Hand dominance and bilateral asymmetry in the structure of the second metacarpal

Bilateral asymmetry in the structure of the second metacarpal was examined in relation to functional hand dominance in a large, clinically nonselected, healthy population sample from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Bilateral bone measurements were made from anteroposterior hand radiographs of a total of 992 individuals, 609 males and 383 females, with an age range of 19–94 years. Hand dominance was determined on the basis of personal impression. Total width and medullary width at the midshaft of the second metacarpal were measured to 0.05 mm using a Helios caliper. These two measurements were used to derive cortical thickness, cortical bone area, periosteal (total) area, medullary area, percent cortical area, and the second moment of area in the mediolateral plane. In both right and left-handed individuals, statistically significant side differences were found in the calculated bone areas and the second moment of area, with the dominant hand being larger. Cortical thickness did not show significant side-related differences for either handedness. These results show that functional handedness leads to periosteal and endosteal expansion of the second metacarpal cortex on the dominant side, increasing bone strength without increasing cortical thickness. This is the first time this pattern of asymmetry has been reported in left-handers as well as right-handers. Our results argue for the primacy of environmental (mechanical) effects in determining bilateral asymmetry of limb bone structural properties. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Expression of the BnmNAP subfamily of napin genes coincides with the induction of Brassica microspore embryogenesis

Brassica napus cv. Topas microspores can be diverted from pollen development toward haploid embryo formation in culture by subjecting them to a heat stress treatment. We show that this switch in developmental pathways is accompanied by the induction of high levels of napin seed storage protein gene expression. Changes in the plant growth or microspore culture conditions were not by themselves sufficient to induce napin gene expression. Specific members of the napin multigene family were cloned from a cDNA library prepared from microspores that had been induced to undergo embryogenesis. The majority of napin clones represented three members (BnmNAP2, BnmNAP3 and BnmNAP4) that, along with a previously isolated napin genomic clone (BngNAP1), constitute the highly conserved BnmNAP subfamily of napin genes. Both RNA gel blot analysis, using a subfamily-specific probe, and histochemical analysis of transgenic plants expressing a BngNAP1 promoter--glucuronidase gene fusion demonstrated that the BnmNAP subfamily is expressed in embryogenic microspores as well as during subsequent stages of microsporic embryo development.     

Bi-directional transfer of nitrogen between alfalfa and bromegrass: Short and long term evidence

Transfer of N from legumes to associated non-legumes has been demonstrated under a wide range of conditions. Because legumes are able to derive their N requirements from N₂ fixation, legumes can serve, through the transfer of N, as a source of N for accompanying non-legumes. Studies, therefore, are often limited to the transfer of N from the legume to the non-legume. However, legumes preferentially rely on available soil N as their source of N. To determine whether N can be transferred from a non-legume to a legume, two greenhouse experiments were conducted. In the short-term N-transfer experiment, a portion of the foliage of meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rhem.) or alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was immersed in a highly labelled ¹⁵N-solution and following a 64 h incubation, the roots and leaves of the associated alfalfa and bromegrass were analyzed for ¹⁵N. In the long-term N transfer experiment, alfalfa and bromegrass were grown in an ¹⁵N-labelled nutrient solution and transplanted in pots with unlabelled bromegrass and alfalfa plants. Plants were harvested at 50 and 79 d after transplanting and analyzed for ¹⁵N content. Whether alfalfa or bromegrass were the donor plants in the short-term experiment, roots and leaves of all neighbouring alfalfa and bromegrass plants were enriched with ¹⁵N. Similarly, when alfalfa or bromegrass was labelled in the long-term experiment, the roots and shoots of neighbouring alfalfa and bromegrass plants became enriched with ¹⁵N. These two studies conclusively show that within a short period of time, N is transferred from both the N₂-fixing legume to the associated non-legume and also from the non-legume to the N₂-fixing legume. The occurrence of a bi-directional N transfer between N₂-fixing and non-N₂-fixing plants should be taken into consideration when the intensity of N cycling and the directional flow of N in pastures and natural ecosystems are investigated.     

A Mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana That Defines a New Locus for Glycine Decarboxylation

A novel photorespiratory mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana, designatedgld2, was isolated based on a growth requirement for abnormallyhigh levels of atmospheric CO₂. Photosynthetic CO₂ fixationwas inhibited in the mutant following illumination in air butnot in atmosphere containing 2% O₂. Photosynthetic assimilationof ¹⁴CO₂ in an atmosphere containing 50% O₂ resulted in accumulationof 48% of the soluble label in glycine in the mutant comparedto 9% in the wild type. The rate of glycine decarboxylationby isolated mitochondria from the mutant was reduced to 6% ofthe wild type rate. In genetic crosses, the mutant complementedtwo previously described photorespiratory mutants of A. thalianathat accumulate glycine during photosynthesis in air due todefects in glycine decarboxylase (glyD, now designated gld1)and serine transhydroxymethylase (stm). Because glycine decarboxylaseis a complex of four enzymes, these results are consistent witha mutation in a glycine decarboxylase subunit other than thataffected in the gld1 mutant. The two gld loci were mapped tochromosomes 2 and 5, respectively. ³Present address: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, MichiganState University, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A. ⁴Present address: Department of Applied Bioscience, Facultyof Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Kita-Ku, Sapporo, 060 Japan ⁵Present address: Department of Biology, Carnegie Institutionof Washington, 290 Panama Street, Standford, CA 94305, U.S.A.     

Genes encoding homologues of three consecutive enzymes in the butyrate/butanol-producing pathway of Clostridium acetobutylicum are clustered on the Clostridium difficile chromosome

Abstract Screening of a Clostridium difficile ψEMBL3 gene library with antisera raised against C. difficile culture supernatant identified several clones expressing a 31-kDa protein. A 1.8-kb Hin dIII fragment subcloned from one of the clones was sufficient for expression of the 31-kDa polypeptide. Southern blot analysis showed a region homologous to this fragment to be present in all of 13 different C. difficile strains tested. Sequence analysis of the 1.8-kb fragment revealed three adjacent open reading frames. A database search showed that these three open reading frames appeared to encode homologues of three consecutive enzymes in the butanol/butyrate-producing pathway of Clostridium acetobutylicum (crotonase, β-hydroxybutyryl coenzyme A dehydrogenase and thiolase).     

Prior experience affects the visual ability ofRhagoletis pomonella flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) to find host fruit

Females of the apple maggot fly,Rhagoletis pomonella, were allowed for 3 days to alight upon and oviposit in green or red 18- to 20-mm hawthorn host fruit (Crategus mollis) or green or red 45- to 55-mm apple host fruit (Malus pumila) hung from branches of potted host trees in field enclosures. Subsequently, when females were released individually on potted host trees harboring fruit of one of these types, their ability to find fruit of unfamiliar size proved unaffected by prior experience with fruit but their ability to find fruit of unfamiliar color was significantly affected. Specifically, females exposed to red hawthorns or red apples were less able to find green hawthorns or green apples than were females experienced with either of the latter fruit types. Fruit odor was found to have no effect on female ability to find familiar compared with unfamiliar green fruit. In contrast, a difference in size (or surface chemistry) between familiar and unfamiliar fruit but not a difference in fruit color had a significant negative influence on the propensity of alighting females to bore into unfamiliar fruit. Three bouts of experience with alighting upon and ovipositing into fruit over a period of about 1 h had no detectable effect on female ability to find unfamiliar fruit but did reduce propensity to bore into unfamiliar fruit. Our findings are discussed in relation to insect ability to learn visual and chemical stimuli of resources and insect propensity to form host races. We also discuss the potential impact of our findings on nonpesticidal, behavioral methods of managingR. pomonella in commercial apple orchards.     

Insights into the secretory pathway and vesicular transport in plant cells

Summary— The vectorial transport of membrane and macromolecules within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells has been the subject of intense investigation over the last decade. In this paper we review some of the recent advances made in our understanding of vesicle transport and the secretory pathway in plant cells.