A new genus of theActinoplanaceae: Dactylosporangium,gen. nov.

Summary Two aerobic mesophilic species of a new genus belonging to the familyActinoplanaceae are described under the nameDactylosporangium (D. aurantiacum strainD/748 type species andD. thailandensis strainD/449). The new genus is characterized by the production of finger shaped sporangia emerging directly from the vegetative mycelium.The motile sporangiospores, three to four in number are arranged in a single straight row inside the sporangium.The genusActinoplanes of the familyActinoplanaceae was described in 1950 byCouch and is characterized by the bacteria-like, flagellated spores formed in sporangia. Other members of the familyActinoplanaceae have been studied byKarling (1954),Rothwell (1957) andCross et al. (1963) in the United States, byGaertner (1955) in Germany, byVan Brummelen andWent (1957) in Holland, byNonomura andOhara (1960) in Japan, byTaig et al. (1962),Tsyganov et al. (1963), andKoniev et al. (1965) in Russia. Except for the organisms studied byKarling and byRothwell, which undoubtedly belonged to theActinoplanes but were not studied in pure culture, the organisms studied by most of the other authors belonged to the genusStreptosporangium.Three new genera having motile spores were described more recently:Ampullariella andSpirillospora described byCouch (1963, 1964), andPlanomonospora byThiemann et al. (1967b).     

Influence des parasites oophages sur la régulation des populations deCassida deflorata Suff

Summary The layings ofCassida deflorata Suffr. are parasited in southern France byMymaridae (Anaphoidea sp. andFulmekiella ovata soyka),Trichogrammatidae (Monorthochaeta nigra Blood.) andEulophidae (Foersterella flavipes Foerst. andTetrastichus rhosaces Walk.). In the Alpes-Maritimes, two successive generations ofMymaridae andTrichogrammatidae seem to attack the layings ofC. deflorata. In Corsica, parasitism byMymaridae andF. flavipes is very frequent and may be the essential regulating factor of the populations ofCassida. In the other regions that have been studied, although the large number ofCassida imagos appearing in spring show that mortality during the aestivation and hibernation is not the primary factor, it does not seem that the limitation of the populations is essentially caused by the activity of oophagous insects.      

Studies on aspergilli. VI. The utilization of amino acids in mixtures by some ascosporic members of the aspergillus nidulans group

Summary The utilization of certain amino acids when supplied in three different combinations, (a) glycine, serine, valine, histidine (b) methionine, valine, alanine, arginine (c) leucine, tryptophane, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, byA. nidulans (Eidam)Wint;A. rugulosus Thom andRaper;A. variecolor (Berk. andBr.)Thom andRaper;A. quadrilineatus Thom andRaper andA. violaceus Fennel andRaper was studied through circular partition chromatography. It was found that these Aspergilli which are so closely related morphologically exhibited different rate of assimilation of amino acids. Amino acids in mixtures were utilized better than when supplied singly. Although different species had their own preference to certain amino acids yet there was a simultaneous utilization of both good and poor amino acids.     

Regulation of homoserine dehydrogenase inAzotobacter species

The regulation of homoserine dehydrogenase activity was studied in nineAzotobacter strains belonging to five different species. In all the species the enzyme is subject to feedback inhibition byl-threonine andl-isoleucine, the first being much more active as inhibitor. The inhibition byl-threonine is noncompetitive with respect to NADPH and of mixed type with respect to aspartate-Β-semialdehyde; the inhibition byl-isoleucine is noncompetitive with respect to both substrates. The synthesis of homoserine dehydrogenase inAzotobacter chroococcum I.P. is somewhat repressed by 1mm l-methionine and 5mm l-isoleucine. In all the strains examined either NADPH or NADH can serve as cofactors for this activity, though the ratio of activity with the two pyridine nucleotides (NADPH/NADH) shows higher values (3.3–3.8) in the speciesmacrocytogenes andinsignis than in thechroococcum, beijerinckii andvinelandii group (1.5–1.6). The pattern of control of this enzyme in the genusAzotobacter is discussed in relation to other bacterial homoserine dehydrogenases. We are grateful to Dr. G. N. Cohen, Service de Physiologie Microbienne, Institut Pasteur, Paris, for helpful discussions and encouragements.     

Regulation of aspartokinase activity in non-fermentative,marine eubacteria

Summary Cell-free extracts of gram-negative, non-fermentative, marine eubacteria were assayed for aspartokinase activity. The organisms tested included polarly flagellated species and groups which had GC contents in their DNAs of 46 to 64 moles % (Alteromonas, Pseudomonas) as well as species which had peritrichous flagellation and moles % GC contents of 53 to 68 (Alcaligenes). The results of these studies suggested that in all the strains tested, aspartokinase activity was catalyzed by a single enzyme. On the basis of the effect ofl-threonine,l-lysine,l-methionine, andl-isoleucine on activity, five different types of aspartokinases (designated I through V) were delineated. In aspartokinase types I through IV,l-threonine andl-lysine inhibited activity by means of a concerted feedback inhibition; in type V, activity was inhibited byl-threonine but unaffected byl-lysine. In types I, III, and IV,l-threonine andl-lysine alone were inhibitory, while in type II these effectors had virtually no effect on activity when tested singly. Three distinct responses were observed in the presence of two other end products of the aspartate pathway,l-methionine andl-isoleucine. In types I and II, these two amino acids usually stimulated activity and overcame the inhibition byl-threonine andl-lysine; in types IV and V,l-methionine andl-isoleucine had no effect; and in type III these amino acids inhibited activity. The results of this study indicate that the aspartokinases of a number of species and groups of marine bacteria have similarities and differences which should be of use in making future taxonomic groupings.     

Nutritional requirements ofXanthomonas phaseoli var.fuscans

As found by Starr (1946),l-glutamic acid is necessary for the growth ofXanthomonas phaseoli var.fuscans. According to our results, the growth is stimulated byl-asparagine in the presence ofl-glutamic acid;l-asparagine itself, however, does not serve as a source of carbon and nitrogen.Xanthomonas phaseoli var.fuscans grew well in a medium containing tryptone. Some peptides of the acidic fraction isolated from tryptone affected the growth as much as tryptone itself. Vitamins and plant growth substances did not affect the growth of the bacteria; proteins appeared to be a poor carbon and nitrogen source. On substituting glucose in a glutamic acid-containing medium with another saccharide, the growth of the bacteria was found equal or better in media containing mannose, sucrose, fructose, maltose or starch. The bacteria grew less satisfactorily in media containing galactose and cellobiose as compared with media containing glucose.     

The utilization of the mixtures of monosaccharides by some mucorales

Summary The utilization of mixtures of monosaccharides byBlakeslea trispora Thaxter,Choanephora circinans (Naganish &Kawakami)Hesseltine &Benjamin,Gilbertella persicaria var.indica Mehrotra &Mehrotra andHelicostylum piriforme Bainier was studied. The effect of sorbose on the utilization of other sugars present in the mixtures was also studied. It was found that all the mixtures of sugars in combination with asparagine or ammonium chloride were valueless for all the organisms exceptHelicostylum piriforme. Growth ofHelicostylum piriforme on the mixtures with asparagine as the nitrogen source was better than on the mixtures with ammonium chloride as the source of nitrogen. Asparagine being a favourable source counteractecd sorbose inhibition, while ammonium chloride failed to do so. On the other hand, both of the nitrogen sources failed to counteract sorbose inhibition in the rest of the organisms. None of the organisms could finish sorbose and rhamnose from any of the mixtures within the specified period.     

Revision ofVerbesina sect.Pseudomontanoa (Asteraceae)

Verbesina sect.Pseudomontanoa is revised. The last treatment of the group byRobinson & Greenman (1899) recognized 5 species; the present treatment recognizes 12 species, 3 of which (V. breedlovei, V. cronquistii andV. olsenii) are described as new. A key to species, phyletic diagram and distribution maps are provided.     

Pollination ofOpunta basilaris andO. littoralis

The flowers ofOpuntia basilaris andO. littoralis in southern California are visited commonly by beetles(Carpophilus, Trichochrous) and bees (especially anthophorids, megachilids, and halictids), but are pollinated mainly by the bees. This agrees with observations presented in the previous papers in this series for other cactus species in Arizona and Texas. The available evidence indicates that the large, diurnal, cup-shaped flowers in cacti of the American Southwest are primarily bee-pollinated. Our earlier view that theseOpuntia flowers are also pollinated to a significant extent bynitidulid andmelyrid beetles must be modified now in the light of further evidence. Some pollination probably is carried out by small beetles, but it probably represents only a small proportion of the total pollination.Pollination of North American Cacti, III.—See alsoGrant & Grant (1979) andGrant & al. (1979).     

Globba unifolia andG. corneri stat. et nom. nov. (Zingiberaceae; Peninsular Malaysia)

Based on personal collections ofGlobba unifolia Ridl. andG. unifolia var.sessiliflora Holtt., the latter is recognized as a distinct species. As the nameG. sessiliflora is already occupied, the nomen novumG. corneri is proposed in honour of Prof. DrE. J. H. Corner, who was the first collector of the plant.Dedicated to Prof. DrE. J. H. Corner (Cambridge) on the occasion of his 85th birthday on January 12th, 1991.     

Tinea corporis caused by trichophyton mentagrophytes var. Granulosum

Summary A small outbreak of human ringworm caused byTrichophyton mentagrophytes var.granulosum is described. The clinical morphology of some of the inflammatory lesions was more suggestive of nummular eczema or psoriasis than of tinea corporis. The isolation of a granular strain ofTrichophyton mentagrophytes indicated an animal source of these infections. The same organism was isolated from a pet white rat which apparently transmitted the disease.These investigations were supported by a grant from the John. A. Hartford Foundation, Inc., New York, New York and the U.S. Public Health Service Training Grant No. 2A-5289.We wish to thank DoctorErnest Oehl of Philadelphia for referring these patients to the Skin and Cancer Hospital of Philadelphia.     

The wound response in the siphonous algaCaulerpa simpliciuscula C. Ag.: II. The effect of wounding on carbon flow

Summary Following on from a previous study on changes in cytology and fine structure during the wound response in the siphonous green algaCaulerpa simpliciuscula (Dreher, Grant, andWetherbee 1978), changes in the carbon metabolism during this wound response have been studied. There was a decrease in the rate of photosynthesis and an increase in the rate of respiration immediately on wounding, but rates of both photosynthesis and respiration returned to those of unwounded tissues within 6 hours. Wounding depressed the rate of starch synthesis and sucrose synthesis but increased the rate of synthesis of soluble 1,3 ß-glucan, lipid and sulphated polysaccharide. When the flow of carbon from these various compounds was studied by means of pulse chase experiments, it was found that only sucrose and sulphated polysaccharide showed different kinetics in control and wounded tissue. The changes which were observed are consistent with the direct involvement of sulphated polysaccharides in the formation of structures formed during the wound healing process.     

A discussion of the classesChlamydophyceae andChlorophyceae and their subordinate taxa

The diagnostic characters alleged byEttl (1981) andEttl &Komarek (1982) to distinguish the ClassesChlamydophyceae andChlorophyceae are discussed. The recognition of these classes ignores ultrastructural evidence of the close phylogenetic relationships of their members and produces an artificial redistribution of orders, families, and genera that can only lead to confusion in the taxonomy of the green algae. Suggestions for a more natural classification are made.     

l- andd-alanine transport in brush border membrane vesicles from lepidopteran midgut: Evidence for two transport systems

Summary In brush border membrane vesicles from the midgut ofPhilosamia cynthia larvae (Lepidoptera) thel- andd-alanine uptake is dependent on a potassium gradient and on transmembrane electrical potential difference. Each isomer inhibits the uptake of the other form: inhibition ofl-alanine uptake byd-alanine is competitive, whereas inhibition ofd-alanine uptake byl-alanine is noncompetitive. Transstimulation experiments as well as the different pattern of specificity to cations suggest the existence of two transport systems. Kinetic parameters for the two transporters have been calculated both when K_out>K_in and K_out=K_in.d-alanine is actively transported also by the whole midgut, but it is not metabolized by the intestinal tissue.     

Pseudoeurotium globosum n. sp., a new ascomycete from Indian soils

Summary The namePseudoeurotium globosum Rai andTewari n. sp. has been given to a fungus isolated from soil collected from the banks of a stream in village Harchandpur, District Rae Bareli, (U.P.) India. This form is distinguished from any other described so far in this genus, in having multisporous asci with large globose ascospores. P.globosum n. sp. inhabits a specialised habitat, and this along with the fact that it was isolated only byWarcup's Soil-plate Method, makes it an ecologically interesting form.     

Plant regeneration from cotyledonary protoplasts of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea L. var.botrytis L.)

Summary Protoplasts isolated enzymatically from precultured cotyledonary leaves ofB. oleracea var.botrytis and cultured in KM8p medium (Kao andMichayluk 1975) underwent sustained divisions in about 0.1% population to eventually produce callus, whereas mesophyll protoplasts from either field grown orin vitro raised plants failed to divide. The callus readily differentiated on Murashige-Skoog medium as modified for shoot culture (Binding 1974) to give rise to shoot and roots.     

A note on the characteristics of parental T 4 DNA transmitted to progeny phages

Summary Several hypotheses concerning the fate of the parental DNA of phage T4 are discussed as possible interpretations of experimental data presently available. Particularly the experimental implications of the breakage-rejoining hypothesis, and the possibility that the joints between parental and progeny DNA may or may not be reversible during intracellular growth, are taken into consideration. Some of the crucial experiments, byLevinthal, byKahn, byStent, Sato andJerne, byKozinski andKozinski, and byTomizawa andAnraku, are briefly described. The results of these experiments make it possible to rule out most of the hypotheses considered. Only the following hypothesis is found to be consistent with present experimental data: A portion (roughly one half) of the parental DNA is transmitted to the progeny in the form of large segments (average size 40% or more of a single T4-DNA strand) which are reversibly joined to newly formed DNA and usually remain intact if transmitted again to later generations. Another protion of the parental DNA is transmitted in small segments which might be irreversibly joined to newly formed DNA. The joints between parental and progeny DNA are reversible during intracellular growth (Anraku andTom zawa, 1965).This work was supported by research grant GM-12581 from the Division of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service.     

Life and death in ancient populations: Bones of contention in paleodemography

In a recent articleBocquet-Appel & Masset (1985) renew their criticism of paleodemography and criticizeVan Gerven & Armelagos' (1983) defense of paleodemographic methods. In the present analysis we respond toBocquet-Appel andMasset's criticisms ofVan Gerven andArmelagos and then address the question of whether paleodemographic methods are capable of producing plausible results based on what is known about contemporary human populations. This is done by expanding the life tables previously analysed byVan Gerven and co-workers for the Medieval Christian site of Kulubnarti in Nubia'sBatn el Hajar. The expanded results are then compared to data obtained from contemporary human populations as well as interpreted in light of Nubian culture history.     

Facultative parasites and host respiration III. Tissue which is actively parasitised

Summary Fusarium oxysporium f.lycopersici andVerticillium albo-atrum caused an increase in the rate of respiration of tomato stem tissue.V. albo-atrum caused an increase in the rate of respiration of potato haulm tissue. By comparison of the respiration of 1 g ofV. alboatrum mycelium with 1 g fresh weight infected tomato stem tissue it was concluded that the respiration of the pathogen in situ does not contribute markedly to the respiratory increase. It is suggested that the increase in respiration has its origin in the metabolism of the host, possibly due to stimulation by a fungal respiratory toxin but not due to the augmentative effect of the pathogen's respiration.This work formed part of a Ph. D. thesis submitted to the University of London, July 1961.     

Chemotaxonomy of theSymphytum officinale agg. (Boraginaceae)

In a chemotaxonomic study of the genusSymphytum pyrrolizidine alkaloids and triterpenes were used as chemotaxonomical markers. A micro-extraction methods was developed for screening compounds of very small pieces of herbarium material. The occurrence of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids symphytine and (acetyl-)lycopsamine is very general forSymphytum taxa. Echimidine is present in someS. officinale L. plants and inS. tanaicense Steven. The triterpene isobauerenol is present inS. officinale, S. bohemicum Schmidt,S. tanaicense and inS. officinale var.lanceolatum Weinm. The chemotaxonomic hypothesis, proposed byGadella and collaborators, based on the presence of the triterpene isobauerenol inS. officinale and its absence inS. asperum Lepech. and the presence of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid echimidine inS. asperum and its absence inS. officinale, can no longer be applied absolutely to theS. officinale species complex. The pyrrolizidine alkaloid and triterpene pattern ofS. officinale (2n = 24) andS. bohemicum (2n = 24) is identical.S. bohemicum is morphologically, cytologically and phytochemically very similar toS. officinale. Furthermore, it readily crosses with the white flowered W. European diploids ofS. officinale. Therefore it seems likely that these two taxa are conspecific.S. tanaicense shows a pyrrolizidine alkaloid and triterpene pattern similar toS. officinale (2n = 40). Also on morphological and cytological grounds they are very similar. It seems highly probable thatS. tanaicense is conspecific withS. officinale (2n = 40) and represents an intraspecific variant only.S. officinale var.lanceolatum contained no pyrrolizidine alkaloids but did contain isobauerenol. This feature points to an origin fromS. officinale.