Development In vitro of White Ash Buds

A system has been established in which the early developmentof freshly inoculated excised buds of Fraxinus americana L.can be obtained in vitro. The structural integrity of the materialwas documented by an anatomical examination of longitudinalstained sections of cultured buds. Fraxinus americana L, white ash, bud culture, growth     

Elucidating the evolution and diversity of Uroglena-like colonial flagellates (Chrysophyceae): polyphyletic origin of the morphotype

ABSTRACT

The Uroglena-like morphotype represents a prototype of a colonial naked chrysophyte, comprising plastid-bearing cells that are arranged as the surface monolayer of the spherical colony. So far, insufficient molecular characterization appears to be the most significant brake on the modern taxonomic revision of this ecologically and morphologically coherent group of organisms. The general aim of this work was to conduct a modern taxonomic revision of Uroglena-like flagellates by using combined molecular, morphological and ultrastructural methodology, complemented by exploring type localities of Uroglena volvox and Uroglenopsis americana in Europe and North America, respectively. On the basis of phylogenetic analysis of concatenated nuclear SSU rDNA and plastid rbcL sequences we show that Uroglena-like colonial flagellates form three genetically and morphologically distinct lineages within the Ochromonadales (Chrysophyceae), distinguished here as Uroglena, Uroglenopsis and Urostipulosphaera gen. nov. The taxonomic status of the other chrysophyte genera with spherical colonies is discussed in light of our findings.     

Growth Consequences of Soil Nutrient Heterogeneity for two Old-field Herbs,Ambrosia artemisiifoliaandPhytolacca americana, Grown Individually and in Combination

Plant species can respond to small scale soil nutrient heterogeneityby proliferating roots or increasing nutrient uptake kineticsin nutrient-rich patches. Because root response to heterogeneitydiffers among species, it has been suggested that the distributionof soil resources could influence the outcome of interspecificcompetition. However, studies testing how plants respond toheterogeneity in the presence of neighbours are lacking. Inthis study, individuals of two species,Phytolacca americanaL.andAmbrosia artemisiifoliaL. were grown individually and incombination in soils with either a homogeneous or heterogeneousnutrient distribution. Above-ground biomass of individuallygrown plants of both species was greater when fertilizer waslocated in a single patch than when the same amount of fertilizerwas distributed evenly throughout the soil. Additionally, bothspecies proliferated roots in high-nutrient patches.A. artemisiifoliaexhibitedlarger root:shoot ratios, increased nitrogen depletion fromnutrient patches, and a higher growth rate thanP. americana,suggestingA. artemisiifoliais better suited to find and rapidlyexploit nutrient patches. In contrast to individually grownplants, soil nutrient distribution had no effect on final above-groundplant biomass for either species when grown with neighbours,even though roots were still concentrated in high nutrient patches.This study demonstrates that increased growth of isolated plantsas a consequence of localized soil nutrients is not necessarilyan indication that heterogeneity will affect interspecific encounters.In fact, despite a significant below-ground response, soil nutrientheterogeneity was inconsequential to above-ground performancewhen plants were grown with neighbours.Copyright 1999 Annalsof Botany Company Phytolacca americana, pokeweed,Ambrosia artemisiifolia, ragweed, nutrient heterogeneity, root proliferation, plasticity, foraging, nutrient patches.     

Composition and seasonality of nocturnal peracarid zooplankton from coastal New Hampshire (USA) waters, 1978-1980

Seasonal changes in the nocturnal peracarid zooplankton froma nearshore area of the Gulf of Maine were studied from January1978 through December 1980 as a requirement of an ecologicalmonitoring program for the Public Service Company of New Hampshire'sSeabrook Generating Stanon. Numerically dominant species includedthe mysids Michteimysis mixta and Neomysis americana. the amphipodsPontogeneia inermis, Themisto gaudichaudi and Monoculodes edwardsi.and the cumaceans Diastylis polita and Lamprops quadriplicata.A general seasonal cycle was documented with a more abundantand speciose assemblage during fall and winter than summer.Peak abundance occurred during spring months prior to emigrationof juvenile M.mixta from the study area. Abiotic and bioticfactors which may affect the structure and composition of thisassemblage are discussed.     

美洲大蠊中枢DUM神经元的分离和电压门控Na+电流的记录

【目的】建立美洲大蠊Periplaneta americana中枢神经系统背侧不成对中间神经元（dorsal unpaired median neurons, DUM neurons）的分离方法和DUM神经元电生理实验模型。【方法】IA型胶原酶法消化美洲大蠊末端腹神经节, 机械吹打得到DUM神经元细胞, 运用膜片钳技术记录DUM神经元细胞电压门控Na+电流。【结果】分离得到的DUM神经元细胞状态良好, 具有DUN神经元典型的梨状形态和表面特征。以膜片钳全细胞方式记录到的Na+电流符合钠通道电流特征。【结论】IA型胶原酶消化得到美洲大蠊DUM神经元细胞的方法可靠, 能稳定地记录到Na+电流。本文描述的方法为昆虫神经细胞的电生理机制研究提供一个可用的实验模型。     

Evolution of insect eye development: first insights from fruit fly, grasshopper and flour beetle

The molecular genetic dissection of Drosophila eye developmentled to the exciting discovery of a surprisingly large panelof genes and gene activities, which are functionally conservedacross phyla. Little effort has yet been made towards pinpointingnon-conserved gene functions in the developing Drosophila eye.This neglects the fact that Drosophila visual system developmentis a highly derived process. The comparative analysis of Drosophilaeye development within insects can be expected to enhance resolutionand accuracy of between phyla comparisons of eye development,and to reveal molecular developmental changes that facilitatedthe evolutionary transition from hemimetabolous to holometabolousinsect development. Here we review aspects of early Drosophilaeye development, which are likely to have diverged from thesituation in more primitive insects, as indicated by resultsfrom work in the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum and the grasshopperSchistocerca americana.     

Seasonal Changes of Bioelements in the Litter and their Potential Return to Green Leaves in four Species of the Argentine Subtropical Forest

The aim of this work was to analyse the nutrient concentrationsof N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Na in mature leaves, branches and fruitsand to investigate relationships between the contents of thesebioelements in senescent and fresh leaves in four forest species:Gleditsia amorphoides ( Espina Corona), Patagonula americana(Guayaibí),Chlorophora tinctoria ( Mora) and Astroniumbalansae (Urunday). The study site was located in the ColoniaBenítez Estricta Nature Research (Chaco, Argentina).In this subtropical forest, total litter was collected monthlyand was sorted into three groups: (1) leaves; (2) branches andfruit; (3) unidentified. Total dry matter was recorded and analysedfor N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Na. Espina Corona had the highest leafconcentrations of N, while Mora had the highest concentrationsof Ca and Mg. The highest leaf concentrations of P were foundin Espina Corona, Mora and Urunday. No significant differencesin K were found among the different species. Na concentrationswere higher in Espina Corona and Guayaibí than Mora andUrunday. A marked seasonal variability was observed in the concentrationsof N, P and K, with no important differences for Ca and Mg,except in Espina Corona. These variations in nutrient concentrationswere greater in leaves than in branches and fruits. N and Pwere translocated to other tree organs and Ca, Mg and Na wereaccumulated in mature leaves. The bioelement K is the only onethat undergoes leaching and mobilization in all species. ResorbedN and P can be used for the production of new leaf organs inthe following annual cycle. This resorption supports a portionof the production of new foliage, diminishing the demand fromsoil.Copyright 2000 Annals of Botany Company Above-ground production, potential return, nutrient resorption, leaf analysis, tropical forest, Gleditsia amorphoides, Patagonula americana, Chlorophora tinctoria, Astronium balansae, Espina Corona, Guayaibí, Mora, Urunday.     

Variation and Allometry of Seed Weight inAeschynomene americana

One hundred and fifty seeds from each of 72Aeschynomene americanapopulationswith world-wide origin were weighed individually and the meanand distribution of seed weight were calculated and comparedbetween populations. Mean seed weight varied less than five-foldbetween populations with about 80% having a mean seed weightbetween 2–3 mg. However, differences between the largestand smallest seeds (2–8 mg) ranged two-17-fold withinpopulations. Populations that had larger mean seed weights alsohad larger maximum and minimum seed weights but not larger standarddeviations than those with smaller mean seed weights. Seed distributionsfor populations with a mean seed weight2 mg were positivelyskewed while those for all populations with a mean seed weight4mg were negatively skewed. Populations that flowered later producedsmaller seeds than those that flowered earlier.Copyright 1998Annals of Botany Company. Seed weight, weight distribution, inter-population variation, correlation among traits,Aeschynomene americana.     

FINE STRUCTURE OF THE FLAGELLAR APPARATUS OF UROGLENA AMERICANA (CHRYSOPHYCEAE)1

The three-dimensional structure of the flagellar apparatus of Uroglena americana Calkins (Uroglenopsis americana [Calkins] Lemmerman) was determined using serial section reconstruction. The three microtubular rootlet systems (R₂, R₃, and R₄) follow the general pattern found in other chrysophytes. The R₂ rootlet originates between the basal bodies of the mastigoneme-bearing long flagellum (F₁) and the short smooth flagellum (F₂) and is attached to the former by a fibrous connection. The R₃ rootlet system originates as a trough-shaped band of six microtubules spanning the distance between the proximal ends of the F₁ and F₂ basal bodies. The six-membered rootlet splits into two parts (designated R₃ and R₃) which circle the depression from which the F₂ flagellum emerges in counter-clockwise direction. These two rootlets pass beneath the F₂ basal body and descend into the cell alongside the chloroplast. The R₄ rootlet originates in fibrous material which passes diagonally over the F₂ basal body, forms a clockwise loop about three-quarters of the way around the depression, and ends in the cytoplasm. In place of a typical chrysophyte R₁ rootlet, U. americana has a different array of microtubules attached to the F₁ basal body which we have designated the descending rootlet (DR). This rootlet is a hairpin-shaped structure lying just below the surface of the cell; its longitudinal axis is predominantly parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cell. The DR resembles the bypassing rootlet which occurs in phaeophyte zoospores. Other chrysophytes may possess rootlets which are similar to the DR found in Uroglena.     

Environmental effects on numbers of peripheral chemoreceptors on the antennae of a grasshopper

Rearing conditions affected the numbers of chemoreceptor sensillaon the antennae of the grasshopper, Schistocerca americana.The numbers of olfactory sensilla were increased when insectswere reared in less complex odor environments (in isolationv. in a crowd, on a single food plant v. a mixture of plants,in an ‘odor-free’ environment v. a highly odorousenvironment). Numbers of contact chemoreceptors were not affectedby crowding, but were lower in insects from the single plantand ‘odor-free’ environments. The differences variedalong the antenna with insects from the less complex environmentshaving relatively more sensilla on the distal annuli and similarnumbers, or even fewer, on the proximal annuli. Numbers of sensillain the pre-oral cavity were not affected by rearing conditions.     

Effects of the Cortex on Light- and Kinetin-Induced Accumulation of Betacyanin in the Epidermal Tissue of Phytolacca americana

Accumulation of betacyanin in the peeled green epidermis fromthe stem of P. americana was induced by incubating the epidermisin Murashige and Skoog's medium, under light, and was promotedby the presence of kinetin. However, in the epidermal tissuewith cortex attached, the accumulation of betacyanin was inhibited. (Received March 27, 1989; Accepted January 24, 1990)     

In vitro Culture of Abscissed Immature Avocado Embryos

The efficiency of an avocado hybridization programme, usingsmall potted glasshouse plants, was reduced by a high rate ofabscission of immature fruitlets bearing embryos too young forconventional germination. This was overcome in part by culturein vitro of the shed embryos on a liquid medium supplementedwith 0.5 mg l^–1 benzyladenine. Most embryos younger than6 weeks did not survive in culture, but older embryos slowlyproduced multiple shoots, with axillary shoot growth being furtherstimulated by removal of both cotyledons. Embryo response wasnot related to cultivar. Shoots removed from culture could begrafted to seedling rootstocks. Grafting was considered morereliable than dependence on growth of the main root or adventitiousroots in vitro to produce established plants. Persea americana Miller, avocado, abscissed fruitlets, in vitro embryo culture     

Manganese content, fluorescence yields and the effect of chloride ion on Hill reaction activity of Tris-washed and reactivated chloroplasts

Reversible Tris-inhibition and reductive reactivation of oxygenevolution activity, observed previously in spinach, were studiedin chloroplasts from Japanese-radish, pokeweed (Phytolacca americana),oats and Easter-lily (Lilium longiflorum). Mn content of Tris-washed and reactivated chloroplasts onlymoderately decreased. Inhibition caused by Tris treatment wasalways greater than the decrease in Mn content, suggesting thatinhibition might not be principally due to Mn decrease. Reactivation enhanced the depressed chlorophyll fluorescencein Tris-inhibited chloroplasts to original levels. Chloride ion promoted oxygen evolution in reactivated, as wellas intact, chloroplasts. Reactivated chloroplasts could perform photophosphorylation,but ammonium ion, which promotes oxygen evolution by uncoupling,did not seem to affect them. (Received November 1, 1971; )     

Differential sensitivity to natural ultraviolet radiation among phytoplankton species in Arctic lakes (Spitsbergen,Norway)

Incubation experiments demonstrated a differential sensitivity to natural UV-radiation among the dominant phytoplankton species from three Arctic lakes, situated near Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (79° N). The growth of small chlorophytes, diatoms and picocyanobacteria from two oligotrophic lakes was inhibited primarily by the shorter wavelength UV components, while the growth of the larger colony-forming species (cyanobacteria, Planktothrix sp., Woronichinia sp. and the chrysophyte, Uroglena americana Calkins) apparently was stimulated. These colonies (not easily eaten by daphnids) dominated at the end of the experiment in those treatments where the short wavelength UV components were not excluded. For the two oligotrophic localities, 70 and 61%, respectively, of total phytoplankton biovolume were edible in the treatments excluding short wavelength UV, compared to only 13 and 19%, respectively, in the treatments including such radiation. For the third, more productive and less transparent lake, the percentage of edible species in the treatments with and without short wavelength UV radiation did not differ (ca. 75% for both treatments).     

Studies on the Ultrastructure and Histochemistry of Plant Cuticles: Isolated Cuticular Membrane Preparations of Agave americana L. and the Effects of Various Extraction Procedures

The cuticular membrane (CM) of Agave americana with the adheringcellin wall was isolated with ammonium oxalate-oxalic acid solution,air-dried and dry-embedded without fixation. After KMnO₄ staining,electron translucent lamellae are visible in the cuticle properand cuticular layer. The fine structure of the opaque lamellaein the cuticle proper is more complex than previously observedin situ. It is more clearly observed in CM isolated at 40 °Cthan in those isolated at 100 °C, or in air-dried tissue,subsequently remoistened, fixed and dehydrated in acetone. Although extraction of CM with hot organic solvents removessubstantial quantities of wax (mainly long chain alcohols andfatty acids), not all of the electron-lucent lamellae disappearcompletely. Strong sulphuric acid dissolves the cellin wallsadhering to the CM and strongly diminishes the iodine/potassiumiodide-sulphuric acid-silver proteinate staining reactivityof the CM, probably due to the marked reduction in epoxide contentof the cutin. The acid does not completely remove the carbohydratereticulum included in the cuticular layer. In sodium methoxide solution the CM is decutinized from thecellin wall side where the carbohydrate fibrillae included inthe interior cuticular layer become completely exposed. On theoutside, the lamellate cuticle proper is also lost. Major cutinmonomers solubilized are 9, 10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoicand 9, 10, 18-trihy-droxyoctadecanoic acids. Partial decutinizationof the CM with methanolic HC1 produces similar but less drasticeffects than methoxide apparently because the outer surfaceis protected by an artificial layer of lipids originating fromdepolymerized cutin. Agave americana, leaf, cuticular membrane, isolation of cuticular membranes, ultrahistochemistry, cutin, wax, epoxide groups in biopolymers     

Accumulation of Betacyanin in Phytolacca americana Cells and of Anthocyanin in Vitis sp. Cells in Relation to Cell Division in Suspension Cultures

In suspension cultures of Vitis sp., maximal accumulation ofanthocyanin was observed during the stationary phase. Accumulationof anthocyanin occurred in parallel with the cessation of celldivision under conditions such as a reduction of the concentrationof phosphate in the medium, or the presence of aphidicolin,an inhibitor of DNA synthesis. By contrast, in suspension culturesof Phytolacca americana, aphidicolin inhibited the accumulationof betacyanin and cell division. When aphidicolin was removedfrom cells by washing, partially synchronized division of cellswas induced and the accumulation of betacyanin also occurred,in conjunction with cell division. In the absence of phosphatefrom the medium, cell division did not occur and accumulationof betacyanin also ceased. Readdition of phosphate to cellsstarved for phosphate induced both cell division and the accumulationof betacyanin. These results indicate a positive correlationbetween the accumulation of betacyanin and cell division inPhytolacca which contrasts with a negative correlation betweenthe accumulation of anthocyanin and cell division in Vitis. (Received April 17, 1989; Accepted December 23, 1989)     

Quantitative investigation of the odour specificity of central olfactory neurones in the American cockroach

Dose-response characteristics were evaluated for two groups(I and II) of pheromonesensitive neurones in the antennal lobesof the brain of adult male Periplaneta americana. Group I neuronesreact with about equal sensitivity to periplanone A and periplanoneB, two major components of the female sexual attractant. GroupII neurones are much less sensitive to B than is group I, butA is similarly effective with this group. Each group revealsa specific innervation pattern of the sex-specific macroglomerulusin the olfactory neuropile of the deutocerebrum.     

Utilization of Sediment CO2 by Selected North American Isoetids

The photosynthetic uptake of root-zone CO₂ was determined forEriocaulon septangulare, Gratiola aurea, Isoetes macrospora,Littorella uniflora var. americana and Lobelia dortmanna aspart of a study of the photosynthetic carbon economy of submergedaquatic isoetids. The pH and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC)of the sediment interstitial water in four Wisconsin lakes reflectedthe water column character, where the DIC increased with depthin the sediment to concentrations five to ten times those ofthe water column. Sediment free CO₂ concentrations were 5–50times those in the water column and were similar at all sites(about 05–1.0mM CO₂ in the root-zone). In ‘pH-drift’studies these plants were unable to take up HCO₂^–. Laboratory determinations of the carbon uptake from the rootand shoot-zones were made for all five species. These experimentsshowed that CO₂ in the root-zone accounted for 65–95 percent of external carbon uptake for the five species. For G.aurea and E. septangulare, root-zone CO₂ was > 85 per centof carbon uptake. Carbon, CO₂, photosynthesis, sediment, isoetid, Eriocaulon septangulare, Gratiola aurea, Isoetes macrospora, Littorella uniflora, Lobelia dortmanna     

Excitatory Transmission in Insect Neuromuscular Systems

Many, but not all, visceral muscles in insects are innervatedby neurosecretory axons. The neurosecretory junctions with theheart muscle of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana,show ultrastructural and electrophysiological evidence of chemicallytransmitting synapses, and cytochemical evidence for the presenceof monoamines. Electron microscopy of nerve terminals showsthat synaptic vesicles may be formed directly from electron-dense"neurosecretory" granules Neurotomy of motor axons to skeletal muscles in insects leadsto aggregation and clumping of synaptic vesicles after 48 hours.Treatment of in vitro nerve-muscle preparations with variousrespiratory poisons caused aggregation similar to that developedin neurotomized animals. This suggested that vesicle aggregationin both cases may have resulted from a decrease in availableadenosine triphosphate in the nerve terminal with subsequentalteration in the normal charge density which supports a repulsiveforce between the vesicles.