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1. Multiple solutions at the genomic level in response to selective breeding for high locomotor activity

   https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyac165  

   Hillis, David A.; Garland, Jr, Theodore; Gleason, ed., J. (October 2022, Genetics)

   Abstract Replicate lines under uniform selection often evolve in different ways. Previously, analyses using whole-genome sequence data for individual mice (Mus musculus) from 4 replicate High Runner lines and 4 nonselected control lines demonstrated genomic regions that have responded consistently to selection for voluntary wheel-running behavior. Here, we ask whether the High Runner lines have evolved differently from each other, even though they reached selection limits at similar levels. We focus on 1 High Runner line (HR3) that became fixed for a mutation at a gene of major effect (Myh4Minimsc) that, in the homozygous condition, causes a 50% reduction in hindlimb muscle mass and many pleiotropic effects. We excluded HR3 from SNP analyses and identified 19 regions not consistently identified in analyses with all 4 lines. Repeating analyses while dropping each of the other High Runner lines identified 12, 8, and 6 such regions. (Of these 45 regions, 37 were unique.) These results suggest that each High Runner line indeed responded to selection somewhat uniquely, but also that HR3 is the most distinct. We then applied 2 additional analytical approaches when dropping HR3 only (based on haplotypes and nonstatistical tests involving fixation patterns). All 3 approaches identified 7 new regions (as compared with analyses using all 4 High Runner lines) that include genes associated with activity levels, dopamine signaling, hippocampus morphology, heart size, and body size, all of which differ between High Runner and control lines. Our results illustrate how multiple solutions and “private” alleles can obscure general signatures of selection involving “public” alleles. 

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2. Large changes in detected selection signatures after a selection limit in mice bred for voluntary wheel-running behavior

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306397  

   Hillis, David A; Yadgary, Liran; Weinstock, George M; de_Villena, Fernando Pardo-Manuel; Pomp, Daniel; Garland, Theodore (August 2024, PLOS ONE)

   none (Ed.)

   In various organisms, sequencing of selectively bred lines at apparent selection limits has demonstrated that genetic variation can remain at many loci, implying that evolution at the genetic level may continue even if the population mean phenotype remains constant. We compared selection signatures at generations 22 and 61 of the “High Runner” mouse experiment, which includes 4 replicate lines bred for voluntary wheel-running behavior (HR) and 4 non-selected control (C) lines. Previously, we reported multiple regions of differentiation between the HR and C lines, based on whole-genome sequence data for 10 mice from each line at generation 61, which was >31 generations after selection limits had been reached in all HR lines. Here, we analyzed pooled sequencing data from ~20 mice for each of the 8 lines at generation 22, around when HR lines were reaching limits. Differentiation analyses of allele frequencies at ~4.4 million SNP loci used the regularized T-test and detected 258 differentiated regions with FDR = 0.01. Comparable analyses involving pooling generation 61 individual mouse genotypes into allele frequencies by line produced only 11 such regions, with almost no overlap among the largest and most statistically significant peaks between the two generations. These results implicate a sort of “genetic churn” that continues at loci relevant for running. Simulations indicate that loss of statistical power due to random genetic drift and sampling error are insufficient to explain the differences in selection signatures. The 13 differentiated regions at generation 22 with strict culling measures include 79 genes related to a wide variety of functions. Gene ontology identified pathways related to olfaction and vomeronasal pathways as being overrepresented, consistent with generation 61 analyses, despite those specific regions differing between generations. GenesDsppandRbm24are also identified as potentially explaining known bone and skeletal muscle differences, respectively, between the linetypes. 

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3. Coadaptation of the chemosensory system with voluntary exercise behavior in mice

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241758  

   Nguyen, Quynh Anh; Hillis, David; Katada, Sayako; Harris, Timothy; Pontrello, Crystal; Garland, Theodore; Haga-Yamanaka, Sachiko (November 2020, PLOS ONE)

   Matsunami, Hiroaki (Ed.)

   Ethologically relevant chemical senses and behavioral habits are likely to coadapt in response to selection. As olfaction is involved in intrinsically motivated behaviors in mice, we hypothesized that selective breeding for a voluntary behavior would enable us to identify novel roles of the chemosensory system. Voluntary wheel running (VWR) is an intrinsically motivated and naturally rewarding behavior, and even wild mice run on a wheel placed in nature. We have established 4 independent, artificially evolved mouse lines by selectively breeding individuals showing high VWR activity (High Runners; HRs), together with 4 non-selected Control lines, over 88 generations. We found that several sensory receptors in specific receptor clusters were differentially expressed between the vomeronasal organ (VNO) of HRs and Controls. Moreover, one of those clusters contains multiple single-nucleotide polymorphism loci for which the allele frequencies were significantly divergent between the HR and Control lines, i.e., loci that were affected by the selective breeding protocol. These results indicate that the VNO has become genetically differentiated between HR and Control lines during the selective breeding process. Although the role of the vomeronasal chemosensory receptors in VWR activity remains to be determined, the current results suggest that these vomeronasal chemosensory receptors are important quantitative trait loci for voluntary exercise in mice. We propose that olfaction may play an important role in motivation for voluntary exercise in mammals. 

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4. K ₃ [Mo ₂ (SNO5) ₄ Cl] ₃ [Mo ₂ (SNO5) ₄ ]: the first example of a heterometallic extended metal atom node (HEMAN)

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c6dt03659g  

   Dolinar, Brian S.; Kozimor, Stosh A.; Berry, John F. (January 2016, Dalton Transactions)

   We present the synthesis, structure, and electrochemistry of K 3 [Mo 2 (SNO5) 4 Cl] 3 [Mo 2 (SNO5) 4 ] ( 1 , HSNO5 = monothiosuccinimide), the first example of a heterometallic extended metal atom node (HEMAN). The HEMAN consists of two perpendicular, intersecting lines of metal atoms formed by three [Mo 2 (SNO5) 4 Cl] − units and one [Mo 2 (SNO5) 4 ] unit tethered together by K + ions. 

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5. Atomic Transition Probabilities for Transitions of Si i and Si ii and the Silicon Abundances of Several Very Metal-poor Stars ^∗  

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/acb642  

   Den Hartog, E. A.; Lawler, J. E.; Sneden, C.; Roederer, I. U.; Cowan, J. J. (March 2023, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series)

   Abstract We report new measurements of branching fractions for 20 UV and blue lines in the spectrum of neutral silicon (Sii) originating in the 3s²3p4s³P^o_1,2,¹P^o₁, and 3s3p³¹D^o_1,2upper levels. Transitions studied include both strong, nearly pure LS multiplets as well as very weak spin-forbidden transitions connected to these upper levels. We also report a new branching fraction measurement of the⁴P_1/2–²P^o_1/2,3/2intercombination lines in the spectrum of singly ionized silicon (Siii). The weak spin-forbidden lines of Siiand Siiiprovide a stringent test on recent theoretical calculations, to which we make comparison. The branching fractions from this study are combined with previously reported radiative lifetimes to yield transition probabilities and log(gf) values for these lines. We apply these new measurements to abundance determinations in five metal-poor stars. 

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