Morphological responses by Bosmina longirostris and Eubosmina tubicen to changes in copepod predator populations during a whole-lake acidification experiment

Changes in zooplankton populations during the experimental acidilicationof Little Rock Lake provided an opportunity to examine specificmechanisms underlying the morphological responses of bosminidsto changing predation pressure. Two large copepods, Epischuralacustris and Mesocyclops edax, disappeared from the lake'sacidified basin in 1986 and 1989, respectively, while a smallercopepod predator, Tropocyclops extensus, increased during laterstages of acidification. The two bosminid species showed distinctlydifferent responses coinciding with the changes in copepod predation.Bosmina longirostris exhibited a significant decrease in mucrolength with the decline of M.edax and E.lacustris. Its meanbody and antennule length, however, did not change. We suggestthat the decoupling of B.longirostris mucro length and antennulelength may have been related to the persistence of the smallercopepod predator, T.extensus. Eubosmina tubicen showed no apparentresponse to declines in M.edax and E.lacustris abundance ineither mean mucro, antennule or body length. Allometric analysesindicated, however, that mucro length was related to size-dependentcopepod predation for both B.longirostris and E.tubicen.     

Role of lipoxygenase products in the effects of angiotensin II in the isolated aorta and perfused heart of the rat

The objective of this study was to determine whether arachidonate metabolites are involved in the vasoconstrictive effects of angiotensin II in rats. In the isolated perfused heart, dexamethasone (4 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the maximal decreases in coronary flow induced by angiotensin II and vasopressin (reference drug). In the heart, the nonselective lipoxygenase inhibitor nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA, 1 muM) markedly suppressed the angiotensin II-induced decreases in coronary flow. NDGA (10 muM) inhibited both angiotensin II- and methoxamine- (reference drug) induced contractions in aortic rings with (in the presence of L-NAME) and without endothelium. In the heart, the leukotriene synthesis inhibitor MK-886 (0.3 muM) significantly reduced the maximal effects to angiotensin II, but the leukotriene antagonist FPL 55712 (0.1 and 0.3 muM) had no effect. We conclude that in the isolated perfused rat heart angiotensin II-induced decreases in coronary flow are in part mediated by Hpoxygenase products, which might be derived from the 5-Hpoxygenase pathway, but are probably not leukotrienes. Furthermore, endothelium independent Hpoxygenase products mediate part of the contractile responses to angiotensin II in the isolated rat aorta.     

Phosphorylation from adenosine triphosphate of sodium- and potassium-activated adenosine triphosphatase. Comparison of enzyme-ligand complexes as precursors to the phosphoenzyme.

The relative effectiveness of the ligands Mg2+, Na+, and ATP in preparing sodium plus potassium ion transport adenosine triphosphatase for phosphorylation was studied by means of a rapid mixing apparatus. Addition of 2 mM MgC12, 120 mM NaC1, and 5 muM [gamma-32P]ATP simultaneously to the free enzyme gave an initial phosphorylation rate of about 0.3 mu mol-mg-1-min-1 at 25 degrees and pH7.4. Addition of Mg2+ to the enzyme beforehand, separately or in combination with Na+ or ATP, had little effect on the initial rate. Addition of Na+ only to the enzyme beforehand increased this rate 1.5- to 3-fold. Early addition of ATP 130 ms before Na+ plus Mg2+ increased the rate 6- to 7-fold. Early addition of Na+ plus ATP was most effective; it increased the rate about 10-fold. The data indicate that Na+ and ATP bind in a random order and that each ligand potentiates the effect of the other. The rate of dissociation of ATP from the enzyme was estimated by a chase of unlabeled ATP of variable duration. This rate was slowest in the presence of Mg2+ (k = 540 min-1), most rapid in the presence of Na+ (k = 2000 min-1), and intermediate (k = 1100 min-1) in the absence of metal ions. The effect of Na+ concentration on the rate of phosphorylation was estimated when Na+ with Mg2+ was added to the enzyme-ATP complex. The rate followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a maximum of 2.9 mu mol-mg-1 and a Km of 8 mM. The effect of Na+ concentration was also estimated on the increment in the rate of phosphorylation produced by the presence of Na+ with the enzyme-ATP complex beforehand. The increment followed the same kinetics with a maximum of 3.75 mu mol-mg-1-min-1 and a Km of 5.4 mM. In both cases estimation of the Hill coefficient failed to show cooperativity between binding sites for Na+. In contrast, the dependence of ouabain-sensitive ATPase activity on Na+ concentration in the absence of K+ indicated two sites for Na+ with apparent Km values of 0.16 and 8.1 mM, respectively.     

Time budgets ofMacaca mulatta

We measured the amount of time that 20 rhesus monkeys,Macaca mulatta, (four adult males, 10 adult females, four juvenile males, and two juvenile females) contained in two enclosed social groups devoted to 16 activities. For 14 of these 16 behaviors we found significant differences between age-sex classes. For 14 behaviors, there were also differences between individual monkeys. Twelve of the 16 activities showed significant diurnal variations. We discuss the relation between the use of time and social position, the adaptive significance of diurnal variation, and compare our data with that available for free ranging rhesus.     

Temporal and spatial differences in glycosaminoglycan synthesis by fetal lung fibroblasts

In studies of the ontogeny of fibroblast-epithelial interactions during late fetal lung rat lung development, we have identified two subpopulations of fibroblasts which differed in their ability to promote epithelial cell proliferation or differentiation. As glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) have been implicated in the regulation of these processes we have tested whether the two fibroblast populations synthesize different GAGs and whether the GAG pattern changes with development. Fibroblasts incorporate more [3H]glucosamine and Na2 35SO4 into GAGs than epithelial cells. Both cell types deposited a significant amount of newly synthesized GAGs in the cell-matrix layer. GAGs were lost faster from the cell-matrix layer of fibroblasts (t1/2 = 12 h) than from that of epithelial cells (t1/2 = 48 h). Total GAG synthesis by fibroblasts did not change with advancing gestation, but synthesis of sulfated GAGs by epithelial cells declined with advancing gestation. Independent of gestational age epithelial cells synthesized predominantly heparan sulfate. Depending on their proximity to the epithelium, fibroblasts differed in their production of GAGs. Fibroblasts in close proximity to the epithelium mainly produced and secreted hyaluronan. More distant fibroblasts, from the pseudoglandular stage of lung development synthesized primarily heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate. This same population of fibroblasts from the canalicular stage of lung development, produced more hyaluronan. As the shift to hyaluronan occurs with the thinning of the alveolar septal wall, this finding suggests that developmentally regulated GAG production by fibroblasts may facilitate epithelial-fibroblast interaction, thus influencing fetal lung growth and differentiation.     

Implications of a non-lamellar lipid phase for the tight junction stability. Part II: Reversible modulation of transepithelial resistance in high and low resistance MDCK-cells by basic amino acids, Ca2+, protamine and protons.

The transepithelial resistance of confluent epithelial cell monolayers was monitored to investigate the influence of basic amino acids, Ca2+, protamine and protons on tight junction electrical resistance. In an accompanying paper we investigated the effect of these substances on the lamellar/hexagonal II phase transition in reconstituted phospholipid membranes containing phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine. We conclude that the permeability of tight junctions may be described by a lipid phase equilibrium where the lamellar phase corresponds to an open state and the hexagonal lipid phase to the closed state of the cell contact. This dynamic lipid model is well suited to describe the morphological as well as functional properties of the tight junctions.     

Several regions of a tRNA precursor determine the Escherichia coli RNase P cleavage site.

The RNase P cleavage reaction was studied as a function of the number of base-pairs in the acceptor-stem and/or T-stem of a natural tRNA precursor, the tRNA(Tyr)Su3 precursor. Our data suggest that the location of the Escherichia coli RNase P cleavage site does not depend merely on the lengths of the acceptor-stem and T-stem as previously suggested. Surprisingly, we find that precursors with only four base-pairs in the acceptor-stem are cleaved by M1 RNA and by holoenzyme. Furthermore, we show that both disruption of base-pairing, and alteration of the nucleotide sequence (without disruption of base-pairing) proximal to the cleavage site result in aberrant cleavage. Thus, the identity of the nucleotides near the cleavage site is important for recognition of the cleavage site rather than base-pairing. The important nucleotides are those at positions -2, -1, +1, +72, +73 and +74. We propose that the nucleotide at position +1 functions as a guiding nucleotide. These results raise the possibility that Mg2+ binding near the cleavage site is dependent on the identity of the nucleotides at these positions. In addition, we show that disruption of base-pairing in the acceptor-stem affects both Michaelis-Menten constants, Km and kcat.     

The oxyvanadium constellation in transition-state-analogue complexes of phosphoglucomutase and ribonuclease. Structural deductions from electron-transfer spectra

The absorbance peak in the near ultraviolet electron-transfer spectrum of the oxyvanadium constellation in the "transition-state-analogue complexes" obtained by treating the dephospho form of phosphoglucomutase with inorganic vanadate in the presence of either glucose 1-phosphate or glucose 6-phosphate, as described in an accompanying paper [Ray, W. J., Jr., Burgner, J. W., II, & Post, C. B. (1990) Biochemistry (second of four papers in this issue)], is centered at a wavelength of 312 nm. The position of this peak amounts to a change in oscillator frequency of about -5000 cm-1 relative to that of tetrahedral VO4(3-). To provide a rationale for this spectral change, the near ultraviolet spectra of the di- and monoanions of inorganic vanadate and a number of derivatives of these anions are compared with that of vanadium (V) in the enzymic complexes, in terms of both what is observed experimentally and what is expected from crystal field theory. Comparisons in water and in largely anhydrous solvents show that water is not an essential element in the coordination sphere of inorganic vanadate or its mono- or diesters and hence that the coordination number of V(V) in such compounds likely is four. These comparisons also show that loss of solvating water from a 4-coordinate vanadate on binding cannot provide a rationale for the spectra of the enzymic complexes. Other comparisons show that neither the binding of metal ions nor protonation nor the binding of vanadate at a site with an unusually high or an unusually low dielectric constant can provide such a rationale. Further comparisons with vanadates known to be pentacoordinate strongly suggest that the coordination number of V(V) in the transition-state-analogue complexes of phosphoglucomutase does not exceed four. In fact, from the standpoint of crystal field theory the marked red shift observed in the electron-transfer absorbance spectrum of the oxyvanadium constellation in these complexes is more reasonably interpreted in terms of a decreased coordination at vanadium (V), viz., in terms of a weakened bonding between vanadium and one or more of its coordinating oxygens. This decreased coordination could be produced by a physical stretching of the vanadate ester linkage. By contrast, the near ultraviolet spectrum of the transition-state-analogue complex that ribonuclease forms with an adduct of uridine and vanadate [Lindquist, R. N., Lynn, J. L., & Lienhard, G. E. (1973) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 95, 8762] is similar to spectra of pentacoordinate model compounds of vanadium(V).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Morphological and ultrastructural variations inAzotobacter vinelandii growing in oxygen-controlled continous culture

Membrane development as a response to growth at different oxygen tensions (from about 1% to 100% saturation of the medium with air) was determined inAzotobacter vinelandii strain OP. The organisms were grown in a carbonlimited chemostat either on atmospheric nitrogen or on ammonium as nitrogen sources. Both types of cultures increased not only the number of intracytoplasmic membrane vesicles per cell but also the cell volume with aeration. As the ratio of length per width stayed largely constant increases of volume resulted in decreases of the cell surface area, representing the surface area of the peripheral cytoplasmic membrane, per cell volume. While in nitrogen-fixing cells the proportion of intracytoplasmic membrane surface area per cytoplasmic membrane surface area increased from 1:2 to 3:1 the ratio stayed almost constant in ammonium-assimilating cells. The data suggest that oxygen controls changes in the ratio of intracytoplasmic to cytoplasmic membrane surface areas only under conditions of nitrogen fixation.Abbreviations CM Cytoplasmic membrane - ICM intracytoplasmic membrane