Genetic signature of the colonisation dynamics along a coastal expansion front in the damselfly Coenagrion scitulum

1. Many insects are expanding their distribution range polewards as a result of climate change, which has been shown to be associated with founder effects leading to a reduction in genetic diversity and an increase in genetic differentiation. These spatial genetic patterns may arise from colonisation from a broad expansion front or a limited neighbourhood after a stepping stone model of dispersal. The temporal persistence of such founder effects are poorly understood, mainly because studies looking at the fine‐scale initial temporal dynamics of the genetic signature of a range expansion are rare. 2. Using microsatellite markers, we performed a detailed spatiotemporal genetic analysis of the range expanding damselfly Coenagrion scitulum (Rambur) along a coastal axis during the first years after colonisation. 3. A decrease was in (private) allelic richness when going northwards along the coastline, which is consistent with a scenario of cumulative founder events. In spite of the spatiotemporal dynamics in the observation records of the species along the coastline, the spatial genetic data indicated a major contribution from the broad expansion front during the colonisation of the coastline rather than a stepping‐stone colonisation process. 4. The fine‐scale temporal dynamics of the range expansion indicated the absence of persistent founder effects and instead showed considerable temporal instability in genetic indices at the more northern edge populations. This may be explained by genetic immigration and admixture from the broad expansion front in this active disperser.     

Arabidopsis thaliana ASN2 encoding asparagine synthetase is involved in the control of nitrogen assimilation and export during vegetative growth

We investigated the function of ASN2, one of the three genes encoding asparagine synthetase (EC 6.3.5.4), which is the most highly expressed in vegetative leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression of ASN2 and parallel higher asparagine content in darkness suggest that leaf metabolism involves ASN2 for asparagine synthesis. In asn2‐1 knockout and asn2‐2 knockdown lines, ASN2 disruption caused a defective growth phenotype and ammonium accumulation. The asn2 mutant leaves displayed a depleted asparagine and an accumulation of alanine, GABA, pyruvate and fumarate, indicating an alanine formation from pyruvate through the GABA shunt to consume excess ammonium in the absence of asparagine synthesis. By contrast, asparagine did not contribute to photorespiratory nitrogen recycle as photosynthetic net CO₂ assimilation was not significantly different between lines under both 21 and 2% O₂. ASN2 was found in phloem companion cells by in situ hybridization and immunolocalization. Moreover, lack of asparagine in asn2 phloem sap and lowered ¹⁵N flux to sinks, accompanied by the delayed yellowing (senescence) of asn2 leaves, in the absence of asparagine support a specific role of asparagine in phloem loading and nitrogen reallocation. We conclude that ASN2 is essential for nitrogen assimilation, distribution and remobilization (via the phloem) within the plant.     

Initiation of Cellulose Biosynthesis

IN spite of much investigation the problem of the molecular mechanism of cellulose synthesis remains unsolved¹. Hexose phosphates², sugar nucleotides^3–6 and a glycolipid^7–9 have been suggested as the precursor of cellulose. Implicit in all these investigations is the supposition that a single substrate suffices for the synthesis. We describe here some preliminary observations which seem to throw new light on the possible mechanism.     

PHOSPHOINOSITIDE KINASES IN CHICK BRAIN AND SCIATIC NERVE, A DEVELOPMENTAL STUDY

Phosphatidylinositol kinase and diphosphoinositide kinase activities were measured in homogenates of brain and sciatic nerve of developing chick embryos and chicks. Characteristics of the chick nervous system enzymes were similar to those reported for rat brain. Diphosphoinositide kinase was inhibited by high concentrations of ATP and by low concentrations of triphosphoinositide. Both activities were greatly enhanced by the non-ionic detergent, Cutscum, and the ratio of detergent to protein in the reaction mixture was important. Optimum phosphatidylinositol kinase activity required a ratio of 7 : 1 for both tissues. The optimum ratio for diphosphoinositide kinase was 3:1 for nerve homogenates and 0.6:1 for brain. Cutscum increased the concentration of diphosphoinositide that is required for maximum diphosphoinositide kinase activity. Developmental changes were the same for both kinase activities, which were low in unmyelinated brain and sciatic nerve. The activities correlated with the concentration of polyphosphoinositides in chick brain where they increased 4-5 fold during the period of active myelination and remained high in the mature brain. The kinase activities correlated with the rate of triphosphoinositide deposition in sciatic nerve. Following a 2-3 fold increase during the initial phase of myelination the activities declined to values as low as those of embryonic nerve.     

1H, (13)C, and (15)N NMR stereochemical study of cis-fused 7a(8a)-methyl and 6-phenyl octa(hexa)hydrocyclopenta[d][1,3]oxazines and [3,1]benzoxazines

Four 7a-methyl octa(or hexa)hydrocyclopenta[d][1,3]oxazines, five 8a-methyl octa(or hexa)hydro[3,1]benzoxazines, two 6-phenyl hexahydro[3,1]benzoxazinones, and 8a-methyl hexahydro[1,3]benzoxazinone, all cis-fused, were prepared and their stereostructures studied by various one- and two-dimensional (1)H, (13)C, and (15)N NMR spectroscopic methods. In solution, the cyclopentane-fused 2-oxo derivatives and the 1,3-benzoxazinone were found to attain exclusively the N-in/O-in conformation, whereas the 6-phenyl 2-oxo/thioxo derivatives were found to be present predominantly in the N-out conformation. The C-2 unsubstituted and the 2-oxo/thioxo 7a/8a-methyl derivatives were all present in solution as a rapidly interconverting equilibrium of the N-in and N-out conformations. The C-2 methyl derivatives were each found to be interconvertable mixtures of epimers (at C-2) with the N-in conformer predominating for one epimer and the N-out conformer predominating for the other, with both predominating conformers having the C-2 methyl group equatorially orientated. The substituent on the nitrogen (H or Me) was found to be always predominantly equatorial with respect to the heteroring, except for the epimeric 2-methyl derivatives with N-out conformations where steric constraints and the generalized anomeric effect resulted in the axial orientation of the C-2 methyl being favored.     

Distribution of individual members of the mosquito Anopheles maculipennis complex in Germany identified by newly developed real‐time PCR assays

Owing to their role as vectors of malaria parasites, species of the Anopheles maculipennis complex (Diptera: Culicidae) Meigen were intensively studied in the past, but with the disappearance of malaria in Germany in the middle of the last century, the interest in this field of research declined. A comprehensive ecological analysis of the current species distribution for Germany is lacking. Between 2010 and 2013, a total of 1445 mosquitoes of the An. maculipennis complex were collected at 72 different sites in Germany. The samples comprise 722 single individuals as well as 723 individuals in 90 pools of up to 25 mosquitoes. All samples were analysed with newly developed species‐specific qPCR assays for the identification of the four German species using nucleotide differences within the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) ribosomal DNA. All gathered data were used for species distribution modelling. The overall prevalence of An. messeae s.l. was highest with 98.89% of all pools; An. daciae with 6.93% of all individuals and An. messeae s.s. with 69.53%. The prevalence of the other two species was relatively low: An. maculipennis s.s. with 13.30% of all individuals (6.67% of all pools) and An. atroparvus with 1.80% of all individuals (1.11% of all pools).     

Isolation and cross‐familial amplification of 41 microsatellites for the brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis)

The brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis; Osteichthyes: Salmonidae) is a phenotypically diverse fish species inhabiting much of North America. But relatively few genetic diagnostic resources are available for this fish species. We isolated 41 microsatellites from S. fontinalis polymorphic in one or more species of salmonid fish. Thirty‐seven were polymorphic in brook charr, 15 in the congener Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) and 14 in the lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush). Polymorphism was also relatively high in Oncorhynchus, where 21 loci were polymorphic in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and 16 in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) but only seven and four microsatellite loci were polymorphic in the more distantly related lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), respectively. One duplicated locus (Sfo228Lav) was polymorphic at both duplicates in S. fontinalis.     

Characterization of microsatellite loci isolated in midget faded rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis concolor)

Primers for five polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for the midget faded rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis concolor), a rare subspecies of western rattlesnake (Crotalus viridus) found only in parts of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Five polymorphic microsatellites were isolated, four of which had relatively high levels of diversity (eight to nine alleles). We found only two departures from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and they occurred in different loci, so null alleles are likely not a problem. Moreover, we found that no two loci were linked. These loci will be applicable for population genetic analysis and perhaps analysis of paternity and mating systems.