Phylogenetic place of guinea pigs: no support of the rodent-polyphyly hypothesis from maximum-likelihood analyses of multiple protein sequences

Graur et al.'s (1991) hypothesis that the guinea pig-like rodents have an evolutionary origin within mammals that is separate from that of other rodents (the rodent-polyphyly hypothesis) was reexamined by the maximum-likelihood method for protein phylogeny, as well as by the maximum-parsimony and neighbor-joining methods. The overall evidence does not support Graur et al.'s hypothesis, which radically contradicts the traditional view of rodent monophyly. This work demonstrates that we must be careful in choosing a proper method for phylogenetic inference and that an argument based on a small data set (with respect to the length of the sequence and especially the number of species) may be unstable.      

The giant panda is closer to a bear,judged by α- and β-hemoglobin sequences

Summary Using - and -hemoglobin sequences, we made a maximum likelihood inference as to the phylogenetic relationship among carnivores, including the two pandas, giant and lesser. Molecular phylogenetic studies up to 1985 had consistently indicated that the giant panda is more closely related to the bear than to the lesser panda. In 1986, however, a contradictory tree was constructed, using hemoglobins and so on, in which the two pandas link together (Tagle et al. 1986). In contrast to that tree, our conclusion supports the close relationship between bear and giant panda. The surface impression of a close relationship between the two pandas drawn from pairwise amino acid differences is explained by a rapid rate of hemoglobin evolution in the bear compared to that in the two pandas.Offprint requests to: T. Hashimoto     

Visual prey discrimination of queen and worker ants by a generalist lizard

Laboratory experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that widelyforaging generalist lizard,Eumeces okadae, visually discriminates palatable queen ants from unpalatable worker ants. The workers ofCamponotus japonicus andLasius niger were rejected on sight, while the queens of both species were eaten with little prior chemical examination by tongue flicks or licks. Comparison of the lizards' responses towards the workers and wingless queens of similar size indicated that neither body size nor presence or absence of wings accounted for difference in responses toward the 2 ant castes. The lizards probably discriminated different ant castes by body proportions.     

Osteological and histological comparison of the development of the interphalangeal intercalary skeletal element between hyloid and ranoid anurans

Some frog species have a unique skeletal element, referred to as the intercalary element (IE), in the joints between the terminal and subterminal phalanges of all digits. IEs are composed of cartilage or connective tissue and have a markedly differ shape than the phalanges. IEs are highly related to the arboreal lifestyle and toe pads. The IE is found only in neobatrachian frogs among anurans, suggesting that it is a novelty of Neobatrachia. IEs are widely distributed among multiple neobatrachian lineages and are found in the suborders Hyloides and Ranoides (the two major clades in Neobatrachia). However, it is unclear whether the IEs found in multiple linages resulted from convergent evolution. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to examine how similar or different the developmental trajectories of the IEs are between Hyloides and Ranoides. To that end, we compared the osteological and histological developmental processes of the IEs of the hyloid frog Dryophytes japonicus and the ranoid frog Zhangixalus schlegelii. Both species shared the same IE-initiation site and level of tissue differentiation around the IE when it began to form in tadpoles, although the IE developments initiated at different stages which were determined by external criteria. These results suggest that similar mechanisms drive IE formation in the digits of both species, supporting the hypothesis that the IEs did not evolve convergently.     

β-Glucosidase activities and HCN liberation in unimbibed and imbibed seeds, and the induction of cocklebur seed germination by cyanogenic glycosides

In many seed species, the major source of HCN evolved during water imbibition is cyanogenic glycosides. The present investigation was performed to elucidate the role of endogenous cyanogenic glycosides in the control of seed germination and to examine the involvment of β-glucosidase in this process. All seed species used here contained some activities of β-glucosidase already in the dry state before imbibition. in the decreasing order of Malus pumila, Daucus carota, Hordeum vulgare, Chenopodium album and so on. β-Gluosidase activity in upper and lower seeds of cocklebur (Xanthium pennsylvanicum Wallr.) decreased with imbibition, and in lower seeds the activity disappeared when they germinated. On the contrary, in caryopses of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Sasanishiki) β-glucosidase increased during imbibition, and this increase continued even after germination. β-Glucosidase in cocklebur seeds was more active in the axial than in the cotyledonary tissue. Amygdalin, prunasin and linamarin could all serve as substrattes for the β-glucosidase(s) from both cocklebur and rice. Amygdalin, prunasin and linamarin as well as KCN, were effective in stimulating the germination of upper cocklebur seeds. The seeds evolved much more free HCN gas when they were exposed to the cyanogenic glycosides than when the glycosides were absent. Moreover, the application of the cyanogenic glycosides or of KCN caused accumulation of bound HCN in the seeds. Carbon monoxide, which stimulated cocklebur seed germination only slightly, did not cause accumulation of bound HCN. We suggest that a balance between the cytochrome and the alternative respiration pathways, which is adequate for germination (Esashi et al. 1987. Plant Cell Physiol. 28: 141–150), may be brought about by the action of endogenous HCN; a large portion of which is liberated from cyanogenic glycosides via the action of β-glucosidase. In addition to the partial suppression of the cytochrome path and unlike carbon monoxide, the HCN thus produced may act to supply cyanide group(s) to unknown compounds necessary for germination.     

Phototropism in hypocotyls of radish. VI. No exchange of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid between peripheral and central cell layers during first and second positive phototropic curvatures

Using a physicochemical method, the distribution of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) was measured in the peripheral and central cell layers, as well as in the illuminated and shaded sides of phototropically stimulated radish hypocotyls (Raphanus sativus var. hortensis f. gigantissimus Makino). The IAA was evenly distributed over the illuminated and shaded sides in the first and second positive phototropic curvatures induced by a pulse or a continuous unilateral illumination with blue light. Also, no net exchange of the IAA between the peripheral and central cell layers was observed during these curvatures. These results suggest that phototropism of radish hypocotyls cannot be described by the Cholodny-Went theory.     

Intercolonial differences in raiding activities in the Japanese slave-making antPolyergus samurai

Summary Intercolonial differences in raiding activity were investigated in the field on 9 colonies of the slavemaking antPolyergus samurai. Duration of raiding season, the mean start time of the first raiding trip in a day, the mean speed of outbound and inbound trips, and the mean distance to target nests varied significantly among colonies. The variance in start time of raiding was correlated with that in soil temperature and diurnal change pattern in soil temperature at the nest sites. The speed of trips and the first day with trips in the season also correlated with soil temperature at the nest site. Simple environmental factors well explained the observed variances in raiding activity among colonies. Therefore, raiding behaviour ofP. samurai seemed to be a stereotyped behaviour that is regulated through simple environmental factors.     

Possible involvement of ethylene-activated {beta}-cyanoalanine synthase in the regulation of cocklebur seed germination

A possible involvement of ß-cyanoalanine synthase(CAS: EC 4.4.1.9 [EC] ) in germination processes of seeds was demonstratedusing pre-soaked upper seeds of cocklebur (Xanthium pennsylvanicumWallr.). Pretreatment in anoxia not only with KCN but also cysteine,as the substrates for CAS, stimulated the subsequent germinationof cocklebur seeds in air. However, the effect of cysteine wasmanifested even in air when applied together with C₂H₄, andits effect was further enhanced in combination with KCN. Thegermination-stimulating effect of KCN was intensified by C₂H₄only when 0₂ was present. In contrast, serine, another substrateof CAS, was effective in air only when combined with C₂H₄ and/orKCN. The addition of cysteine greatly reduced the cyanogenicglycoside content of seeds, but increased HCN evolution. Onthe other hand, glutathione did not have any effect on cockleburseed germination, HCN evolution or bound cyanogen content, suggestingthat cysteine is not acting as a reducing reagent. It is suggestedthat CAS regulates the process of cocklebur seed germinationby the dual action of enlarging the pool of amino acids andsupplying sulphydryl bases, the latter being more determinatelyimportant. Serine is effective only via the former action, whilecysteine would act via both. Key words: Cyanide, cyanogenic glycoside, ß-cyanoalanine synthase, seed germination, Xanthium pennsylvanicum