Does PBAN play an alternative role of controlling pheromone emission in the cabbage looper moth,Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)?

There is an active process by which sex pheromone reserves of female cabbage looper moths, Trichoplusia ni, are transported to the gland's surface during the nocturnal period of calling. We hypothesized that this mobilization was controlled by a head factor, possibly related to the pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptides (PBAN) that in other species stimulate pheromone synthesis. We evaluated the impact of head extracts of T. ni on pheromone emission and glandular content of pheromone. During the photophase injected head extracts stimulated an increased pheromone emission rate in females, but glandular content of pheromone was not affected. Head extracts of H. virescens, a species with known PBAN activity, and synthetic PBAN stimulated an increased pheromone emission rate in T. ni. There was some specificity of the response of female T. ni to PBAN, in that several other unrelated polypeptides did not stimulate this type of response. Previously it had been determined that brain factors do not play a role in stimulating pheromone biosynthesis in T. ni. Our results indicate that there may be additional avenues by which PBAN or related neuropeptides control pheromone emission, including transport of pheromone reserves to the surface of the sex pheromone gland.     

An Estimate of Divergence Time of Parazoa and Eumetazoa and That of Cephalochordata and Vertebrata by Aldolase and Triose Phosphate Isomerase Clocks

Previously we suggested that four proteins including aldolase and triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) evolved with approximately constant rates over long periods covering the whole animal phyla. The constant rates of aldolase and TPI evolution were reexamined based on three different models for estimating evolutionary distances. It was shown that the evolutionary rates remain essentially unchanged in comparisons not only between different classes of vertebrates but also between vertebrates and arthropods and even between animals and plants, irrespective of the models used. Thus these enzymes might be useful molecular clocks for inferring divergence times of animal phyla. To know the divergence time of Parazoa and Eumetazoa and that of Cephalochordata and Vertebrata, the aldolase cDNAs from Ephydatia fluviatilis, a freshwater sponge, and the TPI cDNAs from Ephydatia fluviatilis and Branchiostoma belcheri, an amphioxus, have been cloned and sequenced. Comparisons of the deduced amino acid sequences of aldolase and TPI from the freshwater sponge with known sequences revealed that the Parazoa–Eumetazoa split occurred about 940 million years ago (Ma) as determined by the average of two proteins and three models. Similarly, the aldolase and TPI clocks suggest that vertebrates and amphioxus last shared a common ancestor around 700 Ma and they possibly diverged shortly after the divergence of deuterostomes and protostomes.     

Selective Changes in Cell Bodies and Growth Cones of Nerve Growth Factor-Differentiated PC12 Cells Induced by Chemical Hypoxia

Abstract: Cytosolic free Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) was measured in differentiated PC12 cells to test whether chemical hypoxia selectively alters intracellular Ca²⁺ in growth cones and cell bodies. Hypoxia increased [Ca²⁺]_i and exaggerated its response to K⁺ depolarization in both parts of the cells. [Ca²⁺]_i in the cell bodies was greater than that in the growth cones under resting conditions and in response to K⁺ or hypoxia. Ca²⁺-channel blockers selectively altered these responses. The L-channel blocker nifedipine reduced [Ca²⁺]_i following K⁺ depolarization by 67% in the cell bodies but only 25% in the growth cones. In contrast, the N-channel blocker ω-conotoxin GVIA (ω-CgTX) diminished K⁺-induced changes in [Ca²⁺]_i only in the growth cones. During hypoxia, nifedipine was more effective in the cell bodies than in the growth cones. During hypoxia, ω-CgTX diminished K⁺-induced changes by 50–75% in both parts of the cell, but only immediately after depolarization. The combination of nifedipine and ω-CgTX diminished the [Ca²⁺]_i response to K⁺ with or without hypoxia by >90% in the cell body and 70% in the growth cones. Thus, the increased Ca²⁺ entry with K⁺ during hypoxia is primarily through L channels in the cell bodies, whereas in growth cones influx through L and N channels is about equal. The results show that chemical hypoxia selectively alters Ca²⁺ regulation in the growth cone and cell body of the same cell.     

Neonatal DNA immunization with a plasmid encoding an internal viral protein is effective in the presence of maternal antibodies and protects against subsequent viral challenge.

Conventional vaccines are remarkably effective in adults but are much less successful in the very young, who are less able to initiate a mature immune response and who may carry maternal antibodies which inactivate standard vaccines. We set out to determine whether DNA immunization might circumvent these problems. We have previously shown that intramuscular injection of plasmid DNA encoding the nucleoprotein (NP) gene of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is capable of inducing immune responses and protecting 50% of adult mice against lethal and sublethal challenge with LCMV. Here we demonstrate that mouse pups injected with the same plasmid hours or days after birth produce major histocompatibility complex-restricted, NP-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that persist into adulthood; 48% of vaccinated pups responded to subsequent sublethal viral challenge by the accelerated production of anti-NP LCMV-specific CTL, indicating that these animals had been successfully immunized by the plasmid DNA. In addition, these mice showed a >95% reduction in splenic viral titers 4 days postinfection compared to control mice, demonstrating a more rapid control of infection in vivo. Furthermore, pups born of and suckled on LCMV-immune dams (and therefore containing passively acquired anti-LCMV antibodies at the time of DNA inoculation) responded to the DNA vaccine in a similar manner, showing that maternally derived anti-LCMV antibodies do not significantly inhibit the generation of protective immune responses following DNA vaccination. These findings suggest that, at least in this model system, DNA immunization circumvents many of the problems associated with neonatal immunization.     

Human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2) seroprevalence and characterization of a distinct HIV-2 genetic subtype from the natural range of simian immunodeficiency virus-infected sooty mangabeys.

The extent of zoonotic infections in rural Sierra Leone, where both feral and pet sooty mangabeys harbor divergent members of the human immunodeficiency virus type 2 (HIV-2)-sooty mangabey simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVsm) family, was tested in blood samples collected from 9,309 human subjects in 1993. Using HIV-1- and HIV-2-specific enzyme immunoassays and confirmatory Western blot analysis to test for antibodies to SIVsm-related lentiviruses, we found only nine subjects (0.096%) who tested positive for HIV: seven tested positive for HIV-1 and two tested positive for HIV-2. Compared with other rural West African communities, Sierra Leone displayed the lowest seroprevalence (0.021%) of HIV-2 infection yet reported, much lower than the previously reported seroprevalence in SIVsm-infected feral and household pet sooty mangabeys. Heteroduplex analysis demonstrated that two of the newly found HIV-1 strains belonged to subtype A, the most common HIV-1 subtype in Africa, but this is the first report of subtype A in Sierra Leone. The two HIV-2-infected individuals harbored two distinct HIV-2 strains, designated 93SL1 and 93SL2. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that HIV-2 93SL1 is a member of HIV-2 subtype A, the first strain of this HIV-2 subtype found in Sierra Leone. In contrast, HIV-2 93SL2 belongs to none of the five previously characterized HIV-2 subtypes (A to E) but is a new subtype, herein designated F, having the most divergent transmembrane sequences yet reported for HIV-2. The fact that both of the two most divergent HIV-2 subtypes known, E and F, are rare and found as single occurrences in persons from Sierra Leone may be related to the fact that this small region of West Africa also contains free-living and household pet sooty mangabeys with highly divergent variants of SIVsm. This finding provides support for the hypotheses that new HIV-2 subtypes result from independent cross-species transmission of SIVsm to the human population and that these single-occurrence transmission events had not spread widely into the population by 1993.     

Two distinct CCR5 domains can mediate coreceptor usage by human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

The chemokine receptor CCR5 is the major fusion coreceptor for macrophage-tropic strains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). To define the structures of CCR5 that can support envelope (Env)-mediated membrane fusion, we analyzed the activity of homologs, chimeras, and mutants of human CCR5 in a sensitive gene reporter cell-cell fusion assay. Simian, but not murine, homologs of CCR5 were fully active as HIV-1 fusion coreceptors. Chimeras between CCR5 and divergent chemokine receptors demonstrated the existence of two distinct regions of CCR5 that could be utilized for Env-mediated fusion, the amino-terminal domain and the extracellular loops. Dual-tropic Env proteins were particularly sensitive to alterations in the CCR5 amino-terminal domain, suggesting that this domain may play a pivotal role in the evolution of coreceptor usage in vivo. We identified individual residues in both functional regions, Asp-11, Lys-197, and Asp-276, that contribute to coreceptor function. Deletion of a highly conserved cytoplasmic motif rendered CCR5 incapable of signaling but did not abrogate its ability to function as a coreceptor, implying the independence of fusion and G-protein-mediated chemokine receptor signaling. Finally, we developed a novel monoclonal antibody to CCR5 to assist in future studies of CCR5 expression.     

Experimental study and mechanism analysis on bioeffects by nanosecond electromagnetic pulses

The athermal bioeffects caused by nanosecond electromagnetic pulses with body cells was studied by using a broad band transverse EM-wave cell (BTEM CELL). The experimental system and preliminary mechanism analysis were presented.     

褐稻虱在武育粳2号上不同生育期危害对水稻产量结构的影响

通过试验测定在武育粳2号上水稻拔节期正处于幼穗形成阶段,受褐稻虱危害实粒数减少,产量下降;孕穗期较耐褐稻虱危害,有明显的补偿作用;孕穗末期至灌浆初期为水稻受害最敏感的时期,危害后使结实率和千粒重均明显下降,水稻显著减产;灌浆后期至乳熟期受褐稻虱危害主要导致干粒重降低,且越接近成熟产量损失越低。     

三化螟种群系统的最优管理决策

以三化螟Tryporyza invertulas(Walker)种群动态模型和水稻产量损失预测模型为基础,根据水稻插植期、品种抗性,保护利用自然天敌和杀虫剂多次使用等控制措施以及它们的各种不同组合对该虫种群动态、水稻产量损失串和净收益的影响,以净收益最大为目标函数,研究三化螟种群的最优管理决策。其中,对昆虫种群动态模拟方法作了一点改进,它综合了前人所提出的种群动态模型的优点。建立的系统模型能够提供包括农业防治、生物防治和化学防治措施在内的、对三化螟种群实施有效管理的最优决策方案。     

不同光学异构体组成的氯氰菊酯对敏感及抗性家蝇的神经电生理学研究

采用敏感家蝇(Musca domestica vicina L.)及由5种不同光学异构体组成的氯氰菊酯选育的抗性家蝇中胸足离体标本,观测五种药剂对足感觉神经纤维冲动发放的影响。各种异构体组成的氯氰菊酯均可引起感觉神经纤维发放的增加,然后逐渐降低,直至完全阻断。以阻断时间和加药剂量为参数,求出神经敏感度。结果表明：五种药剂作用于敏感家蝇的神经敏感度与室内生物测定的LD₅₀值(μg/头)无相关性,而与供试药剂中反α体与顺α体的比例有关,反α体所占比例越多的药物,神经敏感度越高。抗性家蝇的神经敏感度与敏感 家蝇相比大幅度下降,可以认为神经敏感度降低是家蝇对氯氰菊酯产生抗性的主要机制。抗性家蝇中,氯氰菊酯品系(RC₁)的抗生水平最高,但它的神经敏感度较其它抗性品系也高,由此推测,RC₁,的抗性机制与其它晶系有所不同。