Magnetic Alignment in Carps: Evidence from the Czech Christmas Fish Market

While magnetoreception in birds has been studied intensively, the literature on magnetoreception in bony fish, and particularly in non-migratory fish, is quite scarce. We examined alignment of common carps (Cyprinus carpio) at traditional Christmas sale in the Czech Republic. The sample comprised measurements of the directional bearings in 14,537 individual fish, distributed among 80 large circular plastic tubs, at 25 localities in the Czech Republic, during 817 sampling sessions, on seven subsequent days in December 2011. We found that carps displayed a statistically highly significant spontaneous preference to align their bodies along the North-South axis. In the absence of any other common orientation cues which could explain this directional preference, we attribute the alignment of the fish to the geomagnetic field lines. It is apparent that the display of magnetic alignment is a simple experimental paradigm of great heuristic potential.     

The ALG10 locus of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes the alpha-1,2 glucosyltransferase of the endoplasmic reticulum: the terminal glucose of the lipid-linked oligosaccharide is required for efficient N-linked glycosylation

The biosynthesis of the lipid-linked oligosaccharide substrate for N- linked protein glycosylation follows a highly conserved pathway at the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. Based on the synthetic growth defect in combination with a reduced oligosaccharyltransferase activity (wbp1), we have identified alg10 mutant strains which accumulate lipid- linked Glc2Man9GlcNAc2. We cloned the corresponding wild-type gene and show in a novel in vitro assay that Alg10p is a dolichyl-phosphoglucose- dependent glucosyltransferase which adds the terminal alpha-1,2 glucose to the lipid-linked Glc2Man9GlcNAc2 oligosaccharide. Hypoglycosylation of secreted proteins in alg10 deletion strains demonstrates that the terminal alpha-1,2-linked glucose residue is a key element in substrate recognition by the oligosaccharyltransferase. This ensures that primarily completely assembled oligosaccharide is transferred to protein.      

Taxonomy and distribution of Poa carpatica in the Western Carpathians

We examined the taxonomic status and distribution of Poa populations from supramontane and subalpine belt of the central Western Carpathians, so far classified as P. nemoralis subsp. carpatica and P. nemoralis subsp. montana. Significant morphological differences from P. nemoralis s. str. as well as combination of shared vs distinct characters allow us to attribute the populations under study to the species P. carpatica (V. Jirásek) Chopyk with two subspecies: P. carpatica subsp. carpatica a P. carpatica subsp. supramontana subsp. nova.     

Delayed post-conditioning reduces post-ischemic glutamate level and improves protein synthesis in brain

In the clinic delayed post-conditioning would represent an attractive strategy for the survival of vulnerable neurons after an ischemic event. In this paper we studied the impact of ischemia and delayed post-conditioning on blood and brain tissue concentrations of glutamate and protein synthesis. We designed two groups of animals for analysis of brain tissues and blood after global ischemia and post-conditioning, and one for analysis of blood glutamate after transient focal ischemia.     

Development of a pattern in biochemical parameters in the core and penumbra during infarct evolution after transient MCAO in rats

The period from stroke initiation to the cessation of penumbra damage spread represents a therapeutic window when expansion can be alleviated. In the present work, we studied some biochemical parameters helpful for the estimation of infarct progression and thus for the application of interventions.