An NMR study of the oxidation state of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase in human red blood cells

The oxidation state of Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase was investigated by 19F-NMR spectroscopy in intact red blood cells and in their lysates. The superoxide dismutase concentration was determined in the red cells both by activity and by F- nuclear relaxation rate measurements and the results obtained showed that the high relaxation rate of F- in erythrocytes is mainly due to the presence of superoxide dismutase. The relaxation rate of F- was unaffected or slightly increased by the addition of a superoxide ion generating system to the cells or to their lysates so indicating that superoxide dismutase is fundamentally in steady state. The results are discussed in terms of the possible reactions of the enzyme in erythrocytes.     

Are behavioural responses to predation cues linked across life cycle stages?

1. Prey organisms can perceive cues to predation hazard and adopt low‐risk behaviours to increase survival. Animals with complex life cycles, such as insects, can exhibit such anti‐predatory behaviours in multiple life stages. 2. Cues to predation risk may induce ovipositing females to choose habitats with low predation risk. Cues to predation risk may also induce larvae to adopt facultative behaviours that reduce risk of predation. 3. One hypothesis postulates that anti‐predation behaviours across adult and larval stages may be negatively associated because selection for effective anti‐predator behaviour in one stage leads to reduced selection for avoidance of predators in other stages. An alternative hypothesis suggests that selection by predation favours multi‐component defences, with both avoidance of oviposition and facultative adoption of low‐risk behaviours by larvae. 4. Laboratory and field experiments were used to determine whether defensive responses of adult and larval mosquitoes are positively or negatively associated. The study tested effects of waterborne cues from predatory Toxorhynchites theobaldi on oviposition choices and larval behaviours of three of its common prey: Culex mollis, Limatus durhamii and Aedes albopictus. 5. Culex mollis shows strong anti‐predator responses in both life stages, consistent with the hypothesis of a multi‐component behavioural defence. The other two species showed no detectable responses to waterborne predator cues in either adult or larval stages. Larvae of these unresponsive species were significantly more vulnerable to this predator than was C. mollis. 6. For these mosquitoes, species appear either to have been selected for multi‐component defences against predation or to act in ways that could be called predator‐naïve.     

A novel 500,000 Da, linear, single chain extracellular protein synthesized by several childhood tumors

A high molecular weight extracellular protein has been purified from cell culture medium of Ewing's sarcoma cell lines, by high performance liquid chromatography and electroelution from SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. This protein has an apparent molecular mass of about 500,000 Da on SDS-PAGE. Immunoprecipitation studies with several extracellular matrix glycoproteins (laminin, fibronectin) specific antisera indicate it is a separate protein. Reduction of disulphide bonds with 2-ME or DTT fails to significantly alter its migration on SDS-PAGE gels, other than a slight apparent increase in molecular mass, indicating an apparent single polypeptide chain structure. The slightly greater mobility observed in unreduced gels suggests one or more regions of intrachain disulfide bonding. It is sensitive to pepsin and trypsin, but resistant to bacterial collagenase indicating that it does not contain collagenous domains. Metabolic labelling with 3H-proline, 3H-leucine, and 35S-methionine indicate that this protein is proline-poor, but leucine, and especially methionine, rich. Sodium 35S-sulfate incorporation is totally negative and treatment with glycosaminoglycan degrading enzymes has no effect on the mobility of the protein on gels, unlike typical proteoglycans. This protein appears by rotary shadowing electron microscopy as a long, thin, filamentous molecule at least 500 nm (0.5 um) in length. The tissue localization and function are unknown at this time, but are under active investigation.     

Influence of genetic drift on patterns of genetic variation: The footprint of aquaculture practices in Sparus aurata (Teleostei: Sparidae)

Aquaculture finfish production based on floating cage technology has raised increasing concerns regarding the genetic integrity of natural populations. Accidental mass escapes can induce the loss of genetic diversity in wild populations by increasing genetic drift and inbreeding. Farm escapes probably represent an important issue in the gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), which accounted for 76.4% of total escapees recorded in Europe during a 3‐year survey. Here, we investigated patterns of genetic variation in farmed and wild populations of gilthead sea bream from the Western Mediterranean, a region of long gilthead sea bream farming. We focused on the role that genetic drift may play in shaping these patterns. Results based on microsatellite markers matched those observed in previous studies. Farmed populations showed lower levels of genetic diversity than wild populations and were genetically divergent from their wild counterparts. Overall, farmed populations showed the smallest effective population size and increased levels of relatedness compared to wild populations. The small broodstock size coupled with breeding practices that may favour the variance in individual reproductive success probably boosted genetic drift. This factor appeared to be a major driver of the genetic patterns observed in the gilthead sea bream populations analysed in the present study. These results further stress the importance of recommendations aimed at maintaining broodstock sizes as large as possible and equal sex‐ratios among breeders, as well as avoiding unequal contributions among parents.     

Synergistic effects in semidilute mixed solutions of alginate and lactose-modified chitosan (chitlac)

The present study specifically aimed at preparing and characterizing semidilute binary polymer mixtures of alginate and chitlac which might find an application in the field of cell encapsulation. A polyanion, alginate, and a polycation, a lactose-modified chitosan, were mixed under physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and NaCl 0.15) and at a semidilute concentration avoiding associative phase separation. The mutual solubility was found to be dependent on the charge screening effect of the added NaCl salt, being prevented below 0.05 M NaCl. A comparison with the behavior of the polyanion (alginate) under the same experimental conditions revealed that both the viscosity and the relaxation times of the binary polymer solutions are strongly affected by the presence of the polycation. In particular, the occurrence of electrostatic interactions between the two oppositely charged polysaccharides led to a synergistic effect on the zero-shear viscosity of the solution, which showed a 4.2-fold increase with respect to that of the main component of the solution, i.e., alginate. Moreover, the relaxation time, calculated as the reciprocal of the critical share rate, markedly increased upon reducing the alginate fraction in the binary polysaccharide solution. However, the formation of the soluble complexes and the synergistic effect are reduced upon increasing the concentration of the 1:1 electrolyte. By containing a gel-forming polyanion (alginate, e.g., with Ca(2+) ions) and a bioactive polycation (chitlac, bearing a beta-linked D-galactose), the present system can be regarded as a first step toward the development of biologically active scaffold from polysaccharide mixtures.     

Accumulation of rare earth elements by siderophore-forming <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrobacter luteolus</Emphasis> isolated from rare earth environment of Chavara,India

In this study, Arthrobacter luteolus, isolated from rare earth environment of Chavara (Quilon district, Kerala, India), were found to produce catechol-type siderophores. The bacterial strain accumulated rare earth elements such as samarium and scandium. The siderophores may play a role in the accumulation of rare earth elements. Catecholate siderophore and low-molecular-weight organic acids were found to be present in experiments with Arthrobacter luteolus. The influence of siderophore on the accumulation of rare earth elements by bacteria has been extensively discussed.