Ovarian development and histological observations of threatened dwarf snakehead fish,Channa gachua (Hamilton, 1822)

Channa gachua were monthly sampled throughout a year and the histological analysis of their ovaries was done to determine the changes occurring in ovarian development. Based on histological examination of the ovaries, the oogenic process of C. gachua undergoes distinct cyclic and seasonal morphological changes. Five different developmental stages were identified under three major categories: pre-spawning (immature, maturing, mature), spawning (ripe-running) and post-spawning (spent). The peak spawning period of C. gachua was noticed during December - February. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) and ova diameter ranged from 0.79 to 3.61% and 543–1123 μm respectively. The highest mean GSI (3.61 ± 0.16) and oocyte diameter (1123 ± 55 μm) were observed in December indicating that during this month the gonadal development reached maturity.     

Seed germinability and longevity influences regeneration of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia gerrardii</Emphasis>

Acacia gerrardii is the only native tree species of the Kuwaiti desert ecosystem. However, anthropogenic disturbances and harsh arid climate have contributed towards the disappearance of this keystone species from its habitat. In this study, effects of different seed pretreatments to break dormancy, water entry pathway, and ecology (seasonal timing) of dormancy loss and germination of A. gerrardii were investigated. Effects of mechanical scarification, hot water treatment (30 s, 1, 2, and 5 min), and concentrated acid scarification (10, 20, and 30 min) on germination percentage and rate (time to 50% germination and final germination) were also examined. Pretreatment with mechanical scarification produced the highest germination in the least time and 20 °C, 40% RH with 12 h of light (2370 Lux) were found to provide the best germination environment. Seeds were rapidly aged at 60% RH and 45 or 50 °C to determine longevity, and the results were analyzed using probit analysis. Times taken for viability of A. gerrardii seeds aged at 45 and 50 °C to fall to 50% (p₅₀) were 38.6 and 9.3 days, respectively, and therefore the seeds can be considered to have medium longevity. Experiments to find the water entry pathway in A. gerrardii indicated that the micropyle region was the primary point of water entry into the seed. Seed burial experiments indicated that though seed retention decreased over time, there was no significant decrease in number of viable seeds after 31 weeks. The findings of this study are important to nursery managers, seed banks, and those involved in conservation and restoration activities.     

Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production on black and white pepper and the inhibitory action of their chemical constituents.

Aspergillus parasiticus Speare NRRL 2999 growth and aflatoxin production in black and white pepper and the penetration of the fungus in black pepper corn over various incubation periods were studied. Also, the effects of piperine and pepper oil on growth and aflatoxin production were studied. Under laboratory conditions, black and white pepper supported aflatoxin production (62.5 and 44 ppb (ng/g), respectively) over 30 days of incubation. Fungal growth measured in terms of chitin was considerably less in white pepper than in black pepper. A histological study of black pepper corn showed the fungus penetrating up to the inner mesocarp and establishing itself in the middle mesocarp. Piperine and pepper oil were found to inhibit fungal growth and toxin production in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, both black and white pepper could be considered as poor substrates for fungal growth and aflatoxin production.     

Relation of Cholesterol to Astrocytic Differentiation in C-6 Glial Cells

Abstract: The relation of cellular cholesterol content to a biochemical expression of astrocytic differentiation was investigated in cultured C-6 glial cells. The astrocytic marker, glutamine synthetase, was studied. Cellular sterol content was perturbed with compactin, a specific inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase and, thereby, cholesterol biosynthesis. Depletion of cellular sterol resulted in 72 h in a more than twofold increase in glutamine synthetase activity. Production of various degrees of sterol depletion with different concentrations of compactin demonstrated a striking inverse relationship between glutamine synthetase activity and the cellular sterol/phospholipid molar ratio. That the effect of compactin, in fact, is mediated by depletion of sterol was shown further by prevention of the compactin-induced increase in synthetase activity by simultaneous addition of exogenous cholesterol. Moreover, addition of cholesterol alone to the culture medium led to both a decrease in glutamine synthetase activity and an increase in the sterol/phospholipid molar ratio. The possibility that the compactin-induced increase in glutamine synthetase activity is caused by an increase in synthesis of the enzyme was suggested by prevention of the increase by cycloheximide. The data suggest that astrocytic differentiation is stimulated by a decrease in cellular sterol content. When considered with our previous observation that oli-godendroglial differentiation is inhibited by such a decrease, the findings suggest that cellular sterol content is a critical determinant of the direction of glial differentiation, i.e., whether along astrocytic or oligodendroglial lines.     

Nutrient inflows into apple roots

Summary The rates of uptake of nutrients from solution by apple roots were measured (a) in a root laboratory, using intact roots of mature trees growing under field conditions and (b) in controlled environment using young trees. Maximum nitrate inflows into Discovery/M.9 roots under field conditions were only slightly lower than those into roots of the same genotype in controlled environment, but up to 80 times lower than those into roots of Worcester Pearmain seedlings. At any given external P concentration, P inflows into roots of field-grown trees were about 2.5-times lower than those into the roots of young trees in controlled environment.Nitrate inflows were constant above a solution concentration of 20 mmol m^–3 in both field-grown and small trees. In both cases, phosphate inflows increased linearly with solution concentration up to 10 mmol m^–3.Among the various plant and environmental factors influencing nutrient uptake characteristics of apple roots were: the scion genotype, tissue nutrient levels, root origin, the form in which N is supplied, level of irradiance of the shoot, root temperature and the season of the year. The effects of these factors are illustrated with examples.     

Restoration of anchorage regulation in transformed cells by retinoic acid (RA) is independent of the presence of cytoplasmic RA-binding proteins

In an attempt to analyse the cause-effect relationship between anchorage-independent growth (a property which correlates best with in vivo tumorigenicity) and a set of other common transformation-related properties, the effect of retinoic acid (RA) treatment on six unrelated transformed cell lines (including DNA tumor virus, retrovirus, and spontaneously transformed cells) were studied. The data show that the changes in morphology and cellular orientation in culture, loss of cell surface fibronectin, disruption of actin microfilaments, increased hexose uptake, loss of density-dependent growth, and decreased binding of EGF, properties which are often associated with oncogenic transformation of cells, are dissociable from one another and from anchorage-independent growth. RA appears to interfere with anchorage-independent growth of all the retrovirus and spontaneously transformed cell lines (responsive cells) that we examined; however, such treatment failed to inhibit anchorage-independent growth in both of the DNA tumor virus-transformed cell lines (non-responsive cells) that we used in the present study. The presence of RA-binding proteins in both responsive and non-responsive cells suggests that the mechanism of RA action for the inhibition of anchorage-independent growth in transformed cells may be independent of the presence of such cytoplasmic proteins. Finally, the present study clearly indicates that the use of RA treatment, like partial transformation mutants of oncogenic viruses, can be a novel approach in analysing the general mechanism by which transformed cells grow without anchorage.     

Vitamin A and thyroxine carrier proteins in chicken plasma: steady-state control of the plasma level of free retinol-binding protein and free thyroxine.

1. The binding parameters of prealbumin-2 with retinol-binding protein and thyroxine (T4) revealed the existence of distinct and multiple sites for both retinol-binding protein and T4. 2. From the analysis of binding parameters of retinol-binding protein with prealbumin-2 it is clear that under steady-state conditions about 99% of the holo-retinol-binding protein remains bound to prealbumin-2. 3. Equilibrium dialysis studies on binding properties of thyroid hormones with prealbumin-2 revealed that it has a single high affinity site and three low affinity sites. 4. The occurrence of three carrier proteins for thyroid hormones, thyroxine-binding globulin, prealbumin-2 and albumin has been demonstrated. However, the chicken thyroxine-binding globulin differs from human thyroxine-binding globulin by being relatively less acidic and occurring at a two-fold lower concentration. But the thyroid hormone binding parameters are comparable. 5. Highly sensitive methods were developed for determination of T4 binding capacities of the various proteins and plasma level of total T4 by fractionation of carrier proteins and further quantitatively employing in electrophoresis and equilibrium dialysis. 6. The thyroxine-binding proteins were found to be of two types, one (viz., thyroxine-binding globulin) of great affinity but of low binding capacity, which mainly acts as reservoir of T4, and another (viz., prealbumin-2) of low affinity but of high binding capacity, which can participate predominantly in the control of the free T4 pool.     

The possibility of predicting solute uptake and plant growth response from independently measured soil and plant characteristics

Summary The growth and nitrogen uptake response of rape plants to nitrate concentration at the root surface were studied in solution culture in a controlled environment cabinet over a period of 24 days. NO₃ ^– was supplied at the rates of 10^–5 M, 5×10^–5 M, 10^–4 M, 10^–3 M and 10^–2 M in solution and was maintained near these levels.With increasing mean N concentration in the tissues, the relative growth rate and leaf area ratio increased and unit leaf rate decreased slightly. Values of all three growth parameters decreased with plant age.The shoot: root dry weight ratios and their N content ratios increased with increasing mean per cent N in the plant. The length or surface area per unit dry weight of roots was correlated negatively with per cent N and positively with age.The maximum mean inflow of nitrate to rape roots decreased sharply with age. The concentration at which half maximal mean inflow was attained was 3.44×10^–5 M NO₃ ^–.     

Microbial Ecology of Activated Sludge: II. Bacteriophages, Bdellovibrio, Coliforms, and Other Organisms

A comparative estimation of the coliform population of raw sewage, activated sludge, and the effluent derived therefrom revealed that raw sewage had a preponderance of Escherichia coli (75%), as compared with 25 and 30%, respectively, in sludge and effluent. Nitrogen-free mannitol-sucrose enrichments of activated sludge resulted in the isolation of Azotobacter agilis, Aerobacter aerogenes, Corynebacterium laevaniformans, and an Achromabacter species. Sludge had a large population of C. laevaniformans and A. aerogenes but not of Azotobacter. The bacterial parasites, Bdellovibrio and bacteriophages, were not active during activated-sludge treatment. A 10-fold reduction in phage content occurred after 2 hr of aeration, but the Bdellovibrio population was unaffected.