Fertile heteroallelic combinations of mutant alleles of the otu locus of Drosophila melanogaster

Summary This paper describes the ovarian pathologies observed when 108 different heteroallelic combinations were made involving 17 independent mutations at the ovarian tumor (otu) locus. Most of the mutant phenotypes can be explained as graded responses by individual germ cells to different levels of functionally active otu gene product (OGP) synthesized by the mutant cells themselves. The lowest and highest levels of OGP appear to be produced by otu ¹⁰ and otu ¹⁴, respectively. In most heteroallelic ovaries the alleles have additive effects, and hybrid germ cells reach a developmental stage more advanced than the weaker homozygote but less advanced than the stronger homozygote. However, examples of both positive and negative complementation also have been found, and these suggest that the products encoded by different mutant alleles can combine to form dimers or multimers which may be superior or inferior to the homodimers. In flies homozygous for otu ¹¹ most ovarioles contain tumors, but some germ cells are able to develop further than those in otu ¹⁴ homozygotes. This suggests that, while otu ¹¹ produces intermediate levels of OGP, it also produces a second product (which otu ¹⁴ cannot make) that is utilized at the period in oogenesis when development in cells homozygous for otu ¹⁴ is blocked. When otu ¹¹ is combined with any one of eight specific alleles, it allows oocyte/nurse cell syncytia to differentiate that can complete development and undergo embryogenesis, if fertilized. The endopolyploid nurse cells of these hybrids have giant polytene chromosomes, and the presence of GPCs in functionally active, germ-line derived cells provides an interesting new system for experimental study. Analysis of the characteristic ovarian pathologies produced by flies of different genotypes leads to the conclusion that the products of the otu ⁺ gene are utilized during at least six different periods in Drosophila oogenesis.     

A gradient of synaptic efficacy and its presynaptic basis in the cercal system of the cockroach

1. The cerci of the cockroach Periplaneta americana bear longitudinal columns of wind-sensitive receptors which provide excitatory inputs to the giant interneurons (GIs) of the abdominal nerve cord. By using sound stimuli, we showed that spikes were more easily induced in the GIs from the most proximal than from the most distal receptors of the same column. 2. This was not due to a greater responsiveness of proximal sensilla to tones but to stronger synaptic connections; for the 3 largest GIs, the amplitude of the monosynaptic unitary EPSP tended to be all the higher as the stimulated sensillum was more proximal in each column. 3. The differences in EPSP size were due, at least partly, to presynaptic factors: a statistical analysis of the amplitude fluctuations of single-fibre EPSPs, showed that the amount of transmitter released per presynaptic impulse was larger for proximal than for distal sensory neurons in each column. 4. These differences in synaptic strength were correlated with differences in the structure of the afferent terminals. The location, the size and the shape of the axonal arbors are nearly the same for all sensory neurons of the same column, but proximal neurons arborize more profusely, and the terminal arbor of distal neurons is generally characterized by dorsal clusters of varicosities. 5. During postembryonic development, a decrease in the connection strength of 2 identified cercal neurons was accompanied by a retraction of ramifications on the medial side of their axonal arbor. 6. Possible mechanisms involved in the genesis and the remodelling of the gradient of synaptic strength are discussed in the light of available data and hypotheses relative to the development of ordered afferent connections.     

Multisegmental cobalt filling of the dorsal giant fibers in the nervous system of the earthworm,Lumbricus terrestris

Summary The anatomical organization of the two dorsal giant fiber systems of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris is demonstrated in whole mounts and serial-section reconstructions based on backfillings of the ventral nerve cord with cobalt chloride. Both the medial and lateral fiber systems can be labeled selectively over more than ten body segments. They show a characteristic segmental pattern of collaterals with some modification in tail segments and of dorsal plasma protrusions in the unpaired medial giant fiber presumably representing openings in the myelin sheath. We found no multisegmental cobalt transport in other large neurons of the nerve cord. Cobalt passes through the segmentai septa between consecutive axonal elements of the metameric giant fibers and presumably also through commissural contacts between specific collaterals of the lateral giant fibers. Since these sites of contact are known to represent electrical synapses, cobalt coupling may, in L. terrestris, correlate with functional electrotonic coupling.Abbreviations CL collateral of lateral giant fiber - CM collateral of medial giant fiber - GIN giant interneuron - LGF lateral giant fiber - MGF medial giant fiber - SN segmental nerve     

A visually evoked escape response of the housefly

Summary Flies (Musca domestica) avoid danger by initiating a rapid jump followed by flight. To identify the visual cues that trigger the escape response in the housefly, we measured the timing and probability of escapes when the fly was presented with a variety of visual stimuli created by moving targets toward it. Our results show that an escape response is triggered by an approaching dark disk, but not by a receding dark disk. On the other hand, a bright disk elicits escape only when it recedes. A disk with black and white rings is less effective at eliciting escape than is a dark solid disk of the same size. This indicates that the darkening contrast produced by an approaching stimulus is a more crucial parameter than expansion cues contained in the optical flow. Escape is also triggered by a horizontally moving dark edge, but not by a moving bright edge or by a grating. An examination of several visual parameters reveals that the darkening contrast, measured from the onset of stimulation to the start of escape is nearly constant for a variety of stimuli that trigger escape reliably. Thus darkening contrast, coupled with motion may be crucial in eliciting the visually evoked escape response. Other visual parameters such as time-to-contact or target angular velocity seem to be relatively unimportant to the timing of escapes.Abbreviations P _s Probability of successful escape - r _disk radius of disk target - r _arena radius of shielding arena - v _disk linear velocity of disk target - v _edge linear velocity of edge - d _disk angular velocity of disk target boundary - _edge angular velocity of edge - _escape target distance at escape - d _start target distance before onset of target movement - h _edge height of the edge above fly - x _start distance from corner of triangle to start position of edge (0 or 50 mm) - x _escape distance from corner of triangle to the position of the edge when the fly escapes - x _center distance from corner of triangle to point above the center of the pad - x _total distance from the corner of the triangle to the base (height of triangle = base of triangle)     

大熊猫乳酸脱氢酶同工酶M_4的纯化与某些性质的研究

利用8-(6-氨已基)-氨基-5’-AMP Sepharose亲和层析和DEAE-Sephadex A50离子交换层析纯化了大熊猫LDH-M_4。纯化的大熊猫LDH-M_4呈针状晶体,比活为412单位/毫克。聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳鉴定为一条区带。SDS凝胶电泳测得其亚基分子量为35,900;等电聚焦电泳测得其等电点为8.05。经氨基酸组成分析,得出每个大熊猫LDH-M亚基含有5个Cys,26个Lys和10个Arg。其N-末端氨基酸残基可能为封闭的,C末端氨基酸残基经测定为Phe。大熊猫LDH-M_4的TPCK-胰蛋白酶水解物在纤维素膜指纹图谱上呈现35个肽斑,与已知序列的猪LDH-M_4的指纹图谱相比较,多数肽斑位置相同,约有10个肽斑在两者指纹图谱上有差异。     

大熊猫乳酸脱氢酶同工酶M_4胰酶水解后的HPLC肽谱分析

 比较了大熊猫与猪LDH-M_4用胰酶水解后的HPLC肽谱;对分离出的各个肽段测定了氨基酸组成与N-末端。经分析,在两者各有的35个肽段中,22个肽段有相同的氨基酸组成与N-末端且在HPLC图谱上有相同的保留时间。另外有13个肽段在氨基酸组成与保留时间上存在差异。对大熊猫LDH-M中部分肽段测定了氨基酸残基序列。结果表明,与结合NAD~+有关的12肽的序列与一级结构已知的猪LDH-M含有Cys165的相应肽段完全一样;在与底物结合部位含有His191的35肽中,两者只有一个氨基酸残基的差异。在N-端的21肽中,有3个残基出现差异;而在C-端的14肽中,仅出现一个残基的差异。     

Coccidia from the Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum, in Northeastern Colorado and in Northern New Mexico

SYNOPSIS. Oocysts of Eimeria ambystomae Saxe, 1955, Eimeria microcapi sp. n., and Eimeria urodela sp. n. are described from the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum , collected in Colorado and New Mexico. The oocysts of E. ambystomae are ellipsoid, 29.8 × 17.3 (24–38 × 15–25) μm, and the sporocysts lanceolate, 22.6 × 5.4 (16–27 × 5–7) μm. Oocyst and sporocyst residua are present, but not a polar granule and a micropyle. The oocysts and sporocysts of E. microcapi are ellipsoid, measuring respectively 38.1 × 25.3 (35-41 × 23-26) μm and 18.1 × 7.4 (16-19 × 6–8) μm. Oocyst and sporocyst residua, a micropyle (mean 3 μm), and a distinct micropyle cap (2 μm high) are present, but not a polar granule. The oocysts of E. urodela are spheroid, 22.2 (14-26) μm, and the sporocysts lanceolate, 16.3 × 5.8 (12-19 × 4-7) μm. Oocyst and sporocyst residua are present, but a polar granule and a micropyle are absent.     

大熊猫与金黄地鼠体外异种受精的研究

在大熊猫精子与地鼠卵的体外异种受精中,发现大熊猫精子穿入地鼠卵后可以激活受精卵产生极区,释放第二极体,受精卵内雌性原核形成。与此同时,地鼠卵的胞质也能促使大熊猫精子头发育成雄性原核,异种精卵间的相互作用与同种受精的相似。 细胞松弛素B能阻抑大熊猫雄性原核从地鼠卵皮层迁移到卵的中央,实验表明大熊猫雄性原核的迁移也受异种卵的微丝的控制。     

大熊猫的组织学研究 Ⅲ.消化道显微结构的年龄变化

观察了初生、幼仔、亚成体和老年大熊猫的食管、胃和肠的石蜡切片。与成体的对比,生长发育阶段的主要变化发生在两个主要机能层:粘膜层和肌肉层;衰老的变化则主要出现在粘膜层,尤其是上皮组织的变化最显著,内分泌亲银细胞的数量在生长期似略有增多,成年到老年数量变化不明显。     

Studies on the development and three-dimensional reconstruction of giant mitochondria and their nuclei in egg cells ofPelargonium zonale Ait.

Summary The preferential development of giant mitochondria and their nuclei (nucleoids) in the egg cells ofPelargonium zonale Ait. during megasporogenesis and megagametogenesis was examined by fluorescence microscopy, after Technovit embedding and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, fluorimetry for DNA content, using a video-intensified microscope photon-counting system (VIMPICS), and by three-dimensional reconstruction of mitochondrial nuclei (mt-nuclei). Reproductive cells during the megaspore mother cell, meiosis, tetrad, and functioning megaspore stages contained many small mitochondria with characteristic, uniformly DAPI-stained mt-nuclei about 0.3 m in diameter, containing a small amount of DNA (0.3 Mbp). During formation of the 2-, 4-, and 8-nucleate embryo sac, mt-nuclei did not markedly change in shape or DNA content. When the embryo sac formed and differentiation of each cell began, mitochondria and their nuclei in the egg cell took on a small ring or string-like shape. Accompanying the maturation of the embryo sac, they underwent progressive enlargement and gradually altered to long thick strings, or stacks of concentric or half concentric rings. By flower opening, they have developed to an extremely large size. One of these stacks of mt-nuclei was reconstructed in three dimensions; each ring in the stack was cup- or plate-shaped; 5 to 10 rings made up the stack, though each remained discontinuous from the others. From serial sections, we counted 44 mitochondria in one egg cell. Fluorometry using VIMPICS revealed that DNA amount within the stacked mitochondrion increased to 40 times that of the megaspore mother cell stage; a single stack of mitochondria contained 340–1700 Mbp DNA; which means that one egg cell contains at least 15000 Mbp mt-DNA, a value greater than the cell-nuclear DNA content.