SPECTROSCOPIC DETERMINATION OF THE TOXICITY,ABSORPTION, REDUCTION,AND TRANSLOCATION OF Cr(VI) IN TWO MAGNOLIOPSIDA SPECIES

Hexavalent chromium is a contaminant highly mobile in the environment that is toxic for plants at low concentrations. In this work, the physiological response of Convolvulus arvensis and Medicago truncatula plants to Cr(VI) treatments was compared. C. arvensis is a potential Cr hyperaccumulator well adapted to semiarid conditions that biotransform Cr(VI) to the less toxic Cr(III). M. truncatula is a model plant well adapted to semiarid conditions with a well studied genetic response to heavy metal stress. The results demonstrated that C. arvensis is more tolerant to Cr toxicity and has a higher Cr translocation to the leaves. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy results showed that C. arvensis plants treated with 10 mg Cr(VI) L^–1 accumulated 1512, 210, and 131 mg Cr kg^–1 in roots, stems, and leaves, respectively. While M. truncatula plants treated with the same Cr(VI) concentration accumulated 1081, 331, and 44 (mg Cr kg^–1) in roots, stems, and leaves, respectively. Enzymatic assays demonstrated that Cr(VI) decreased ascorbate peroxidase activity and increased catalase activity in M. truncatula, while an opposite response was found in C. arvensis. The x-ray absorption spectroscopy studies showed that both plant species reduced Cr(VI) to the less toxic Cr(III).     

Genetic engineering of Bacillus subtilis for the commercial production of riboflavin

Recombinant DNA engineering was combined with mutant selection and fermentation improvement to develop a strain of Bacillus subtilis that produces commercially attractive levels of riboflavin. The B. subtilis riboflavin production strain contains multiple copies of a modified B. subtilis riboflavin biosynthetic operon (rib operon) integrated at two different sites in the B. subtilis chromosome. The modified rib operons are expressed constitutively from strong phage promoters located at the 5′ end and in an internal region of the operon. The engineered strain also contains purine analog-resistant mutations designed to deregulate the purine pathway (GTP is the precursor for riboflavin), and a riboflavin analog-resistant mutation in ribC that deregulates the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway. Received 22 June 1998/ Accepted in revised form 6 November 1998     

Is salinity an obstacle for biological invasions?

Invasions of freshwater habitats by marine and brackish species have become more frequent in recent years with many of those species originating from the Ponto‐Caspian region. Populations of Ponto‐Caspian species have successfully established in the North and Baltic Seas and their adjoining rivers, as well as in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River region. To determine if Ponto‐Caspian taxa more readily acclimatize to and colonize diverse salinity habitats than taxa from other regions, we conducted laboratory experiments on 22 populations of eight gammarid species native to the Ponto‐Caspian, Northern European and Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River regions. In addition, we conducted a literature search to survey salinity ranges of these species worldwide. Finally, to explore evolutionary relationships among examined species and their populations, we sequenced the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) from individuals used for our experiments. Our study revealed that all tested populations tolerate wide ranges of salinity, however, different patterns arose among species from different regions. Ponto‐Caspian taxa showed lower mortality in fresh water, while Northern European taxa showed lower mortality in fully marine conditions. Genetic analyses showed evolutionary divergence among species from different regions. Due to the geological history of the two regions, as well as high tolerance of Ponto‐Caspian species to fresh water, whereas Northern European species are more tolerant of fully marine conditions, we suggest that species originating from the Ponto‐Caspian and Northern European regions may be adapted to freshwater and marine environments, respectively. Consequently, the perception that Ponto‐Caspian species are more successful colonizers might be biased by the fact that areas with highest introduction frequency of NIS (i.e., shipping ports) are environmentally variable habitats which often include freshwater conditions that cannot be tolerated by euryhaline taxa of marine origin.     

Reconciling nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial marker estimates of population structure: breeding population structure of Chesapeake Bay striped bass (Morone saxatilis)

Comparative analyses of nuclear and organelle genetic markers may help delineate evolutionarily significant units or management units, although population differentiation estimates from multiple genomes can also conflict. Striped bass (Morone saxatilis) are long-lived, highly migratory anadromous fish recently recovered from a severe decline in population size. Previous studies with protein, nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers produced discordant results, and it remains uncertain if the multiple tributaries within Chesapeake Bay constitute distinct management units. Here, 196 young-of-the-year (YOY) striped bass were sampled from Maryland's Choptank, Potomac and Nanticoke Rivers and the north end of Chesapeake Bay in 1999 and from Virginia's Mataponi and Rappahannock Rivers in 2001. A total of 10 microsatellite loci exhibited between two and 27 alleles per locus with observed heterozygosities between 0.255 and 0.893. The 10-locus estimate of R(ST) among the six tributaries was -0.0065 (95% confidence interval -0.0198 to 0.0018). All R(ST) and all but one theta estimates for pairs of populations were not significantly different from zero. Reanalysis of Chesapeake Bay striped bass mtDNA data from two previous studies estimated population differentiation between theta=-0.002 and 0.160, values generally similar to mtDNA population differentiation predicted from microsatellite R(ST) after adjusting for reduced effective population size and uniparental inheritance in organelle genomes. Based on mtDNA differentiation, breeding sex ratios or gene flow may have been slightly male biased in some years. The results reconcile conflicting past studies based on different types of genetic markers, supporting a single Chesapeake Bay management unit encompassing a panmictic striped bass breeding population.     

Physical Mapping of Rice Chromosomes 8 and 9 with YAC Clones

First efforts for physical mapping of rice chromosomes 8 and9 were carried out by ordering YAC clones of a rice genomicDNA library covering six genome equivalents with mapped DNAmarkers. A total of 79 and 74 markers from chromosomes 8 and9, respectively, were analyzed by YAC colony and Southern hybridizationusing RFLP markers of cDNA and genomic clones, and by polymerasechain reaction (PCR) screening using PCR-derived and sequence-taggedsite (STS) markers. As a result, 252 YAC clones were confirmedto contain the mapped DNA fragments on both chromosomes. A contigmap was constructed by ordering these YAC clones and about 53%and 43% genome coverage was obtained for chromosomes 8 and 9,respectively, assuming a YAC clone size of 350 kb and overlapbetween neighboring YACs of 50%. A continuous array of YAC cloneswith minimum overlap gave a total size of 18.9 Mb for chromosome8 and 15.6 Mb for chromosome 9, which are close to previousestimates. These contig maps may provide valuable informationthat can be useful in understanding chromosome structure andisolating specific genes by map-based cloning.     

Metabolomics reveals herbivore‐induced metabolites of resistance and susceptibility in maize leaves and roots

Plants respond to herbivory by reprogramming their metabolism. Most research in this context has focused on locally induced compounds that function as toxins or feeding deterrents. We developed an ultra‐high‐pressure liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐TOF‐MS)‐based metabolomics approach to evaluate local and systemic herbivore‐induced changes in maize leaves, sap, roots and root exudates without any prior assumptions about their function. Thirty‐two differentially regulated compounds were identified from Spodoptera littoralis‐infested maize seedlings and isolated for structure assignment by microflow nuclear magnetic resonance (CapNMR). Nine compounds were quantified by a high throughput direct nano‐infusion tandem mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method. Leaf infestation led to a marked local increase of 1,3‐benzoxazin‐4‐ones, phospholipids, N‐hydroxycinnamoyltyramines, azealic acid and tryptophan. Only few changes were found in the root metabolome, but 1,3‐benzoxazin‐4‐ones increased in the vascular sap and root exudates. The role of N‐hydroxycinnamoyltyramines in plant–herbivore interactions is unknown, and we therefore tested the effect of the dominating p‐coumaroyltyramine on S. littoralis. Unexpectedly, p‐coumaroyltyramine was metabolized by the larvae and increased larval growth, possibly by providing additional nitrogen to the insect. Taken together, this study illustrates that herbivore attack leads to the induction of metabolites that can have contrasting effects on herbivore resistance in the leaves and roots.     

Reciprocal neural influences upon the period length of the ERG circadian rhythm in the crayfish

Abstract

The relationship between left and right circadian oscillations in the ERG of the crayfishProcambarus bouvieri have been studied in intact animals and in animals with cerebral ganglion damage. Except in split‐brain preparations, the ERG oscillations of both sides were always in phase. Surgical bisection of the cerebral ganglion, also results in a shortening of the period length; this suggests that ERG circadian pacemakers normally receive a bilateral input of light stimulation. The neural connections between the eyestalks at the protocerebrum seem to have the most important role in the synchronization of the ERG oscillations of both sides.     

A state and transition model for the eastern Monte Phytogeographycal Province in Rio Negro

We developed a functional model for a shrub steppe vegetation of the eastern Monte Phytogeographical Province in Río Negro (Argentina) with six stable states and 12 transitions, based on the woody encroachment degree, characteristics of the herbaceous layer and the soil surface, and biological crust cover. Information was obtained from letters of naturalists and travelers along the region since the late eighteenth century, reports of old settlers, and our own research work. On the Monte, different functional groups can be distinguished. Our work focused on the three most conspicuous to analyze the dynamics of the system: shrubs, grasses and biological crust. The shrub layer is only affected by large-scale disturbances (fire, mechanical clearing) which maintain the balance between grasses and shrubs in the system. Mechanical clearing with soil removal also causes a decrease in grass cover and vegetation diversity. This layer, however, is most frequently affected by intensive and continuous grazing, which reduces the occurrence of fires and shifts the equilibrium toward the shrubs. All disturbances in general deteriorate the biological crust that covers the soil, which offers situations of facilitation for the regeneration of the herbaceous layer. Grazing and mechanical clearing reduce soil cover and promote the development of soil compaction, which reduce water infiltration and germination and/or seedling establishment, and this creates deteriorated states difficult to reverse. Those states can also be produced by tillage for agriculture and stubble grazing. Some of the transitions that we describe can be favored through grassland management strategies, in order to reach higher states of pastoral value and reverse deteriorating situations.