Origin and decay of the P element-associated latitudinal cline in Australian Drosophila melanogaster

The latitudinal cline in P transposable element-associated characteristics in eastern Australian populations of Drosophila melanogaster has changed between 1986 and 1991–1994. New collections were made in 1991–1994 from localities along the eastern coast of Australia. P element-associated properties of 256 isofemale lines from 43 localities were evaluated using gonadal dysgenesis and/or singed-weak hypermutability assays. The overall results indicate that both P activity and P susceptibility have declined, with all populations showing a tendency towards a state with little P activity potential but with P repressor function (neutral or ‘Q’). P repressor function is strong in all populations except some of the most southerly. P activity potential peaks at about 27° SLat, and drops off to the south (as in 1983–1986 collections) and to the north (in contrast to 1983–1986 collections); thus the cline is no longer a simple P-to-Q-to-M pattern from north to south, but is now Q-P-Q-M. A mtDNA RFLP that putatively distinguishes North American and European populations varies in frequency among the populations but the frequency does not vary clinally with latitude, ruling out massive introductions from North America and Europe as causing the cline. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of hypoxia on pulmonary blood flow-segmental vascular resistance relationship in perfused cat lungs

To investigate the effect of alveolar hypoxia onthe pulmonary blood flow-segmental vascular resistance relationship, wedetermined the longitudinal distribution of vascular resistance whileincreasing blood flow during hyperoxia or hypoxia in perfused catlungs. We measured microvascular pressures by the micropipetteservo-null method, partitioned the pulmonary vessels into threesegments [i.e., arterial (from main pulmonary artery to 30- to50-µm arterioles), venous (from 30- to 50-µm venules to leftatrium), and microvascular (between arterioles and venules)segments] and calculated segmental vascular resistance. Duringhyperoxia, total resistance decreased with increased blood flow becauseof a reduction of microvascular resistance. In contrast, duringhypoxia, not only microvascular resistance but also arterial resistancedecreased with increase of blood flow while venous resistance remainedunchanged. The reduction of arterial resistance was presumably causedby arterial distension induced by an elevated arterial pressure duringhypoxia. We conclude that, during hypoxia, both microvessels andarteries >50 µm in diameter play a role in preventing furtherincreases in total pulmonary vascular resistance with increased bloodflow.

     

Production of age-related DNA strand breakage in brain cells of senescence-accelerated prone (SAMP1) mouse.

Amounts of DNA strand breaks were estimated by the proportion of cells without tails (PCWT) and the average lengths of tail momentum (ALTM) in comet images of tissue cells of senescence-accelerated prone (SAMP1) mouse and senescence-accelerated resistant (SAMR1) mouse. The PCWT and ALTM of brain cells from SAMR1 were unchanged from 4 to 15 months of age. In the case of SAMP1 brain cells, the PCWT decreased and the ALTM increased in an age-related manner from 8 to 15 months of age. In the cases of liver and kidney, the PCWT and the ALTM of both SAMP1 and SAMR1 cells showed constant values from 4 to 15 months of ages.     

INDUCED DIMORPHIC LIFE CYCLE OF A COCCOLITHOPHORID,CALYPTROSPHAERA SPHAEROIDEA (PRYMNESIOPHYCEAE,HAPTOPHYTA)1

The holococcolith Calyptrosphaera sphaeroidea Schiller was collected at Miyake‐jima Island, Japan and unialgal cultures established. Alternation of the holococcolith and heterococcolith phases was induced using new culture media (MNK, TR, and LO). Cells synchronized in the holococcolith phase were transferred into TR medium to induce a life cycle change. The heterococcolith phase, which has never been reported before, appeared after more than 40 days. The heterococcoliths were very small elliptical discs, about 0.5 μm wide and 1 μm long. Typical diploid‐type organic scales on the cell surface were observed. This phase was very stable in culture and was tolerant of unfavorable conditions. To reverse the life phase, cells in the heterococcolith phase were transferred into cold LO medium and exposed to low temperature (4°C) and low light (2 μmol photons·m^?2·s^?1) for 30 min before culturing at normal conditions (22.5°C and 20 μmol photons· m^?2·s^?1). The swimming behavior of the holococcolith cells seemed to be an indicator of the life cycle phase transition. This article reports for the first time a set of conditions that could control the transition of a coccolithophorid from one life phase to the other. Selected vitamins and trace metals induced the heterococcolith phase, whereas a slightly higher concentration of components in the basic medium along with concomitant stresses of light and temperature induced the holococcolith phase. Based on the results, we propose a hypothesis that the alternation of coccolithophorid life phases is regulated by changes between pelagic and coastal environments coupled with changes in seasonal conditions.     

Stimulation of in vitro hematopoiesis by a murine fetal hepatocyte clone through cell—cell contact

We have previously shown that a fetal liver-derived epithelial cell clone, FHC-4D2, could support hematopoiesis in vitro through its colony-stimulating factor (CSF) activities in a short-term culture. In this study, since FHC-4D2 cells were found capable of maintaining hematopoietic progenitors in the coculture for a long time, we examined how FHC-4D2 could exert hematopoietic supporting activity in a long-term culture by coculturing adult bone marrow (BM) cells or fetal liver (FL) cells on a monolayer of FHC-4D2 cells. This clone could maintain the colony-forming unit of granulocytes and macrophages (CFU-GM) of BM for ≥ 12 weeks under the coculture condition, but the fibroblastic cell clone from the fetal liver, FHC-4A3, could not support the survival of CFU-GM, even for 1 week. In addition to BM CFU-GM, the FHC-4D2 clone also supported the survival of FL CFU-GM, burst-forming unit of erythroid cells (BFUe), and colony-forming unit of mixed progenitors (CFU-Mix) for longer than 4 weeks. When BM cells were separated by a membrane filter from the FHC-4D2 cells in the coculture, the comparable number of CFU-GM was maintained at day 3, but virtually no hematopoietic progenitors were detected at the end of the first week. CFU-GM were present in both nonadherent and adherent cells to the FHC-4D2 cells at day 3 of the coculture, but at day 7, the adherent population contained greater number of CFU-GM. CFU-GM derived from the adherent cells formed larger colonies and contained more bipotential CFU-GM than the nonadherent population. When BM cells from mice given 5-fluorouracil were cocultured with FHC-4D2 cells under the limiting dilution condition, interleukin-3 (IL-3)-responsive CFU-GM were induced from immature hematopoietic progenitor cells that were otherwise unresponsive to IL-3. From these data we conclude that the FHC-4D2 clone could generate and maintain IL-3-responsive hematopoietic progenitors via close contact and that, in the fetal liver, the contact between hepatocytes and hematopoietic cells may be critically important in inducing the differentiation of resting, IL-3-unresponsive immature hematopoietic cells into CFU-GM (progenitors responsive to IL-3) and in triggering the self-renewal of CFU-GM. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Observations on the flagellar apparatus of a coccolithophorid,Cruciplacolithus neohelis (Prymnesiophyceae)

The flagellar apparatus ofCruciplacolithus neohelis (McIntyre and Bé) Reinhardt including its transition region is described. The transition region contains a hat-shaped structure, which is suggested to be one of the common features of the Prymnesiophyceae. Its flagellar root system resembles that of most coccolithophorids examined so far, except that only one vestigial crystalline root is present associated with root 1. Two well-developed crystalline roots associated with roots 1 and 2, respectively, appear in the preprophase of nuclear division, suggesting conversion to a mitotic spindle. The taxonomic and evolutionary significance of the flagellar apparatus is discussed.     

Cytogenetic studies on natural intergeneric hybridization inAster alliances

The karyotype and meiosis of the 12-ploid plants—one of the offspring of the natural F₁ hybrid (Aster ageratoides subsp.ovatus (2n=36) ×Kalimeris incisa (2n=72), 2n=72)—were examined. The 2n=108 chromosomes of the 12-ploids were found to consist of 18 large chromosomes and 90 small chromosomes. In meiosis of the PMCs of the 12-ploid, chromosome configurations of 3_III+46_II+7_I, 2_III+48_II+6_I and 3_III+47_II+5_I were observed. All the univalents and trivalents were small, and among the 46–48 bivalents nine were large and the remaining 37–39 were comparatively small. The large bivalents were found to represent autosyndetic pairings, and the small bivalents and trivalents were probably formed by autosyndetic pairings. The large chromosomes of the 12-ploids were found to coincide with the large chromosomes ofovatus, and the 90 small chromosomes to correspond to small chromosomes ofovatus andK. incisa. The 12-ploids were concluded to have been produced by a fusion of an unreduced gamete of the F₁ plant and a reduced gamete ofK. incisa which was growing in proximity to the F₁s. Thus the 12-ploids were regarded to be an amphidiploid having 36 chromosomes ofovatus and 72 chromosomes ofK. incisa.