Developmental controls of morphological mutants of Phaseolus vulgaris L.: Differential expression of mutant loci in plant organs

Developmental controls of morphological mutants of Phaseolus vulgaris L. conditioned by two independent loci, DL₁ and DL₂, were examined through grafting experiments and hydroponic studies. Phenotypes of mutant classes were duplicated by unions of scions and stocks derived from different genotypes. Results indicate that DL₁ and DL₂ regulate a root and shoot factor respectively, contributing to the mutant types. The allelic dosages of DL₁ in the root and DL₂ in the shoot rather than the genotype of the whole plant per se determine the severity of the mutant expression. Plants heterozygous for both loci with a temperature-sensitive expression of the mutant phenotype were used to determine physiological components involved. The primary abnormal developmental event associated with the appearance of mutant phenotypes, the restricted root growth at high temperature, could be overcome by the addition of cytokinin in hydroponic solution. These observations suggest that DL₁ and DL₂ may be related to the regulation of hormonal function or metabolism.     

The organization of the gene for the human cerebroside sulfate activator protein

The organization of 14 exons covering 97% of the cDNA sequence of human cerebroside sulfate activator protein precursor has been determined from two overlapping EMBL-4 human genomic clones extending over 17kb. All exons and exon/intron splice junctions and five introns were sequenced. Exon 8 consists of only 9 bp and is involved in alternative splicing which generates three different mRNAs of cerebroside sulfate activator precursor.     

Outcome of acute lower respiratory tract infection in infants: preliminary report of seven-year follow-up study.

Seven years after admission to hospital for acute lower respiratory tract infection in infancy 200 children and their matched controls were assessed for respiratory state and epidemiological characteristics. The index group comprised 100 cases where respiratory syncytial virus infection had been responsible for the index illness (group 1) and 100 cases in whom this organism had not been found (group 2). There were no differences between index and control groups in birth weight or gestational age but fewer index cases were breast fed. Social indices such as class distribution and family size were more favourable in controls, though housing standards and maternal smoking habits were similar in the two groups. The prevalence of subsequent respiratory symptoms--cough, wheeze, nasal discharge, and hearing difficulties--was greater in index cases as was absence from school and family doctor consultation for respiratory illness. Bronchitis and asthma were significantly more common in the index group. Impaired ventilatory function and bronchial hyperreactivity were found in index cases when compared with controls. No differences in clinical characteristics and outcome were found in the two groups of index cases. The question whether lung "damage" during lower respiratory tract infection predisposes to subsequent respiratory problems or whether certain infants are more vulnerable than others to respiratory illnesses (including lower respiratory tract infection) from the onset is unanswered.     

Species specificity and intraspecific variation in the chemical profiles of Heliconius butterflies across a large geographic range

In many animals, mate choice is important for the maintenance of reproductive isolation between species. Traits important for mate choice and behavioral isolation are predicted to be under strong stabilizing selection within species; however, such traits can also exhibit variation at the population level driven by neutral and adaptive evolutionary processes. Here, we describe patterns of divergence among androconial and genital chemical profiles at inter‐ and intraspecific levels in mimetic Heliconius butterflies. Most variation in chemical bouquets was found between species, but there were also quantitative differences at the population level. We found a strong correlation between interspecific chemical and genetic divergence, but this correlation varied in intraspecific comparisons. We identified “indicator” compounds characteristic of particular species that included compounds already known to elicit a behavioral response, suggesting an approach for identification of candidate compounds for future behavioral studies in novel systems. Overall, the strong signal of species identity suggests a role for these compounds in species recognition, but with additional potentially neutral variation at the population level.     

Signs of stabilisation and stable coexistence

Many empirical studies motivated by an interest in stable coexistence have quantified negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, or negative plant–soil feedback, but the links between these empirical results and ecological theory are not straightforward. Here, we relate these analyses to theoretical conditions for stabilisation and stable coexistence in classical competition models. By stabilisation, we mean an excess of intraspecific competition relative to interspecific competition that inherently slows or even prevents competitive exclusion. We show that most, though not all, tests demonstrating negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, and negative plant–soil feedback constitute sufficient conditions for stabilisation of two‐species interactions if applied to data for per capita population growth rates of pairs of species, but none are necessary or sufficient conditions for stable coexistence of two species. Potential inferences are even more limited when communities involve more than two species, and when performance is measured at a single life stage or vital rate. We then discuss two approaches that enable stronger tests for stable coexistence‐invasibility experiments and model parameterisation. The model parameterisation approach can be applied to typical density‐dependence, frequency‐dependence, and plant–soil feedback data sets, and generally enables better links with mechanisms and greater insights, as demonstrated by recent studies.     

Environmental Supply Chain Cooperation and Its Effect on the Circular Economy Practice‐Performance Relationship Among Chinese Manufacturers

Due to resource scarcity and environmental degradation, a new development concept emphasizing environmental concerns, called the circular economy (CE), has been enacted in legislation in China. This environmental management concept can be implemented at three levels, namely, region, industrial zone, and individual enterprise, with the objective of boosting economic development while lessening environmental and resource challenges. Environmental supply chain cooperation (ESCC), an approach that utilizes customer and supplier cooperation in environmental management, has been initiated among Chinese enterprises. Using survey data collected from 396 Chinese manufacturers, we examine the role of ESCC practices in influencing the relationship between implementing CE practices and the achievement of performance outcomes by testing the moderation and mediation effects of ESCC practices on the CE practice‐performance relationship through hierarchical regression analysis. Our data analyses indicate that ESCC practices are useful by moderation and, in some cases, essential by mediation, for Chinese manufacturers seeking to realize the performance targets desired in CE practices. The results highlight the need for Chinese manufacturers to improve supply chain coordination in their implementation of CE. On the policy side, our research findings suggest that ESCC practices are beneficial and, in some cases, necessary for the development of CE in China.     

Common and rare species respond to similar niche processes in macroinvertebrate metacommunities

Ecologists have long investigated why communities are composed of a few common species and many rare species. Most studies relate rarity to either niche differentiation among species or spatial processes. There is a parallel between these processes and the processes proposed to explain the structure of metacommunities. Based on a metacommunity perspective and on data on stream macroinvertebrates from different regions of Brazil, we answer two questions. 1) Are sets of common and rare species affected by similar niche and spatial processes? 2) How does the community composition of common and of rare species differ? The main hypothesis we test is that common species are mainly affected by environmental factors, whereas rare species are mostly influenced by dispersal limitation. We used variation partitioning to determine the proportion of variation explained by the environment and space in common and rare species matrices. Contrary to our expectations, evidence supported the idea that both common and rare species are affected mainly by environmental factors, even after controlling for the differing information content between common and rare species matrices. Moreover, the abundance of some common species is also a good predictor of variation in rare species matrices. Niche differences are unlikely to be the sole cause of patterns of rarity in these metacommunities. We suggest that sets of common and rare species react to similar major environmental gradients and that rare species also respond to processes that operate at a more fine‐grained spatial scale, particularly biotic interactions. We extend the view that species sorting is the dominant process structuring metacommunities and argue that future studies focusing on rarity would benefit from a metacommunity perspective.