The learning skills of primates: The rhesus macaque in comparative perspective

Twenty-month-old rhesus monkeys were tested in a modified discrimination-reversal paradigm, which was designed to distinguish abstract learning from stimulus-response associational learning. Previous studies indicate that talapoin monkeys learn associationally and great apes via forming abstract concepts. Adult rhesus monkeys are apparently capable of forming simple abstractions, but learn primarily through associational process. The results of this study show the adolescent rhesus monkeys to be associational learners, with their response patterns indicating more complexity than the talapoins but less than the adult rhesus monkeys. The data suggest that rhesus monkeys develop their low-level capacity of abstract learning with maturation.     

Polyphosphoinositides are present in plant tissue culture cells

Polyphosphoinositides have been isolated from wild carrot cells grown in suspension culture. This is the first report of polyphosphoinositides in plant cells. The phospholipids were identified by comigration with known standards on thin-layer plates. After overnight labeling of the cells with myo-[2-3H] inositol, the phosphoinositides as percent recovered inositol were 93% phosphatidylinositol., 3.7% lysophosphatidylinositol, 1.7% phosphatidylinositol monophosphate, 0.8% phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate.     

Applications and potential of genome editing in crop improvement

Genome-editing tools provide advanced biotechnological techniques that enable the precise and efficient targeted modification of an organism’s genome. Genome-editing systems have been utilized in a wide variety of plant species to characterize gene functions and improve agricultural traits. We describe the current applications of genome editing in plants, focusing on its potential for crop improvement in terms of adaptation, resilience, and end-use. In addition, we review novel breakthroughs that are extending the potential of genome-edited crops and the possibilities of their commercialization. Future prospects for integrating this revolutionary technology with conventional and new-age crop breeding strategies are also discussed.     

The role of cell differentiation state and HMG-I/Y in the expression of transgenes flanked by matrix attachment regions

The tobacco nuclear matrix attachment region (MAR), RB7, has been shown to have a much greater effect on transgene expression in cultured cells than in transgenic plants. This is comparable to work in mouse systems showing that MARs have a positive effect on transgene expression in embryonic tissues but not adult tissues. There are several possible explanations for these observations. One is that cell differentiation state and proliferation rate can affect MAR function. We tested this possibility by initiating suspension cell cultures from well-characterized transgenic plants transformed with 35S::GUS with and without flanking MARs and then comparing GUS specific activity in the cell lines to those of the transgenic plants from which the cell lines were derived. If cell differentiation state and proliferation rate do affect MAR function, we would expect the ratio of transgene expression (cell suspensions : plants) to be greater in MAR lines than in control lines. This turned out not to be the case. Thus, it appears that MAR function is not enhanced simply because cells in culture divide rapidly and are not differentiated. Because in animal systems the chromosomal protein HMG-I/Y has been shown to be upregulated in proliferating cells and may have a role in MAR function, we have also examined the levels of the tobacco HMG-I/Y homolog by immunoblotting. The level of this protein does not differ between primary transformant cultured cells (NT-1) and Nicotiana tabacum plants (SR-1). However, a higher molecular weight cross-reacting polypeptide was found in nuclei from the NT-1 cell suspensions but was not detected in SR-1 leaf nuclei or cell suspensions derived from the SR-1 plants.     

Effects of cyclone waves on massive coral assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef: meteorology,hydrodynamics and demography

Cyclone waves directly affect the density, structure and local distribution of coral assemblages by acting as agents of mortality and colony transport. Using the meteorological record, hydrodynamic formulations and risk analysis, we predict some demographic consequences of cyclones for massive corals growing in different regions of the Great Barrier Reef. Analysis of shear, compression and tension forces generated by waves indicate that corals firmly attached to solid substratum, even if only over a small proportion of their base, can resist all waves, regardless of colony size or shape, cyclone intensity or region. Waves are thus directly important as controls on colony-size frequency distributions only for weakly attached or unattached colonies. At 3 m depth, these colonies have a higher probability of escaping dislodgement in their first 10 years of life, the further north or south they are from 21°S, which is the latitude where severe cyclones are most frequent. At 21°S, corals at depths as great as 12m are exposed to the greatest likelihood of dislodgement. Possible implications of predicted increased storminess associated with global warming are briefly discussed.