Variability,function and phylogenetic significance of periostracal microprojections in unionoid bivalves (Mollusca)

Microprojections of unionoid shells are virtually unstudied but could be important characters for resolving questions on the phylogeny and ecology of these bivalves. By investigating 26 unionoid and three species of their closest living relatives, the Trigonioida, using scanning electron microscopy, we identified three types of periostracal microprojections. (1) Microridges were present only in one species from each of the two unionoid families Mycetopodidae (Anodontites trapesialis) and Iridinidae (Chambardia bourguignati) and may represent a synapomorphy for the mycetopodid‐iridinid clade. In A. trapesialis, microridges were additionally equipped with (2)ensp;flag‐like projections (microfringes), possibly a synapomorphic character for the Mycetopodidae. Examination of partially bleached specimens indicated that both microridges and microfringes are predominantly or purely organic. In contrast, previously undescribed (3) spicule‐like spikes represent calcifications within the periostracum. These were found in 20 of the 29 species and four of the six unionoid families. Spikes were particularly large and abundant in umbonal (juvenile) shell regions and species characteristic of fast‐flowing habitats. These structures may thus serve in protecting the periostracum and shell underneath, and/or stabilizing life position by increasing shell friction. Microfringes and microridges, on the other hand, possibly aid in the orientation of the mussel within the sediment.     

Chronic ulceration of the leg: extent of the problem and provision of care.

A postal survey in two health board areas in Scotland, encompassing a population of about one million, identified 1477 patients with chronic ulcers of the leg. Women outnumbered men by a ratio of 2.8:1. The median age of the women was 74 and of the men 67. Seventy two (5%) were hospital inpatients, 174 (12%) were managed jointly by the primary care team and outpatient departments, and 1201 (83%) were managed entirely in the community. Efforts to improve the management of chronic ulcers of the leg should focus on primary health care.     

Centrin homologues in higher plants are prominently associated with the developing cell plate

Summary Centrin and calmodulin are members of the EF-hand calcium-binding superfamily of proteins. In this study we compared localisation and immunoblotting of centrin with calmodulin in several monocot (onion and wheat) and dicot (mung bean andArabidopsis) plants. We confirmed that an anti-calmodulin antibody recognised a 17 kDa protein in all species tested and localises to the cytoplasm, mitotic matrix and with microtubules of the preprophase band and phragmoplast. In contrast, immunoblotting using anti-centrin antibodies shows that plant centrins vary from 17 to 20 kDa. Immunofluorescence microscopy with anti-centrin antibodies revealed only weak centrin immunoreactivity in the cytoplasm, nucleus, nuclear envelope, phragmoplast and mitotic matrix in meristematic cells. There was a slightly more intense perinuclear labelling in large differentiating onion cells and between separating anaphase chromosomes. While centrin is known to localise to the mitotic spindle poles in animal and algal cells, there was no appreciable immunoreactivity at the spindle poles in higher plants. In contrast, there was an intense immunofluorescence signal with anti-centrin antibodies in the developing cell plate. Further characterisation of the cell plate labelling by immunogold electron microscopy shows centrin immunoreactivity was closely associated with vesicles in the cell plate. Our observations suggest that centrin may play a role in cell plate formation.Abbreviations BSA bovine serum albumin - MTs microtubules - MTOCs microtubule organising centres - PBS phosphate buffered saline - PBST phosphate buffered saline with Tween-20     

Co‐benefits,trade‐offs,barriers and policies for greenhouse gas mitigation in the agriculture,forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector

The agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector is responsible for approximately 25% of anthropogenic GHG emissions mainly from deforestation and agricultural emissions from livestock, soil and nutrient management. Mitigation from the sector is thus extremely important in meeting emission reduction targets. The sector offers a variety of cost‐competitive mitigation options with most analyses indicating a decline in emissions largely due to decreasing deforestation rates. Sustainability criteria are needed to guide development and implementation of AFOLU mitigation measures with particular focus on multifunctional systems that allow the delivery of multiple services from land. It is striking that almost all of the positive and negative impacts, opportunities and barriers are context specific, precluding generic statements about which AFOLU mitigation measures have the greatest promise at a global scale. This finding underlines the importance of considering each mitigation strategy on a case‐by‐case basis, systemic effects when implementing mitigation options on the national scale, and suggests that policies need to be flexible enough to allow such assessments. National and international agricultural and forest (climate) policies have the potential to alter the opportunity costs of specific land uses in ways that increase opportunities or barriers for attaining climate change mitigation goals. Policies governing practices in agriculture and in forest conservation and management need to account for both effective mitigation and adaptation and can help to orient practices in agriculture and in forestry towards global sharing of innovative technologies for the efficient use of land resources. Different policy instruments, especially economic incentives and regulatory approaches, are currently being applied however, for its successful implementation it is critical to understand how land‐use decisions are made and how new social, political and economic forces in the future will influence this process.     

Host behaviour drives parasite genetics at multiple geographic scales: population genetics of the chewing louse,Thomomydoecus minor

Pocket gophers and their symbiotic chewing lice form a host–parasite assemblage known for a high degree of cophylogeny, thought to be driven by life history parameters of both host and parasite that make host switching difficult. However, little work to date has focused on determining whether these life histories actually impact louse populations at the very fine scale of louse infrapopulations (individuals on a single host) at the same or at nearby host localities. We used microsatellite and mtDNA sequence data to make comparisons of chewing‐louse (Thomomydoecus minor) population subdivision over time and over geographic space where there are different potential amounts of host interaction surrounding a zone of contact between two hybridizing pocket‐gopher subspecies. We found that chewing lice had high levels of population isolation consistent with a paucity of horizontal transmission even at the very fine geographic scale of a single alfalfa field. We also found marked genetic discontinuity in louse populations corresponding with host subspecies and little, if any, admixture in the louse genetic groups even though the lice are closely related. The correlation of louse infrapopulation differentiation with host interaction at multiple scales, including across a discontinuity in pocket‐gopher habitat, suggests that host behaviour is the primary driver of parasite genetics. This observation makes sense in light of the life histories of both chewing lice and pocket gophers and provides a powerful explanation for the well‐documented pattern of parallel cladogenesis in pocket gophers and chewing lice.     

A dual role for diacylglycerol kinase generated phosphatidic acid in autoantibody-induced neutrophil exocytosis

Dysregulated release of neutrophil azurophilic granules causes increased tissue damage and amplified inflammation during autoimmune disease. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCAs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of small vessel vasculitis and promote adhesion and exocytosis in neutrophils. ANCAs activate specific signal transduction pathways in neutrophils that have the potential to be modulated therapeutically to prevent neutrophil activation by ANCAs. We have investigated a role for diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) and its downstream product phosphatidic acid (PA) in ANCA-induced neutrophil exocytosis. Neutrophils incubated with the DGK inhibitor R59022, before treatment with ANCAs, exhibited a reduced capacity to release their azurophilic granules, demonstrated by a component release assay and flow cytometry. PA restored azurophilic granule release in DGK-inhibited neutrophils. Confocal microscopy revealed that R59022 did not inhibit translocation of granules, indicating a role for DGK during the process of granule fusion at the plasma membrane. In investigating possible mechanisms by which PA promotes neutrophil exocytosis, we demonstrated that exocytosis can only be restored in R59022-treated cells through simultaneous modulation of membrane fusion and increasing cytosolic calcium. PA and its associated pathways may represent viable drug targets to reduce tissue injury associated with ANCA-associated vasculitic diseases and other neutrophilic inflammatory disorders.     

Effect of immobilization support, water activity, and enzyme ionization state on cutinase activity and enantioselectivity in organic media

We studied the reaction between vinyl butyrate and 2-phenyl-1-propanol in acetonitrile catalyzed by Fusarium solani pisi cutinase immobilized on zeolites NaA and NaY and on Accurel PA-6. The choice of 2-phenyl-1-propanol was based on modeling studies that suggested moderate cutinase enantioselectivity towards this substrate. With all the supports, initial rates of transesterification were higher at a water activity (a(w)) of 0.2 than at a(w) = 0.7, and the reverse was true for initial rates of hydrolysis. By providing acid-base control in the medium through the use of solid-state buffers that control the parameter pH-pNa, which we monitored using an organo-soluble chromoionophoric indicator, we were able, in some cases, to completely eliminate dissolved butyric acid. However, none of the buffers used were able to improve the rates of transesterification relative to the blanks (no added buffer) when the enzyme was immobilized at an optimum pH of 8.5. When the enzyme was immobilized at pH 5 and exhibited only marginal activity, however, even a relatively acidic buffer with a pK(a) of 4.3 was able to restore catalytic activity to about 20% of that displayed for a pH of immobilization of 8.5, at otherwise identical conditions. As a(w) was increased from 0.2 to 0.7, rates of transesterification first increased slightly and then decreased. Rates of hydrolysis showed a steady increase in that a(w) range, and so did total initial reaction rates. The presence or absence of the buffers did not impact on the competition between transesterification and hydrolysis, regardless of whether the butyric acid formed remained as such in the reaction medium or was eliminated from the microenvironment of the enzyme through conversion into an insoluble salt. Cutinase enantioselectivity towards 2-phenyl-1-propanol was indeed low and was not affected by differences in immobilization support, enzyme protonation state, or a(w).     

A new DNA marker (D4S90) is located terminally on the short arm of chromosome 4, close to the Huntington disease gene

Genetic linkage studies have mapped Huntington's disease (HD) to the distal portion of the short arm of chromosome 4 (4p16.3), 4 cM distal to D4S10 (G8). To date, no definite flanking marker has been identified. A new DNA marker, D4S90 (D5), which maps to the distal region of 4p16.3, is described. The marker was used in a genetic linkage study in the CEPH reference families with seven other markers at 4p16. The study, together with knowledge of the physical map of the region, places D4S90 as the most distal marker, 6 cM from D4S10. A provisional linkage study with HD gave a maximum lod score of 2.14 at a θ of 0.00 and no evidence of linkage disequilibrium. As D4S90 appears to be located terminally, it should play an important role in the accurate mapping and cloning of the HD gene.