Report on non-temperature related variations in CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> efflux rates from young tree stems in the dormant season

Respiration rates are reported to increase exponentially with temperature. Respiration rates of woody tissues are commonly measured as CO₂ efflux rates () from that tissue. However, this paper describes clear variations in stem that were not related to temperature for the case of a young beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and oak (Quercus robur L.) tree during the dormant season. The CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) in the xylem of the beech tree showed similar temperature-independent variations. The trees were grown in a growth chamber in which radiation patterns and temperature were kept constant. was measured with an IRGA connected to cuvettes surrounding a stem segment. Xylem [CO₂] was measured in situ using a CO₂ microelectrode. Depressions in and [CO₂] occurred during the light period, despite equal temperatures in the light and dark period. Explanations found in literature for discrepancies in the exponential relationship between temperature and are the influence of (1) sap flow or (2) decreased cell water content. However, (1) the variations were observed in the dormant season, when no sap flow was observed yet, and (2) reduced cell water content was not likely to be apparent as differences in stem transpiration rates between the dark and light period were not significant. Hence, previously formulated theories failed to explain our results. This work therefore provides a new ground for discussion on other possible causes of daytime depressions in . One might be the refixation of respired CO₂ by corticular photosynthesis in the stem parts adjacent to the stem segment enclosed by the cuvette.     

The role of body surfaces and ventilation in gas exchange of the abalone, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Haliotis iris</Emphasis>

The archaeogastropod Haliotis iris possesses paired bipectinate gills and normally four to six shell holes. In still water, endogenous water flow entered the branchial chamber anteriorly to the left of the head and was exhaled primarily from the three most posterior holes. The first or second anterior aperture was occasionally weakly inhalant. Cardiac interaction superimposed an oscillatory component upon ciliary ventilation but did not augment mean flow. At normal endogenous flow rates 49% of oxygen was extracted from the branchial flow, increasing to 71% at lower flows. In still water, normoxic was 0.47 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹. Oxyregulation occurred down to with partial oxyregulation down to 45 Torr (P _crit), and oxyconformity below this. The oxyregulatory plateau was absent in artificially ventilated animals but normoxic was higher (0.65 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹). Endogenous ventilation was unaffected by hypoxia to 15 Torr. Heart rate decreased by ~20% at 26 Torr before falling more steeply. Oxygen uptake from the branchial ventilation stream fully accounted for normoxic In hypoxia (<30 Torr), no uptake occurred from the head or foot despite extensive eversion of the epipodium. Blood oxygen measurements excluded the right mantle as a significant gas exchange organ. Changes in oxygen uptake caused by changes in the velocity of external water currents support the concept of induced ventilation and suggest that in still water aerobic respiration was ventilation-limited. Although ciliary ventilation appears adequate to support resting aerobic metabolism, induced ventilation may provide increased aerobic scope for activity and repayment of oxygen debt. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Genetic transformation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gentiana macrophylla</Emphasis> with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agrobacterium rhizogenes</Emphasis>: growth and production of secoiridoid glucoside gentiopicroside in transformed hairy root cultures

Hairy root cultures of Gentiana macrophylla were established by infecting the different explants four Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains namely A₄GUS, R1000, LBA 9402 and ATCC11325, and hairy root lines were established with A. rhizogenes strain R1000 in 1/2 MS + B₅ medium. Initially, 42 independent hairy root clones were maintained and seven clones belongs to different category were evaluated for growth, morphology, integration and expression of Ri T-DNA genes, and alkaloid contents in dry root samples. On the basis of total root elongation, lateral root density and biomass accumulation on solid media, hairy root clones were separated into three categories. PCR and Southern hybridization analysis revealed both left and right T-DNA integration in the root clones and RT-PCR analysis confirmed the expression of hairy root inducible gene. GUS assay was also performed to confirm the integration of left T-DNA. The accumulation of considerable amounts of the root-specific secoiridoid glucosides gentiopicroside was observed in GM1 ( and ) and the GM2 ( and DNA) type clones in considerably higher amount whether as two but callus-type clones (GM3) accumulated much less or only very negligible amounts of gentiopicroside. Out of four media composition the 1/2 MS + B₅ vitamin media was found most suitable. We found that initial establishment of root cultures largely depends on root:media ratio. Maximum growth rate was recorded in 1:50 root:media ratio. The maximum biomass in terms of fresh weight (33-fold) was achieved in 1/2 MS + B₅ media composition after 35 days in comparison to sixfold increase in control. The biomass increase was most abundant maximum from 15 to 30 days. Influence of A. rhizogenes strains and Ri plasmid of hairy root induction, the possible role of the T_L-DNA and T_R-DNA genes on growth pattern of hairy root, initial root inoculum:media ratio and effect of media composition is discussed.     

Factors affecting denitrification in agricultural headwater streams in Northeast Ohio,USA

As a result of increased anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loading in surface waters of agricultural watersheds, there is enhanced interest to understand and quantify N removal mechanisms. Denitrification, an important N removal mechanism in aquatic systems, may contribute to reducing N pollution in agricultural headwater streams. However, the key factors controlling this process in lotic systems remain unclear. The objective of our study was to examine the factors regulating rates of denitrification in the sediments of agricultural headwater streams in the mid-western USA. Denitrification rates were variable among streams and treatments (<0.1–28.0 μg N g AFDM⁻¹ h⁻¹) and on average, were higher than those reported for similar headwater streams. Carbon quantity and quality, and pH had no effect on denitrification, while temperature and nitrate ( ) concentrations had a positive effect on rates of denitrification. Specifically, controlled denitrification following Michaelis-Menten kinetics. We calculated a value of k_m (1.0 mg -N L^-1) that was comparable to other studies in aquatic sediments but was well below the median in-stream concentrations (5.2–17.4 mg -N L⁻¹) observed at the study sites. Despite high rates of denitrification, this removal mechanism is most likely saturated in the agricultural headwater streams we examined, suggesting that these systems are not effective at removing in-stream N. Handling editor: D. Ryder     

Effects of common soil anions and pH on the uptake and accumulation of perchlorate in lettuce

A mechanistic understanding of perchlorate () entry into plants is important for establishing the human health risk associated with consumption of contaminated produce and for assessing the effectiveness of phytoremediation. To determine whether common soil anions affect uptake and accumulation in higher plants, a series of competition experiments using lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) were conducted between (50 nM) and (4–12 mM), (1–10 mM), or Cl⁻ (5–15 mM) in hydroponic solution. The effects of (0–5 mM) and pH (5.5–7.5) on uptake were also examined. Increasing in solution significantly reduced the amount of taken up by green leaf, butter head, and crisphead lettuces. Sulfate and Cl⁻ had no significant effects on uptake in lettuce over the concentrations tested. Increasing pH significantly reduced the amount of taken up by crisphead and green leaf lettuces, whereas increasing significantly reduced uptake in butter head lettuce. The inhibition by across all lettuce genotypes suggests that may share an ion carrier with , and the decrease in uptake with increasing pH or provides macroscopic evidence for cotransport across the plasma membrane.     

A bias correction for estimates of effective population size based on linkage disequilibrium at unlinked gene loci*

Analysis of linkage disequilibrium (=mean squared correlation of allele frequencies at different gene loci) provides a means of estimating effective population size (N _e) from a single sample, but this method has seen much less use than the temporal method (which requires at least two samples). It is shown that for realistic numbers of loci and alleles, the linkage disequilibrium method can provide precision comparable to that of the temporal method. However, computer simulations show that estimates of N _e based on for unlinked, diallelic gene loci are sharply biased downwards ( in some cases) if sample size (S) is less than true N _e. The bias is shown to arise from inaccuracies in published formula for when S and/or N _e are small. Empirically derived modifications to for two mating systems (random mating and lifetime monogamy) effectively eliminate the bias (residual bias in % in most cases). The modified method also performs well in estimating N _e in non-ideal populations with skewed sex ratio or non-random variance in reproductive success. Recent population declines are not likely to seriously affect , but if N has recently increased from a bottleneck can be biased downwards for a few generations. These results should facilitate application of the disequilibrium method for estimating contemporary N _e in natural populations. However, a comprehensive assessment of performance of with highly polymorphic markers such as microsatellites is needed.The US Governmentȁ9s right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Quantifying Lipari–Szabo modelfree parameters from 13CO NMR relaxation experiments

It is proposed to obtain effective Lipari–Szabo order parameters and local correlation times for relaxation vectors of protein ¹³CO nuclei by carrying out a ¹³CO-R₁ auto relaxation experiment, a transverse CSA/dipolar cross correlation and a transverse ¹³CO CSA/¹³CO–¹⁵N CSA/dipolar cross correlation experiment. Given the global rotational correlation time from ¹⁵N relaxation experiments, a new program COMFORD (CO-Modelfree Fitting Of Relaxation Data) is presented to fit the ¹³CO data to an effective order parameter , an effective local correlation time and the orientation of the CSA tensor with respect to the molecular frame. It is shown that the effective is least sensitive to rotational fluctuations about an imaginary axis and most sensitive to rotational fluctuations about an imaginary axis parallel to the NH bond direction. As such, the information is fully complementary to the ¹⁵N relaxation order parameter, which is least sensitive to fluctuations about the NH axis and most sensitive to fluctuations about the axis. The new paradigm is applied on data of Ca²⁺ saturated Calmodulin, and on available literature data for Ubiquitin. Our data indicate that the order parameters rapport on slower, and sometimes different, motions than the ¹⁵N relaxation order parameters. The CO local correlation times correlate well with the calmodulin’s secondary structure. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available to authorized users in the online version of this article at .     

Gill function in an elasmobranch

Summary Highly efficient oxygen uptake in elasmobranchs, as indicated by frequent excess of over has previously been ascribed to the operation of multicapillary rather than counter-current gas exchange by the gills. Analysis of models shows that, at maximum efficiency, a multicapillary system cannot account for values of greater than . In Port Jackson sharks Heterodontus portusjacksoni) commonly exceeds , which indicates the operation of a functional counter-current at the respiratory surface. The anatomical basis of this counter-current is provided by the demonstration that a continuous flow of water passes between the secondary lamellae into septal canals and thence via the parabranchial cavities to the exterior.Queen Elizabeth II Fellow.     

Quantitative Γ-HCNCH: determination of the glycosidic torsion angle χ in RNA oligonucleotides from the analysis of CH dipolar cross-correlated relaxation by solution NMR spectroscopy

A novel NMR pulse sequence is introduced to determine the glycosidic torsion angle χ in ¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled oligonucleotides. The quantitative Γ-HCNCH measures the dipolar cross-correlated relaxation rates (pyrimidines) and (purines). Cross-correlated relaxation rates of a ¹³C,¹⁵N-labeled RNA 14mer containing a cUUCGg tetraloop were determined and yielded χ-angles that agreed remarkably well with data derived from the X-ray structure of the tetraloop. In addition, the method was applied to the larger stemloop D (SLD) subdomain of the Coxsackievirus B3 cloverleaf 30mer RNA and the effect of anisotropic rotational motion was examined for this molecule. It could be shown that the χ-angle determination especially for nucleotides in the anti conformation was very accurate and the method was ideally suited to distinguish between the syn and the anti-conformation of all four types of nucleotides. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Phosphorus concentration in sediment, water and tissues of␣three submerged macrophytes of Myall Lake, Australia

Phosphorus content in sediment, water and tissues of three macrophyte species growing in Myall Lake, Australia were studied from January to November, 2004. The sites investigated were North–West (NW), North–East (NE), South–West (SW) bays and Central deep area of the lake (CL). The objective of this study was to investigate how total phosphorus (TP) in plant tissues relate to phosphorus pools and the role played by the aquatic macrophyte species under investigation in phosphorus recycling in the lake. Of the four investigated sites of the lake, TP in plant tissues were significantly higher in North–West and South–West bays compared to the rest. Najas marina had significantly higher TP content (e.g., 1.55 and 1.44 mg/g dw.; P < 0.05) for NW and SW respectively, than the other two species. N. marina is a rooted macrophyte while charophytes (C. fibrosa and Nitella hyalina) are pseudo-rooted macrophytes. Total phosphorus in the sediment and water column were significantly higher in Central deep area of the lake compared to the other three bays (P < 0.05, n 5). Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) in sediment pore water correlated significantly with phosphorus content in the tissue of N. marina ( ; ) as well as TP in sediment (␣ and ). Using the two-compartmental uptake model, it was observed that, sediment was the main compartment through which Ni. hyalina obtained phosphorus while for the other two species, water column was the uptake route for the phosphorus. These correlations suggest that, water column and sediments are important pathways for phosphorus uptake in plants.     

Regional Assessment of N Saturation using Foliar and Root $\varvec {\delta}^{\bf 15}{\bf N}$\varvec {\delta}^{\bf 15}{\bf N}

N saturation induced by atmospheric N deposition can have serious consequences for forest health in many regions. In order to evaluate whether foliar may be a robust, regional-scale measure of the onset of N saturation in forest ecosystems, we assembled a large dataset on atmospheric N deposition, foliar and root and N concentration, soil C:N, mineralization and nitrification. The dataset included sites in northeastern North America, Colorado, Alaska, southern Chile and Europe. Local drivers of N cycling (net nitrification and mineralization, and forest floor and soil C:N) were more closely coupled with foliar than the regional driver of N deposition. Foliar increased non-linearly with nitrification:mineralization ratio and decreased with forest floor C:N. Foliar was more strongly related to nitrification rates than was foliar N concentration, but concentration was more strongly correlated with N deposition. Root was more tightly coupled to forest floor properties than was foliar . We observed a pattern of decreasing foliar values across the following species: American beech>yellow birch>sugar maple. Other factors that affected foliar included species composition and climate. Relationships between foliar and soil variables were stronger when analyzed on a species by species basis than when many species were lumped. European sites showed distinct patterns of lower foliar , due to the importance of ammonium deposition in this region. Our results suggest that examining values of foliage may improve understanding of how forests respond to the cascading effects of N deposition.     

Bifurcation Analysis of Genetically Engineered Pacemaking in Mammalian Heart

Genetically engineered pacemaking in ventricular cells has been achieved by down-regulation of the time independent inward rectifying current (I _K1), or insertion of the hyperpolarisation-activated funny current (I _f). We analyse the membrane system (i.e. ionic concentrations clamped) of an epicardial Luo-Rudy dynamic cell model using continuation algorithms with the maximum conductance () of I _K1 and I _f as bifurcation parameters. Pacemaker activity can be induced either via Hopf or homoclinic bifurcations. As _K1 is decreased by ≈74%, autorhythmicity emerged via a homoclinic bifurcation, i.e., the periodicity first appear with infinitely large periods. In contrast, the insertion of _f induced periodicity via a subcritical Hopf bifurcation at _f≈ 0.25 mSμF⁻¹. Stable autorhythmic action potentials occurred at _f > 0.329 mSμF⁻¹.     

Genetic differentiation of Rosa canina (L.) at regional and continental scales

We investigated the genetic differentiation of Rosa canina at regional and continental scales to delineate provenance regions for seed collection. Using RAPD technique, we examined eight populations in Brandenburg (Germany) and 13 samples from Bavaria and Hungary. AMOVA and $\upphiWe investigated the genetic differentiation of Rosa canina at regional and continental scales to delineate provenance regions for seed collection. Using RAPD technique, we examined eight populations in Brandenburg (Germany) and 13 samples from Bavaria and Hungary. AMOVA and -statistics revealed a significant differentiation ( = 0.23, P < 0.0001) between accessions from Brandenburg and the two other regions. The interpopulation differentiation in Brandenburg was low ( = 0.13). We found the greatest interpopulation distance between Hungary and Brandenburg (Hoher Fl?ming, = 0.47) and the lowest between Dahmeland and Hoher Fl?ming (both Brandenburg, = 0.01). UPGMA dendrogram and PCA showed a clear disjunction between Brandenburg and other regions. Due to the outcrossing mating and seed dispersal system, the genetic variation within R. canina populations is moderately high (87% for Brandenburg, 76% for Bavaria and Hungary). The significant genetic differentiation at the continental scale suggests lower gene flow with increasing geographical distance and underlines the usefulness of regional provenances for planting.     

Improvement of pistillate flowers yield with GA3 in heavy metals treated plants

GA₃ can be beneficial to improve the flowering yield in Lagenaria siceraria (Mol.) Standl. and Luffa cylindrica L. (Roem) treated with HgCl₂ and . This paper reviews the literature on the possible involvement of gibberellins in flower development and suggests that plants under the stress of heavy metals can be treated with GA₃ to improve growth parameters, to avoid delay in flowering and likewise quality of fruit can be improved. Applied GA₃ (400 mg/l) caused precocious flowering, increasing the number of flowers in the treated plants. All data was compared with control plants grown under similar conditions. Both heavy metals caused significant delay in flowering, consequently leading to reduction in the number of flowers. However, when GA₃ was applied with HgCl₂ and , there was less decrease in staminate and pistillate flowers, revealing the dominant effect of GA₃. Current work reveals that inhibitory effects of heavy metals on flowering can be partially restored with GA₃ application.     

Survival Chances of Mutants Starting With One Individual

A simple theoretical model of a Darwinian system (a periodic system with a multiplication phase and a selection phase) of entities (initial form of polymer strand, primary mutant and satellite mutants) is given. First case: one mutant is considered. One individual of the mutant appears in the multiplication phase of the first generation. The probabilities to find N individuals of the mutant after the multiplication phase M of the n-th generation (with probability δ of an error in the replication, where all possible errors are fatal errors) and after the following selection phase S (with probability β that one individual survives) are given iteratively. The evolutionary tree is evaluated. Averages from the distributions and the probability of extinction are obtained. Second case: two mutants are considered (primary mutant and new form). One individual of the primary mutant appears in the multiplication phase of the first generation. The probabilities to find N _p individuals of the primary mutant and N _m individuals of the new form after the multiplication phase M of the n-th generation (probability ɛ of an error in the replication of the primary mutant giving the new form) and after the following selection phase S (probabilities β _p and β _m that one individual each of the primary mutant and of the new form survives) are given iteratively. Again the evolutionary tree is evaluated. Averages from the distributions are obtained. The online version of the original article can be found at .     

Genetic structure of an insect-pollinated and bird-dispersed tropical tree in vegetation fragments and corridors: implications for conservation

In the vegetation corridors that connect small remnants of undisturbed primary forest in the Lavras landscape (Brazil), Protium spruceanum is a representative of a mass-flowering insect-pollinated and bird-dispersed tree. Allozyme variation was quantified from five forest remnants (N = 150) from secondary vegetation corridors linking them (N = 80) to generate information for genetic conservation. The species adhered to H-W equilibrium in all fragments in most of the loci. The results indicated high gene diversity in the fragments and corridors positively correlated with the plant density (r = 0.742, R ² = 0.551, d.f. = 4). We did not find evidence of inbreeding within fragments nor overall The genetic differentiation among remnants was low Evidence of recent bottlenecks by anthropogenic disturbance was detected in fragments (P < 0.05, Wilcoxon sign-rank test). The minimal viable population was estimated for conservation in situ, indicating fragments with possibilities of maintaining genetic equilibrium diversity in the short term (except F3) and in the long term (only F5). The ratios was also calculated to contribute to vegetation enrichment, area recovery or creation of new vegetation corridors. We found high levels of gene diversity in the vegetation corridors, genetic identity with the fragments and absence of inbreeding. Thus, our results suggest that landscape management strategies should therefore consider both the creation of new vegetation corridors and the protection of extant ones.     

Modeling the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Among Injecting Drug Users and Sex Workers in Kunming, China

This paper presents a mathematical model of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kunming,the provincial capital of Yunnan, China. The population is divided into several groups, with individuals possibly changing group. Two transmission routes of HIV are considered: needle sharing betweeninjecting drug users (IDUs) and commercial sex between female sex worker(FSWs) and clients. The model includes male IDUs who are also clients and female IDUs who are also FSWs. Groups are split in two—risky and safe—according to condom use and needle sharing. A system of partialdifferential equations is derived to describe the spread of the disease. For the simulation, parameters are chosen to fit as much as possibledata publicly available for Kunming. Some mathematical properties of the model—in particular the epidemic threshold R ⁰ which determines the goal of public health interventions—are also presented. Though the model couples two transmission routes of HIV, the approximation , with closed formulas for and , appears to be quite good. The critical levels of condom use and clean needle use necessary to stop both the sexual transmission and the transmission among IDUs can therefore be determined independently.     

Gas exchange in the incubation mounds of megapode birds

Summary The brush turkey (Alectura lathami) and mallee fowl (Leipoa ocellata) are megapode birds that incubate their eggs by burying them in mounds. Respiratory gas exchange between the buried eggs and the atmosphere occurs mainly by diffusion through about 60 cm of decomposing forest litter (brush turkey) or sand (mallee fowl).Gas fluxes in the brush turkey mound are greatly influenced by the respiration of thermophilic microorganisms which consume O₂ at rates over eight times that of all of the eggs. The respiratory exchange ratio ( ) of the microorganisms is 0.75 and theQ ₁₀ for metabolism is 2.56. Fermentation and nitrogen fixation do not occur in the mounds.If the mound becomes too wet, gas tensions near the eggs can become critical because water increases rates of microbial respiration and impedes gas diffusion. However, field mounds are relatively dry, possibly because the adult bird modifies the shape of the mound and affects the entry of rain water. At egg level in field mounds, and are about 132 and 21 Torr, respectively, in both species. Embryonic respiration decreases and increases about 5 Torr in the immediate environment of individual eggs in late development. Due to a high eggshell gas conductance, which increases during incubation, the gas tensions within the shell of late embryos ( ca. 108 Torr, ca. 47 Torr) are not far from the mean values found in species that nest above ground.     

Cell-to-cell pathway dominates xylem-epidermis hydraulic connection in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Tradescantia fluminensis</Emphasis> (Vell. Conc.) leaves

A steady supply of water is indispensable for leaves to fulfil their photosynthetic function. Understanding water movement in leaves, especially factors that regulate the movement of water flux from xylem to epidermis, requires that the nature of the transport pathway be elucidated. To determine the hydraulic linkage between xylem and epidermis, epidermal cell turgor pressure (P _t) in leaves of Tradescantia fluminensis was monitored using a cell pressure probe in response to a 0.2 MPa step change in xylem pressure applied at the leaf petiole. Halftime of P _t changes were 10–30 times greater than that of water exchange across an individual cell membrane suggesting that cell-to-cell water transport constitutes a significant part of the leaf hydraulic path from xylem to epidermis. Furthermore, perfusion of H₂O₂ resulted in increases of both and by a factor of 2.5, indicating that aquaporins may play a role in the xylem to epidermis hydraulic link. The halftime for water exchange did not differ significantly between cells located at the leaf base (2.5 s), middle (2.6 s) and tip (2.5 s), indicating that epidermal cell hydraulic properties are similar along the length of the leaf. Following the pressure application to the xylem (0.2 MPa), P _t changed by 0.12, 0.06 and 0.04 MPa for epidermal cells at the base, middle and the tip of the leaf, respectively. This suggests that pressure dissipation between xylem and epidermis is significant, and that the pressure drop along the vein may be due to its structural similarities to a porous pipe, an idea which was further supported by measurements of xylem hydraulic resistance using a perfusion technique.     

Probing the interactions of the solvated electron with DNA by molecular dynamics simulations: II. bromodeoxyuridine-thymidine mismatched DNA

The interaction of solvated electrons with DNA results in various types of DNA lesions. The in vitro and in vivo sensitisation of DNA to -induced damage is achieved by incorporation of the electron-affinity radiosensitiser bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) in place of thymidine. However, in DNA duplexes containing single-stranded regions (bulged BUdR-DNA), the type of lesion is different and the efficiency of damage is enhanced. In particular, DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICL) form at high efficiency in bulged DNA but are not detectable in completely duplex DNA. Knowledge about the processes and interactions leading to these differences is obscure. Previously, we addressed the problem by applying molecular modelling and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to a system of normal (BUdR·A)-DNA and a hydrated electron, where the excess electron was modelled as a localised eˉ(H₂O)₆ anionic cluster. The goal of the present study was to apply the same MD simulation to a wobble system, containing a pyrimidine–pyrimidine mismatched base pair, BUdR·T. The results show an overall dynamic pattern similar to that of the motion around normal DNA. However, the number of configuration states when was particularly close to DNA is different. Moreover, in the (BUdR·T)-wobble DNA system, the electron frequently approaches the brominated strand, including BUdR, which was not observed with the normal (BUdR·A)-DNA. The structure and exchange of water at the sites of immobilisation near DNA were also characterised. The structural dynamics of the wobble DNA is prone to more extensive perturbations, including frequent formation of cross-strand (cs) interatomic contacts. The structural deviations correlated with approaching DNA from the major groove side, with sodium ions trapped deep in the minor groove. Altogether, the obtained results confirm and/or throw light on dynamic-structure determinants possibly responsible for the enhanced radiation damage of wobble DNA. Figure The structure of the tightly bound single water-layer between the DNA and the electron (Site-8, five H₂O molecules, bold capped sticks); the rest of the “second” shell waters (lines, in atom type colour) surround the ˉ(H₂O)₆ cluster (yellow, space fill). Orange dashed lines H-bonds; only one of the five molecules from the single H₂O layer mediates a single-step H-bond bridge with N7(A8); the other four present a network of two(three)-step H-bond bridges between DNA/ partner atoms