Inhibition of Leishmania Donovani Amastigote-To-Promastigote Transformation By Infected Hamster Spleen Lymphocyte Lysates*

SYNOPSIS Leishmania donovani amastigote-to-promastigote transformation is inhibited by homogenates of infected hamster liver and spleen. This inhibitory activity is localized in the 100,000 g pellet fraction. Tests with lysates of adherent (macrophyages) and nonadherent (lymphocytes) spleen cells indicated that the inhibitory activity resided in the lymphocytes, specifically in the 100,000 g pellet fraction.     

Partitioning Water Potential and Specific Salt Effects on Seed Germination of Four Grasses

In this study water potential (     

Biochemical and Cytological Evidence for an Overabundance of Mucocysts in the bcd Pattern Mutant of Tetrahymena thermophila

ABSTRACT. Three acidic proteins (42 kD, 43 kD and 50 kD) were present in unusually high concentrations in cortical preparations of the Tetrahymena pattern mutant broadened cortical domains (bcd). Antisera to the 42-kD and 50-kD proteins bound to discharging mucocysts and food vacuole contents in both wild-type and mutant cells. Subsequent analysis revealed that bcd mutant cell pellicles possess five times more "docked" mucocysts than their wild-type counterparts.     

Seasonal and interannual effects of hypoxia on fish habitat quality in central Lake Erie

1. Hypoxia occurs seasonally in many stratified coastal marine and freshwater ecosystems when bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations are depleted below 2–3 mg O₂ L^?1. 2. We evaluated the effects of hypoxia on fish habitat quality in the central basin of Lake Erie from 1987 to 2005, using bioenergetic growth rate potential (GRP) as a proxy for habitat quality. We compared the effect of hypoxia on habitat quality of (i) rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax mordax Mitchill (young‐of‐year, YOY, and adult), a cold‐water planktivore, (ii) emerald shiner, Notropis atherinoides Rafinesque (adult), a warm‐water planktivore, (iii) yellow perch, Perca flavescens Mitchill (YOY and adult), a cool‐water benthopelagic omnivore and (iv) round goby Neogobius melanostomus Pallas (adult) a eurythermal benthivore. Annual thermal and DO profiles were generated from 1D thermal and DO hydrodynamics models developed for Lake Erie’s central basin. 3. Hypoxia occurred annually, typically from mid‐July to mid‐October, which spatially and temporally overlaps with otherwise high benthic habitat quality. Hypoxia reduced the habitat quality across fish species and life stages, but the magnitude of the reduction varied both among and within species because of the differences in tolerance to low DO levels and warm‐water temperatures. 4. Across years, trends in habitat quality mirrored trends in phosphorus concentration and water column oxygen demand in central Lake Erie. The per cent reduction in habitat quality owing to hypoxia was greatest for adult rainbow smelt and round goby (mean: ?35%), followed by adult emerald shiner (mean: ?12%), YOY rainbow smelt (mean: ?10%) and YOY and adult yellow perch (mean: ?8.5%). 5. Our results highlight the importance of differential spatiotemporally interactive effects of DO and temperature on relative fish habitat quality and quantity. These effects have the potential to influence the performance of individual fish species as well as population dynamics, trophic interactions and fish community structure.     

On the occurrence, causes and potential consequences of low zooplankton to phytoplankton ratios in New Zealand lakes

SUMMARY. 1. New Zealand lakes are shown to have lower average zooplankton biomasses than north-temperate lakes of similar average phytoplankton biomass, expressed as cell volume or chlorophyll a , or similar average total phosphorus concentration, typically by a factor of 5 or more.
2. Evidence suggests that the relatively low zooplankton biomasses of New Zealand lakes may be related to a tendency for them to be dominated by large algae that are not directly available as food for zooplankton, with oligotrophy lakes in particular differing from north-temperate lakes in this respect.
3. This difference in turn may be related largely to their mixing regimes. All of the New Zealand lakes are polymietic or monomietic, whereas the northern lakes used for comparison are mostly dimietic. Also, hetero-cystous cyanobacteria are favoured by the low inorganic nitrogen concentrations that are typical of New Zealand lakes.
4. Poor nutritional quality of the phytoplankton, relating to nitrogen limitation in many New Zealand lakes, might supplement the effects of cell size.
5. Low exploitation of phytoplankton by zooplankton can be expected to produce a shift in the metabolism of New Zealand lakes towards the sediments. Among the potential consequences of this effect are increased hypolimnetic oxygen demand with increased susceptibility to development of large internal loads of nutrients, and consequently, increased sensitivity to accelerated eutrophication from any increase in external nutrient loads.