The energy-conserving nitric-oxide-reductase system in Paracoccus denitrificans. Distinction from the nitrite reductase that catalyses synthesis of nitric oxide and evidence from trapping experiments for nitric oxide as a free intermediate during denitrification

1. A Clark-type electrode that responds to nitric oxide has been used to show that cytoplasmic membrane vesicles of Paracoccus denitrificans have a nitric-oxide reductase activity. Nitrous oxide is the reaction product. NADH, succinate or isoascorbate plus 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-phenylene diamine can act as reductants. The NADH-dependent activity is resistant to freezing of the vesicles and thus the NADH:nitric-oxide oxidoreductase activity of stored frozen vesicles provides a method for calibrating the electrode by titration of dissolved nitric oxide with NADH. The periplasmic nitrite reductase and nitrous-oxide reductase enzymes are absent from the vesicles which indicates that nitric-oxide reductase is a discrete enzyme associated with the denitrification process. This conclusion was supported by the finding that nitric-oxide reductase activity was absent from both membranes prepared from aerobically grown P. denitrificans and bovine heart submitochondrial particles. 2. The NADH: nitric-oxide oxidoreductase activity was inhibited by concentrations of antimycin or myxothiazol that were just sufficient to inhibit the cytochrome bc1 complex of the ubiquinol--cytochrome-c oxidoreductase. The activity was deduced to be proton translocating by the observations of: (a) up to 3.5-fold stimulation upon addition of an uncoupler; and (b) ATP synthesis with a P:2e ratio of 0.75. 3. Nitrite reductase of cytochrome cd1 type was highly purified from P. denitrificans in a new, high-yield, rapid two- or three-step procedure. This enzyme catalysed stoichiometric synthesis of nitric oxide. This observation, taken together with the finding that the maximum rate of NADH:nitric-oxide oxidoreductase activity catalysed by the vesicles was comparable with that of NADH:nitrate-oxidoreductase, is consistent with a role for nitric-oxide reductase in the physiological conversion of nitrate or nitrite to dinitrogen gas. 4. Intact cells of P. denitrificans also reduced nitric oxide in an antimycin- or myxothiazol-sensitive manner. However, nitric oxide was not detected by the electrode during the reduction of nitrate. Nitric-oxide synthesis from nitrate could be detected with cells in the presence of very low concentrations of Triton X-100 which selectively inhibits nitric-oxide reductase activity. 5. Nitric oxide was detected as an intermediate in denitrification by including haemoglobin with an anaerobic suspension of cells that was reducing nitrate. The characteristic spectrum of the nitric oxide derivative of haemoglobin was observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Influence of cyanobacterial diet on Asplanchna predation risk in Brachionus calyciflorus

Asplanchna sylvestrii does not discriminate between groups of Brachionus calyciflorus fed either the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae or a control diet of Euglena gracilis. We based our analysis on the observed probabilities of attack, capture and ingestion during encounters between predator and prey. While A. sylvestrii was very sensitive to brachionid size, we found no significant affects of prey diet on predatory behavior. Thus, cyanobacterial diet did not influence the short-term predation risk of B. calyciflorus exposed to an effective predator. On the other hand, matched cohorts of A. sylvestrii fed B. calyciflorus cultured on the cyanobacterium reproduced more slowly than those fed the same prey cultured on the control food. With prolonged sympatry, therefore, the long-term risk of Asplanchna predation may be reduced for Brachionus by the latter's consumption of cyanobacteria.     

Upstream-downstream movements of aquatic invertebrates in a Rocky Mountain stream

Simultaneous collections of drift and organisms moving either upstream or downstream in association with the substrate were made using a specially designed sampler. Samples were taken in a diel series along a transect across the study riffle of a Colorado foothills stream on six dates over an annual cycle. In addition to longitudinal movements, taxonomic composition and diel periodicity were evaluated. The insect-dominated fauna showed a net downstream displacement. Only the caddisflies Helicopsyche borealis and Hesperophylax occidentalis exhibited net upstream movement, primarily a result of low drift frequencies. The taxonomic composition of moving invertebrates differed from that of the benthos. Drift resembled downstream moving substrate-associated invertebrates in composition, but differed from that of the upstream directed fauna. Taxa collectively exhibited four types of diel patterns: 1) similar downstream (drift and substrate-associated movements) patterns, which generally differed from the upstream pattern; 2) similar benthic (upstream and downstream) patterns, which differed from that of drift; 3) aperiodic patterns; and 4) independent patterns for each type of directional movement. Analysis of size classes based on head capsule width for the mayfly Baetis tricaudatus showed significantly smaller size in stationary individuals compared with moving individuals in the population and revealed that nymphs moving during the day were smaller than those moving at night.     

New ecological information onScytalina cerdale (Pisces: Scytalinidae) from a central California rocky intertidal zone

Synopsis New information regarding the ecology ofScytalina cerdale was obtained over a four year period as a consequence of a long-term marine ecological study at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), San Luis Obispo County, California. Twenty intertidal fish surveys were conducted at approximately quarterly intervals, between March 1979 and June 1983, at three separate rocky shore locations (stations). During each survey, a total of 108 square meters (36 m² per station) was searched for fish during periods of low tide. A total of 280S. cerdale were collected, identified, measured, and released back into the same 4 m² area, from the same intertidal station (Diablo Cove), throughout the study period. This limited intertidal occurrence most likely reflectsS. cerdale microhabitat requirements; a combination of intertidal elevation (mean = +0.3 MLLW), substratum specificity (loose gravel, 5–10mm size range, overlying a base of sand and shell fragments), and degree of wave exposure (semi-protected). Throughout the study,S. cerdale was seasonally more abundant during summer months (June through August) and less abundant during winter months (November through February). The only exception to this abundance trend followed the 1982 winter storms, which coincided with an El Niño event, whenS. cerdale abundance uncharacteristically dropped during the subsequent 1983 spring and summer surveys. Mean total lengths did not vary greatly, reflecting the absence of early juvenile fishes, and relatively high mean fish densities (3.5 fish per m² for 20 surveys) were recorded. Qualitative comparisons betweenS. cerdale abundance and seasonal changes in water temperature indicated an inverse relationship. Gravid females, demersal egg masses, and early juvenile individuals were never observed during the four years of the study. This suggests that unlike most other intertidal fishes, particularly other blennioids,S. cerdale may not utilize the intertidal zone for reproductive and recruitment purposes; Diablo Canyon is the most southerly reported distribution for this intertidal species, and therefore, may not entirely represent the species' biology as a whole.     

Biotransformations of aromatic aldehydes by acetogenic bacteria

Vanillin was subject to O demethylation and supported growth of Clostridium formicoaceticum and Clostridium thermoaceticum. Vanillin was also stimulatory to the CO-dependent growth of Peptostreptococcus productus. The aldehyde substituent of vanillin was metabolized by routes which were dependent upon both the acetogen and a co-metabolizable substrate (e.g. carbon monoxide [CO]). C. formicoaceticum and C. thermoaceticum oxidized the aldehyde group of vanillin to the carboxyl level, while P. productus reduced the aldehyde group of vanillin to the alcohol level. In contrast, during CO-dependent growth, C. thermoaceticum reduced 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde to 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol while P. productus both reduced and oxidized 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde to 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and 4-hydroxybenzoate, respectively. These metabolic potentials indicate aromatic aldehydes may affect the flow of reductant during acetogenesis.     

Gender difference in the relationship of performance in the handgrip and standing long jump tests to lean limb volume in young adults

Groups of young, adult males and females performed the handgrip and standing long jump tests. Their total forearm and leg volumes were calculated from a series of circumference and length measurements, and the lean volumes (bone + muscle) calculated by taking the skinfold thickness into consideration. In the handgrip, the mean female performance was 298 N compared with 496 N for the males. In the standing long jump, mean performance expressed as distance x body mass was 87.3 kg.m for females compared with 137.7 kg.m for males. These superior performances of males could simply reflect their greater muscle mass, as the mean lean volumes of female and male limbs respectively were 0.54 l and 0.89 l for forearms, and 11.82 l and 14.82 l for the two legs. However, when the performances of males and females were grouped by lean limb volume, it was found that while in both tests there were linear relationships, males and females did not share a common line. In both tests the male relationship was at a higher level than the female; therefore, for a given lean volume, the male performance was significantly superior to that of the female. The gender difference found in this study has not been seen in other studies in which the performance of skeletal muscle has been related to the cross-sectional area of the active muscles and the possible reasons for the differences are considered.     

Homozygous osteogenesis imperfecta unlinked to collagen I genes

Summary In a consanguineous pedigree in which a severe type of osteogenesis imperfecta was segregating as an autosomal recessive trait, analysis of genetic markers for both collagen I structural loci COL1A1 and COL1A2 showed that the phenotype was unlinked to either locus.     

XY sex reversal syndrome in the mare: clinical and behavioral studies,H-Y phenotype

Summary An inherited genetic disorder causes XY embryos of the horse to develop as mares. On the basis of our study of 38 such mares, we have identified four grades or classes of XY sex reversal according to this scheme: class I, nearly normal female, of which some are fertile; class II, female with gonadal dysgenesis, normal mullerian development; calss III, intersex mare with gonadal dysgenesis, abnormal mullerian development, enlarged clitoris; class IV, virilized intersex characterized by high levels of testosterone. In general, class I and calss II mares were typed H-Y antigen-negative whereas class III and class IV mares were typed H-Y antigen-positive.     

TGF-Beta inhibits the in vitro induction of lymphokine-activated killing activity

Summary Employing serum-free media, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and purified recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2), conditions were observed in which the development of IL-2-driven cytotoxic activity was suppressed. The cytotoxic activity of such IL-2-generated lymphokine activated killing (LAK) was tested against natural killer-resistant cultured tumor cells (Daudi, Raji, and a glioma). LAK generation was inhibited by addition of some normal sera, normal platelets, or some tumor cells. Because recent reports have indicated that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta)-like factors are often secreted by tumors and the acidic alpha granules of platelets and can be present in sera, we tested the effect of purified human TGF-beta on the activation of LAK. Our results indicated that TGF-beta is very suppressive for LAK induction, and can completely prevent both the IL-2-driven proliferation and cytotoxicity at concentrations as low as 5 ng/ml. Titrations of IL-2 and of TGF-beta indicated that the suppression is dose-dependent and can be avoided by employing higher levels of IL-2. It was also found that the suppressive effect of TGF-beta can be overcome by washing suppressed cell populations and further culture in low levels of IL-2. Collectively, these data indicate that TGF-beta can be a potent inhibitor of LAK generation under standard activation conditions, but that this effect is regulated by the relative level of IL-2 and may be overcome and/or reversed in vitro.     

Social organization and ecology of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in mixed coastal forest in Sarawak

Data are presented from a 16-month study of proboscis monkeys in an area of mixed coastal forest in Sarawak. The population density, social organization, and feeding and ranging behavior are described in detail. Results are compared with those from other primates in an attempt to understand why females of certain species (including proboscis monkeys) transfer between social groups. The scarcity of available food and reasons for the limited habitat preferences of proboscis monkeys are also discussed.