% P(3HB-co-3HV) consisting of 5 mol% of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) under aerobic conditions, when the seed culture was inoculated at an appropriate time. When

ackA-pta, poxB, ldhA, adhE, and pflB were deleted, E. coli mutant BWapldf accumulated over 70 wt.% P(3HB-co-3HV) consisting of 8 mol% 3HV under aerobic conditions.”
“Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that maintain genetic variation in natural populations is one of the fundamental goals of evolutionary biology. There is growing evidence that genotype-by-environment interaction (G x E) can maintain additive genetic variance (V (A)), but we lack information on the relative performance AZD8931 Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor of genotypes under the competitive situations encountered in the field. Competing genotypes may influence each other, and this Nepicastat interaction is also subject to selection through indirect genetic effects (IGE). Here, we explore how genotypes perform when interacting and evaluate IGE in order to understand its influence on V (A) for sexually-selected

traits in the lesser waxmoth, Achroia grisella. We found that inter-genotype differences and crossover interactions under joint rearing are equal to or greater than values when reared separately. A focal genotype exhibited different performances when jointly reared with various genotypes-suggesting that IGE may be responsible for the increased levels of crossover and differences in performance observed. We suggest that some genotypes are superior competitors for food PU-H71 clinical trial acquisition in the larval stage, and that these differences influence the development and evolution of other genotypes through IGE. We reaffirm the role of G x E in maintaining V (A) and note the general importance of IGE in studies of evolutionary mechanisms.”
“One theory to explain the high incidence of niche specialization in many animals is that it reduces attentional load during resource-seeking behaviour and thus leads to more accurate resource selection. A recent neural network model refined the predictions of this theory, indicating

that a cognitive advantage in specialists is likely to occur under realistic ecological conditions, namely when ‘mistakes’ (i.e. selection of non-host resources) contribute moderately but positively to fitness. Here, we present a formal empirical test of the predictions of this model. Using a human-computer interactive, we demonstrate that the central prediction of the model is supported: specialist humans are more accurate decision-makers than generalists when their mistakes are rewarded, but not when mistakes are punished. The idea that increased decision accuracy drives the evolution of niche width in animals has been supported in almost all empirical systems in which it has been investigated. Theoretical work supports the idea, and now the predictions of a key theoretical model have been demonstrated in a real biological information-processing system.