Predation impact of Leptodora kindtii on population dynamics and morphology of Bosmina fatalis and B. longirostris in mesocosms

1. We assessed the impact of predation by the invertebrate predator Leptodora kindtii on Bosmina longirostris and B. fatalis, which show seasonal and reciprocal succession patterns in Lake Suwa, in a mesocosm experiment using 20‐L tanks with or without the predator under different food conditions. We also analysed morphological responses of the two Bosmina species to the predator in the tanks. 2. Bosmina fatalis dominated B. longirostris regardless of predator presence under high food density. However, the presence of Leptodora induced the dominance of B. fatalis more rapidly than its absence. On the contrary, no dominance of B. fatalis was observed in tanks with low food density, irrespective of the presence of the predator. Only B. fatalis showed morphological changes in response to the presence of Leptodora. 3. Mucrone length and antennule shape (angle between body and antennule and angle between antennules) showed marked responses at both high and low food densities, but antennule length responded only at high food density. Mucrone length seems to be a more effective defence against Leptodora. 4. The results suggest that B. fatalis is a superior competitor against B. longirostris and is more resistant to Leptodora predation, especially in good food conditions. The repeatedly observed seasonal succession of the two Bosmina species in the eutrophic Lake Suwa – the replacement of B. longirostris by B. fatalis following the occurrence of abundant Leptodora– seems to be caused by the selective predation of Leptodora on B. longirostris as well as the competitive ability of B. fatalis.     

Intergeneric hybridization between Pleurotus ostreatus and Schizophyllum commune by PEG-induced protoplast fusion

Intergeneric hybridization between Pleurotus ostreatus and Schizophyllum commune was studied using PEG-induced fusion. The fusion of protoplasts from auxotrophic mutant strains resulted in the formation of fusion hybrids in the frequencies of 3.6 to 7.3×10^–5. Most of these fusion hybrids were monokaryotic and sterile and no heterokaryosis occurred. Most fusants showed a significantly higher nuclear DNA content when compared to parental strains and no diploids (parent 1 genome plus parent 2 genome) were found. Some fusion hybrids revealed both parental fragments in nuclear and mitochondrial rDNA PCR profiles. AP-PCR (Arbitrarily-primed Polymerase Chain Reaction) fingerprints also indicated that most of the fusion products were recombinant hybrids.     

Crystallographic determination of the structures of human alpha-thrombin complexed with BMS-186282 and BMS-189090.

The crystallographic structures of the ternary complexes of human alpha-thrombin with hirugen (a sulfated hirudin fragment) and the small-molecule active site thrombin inhibitors BMS-186282 and BMS-189090 have been determined at 2.6 and 2.8 A. In both cases, the inhibitors, which adopt very similar bound conformations, bind in an antiparallel beta-strand arrangement relative to the thrombin main chain in a manner like that reported for PPACK, D-Phe-Pro-Arg-CH2Cl. They do, however, exhibit differences in the binding of the alkyl guanidine moiety in the specificity pocket. Numerous hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions serve to stabilize the inhibitors in the binding pocket. Although PPACK forms covalent bonds to both serine and the histidine of the catalytic triad of thrombin, neither BMS-186282 nor BMS-189090 bind covalently and only BMS-186282 forms a hydrogen bond to the serine of the catalytic triad. Both inhibitors bind with high affinity (Ki = 79 nM and 3.6 nM, respectively) and are highly selective for thrombin over trypsin and other serine proteases.     

Cell separation from high cell density broths of Alcaligenes eutrophus by using a coagulant

Summary Alcaligenes eutrophus was successfully recovered from high cell density broths by pre-treatment with polyaluminium hydroxide chloride silicate as a coagulant at 36–90 mg Al/l. The optimum pH range for cell coagulation was 10–12. Subsequent centrifugation (45×g) and filtration (pore size 0.5 mm) gave a cell recovery of higher than 90%. The energy demand for cell recovery with the coagulant was only 3–11% of that without it.     

悬钩子属种质的评价

在进行了７省悬钩子资源调查的基础上,在南京建立了悬钩子属田间基因库。３年来对田间基因库内保存并开花结果的３０个种进行了开花结果性状的记栽和评价。内容包括果实特征,糖、酸、维生素类、氨基酸、矿质元素含量分析,染色体计数等。分析了种间和种内多样性物存在及在良种选育中利用的可能性。     

长果秤锤树保护现状的初步研究

本文从自然环境、种群分布、数量、种群结构、人为破坏、保护及管理等方面分析了湖南石门长果秤锤树的就地保护现状,并从种子繁殖、扦插繁殖、栽培、试管保存及开发利用潜力等方面总结了武汉植物所近年来对长果秤锤树进行迁地保护研究的初步成果,并提出了相应的保护措施。     

白细胞介素－2的PEG化

用自制的氨基ＰＥＧ化试剂ｒＩＬ－２进行化学修饰,研究了试剂浓度,溶液ｐＨ,反应时间等与ＰＥｃａ－ｒＩＬ－２产率及ＩＬ－２活性保持之间的关系,建立了一套获得稳定修饰度的ＰＥＧ－ｒＩＬ－２的方法。研究发现,反应时间跟修饰度关系不大;溶液ｐＨ对修饰度有一定的影响,中性ｐＨ以上反应都可进行;而试剂浓度直接决定修饰度的高低,过量越多,修饰度越高,而生物活性保留也越低;但低度修饰,对活性几乎没有影响,可保留活性在９５％左右。     

Characterization of phospholipase A2 activation by plasmin in cultured bovine endothelial cells

Treatment of cultured bovine carotid artery endothelial cells with 0.1 µM human plasmin has been reported to induce a receptor-mediated short burst of arachidonate release, which is a pertussis toxin-sensitive and extracellular calcium-dependent reaction. Plasmin-induced calcium influx in cells was significantly inhibited by pretreatment with pertussis toxin, indicating that the former was coupled with a pertussis toxin-sensitive guanosine 5-triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein. Plasmin significantly induced the formation of lysophosphatidylcholine but not lysophosphatidylethanolamine. A cellular phospholipase A₂ with an arachidonyl specificity at the sn-2 position of phosphatidylcholine, which required submicromolar calcium, was identified as a cytosolic phospholipase A₂ by immunoblot analysis. By a cell-free enzyme activity assay and immunoblot analysis, plasmin was found to induce a translocation of the cytosolic phospholipase A₂ from the cytosol to the membrane. Taken together, the results suggest that plasmin bound to its putative receptor and activated a GTP-binding protein coupled to calcium influx channel, followed by translocation and activation of cytosolic phospholipase A₂ in endothelial cells.     

A Protease Inhibitor of the Serpin Family Is a Major Protein in Carp Perimeningeal Fluid: I. Protein Purification and Characterization

Abstract: Two isoforms of a protease inhibitor of the serpin family (p62) have been purified from bighead carp perimeningeal fluid. Both isoforms migrate with an apparent molecular mass of 62 kDa on reducing and nonreducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Both proteins inhibited the activities of bovine trypsin, bovine chymotrypsin, and porcine pancreatic elastase. They also formed complexes with these proteases that were resistant to sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment. p62 exists in the extracts of all tissues examined, including brain, head kidney, kidney, liver, muscle, ovary, pituitary, and spleen. It is also present in serum, ovarian fluid, and milt as well as perimeningeal fluid. The protease inhibitor is a glycoprotein, and its carbohydrate moiety could be removed by endoglycosidase F. Because p62 resembles mammalian α₁-antitrypsin in many aspects, it is likely a fish equivalent of α₁-antitrypsin.     

GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS OF PHYTOPLANKTON DETERMINED BY CELL CYCLE PROTEINS: PCNA IMMUNOSTAINING OF DUNALIELLA TERTIOLECTA (CHLOROPHYCEAE)1

By immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence methods, we observed that the analog of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in Dunaliella tertiolecta Butcher (Chlorophyceae) was exclusively located in the nucleus. Among positively stained cells, PCNA abundance varied, being highest in S-phase cells, lower in others, and undetectable in early G1- or late M-phase cells. In exponentially growing and partially synchronized cultures, the percentage of PCNA-stained cells (% PCNA-stained cells) oscillated in the photocycle (12:12 h LD). It increased during the light period and reached a peak (75%) before the onset of the dark period when the culture was mainly (71%) in the S phase of the cell cycle. The DNA synthesis inhibitor, hydroxyurea, depressed PCNA abundance, whereas no effect was detected for the mitosis inhibitor colchicine. We conclude that PCNA in D. tertiolecta is associated with the S phase of the cell cycle where it is accumulated and functioning. PCNA was used to characterize the growth pattern of cultures grown in different media, temperatures, and growth stages. The time lag between the PCNA-stained phase and the M phase was very short in a continuous culture grown in reduced f/2 medium at 22°C and was considerably longer in the cultures grown in f/2 at 15°C. When an exponentially growing culture grew older, % PCNA-stained cells decreased. In a late stationary culture where there was no net growth, a small number of cells were still cycling through the PCNA-stained phase and cell division. In the continuous culture grown at 22°C, the duration of the PCNA-stained phase (T_s) was 13 h. Calculations with this T_s and % PCNA-stained cells yielded a growth rate of 0.77 d^?1, which was close to that obtained by cell counts (0.69 d^?1). Taken together, the results suggest that PCNA is a useful indicator of growth status and a promising cell cycle marker for estimation of species-specific growth rate.