Validity of Eucaryote Inhibitors for Assessing Production and Grazing Mortality of Marine Bacterioplankton

Application of eucaryote inhibitors to the estimation of production and grazing mortality of bacterioplankton was evaluated. Exposure to a range of concentrations of thiram, cycloheximide, and neutral red (0.4 to 210, 36 to 1,777, 4 to 346 μM, respectively) was 98 to 100% effective at inhibiting growth of a chrysomonad in culture. Exposure to colchicine and griseofulvin (50 to 1,000 μM for both) yielded only 24 to 94 and 53 to 79% inhibition, respectively. Exposures to thiram, neutral red, and griseofulvin were 90 to 100% effective at inhibiting growth in culture of a ciliate, Cyclidium sp., and the responses to colchicine and cycloheximide were variable (64 to 100 and 0 to 100% inhibition, respectively). Thiram and neutral red inhibited field populations of nanozooplankton more effectively than cycloheximide and colchicine. Direct effects of eucaryote inhibitors on growing cultures of bacterioplankton varied with parameters measured and duration of exposure. After 3-day exposures, specific growth rates and “instantaneous” heterotrophic potential ([¹⁴C]glucose uptake) were not consistently affected, but biosynthetic activity (RNA and DNA syntheses) was depressed. The degree of inhibition of isolates and field populations of phytoplankton depended upon type of inhibitor and phytoplankton species. In field experiments, it was possible to calculate rates of bacterioplankton production and grazing mortality for only 16 of 29 inhibitor experiments and for 4 of 10 size fractionation experiments. Bacterioplankton production and mortality estimates varied greatly with the eucaryote inhibitor used, and those derived from inhibition techniques were substantially different from those derived from fractionation techniques. The poor performances of both techniques are attributed to the following: (i) effects of inhibitors on phytoplankton, (ii) indirect effects of the inhibitors on bacterioplankton, and (iii) insufficient separation of grazers from prey by filtration techniques. Because of the inconsistent results obtained in this investigation, we strongly recommend exercising caution in the application of inhibitor techniques to ecological problems, especially in phototrophically dominated systems.     

A hemodynamic load in vivo induces cardiac expression of the cellular oncogene, c-myc

To establish whether a hemodynamic load that causes cardiac hypertrophy in the intact animal might interact with cellular pathways that are thought to transduce growth signals in model systems, we have analyzed expression of the cellular oncogene, c-myc, after a systolic pressure load. Aortic constriction increased c-myc mRNA abundance in both the atria and left ventricle of 28-day rats, but did not activate a second "competence" gene, r-fos, whose expression by cardiac cells ceases upon termination of mitotic growth. In 80-day rats, c-myc was induced in the atria alone. Induction of c-myc by aortic constriction in vivo may correlate with the respective capacity of atrial and ventricular myocytes to replicate DNA during cardiac hypertrophy. Activation of c-myc was not sufficient to account for inhibition of muscle creatine kinase (mck) mRNA, which was decreased only in 28-day rats.     

Influence of leaf surfaces on movements by the hymenopterous parasitoid Trichogramma exiguum

Walking speeds of female Trichogramma exiguum Pinto & Platner were fastest on maize and soybean (12 cm/min), intermediate on tomato (8 cm/min), and slowest on woolly mullein, Verbascum thapsus (3 cm/min). Similarly, rates of turning along the paths of walking T. exiguum were smallest on maize (median angle=0°±15°), intermediate on soybean and tomato, and greatest on V. thapsus (median angle=30°±15°). Leaf trichome density and morphology influenced walking behavior. Walking was slowed and flight initiation delayed for T. exiguum walking on Amaranthus hybridus leaves compared to either maize or filter paper. When inundative releases are conducted, the effects of plant surfaces on searching rates and arrestment should be considered in determining release rates of Trichogramma spp.

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Résumé La vitesse de marche a été déterminée en lâchant des individus sur chaque substrat végétal et en traçant leur parcours sur une plaque de verre placée à 9 mm au dessus du sujet. Les déviations angulaires de portions successives des tracés, longues de 1 mm, ont été utilisées pour mesurer les taux de changement de direction. Dans une deuxième expérience, des individus ont été lâchés au milieu d'une cercle de 40 mm de diamètre sur chaque substrat et les temps écoulés avant l'envol ou pour atteindre le bord du cercle à la marche ont servi à évaluer respectivement la propension au vol et la vitesse de déambulation.Les vitesses de marche ont été plus rapides sur maïs et soja (12 cm/min), moyennes sur tomate (8 cm/min) et les plus lentes sur Verbascum thapsus (Scrophulariaceae) (3 cm/min). De le même façon, les angles de changement de direction au cours des marches effectuées par T. exiguum ont été plus petits sur maïs, moyens sur soja et tomate, et plus grands sur V. thapsus. Chez T. exiguum marchant sur des feuilles d'Amaranthus hybridus L. (Amaranthaceae), la marche a été plus lente et l'envol plus tardif que sur maîs ou papier filtre.Lors de lâchers inondatifs, les effets des surfaces végétales sur les vitesses d'exploration et d'arrêt devraient être pris en compte pour déterminer les vitesses de lâcher des Trichogramma spp.

     

The Influence of Nonautonomous P Elements on Hybrid Dysgenesis in Drosophila melanogaster

An inbred line of the M' strain Muller-5 Birmingham was studied for its abilities to affect P-M hybrid dysgenesis. This strain possesses 57 P elements, all of which are apparently defective in the production of the P transposase. In combination with transposase-producing elements, these nonautonomous elements can enhance or diminish the incidence of hybrid dysgenesis, depending on the trait that is studied. Dysgenic flies that have one or more paternally-derived chromosomes with these elements partially repress the instability of the P element insertion mutation, snw; however, such flies have elevated frequencies of another dysgenic trait, GD sterility, and also show distorted segregation ratios. An explanation is presented in which all of these phenomena are unified as manifestations of the kinetics of P element activation in the germ line. The progeny of Muller-5 Birmingham females exhibit partial repression of both snw instability and GD sterility. This repression appears to involve a factor that can be transmitted maternally through at least two generations. This mode of repression therefore conforms to the pattern of inheritance of the P cytotype, the condition that brings about nearly total repression of P element activity in some strains. Models in which this repression could arise from the nonautonomous P elements of Muller-5 Birmingham are discussed.     

Estimating the number of genetic elements that defer senescence inDrosophila

Summary Although many different physiological and biochemical changes characterize the process of senescence, little is understood of the genetic elements that determine its age of onset. We provide here the first estimates of the number of genetic factors that extend longevity inDrosophila melanogaster. Life span was measured in F₁, F₂ and backcrosses of true-breeding long and short-lived stocks ofD. melanogaster, established by selection. Estimates of the number of effective factors delaying senescence range from about 0.3 to 1.5, indicating control by a single factor. The distribution of longevity shows this to arise as selection acts on the short-lived parental stock. Life span is extended at the cost of early fecundity.     

Aging alterations in the modulation of central dopaminergic cilioinhibition by etorphine in the marine mussel,Mytilus edulis: Decrease in the inhibition of presynaptic dopamine release

1. This report further demonstrates that etorphine influences presynaptic dopamine release, which in turn centrally modulates peripheral cilioinhibition. 2. In older animals cilioinhibition has become enhanced due to a lack of responsiveness to endogenous opioids which results in greater dopamine release, causing a higher level of cilioinhibition as demonstrated by challenging the visceral ganglia with etorphine or destroying the dopaminergic component with 6-hydroxydopamine. 3. Only the central cilioinhibitory, not the peripheral inhibitory response, mechanism appears to be altered in older animals. Thus, the alteration appears in the central integrative mechanisms involved with regulating ciliary activity. 4. The KCl-stimulated release of dopamine is unaltered in both young and old organisms, whereas the opiate inhibition of the KCl-stimulated release of dopamine is reduced in older organisms. Thus, the aging-associated alteration is associated with a specific process. 5. The reduction of opioid influence and the resulting enhanced cilioinhibitory activity may make the organisms more susceptible to environmental stress.     

Ecological aspects of swidden cultivation among the Andoke and Witoto Indians of the Colombian Amazon

The investigation of crop and soil-crop conditions among Andoke and Witoto cultivators in southeast Colombia is used as a basis for assessing Geertz' (1963) model of swidden cultivation. In this respect, the extent to which maniocdominated swiddens in the study area simulate the structure and composition of the forest climax community is questioned. As Geertz (1963) indicates, an initial nutrient boost for crop cultivation results from the preliminary burning of forest debris, but weed competition, rather than progressive loss of soil fertility, is reported to be the primary cause of abandoning manioc cultivation after 2–3 years. While the Andoke and Witoto crop system remains adaptive at the individual field level, particularly in its constituent species, its fundamental adaptation is considered to be its integration into the broader field and fallow system that juxtaposes crop production with extended periods of forest regeneration.