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Lutrinae, which contains 13 otter species, is a semi-aquatic subfamily. They reclaimed semi-aquatic environments as their habitat. As aquatic environments can lead high energy loss, otters require a highly efficient energy generating style. Mitochondria play key roles in energy production and supply. Thus, we hypothesized that different selective constraints might influence the mitochondrial genomic DNA (mtDNA) of otters compared to that of other terrestrial Mustelidae. To verify the conjecture, we compared the evolutionary rate of the mitochondrial genomes of 12 otter species (including those we previously assembled from five otter species) with those of 18 terrestrial Mustelidae. The results showed that four of the 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) (COX2, ND1, ND4 and ND6) in the mitochondrial genomes of semi-aquatic otters possessed higher rate of non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions (dN) to synonymous substitutions (dS) (ω values, dN/dS), than those in terrestrial Mustelidae. For two genes, ND1 and ND4, this difference remained significant after controlling for evolutionary relationships using phylogenetic independent contrasts (PIC) analysis. Furthermore, ND1 and ND4 are rapidly evolving genes (REG). Overall, these results demonstrate that ND1 and ND4 have undergone divergent evolutionary patterns between otters and terrestrial Mustelidae, along with their niche differentiation. The unique evolutionary pattern of mtDNA in Lutrinae may thus play an important role in their semi-aquatic habitat adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the Republics of socialist Yugoslavia, Montenegro has sought to establish close cooperation with Italy since the mid-1960s. As part of this policy, Montenegro paid close attention to the region of Apulia, geographically closest to Montenegro. The beginning of the cooperation was the establishment of the ferry line Antivari -- Bari in 1965. In 1966 relations were established between Titograd (Podgorica), the capital of Montenegro, and Bari, the capital of Apulia. The first official delegation from Montenegro visited Apulia in 1973 and in the same year an Apulian delegation visited Montenegro. That year, the fairs of Montenegro and Apulia founded the company «Centrojug-Italia». After the signing of the Osimo Agreements between Italy and Yugoslavia in 1975, which regulated the relationship between the two countries, the cooperation between Montenegro and Apulia developed further. A delegation of the Montenegrin Government paid an official visit to Apulia in 1977, while a delegation from Apulia visited Montenegro in 1980. One of the most significant results of these agreements was the establishment of a joint company «Levant-Co» in Bari in 1978. This article presents in detail the meetings of representatives from Montenegro and Apulia, their agreements and concrete examples of cooperation from 1973 to 1980. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]