Microhabitat Variation Explains Local‐scale Distribution of Terrestrial Amazonian Lizards in Rondônia,Western Brazil

We investigate the role of ecology and phylogeny in the association between lizard abundance and microhabitat variables in an Amazon rain forest site. Using pitfall trap arrays, we collected data from 349 individuals belonging to 23 lizard species. After accounting for spatial autocorrelation and using a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), we found that lizard captures were significantly associated with microhabitat variables, which accounted for 48 percent of the observed variation. Furthermore, a canonical phylogenetic ordination (CPO) indicated that microhabitat variables are more important in determining the distribution of lizard species than phylogenetic relationships among species. Termite nests, canopy openness, and tree circumference were strongly associated with the number of captures of certain lizard species. Our results confirm autecology studies of individual lizard species for which data are available. We suggest that maintaining heterogeneous forested microhabitats should be a central goal for sustaining a high lizard biodiversity in Amazon rain forests.     

Surface wax esters contribute to drought tolerance in Arabidopsis

Waxes are components of the cuticle covering the aerial organs of plants. Accumulation of waxes has previously been associated with protection against water loss, therefore contributing to drought tolerance. However, not much information is known about the function of individual wax components during water deficit. We studied the role of wax ester synthesis during drought. The wax ester load on Arabidopsis leaves and stems was increased during water deficiency. Expression of three genes, WSD1, WSD6 and WSD7 of the wax ester synthase/diacylglycerol acyltransferase (WS/DGAT or WSD) family was induced during drought, salt stress and abscisic acid treatment. WSD1 has previously been identified as the major wax ester synthase of stems. wsd1 mutants have shown reduced wax ester coverage on leaves and stems during normal or drought condition, while wax ester loads of wsd6, wsd7 and of the wsd6wsd7 double mutant were unchanged. The growth and relative water content of wsd1 plants were compromised during drought, while leaf water loss of wsd1 was increased. Enzyme assays with recombinant proteins expressed in insect cells revealed that WSD6 and WSD7 contain wax ester synthase activity, albeit with different substrate specificity compared with WSD1. WSD6 and WSD7 localize to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)/Golgi. These results demonstrated that WSD1 is involved in the accumulation of wax esters during drought, while WSD6 and WSD7 might play other specific roles in wax ester metabolism during stress.     

The role of changing pH on olfactory success of predator–prey interactions in green shore crabs,Carcinus maenas

Aquatic Ecology - Arguably climate change is one of the biggest challenges faced by many organisms. One of the more significant of these is the decreasing pH level of the ocean, a consequence of...     

The pearl necklace model in protein A chromatography: Molecular mechanisms at the resin interface

Staphylococcal protein A chromatography is an established core technology for monoclonal antibody purification and capture in the downstream processing. MabSelect SuRe involves a tetrameric chain of a recombinant form of the B domain of staphylococcal protein A, called the Z-domain. Little is known about the stoichiometry, binding orientation, or preferred binding. We analyzed small-angle X-ray scattering data of the antibody–protein A complex immobilized in an industrial highly relevant chromatographic resin at different antibody concentrations. From scattering data, we computed the normalized radial density distributions. We designed three-dimensional (3D) models with protein data bank crystallographic structures of an IgG1 (the isoform of trastuzumab, used here; Protein Data Bank: 1HZH) and the staphylococcal protein A B domain (the native form of the recombinant structure contained in MabSelect SuRe resin; Protein Data Bank: 1BDD). We computed different binding conformations for different antibody to protein A stoichiometries (1:1, 2:1, and 3:1) and compared the normalized radial density distributions computed from 3D models with those obtained from the experimental data. In the linear range of the isotherm we favor a 1:1 ratio, with the antibody binding to the outer domains in the protein A chain at very low and high concentrations. In the saturation region, a 2:1 ratio is more likely to occur. A 3:1 stoichiometry is excluded because of steric effects.     

Acid-base properties and copper(II) complexes of dipeptides containing histidine and additional chelating bis(imidazol-2-yl) residues

Copper(II) complexes of dipeptides of histidine containing additional chelating bis(imidazol-2-yl) agent at the C-termini (PheHis-BIMA [N-phenylalanyl-histidyl-bis(imidazol-2-yl)methylamine] and HisPhe-BIMA [N-histidyl-phenylalanyl-bis(imidazol-2-yl)methylamine]) were studied by potentiometric, UV-Visible and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) techniques. The imidazole nitrogen donor atoms of the bis(imidazol-2-yl)methyl group are described as the primary metal binding sites forming stable mono- and bis(ligand) complexes at acidic pH. The formation of a ligand-bridged dinuclear complex [Cu2L2]4+ is detected in equimolar solutions of copper(II) and HisPhe-BIMA. The coordination isomers of the dinuclear complex are described via the metal binding of the bis(imidazol-2-yl)methyl, amino-carbonyl and amino-imidazole(His) functions. In the case of the copper(II)-PheHis-BIMA system the [NH2, N-(amide), N(Im)] tridentate coordination of the ligand is favoured and results in the formation of di- and trinuclear complexes [Cu2H(-1)L]3+ and [Cu3H(-2)L2]4+ in equimolar solutions. The presence of these coordination modes shifts the formation of "tripeptide-like" ([NH2, N-, N-, N(Im)]-coordinated) [CuH(-2)L] complexes into alkaline pH range as compared to other dipeptide derivatives of bis(imidazol-2-yl) ligands. Although there are different types of imidazoles in these ligands, the deprotonation and coordination of the pyrrole-type N(1)H groups does not occur below pH 10.     

Artificial selection for high activity favors mighty mini-muscles in house mice

After 14 generations of selection for voluntary wheel running, mice from the four replicate selected lines ran, on average, twice as many revolutions per day as those from the four unselected control lines. To examine whether the selected lines followed distinct strategies in the correlated responses of the size and metabolic capacities of the hindlimb muscles, we examined mice from selected lines, housed for 8 wk in cages with access to running wheels that were either free to rotate ("wheel access" group) or locked ("sedentary"). Thirteen of twenty individuals in one selected line (line 6) and two of twenty in another (line 3) showed a marked reduction ( approximately 50%) in total hindlimb muscle mass, consistent with the previously described expression of a small-muscle phenotype. Individuals with these "mini-muscles" were not significantly smaller in total body mass compared with line-mates with normal-sized muscles. Access to free wheels did not affect the relative mass of the mini-muscles, but did result in typical mammalian training effects for mitochondrial enzyme activities. Individuals with mini-muscles showed a higher mass-specific muscle aerobic capacity as revealed by the maximal in vitro rates of citrate synthase and cytochrome c oxidase. Moreover, these mice showed the highest activities of hexokinase and carnitine palmitoyl transferase. Females with mini-muscles showed the highest levels of phosphofructokinase, and males with mini-muscles the highest levels of pyruvate dehydrogenase. As shown by total muscle enzyme contents, the increase in mass-specific aerobic capacity almost completely compensated for the reduction caused by the "loss" of muscle mass. Moreover, the mini-muscle mice exhibited the lowest contents of lactate dehydrogenase and glycogen phosphorylase. Interestingly, metabolic capacities of mini-muscled mice resemble those of muscles after endurance training. Overall, our results demonstrate that during selection for voluntary wheel running, distinct adaptive paths that differentially exploit the genetic variation in morphological and physiological traits have been followed.