flow rates and arterial sizes in mammals
Summary: Blood flow rates determine artery sizes in mammals, independent of body mass.
- Motor control of an insect leg during level and incline walking
Highlighted Article: In stick insect hindlegs, muscle activity is adjusted to different mechanical demands during walking, primarily early in stance. Adjustments strongly affect forces/torques but not kinematics and suggest step-by-step control.
- Avian yolk androgens are metabolized rather than taken up by the embryo during the first days of incubation
Highlighted Article: Mass spectrometric analysis using stable isotope labelled androgens shows that maternal androgens in bird egg yolk are not taken up by the embryo during early incubation but rather are metabolized.
- Elevated oxidative stress in pied flycatcher nestlings of eumelanic foster fathers under low rearing temperatures
Summary: The pied flycatcher demonstrates a temperature-dependent association between oxidative stress of offspring and variation in the melanin coloration of their foster father.
- The quantity–quality trade-off: differential effects of daily food availability times on reproductive performance and offspring quality in diurnal zebra finches
Summary: Absence of food in the morning compromises reproductive fecundity but not quality of offspring, whereas food absence in the evening compromises quality (skeletal growth and overall size) of offspring but not reproductive fecundity in continuously breeding diurnal zebra finches.
- 3D ultrastructural organisation of calcium release units in the avian sarcoplasmic reticulum
Summary: 3D reconstructions of calcium release units in the avian heart combined with computer modelling reveal that close clustering of cSR along the Z-line is vital for rapid propagation of the Ca2+ signal, enabling strong, fast contractions of the avian heart.
- Genetic and environmental effects on the scaling of metabolic rate with body size
Summary: Daphnia magna shows a genotype-by-temperature interaction in the allometric intercept of metabolic rate, but no genetic effects on the allometric slope.
- Morph- and sex-specific effects of challenging conditions on maintenance parameters in the Gouldian finch
Highlighted Article: Gouldian finches exhibit physiological divergence between individuals of different morphs and between reproductive partners under energetically demanding conditions (heatwave, moult or reproduction).
- Zonation of Ca2+ transport and enzyme activity in the caeca of rainbow trout – a simple structure with complex functions
Summary: A novel technique revealed region-specific ion transport properties within the caeca of rainbow trout. Feeding and environmental manipulation altered ion transport characteristics, which changes in enzyme activity supported.
- Softness sensing and learning in Drosophila larvae
Summary: Drosophila melanogaster larvae prefer a soft food substrate. They can learn the softness of agarose gel and evaluate foods by balancing softness and sweetness. Genetic background affects the larval preference for softness.
- Control of breathing and respiratory gas exchange in high-altitude ducks native to the Andes
Summary: Distinct physiological strategies for coping with hypoxia exist across different high-altitude lineages of ducks.
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Meet the Editors at SICB Virtual 2021
Reserve your place to join some of the journal editors, including Editor-in-Chief Craig Franklin, at our Meet the Editor session on 17 February at 2pm (EST). Don’t forget to view our SICB Subject Collection, featuring relevant JEB papers relating to some of the symposia sessions.
2020 at The Company of Biologists
Despite 2020's challenges, we were able to bring a number of long-term projects and new ventures to fruition. As we enter a new year, join us as we reflect on the triumphs of the last 12 months.
The Big Biology podcast
JEB author Christine Cooper talks to Big Biology about her research. In this fascinating JEB sponsored podcast she tells us how tough zebra finches adjust their physiology to cope with extreme climate events.
Developmental and reproductive physiology of small mammals at high altitude
Cayleih Robertson and Kathryn Wilsterman focus on high-altitude populations of the North American deer mouse in their review of the challenges and evolutionary innovations of pregnant and nursing small mammals at high altitude.
Read & Publish participation extends worldwide
“Being able to publish Open Access articles free of charge means that my article gets maximum exposure and has maximum impact, and that all my peers can read it regardless of the agreements that their universities have with publishers.”
Professor Roi Holzman (Tel Aviv University) shares his experience of publishing Open Access as part of our growing Read & Publish initiative. We now have over 60 institutions in 12 countries taking part – find out more and view our full list of participating institutions.