La dormance embryonnaire chez Taxus baccata: Influence de la composition du milieu liquide sur I'induction de la germination Par

Embryo dormancy of Taxus baccata var. fastigiata is eliminated when cultured continuously in nutritive liquid medium. An equivalent percentage of germination is obtained when the embryos are transferred to agar medium after 8 days of liquid culture. There is no morphological development of the embryo during the period in the liquid medium. But we have ascertained that water-soluble germination inhibitors present in the embryo are leached out into the medium, permitting germination. Germination is totally absent when the embryos are cultured continuously in distilled water, alone or with minerals; incidental in sucrose solution; and maximal when the medium contains sucrose and Ca²⁺ or K⁺ ions. The extent of germination on agar medium depends upon the composition of the liquid medium in which the embryos are cultured for the initial 8 days. But this preliminary culture in the liquid medium does not always remove the endogenous inhibitors, irrespective of its composition. This can be achieved only in the presence of sucrose; and this process can be made more effective by the addition of Ca²⁺ ions.     

Political Conflict ana Revolution in an African Town

The emerging patterns of life in contemporary Africa are most apparent in the often competing social and political groupings which have developed as basically rural populations have attempted to deal with the complexities of modern life. During the colonial period, these new groupings—whether rural or urban—were under the control of a dominant administration and seldom came into overt conflict. However, this is not now the case in most African towns. There, as in Ouagadougou, the capital of Upper Volta, a multiplicity of socio-political factions and multiple governing bodies all claim rights to power and legitimacy. The result is more open competition and conflict. This suggests that the "stability" claimed for colonial African societies was more a function of exogenous political factors than of inherent structural features in the social systems described. Until new dominant political structures emerge in Africa and establish mediating linkages with other institutional forms, there may well be a period of conflict and revolution.     

Facilitated Penetration of Amanitin—Albumin Conjugates into Hepatocytes after Coupling with Fluorescein

α-AMANITIN, a cyclic peptide of the toadstool Amanita phalloides^1,2, causes necrosis of liver and kidney cells, the first morphological lesions occurring in the nuclei^3,4. It acts by binding to RNA polymerase in eukaryotic .cells and inhibiting the enzyme^5–9. The hepatotoxicity of amanitin increases several times when it is conjugated to albumin, probably because of a slower rate of elimination of the toxin through the glomeruli^4,10. It is unlikely that the amanitin-albumin conjugate enters the hepatocyte by a mechanism involving its albumin moiety; it was therefore suggested¹¹ that penetration of the liver cells is consequent on binding of the amanitin group to the carrier involved in transport of this peptide. This led us to consider more generally the facilitation of penetration into cells by large molecules by means of binding to another molecule for which a carrier exists on the cell membrane^12,13.     

Temperature-induced changes in the life cycle of Leuctra nigra(Plecoptera: Leuctridae) from a Lake District stream

1. The life cycle of Leuctra nigra (Olivier) took 2 years in a small stream in the English Lake District and the exponential growth of the larvae was scarcely affected by variations in water temperature (range 4.2-14.0°C). Mean growth rates for three year-classes were 0.43±0.01, 0.42±0.01, 0.39±0.05% body length day^?1. There were thirteen or fourteen larval instars for males and fourteen or fifteen for females. The ratio between successive instars was a constant 1.20 (conformed with Dyar's rule). 2. Larval growth and mortality were exponential at six constant temperatures (5.9, 8.2, 12.1, 15.8, 18.2, 19.8°C) in the laboratory. Mean growth rates (% body length day^?1) increased directly with temperature from 0.37 (5.9°C) to 0.55 (19.8°C). Mean mortality rates (% day^?1) increased directly with temperature from 0.20 (5.9°C) to 0.26 (12.1°C) and then markedly increased to 0.54-0.58 at the three higher temperatures. Only 7-10% of animals completed their life cycle at the three higher temperatures compared with 23–27% at the three lower temperatures. Egg production also decreased considerably at the higher temperatures. 3. As growth rates in the stream and laboratory were similar at similar temperatures (<14°C), the optimum conditions for growth in the laboratory were probably similar to those in the stream; therefore resources such as food and space were not restricting growth in the stream. 4. The implications of the temperature-induced changes in growth and mortality are discussed and it is concluded that although the life cycle can change from semivoltine to univoltine with increasing temperature, the costs of a univoltine life cycle are high in terms of survival and egg production, both of which decreased markedly between 12.1 and 15.8°C. Therefore the optimum habitat for this species appears to be a summer cool stream (maximum temperature <14°C) and the optimal life cycle appears to be about 2 years from egg to adult.     

Biochemical and Ultrastructural Changes in Tetrahymena pyriformis During Starvation*

SYNOPSIS. Certain of the ultrastructural and biochemical changes occurring during the first 25 hr of starvation in Tetrahymena pyriformis were studied. Ultrastructurally, numerous profiles of degenerating mitochondria were seen in the early stages of starvation. The presence of oxidizable substrate such as glucose and acetate did not prevent this degeneration. Numerous large nucleoli were formed, many of which seemed to be passing into the cytoplasm as forming autophagic vacuoles. There was a transient increase in Oil Red O-positive bodies, presumably lipid (triglycerides). The extent and duration of this increase were pronounced in the presence of acetate. The lipid droplets appeared to arise within the cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum. Lipid reserves were apparently utilized prior to carbohydrates, as the disappearance of lipid droplets preceded glycogen utilization, both in the presence of acetate and in the absence of exogenous substrate. A considerable loss of cellular protein also occurred. In cells from inorganic medium supplemented with glucose, glycogen occupied much of the cell, leaving only islands of cell organelles. Acid phosphatase was localized, ultrastructurally, mainly in autophagic vacuoles which contained mitochondria and other cell organelles, and in association with small, double-membraned structures which seemed to be sequestering small areas of cytoplasm. Such sequestered areas also appeared within larger autophagic vacuoles. Residual bodies containing concentric whorls of myelin-like membranes surrounding a more solid core accumulated during starvation. Acid phosphatase activity decreased in amount but not in specific activity. The specific activity of cathespin doubled or tripled, but there was little change in total enzyme.     

THE SOIL FUNGI OF THE DOVEY SALT MARSHES

In this investigation of the fungi of the soil of the Dovey Salt Marshes (Ynyslas) 48 fungi were isolated.
Twelve of the species found do not appear to have been recorded before for the British Isles.
The area investigated is a badly aerated, stiff, tenacious clay, alkaline in reaction ( p H 8), with a high water content, due mainly to periodical inundations by tidal salt water.
Method of investigation consisted in taking samples of soil from a depth of 11/2 and 31/2 inches and either planting portions of this directly on to specially prepared media, or first shaking up a portion in water and then inoculating the prepared media with some of the suspension.
Three fungi– Torula allii, Penicillium hyphomycetis and Fusarium oxysporium var. resupinatum —were almost invariably present in every sample of soil: almost equally common were Trichoderma lignorum, T. Köningi, Hormodendron cladosporoides, Mucor circinelloides and Periconia felina .
Most of the fungi found are species found above ground as saprophytes, and may have been introduced into the soil by drainage, etc.
The writer considers fungi are active only in association with organic material.
The vegetation covering this marsh shows marked zonation: soil samples were chiefly taken from the Glycerietum and Aimerietum.
The same species of fungi were common to the two associations.
Glyceria maritima is a most effective silt binder, because the stele of its rhizomes and roots consists almost entirely of lignified tissue which does not yield to the activities of the soil fungi; Armeria maritima is not so effective a silt binder because the stele of its rhizomes and roots contains very little lignified tissue—at a depth of a foot, the tap roots of Armeria are little more than hollow tubes, the interiors having been removed by fungi and bacteria.