The Anatomy of Contractile Roots in Eucomis L'H?rit

The anatomical changes in the different tissues during rootcontraction were studied in two species of Eucomis (Liliaceae).It is evident that the shortening of the root is brought aboutby radial and tangential broadening and longitudinal shorteningof the perivascular cortical cells. This tissue is hence calledcontractile parenchyma. As a result of this contraction thecell walls of the exodermis, endodermis, pericycle, phloem andpith become buckled longitudinally while the annular and spiralthickenings of the xylem are pressed together.     

M?ssbauer investigations of high-spin ferrous heme proteins. I. Cytochrome P-450.

Anaerobically reduced samples of cytochrome P-450 from Pseudomonas putida were studied by M?ssbauer spectroscopy. In the presence of an applied magnetic field the high-spin ferrous heme iron showed an intricate pattern of electric and magnetic hyperfine interactions which could be parametrized successfully in terms of a spin Hamiltonian formalism. The results imply a very low (triclinic) symmetry of the heme iron. The effects of the ligand environment and of spin-orbit coupling result in a large zero-field splitting of the electronic ground state. The electronic ground state. The electric-field gradient tensor is characterized by a large asymmetry parameter, and its principal axes are rotated substantially from the frame that defines the zero-field splitting. This study shows that high-field M?ssbauer spectroscopy provides a unique tool for structural investigations of high-spin ferrous compounds and can substitute, under suitable conditions, for magnetic susceptibility measurements. The present paper focuses on the methodology and data analysis; in the subsequent paper the data obtained for P-450 are compared with new results obtained for hemoglobin, chloroperoxidase, and horseradish peroxidase.     

I. Mähren

Ohne ZusammenfassungDas Referat umfasst den Zeitraum vom 1. October 1890 bis 1. April 1891.     

The logic of Ménage à Trois.

Recent studies of socially monogamous species have shown that in many cases females do not copulate exclusively with their pair mates, but are also receptive to other males. The explanation usually given for unfaithful female behavior is that most females are unable to bond with a male they would prefer as genetic father to their offspring. To secure male assistance the female therefore pairs with an available male but also copulates with males of supposedly higher genetic quality. Here we offer an alternative evolutionary explanation for female infidelity, which does not rely upon this ''Good Genes hypothesis of female choice. We show with a simple model that in an evolutionary game between three players, a male, a female and a male lover, solutions exist in which the female can secure more assistance from her mate by being receptive to other males. We conclude that female sexuality can have a decisive role in regulating social behaviour, in which the fertile female is the driving force.     

The Anatomy of the Tarsi of Schistocerca gregaria Forskål

Summary The tarsus of S. gregaria is divided into three units (here called segments) and an arolium set between a pair of claws. The first segment bears three pairs of pulvilli in the fore and middle legs, and one pair and two single pulvilli in the hind legs. Segment two bears a pair of pulvilli, segment three one long pulvillus and the arolium a similar pad on the undersurface. The outer layers of the arolium pad differ from those of the pulvilli in possibly lacking an epicuticle and in having a layer of cuticle which, unlike the corresponding layer in the pulvilli, does not stain with protein stains. The claws and dorsal surfaces bear trichoid sensilla, basiconic sensilla and campaniform sensilla. Smaller basiconic sensilla and canal sensilla occur on the proximal part of the pulvilli, and basiconic sensilla on the arolium undersurface. Internally the cuticle is modified in the arolium and pulvilli so that rods of probably chitin and resilin are formed. This would impart flexibility to the undersurfaces whilst retaining some degree of rigidity which might prevent damage to the small and delicate sense organs on the pulvilli. The tip of the arolium is specialised for adhesion, and there are two large neurones internally which could conceivably monitor attachment or detachment of the tip. There are chordotonal organs in segment three, and several other large neurones throughout the tarsus, some of which are associated with the slings of tissue holding the apodeme in a ventral position. Gland cells occurring in the dorsal epidermis of the adult mature male are also briefly described.     

The carotenoids of blue-green algae—I. : The carotenoids of Oscillatoria rubescens and an Athrospira sp.

The carotenoid composition of Oscillatoria rubescens has been re-examined in a quantitative manner. β-Carotene, zeaxanthin, echinenone (myxoxanthin), myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin were found together with small amounts of cryptoxanthin and a hydroxylated ketocarotenoid whose probable structure is 4-keto-3′-hydroxy-β-carotene (I). The carotenoids of an Athrospira sp., whose systematic position is close to that of O. rubescens, were qualitatively and quantitatively very similar to those of O. rubescens, and the Athrospira sp. can be used as a more convenient source for myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin—the structures of which are not yet established.     

The CO adduct of yeast cytochrome c oxidase. M?ssbauer and photolysis studies

M?ssbauer spectra of 57Fe-enriched NADH-reduced yeast cytochrome c oxidase reveal two quadrupole doublets of unequal intensity; one (approximately 33%) is typical of high-spin ferrous heme with histidine coordination and is assigned to heme a3, while the other (approximately 67%) is typical of low-spin heme with two nitrogeneous axial ligands as expected from heme a. The excess intensity (approximately 17%) of the low-spin doublet must therefore be assigned to heme a3 in a modified environment. The M?ssbauer spectra of the same sample exposed to CO show that 50% of the heme iron forms a CO adduct, consistent with heme a3 being inhibited by CO. While low-spin hem a has the same M?ssbauer parameters as in the reduced sample, its intensity has dropped to 35%. A distinctly new high-spin species (approximately 15%) is observed and assigned to heme a in a modified environment. The comparable size of the unexpected high-spin heme a fraction in the CO adduct and the low-spin heme a3 fraction in the reduced enzyme suggest that they arise from the same material. This material is likely to be the inactive fraction that has been found in all preparations of resting yeast cytochrome c oxidase (Siedow, J.N., Miller, S., and Palmer, G. (1981) J. Bioenerg. Biomembr. 14, 171-179). The kinetics of CO recombination following photolysis of the CO complex further confirms the coexistence of two distinct fractions associated with active and inactive protein. The majority (approximately 74%), presumably active protein, recombines exponentially from 160 to 270 K following an Arrhenius law. The large activation enthalpy, delta H approximately 35 kJ/mol, is comparable to that found in the beef heart enzyme, suggesting that the flashed-off CO is bound by the nearby CuB as in the mammalian system (Fiamingo, F.G., Altschuld, R.A., Moh, P.P., and Alben, J.O. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 1639-1650). In the minority, presumably inactive, fraction the CO recombination has fast nonexponential kinetics with a distribution of activation enthalpies peaking near delta Hp = 13 kJ/mol reminiscent of CO binding to myoglobin. In this inactive fraction CuB is apparently not accessible to the flashed-off CO.     

The juvenile hormone—I. Methods of purification and isolation

Methods for the purification and isolation of juvenile hormone from Hyalophora cecropia are described. Ether extraction, low temperature precipitation, thin layer chromatography, and gas liquid chromatography were utilized. JH activity was followed by means of the Tenebrio bioassay. An apparent gain in activity of approximately five-fold was obtained during the course of purification. This was interpreted to be largely the result of a loss of inhibitors during the low temperature precipitation procedure. The final active material, indicated to be a single compound by preliminary gas liquid chromatographic analysis, represented 0·0045–0·0051 per cent of the crude oil used as starting material. The juvenile hormone activity was increased from 25 Tenebrio Units per μl for the crude oil to ⋍2·6×10⁶Tenebrio Units per μl for the final active substance. This represents an approximate 1·05×10⁵-fold purification.