Localization of the gene for a third G protein β-subunit to mouse chromosome 6 near Raf-1

The large family of signal transducing proteins known as G proteins are heterotrimers that dissociate into an independent α-subunit and βγ-subunit complex after ligand binding or other stimulation. For Gα, at least 30 distinct sequences representing 10 different classes have been identified. On the other hand, cDNAs for only three Gβ-subunit genes have been isolated so far. All three of the Gβ genes have been chromosomally mapped in the human, but only two in the mouse. Using a human retinal cDNA for the third G protein β-subunit, we have mapped the corresponding gene, termed Gnb-3, to mouse Chromosome 6 with somatic cell hybrids and have positioned it distal to but near the marker Raf-1 by analysis of the progeny of three genetic crosses.     

Effects of the Alkaloid Gramine on the Light-Harvesting,Energy Transfer,and Growth of Anabaena sp. (PCC 7119)

Long-term and short-term effects of gramine on cells of Anabaena sp. were studied. Culture death was observed after an initial growth in the presence of 0.5 mM gramine, and lower concentrations decreased both the specific growth rate and the growth yield. Cultures showed a reduction in the chlorophyll content as well as an increase in the level of accessory pigments, which were proportional to the alkaloid concentration. When cultures were excited with green light in the presence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea, the fluorescence spectra of the cells showed a shoulder at 685 nm related to the photosystem II (PSII) antennae emission. This band was reduced when gramine was present during the growth, suggesting that gramine suppresses the energy transfer between the phycobilisomes and PSII. At lethal concentrations for cellular growth, gramine suppressed immediately the photosynthetic oxygen production as well as the electron transport from H2O to p-benzoquinone. The influence of gramine on the PSII photochemical reactions was investigated by flash-induced fluorescence measurements, and the results suggest that the alkaloid could act as an electron donor to the PSII reaction center.     

Chemical Characterization and Phytotoxic Effects of the Aerial Parts of Ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis)

Studies of the phytotoxic effects between plants can be a crucial tool in the discovery of innovative compounds with herbicide potential. In this sense, we can highlight ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis), which is traditionally used in the crop rotation system in order to reduce weed emergence. The aim of this work was to characterize the secondary metabolites of ruzigrass and to evaluate its phytotoxic effects. In total, eight compounds were isolated: friedelin, oleanolic acid, α‐amyrin, 1‐dehydrodiosgenone, sitosterol and stigmasterol glycosides, tricin and p‐coumaric acid. Phytotoxic effects of the crude methanolic extract and fractions of ruzigrass were assessed using germination rate, initial seedling growth, and biomass of Bidens pilosa, Euphorbia heterophylla and Ipomoea grandifolia. Chemometric analysis discriminated the weed species into three groups, and B. pilosa was the most affected by fractions of ruzigrass. The phytotoxic activities of 1‐dehydrodiosgenone, tricin, and p‐coumaric acid are also reported, and p‐coumaric acid and 1‐dehydrodiosgenone were active against B. pilosa.     

Rosuvastatin protects isolated hearts against ischemia-reperfusion injury: role of Akt-GSK-3β, metabolic environment,and mitochondrial permeability transition pore

Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry - The cardioprotective activity of rosuvastatin (R) is yet to be known. The objective of this study was to research whether R perfusion before global ischemia...     

Cannot see the diversity for all the species: Evaluating inclusion criteria for local species lists when using abundant citizen science data

Abundant citizen science data on species occurrences are becoming increasingly available and enable identifying composition of communities occurring at multiple sites with high temporal resolution. However, for species displaying temporary patterns of local occurrences that are transient to some sites, biodiversity measures are clearly dependent on the criteria used to include species into local species lists. Using abundant opportunistic citizen science data from frequently visited wetlands, we investigated the sensitivity of α‐ and β‐diversity estimates to the use raw versus detection‐corrected data and to the use of inclusion criteria for species presence reflecting alternative site use. We tested seven inclusion criteria (with varying number of days required to be present) on time series of daily occurrence status during a breeding season of 90 days for 77 wetland bird species. We show that even when opportunistic presence‐only observation data are abundant, raw data may not produce reliable local species richness estimates and rank sites very differently in terms of species richness. Furthermore, occupancy model based α‐ and β‐diversity estimates were sensitive to the inclusion criteria used. Total species lists (all species observed at least once during a season) may therefore mask diversity differences among sites in local communities of species, by including vagrant species on potentially breeding communities and change the relative rank order of sites in terms of species richness. Very high sampling effort does not necessarily free opportunistic data from its inherent bias and can produce a pattern in which many species are observed at least once almost everywhere, thus leading to a possible paradox: The large amount of biological information may hinder its usefulness. Therefore, when prioritizing among sites to manage or preserve species diversity estimates need to be carefully related to relevant inclusion criteria depending on the diversity estimate in focus.     

The short‐ and long‐term fitness consequences of natal dispersal in a wild bird population

Dispersal is a key process in population and evolutionary ecology. Individual decisions are affected by fitness consequences of dispersal, but these are difficult to measure in wild populations. A long‐term dataset on a geographically closed bird population, the Mauritius kestrel, offers a rare opportunity to explore fitness consequences. Females dispersed further when the availability of local breeding sites was limited, whereas male dispersal correlated with phenotypic traits. Female but not male fitness was lower when they dispersed longer distances compared to settling close to home. These results suggest a cost of dispersal in females. We found evidence of both short‐ and long‐term fitness consequences of natal dispersal in females, including reduced fecundity in early life and more rapid aging in later life. Taken together, our results indicate that dispersal in early life might shape life history strategies in wild populations.     

Resolution Doubling in 3D-STORM Imaging through Improved Buffers

Super-resolution imaging methods have revolutionized fluorescence microscopy by revealing the nanoscale organization of labeled proteins. In particular, single-molecule methods such as Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) provide resolutions down to a few tens of nanometers by exploiting the cycling of dyes between fluorescent and non-fluorescent states to obtain a sparse population of emitters and precisely localizing them individually. This cycling of dyes is commonly induced by adding different chemicals, which are combined to create a STORM buffer. Despite their importance, the composition of these buffers has scarcely evolved since they were first introduced, fundamentally limiting what can be resolved with STORM. By identifying a new chemical suitable for STORM and optimizing the buffer composition for Alexa-647, we significantly increased the number of photons emitted per cycle by each dye, providing a simple means to enhance the resolution of STORM independently of the optical setup used. Using this buffer to perform 3D-STORM on biological samples, we obtained images with better than 10 nanometer lateral and 30 nanometer axial resolution.