Phylogeography of the cactophilic species Drosophila gouveai: demographic events and divergence timing in dry vegetation enclaves in eastern Brazil

Aim  The aim of this study was to assess the causal mechanisms underlying populational subdivision in Drosophila gouveai , a cactophilic species associated with xeric vegetation enclaves in eastern Brazil. A secondary aim was to investigate the genetic effects of Pleistocene climatic fluctuations on these environments.
Location  Dry vegetation enclaves within the limits of the Cerrado domain in eastern Brazil.
Methods  We determined the mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of 55 individuals (representing 12 populations) based on sequence data of a 483-bp fragment from the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COII) gene. Phylogenetic and coalescent analyses were used to test for the occurrence of demographic events and to infer the time of divergence amongst genetically independent groups.
Results  Our analyses revealed the existence of two divergent subclades (G1 and G2) plus an introgressed clade restricted to the southernmost range of D. gouveai . Subclades G1 and G2 displayed genetic footprints of range expansion and segregated geographical distributions in south-eastern and some central highland regions, east and west of the Paraná River valley. Molecular dating indicated that the main demographic and diversification events occurred in the late to middle Pleistocene.
Main conclusions  The phylogeographical and genetic patterns observed for D. gouveai in this study are consistent with changes in the distribution of dry vegetation in eastern Brazil. All of the estimates obtained by molecular dating indicate that range expansion and isolation pre-dated the Last Glacial Maximum, occurring during the late to middle Pleistocene, and were probably triggered by climatic changes during the Pleistocene. The current patchy geographical distribution and population subdivision in D. gouveai is apparently closely linked to these past events.     

Kinetics of elementary steps in the cytochrome P-450 reaction sequence. III. NADPH reduction of cytochrome P-450LM at different integrational levels.

The aerobic NADPH reduction of cytochrome P-450LM has been investigated on microsomes, as well as on the solubilized enzyme system in the associated, disintegrated, and reconstituted state, respectively. P-450 exhibits biphasic reduction kinetics of about 70/30% phase distribution and rate constants differing 10-fold. The partial reactions are due to organizational asymmetries, the cytochrome being either incorporated into P-450/reductase associates (cluster) or localized outside (randomly distributed, homoassociated, weakly cluster-associated). Triton N-101 disintegrates the different associate structures, consequently followed by the disappearance of the rapid reaction phase. The enzyme system can be reconstituted; at microsomal stoichiometry the respective standard parameters are approached, depending on the composition and structural organization of the phospholipid. The reorganization without any membrane matrix is obviously thermodynamically determined.     

Deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate imbalance. 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine-induced DNA double strand breaks in mouse FM3A cells and the mechanism of cell death

The mechanism of cytotoxic action of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdUrd) in mouse FM3A cells was investigated. We observed the FdUrd-induced imbalance of intracellular deoxyribonucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pools and subsequent double strand breaks in mature DNA, accompanied by cell death. The imbalance of dNTP pools was maximal at 8 h after 1 microM FdUrd treatment; a depletion of dTTP and dGTP pools and an increase in the dATP pool were observed. The addition of FdUrd in culture medium induced strand breaks in DNA, giving rise to a 90 S peak by alkaline sucrose gradient sedimentation. The loss of cell viability and colony-forming ability occurred at about 10 h. DNA double strand breaks as measured by the neutral elution method were also observed in FdUrd-treated cells about 10 h after the addition. These results lead us to propose that DNA double strand breaks play an important role in the mechanism of FdUrd-mediated cell death. A comparison of the ratio of single and double strand breaks induced by FdUrd to that observed following radiation suggested that FdUrd produced double strand breaks exclusively. Cycloheximide inhibited both the production of DNA double strand breaks and the FdUrd-induced cell death. An activity that can induce DNA double strand breaks was detected in the lysate of FdUrd-treated FM3A cells but not in the untreated cells. This suggests that FdUrd induces the cellular DNA double strand breaking activity. The FdUrd-induced DNA strand breaks and cell death appear to occur in the S phase. Our results indicate that imbalance of the dNTP pools is a trigger for double strand DNA break and cell death.     

Cytotoxic and cytolytic activity of nonadecafluoro-n-decanoic acid on Acholeplasma laidlawii.

We studied the interactions between the perfluorinated fatty acid nonadecafluoro-n-decanoic acid (NDFDA) and the cell wall-less procaryote Acholeplasma laidlawii, which were cultured in an identical medium base but with different serum supplements. When grown in mycoplasma media supplemented with PPLO serum fraction (Difco Laboratories, Detroit, Mich.), A. laidlawii was rapidly killed by low concentrations of toxicant (less than 1.0 mM). At higher concentrations (greater than 10 mM), NDFDA treatment appeared to lyse cells. A. laidlawii cells grown in horse serum-supplemented mycoplasma media were both killed and lysed at the same NDFDA concentration (greater than 10 mM). These data suggest that this perfluorinated fatty acid can be cytotoxic and cytolytic to mycoplasmas. Changes in active concentrations occurred in parallel with changes in growth medium serum supplementation, which is known to alter mycoplasma membrane composition. We propose that NDFDA interacts with the membranes of A. laidlawii cells, resulting in cell death or cell lysis or both.     

Effect of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) on ATP citrate lyase in isolated hepatocytes

Summary Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-) activates ATP citrate lyase in freshly isolated rat liver hepatocytes in a time dependent manner. Maximal stimulation of the enzyme occurred with less than thirty minutes of incubation of the cells with TGF-. The half maximal effect on the enzyme determined in hepatocytes incubated with TGF- for 10 min at 37°C was elicited by TGF- concentrations in the 10^–11 – 10^–12 M range. The potential role of TGF- stimulation of ATP citrate lyase activity in new membrane synthesis is discussed.     

Nerve-induced secretion of parotid acinar granules in cats

Summary Electron microscopy of cat parotid glands revealed great heterogeneity in the secretory granules of normal unstimulated acinar cells. Electrical stimulation of the parasympathetic nerve to the gland evoked a copious flow of parotid saliva which was accompanied by an extensive depletion of the secretory granules from the acinar cells. Exocytosis was captured as it was occurring by means of perfusion-fixation, and showed that the events occur in a conventional manner. Stimulation of the sympathetic nerve caused only a very small flow of saliva, and no acinar degranulation was detected. It can be concluded that the parasympathetic secretomotor axons provide the main drive for parotid acinar degranulation in the cat. This contrasts with the rat in which sympathetic impulses provide the main stimulus for parotid acinar degranulation. These dissimilarities serve to emphasise how extensively species differences may influence autonomic responses in salivary glands.     

Comparison of transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA intron splicing in the extreme thermophile and archaebacterium Desulfurococcus mobilis

The structure of the exon-intron boundary was compared for an intron within 23S ribosomal RNA of Desulfurococcus mobilis and a newly discovered intron in tRNA(Met) from the same organism. The occurrence of a putative common structural feature suggests that intron excision occurs by the same mechanism. The possible recognition of this structural feature by the cleavage enzyme was investigated for the ribosomal RNA intron using RNA substrates exhibiting various exon and intron deletions. The results support the involvement of the structural features in the cleavage process. The evolutionary implications of these results are considered.