Biomedical subjects

C H Cannon

Publications and source records attributed to C H Cannon.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Capturing genomic signatures of DNA sequence variation using a standard anonymous microarray platform.

Comparative genomics, using the model organism approach, has provided powerful insights into the structure and evolution of whole genomes. Unfortunately, only a small fraction of Earth's biodiversity will have its genome sequenced in the foreseeable future. Most wild organisms have radically different life histories and evolutionary genomics than current model systems. A novel technique is needed to expand comparative genomics to a wider range of organisms. Here, we describe a novel approach using an anonymous DNA microarray platform that gathers genomic samples of sequence variation from any organism. Oligonucleotide probe sequences placed on a custom 44 K array were 25 bp long and designed using a simple set of criteria to maximize their complexity and dispersion in sequence probability space. Using whole genomic samples from three known genomes (mouse, rat and human) and one unknown (Gonystylus bancanus), we demonstrate and validate its power, reliability, transitivity and sensitivity. Using two separate statistical analyses, a large numbers of genomic 'indicator' probes were discovered. The construction of a genomic signature database based upon this technique would allow virtual comparisons and simple queries could generate optimal subsets of markers to be used in large-scale assays, using simple downstream techniques. Biologists from a wide range of fields, studying almost any organism, could efficiently perform genomic comparisons, at potentially any phylogenetic level after performing a small number of standardized DNA microarray hybridizations. Possibilities for refining and expanding the approach are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Comparative locomotor ecology of gibbons and macaques: selection of canopy elements for crossing gaps.

To examine functional questions of arboreal locomotor ecology, the selection of canopy elements by Bornean agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis) and long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) was contrasted, and related to locomotor behaviors. The two species, and in some cases, the macaque sexes, varied in their use of most structural elements. Although both species traveled most frequently in the main canopy layer (macaques: 56%, gibbons: 48%), the gibbons strongly preferred the emergent canopy layer and traveled higher than the macaques (31 vs. 23 m above ground) in larger trees (48 vs. 26 cm dbh). Macaques preferred to cross narrower gaps (50% were in the class 0.1-0.5 m wide) than gibbons (42% were 1.6-3.0 m wide), consistent with the maximum gap width each crossed (3.5 m for macaques, 9 m for gibbons). Macaques could cross only 12% of the gaps encountered in the main canopy, and < 5% of the gaps in each of the other four layers. In contrast, all layers appear relatively continuous for gibbons. Specialized locomotor modes were used disproportionately at the beginning and end of travel segments, further indicating that behavior was organized around gap crossings. A model is defined, the Perceived Continuity Index (PCI), which predicts the relative use of canopy strata for each species, based on the percentage of gaps a species can cross, the frequency of gaps, and median length of continuous canopy structure in each canopy layer. The results support the hypothesis that locomotor behaviors, and strategies of selecting canopy strata for travel, are strongly constrained by wide gaps between trees and are ultimately based on selection for efficient direct line travel between distant points.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Combining and comparing morphometric shape descriptors with a molecular phylogeny: the case of fruit type evolution in Bornean Lithocarpus (Fagaceae).

Fruit type in the genus Lithocarpus (Fagaceae) includes both classic oak acorns and novel modifications. Bornean taxa with modified fruits can be separated into two sections (Synaedrys and Lithocarpus) based on subtle shape differences. By following strict criteria for homology and representation, this variation in shape can be captured and the sections distinguished by using elliptic Fourier or eigenshape analysis. Phenograms of fruit shape, constructed by using restricted maximum likelihood techniques and these morphometric descriptors, were incorporated into combined and comparative analyses with molecular sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear rDNA, using branch-weighted matrix representation. The combined analysis strongly suggested independent derivation of the novel fruit type in the two sections from different acornlike ancestors, while the comparative analysis indicated frequent decoupling between the molecular and morphological changes as inferred at well-supported nodes. The acorn fruit type has undergone little modification between ingroup and outgroup, despite large molecular distance. Greater morphological than molecular change was inferred at critical transitions between acorn and novel fruit types, particularly for section Lithocarpus. The combination of these two different types of data improved our understanding of the macroevolution of fruit type in this difficult group, and the comparative analysis highlighted the significant incongruities in evolutionary pattern between the two datasets.

Borneo↗