Seasonal Abundance of Acanthamoeba rhysodes (Singh, 1952) (Protozoa: Gymnamoebia) in a Mangrove Litter-Soil Ecosystem of Gangetic-Estuary,India1,2

Acanthamoeba rhysodes has been found to be a predominant intertidal benthic gymnamoeba in the mangrove ecosystem of Sundarbans of lower deltaic Bengal, facing the Bay. The sampling zones under study were the highest high tide regions, with characteristic mangrove litter-soil, inundated twice per month during the highest ebb of spring tide. Population abundance of this species, both in its trophic and cystic forms in the three distinct seasonal periods of pre-monsoon (March to June), monsoon (July to October), and post-monsoon (November to February) has been surveyed for over two years. These seasonal periods affect the physico-chemical parameters of the habitat substrata, including temperature, pH, and salinity. It has been found that the overall number of organisms per gram of soil attains peak value during the monsoon period. This value comes down in post-monsoon samples and is the least in pre-monsoon ones.     

Network-Free Inference of Knockout Effects in Yeast

Perturbation experiments, in which a certain gene is knocked out and the expression levels of other genes are observed, constitute a fundamental step in uncovering the intricate wiring diagrams in the living cell and elucidating the causal roles of genes in signaling and regulation. Here we present a novel framework for analyzing large cohorts of gene knockout experiments and their genome-wide effects on expression levels. We devise clustering-like algorithms that identify groups of genes that behave similarly with respect to the knockout data, and utilize them to predict knockout effects and to annotate physical interactions between proteins as inhibiting or activating. Differing from previous approaches, our prediction approach does not depend on physical network information; the latter is used only for the annotation task. Consequently, it is both more efficient and of wider applicability than previous methods. We evaluate our approach using a large scale collection of gene knockout experiments in yeast, comparing it to the state-of-the-art SPINE algorithm. In cross validation tests, our algorithm exhibits superior prediction accuracy, while at the same time increasing the coverage by over 25-fold. Significant coverage gains are obtained also in the annotation of the physical network.     

Correlation between Lack of Receptacle Growth in Response to Auxin and Accumulation of a Specific Polypeptide in a Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) Variant Genotype

Receptacle growth in strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch. cv.Ozark Beauty) occurred after either pollination or auxin treatment.In a strawberry variant genotype (Washington State UniversitySelection No. 12/13), pollination did not lead to receptaclegrowth but application of -naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) at anthesisresulted in normal receptacle growth. The receptacles of OzarkBeauty retained their ability to respond to auxin at least upto 36 days after anthesis. However, delay of auxin applicationto the receptacles of the variant genotype resulted in decreasedauxin-responsive growth and auxin application after the 10thday of anthesis led to very little growth. The loss of auxin-responsivegrowth of the receptacle of the variant genotype was not associatedwith any loss of auxin binding activity of receptacle membranes.If auxin was not supplied to the receptacles of the variantgenotype at anthesis, the receptacles did not grow and a polypeptideof 52,000 M_r accumulated. Application of NAA to the receptaclesof the variant genotype at anthesis or on the fifth day afteranthesis resulted in the growth of the receptacle and the 52,000M_r polypeptide did not accumulate. Application of NAA to thereceptacles of the variant genotype on the 10th or the 15thday after anthesis led to very little growth of the receptacleand the 52,000 M_r polypeptide accumulated to high levels. Theseresults suggested a correlation between the lack of receptaclegrowth in response to auxin and accumulation of the 52,000 M_rpolypeptide. ¹ Current adress: The Institute of Applied Research, Ben GurionUniversity of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. (Received August 6, 1984; Accepted December 11, 1984)     

Effect of Ferricyanide, Ferrocyanide and KCN on Growth and Flowering in the Short-Day Plant Lemna paucicostata 6746

Flowering in the short-day plant Lemna paucicostata 6746 canbe induced under continuous light by the addition of ferricyanie,ferrocyanide or KCN to M-sucrose medium. Each substance is nearly10 times more effective when the flasks are covered by glassbeakers than when cotton plugs are used. By contrast, when floweringis induced under continuous light by copper or by short-daytreatment, neither flowering nor growth are affected by whetherglass beakers or cotton plugs are used. Ferricyanide, ferrocyanideand KCN are also able to induce long-day flowering when theplants are grown on Msucrose medium in small beakers that areplaced in a covered storage dish that also contains a solutionof one of these compounds. Addition of a KOH trap to the storagedish completely blocks the flowering induced by these compounds.If [¹⁴C]ferrocyanide is added to the storage dish both the M-sucrosemedium and the plants contain significant amounts of radioactivity,the amount of radioactivity being proportional to the floweringresponse. These results indicate that ferricyanide, ferrocyanideand KCN break down to release HCN and that it is the HCN whichis responsible for inducing flowering in L. paucicostata 6746under continuous light. ¹Present address: Department of Biology, Osaka Kyoiku University,Ikeda, Osaka 563, Japan. ²Present address: Institute of Horticulture, The Volcani Center,P. O. B. 6, Bet-Dagan, Israel. (Received January 17, 1983; Accepted March 24, 1983)     

Pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia: two new heterozygous frameshift mutations in exons 5 and 10 of the Gsα gene

Pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ia (PHP-Ia) is a hereditary disease characterized by resistance to PTH and other hormones that act via cAMP. Patients have deficient activity of Gs, the subunit of the G protein, which couples hormone receptors to stimulation of adenylate cyclase. We describe two new mutations discovered in two sporadic patients with PHP-Ia. Using genomic DNA, we have amplified exons 2–13 of the Gs gene (GNAS1) by PCR, and sequenced the resulting products. Both patients had Albright's hereditary osteodystrophy, resistance to multiple hormones, and deficient Gs activity. In the first patient, a deletion of a C in exon 5 at codon 115 was found. In the second patient, an insertion of a C in exon 10 at codon 267 was detected. Both these heterozygous mutations cause frameshift, and predict decreased production of Gs. This report adds two new Gs mutations to the known ten mutations recently described.     

Fungal population in the atmosphere of Ismailia City

Fungal spore populations in the outdoor and indoor atmosphere of Ismailia have been studied during the period from March 1992 to May 1993. A total of 23 350 cfu and 73 species were recorded,Cladosporium cladosporioides, Aureobasidium pullulans andAspergillus flavus were the most abundant. The indoor and outdoor mycoflora showed marked quantitative and qualitative differences. In view of count, recorded species could be categorized into three groups as follows: (a) species showing higher counts in out- than indoor, (b) species showing the opposite trend i.e. lower counts in out-door than indoor, (c) species showing approximately equal counts in out- and indoor. Regarding seasonal periodicity, March and either September or October showed the highest count for both normal fungal flora (NFF) and opportunistic fungal flora (OFF). While January and July showed the lowest count of them both, May but not July was the lowest as for outdoor NFF.     

Remote sensing of chlorophyll in Lake Kinneret using highspectral-resolution radiometer and Landsat TM: spectral features of reflectance and algorithm development

High-resolution reflectance spectra in the range of 400–850nm were obtained from Lake Kinneret during a period when densepopulations of the dinoflagellate Peridinium gatunense dominatedthe phytoplankton. Chlorophyll (Chl) concentrations ranged from5.1 to 185 mg m^–3 and from 2.4 to 187.5 mg m^–3 inthe samples of two independent experiments. The most prominentfeatures of the reflectance spectra were: (i) a wide minimumfrom 400 to 500 nm; (ii) a maximum at 550–570 nm, whichdid not surpass 3% in samples with high Chl concentration (>20mgm^–3), indicating a strong absorption by pigments in thegreen range of the spectrum; (iii) a minimum at 676 nm; thiswas {small tilde}1% and was almost insensitive to variationin Chl concentration >10 mg m^–3; (iv) a maximum reflectanceshowed near 700 nm; its magnitude and position were highly dependenton chlorophyll concentration. High-spectral-resolution datawere used as a guideline for selection of the most suitablespectral bands for chlorophyll remote sensing. Models were devised,based on the calculation of the integrated area above the baselinefrom 670 to 850 nm and the reflectance maximal height withinthis range. Some algorithms already used m previous studieswere tested and showed a plausible degree of accuracy when appliedto the current data base. However, novel models devised in thisstudy improved substantially the accuracy of Chl estimationby remotely sensed data, by reducing the estimation error from>11 to 6.5 mg m^–3 Those models were validated by anindependent data set where Chl concentration ranged over twoorders of magnitude. The use of three relatively narrow spectralbands was sufficient for Chl mapping in Lake Kinneret. Therefore,a relatively simple sensor, measuring only a few bands willbe employed in future applications for Chl monitoring in inlandwaters. Radiometric data were also used to simulate radiancesin the channels of TM Landsat and to find the algorithm forChl assessment. The ratio of channel 4 to channel 3 was usedand enabled Chl estimation with an error of <15mg m^–3This algorithm was employed to map Chl in the entire area ofLake Kinneret with 10 gradations.     

Effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza on Tagetes erecta and Zinnia elegans

 Seeds of Tagetes erecta and Zinnia elegans were planted in soil inoculated with the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus etunicatum. This procedure produced positive effects on both Tagetes and Zinnia compared with the control: faster flowering and an increased number of flowers. Shoot height, shoot and root dry weights and percentage infected root length were also measured. The reactions of these plants to mycorrhizal infection were shown to be independent of changes in the phosphorus, potassium and sodium contents of the plants. Accepted: 1 August 1995     

Conversion of normal human lymphocytes to tumor-specific immunoreactivity by xenogeneic Immune RNA: Blastogenic responses to soluble tumor antigens

Summary Lymphocyte blastogenesis was used as an assay of Immune RNA (I-RNA) activity. Normal, non-immune human lymphocytes following incubation with xenogeneic antitumor I-RNA extracted from the lymphoid organs of specifically immunized sheep underwent blastogenesis when exposed to solubilized human tumor antigens in vitro. Blastogenic responses were, unexpectedly, relatively specific for the tumor type used to immunize the I-RNA donor sheep. No significant blastogenic responses were elicited by the I-RNA extracts or by the antigen preparations themselves. This study suggests that normal, human lymphocytes incubated (sensitized) with I-RNA, in vitro, behave, in terms of antigen recognition, like lymphocytes which have previously been sensitized to tumor antigens and demonstrates that xenogeneic Immune RNA will mediate afferent limb immune responses to human tumor antigens.Supported, in part, by Public Health Service Grant CA-18321 from the National Institute of Health     

Spatial and temporal electroselection patterns in electric field stimulation of polarized luminescence from photosynthetic membrane vesicles

Electroselection processes of charge recombination are manifested in the study of electric field induced polarized emission from photosynthetic membrane vesicles. The study explores the coupled spatial-temporal characteristics of electric field induced charge recombination by examining the dependence of the integrated polarized emission and the time dependent polarization on electric field strength. The experimental results were fitted to theoretical models by computer simulations employing empirical parameters. Simulation of the dependence of the integrated polarized components of emission on electric field strength, suggests field-dependent increased ratio between radiative and nonradiative rates of charge recombination. The observation that the initial polarization values are independent of electric field strength supports the assumption that electric field induced emission originates from the pole area and then spreads away from it towards the equator. The propagation rate of this electric field induced charge recombination from the pole area towards the equator is reflected by the decay of polarization which increases upon raising the electric field strength. Simulation of the polarization's decay, based on a calculated angle of 26.3 ± 0.4° between the transition moment of emission and the plane of the membrane, establishes coupled temporal spatial patterns of electroselection in intramembrane electron transfer invoked by exposing preilluminated photosynthetic vesicles to a homogeneous electric field.