Isoflavonoids as systematic markers

A taxonomic procedure, applicable to biogenetic groups (BG) of secondary metabolities, involves initially the determination of the relative probability of occurrence (RPO) with respect to skeleton and substitution for each compound of the BG. The means of the RPO-values of the constituents represent the evolutionary advancement parameters (EAP) of the species. Consideration of the EAPs and of the chemical composition leads to the classification of species along chemical lines. This procedure, which is independent of morphological evidence, applied to isoflavonoids, suggests the sequence of structural changes which accompany the evolution of this BG in nature, and, used as an auxiliary criterion to the conventional morphological classification, provides the basis for understanding of the evolutionary development in the Lotoideae.     

Nucleotide sequence and expression of a Drosophila metallothionein

A Drosophila melanogaster cDNA clone was isolated based on its more intense hybridization to RNA sequences from copper-fed larvae than from control larval RNA. This clone showed strong hybridization to mouse metallothionein I cDNA at reduced stringency. Its nucleotide sequence includes an open reading segment which codes for a 40-amino acid protein; this protein is identified as metallothionein based on its similarity to the amino-terminal portion of mammalian and crab metalloproteins. The 10 cysteine residues present occur in five pairs of near vicinal cysteines (Cys-X-Cys). This cDNA sequence hybridized to a 400-nucleotide polyadenylated RNA whose presence in the cells of the alimentary canal of larvae was stimulated by ingestion of cadmium or copper; in other tissues this RNA was present at much lower levels. Mercury, silver, and zinc induced metallothionein to a lesser extent. The level of metallothionein RNA increased very soon after the initiation of metal treatment and reached a maximum after approximately 36 h.     

Quinolizidine alkaloids as systematic markers of the papilionoideae

The structural characteristics of quinolizidine alkaloids have been quantified on the basis of their biogenetic origins. Such data have been used to determine evolutionary advancement parameters for genera of the Papilionoideae. These analyses indicate a correlation of the structural characters of alkaloids with ecogeography and morphology of the genera, suggesting an adaptive radiation of the taxa from tropical Africa in three major directions along a southern temperate “pre-cytisine” route, a northern temperatre “pre-cytisine-cytisine” route and a tropical “ormosanine” route with a temperate cytisine branch. The data also suggest the division of the Sophoreae into three chemical groups giving rise to Liparieae, Genisteae, Thermopsideae and Bossiaeeae. These concepts are embodied in a tentative phyletic classification of all genera of the Papilionoideae which contain quinolizidine alkaloids.     

Long-term effects and cost-benefit analysis of eight spawning gravel augmentations for Atlantic salmon and Brown trout in Norway

Hydrobiologia - River regulation alters flow and sediment regime, habitat availability, and ultimately the ecological functioning of rivers. Various restoration and mitigation measures...     

Use of mucus as a non-invasive sampling method for DNA barcoding of stingrays and skates (batoid elasmobranchs)

In this study we tested the use of mucus from five species of Neotropical marine batoid elasmobranchs to extract genomic DNA for barcoding and phylogenetic analysis. The DNA from all individuals sampled was successfully amplified and sequenced for molecular barcode, allowing 99–100% accuracy to the species level. This method proved to provide reliable and good-quality DNA for barcoding and phylogenetic analysis of Neotropical elasmobranchs, through rapid handling and with low disturbance to animals.     

bcl-2-specific siRNAs restore gemcitabine sensitivity in human pancreatic cancer cells

Gemcitabine has been shown to ameliorate disease related symptoms and to prolong overall survival in pancreatic cancer.Yet, resistance to Gemcitabine is commonly observed in this tumour entity and has been linked to increased expression of anti-apoptotic bcl-2. We therefore investigated if and to what extend silencing of bcl-2 by specific siRNAs (siBCL2) might enhance Gemcitabine effects in human pancreatic carcinoma cells. siBCL2 was transfected into the pancreatic cancer cell line YAP C alone and 72 hrs before co-incubation with different concentrations of Gemcitabine. Total protein and RNA were extracted for Western-blot analysis and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Pancreatic cancer xenografts in male nude mice were treated intraperitoneally with siBCL2 alone, Gemcitabine and control siRNA or Gemcitabine and siBCL2 for 21 days. Combination of both methods lead to a synergistic induction of apoptosis at otherwise ineffective concentrations of Gemcitabine. Tumour growth suppression was also potentiated by the combined treatment with siBCL2 and Gemcitabine in vivo and lead to increased TUNEL positivity. In contrast, non-transformed human foreskin fibroblasts showed only minor responses to this treatment. Our results demonstrate that siRNA-mediated silencing of anti-apoptotic bcl-2 enhances chemotherapy sensitivity in human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and might lead to improved therapy responses in advanced stages of this disease.