Testing achene germinationof Potamogeton praelongus Wulfen

The goal of this work was to determine the best method of breaking the achene dormancy in Potamogeton praelongus Wulfen. The ways of breaking achene dormancy studied in this experiment included methods of achene storage, stratification, UVA radiation, anaerobic conditions, mechanical disruption of achenes?outer layers and their chemical disruption by NaClO. Nine different treatments of achenes were combined with two methods of achene storage. Particular achene treatments and storage conditions were proven to have a significant impact on breaking dormancy. Although the highest germination rate (83.3%) was achieved when the dormancy was broken chemically by long effect of 100% concentrations of Savo detergent (containing 5% NaClO), the growth of the sprouts was subsequently inhibited due to toxic effects of Savo. Thus the most successful treatment was based on changing temperature, e.g. 2.5 months of cold storage followed by 14 days at room temperature (germination rate 32.7%). This treatment was also most similar to the natural process. Germinated achenes were also found in Petri dishes exposed to UVA radiation, anaerobic conditions and chemical disruption of the outer layers. Results of these treatments were influenced by the storage method.     

Sensibilité des larves de l'hémiptère hémathophage,Rhodnius prolixus [Triatominae] aux hyphomycètes entomopathogènes

Résumé L'étude de la sensibilité deRhodnius prolixus St?l aux hyphomycètes a été conduite avec 5 isolats deBeauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill., un isolat deBeauveria brongniartii (Sacc.) Petch., 3 isolats deMetarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sor., 4 isolats deNomuraea rileyi (Farlow) Samson et un isolat dePaecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown et Smith. Les larves du 1^er stade ont été traitées par pulvérisation avec des suspensions titrées de conidiospores. A la dose de 3.10⁵ conidiospores/cm², l'activité pathogène des germes varie suivant l'isolat considéré: 6 souches causent une mortalité supérieure à 50% et seulement 3 d'entre elles,B. bassiana n^o 297,B. bassiana n^o 326 etP. fumosoroseus n^o 56 provoquent 100% de mortalité. Les doses léthales 50% des isolates les plus agressifs sont respectivement de 2,57.10⁴; 2,89.10⁴ et 1,31.10⁵ spores/cm² (mortalité cumulée 10 j après le traitement dans les 2 premiers cas et 15 j après dans le 3^e cas); leurs temps léthaux 50% atteignent 5,51; 5,24 et 13,34 j (à la dose de 3.10⁵ spores/cm²). Le comportement infectieux de ces germes diffère puisque, quelle que soit la dose appliquée, la mortalité due à l'isolatB. bassiana n^o 297 est très élevée après 15 j, alors que la mortalité causée par les 2 autres souches reste dépendante de la dose audelà de 3 semaines. Par ailleurs, on constate que les 3 souches retenues ont été isolées à partir de cadavres d'espèces-h?tes appartenant à l'ordre des Hétéroptères, comme l'espècecible. En conclusion, ces essais de laboratoire permettent de sélectionner l'isolatB. bassiana n^o 297 comme candidat potentiel pour la lutte biologique contre le vecteur de la maladie de Chagas,R. prolixus.      

Childcare, height and BMI among female Polish university students, 2005

The aim of this study is to consider whether socio-economic factors are related to the type of childcare and whether the type of childcare, in turn, affects adult stature and BMI. The sample includes 783 female students aged 20-24 (birth cohort of 1981-1985) from the south of Poland. Those whose parents have university education, live in a city and have no siblings attend day-care facilities more frequently than others of the same age, while those who grew up at home under their mothers' care, most frequently live in villages, come from large families and their parents have vocational education. Variables which are associated with being taller include material conditions and the type of childcare received. Women who had attended day-care centres are 2.4cm shorter than girls brought up at home by their mothers. Adult BMI values are influenced by educational level of the mother. The results suggest that mothers who work often do so at the cost of time devoted to the family which influences health and the rate of their children's development.     

Localization and preferred orientations of ubiquinone homologs in model bilayers.

The localization of ubiquinone has been investigated in phospholipid bilayer vesicles in studies of fluorescence quenching of membrane-bound probes by ubiquinone homologs (Qn, where n is the number of the isoprenoid units of the chain). Fluorescence-quenching data obtained by using a set of anthroylstearate probes, having the fluorophore located at different depths, revealed that ubiquinone-3 is located throughout the whole bilayer thickness. From the bimolecular quenching constants in the membrane, lateral diffusion coefficients in two dimensions were calculated to span values of 10(-7)-10(-6) cm2.s-1. This suggests that ubiquinones laterally diffuse in a very fluid environment. On this basis, it is proposed that their translational diffusion in the bilayer takes place in two dimensions, with the quinone ring oscillating between the two bilayer surfaces within a hydrophobic environment not extending beyond the glycerol region. This model implies that the quinonic head is both settled near the polar surface of the bilayer and buried into the host hydrocarbon interior. This two-site distribution was confirmed for all Qn, except Q0, by their linear dichroism spectra in the bilayers provided by disc-like lyotropic nematic liquid crystals. These spectra also provided detailed information on the preferential orientations of the quinonic head of the different derivatives within the two sites. The mechanism by which the localization and orientation of Qn guest molecules inside the host bilayer is modulated by the isoprenoid chain length is discussed on a thermodynamical basis. Being that Qn is expected to be also widely contained in the highly curved cristae of the mitochondrial inner membrane, by using rod-like lyotropic nematic liquid crystals we searched out effects of the curvature of the host bilayer on those Qn distributions. The linear dichroism measurements reveal that Qn guest molecules are no longer obliged to find a partition between two different types of localizations when the host bilayer is highly curved. In this case all Qn, even the longest Q10, were found to stay parallel to the amphiphilic chains with a single site localization of the head near the polar interface. By the same linear dichroism technique, the local ordering of all Qn derivatives was also evaluated. The order parameters were found to be basically the same for all derivatives. This result is justified on the basis of the relaxation, caused by the surface curvature, of the lateral compression of the host chains.     

A temperature-dependent structural change of mitochondrial ATPase

The temperature dependence of the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence in either bovine heart submitochondrial particles or oligomycin-sensitive ATPase isolated therefrom shows a discontinuity at near 25°C, which coincides with the temperature where a break in the Arrhenius plot of ATPase activity is found. Addition of n-butanol to submitochondrial particles induces a decrease of tryptophan fluorescence in the whole temperature range. The discontinuity is interpreted as a temperature-dependent structural change and related to a viscosity-induced phase separation of the intrinsic mitochondrial proteins.     

Omics-based molecular analyses of adhesion by aquatic invertebrates

Many aquatic invertebrates are associated with surfaces, using adhesives to attach to the substratum for locomotion, prey capture, reproduction, building or defence. Their intriguing and sophisticated biological glues have been the focus of study for decades. In all but a couple of specific taxa, however, the precise mechanisms by which the bioadhesives stick to surfaces underwater and (in many cases) harden have proved to be elusive. Since the bulk components are known to be based on proteins in most organisms, the opportunities provided by advancing ‘omics technologies have revolutionised bioadhesion research. Time-consuming isolation and analysis of single molecules has been either replaced or augmented by the generation of massive data sets that describe the organism's translated genes and proteins. While these new approaches have provided resources and opportunities that have enabled physiological insights and taxonomic comparisons that were not previously possible, they do not provide the complete picture and continued multi-disciplinarity is essential. This review covers the various ways in which ‘omics have contributed to our understanding of adhesion by aquatic invertebrates, with new data to illustrate key points. The associated challenges are highlighted and priorities are suggested for future research.     

The Histidine Kinases CYTOKININ-INDEPENDENT1 and ARABIDOPSIS HISTIDINE KINASE2 and 3 Regulate Vascular Tissue Development in Arabidopsis Shoots

The development and activity of the procambium and cambium, which ensure vascular tissue formation, is critical for overall plant architecture and growth. However, little is known about the molecular factors affecting the activity of vascular meristems and vascular tissue formation. Here, we show that the His kinase CYTOKININ-INDEPENDENT1 (CKI1) and the cytokinin receptors ARABIOPSIS HISTIDINE KINASE2 (AHK2) and AHK3 are important regulators of vascular tissue development in Arabidopsis thaliana shoots. Genetic modifications of CKI1 activity in Arabidopsis cause dysfunction of the two-component signaling pathway and defects in procambial cell maintenance. CKI1 overexpression in protoplasts leads to cytokinin-independent activation of the two-component phosphorelay, and intracellular domains are responsible for the cytokinin-independent activity of CKI1. CKI1 expression is observed in vascular tissues of inflorescence stems, and CKI1 forms homodimers both in vitro and in planta. Loss-of-function ahk2 and ahk3 mutants and plants with reduced levels of endogenous cytokinins show defects in procambium proliferation and an absence of secondary growth. CKI1 overexpression partially rescues ahk2 ahk3 phenotypes in vascular tissue, while the negative mutation CKI1^H405Q further accentuates mutant phenotypes. These results indicate that the cytokinin-independent activity of CKI1 and cytokinin-induced AHK2 and AHK3 are important for vascular bundle formation in Arabidopsis.     

Final thermal conditions override the effects of temperature history and dispersal in experimental communities

Predicting the effect of climate change on biodiversity is a multifactorial problem that is complicated by potentially interactive effects with habitat properties and altered species interactions. In a microcosm experiment with communities of microalgae, we analysed whether the effect of rising temperature on diversity depended on the initial or the final temperature of the habitat, on the rate of change, on dispersal and on landscape heterogeneity. We also tested whether the response of species to temperature measured in monoculture allowed prediction of the composition of communities under rising temperature. We found that the final temperature of the habitat was the primary driver of diversity in our experimental communities. Species richness declined faster at higher temperatures. The negative effect of warming was not alleviated by a slower rate of warming or by dispersal among habitats and did not depend on the initial temperature. The response of evenness, however, did depend on the rate of change and on the initial temperature. Community composition was not predictable from monoculture assays, but higher fitness inequality (as seen by larger variance in growth rate among species in monoculture at higher temperatures) explained the faster loss of biodiversity with rising temperature.     

Functional diversity can facilitate the collapse of an undesirable ecosystem state

Biodiversity may increase ecosystem resilience. However, we have limited understanding if this holds true for ecosystems that respond to gradual environmental change with abrupt shifts to an alternative state. We used a mathematical model of anoxic–oxic regime shifts and explored how trait diversity in three groups of bacteria influences resilience. We found that trait diversity did not always increase resilience: greater diversity in two of the groups increased but in one group decreased resilience of their preferred ecosystem state. We also found that simultaneous trait diversity in multiple groups often led to reduced or erased diversity effects. Overall, our results suggest that higher diversity can increase resilience but can also promote collapse when diversity occurs in a functional group that negatively influences the state it occurs in. We propose this mechanism as a potential management approach to facilitate the recovery of a desired ecosystem state.