A review of some physiological and evolutionary aspects of body size and bud size of Hydra

Green hydra with endosymbionts are smaller than brown asymbiotic ones. Regeneration experiments, mitotic index studies on algal and hydra tissue, and evidence for consumption and expulsion of algae are reviewed and it is suggested that larger green hydra have more difficulty controlling algal increase than smaller ones and that hydra have an upper size limit for maintenance of stable symbioses. A mathematical model is discussed which starts with simple physiological assumptions about hydra and generates field testable conclusions about how body and bud size, and reproductive rates depend on food particle size, quantity and temporal distribution. Unlike most analytic ecological-evolutionary models, this one integrates physiology, ecology and evolution without needing simplifying assumptions.     

Habitat heterogeneity and niche structure of trees in two tropical rain forests

Dispersal-assembly theories of species coexistence posit that environmental factors play no role in explaining community diversity and structure. Dispersal-assembly theories shed light on some aspects of community structure such as species-area and species-abundance relationships. However, species environmental associations also affect these measures of community structure. Measurements of species niche breadth and overlap address this influence. Using a new continuous measure of niche and a dispersal-assembly null model that maintains species niche breadth and aggregation, we tested two hypotheses assessing the effects of habitat heterogeneity on the ability of dispersal-assembly theories to explain community niche structure. We found that in both homogenous and heterogeneous environments dispersal-assembly theories cannot fully explain observed niche structure. The performance of the dispersal-assembly null models was particularly poor in heterogeneous environments. These results indicate that non-dispersal based mechanisms are in part responsible for observed community structure and measures of community structure which include species environmental associations should be used to test theories of species diversity.     

Review. Context-induced relapse to drug seeking: a review

In humans, exposure to environmental contexts previously associated with drug intake often provokes relapse to drug use, but the mechanisms mediating this relapse are unknown. Based on early studies by Bouton & Bolles on context-induced 'renewal' of learned behaviours, we developed a procedure to study context-induced relapse to drug seeking. In this procedure, rats are first trained to self-administer drug in one context. Next, drug-reinforced lever responding is extinguished in a different (non-drug) context. Subsequently, context-induced reinstatement of drug seeking is assessed by re-exposing rats to the drug-associated context. Using variations of this procedure, we and others reported reliable context-induced reinstatement in rats with a history of heroin, cocaine, heroin-cocaine combination, alcohol and nicotine self-administration. Here, we first discuss potential psychological mechanisms of context-induced reinstatement, including excitatory and inhibitory Pavlovian conditioning, and occasion setting. We then summarize results from pharmacological and neuroanatomical studies on the role of several neurotransmitter systems (dopamine, glutamate, serotonin and opioids) and brain areas (ventral tegmental area, accumbens shell, dorsal striatum, basolateral amygdala, prefrontal cortex, dorsal hippocampus and lateral hypothalamus) in context-induced reinstatement. We conclude by discussing the clinical implications of rat studies on context-induced reinstatement of drug seeking.     

Reproducible Biofilm Cultivation of Chemostat-Grown Escherichia coli and Investigation of Bacterial Adhesion on Biomaterials Using a Non-Constant-Depth Film Fermenter

Biomaterials-associated infections are primarily initiated by the adhesion of microorganisms on the biomaterial surfaces and subsequent biofilm formation. Understanding the fundamental microbial adhesion mechanisms and biofilm development is crucial for developing strategies to prevent such infections. Suitable in vitro systems for biofilm cultivation and bacterial adhesion at controllable, constant and reproducible conditions are indispensable. This study aimed (i) to modify the previously described constant-depth film fermenter for the reproducible cultivation of biofilms at non-depth-restricted, constant and low shear conditions and (ii) to use this system to elucidate bacterial adhesion kinetics on different biomaterials, focusing on biomaterials surface nanoroughness and hydrophobicity. Chemostat-grown Escherichia coli were used for biofilm cultivation on titanium oxide and investigating bacterial adhesion over time on titanium oxide, poly(styrene), poly(tetrafluoroethylene) and glass. Using chemostat-grown microbial cells (single-species continuous culture) minimized variations between the biofilms cultivated during different experimental runs. Bacterial adhesion on biomaterials comprised an initial lag-phase I followed by a fast adhesion phase II and a phase of saturation III. With increasing biomaterials surface nanoroughness and increasing hydrophobicity, adhesion rates increased during phases I and II. The influence of materials surface hydrophobicity seemed to exceed that of nanoroughness during the lag-phase I, whereas it was vice versa during adhesion phase II. This study introduces the non-constant-depth film fermenter in combination with a chemostat culture to allow for a controlled approach to reproducibly cultivate biofilms and to investigate bacterial adhesion kinetics at constant and low shear conditions. The findings will support developing and adequate testing of biomaterials surface modifications eventually preventing biomaterial-associated infections.     

Anaerobic oxidation of p-cresol by a denitrifying bacterium.

Metabolism of p-cresol (pCr) under nitrate-reducing conditions is mediated by the denitrifying bacterial isolate PC-07. The methyl substituent of the substrate is oxidized anaerobically by whole-cell suspensions of PC-07 through a series of dehydrogenation and hydration reactions to yield p-hydroxybenzoate (pOHB) in stoichiometric proportions. The partially oxidized intermediates in the pathway p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde can also serve as substrates for pOHB formation. Nitrate is required as the external electron acceptor and is reduced to molecular N2. Reduction of the nitrate is stoichiometric, with pCr serving as the electron donor. In addition, the molar relationship between the electron acceptor (NO3-) reduced to the electron donor oxidized decreased to approximately 2:3 and then to 1:3 when p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol or p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, respectively, served as substrates. The decreased ratios were to be expected when the partially oxidized intermediates served as substrates, because they provided correspondingly less reducing power for pOHB formation. The anaerobic oxidation of pCr by PC-07 demonstrates a mechanism whereby aromatic compounds can be transformed in anoxic environments.     

Functional consequences of ultrastructural geometry in "backwards" fluid-transporting epithelia

Many fluid-transporting epithelia possess dead-end, long, and narrow channels opening in the direction to which fluid is being transported (basal infoldings, lateral intercellular spaces, etc.). These channels have been thought to possess geometrical significance as standing-gradient flow systems, in which active solute transport into the channel makes the channel contents hypertonic and permits water-to-solute coupling. However, some secretory epithelia (choroid plexus, Malpighian tubule, rectal gland, etc.) have "backwards" channels opening in the direction from which fluid is being transported. It is shown that these backwards channels can function as standing-gradient flow systems in which solute transport out of the channel makes the channel contents hypotonic and results in coupled water flow into the channel mouth. The dependence of the transported osmolarity (isotonic or hypertonic) on channel radius, length, and other parameters is calculated for backwards channels for values of these parameters in the physiological range. In addition to backwards channels' being hypotonic rather than hypertonic, they are predicted to differ from "forwards" channels in that some restrictions are imposed by the problem of solute exhaustion, and in the presence of a sweeping-in effect on other solutes which limits the solutes that may be transported.     

p-cresol methylhydroxylase from a denitrifying bacterium involved in anaerobic degradation of p-cresol

A bacterium, strain PC-07, previously isolated as part of a coculture capable of growing on p-cresol under anaerobic conditions with nitrate as the acceptor was identified as an Achromobacter sp. The first enzyme of the pathway, p-cresol methylhydroxylase, which converts its substrate into p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, was purified. The enzyme had an Mr of 130,000 and the spectrum of a flavocytochrome. It was composed of flavoprotein subunits of Mr 54,000 and cytochrome subunits of Mr 12,500. The midpoint redox potential of the cytochrome was 232 mV. The Km and kcat for p-cresol were 21 microM and 112 s-1 respectively, and the Km for phenazine methosulfate, the artificial acceptor used in the assays, was determined to be 1.7 mM. These properties place the enzyme in the same class as the p-cresol methylhydroxylases from aerobically isolated Pseudomonas spp.     

Gene expression profiles of human inner cell mass cells and embryonic stem cells

Human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of preimplantation human blastocysts obtained on days 5–6 following fertilization. Based on their derivation, they were once thought to be the equivalent of the ICM. Recently, however, studies in mice reported the derivation of mouse embryonic stem cell lines from the epiblast; these epiblast lines bear significant resemblance to human embryonic stem cell lines in terms of culture, differentiation potential and gene expression. In this study, we compared gene expression in human ICM cells isolated from the blastocyst and embryonic stem cells. We demonstrate that expression profiles of ICM clusters from single embryos and hESC populations were highly reproducible. Moreover, comparison of global gene expression between individual ICM clusters and human embryonic stem cells indicated that these two cell types are significantly different in regards to gene expression, with fewer than one half of all genes expressed in both cell types. Genes of the isolated human inner cell mass that are upregulated and downregulated are involved in numerous cellular pathways and processes; a subset of these genes may impart unique characteristics to hESCs such as proliferative and self-renewal properties.