Distinct feeding strategies of generalist and specialist spiders

1. Feeding behaviour of generalist and specialist predators is determined by a variety of trophic adaptations. Specialised prey‐capture adaptations allow specialists to catch relatively large prey on a regular basis. As a result, specialists might be adapted to exploit each item of prey more thoroughly than do generalists. 2. It was expected that obligatory specialist cursorial spiders would feed less frequently than generalists but for a longer time and, thus, that their foraging pause would be longer. First, the feeding frequencies of three generalist spider species (Cybaeodamus taim, Harpactea hombergi, Hersiliola sternbergsi) were compared with those three phylogenetically related specialist species: myrmecophagous Zodarion rubidum, and araneophagous Nops aff. variabilis and Palpimanus orientalis. 3. Generalists captured more prey, exploited each item of prey for a significantly shorter time, and had a shorter foraging pause than was the case for specialists. Generalists also gained significantly less relative amount of prey mass than did specialists. 4. Second, the study compared the prey DNA degradation rate in the gut of generalists and specialists by means of PCR. The degradation rate was not significantly different between specialists and generalists: the detectability half‐life was estimated to exist for 14.3 days after feeding. 5. This study shows that the feeding strategies of cursorial generalist and obligatory specialist spiders are different. Obligatory specialists have evolved a feeding strategy that is based on thorough exploitation of a few large prey, whereas generalists have evolved a strategy that is based on short exploitation of multiple small items of prey.     

Plant clonality: Biology and diversity

The current approaches to the study of clonal plants are reviewed. Most studies concentrate at the level of the ramet and clonal fragment exploring the “microscopic” view of clonal plants, dealing with the translocation of resources, clonal integration, plasticity of growth etc. The information gained, by this approach can be used in the understanding of higher levels of organization within the clonal system either with the help of spatially explicit modelling techniques, or by using means and distributions of size within a population instead of studying individual ramets separately. Plant scientists use the term clone with two meanings, viz. (a) a set of physiologically connected, but potentially independent ramets, and (b) a set of genetically identical, but potentially physically separated individuals. The overlap of these terms differs between individual plant species, depending on the extent of physical separation of the ramets and the degree of physiological integration between the ramets; the lower the frequency of ramet separation, the closer are the physiological and genetic concepts of the clone. Three critical areas seem to be neglected in clonal plant research: (a) the interrelationship between hierarchical levels in clonal plants, (b) the particular spatial structure of their environment, and (c) the importance of clonal plants in different ecological communities.     

Directional Migration of Recirculating Lymphocytes through Lymph Nodes via Random Walks

Naive T lymphocytes exhibit extensive antigen-independent recirculation between blood and lymph nodes, where they may encounter dendritic cells carrying cognate antigen. We examine how long different T cells may spend in an individual lymph node by examining data from long term cannulation of blood and efferent lymphatics of a single lymph node in the sheep. We determine empirically the distribution of transit times of migrating T cells by applying the Least Absolute Shrinkage & Selection Operator () or regularised to fit experimental data describing the proportion of labelled infused cells in blood and efferent lymphatics over time. The optimal inferred solution reveals a distribution with high variance and strong skew. The mode transit time is typically between 10 and 20 hours, but a significant number of cells spend more than 70 hours before exiting. We complement the empirical machine learning based approach by modelling lymphocyte passage through the lymph node . On the basis of previous two photon analysis of lymphocyte movement, we optimised distributions which describe the transit times (first passage times) of discrete one dimensional and continuous (Brownian) three dimensional random walks with drift. The optimal fit is obtained when drift is small, i.e. the ratio of probabilities of migrating forward and backward within the node is close to one. These distributions are qualitatively similar to the inferred empirical distribution, with high variance and strong skew. In contrast, an optimised normal distribution of transit times (symmetrical around mean) fitted the data poorly. The results demonstrate that the rapid recirculation of lymphocytes observed at a macro level is compatible with predominantly randomised movement within lymph nodes, and significant probabilities of long transit times. We discuss how this pattern of migration may contribute to facilitating interactions between low frequency T cells and antigen presenting cells carrying cognate antigen.     

Defining natural factors that stimulate and inhibit cellulose:xyloglucan hetero-transglucosylation

Certain transglucanases can covalently graft cellulose and mixed-linkage β-glucan (MLG) as donor substrates onto xyloglucan as acceptor substrate and thus exhibit cellulose:xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (CXE) and MLG:xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (MXE) activities in vivo and in vitro. However, missing information on factors that stimulate or inhibit these hetero-transglucosylation reactions limits our insight into their biological functions. To explore factors that influence hetero-transglucosylation, we studied Equisetum fluviatile hetero-trans-β-glucanase (EfHTG), which exhibits both CXE and MXE activity, exceeding its xyloglucan:xyloglucan homo-transglucosylation (XET) activity. Enzyme assays employed radiolabelled and fluorescently labelled oligomeric acceptor substrates, and were conducted in vitro and in cell walls (in situ). With whole denatured Equisetum cell walls as donor substrate, exogenous EfHTG (extracted from Equisetum or produced in Pichia) exhibited all three activities (CXE, MXE, XET) in competition with each other. Acting on pure cellulose as donor substrate, the CXE action of Pichia-produced EfHTG was up to approximately 300% increased by addition of methanol-boiled Equisetum extracts; there was no similar effect when the same enzyme acted on soluble donors (MLG or xyloglucan). The methanol-stable factor is proposed to be expansin-like, a suggestion supported by observations of pH dependence. Screening numerous low-molecular-weight compounds for hetero-transglucanase inhibition showed that cellobiose was highly effective, inhibiting the abundant endogenous CXE and MXE (but not XET) action in Equisetum internodes. Furthermore, cellobiose retarded Equisetum stem elongation, potentially owing to its effect on hetero-transglucosylation reactions. This work provides insight and tools to further study the role of cellulose hetero-transglucosylation in planta by identifying factors that govern this reaction.     

Adenosine modulates LPS-induced cytokine production in porcine monocytes

Adenosine plays an important role during inflammation, particularly through modulation of monocyte function. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of synthetic adenosine analogs on cytokine production by porcine monocytes. The LPS-stimulated cytokine production was measured by flow cytometry and quantitative real-time PCR. Adenosine receptor expression was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. The present study demonstrates that adenosine analog N-ethylcarboxyamidoadenosine (NECA) down-regulates TNF-α production and up-regulates IL-8 production by LPS-stimulated porcine monocytes. The effect was more pronounced in CD163^? subset of monocytes compared to the CD163⁺ subset. Although both monocyte subsets express mRNA for A1, A2A, A2B and A3 adenosine receptors, the treatment of monocytes with various adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists proved that the effect of adenosine is mediated preferentially via A2A adenosine receptor. Moreover, the study suggests that the effect of NECA on porcine monocytes alters the levels of the cytokines which could play a role in the differentiation of naive T cells into Th17 cells. The results suggest that adenosine plays an important role in modulation of cytokine production by porcine monocytes.     

Proteomic Differences between Tellurite-Sensitive and Tellurite–Resistant E.coli

Tellurite containing compounds are in use for industrial processes and increasing delivery into the environment generates specific pollution that may well result in contamination and subsequent potential adverse effects on public health. It was the aim of the current study to reveal mechanism of toxicity in tellurite-sensitive and tellurite-resistant E. coli at the protein level.In this work an approach using gel-based mass spectrometrical analysis to identify a differential protein profile related to tellurite toxicity was used and the mechanism of ter operon-mediated tellurite resistance was addressed. E. coli BL21 was genetically manipulated for tellurite-resistance by the introduction of the resistance-conferring ter genes on the pLK18 plasmid. Potassium tellurite was added to cultures in order to obtain a final 3.9 micromolar concentration. Proteins from tellurite-sensitive and tellurite-resistant E. coli were run on 2-D gel electrophoresis, spots of interest were picked, in-gel digested and subsequently analysed by nano-LC-MS/MS (ion trap). In addition, Western blotting and measurement of enzymatic activity were performed to verify the expression of certain candidate proteins.Following exposure to tellurite, in contrast to tellurite-resistant bacteria, sensitive cells exhibited increased levels of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutases, catalase and oxidoreductase YqhD. Cysteine desulfurase, known to be related to tellurite toxicity as well as proteins involved in protein folding: GroEL, DnaK and EF-Tu were upregulated in sensitive cells. In resistant bacteria, several isoforms of four essential Ter proteins were observed and following tellurite treatment the abovementioned protein levels did not show any significant proteome changes as compared to the sensitive control.The absence of general defense mechanisms against tellurite toxicity in resistant bacteria thus provides further evidence that the four proteins of the ter operon function by a specific mode of action in the mechanism of tellurite resistance probably involving protein cascades from antioxidant and protein folding pathways.