Responses of woody vegetation to exclusion of large herbivores in semi‐arid savannas

The Nkuhlu large‐scale long‐term exclusion experiment in Kruger National Park was designed to study the long‐term effects of large herbivores on vegetation. One treatment excludes elephants, another excludes all herbivores larger than hares and another one comprises an open, control area. Vegetation monitoring was implemented in 2002 when a baseline survey was conducted prior to exclusion. Monitoring was repeated 5 years after exclusion. Data from the surveys were analysed to establish how structure and composition of woody vegetation had changed 5 years after herbivore exclusion. The analysis showed that neither plant assemblage nor mean vegetation height had changed significantly since exclusion. However, both species richness and density of woody plants increased 5 years after exclusion of all large herbivores, but not after the exclusion of elephants alone. One already common species, Dichrostachys cinerea, became more common after excluding all large herbivores compared with either no exclusion or elephant exclusion, possibly leading to competitive suppression of other species. Species other than D. cinerea tended to either increase or decrease in density, but the changes were insufficient to induce significant shifts in the overall assemblage of woody plants. The results indicate that after 5 years of exclusion, the combined assemblage of large herbivores, and not elephants alone, could induce changes in species richness and abundances of woody plants, but the effect was so far insufficient to induce measureable shifts in the assemblages of woody plants. It is possible that assemblages will change with time and increasing elephant numbers may amplify future changes.     

Trace amines (ethylamine,octopamine, and tryptamine) stimulate inositol phospholipid hydrolysis in rat cerebral cortex slices

Ethylamine, octopamine, tryptamine, and carbachol stimulate inositol phosphate accumulation in a dose-dependent way in rat cortical slices. Tyramine at 100 M has no effect. The major inositol phosphate that is accumulated following stimulation is the monophosphate. The effect of carbachol is blocked by atropine but not by cyproheptadine, phenoxybenzamine, haloperidol or propranolol. None of the antagonists tried, including atropine, had an effect on the stimulation caused by ethylamine, octopamine or tryptamine.     

新疆黄兔尾鼠的分布及其生态习性的初步观察

黄兔尾鼠(Lagurus luteus)为我国新疆北部地区的特有种。据Громов等(1977),青海和蒙古高原地区的黄兔尾鼠应属另一种(L.Przewalskii)。以往仅有少量蒙古黄兔尾鼠的生态资料(Allen 1940,Ъанников1954,ЛАБУНЕЦ1968)。一直到1968年,黄兔尾鼠数量骤然升高,一部分黄兔尾鼠移入苏联斋桑盆地的东部,иСМАГИЛОВ等(1969)才做了一些观察和报道。由于该种的数量波动极大,在低数量年份连其踪迹也不易寻觅,故我国也无人对其分布和生态专门进行研究。1974-1976年作者于新疆北部地区进行了鼠类区系调查,并于木垒县大石头公社连续做了4个月(1976年6-9月)的野外观察,现简报如下。     

Genetic Transformation of a Clinical (Genital Tract), Plasmid-Free Isolate of Chlamydia trachomatis: Engineering the Plasmid as a Cloning Vector

Our study had three objectives: to extend the plasmid-based transformation protocol to a clinical isolate of C. trachomatis belonging to the trachoma biovar, to provide “proof of principle” that it is possible to “knock out” selected plasmid genes (retaining a replication competent plasmid) and to investigate the plasticity of the plasmid. A recently developed, plasmid-based transformation protocol for LGV isolates of C. trachomatis was modified and a plasmid-free, genital tract C. trachomatis isolate from Sweden (SWFP-) was genetically transformed. Transformation of this non-LGV C. trachomatis host required a centrifugation step, but the absence of the natural plasmid removed the need for plaque purification of transformants. Transformants expressed GFP, were penicillin resistant and iodine stain positive for accumulated glycogen. The transforming plasmid did not recombine with the host chromosome. A derivative of pGFP::SW2 carrying a deletion of the plasmid CDS5 gene was engineered. CDS5 encodes pgp3, a protein secreted from the inclusion into the cell cytoplasm. This plasmid (pCDS5KO) was used to transform C. trachomatis SWFP-, and established that pgp3 is dispensable for plasmid function. The work shows it is possible to selectively delete segments of the chlamydial plasmid, and this is the first step towards a detailed molecular dissection of the role of the plasmid. The 3.6 kb β-galactosidase cassette was inserted into the deletion site of CDS5 to produce plasmid placZ-CDS5KO. Transformants were penicillin resistant, expressed GFP and stained for glycogen. In addition, they expressed β-galactosidase showing that the lacZ cassette was functional in C. trachomatis. An assay was developed that allowed the visualisation of individual inclusions by X-gal staining. The ability to express active β-galactosidase within chlamydial inclusions is an important advance as it allows simple, rapid assays to measure directly chlamydial infectivity without the need for plaquing, fluorescence or antibody staining.     

蟾蜍脑突触质膜对精氨酸-催产素(AVT)的酶促转化

本文研究了蟾蜍脑突触质膜对精氨酸-催产素(AVT,Cys-Tyr-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys-Pro-Arg-GlyNH_2)的酶促转化过程。利用高压液相层析(HPLC)对降解产物进行了分离,并分析了这些产物的氨基酸组成。发现最主要的一个降解产物为AVT_(1-8)(Cys-Tyr-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys-Pro-Arg)。其降解机制与大白鼠脑突触质膜降解AVT的不同。还用二种不同类型的蛋白酶抑制剂,即对氯汞苯甲酸(PCMB)和苯甲基磺酰氟(PMSF),对该酶促转化过程的抑制作用进行了比较,结果表明该水解酶的活性中心可能含有丝氨酸。     

Decreased ratio of alpha- to beta-globin mRNA in reticulocyte membrane RNA

The amount of RNA obtained from rabbit reticulocyte membrane-bound ribosomes by direct phenol extraction of washed membranes was inversely related to the hematocrit of the animals. Translation of the RNA in the reticulocyte translation system showed that the Mr = 30,000 protein reported to be a marker of membrane polysomes was also made by an endogenous mRNA in this translation system. Analyses of the translation products made in the wheat germ system on Triton X-100 acid urea gels show that membrane RNAs display a characteristic alpha- to beta-globin ratio of 0.77 which differentiates them from RNAs prepared from cytoplasmic polysomes and from the postpolysomal supernatant. These results show that free and membrane-bound ribosomes can be distinguished by the main protein that they produce.     

The use of flow microfluorimetry in the analysis of the phenotype expression of mouse histocompatibility antigens

Quantitation of the expression of cell surface antigens has hitherto been limited to analysis by either cytotoxicity tests or radioimmune assays (5, 15). We report here the use of a new methodology to analyze and quantitate the expression of mouse histocompabililty antigens (H-2 locus) in hybrid clones and parental cell types. The binding of fluorescein-tagged antibody is measured on a cell-to-cell basis in large viable cell populations using flow microfluorimetric techniques. These techniques have been used to measure hapten and immunoglobulin binding to lymphocyte populations (8, 9, 14). However, this is the first report in which these techniques have been used to examine the expression of the H-2 locus. The advantage of this approach is twofold: first, a large and statistically significant sample population may be analyzed one cell at a time, thus revealing the fine detail of heterogeneity in the expression of the cell surface markers within a population. Second, as has been demonstrated for analysis of specific components of the immune system, this method does permit fluorescence-activated sorting of cell types according to their different surface populations (8, 9, 14).     

Chlamydiaphage Chp2, a skeleton in the phiX174 closet: scaffolding protein and procapsid identification

Chlamydiaphage Chp2 is a member of the family Microviridae, of which bacteriophage phiX174 is the type species. Although grouped in the same family, the relationship between the Microviridae coliphages and the Chp2-like viruses, which infect obligate intracellular parasitic bacteria, is quite distant, with major differences in structural protein content and scaffolding protein dependence. To investigate the morphogenesis of Chp2, large particles were isolated from infected Chlamydophila abortus by equilibrium and rate zonal sedimentation. A monoclonal antibody that recognizes only assembled viral coat proteins was used in these detection assays. Thus, the detected particles represent virions and/or postcapsid formation assembly intermediates. Two distinct particle types were detected, differing in both protein and DNA content. Filled particles lacked VP3, the putative internal scaffolding protein, whereas empty particles contained this protein. These results indicate that VP3 is a scaffolding protein and that the isolated VP3-containing particles most likely represent Chp2 procapsids.