A preliminary assessment of the response of a native reptile assemblage to spot‐spraying invasive Bitou Bush with glyphosate herbicide

During recent work examining the effects of Bitou Bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata) invasion on native reptile assemblages in coastal heathland vegetation in Eastern Australia, unplanned spot‐spraying of glyphosate occurred at some of our experimental sites invaded by Bitou Bush. We used this unexpected herbicide application as an opportunity to provide a preliminary assessment of the short‐term impacts on reptiles of glyphosate spot‐spraying of Bitou Bush. Using an M‐BARCI design, we compared reptile assemblages among uninvaded (reference) sites, invaded (control) sites and invaded and sprayed (impact) sites before and after spraying. We found no significant short‐term (7 – 10 months) differences in reptile abundance, species richness or assemblage composition among invaded, uninvaded and sprayed sites before and after glyphosate application. We cautiously interpret our results to generate a preliminary finding that spot‐spraying of Bitou Bush with glyphosate appears not to have a deleterious effect on reptile assemblages at seven and ten months following herbicide application. While we would not recommend basing management decisions on the outcomes of our study alone, we suggest that our findings can be used to assist in the development of strategic analyses of glyphosate impacts on native flora and fauna.     

CHANGES IN THE PROTEIN COMPOSITION OF MOUSE BRAIN MYELIN DURING DEVELOPMENT

Abstract— Myelin was isolated from the brains of mice at various ages by a procedure involving a final purification on a continuous CsCl gradient. Myelin protein accumulated throughout development, increasing from 0.25 mg of protein/brain at 8 days of postnatal age to 3.5 mg of protein/brain at 300 days, although the rate of accumulation was greatest at about 21 days of age. Quantitative studies of the protein composition of these samples were carried out, utilizing discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in buffers containing sodium lauryl sulphate. Mouse brain myelin, contained (in order of increasing molecular weight) two basic proteins, an uncharacterized doublet, proteolipid protein, and a group of high molecular weight proteins. There were marked changes in the quantitative distribution of these proteins with increasing postnatal age. The basic protein fraction of total myelin protein increased from about 18 per cent at 8 days to 30 per cent at 300 days of age. Proteolipid protein increased even more dramatically, from 7 to 27 per cent in the same time interval. These chemical studies were correlated with ultrastructural investigations, both of the developing myelin sheath in situ and the isolated myelin obtained from mice of various ages. A hypothesis, relating the observed changes in protein composition of myelin during development to its mode of formation, is developed. Another subcellular fraction, separated from myelin, by virtue of its greater density in a CsCl gradient, was also studied. It was a vesicular, membranous fraction present at a level of 0.35 mg of protein/brain at all ages and was related to myelin in terms of protein composition.     

Regional hemodynamics during postexercise hypotension. II. Cutaneous circulation.

After an acute bout of exercise, there is an unexplained elevation in systemic vascular conductance that is not completely offset by an increase in cardiac output, resulting in a postexercise hypotension. The contributions of the splanchnic and renal circulations are examined in a companion paper (Pricher MP, Holowatz LA, Williams JT, Lockwood JM, and Halliwill JR. J Appl Physiol 97: 2065-2070, 2004). The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of the cutaneous circulation in postexercise hypotension under thermoneutral conditions (approximately 23 degrees C). Arterial blood pressure was measured via an automated sphygmomanometer, internal temperature was measured via an ingestible pill, and skin temperature was measured with eight thermocouples. Red blood cell flux (laser-Doppler flowmetry) was monitored at four skin sites (chest, forearm, thigh, and leg), and cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) was calculated (red blood cell flux/mean arterial pressure) and scaled as percent maximal CVC (local heating to 43 degrees C). Ten subjects [6 men and 4 women; age 23 +/- 1 yr; peak O(2) uptake (Vo(2 peak)) 45.8 +/- 2.0 ml.kg(-1).min(-1)] volunteered for this study. After supine rest (30 min), subjects exercised on a bicycle ergometer for 1 h at 60% of their Vo(2 peak) and were then positioned supine for 90 min. Exercise elicited a postexercise hypotension reaching a nadir at 46.0 +/- 4.5 min postexercise (77 +/- 1 vs. 82 +/- 2 mmHg preexercise; P < 0.05). Internal temperature increased (38.0 +/- 0.1 vs. 36.7 +/- 0.1 degrees C preexercise; P < 0.05), remaining elevated at 90 min postexercise (36.9 +/- 0.1 degrees C vs. preexercise; P < 0.05). CVC at all four skin sites was elevated by the exercise bout (P < 0.05), returning to preexercise values within 50 min postexercise (P > 0.05). Therefore, although transient changes in CVC occur postexercise, they do not appear to play an obligatory role in mediating postexercise hypotension under thermoneutral conditions.     

Scales of orientation, directed walks and movement path structure in sharks

1. Animal search patterns reflect sensory perception ranges combined with memory and knowledge of the surrounding environment. 2. Random walks are used when the locations of resources are unknown, whereas directed walks should be optimal when the location of favourable habitats is known. However, directed walks have been quantified for very few species. 3. We re-analysed tracking data from three shark species to determine whether they were using directed walks, and if so, over which spatial scales. Fractal analysis was used to quantify how movement structure varied with spatial scale and determine whether the sharks were using patches. 4. Tiger sharks performed directed walks at large spatial scales (at least 6-8 km). Thresher sharks also showed directed movement (at scales of 400-1900 m), and adult threshers were able to orient at greater scales than juveniles, which may suggest that learning improves the ability to perform directed walks. Blacktip reef sharks had small home ranges, high site fidelity and showed no evidence of oriented movements at large scales. 5. There were inter- and intraspecific differences in path structure and patch size, although most individuals showed scale-dependent movements. Furthermore, some individuals of each species performed movements similar to a correlated random walk. 6. Sharks can perform directed walks over large spatial scales, with scales of movements reflecting site fidelity and home range size. Understanding when and where directed walks occur is crucial for developing more accurate population-level dispersal models.     

Thermodynamic benchmark study using Biacore technology

A total of 22 individuals participated in this benchmark study to characterize the thermodynamics of small-molecule inhibitor-enzyme interactions using Biacore instruments. Participants were provided with reagents (the enzyme carbonic anhydrase II, which was immobilized onto the sensor surface, and four sulfonamide-based inhibitors) and were instructed to collect response data from 6 to 36 degrees C. van't Hoff enthalpies and entropies were calculated from the temperature dependence of the binding constants. The equilibrium dissociation and thermodynamic constants determined from the Biacore analysis matched the values determined using isothermal titration calorimetry. These results demonstrate that immobilization of the enzyme onto the sensor surface did not alter the thermodynamics of these interactions. This benchmark study also provides insights into the opportunities and challenges in carrying out thermodynamic studies using optical biosensors.     

Characterization of neutralizing antibody responses elicited by clade A envelope immunogens derived from early transmitted viruses

The vast majority of studies with candidate immunogens based on the human immunodeficiency virus envelope (Env) have been conducted with Env proteins derived from clade B viruses isolated during chronic infection. Whether non-clade B Env protein immunogens will elicit antibodies with epitope specificities that are similar to those of antibodies elicited by clade B Envs and whether the antibodies elicited by Envs derived from early transmitted viruses will be similar to those elicited by Envs derived from viruses isolated during chronic infection are currently unknown. Here we performed immunizations with four clade A Envs, cloned directly from the peripheral blood of infected individuals during acute infection, which differed in lengths and extents of glycosylation. The antibody responses elicited by these four Envs were compared to each other and to those elicited by a well-characterized clade B Env immunogen derived from the SF162 virus, which was isolated during chronic infection. Only one clade A Env, the one with the fewer glycosylation sites, elicited homologous neutralizing antibodies (NAbs); these did not target the V1, V2, or V3 regions. In contrast, all four clade A Envs elicited anti-V3 NAbs against "easy-to-neutralize" clade B and clade A isolates, irrespective of the variable region length and extent of glycosylation of the Env used as an immunogen. These anti-V3 NAbs did not access their epitopes on homologous and heterologous clade A, or B, neutralization-resistant viruses. The length and extent of glycosylation of the variable regions on the clade A Env immunogens tested did not affect the breadth of the elicited NAbs. Our data also indicate that the development of cross-reactive NAbs against clade A viruses faces similar hurdles to the development of cross-reactive anti-clade B NAbs.     

Linking species diversity to the functioning of ecosystems: on the importance of environmental context

There is currently much interest in understanding how loss of biodiversity might alter ecological processes vital to the functioning of ecosystems. Unfortunately, ecologists have reached little consensus regarding the importance of species diversity to ecosystem functioning because empirical studies have not demonstrated any consistent relationship between the number of species in a system and the rates of ecological processes. We present the results of a simple model that suggests there may be no single, generalizable relationship between species diversity and the productivity of an ecosystem because the relative contributions of species to productivity change with environmental context. The model determined productivity for landscapes varying in species diversity (the number of species in the colonist pool), spatial heterogeneity (the number of habitat types composing the landscape), and disturbance regimes (+/? a non‐selective mortality). Linear regressions were used to relate species diversity and productivity for each of the environmental contexts. Disturbance changed the form of the diversity/productivity relationship by reducing the slope (i.e. the change in productivity per species added to the colonist pool), but spatial heterogeneity increased or decreased this slope depending on the particular habitat types composing the landscape. The cause of the diversity/productivity relationship also changed with environmental context. The amount of variation in productivity explained by species diversity always increased with spatial heterogeneity, while the amount of variation explained by species composition (i.e. the particular species composing the colonist pool) tended to increase with disturbance. These results lead us to conclude that the form and cause of the relationship between species diversity and productivity may be highly dynamic‐changing over both time and space. Because the trends resulted from well‐known mechanisms by which environmental variation alters the absolute and relative abundances of taxa, we suspect this conclusion may be applicable to many different systems.     

Dihydrofolate reductase from a methotrexate-resistant Escherichia coli: Proton magnetic resonance studies of complexes with folate and methotrexate

Proton magnetic resonance studies of 1:1 complexes of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase with folate and methotrexate were performed. A resonance at 1850 Hz in 1:1 enzyme-folate was assigned as the C-7 proton of bound folate by comparison with the spectra of enzyme complexed with folate specifically deuterated at C-7. The first order rate constant for folate dissociation was calculated to be less than 110 sec^?1. Four of the five histidine residues exhibited the same pK's and chemical shifts in the two complexes with pK values of 8.0, 7.3, 6.5 and ～5. However, one histidine increased its pK by 0.7 units (6.25→6.95) and its C-2 proton resonance shifted upfield 50 Hz when folate was substituted for methotrexate. Comparison of these results with those of chemical modification and ultraviolet difference spectroscopy experiments suggests that this histidine may be in the folate binding site — possibly near the pteridine portion of that site.