Leaf-induced gibberellin signaling is essential for internode elongation, cambial activity, and fiber differentiation in tobacco stems

The gibberellins (GAs) are a group of endogenous compounds that promote the growth of most plant organs, including stem internodes. We show that in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) the presence of leaves is essential for the accumulation of bioactive GAs and their immediate precursors in the stem and consequently for normal stem elongation, cambial proliferation, and xylem fiber differentiation. These processes do not occur in the absence of maturing leaves but can be restored by application of C(19)-GAs, identifying the presence of leaves as a requirement for GA signaling in stems and revealing the fundamental role of GAs in secondary growth regulation. The use of reporter genes for GA activity and GA-directed DELLA protein degradation in Arabidopsis thaliana confirms the presence of a mobile signal from leaves to the stem that induces GA signaling.     

Parthenogenetic development of dwarf surf dam,Mulinia lateralis,oocytes treated with polar body suppressing agents

Summary

Parthenogenesis following oocyte activation has been observed in a number of marine invertebrates, but the fate of parthenogenesis in bivalve mollusc embryos is unclear. We used the dwarf surf clam, Mulinia lateralis, to examine parthenogenetic development of KC1-activated oocytes using the polar body suppressing agents caffeine and heat or cytochalasin B. Development was followed by epifluorescence microscopy and flow-cytometric analysis using the DNA-specific fluorochrome DAPI. All agents suppressed polar body formation to some degree, putatively increasing the ploidy level and retaining a meiotic centrosome in the zygote; but the zygotes failed to develop normally. Failure of the zygotes to develop suggests that the meiotic centrosome is incapable of participating in mitosis in bivalves.     

Inhibition of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase by a new class of allosteric effectors

A highly constrained pseudo-tetrapeptide (OC252-324) further defines a new allosteric binding site located near the center of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. In a crystal structure, pairs of inhibitory molecules bind to opposite faces of the enzyme tetramer. Each ligand molecule is in contact with three of four subunits of the tetramer, hydrogen bonding with the side chain of Asp187 and the backbone carbonyl of residue 71, and electrostatically interacting with the backbone carbonyl of residue 51. The ligated complex adopts a quaternary structure between the canonical R- and T-states of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, and yet a dynamic loop essential for catalysis (residues 52-72) is in a conformation identical to that of the T-state enzyme. Inhibition by the pseudo-tetrapeptide is cooperative (Hill coefficient of 2), synergistic with both AMP and fructose 2,6-bisphosphate, noncompetitive with respect to Mg2+, and uncompetitive with respect to fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. The ligand dramatically lowers the concentration at which substrate inhibition dominates the kinetics of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase. Elevated substrate concentrations employed in kinetic screens may have facilitated the discovery of this uncompetitive inhibitor. Moreover, the inhibitor could mimic an unknown natural effector of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, as it interacts strongly with a conserved residue of undetermined functional significance.     

Population Growth and Demography of Common Loons in the Northern United States

ABSTRACT We used recent developments in theoretical population ecology to construct basic models of common loon (Gavia immer) demography and population dynamics. We parameterized these models using existing survival estimates and data from long-term monitoring of loon productivity and abundance. Our models include deterministic, 2-stage, density-independent matrix models, yielding population growth-rate estimates (λ) of 0.99 and 1.01 for intensively studied populations in our Wisconsin, USA, and New Hampshire, USA, study areas, respectively. Perturbation analysis of these models indicated that estimated growth rate is extremely sensitive to adult survival, as expected for this long-lived species. Also, we examined 20 years of count data for the 2 areas and evaluated support for a set of count-based models of population growth. We detected no temporal trend in Wisconsin, which would be consistent with fluctuation around an average equilibrium state but could also result from data limitations. For New Hampshire, the model set included varying formulations of density dependence and partitioning of stochasticity that were enabled by the annual sampling resolution. The best model for New Hampshire included density regulation of population growth and, along with the demographic analyses for both areas, provided insight into the possible importance of breeding habitat availability and the abundance of nonbreeding adults. Based on these results, we recommend that conservation organizations include nonbreeder abundance in common loon monitoring efforts and that additional emphasis be placed on identifying and managing human influences on adult loon survival.     

C : N : P stoichiometry of dominant riparian trees and arthropods along the Middle Rio Grande

1. We examined the role of flooding on the leaf nutrient content of riparian trees by comparing the carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus (C : N : P) ratio of leaves and litter of Rio Grande cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. wislizenii) in flood and non‐flood sites along the Middle Rio Grande, NM, U.S.A. The leaf C : N : P ratio was also examined for two non‐native trees, saltcedar (Tamarix chinensis) and Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), and six species of dominant riparian arthropods. 2. Living leaves and leaf litter of cottonwoods at flood sites had a significantly lower leaf N : P ratio and higher %P compared with leaves and litter at non‐flood sites. A non‐flood site downstream from wastewater effluent had a significantly lower litter C : N ratio than all other sites, suggesting N fertilisation through ground water. The non‐native trees, saltcedar and Russian olive, had higher mean leaf N content, N : P ratio, and lower C : N ratio compared with cottonwoods across study sites. 3. Riparian arthropods ranged from 5.2 to 7.1 for C : N ratio, 56–216 for C : P ratio, and 8.9–34 for N : P ratio. C content ranged from 25 to 52% of dry mass, N content from 4.7 to 10.8%, and P content from 0.59 to 1.2%. Differences in stoichiometry between high C : nutrient leaf litter and low C : nutrient invertebrates suggests possible food‐quality constraints for detritivores. 4. These results suggest that spatial and temporal variation in the C : N : P ratio of cottonwood leaves and leaf litter is influenced by surface and subsurface hydrologic connection within the floodplain. Reach‐scale variation in the elemental composition of riparian organic matter inputs may have important implications for decomposition, nutrient cycling, and food webs in river floodplain systems.     

Studies on the kinetics and mechanism of orthophosphate activation of bovine brain hexokinase

The binding of glucose to bovine brain hexokinase, isozyme I, exhibited one binding site per 100,000 molecular weight. Glucose-6-P binding was examined in the absence and presence of ATP. ATP and glucose-6-P were shown to compete for the same binding site on the enzyme. A model was proposed to account for these findings and the previously reported data that glucose-6-P and P_i exhibit mutually exclusive, non-cooperative binding to the enzyme. The model shows that brain hexokinase exists in two rapidly interconvertible states, either with or without P_i and that glucose-6-P binding to the phosphate associated enzyme form is relatively very poor. This proposal has been tested kinetically and the data appear to support the suggested model.     

QUESTIONNAIRE PRACTICE: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE JAR SCALE IS PLACED BETWEEN TWO “OVERALL” ACCEPTANCE SCALES?

ABSTRACT

Using the observational analysis of two different foods as test products, this note examined some interesting findings that emerge when the just‐about‐right (JAR) scale was placed after the overall liking rating, and before the preference ranking. The JAR data appeared to be statistically uncorrelated with the overall rating scales. First, this fortuitous observation from several studies suggests that the JAR scale can play a diagnostic role to determine how the consumer feels about changing the product. Second, the statistical analysis of the JAR ratings (e.g., bipolar nature of the JAR scale, its skewness and kurtosis) all suggest that the appropriate measure is %JAR, an incidence metric, rather than scale average, ought to be used both to report the results, and to create models relating to the JAR versus sensory magnitude or versus liking, respectively.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The results of the present analysis suggest that overall acceptance/liking can be the last question in the questionnaire design. That location is very important for the sensory analysis of foods eaten over time and then rated, as well as personal care and cosmetic studies where the products are used over time periods, and where the true evaluation of performance ought to be made at the end of the trial. In these long‐term uses, overall liking is generally the last question given at the end of the time period of product evaluation. The facts that the just‐about‐right (JAR) scales are independent of this final overall liking rating suggest that the integrity of the overall evaluation and usefulness of JAR as diagnostics will not be compromised.     

Gravel dredging alters diversity and structure of riverine fish assemblages

1. Human activities affect fish assemblages in a variety of ways. Large‐scale and long‐term disturbances such as in‐stream dredging and mining alter habitat and hydrodynamic characteristics within rivers which can, in turn, alter fish distribution. Habitat heterogeneity is decreased as the natural riffle–pool–run sequences are lost to continuous pools and, as a consequence, lotic species are displaced by lentic species, while generalist and invasive species displace native habitat specialists. Sediment and organic detritus accumulate in deep, dredged reaches and behind dams, disrupting nutrient flow and destroying critical habitat for habitat specialist species. 2. We used standard ecological metrics such as species richness and diversity, as well as stable isotope analysis of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, to quantify the differences in fish assemblages sampled by benthic trawls among dredged and undredged sites in the Allegheny River, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 3. Using mixed‐effects models, we found that total catch, species richness and diversity were negatively correlated with depth (P < 0.05), while species richness, diversity and proportion of species in lithophilic (‘rock‐loving’) reproductive guilds were lower at dredged than at undredged sites (P < 0.05). 4. Principal components analysis and manova revealed that taxa such as darters in brood hider and substratum chooser reproductive guilds were predominantly associated with undredged sites along principal component axis 1 (PC1 and manova P < 0.05), while nest spawners such as catfish and open substratum spawners including suckers were more associated with dredged sites along PC2 (P < 0.05). 5. Stable isotope analysis of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N revealed shifts from reliance on shallow water and benthic‐derived nutrients at undredged sites to reliance on phytoplankton and terrestrial detritus at deep‐water dredged sites. Relative trophic positions were also lower at dredged sites for many species; loss of benthic nutrient pathways associated with depth and dredging history is hypothesised. 6. The combination of ecological metrics and stable isotope analysis thus shows how anthropogenic habitat loss caused by gravel dredging can decrease benthic fish abundance and diversity, and that species in substratum‐specific reproductive guilds are at particular risk. The effects of dredging also manifest by altering resource use and nutrient pathways within food webs. Management and conservation decisions should therefore consider the protection of relatively shallow areas with suitable substratum for spawning for the protection of native fishes.