Konstruktion und Selektion: Argumente gegen einen morphologisch verkürzten Selektionismus

Zusammenfassung Es wird aufgezeigt, da\ der aufDarwin selbst zurückgehende eingeengte Gebrauch des Selektionskonzeptes auf die Beziehung zwischen Organismus und Umwelt die biologische Konstruktion der vorphylogenetischen idealistischen Morphologie überlassen hat. Ein zutreffendes VerstÄndnis des Evolutionsmechanismus begreift aber die biologische Apparatur ein, entzieht der Morphologie, soweit sie sich als Vorbedingung phylogenetischen Arbeitens versteht, den Boden.

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Summary It is argued that the narrow concept of selection used since the time ofDarwin is only concerned with the relation between organism and its environment (niche). It did not include the organism itself, which was the object of the pre-phylogenetic idealistic morphology. An adequate understanding of the mechanism of evolution dispenses with the concept of morphology as the basis of phylogeny.

     

Ein in vitro Proteinsynthesesystem aus Maiskeimlingen

Summary An amino acid incorporating system has been prepared from maize seedlings, and it has been characterized with the aid of poly-U and a mRNA enriched fraction from the same plant material.The rate of protein synthesis decreases proportionally with the incubation period. It seems to be related to the degradation of polysomes. The optimal Mg²⁺ concentration is 20 mM for the poly-U dependent protein synthesis and 10 mM for the synthesis with endogenous polysomes. The poly-U directed polyphenylalanine synthesis is increased 12-fold by addition of exogenous sRNA. Under optimal conditions poly-U causes a 40-fold increase of the phenylalanine incorporation.A mRNA enriched fraction was prepared from maize seedlings using proteinase K for deproteination of polysomes. The resulting RNA was further fractionated by successive precipitation with LiCl, NaCl and ethanol and characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The addition of 57 g of the mRNA-enriched sample increases the incorporation of amino acid into polypeptides by a factor of approximately 2 at a Mg²⁺ concentration of 5 mM, and by a factor of 1.5 at 15 mM Mg²⁺. The addition of 72 g rRNA does not stimulate the incorporation at low Mg²⁺ concentration, while at 15 mM Mg²⁺ a 1.3-fold increase is observed.

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Teil einer Dissertation (W. S. Sim), Bonn 1973.

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Stipendiat des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes.     

Multiplicity of leucine transport systems in Escherichia coli K-12

The major component of leucine uptake in Escherichia coli K-12 is a common system for l-leucine, l-isoleucine, and l-valine (LIV-I) with a Michaelis constant (K(m)) value of 0.2 muM (LIV-I system). The LIV-binding protein appears to be associated with this system. It now appears that the LIV-I transport system and LIV-binding protein also serve for the entry of l-alanine, l-threonine, and possibly l-serine. A minor component of l-leucine entry occurs by a leucine-specific system (L-system) for which a specific leucine-binding protein has been isolated. A mutant has been obtained that shows increased levels of the LIV-I transport activity and increased levels of both of the binding proteins. Another mutant has been isolated that shows only a major increase in the levels of the leucine-specific transport system and the leucine-specific binding protein. A third binding protein that binds all three branched-chain amino acids but binds isoleucine preferentially has been identified. The relationship of the binding proteins to each other and to transport activity is discussed. A second general transport system (LIV-II system) with a K(m) value of 2 muM and a relatively low V(max) can be observed in E. coli. The LIV-II system is not sensitive to osmotic shock treatment nor to growth of cells in the presence of leucine. This high K(m) system, which is specific for the branched-chain amino acids, can be observed in membrane vesicle preparations.     

Fine structural changes of Acetobacter suboxydans during growth in a defined medium

Cytological differences were observed between stationary- and exponentialphase cells of Acetobacter suboxydans grown in a defined medium. Unstained cells observed with the light microscope just after entering the stationary phase differed from exponentially growing cells in that the former exhibited localized increases in density, particularly in the polar regions. Electron microscopy of thin sections revealed that early stationary-phase cells possessed predominantly polar complexes of intracytoplasmic membranes accompanied by polar increases in ribosomal material. When cultures were allowed to continue far into the stationary phase, cells contained extensive aggregations of membrane-like material as the predominant fine-structural feature. In contrast, thin sections of exponentially growing cells exhibited only occasional indications of intracytoplasmic membranes. Intracytoplasmic membranes heretofore have been observed only rarely in the heterotrophic Pseudomonadales.     

Experimentelle Untersuchungen über das Interrenalorgan von Knochenfischen

Ohne ZusammenfassungDie vorliegende Arbeit entstand in ständigem Kontakt mit den Zoologischen Instituten der Technischen Hochschule Stuttgart und der Landwirtschaftlichen Hochschule Stuttgart-Hohenheim (Direktor: Prof. Dr. O.Pflugfelder).Herr Prof. Dr.Pflugfelder war so liebenswürdig, mich während der Untersuchungen zu beraten und das Manuskript der Arbeit kritisch durchzusehen. Ich möchte ihm auch an dieser Stelle herzlich danken.     

Kurze Mitteilungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Der Einfluß der Umweltfaktoren auf das Wachstum und den Häutungsrhythmus der StrandkrabbeCarcinides maenas

Zusammenfassung 1. Junge Strandkrabben von 4–16 mm Carapaxbreite wurden bis zur Geschlechtsreife unter konstanten Umweltbedingungen aufgezogen.2. Die Dauer ihrer Häutungsintervalle nimmt bei konstanter Temperatur mit der Körpergröße stetig zu.3. Die Dauer der Häutungsintervalle hängt von der Temperatur und der Ernährung ab. Von der Tageslänge scheint sie weitgehend unabhängig zu sein.4. Der relative Grösßenzuwachs bei jeder Häutung ist im gesamten untersuchten Größenbereich und bei den verschiedenen Temperaturen bei allen Häutungen gleich: Bei den Häutungen verdoppelt sich jeweils das Körpervolumen.5. Augenstielamputationen und Verlust von Extremitäten wirken auf den Häutungsrhythmus in gleicher Weise: Die Schwankungsbreite in der Dauer der Häutungsintervalle ist vermindert. Die Häutungsintervalle sind in 20° C deutlich, in 10° C nur geringfügig verkürzt.6. Durch die Anwesenheit größerer Artgenossen werden die Häutungen verzögert. Die optische Wahrnehmung spielt dabei keine Rolle.7. Aus diesen Ergebnissen wird folgendes geschlossen: Der ausschlaggebende Faktor für die Auslösung von Häutungen ist ein bestimmter Größenzuwachs. Temperatur und Ernährung beeinflussen den Häutungsrhythmus dadurch, daß sie das Tempo des Wachstums bestimmen. Die winterliche Häutungsruhe in Freilandpopulationen wird nicht durch den Kurztag bedingt, sondern durch die Kälte. Diese hemmt lediglich das Wachstum, sie verhindert nicht die Häutungen über das häutungshemmende Hormon. Dieses vermindert vielmehr die Temperaturabhängigkeit des Häutungsrhythmus, indem es die Häutungen im Warmen stärker verzögert als im Kalten. Es gestattet die Anpassung des Häutungstermins an die individuelle Lage der Tiere. Es hemmt in Anwesenheit größerer Artgenossen die Häutung. Beim Verlust mehrerer Gliedmaßen wird seine Sekretion eingestellt, so daß die nächste Häutung vorzeitig erfolgt. Das häutungshemmende Hormon bedingt dementsprechend die große individuelle Variation in der Dauer der Häutungsintervalle.

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The effect of environmental factors on growth and moulting rhythm in the shore crab,Carcinides maenas

Young crabs (carapace width 4 to 16 mm) were raised under controlled conditions in the laboratory. The time intervals between subsequent moults increase at all test temperatures with increasing body size. The length of intermoult periods varies with temperature and feeding. It is not affected by day length. Moulting takes place as soon as a certain increase in size is attained. In comparable size groups, the amount of this increase is identical in all test temperatures. Moreover, the relation of increase to initial size is constant over the whole size range investigated. The body volume doubles at each moult. Eyestalk amputations and loss of extremities have similar effects: They shorten the intermoult periods at 20° C considerably, but at 10° C they do so only slightly; furthermore, the amplitude of fluctuations is narrowed. The presence of large specimens tends to retard moulting in smaller ones; this response is independent of visual stimuli. The following assumptions are made: Low temperatures retard the moulting rhythm directly by slowing down growth. They are not acting via the moult inhibiting hormone. Loss of several extremities causes a stop of hormone delivery resulting in shortened intermoult periods. Recognition by touch of a larger specimen causes increased hormone delivery and thus retardation of the subsequent moulting process.

     

Few multiyear precipitation–reduction experiments find a shift in the productivity–precipitation relationship

Well‐defined productivity–precipitation relationships of ecosystems are needed as benchmarks for the validation of land models used for future projections. The productivity–precipitation relationship may be studied in two ways: the spatial approach relates differences in productivity to those in precipitation among sites along a precipitation gradient (the spatial fit, with a steeper slope); the temporal approach relates interannual productivity changes to variation in precipitation within sites (the temporal fits, with flatter slopes). Precipitation–reduction experiments in natural ecosystems represent a complement to the fits, because they can reduce precipitation below the natural range and are thus well suited to study potential effects of climate drying. Here, we analyse the effects of dry treatments in eleven multiyear precipitation–manipulation experiments, focusing on changes in the temporal fit. We expected that structural changes in the dry treatments would occur in some experiments, thereby reducing the intercept of the temporal fit and displacing the productivity–precipitation relationship downward the spatial fit. The majority of experiments (72%) showed that dry treatments did not alter the temporal fit. This implies that current temporal fits are to be preferred over the spatial fit to benchmark land‐model projections of productivity under future climate within the precipitation ranges covered by the experiments. Moreover, in two experiments, the intercept of the temporal fit unexpectedly increased due to mechanisms that reduced either water loss or nutrient loss. The expected decrease of the intercept was observed in only one experiment, and only when distinguishing between the late and the early phases of the experiment. This implies that we currently do not know at which precipitation–reduction level or at which experimental duration structural changes will start to alter ecosystem productivity. Our study highlights the need for experiments with multiple, including more extreme, dry treatments, to identify the precipitation boundaries within which the current temporal fits remain valid.     

Morphological variability in response to palaeoenvironmental change – a case study on Cretaceous ammonites

Changes in ammonite morphology during the earliest Early Aptian (Cretaceous) of an epicontinental sea in northern Germany were investigated based on new and rich material of Deshayesites (Deshayesitidae). This is a globally distributed genus and one of the most important ammonites of the Cretaceous with respect to biostratigraphy and abundance. The purpose of our study was to describe changes in morphology over few hundred thousand years and to discuss their relationships to major palaeoenvironmental perturbations. Our material is derived from four different horizons, and the studied stratigraphical interval includes a sea‐level change, a period of warming and an oxygen depletion event. We observe variable patterns in the occurrence of different morphological groups through time, probably indicating that morphotypes were individually impacted by environmental change. These morphological groups, unequivocally attributed to Deshayesites, cannot be fit into the existing species classification system. The greatest morphological disparity in Deshayesites is multi‐causal. It may be the result of: (1) an invasion of two morphogroups new to the habitat, which thus immediately face considerably greater competition in an environment just recovered from low‐oxygen conditions in parts of the water column during an early interval within Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a); or, (2) it may be due to a rise in sea level with a simultaneous invasion of competitors of Tethyan origin. This sheds new light on the current concept for high morphological variability within ammonite species and poses challenges to our current ideas about ammonite diversity and the use of well‐established index‐species in supraregional correlations.     

Baring it all: undressing Cambrian ‘Orsten’ phosphatocopine crustaceans using synchrotron radiation X‐ray tomographic microscopy

Synchrotron radiation X‐ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM) was used to virtually dissect and peel the shields off of the microscopic, bivalved phosphatocopine crustaceans in the Cambrian ‘Orsten’ type of preservation of Sweden. Doing so opened up for an array of concealed internal structures to be observed in a fully enclosed specimen of Hesslandona ventrospinata and a semi‐enclosed specimen of Hesslandona angustata. For comparison, also a head‐larva stage specimen of H. angustata, with shields in ‘butterfly position’, was analysed. The X‐ray tomographic data sets revealed excellently preserved structures, such as labrum, sternum, antennae, mandibular and post‐mandibular limbs with their minute setae, all of which were more or less disguised by the enclosing shields. This, moreover, allowed assignment to growth stages of the specimens, which is impossible based solely on external morphology and size. Micro‐spherules observed inside the shields of the semi‐enclosed H. angustata specimen may represent remains of food particles, and the feeding biology of phosphatocopines is discussed in detail. Our analyses suggest that phosphatocopines were particle feeders. The SRXTM technique offers the ability to three‐dimensionally reconstruct the morphology in high resolution, construct virtual serial sections and study concealed structures. The resulting data allow for new structures to be revealed for previously known taxa and for new taxa to be identified, with the added benefit of not destroying the specimens in the process. Hence, we do not longer have to rely on serendipitous finds of broken and/or open phosphatocopine specimens to elucidate their diagnostic ventral morphology.