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“Maternal nest-site choice is a behavioral phenotype with transgenerational consequences that can appear at multiple stages of offspring ontogeny. In many reptiles, the microenvironment surrounding eggs (e.g., moisture) can affect multiple aspects of offspring fitness across selleck inhibitor several life stages (e.g., embryo survival, phenotypic development, and posthatching survival). Thus, natural selection should favor maternal nesting behaviors that positively affect both embryonic

and postembryonic ontogenetic trajectories. We tested this hypothesis in a 2-part laboratory experiment using the brown anole lizard (Anolis sagrei). In the first experiment; gravid lizards were given a choice of nesting substrates containing 5 levels of moisture content. By incubating eggs at the same 5 moisture levels, our second experiment tested if maternal choice of nest substrate facilitates embryonic development and enhances offspring quality and viability. Females strongly preferred nesting

substrates with high moisture content, and these conditions yielded high hatching success, large offspring size, and overall increased offspring survival. These results suggest that selection has adaptively matched maternal nesting behaviors, embryonic development, and posthatching phenotypes in ways that enhance both offspring and parental fitness. In addition, our results highlight the importance of incorporating multiple life-history stages when assessing the fitness consequences of transgenerational effects.”
“Clustered selleck products regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) is a recently discovered see more adaptive prokaryotic immune system that provides acquired immunity against foreign nucleic acids by utilizing small guide crRNAs (CRISPR RNAs) to interfere with invading viruses and plasmids. In Escherichia coli, Cas3 is essential for crRNA-guided interference with virus proliferation. Cas3 contains N-terminal HD phosphohydrolase and C-terminal Superfamily 2 (SF2) helicase domains. Here, we provide the first report of the cloning, expression, purification and in vitro functional analysis

of the Cas3 protein of the Streptococcus thermophilus CRISPR4 (Ecoli subtype) system. Cas3 possesses a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-stimulated ATPase activity, which is coupled to unwinding of DNA/DNA and RNA/DNA duplexes. Cas3 also shows ATP-independent nuclease activity located in the HD domain with a preference for ssDNA substrates. To dissect the contribution of individual domains, Cas3 separation-of-function mutants (ATPase(+)/nuclease(-) and ATPase(-)/nuclease(+)) were obtained by site-directed mutagenesis. We propose that the Cas3 ATPase/helicase domain acts as a motor protein, which assists delivery of the nuclease activity to Cascade-crRNA complex targeting foreign DNA. The EMBO Journal (2011) 30, 1335-1342. doi: 10.1038/emboj.2011.