Development of the hand and wrist bones in chimpanzees

Skeletal developmental of chimpanzees was studied cross-sectionally. By application of the TW2 method, we described the skeletal development of chimpanzees and compared their skeletal development with humans'. A development pattern of chimpanzees repeated accelerations and decelerations displaying “early-juvenile trough,” “pre-adolescent peak,” “mid-adolescent trough,” and “post-adolescent peak” in incremental curves. Sex differences in skeletal development are slower development in males during infant and early juvenile phases, and greater increment around the adolescent phase in males. Females are fully mature at younger ages than males, e.g. about one and a half years. In comparison with chimpanzees, humans have such characteristics as a longer slower period of juvenile development and a shorter spurt-like adolescent fast period which ends with full maturity.     

Morphometry and composition of aragonite and vaterite otoliths of deformed laboratory reared juvenile herring from two populations

Vaterite otoliths were sampled from two reared populations (Celtic and Clyde Seas) of juvenile herring Clupea harengus. The crystallography, elemental composition and morphometry were analysed and compared with those of normal aragonite otoliths. The incidence of vaterite otoliths in the juveniles sampled (n = 601) ranged from 7·8% in the Clyde population to 13·9% in the Celtic Sea population, and was 5·5% in the small sample (n = 36) of wild adults examined. In all but one case fish had only one vaterite otolith; the corresponding otolith of the pair was completely aragonite. Although the majority of the juveniles sampled showed craniofacial deformities, there was no link between the skull or jaw malformation and the incidence of vaterite otoliths. All vaterite otoliths had an aragonite inner area, and vaterite deposition began sometime after the age of 90 days. The vaterite otoliths were larger and lighter than their corresponding aragonite partners, and were less dense as a consequence of the vaterite crystal structure. The vaterite areas of the otoliths were depleted in Sr, Na and K. Concentrations of Mn were higher in the vaterite areas. The transition between the aragonite inner areas and the vaterite areas was sharply delineated. Within a small spatial scale (20 μm³) in the vaterite areas, however, there was co‐precipitation of both vaterite and aragonite. The composition of the aragonite cores in the vaterite otoliths was the same as in the cores of the normal aragonite otoliths indicating that the composition of the aragonite cores did not seed the shift to vaterite. Vaterite is less dense than aragonite, yet the concentrations of Ca analysed with wavelength‐dispersive spectrometry (WDS) were the same between the two polymorphs, indicating that Ca concentrations measured with WDS are not a good indicator of hypermineralized zones with high mineral density. The asymmetry in density and size of the otoliths may cause disruptions of hearing and pressure sensitivity for individual fish with one vaterite otolith, however, the presence of vaterite otoliths did not seem to affect the growth of these laboratory reared juvenile herring.     

In vitro propagation of the medicinal plant Plumbago zeylanica L. Through nodal explants

Summary A protocol for rapid in vitro propagation using nodal explants obtained from 2-yr-old, field-grown medicinal plants of Plumbago zeylanica L. belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae is described. High frequency bud break and fast development of shoots were induced on Murashige and Skoog's basal medium supplemented with 27.2 μM adenine sulfate +2.46 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Induction of rooting was achieved by transferring the shoots to the same basal medium containing 4.92 μM IBA. Using our protocol from one twig of P. zeylanica (eight responsive nodes per explant shoot) within a period of 5 mo., eight plantlets could be raised. After a hardening period of 4 wk, there was a 90% transplantation success in the field compared to the 60–65% survival of plantlets recorded in the experiments of previous workers. The plantlets derived through in vitro propagation mimic the growth and morphological characteristics of the donor plants.     

An anatomical study of anther development in Acorus L.: Phylogenetic implications

 Critical morphological synapomorphies have not been found in support of the Acoranan hypothesis, the molecular phylogenetic discovery that Acoranae are the basal monocots. The previously undetermined pattern of anther wall development in Acorus has been suggested to be one such character. Two main types of anther wall development have been recognized: 1) the “monocotyledonous” type, which characterizes both monocots and dicots, and 2) the “dicotyledonous” type, which is almost exclusively found among dicots. An anatomical study of anther wall development in Acorus was here undertaken using the electron microscope. Development of the anther wall in Acorus was found to be somewhat irregular or perhaps even intermediate between the two types although largely consistent with the “monocotyledonous” type. The presumed significance of anther wall development and other critical morphological characters to the Acoranan hypothesis in the absence of knowledge about the sister group to the monocots is evaluated. Received August 28, 2000 Accepted February 19, 2001     

Elevated glutamate and NMDA disrupt production of the second messenger cyclic GMP in the early postnatal mouse cortex

The second messenger cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) plays many roles during nervous system development. Consequently, cGMP production shows complex patterns of regulation throughout early development. Elevated glutamate levels are known to increase cGMP levels in the mature nervous system. A number of clinical conditions including ischemia and perinatal asphyxia can result in elevated glutamate levels in the developing brain. To investigate the effects of elevated glutamate levels on cGMP in the developing cortex we exposed mouse brain slices to glutamate or N‐methyl D ‐aspartate (NMDA). We find that at early postnatal stages when the endogenous production of cGMP is high, glutamate or NMDA exposure results in a significant lowering of the overall production of cGMP in the cortex, unlike the situation in the mature brain. However, this response pattern is complex with regional and cell‐type specific exceptions to the overall lowered cGMP production. These data emphasize that the response of the developing brain to physiological disturbances can be different from that of the mature brain, and must be considered in the context of the developmental events occurring at the time of disturbance. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2009     

Reproduction and larval development of the gastropodAlaba vladivostokensis in Vostok Bay, the Sea of Japan

The reproduction and development of the prosobranch gastropodAlaba vladivostokensis Bartsch were studied. In Vostok Bay,A. vladivostokensis reproduces in the warmest season at water temperatures of 19–23°C. The females lay egg masses in the shape of flat, coiled bands on eelgrass leaves and on sargosso thalluses. The total period of development from egg laying to larval settling takes 25–27 days. The reproduction and development patterns and larval morphology ofA. vladivostokensis are similar to that ofAustralaba picta (A. Adams), which inhabits the coast of Japan. It is suggested that the population ofA. vladivostokensis in Peter the Great Bay should considered as part of the wide geographical range ofA. picta.     

The controversial origin of the abdominal appendage‐like processes in immature insects: Are they true segmental appendages or secondary outgrowths? (Arthropoda hexapoda)

In this article, I review the major characteristics of different types of appendage‐like processes that develop at the abdominal segments of many immature insects, and I discuss their controversial morphological value. The main question is whether the abdominal processes are derived from segmental appendages serially homologous to thoracic legs, or whether they are “secondary” outgrowths not homologous with true appendages. Morphological and embryological data, in particular, a comparison with the structure and development of the abdominal appendages in primitive apterygote hexapods, and data from developmental genetics, support the hypothesis of appendicular origin of many of the abdominal processes present in the juvenile stages of various pterygote orders. For example, the lateral processes, such as the tracheal gills in aquatic nymphs of exopterygote insects, are regarded as derived from lateral portions of appendage primordia, homologous with the abdominal styli of apterygotan insects; these processes correspond either to rudimentary telopodites or to coxal exites. The ventrolateral processes, such as the prolegs of different endopterygote insect larvae, appear to be derived from medial portions of the appendicular primordia; they correspond to coxal endites. These views lead to the rejection of Hinton's hypothesis (Hinton [1955] Trans R Entomol Soc Lond 106:455–545) according to which all the abdominal processes of insect larvae are secondary outgrowths not derived from true appendage anlagen. J. Morphol. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Sexual dimorphism and gonadal development of the Australian longfinned river eel

The sex and stage of gonadal development of longfinned river eels Anguilla reinhardtii , captured from nine river catchments in New South Wales, Australia, between 1999 and 2001, were determined macroscopically. Sex was verified by histology. Histology was also necessary, however, to accurately define stages of gonadal development, particularly in individuals <600 mm in total body length. Anguilla reinhardtii displayed asynchronous gamete development. The most advanced cells present in migrating male and female A. reinhardtii were spermatocytes and pre-vitellogenic oocytes, respectively. Gonadal development stages were positively correlated with body size in both sexes. Females, however, were significantly larger than males and their gonads matured over a broader size range. Size at sexual differentiation (42–60 cm for males and 50–76 cm for females) was much larger than for most other anguillids that have been studied, with the exception of the New Zealand longfinned eel Anguilla dieffenbachii . Corresponding with its large range in size at sexual differentiation was a relatively large range in size at migration for both males (44–62 cm) and females (74–142 cm).