Facultative parasites and host respiration. I. Healthy tissue adjacent to the site of infection

Summary The respiration, as measured by oxygen uptake, was higher for healthy tissue adjacent to soft rots of apple (var. Bramley) caused byPenicillium expansum Link andThom. andBotrytis cinerea Fr. and of potato tuber (var. Arran Banner) caused byErwinia aroideae Townsend, than tissue at a more distant site. The respiration of tissue adjacent to a physiological rot caused by bruising was not affected. It was concluded that there is diffusion of a substance(s) from the site of infection which causes an increase in the rate of respiration of the adjacent tissue.This work formed part of a Ph. D. thesis submitted to the University of London, July 1961.     

Monoclonal antibodies to surface and cytoskeletal components of the spermatozoid ofPteridium aquilinum

Summary Detergent extracted spermatozoids of the fernPteridium aquilinum were used as mixed antigen preparations for raising monoclonal antibodies in order to obtain reagents for detecting as yet uncharacterized components of the plant cytoskeleton. Selected antibodies were studied by immunofluorescence microscopy of developing spermatids and mature spermatozoids. Some reacted directly with fixed cells, others required permeabilization treatments with cold methanol or Triton X-100. AntibodiesPas2D9 andPas6D7 bind to glycoprotein antigenic determinants that are exposed on the surface of the plasma membrane. Several antibodies interact with cytoskeletal components.Pas1D3,Pas5D8 andPas5F4 bind to the cytoskeleton of permeabilized cells including the flagella. Three react specifically with the flagellar band or associated components:Pas2G6 reacts with the whole flagellar band but shows a prominent binding to basal bodies,Pas5E2 binds exclusively to basal bodies, andPas5E7 detects mitochondria associated with the flagellar band. Cross-reactions to wheat root tip cells at different stages of the cell cycle are described inMarc andGunning (1988).Abbreviations MLS multilayered structure - MT microtubule - MAb monoclonal antibody - MAP microtubule associated protein     

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.     

The association betweenCarpophilus beetles and cactus flowers

There is a close association between bowl-shaped cactus flowers and the nitidulid beetlesCarpophilus pallipennis (Say) andC. floralis Er. in North America. The nature of this association has not been clear. It now appears that the cactus flowers are brood sites of theCarpophilus beetles. The benefits in the association are one-sided, inasmuch as the beetles provide little or no pollination service for the flowers.Pollination of North American Cacti, VI.     

Beiträge zur geographischen Pathologie von Suriname

Zusammenfassung Bei einer Reihe von S?ugetieren in Suriname fanden sich in der Milz bei der Untersuchung von Tupfpr?paraten intracellul?r und gelegentlich auch extracellul?r gelagerte Gebilde, die von Histoplasma nicht zu unterscheiden waren. In einer Reihe von F?llen liessen sich die Parasiten auf weisse M?use verimpfen und bei diesen gleichfalls in der Milz zurückfinden. Mitt.:W. A. Collier, A. E. Wolff undA. E. G. Zaal, Documenta Med. Geogr. et Trop.4, 92, 1952; 2. Mitt.:W. A. Collier undW. E. F. Winckel, Z. f. Hyg. [im Druck; 3. Mitt.:C. F. A. Bruyning, Documenta Med. Geogr. et Trop.4, 171, 1952; 4. Mitt.:W. A. Collier undD. A. de la Parra, Documenta Med. Geogr. et Trop. im Druck; 5. Mitt.:W. E. F. Winckel, W. A. Collier undA. E. G. Treurniet, Documenta Med. Geogr. et Trop. im Druck.     

The fine structure of the synaptic membrane adhesions on Octopus synaptosomes

Summary Synaptosomes (nerve-ending particles), derived by homogenization and centrifugation fromOctopus andEledone brains, have been examined after OsO₄-fixation and PTA-staining, to determine the structure of the synaptic apparatus which holds together the synaptosomes and their postsynaptic processes. Both synaptic membranes are well-defined, with branching processes passing from the presynaptic membrane into the cytoplasm of the synaptosome, where synaptic vesicles apparently adhere to them. Small projections, with occasional web-like extensions, are seen along the cytoplasmic surface of the postsynaptic membrane. In transverse and oblique views of the cleft, bars are seen between the synaptic membranes. In frontal view, this part of the synaptic apparatus has a lattice arrangement of quadrilateral and pentagonal facets.A possible interpretation of these findings is discussed, and the functions of the synaptic apparatus are considered in the light of this.I am grateful to ProfessorsJ. Z. Young, F. R. S. andE. G. Gray for their advice and encouragement, and to Mr.S. Waterman for skilled photography.     

Taxonomy ofHordeum caespitosum,H. jubatum,andH. lechleri (Poaceae: Triticeae)

Hordeum caespitosum Scribner,H. jubatum L., andH. lechleri (Steudel)Schenck are very similar in appearance and therefore until recently were mostly not recognized as separate entities. The first two are tetraploid and natives to North America, but the second occurs naturally in eastern Siberia and has been introduced in Europe and South America and may become a cosmopolitan weed. The third is hexaploid and South American. This study analyses their morphological diversity by means of selected multivariate techniques in order to determine if there is justification to recognize them as three separate morphological species. Logistic discrimination, although based on a reduced set of characters, yielded the highest percent of correct assignments. A linear discriminant function is provided and validated by 100 bootstrap repeats. Canonical discriminant analysis indicated three groups. It is subsequently concluded that the three are separate morphological species. Although a linear discriminant function is given, a traditional identification key is provided based on the palea length and triad (the group of three spikelets at each rachis node) length.     

Uptake ofd-Glucosamine bySaccharomyces cerevisiae

d-glucosamine does not serve as a metabolic substrate inSaccharomyces cerevisiae although it stimulates by 15% endogenous respiration. It is taken up by a system or systems shared withd-glucose,d-fructose andd-xylose but apparently not fully with 2-deoxy-d-glucose. Its half-saturation constant is 38±14 mmol/L, in agreement with its inhibitor constant versusd-glucose andd-xylose uptake. Its maximum rate is 69±17 μmol per g dry mass per min. The transport is thermodynamically passive butd-glucosamine distribution follows the membrane potential, reaching ratios of 80∶1 at pH 7.5 and about 1∶1 at pH 4.0. These rations decrease with increasingd-glucosamine concentration as well as with increasing suspension density, and are affected by metabolic inhibitors.     

Some problems of forest transformation at the transition to the oligocratic/<Emphasis Type="Italic">Homo sapiens</Emphasis> phase of the Holocene interglacial in northern lowlands of central Europe

The paper discusses the main changes in the composition of mixed deciduous forests which occurred mostly between 5,000 and 2,000 b.p., based on selected pollen diagrams from the lowlands of Germany, Denmark and Poland, and including two pollen diagrams from varved sediments, used as reference sites, and on isopollen maps for Poland. The Ulmus retreat is shown on maps, and additional data for its pathogenic origin are presented. Corylus declines at ca. 3,500 b.p. at both reference sites, and its connection with Fagus expansion in the west and Carpinus expansion in the east is discussed. The nature of post-Atlantic transitory shrub–forest communities with dominant Corylus and Quercus is presented. Relationships between the history of Fagus and Carpinus and the development of human settlements are shown. Human impact has been admitted as one of the most important driving forces determining vegetational development since the time of fully developed Neolithic cultures. Other very important abiotic factors were the climate (particularly after 2,500 b.p.), and soil degradation.     

Utilization ofd-amino acids byFusobacterium nucleatum andFusobacterium varium

Summary The utilization ofd- andl -amino acids with acidic, basic or polar side chains was demonstrated by HPLC. Two species of the anaerobeFusobacterium utilized D-lysine and the L isomers of glutamate, glutamine, histidine, lysine and serine. OnlyF. varium usedl-arginine,d-glutamate andd-serine as substrates, whereasF. nucleatum specifically utilizedd-histidine andd-glutamine.d-Glutamate accumulated in F. nucleatum cultures supplemented withd-glutamine, and ornithine was detected when eitherdl- orl-arginine was included inF. varium cultures. Based on literature precedents,d-glutamate andd-histidine are isomerized to their L isomers prior to degradation, but separate catabolic pathways are possible for each enantiomer of lysine and serine.     

Pollination ofNuphar (Nymphaeaceae) in Europe: Flies and bees rather thanDonacia beetles

Nuphar (Nymphaeaceae) comprises a small holarctic group of aquatic perennials whose flowers are pollinated by flies, bees, and beetles. We studied pollination in different populations of the two European speciesN. lutea andN. pumila in Norway and in Germany. Flowers are self-compatible and protogynous, preventing automatic selfing, and insect pollination is required for seed production. Sympatric populations were studied in Vest-Agder county in Norway to determine whetherN. lutea andN. pumila have the same or different pollinators. Allopatric populations ofN. lutea in Germany and Norway were then compared to determine whether their pollinator spectra differ as would be expected in an open flower with seemingly easily accessible pollen and nectar. Results of the present as well as previous studies of the pollination ofN. lutea andN. pumila show that both species are mainly pollinated by flies, including apparentNuphar specialists, such as the scatophagidHydromyza livens and the ephydridsHydrellia andNotiphila, the last also a long-known pollinator ofN. advena in Florida. Pollinator overlap between sympatric heterospecific populations was small, while allopatric conspecific populations had similar visitor and pollinator spectra. We found no evidence of pollination byDonacia beetles as reported from some North American populations ofNuphar. Dedicated to Univ.-Prof. DrF. Ehrendorfer on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

A new species ofFumana (Cistaceae) from Rif, Morocco

A new species ofFumana (Dunal) Spach subgenusFumana, F. fontqueri, is described from the region of Rif, Morocco. Notes on its morphology, ecology, distribution and taxonomic relationships are presented. It differs fromF. procumbens (Dunal) Gren. etGodr. andF. baetica Güemes, by the indument of the stem, the disposition of pedicels, and the size of the flowers.     

Plastid behavior in North AmericanEuoenotheras

Summary Extensive records of plastid behavior in the North American euoenotheras by the writer and students support in general the conclusions of Stubbe regarding the number of plastid and genome classes and their behavior relative to each other, except that our findings do not make it necessary to distinguish between classes II and III as defined byStubbe.Clarification of the plastid situation in the North American euoenotheras and their European derivatives makes it easier to visualize the precise manner in which the present groups of races in North America have come into existence. Parviflora I and parviflora II no doubt arose as a result of crosses between population 1 as female and populations 2 and 3 respectively as male.Biennis arose through hybridization between population 2 as female and population 3 as male. It has not been determined which population served as the female and which as the male parent in the crosses between populations 3 and 4 that gave rise to the strigosas.In honor of Professor Dr.E. G. Pringsheim on the occasion of his 80th birthday.Supported by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.     

Selection of a chemically defined medium for culturing adult newt forelimb regenerates

Summary Three commercially available tissue-culture media were evaluated for their ability to support continued growth and differentiation of 14-day regenerates of adult newt forelimbs. Serums, embryo extracts, egg ultrafiltrates, and antimicrobial agents were avoided in this analysis. The hormones insulin andl-thyroxine were added to these chemically defined media to enhance continued cellular metabolism and growth. The optimum conditions appeared to be cultivation at 25° C (pH 7.2 to 7.4) in media osmotically adjusted to conditions approximating amphibian blood values (i.e. 225 m0sm for 199, 244 m0sm for CMRL-1066, and 262 m0sm for L-15). Supported by NIH postdoctoral fellowship to G.E.D.     

F. C. Napp undJ. G. Mendel Ein Beitrag zur Vorgeschichte derMendelschen Versuche

Zusammenfassung Im Hinblick auf den 100. TodestagF. C. Napps (22. 7. 1867), der als Abt des St. Thomas-Stiftes in AltbrünnJ. G. Mendel in das Stift aufnahm, ihm ein naturwissenschaftliches Studium sowie die Durchführung seiner Versuche ermöglichte, und im Hinblick auf den 100. Jahrestag der WahlMendels zum Abt des gleichen Stiftes (31. 3. 1868) wird der Beziehung dieser beiden Männer zueinander im Hinblick auf die EntdeckertatMendels gedacht. Im Anschluß an eine kurze BiographieNapps wird dessen Öffentlichkeitsarbeit im Dienst der praktischen Landwirtschaft und der für die Landwirtschaft wichtigen Grundlagenforschung gewürdigt. Eine besonders enge BeziehungNapps zu der wissenschaftlichen TätigkeitMendels ergibt sich auf Grund seiner Tätigkeit zugunsten der Meteorologie und der Bienenzucht.

---

F. C. Napp andJ. G. Mendel a contribution to the prehistory ofMendel's experiments

Summary On the centenary of the death ofF. C. Napp (22. 7. 1867), abbot of the St. Thomas-monastery of Old-Brünn, who admittedJ. G. Mendel in his convent, enabled him to study natural science and to carry out his experiments, and on the centenary of the election ofMendel to succeedNapp as abbot (31. 3. 1868), we take note of the relationship between these two men as it concerns the discoveries ofMendel. Following a short biography ofNapp we appreciate his service to agriculture and its basic sciences. We find a close connection between the scientific work ofMendel andNapp in meteorology and bee keeping.

---

---

Dem Leiter dere Genetischem Abteilung GregorMendel, des Mährischen Museums in Brünn (Brno/SSR), HerrnDr. V. Orel, sei für einen wiederholten Studienaufenthalt im Mendeleanum auch an dieser Stelle verbindlichst gedankt.     

Revisione del Genere Polyscytalum Riess

Riassunto Si discute la posizione sistematica del generePolyscytalum in relazione ai funghi artrosporei prospettando la necessità di tenerlo distinto daGeotrichum eCylindrium. Sulla scorta di materiali di erbario (tra cui l'autotipo diP. fecundissimum var.macrosporum, si è accertato che i conidi (artrospore) del generePolyscytalum sono unisettati. Il genere appartiene così agli Ifomiceti Ialodidimi e non a quelli Ialoamerosporei. Delle altre specie ristudiate, ilP. sericeum Sacc. (tipo) è una specie del genereFusidium Link (=Cylindrium Bon.) e si propone la combinazioneF. sericeum; ilP. griseum è sinonimo diG. candidum. IlP. sericeum var.conorum Sacc. rientra nel genereFusidium e si propone la nuova combinazioneF. conorum. IlP. chymophilum e ilP. saccardianum sono pure sinonimi diG. candidum. IlP. murinum, isolato in Brasile da un pesce del genereCarassius corrisponde aCylindrium heteronemum Sacc. e pertanto viene proposta la nuova combinazioneFusidium heteronemum (Sacc.)Cif. etCar. In conclusione viene riconvalidato il generePolyscytalum Riess emendandone la diagnosi.

---

Summary The taxonomy of the arthrosporic genusPolyscytalum, as related toGeotrichum andCylindrium, is discussed. The study of the authentic material of a variety of the type species (Polyscytalum fecundissimum Riess var.macrosporum Riess) revealed the presence of a central septum, evident only by the phase contrast microscopy. The only species cultivated,P. murinum Oud., is butFusidium heteronemum (Sacc.) (=Cylindrium heteronemum Sacc.), at least in the Brazilian culture from the intestinal content of a fish. In additionP. griseum, P. chymophilum andP. saccardianum are synonyms ofGeotrichum candidum. ForP. sericeum andP. sericeum var.conorum the combinationsF. sericeum (Sacc.) andF. conorum (Sacc.) are proposed.In conclusion the genusPolyscytalum is re-validated, but the diagnosis emended.

     

The genusAntennaria (Asteraceae: Inuleae) in western North America: Morphometric analysis ofAntennaria alborosea,A. corymbosa,A. marginata,A. microphylla,A. parvifolia,A. rosea,andA. umbrinella

Multivariate analysis of vegetative and reproductive characters was used to examine morphological relatedness amongAntennaria alborosea A. E. Porsild,A. corymbosa E. Nels.,A. marginata Greene,A. microphylla Rydb.,A. parvifolia Nutt.,A. rosea Greene, andA. umbrinella Rydb. Both pistillate and staminate plants were examined. Some of the characters examined were variable in one species, but stable in another (i.e., presence or absence of papillae on the achenes). Our analyses indicate that the seven species are morphologically distinct. It is hypothesized that theA. rosea agamic complex arose through hybridization amongA. corymbosa, A. microphylla, A. umbrinella, and possiblyA. dioica (L.)Gaertn. However, hybridization between the three former species and others, as well as their subsequent morphological responses to different environmental conditions causes confusion in recognizing the taxa.Antennaria angustifolia Rydb.,A. arida E. Nels.,A. confinis Greene,A. scariosa E. Nels.,A. foliacea humilis Rydb.,A. concinna E. Nels., andA. viscidula E. Nels. are considered to represent F 1 hybrids.     

Biochemical properties of yeast l-asparaginase

Only a single l-asparaginase has been found in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The enzyme is synthesized constitutively, and its functioning is not controlled by the products of its activity. The apparent K_m for the yeast l-asparaginase reaction is 2.5×10^–4 m. Activity is greatest at pH 8.5 and is unaffected by the ionic strength of reaction mixtures. l-Asparagine can serve as the sole nitrogen source for cell metabolism but cannot serve as the sole supply of carbon. Active l-asparaginase is necessary for the use of l-asparagine as a nitrogen donor for cell growth. This requirement suggests a possible way in which l-asparaginase-deficient strains of yeast or other organisms might easily be selected.G.E.J. was supported by U.S. Public Health Service Predoctoral Fellowship No. 5 F01 GM36,437.     

Book Notice

Biological control of insects. By Hugh Nicol John Ray Naturalist. His life and works. By Charles E. Raven Studies of North American Plecoptera, with special reference to the fauna of Illinois. By T. H. Frison Studies in the genetics of Drosophila. II. Gene variation and evolution. Directed by J. T. Patterson Atlas of the Scale Insects of North America. By G. F. Ferris     

The vicarious differentiation of the alpineGalium serpylloides group (Rubiaceae), endemic to the W. Himalaya

Galium serpylloides agg. comprises a group of locally endemic, disjunct and vicarious taxa in the (sub)alpine zone of the W. Himalaya, from W to E:G. gymnopetalum, G. lahulense, G. serpylloides s. str.,G. saipalense, andG. nepalense. Four of these are new to science;G. serpylloides is newly typified. The main characters of the five species are compared and illustrated, their affinities and evolution are discussed, and a map of distribution is presented.Dedicated to Prof.K. H. Rechinger on the occasion of his 80th birthday.