Endotoxemia increases relative perfusion to dorsal-caudal lung regions.

Changes in the spatial distribution of perfusion during acute lung injury and their impact on gas exchange are poorly understood. We tested whether endotoxemia caused topographical differences in perfusion and whether these differences caused meaningful changes in regional ventilation-to-perfusion ratios and gas exchange. Regional ventilation and perfusion were measured in anesthetized, mechanically ventilated pigs in the prone position before and during endotoxemia with the use of aerosolized and intravenous fluorescent microspheres. On average, relative perfusion halved in ventral and cranial lung regions, doubled in caudal lung regions, and increased 1.5-fold in dorsal lung regions during endotoxemia. In contrast, there were no topographical differences in perfusion before endotoxemia and no topographical differences in ventilation at any time point. Consequently, endotoxemia increased regional ventilation-to-perfusion ratios in the caudal-to-cranial and dorsal-to-ventral directions, resulting in end-capillary PO2 values that were significantly lower in dorsal-caudal than ventral-cranial regions. We conclude that there are topographical differences in the pulmonary vascular response to endotoxin that may have important consequences for gas exchange in acute lung injury.     

A protocol for micropropagation of Alpinia galanga

Emerging buds of rhizome of Alpinia galanga Willd produced shoots and roots simultaneously when cultured in MS medium supplemented with kinetin 3.0 mg l^-1. Each explanted shoot bud produced 8 shoots in average and roots simultaneously within 8 weeks. Shoot proliferation could be continued even after a year by transferring each divided shoot explant to the same medium. Regenerated plantlets could be sucessfully transferred to soil where they grew well within 10–12 weeks with 80% survivality. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The role of Asn14 in the stability and conformation of the reactive-site loop of winged bean chymotrypsin inhibitor: crystal structures of two point mutants Asn14-->Lys and Asn14-->Asp.

A double-headed chymotrypsin inhibitor, WCI, from winged bean seeds was cloned for structural and biochemical studies. The inhibitor was subjected to two point mutations at a conserved position, Asn14. This residue, known to have a pivotal role in stabilizing the first reactive-site loop (Gln63-Phe68) of the inhibitor, is highly conserved in the sequences of the other members of Kunitz (STI) family as well as in the sequences of Kazal family of serine protease inhibitors. The mutants, N14K and N14D, were subjected to biochemical assay and their characteristics were compared with those of the recombinant inhibitor (rWCI). Crystallographic studies of the recombinant and the mutant proteins are discussed. These studies were primarily aimed at understanding the importance of the protein scaffolding towards the conformational rigidity of the reactive-site loop. Our analysis reveals that, as the Lys14 side chain takes an unusual fold in N14K and the Asp14 side chain in N14D interacts with the loop residues by water-mediated hydrogen bonds, the canonical conformation of the loop has remained effectively intact in both the mutant structures. However, minor alterations such as a 2-fold increase in the inhibitory affinity towards the cognate enzyme were observed.     

Genetics of mosquitoes

Beginning in the mid-1950s, much progress has been made in studying various aspects of the genetics of mosquitoes, particularly involving several species of three principal genera,Aedes, Culex andAnopheles, that transmit important human diseases. Here I discuss selected areas of research involving formal genetics; genome structure, organization and evolution at the interspecific and intraspecific level; and evolutionary genetics of theAedes scutellaris group. Information and insights gained from in-depth analyses of these areas, particularly transmission genetics, cytogenetics and genetics of chromosomal rearrangements, and of mutagen-induced sexual sterility, have proved invaluable for the development of the theory and evaluation of feasibility of genetic control of natural populations. As a result, mosquitoes represent some of the best studied taxa at various levels of genetic organization. Recent developments in molecular genetics offer exciting possibilities for extension of these concepts.     

Environment versus dispersal in the assembly of western Amazonian palm communities

Aim It is a central issue in ecology and biogeography to understand what governs community assembly and the maintenance of biodiversity in tropical rain forest ecosystems. A key question is the relative importance of environmental species sorting (niche assembly) and dispersal limitation (dispersal assembly), which we investigate using a large dataset from diverse palm communities. Location Lowland rain forest, western Amazon River Basin, Peru. Methods We inventoried palm communities, registering all palm individuals and recording environmental conditions in 149 transects of 5 m × 500 m. We used ordination, Mantel tests and indicator species analysis (ISA) to assess compositional patterns, species responses to geographical location and environmental factors. Mantel tests were used to assess the relative importance of geographical distance (as a proxy for dispersal limitation) and environmental differences as possible drivers of dissimilarity in palm species composition. We repeated the Mantel tests for subsets of species that differ in traits of likely importance for habitat specialization and dispersal (height and range size). Results We found a strong relationship between compositional dissimilarity and environmental distance and a weaker but also significant relationship between compositional dissimilarity and geographical distance. Consistent with expectations, relationships with environmental and geographical distance were stronger for understorey species than for canopy species. Geographical distance had a higher correlation with compositional dissimilarity for small‐ranged species compared with large‐ranged species, whereas the opposite was true for environmental distance. The main environmental correlates were inundation and soil nutrient levels. Main conclusions The assembly of palm communities in the western Amazon appears to be driven primarily by species sorting according to hydrology and soil, but with dispersal limitation also playing an important role. The importance of environmental characteristics and geographical distance varies depending on plant height and geographical range size in agreement with functional predictions, increasing our confidence in the inferred assembly mechanisms.