Curare and modern medicine

This deadly arrow-poison of South American Indians, concocted from the juices of a variety of plants, has found modern clinical use in the treatment of human ailments.     

EFFECTS OF ARSENATE ON GROWTH OF NITROGEN-AND PHOSPHORUS-LIMITED CHLORELLA VULGARIS (CHLOROPHYCEAE) ISOLATES1

The effects of arsenate on the growth characteristics of five isolates of the freshwater alga, Chlorella vulgaris Beij., were examined. Two field isolates originated from arsenic-contaminated sites in Yukon, Canada and Kyushi, Japan; two reference isolates were obtained from the University of Texas Culture Collection. One isolate was selected for arsenic-tolerance in the laboratory. All five strains survived in culture solutions containing high arsenate concentrations. Arsenate (1–25 mM As) reduced photosynthesis and cell growth, as reflected by induced lag periods, slower growth rates, and lower stationary cell yields. Field isolates had shorter lag periods, higher growth rates, and enhanced cell yields compared to lab isolates when exposed to the same arsenic concentrations. Growth of the phosphorus-limited field strains was stimulated by the addition of arsenic. The cell yield of phosphorus-limited C. vulgaris Yukon, when treated with arsenic, was two times that of the phosphorus-limited control. This pattern was not evident when photosynthesis was used as a measure of cell response.     

Termite Prey Specialization in the Pitcher Plant Nepenthes albomarginata--Evidence from Stable Isotope Analysis

Old World pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp., Nepenthaceae) trapand digest invertebrate prey to derive nutrients, primarilynitrogen (N). In the majority of lowland Nepenthes species studiedto date, ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) are numerically thedominant prey taxon. Nepenthes albomarginata is unusual in showingan apparent bias towards the capture of termites (Isoptera).We tested the hypothesis that N. albomarginata derives N fromtermite capture, by comparison of foliar stable N isotope abundance(     

Physiological responses of Sargasso Sea picoplankton to nanomolar nitrate perturbations

A study was conducted in July 1989 at three stations in thenorthern Sargasso Sea, where picoplankton (<1 µm)provided approximately half of the standing crop of chlorophyll.Temporal changes in the position of the nitracline at a singlelocation indicated that the vertical supply of nitrate was notat ‘steady-state’ and phytoplankton distributionstracked the nitracline. Our main experimental objective wasto examine the short-term effects of ecologically significantnitrate perturbations (+20 and +100 nM) on the physiologyof <1 µm communities growing at low (nanomolar)ambient nitrate concentrations. A chemiluminescent nitrate methodwas used to measure the time course (up to 4 h) of nitratedisappearance at in situ irradiance, in parallel with measurementsof photosynthetic ¹⁴CO₂ assimilation. Picoplankton growing at<60 nM nitrate rapidly responded to nanomolar nitratesupplements with luxury consumption and enhanced photosynthesisin proportion to their ambient nitrate environment. Light-saturatedSynechococcus populations from the most nitrate-depleted waters(13 nM) had doubled their cellular rate of photosynthesisafter 4 h, in response to a 20 nM nitrate pulse.     

Summer dynamics of the deep chlorophyll maximum in Lake Tahoe

Vertical profiles of chlorophyll and phytoplankton biomass weremeasured in Lake Tahoe from July 1976 through April 1977. Adeep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) persisted during summer and earlyautumn (July—October) near 100 m, well below the mixedlayer and at the upper surface of the nitracline. The DCM coincidedwith the phytoplankton biomass maximum as determined from cellcounts. In addition, the composition of the phytoplankton assemblagewas highly differentiated with respect to depth. Cyclotellastelligera was the predominant species in the mixed layer whilethe major species in the DCM layer included C. ocellata andseveral green ultraplanktonic species. In situ cell growth playsa substantial role in maintaining the DCM, but sinking of cellsfrom shallower depths and zooplankton grazing above the DCMmay contribute to the maintenance of the DCM. Calculations supportthe interpretation that the summer DCM persists at the boundarybetween an upper, nutrient-limited phytoplankton assemblageand a deeper, light-limited assemblage.