A Rare, Larval-founded Colony of the Bryozoan Archimedes from the Carboniferous of Alabama

Very few basal attachments of the spiralled fenestrate bryozoan Archimedes are known. A newly discovered specimen is interpreted to have grown on a thin cylindrical ephemeral substratum that extended above the sediment-water interface, allowing paired spirals to develop and to extend in opposite directions when the colony was very small.     

Waterlogging responses in dune,swale and marsh populations of Spartina patens under field conditions

Summary Soil waterlogging responses were examined in three Spartina patens populations along a steep flooding gradient in coastal Louisiana. Root anatomy and physiological indicators of anaerobic metabolism were examined to identify and compare flooding responses in dune, swale and marsh populations, while soil physicochemical factors were measured to characterize the three habitats. Soil waterlogging increased along the gradient from dune to marsh habitats and was accompanied by increases in root porosity (aerenchyma). Aerenchyma in marsh roots was apparently insufficient to provide enough oxygen for aerobic respiratory demand, as indicated by high root alcohol dehydrogenase activities and low energy charge ratios. Patterns of root metabolic indicators suggest that dune and swale roots generally respired aerobically, while anaerobic metabolism was important in marsh roots. However, in each population, relatively greater soil waterloging was accompanied by differences in enzyme activities leading to malate accumulation. In dune and swale roots under these circumstances, depressed adenylate energy charge ratios may have been the result of an absence of increased ethanol fermentation. These trends suggest that: 1) Aerenchyma formation was an important, albeit incomplete, long-term adaptation to the prevalent degree of soil waterlogging. 2) All populations adjusted root metabolism in response to a relative (short-term) increase in soil waterlogging.     

The rabbit alpha-like globin gene cluster is polymorphic both in the sizes of BamHI fragments and in the numbers of duplicated sets of genes

The alpha-like globin gene cluster in rabbits contains embryonic zeta- globin genes, an adult alpha-globin gene, and theta-globin genes of undetermined function. The basic arrangement of genes, deduced from analysis of cloned DNA fragments, is 5'-zeta 0-zeta 1-alpha 1-theta 1- zeta 2-zeta 3-theta 2-3'. However, the pattern of restriction fragments containing zeta- and theta-globin genes varies among individual rabbits. Analysis of BamHI fragments of genomic DNA from 24 New Zealand white rabbits revealed eight different patterns of fragments containing zeta-globin genes. The large BamHI fragments containing genes zeta 0 and zeta 1 are polymorphic in length, whereas a 1.9-kb fragment containing the zeta 2 gene and the 3.5-kb fragment containing the zeta 3 gene do not vary in size. In contrast to this constancy in the size of the restriction fragments, the copy number of the zeta 2 and zeta 3 genes does vary among different rabbits. No length polymorphism was detected in the BamHI fragments containing the theta-globin genes, but again the copy number varies for restriction fragments containing the theta 2 gene. The alpha 1- and theta 1-globin genes are located in a nonpolymorphic 7.2-kb BamHI fragment. The combined data from hybridization with both zeta and theta probes shows that the BamHI cleavage pattern does not vary within the region 5'-alpha 1-theta 1- zeta 2-zeta 3-theta 2-3', but the pattern genomic blot-hybridization patterns for the progeny of parental rabbits with different zeta-globin gene patterns shows that the polymorphic patterns are inherited in a Mendelian fashion. Two different haplotypes have been mapped based on the genomic blot-hybridization data. The variation in the alpha-like globin gene cluster in the rabbit population results both from differences in the copy number of the duplication block containing the zeta-zeta-theta gene set and from the presence or absence of polymorphic BamHI sites.      

Vascularized bone allografts: in vitro assessment of cell-mediated and humoral responses

The immunologic consequences of transplantation of vascularized bone allografts have not been previously characterized. In this study, knee allografts, both vascularized and nonvascularized, were transplanted from Lewis rats to Brown Norway rats across a strong histocompatibility barrier. A total of 66 transplants and 8 control animals were evaluated. The vascularized knee grafts consisted of 1 cm of proximal tibia and distal femur with a minimal muscular cuff isolated on the femoral vessels, and these were transplanted to a heterotopic, subcutaneous position on the abdominal wall of the recipient rat. Nonvascularized allografts (identical but without anastomoses) were transplanted for comparison. The cell-mediated response was measured by lymphocytotoxicity assay, and the humoral response was measured by cytotoxic antibody assay, both employing 51Cr-labeled target cells. The timing and intensity of the immune response differed according to the type of graft. The vascularized bone allografts generated significant cell-mediated and humoral responses as early as 5 days posttransplant. A significant humoral response in nonvascularized bone allografts was not apparent until day 14, while cell-mediated response in these grafts was variable. These findings were correlated with the histologic appearance of the grafted tissue. Cyclosporine, which was administered to one group of vascularized bone allografts, resulted in the suppression of both types of immune responses. The histologic appearance of this group resembled that of isografts transplanted as controls. The clinical application of vascularized bone allografts may offer significant advantages over nonvascularized allografts in the reconstruction of massive bone defects. Complications such as nonunion, fracture, and collapse of articular segments seen in nonvascularized allograft transplantation may be avoided by preservation of the blood supply to the graft. Characterization of the immune response to vascularized bone allografts may subsequently allow the manipulation of the host and/or graft tissue and promote graft incorporation.     

Assignment of orthologous relationships among mammalian alpha-globin genes by examining flanking regions reveals a rapid rate of evolution

In order to study the relationships among mammalian alpha-globin genes, we have determined the sequence of the 3' flanking region of the human alpha 1 globin gene and have made pairwise comparisons between sequenced alpha-globin genes. The flanking regions were examined in detail because sequence matches in these regions could be interpreted with the least complication from the gene duplications and conversions that have occurred frequently in mammalian alpha-like globin gene clusters. We found good matches between the flanking regions of human alpha 1 and rabbit alpha 1, human psi alpha 1 and goat I alpha, human alpha 2 and goat II alpha, and horse alpha 1 and goat II alpha. These matches were used to align the alpha-globin genes in gene clusters from different mammals. This alignment shows that genes at equivalent positions in the gene clusters of different mammals can be functional or nonfunctional, depending on whether they corrected against a functional alpha-globin gene in recent evolutionary history. The number of alpha-globin genes (including pseudogenes) appears to differ among species, although highly divergent pseudogenes may not have been detected in all species examined. Although matching sequences could be found in interspecies comparisons of the flanking regions of alpha- globin genes, these matches are not as extensive as those found in the flanking regions of mammalian beta-like globin genes. This observation suggests that the noncoding sequences in the mammalian alpha-globin gene clusters are evolving at a faster rate than those in the beta-like globin gene clusters. The proposed faster rate of evolution fits with the poor conservation of the genetic linkage map around alpha-globin gene clusters when compared to that of the beta-like globin gene clusters. Analysis of the 3' flanking regions of alpha-globin genes has revealed a conserved sequence approximately 100-150 bp 3' to the polyadenylation site; this sequence may be involved in the expression or regulation of alpha-globin genes.      

IL-7 up-regulates the expression of IL-8 from resting and stimulated human blood monocytes.

Blood monocytes are important cellular sources of a vast array of bioactive substances, including regulatory and chemotactic cytokines. The regulation of these cytokines is of critical importance to the expression of acute and chronic inflammatory responses. IL-7, a T and B cell-activating cytokine, has recently been shown to have stimulatory effects on the expression of several monocyte-derived proinflammatory cytokines. We now describe the induction of IL-8 mRNA and extracellular protein from human blood monocytes by IL-7. The up-regulation of IL-8 mRNA by IL-7 was not altered by concomitant treatment with cycloheximide, suggesting that the direct stimulatory effects of IL-7 were not dependent upon de novo protein synthesis. In addition, IL-7 significantly potentiated the production of IL-8 from LPS-, TNF-, and IL-1-treated peripheral blood monocytes. Our findings suggest that IL-7 may play a critical role in the modulation of macrophage-derived cytokine expression and may function in vivo as an important proinflammatory cytokine.     

Description of the oöcysts of three new species of coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from lizards in Namibia

Three new species of coccidian were recovered from the intestinal contents and faeces of lizards in Namibia, southwest Africa. Oöcysts of Eimeria barnardi n. sp. are described from Rhoptropus barnardi (Gekkonidae) and are ellipsoidal, 24.3 × 19.9 (21–26.5 × 16–22) m; shape index (length/width) 1.22 (1.12–1.30). A micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent but a fragmented polar granule is present. Sporocysts are subspherical, 9.2 × 8.3 (8–11 × 7.5–9) m; shape index 1.11 (1.02–1.27). Oöcysts of Eimeria pachybibroni n. sp. were found in Pachydactylus bibroni (Gekkonidae) and are ellipsoidal, 26.2 × 18.2 (21.5–28 × 16–19) m; shape index 1.44 (1.30–1.52). A micropyle and oöcyst residuum are absent but a polar granule is present. Sporocysts are subspherical, 8.9 × 8.0 (8–9.5 × 7–8.5) m; shape index 1.12 (1.03–1.20). Oöcysts of Isospora spilogaster n. sp. are reported from Mabuya spilogaster (Scincidae) and are subspherical, 27.4 × 26.0 (21.5–35 × 21–35) m; shape index 1.05 (1.00–1.13). Micropyle, oöcyst residuum and polar granules are absent. Sporocysts are ellipsoidal, 13.2 × 9.7 (10.5–15 × 9–11) m; shape index 1.36 (1.08–1.50).     

The impact of man-made earthen barriers on the physical structure of New England tidal marshes (USA)

In New England salt marshes, man-made earthen barriers, or berms, are generally historic, small-scale (average height = 0.71 m ± 0.12 SE; average length = 166 m ± 41 SE) tidal restrictions which originated from past agricultural, industrial, and environmental practices. The orientation and size depends primarily on the original purpose of the barrier, but this study examines the effects of berms oriented parallel to the incoming tide such that some landward portion of the marsh receives a different tidal signal than the seaward portion. Our hypotheses considered the impacts of the altered hydrology on pore water chemistry and edaphic characteristics. The results indicate that the effect of berms on salt marsh physical structure varies significantly by site. Where the tidal flooding frequency is restricted and drainage is poor, the landward marsh shows pool development, high salinity and sulfide concentrations, and low vegetation cover. In contrast, where tidal flooding is inhibited but the marsh soils are well-drained, salinity and sulfide concentrations decrease and accelerated decomposition results in subsidence and reduced soil organic matter. Given these findings, impacts from berms may impair salt marsh function and resilience to invasive plants and sea level rise.