Initial decomposition ofNymphoides peltata (Gmel.) O. Kuntze (Menyanthaceae), as studied by the leaf-marking method

Summary In this paper the leaf-marking method as used for the study of the development and initial decomposition of floating leaves is described and the reliability of the various measurements is tested and/or discussed. Some general results obtained withNymphoides peltata (Gmel.) O. Kuntze in tanks and in the field are presented and crltically discussed. Autolysis followed by microbial decay was in all cases the most important factor by which leaves disintegrated. In the field plots animals were responsible for the disappearance of 22% of the total leaf area produced during a growth season. This is, however, the combined effect of consumption and damage succeeded by microbial decay. Real grazing can be estimated to be no more than 10% of the production of floating leaves. Fungi can have an important role in initial decomposition, especially after the flowering period, as is demonstrated forSeptoria villarsiae Desm. All damage types show temporal and, in the case of animals, also spatial distribution patterns.     

Phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid metabolism in rat pancreatic islets in response to neurotransmitter and hormonal stimuli

Carbamylcholine produced a concentration-dependent stimulation of labelling of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid in rat islets of Langerhans following preincubation with 32PO43(-). The time course of these effects suggested that the initial action of carbamylcholine was to stimulate phosphatidic acid production, presumably by causing hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol. This conclusion was substantiated by experiments in which islet phospholipids were pre-labelled with [3H]arachidonic acid. Under these conditions, carbamylcholine caused a loss of radioactivity from phosphatidylinositol, together with an increase in labelling of phosphatidic acid. The effects of carbamylcholine on islet phospholipid labelling were not dependent upon the presence of added Ca2+, but were abolished by EDTA and by atropine. An apparent stimulation of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidic acid metabolism was also induced by cholecystokinin-pancreozymin, whereas glucagon, arginine, glibenclamide and thyrotropin had no significant effect. The data suggest that enhanced activity of the so-called phosphatidylinositol cycle may be an important event in regulating secretory activity of islets in response to certain neurotransmitter and hormonal stimuli. Furthermore, the results are compatible with the hypothesis that increased phospholipid metabolism may play a role in the modulation of ionic fluxes during stimulation by such agents.     

Molecular alteration of a muscarinic acetylcholine receptor system during synaptogenesis

Biochemical properties of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor system of the avian retina were found to change during the period when synapses form in ovo. Comparison of ligand binding to membranes obtained before and after synaptogenesis showed a significant increase in the affinity, but not proportion, of the high affinity agonist-binding state. There was no change in receptor sensitivity to antagonists during this period. Pirenzepine binding, which can discriminate muscarinic receptor subtypes, showed the presence of a single population of low affinity sites (M2) before and after synaptogenesis. The change in agonist binding was not due to the late development of receptor function; tests for receptor-stimulated phosphatidylinositol turnover and for modulation of agonist binding by guanylylimidodiphosphate showed functional coupling to be present several days prior to the onset of synapse formation. However, detergent-solubilization of membranes eliminated differences in agonist binding between receptors from embryos and hatched chicks, suggesting a developmental change in interactions of the receptor with functionally related membrane components. A possible basis for altered interactions was obtained from isoelectric point data showing that the muscarinic receptor population underwent a transition from a predominantly low pI form (4.25) in 13 day embryos to a predominantly high pI form (4.50) in newly hatched chicks. The possibility that biochemical changes in the muscarinic receptor play a role in differentiation of the system by controlling receptor position on the surface of nerve cells is discussed.     

Dietary shifts of sympatric buteos during a prey decline

Summary Diets of nesting Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) were sampled before and after a decline in the hawks' principal prey species. Diets of pairs that shared their foraging ranges with interspecifics were contrasted with those of pairs whose home ranges did not overlap with interspecifics. Current theory predicts that diets should diverge during prey shortages and that overlap should be especially reduced in ranges shared with interspecifics. Species composition of the two hawks' diets diverged during the prey shortage, but the divergence was most pronounced in hawks that did not share foraging ranges with interspecifics. In contrast to predictions, the two species converged on similar-sized prey during the prey shortage. Available data on differences in habitat composition and prey availability at the sample sites did not explain the deviations from the predicted response. Although our findings on diet shifts differ from those of most other studies, the implications are consistent with observations of others who have studied assemblages of mammal-feeding raptors. We conclude that diet composition of the hawks we studied was not directly affected by interspecific competition and that shifts in diet overlap during prey shortages do not necessarily imply that interspecific competition is occurring.     

Analysis of the mode of antigen presentation required for triggering of T cell proliferation by using various azobenzenearsonate-tyrosine derivatives

Various azobenzenearsonate-tyrosine (ABA-Tyr) derivatives were synthesized by modifying amino and carboxyl groups at the alpha-carbon of tyrosine, with preservation of most of the ABA-Tyr moiety (ABA plus hydroxyphenyl portion of tyrosine). These derivatives were tested for the ability to stimulate ABA-L-Tyr specific T cell lines derived from B10.BR and B10.S mice. ABA-acetyltyramine, ABA-hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (ABA-PPr), and ABA-propylphenol, which lack either the carboxyl or amino group or both, could not induce T cell proliferation. The lack of stimulation by these derivatives was not due to their cytotoxic effects. A similar pattern of proliferation was obtained on stimulating lymph node T cells from B10.BR and B10.S mice primed with ABA-L-Tyr. Some differences were observed, however, between B10.BR and B10.S mice. ABA-L-Tyr-specific T cells from B10.BR mice could not respond well to ABA-D-Tyr in contrast to B10.S T cells. Furthermore, B10.BR mice primed with ABA-acetyltyramine or ABA-PPr in complete Freund's adjuvant could not induce ABA-L-Tyr-reactive T cells, whereas T cells from B10.S mice primed with these derivatives could proliferate in the presence of ABA-L-Tyr. The differences between B10.BR and B10.S mice were further investigated by using (B10.S X B10.BR)F1 mice. T cells from ABA-L-Tyr-immunized F1 mice responded poorly to ABA-D-Tyr when presented with B10.BR antigen-presenting cells (APC), but responded well when presented with B10.S APC. Similarly, T cells from ABA-PPr-primed F1 mice did not proliferate to ABA-L-Tyr in the presence of B10.BR APC, but could proliferate in the presence of B10.S APC. Our results clearly indicate that the presence of charged groups at the alpha-carbon of tyrosine plays a critical role in the triggering of ABA-L-Tyr-specific T cell proliferation. The significance of these results is discussed.     

Growth of ectomycorrhizal fungi stimulated by lipids from a pine root exudate

Summary The content of fatty acids was analysed in an exudate from roots of pine seedlings grown axenically in vermiculite with a synthetic nutrient medium. The dominating fatty acdis were fewer in the exudate than in the roots. Unsaturated fatty acids were predominant. The total lipid fraction of the exudate promoted mycelial growth in two of the three ectomycorrhizal fungi tested.     

Delayed effect of pinealectomy on hibernation of the golden-mantled ground squirrel

Pinealectomy or radical sham pinealectomy were performed on adult golden-mantled ground squirrels,Spermophilus (=Citellus) lateralis, approximately 1 month prior to the date of normal winter emergence. The first hibernatory period and subsequent active season were not different in either of the operated groups from intact animals. However, although the initiation of the second hibernatory period was not affected in the pinealectomized animals, this group failed to show the progressive increase in the length of heterothermic bouts that is characteristic of normal hibernation. Also, terminal arousal occurred approximately 6 weeks earlier in the second year after pinealectomy. Male squirrels showed a corresponding time compression in their annual gonadal cycle, as was assessed by testicular state.These results suggest that the pineal gland of the golden-mantled ground squirrel is involved in the expression of the annual hibernatory cycle. In the absence of the pineal gland the adult of this species is unable to sustain the normal depth and duration of hibernation in the second over-wintering period following pinealectomy.We have carried out additional experiments with young, laboratory-bornS. lateralis and with field-caught, adultS. richardsonii. The results of these studies also are described in this paper.Presented at the Ninth International Congress of Biometeorology, 23 Sept – 1 Oct 1981, Osnabrück and Hohenheim, FRG.     

Potentiation by naltrexone of d-amphetamine-induced behavioral suppression and its reversal by clonidine

Rats were trained to perform a fixed ratio-15 operant for food reinforcement during a 30 minute daily session. Naltrexone, in doses up to 45 mg/kg administered 15 min before the behavioral session, failed to disrupt responding. However, 0.3 and 1.0 mg naltrexone/kg produced a dose related potentiation of the operant behavioral suppression induced by 1.0 mg d-amphetamine/kg injected immediately before the session. The naltrexone/d-amphetamine combination also produced excessive salivation and postural abnormalities not seen when either drug was administered alone. [A subsequent study indicated that the salivation induced by naltrexone in combination with d-amphetamine may require previous exposure to naltrexone and/or d-amphetamine.] Blockade of dopamine receptors with pimozide did not modify the interaction. Functional noradrenergic blockade with a low dose of clonidine significantly reversed the potentiated suppression, of operant behavior, as well as the excessive salivation and abnormal posture. These data suggest that there is an important noradrenergic component to the interaction of naltrexone with d-amphetamine. The impressive interaction of behaviorally inactive doses of naltrexone with a moderate dose of d-amphetamine reported here for rats may have clinical implications for detoxified opiate addicts maintained on naltrexone in antagonist therapy programs.