Factors influencing the effectiveness of an attracticide formulation against the Oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta

An attracticide formulation, LastCall?OFM, was tested against the Oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in replicated small plot field trials in apple, Malus domestica (Borkhausen), orchards in South‐eastern Pennsylvania, USA. Attracticide treatments were applied using a calibrated hand pump, and treated plots were compared to similar untreated plots. Male moth activity was monitored using virgin female‐baited traps, and the potential for reduction in mating activity was assessed using sentinel virgin females. A comparison of application rates showed that 1500 droplets per ha of the attracticide formulation was as effective as 3000 droplets per ha, and both application rates reduced captures in synthetic pheromone‐baited traps for prolonged periods. Droplets placed either at high or low positions within the canopy significantly reduced trap capture and mating with sentinel females. In addition, the only sentinel females that mated in the treated plots were located in the untreated portion of the tree canopy. Mate finding behaviour was equally disrupted by formulations with and without insecticide. Therefore, under the test conditions, the mechanism by which the attracticide formulation worked was by disruption of male orientation, and not by the removal of males due to insecticide poisoning. Two field cage experiments tested the impact of population density on the competitiveness of the attracticide formulation compared to virgin females. A significant proportion of males were captured in female‐baited traps at the highest female‐to‐droplet ratio tested. Equal proportions of males were captured in attracticide‐baited traps at male moth densities of 10, 20, 40, and 80 males per cage. These results clarify some of the factors influencing the effectiveness and possible mechanisms of an attracticide management tactic against the Oriental fruit moth.     

Properties of monovalent nickel complexes with tetraaza-macrocyclic ligands in aqueous solutions

The effects of N-alkylation on the redox potential of the couples NiLⁱ²⁺/NiLⁱ⁺, L = tetraaza-14-membered-macrocyclic ligands, and on the properties of the monovalent nickel complexes in aqueous solutions are reported for 14 complexes. The spectra and lifetimes of the NiLⁱ⁺ complexes are reported. The self-exchange rates for the couples NiLⁱ²⁺/NiLⁱ⁺ were determined. Two of the ligands were synthesized for the first time for this study. Cyclic voltammetry and pulse radiolysis were used. The results point out that: (i) N-alkylation always shifts the redox potential to a less cathodic one; this effect stems to a large degree from the decrease in the solvation energy of the complex caused by the N-alkylation of the ligand. (ii). The lifetime of the monovalent complexes is not linearly related to the redox potential of the NiLⁱ²⁺/NiLⁱ⁺ couples. (iii) The NiLⁱ⁺ complexes exist in several isomeric forms; the rate of the isomerization depends on the structure of the ligand. (iv) Different isomers of NiLⁱ⁺ may be formed when the complex NiLⁱ²⁺ is reduced by different reagents; therefore, the pulse-radiolytically formed NiLⁱ⁺ complexes might have different properties than those formed electrochemically.     

Expression of hepatic calcium-binding protein regucalcin mRNA is elevated by refeeding of fasted rats: Involvement of glucose,insulin and calcium as stimulating factors

The effect of refeeding on the expression of Ca²⁺-binding protein regucalcin mRNA in the liver of fasted rats was investigated. When rats were fasted overnight, the hepatic regucalcin mRNA level was reduced about 70% of that in feeding rats. Refeeding produced a remarkable elevation of hepatic regucalcin mRNA level (about 150–170% of fasted rats). Liver regucalcin concentration was appreciably increased by refeeding, although it was not altered by fasting. The oral administration of glucose (2 g/kg body weight) to fasted rats caused a significant increase in hepatic regucalcin mRNA level. Moreover, hepatic regucalcin mRNA level was clearly elevated by a single subcutaneous administration of insulin (10 and 100 U/kg) to fasted rats. The hormonal effect was not further enhanced by the simultaneous administration of calcium chloride (250 mg Ca/kg) to fasted rats, although calcium administration stimulated regucalcin mRNA expression in the liver. The present study suggests that the expression of hepatic regucalcin mRNA stimulated by refeeding is significantly involved in the action of insulin and/or calcium as stimulating factors.     

Clonal analysis of quail neural crest cells: They are pluripotent and differentiate in vitro in the absence of noncrest cells

To determine if neural crest cells are pluripotent and establish whether differentiation occurs in the absence of noncrest cells, a cell culture method was devised in which differentiation could be examined in clones derived from single, isolated neural crest cells. Single neural crest cells, which were isolated before the onset of in vivo migration, gave rise to three types of clones: pigmented, unpigmented, and mixed. Pigmented clones consisted of melanocytes only, whereas some unpigmented cells in mixed and unpigmented clones contained catecholamines, identifying them as adrenergic cells. Extracellular matrix derived from quail somite or chick skin fibroblast cultures stimulated adrenergic differentiation and axon formation. These results demonstrate for the first time the existence of pluripotent quail neural crest cells that give rise to at least two progeny, melanocytes and neuronal cells. They also suggest that continuous direct interactions with noncrest cells are not required for the differentiation of these two cell types. However, components of the extracellular matrix derived from noncrest cells may play an important role in expression of the adrenergic phenotype.     

Characterization of multiple bends in proteins

The concept of bends or chain reversals [nonhelical dipeptide sequences in which the distance R₃ (i,i+3) between the C^α atoms of residues i and i+3 is ≦ 7.0 Å] has been extended to define double bends as tripeptide sequences, not in an α-helix, in which two successive distances R₃(i,i+3) and R₃ (i+1, i+4) are both ≦7.0 Å, with analogous definitions for higher-order multiple bends. A sample of 23 proteins, consisting of 4050 residues, contains 235 single, 58 double, and 11 higher-order multiple bends. Multiple bends may occur as combinations of the “standard” type I, II, and III chain reversals (as well as their mirror images), but usually they require distortions from these well-defined conformations. The frequency of occurrence of amino acids often differs significantly between single and multiple bends. The probability distribution of R₃ distances does not differ in single and multiple bends. However, R₄ (the distance between the C^α atoms of residues i and i+4) in multiple bends is generally shorter than in tripeptide sequences containing single bends. The value of R₄ in many multiple bends is near those for α-helices. In some other multiple bends, R₄ is even shorter, indicating that these structures are very compact. The signs of the dihedral angles about the virtual bonds connecting C^α atoms and the values of curvature and torsion, as defined by means of differential geometry, indicate that there is a preference for single and multiple bends to be right-handed (like an α-helical sequence, for example) and that there is a strong tendency to conserve the handedness in both single-bend components of many multiple bends. These often have a strong resemblance to distorted single turns of an α-helix and do not constitute chain reversals. Double bends, in which the signs of two successive virtual-bond dihedral angles differ, have conformations that are very different from an α-helix. They act as chain reversals occuring over three residues. These chain reversals have not been described previously. Multiple bends may play an important role in protein folding because they occur fairly frequently in proteins and cause major changes in the direction of the polypeptide chain.     

Partial amino-acid sequence of ECP31, a carrot embryogenic-cell protein,and enhancement of its accumulation by abscisic acid in somatic embryos

ECP31, an embryogenic-cell protein from carrot (Daucus carota L.), was purified by sequential column-chromatographic steps and digested by V8 protease on a nitrocellulose membrane. The resultant peptides were separated by reverse-phased column chromatography and sequenced. The sequences obtained were 70–80% homologous to those of a late-embryogenesis-abundant protein (D34) from cotton (Baker et al, 1988, Plant Mol. Biol. 11, 227–291). The level of ECP31 in somatic embryos of carrot was increased by treatment of the embryos with 3.7 · 10^–6 M abscisic acid (ABA) for 48 h, and there was no change in this enhanced level for up to 192 h in the presence of ABA. No similar enhancing effect of ABA was observed on the level of ECP31 in embryogenic callus or segments of carrot hypocotyls. In an immunohistochemical analysis, ECP31 was found in epidermal tissue and in the vascular system of ABA-treated somatic embryos.Abbreviations ABA abscisic acid - 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - LEA protein late-embryogenesis-abundant protein To whom correspondence should be addressedThis work was supported in part by a grant-in-aid for Special Research in Priority Areas (Project No. 02242102) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan, and by Special Coordination Funds of the Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government.     

Synthesis of bombyxin-IV,an insulin superfamily peptide from the silkworm,Bombyx mori,by stepwise and selective formation of three disulfide Bridges

We report the synthesis of bombyxin-IV, a disulfide-linked, heterodimeric, insulin superfamily peptide from the silkworm,Bombyx mori. The two chains (A- and B-chains) were synthesized separately by the solid-phase method using fluoren-9-ylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group as a protecting group for α-amino group. Three disulfide bonds were bridged step by step (A6–A11, A20–B22, and A7–B10) in a good yield. Synthetic bombyxin-IV was identical with natural one with regard to the retention time on a reversed-phase column and the molecular weight measured by mass spectrometry. Circular dichroism (CD) spectrum of the synthetic bombyxin-IV was very similar to that of the natural one. The specific activity of synthetic bombyxin-IV is equal to that of natural one (0.1 ng/Samia unit). These results suggest that the synthetic bombyxin-IV has the tertiary structure identical with the natural peptide. Our method developed for synthesis of bombyxin-IV would be generally applicable to the synthesis of insulin-like heterodimeric peptides.     

Amino acid sequence of pheromone-inducible surface protein in Enterococcus faecalis, that is encoded on the conjugative plasmid pPD1

The major pheromone-inducible protein, PD78, believed to contribute to bacterial conjugation, was purified from Enterococcus (formerly Streptococcus) faecalis cells containing the plasmid pPD1. A cloned EcoRI-BglII 3.6-kbp fragment of the plasmid pAM351(pPdl::Tn916) contained an open reading frame corresponding to 467 amino acid residues representing PD78. In a central region of the deduced protein, there is a repeated sequence of X-X-Pro that is repeated 15 times. This is analogous to the Gln-Gln-Pro repeat in the C-terminal region of TraD product encoded on the R100 plasmid in Escherichia coli.     

Centrosome positioning and primary cilia assembly orchestrate neuronal development

Establishment of axon and dendrite polarity, migration to a desired location in the developing brain, and establishment of proper synaptic connections are essential processes during neuronal development. The cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern these processes are under intensive investigation. The function of the centrosome in neuronal development has been examined and discussed in few recent studies that underscore the fundamental role of the centrosome in brain development. Clusters of emerging studies have shown that centrosome positioning tightly regulates neuronal development, leading to the segregation of cell factors, directed neurite differentiation, neuronal migration, and synaptic integration. Furthermore, cilia, that arise from the axoneme, a modified centriole, are emerging as new regulatory modules in neuronal development in conjunction with the centrosome. In this review, we focus on summarizing and discussing recent studies on centrosome positioning during neuronal development and also highlight recent findings on the role of cilia in brain development. We further discuss shared molecular signaling pathways that might regulate both centrosome and cilia associated signaling in neuronal development. Furthermore, molecular determinants such as DISC1 and LKB1 have been recently demonstrated to be crucial regulators of various aspects of neuronal development. Strikingly, these determinants might exert their function, at least in part, via the regulation of centrosome and cilia associated signaling and serve as a link between these two signaling centers. We thus include an overview of these molecular determinants.