Protein turnover in a psychrotrophic bacterium

Protein breakdown in pulse-labelled and longlabelled cells of Arthrobacter S ₁-55, a psychrotrophic bacterium, has been assessed at different temperatures. The temperature at which the cells were grown and labelled affected the breakdown of pulsed-labelled but not long-labelled proteins. Inhibitors of ATP synthesis inhibited proteolysis. Miscoding antibiotics stimulated the production of rapidly degradable proteins.     

Relations between elevated temperatures and fermentation behaviour of Kloeckera apiculata and Saccharomyces cerevisiae associated with winemaking in mixed cultures

One of the important factors affecting wine fermentation is temperature. The influence of elevated temperatures from 10 to 25 °C at 5 °C intervals on yeast growth and fermentation products were studied in mixed cultures of Kloeckera apiculata and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in grape juice. In the experiments carried out at 10 and 15 °C, K. apiculata grew and survived longer compared to trials conducted above 20 °C. In most cases, higher temperatures stimulated the production of higher alcohols but lowered the formation of esters and acetaldehyde. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An improved model for determining degree-day values from daily temperature data

Although using hourly weather data offers the greatest accuracy for estimating growing degree-day values, daily maximum and minimum temperature data are often used to estimate these values by approximating the diurnal temperature trends. This paper presents a new empirical model for estimating the hourly mean temperature. The model describes the diurnal variation using a sine function from the minimum temperature at sunrise until the maximum temperature is reached, another sine function from the maximum temperature until sunset, and a square-root function from then until sunrise the next morning. The model was developed and calibrated using several years of hourly data obtained from five automated weather stations located in California and representing a wide range of climate conditions. The model was tested against an additional data-set at each location. The temperature model gave good results, the root-mean-square error being less than 2.0 °C for most years and locations. The comparison with published models from the literature showed that the model was superior to the other methods. Hourly temperatures from the model were used to calculate degree-day values. A comparison between degree-day estimates determined from the model and those obtained other selected methods is presented. The results showed that the model had the best accuracy in general regardless of the season. Received: 25 October 2000 / Revised: 2 July 2001 / Accepted: 2 July 2001     

Temperature dependence of the membrane resistance in Characeae cells

Changes in the electrical resistance of internodal cells of Nitellopsis obtusa (Desv. in Lois) J. Gr. and Lychnothamnus barbatus (Meyen) Leonh., produced by short-lasting temperature changes (3-min intervals) in the range of 4⇌48°C were measured. In the whole temperature range examined the electrical resistance of the cell membranes underwent from 5 to 9 distinct changes; the overall changes were approximately hyperbolic, while in certain narrow temperature ranges they were non-monotonic, and in others linear. Arrhenius plots of these dependencies provide data which suggest a specific, stepwise character of changes in the permeability to ions, produced by temperature alterations and probably connected with corresponding modifications of cell membrane fluidity. This seems to support the view that the cell membranes of the examined plant species may exist in different, discrete, physiological states characteristic of certain temperature ranges.     

Long-term studies at a benthic station off the coast of Northumberland

Biannual sampling (March and September) has been carried out over the period 1972 to 1985 at a muddy sand station, 55 m depth, with fauna belonging to the deeper offshore edge of Petersen's Amphiura filiformis community.During the period 1974 to 1980 the community exhibited a high degree of persistence stability. This stability was lost between 1980 and 1983, with rising total numbers and biomass and changes in species ranking. There is some evidence of a downward reversal between 1984–85.Evidence suggests that the principal stabilising process is density dependent mortality mediated by competition in a food limited environment. The principal destabilising process appears to be periodic fluctuations in the organic flux to the bottom. A secondary destabilising process is clearly concerned with fluctuating winter temperature. In competitive terms, cold winters favour increased survival in the dominant species at the expense of the lesser ranked species. This process is, however, more ephemeral and subject to adjustment within the time scale of a year.     

The role of duplication in the expression of a variable surface glycoprotein gene of Trypanosoma brucei

The variable surface glycoprotein (VSG) genes of Trypanosoma brucei have been classified into two groups depending upon whether or not duplication of the genes is observed when they are expressed. We report here the observation of duplication apparently linked to expression of the ILTaT 1.3 gene in the ETaR 1 trypanosome stock. In the ILTaR 1 stock, expression of the ILTaT 1.3 VSG did not involve a new duplication, but instead activation of a preexisting gene copy that had been apparently generated earlier by a duplication event analogous to that directly observed in the ETaR 1 trypanosomes. The results suggest that the well-characterised gene duplications found with other VSG genes are common to all VSG genes but are not directly responsible for controlling expression. All currently available data can be accommodated by a model that assumes that gene duplication and replacement occurs independently of antigenic switching.     

The effect of caffeine,different fixation regimes and low temperature on microtubules in the cells of higher plants

Caffeine, (1:3:7-tri-methyl-xanthine), either as a prefixation treatment or included with glutaralde-hyde as the primary fixative, destroys or disorganises the microtubules associated with the formation of secondary walls in fibres from the flowering stem of the grass Lolium temulentum L. There is no observable effect of caffeine treatment on the microtubules associated with primary wall formation in collenchyma and young fibres from L. temulentum or in root cap cells of Zea mays L. and Phaseolus vulgaris L. The microtubules associated with primary wall formation are destroyed by cold treatment but not those associated with secondary wall formation. Tannic acid included in the fixative shows the microtubules associated with secondary wall formation in fibres of L. temulentum to be composed of 13 subunits. Treatment with lanthanum hydroxide does not stain the core or the halo of the microtubules.Abbreviation PIPES Piperazine N-N- bis 2 ethanol sulphonic acid The Grassland Research Institute is financed through the Agricultural Research Council     

The effect of acclimation temperature and the removal of peripheral temperature receptors on body temperature preference in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana

1. 1.|Body temperature preferences were compared between cockroaches acclimated to different ambient temperatures and between 25°C acclimated cockroaches and cockroaches deprived of their peripheral temperature receptors.

2. 2.|Acclimation to 35°C resulted in a significantly higher mean body temperature and low body temperature selected compared with 25°C acclimated cockroaches.

3. 3.|Cockroaches deprived of their peripheral temperature receptors showed a significantly higher mean high body temperature selected when compared to normal 25°C acclimated cockroaches.

4. 4.|It is concluded that cockroach temperature regulation is more precise than expected and that central temperature receptors are the primary sensing elements for cockroach thermoregulation.

Phylogeography and climatic niche evolution in live oaks (Quercus series Virentes) from the tropics to the temperate zone

Aim We investigated the phylogeography, geographical variation in leaf morphology, freezing tolerance and climatic niches of two widespread evergreen sister oak species (Quercus) in the series Virentes. Location South‐eastern USA, Mexico and Central America. Methods Nuclear microsatellites and non‐recombining nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequences were obtained from trees throughout the range of two sister lineages of live oaks, represented by Quercus virginiana in the temperate zone and Q. oleoides in the tropics. Divergence times were estimated for the two major geographical and genetic breaks. Differentiation in leaf morphology, analysed from field specimens, was compared with the molecular data. Freezing sensitivities of Q. virginiana and Q. oleoides populations were assessed in common garden experiments. Results The geographical break between Q. virginiana and Q. oleoides was associated with strong genetic differentiation of possible early Pleistocene origin and with differentiation in freezing sensitivity, climatic envelopes and leaf morphology. A second important geographical and genetic break within Q. oleoides between Costa Rica and the rest of Central America showed a mid‐Pleistocene divergence time and no differentiation in leaf morphology. Population genetic differentiation was greater but genetic diversity was lower within the temperate Q. virginiana than within the tropical Q. oleoides, and genetic breaks largely corresponded to breaks in leaf morphology. Main conclusions Two major breaks, one between Mexico and the USA at the boundary of the two species, and a more recent one within Q. oleoides between Honduras and Costa Rica, implicate climatic changes as potential causes. The latter break may be associated with the formation of the Cordillera de Guanacaste, which was followed by seasonal changes in precipitation. In the former case, an ‘out of the tropics’ scenario is hypothesized, in which the acquisition of freezing tolerance in Q. virginiana permitted colonization of and expansion in the temperate zone, while differences in climatic tolerances between the species limited secondary contact. More pronounced Pleistocene changes in climate and sea level in the south‐eastern USA relative to coastal Mexico and Central America may explain the greater population differentiation within temperate Q. virginiana and greater genetic diversity in tropical Q. oleoides. These patterns are predicted to hold for other taxa that span temperate and tropical zones of North and Central America.