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Article
Open AccessMale spiny frogs enter the underwater battlefield with loose skin exhibiting enhanced penetration of capillaries into the epidermis
The skin has multiple functions, and capillaries can penetrate the epidermis to shorten the diffusion path while allowing maintenance of overall epidermal thickness for nonrespiratory roles. However, a method ...
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Article
Open AccessDynamics behind disjunct distribution, hotspot-edge refugia, and discordant RADseq/mtDNA variability: insights from the Emei mustache toad
The distribution of genetic diversity and the underlying processes are important for conservation planning but are unknown for most species and have not been well studied in many regions. In East Asia, the Sic...
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Article
Open AccessMicrosatellite development from genome skimming and transcriptome sequencing: comparison of strategies and lessons from frog species
Even though microsatellite loci frequently have been isolated using recently developed next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques, this task is still difficult because of the subsequent polymorphism screening...
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Article
Open AccessMolecular Phylogenies indicate a Paleo-Tibetan Origin of Himalayan Lazy Toads (Scutiger)
The Himalaya presents an outstanding geologically active orogen and biodiversity hotspot. However, our understanding of the historical biogeography of its fauna is far from comprehensive. Many taxa are commonl...
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Article
Open AccessIntraspecific rearrangement of mitochondrial genome suggests the prevalence of the tandem duplication-random loss (TDLR) mechanism in Quasipaa boulengeri
Tandem duplication followed by random loss (TDRL) is the most frequently invoked model to explain the diversity of gene rearrangements in metazoan mitogenomes. The initial stages of gene rearrangement are diff...
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Article
Development of microsatellite markers for the spiny-bellied frog Quasipaa boulengeri (Anura: Dicroglossidae) through transcriptome sequencing
We detected and isolated thirty-two microsatellite loci from transcriptome-derived microsatellite DNA for Quasipaa boulengeri. The isolated loci were all polymorphic and the number of alleles per locus ranged fro...
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Article
Open AccessThe evolution of mitochondrial genomes in modern frogs (Neobatrachia): nonadaptive evolution of mitochondrial genome reorganization
Although mitochondrial (mt) gene order is highly conserved among vertebrates, widespread gene rearrangements occur in anurans, especially in neobatrachians. Protein coding genes in the mitogenome experience ad...
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Article
Open AccessFISH of 5S rDNA and telomeric (TTAGGG) n repeats in normal and translocated populations of the frog Quasipaa boulengeri (Anura, Ranidae)
Quasipaa boulengeri, a spiny frog, is widely distributed in the low mountain regions, around Sichuan Basin. Our previous study revealed five karyotypes, caused by a translocation, that are random...
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Article
Isolation and characterization of eleven polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite loci for Quasipaa boulengeri (Anura: Dicroglossidae)
We isolated and characterized eleven polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite loci in the spiny-bellied frog (Quasipaa boulengeri). The loci were screened in 62 individuals from two natural populations. All loc...
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Article
Isolation and characterization of ten microsatellite loci for the Chong’an moustache toad Leptobrachium liui (Anura: Megophryidae)
We isolated and characterized ten polymorphic microsatellite loci in the Chong’an moustache toad Leptobrachium liui, nine novel loci designed for this species and one locus from cross-species amplification. Loci ...
