Expression of glutamine synthetase in mutant strains of the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis which liberate ammonia

Abstract The nucleoside analogue ganciclovir has clinical efficacy in the treatment of serious infections with human cytomegalovirus (CMV) in AIDS patients. The mechanism of action of the drug against CMV is different from that described for herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) as the crucial formation of the monophosphate derivative appears to be carried out by cellular rather than virus-coded enzymes. Adenovirus infections also induce the expression of cellular genes including kinase activity and a novel DNA polymerase and the results reported here show that these viruses are sensitive to ganciclovir. The 50% effective dose (ED₅₀) range for known serotypes and one clinical isolate was 4.5−33 μM. By comparison with the sensitivity of CMV in vitro and the known clinical response of infections with this virus to ganciclovir, our results suggest that this drug or its analogous may form the basis of chemotherapy for adenovirus infections.     

Why animals lie: how dishonesty and belief can coexist in a signaling system

We develop and apply a simple model for animal communication in which signalers can use a nontrivial frequency of deception without causing listeners to completely lose belief. This common feature of animal communication has been difficult to explain as a stable adaptive outcome of the options and payoffs intrinsic to signaling interactions. Our theory is based on two realistic assumptions. (1) Signals are "overheard" by several listeners or listener types with different payoffs. The signaler may then benefit from using incomplete honesty to elicit different responses from different listener types, such as attracting potential mates while simultaneously deterring competitors. (2) Signaler and listener strategies change dynamically in response to current payoffs for different behaviors. The dynamic equations can be interpreted as describing learning and behavior change by individuals or evolution across generations. We explain how our dynamic model differs from other solution concepts from classical and evolutionary game theory and how it relates to general models for frequency-dependent phenotype dynamics. We illustrate the theory with several applications where deceptive signaling occurs readily in our framework, including bluffing competitors for potential mates or territories. We suggest future theoretical directions to make the models more general and propose some possible experimental tests.     

Automated Assay of Telomere Length Measurement and Informatics for 100,000 Subjects in the Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging (GERA) Cohort

The Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health (RPGEH) Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging (GERA) cohort includes DNA specimens extracted from saliva samples of 110,266 individuals. Because of its relationship to aging, telomere length measurement was considered an important biomarker to develop on these subjects. To assay relative telomere length (TL) on this large cohort over a short time period, we created a novel high throughput robotic system for TL analysis and informatics. Samples were run in triplicate, along with control samples, in a randomized design. As part of quality control, we determined the within-sample variability and employed thresholds for the elimination of outlying measurements. Of 106,902 samples assayed, 105,539 (98.7%) passed all quality control (QC) measures. As expected, TL in general showed a decline with age and a sex difference. While telomeres showed a negative correlation with age up to 75 years, in those older than 75 years, age positively correlated with longer telomeres, indicative of an association of longer telomeres with more years of survival in those older than 75. Furthermore, while females in general had longer telomeres than males, this difference was significant only for those older than age 50. An additional novel finding was that the variance of TL between individuals increased with age. This study establishes reliable assay and analysis methodologies for measurement of TL in large, population-based human studies. The GERA cohort represents the largest currently available such resource, linked to comprehensive electronic health and genotype data for analysis.     

The Flora of the Perivaginal Area: The Normal Flora and the Effect of a Deodorant Spray

S ummary . The microbial flora of the thigh adjacent to the vaginal labia and of the mucosal surface of the labia has been examined quantitatively and qualitatively in students from Colleges of Education and a University, and in persons attending a Consultant Gynaecologist for non-suppurative conditions. In the 2 student populations, members of the Micrococcaceae and diphtheroids were the most common organisms but all populations yielded many organisms of gut origin. Differences between the populations may relate to social and hygienic conditions and should make us wary of direct comparisons with other, different populations. The effect of intimate hygiene deodorants containing 0.01% or 0.02% of chlorhexidine was compared with a base spray containing no antibacterial agent. No significant effect of these sprays on the microbial flora could be demonstrated.     

Moths in fragments: insights into the biology and ecology of the Australian endangered golden sun moth Synemon plana (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in natural temperate and exotic grassland remnants

The conservation and management of endangered species requires an adequate understanding of their biology and ecology. Although there has been an increasing appreciation in Australia of the need for greater efforts to conserve insects, there is only limited information available that can be used to underpin conservation efforts. The endangered golden sun moth, Synemon plana (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) is a flagship species endemic to natural temperate grassland in south-eastern Australia. Most populations of this species are at considerable risk from habitat loss, weed invasion and inadequate management. Despite the considerable knowledge that exists about the species biology and ecology, efforts to improve the species conservation status are hampered because there are still critical gaps in our understanding of the species’ natural history. In particular, the ecology of the larvae is not known. Our study examined the abundance, population structure and reproductive biology of the moths in a broad sample of both natural temperate and exotic grassland remnants in and near Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in south-eastern Australia. The results fill critical gaps in the knowledge needed to achieve effective conservation management. From our findings, it is clear that the species inhabits grasslands dominated by a mixture of native wallaby grasses (Rytidosperma spp. (formerly Austrodanthonia)) and spear grasses (Austrostipa spp.). In contrast to earlier suggestions that S. plana is entirely confined to natural temperate grassland, mature and immature life stages of the species were also present in grasslands comprised entirely of the exotic Chilean needlegrass (Nassella neesiana). Most of the S. plana populations surveyed in the ACT were characterised by low relative abundance with only very few large populations being recorded. The conservation of exotic grasslands as substitute habitat for S. plana is discussed and suggestions regarding future monitoring and research of the species are provided.     

Choice,performance and heritability of performance of specialist and generalist insect herbivores towards cacalol and seneciphylline,two allelochemicals of Adenostyles alpina (Asteraceae)

We compared the effects of a sesquiterpene (ST, cacalol) and a pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PA, seneciphylline), both occurring in Adenostyles alliariae, on food choice and performance of specialist and generalist insect herbivores which are all known to feed or live on A. alliariae. In choice experiments we investigated whether the compounds were preferred, deterrent or had no effect. All specialist species Aglaostigma discolor (Hymenoptera, Tenthredinidae), Oreina cacaliae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) and O. speciosissima avoided feeding when confronted with the combination of compounds. Only larvae of A. discolor avoided the single ST treatment as well. Larvae of the generalist species Callimorpha dominula (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae), Cylindrotoma distinctissima (Diptera, Tipulidae) and Miramella alpina (Caelifera, Acrididae) generally avoided feeding from PA, ST and PAST treatments. The only exception were caterpillars of C. dominula which were indiscriminate towards PA when naive, and preferred to feed on the PA treatment when they had experienced the compound before. Performance, measured as the growth of larvae on the different treatments in a no choice situation over a period of 10–17 days, was not different between treatments in the specialist leaf beetles O. cacaliae and O. speciosissima. Their avoidance of the combination treatment in the choice experiments had no obvious effect on growth when forced to feed from the treatment. In the generalist C. dominula only the high concentration combination treatment (PAST) reduced growth of the larvae due to decreased consumption. In C. distinctissima we found reduced growth in all treatments except one (PA3%). Poor growth performance in C. distinctissima was due to postingestive physiological effects of all treatments and additionally to consumption reduction in high‐dose ST treatments. Genetic variability (broad sense heritability) of growth performance metabolism varied in accordance with the specialization degree of the species. O. cacaliae, the most specialized species, had no significant heritability; O. speciosissima, the less specialized specialist, had a heritability of 0.46; C. dominula, the PA adapted generalist species, had a heritability of 0.64; C. distinctissima, the generalist with no apparent adaptations, had a heritability of 0.84.     

Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Pneumoroidea (Orthoptera, Caelifera): molecular data resolve morphological character conflicts in the basal acridomorpha

A key transition in the evolution of the insect suborder Caelifera (Orthoptera; Insecta) was from predominantly non-angiosperm-feeding basal lineages to the modern acridomorph fauna (grasshoppers and related insects). However, because of conflicts in the distribution of several complex morphological characters, the relationships of the presumed intermediates, and in particular of the superfamily Pneumoroidea, are presently unclear. We undertook a phylogenetic study of representatives of all of the transitional acridomorph families using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. No support for pneumoroid monophyly was obtained from nonparametric bootstrap analysis. Furthermore, adopting a maximum-likelihood approach, specific hypotheses of relationships within the Pneumoroidea were firmly rejected using parametric bootstrapping and Kishino-Hasegawa tests. The results indicate that the Pneumoroidea are at best a grade. This distinction implies that the evolution of the proposed pneumoroid synapomorphies, femoro-abdominal stridulation and simple male genital structure, might previously have been misinterpreted as cases of single character gains or losses within lineages. Reconstructions of character states for the femoro-abdominal stridulation indicate that, in fact, multiple losses or gains are equally likely. An important implication of our findings is that, in grasshoppers, auditory tympana may have evolved before stridulation, supporting the argument that the original function of tympana may have been related not to conspecific communication but to predator detection. Overall, the results of this study emphasize the high information content of these minor groups (in this case, the four intermediate families under consideration contain only 0.2% of extant orthopteran species diversity). Our analyses also demonstrate the advantages of model-based methods in analyzing systematic problems and, in particular, of the importance of testing specific phylogenetic hypotheses when a priori support for groupings (e.g., from nonparametric bootstrapping) is marginal.     

Space–time home-range estimates and resource selection for the Critically Endangered Philippine Eagle on Mindanao

Quantifying home-range size and habitat resource selection are important elements in wildlife ecology and are useful for informing conservation action. Many home-range estimators and resource selection functions are currently in use. However, both methods are fraught with analytical issues inherent within autocorrelated movement data from irregular sampling and interpretation of resource selection model parameters to inform conservation management. Here, we apply satellite remote sensing technologies to provide updated estimates of home-range size and first estimates of fine-scale resource selection for six adult Philippine Eagles Pithecophaga jefferyi using a space–time autocorrelated kernel density estimate (AKDE) home-range estimator and non-parametric resource selection functions. All six adult Eagles showed distinct site fidelity, with continuous range residency between 2 and 18 km, 1 month after tagging. The space–time AKDE home-range estimators had a median 95% home-range size = 68 km² (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 62–74 km², range: 39–161 km²), with the median 50% core range size = 13 km² (95% CI 11–14 km², range 9–33 km²). From the resource selection functions, all adult Philippine Eagles used habitat high in photosynthetic leaf and canopy structure but avoided areas of old-growth biomass and denser areas of vegetation. This is possibly due to foraging forays into secondary forest and fragmented agricultural areas away from nesting sites. For the first time, we determine two important fine-scale spatial processes for this Critically Endangered raptor that can help in directing conservation management. Rather than employing traditional home-range estimators and resource selection functions, we recommend that analysts consider space–time approaches and non-parametric resource selection functions to animal movement data to explore fully space–time and resource selection.     

Alpha 1 adrenergic receptor control of renal blood vessels during aging

Aging humans and rats have a reduced renal vascular constriction response to stress, change in posture, or exercise. In this study, renal interlobar arteries from 9- (intermediate age) to 15-month-old (aging) male Wistar rats constricted less to alpha-adrenergic agonists than those of 4-month-old (young adult) rats. The reduced contraction to A61603 (alpha 1 A agonist) was similar to that to norepinephrine and phenylephrine. Therefore, it appears that the reduction in constriction is primarily related to alpha 1 A receptor stimulation. GeneChip microarray hybridization analysis of the interlobar arteries with the RAE 230A GeneChip indicated that there were no significant differences in gene expression for alpha 1 A/C, 1B, or 1D receptors between 4-month-old (young adult) and 1-year-old (aging) male Wistar rats. Competitive binding experiments (prazosin) revealed that maximal binding (Bmax, fmol/mg protein) of the alpha 1 receptors of interlobar arteries was reduced 25% by 10 months of age and 50% by 18+ months of age. Alpha 1 receptor-induced arterial constriction and prazosin binding were both down-regulated. The loss of receptor-initiated constriction likely includes down-regulation of maximum agonist binding by alpha 1 adrenergic receptors.