Besondere Haarstrukturen der Soricidae (Mammalia,Insectivora) und ihre taxonomische Deutung

Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Untersuchung befaßt sich mit besonderen Haarfeinstrukturen der Soricidae, wobei geklärt werden soll, ob dem H-förmigen Haarquerschnitt-Profil eine taxonomische Bedeutung zukommt. Wir überprüften deshalb die betreffenden Haarstrukturen mit Hilfe des REM in 8 Gattungen.Das besondere Haarprofil, das auf das Terminalsegment der Grannenhaare beschränkt ist, findet sich bei folgenden Gattungen:Sorex, Neomys, Blarina undCryptotis, alles Vertreter der Subfamilie Soricinae. Sämtliche untersuchten Vertreter der Subfamilie Crocidurinae, d.h.Crocidura, Praesorex, Suncus undSylvisorex weisen ein einfaches Haarprofil auf.Das H-Profil wird als Synapomorphie der Soricinae angesehen und charakterisiert diese als monophyletische Gruppe. Die haarmorphologischen Kriterien ergänzen somit die osteologischen Kriterien von Repenning (1967) und sprechen für die Beibehaltung der von vielen Autoren abgelehnten Subfamilien.

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Special hair structures in Soricidae (Mammalia, Insectivora) and their taxonomic interpretation

Summary The following study should clear up the structures of the H-shaped profile found in the hairs of some shrews and show if it has a taxonomic signification. Therefore we studied the concerned hair structures by scanning electron microscopy in 8 genera.The special hair-shape, which is confined to the terminal segment of guard hairs, is found in the species of the following genera:Sorex, Neomys, Blarina andCryptotis, all members of the subfamily Soricinae. All the examined members of the subfamily Crocidurinae, i.e.Crocidura, Praesorex, Suncus andSylvisorex show a simple hair shape.The H-shaped hair characterizes the Soricinae as a monophyletic unity. Yet, the morphological criteria of hair complete the osteological criteria of Repenning (1967) an plead for the validitiy of the often refuted subfamilies.

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Mit Unterstützung des Schweizerischen Nationalfonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Nr. 3.515.71, 3.821.72, 3.413-0.74)

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Unser Dank gilt Herrn Prof. N. Schönenberger, Herrn Prof.R. Krstic und Frau C. Regamey, die uns bei der histologischen Präparation behilflich waren, insbesondere auch Herrn Dr. T. Jalanti, der uns in die REM-Technik einführte. Kostbares Material wurde uns von Frau A. Geraets (Bonn), Herrn Prof. U. Rahm (Basel) und Herrn Dr. V. Aellen (Genf) zur Verfügung gestellt; auch ihnen sei hierfür herzlich gedankt.     

Alchemilla austriaca,spec. nova,(Rosaceae) — eine neue Art aus den Ostalpen

Alchemilla austriaca is a new species which belongs to the group ofA. demissa, A. frigens, A. longana, A. longiuscula, A. semisecta, andA. sinuata. The holotype specimen as well as leaf and flower details are illustrated (Figs. 1–3). A complete character analysis is given, differences and similarities of allied species are presented in two tables, and the position of the group within the genus is discussed.A. austriaca so far is known only from the Austrian Alps and mainly from the central ranges (distribution map: Fig. 4). Its wet subalpine and alpine habitats are characterized by species lists.

     

Fine structure of dense-cored vesicles in glomus cells of rat carotid body after fixation with permanganate or glutaraldehyde

Summary Glomus (Type I) cells of the carotid body of adult rats were studied electron microscopically after fixation with potassium permanganate or with glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide. Two permanganate fixation methods (using Krebs-Ringer-glucose, pH 7.0, or acetate buffer, pH 5.0) were compared. Numerous dense-cored vesicles were observed only in about one tenth of the glomus cells when neutral permanganate was used for fixation, although all glomus cells showed such vesicles after fixation with glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide. Numerous vesicles with a dense core were observed in about one third of the cells after fixation with acid potassium permanganate. With this fixation, small dense-cored vesicles similar to those in adrenergic nerve terminals were occasionally seen in the cytoplasm of glomus cells. It is tentatively concluded that the amine-storing vesicles of the carotid body are different from those in the small intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells and those in adrenergic nerve terminals.     

Fluorimetric detection of octopamine in high-performance liquid chromatography and its application to the assay of dopamine β-monooxygenase in human serum

A high-performance liquid chromatographic procedure is described for the determination of octopamine. The method, which is based on the separation on a microparticulate bonded strong cation-exchange resin and measurement of the native fluorescence, has been applied to give a sensitive assay of dopamine β-monooxygenase (EC 1.14.17.1) activity in human serum with tyramine as the substrate. The procedure, which has been designed for use with an-automatic sampler, has a detection limit of about 50 pmoles of octopamine, and the analysis time is approximately 10 min per sample.     

Serum Glutathione Peroxidase Activity and Blood Selenium in Pigs

Blood serum glutathione peroxidase activity and blood selenium concentration were measured in blood samples from pigs subjected to experimentally induced selenium deficiency and dietary selenium supplementation on graded levels. A highly significant correlation between blood selenium and serum GSH-Px activity in pigs, especially in selenium deficient pigs, was demonstrated. There was also a strong relationship between blood selenium concentration and serum GSH-Px activity in pigs receiving dietary selenium at graded levels. Serum GSH-Px activity exhibited an excellent close-response relationship to dietary selenium. Linear regression analysis showed that the increased serum GSH-Px activity was a function of the dietary selenium concentration. The fitness of serum in monitoring slight changes of the selenium status of pigs with help of the estimation of GSH-Px activity was discussed. The measurement of serum GSH-Px activity seems to provide a useful and rapid means for defining selenium requirements and for identifying selenium deficiency in growing pigs.     

Combined Therapeutic Effect of Dietary Selenium and Vitamin Ε on Manifested Vesd Syndrome in Weaned Pigs

By using a therapeutic dietary supplementation in pigs, which had developed the vitamin Ε and selenium deficiency (VESD) syndrome, the same amounts of α-tocopheryl acetate and selenium were found to be effective as under prophylactic conditions. The experiment thus supported the conclusions that the addition of 5 mg DL-α-tocopheryl acetate/kg and 135 μg selenium/kg to a diet, which contained only traces of vitamin Ε and selenium, represents a level of minimal requirement. Glutathione peroxidase activity in blood serum was used to evaluate the selenium status in pigs. A modified method for determination of tocopherol in fat tissue was described. The addition of 15 mg α-tocopheryl acetate/kg diet was demonstrated to be sufficient to maintain the tocopherol stores in body fat at an unchanged level.     

The size and shape of human and bovine antithrombin III.

Human and bovine antithrombin, purified by affinity chromatography on heparin-agarose, have been characterized with regard to chemical composition, size, shape and conformation. Both preparations were found to contain several active components of identical or similar size but different electrical charge. Amino acids and carbohydrate analyses revealed striking similarities between human and bovine antithrombin, while immunological analyses failed to demonstrate any cross-reactivity. The molecular weights were determined by sedimentation equilibrium to be 58 000 for human and 56 000 for bovine antithrombin. The small molecular weight difference suggested by these values was verified by several empirical methods of molecular weight estimation. Hydrodynamic measurements indicated that the two proteins have similar molecular shapes, both of which are slightly more extended that that of typical globular proteins. The internal folding of the two polypeptide chains is also similar, as evidenced by the identity of the far-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectra. Specifically, these analyses suggested a low alpha-helix content of both proteins. In conclusion, the marked structural similarity of human and bovine antithrombin indicates that the two proteins may also exhibit extensive functional similarities in the binding of heparin and the inhibition of various coagulation factors.     

Variation in the Number of Genes Coding for Salivary Amylase in the Bank Vole, CLETHRIONOMYS GLAREOLA

A Danish population of bank voles is polymorphic for three electrophoretically different salivary amylases; A, H and S, of which A is the most common. Both single-, double- and triple banded phenotypes were observed, and in several crosses two electrophoretic forms cosegregated. In addition to the qualitative variation, some individuals show consistent quantitative variation in the relative activities of their amylase bands. This variation has been qualified by spectrophotometrical measurements of the relative amounts of amylase protein in the various bands. --Seventy wild chromosomes were analyzed by determining the amounts of amylase they produced when heterozygous with a laboratory stock chromosome known to carry two closely linked amylase genes, both coding for a fourth electrophoretic variant, B. The amount of A-protein divided by half the amount of B-protein was used as an estimate of the number of A-genes on the tested chromosomes. The wild chromosomes fell into three clearly distinguishable classes: 9 clustered around a gene number estimate of one, 45 chromosomes yielded estimates around two genes, and the gene number estimate of the remaining 16 was close to three. The integer values of the gene number estimates and the cosegregation of electrophoretically different salivary amylases are consistent with the model that the population is polymorphic for chromosomes with either one, two, or three closely linked amylase genes. It is suggested that such gene number variation may be more common than generally recognized, and some other reported cases of quantitative enzyme variation, for instance that of human red cell acid phosphatase, are interpreted in terms of variation in the number of genes involved.