Filter-feeding gelatinous macrozooplankton response to climate change and implications for benthic food supply and global carbon cycle

It is often suggested that gelatinous zooplankton may benefit from anthropogenic pressures of all kinds and in particular from climate change. Large pelagic tunicates, for example, are likely to be favored over other types of macrozooplankton due to their filter-feeding mode, which gives them access to small preys thought to be less affected by climate change than larger preys. In this study, we provide model-based estimate of potential community changes in macrozooplankton composition and estimate for the first time their effects on benthic food supply and on the ocean carbon cycle under two 21st-century climate-change scenarios. Forced with output from an Earth System Model climate projections, our ocean biogeochemical model simulates a large reduction in macrozooplankton biomass in response to anthropogenic climate change, but shows that gelatinous macrozooplankton are less affected than nongelatinous macrozooplankton, with global biomass declines estimated at −2.8% and −3.5%, respectively, for every 1°C of warming. The inclusion of gelatinous macrozooplankon in our ocean biogeochemical model has a limited effect on anthropogenic carbon uptake in the 21st century, but impacts the projected decline in particulate organic matter fluxes in the deep ocean. In subtropical oligotrophic gyres, where gelatinous zooplankton dominate macrozooplankton, the decline in the amount of organic matter reaching the seafloor is reduced by a factor of 2 when gelatinous macrozooplankton are considered (−17.5% vs. −29.7% when gelatinous macrozooplankton are not considered, all for 2100 under RCP8.5). The shift to gelatinous macrozooplankton in the future ocean therefore buffers the decline in deep carbon fluxes and should be taken into account when assessing potential changes in deep carbon storage and the risks that deep ecosystems may face when confronted with a decline in their food source.     

Characterization of the bioactive conformation of the C-terminal tripeptide Gly-Leu-Met-NH2 of substance P using [3-prolinoleucine10]SP analogues.

Residue Leu10 of substance P (SP) is critical for NK-1 receptor recognition and agonist activity. In order to probe the bioactive conformation of this residue, cis- and trans-3-substituted prolinoleucines were introduced in position 10 of SP. The substituted SP analogues were tested for their affinity to human NK-1 receptor specific binding sites (NK-1M and NK-1m) and their potency to stimulate adenylate cyclase and phospholipase C in CHO cells transfected with the human NK-1 receptor. [trans-3-prolinoleucine10]SP retained affinity and potency similar to SP whereas [cis-3-prolinoleucine10]SP shows dramatic loss of affinity and potency. To analyze the structural implications of these biological results, the conformational preferences of the SP analogues were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy and minimum-energy conformers of Ac-cis-3-prolinoleucine-NHMe, Ac-trans-3-prolinoleucine-NHMe and model dipeptides were generated by molecular mechanics calculations. From NMR and modeling studies it can be proposed that residue Leu10 of SP adopts a gauche(+) conformation around the chi1 angle and a trans conformation around the chi2 angle in the bioactive conformation. Together with previously published results, our data indicate that the C-terminal SP tripeptide should preferentially adopt an extended conformation or a PPII helical structure when bound to the receptor.     

The increase of stature in France

This study is divided in two parts. The first shows that the secular trend of increasing height is far from decreasing and, on the contrary, is accelerating. The second part attacks the problem of the causes of this phenomena. It shows that the increase of stature is linked to all indicators of the conditions of life, without any one factor being predominant. On the other hand, students of the more privileged back-grounds keep on showing this secular trend, though their life standards seems to be at the optimum. Therefore, the cause and the end of this phenomena cannot be demonstrated.     

The xylanase introns from Cryptococcus albidus are accurately spliced in transgenic tobacco plants

The xylanase gene from Cryptococcus albidus contains seven introns. Genomic and cDNA clones under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter were transferred into tobacco plants using Agrobacterium-mediated cell transformation. The genes were transcribed and the mRNAs were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction using primers on each side of the intron region. About 90% of the amplification products from plants transformed with the genomic clone corresponded to the size of the pre-mRNA (1.2 kb) and 10% represented the spliced product (0.85 kb). The 0.85 kb fragment was cloned and sequenced and the result indicated that the introns from the xylanase gene were accurately spliced by the plant cells.     

Immunoaffinity purification and partial amino acid sequence analysis of catechol-O-methyltransferase from pig liver

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the soluble form (S-COMT) of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT, EC 2.1.1.6) were produced using a purified preparation of the enzyme from pig liver as antigen. The selected monoclonal antibodies recognized the enzyme with different capacities. One of them (Co60-1B/7) showed a significant cross reaction with S-COMT from rat and human liver. A protein band of 23 kDa was recognized by the mAbs on Western blots of the soluble fraction of pig liver. The mAbs were also able to recognize the membrane-bound form of the enzyme, which was found to be mainly localized in the microsomal fraction of pig and rat liver as well as of the human hepatoma cell line Hep G2. The protein bands detected in microsomes had a molecular mass of 26 kDa in pig and rat liver and displayed a slightly higher molecular mass (29 kDa) in the Hep G2 cell line. A single step method for the immunoaffinity purification of pig liver S-COMT was developed by using a Sepharose 4B column to which the mAb Co54-5F/8 was covalently coupled. Acid elution conditions were optimized to obtain the enzyme in active form with a good yield. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified preparation revealed a single protein band with a molecular mass of 23 kDa with 154-fold enrichment in enzyme activity over the starting material. Since the N-terminus was blocked, purified enzyme preparations were cleaved with trypsin. Two fragments of 22 and 33 amino acids in length could be sequenced by Edman degradation.     

Influence of dilution rate and induction of cloned gene expression in continuous fermentations of recombinant yeast

The effects of growth rate on cloned gene product synthesis in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been studied in continuous culture. The plasmid employed contains a yeast GAL10-CYC1 hybrid promoter directing expression of the E. coli lacZ gene. beta-Galactosidase production was therefore controlled by the yeast galactose regulatory circuit, and the induction process and its effects were studied at the various dilution rates. At all dilution rates plasmid stability decreased with induction of lacZ gene expression. In some instances, two induced "steady states" were observed, the first 10-15 residence times after induction and the second after 40-50 residence times. The second induced steady state was characterized by greater biomass concentration and lower beta-galactosidase specific activity relative to the first induced "steady-state." beta-Galactosidase specific activity and biomass concentration increased as dilution rate was reduced, and despite lower flow rate and plasmid stability, overall productivity (activity/L/hr) was substantially higher at low dilution rate. Important factors influencing all of the trends were the glucose and galactose (inducer) concentrations in the vessel and inducer metabolism.     

Three forms of phosphatase type 1 in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. Free catalytic subunit appears to mediate s6 dephosphorylation

The major 40 S ribosomal protein S6 phosphatase in Swiss mouse 3T3 fibroblasts is a type 1 enzyme (Olivier, A. R., Ballou, L. M., and Thomas, G. (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 85, 4720-4724). Polyclonal antibodies were raised against a synthetic peptide containing the carboxyl-terminal 14 amino acids of the catalytic subunit of phosphatase 1 (PP-1C). Results from Western blot analysis and immunoprecipitation show that the peptide antiserum specifically recognizes PP-1C in cell extracts. Anion-exchange chromatography of cell extracts and Western blot analysis revealed three peaks of PP-1C termed A, B, and C. Peaks A and C are associated with the major type 1 S6 phosphatase activities, but peak B exhibits little activity. The phosphatase in peak A (Mr 39,000) appears to represent the free catalytic subunit, whereas the enzymes in peaks B and C display sizes of 68,000-140,000. Peak B contains two additional proteins of Mr 26,000 and 48,000 that co-immunoprecipitate with PP-1C, while peak C has a single additional protein of Mr 100,000. Fifteen min after serum withdrawal there is a 2-fold stimulation of S6 phosphatase activity in peak A that can be accounted for by an increase in the amount of PP-1C. The amount of PP-1C in the inactive peak B fraction also increases during this time and this increase is associated with changes in the phosphorylation state of the Mr 26,000 and 48,000 proteins. The results are discussed in relation to regulatory mechanisms which are thought to modulate the activity of type 1 phosphatase.     

Influence of the carboxyl terminus of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone and bradykinin on hydrolysis by brain endo-oligopeptidases

A homogeneous preparation of endo-oligopeptidase A from rabbit brain cleaves luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (less than Glu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-Gly-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH2) at the Tyr-Gly bond only after the removal of Gly-NH2 from the COOH-terminal position of the molecule. The influence of the carboxyl terminus on hydrolysis by brain endo-oligopeptidases was studied using bradykinin as a model substrate. The substitution of the carboxyl group of bradykinin by the amide reduces by 2.5-fold the rate of Phe-Ser bond hydrolysis by endo-oligopeptidase A but has no effect on the rate of hydrolysis of the Pro-Phe bond by endo-oligopeptidase B. On the other hand, the deletion of Phe-Arg from the COOH-terminal portion of bradykinin makes the peptide resistant to hydrolysis by endo-oligopeptidase A whereas it increases by 5-fold the rate of hydrolysis of the Pro-Gly bond by endo-oligopeptidase B.