GROWTH STUDIES OF THE ROOT OF INCENSE CEDAR,LIBOCEDRUS DECURRENS. I. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY TISSUES

Wilcox , Hugh . (State U. Coll. of Forestry, Syracuse, New York.) Growth studies of the root of incense cedar, Libocedrus decurrens. I. The origin and development of primary tissues. Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(3): 221–236. Illus. 1962.—The anatomical features of active and dormant roots of incense-cedar seedlings are described and discussed in relation to various problems of differentiation and morphogenesis. Autoradiographs confirm the presence of a group of relatively inactive cells at the site of the apical initials. During periods of maximum growth activity, the presence of a quiescent center is accentuated by a peak in number of divisions in adjacent tissues. With diminution in growth activity, the peak occurs closer to the quiescent center and the size of the meristem appears to diminish. During dormancy, the configuration of the initial region seems to indicate the existence of apical initial cells which coincide with a minimal constructional center, as determined by studies of cell lineage. Roots whose apical cells retain their meristematic appearance are able to resume growth after a period of dormancy, whereas roots whose apical cells undergo vacuolation are likely to perish. Graphs are presented to show the functional relationships between growth rate and the varying distances from the apical meristem at which the tissues of the root differentiate and mature. Although early differentiation of precursory phloem could be discerned almost as soon as early vacuolation of metaxylem, its recognition was more dependent upon subjective judgment. The functional relationship between differentiation and growth rate was most pronounced in the maturation of protoxylem elements, the development of Casparian strips in the endodermis, the development of suberin lamellae in the endodermis, and by the development of phi layers in the inner cortex.     

Blood-Free Medium for the Rapid Growth of Pasteurella tularensis

A medium composed of (in g/100 ml) Tryptose broth with thiamine (Difco), 2.6; cysteine-HCl, 0.12; glucose, 1; FeSO₄, 7H₂O, 0.005; KCl, 0.02; histidine, 0.1; tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (tris) buffer, 0.3; and agar, 1; will support rapid growth of the fully virulent SCHU-S4 strain of Pasteurella tularensis. Although the test organism grew rapidly on medium from which KCl and tris buffer were omitted, these two components increased the stability of the medium upon storage at 4 C. It was necessary to (i) control carefully the relative concentration of the ferrous iron and cysteine-HCl, (ii) incubate the prepared medium overnight prior to use, and (iii) incubate the inoculated plates in an atmosphere of high relative humidity. Rapid growth of the organism was obtained also from very small inocula in the liquid form of the medium. Biochemical studies designed to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the enhancement of growth of P. tularensis in this relatively simple blood-free medium were initiated.     

Effects of freshwater and marine overwintering environments on life histories of threespine sticklebacks: evidence for adaptive variation between anadromous and resident freshwater populations

Summary Life history theory predicts that migratory fishes should delay reproduction, be larger at first reproduction, and have higher fecundities than nonmigrants. We tested this hypothesis by comparing life histories of anadromous (estuary) and resident freshwater (upstream) threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) from the Navarro River, California, USA. Using a split-brood, two-environment breeding design, families from cach population were divided and reared in both freshwater and seawater overwintering environments. In both treatments, the more migratory estuary sticklebacks were larger at first reproduction and had large initial clutch sizes; in the freshwater treatment, the estuary sticklebacks matured later than the upstream fish. Population means varied little across treatments, indicating that the average effects of the different overwintering conditions were slight. The responses of individual families to a given overwintering treatment were highly variable in both populations, as reflected in significant family x treatment effects for all traits. Phenotypic correlations among life history traits were significant and positive for most traits, and were similar in magnitude in both populations. Differences in the relative degree of specialization for migration may in part explain variation in life history between these populations.     

Linker insertion analysis of the FimH adhesin of type 1 fimbriae in an Escherichia coli fimH-null background

Abstract The gene encoding the Escherichia coli FimH adhesin of type 1 fimbriae has been subjected to linker insertion mutagenesis. Amino acid changes were introduced at a number of positions spanning the entire sequence in order to probe the structure-function relationship of the FimH protein. The effect of these mutations on the ability of bacteria to express a D-mannose binding phenotype was assessed in a fimH null mutant (MS4) constructed by allelic exchange in the E. coli K-12 strain PC31. Mutations mapping at amino acid residues 36, 58 and 279 of the mature FimH protein were shown to completely abolish binding to D-mannose receptors. Differences in the level of fimbriation were also observed as a result of some of the mutations in the fimH gene. These mutants may prove useful in dissecting receptor-ligand interactions by defining regions of the FimH protein that are important in erythrocyte binding.