Interaction of maize Opaque-2 and the transcriptional co-activators GCN5 and ADA2, in the modulation of transcriptional activity

The FtsH proteases, also called AAA proteases, are membrane-bound ATP-dependent metalloproteases. The Arabidopsis genome contains a total of 12 FtsH-like genes. Two of them, AtFtsH4 and AtFtsH11, encode proteins with a high similarity to Yme1p, a subunit of the i-AAA complex in yeast mitochondria. Phylogenetic analysis groups the AtFtsH4, AtFtsH11 and Yme1 proteins together, with AtFtsH4 being the most similar to Yme1. Using immunological method we demonstrate here that AtFtsH4 is an exclusively mitochondrial protein while AtFtsH11 is found in both chloroplasts and mitochondria. AtFtsH4 and AtFtsH11 proteases are integral parts of the inner mitochondrial membrane and expose their catalytic sites towards the intermembrane space, same as yeast i-AAA. Database searches revealed that orthologs of AtFtsH4 and AtFtsH11 are present in both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. The two plant i-AAA proteases differ significantly in their termini: the FtsH4 proteins have a characteristic alanine stretch at the C-terminal end while FtsH11s have long N-terminal extensions. Blue-native gel electrophoresis revealed that AtFtsH4 and AtFtsH11 form at least two complexes with apparent molecular masses of about 1500 kDa. This finding implies that plants, in contrast to fungi and metazoa, have more than one complex with a topology similar to that of yeast i-AAA.     

On the determination of empirical absolute chiral structure: chiroptical spectrum correlations for D3 lanthanide (III) complexes

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) from selected transitions of Eu(III) in resolved single crystals of Na3[Eu(ODA)3].2NaClO4.6H2O are compared to CPL results obtained from solutions containing perturbed racemic mixtures of Eu(2,6-pyridine-dicarboxylate)3 (3-) and enantiomerically pure d-f helicate LambdaLambda-(-)EuCr(L8)3] in order to determine an empirical relationship between helicity and CPL spectra. Comparison of the CPL results, even for the magnetic dipole allowed transitions of Eu(III) where one measures large chiral discrimination, shows that the signs and magnitudes do not correlate with the overall helicity of the Eu(III) site. It is concluded that the symmetry of the Eu(III) site in LambdaLambda-(-)EuCr(L8)3 is not close enough to D3 to allow for the confirmation of the presumed spectra:structure correlation.     

Rapid transient absorption and biliary secretion of enantiomeric cholesterol in hamsters

To probe the pathway and specificity of cholesterol absorption, the synthetic enantiomer of cholesterol (ent-cholesterol) and cholesterol were labeled with deuterium, gavaged into hamsters, and measured by negative ion mass spectrometry. Initial uptake of both tracers into the intestinal mucosa at 30 min was similar but cholesterol was temporarily retained there, whereas mucosal ent-cholesterol declined rapidly with concomitantly increased enrichment in both the systemic circulation and the gut lumen. In a 3 day fecal recovery study, ent-cholesterol was quantitatively recovered in the stool, whereas cholesterol absorption was 53.2%. ent-Cholesterol given by intracardiac injection was selectively secreted into bile, and the ratio of ent-cholesterol to cholesterol tracers in the gut lumen increased down the length of the small bowel, with the largest value being found in stool. ent-Cholesterol is efficiently taken up by the intestinal mucosa and undergoes transient enterohepatic recirculation, but it is quantitatively eliminated over 3 days as a result of selective secretion into bile and selective enrichment within the lumen of the intestine. These findings suggest that cholesterol absorption is structurally specific and likely to be mediated by enantiospecific cellular proteins.     

Conquered from the Deep Sea? A New Deep-Sea Isopod Species from the Antarctic Shelf Shows Pattern of Recent Colonization

The Amundsen Sea, Antarctica, is amongst the most rapidly changing environments of the world. Its benthic inhabitants are barely known and the BIOPEARL 2 project was one of the first to biologically explore this region. Collected during this expedition, Macrostylis roaldi sp. nov. is described as the first isopod discovered on the Amundsen-Sea shelf. Amongst many characteristic features, the most obvious characters unique for M. roaldi are the rather short pleotelson and short operculum as well as the trapezoid shape of the pleotelson in adult males. We used DNA barcodes (COI) and additional mitochondrial markers (12S, 16S) to reciprocally illuminate morphological results and nucleotide variability. In contrast to many other deep-sea isopods, this species is common and shows a wide distribution. Its range spreads from Pine Island Bay at inner shelf right to the shelf break and across 1,000 m bathymetrically. Its gene pool is homogenized across space and depth. This is indicative for a genetic bottleneck or a recent colonization history. Our results suggest further that migratory or dispersal capabilities of some species of brooding macrobenthos have been underestimated. This might be relevant for the species’ potential to cope with effects of climate change. To determine where this species could have survived the last glacial period, alternative refuge possibilities are discussed.     

First report on egg deposition and egg morphology of the endangered endemic Romanian perch

The surface of the whitish translucent egg of Romanichthys valsanicola is sculptured in an irregular honeycomb–like pattern. The micropyle consists only of a type I micropylar channel.     

The perceptual and chemical bases of egg discrimination in communally nesting greater anis Crotophaga major

The eggshells of communally breeding greater anis Crotophaga major consist of a blue‐green pigmented calcite matrix overlaid by a chalky white layer of vaterite, both of which are polymorphs of calcium carbonate. The white vaterite layer is intact in freshly laid eggs and may function in protecting the eggs from mechanical damage, but it also abrades during incubation to reveal the blue calcite shell underneath. Previous research has shown that this color change serves a visual signaling function: nesting greater anis can discriminate between eggs that are freshly laid and those that have already been incubated, which allows them to reject asynchronous eggs laid by extra‐group parasites. Here we use avian visual modeling and pigment extraction to assess the perceptual and chemical bases of such egg recognition. We found that there was no overlap between the avian perceptual space occupied by ani eggshells with and without vaterite, and that vaterite lacked both of the pigments found in the eggshell's calcite matrix, bililverdin and protoporphyrin. The visual contrast between the unpigmented vaterite and the blue‐pigmented calcite appears to pre‐date the evolution of the signaling function, since the related guira cuckoo Guira guira, also a communal breeder, lays similarly structured and pigmented eggs but does not use the visual contrast as a signal to detect parasitism.     

Infanticide and within‐clutch competition select for reproductive synchrony in a cooperative bird

Reproduction among members of social animal groups is often highly synchronized, but neither the selective advantages nor the proximate causes of synchrony are fully understood. Here I investigate the evolution of hatching synchrony in the Greater Ani (Crotophaga major), a communally nesting bird in which several unrelated females contribute eggs to a large, shared clutch. Hatching synchrony is variable, ranging from complete synchrony to moderate asynchrony, and is determined by the onset of incubation of the communal clutch. Data from a 10‐year field study indicate that individual reproductive success is highest in synchronous groups, and that nestlings that hatch in the middle of the hatching sequence are most likely to survive. Nestling mortality is high in asynchronous clutches because early‐hatching nestlings are more likely to be killed by adult group members, whereas late‐hatching nestlings are more likely to starve due competition with their older nest‐mates. Therefore, the timing of hatching appears to be under stabilizing selection from infanticide and resource competition acting in concert. These results provide empirical support for models predicting that synchrony may evolve as an adaptive counter‐strategy to infanticide, and they highlight the importance of competition in shaping the timing of reproduction in social groups.     

Urstylidae – a new family of abyssal isopods (Crustacea: Asellota) and its phylogenetic implications

We report three new species of isopod crustaceans that belong to a rare higher taxon of asellote Isopoda. This taxon does not fit into current classifications. The isopods occurred in abyssal soft sediments, near manganese nodules, and in the vicinity of hydrothermal vents. Given their wide spatial occurrence across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, a cosmopolitan distribution is assumed. A cladistic analysis revealed a close relationship with the Macrostylidae, a common representative of the deep‐sea macrofauna. Analyses of character evolution across the Janiroidea showed sufficient synapomorphies to justify the erection of U rstylis gen. nov. and the new family Urstylidae based on the three new species. All taxa are described in this paper. Urstylidae is characterized, amongst other apomorphies, by an elongate habitus with spade‐like head; uropods are long, styliform; one pleonite is free; antennal merus and carpus are relatively short; the first pereopod is carpo‐propodosubchelate, and more robust and shorter than pereopod II. Several characters, such as the pereopods’ posterior scale‐like claw that basally encloses the distal sensilla may be interpreted as ancestral when compared to the situation in the highly derived Macrostylidae. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London