Inhibition of Growth of Giardia lamblia by Difluoromethylornithine,a Specific Inhibitor of Polyamine Biosynthesis1

Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) is a specific and irreversible inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, an enzyme which catalyzes the first step in the biosynthetic pathway of the polyamines. We tested the effect of DFMO on the growth of Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, and Trichomonas vaginalis. Growth of G. lamblia was inhibited by DFMO at concentrations of ≥ 1.25 mM. Culture doubling time increased with increasing DFMO concentration. Growth inhibition was reversed if spermidine was added within 53 h of addition of DFMO; no growth was observed if spermidine was added later, indicating eventual parasite death. The growth of E. histolytica and T. vaginalis, two unrelated mucosal-dwelling parasites of humans, was not inhibited by 20 mM DFMO. These studies indicate that polyamine biosynthesis from ornithine is required for growth of G. lamblia.     

Interactions between seed priming treatments and nine seed lots of carrot, celery and onion. I. Laboratory germination

Samples of three seed lots of each of three cultivars of carrot, celery and onion were primed in polyethylene glycol solution for 2 weeks at 15 °C. Priming reduced the mean germination times (recorded at 15 °C) of all seed lots (compared to the untreated control) by 3–4 days in carrot, 6–10 days in celery and 3–5 days in onion. The largest reductions in mean germination time occurred in the slowest-germinating seed lots. There were highly significant interactions between priming and cultivars, and between priming and seed lots within cultivars for each species. Drying back the primed seeds at 15 °C increased the mean germination times (compared to primed seed which had not been dried) by 0·6 day in carrot and 1·4 days in celery, and there was no interaction with cultivars or seed lots. The corresponding increase for onion was either 1·0 or 1·8 days, according to the cultivar, but this variation was largely attributable to differences in time taken for the dried seeds to re-imbibe. Seeds dried back at 30 °C germinated 0·2·0·7 day (depending on the species) later than those dried at 15 °C. Percentage germination was not affected by either priming or drying back. Priming reduced the spread of germination times in all cultivars. For primed and dried-back seed, the spread of germination times was larger than that of primed seed in certain cultivars, but was always smaller than that of untreated seeds.     

Glutamine- and Asparagine-Dependent Protein Synthesis in Maturing Legume Cotyledons Cultured in vitro

Legume cotyledons have been grown in sterile culture and shownto synthesize up to 16 mg protein in 5 d when supplied witheither asparagine or glutamine as sole nitrogen sources. Glutamate,nitrate, and ureides also served as nitrogen sources for proteinsynthesis but to a lesser extent. Methionine sulphoximine and azaserine inhibited asparagine-dependentprotein synthesis suggesting that ammonia is liberated fromasparagine which is reassimilated via glutamine synthetase andglutamate synthase.     

Single Leaf and Canopy Photosynthesis in a Ryegrass Sward

Swards of S24 perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) were grownin the field and harvested by repeated cutting. The rate ofphotosynthesis of the swards and of single leaves of plantstaken from them was measured throughout the growing season.Leaf area and light interception of the sward were also measured. In each growth period, sward photosynthesis increased with increasingleaf area and then declined. In the first growth period, duringwhich the crop flowered, the maximum rate of sward photosynthesiswas higher and was reached later than in succeeding vegetativegrowth periods. The photosynthetic capacity of successive youngest expandedleaves was high throughout the first growth period, and onlydeclined due to leaf age when no further leaves were producedafter flowering. However, in the succeeding vegetative growthperiods, although the first leaves to expand had high photosyntheticcapacities, later leaves had progressively lower capacities. The extent to which changes in the photosynthetic capacity ofsingle leaves accounts for the changes in sward photosynthesisobserved in the field is examined using a mathematical model.     

Phenotypic Variation and Systemic Cancer in the FAMMM Syndrome

Familial atypical multiple mole melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome, a cancer-associated genodermatosis, is a dominantly inherited heterogeneous disorder with variable expressivity of both its cutaneous and cancer phenotypes. By using a verified historical review technique of cancer documentation (idout patient health records, pathology reports/slides, autopsy reports/slides, and death certificates) of all anatomic sites in all members of a modified nuclear pedigree (first-degree relatives plus maternal and paternal grandparents, aunts, and uncles) over several generations, we showed that the FAMMM syndrome is similar to the majority of autosomal dominant inherited cancer-associated genodermatoses and has excessive risk for cancer of multiple anatomic sites. With respect to the FAMMM syndrome, these cancers involved the breast, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal system, the eye (intraocular melanoma), and the lymphatic system. These FAMMM pedigrees showed some of the following distinctive characteristics of hereditary cancer: 1) integral patterns of cancer within and between pedigrees; 2) early age of onset of cancer; 3) prolonged survival of some pedigree members with cancer; and 4) an excess of multiple primary melanomas and cancers of variable anatomic sites. The presence of these features indicates that these cancers of variable anatomic sites may be etiologically associated with the FAMMM syndrome. Heterogeneity should be investigated in FAMMM pedigrees with attention to consistent differences in size and distribution of atypical lesions, age at cancer onset, and pattern of tumor occurrences. The occurrence of FAMMM pedigrees in the general population or among pedigrees of probands with atypical nevi is not known. The occurrence of systemic cancers in these FAMMM pedigrees requires the development of cancer surveillance programs that are specifically modified to the particular cancer pattern of each pedigree.     

Complementary Descriptive and Experimental Studies of Clinal Variation in Birds

In this paper I argue that the general concordance among speciesof birds in theirclinal (gradual) patterns of geographic variationin size and color of plumage is so high that the primary regulatoryprocess must be physiological adaptation to climate or its correlates.Size variation in the American Robin, a widespread species thatshows the pattern of clinal variation typical in North Americanpasserines, can be well predicted by measures of summer climatethat include the effects of both temperature and humidity. Julymean noon absolute humidity is a good predictor of size variationin the robin within the United States. Geographic variationin the color of the plumage of the robin, which involves interactionsamong several pigments, is independent of its size variationbut in accord with color variation in other species. Both Bergmann'sand Gloger's ecogeographic rules are important empirical modelsfor which the physiological basis needs further study. To establishthat functional differences are subject to natural selectionrequires showing that geographic differences have a geneticbasis and that these differences are related to the survivaland reproduction of individuals at different localities. Laboratory and field experiments with Red-winged Blackbirdsshow that environmentally induced effects on development probablycontribute to clines in measurements of adults in this species.Further work is needed to clarify the generality of the relationshipbetween clinal variation and environmentally induced variationand to determine the functional significance of clines and theirrelationship to survival and reproduction in different localities.Environmental plasticity itself is geographically variable.It may have a genetic basis and be an object of selection.