Linkage of bovine erythrocyte antigen loci B, C, L, S, Z, R' and T' and the serum protein loci post-transferrin 2 (PTF 2), vitamin D binding protein (GC) and albumin (ALB) to DNA microsatellite markers

Seven bovine erythrocyte antigen loci and three serum protein loci were tentatively assigned to chromosomes or synteny groups by linkage analysis to previously assigned microsatellite DNA markers. The erythrocyte antigen locus EAB was mapped to synteny group U27; EAC to chromosome 18, synteny group U9; EAL to chromosome 3, synteny group U6; EAS to chromosome 21, synteny group U4; EAZ to chromosome 10, synteny group U5; EAR' to chromosome 16, synteny group U1; and EAT' to chromosome 19, synteny group U21. The vitamin D binding protein (GC) and albumin (ALB) loci were assigned to chromosome 6, synteny group U15 and post-transferrin 2 (PTF 2) to chromosome 19, synteny group U21.     

Integrating the porcine physical and linkage map using cosmid-derived markers

An essential part in the development of informative linkage maps is to include genetic markers that have been anchored by physical mapping. Here a set of 18 porcine cosmid-derived genetic markers are reported that have been mapped by linkge analysis, and that also have been physically localized by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Three different strategies were used to establish polymorphic markers from the cosmid clones. Firstly, dinucleotide microsatellite loci were derived by sequencing cosmid subclones containing (CA), repeats. Secondly, variable SINE 3′ poly(A) tracts (SINEVA) were identified by direct SINE-PCR amplification of cosmid clones. Thirdly, the cosmids were used in Southern blot hybridization to detect restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). Compared with the most recent consensus compilation of the porcine gene map, the present assignment of markers to chromosomes Zp, 3, 4, 10, 12q, and 16 represents the first loci mapped to these chromosomes, for which linkage as well as in situ data are now available.     

Regulated food recruitment through individual behavior of scouts in the ant,Myrmica sabuleti (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

By presenting different kinds of food sources to colonies ofM. sabuleti, we have demonstrated that this species regulates its foraging activity by altering the proportion of scouts that return to the nest to recruit nestmates after discovering a food source and by varying the number of nestmates recruited by a scout. These two parameters are related to the kind of food discovered. Our behavioral experiments showed that the probability that a scout returned to the nest decreased with a decreasing quantity of sucrose solution. In contrast, the number of returned scouts that elicited recruitment from the nest and the mean number of nestmates recruited by one of these scouts were independent of the quantity of the sucrose solution. Recruitment even occurred toward a 1- or 0.25-µl droplet of sucrose solution. When a scout discovered a large dead prey, a large drop of prey juice, a cluster of 30 dead fruit flies, or 1 isolated fruit fly, it always went back to the nest, but it elicited recruitment only when the food source was a large dead prey or a large drop of prey juice. No recruitment occurred when the food source was a single fruit fly and recruitment occurred only once in 30 trials when a cluster of 30 fruit flies was discovered.     

Conservation of two predator species for biological control ofChrysophtharta bimaculata (Col.: Chrysomelidae) in tasmanian forests

Chrysophtharta bimaculata (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a major defoliator of regeneration eucalypt trees in Tasmania causing a significant reduction in height and diameter increment of trees which reduces wood volume per hectare. A study to conserve and enhance the efficiency of coccinellid species chieflyCleobora mellyi (Mulsant) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and the cantharid,Chauliognathus pulchellus (Macleay) (Coleoptera: Cantharidae), for the biological control ofC. bimaculata was conducted in young regeneration forests in southern Tasmania from 1991–92. Cantharid adults and coccinellid adults and larvae feed onC. bimaculata eggs and, to a lesser extent, young larvae. The study found that coccinellids were more active throughout the egg and early (1^st and 2^nd) stage ofC. bimaculata. The cantharid, however was active only during the egg stage of the prey and then disappeared from the plantation. The coccinellids were therefore the most useful predators, but their population declined when the prey reached the 3^rd and 4^th stages. As shortage of food may account for this decline, supplementary food was provided in the form of sucrose sprays or sugar granules at a feeding station. This resulted in the retention of both predators and particularly the coccinellids and enhanced their efficacy.     

Conservation and reservation of non-vascular plants in Tasmania,with special reference to lichens

Conservation management of the Tasmanian flora is now focusing on non-vascular plants. Major problems include the low level of information on the composition of the flora and the low number of competent specialists available to deal with the plants. Collation of information from literature and from collections in herbaria is required to establish exactly which data are available and their reliability. An environmental domain analysis covering all ecosystems would indicate which environments were under-represented or absent from current reserves and where needs for conservation lie. Within practical time-frames, this process is probably the best method of capturing unknown components of the flora whilst also catering for widespread species and those closely associated with particular environments. It also incorporates regional variability. Minor habitats, which are often floristically rich, and very rare species are best dealt with on an individual basis. Basic research into taxonomy and ecology is paramount. Reservation and conservation management must be based on well-established and maintained databases which are in turn based on a coherent taxonomy and sound biogoographical information. It is only by pursuing an active research programme that the necessary accurate information can be obtained and the success of the management procedures can be gauged.     

Differences in tissue-specific lipid composition between embryos of wild and captive breeding alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

Fertile eggs obtained from alligators reared in captivity typically exhibit high rates of embryonic mortality. Also, the fatty acid composition of the yolk lipid of the captive eggs is markedly different from that observed in eggs from wild alligators, possibly as a result of differences in maternal diet in the two situations. The fatty acid compositions of tissue lipids during the embryonic development of wild and captive alligators were compared. The lipids of liver, adipose tissue and heart of the two types of embryo displayed fatty acid profiles which generally reflected the acyl compositions of the respective yolks. Thus the lipids from these tissues of the captive embryos contained markedly higher proportionate levels of linoleic and linolenic acids, lower levels of palmitoleic acid, and, in general, lower levels of docosahexaenoic acid and other C20 and C22 polyunsaturates, in comparison to the values for the wild embryos. In contrast, the fatty acid composition of the brain phosphoglycerides was very similar in the two types of embryo. Thus, at least in those embryos which had survived during the developmental period studied, the brain was able to maintain a relatively constant fatty acid composition, in spite of major differences between the wild and captive eggs in the proportions of the various fatty acids supplied from the yolk. It is suggested that a major cause of embryonic mortality in the captive embryos could be a failure to maintain an adequate level of docosahexaenoic acid in the developing brain.     

Antiplatelet treatment for thromboprophylaxis: a step forward or backwards?

A recent meta-analysis from the Antiplatelet Trialists'' Collaboration recommended that antilatelet treatment either alone or, for greater effect, in addition to other proved forms of thromboprophylaxis should be considered for patients at high risk of thromboembolism. This paper argues that the current evidence does not justify the adoption of aspirin or other antiplatelet treatment for venous thromboprophylaxis, especially when more effective alternatives exist. Furthermore, several issues relating to this latest meta-analysis need to be debated.     

Structural changes in the innercortex cells of soybean root nodules are induced by short-term exposure to high salt or oxygen concentrations

After a 2 h exposure of intact soybean nodules to high concentrations of NaCl (100mol m_?3) or oxygen (8OkPa O₂), morphometric computations carried out using an image analysis technique on semi-thin sections showed that both treatments induced a decrease in the area of the inner-cortex cells, which were then characterized by a tangential elongation. In contrast, no significant change in area occurred in the middle-cortex cells although their elongation decreased. Electron microscopic observations showed that in the inner-cortex cells changes included the presence of wall infoldings, an enlarged periplasmic space and a lobate nucleus whose chromatin distribution differed from that of the control. Structural changes also occurred in the endoplasmic reticulum, microbodies, mitochondria and plastids. From several of these changes, which are similar to those noted in osmocontractil cells in response to external stimuli, it can be hypothesized that the inner cortex may provide a potential mechanism for the control of oxygen diffusion through the nodules.