Latitudinal and altitudinal patterns of plant community diversity on mountain summits across the tropical Andes

The high tropical Andes host one of the richest alpine floras of the world, with exceptionally high levels of endemism and turnover rates. Yet, little is known about the patterns and processes that structure altitudinal and latitudinal variation in plant community diversity. Herein we present the first continental‐scale comparative study of plant community diversity on summits of the tropical Andes. Data were obtained from 792 permanent vegetation plots (1 m²) within 50 summits, distributed along a 4200 km transect; summit elevations ranged between 3220 and 5498 m a.s.l. We analyzed the plant community data to assess: 1) differences in species abundance patterns in summits across the region, 2) the role of geographic distance in explaining floristic similarity and 3) the importance of altitudinal and latitudinal environmental gradients in explaining plant community composition and richness. On the basis of species abundance patterns, our summit communities were separated into two major groups: Puna and Páramo. Floristic similarity declined with increasing geographic distance between study‐sites, the correlation being stronger in the more insular Páramo than in the Puna (corresponding to higher species turnover rates within the Páramo). Ordination analysis (CCA) showed that precipitation, maximum temperature and rock cover were the strongest predictors of community similarity across all summits. Generalized linear model (GLM) quasi‐Poisson regression indicated that across all summits species richness increased with maximum air temperature and above‐ground necromass and decreased on summits where scree was the dominant substrate. Our results point to different environmental variables as key factors for explaining vertical and latitudinal species turnover and species richness patterns on high Andean summits, offering a powerful tool to detect contrasting latitudinal and altitudinal effects of climate change across the tropical Andes.     

Isolation and characterization of novel bacterial strains exhibiting ligninolytic potential

Background

The number of biotransformations that use nicotinamide recycling systems is exponentially growing. For this reason one of the current challenges in biocatalysis is to develop and optimize more simple and efficient cofactor recycling systems. One promising approach to regenerate NAD⁺ pools is the use of NADH-oxidases that reduce oxygen to hydrogen peroxide while oxidizing NADH to NAD⁺. This class of enzymes may be applied to asymmetric reduction of prochiral substrates in order to obtain enantiopure compounds.

Results

The NADH-oxidase (NOX) presented here is a flavoenzyme which needs exogenous FAD or FMN to reach its maximum velocity. Interestingly, this enzyme is 6-fold hyperactivated by incubation at high temperatures (80°C) under limiting concentrations of flavin cofactor, a change that remains stable even at low temperatures (37°C). The hyperactivated form presented a high specific activity (37.5 U/mg) at low temperatures despite isolation from a thermophile source. Immobilization of NOX onto agarose activated with glyoxyl groups yielded the most stable enzyme preparation (6-fold more stable than the hyperactivated soluble enzyme). The immobilized derivative was able to be reactivated under physiological conditions after inactivation by high solvent concentrations. The inactivation/reactivation cycle could be repeated at least three times, recovering full NOX activity in all cases after the reactivation step. This immobilized catalyst is presented as a recycling partner for a thermophile alcohol dehydrogenase in order to perform the kinetic resolution secondary alcohols.

Conclusion

We have designed, developed and characterized a heterogeneous and robust biocatalyst which has been used as recycling partner in the kinetic resolution of rac-1-phenylethanol. The high stability along with its capability to be reactivated makes this biocatalyst highly re-useable for cofactor recycling in redox biotransformations.     

Adaptations for nectar‐feeding in the mouthparts of long‐proboscid flies (Nemestrinidae: Prosoeca)

The insects with the longest proboscis in relation to body length are the nectar‐feeding Nemestrinidae. These flies represent important pollinators of the South African flora and feature adaptations to particularly long‐tubed flowers. The present study examined the morphology of the extremely long and slender mouthparts of Nemestrinidae for the first time. The heavily sclerotized tubular proboscis of flies from the genus Prosoeca is highly variable in length. It measures 20–47 mm in length and may exceed double the body length in some individuals. Proximally, the proboscis consists of the labrum–epipharynx unit, the laciniae, the hypopharynx, and the labium. The distal half is composed of the prementum of the labium, which solely forms the food tube. In adaptation to long‐tubed and narrow flowers, the prementum is extremely elongated, bearing the short apical labella that appear only to be able to spread apart slightly during nectar uptake. Moving the proboscis from resting position under the body to a vertical feeding position is accomplished in particular by the movements of the laciniae, which function as a lever arm. Comparisons with the mouthparts of other flower visiting flies provide insights into adaptations to nectar‐feeding from long‐tubed flowers. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ?? , ??–??.     

Gender bias in the effects of arms and countermovement on jumping performance

The ability to jump high is considered important in a number of sports. It is commonly accepted that the use of the arms and a counter movement increase jump height. In some sport situations (e.g., volley ball block, basketball rebound), athletes may not be able to utilize a counter movement or arm swing. The purpose of this study is to examine gender differences in the contribution of the arm swing and counter movement to vertical jump height. Fifty college students, 25 men (age = 21.4 +/- 1.7 years, height = 182.2 +/- 8 cm, weight = 83.7 +/- 12.4 kg) and 25 women (age = 20.7 +/- 1.6 years, height = 166.7 +/- 6.3 cm, weight = 61.5 +/- 7.0 kg), performed 4 jumping movements: squat jumps with hands on hips (SNA), counter movement jump with hands on hips (CMNA), squat jump with arm swing (SA), and counter movement with arm swing (CMA). Significant differences were found between men's and women's performance, as well as between each type of jump within each gender. A mixed-model analysis of variance detected gender differences with respect to changes in the jumping movement. For both sexes the jumps in order from worst to best were SNA, CMNA, SA, and CMA. Peak power values for men were 4,057, 4,020, 4,644, and 4,747 W, respectively, for the 4 jumps. The female power values were 2,543, 2,445, 2,842, and 2,788 W, respectively, for the 4 jumps. Arms increased jump height more than a counter movement for both genders, with jump heights for men at 29.6, 31, 36, and 38 cm, respectively, and those of women 21, 22, 26, and 27 cm, respectively. Use of the arms was found to increase the jump height of the men significantly more than that of women. Changes in jumping movements affect men and women differently. The greater increase in jump height for the men when using the arm swing could be because of greater upper body strength of men compared with women. This could have applications to training and upper body strength and also to modeling of jumping movements.     

Mass transfer enhancement in moving biofilm structures

Biofilms are layers of microbial cells growing on an interface and they can form highly complex structures adapted to a wide variety of environmental conditions. Biofilm streamers have a small immobile base attached to the support and a flexible tail elongated in the flow direction, which can vibrate in fast flows. Herein we report numerical results for the role of the periodical movement of biofilm streamers on the nutrient uptake and in general on the solute mass transfer enhancement due to flow-induced oscillations. We developed what to our knowledge is a novel two-dimensional fluid-structure interaction model coupled to unsteady solute mass transport and solved the model using the finite element method with a moving mesh. Results demonstrate that the oscillatory movement of the biofilm tail significantly increases the substrate uptake. The mass transfer coefficient is the highest in regions close to the streamer tip. The reason for substrate transfer enhancement is the increase in speed of tip movement relative to the surrounding liquid, thereby reducing the thickness of the mass transfer boundary layer. In addition, we show that the relative mass transfer enhancement in unsteady conditions compared with the rigid static structure is larger at higher flow velocities, and this relative increase favors a more flexible structure.     

Production of phosphatidylinositol 5‐phosphate via PIKfyve and MTMR3 regulates cell migration

Although phosphatidylinositol 5‐phosphate (PtdIns5P) is present in many cell types and its biogenesis is increased by diverse stimuli, its precise cellular function remains elusive. Here we show that PtdIns5P levels increase when cells are stimulated to move and we find PtdIns5P to promote cell migration in tissue culture and in a Drosophila in vivo model. First, class III phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase, which produces PtdIns3P, was shown to be involved in migration of fibroblasts. In a cell migration screen for proteins containing PtdIns3P‐binding motifs, we identified the phosphoinositide 5‐kinase PIKfyve and the phosphoinositide 3‐phosphatase MTMR3, which together constitute a phosphoinositide loop that produces PtdIns5P via PtdIns(3,5)P₂. The ability of PtdIns5P to stimulate cell migration was demonstrated directly with exogenous PtdIns5P and a PtdIns5P‐producing bacterial enzyme. Thus, the identified phosphoinositide loop defines a new role for PtdIns5P in cell migration.     

Physical interaction between envelope glycoproteins E and M of pseudorabies virus and the major tegument protein UL49

Envelope glycoprotein M (gM) and the complex formed by glycoproteins E (gE) and I (gI) are involved in the secondary envelopment of pseudorabies virus (PrV) particles in the cytoplasm of infected cells. In the absence of the gE-gI complex and gM, envelopment is blocked and capsids surrounded by tegument proteins accumulate in the cytoplasm (A. R. Brack, J. Dijkstra, H. Granzow, B. G. Klupp, and T. C. Mettenleiter, J. Virol. 73:5364-5372, 1999). Here we demonstrate by yeast two-hybrid analyses that the cytoplasmic domains of gE and gM specifically interact with the C-terminal part of the UL49 gene product of PrV, which represents a major tegument protein and which is homologous to VP22 of herpes simplex virus type 1. However, deletion of the UL49 gene from PrV had only minor effects on viral replication, and ultrastructural analyses of infected cells confirmed that virus maturation and egress, including secondary envelopment in the cytoplasm, were not detectably affected by the absence of UL49. Moreover, the UL49 gene product was shown to be dispensable for virion localization of gE and gM, and mutants lacking either gE or gM incorporated the UL49 protein efficiently into virus particles. In contrast, a PrV mutant with deletions of gE-gI and gM failed to incorporate the UL49 protein despite apparently unaltered intracytoplasmic UL49 expression. In summary, we describe specific interactions between herpesvirus envelope and tegument proteins which may play a role in secondary envelopment during herpesvirus virion maturation.     

RanBP10 is a cytoplasmic guanine nucleotide exchange factor that modulates noncentrosomal microtubules

Microtubule spindle assembly in mitosis is stimulated by Ran.GTP, which is generated along condensed chromosomes by the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) RCC1. This relationship suggests that similar activities might modulate other microtubule structures. Interphase microtubules usually extend from the centrosome, although noncentrosomal microtubules function in some differentiated cells, including megakaryocytes. In these cells, platelet biogenesis requires massive mobilization of microtubules in the cell periphery, where they form proplatelets, the immediate precursors of platelets, in the apparent absence of centrioles. Here we identify a cytoplasmic Ran-binding protein, RanBP10, as a factor that binds beta-tubulin and associates with megakaryocyte microtubules. Unexpectedly, RanBP10 harbors GEF activity toward Ran. A point mutation in the candidate GEF domain abolishes exchange activity, and our results implicate RanBP10 as a localized cytoplasmic Ran-GEF. RNA interference-mediated loss of RanBP10 in cultured megakaryocytes disrupts microtubule organization. These results lead us to propose that spatiotemporally restricted generation of cytoplasmic Ran.GTP may influence organization of the specialized microtubules required in thrombopoiesis and that RanBP10 might serve as a molecular link between Ran and noncentrosomal microtubules.