Whole-mount analysis reveals normal numbers of dopaminergic neurons following misexpression of alpha-Synuclein in Drosophila

Previously published reports have suggested that misexpression of alpha-Synuclein in the Drosophila central nervous system causes neurodegeneration and progressive age-dependent locomotor dysfunction similar to pathologic and clinical manifestations of Parkinson's disease. The number of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in these studies was assessed using immunohistochemistry with an anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibody on sequential paraffin sections of fly brains. In contrast, we do not observe any DA cell loss in alpha-Synuclein expressing fly brains when using whole-mount immunohistochemistry as an assay. Our results suggest that the DA cell loss observed with misexpression of alpha-Synuclein is not fully penetrant under a variety of experimental conditions and that this may complicate interpretation of such experiments.     

Characterization of a novel murine retrovirus mixture that facilitates hematopoiesis

A new virus previously arose in BALB/c females mated repeatedly to C57BL/6 (B6) males and then injected with fixed, activated B6 male spleen cells (V. S. Ter-Grigorov, O. Krifuks, E. Liubashevsky, A. Nyska, Z. Trainin, and V. Toder, Nat. Med. 3:37-41, 1997). In the present study, BALB/cJ mice inoculated with virus-containing plasma from affected mice developed splenomegaly, which was caused by increased numbers of Sca-1(+) Lin(-) hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their differentiated progeny. Biological and molecular analyses of a new virus revealed a mixture of murine leukemia viruses (MuLVs). These MuLVs comprised ecotropic and mink lung cell focus-forming (MCF) virus classes and are termed Rauscher-like MuLVs because they bear numerous similarities to the ecotropic and MCF viruses of the Rauscher MuLV complex but do not include a spleen focus-forming virus. The ecotropic virus component alone transferred some disease characteristics, while MCF virus alone did not. Thus, we have described a novel virus mixture, termed Rauscher-like MuLV, that causes an increase in hematopoiesis due to activation of pluripotent HSC. Experiments using mice and a protocol that replicated the pregnancy and immunization strategy of the original experiment demonstrated that endogenous BALB/c mouse ecotropic and xenotropic MuLVs are activated by these treatments. Emv1 was expressed in the spleens of multiparous mice but not in those of virgin mice, and Bxv1Emv1-pseudotyped MuLVs were recovered following injection of fixed, activated B6 cells. Thus, multiple pregnancies and allostimuli appear to have provided the signals required for activation of and recombination among endogenous viruses and could have resulted in generation of the Rauscher-like MuLV mixture.     

Linoleic acid diols are novel substrates for human UDP-glucuronosyltransferases

Linoleic acid diol glucuronides have been isolated previously from urine of patients suffering from generalized peroxisomal disorders. Glucuronidation of linoleic acid and linoleic acid diols by human liver microsomes was studied to investigate the role of glucuronide conjugation in the metabolism of linoleic acid diols. Glucuronide products were isolated and analyzed by TLC and HPLC-MS. HPLC-MS showed ions with (m/z) corresponding to singly glucuronidated linoleic acid diols while TLC revealed that the glucuronidation was at a hydroxyl position. Kinetic analysis gave apparent K(m) values in the range of 50-200 microM and V(max) rates from 5 to 12 nmol/mg x min. These rates are substantially higher than activities seen for most endogenous hydroxylated substrates. Assays using each of the four individually purified linoleic acid diol enantiomers suggest that glucuronidation occurs at only one of the two hydroxyl groups of each enantiomer. These results show for the first time that hydroxylated fatty acids are actively glucuronidated by human liver microsomes and suggest that glucuronidation may play a significant role in the biotransformation of linoleic acid diols in humans.     

Disturbances and species distribution of the riparian vegetation of a Rift Valley stream

The Njoro River riparian vegetation species composition, distribution, disturbances and uses are presented and discussed. Montane Juniperus procera-Olea europaea spp. africana and submontane Acacia abyssinica forests were identified as the main riparian vegetation groups. Approximately 55% of the riparian vegetation species are used for herbal medicine, treating more than 330 health problems, and only 11% of the plants are edible. Albizzia gummifera in the Syzygium cordatum-Pittosporum abyssinicum-Hibiscus diversifolius forest is cut selectively for herbal medicine preparations. Disturbances on the riparian vegetation zone are broadly classified as those induced by man, livestock and wildlife. Comprehensive effects of disturbance included loss of vegetation vertical strata, increase/decrease of species diversity, introduction of alien plant species, and reduction of plant sizes and vegetation hectarage. The effects of grazing on the vegetation were severe around livestock watering points. Grazing and browsing by wildlife were the main disturbances of the vegetation near the Njoro River estuary at the Lake Nakuru National Park. Periodic flooding, as a natural disturbance, regulates growth and survival of vegetation at the Lake Nakuru drawdown. Quantification of species diversity and the extent of disturbance by humans and livestock is important for future management of the vegetation and, consequently, the river.     

Relationship of depression,disability, and family caregiver attitudes to the quality of life of Kuwaiti persons with multiple sclerosis: a controlled study

Background  

Assessment of subjective quality of life (QOL) of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) could facilitate the detection of psychosocial aspects of disease that may otherwise go unrecognized. The objectives of the study were to (i) compare the QOL ratings of relapsing remitting (RRMS) and progressive (PMS) types of MS with those of a general population group and the impression of their family caregivers; and (ii) assess the association of demographic, clinical, treatment, depression, and caregiver variables with patients' QOL.     

Population Genetic Diversity in the Australian ‘Seascape’: A Bioregion Approach

Genetic diversity within species may promote resilience to environmental change, yet little is known about how such variation is distributed at broad geographic scales. Here we develop a novel Bayesian methodology to analyse multi-species genetic diversity data in order to identify regions of high or low genetic diversity. We apply this method to co-distributed taxa from Australian marine waters. We extracted published summary statistics of population genetic diversity from 118 studies of 101 species and > 1000 populations from the Australian marine economic zone. We analysed these data using two approaches: a linear mixed model for standardised data, and a mixed beta-regression for unstandardised data, within a Bayesian framework. Our beta-regression approach performed better than models using standardised data, based on posterior predictive tests. The best model included region (Integrated Marine and Coastal Regionalisation of Australia (IMCRA) bioregions), latitude and latitude squared. Removing region as an explanatory variable greatly reduced model performance (delta DIC 23.4). Several bioregions were identified as possessing notably high genetic diversity. Genetic diversity increased towards the equator with a ‘hump’ in diversity across the range studied (−9.4 to −43.7°S). Our results suggest that factors correlated with both region and latitude play a role in shaping intra-specific genetic diversity, and that bioregion can be a useful management unit for intra-specific as well as species biodiversity. Our novel statistical model should prove useful for future analyses of within species genetic diversity at broad taxonomic and geographic scales.     

Plasmodium falciparum Hop (PfHop) Interacts with the Hsp70 Chaperone in a Nucleotide-Dependent Fashion and Exhibits Ligand Selectivity

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) play an important role in the development and pathogenicity of malaria parasites. One of the most prominent functions of Hsps is to facilitate the folding of other proteins. Hsps are thought to play a crucial role when malaria parasites invade their host cells and during their subsequent development in hepatocytes and red blood cells. It is thought that Hsps maintain proteostasis under the unfavourable conditions that malaria parasites encounter in the host environment. Although heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is capable of independent folding of some proteins, its functional cooperation with heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) facilitates folding of some proteins such as kinases and steroid hormone receptors into their fully functional forms. The cooperation of Hsp70 and Hsp90 occurs through an adaptor protein called Hsp70-Hsp90 organising protein (Hop). We previously characterised the Hop protein from Plasmodium falciparum (PfHop). We observed that the protein co-localised with the cytosol-localised chaperones, PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90 at the blood stages of the malaria parasite. In the current study, we demonstrated that PfHop is a stress-inducible protein. We further explored the direct interaction between PfHop and PfHsp70-1 using far Western and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analyses. The interaction of the two proteins was further validated by co-immunoprecipitation studies. We observed that PfHop and PfHsp70-1 associate in the absence and presence of either ATP or ADP. However, ADP appears to promote the association of the two proteins better than ATP. In addition, we investigated the specific interaction between PfHop TPR subdomains and PfHsp70-1/ PfHsp90, using a split-GFP approach. This method allowed us to observe that TPR1 and TPR2B subdomains of PfHop bind preferentially to the C-terminus of PfHsp70-1 compared to PfHsp90. Conversely, the TPR2A motif preferentially interacted with the C-terminus of PfHsp90. Finally, we observed that recombinant PfHop occasionally eluted as a protein species of twice its predicted size, suggesting that it may occur as a dimer. We conducted SPR analysis which suggested that PfHop is capable of self-association in presence or absence of ATP/ADP. Overall, our findings suggest that PfHop is a stress-inducible protein that directly associates with PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90. In addition, the protein is capable of self-association. The findings suggest that PfHop serves as a module that brings these two prominent chaperones (PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90) into a functional complex. Since PfHsp70-1 and PfHsp90 are essential for parasite growth, findings from this study are important towards the development of possible antimalarial inhibitors targeting the cooperation of these two chaperones.     

Community composition and population genetics of insect pathogenic fungi in the genus Metarhizium from soils of a long‐term agricultural research system

Fungi in the genus Metarhizium are insect pathogens able to function in other niches, including soil and plant rhizosphere habitats. In agroecosystems, cropping and tillage practices influence soil fungal communities with unknown effects on the distribution of Metarhizium, whose presence can reduce populations of crop pests. We report results from a selective media survey of Metarhizium in soils sampled from a long‐term experimental farming project in the mid‐Atlantic region. Field plots under soybean cultivation produced higher numbers of Metarhizium colony‐forming units (cfu) than corn or alfalfa. Plots managed organically and via chisel‐till harboured higher numbers of Metarhizium cfu than no‐till plots. Sequence typing of Metarhizium isolates revealed four species, with M. robertsii and M. brunneum predominating. The M. brunneum population was essentially fixed for a single clone as determined by multilocus microsatellite genotyping. In contrast, M. robertsii was found to contain significant diversity, with the majority of isolates distributed between two principal clades. Evidence for recombination was observed only in the most abundant clade. These findings illuminate multiple levels of Metarhizium diversity that can be used to inform strategies by which soil Metarhizium populations may be manipulated to exert downward pressure on pest insects and promote plant health.