Localization of lysosomal acid phosphatase mRNA in mouse tissues.

We studied the expression of lysosomal acid phosphatase (LAP) in mouse by hybridizing Northern blots and tissue sections with the mouse LAP cDNA. Three mRNA species of 2.3, 3.2 and 5.2 KB were identified, which differ in the length of their 3' untranslated region (UTR). The 3.2 KB mRNA is expressed in equal amounts in all tissues and represents the major species in most tissues, whereas the amounts of the 2.3 and 5.2 KB species differ. In situ hybridization of different tissues of adult mice showed a uniform expression of LAP, as expected for a housekeeping gene, except in testis and brain. In testis we found an increase in the LAP mRNA level in spermatocytes. By Northern blot analysis of young mouse testis, this increase could be attributed to late pachytene primary spermatocytes or secondary spermatocytes. In brain tissue the neurons were predominantly labeled, especially the Purkinje and pyramidal cells, whereas glial cells expressed only low amounts of LAP mRNA. Very high LAP expression was also found in the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus. Analysis of LAP expression during mouse embryonic development between Days 9.5 and 17.5 revealed a prominent expression relative to other tissues in the neural tube from Day 9.5 to Day 13.5.     

A molecular defect in intracellular lipid signaling in human neutrophils in localized aggressive periodontal tissue damage

Host defense mechanisms are impaired in patients with congenital neutrophil (polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN)) defects. Impaired PMN chemotaxis is observed in localized aggressive periodontitis (LAP), a familial disorder characterized by destruction of the supporting structures of dentition. In the present studies, we sought evidence for molecular events underlying this aberrant human PMN phenotype. To this end, PMN transendothelial migration and superoxide anion generation were assessed with LAP patients and asymptomatic family members, as well as patients with other chronic mucosal inflammation. PMN from LAP patients showed decreased transmigration across vascular endothelial monolayers (18 +/- 12% of control, n = 4) and increased superoxide anion generation (358 +/- 37%, p = 0.003). Gene expression was analyzed using oligonucleotide microarrays and fluorescence-based kinetic PCR. cDNA microarray and kinetic-PCR analysis revealed diminished RNA expression of leukocyte-type diacylglycerol (DAG) kinase alpha in PMN from LAP patients (4.6 +/- 1.7 relative units, n = 6, p = 0.007) compared with asymptomatic individuals (51 +/- 27 relative units, n = 7). DAG kinase activity was monitored by DAG phosphorylation and individual DAG molecular species were quantified using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry-based lipidomics. DAG kinase activity was also significantly decreased (73 +/- 2%, p = 0.007) and correlated with increased accumulation of 1,2-diacyl-sn-3-glycerol substrates (p = 0.01). These results implicate defects in both PMN transendothelial migration and PMN DAG kinase alpha signaling as disordered functions in LAP. Moreover, they identify a potential molecular lesion in PMN signal transduction that may account for their aberrant responses and tissue destruction in this disease.     

Preliminary characterization of enzyme activities in Malpighian tubules involved in the breakdown of adipokinetic hormones

Adipokinetic hormones (AKH) from different insect species, crustacean red pigment-concentrating hormone (RPCH), and synthetic substrates were used to characterized enzyme activities present in the Malpighian tubules (MT) of the desert locuts, Schistocerca gregaria, which are involved in the degradation of AKH. When peptides containing proline (position 6) were incubated with MT homogenate they were cleaved by a post-proline cleaving enzyme (PPCE). The presence of such an enzyme was confirmed by the breakdown of a synthetic substrate for PPCE. Peptides which do not contain proline were broken down by a post-phenylalanine cleaving enzyme (PFCE) which could be chymotrypsin or chymotryptic. This PFCE activity(ies) seem(s) to be inactive on the proline-containig peptides or their fragments or digests these at a slow rate. The C-terminal chymotrypsin fragments of the AKHs were broken down by MT homogenates with no accumulation of new intermediate products. It is not clear whether another endopeptidase, PPCE, or leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) is responsible. The MTs contain LAP activity; however, this enzyme(s) may be different from its vertebrate counterpart(s). Homogenates of MTs break down equimolar amounts of Pro-7AMC at approximately the same rate, while porcine kidney LAP (cytosol) cleaved Pro-7AMC much slower than Leu-7AMC. The demonstration of carboxypeptidase (CP) A and B activity in the MTs was not possible using conventional substrates such as hippuryl derivatives of amino acids. When CPA from porcine pancreas was added to MT homogenates hippuryl-phenylalanine was digested proving that the conditions were appropriate for CPA activity to occur. The treatment of a N-terminally blocked peptide fragment with MT homogenate led to the breakdown of the peptide giving evidence that the MT CP requires a substrate with a somewhat longer length of amino acid residues.     

The immunogenic properties of the endotoxin protein: serum antibodies in animals and man]

Endotoxin protein or lipid A-associated protein (LAP) from Shigella sonnei was isolated and characterized earlier (Zh. mikrobiol. epidemiol. immunobiol., 1991, No. 4, pp. 47-50). In this investigation serum antibodies against LAP were studied in ELISA Anti-LAP antibodies were detected in high titers in the sera of nonimmunized mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, monkeys and healthy adults. We suppose that normal anti-LAP antibodies resulted from interaction between the immune system and environmental endotoxin. Parenteral injections of LAP to different animals induced intensive antibody response with a 100- to 1000-fold increase in the serum anti-LAP antibody level and a significant rise in the serum O-antibody level. The latter is seemingly due to the contamination of LAP with minute amounts of O-antigen (0.12% or less) and to the amplification of its immunogenicity by LAP. Both antigenic and amplifying activity of LAP was destroyed by proteinase K. The biological function of LAP and its possible use as a component of bacterial vaccines are briefly discussed.     

The protective properties of the endotoxin protein

The isolation and properties of endotoxin protein, or lipid A-associated protein (LAP), from Shigella sonnei were described earlier (Zh. mikrobiol. epidemiol. immunobiol., 1991, No. 4, pp. 11-17, and No. 7). In this report the data on its protective activity are presented. In experiments on mice one nanogram of LAP injected i. v. protected 50% of the animals against i. p. challenge with 40 LD50 of virulent S. sonnei. Guinea pigs injected s. c. with 10 micrograms of LAP were protected against local (keratoconjunctival) challenge with S. sonnei, the efficiency of immunization being 58%. LAP preparations containing no detectable amounts of O-antigen (less than 0.003%) were found to have a protective effect. Hyperimmune anti-LAP rabbit serum prevented local infection when incubated with S. sonnei challenge inoculum before injection into guinea pigs. Both active and passive protection induced by LAP was specific since no effect was observed in animals challenged with Shigella flexneri. In the homologous system the protective effect of anti-LAP serum was abolished by the addition of protein-free LPS. These results are compatible with the hypothesis that the protective activity of LAP depends on the presence of minute amounts of O-antigen whose immunogenic effect is greatly amplified by the protein component of the natural endotoxin complex.     

The Lipid Accumulation Product and All‐cause Mortality in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk: A PreCIS Database Study

The BMI is the most frequently used marker to evaluate obesity‐associated risks. An alternative continuous index of lipid over accumulation, the lipid accumulation product (LAP), has been proposed, which is computed from waist circumference (WC, cm) and fasting triglycerides (TGs) (mmol/l): (WC ? 65) × TG (men) and (WC ? 58) × TG (women). We evaluated LAP and BMI as predictors of mortality in a high‐risk cohort. Study population included 5,924 new consecutive patients seen between 1995 and 2006 at a preventive cardiology clinic. Fifty‐eight percent of patients were discordant for their LAP and BMI quartiles. Patients whose LAP quartile was greater than BMI quartile had higher mortality compared with those with LAP quartile was lower than BMI quartile (8.2 vs. 5.4% at 6 years, P = 0.007). After adjustment for age, gender, smoking, diabetes mellitus, blood pressure, low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C) and high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (HDL‐C), (ln)LAP was independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.46, P < 0.001). BMI was not associated with increased mortality (HR = 1.06, P = 0.39). Adding LAP to a model including traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis increased its predictive value (C statistic 0.762 vs. 0.750, P = 0.048). Adding BMI to the same model did not change its predictive value (0.749 vs. 0.750, P = 0.29). Subgroup analyses showed that LAP predicted mortality in the nondiabetic patients (adjusted HR for (ln)LAP 1.64, P < 0.001), but did not reach significance in the diabetic patients (HR = 1.21, P = 0.11). In conclusion, LAP and not BMI predicted mortality in nondiabetic patients at high risk for cardiovascular diseases. LAP may become a useful tool in clinical practice to stratify the risk of unfavorable outcome associated with obesity.     

Aminopeptidases in seeds of Picea abies (L.) karst.: Characterization of leucine aminopeptidase by molecular properties and inhibitors

By either acrylamide or starch gel electrophoresis of Norway spruce (Picea abies) seed extracts, two prominent isoenzyme bands were obtained after staining for leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). These bands were proved to correspond to each other by reelectrophoresis in both gel media. Single endosperm studies with acrylamide gels showed clearly that, in addition to LAP, two bands are expressed after staining for alanine aminopeptidase (AAP) as well. Both the LAP and the AAP activities appeared together as a single peak between catalase and ferritin after gel chromatography on Sepharose. Isoelectric focusing in sucrose gradients proved the two LAP activities to have identical isoelectric points and revealed that LAP, but not AAP, is detectable by standard starch gel electrophoretic procedures. The two LAP bands refer to approximate molecular weights of 71,000 and 131,000, respectively. Disaggregation studies did not conclusively determine whether these two bands represent different enzymes or not. Only inhibitors succeeded in producing a definite differentiation by selective inhibition of one of the two bands. It is concluded that in both gel media the isoenzyme bands reflect the activity of two distinct leucine aminopeptidases.     

Purification and characterization of chlordecone reductase from human liver

The toxic organochlorine pesticide, chlordecone (Kepone), is excreted in human bile primarily as a stable, reduced monoalcohol metabolite. This bioreduction is catalyzed by a hepatic cytosolic enzyme activity termed chlordecone reductase. We purified this enzyme from human liver and found that chlordecone reductase resembles the family of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes referred to as the aldo-keto reductases based on its biochemical characteristics, including its ability to catalyze the reduction of a carbonyl-containing substrate. However, analyses of liver cytosolic samples on immunoblots developed with anti-chlordecone reductase antibodies revealed that immunoreactive proteins were present only in those mammalian species that convert chlordecone to chlordecone alcohol in vivo (man, gerbil, and rabbit) and not in those species unable to reduce chlordecone (rat, mouse, and hamster). Hence, chlordecone reductase is unique among aldo-keto reductases in being species-specific. Quantitative immunoblot analyses of seven human liver specimens disclosed two immunoreactive proteins whose total concentration varied over a 6-fold range. Moreover, the amount of immunoreactive protein was directly proportional to chlordecone reductase activity in each sample. We conclude that chlordecone reductase is a unique aldo-keto reductase of potential clinical importance whose expression varies markedly among individuals.     

Leukocyte alkaline phosphatase in malignancies.

The leukocyte alklaine phosphatase (LAP) levels were determined in 183 patients with malignant diseases and 71 normal controls. The median LAP scores were 64 units (range 0 to 290) for the patients and 55 (range 2 to 158) for the controls, respectively, and no significant difference could be established. When analyzed according to primary malignancy, only in patients with Hodgkin's disease (n = 14) was the median value higher than normal (p less than 0.001). In patients with distant metastases (n = 48), higher LAP levels were demonstrated (M = 76, range 21 to 290) as compared to patients with no evidence of metastases (M = 53, range 0 to 229), (p less than 0.01). Thus, LAP activity has very limited value in the diagnosis of malignancies. Its elevation in the presence of malignant disease might, however, indicate metastases.     

Purification and characterization of aldo-keto reductases from gerbil liver: immunochemical evidence for related proteins in other mammalian species

We purified a hepatic aldehyde reductase (AR1) and two carbonyl reductases (CR1, CR2) from the Mongolian gerbil, an animal recently shown to closely resemble man in its metabolism of a carbonyl containing organochlorine pesticide. The apparent molecular weights of AR1, CR1, and CR2 were 40,700, 33,000, and 34,700, respectively. Typical of similar enzymes in other species, gerbil AR1 reduced aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes and was inhibited by phenobarbital or valproate, whereas CR1 and CR2 catalyzed the reduction of aromatic aldehydes and ketones as well as quinones and were inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate, mercuric chloride, or pyrazole. All three enzymes were insensitive to metal chelating agents and utilized NADPH as their cofactor. CR1 was unique in being equally active with NADH as its cofactor. Antibodies raised against CR1 reacted with purified CR1 and CR2, but not with AR1, as judged by immunoblot analyses. There were three immunochemically related proteins in gerbil liver cytosol (30 to 35 kDa range) recognized by the anti-CR1 IgG. Similar immunoblot analyses of hepatic cytosolic proteins from other mammalian species revealed immunoreactive proteins only in the hamster, the rabbit, and man, and not in the rat, the mouse, or the guinea pig. Quantitative immunoblot analyses of human liver cytosol from seven patients revealed three immunoreactive proteins. These were present in unequal and varying concentrations, although there were only small interindividual differences in the total concentration of the immunoreactive proteins. We conclude that there are multiple molecular forms of immunochemically related hepatic carbonyl reductases in the gerbil and in some other mammalian species, including man.     

Low microsatellite variation in laboratory gerbrils

The Mongolian gerbil has become a model organism of increasing importance for the understanding of aging, epilepsy, the process of domestication or sociobiological questions. We report the development and characterization of the first nine polymorphic dinucleotide repeat loci in this species. Average observed heterozygosity and allele number of laboratory animals measured 0.136 (SE = +/-0.065) and 1.78 (SE = +/-0.278) compared to 0.761 (SE = +/-0.025) and 9.2 (SE = +/-0.57) found for a reference group of wild gerbils. The extreme low genetic variation observed in laboratory animals is caused by several severe population size bottlenecks due to the initial founder event and the later establishment of subpopulations. Reduced levels of allelic polymorphism in experimental animals hamper genetic mapping or parental studies. Therefore experiments relying on kinship analyses have to be carried out on wild animals. Estimates of genetic identity and parental exclusion were calculated as Pid = 2.8 x 10(-12) and Pex > 0.999 in wild gerbils. Laboratory gerbil strains show the expected high degree of genetic similarity. However, significant allele frequency differences (P < .001) between American and European gerbils at some microsatellite loci may still allow discrimination between breeding lines.     

Deceleration time of systolic pulmonary venous flow: a new clinical marker of left atrial pressure and compliance.

The curvilinearity of the atrial pressure-volume curve implies that atrial compliance decreases progressively with increasing left atrial (LA) pressure (LAP). We predicted that reduced LA compliance leads to more rapid deceleration of systolic pulmonary venous (PV) flow. With this rationale, we investigated whether the deceleration time (t dec) of PV systolic flow velocity reflects mean LAP. In eight patients during coronary surgery, before extracorporeal circulation, PV flow by ultrasonic transit time and invasive LAP were recorded during stepwise volume loading. The t dec was calculated using two methods: by drawing a tangent through peak deceleration and by drawing a line from peak systolic flow through the nadir between the systolic and early diastolic flow waves. LA compliance was calculated as the systolic PV flow integral divided by LAP increment. Volume loading increased mean LAP from 11 +/- 3 to 20 +/- 5 mmHg (P < 0.001) (n = 40), reduced LA compliance from 1.16 +/- 0.42 to 0.72 +/- 0.40 ml/mmHg (P < 0.004) (n = 40), and reduced t dec from 320 +/- 50 to 170 +/- 40 ms (P < 0.0005) (n = 40). Mean LAP correlated well with t dec (r = 0.84, P < 0.0005) (n = 40) and LA compliance (r = 0.79, P < 0.0005) (n = 40). Elevated LAP caused a decrease in LA compliance and therefore more rapid deceleration of systolic PV flow. The t dec has potential to become a semiquantitative marker of LAP and an index of LA passive elastic properties.     

Characterisation of aminopeptidase activity in scab mites (Psoroptes spp.)

Soluble and membrane-bound aminopeptidase activities were demonstrated in extracts of P. cuniculi (Delafond). Leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) activity in the soluble fraction of P. cuniculi extracts displayed substrate preference for amino acid derivatives with terminal leucine and methionine over those with acidic, basic or heterocyclic groups. P. cuniculi LAP was inhibited by leucinethiol (IC(50) = 1.4 +/- 0.4 nM), bestatin (IC(50) = 3.9 +/- 1.7 microM), Arphamenine A (IC(50) = 0.37 +/- 0.03 mM) the chelating agent 1,10-phenanthroline (IC(50) = 2.3 +/- 0.5 mM), Zn(2+), Cu(2+) Ni(2+), and Co(2+), and activated by Mn(2+) and Mg(2+). The LAP activity was visualised as a single major band after electrophoresis on native gels and eluted from a size exclusion column as a single major peak representing a molecular mass range of 85-116 kDa. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were used to amplify short fragments of genomic DNA containing nucleotide sequence coding for the cation-binding motifs of the co-catalytic Zn(2+) binding domains of dizinc leucine aminopeptidases in both P. cuniculi and P.ovis (Hering). The major soluble aminopeptidase from these mites therefore displays most of the characteristics associated with typical cytosolic leucine aminopeptidases belonging to the M17 family of metalloproteinases.     

Circadian Rhythm in Gamma Glutamyltranspeptidase and Leucine Aminopeptidase Urinary Activity in Rats

Urinary gamma glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), renal tubular brush border enzymes, have been shown to be sensitive indicators of renal tubular functions. This study documents circadian rhythms in the urinary activity of GGT and LAP, statistically validated and quantified by the cosinor method, in 15 male Wistar rats standardized to a LD 12:12 illumination schedule (light from 0800 hr to 2000 hr) and fed ad libitum. The acrophase of the circadian rhythms in urinary GGT and LAP activity occurred at the end of the rest span of the animals: between 1730 and 1915 for GGT (depending on the mode of expression of the activity) and between 1700 and 1910 for LAP. Of striking resemblance in their timing, both these rhythms were also of large amplitude (about 50% of the mesor for urinary GGT activity and about 45% for LAP one). The circadian acrophases of urinary GGT and LAP activity led in timing the circadian rhythms in urine volume and creatinine excretion by about 13hr. Such findings consistent with the circadian variations found by other investigators in GGT in kidney homogenates or in LAP in human urine thus reflect a periodicity in renal tubular function. The reasons for these circadian variations, still unknown at this time, are discussed. The influence recently demonstrated of the hormonal context on protein and enzyme synthesis at the tubule, and its phase relations to urinary enzyme excretion emphasize how much the circadian rhythm in urinary GGT and LAP activity is well included in the murine time structure. Therefore it should be of interest to consider the circadian rhythm in urinary GGT and LAP release as a marker rhythm of predictive value as to the side effects of nephrotoxic drugs.     

Circadian Rhythm in Gamma Glutamyltranspeptidase and Leucine Aminopeptidase Urinary Activity in Rats

Urinary gamma glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), renal tubular brush border enzymes, have been shown to be sensitive indicators of renal tubular functions. This study documents circadian rhythms in the urinary activity of GGT and LAP, statistically validated and quantified by the cosinor method, in 15 male Wistar rats standardized to a LD 12:12 illumination schedule (light from 0800 hr to 2000 hr) and fed ad libitum. The acrophase of the circadian rhythms in urinary GGT and LAP activity occurred at the end of the rest span of the animals: between 1730 and 1915 for GGT (depending on the mode of expression of the activity) and between 1700 and 1910 for LAP. Of striking resemblance in their timing, both these rhythms were also of large amplitude (about 50% of the mesor for urinary GGT activity and about 45% for LAP one). The circadian acrophases of urinary GGT and LAP activity led in timing the circadian rhythms in urine volume and creatinine excretion by about 13hr. Such findings consistent with the circadian variations found by other investigators in GGT in kidney homogenates or in LAP in human urine thus reflect a periodicity in renal tubular function. The reasons for these circadian variations, still unknown at this time, are discussed. The influence recently demonstrated of the hormonal context on protein and enzyme synthesis at the tubule, and its phase relations to urinary enzyme excretion emphasize how much the circadian rhythm in urinary GGT and LAP activity is well included in the murine time structure. Therefore it should be of interest to consider the circadian rhythm in urinary GGT and LAP release as a marker rhythm of predictive value as to the side effects of nephrotoxic drugs.     

Steady-state kinetics of hydrolysis of dansyl-peptide substrates by leucine aminopeptidase

Stopped-flow fluorescence experiments have been carried out at 23 degrees C to study the hydrolysis of Leu-Gly-NHNH-Dns [Dns = 5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonyl] and Leu-Gly-NH(CH2)2NH-Dns by porcine kidney cytosol leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). Experiments have been performed with LAP species containing Mg(II), Mn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and no metal ion at the regulatory metal binding site. The fluorescence changes observed on hydrolysis of these dansyl substrates by LAP arise from changes in the concentration of substrate. Several kinetic relationships have been developed that allow the steady-state kinetic parameters for these reactions to be determined from the stopped-flow fluorescence traces. When any of the five metal ions are bound at the regulatory site, kcat and KM are both raised to approximately the same extent with the result that the maximum increase observed for kcat/KM is only approximately twofold. The effects of these metal ions on kcat, KM, and kcat/KM observed for these substrates differ markedly from those for less physiologically relevant substrates, such as Leu-p-nitroanilide, that do not have amino acids on both sides of the scissile bond. This suggests that earlier conclusions regarding the effect of the regulatory metal ion on the activity of LAP may have been misleading and casts doubt as to whether the term "regulatory site" has validity in the context of LAP-catalyzed reactions under physiological conditions.     

A domain-specific marker for the hepatocyte plasma membrane. III. Isolation of bile canalicular membrane by immunoadsorption

Previous immunolabeling studies (Roman, L.M., and A.L. Hubbard, 1983, J. Cell Biol., 96:1548-1558; Roman, L.M., and A.L. Hubbard, 1984, J. Cell Biol., 98:1488-1496, companion paper) established leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) as a specific marker for the bile canalicular (BC) domain of the rat hepatocyte plasma membrane (PM). In this study, we have isolated membrane from a sonicated PM vesicle fraction using anti-LAP-coated Staphylococcus aureus cells as a solid-phase immunoadsorbent. The extent and specificity of the immunoadsorption were assessed by following the behavior of LAP (the BC marker) and 32P-labeled membrane phospholipids (a uniform membrane marker). The BC fraction obtained was significantly enriched in LAP (yield: greater than 70% of PM-LAP). Alkaline phosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase, and a 110,000-dalton glycoprotein, HA-4, were enriched in the BC fraction to the same extent as LAP (enzyme or antigen/LAP = 1.0). However, alkaline phosphodiesterase I was not enriched to the same degree (enzyme/LAP = 0.5). Contamination of this BC fraction by membrane derived from the sinusoidal domain and endoplasmic reticulum, as determined from the distribution of the asialoglycoprotein receptor and NADH cytochrome c reductase, respectively, was small (less than 13%).     

Seeds redistribution in sand dunes: a basis for coexistence of two rodent species

Spatial and temporal heterogeneity is a major factor structuring communities and contributing to coexistence of the species they contain. In this study we examine a critical aspect of environmental heterogeneity that is assumed to promote coexistence in two gerbil species of the Western Negev Desert. Previous studies assumed that temporal partitioning, in activity time, is the result of daily redistribution of seeds that the dominant species is the first to utilize while the sub-ordinate and efficient species is being pushed to use the later and poorer part of the night. We tested the assumption that daily afternoon winds generating spatial and temporal heterogeneity in seed availability by the redistribution of sand and seeds. This was done by comparing plots experiencing normal wind condition with manipulated plots where wind action was diminished by a shade-cloth fence. Our results show that considerable amount of sand and seeds are redistributing regularly on a time scale of a single day. Our results also show that gerbil foraging behavior is strongly related to the pattern of the redistribution dynamics of the seeds. When we prevented redistribution of seeds, gerbil foraging activity was reduced considerably. However, both seed redistribution and gerbil activity did not change much on control plots. Furthermore, the two gerbil species responded differently to the reduction in seed redistribution. The larger Gerbillus pyramidum was shown to be more sensitive to the reduction than the smaller G. a. allenbyi . Daily variability in the availability of seed resources is probably the niche axis which, together with the trade-off in foraging efficiency of the species, forms the mechanism for the coexistence of the two gerbil species in the semi-stabilized sands.     

A comparative study of isolation-induced ultrasonic vocalization in rodent pups.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether species differences in neonatal vocalizations of rodent pups could be observed. Ultrasonic vocalizations of pups of 5 rodent species, mouse (ICR), vole (Microtus arvalis), Syrian hamster, rat (Wistar-Imamichi), and Mongolian gerbil were recorded from 3 to 15 or 21 days of age. Recordings were made under conditions of separation from mothers and litter mates in a cooled chamber (approximately 10 degrees C). The major species differences observed were age specific and species specific frequencies. The Mongolian gerbil displayed a different frequency change with age. Namely, the day on which ultrasonic vocalizations ceased was delayed in Mongolian gerbil compared with the other rodents. The modal peak frequencies of ultrasound emitted from pups at 3 days of age were low (around 35 kHz) in the vole and the Syrian hamster, medium (around 45 kHz) in the rat and the Mongolian gerbil, and high (around 55 kHz) in the mouse.