A review of curcumin as a biological stain and as a self-visualizing pharmaceutical agent

Curcumin has been widely used to color textiles but, unlike other natural dyes such as hematoxylin or saffron, it rarely has been discussed as a biological stain. Aspects of the physicochemistry of curcumin relevant to biological staining and self-visualization, i.e., its acidic properties, lipophilicity, metal and pseudometal complexes, and optical properties, are summarized briefly here. Reports of staining of non-living biological specimens in sections and smears, both fixed and unfixed, including specimens embedded in resin, are summarized here. Staining of amyloid, boron and chromatin are outlined and possible reaction mechanisms discussed. Use of curcumin as a vital stain also is described, both in cultured monolayers and in whole organisms. Staining mechanisms are considered especially for the selective uptake of curcumin into cancer cells. Staining with curcumin labeled nanoparticles is discussed. Toxicity and safety issues associated with the dye also are presented.     

Phylogenetic analysis of the family Telothelepodidae Nogueira,Fitzhugh & Hutchings, 2013 (Annelida: Terebelliformia)

Members of the 12 known species of the family Telothelepodidae, plus individuals of three additional undescribed species, were examined to infer phylogenetic relationships within the family and evaluate the status of genera. The outgroups include members of three species of Polycirridae and three of Thelepodidae. Members of 21 species, including both in- and outgroups, were coded for 47 subjects (‘characters’) and 109 characters sensu stricto (subject-predicate relations or ‘states’). The results, based on 15 minimum-length trees, each 103 steps long, suggest that telothelepodids should be divided into four genera, according to the morphology of the lower lip, presence or absence of eyespots, and visibility of segment 1. By necessity two of these genera are monotypic and plesiomorphic to two monophyletic genera; the latter two genera with five and eight species, respectively. Telothelepus, Parathelepus and Rhinothelepus are redefined, and the new genus Mesopothelepus gen. nov. is erected, all to accommodate the phylogenetic hypotheses presented. The problem of properly defining monotypic supraspecific taxon names as representative of phylogenetic hypotheses is discussed in relation to the inherent limitations of Article 13.1.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8C05DBD2-8226-4738-BF4A-E623A97ACB75     

Biology of extinction risk in marine fishes

We review interactions between extrinsic threats to marine fishes and intrinsic aspects of their biology that determine how populations and species respond to those threats. Information is available on the status of less than 5% of the world's approximately 15500 marine fish species, most of which are of commercial importance. By 2001, based on data from 98 North Atlantic and northeast Pacific populations, marine fishes had declined by a median 65% in breeding biomass from known historic levels; 28 populations had declined by more than 80%. Most of these declines would be sufficient to warrant a status of threatened with extinction under international threat criteria. However, this interpretation is highly controversial, in part because of a perception that marine fishes have a suite of life history characteristics, including high fecundity and large geographical ranges, which might confer greater resilience than that shown by terrestrial vertebrates. We review 15 comparative analyses that have tested for these and other life history correlates of vulnerability in marine fishes. The empirical evidence suggests that large body size and late maturity are the best predictors of vulnerability to fishing, regardless of whether differences among taxa in fishing mortality are controlled; there is no evidence that high fecundity confers increased resilience. The evidence reviewed here is of direct relevance to the diverse criteria used at global and national levels by various bodies to assess threat status of fishes. Simple life history traits can be incorporated directly into quantitative assessment criteria, or used to modify the conclusions of quantitative assessments, or used as preliminary screening criteria for assessment of the approximately 95% of marine fish species whose status has yet to be evaluated either by conservationists or fisheries scientists.     

The role of the novel Fem protein VanK in vancomycin resistance in Streptomyces coelicolor

The non-pathogenic, non-glycopeptide-producing actinomycete Streptomyces coelicolor carries a cluster of seven genes (vanSRJKHAX) that confers inducible, high level resistance to vancomycin. The vanK gene has no counterpart in previously characterized vancomycin resistance clusters, yet vanK is required for vancomycin resistance in S. coelicolor. VanK belongs to the Fem family of enzymes, which add the branch amino acid(s) to the stem pentapeptide of peptidoglycan precursors. Upon exposure to vancomycin, the VanRS two-component system switches on expression of all seven van genes, and the VanHAX enzymes reprogram the cell wall such that precursors terminate D-Ala-D-lactate (Lac) rather than D-Ala-D-Ala, thus conferring resistance to vancomycin, which only binds D-Ala-D-Ala-containing precursors. Here we provide biochemical and genetic evidence that VanK is required for vancomycin resistance because the constitutively expressed FemX enzyme, encoded elsewhere on the chromosome, cannot recognize D-Lac-containing precursors as a substrate, whereas VanK can. Consistent with this view, D-Lac-containing precursors carrying the Gly branch are present in the wild type transiently exposed to vancomycin but are undetectable in a vanK mutant treated in the same way. Further, femX null mutants are viable in the presence of vancomycin but die in its absence. Because only VanK can recognize D-Lac-containing precursors, vancomycin-induced expression of VanHAX in a vanK mutant is lethal, and so vanK is required for vancomycin resistance.     

Arylpiperazine substituted heterocycles as selective alpha(1a) adrenergic antagonists

Antagonists of the alpha(1)-adrenergic receptors (alpha(1)-ARs) are useful for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. A series of potent and subtype-selective alpha(1a)-AR antagonists has been synthesized, displaying in vitro binding affinity in the low the nanomolar range.     

Selective and genetic constraints on the evolution of body size in a stream-dwelling salmonid fish

To examine constraints on evolution of larger body size in two stunted populations of brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) from a single river in Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada, we measured viability selection acting on length-at-age traits, and estimated quantitative genetic parameters in situ (following reconstruction of pedigree information from microsatellite data). Furthermore we tested for phenotypic differentiation between the populations, and for association of high juvenile growth with early maturity that is predicted by life history theory. Within each population, selection differentials and estimates of heritabilities for length-at-age traits suggested that evolution of larger size is prevented by both selective and genetic constraints. Between the populations, phenotypic differentiation was found in length-at-age and age of maturation traits, whereas early maturation was associated with increased juvenile growth (relative to adult growth) both within and between populations. The results suggest an adaptive plastic response in age of maturation to juvenile growth rates that have a largely environmental basis of determination.     

Post-testicular development of a novel membrane substructure within the equatorial segment of ram,bull, boar,and goat spermatozoa as viewed by atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy has been used to investigate changes in the plasma membrane overlying the head region of mammalian spermatozoa (bull, boar, ram, goat, stallion, mouse, and monkey) during post-testicular development, after ejaculation, and after exocytosis of the acrosomal vesicle. On ejaculated ram, bull, boar, and goat spermatozoa the postacrosomal plasma membrane has a more irregular surface than that covering the acrosome. The equatorial segment, by contrast, is relatively smooth except for an unusual semicircular substructure within it that has a coarse uneven appearance. This substructure (referred to as the equatorial subsegment) is situated adjacent to the boundary between the postacrosomal region and the equatorial segment itself and seems to be confined to the order Artiodactyla as it has not been observed on stallion, mouse, or monkey spermatozoa. The equatorial subsegment develops during epididymal maturation, and following induction of the acrosome reaction with Ca(2+) ionophore A23187, its topography changes from a finely ridged appearance to that resembling truncated papillae. A monoclonal antibody to the equatorial subsegment binds only to permeabilized spermatozoa, suggesting that the subsegment is related to the underlying perinuclear theca that surrounds the sperm nucleus. A role for the equatorial subsegment in mediating fusion with the oolemma at fertilization is discussed.     

T lymphocyte-triggering factor of african trypanosomes is associated with the flagellar fraction of the cytoskeleton and represents a new family of proteins that are present in several divergent eukaryotes

The trypanosome cytoskeleton consists almost entirely of microtubule-based structures. Although alpha- and beta-tubulin from Trypanosoma brucei have been well characterized, much less is known about other cytoskeleton-associated proteins in trypanosomes. Using biochemical fractionation, we demonstrate here that T lymphocyte-triggering factor (TLTF) from T. brucei is a component of the detergent-resistant and Ca(2+)-resistant fraction of the parasite cytoskeleton. This fraction contains the flagellar apparatus and a subset of cytoskeletal protein complexes that together function in cell motility, cytokinesis, and organelle inheritance. We also show that TLTF-related genes are present in several highly divergent eukaryotic organisms. Although the function of the corresponding proteins is not known, the mammalian TLTF-like gene (GAS11; growth arrest-specific gene 11) is up-regulated in growth-arrested cells and is a candidate tumor suppressor (Whitmore, S. A., Settasatian, C., Crawford, J., Lower, K. M., McCallum, B., Seshadri, R., Cornelisse, C. J., Moerland, E. W., Cleton-Jansen, A. M., Tipping, A. J., Mathew, C. G., Savnio, M., Savoia, A., Verlander, P., Auerbach, A. D., Van Berkel, C., Pronk, J. C., Doggett, N. A., and Callen, D. F. (1998) Genomics 52, 325-331), suggestive of a role in coordinating cytoskeleton activities. Consistent with this possibility, we show that the human GAS11 protein contains a 144-amino acid domain that co-localizes with microtubules when fused to the green fluorescent protein and expressed in mammalian cells. These findings suggest that TLTF represents a newly defined protein family, whose members contribute to cytoskeleton function in species as diverse as protozoa and mammals.     

The effects of rooting frequency and position of rooted ramets on plasticity and yield in a clonal species: an experimental study with Glechoma hederacea

Clonal plants produce numerous ramets that can be distributed over a considerable area. Resources are translocated between ramets, especially when they occupy microsites of different quality, or places where leaves or roots cannot be deployed. It is common for a proportion of the ramets of clones and clonal fragments to lack roots. We conducted a greenhouse study using clonal fragments of Glechoma hederacea to examine the effects of differences in the number and position of rooted ramets on yield and plasticity of clonal fragments. We hypothesized that (1) mass of roots and root mass ratio would increase as the number of rooted ramets decreased, (2) plasticity in rooted ramets would buffer the clonal fragment against reduction in yield as the number of rooted ramets declined, (3) ramet plasticity in response to the absence of rooting, and the beneficial effects of this plasticity, would be greater when older ramets were rooted. The same yield was achieved in clonal fragments with only one out of four ramets rooted as in clonal fragments with all four of their ramets rooted, regardless of whether rooting was confined to older or younger ramets. Plasticity in biomass allocated to roots was greater in older rooted ramets succeeded by unrooted ramets than in younger rooted ramets preceded by unrooted ramets. Modular plasticity, involving both direct responses to local conditions, and indirect responses to the conditions experienced by connected modules, buffered performance against variation in rooting ability, enabling clonal fragments to maintain their yield and lateral expansion even when a high proportion of their ramets lacked roots.