Respiratory metabolism of Utah chub, Gila atraria (Girard) and speckled dace, Rhinichthys osculus (Girard)

Measurements of active, standard and routine oxygen consumption were made for 207 Utah chub at 6°, 9°, 12°, 18° and 22° C; and 123 speckled dace at 4°, 8°, 12° and 18° C. These were expressed as mathematical functions of water temperature and size of the fish. The mean slopes of log_e oxygen consumption (mg O₂/h) and log_e wet weight (g) were 0.771, 0.526, and 0.619 for active, standard, and routine rates respectively for Utah chub, and 0.943, 0.486, and 0.683 respectively for speckled dace.     

Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxylase Purified from Leaves of C3, C4, and C3-C4 intermediate species of Alternanthera: Properties at Limiting and Saturating Bicarbonate

Photosynthetica - Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) was purified from leaves of four species of Alternanthera differing in their photosynthetic carbon metabolism: Alternanthera sessilis (C3),...     

Preliminary studies on the conversion of Tubifex tubifex as food by elvers of Anguilla nebulosa (Gray and Hardwicke)

Elvers of Anguilla nebulosa were reared at 23°C in confined waters and their food intake, growth and conversion efficiency (K₁:%) were studied. Elvers weighing 278.33±14.35 mg were fed on an ad libitum diet of the oligochaete worm Tubifex tubifex for 60 days. On an average, the test individuals consumed 99.55±19.81 mg food/elver/day amounting to 35.76% of the initial biomass; during the corresponding period the elvers exhibited a growth rate of 5.03±2.42 mg gain in weight/elver/day which is equivalent to 5.06% of the consumed food. Thus the 'housekeeping' of these elvers may be regarded as established. In 50 days, the food required amounts to 0.358±50 = 17.90 times the initially stocked biomass. That is, 1 kg of initially stocked elvers may need 17.90 kg of T. tubifex to produce 0.912 kg of elver meat. A poor conversion ratio of 20 : 1 may be one reason for the slow growth of the elvers.     

Horizontal gene transfer and bacterial diversity

Bacterial genomes are extremely dynamic and mosaic in nature. A substantial amount of genetic information is inserted into or deleted from such genomes through the process of horizontal transfer. Through the introduction of novel physiological traits from distantly related organisms, horizontal gene transfer often causes drastic changes in the ecological and pathogenic character of bacterial species and thereby promotes microbial diversification and speciation. This review discusses how the recent influx of complete chromosomal sequences of various microorganisms has allowed for a quantitative assessment of the scope, rate and impact of horizontally transmitted information on microbial evolution.     

Short term effect of ultraviolet-B radiation on photosystem 2 photochemistry in the cyanobacteriumSynechococcus 6301

Exposure of intact cells of theSynechococcus 6301 to UV-B radiation induced a loss in photosystem 2 (PS 2) electron transport activity prior to the alteration in pigment complexes. Thus the degradation of PS 2 was not directly related to pigment alteration. Supported by Young Scientist grant No. SRJSYIB-05192 from the Department of Science and Technology, Goverment of India to SDSM.