Local distribution of the lycaenid butterfly,Jalmenus evagoras,in response to host ants and plants

Summary The caterpillars of Jalmenus evagoras are tended by ants as they feed upon Acacia trees. In the area of Brisbane, Australia, J. evagoras require ants of the Iridomyrmex anceps species group; predation and parasitism are so intense that larvae and pupae deprived of attendant ants cannot survive (Pierce 1983). We investigated the efficiency with which J. evagoras locate and exploit the host ant resource by sampling 737 quadrats in 30 sampling grids and six study sites containing appropriate host plants; ants were collected at baits located in the center of each quadrat. J. evagoras was found in all habitats where I. anceps cooccurred with host Acacia. Nine of the ten sampling grids which had three or more I. anceps/Acacia host quadrats also had colonies of J. evagoras present (or immediately adjacent), including sites as far as 35 km apart. Of 19 sampling grids on which host quadrats were rare (i.e., less than three quadrats), none had J. evagoras (P<0.001). Within sample grids, I. anceps was distributed indepedently from Acacia trees, suggesting that they are not dependent for their survival on either Acacia or on J. evagoras. Within montane pasture habitats, I. anceps and at least one other ground-dwelling Iridomyrmex species were distributed in mutually exclusive ant mosaic territories which were stable during a one month period. I. anceps did not colonize or tend pupae of J. evagoras experimentally placed in adjacent territories of a different, nontending species of Iridomyrmex, demonstrating the integrity of territory boundaries. Sampling of ants in Acacia trees revealed that, in the absence of J. evagoras, Iridomyrmex workers are not common above ground level, and that their numbers decline in larger trees (P=0.02). In I. anceps territories, eight of nine J. evagoras pupae placed in trees over 3.0 m tall were not found after 24 h whereas all ten controls placed in low trees were found and tended (P=0.00012). This may explain why J. evagoras tends to oviposit in trees less than 2.0 m tall. An alternative hypothesis, that smaller trees have higher content of total nitrogen, and are threfore more nutritious, was not supported. We conclude that the local distribution and host tree selection by J. evagoras is dependent upon the distribution, patchiness, and foraging behavior of the host ant, I. anceps, and its spatial overlap with a number of species of host Acacia.     

Zinc fingers and other domains cooperate in binding of Drosophila sry beta and delta proteins at specific chromosomal sites.

The closely related Drosophila serendipity (sry) beta and delta zinc finger proteins display consensus in vitro DNA recognition sequences differing by 4 of 13 nucleotide positions and bind in vivo to distinct sets of sites on polytene chromosomes. We compared the pattern of in vivo chromosomal binding of deleted forms of the sry delta protein fused to beta-galactosidase and expressed in Drosophila transgenic lines. Results show that the carboxy-terminal DNA-binding finger domain is required and sufficient for binding at specific chromosomal sites but that this binding does not nearly reproduce the wild-type pattern. An NH2-terminal domain of the sry delta protein is essential to its specificity of in vivo interaction with chromatin. In vitro and in vivo experiments using reciprocal finger swap between the sry beta and delta proteins suggest that the in vivo specificity is dependent on selective protein-protein contacts at defined chromosomal sites, in addition to DNA specific recognition.     

Absence of Turner stigmata in a 46,XYp-female

A 46,XY female patient with streak gonads and a large deletion of Yp is described. The deletion included the Y chromosomal genes SRY, ZFY, and RPS4Y. The patient did not display any Turner stigmata, such as webbing of the neck, cardiac or other abnormalities. The findings argue against an important role of RPS4Y in the prevention of Turner stigmata in males and are consistent with a role of SRY in testis differentiation in humans.     

The Machado-Joseph disease locus is different from the spinocerebellar ataxia locus (SCA1).

Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative spinocerebellar ataxia that has been described primarily in families of Azorean or Portuguese descent. MJD and chromosome 6p-linked spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA1) are difficult to differentiate clinically, and it has been suggested that they may be allelic variants of the same disorder. We have tested MJD families for linkage to six DNA sequence polymorphisms located on chromosome 6p, including the highly informative dinucleotide repeat, D6S89. Seventeen centimorgans telomeric to and 41 cM centromeric to D6S89, a region that includes the SCA1 locus reported to be within 3 cM of D6S89, have been excluded. These data provide conclusive evidence that MJD and SCA1 are nonallelic.     

Cyclic behavior of plum curculio,Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), within caged dwarf apple trees in spring

From 12 to 19 May 1987, during Morspur apple bloom, 21 radioactively labeled (⁶⁵ Zn) adult plum curculios, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst), were released within a field cage containing four dwarf apple trees and located three times a day. A technique was developed for quickly obtaining (x, y, z)coordinates of location for adults foraging within apple trees. Cyclic patterns of behavior were detected using spectral analysis procedures. Over 70% of plum curculios exhibited diel periodicity with respect to activity and rate of movement, 36% exhibited such periodicity with respect to presence in the trees, and 27% with respect to movements from the center to the periphery of the canopy. Presence in fruit clusters, height in the trees, and movements along east-west and north-south axes showed little or no periodicity. Factors triggering cyclic behavior and practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Interactive roles of progesterone, prostaglandins, and collagenase in the ovulatory mechanism of the ewe

Interrelationships between production of progesterone (P4), prostaglandin (PG) E2 and PGF2 alpha, and collagenase by periovulatory ovine follicles and their possible involvements in the ovulatory process were investigated. Follicles were isolated from ovaries at intervals (0 to 24 h) after the initiation of the preovulatory surge of luteinizing hormone (LH). Progesterone and PGs within follicles were determined by radioimmunoassay. Digestion of radioactive collagen during coincubation with tissue homogenates was used to assess the production of a bioactive follicular collagenase(s). Follicular accumulation of PGs and P4 increased at 12 and 16 h, respectively, after the onset of the surge of LH; PGE2 then decreased at 20 h. Collagenolytic activity of follicular tissue increased at 20 h and was maximal at 24 h (during the time of follicular rupture). An inhibitor of synthesis of P4 (isoxazol) or PGs (indomethacin) was injected into the follicular antrum at 8 h. Isoxazol did not prevent the initial rise in PGs, but inhibited synthesis of PGF2 alpha at 16 h and therafter. Isoxazol negated the decline in PGE2 and increase in collagenolysis. Indomethacin did not influence synthesis of P4; however, it suppressed collagenolytic activity of follicular tissue. Ovaries with treated follicles were left in situ and observed for an ovulation point at 30 h. Isoxazol or indomethacin was a potent inhibitor of ovulation. The blockade of ovulation by isoxazol was reversed by systemic administration of P4 or PGF2 alpha, but not by PGE2. Reversal of the blockade by indomethacin was accomplished with PGE2 or PGF2 alpha. Collagenolytic activity of follicular tissue was likewise restored by such treatments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Prolactin modulates steroidogenesis by rat granulosa cells: I. Effects on progesterone

Either testosterone or follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) stimulates progesterone secretion by granulosa cells from rats but the combination of the two hormones increases progesterone production in a synergistic manner. We have investigated the effects of graded doses of prolactin (0, 0.02, 0.2, 2, or 10 micrograms/ml) alone or in combination with testosterone (0.5 microM), FSH (300 ng/ml), or FSH + testosterone on progesterone secretion by granulosa cells at two stages of differentiation. Relatively undifferentiated granulosa cells from immature, diethylstilbestrol-treated, hypophysectomized (HPX) rats were cultured in defined (serum-free) medium for 3 days. More highly differentiated granulosa cells were obtained on the morning of proestrus from the preovulatory follicles of 30-day-old rats induced to undergo an estrous cycle by injection with 4 IU pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin; these cells were cultured in medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Prolactin alone did not enhance the negligible secretion of progesterone by cells from HPX rats, but increased progesterone secretion by cells from proestrous rats. Prolactin significantly enhanced the stimulatory effects of testosterone or FSH alone on cells from both HPX and proestrous rats. When cultures containing both FSH + testosterone were treated with prolactin, progesterone secretion by cells from proestrous rats was significantly enhanced, whereas secretion by cells from HPX rats was significantly depressed. Therefore when cells from HPX rats were cultured with both FSH and testosterone, the direction of the effect of prolactin was reversed from that observed with prolactin + FSH or testosterone alone, and from that observed when cells from proestrous rats were cultured with prolactin + FSH + testosterone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)