Evidence that humidity influences snake activity patterns: a field study of the Malayan pit viper Calloselasma rhodostoma

Multivariate statistical methods were used to elucidate which environmental factors influence the activity patterns of free-living Malayan pit vipers, Calloselasma rhodostoma. Fourteen adult snakes were implanted with miniature radiotransmitters and located a total of 887 times in 5 months. The pit vipers usually remained coiled on the ground for several consecutive days before moving at night to a new site. Partial correlation tests revealed that the frequency and distance of movements to new sites by tagged snakes were highly positively correlated with ambient relative humidity, but not with rainfall, ambient temperature or the lunar cycle. This finding was corroborated by the frequency with which active non-tagged C. rhodostoma were encountered at night, In each site, the proportion of the snakes' bodies exposed to view was positively correlated with ambient humidity, and the snakes retreated to areas with deeper undergrowth when ambient humidity was low. Overt thermoregulatory behaviour was not observed, and implanted thermosensitive transmitters revealed that the snakes were passive thermoconformers.
These findings seem lo contradict much of the current literature which shows temperature to be the dominant abiotic factor affecting reptilian activity, but most herpetologists have considered only temperate forms. Ambient temperature in our tropical study site was warm and relatively constant throughout the year (mean daily range = 24- 33°C), so the pit vipers could passively maintain body temperature within a fairly narrow range, with a daytime mean of 29.4°C. Ambient relative humidity, on the other hand, was very variable, and confining exposure and activity to periods of high ambient humidity may be necessary to avoid dehydration     

CACNA1H missense mutations associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis alter Cav3.2 T-type calcium channel activity and reticular thalamic neuron firing

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. In a recent study by Steinberg and colleagues, 2 recessive missense mutations were identified in the Ca_v3.2 T-type calcium channel gene (CACNA1H), in a family with an affected proband (early onset, long duration ALS) and 2 unaffected parents. We have introduced and functionally characterized these mutations using transiently expressed human Ca_v3.2 channels in tsA-201 cells. Both of these mutations produced mild but significant changes on T-type channel activity that are consistent with a loss of channel function. Computer modeling in thalamic reticular neurons suggested that these mutations result in decreased neuronal excitability of thalamic structures. Taken together, these findings implicate CACNA1H as a susceptibility gene in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.     

Biochemical isolation and purification of ovulation-inducing factor (OIF) in seminal plasma of llamas

Background  

The objective of the present study was to isolate and purify the protein fraction(s) of llama seminal plasma responsible for the ovulation-inducing effect of the ejaculate.     

Plant Freezing and Damage

Imaging methods are giving new insights into plant freezingand the consequent damage that affects survival and distributionof both wild and crop plants. Ice can enter plants through stomataand hydathodes. Intrinsic nucleation of freezing can also occur.The initial growth of ice through the plant can be as rapidas 40 mm s^-1, although barriers can limit this growth. Onlya small fraction of plant water is changed to ice in this firstfreezing event. Nevertheless, this first rapid growth of iceis of key importance because it can initiate further, potentiallylethal, freezing at any site that it reaches. Some organs andtissues avoid freezing by supercooling. However, supercooledparts of buds can dehydrate progressively, indicating that avoidanceof freezing-induced dehydration by deep supercooling is onlypartial. Extracellular ice forms in freezing-intolerant as wellas freezing-tolerant species and causes cellular dehydration.The single most important cause of freezing-damage is when thisdehydration exceeds what cells can tolerate. In freezing-adaptedspecies, lethal freezing-induced dehydration causes damage tocell membranes. In specific cases, other factors may also causedamage, examples being cell death when limits to deep supercoolingare exceeded, and death of shoots when freezing-induced embolismsin xylem vessels persist. Extracellular masses of ice can damagethe structure of organs but this may be tolerated, as in extra-organfreezing of buds. Experiments to genetically engineer expressionof fish antifreeze proteins have not improved freezing toleranceof sensitive species. A better strategy may be to confer toleranceof cellular dehydration.Copyright 2001 Annals of Botany Company Freezing, dehydration, infrared video thermography, low temperature scanning electron microscopy, NMR micro-imaging     

Rapid parasite adaptation drives selection for high recombination rates

The Red Queen hypothesis proposes that sex is maintained through selection pressure imposed by coevolving parasites: susceptible hosts are able to escape parasite pressure by recombining their genome to create resistant offspring. However, previous theoretical studies have shown that the Red Queen typically selects against sex unless selection is strong, arguing that high rates of recombination cannot evolve when parasites are of low virulence. Here we show that under the biologically plausible assumption of a severe fitness cost for parasites that fail to infect, the Red Queen can cause selection for high recombination rates, and that the strength of virulence is largely irrelevant to the direction of selection for increased recombination rates. Strong selection on parasites and short generation times make parasites usually better adapted to their hosts than vice versa and can thus favor higher recombination rates in hosts. By demonstrating the importance of host-imposed selection on parasites, our findings resolve previously reported conflicting results.