REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FLOWER BREEDING DROSOPHILA HIBISCI BOCK (DROSOPHILIDAE) IN EASTERN AUSTRALIA: GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINANTS OF OVARIOLE NUMBER

Quantitative genetic analysis of the ovariole number of the Australian Hibiscus flower-breeding Drosophila hibisci Bock was conducted on populations from two localities along a latitudinal cline in ovariole number previously observed in the species (Starmer et al., in press). Parental strains, F₁, F_1r (reciprocal), F₂, backcross, and backcross reciprocal generations were used in a line-cross (generation means) analysis. This analysis revealed both additive and epistatic effects as important determinants of variation in ovariole number when larvae were reared at 25°C. Maternal effects and maternal-by-progeny genetic interactions were not significant. These results are comparable to previous studies that document epistatic components as genetic determinants of ovariole number in D. melanogaster. Parallel studies on ovariole number in D. hibisci parental and hybrid generations (F₁ and F_1r) reared as larvae at three temperatures (18°, 21.5°, and 25°C) showed environmental effects and genotype-by-environment interactions as significant influences on the phenotype. Maternal effects were present when temperature of larval development was considered and significant, nonlinear environmental effects were detected. Field collections of D. hibisci females showed that field conditions result in significant departure of ovariole number from comparable laboratory reared females. The significant epistatic genetic effects, genotype-by-environment interactions, and maternal effects indicate that the genetic architecture of traits, such as ovariole number, may be more complex than often acknowledged and thus may be compatible with Wright's view of a netlike relationship between the genome and complex characters (Wright 1968).     

2,6,8,9-tetrasubstituted purines as new CDK1 inhibitors

Purine inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases attract attention as potential anticancer drugs because their first representative roscovitine recently entered clinical trials. Although well described in terms of structure-activity relationships, we still present here a novel modification of the purine scaffold influencing their inhibitory properties. The introduced C-8 substituents, however, lowered the CDK inhibitory activity of roscovitine, whereas the antiproliferative potential of several derivatives remained high.     

The Diversity of Yellow-Related Proteins in Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Yellow-related proteins (YRPs) present in sand fly saliva act as affinity binders of bioamines, and help the fly to complete a bloodmeal by scavenging the physiological signals of damaged cells. They are also the main antigens in sand fly saliva and their recombinant form is used as a marker of host exposure to sand flies. Moreover, several salivary proteins and plasmids coding these proteins induce strong immune response in hosts bitten by sand flies and are being used to design protecting vaccines against Leishmania parasites. In this study, thirty two 3D models of different yellow-related proteins from thirteen sand fly species of two genera were constructed based on the known protein structure from Lutzomyia longipalpis. We also studied evolutionary relationships among species based on protein sequences as well as sequence and structural variability of their ligand-binding site. All of these 33 sand fly YRPs shared a similar structure, including a unique tunnel that connects the ligand-binding site with the solvent by two independent paths. However, intraspecific modifications found among these proteins affects the charges of the entrances to the tunnel, the length of the tunnel and its hydrophobicity. We suggest that these structural and sequential differences influence the ligand-binding abilities of these proteins and provide sand flies with a greater number of YRP paralogs with more nuanced answers to bioamines. All these characteristics allow us to better evaluate these proteins with respect to their potential use as part of anti-Leishmania vaccines or as an antigen to measure host exposure to sand flies.     

Aposematism and mimicry in soft‐bodied beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea (Insecta)

The evolution of animal life strategies is among the main themes of current evolutionary biology. Checkered beetles, soft‐winged flower beetles and their allies (superfamily Cleroidea), exhibit well‐known aposematic colour patterns, particularly in the family Cleridae, which participate in mimicry complexes mostly with unpalatable beetles, ants and velvet ants representing a Müllerian–Batesian continuum. Many cleroids also exhibit attenuated hardening of cuticular layers resulting in a soft‐bodied appearance. Here, a molecular phylogenetic analysis of the entire Cleroidea was performed using sequences of two nuclear and two mitochondrial loci of ~4 kb total length. Inferred phylogenies were used to reconstruct ancestral colour patterns and involvement in mimicry complexes. The hypothesis of a soft‐bodied ancestor of Cleridae and allies was tested. The phylogenetic analyses corroborated the expanded Cleroidea concept including Byturidae and Biphyllidae formerly classified as Cucujoidea. Character state optimization showed cryptic coloration was the ancestral state in Cleroidea, from which aposematic coloration originated several times in distant cleroid lineages. Within Cleridae, mimicry also arose from an ancestor that was cryptic, and multiple lineages that mimicked unpalatable beetles (Chrysomelidae, Meloidae, Lycidae) and stinging Hymenoptera evolved. Aposematic coloration was acquired in all major clerid lineages including Thanerocleridae, which are either the sister group of Chaetosomatidae or Cleridae. These findings suggest that mimetic traits in the clerid clade evolved at various times, possibly soon after the origin of soft‐bodiedness. The adaptive value of aposematism in cleroids is likely to be enhanced in soft‐bodied species, as this trait provides limited means of protection against predators, and therefore may promote the acquisition of aposematic and mimetic coloration in various ecological situations.     

Genetic Variability within Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Genospecies Established by PCR-Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism Analysis of the rrfA-rrlB Intergenic Spacer in Ixodes ricinus Ticks from the Czech Republic

In Europe the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex is represented by five distinct genospecies: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, and Borrelia lusitaniae. These taxonomic entities are known to differ in their specific associations with vertebrate hosts and to provoke distinct clinical manifestations in human patients. However, exceptions to these rules have often been observed, indicating that strains belonging to a single genospecies may be more heterogeneous than expected. It is, therefore, important to develop alternative identification tools which are able to distinguish Borrelia strains not only at the specific level but also at the intraspecific level. DNA from a sample of 370 Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in the Czech Republic was analyzed by PCR for the presence of a ~230-bp fragment of the rrfA-rrlB intergenic spacer of Borrelia spp. A total of 20.5% of the ticks were found to be positive. The infecting genospecies were identified by analyzing the amplified products by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method with restriction enzyme MseI and by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. The two methods were compared, and PCR-SSCP analysis appeared to be a valuable tool for rapid identification of spirochetes at the intraspecific level, particularly when large samples are examined. Furthermore, by using PCR-SSCP analysis we identified a previously unknown Borrelia genotype, genotype I-77, which would have gone unnoticed if RFLP analysis alone had been used.     

20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid causes endothelial dysfunction via eNOS uncoupling

Nitric oxide (NO), generated from L-arginine by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), is a key endothelial-derived factor whose bioavailability is essential to the normal function of the endothelium. Endothelium dysfunction is characterized by loss of NO bioavailability because of either reduced formation or accelerated degradation of NO. We have recently reported that overexpression of vascular cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 4A in rats caused hypertension and endothelial dysfunction driven by increased production of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a major vasoconstrictor eicosanoid in the microcirculation. To further explore cellular mechanisms underlying CYP4A-20-HETE-driven endothelial dysfunction, the interactions between 20-HETE and the eNOS-NO system were examined in vitro. Addition of 20-HETE to endothelial cells at concentrations as low as 1 nM reduced calcium ionophore-stimulated NO release by 50%. This reduction was associated with a significant increase in superoxide production. The increase in superoxide in response to 20-HETE was prevented by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, suggesting that uncoupled eNOS is a source of this superoxide. The response to 20-HETE was specific in that 19-HETE did not affect NO or superoxide production, and, in fact, the response to 20-HETE could be competitively antagonized by 19(R)-HETE. 20-HETE had no effect on phosphorylation of eNOS protein at serine-1179 or threonine-497 following addition of calcium ionophore; however, 20-HETE inhibited association of eNOS with 90-kDa heat shock protein (HSP90). In vivo, impaired acetylcholine-induced relaxation in arteries overexpressing CYP4A was associated with a marked reduction in the levels of phosphorylated vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein, an indicator of bioactive NO, that was reversed by inhibition of 20-HETE synthesis or action. Because association of HSP90 with eNOS is critical for eNOS activation and coupled enzyme activity, inhibition of this association by 20-HETE may underlie the mechanism, at least in part, by which increased CYP4A expression and activity cause endothelial dysfunction.     

Lipid remodelling is a widespread strategy in marine heterotrophic bacteria upon phosphorus deficiency

Upon phosphorus (P) deficiency, marine phytoplankton reduce their requirements for P by replacing membrane phospholipids with alternative non-phosphorus lipids. It was very recently demonstrated that a SAR11 isolate also shares this capability when phosphate starved in culture. Yet, the extent to which this process occurs in other marine heterotrophic bacteria and in the natural environment is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the substitution of membrane phospholipids for a variety of non-phosphorus lipids is a conserved response to P deficiency among phylogenetically diverse marine heterotrophic bacteria, including members of the Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria. By deletion mutagenesis and complementation in the model marine bacterium Phaeobacter sp. MED193 and heterologous expression in recombinant Escherichia coli, we confirm the roles of a phospholipase C (PlcP) and a glycosyltransferase in lipid remodelling. Analyses of the Global Ocean Sampling and Tara Oceans metagenome data sets demonstrate that PlcP is particularly abundant in areas characterized by low phosphate concentrations. Furthermore, we show that lipid remodelling occurs seasonally and responds to changing nutrient conditions in natural microbial communities from the Mediterranean Sea. Together, our results point to the key role of lipid substitution as an adaptive strategy enabling heterotrophic bacteria to thrive in the vast P-depleted areas of the ocean.