Patterns of monoterpenes stored in the needles of Picea abies (L.) Karst. from several locations in mountainous regions of southern Germany

Summary As genetic diversity is an important cause of variation in needle monoterpenes of conifers, the tree-to-tree variation was studied for Picea abies (L.) Karst. at eight different locations in three mountainous regions of southern Germany (Bavaria). The tree-to-tree variation, expressed by the coefficients of variation, is high, ranging between 50% and 70%. The maximum concentrations per tree are up to 10 times higher than the minimum ones. The trees from all locations show similar patterns of variation, which is significant when investigating the influence of external parameters like air pollution or infestation by pathogens. By means of cluster analysis five types of terpene patterns were clearly revealed. Two main groups were distinguished by their proportion of myrcene, and they are further divided into subgroups. The patterns are stable throughout different needle ages and dates of sampling. Apart from one location, there is no obvious geographical arrangement of the five patterns. The fact that no relationship exists between the genotypical classification and the total concentrations agrees well with the hypothesis that most of the variability based on the relative amounts is due to genetic variation, whereas the variation based on the absolute amounts reflects environmental factors.     

Bird Orientation under Different Sky Sectors

Das Orientierungsverhalten einer Gruppe Rotkehlchen wurde unter zwei Bedingungen untersucht: (1) die Vögel konnten fast den gesamten Himmel überblicken; (2) ihre Sicht war auf einen 95°-Sektor um den Zenit beschränkt. Dabei ergab sich weder für die Genauigkeit der Richtungswahlen von Nacht zu Nacht noch für die Genauigkeit, mit der die gewählte Richtung innerhalb der einzelnen Nächte eingehalten wurde, ein signifikanter Unterschied. Wir müssen deshalb annehmen, daß der Himmelsausschnitt bis 43° über dem Horizont, der in diesem Fall den Polarstern und die meisten zirkumpolaren Sterne enthielt, sowie die Sicht des letzten Teils der Sonnenbahn und des Sonnenuntergangspunktes keine Information liefern, die die Genauigkeit der Orientierung über das Maß hinaus verbessert, das bei Sicht des zentralen Himmelsausschnitts erreicht wird.     

Avian navigation: from historical to modern concepts

Studies on avian navigation began at the end of the 19th century with testing various hypotheses, followed by large-scale displacement experiments to assess the capacity of the birds' navigational abilities. In the 1950s, the first theoretical concepts were published. Kramer proposed his ‘Map-and-Compass’ model, assuming that birds establish the direction to a distant goal with the help of an external reference, a compass. The model describes homing as a two-step process, with the first step determining the direction to the goal as a compass course and the second step locating this course with the help of a compass. This model was widely accepted when numerous experiments with clock-shifted pigeons demonstrated the use of the sun compass, and thus a general involvement of compass orientation, in homing. The ‘map’ step is assumed to use local site-specific information, which led to the idea of a ‘grid map’ based on environmental gradients. Kramer's model still forms the basis of our present concept on avian homing, yet route integration with the help of an external reference provides an alternative strategy to determine the home course, and the magnetic compass is a second compass mechanism available to birds. These mechanisms are interrelated by ontogenetic learning processes. A two-step process, with the first step providing the compass course and the second step locating this course with the help of a compass, appears to be a common feature of avian navigation tasks, yet the origin of the compass courses differs between tasks according to their nature, with courses acquired by experience for flights within the home range, courses based on navigational processes for returning home, and courses derived from genetically coded information in first-time migrants. Compass orientation thus forms the backbone of the avian navigational system. Copyright 2003 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.      

Development of lateralization of the magnetic compass in a migratory bird

The magnetic compass of a migratory bird, the European robin (Erithacus rubecula), was shown to be lateralized in favour of the right eye/left brain hemisphere. However, this seems to be a property of the avian magnetic compass that is not present from the beginning, but develops only as the birds grow older. During first migration in autumn, juvenile robins can orient by their magnetic compass with their right as well as with their left eye. In the following spring, however, the magnetic compass is already lateralized, but this lateralization is still flexible: it could be removed by covering the right eye for 6 h. During the following autumn migration, the lateralization becomes more strongly fixed, with a 6 h occlusion of the right eye no longer having an effect. This change from a bilateral to a lateralized magnetic compass appears to be a maturation process, the first such case known so far in birds. Because both eyes mediate identical information about the geomagnetic field, brain asymmetry for the magnetic compass could increase efficiency by setting the other hemisphere free for other processes.     

A water soluble tri-cationic porphyrin-EDTA conjugate induces apoptosis in human neuroendocrine tumor cell lines

In this study, a completely water soluble tri-cationic porphyrin-EDTA conjugate was synthesized. We present data demonstrating the tumoristatic effects of the novel fully water soluble cationic porphyrin TMPy(3)PhenEDTA-P-Cl(4) in the dark, in the medullary thyroid carcinoma cell lines MTC-SK and SHER-I and weaker effects in the small intestinal neuroendocrine tumor cell line KRJ-I. In addition, cytotoxic effects were also studied in normal human fibroblasts that represent normal tissue and the results are compared to the tumor cell lines.     

Genetic diversity,population structure and subdivision of local Balkan pig breeds in Austria,Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and its practical value in conservation programs

Background

At present the Croatian Turopolje pig population comprises about 157 breeding animals. In Austria, 324 Turopolje pigs originating from six Croatian founder animals are registered. Multiple bottlenecks have occurred in this population, one major one rather recently and several more older and moderate ones. In addition, it has been subdivided into three subpopulations, one in Austria and two in Croatia, with restricted gene flow. These specificities explain the delicate situation of this endangered Croatian lard-type pig breed.

Methods

In order to identify candidate breeding animals or gene pools for future conservation breeding programs, we studied the genetic diversity and population structure of this breed using microsatellite data from 197 individuals belonging to five different breeds.

Results

The genetic diversity of the Turopolje pig is dramatically low with observed heterozygosities values ranging from 0.38 to 0.57. Split into three populations since 1994, two genetic clusters could be identified: one highly conserved Croatian gene pool in Turopoljski Lug and the"Posavina" gene pool mainly present in the Austrian population. The second Croatian subpopulation in Lonjsko Polje in the Posavina region shows a constant gene flow from the Turopoljski Lug animals.

Conclusions

One practical conclusion is that it is necessary to develop a "Posavina" boar line to preserve the "Posavina" gene pool and constitute a corresponding population in Croatia. Animals of the highly inbred herd in Turopoljski Lug should not be crossed with animals of other populations since they represent a specific phenotype-genotype combination. However to increase the genetic diversity of this herd, a program to optimize its sex ratio should be carried out, as was done in the Austrian population where the level of heterozygosity has remained moderate despite its heavy bottleneck in 1994.     

The Evolutionary History of the Arabidopsis arenosa Complex: Diverse Tetraploids Mask the Western Carpathian Center of Species and Genetic Diversity

The Arabidopsis arenosa complex is closely related to the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Species and subspecies in the complex are mainly biennial, predominantly outcrossing, herbaceous, and with a distribution range covering most parts of latitudes and the eastern reaches of Europe. In this study we present the first comprehensive evolutionary history of the A. arenosa species complex, covering its natural range, by using chromosome counts, nuclear AFLP data, and a maternally inherited marker from the chloroplast genome [trnL intron (trnL) and trnL/F intergenic spacer (trnL/F-IGS) of tRNA(Leu) and tRNA(Phe), respectively]. We unravel the broad-scale cytogeographic and phylogeographic patterns of diploids and tetraploids. Diploid cytotypes were exclusively found on the Balkan Peninsula and in the Carpathians while tetraploid cytotypes were found throughout the remaining distribution range of the A. arenosa complex. Three centers of genetic diversity were identified: the Balkan Peninsula, the Carpathians, and the unglaciated Eastern and Southeastern Alps. All three could have served as long-term refugia during Pleistocene climate oscillations. We hypothesize that the Western Carpathians were and still are the cradle of speciation within the A. arenosa complex due to the high species number and genetic diversity and the concurrence of both cytotypes there.