Parasitoid pressure and the radiation of a gallforming group (Cecidomyiidae: Asphondylia spp.) on creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)

Summary We tested the Enemy Impact Hypothesis, which predicts that communities of one tropic level are organized by the tropic level above. In the case of gallforming insect communities, the hypothesis predicts that gall morphology will diverge, minimizing the number of parasitoids shared among species. We used the monophyletic group of gallforming cecidomyiids (Asphondylia spp.) on creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) to test this hypothesis, predicting that species with thicker gall walls should exclude species of parasitoids with shorter ovipositors and have lower levels of parasitism. Of 17 parasitoid species reared from Asphondylia galls on creosote bush, 9 accounted for over 98% of parasitism. Seven of these 9 species had ovipositors long enough to penetrate 10 of 13 gall morphs measured. There was no significant relationship between gall wall thickness and number of associated parasitoid species (r ²=0.01, P>0.05, n=13). There was no relationship between gall wall thickness and types of parasitoid species colonizing galls: parasitoids with the shortest ovipositors colonized all types of gall morphs and were dominant members of the parasitoid assemblages in galls with the thickest walls. Ultimately, there were no significant differences in percent parasitism among Asphondylia species, regardless of gall wall thickness. We found no difference in numbers of associated parasitoids or percent parasitism in galls with different textures (e.g. hairy versus smooth), different locations on the plant or different phenologies. Our results suggest that enemy impact has not influenced the diversity of this gall community. Gall wall thickness, phenology, location on the plant and surface structure do not appear to influence the distribution of parasitoid species. Other explanations are offered to account for diversity in gall morphology among these species.     

Consequences of host plant chemical and physical variability to an associated herbivore

The effects of watering and fertilizer treatments on the vigor and biochemistry of the willow,Salix lasiolepis, and subsequent colonization and survivorship of its gallforming herbivore,Euura lasiolepsis, were investigated in two field experiments. Some plants received low (LW), intermediate (MW) or high (HW) levels of water as treatments, while others received no (OF), low (LF) or high (HF) fertilizer levels. In the watering experiment, plant protein concentrations decreased, while growth rate and number of galls per plant increased with increased water treatments. Plant growth proved to be the best correlate of sawfly attack. Sawfly survivorship increased slightly with greater watering, and phenol concentrations showed no pattern among treatments. In the fertilization experiment, leaf protein increased with fertilization, although shoot length, number of galls and survivorship ofE. lasiolepis survivorship were greatest in intermediate treatment plants. In both experiments, plant growth, rather than protein or phenol levels, was the best predictor of sawfly attack and survivorship. In a natural experiment with galls on wild plants, galled tissue had significantly greater protein concentrations and lower phenol concentrations than did ungalled tissue. We suggest that gallformers modify host plant biochemistry within willow galls, which may explain why the chemical parameters of ambient plant quality we tested were less predictive than plant growth.     

Fetal cells in maternal blood: recovery by charge flow separation

Fetal blood cells can be recovered from the maternal circulation by charge flow separation (CFS), a method that obviates the risks associated with amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. By CFS, we processed blood samples from 13 women carrying male fetuses, 2 carrying fetuses with trisomy 21, and 1 who had delivered a stillborn infant with trisomy 18. On average more than 2000 fetal nucleated red blood cells were recovered per 20-ml sample of maternal blood. Recovery of fetal cells was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization with probes for chromosomes Y, 18 and 21. After culturing of CFS-processed cells, amplification by the polymerase chain reaction revealed Y-chromosomal DNA in clones from four of six women bearing male fetuses, but not in clones from three women bearing female fetuses. Received: 8 January 1996 / Revised: 22 March 1996     

Lysosomal proliferation in rachitic avian intestinal absorptive cells following 1,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol

Lysosomes in chick intestinal absorptive cells from rachitic (vitamin D-deficient) and vitamin D-replete animals were studied utilizing transmission electron microscopic histochemistry and ultrastructural morphometry. Absorptive cells from rachitic animals, serum calcium = 7.3±0.3 mg%, contained an average of 4.0±0.3 supranuclear lysosomes. In rachitic chicks sacrificed 9 hr post-injection of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, the active metabolite of vitamin D, the values for both serum calcium, 9.8 ± 0.2 mg%, and the number of apical absorptive cell lysosomes, 12.9±0.6, were increased over non-injected or vehicle-only injected animals. Lysosomes in vitamin D-replete absorptive cells were characterized by their intense staining with pyroantimonate, indicative of their high calcium content. The same organelles also produced a positive reaction for acid phosphatase. Rachitic lysosomes, also acid phosphatase positive, were only lightly stained with pyroantimonate. The lysosomal proliferation apparently induced by 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol may be a further indication that these organelles play a role in intestinal calcium transport and/or intracellular calcium homeostasis within the absorptive cell.     

Studies on the H-Y antigen in rats

The H-Y antigen has been studied under a variety of experimental conditions in BN and Lewis rats. The results indicate that 1. graft size is crucially important in determining the fate of male skin isografts on females; 2. H-Y incompatible ear skin grafts survive significantly better than those of trunk origin; 3. prior exposure of females to male lymphoid cells greatly increases their capacity to reject male skin isografts; 4. neonatal castration has no influence on the expression of H-Y; 5. multiparity can induce unresponsiveness to H-Y; and 6. although BN females respond better than do Lewis females to H-Y, the antigen is stronger in Lewis males. These findings are compared with the results of similar experiments conducted with mice.Submitted in memory of Dr. Joy Palm, member of the Wistar Institute, who pioneered the genetic analysis of histocompatibility in rats.     

Possible Role of Cyclic AMP in the Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Glycosyltransferase Activities in Neurotumor Cell Lines

Exposure of mouse neuroblastoma cell line N4TGl to opiates or [D-Ala2,D-Leu5] enkephalin produced a naloxone-reversible inhibition of cyclic AMP synthesis and prevented, in a concentration-dependent manner, the formation of both ganglioside GM2 (GalNAc-[NeuNAc]-Gal-Glc-ceramide) from GM3 (NeuNAc-Gal-Glc-ceramide) and ganglioside GM1 (Gal-GalNAc-[NeuNAc]-Gal-Glc-ceramide) from GM2 in cell-free extracts. In contrast, the receptor-mediated elevation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels by agents such as prostaglandin E1 (in the presence of isobutylmethylxanthine) or the addition of the cyclic AMP derivatives (dibutyryl cyclic AMP) markedly stimulated the activities of UDP-GalNAc:GM3,N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and UDP-Gal:GM2,galactosyltransferase. An overall increase in the synthesis of gangliosides more complex than GM3 was also observed in the mouse neuroblastoma x hamster brain explant hybrid cell line NCB-20 following elevation of cyclic AMP levels by treatment with serotonin and pargyline. The data presented support the hypothesis that cyclic AMP may have a role in the regulation of sialoglycosphingolipid biosynthesis.     

Preparation and Antiviral Activity of Several Deoxygenated Ribavirin and Tiazofurin Derivatives

Abstract

Ribavirin and tiazofurin, two nucleosides of known antiviral activity, have been transformed by previously reported methods to yield several deoxy,epoxy, or dideoxy analogues. The deoxygenated derivatives were evaluated for antiviral activity against a host of DNA and RNA viruses; however, no significant in vitro activity was detected.     

Science Educational Outreach Programs That Benefit Students and Scientists

Both scientists and the public would benefit from improved communication of basic scientific research and from integrating scientists into education outreach, but opportunities to support these efforts are limited. We have developed two low-cost programs—"Present Your PhD Thesis to a 12-Year-Old" and "Shadow a Scientist”—that combine training in science communication with outreach to area middle schools. We assessed the outcomes of these programs and found a 2-fold benefit: scientists improve their communication skills by explaining basic science research to a general audience, and students'' enthusiasm for science and their scientific knowledge are increased. Here we present details about both programs, along with our assessment of them, and discuss the feasibility of exporting these programs to other universities.     

Identifying Likely Transmission Pathways within a 10-Year Community Outbreak of Tuberculosis by High-Depth Whole Genome Sequencing

Background

Improved tuberculosis control and the need to contain the spread of drug-resistant strains provide a strong rationale for exploring tuberculosis transmission dynamics at the population level. Whole-genome sequencing provides optimal strain resolution, facilitating detailed mapping of potential transmission pathways.

Methods

We sequenced 22 isolates from a Mycobacterium tuberculosis cluster in New South Wales, Australia, identified during routine 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit typing. Following high-depth paired-end sequencing using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform, two independent pipelines were employed for analysis, both employing read mapping onto reference genomes as well as de novo assembly, to control biases in variant detection. In addition to single-nucleotide polymorphisms, the analyses also sought to identify insertions, deletions and structural variants.

Results

Isolates were highly similar, with a distance of 13 variants between the most distant members of the cluster. The most sensitive analysis classified the 22 isolates into 18 groups. Four of the isolates did not appear to share a recent common ancestor with the largest clade; another four isolates had an uncertain ancestral relationship with the largest clade.

Conclusion

Whole genome sequencing, with analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, insertions, deletions, structural variants and subpopulations, enabled the highest possible level of discrimination between cluster members, clarifying likely transmission pathways and exposing the complexity of strain origin. The analysis provides a basis for targeted public health intervention and enhanced classification of future isolates linked to the cluster.     

Pathogen profiling for disease management and surveillance

The usefulness of rapid pathogen genotyping is widely recognized, but its effective interpretation and application requires integration into clinical and public health decision-making. How can pathogen genotyping data best be translated to inform disease management and surveillance? Pathogen profiling integrates microbial genomics data into communicable disease control by consolidating phenotypic identity-based methods with DNA microarrays, proteomics, metabolomics and sequence-based typing. Sharing data on pathogen profiles should facilitate our understanding of transmission patterns and the dynamics of epidemics.