Correction to: Mechanical factors contributing to the Venus flytrap’s rate-dependent response to stimuli

The sensory hairs of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula Ellis) detect mechanical stimuli imparted by their prey and fire bursts of electrical signals called action potentials (APs). APs are elicited when the hairs are sufficiently stimulated and two consecutive APs can trigger closure of the trap. Earlier experiments have identified thresholds for the relevant stimulus parameters, namely the angular displacement \(\theta \) and angular velocity \(\omega \). However, these experiments could not trace the deformation of the trigger hair’s sensory cells, which are known to transduce the mechanical stimulus. To understand the kinematics at the cellular level, we investigate the role of two relevant mechanical phenomena: viscoelasticity and intercellular fluid transport using a multi-scale numerical model of the sensory hair. We hypothesize that the combined influence of these two phenomena and \(\omega \) contribute to the flytrap’s rate-dependent response to stimuli. In this study, we firstly perform sustained deflection tests on the hair to estimate the viscoelastic material properties of the tissue. Thereafter, through simulations of hair deflection tests at different loading rates, we were able to establish a multi-scale kinematic link between \(\omega \) and the cell wall stretch \(\delta \). Furthermore, we find that the rate at which \(\delta \) evolves during a stimulus is also proportional to \(\omega \). This suggests that mechanosensitive ion channels, expected to be stretch-activated and localized in the plasma membrane of the sensory cells, could be additionally sensitive to the rate at which stretch is applied.

     

A new ENU-induced allele of mouse quaking causes severe CNS dysmyelination

The mutant allelic series of the mouse quaking gene consists of the spontaneous quaking^viable (qk^v) allele, which is homozygous viable with a dysmyelination phenotype, and four ENU-induced alleles (qk^kt1, qk^k2, qk^kt3/4, and qk^l-1), which are homozygous embryonic lethal. Here we report the isolation of qk^e5, the first ENU-induced viable allele of quaking. Unlike qk^v/qk^v, qk^e5/qk^e5 animals have early-onset seizures, severe ataxia, and a dramatically reduced lifespan. Ultrastructural analysis of qk^e5/qk^e5 brains reveals severe dysmyelination when compared with both wild-type and qk^v/qk^v brains. In addition, Calbindin detection in young adult qk^e5/qk^e5 mice reveals Purkinje cell axonal swellings indicative of neurodegeneration , which is not seen in young adult qk^v/qk^v mice. Although the molecular defect in the qk^e5 allele is not evident by sequencing, protein expression studies show that qk^e5/qk^e5 postnatal oligodendrocytes lack the QKI-6 and QKI-7 isoforms and have reduced QKI-5 levels. The oligodendrocyte developmental markers PDGFαR, NG2, O4, CNP, and MBP are also present in the qk^e5/qk^e5 postnatal brain although CNP and MBP levels are considerably reduced. Because the qk^v allele is a large deletion that affects the expression of three genes, the new neurologic qk^e5 allele is an important addition to this allelic series.     

On the ecological and evolutionary significance OF BRANCH AND LEAF MORPHOLOGY IN aquatic Sphagnum (Sphagnaceae)

In aquatic environments difiusivity is low and CO₂ availability can limit plant growth. The hypothesis that natural selection has favored morphological features that reduce resistance to diffusion of CO₂ was tested using three phylogenetically independent species pairs from the genus Sphagnum (S. macrophyllum and 5. strictum; S. portoricense and S. papillosum; and S. trinitense and S. recurvum). The aquatic (former) and the nonaquatic (latter) species were grown submerged and emerged in a common garden and used for studies of form and function. Aquatic taxa all had similar morphological features that included larger, thinner branch leaves arranged at lower densities and photosynthetic cells more greatly exposed at the leaf surface. The relationship between observed branch and leaf morphology and boundary layer resistance in the S. trinitense–S. recurvum species pair was assessed by measuring diffusion and convection of ions onto nickel-plated models in a variable-speed electrochemical fluid tunnel. For all flow speeds and orientations, the aquatic S. trinitense model had thinner boundary layers than the nonaquatic S. recurvum model. Analysis of stable isotopes of carbon from the growth experiment corroborated results from the fluid-tunnel experiments. The aquatic taxa all had lower δ ¹³C values when grown submerged compared to their nonaquatic pair with the exception of the nonaquatic S. strictum, which was removed due to low growth rates. These results indicate that aquatic species did experience lower overall resistance to CO₂ uptake than nonaquatic taxa. Our observations suggest that aquatic habitats do select for morphological features that lower resistance to gas exchange.     

Die feinstruktur der flüigelschuppen einiger Lycaeniden (Insecta,Lepidoptera)

Green, blue and violet colours of Lycaenidae examined by us — with the exception of Rapala arata (Theclinae) — are due to iridescent scales which are arranged before a dark background. The iridescent scales are constructed according to the Urania-type and may be diverted from pigmented scales by laying in equidistant lamellae and little cuticular bars, which maintain the distance between the lamellae. The ribs in the longitudinal axis of the scales contain lamellae and bars only in the Plebejinae, in Lycaeninae and Theclinae they are small and sit on the plain upperside of the scale with a narrow base.

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Mit Unterstützung durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft     

Leakage of adenylates during cold methanol/glycerol quenching of Escherichia coli

Effective and rapid inactivation of cellular metabolism is a prerequisite for accurate metabolome analysis. Cold methanol quenching is commonly applied to stop any metabolic activity and, at the same time remaining the cells’ integrity. However, it is reported that especially prokaryotic cells like Escherichia coli and Corynebacterium glutamicum tend to leak intracellular metabolites during cold methanol quenching. In this work leakage of adenylates is quantified for different quenching fluids. Further, a methanol/glycerol based quenching fluid is proposed, which reduces leakage drastically compared to the commonly applied methanol/water solution (16% ATP leakage compared to more than 70%).     

Cutting out the middle clam: lucinid endosymbiotic bacteria are also associated with seagrass roots worldwide

Seagrasses and lucinid bivalves inhabit highly reduced sediments with elevated sulphide concentrations. Lucinids house symbiotic bacteria (Ca. Thiodiazotropha) capable of oxidising sediment sulphide, and their presence in sediments has been proposed to promote seagrass growth by decreasing otherwise phytotoxic sulphide levels. However, vast and productive seagrass meadows are present in ecosystems where lucinids do not occur. Hence, we hypothesised that seagrasses themselves host these sulphur-oxidising Ca. Thiodiazotropha that could aid their survival when lucinids are absent. We analysed newly generated and publicly available 16S rRNA gene sequences from seagrass roots and sediments across 14 seagrass species and 10 countries and found that persistent and colonising seagrasses across the world harbour sulphur-oxidising Ca. Thiodiazotropha, regardless of the presence of lucinids. We used fluorescence in situ hybridisation to visually confirm the presence of Ca. Thiodiazotropha on roots of Halophila ovalis, a colonising seagrass species with wide geographical, water depth range, and sedimentary sulphide concentrations. We provide the first evidence that Ca. Thiodiazotropha are commonly present on seagrass roots, providing another mechanism for seagrasses to alleviate sulphide stress globally.Subject terms: Microbial ecology, Plant ecology, Soil microbiology