Binding of the Neuronal Protein B-50, but Not the Metabolite B-60, to Calmodulin

Protein kinase C phosphorylates the neurone-specific protein B-50 at a single Ser41 residue, which is also the point for a major proteolytic cleavage in vitro, and probably in vivo, that produces a B-50 phosphorylation-inhibiting N-terminal fragment and a large C-terminal metabolite B-60 (B-50(41-226]. The intact purified protein will bind to calmodulin in the absence of calcium, but the interaction has an absolute requirement for dephospho-B-50. In an attempt to unify two aspects of B-50 biochemistry, we have examined the interaction of B-50 binding to calmodulin and B-50 proteolysis. HPLC- and affinity-purified B-50 bound to calmodulin, but purified B-60 did not. To ensure that this effect was not due to the phosphorylation state of pure, isolated B-60, the metabolite was generated in vitro using a Triton extract of synaptosomal plasma membranes, which contains the as yet uncharacterized B-50 protease. B-60 derived from dephospho-B-50 also failed to bind calmodulin. The results demonstrate a direct connection between B-50 binding to calmodulin and B-50 proteolysis. The position of the proposed calmodulin-binding domain within intact B-50 is discussed in light of the failure of calmodulin to bind B-60.     

Measuring dominance and diversity in ecological communities: choosing the right variables

Abstract. Although there are many studies in searching for the most useful community diversity index, the importance of choosing an appropriate parameter has been neglected. Here, we examined dominance and diversity in early post-fire chaparral communities using different variables, i.e. plant density, cover and biomass. Significant different results were produced by applying different parameters and the difference may be caused by the inconsistency in density, cover, and biomass allocated in each life form. Among the three parameters, biomass was most successful in detecting differences among communities because the apportionment of biomass among species was more variable than that of density. Although the three species variables represent different aspects of community properties and their relative performance may vary among communities, we recommend the use of biomass or productivity data as the most appropriate variable because it can best represent per capita resource use and resource partitioning among organisms in competitive situations.     

Social Reinforcement Delays in Free-Flying Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Free-flying honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) reactions were observed when presented with varying schedules of post-reinforcement delays of 0 s, 300 s, or 600 s. We measured inter-visit-interval, response length, inter-response-time, and response rate. Honey bees exposed to these post-reinforcement delay intervals exhibit one of several patterns compared to groups not encountering delays, and had longer inter-visit-intervals. We observed no group differences in inter-response time. Honey bees with higher response rates tended to not finish the experiment. The removal of the delay intervals increased response rates for those subjects that completed the trials.     

Fluorescence anisotropy from diphenylhexatriene in rat liver plasma membranes

Rat livers were fractionated to obtain intracellular membrane preparations and a highly purified preparation of bile canaliculi. The fraction containing bile canaliculi was homogenized and subfractionated to give fractions representing fragments of contiguous membrane and of canalicular microvilli. The relative purity and extent of contamination of each preparation was determined. When the fluorescent probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene was incorporated into aliquots of each fraction at the same probe: lipid ratio and the steady-state anisotropy of its fluorescence measured, it was found that the plasma membrane preparations were much more ordered than the intracellular membrane preparations. Of the plasma membrane preparations, that containing the canalicular microvilli was the most ordered, even allowing for any contribution of contaminants. Thus the microvillus membrane of the bile canaliculus appears to be the most ordered domain of the plasma membrane of the hepatocyte. The high order in this domain may be a factor in reducing the susceptibility to bile salt damage during bile secretion, since it is this region which is exposed to high concentrations of bile salts in vivo.     

Burning the engine: a time-marching computation of fat and protein consumption in a 5420-km non-stop flight by great knots, Calidris tenuirostris

Samples of great knots (Calidris tenuirostris) were collected in an earlier project, before and after a 5420‐km migration stage from Australia to China (believed to be flown non‐stop) to determine the mass of fat consumed, and also the mass of protein withdrawn from the flight muscles and other organs. The flight was simulated by a “time‐marching” computation, which calculated the fuel energy required, and allowed different hypotheses to be tried for the consumption of protein. The simulation predicted that the great knots would take about 4 days to cover the distance, in agreement with field estimates. Realistic predictions of the consumption of fat and protein were obtained by setting the conversion efficiency to 0.23 and the body drag coefficient to 0.10, withdrawing sufficient protein from the flight muscles to keep the specific work in the myofibrils constant throughout the flight, and taking enough additional protein from other tissues to bring the energy derived from oxidising protein to 5% of the total energy consumed. The same computation was applied to published data on the pre‐migration body composition of bar‐tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica), which are said to migrate over 10 000 km from Alaska to New Zealand. The computed range for a sample killed by collision with an obstruction, while actually departing from Alaska, was sufficient to reach the South Pole. A second sample, shot before departure from New Zealand, would have run out of fat before reaching Alaska, but could easily have reached northern Australia, where these godwits stage on their northbound migration. The higher range estimate for the Alaskan birds was not due to higher fat mass (only 5% difference) but to a higher fat fraction, which they had achieved by reducing the mass of other organs before departure. Some recent observations of high chemical power, observed in wind tunnel experiments, have been interpreted as being due to much lower conversion efficiency than the value of 0.23 assumed here, but this interpretation is flawed. Measurements of mechanical power from another wind tunnel project were also unexpectedly high, suggesting that unsteady flight by wind tunnel birds increases their power requirements, both mechanical and chemical, with no implications for efficiency. The calculated power is for “steady horizontal flight”, meaning that a valid test of predicted power requires birds to be trained to hold a constant position in the test section, while maintaining a steady wingbeat frequency and amplitude. This has not been achieved in recent experiments, and is hard to achieve when using physiological methods, because of the long periods of continuous flight needed. Measurements of mechanical rather than chemical power require shorter flight times, and offer better prospects for reliable power measurements.     

Interspecific dominance and the foraging behaviour of juncos

We observed mixed groups of dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) and grey-headed juncos (Junco caniceps) at baited sites in northern Arizona during the non-breeding season. In interspecific and inter-racial conflicts, J. caniceps dorsalis was dominant to J. caniceps caniceps and to two races of dark-eyed juncos. Junco caniceps dorsalis also fed significantly faster than any of the other juncos. For both species, feeding rates were approximately the same in large and small mixed-species groups, though in larger groups, individual grey-headed juncos won conflicts at a higher rate and individual dark-eyed juncos lost conflicts at a higher rate. Also, dark-eyed juncos fed at a significantly lower rate in groups comprised mostly of grey-headed juncos than in groups of similar size but composed mostly of conspecifics. Residency times and recapture probabilities were similar for the two species, suggesting little difference in over-winter survival.