Electrophoretic identification of bird species involved in collisions with aircraft

• 1.1. The utility of biochemical genetic methods of bird identification was investigated for some common species which create a hazard for commercial aviation in Ireland.
• 2.2. Sixteen enzyme loci were assayed in eight species, using starch gel electrophoresis; three larids, three corvids and two columbids.
• 3.3. Genera were distinguishable using all but two loci.
• 4.4. Differences within genera were small, but all species except for the gulls Larus argentatus and L. marinus, could be identified using one or more loci.
• 5.5. Arising from the success of the method using fresh specimens, a protocol for the electrophoretic identification of traumatized remains of strikes is suggested.

     

Correlation of water translocation,cuticle dehydration and post-ecdysial sclerotization by the american cockroach

• 1.1. Haemolymph volume decreases during the initial 16 hr post-ecdysial period, increases after water ingestion and subsequently drops until the inter-ecdysial level is reached.
• 2.2. Total body water follows a similar pattern, but the changes are not as pronounced.
• 3.3. Tissue water is inversely proportional to the total body water.
• 4.4. Soluble cuticle protein declines throughout the initial 16 hr period while both β-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase activity is lost within 6 hr after ecdysis.
• 5.5. Dehydration of the cuticle also occurs during the immediate 6 hr post-ecdysial period.
• 6.6. These data suggest that the formation of the protein-insoluble matrix is linked with water loss.
• 7.7. Water removal may decrease the distance between molecules allowing specific reactions to take place.

     

Metabolism in malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata)

• 1.1. Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata have a lower than predicted metabolic rate, a finding common to many arid adapted avian species.
• 2.2. Evaporative water loss was as expected by allometric analysis. However, in the wild this species probably reduces its evaporative water loss because their water turnover rate is extremely low.
• 3.3. Malleefowl coped with temperatures up to 40°C well, but above this temperature they become highly agitated.

     

Diversity of native myosin and myosin heavy chain in fish skeletal muscles

• 1.1. Polymorphism of native myosin and myosin heavy chain (MHC) of fish skeletal muscles was analysed by pyrophosphate and SDS-gel electrophoreses.
• 2.2. Depending on the species, three or four myosin isoforms were detected in the white muscle, one or two isoforms in the pure red muscle, and four isomyosins were found in the red muscle composed of red and pink (intermediate) fibres.
• 3.3. It is suggested that all main types of fish muscle fibre (red, intermediate and white) differ in myosin isoform content.
• 4.4. Myosin heavy chain of the red muscle is a distinct protein from that of the white muscle. However, structural differences between these proteins vary among species.

     

Sea water drinking as a homeostatic response to dehydration in hatchling loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta

• 1.1. Hatching Caretta caretta may lose up to 12% of their initial hatched weight from water loss during emergence from the nest.
• 2.2. After subsequent osmotic and excretory water loss in sea water, hatchlings will drink sea water (166 μl 100 g⁻¹ hr⁻¹) and return to their initial weight within 10–15 days, without feeding.
• 3.3. There were no significant changes in plasma osmolarity or sodium levels over this period.
• 4.4. This osmoregulatory strategy is in marked contrast to that seen in the estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus.

     

The energetics of shedding: Energy content of snake skin

• 1.1. The weight and energy content of sloughed skins of 92 individual snakes of 22 different species in three families were measured.
• 2.2. Weight and total energy content of shed skins were highly correlated with body weight.
• 3.3. The heat of combustion (kJ/g) of sloughed skins varied significantly among families and was higher in species having unkeeled scales than in those with keeled scales.
• 4.4. The presence of keels significantly affected weight of skins, even when skin weight is adjusted for covariance with body weight.
• 5.5. Neither body weight nor ambient temperature significantly affected the heat of combustion of sloughed skins.
• 6.6. The energy content of shed skin, expressed as a proportion of daily metabolism, decreased with ambient temperature, but the effect is minimized in large snakes.
• 7.7. Small snakes expended relatively less energy in sloughed skins than large snakes when the expenditure is expressed in terms of total daily metabolized energy.

     

Potassium balance in freshwater-adapted xtrout Oncorhynchus mykiss

• 1.1. Potassium loss occurs through the gills of trout.
• 2.2. This loss is compensated by intestinal absorption.
• 3.3. During a fasting period, branchial regulation appears after 2–3 days.
• 4.4. The maintenance of potassium balance is discussed as a function of experimental conditions.

     

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The effect of water loss upon the urate,urea and ammonia content of the egg of the Japanese quail Coturnix coturnix japonica

• 1.1. The urate, urea and ammonia content of the whole egg of the Japanese quail was measured in late incubation in eggs subject to different rates of water loss.
• 2.2. High rates of water loss substantially increased egg urate content, but had little or no effect on urea or ammonia content.
• 3.3. Allopurinol, an inhibitor of urate synthesis, reduced egg urate content to low levels, but produced no effect on urea content, and a small reduction in ammonia content.
• 4.4. The urea concentration of the embryo was lower than in allantoic fluid.
• 5.5. It is concluded that urate production by the avian embryo is primarily concerned with the modification of allantoic fluid composition.

     

Polymorphism and tissue specificity of scallop tropomyosin

• 1.1. Molecular polymorphism of tropomyosin from various muscle sources of the scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, was investigated by electrophoretic and immunochemical methods.
• 2.2. Treatment of the muscle sources with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) prior to tropomyosin preparation was found useful to prevent proteolytic degradation of this protein.
• 3.3. Electrophoretic and immunochemical analysis revealed that at least six kinds of tropomyosin isoforms may exist in scallop muscle tissues.
• 4.4. The tropomyosin isoforms showed tissue-specific distribution in amounts and molecular species among the various muscle sources.

     

A comparison of serum retinol concentration between human and different species of normo and hypercholesterolemic nonhuman primates fed semi-purified diets with defined amounts of vitamin A

• 1.1. Serum retinol and total cholesterol concentrations were determined in several species of nonhuman primates fed semipurified diets. Two species of Old World and three species of New World nonhuman primates were examined.
• 2.2. Retinol levels were significantly lower (up to four-fold) in the serum of the smaller New World than the larger Old World animals and the difference could not be explained by differences in dietary make-up.
• 3.3. Cholesterol levels were not different between the groups but differed within a species when type of dietary fat was altered.
• 4.4. Differences in circulating levels of retinol may reflect differences in levels of retinol binding protein between the groups.

     

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Anuran amphibia which are not acclimable to high salt,tolerate high plasma urea

• 1.1. The capacity of five anuran Amphibians (Bufo viridis B. regularis, Rana ridibunda, Hyla arborea and Pelobates syriacus) to acclimate to NaCl and urea solutions was investigated.
• 2.2. All species could be acclimated to relatively high concentrations of urea solutions, while only Bufo viridis and Hyla arborea could be acclimated to 500 mOsm/kg or higher NaCl solutions.
• 3.3. The plasma urea concentration in B. viridis and H. arborea was elevated to levels over 140 mmol/1.
• 4.4. The sum of plasma sodium and chloride concentrations did not increase over 400 mmol/l in any species.
• 5.5. Urine osmolality, which was normally low, increased, but never exceeded the plasma osmolality.
• 6.6. In the urea acclimation conditions, urine electrolytes diminished, similarly in all species in this study.
• 7.7. It is concluded that anuran Amphibians can tolerate high plasma urea concentrations, but only those species which can elevate it, either through retention or net synthesis, can be acclimated to high salt solutions.

     

A comparative study of vertebrate eye lens crystallins using isoelectric focusing and densitometry

• 1.1. The crystallin proteins of numerous species belonging to different classes of vertebrates have been studied.
• 2.2. Species-specific crystallin patterns are revealed which unequivocally characterize the different species.
• 3.3. A marked variability in the number and percentage of alpha-, beta- and gamma-crystallins were found in the various species.
• 4.4. The gamma-crystallin family, with a meagre number of common bands, has proved to be most representative of the species. The beta-crystallins, with their greater number of common bands, have been best preserved throughout vertebrate evolution.
• 5.5. From the similarity coefficient matrix a dendrogram is drawn up, a visual phylogenetic summary of the interrelationships between the vertebrates considered.
• 6.6. In the Discussion, other aspects are considered, such as lens morphology, functionality, animal age, post-synthetic modifications and genetic factors.

     

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Study of the soluble lens proteins from fifteen sparidae species

• 1.1. Soluble eye lens proteins of fifteen different Sparidae species were analysed.
• 2.2. Species-specific electrophoretic and isoelectric focusing patterns were found.
• 3.3. Significant differences in the distribution of β and γ-crystallin protein components were noted for all species.
• 4.4. These data suggest that the Sparidae family may be a heterogenenous taxonomic group encompassing considerable genetic diferences and with different evolutionary histories.

     

Comparative analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons in the Drosophila virilis species group

• 1.1. Chemical structures were determined for the cuticular alkanes, alkenes, and certain of the alkadienes for 11 D. virilis group species.
• 2.2. Male-specific hydrocarbons occurred in five species: these were 9-heneicosene in D. americana and D. novamexicana, 10-heneicosene in D. virilis, 5,13- and 5,15-pentacosadienes in D. kanekoi, and 9-pentacosene in one strain of D. lummei.
• 3.3. Hydrocarbon profiles of newly emerged flies always differed from mature files.
• 4.4. Relationships among the species, with respect to hydrocarbon profiles, were investigated by cluster analysis.

     

Cholesterol metabolism in new world primates: Comparative studies in two tamarin species (Saguinus oedipus and Saguinus fuscicollis) and the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)

• 1.1. Cholesterol metabolism has been characterized in three species of New World primates, the cotton-top tamarin, the saddle-back tamarin, and the squirrel monkey.
• 2.2. When fed a diet containing cholesterol, the three species exhibited differing responses of plasma cholesterol levels.
• 3.3. Dietary cholesterol absorption was determined and plasma cholesterol die-away kinetics were analyzed in terms of a two-pool model.
• 4.4. The results of the analyses of cholesterol turnover are consistent with the observed species-specific differences in plasma cholesterol values and cholesterol absorption.
• 5.5. Cholesterol metabolism differs between the two tamarin species, as well as between the tamarins and the squirrel monkey.
• 6.6. Implications of species-specific differences between tamarin species are discussed in terms of the use of tamarin species as animal models for comparative studies of cholesterol metabolism and the etiology of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

     

Crystalline style proteins from bivalve molluscs

• 1.1. Proteins from crystalline styles of twelve species of bivalve mollusc were examined under different gel electrophoresis conditions and stained to reveal both protein and carbohydrate.
• 2.2. Native extracts of styles produced relatively few protein bands, however denaturation with SDS resulted in much more complex zymograms.
• 3.3. All species possessed several prominent high mol wt glycoproteins.
• 4.4. Eulamellibranchia all had a major non-glycosylated protein at approx. 62,000 mol. wt.
• 5.5. Most Filibranchia had a major non-glycosylated protein at 37,000–50,000 mol. wt.
• 6.6. Eulamellibranchia were a much more homogeneous group than the Filibranchia.