Dengue Virus RNA Structure Specialization Facilitates Host Adaptation

Many viral pathogens cycle between humans and insects. These viruses must have evolved strategies for rapid adaptation to different host environments. However, the mechanistic basis for the adaptation process remains poorly understood. To study the mosquito-human adaptation cycle, we examined changes in RNA structures of the dengue virus genome during host adaptation. Deep sequencing and RNA structure analysis, together with fitness evaluation, revealed a process of host specialization of RNA elements of the viral 3’UTR. Adaptation to mosquito or mammalian cells involved selection of different viral populations harvesting mutations in a single stem-loop structure. The host specialization of the identified RNA structure resulted in a significant viral fitness cost in the non-specialized host, posing a constraint during host switching. Sequence conservation analysis indicated that the identified host adaptable stem loop structure is duplicated in dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses. Interestingly, functional studies using recombinant viruses with single or double stem loops revealed that duplication of the RNA structure allows the virus to accommodate mutations beneficial in one host and deleterious in the other. Our findings reveal new concepts in adaptation of RNA viruses, in which host specialization of RNA structures results in high fitness in the adapted host, while RNA duplication confers robustness during host switching.     

Turnover of plant lineages shapes herbivore phylogenetic beta diversity along ecological gradients

Understanding drivers of biodiversity patterns is of prime importance in this era of severe environmental crisis. More diverse plant communities have been postulated to represent a larger functional trait‐space, more likely to sustain a diverse assembly of herbivore species. Here, we expand this hypothesis to integrate environmental, functional and phylogenetic variation of plant communities as factors explaining the diversity of lepidopteran assemblages along elevation gradients in the Swiss Western Alps. According to expectations, we found that the association between butterflies and their host plants is highly phylogenetically structured. Multiple regression analyses showed the combined effect of climate, functional traits and phylogenetic diversity in structuring butterfly communities. Furthermore, we provide the first evidence that plant phylogenetic beta diversity is the major driver explaining butterfly phylogenetic beta diversity. Along ecological gradients, the bottom up control of herbivore diversity is thus driven by phylogenetically structured turnover of plant traits as well as environmental variables.     

Rapid immunofluorescent determination of cells in the S phase in pea root meristems: An alternative to autoradiography

Photosystem II (PS II) activity and the localization of ribulose-l,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.39) were studied in primary leaves of young maize plants ( Zea mays L. cv. Fronica) by tetra-nitro-blue-tetrazoliumchloride reduction and immunolocalization, respectively. In tissue of 3-day-old plants all chloroplasts were structurally identical. From day 4 they developed into their typical appearance of mesophyll and bundle sheath chloroplasts. First PS II-activity was present in both types of chloroplasts. From day 4 it disappeared in bundle sheath chloroplasts concomitant with the loss of grana. RuBP carboxylase on the other hand was only present in bundle sheath chloroplasts at all stages of development. Thus, the control of the development of the photosystems and the Calvin cycle enzymes seem to differ.     

Diffusione pollinica e caratteristiche immunologiche e broncoreattive di soggetti atopici in Pietra Ligure (Savona)

Riassunto Sono state rilevate durante un monitoraggio aerobiologico effettuato a Pietra Ligure (Savona) nel corso del 1987 le concentrazioni polliniche di 50 taxa ed è stata valutata l'influenza relativa dei fattori meteorologici. Le osservazioni palinologiche sono state rapportate alle concentrazioni sieriche delle IgE specifiche, alla reattività bronchiale specifica ed aspecifica valutate in 101 pazienti allergici (rinitici ed asmatici), sensibilizzati a Graminaceae ed Urticaceae (Parietaria) al fine di riconoscere correlazioni tra le caratteristiche aerobiologiche di questi allergeni edi meccanismi patogenetici che sostengono la reattività bronchiale.      

1988 Gordon Conference on Theoretical Biology and Biomathematics Tilton Academy, Tilton, New Hampshire, U.S.A., 13–17 June 1988

Announcement

1988 Gordon Conference on Theoretical Biology and Biomathematics Tilton Academy, Tilton, New Hampshire, U.S.A., 13–17 June 1988     

1H- and13C-NMR spectroscopic studies of lipid extracts of the red algaGracilaria longa

Lipid extracts of the red algaGracilaria longa were studied by¹H- and¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. Peaks in the¹³C-NMR spectra attributable to sterols, chlorophylls and carotenoids allowed free and acylated cholesterol, chlorophylla and lutein to be identified as the most abundant components of these classes. A content of 0.5 ± 0.1 μmoles of total cholesterol/g wet alga was estimated from the¹H-NMR spectrum, which also allowed the determination of the phosphatidylcholine/total lipid molar ratio (9.5 ± 0.5%). The¹³C-NMR spectroscopic experiments provided information on the position of the double bonds on the fatty acid residues. A comparison between NMR spectra of lipid extracts obtained for wet and dried alga showed that the alga undergoes both a dramatic peroxidation and some glycolipid degradation during the drying process.     

Preservation of capsular material of streptococcal cells by specific lectins determined by immunoelectron microscopy

Summary We describe the use of lectins as specific stabilizing agents for the polysaccharide capsular components of two Gram-positive bacteria,Streptococcus agalactiae andStreptococcus bovis. Treatment of bacterial suspensions with wheatgerm agglutinin and concanavalin A allowed better morphological preservation as well as immunoelectron microscopic localization of a capsular component (lipoteichoic acid) by employing specific antibodies and the protein A-gold technique. Data obtained indicate that lectins are useful agents in preserving highly water-soluble capsular components during the electron microscopy procedures for both unembedded and embedded samples.     

The Genetic Factors Altered in Homozygous abo Stocks of DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Females homozygous for the maternal-effect mutation abo (2-44.0) produce a large fraction of eggs which arrest during embryogenesis. Increasing doses of defined heterochromatic regions inherited by offspring of abo mothers from their fathers function zygotically to bring about a partial rescue of the abo-induced embryonic lethality. Another property of the abo mutation is that the severity of the maternal effect decreases when an abo stock is maintained in homozygous condition for a number of generations. Here, we show that the factors which change in homozygous abo stocks to result in the decrease in maternally induced embryonic lethality, act zygotically, dominantly and additively. More importantly, we show that the X and second chromosomes, but not the Y and third chromosomes, derived from homozygous abo stocks are, when inherited from males, more effective in promoting zygotic rescue of the abo-induced lethality than are the equivalent chromosomes derived from an abo stock maintained in heterozygous condition. The chromosomal locations of the factors maintained in the homozygous condition. The chromosomal locations of the factors altered in homozygous stock, as well as their behavior, strongly suggest that the same heterochromatic elements that are responsible for rescuing embryos from the abo-induced maternal effect are altered in homozygous abo flies in such a way that the maternal effect itself is less severe.     

Genetical and biochemical comparisons of alcohol dehydrogenase isozymes from Anastrepha fraterculus and A. obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae): Evidence for gene duplication

The electrophoretic patterns of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) from Anastrepha fraterculus and A. obliqua were studied. Two loci were found to code for the enzyme in A. fraterculus, and three in A. obliqua. In both species, all isozymes were active in third-instar larvae. A cationic isozyme (Adh-1) was active mainly in the visceral fat body of both species. In A. fraterculus, the locus had an anionic polymorphic isozyme (Adh-3) that was detected in the parietal fat body. In addition to these two loci, a third locus for an anionic isozyme (Adh-2), which was active in the digestive tube of larvae, was present in A. obliqua and probably resulted from gene duplication. For both species, multiple forms of the isozymes are formed by binding of an NAD-carbonyl compound, as in Drosophila melanogaster. Both larvae and early pupae of A. obliqua had almost twice the specific ADH activity as A. fraterculus. The ethanol content of the host fruit infested with A. obliqua (red mombim) was also higher than that of the host fruit infested with A. fraterculus (guava).This research was supported by grants from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnologico (CNPq-PIG 40.2486/82).