Materials for a study in animal competition

The incidence of the sewage fly, Psychoda alternata Say, breeding almost free from other insect competitors in a bacteria bed at Huddersfield is examined. Its general seasonal trend is marked by periods of peak output explained on the theory that there are two successions of generations running persistently and alternating with one another. Such behaviour has previously been demonstrated for another sewage fly, Spaniotoma minima , and has been shown to be instituted by irregular temperatures in autumn and spring. In Psychoda alternata a special type of intraspecific competition is set-up in the warmer months when the cycles are rapid, for the larvae of one succession must start life in a bed just depleted of food by the other. Therefore large and small outbursts of the fly tend to alternate. The discharges of solids from the bed have a detailed periodicity corresponding to the alternations in the successions of the fly.     

Mechanism of intramembrane proteolysis investigated with purified rhomboid proteases

Intramembrane proteases have the unusual property of cleaving peptide bonds within the lipid bilayer, an environment not obviously suited to a water-requiring hydrolysis reaction. These enzymes include site-2 protease, gamma-secretase/presenilin, signal peptide peptidase and the rhomboids, and they have a wide range of cellular functions. All have multiple transmembrane domains and, because of their high hydrophobicity, have been difficult to purify. We have now developed an in vitro assay to monitor rhomboid activity in the detergent solubilised state. This has allowed us to isolate for the first time a highly pure rhomboid with catalytic activity. Our results suggest that detergent-solubilised rhomboid activity mimics its activity in biological membranes in many aspects. Analysis of purified mutant proteins suggests that rhomboids use a serine protease catalytic dyad instead of the previously proposed triad. This analysis also suggests that other conserved residues participate in subsidiary functions like ligand binding and water supply. We identify a motif shared between rhomboids and the recently discovered derlins, which participate in translocation of misfolded membrane proteins.     

Lipase inhibitory activity of ethyl acetate fraction from Ecklonia cava extracts

Obesity is a key contributing risk factor to cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Much effort has being made to investigate potential inhibitors against lipase from natural products. The ethyl acetate (EA) extract of Ecklonia cava (EC) were tested for their ability to inhibit pancreatic lipase activity in vitro. The 22 sub-fractions from EA extract were separated using silica gel column chromatography. Among the sub-fractions, the EA6 sub-fraction exhibited the highest inhibitory activity. Dieckol compound was isolated from the EA6 sub-fraction, which inhibited the lipase activity in a concentrationdependent manner with IC₅₀ value at 0.26 mg/mL. These results suggest that EC has potential as a natural antiobesity agent.