Body Talk: Rhetoric, Technology, Reproduction

Body Talk: Rhetoric, Technology, Reproduction. Mary M. Lay. Laura J. Gurak. Clare Gravon. and Cynthia Myntii. eds. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000. xiii. 307 pp.     

Thermal adaptations in lizard muscle function

Summary This study was undertaken to investigate thermal adaptations in muscle contractile properties in closely-related lizards with different preferred body temperatures (PBT). The species examined all belong to theSphenomorphus group of Australian skinks (Scincidae: Lygosominae). Preferred body temperatures are conservative at the generic level as follows:Ctenotus, 35°C;Sphenomorphus, 30°C;Eremiascincus, 25°C. Contractile properties of the fast glycolytic portion of the iliofibularis muscle were measured. Translational adaptations are evident in several isometric factors, including tetanic tension (Po), twitch tension (Pt), twitch time to peak tension (TPT), and twitch half-relaxation time (1/2 RT). Capacity adaptations are not evident in rates of tetanic tension development (dPo/dt) or in maximal velocities of isotonic shortening (V _max). Rotational adaptations are not evident in any contractile properties. Thermal limits on upper response temperatures are about 5°C warmer inCtenotus than in the more cryophilic species, indicative of resistance adaptation in muscle performance. Despite these adaptive shifts, there is little indication that muscle functional capacities are optimized or equalized at PBT in these lizards.Abbreviations FG fast glycolytic - IF iliofibularis muscle - PBT preferred body temperature - Po tetanic tension - Pt twitch tension - 1/2RT twitch half relaxation time - TPT twitch time to peak tension     

Trilobites Calmoniidae de l'Ordovicien supérieur du Maroc et les origines de la Province Malvino-Cafre

A re-examination of the trilobite Baniaspis globosa Destombes (Phacopina) from the Ashgill of the Anti-Atlas (Morocco) shows that it has several derived characters which allow us to classify it in the family Calmoniidae. Calmoniids were characteristic members of the Malvino-Kaffric province during the Lower Devonian. Hence we regard the origins of this palaeogeographic province as located on the northern Gondwanan margin as early as Ashgill, or even Caradoc, times. We agree with those authors who have suggested that the trilobite associations present in the Anti-Atlas, the Montagne Noire (France) and Bohemia during the earlier Ordovician argue against the existence of a 'proto-Tethys' ocean.     

Increased Concentrations of 3-Hydroxykynurenine in Vitamin B6 Deficient Neonatal Rat Brain

Increased concentrations of the endogenous tryptophan metabolite 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK) were measured in the brains of vitamin B6 deficient neonatal rats. Mean concentrations of 3-HK in B6 deficient cerebellum, corpus striatum, frontal cortex, and pons/medulla ranged from 9.7 to 18.6 and 102 to 142 nmol/g of wet tissue at 14 and 18 days of age, respectively. 3-HK was not significantly increased in control neonatal or adult rat brain, vitamin B6 deficient rat brain at 7 days of age, or in brains from adult rats deprived of vitamin B6 for 58 days. The administration of daily intraperitoneal injections of vitamin B6 from the 14th to the 18th day of age decreased the concentration of 3-HK to control levels. 3-HK has been shown by other investigators to produce seizures when injected into the cerebral ventricles of adult rodents. Thus, our studies show the accumulation in brain of a putative endogenous convulsant as the result of a nutritional deficiency.     

Gabaculine Inhibition of Chlorophyll Biosynthesis and Nodulation in Phaseolus lunatus L

Gabaculine (3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid) was an inhibitor of in vivo chlorophyll biosynthesis in lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L. cv Henderson). When applied to roots of 9-day-old plants, 10 micromolar gabaculine was sufficient to terminate biosynthesis of new chlorophyll. The trifoliolate leaves which emerged after gabaculine treatment were yellow. Gabaculine-treated plants had slightly lower dry weights; yet, overall plant size showed very little change. Chlorophyll fluorescence induction kinetics and CO₂ exchange measurements were used to monitor both immediate and long-term effects of gabaculine on photosynthesis. A lowered rate of the decline from the maximum level of fluorescence was observed after 10 hours for nitrate-supplemented plants, and all treated plants showed a slightly increased level of original fluorescence after 6 days. No change was observed in the rate of photosynthesis by unifoliolate leaves. The trifoliolate leaves, though not able to photosynthesize, were able to continue respiration. This suggested that heme biosynthesis for mitochondrial cytochromes was not abolished. In untreated lima bean, root nodules were induced by Rhizobium sp. 127E15. Following gabaculine treatment, root nodules formed, but were largely ineffective in nitrogen fixation. Nodule dry weight, nitrogen fixation activity, and leghemoglobin content were decreased by gabaculine.     

Effect of incubation temperature on the hatching of rotifer resting eggs collected from sediments

Sediment samples from Loch Leven, Scotland, were incubated at 5°C, 10°C and 15°C to induce hatching of rotifer resting eggs. The emergent animals were identified and counted. The temperature which induced hatching varied among the nine species studied. These results are discussed in relation to seasonality and temperature preferences previously recorded for the most abundant species. Resting egg densities of 2.2–13.9 eggs cm^–3 were recorded in the upper 5 cm of sediment.     

Coordinate regulation of phospholipid biosynthesis by serine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The addition of L-serine to inositol-containing growth medium repressed membrane-associated CDPdiacylglycerol synthase (CTP:phosphatidate cytidylyltransferase, EC 2.7.7.41) and phosphatidylserine synthase (CDPdiacylglycerol:L-serine O-phosphatidyltransferase, EC 2.7.8.8) activities and subunit levels in wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Enzyme activities and subunit levels were not repressed when inositol was absent from the growth medium. The addition of L-serine to the growth medium did not affect the phospholipid composition of wild-type cells. CDPdiacylglycerol synthase and phosphatidylserine synthase were not regulated in the S. cerevisiae inositol biosynthesis ino2, ino4, and opi1 regulatory mutants, suggesting that regulation by inositol plus L-serine is coupled to inositol synthesis. Inositol and L-serine did not affect the activities of purified CDPdiacylglycerol synthase and phosphatidylserine synthase. The addition of compounds structurally related to L-serine to the growth medium of wild-type cells also resulted in a repression of CDPdiacylglycerol synthase and phosphatidylserine synthase but only in the presence of inositol. Phosphatidylinositol synthase (CDPdiacylglycerol:myo-inositol 3-phosphatidyltransferase, EC 2.7.8.11) was not regulated by inositol plus L-serine.