Rosmarinic acid inhibits some metabolic enzymes including glutathione S-transferase,lactoperoxidase, acetylcholinesterase,butyrylcholinesterase and carbonic anhydrase isoenzymes

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural polyphenol contained in many aromatic plants with promising biological activities. Carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1) are widespread and intensively studied metalloenzymes present in higher vertebrates. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE, E.C. 3.1.1.7) is intimately associated with the normal neurotransmission by catalysing the hydrolysis of acetylcholine to acetate and choline and acts in combination with butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) to remove acetylcholine from the synaptic cleft. Lactoperoxidase (LPO) is an enzyme involved in fighting pathogenic microorganisms, whereas glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are dimeric proteins present both in prokaryotic and in eukaryotic organisms and involved in cellular detoxification mechanisms. In the present study, the inhibition effects of rosmarinic acid on tumour-associated carbonic anhydrase IX and XII isoenzymes, AChE, BChE, LPO and GST enzymes were evaluated. Rosmarinic acid inhibited these enzymes with K_is in the range between micromolar to picomolar. The best inhibitory effect of rosmarinic acid was observed against both AChE and BChE.     

Interactive effects of exogenous and endogenous factors on demographic rates of an African rodent

Exogenous and endogenous environmental factors can have simultaneous additive as well as interacting effects on life‐history traits. Ignoring such interactions can lead to a biased understanding of variability in demographic rates and consequently population dynamics. These interactions have been the focus of decades‐long debates on the mechanisms underlying small mammal population fluctuations. They have often been studied indirectly through seasonal effects, but studies considering them directly and more mechanistically are rare. We investigated the joint effects of exogenous (temperature, food availability) and endogenous (population density) factors on the demographic rates of a group‐living diurnal rodent, the African striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio using nine‐year mark–recapture data from a population in the Succulent Karoo, South Africa. In general, higher temperatures and lower food availability were associated with higher survival, whereas high population densities were either beneficial or detrimental to survival depending on interacting food availability. High reproductive rates were related to lower temperatures, higher food availability and lower population density, and interactions among environmental factors mediated the strength of these relationships. Our study highlights the complex ways in which different environmental factors can interact to shape demographic rates and emphasizes the importance of explicitly including interactions among exogenous and endogenous factors into studies of population dynamics.     

Habitat‐driven life history variation in an amphibian metapopulation

Life‐history theory states that, during the lifetime of an individual, resources are allocated to either somatic maintenance or reproduction. Resource allocation tradeoffs determine the evolution and ecology of life‐history strategies and determine an organisms’ position along the fast–slow continuum. Theory predicts that environmental stochasticity is an important driver of resource allocation and therefore life‐history evolution. Highly stochastic environments are expected to increase uncertainty in reproductive success and select for iteroparity and a slowing down of the life history. To date, most empirical studies have used comparisons among species to examine these theoretical predictions. By contrast, few have investigated how environmental stochasticity affects life‐history strategies at the intraspecific level. In this study, we examined how variation in breeding site stochasticity (among‐year variability in pond volume and hydroperiod) promotes the co‐occurrence of different life‐history strategies in a spatially structured population, and determines life‐history position along the fast–slow continuum in the yellow‐bellied toad Bombina variegata. We collected mark–recapture data from a metapopulation and used multievent capture–recapture models to estimate survival, recruitment and breeding probabilities. We found higher survival and longer lifespans in populations inhabiting variable sites compared to those breeding in stable ones. In addition, probabilities of recruitment and skipping a breeding event were higher in variable sites. The temporal variance of survival and recruitment probabilities, as well as the probability to skip breeding, was higher in variable sites. Taken together, these findings indicate that populations breeding in variable sites experienced a slowing down of the life‐history. Our study thus revealed similarities in the macroevolutionary and microevolutionary processes shaping life‐history evolution.     

Correction to: Music of metagenomics—a review of its applications,analysis pipeline,and associated tools

Functional & Integrative Genomics -     

Spatiotemporal variation in reproductive parameters of yellow-bellied marmots

Spatiotemporal variation in reproductive rates is a common phenomenon in many wildlife populations, but the population dynamic consequences of spatial and temporal variability in different components of reproduction remain poorly understood. We used 43 years (1962–2004) of data from 17 locations and a capture–mark–recapture (CMR) modeling framework to investigate the spatiotemporal variation in reproductive parameters of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), and its influence on the realized population growth rate. Specifically, we estimated and modeled breeding probabilities of two-year-old females (earliest age of first reproduction), >2-year-old females that have not reproduced before (subadults), and >2-year-old females that have reproduced before (adults), as well as the litter sizes of two-year old and >2-year-old females. Most reproductive parameters exhibited spatial and/or temporal variation. However, reproductive parameters differed with respect to their relative influence on the realized population growth rate (λ). Litter size had a stronger influence than did breeding probabilities on both spatial and temporal variations in λ. Our analysis indicated that λ was proportionately more sensitive to survival than recruitment. However, the annual fluctuation in litter size, abetted by the breeding probabilities, accounted for most of the temporal variation in λ. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Treatment with acetyl salicylic acid protects muskmelon seedlings against drought stress

Salicylic acid (SA) is a common plant-produced signal molecule that is responsible for inducing tolerance to a number of biotic and abiotic stresses. An experiment was, therefore, conducted to test whether acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) application at various concentrations through seed soaking or foliar spray would protect muskmelon [Cucumis melo L. (reticulatus group)] seedlings, subjected to drought stress. Twenty-three-day-old plants pre-treated with ASA (0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.50 or 1.0 mM) were subjected to drought stress for 1 week in a greenhouse. ASA applied either through seed soaking or through foliar spray was effective within the range of 0.1–1 mM in providing drought stress protection in muskmelon seedlings; however, there was no difference between application methods indicating that both methods provided similar levels of protection. ASA significantly affected all seedling growth and stress indicator variables measured except leaf number and root dry weight. The best protection appeared to be obtained from seedlings pre-treated with lower concentrations of ASA. Even though both methods provided similar means of protection, due to its simplicity and practicality, soaking muskmelon seeds prior to sowing in up to 0.5 mM ASA would be a more desirable method.     

Dimeric Quaternary Structure of Human Laforin

The phosphatase laforin removes phosphate groups from glycogen during biosynthetic activity. Loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding laforin is the predominant cause of Lafora disease, a fatal form of progressive myoclonic epilepsy. Here, we used hybrid structural methods to determine the molecular architecture of human laforin. We found that laforin adopts a dimeric quaternary structure, topologically similar to the prototypical dual specificity phosphatase VH1. The interface between the laforin carbohydrate-binding module and the dual specificity phosphatase domain generates an intimate substrate-binding crevice that allows for recognition and dephosphorylation of phosphomonoesters of glucose. We identify novel molecular determinants in the laforin active site that help decipher the mechanism of glucan phosphatase activity.     

The effect of aquatic and terrestrial habitat characteristics on occurrence and breeding probability in a montane amphibian: insights from a spatially explicit multistate occupancy model

Understanding species distribution and predicting range shifts are major goals of ecology and biogeography. Obtaining reliable predictions of how species distribution might change in response to habitat change requires knowledge of habitat availability, occupancy, use for breeding, and spatial autocorrelation in these parameters. Amphibians in alpine areas provide an excellent model system for disentangling habitat drivers of occupancy from that of breeding while explicitly accounting for spatial autocorrelation. We focused on the widespread common frog (Rana temporaria) inhabiting alpine lakes in the Southern Carpathians, Romania. We used single season multistate occupancy models developed to account for imperfect detection and spatial autocorrelation to estimate the occupancy and breeding probabilities and to evaluate their response to habitat characteristics. We found that frogs do not occur in all water bodies [occupancy probability: 0.697; 95% credible interval (0.614, 0.729)] and do not breed in a substantial proportion of water bodies where they occur [breeding probability conditional on occupancy: 0.707; 95% credible interval (0.670, 0.729)]. Habitat characteristics explain water body occupancy but not breeding probability; and altitude, water body surface area, water body sinuosity and permanency, presence of invertebrates, and grazing along the banks all had positive effects on occupancy. We also detected strong spatial autocorrelation in occupancy and breeding probabilities. Thus, our results indicate that habitat choice by montane amphibians is influenced by both spatial autocorrelation and habitat characteristics. Because spatial autocorrelations matter and because the presence of adults is not the same as the presence of a reproducing population, it will be difficult to predict the effects of habitat change on high altitude amphibian populations.     

Sex differences in dog corpus callosum.

Human studies reported sex differences in size and shape of the corpus callosum. These observations have been contested. The purpose of the present study is to investigate possible sex differences in the corpus callosum of dogs. The entire brains including the medulla from 12 female and 9 male adult mongrel dogs were removed and weighed. Total and partial area measurements of the callosum were made from photographic tracings of its outline. The callosum was partitioned into 3 regions; anterior half, posterior half, posterior one-fifth. The total corpus callosum, anterior half, posterior half, and posterior fifth or splenium areas were measured. Sex differences were found. The anterior half, the posterior half, the posterior fifth, and the total callosum were significantly greater in absolute area in males than in females.