A novel family of lectins evolutionarily related to class V chitinases: an example of neofunctionalization in legumes

A lectin has been identified in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) bark that shares approximately 50% sequence identity with plant class V chitinases but is essentially devoid of chitinase activity. Specificity studies indicated that the black locust chitinase-related agglutinin (RobpsCRA) preferentially binds to high-mannose N-glycans comprising the proximal pentasaccharide core structure. Closely related orthologs of RobpsCRA could be identified in the legumes Glycine max, Medicago truncatula, and Lotus japonicus but in no other plant species, suggesting that this novel lectin family most probably evolved in an ancient legume species or possibly an earlier ancestor. This identification of RobpsCRA not only illustrates neofunctionalization in plants, but also provides firm evidence that plants are capable of developing a sugar-binding domain from an existing structural scaffold with a different activity and accordingly sheds new light on the molecular evolution of plant lectins.     

Radiation of the Tnt1 retrotransposon superfamily in three Solanaceae genera

Background  

Tnt1 was the first active plant retrotransposon identified in tobacco after nitrate reductase gene disruption. The Tnt1 superfamily comprises elements from Nicotiana (Tnt1 and Tto1) and Lycopersicon (Retrolyc1 and Tlc1) species. The study presented here was conducted to characterise Tnt1-related sequences in 20 wild species of Solanum and five cultivars of Solanum tuberosum.     

Philosophy of Biology: Outline of a Transcendental Project

This paper analyses the actual meaning of a transcendental philosophy of biology, and does so by exploring and actualising the epistemological and metaphysical value of Kant's viewpoint on living systems. It finds inspiration in the Kantian idea of living systems intrinsically resisting objectification, but critically departs from Kant's philosophical solution in as far as it is based in a subjectivist dogmatism. It attempts to overcome this dogmatism, on the one hand by explicitly taking into account the conditions of possibility at the side of the subject, and on the other hand by embedding both the living and the knowing system into an ontology of complexly organized dynamical systems. This paper fits into the transcendental perspective in acknowledging the need to analyse the conditions of knowability, prior to the contents of what is known. But it also contributes to an expansion and an actualisation of the issue of transcendentality itself by considering the conditions of possibility at the side of the object as intrinsically linked to the conditions of possibility at the side of the subject.     

Comparing Grazing on Lake Seston by Dreissena and Daphnia: Lessons for Biomanipulation

Biomanipulation measures in lakes, taken to diminish algal blooms, have mainly been restricted to the reduction of zooplanktivorous fish with the aim to stimulate the grazing pressure by native filter feeders such as Daphnia. However, larger filter feeders like the exotic zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, have been suggested as an optional tool because of their high filtering capacity. We compared grazing by two filter feeders, D. polymorpha and Daphnia galeata, offered seston from Lake IJsselmeer, the Netherlands in two consecutive years: 2002 and 2003. The seston in both years was dominated by the colony-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. The grazing studies were performed under controlled conditions in the laboratory and samples were analyzed on a flow cytometer, making it possible to quantify grazing on different seston components and size fractions, including cyanobacteria, other phytoplankton (green algae, diatoms, etc.), and detritus. No differences in clearance rates, on a per weight basis, were found between the two grazer species. The clearance rate on cyanobacteria (especially <20 μm) was lower in 2003 than in 2002. In 2003, the microcystin concentration of cyanobacteria was higher than in 2002, suggesting that the observed lower clearance rate in 2003 was due to the enhanced toxin content of the cyanobacteria. Zebra mussels, although indiscriminately filtering all seston groups out of the water, positively selected for phytoplankton in their mantle cavity, irrespective of its toxicity, and rejected detritus. Since no differences in clearance rates were found between the two grazer species, we conclude that for biomanipulation purposes of shallow lakes, native species like the daphnids should be preferred over exotic species like zebra mussels. When the seston is dominated by phytoplankton that cannot be filtered out of the water column by Daphnia, however, the use of zebra mussels may be considered. Care should be taken, however, in the choice of the lakes since the mussels may have severe ecological and economic impacts.     

Low dose insemination in cattle with the Ghent device

A new artificial insemination device for semen deposition near the uterotubal junction (UTJ) in cattle (Ghent device) was developed at Ghent University (Belgium). In this study, UTJ insemination of dairy cows with the Ghent device was compared with the conventional insemination technique to evaluate the effect on pregnancy rates after insemination with different doses of semen. In each of three field trials, the cows (n=795, 659, 360) and heifers (n=253, 182, 231) were randomly assigned to receive 12 million sperm deposited in the uterine body using conventional techniques (control) or a reduced sperm dose (RSD) deposited in the same manner as the control or bilateral deposition near the uterotubal junction using the Ghent device (Ghent). Sperm dosages for RSD and Ghent inseminations were 8, 4, and 2 million sperm for field trials 1-3, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, the pregnancy rates were significantly affected by the parity of the cow (p相似文献   

Programmed and flexible: long‐term Zugunruhe data highlight the many axes of variation in avian migratory behaviour

Studies of Zugunruhe – the ‘migratory restlessness’ behaviour of captive birds – have been integral to our understanding of animal migration, revealing an inherited propensity to migrate and an endogenous timing and navigation system. However, differences between Zugunruhe in captivity and migration in the wild call for more data, in particular on variation within and among taxa with diverse migration strategies. Here, we characterise Zugunruhe in a long‐term dataset of activity profiles from stonechats (genus Saxicola) with diverse migratory phenotypes (976 migration periods from 414 birds), using a flexible and consistent quantitative approach based on changepoint analysis. For east African, Austrian, Irish, and Siberian stonechats and hybrids, we report key inter‐population differences in the occurrence, timing, and intensity of Zugunruhe. In line with expectations, we found the highest Zugunruhe intensity in the longest‐distance migrants, more variable patterns in short‐distance migrants, and intermediate characteristics of hybrids relative to their parental groups. Inter‐population differences imply high evolutionary lability of Zugunruhe timing within a robustly structured annual cycle. However, counter to theory, Irish partial migrants showed no segregation between migrant and resident individuals, and previously reported nocturnal restlessness was confirmed for resident African stonechats. Further features of nocturnal restlessness that did not align with migratory behaviour of stonechats were juvenile nocturnal restlessness even prior to postjuvenile moult, and protandry in spring, although stonechats winter in heterosexual pairs. Importantly, Zugunruhe of all populations declined with age, and the intensity of an individual bird's Zugunruhe was correlated with activity levels during other parts of the annual cycle. Our results confirm endogenous, population‐specific migration programmes but also reveal apparent discrepancies between Zugunruhe and migration in the wild. We thus highlight both the continued potential of Zugunruhe study and the need for circumspect interpretation when using migratory restlessness to make inferences about migration in the wild.     

Cutting edge: CD47 controls the in vivo proliferation and homeostasis of peripheral CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T cells that express CD103

Peripheral CD103(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) can develop both from conventional naive T cells upon cognate Ag delivery under tolerogenic conditions and from thymic-derived, expanded/differentiated natural Tregs. We here show that CD47 expression, a marker of self on hematopoietic cells, selectively regulated CD103(+)Foxp3(+) Treg homeostasis at the steady state. First, the proportion of effector/memory-like (CD44(high)CD62L(low)) CD103(+)Foxp3(+) Tregs rapidly augmented with age in CD47-deficient mice (CD47(-/-)) as compared with age-matched control littermates. Yet, the percentage of quiescent (CD44(low)CD62L(high)) CD103(-)Foxp3(+) Tregs remained stable. Second, the increased proliferation rate (BrdU incorporation) observed within the CD47(-/-)Foxp3(+) Treg subpopulation was restricted to those Tregs expressing CD103. Third, CD47(-/-) Tregs maintained a normal suppressive function in vitro and in vivo and their increased proportion in old mice led to a decline of Ag-specific T cell responses. Thus, sustained CD47 expression throughout life is critical to avoid an excessive expansion of CD103(+) Tregs that may overwhelmingly inhibit Ag-specific T cell responses.     

Intramolecular carboxylate catalysis in the depurination of a 7-methylguanosine derivative

We have compared the pH-independent rates of glycosidic hydrolysis in a carboxylate-bearing 7-methylguanosine derivative with those of a reference compound and with that of 7-methylguanosine itself. A syn-oriented carboxylate group affords catalysis in the hydrolysis reaction, although the instability of 7-alkylguanosines above pH 7 severely limits the useful pH range that could be studied. The effect of the carboxylate near neutral pH can be viewed in three different ways: it provides a 3-fold acceleration as compared to underivatized 7-methylguanosine, an approximately 30-fold acceleration when the decelerating effect of the ketal group is considered, and because of slow decomposition of the reference compound under the reaction conditions, we conclude that the carboxylate provides an acceleration of ≥43-fold as compared to the protio reference compound.     

Identification of para-Cresol as a Growth Factor for Methanoplanus endosymbiosus

Growth of the methanogenic bacterium Methanoplanus endosymbiosus is dependent on the presence of ruminal fluid. Ruminal fluid could be replaced by the eluate of a rumen-derived anaerobic digester. From the eluate of the digester, a growth-stimulatory component was purified and identified as p-cresol. Authentic p-cresol supported a half-maximal growth rate of the organism at 50 nM concentration.     

Detecting drug-resistant tuberculosis: the importance of rapid testing

Despite numerous intervention strategies, including the direct observed short-course treatment strategy and improved diagnostic methods, the incidence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) continues to rise globally. Many treatment policies are based on the model that acquisition of drug resistance in already infected individuals drives the drug-resistant TB epidemic, hence the focus on drug-resistance testing of retreatment cases. However, molecular epidemiology and mathematical modeling suggest that the majority of multidrug-resistant TB cases are due to ongoing transmission of multidrug-resistant strains. This is most likely the result of diagnostic delay, thereby emphasizing the need for rapid diagnostics and comprehensive contact tracing, as well as active case finding. Current diagnosis of TB in low-income, high-burden regions relies on smear microscopy and clinical signs and symptoms. However, this smear-centered approach has many pitfalls, including low sensitivity in HIV patients and children, the inability of smear to reveal drug-resistance patterns, and the need for sampling on consecutive days. In order to address these limitations, efforts have been made to expand access to Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture and drug susceptibility testing. However, the slow growth rate of the causative agent, M. tuberculosis, contributes to significant diagnostic delay. Molecular-based diagnostic methods, targeting mutations that are known to confirm drug resistance, are capable of significantly reducing diagnostic delay. Two such methods, the line-probe assay and the real-time PCR-based Xpert? MTB/RIF assay, have been described. The latter test shows particular promise for smear-negative and extrapulmonary specimens. This may prove especially useful in settings where co-infection rates with HIV are high. However, since most research focuses on the performance of both of these assays, further investigations need to be done regarding the impact of the routine implementation of these assays on TB control programs and the cost effectiveness thereof.