DNA fingerprints of sheep using an M13 probe

The bacteriophage M13 DNA was used to detect hypervariable minisatellites in several families of Booroola sheep as well as Merino and Suffolk sheep. Digestion of sheep DNA gave rise to three to eight fragments with different restriction enzymes demonstrating considerable polymorphism between the different breeds. The length of informative DNA fragments varied in size from 6 to 20kb. The DNA fingerprints generated were individual specific and allowed for differentiation between closely related animals. The pattern obtained with sheep DNA was different from that observed with humans and other vertebrates in the proportion of high molecular weight DNA fragments present. Pedigree analysis of DNA patterns of dams and their offspring for several sets of twins and triplets showed a clear distinction between individuals and failed to reveal the presence of monozygosity.     

Pectolytic Activity by the Haustorium of the Parasitic PlantOrobancheL. (Orobanchaceae) in Host Roots

The possible involvement of enzymes in the penetration of intrusivecells of the parasitic angiospermOrobancheinto host root tissueswas studied using cytochemical and immunocytochemical methods.Pectin methyl esterase (PME) was detected, with specific antibodies,in the cytoplasm and cell walls ofOrobancheintrusive cells andin adjacent host apoplast. Depletion and chemical changes ofpectins in host cell walls were shown by histochemical stainingwith PATAg, which detects carbohydrates that are sensitive toperiodic acid, especially pectins, and with the monoclonal antibodiesJIM 5 and JIM 7 that label pectins with low and high rates ofesterification, respectively. Galacturonic sequences with lowrates of esterification were more abundant in host cell wallsadjacent to the parasite, which is consistent with pectin de-methylationby PME release from the parasite. Pectins were absent in middlelamellae and in host cell walls neighbouring mature intrusivecells of the parasite, consistent with further degradation ofpectins by other enzymes. These results provide the first directevidence for the presence and activity of a pectolytic enzymein the infection zone of the haustorium of a parasitic angiosperminsitu.Copyright 1998 Annals of Botany Company Broomrape;Orobanche; parasitic weed; haustorium; pectin methyl esterase; pectin; cell wall.     

MOLLUSCAN SHELL PIGMENTS: AN IN SITU RESONANCE RAMAN STUDY

Using Resonance Raman microspectrometry we identify polyenesas shell pigments in 13 gastropod, 1 cephalopod and 4 bivalvetaxa. The pigments are either isolated polyenes or polyenesbound to other molecules. Polyenes are present in coloured partsof the shell of all investigated taxa. Pigments differ betweentaxa and there is no trivial relationship between colour, pigmentand taxon. The same colour in different taxa may be due to differentpigments; different colours in the same taxon are due to differentpigments; different colour saturation is due to different concentrationof the same pigment. The pigment polyenes are unsubstitutedchains of 8–13 conjugated double-bonds (16–26 carbonatoms) in the chain, with terminals incorporating –CH₃groups. This is the first demonstration of polyenes as shellpigment in the Mollusca. We also identify a carotenoid as theexternal, yellow pigment in Cypraea moneta. (Received 2 December 2004; accepted 18 August 2005)     

Cyclone damage to tropical rain forests: Species‐ and community‐level impacts

Abstract Severe Tropical Cyclone ‘Larry’ caused damage to 10 long‐term 0.5 ha monitoring plots in the rain forests of Queensland's Wet Tropics on 20 March 2006. We assessed the community‐level damage and the impact of the cyclone on the most abundant tree species in each plot. Damage was positively correlated with distance from the cyclone eye, though some plots received less damage than predicted owing to topographic shielding. Damage was patchy within plots, which is reflected in the range of damage‐classes recorded for each species, but there are broad trends in the type of response shown by different species. At the plot level, some species were either more susceptible or less susceptible to damage than the rest of the community. Species tended to show similar patterns of damage between plots with different community damage ratings. We discuss these response types in terms of adaptive tolerance to particular wind speeds and the trade‐off between frequently losing canopy volume in light winds, or rarely suffering substantial damage. We suggest that increased frequency of intense cyclones may affect the distribution of some species in the future, with those species most susceptible to high levels of damage at lower wind speeds becoming restricted to leeward‐facing slopes and upland areas away from the coast, and an increased abundance of resilient species in lowland coastal areas.     

Pseudomastus deltaicus gen. et sp.n. (Polychaeta: Capitellidae) from a shallow water bay in the North- Western Mediterranean Sea

Specimens of Pseudomastus deltaicus gen. et sp.n. (Capitellidae), were collected from muddy bottoms in Els Alfacs Bay (Ebre Delta), a semi-enclosed shallow water area. The main diagnostic characteristics are the possession of 12 thoracic setigers, of which the first 10 have only capillary setae and the last two have capillary notosetae and neuropodial hooded hooks, and presence of branchiae in the abdominal region. Pygidium bearing three anal cirri.     

Chemotherapy through Lysosomes with a DNA-Daunorubicin Complex

WHEN a drug can pass freely across cell membranes, it becomes distributed throughout the body fluids whichever its route of administration and invades all cells by diffusion at comparable rates. But if it is firmly associated with a non-permeant, pino-cytizable and digestible carrier, it will tend to remain confined within a smaller fluid space determined by its route of administration, its excretion will be slow and its intracellular penetration will be restricted to the endocytic route (Fig. 1). Free drug will then appear first within lysosomes, following digestion of the carrier. From the lysosomes it will diffuse into the other parts of the cells and eventually into the extracellular fluids. The intracellular concentration of the drug thus becomes dependent on the pinocytic activity of the cells and on the digestive potential of their lysosomes and must exceed the extracellular concentration in the most active cells. Obviously, this model requires the complex to be stable in the body fluids and to dissociate inside lysosomes. The drug itself must be resistant to lysosomal inactivation.