On the frequency of isothermal germination in seeds of Dolichos biflorus L.

The relative frequencies of seed germination show positivelyskewed distributions along the time of isothermal incubation.Unimodal patterns prevailing between 19.3? and 31.4?C changeinto progressively polymodal distributions both below 19.3?and above 31.4?C. None of the distributions fit the adjustedgaussians, except at 8.0? and at 40.6?C. (Received September 29, 1977; )     

Polypeptide cross-linking in chloroplast membranes

Washed chloroplast membranes from romaine lettuce leaves were treated with the cross-linking reagent dimethyladipimidate (DMA) for various periods of time and subsequently analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Comparative examination of the electrophoretic profiles from control and treated membranes revealed that the light-harvesting chlorophyll-protein complex (LHCPC) was readily cross-linked to yield “dimers” and “oligomers” of higher molecular weight. Two polypeptides, of 25 and 23 kilodaltons, previously identified as two subunits of the LHCPC, were the major cross-linked species; other peptides were also cross-linked, but to a much lesser extent. These results suggest that cross-linking of chloroplast membranes with DMA, under our conditions, occurs primarily among the components of the LHCPC. We also measured the photosystem II activity in control and DMA-treated chloroplasts and found no impairment of this photochemical activity in the cross-linked chloroplasts as compared with controls.     

Glioblastoma cells: a heterogeneous and fatal tumor interacting with the parenchyma

Glioblastomas (GBMs) are considered to be one of the deadliest human cancers, characterized by a high proliferative rate, aggressive invasiveness and insensitivity to radio- and chemotherapy, as well as a short patient survival period. Moreover, GBMs are among the most vascularized and invasive cancers in humans. Angiogenesis in GBMs is correlated with the grade of malignancy and is inversely correlated with patient survival. One of the first steps in tumor invasions is migration. GBM cells have the ability to infiltrate and disrupt physical barriers such as basement membranes, extracellular matrix and cell junctions. The invasion process includes the overexpression of several members of a super-family of zinc-based proteinases, the Metzincin, in particular a sub-group, metalloproteinases. Another interesting aspect is that, inside the GBM tissue, there are up to 30% of microglia or macrophages. However, little is known about the immune performance and interactions of the microglia with GBMs. These singular properties of GBMs will be described here. A sub-population of cells with stem-like properties may be the source of tumors since, apparently, GBM stem cells (GSCs) are highly resistant to current cancer treatments. These cancer therapies, while killing the majority of tumor cells, ultimately fail in GBM treatment because they do not eliminate GSCs, which survive to regenerate new tumors. Finally, GBM patient prognostic has shown little improvement in decades. In this context, we will discuss how the membrane-acting toxins called cytolysins can be a potential new tool for GBM treatment.     

Shifts in the abundance and distribution of shallow water fish fauna on the southeastern Brazilian coast: a response to climate change

Myriophyllum aquaticum is a semi-submerged exotic macrophyte that was introduced to China for many years. This species may be found in an emergent form in aquatic environments or in an amphibious form under drained conditions. Nuisance growth of this species has often been attributed to excessive amounts of nutrients. Therefore, we tested the following hypotheses: (1) high nutrient availability facilitates the establishment of M. aquaticum and (2) fragment type interacts with nutrient availability to determine the colonization and regeneration capacities of M. aquaticum. Two types of fragments were grown in water solutions with two levels of phosphorous. After 3 weeks, the survival rates showed no significant difference between the phosphorous treatments. However, emergent fragments showed higher RGR in the low and high phosphorous treatments than amphibious fragments. In addition, emergent fragments also showed higher regeneration capacities, indicating higher invasiveness in emergent fragments compared to amphibious fragments. Moreover, the high phosphorous concentration caused emergent fragments to produce more branches, indicating that nutrient availability may increase M. aquaticum propagule pressure. Our study highlights that nutrient supply increased emergent fragment establishment and shaped the invasion dynamics of macrophytes, which could help predict the spread and potential impact of exotic macrophytes in natural aquatic ecosystems.     

Analysis of the Paracoccidioides brasiliensis triosephosphate isomerase suggests the potential for adhesin function

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is an important fungal pathogen. The disease it causes, paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), ranges from localized pulmonary infection to systemic processes that endanger the life of the patient. Paracoccidioides brasiliensis adhesion to host tissues contributes to its virulence, but we know relatively little about molecules and the molecular mechanisms governing fungal adhesion to mammalian cells. Triosephosphate isomerase (TPI: EC 5.3.1.1) of P. brasiliensis (PbTPI) is a fungal antigen characterized by microsequencing of peptides. The protein, which is predominantly expressed in the yeast parasitic phase, localizes at the cell wall and in the cytoplasmic compartment. TPI and the respective polyclonal antibody produced against this protein inhibited the interaction of P. brasiliensis to in vitro cultured epithelial cells. TPI binds preferentially to laminin, as determined by peptide inhibition assays. Collectively, these results suggest that TPI is required for interactions between P. brasiliensis and extracellular matrix molecules such as laminin and that this interaction may play an important role in the fungal adherence and invasion of host cells.     

ITS2 metabarcoding analysis complements lichen mycobiome diversity data

Lichen thalli harbor complex fungal communities (mycobiomes) of species with divergent trophic and ecological strategies. The complexity and diversity of lichen mycobiomes are still largely unknown, despite surveys combining culture-based methods and high-throughput sequencing (HTS). The results of such surveys are strongly influenced by the barcode locus chosen, its sensitivity in discriminating taxa, and the depth to which public sequence repositories cover the phylogenetic spectrum of fungi. Here, we use HTS of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) to assess the taxonomic composition and diversity of a well-characterized, alpine rock lichen community that includes thalli symptomatically infected by lichenicolous fungi as well as asymptomatic thalli. Taxa belonging to the order Chaetothyriales are the major components of the observed lichen mycobiomes. We predict sequences representative of lichenicolous fungi characterized morphologically and assess their asymptomatic presence in lichen thalli. We demonstrated the limitations of metabarcoding in fungi and show how the estimation of species diversity widely differs when ITS1 or ITS2 are used as barcode, and particularly biases the detection of Basidiomycota. The complementary analysis of both ITS1 and ITS2 loci is therefore required to reliably estimate the diversity of lichen mycobiomes.     

Reorganization of functional networks in mild cognitive impairment

Whether the balance between integration and segregation of information in the brain is damaged in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) subjects is still a matter of debate. Here we characterize the functional network architecture of MCI subjects by means of complex networks analysis. Magnetoencephalograms (MEG) time series obtained during a memory task were evaluated by synchronization likelihood (SL), to quantify the statistical dependence between MEG signals and to obtain the functional networks. Graphs from MCI subjects show an enhancement of the strength of connections, together with an increase in the outreach parameter, suggesting that memory processing in MCI subjects is associated with higher energy expenditure and a tendency toward random structure, which breaks the balance between integration and segregation. All features are reproduced by an evolutionary network model that simulates the degenerative process of a healthy functional network to that associated with MCI. Due to the high rate of conversion from MCI to Alzheimer Disease (AD), these results show that the analysis of functional networks could be an appropriate tool for the early detection of both MCI and AD.     

De novo expression of uncoupling protein 3 is associated to enhanced mitochondrial thioesterase-1 expression and fatty acid metabolism in liver of fenofibrate-treated rats

Clavaminate synthase (CAS), a 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) dependent dioxygenase, catalyses three steps in the biosynthesis of clavulanic acid. Crystals of CAS complexed with Fe(II), 2OG and deoxyguanidinoproclavaminate were exposed to nitric oxide (NO) acting as a dioxygen analogue. Prior to exposure with NO, the active site Fe(II) is octahedrally coordinated by a water molecule, the 2-oxo and 1-carboxylate groups of 2OG, and the side-chains of an aspartyl and two histidinyl residues. NO binds to the position previously occupied by the 2OG 1-carboxylate concomitant with rearrangement of the latter to the position previously occupied by the displaced water.