Changes in axial hydraulic conductivity along elongating leaf blades in relation to xylem maturation in tall fescue

Xylem maturation in elongating leaf blades of tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea ) was studied using staining and microcasting. Three distinctive regions were identified in the blade: (1) a basal region, in which elongation was occurring and protoxylem (PX) vessels were functioning throughout; (2) a maturation region, in which elongation had stopped and narrow (NMX) and large (LMX) metaxylem vessels were beginning to function; (3) a distal, mature region in which most of the longitudinal water movements occurred in the LMX. The axial hydraulic conductivity ( K _h) was measured in leaf sections from all these regions and compared with the theoretical axial hydraulic conductivity ( K _t) computed from the diameter of individual inner vessels. K _t was proportional to K _h throughout the leaf, but K _t was about three times K _h. The changes in K _h and K _t along the leaf reflected the different stages of xylem maturation. In the basal 60 mm region, K _h was about 0.30±0.07 mmol s⁻¹ mm MPa⁻¹. Beyond that region, K _h rapidly increased with metaxylem element maturation to a maximum value of 5.0±0.3 mmol s⁻¹ mm MPa⁻¹, 105 mm from the leaf base. It then decreased to 3.5±0.2 mmol s⁻¹ mm MPa⁻¹ near the leaf tip. The basal expanding region was observed to restrict longitudinal water movement. There was a close relationship between the water deposition rate in the elongation zone and the sum of the perimeters of PX vessels. The implications of this longitudinal vasculature on the partitioning of water between growth and transpiration is discussed.     

The influence of elevated CO2 on community structure, biomass and carbon balance of mediterranean old-fleld microcosms

We studied the effects of a doubling of atmospheric CO₂ concentration on intact monoliths of Mediterranean grassland in growth chambers where climatic field conditions were simulated. During the six month growing season, changes in community structure were monitored by quantifying species richness and cover. The CO₂ exchange of microcosms was measured continuously and the resulting quantity and quality of biomass were evaluated. Species richness and cover did not respond to elevated CO₂. After one month of treatment, CO₂ exchange measured during the day did not differ between CO₂ levels but the night respiration was two-fold higher under elevated CO₂. Stimulations of both day and night CO₂ flux by short-term CO₂ enrichment were recorded several times during the growing season. These results suggest that despite some downward adjustment of photosynthesis, net canopy photosynthesis was stimulated by elevated CO₂, but this stimulation was compensated for by an increased respiration. The 20% stimulation of final phytomass under elevated CO₂ was not significant: it resulted from unchanged live plant matter but a significant, 100% increase in litter accumulation. These results suggest that in low-productivity Mediterranean herbaceous systems, the greatest effect of CO₂ is not on the storage of carbon in biomass but on the turnover of the carbon in the plants.     

Species richness estimation of bird communities: how to control for sampling effort?

Since estimates of total species richness increase with sampling effort, methods to control for this sampling effect need to be tested and used. We present seven non-parametric and 12 accumulation curve methods that have been used recently in the ecological literature. To test their performance, we used data from bird communities in the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada. The performance of each method was evaluated by calculating the bias and precision of its estimates against the known total species richness. For our data set, the two Chao estimators were the overall least biased and most precise estimation methods, followed by the two jackknife estimators, thus supporting results of previous studies. Nonparametric estimators tended to perform better than accumulation curve models. Most estimation methods had the problem that they tended to underestimate species richness for early samples, but slightly overestimated it for late samples. We briefly discuss the practical use of these methods which may greatly increase our ability to answer ecological questions and to guide conservation decisions, especially for species-rich tropical bird communities.     

The Jurassic ammonite Coelocerus: an atypical example of dimorphic progenesis elucidated by cladistics

Instances of convergence or parallelism among unrelated Lower Carixian ammonites are not uncommon. The case of polymorphitid-like ammonites is considered here, and the example of Coeloceras is investigated in detail. The small sexual dimorph (microconch) of Coeloceras pettos (Quensitedt) (Coeloceratidae), a progenetic species, provides a remarkable example of complex convergence with the microconch of Uptonia (Polymorphitidae). Homeomorphic morphology is here an amalgam of juvenile traits, of maturation-related transformations, and of completely new features bearing no obvious relation with either progenesis or maturation. A stratophenetic approach is hardly adequate for unravelling such an involved pattern of convergence. However, a cladistic analysis of ammonoid morphology suggests that Coeloceras was derived from the Tethyan Miltoceras. Indeed, greater biostratigraphic knowledge and the independent use of comparative shell morphology are both needed to improve ammonite phylogeny. □ Convergence, parallelism, progenesis, dimorphism, ammonites, Jurassic.     

Detection and Immunolocalization of Human Erythrocyte Spectrin Immunoanalogues in Toxoplasma gondii (Protozoan, Parasite)

ABSTRACT. We demonstrated here the presence of proteins antigenically related to human erythroid spectrin in the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii . A high molecular weight doublet (M, 245-240,000), present in equimolar ratio, and low molecular weight polypeptides (M, 75,000) were reacted with monoclonal and polyclonal anti-human erythroid spectrin antibodies on electroblotted nitrocellulose sheets. Indirect immunofluorescence assay clearly showed that these proteins were localized in the anterior pole of the organism. Immunogold staining further revealed specific labeling of conoid, rhoptries, micronemes, and dense granules of the apical complex. The presence of the M, 245–240,000 doublet and the M, 75,000 spectrin-like proteins in the anterior pole of T. gondii may probably be consistent with a structural stabilizer function in its organciles which are suspected to be involved in the process of host cell invasion.     

Sunflower Seed Proteins: Characterization and Subunit Composition of the Globulin Fraction

Salt soluble proteins from sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seedswere fractionated by isoelectric precipitation and analysedby electrophoresis. Three molecular species were detected bygradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the globulinfraction. Multi-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis indicatesthat all these species contained similar intermediary subunitsof 60 000, 54 000, 48 000 and 40000 molecular weight, the twoformer being predominant. As shown by ion-exchange chromatographyunder dissociating and reducing conditions, the intermediarysubunits are composed of disulphide linked pairs of large ‘acidic’and small ‘basic’ subunits. Heterogeneity in molecularweight of these subunits was shown by electrophoretic studies.These results suggest that a major reserve protein in sunflowerseeds is similar to ‘legumin’ of plants of the familyLeguminosae. Key words: Sunflower, Seed globulin, Globulin subunits