Enzyme Variation of Eimeria arizonensis from Peromyscus truei and P. boylii

ABSTRACT. Cricetid rodents, Peromyscus truei and P. boylii , were inoculated with sporulated oocysts of Eimeria arizonensis collected from wild P. truei maintained in the lab. In P. truei the prepatent period was 4–5 days, the patent period was 9–11 days, and sporulated oocysts were 21.5 × 25.0 (20–23 × 24–26) μm with sporocysts 7.7 × 12.0 (6–8 × 10–13) pm. In P. boylii the prepatent period was 6–7 days, the patent period was 8–9 days, and sporulated oocysts were 20.1 × 23.2 (18–22 × 21–24) pm with sporocysts 6.8 × 10.0 (5–8 × 9–12) pm. Sporulated oocysts from both host species were used in direct side-by-side comparison of isozyme banding patterns using protein electrophoresis. The parasite has polytypic loci for leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6-PGD). In oocysts from P. truei , LAP showed one band with fast migration and LDH and 6-PGD each showed two bands, one with fast and one with slow migration. In oocysts from P. boylii , LAP and LDH each had one band with slow migration and 6-PGD had one band with moderate migration. Oocysts of E. arizonensis collected from P. boylii were used to inoculate P. truei. The prepatent and patent periods, structural measurements, and isozyrne banding patterns of the resultant oocysts were the same as those from P. truei when inoculated with oocysts from P. truei.     

AN ANTIGEN OF CHONDROITIN SULFATE PROTEOGLYCAN; A MARKER FOR CARTILAGE DIFFERENTIATION

Antisera to the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan complex (CPG) of cartilage were used to study the specificity of the CPG-associated antigen as a biochemical marker for cartilage differentiation and to study the expression of differentiation by cultured chondrocytes. Of 7 tissues tested, antigen giving an identity reaction with this protein could be detected by the Ouchterlony double diffusion test in extracts of sternum and brain of 14-day chick embryos. Extracts of 2 non-cartilage tissues gave a reaction indicating that they contain a related, but not identical antigen.
Ouchterlony double diffusion tests showed that extracts of morphologically differentiated chondrocytes cultured in vitro contain the CPG-associated antigen. The radio-precipitin test, used to quantitate the rate of synthesis of this antigen, provided a measure of cartilage phenotype expression in culture. The cultured chondrocytes synthesized antigenic protein at a rate similar to that of 14-day sternum. In contrast to intact cartilage, however, the cultured chondrocytes released much of the newly synthesized antigen into the medium.
The possibility was explored that synthesis of the CPG-associated antigen might be characteristic of all cells in culture, and not a specific expression of the cartilage phenotype. However, skin fibroblast cultures only contained detectable antigen of the "partially identical" type.     

Regulation of Amino Acid Uptake into Oat Mesophyll Cells: A Comparison between Protoplasts and Leaf Segments

The uptake of -aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) into protoplasts andinto 1 cm sections of leaves from 7 d old light-grown oats (Avenasativa L. cv. ‘Garry’) was studied. Both protoplastsand leaf sections with cuticle and epidermis removed accumulatedAIB against a concentration gradient although the rate of uptakeinto protoplasts was one-third to one-sixth that into leaf sections.AIB uptake into both protoplasts and leaf cells in situ wasstimulated by ‘aging,’ and low pH, and inhibitedby osmotic shock, respiratory poisons, and KCl concentrationsabove 1 mM. It was concluded that the rate of uptake of AIBand its accumulation ratio could be accounted for by the energyinherent in the proton-motive force, the proton-motive forcebeing the sum of the pH gradient and potential difference acrossthe plasma membrane. The similarities between oat mesophyllprotoplasts and leaf cells in situ suggest that these protoplastsare suitable material for the study of certain membrane-regulatedevents.     

Ultrastructural study of metamorphosis in the freshwater bryozoan Plumatella fungosa (Bryozoa,Phylactolaemata)

Summary

At metamorphosis the attachment of the Plumatella larva to the substrate is effected by secretions from glandular cells in the apical plate, the leading pole during swimming. The larval mantle folds back and slides down towards the substrate. By ciliary activity an adhesive secretion is spread over the metamorphosing larva and the attachment area. Two polypides appear through the larval terminal opening. The mantle fold, together with gland cells, nerve cells, sensory cells, and muscle cells from the larva form a nutritive cell mass. Reduction of this nutritive cell mass is accomplished by autolysis and phagocytosis. An invaginated area of the nutritive cell mass is provided with a dense layer of microvilli, which seem to have an absorbtive function. The nutritive cell mass consisting of transitory larval tissues provides a significant source of nutrient for the developing polypide buds.     

Characterization of 36 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) including two sex‐linked loci and their amplification in four other Charadrius species

We isolated 45 new Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) microsatellite loci. These were tested for polymorphism in 42 Kentish plovers breeding in the Çukurova Delta, Turkey. Thirty‐six of the 45 loci were polymorphic with observed heterozygosity varying between 0.22 and 0.93. Genotypes of individuals of known sex indicated that two loci were sex‐linked (Calex‐26 is located on the Z chromosome and Calex‐31 on the W chromosome). Additionally, we tested all loci for amplification in four other species of Charadridae (Kittlitz's plover, Madagascar plover, three‐banded plover and white‐fronted plover). On average 34 loci amplified per species (range 29–36).