Acoustic homogeneity in the piranha Serrasalmus maculatus

Different studies suggest some social calls could be used in fish identification if their specificity is unambiguously assessed. Sounds of different populations of piranhas Serrasalmus maculatus Kner, 1858 were recorded to determine their homogeneity between rivers inside a single basin (Araguari and Grande River, upper Paraná River basin) and between separated basins (Amazon and Paraná basins). All fish from the different populations produced sounds with similar acoustic features. Consequently, the populations were not discernible based on individual sound characteristics. This high homogeneity between sounds from different populations indicates their usefulness for conservation projects using passive acoustic monitoring in piranhas. Moreover, it supports the use of acoustic features as complementary key characteristics in taxonomic studies.     

The usage of marker traits in plants for evaluation of resistance of the winter wheat to pest insects

A new method of selection of the winter wheat varieties has been tested for resistance to the pest insects' complex by the traits of plants that are the markers of plant resistance. It makes it possible to use this method from year to year independently of the pests' density.     

Acute lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus reduce sympathetic activation and thermogenic changes induced by PGE1

The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of an intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of prostaglandin E1 (PGE₁) on the sympathetic activation and the thermogenic changes in rats with acute lesions of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). Four groups of six Sprague-Dawley male rats were anesthetized with ethyl-urethane. The firing rate of the sympathetic nerves innervating the interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) and the colonic and IBAT temperatures were monitored both before and after one of the following treatments: 1) VMH lesion plus icv injection of PGE₁ (500 ng); 2) VMH lesion plus icv injection of saline; 3) sham lesion plus icv injection of PGE₁; and 4) sham lesion plus icv injection of saline. PGE₁ induced an increase in the firing rate of IBAT nerves and the colonic and IBAT temperatures. These effects were reduced by VMH lesion. The findings indicate that acute lesions of the VMH reduce the effects of PGE₁ and seem to suggest a possible role played by the VMH in the control of the sympathetic activation and the thermogenic changes during PGE₁ hyperthermia.     

ZAP-70 Protein Tyrosine Kinase Is Constitutively Targeted to the T Cell Cortex Independently of its SH2 Domains

ZAP-70 is a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase that is essential for signaling via the T cell antigen receptor (TCR). ZAP-70 becomes phosphorylated and activated by LCK protein tyrosine kinase after interaction of its two NH₂-terminal SH2 domains with tyrosine-phosphorylated subunits of the activated TCR. In this study, the localization of ZAP-70 was investigated by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. ZAP-70 was found to be localized to the cell cortex in a diffuse band under the plasma membrane in unstimulated T cells, and this localization was not detectably altered by TCR stimulation. Analysis of mutants indicated that ZAP-70 targeting was independent of its SH2 domains but required its active kinase domain. The specific compartmentalization of ZAP-70 suggests that it may interact with an anchoring protein in the cell cortex via its hinge or kinase domains. It is likely that the maintenance of high concentrations of ZAP-70 at the cell cortex, that only has to move a short distance to interact with phophorylated TCR subunits, facilitates rapid initiation of signaling by the TCR. In addition, as the major increase in tyrosine phosphorylation induced by the TCR also occurs at the cell cortex (Ley, S.C., M. Marsh, C.R. Bebbington, K. Proudfoot, and P. Jordan. 1994. J. Cell. Biol. 125:639–649), ZAP-70 may be localized close to its downstream targets.     

Population structure in the American oyster as inferred by nuclear gene genealogies

Multiple haplotypes from each of three nuclear loci were isolated and sequenced from geographic populations of the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica. In tests of alternative phylogeographic hypotheses for this species, nuclear gene genealogies constructed for these haplotypes were compared to one another, to a mitochondrial gene tree, and to patterns of allele frequency variation in nuclear restriction site polymorphisms (RFLPs) and allozymes. Oyster populations from the Atlantic versus the Gulf of Mexico are not reciprocally monophyletic in any of the nuclear gene trees, despite considerable genetic variation and despite large allele frequency differences previously reported in several other genetic assays. If these populations were separated vicariantly in the past, either insufficient time has elapsed for neutral lineage sorting to have achieved monophyly at most nuclear loci, or balancing selection may have inhibited lineage extinction, or secondary gene flow may have moved haplotypes between regions. These and other possibilities are examined in light of available genetic evidence, and it is concluded that no simple explanation can account for the great variety of population genetic patterns across loci displayed by American oysters. Regardless of the source of this heterogeneity, this study provides an empirical demonstration that different sequences of DNA within the same organismal pedigree can have quite different phylogeographic histories.      

植物抗病基因工程进展(续)

植物抗病基因工程进展（续）洪剑明印莉萍邱泽生（首都师范大学生物系北京１０００３７）ＰＲＯＧＲＥＳＳＯＦＧＥＮＥＴＩＣＥＮＧＩＮＥＥＲＩＮＧＦＯＲＰＬＡＮＴＤＩＳＥＡＳＥＲＥＳＩＳＴＡＮＣＥＨＯＮＧＪｉａｎＭｉｎｇＹＩＮＬｉＰｉｎｇＱＩＵＺｅＳｈ...     

Evolution of arthropod hemocyanins and insect storage proteins (hexamerins)

Crustacean and cheliceratan hemocyanins (oxygen-transport proteins) and insect hexamerins (storage proteins) are homologous gene products, although the latter do not bind oxygen and do not possess the copper- binding histidines present in the hemocyanins. An alignment of 19 amino acid sequences of hemocyanin subunits and insect hexamerins was made, based on the conservation of elements of secondary structure observed in X-ray structures of two hemocyanin subunits. The alignment was analyzed using parsimony and neighbor-joining methods. Results provide strong indications for grouping together the sequences of the 2 crustacean hemocyanin subunits, the 5 cheliceratan hemocyanin subunits, and the 12 insect hexamerins. Within the insect clade, four methionine- rich proteins, four arylphorins, and two juvenile hormone-suppressible proteins from Lepidoptera, as well as two dipteran proteins, form four separate groups. In the absence of an outgroup sequence, it is not possible to present information about the ancestral state from which these proteins are derived. Although this family of proteins clearly consists of homologous gene products, there remain striking differences in gene organization and site of biosynthesis of the proteins within the cell. Because studies on 18S and 12S rRNA sequences indicate a rather close relationship between insects and crustaceans, we propose that hemocyanin is the ancestral arthropod protein and that insect hexamerins lost their copper-binding capability after divergence of the insects from the crustaceans.      

Scavenger receptor BI and BII expression levels modulate hepatitis C virus infectivity

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) enters cells via a pH- and clathrin-dependent endocytic pathway. Scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI) and CD81 are important entry factors for HCV internalization into target cells. The SR-BI gene gives rise to at least two mRNA splice variants, SR-BI and SR-BII, which differ in their C termini. SR-BI internalization remains poorly understood, but SR-BII is reported to endocytose via a clathrin-dependent pathway, making it an attractive target for HCV internalization. We demonstrate that HCV soluble E2 can interact with human SR-BI and SR-BII. Increased expression of SR-BI and SR-BII in the Huh-7.5 hepatoma cell line enhanced HCV strain J6/JFH and JFH infectivity, suggesting that endogenous levels of these receptors limit infection. Elevated expression of SR-BI, but not SR-BII, increased the rate of J6/JFH infection, which may reflect altered intracellular trafficking of the splice variants. In human plasma, HCV particles have been reported to be complexed with lipoproteins, suggesting an indirect interaction of the virus with SR-BI and other lipoprotein receptors. Plasma from J6/JFH-infected uPA-SCID mice transplanted with human hepatocytes demonstrates an increased infectivity for SR-BI/II-overexpressing Huh-7.5 cells. Plasma-derived J6/JFH infectivity was inhibited by an anti-E2 monoclonal antibody, suggesting that plasma virus interaction with SR-BI was glycoprotein dependent. Finally, anti-SR-BI antibodies inhibited the infectivity of cell culture- and plasma-derived J6/JFH, suggesting a critical role for SR-BI/II in HCV infection.