Influence of the annual flood-pulse on catch per unit effort,condition and reproduction of Clarias gariepinus from the upper Okavango Delta,Botswana

Catch per unit effort (CPUE), length, weight and maturity data for Clarias gariepinus were collected during monthly gillnet surveys in the upper Okavango Delta between 2001 and 2009 to investigate their relationship with the annual flood-pulse. CPUE, condition factor (K) and the proportion of ripe-running fish (P_RR) in the population followed a unimodal annual cycle that could be modelled using water temperature and flood-pulse hydrology. Increased CPUE during declining water levels was most likely a result of feeding migrations and aggregation behaviour. The observed increase in K during low floods in October and November preceded the increase in P_RR, which increased mainly with increasing temperature but appeared less dependent on flow. This study provided quantitative evidence that the biology of fish in the Okavango Delta is mainly dependent on the annual flood regime and, therefore, that conservation efforts should be focused on maintaining natural flow patterns in the face of climate change and potential water extraction schemes upstream.     

GROWTH AND LABILITY OF CHAETOPTERUS OOCYTE MITOTIC SPINDLES ISOLATED IN THE PRESENCE OF PORCINE BRAIN TUBULIN

Purified tubulin solutions stabilized and augmented the birefringence (BR) of isolated Chaetopterus spindles. Tubulin was extracted from pig brain tissue in cold PEG buffer (0.1 M piperazine-N-N'-bis[2-ethane sulfonic acid], 1 mM ethylene bis-[oxyethylenenitrilo]tetraacetate, [EGTA], 2.5 mM guanosine triphosphate, [GTP], pH 6.94, at 25°C), and purified by two cycles of a reversible, temperature-dependent assembly-disassembly procedure. The spindle BR of the meiotic metaphase-arrested oocytes of Chaetopterus decreased linearly at a rate of 1.5 nm/min when perfused with PEG buffer without tubulin. In this hypotonic, calcium-chelating solution, the cell lysed within 1.5 min, and after a brief, transient rise, the BR disappeared in ca. 4 min from the time of buffer application. Cells perfused with tubulin in PEG buffer also showed BR decay at the same rate until cell lysis. Immediately upon cell lysis the spindle BR increased, initially at ca. 2.3 nm/min and then more slowly until the BR attained or exceeded intact cell values. Spindle and asters grew considerably larger than those in intact cells. From the kinetics of the transient BR increase after lysis, we infer that, initially, Chaetopterus cytoplasmic tubulin contributes to increased BR; further augmentation required added pig brain tubulin and most probably reflects the addition and incorporation of heterologous porcine tubulin into the spindle and asters. Isolated, augmented spindles depolymerized rapidly at 6°C. Upon return to 23°C, spindle BR returned slowly in tubulin-PEG. The BR of the isolates also decayed in solutions containing calcium ions 2.5 mM in excess of the EGTA. However, the isolates did not respond, or responded very slowly, to 1 mM colchicine or Colcemid and to dilution of tubulin with PEG solution. Microinjection into Chaetopterus oocytes of tubulin-PEG, but not PEG alone, enhanced spindle and aster BR which reversibly disappeared upon chilling the cell.     

THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF COLCHICINE : Binding of Colchincine-3H to Cellular Protein

The majority of the colchicine-³H bound by tissue culture cells (KB or Hela) was found to be present as a noncovalent complex with a macromolecule which appears in the soluble fraction after homogenization. Similar binding was demonstrated in vitro and was confined to a component of the soluble fraction. The binding-equilibrium constant and the kinetic constants were essentially the same in vivo and in vitro. Bound radioactivity was reisolated and shown to be present in a molecule with the same chromatographic behavior and specific antimitotic activity as colchicine. In vitro assay of binding activity of a variety of cells and tissues showed a correlation with the presence of microtubules. High binding activity was given by dividing cells, mitotic apparatus, cilia, sperm tails, and brain tissue. Binding to extracts of slime mold or to purified muscle proteins was very low or undetectable. The binding site had a sedimentation constant of 6S and it is suggested that the protein is a subunit of microtubules.     

Decreased gene expression from T7 promoters may be due to impaired production of active T7 RNA polymerase

Background  

Protein expression vectors that utilize the bacteriophage T7 polymerase/promoter system are capable of very high levels of protein production. Frequently, however, expression from these vectors does not reliably achieve optimal levels of protein production. Strategies have been proposed previously that successfully maintain high expression levels, however we sought to determine the cause of induction failure.     

Sex differences in the rate of fatigue development and recovery

Background

Many musculoskeltal injuries in the workplace have been attributed to the repetitive loading of muscle and soft tissues. It is not disputed that muscular fatigue is a risk factor for musculoskeltal injury, however the disparity between gender with respect to muscular fatigability and rate of recovery is not well understood. Current health and safety guidelines do not account for sex differences in fatiguability and may be predisposing one gender to greater risk. The purpose of this study was to quantify the sex differences in fatigue development and recovery rate of lower and upper body musculature after repeated bouts of sustained isometric contractions.

Methods

Twenty-seven healthy males (n = 12) and females (n = 15) underwent bilateral localized fatigue of either the knee extensors (male: n = 8; female: n = 8), elbow flexors (male: n = 8; female: n = 10), or both muscle groups. The fatigue protocol consisted of ten 30-second sub-maximal isometric contractions. The changes in maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), electrically evoked twitches, and motor unit activation (MUA) were assessed along with the ability to control the sustained contractions (SLP) during the fatigue protocol using a mixed four-factor repeated measures ANOVA (gender × side × muscle × time) design with significance set at p < 0.05.

Results

There was a significant loss of MVC, MUA, and evoked twitch amplitude from pre- to post-fatigue in both the arms and legs. Males had greater relative loss of isometric force, a higher rate of fatigue development, and were less capable of maintaining the fatiguing contractions in the legs when compared to the females.

Conclusion

The nature of the induced fatigue was a combination of central and peripheral fatigue that did not fully recover over a 45-minute period. The results appear to reflect sex differences that are peripheral, and partially support the muscle mass hypothesis for explaining differences in muscular fatigue.

     

Critical role of Ena/VASP proteins for filopodia formation in neurons and in function downstream of netrin-1

Ena/VASP proteins play important roles in axon outgrowth and guidance. Ena/VASP activity regulates the assembly and geometry of actin networks within fibroblast lamellipodia. In growth cones, Ena/VASP proteins are concentrated at filopodia tips, yet their role in growth cone responses to guidance signals has not been established. We found that Ena/VASP proteins play a pivotal role in formation and elongation of filopodia along neurite shafts and growth cone. Netrin-1-induced filopodia formation was dependent upon Ena/VASP function and directly correlated with Ena/VASP phosphorylation at a regulatory PKA site. Accordingly, Ena/VASP function was required for filopodial formation from the growth cone in response to global PKA activation. We propose that Ena/VASP proteins control filopodial dynamics in neurons by remodeling the actin network in response to guidance cues.     

啤酒酵母菌的细胞融合

啤酒多倍体酵母菌原生质体已成功地与单倍体原生质体进行融合。经细胞壁再生后,稳定的融合重组体被分离出来。这些融合体的基因分析表明,融合体中含有双亲的基因型。孢子形成良好,且每个子囊中含有四个孢子,每个孢子确实是二倍体。这样原生质体融合就提供了一个对啤酒酿造酵母进行遗传分析的方法。但是如果没有一个方便的杂交技术,这个方法将是很困难的。     

Meiosis, egg activation, and nuclear envelope breakdown are differentially reliant on Ca2+, whereas germinal vesicle breakdown is Ca2+ independent in the mouse oocyte

During early development, intracellular Ca2+ mobilization is not only essential for fertilization, but has also been implicated during other meiotic and mitotic events, such as germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD) and nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD). In this study, the roles of intracellular and extracellular Ca2+ were examined during meiotic maturation and reinitiation at parthenogenetic activation and during first mitosis in a single species using the same methodologies. Cumulus-free metaphase II mouse oocytes immediately resumed anaphase upon the induction of a large, transient Ca2+ elevation. This resumption of meiosis and associated events, such as cortical granule discharge, were not sensitive to extracellular Ca2+ removal, but were blocked by intracellular Ca2+ chelators. In contrast, meiosis I was dependent on external Ca2+; in its absence, the formation and function of the first meiotic spindle was delayed, the first polar body did not form and an interphase-like state was induced. GVBD was not dependent on external Ca2+ and showed no associated Ca2+ changes. NEBD at first mitosis in fertilized eggs, on the other hand, was frequently, but not always associated with a brief Ca2+ transient and was dependent on Ca2+ mobilization. We conclude that GVBD is Ca2+ independent, but that the dependence of NEBD on Ca2+ suggests regulation by more than one pathway. As cells develop from Ca(2+)-independent germinal vesicle oocytes to internal Ca(2+)-dependent pronuclear eggs, internal Ca2+ pools increase by approximately fourfold.