Evidence of active biotic influences in pedogenetic processes. Case studies from semiarid ecosystems of south-west Western Australia

Soil profiles and rooting morphologies were examined under an ecotone where open woodland of multi-stemmed, small, lignotuberous eucalypts (mallee) graded into proteaceous heath. Soils under the mallee showed a Solonetz-type seal which separated, hydrologically, the upper acidic horizon of bleached sand from lower alkaline horizons rich in calcrete, silcrete, finely divided carbonates and clay. Seal composition appeared to vary consistently with overlying species of mallee. The generally acidic lateritic profiles under heath were rich in pisolithic ferricretes and displayed Fe-coated root channels. Both sets of taxa exhibited dimorphic rooting patterns, with ectomycorrhizal roots and seal-penetrating, second-order tap roots developed on the extensive lateral roots of mallee versus a dominance of primary tap roots and cluster root development on laterals of Proteaceae. Overprinting of ferricrete by clays and silicified material was evident where mallee appeared to have invaded areas of heath. Examination of other contemporary lateral facies changes and vertically-stacked paleosol formations in the study region provided corroborating evidence of similar profile attributes, including presence of Fe- or Si-lined root channels, overprinting phenomena and consistency in occurrences of ferricrete and calcrete as expected of each class of vegetation. Observations were related to the concepts of bioengineering of soil profiles through activity of macroflora and associated micro-organisms as set out more generally in our companion review.     

Use of nonmotile mutants to identify a set of membrane proteins related to gliding motility in Cytophaga johnsonae.

Nonmotile mutants of the gliding bacterium Cytophaga johnsonae were examined to identify proteins that might be involved in gliding motility. Wild-type and mutant cell proteins were solubilized and fractionated by using Triton X-114, and the proteins that partitioned into the aqueous phase or the detergent phase were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for proteins that differed between wild-type and mutant cells. Seventeen proteins, ranging in size from 16 to 150 kilodaltons, were implicated by this technique as having some relationship to gliding and were designated Gld-1 through Gld-17. All Gld proteins behaved as integral membrane proteins, partitioning into the detergent phase. All 56 mutants examined exhibited changes in 1 or more of the Gld proteins, with the number of proteins altered in any mutant varying from 1 to 11. Several lines of evidence suggested that proteins Gld-12 through Gld-15 are glycoproteins. Analysis of banding patterns of detergent-fraction proteins of motile revertants supported the idea that the Gld proteins have a role in gliding motility.     

Cytokinins in the Phloem Sap of White Lupin (Lupinus albus L.)

Cytokinin-like activity in samples of xylem and phloem sap collected from field-grown plants of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) over a period of 9 to 24 weeks after sowing was measured using the soybean hypocotyl callus bioassay following paper chromatographic separation. The phloem sap was collected from shallow incisions made at the base of the stem, the base of the inflorescence (e.g. stem top), the petioles, and the base and tip of the fruit. Xylem sap was collected as root exudate from the stump of plants severed a few centimeters above ground level. Concentration of cytokinin-like substances was highest in phloem sap collected from the base of the inflorescence and showed an increase over the entire sampling period (from week 10 [61 nanogram zeatin equivalents] to week 24 [407 nanogram zeatin equivalents]). Concentrations in the xylem sap and in the other phloem saps were generally lower. Relatively high concentrations of cytokinin-like substances in petiole phloem sap (70 to 130 nanogram zeatin equivalents per milliliter) coincided in time with high concentrations in sap from the base of the inflorescence (see above). Concentrations in sap (phloem or xylem) from the base of the stem were very much lower. This finding is consistent with movement of cytokinins from leaves into the developing inflorescence and fruit, rather than direct input to the fruit from xylem sap. However, an earlier movement of cytokinins from roots into leaves via the xylem cannot be ruled out. Sap collected at an 18-week harvest was additionally separated by sequential C₁₈ reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography → NH₂ normal phase high performance liquid chromatography, bioassayed, and then analyzed by electron impact gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Identification of zeatin riboside and dihydrozeatin as two of the major cytokinins in combined sap samples was accomplished by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring.     

Mechanics of glycerinated muscle fibers using nonnucleoside triphosphate substrates.

We have investigated the ability of the photoaffinity, nonnucleotide ATP analogues, 2-[(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl) amino] ethyl triphosphate (NANTP) and 2-[(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl) amino] propyl triphosphate (PrNANTP), to support active contraction in glycerinated rabbit psoas fibers. At millimolar concentrations, in the absence of calcium, both analogues relaxed fibers. In the presence of calcium, MgNANTP produced isometric tension and stiffness that were one-half to two-thirds the values obtained in MgATP. Maximum shortening velocity and the calcium-activated, myofibrillar catalyzed rate of hydrolysis were approximately the same for MgNANTP as for MgATP. With MgNANTP as the substrate, increasing concentrations of the diphosphate analogue, MgNANDP, inhibited shortening velocity but did not change isometric tension. The addition of increased concentrations of orthophosphate (P) decreased tension while shortening velocity increased. Thus, the effects of the hydrolysis products of NANTP were quite similar to those observed previously for ADP and P in the presence of MgATP. Taken together, these observations show that MgNANTP binds to, and functions in the active site of myosin in a manner quite analogous to MgATP. Thus, the aryl azido group should serve as a valid photoaffinity label for the purine portion of the active site. In contrast, MgPrNANTP, which differs from MgNANTP only in an extra CH2 spacer between the nitrophenyl ring and the triphosphate moiety did not support isometric tension or active shortening in the presence of calcium. Fiber stiffness increased in the presence of calcium and MgPrNANTP, with a calcium-activated, myofibrillar MgPrNANTPase which was about half that obtained with MgATP. Thus, in the presence of MgPrNANTP, cross-bridges appeared to be cycling through states that were attached to actin, but not producing force.     

Effects of P deficiency on the uptake, flows and utilization of C, N and H2O within intact plants of Ricinus communis L.

The influence of P deficiency on the uptake, flow and utilizationof C, N and H₂0 by intact NO₃-fed castor bean plants {Ricinuscommunis L.) was studied over a 9 d period in the middle oftheir vegetative growth. The modelling techniques incorporateddata on net increments or losses of C, N and H₂O in plant parts,photosynthetic gains in and respiratory losses of C, molar C:Nratios of solutes in phloem and xylem sap and transpirationallosses of H₂0. Plant growth was inhibited within 3 d of withholdingP supply and dry matter production was less than one-third ofthe controls. Leaf growth was particularly depressed, whileroot growth was much less affected than that of the shoot. Shoot:rootratio of low-P plants was 1.5 compared with 2.6 under P supply.Over the 9 d study period total plant C and N increased by 560and 47 mmol, respectively, in the controls, but by only 113and 6.9 mmol in the low-P treatment. The particularly low incrementof N in P-deficient plants was due principally to decreasedN0₃^- uptake. Flows of C and N during the study period were markedlydifferent between control and P-deficient plants. The partitioningprofile for C in P-deficient plants showed a dramatic inhibitionof net photosynthesis and attendant photoassimilate flow. Proportionaldownward to upward allocation of carbon increased with increasein sink size of the root relative to shoot. This was reflectedin greater relative allocation of C to root dry matter and rootrespiration than in P-sufficient plants, and suppressed cyclingof C from root to shoot via xylem. Nitrogen intake and xylemtransport to the shoot of P-deficient plants were only 15% ofthe control and, as in the case of C, downward allocation ofN predominated over upward phloem translocation. Apart fromthese severe changes, however, the basic patterns of N flowsincluding xylem-to-phloem and xylem-to-xylem transfer of N werenot changed, a feature highlighting the vital nature of thesetransfer processes even under deficiency conditions. The alterationsin flows and partitioning of C, N and H₂O in response to low-Pconditions are discussed in relation to the corresponding effectsof moderate salt stress in Ricinus and the conclusion is reachedthat changes in nutrient flows under P deficiency were morehighly co-ordinated than when plants experience salt stress.Flow profiles under P deficiency which favour root growth andactivity are viewed as a means for increasing the potentialcapability of the plant to acquire P from the nutrient medium. Key words: Ricinus communis L., P deficiency, carbon, nitrogen, water, partitioning, xylem transport, phloem transport     

Estimates of seasonal nitrogen fixation of annual subterranean clover-based pastures using the15N natural abundance technique

Annual pasture legumes play a key role in ley farming systems of southern Australia, providing biologically fixed nitrogen (N) to drive the production of the pastures as well as subsequent crops grown in rotation. Seasonal inputs of biologically fixed N in shoot biomass of the subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) component of grazed annual pastures were assessed using the¹⁵N natural abundance technique and appropriately timed sampling of herbage dry matter (DM) for N accumulation. At three study sites spanning a gradient across the Western Australian wheatbelt from 300 to 600 mm annual rainfall the performance of the clover and non-legume herbs and grasses was examined as paired comparisons involving two management treatments expected to give contrasting effects on pasture productivity, botanical composition and N₂ fixation. The proportion of clover N derived from atmospheric N₂ fixation (%Ndfa) ranged from 65 to 95% across sites, treatments and sampling times. Amounts of fixed N accumulated in clover shoot biomass ranged from 50 to 125 kg ha⁻¹, and paralleled trends in clover production. Substantial increases in pasture production in high yielding treatments generally occurred without decrease in %Ndfa, suggesting that N₂ fixation was essentially non-limiting to performance of the clover component. Seasonal profiles for accumulation of fixed N were skewed towards the late winter and spring period, particularly in low plant density pastures following a cereal crop. There were seasonal, site and treatment-specific effects on the proportion of clover and non-legume pasture components and consequently clover yield and N₂ fixation were variably affected by competition from non-legume species.     

Molecular evolution of mitochondrial 12S RNA and cytochrome b sequences in the pantherine lineage of Felidae

DNA sequence comparisons of two mitochondrial DNA genes were used to infer phylogenetic relationships among 17 Felidae species, notably 15 in the previously described pantherine lineage. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to generate sequences of 358 base pairs of the mitochondrial 12S RNA gene and 289 base pairs of the cytochrome b protein coding gene. DNA sequences were compared within and between 17 felid and five nonfelid carnivore species. Evolutionary trees were constructed using phenetic, cladistic, and maximum likelihood algorithms. The combined results suggested several phylogenetic relationships including (1) the recognition of a recently evolved monophyletic genus Panthera consisting of Panthera leo, P. pardus, P. onca, P. uncia, P. tigris, and Neofelis nebulosa; (2) the recent common ancestry of Acinonyx jubatus, the African cheetah, and Puma concolor, the American puma; and (3) two golden cat species, Profelis temmincki and Profelis aurata, are not sister species, and the latter is strongly associated with Caracal caracal. These data add to the growing database of vertebrate mtDNA sequences and, given the relatively recent divergence among the felids represented here (1-10 Myr), allow 12S and cytochrome b sequence evolution to be addressed over a time scale different from those addressed in most work on vertebrate mtDNA.