FrühblühendeAesculus-Bäume

Zusammenfassung EinAesculus-Baum, der sich im Frühling alljährlich vorzeitig belaubt, entlaubt sich im Herbst auffallend spät. Die Knospen dieses Baumes haben eine sehr kurze freiwillige Winterruhe, bei günstigen Temperaturen treiben sie bereits Mitte Dezember aus, ein Warmbad verzögert das Austreiben. Die frühtreibenden Kastanien sind durch Spätfröste, ja selbst durch Winterfröste gefährdet, denn ihre vorzeitig in Saft stehenden Knospen und Triebe fallen dem Frost leichter zum Opfer als diejenigen der länger ruhenden Bäume.Herrn Prof. Dr. H. v.Guttenberg zum 80. Geburtstag gewidmet.     

Klimakammertherapie

Zusammenfassung Die Bezeichnung Klimakammer wird in steigendem Masse für die Unterdruckkammern gebraucht, was einer starken Einengung des Begriffs gleichkommt. Denn unter einer Klimakammer versteht man allgemein einen Raum, in welchem zu bestimmten Zwecken klimatische Bedingungen hergestellt werden, die in einem oder mehreren Klimafaktoren vom natürlichen Lokalklima abweichen. Aus der Fülle der Klimafaktoren wurden wegen der therapeutischen Bedeutung die Variationsmöglichkeiten des Luftkolloids und des Luftdrucks ausführlicher entsprechend dem derzeitigen Stande der Kenntnisse besprochen.Die Ausschaltung des Luftkolloids führt zu den allergenfreien Kammern Storm v. Leeuwens. Die zusätzliche Beimengung medikamentöser Schwebstoffe zur Raumluft ergibt Rauminhalatorien, von denen als Prototypen die Säurekammern, Ultraschallnebelkammern, Solenebelkammern und Dispneumotherapiekammern beschrieben wurden. Durch Erhöhung des Luftdrucks entstehen Ueberdruck- und durch Herabsetzung Unterdruckkammern. Die physiologischen Wirkungen der Luftdruckänderung und die bewährten Möglichkeiten im therapeutischen Einsatz werden auf Grund umfassender praktischer Erfahrungen dargestellt.An extensive English summary of this article will appear in November 1960 in the book published by S.W. Tromp: Weather, Climate and the Living Organism (An Introduction to medical Bioclimatology), Elsevier Publ. Co., Spuistraat 110, Amsterdam, Netherlands.Facharzt für physik. Medizin, Leiter des Instituts für medizinische Aerosol-Forschung und-Therapie, ärztlicher Leiter der Kurmittelhäuser in Bad Lippspringe, Westfalen, Deutschland.Meteorologe, Leiter der bioklimatischen Forschungsstelle in Bad Lippspringe, Westfalen, Deutschland.     

Beobachtungen am Nest des Zwergschn?ppers(Muscicapa parva)

Zusammenfassung Im Buchenwald des Naturschutzgebietes Serrahn (Mecklenburg) achtete Verf. seit 1949 auf den Zwergschnäpper. 1956 und 1957 brüteten dort über 12 Paare.Ankunft frühestens am 9. Mai. Als Erste erscheinen vorwiegend ältere (rotkehlige) . Den ersten folgen sehr bald die ersten .Balzflug, Zeigen der Nisthöhle, Copula sowie Variationen des Neststandes werden beschrieben.Fast stets baute nur das , in einem Falle 3 Tage lang. Während der Bauzeit setzt das seine Singflüge eifrig fort. Gepaarte verstummen, sobald ihr begonnen hat, fest auf dem Gelege zu brüten. Nur Junggesellen singen den ganzen Sommer über.An einem günstig gelegenen Nest wurde das Verhalten des Paares vom 4.(?) Bruttag ab bis zum Ausfliegen der Jungen (im Alter von 13 Tagen) aus einem dicht davor angebrachten Schirm genau beobachtet und aufgezeichnet. Nach dem Verlassen des Nestes suchen die Jungen unter Führung ihrer Eltern die nächste Dickung auf. Sobald sie selbständig geworden sind, beginnt die Jugendmauser, 3 Wochen danach die Wanderung ins Winterquartier. Die letzten Zwergschnäpper verschwanden meist vor Mitte September.Angaben über Gesang, Bedeutung der Rufe, Nahrung.Attrappen-Versuche am Nest ergaben, daß die Eltern genau zwischen dem (gefährlichen) Sperber und dem (ungefährlichen) Kuckuck zu unterscheiden wußten und ihnen gegenüber unterschiedliche Alarmlaute brachten. Tannenhäher und Wacholderdrossel lösten keine Abwehr-Reaktion aus.     

Intraspecific diversity in the fungal speciesChaunopycnis alba: Implications for microbial screening programs

Intraspecific variation among 84 isolates of the anamorphic fungusChaunopycnis alba from 26 different geographical locations was analyzed by investigating optimal growth temperatures, differences in the production of secondary metabolites and presence or absence of the cyclosporin synthetase gene. The genetic diversity was assessed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Analysis of these data showed high genetic, metabolic and physiological diversity within this species. Isolates from the Antarctic represented the most homogeneous group withinC. alba and together with isolates from the Arctic these polar strains differed from alpine, temperate and tropical strains by low optimal growth temperatures and by low production of secondary metabolites. Isolates from tropical climes were characterized by high optimal growth temperatures and by the production of comparatively diverse metabolite spectra. Most of the isolates that were similar in the combination of their physiological and metabolic characters were also genetically related. Isolates from different geographical origins did not show many similarities, with the exception of the cyclosporin A-producing isolates, and large diversity could be observed even within a single habitat. This leads us to the suggestion that for pharmaceutical screening programs samples should be collected from a diversity of different geographical and climatic locations. For the selection of strains for screening the RAPD assay seems to be the most powerful tool. It reflected the highest intraspecific diversity and the results corresponded well with the other characteristics.     

Aerobic degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls by Alcaligenes sp. JB1: metabolites and enzymes

In contrast to the degradation of penta-and hexachlorobiphenyls in chemostat cultures, the metabolism of PCBs by Alcaligenes sp. JB1 was shown to be restricted to PCBs with up to four chlorine substituents in resting-cell assays. Among these, the PCB congeners containing ortho chlorine substituents on both phenyl rings were found to be least degraded. Monochloro-benzoates and dichlorobenzoates were detected as metabolites. Resting cell assays with chlorobenzoates showed that JB1 could metabolize all three monochlorobenzoates and dichlorobenzoates containing only meta and para chlorine substituents, but not dichlorobenzoates possessing an ortho chlorine substituent. In enzyme activity assays, meta cleaving 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl 1,2-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activities were constitutive, whereas benzoate dioxygenase and ortho cleaving catechol 1,2-dioxygenase activities were induced by their substrates. No activity was found for pyrocatechase II, the enzyme that is specific for chlorocatechols. The data suggest that complete mineralization of PCBs with three or more chlorine substituents by Alcaligenes sp. JB1 is unlikely.Abbreviations PCB polychlorinated biphenyls - CBA chlorobenzoate - D di - Tr tri - Te tetra - Pe penta- - H hexa     

Assessing the impact of ozone on photosynthesis of European beech (Fergus sylvatica L.) in environmental chambers

An exposure — response study with proportionalto-ambient ozone levels was conducted in closed chambers on 3-year-old European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) of montane origin. The fumigation started in April 1990 and lasted for a single growing season. Climate data and ozone concentrations monitored at an experimental station of the Institute for Applied Plant Biology, Schönenbuch, Switzerland were simulated in the exposure chambers 12 days later (1*O₃). To test exposure-response relations three additional treatments were applied, subambient (0.2*O₃) and two proportionally increased ozone treatments (1.5*O₃ and 2*O₃). The photosynthetic behaviour of the trees in August revealed the light reactions to be less affected than parameters which are related to the dark reactions of photosynthesis. Assimilation (A₃₅₀), apparent carboxylation efficiency (CE), and maximum photosynthetic capacity (A₂₅₀₀) were reduced with increasing ozone concentration. For the ozone response of CE and A₂₅₀₀ Critical Levels were calculated.     

The association of annexin I with early endosomes is regulated by Ca2+ and requires an intact N-terminal domain.

Annexin I is a member of a multigene family of Ca2+/phospholipid-binding proteins and a major substrate for the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor kinase, which has been implicated in membrane-related events along the endocytotic pathway, in particular in the sorting of internalized EGF receptors occurring in the multivesicular body. We analyzed in detail the intracellular distribution of this annexin by cell fractionation and immunoelectron microscopy. These studies used polyclonal as well as a set of species-specific monoclonal antibodies, whose epitopes were mapped to the lateral surface of the molecule next to a region thought to be involved in vesicle aggregation. Unexpectedly, the majority of annexin I was identified on early and not on multivesicular endosomes in a form that required micromolar levels of Ca2+ for the association. The specific cofractionation with early endosomes was also observed in transfected baby hamster kidney cells when the intracellular fate of ectopically expressed porcine annexin I was analyzed by using the species-specific monoclonal antibodies in Western blots of subcellular fractions. Interestingly, a truncation of the N-terminal 26, but not the N-terminal 13 residues of annexin I altered its intracellular distribution, shifting it from fractions containing early to those containing late and multivesicular endosomes. These findings underscore the regulatory importance of the N-terminal domain and provide evidence for an involvement of annexin I in early endocytotic processes.     

Cell-type specific,coordinate expression of two ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase genes in relation to starch biosynthesis during seed development of Vicia faba L.

Several cDNA clones encoding two different ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase, EC 2.7.7.27) polypeptides denoted VfAGPC and VfAGPP were isolated from a cotyledonary library of Vicia faba L. Both sequences are closely related to AGPase small-subunit sequences from other plants. Whereas mRNA levels of VfAGPP were equally high in developing cotyledons and leaves, the mRNA of VfAGPC was present in considerable amounts only in cotyledons. During development of cotyledons, both mRNAs accumulated until the beginning of the desiccation phase and disappeared afterwards. The increase of AGPase activity in cotyledons during the phase of storage-product synthesis was closely followed by the accumulation of starch. The AGPase activity in crude extracts of cotyledons was insensitive to 3-phosphoglycerate whereas the activity from leaves could be activated more than five-fold. Inorganic phosphate inhibited the enzyme from both tissues but was slightly more effective on the leaf enzyme. There was a correlation at the cellular level between the distribution of VfAGPP and VfAGPC mRNAs and the accumulation of starch, as studied by in-situ hybridisation and by histochemical staining in parallel tissue sections of developing seeds, respectively. During the early phase of seed development (12–15 days after fertilization) VfAGPase mRNA and accumulation of starch were detected transiently in the hypodermal, chlorenchymal and outer parenchymal cell layers of the seed coat but not in the embryo. At 25 days after fertilization both synthesis of VfAGPase mRNA and biosynthesis of starch had started in parenchyma cells of the inner adaxial zone of the cotyledons. During later stages, the expression of VfAGPase and synthesis of starch extended over most of the cotyledons but were absent from peripheral cells of the abaxial zone, provascular and procalyptral cells.Abbreviations AGPase ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase - DAF days after fertilization - Glc1P glucose-1-phosphate - 3-PGA 3-phosphoglycerate - VfAGPC AGPase subunit of Vicia faba mainly expressed in cotyledons - VfAGPP AGPase subunit of Vicia faba mainly expressed in leaves and cotyledons - pVfAGPC, pVfAGPP plasmids containing VfAGPC and VfAGPP, respectively This work was supported by the Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie BCT 0389, Molekular- und Zellbiologie von höheren Pflanzen und Pilzen. U.W acknowledges additional support by the Fonds der chemischen Industrie. We thank Elsa Fessel for excellent technical assistance.     

Analysis of Tn5 inversion events inEscherichia coli plasmids

The ability of the bacterial transposon Tn5 to undergo sequence inversion in Rec⁺ Escherichia coli cells as a result of recombination between its duplicated IS50 elements was examined using specially designed plasmid constructs. Surprisingly, recombination events in the IS50 elements that led to crossover and therefore Tn5 inversion could be detected at a frequency of only 10^–5. This was approximately an order of magnitude lower than the frequency of IS50 recombination that led to conversion events (i.e. non-reciprocal recombination) without crossover, and at least two orders of magnitude lower than the frequency of intermolecular recombination between IS50 elements on two different plasmids. These rare conversion and inversion events in Tn5 appeared to be due to intramolecular recombination and not simply to multiple rounds of reciprocal crossing over, since the heterodimeric intermediates that would be generated during the latter process could be readily isolated but were shown to yield a completely different set of plasmid products upon resolution.     

Prebiotic polymerization: Oxidative polymerization of 2,3-dimercapto-l-propanol on the surface of iron(III) hydroxide oxide

The oxidation of 2,3-dimercapto-l-propanol by ferric ions on the surface of iron(III) hydroxide oxide (Fe(OH)O) yielded polydisulfide oligomers. This polymerization occurred readily at low dithiol concentration under mild aqueous conditions. Polydisulfide polymers up to the 15-mer were synthesized from 1 mM dithiol in 5 ml water reacted with iron(III) hydroxide oxide (20 mg, 160 µ mole Fe) for 3 days under anaerobic conditions at 40 °C and pH 4. About 91% of the dithiol was converted to short soluble oligomers and 9% to insoluble larger oligomers that were isolated with the Fe (OH)O phase. Reactions carried out at the same ratio of dithiol to Fe(OH)O but at higher dithiol concentrations gave higher yields of the larger insoluble oligomers. The relationship of these results to prebiotic polymer synthesis is discussed.