Petrosal bones of metatherian mammals from the Late Palaeocene of Itaboraí (Brazil), and a cladistic analysis of petrosal features in metatherians

Metatherian petrosal bones were recovered from the early Late Palaeocene Itaboraí, Brazil, and are formally described. A cladistic analysis of the distribution of 56 petrosal and basicranial characters among extant and fossil metatherians was conducted, resulting in seven parsimonious trees. Relationships among metatherian ingroup taxa are congruent with current understanding of metatherian phylogeny. Metatheria is diagnosed by eight petrosal synapomorphies: stapedial artery absent in adults; reduced, intramural prootic canal; extrabullar internal carotid artery; inferior petrosal sinus between petrosal, basisphenoid, and basioccipital; cava supracochleare and epiptericum completely separated; reduction of the lateral flange; reduction of the anterior lamina; separation of the jugular foramen from the opening for the inferior petrosal sinus. The Palaeocene taxa Mayulestes , Pucadelphy s, and Andinodelphys from Tiupampa, and Petrosal Type II from Itaboraí are the sister groups of all other South American and Australian metatherians. This analysis confirms previous results showing the South American 'monito del monte' Dromiciops nested within the Australasian radiation. Within this australidelphian clade, Dromiciops is closely related to the dasyurids. The South American Caenolestes appears more closely related to the Australidelphia than to the South American didelphids. The Petrosal Types I, III, IV and V from Itaboraí are the stem taxa of the clade Australidelphia plus Caenolestes . The significant synapomorphies supporting this relationship are: enlargement of the fossa subarcuata that produces a bulbous ventral aspect of the mastoid and loss of post-temporal canal.  Journal compilation © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 150 , 85–115. No claim to original French government works.     

Paleobotanical studies inFagaceae of the European Tertiary

A systematic reassessment of megafossil records ofFagaceae in Central Europe has been undertaken on the basis of leaf cuticular characters. The oldest representatives date back to the Eocene:Quercus subhercynica spec. nova,Dryophyllum furcinerve (Rossm.)Schmalh.,Trigonobalanopsis rhamnoides (Rossm.) gen. & comb. nov. In the Oligocene other members of extant genera appear:Quercus rhenana (Weyl. & Kilpp.)Knobloch & Kvaek,Fagus attenuata Goepp.,Lithocarpus saxonicus spec. nova. In the Neogene these ancient taxa (except inFagus lineage), are gradually replaced by deciduous species ofQuercus andCastanea. Trigonobalanus andCastanopsis are recorded by fruits (or wood) only.     

Evolution of the Australian flora through the Tertiary

The evolution of the Australian flora through the Tertiary has not been reviewed by a megafossil palaeobotanist for almost a century. Based on material available and published studies, the Australian Tertiary can be considered in three units: Eocene, Oligo-Miocene, and Pliocene. Key taxa in the Eocene includeCasuarinaceae, Proteaceae, Fagaceae, Podocarpaceae, andLauraceae. Many known Eocene deposits are interpreted as warm, humid rainforests.Oligo-Miocene floras reflect a climatic deterioration, with greater occurrence of sclerophylly and xerophylly. A reduction of tropical taxa is seen with an increase ofMyrtaceae and earliest records ofMimosaceae, Chenopodiaceae, andPoaceae. These trends continue into the Pliocene, which is not well represented in Australia.Problems needing to be addressed include the discrepancy between the pollen and megafossil records ofNothofagus, the origins of Australia's wet tropical taxa, and the role of fire in the early evolution of the Australian flora.     

Speculations on carbon dioxide starvation, Late Tertiary evolution of stomatal regulation and floristic modernization

Ambient atmospheric CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]_a) has apparently declined from values above 200μmol mol⁻¹ to values below 200μmol mol⁻¹ within the last several million years. The lower end of this range is marginal for C₃ plants. I hypothesize that: (1) declining [CO₂]_a imposed a physiological strain on plants, and plant taxa evolving under declining [CO₂]_a tended to develop compensating mechanisms, including increased stomatal efficiency; (2) angiosperms were better able to adjust to declining [CO₂]_a than were gymnosperms and pteridophytes; and (3) angiosperm adjustment has been uneven. Fast-evolving taxa (e.g. grasses and herbs) have been better able to adapt to CO₂ starvation. If these propositions are true, stomatal adjustment mechanisms should show patterned variation, and a single pattern of stomatal regulation cannot be assumed.     

湖北南襄盆地枣阳凹陷第三纪轮藻化石及其地层意义

本文研究了南襄盆地枣阳凹陷第三系玉皇顶组到凤凰镇组轮藻化石。共划分出４个组合,其时代分别属早始新世、中始新世、晚始新世和渐新世。     

Introns and higher-order structure in the evolution of serpins

Summary The serpins are a large family of eukaryotic proteins, many but not all of whose members are proteinase inhibitors. Most members of this family show relatively low sequence identity, but crystal structures determined for 6 different serpins are closely similar. The intron positions of 11 serpins, and the intron sizes in 9 of these 11, have been determined. There is considerable diversity in number, position, and size of introns among these serpins, though subsets show clear similarity or identity. Dendrograms derived from comparisons of DNA and amino acid sequences and of intron positions for the 11 serpins differ from each other and from dendrograms previously derived from protein sequences. These dendrograms are difficult to reconcile exclusively with a loss of introns from a large primordial set during the evolution of the serpin family. The tertiary structure of the serpins does support the idea that this protein family arose from an early recombination event which fused the amino and carboxyl domains. The structure of the carboxyl domain also suggests that an insertion subsequent to the fusion event contributed two strands of -sheet, which complemented three -sheet strands of the amino domain, to complete -sheet A, which is the central secondary structure feature of the serpins. Few of the introns lie between regions of secondary or tertiary structure, and it seems more likely that many were acquired subsequent to the early events of serpin evolution and have undergone multiple insertions, deletions, and migrations since, subject to the constraint of the serpin structure.Abbreviations Api -1-proteinase inhibitor (human) - Aci -1-antichymotrypsin (human) - Agt angiotensinogen (rat) - Oah ovalbumin (chicken) - Gyh gene y (chicken) - At3 antithrombin 3 (human) - Pi1 plasminogen activator inhibitor 1—endothelial (human) - Pi2 plasminogen activator inhibitor 2—placental (human) - Cli Cl inhibitor (human) - Apl antiplasmin (human) - Bz4 Z protein (barley).     

Effects of butylated hydroxyanisole,butylated hydroxytoluene and tertiary butylhydroquinone on growth and luteoskyrin production byPenicillium islandicum

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) alone in cultural media were tested for the inhibition of growth and luteoskyrin production by two toxigenic strains ofPenicillium islandicum UST-11 andP. islandicum HLT-6. In potato dextrose agar, the concentrations of BHA and TBHQ from 0.2 mg/disc, BHT from 5.0 mg/disc did affect the growth of both tested strains, but the initial concentrations of these antioxidants to reduced luteoskyrin production by UST-11 strain were BHA 0.5 mg/disc, BHT 1.0 mg/disc and TBHQ 0.4 mg/disc, while for HLT-6, BHA 0.4 mg/disc, BHT and TBHQ were 0.2 mg/disc, respectively. In grainy and powdery rice media, the effects of BHA, BHT and TBHQ on luteoskyrin production byP. islandicum UST-11 and HLT-6 were clearly demonstrated. The efficiency of the inhibitory effect was not only closely related to the concentration of antioxidants, but also completely inhibited the luteoskyrin production at a concentration of 200 mg/kg or higher. Also, the antioxidants at a concentration higher than 20 mg/kg reduced significantly the growth and luteoskyrin production by both strains ofP. islandicum.     

用于蛋白质同源模建及三维结构预测的结构比较方法

继前面的工作把测试蛋白从三族扩大到十一族,寻求联配参数的普适“缺省值“;比较不同的主链曲率和挠率的计算方法,进一步确认主链的折红红分几何刻划方法的有效性;寻找有效的可变缺失突变惩罚函数的形式。结果表明,编制的蛋白质多重联配软件系统是满意的,可用于蛋白质三维结构预测。