Interaction between the black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans and the gall midge Lasioptera ephedricola in gall formation on the desert shrub Ephedra trifurca

Galls produced by the cecidomynd Lastoptera ephedncola on Ephedia trifurca always have a black ring associated with them while galls produced by the congener L ephedrae never do Black ring material after microscopic examination and culture proved to be Aureobasidium pullulans In addition to lacking black ring material neither L ephedrae galls nor healthy stems consistently yielded Aureobasidium on culture Gall and larva size measurements indicated that continued larval presence is not necessary for gall development, suggesting fungus initiated gall formation However inoculation of healthy stems with Aureobasidium caused lesions hut not galls The mycelium m galls did not appear grazed and neither larvae nor pupae contained Aureobasidium propagules suggesting that larvae do not feed directly on fungi These data also suggest that there is no trans-pupal passage of fungus from larvae or pupae to adults Newly emerged females do not carry fungal propagules suggesting that thcy are not inoculated upon exiting the gall Gall position leaf culture and stem culture data suggest that the fungus is picked up from leaves prior to oviposition     

Physical mapping of inhibin β-A in domestic cattle

The gene for the -A subunit of inhibin (INHBA) was assigned to bovine syntenic group U13 by bovine x rodent hybrid somatic cells and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A 482-bp PCR fragment was used to clone a 37-kb cosmid. This cosmid was assigned to bovine Chromosome (Chr) 4 (BTA 4) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This is the first assignment of a U13 marker to a bovine chromosome. A restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was detected with PstI within the INHBA cosmid.     

Analysis of Orthologous Retrovirus-Like Elements in the White-Footed Mouse,Peromyscus leucopus

Three loci in the genome of the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, were examined for the presence or absence of orthologous copies of the retrovirus-like element mys using polymerase chain reaction. We examined these loci in 28 mice collected throughout the P. leucopus species range. Mys insertions were present in only one of the individuals examined at the mys-1 and mys-7 loci. Conversely, the mys-6 element was found in several individuals, but the presence of this element was limited to northern latitudes. Because the long terminal repeats (LTRs) of a given element are expected to be identical at the time of retrotransposition into the genome, and to accumulate changes over evolutionary time, within-element LTR sequence comparisons can be used to estimate the relative age of insertions. Within-element LTR differences are greater in mys-6 than in mys-1 or mys-7. The LTRs from orthologous mys-6 elements of six mice were sequenced. The alignment revealed 13 of the 22 differences between the right and left LTRs that were shared by all orthologous mys-6 sites, suggesting that relative to its time of insertion into the genome, mys-6 has only recently spread across the northern part of the species range. Received: 23 January 1996 / Accepted: 24 April 1996     

A role for natural simian immunodeficiency virus and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 nef alleles in lymphocyte activation.

A T-lymphoid cell line termed 221 was derived from a rhesus monkey infected with herpesvirus saimiri. Growth of 221 cells was dependent on the addition of interleukin-2 (IL-2) to the culture medium. In the absence of IL-2, 221 cells arrested in G0-G1 but did not die. Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replicated efficiently in IL-2-stimulated 221 cells whether or not the nef gene was present. In the absence of IL-2, nef-containing SIV replicated 8 to 100 times more efficiently in 221 cells than did the same virus lacking nef. nef-containing virus preferentially stimulated the production of IL-2 from 221 cells. HIV-1 nef and v-ras genes, but not the c-ras gene, were shown to substitute functionally for SIV nef when tested as recombinant viruses in this assay system. These results demonstrate a role for natural nef in causing lymphoid cell activation, and they provide a system for delineating the biochemical mechanisms responsible for this activation.     

Unit Cell Hypothesis for Streptococcus faecalis

The mass doubling times of exponential-phase cultures of Streptococcus faecalis were varied from 30 to 110 min by omitting glutamine from a defined growth medium and providing different concentrations of glutamate (ranging from 300 to 14 μg/ml). After Formalin fixation, cells were dried by the critical point method, and carbon-platinum replicas were prepared. The surface area and volume of cell poles seen in these replicas were estimated by a computer-assisted, three-dimensional reconstruction technique. It was found that the amount of surface area and volume of poles seen in these replicas were independent of the growth rate of culture from which the samples were taken. These observations were consistent with the unit cell model hypothesis of Donachie and Begg, in which a small number of surface sites would produce a constant amount of new cell surface regardless of the mass doubling time of the culture. However, measurements of the thickness of the cell wall taken from thin sections of the same cells showed that the cell wall increased in thickness as a function of the increase in cellular peptidoglycan content which occurs when the growth rate of this organism is slowed down by a decrease in glutamate concentration. Thus, it would seem that although the size of polar shells made by S. faecalis is invariant with growth rate, the amount of wall precursors used to construct these shells is not.     

Collagenase Production by Nematode-Trapping Fungi

A number of species of nematode-trapping fungi, which capture and digest nematodes having keratin and collagen in their cuticles, were tested for the ability to produce extracellular collagenase and keratinase. Collagenase, which is active on ichthyocol, earthworm collagen, and procollagen from chicken embryo fibroblasts, was found in the growth medium of all tested species; keratinase was not found. The enzyme from Arthrobotrys amerospora was concentrated by precipitation with (NH₄)₂SO₄ and further purified by adsorption on collagen at 0°C. The collagenase was active over a pH range of 2.5 to 10.0. It was not inactivated by dialysis against ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid for 48 h or by the sulfhydryl group inhibitors N-ethylmaleimide and p-chloromercuribenzoate. The production of collagenase may aid the fungus to penetrate the cuticle of its prey.     

Perturbation analysis of competition and overlap in habitat utilization between Dipodomys ordii and Dipodomys merriami

Summary The populations of two coexisting species of Dipodomys (Heteromyidae, Rodentia) were manipulated on 10, large, unenclosed, trapping grids. These manipulations revealed that, although many kangaroo rats are established residents in an area, a large number are transient individuals who quickly occupy vacated habitats. On plots from which residents had been removed, transients settled at rates of up to 5% of carrying capacity per day. These immigrants were invariably of the same species that was removed, indicating a strong element of intraspecific competition with little or no evidence of competition between the species.Trapping records suggest that these species avoid competition through habitat selection. Dipodomys ordii prefer a grassier habitat, and D. merriami a habitat dominated by creosote bush. Apparent overlap in their utilization of habitats, based on sites of capture, predicts competition coefficients to be higher than those permitted by the theory of limiting similarity and much higher than those actually shown by the perturbation experiments.This study demonstrates the dangers of estimating alpha without experimentation. This is especially true in cases where habitat selection may be important, since organisms may travel in habitats without collecting resources therein. Our results are discussed in light of a theory which examines the optimal (rather than tolerable) amount of overlap in habitat utilization between two potential competitors in a mixed habitat. This theory predicts that the pressure of natural selection should eliminate the interspecific competition entirely.However, the conclusion that the interspecific competitive alpha is zero does not lead to the conclusion that interspecific competition is unimportant in the system. Instead, if our interpretation is correct, such competition has molded the system, and were there not a continual threat of interspecific competition, the habitat specializations would soon disappear.     

Clump size selection: A field test with two species of Dipodomys

Summary Seed distribution (clump size) selection has been proposed as a possible mechanism of resource subdivision for competing heteromyid rodent species. To test this hypothesis, field experiments were conducted over two years during both richer and sparser seasons of the year. None of the predictions derived from the hypothesis were supported by our results. Though some selectivity was displayed by both Dipodomys spectabilis and D. merriami, the patterns of selectivity did not match the expected patterns. Our results further indicate that clump selection may be influenced by variables other than the density of seeds within a clump. These results have led us to conclude that clump size selection is unlikely to play a role in the coexistence of different species of the genus Dipodomys.     

Hippocampal Hypertrophy and Sleep Apnea: A Role for the Ischemic Preconditioning?

The full impact of multisystem disease such as obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) on regions of the central nervous system is debated, as the subsequent neurocognitive sequelae are unclear. Several preclinical studies suggest that its purported major culprits, intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, can differentially affect adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Although the prospective biphasic nature of chronic intermittent hypoxia in animal models of OSA has been acknowledged, so far the evidence for increased ‘compensatory’ neurogenesis in humans is uncertain. In a cross-sectional study of 32 patients with mixed severity OSA and 32 non-apnoeic matched controls inferential analysis showed bilateral enlargement of hippocampi in the OSA group. Conversely, a trend for smaller thalami in the OSA group was noted. Furthermore, aberrant connectivity between the hippocampus and the cerebellum in the OSA group was also suggested by the correlation analysis. The role for the ischemia/hypoxia preconditioning in the neuropathology of OSA is herein indicated, with possible further reaching clinical implications.