Ground wētā in vines of the Awatere Valley,Marlborough: biology,density and distribution

The endemic New Zealand ground wētā (Hemiandrus sp. ‘promontorius’) has a Naturally Uncommon conservation status. This is because of the paucity of information on its density and distribution. Here, the biology, density and distribution of a population of this wētā found in and around vineyards in the Awatere Valley, Marlborough was studied. Wētā density was assessed in vineyards, paddocks and shrublands in this valley. Soil moisture, penetration resistance, pH and organic matter were recorded at locations with and without wētā. Wētā density in vineyards was significantly higher than in either paddocks or shrub habitats. In vineyards, the density of this insect was significantly higher under-vines than in the inter-rows. Higher numbers of this wētā were found in moist soils that required lower force to burrow. Females laid an average of 55 eggs between March and April, which hatched in September. These findings highlight the intersection between agriculture and conservation.     

Capitalizing on multi-element interactions through bal-anced nutrition——A pathway to improve nitrogen use efficiency in China,India and North America

A viable option for increasing nitrogen (N) use efficiency and mitigation of negative impacts of N on the environment is to capitalize on multi-element interactions through implementation of nutrient management programs that provide balanced nutrition. Numerous studies have demonstrated the immediate efficacy of this approach in the developing regions like China and India as well as developed countries in North America. Based on 241 site-years of experiments in these countries, the first-year N recovery efficiency (RE) for the conventional or check treatments averaged 21% while the balanced treatments averaged 54% RE, for an average increase of 33% in RE due to balanced nutrition. Effective policies to promote adoption are most likely those that enable site-specific approaches to nutrient management decisions rather than sweeping, nation-wide incentives supporting one nutrient over another. Local farmers, advisers and officials need to be empowered with tools and information to help them define necessary changes in practices to create more balanced nutrient management.     

Excess of de novo deleterious mutations in genes associated with glutamatergic systems in nonsyndromic intellectual disability

Little is known about the genetics of nonsyndromic intellectual disability (NSID). We hypothesized that de novo mutations (DNMs) in synaptic genes explain an important fraction of sporadic NSID cases. In order to investigate this possibility, we sequenced 197 genes encoding glutamate receptors and a large subset of their known interacting proteins in 95 sporadic cases of NSID. We found 11 DNMs, including ten potentially deleterious mutations (three nonsense, two splicing, one frameshift, four missense) and one neutral mutation (silent) in eight different genes. Calculation of point-substitution DNM rates per functional and neutral site showed significant excess of functional DNMs compared to neutral ones. De novo truncating and/or splicing mutations in SYNGAP1, STXBP1, and SHANK3 were found in six patients and are likely to be pathogenic. De novo missense mutations were found in KIF1A, GRIN1, CACNG2, and EPB41L1. Functional studies showed that all these missense mutations affect protein function in cell culture systems, suggesting that they may be pathogenic. Sequencing these four genes in 50 additional sporadic cases of NSID identified a second DNM in GRIN1 (c.1679_1681dup/p.Ser560dup). This mutation also affects protein function, consistent with structural predictions. None of these mutations or any other DNMs were identified in these genes in 285 healthy controls. This study highlights the importance of the glutamate receptor complexes in NSID and further supports the role of DNMs in this disorder.     

Oestradiol-induced infection of the genital tract of female mice by Mycoplasma hominis

Treatment of female BALB/c mice with oestradiol rendered them susceptible to vaginal colonization by three of four different strains of Mycoplasma hominis. Overall, the organisms were recovered persistently from the vagina of 68 (87%) of 78 of these mice. Strain TO mice given one of the strains were at least susceptible, all of ten becoming colonized and larger numbers of organisms being recovered. The hormone arrested the reproductive cycle in the oestrous phase, characterized by non-nucleated, cornified vaginal epithelial cells. In contrast, M. hominis organisms were isolated transiently from only seven (10.5%) of 66 BALB/c mice not treated with oestradiol, after intravaginal inoculation; treatment with progesterone, which induced the dioestrous phase of the cycle, did not render any of 10 BALB/c mice susceptible to vaginal colonization. The minimum number of organisms (2.5 x 10(5)) of one strain of M. hominis and the minimum dose of oestradiol (0.05 mg) required to induce persistent colonization were established. Vaginal colonization persisted for more than 200 d in some mice, the numbers of organisms recovered ranging between 10(1) and 10(8). At autopsy there was evidence of spread to the uterine horns and ovaries, and also to the oropharynx, of some animals but not to other organs. Infection was not associated with a polymorphonuclear leucocyte response in the vagina or elsewhere, but a fourfold serum antibody response to M. hominis, measured by the metabolism-inhibition technique, was detected in almost half of the mice tested.     

Observations on the occurrence of mycoplasmas in the central nervous system of some laboratory animals

Mycoplasma pulmonis was isolated from the brains of 6 (23%) of 26 mice which had a naturally-occurring respiratory infection with this mycoplasma, and from the brains of 6 (8%) of 71 mice which had been inoculated intranasally or intravenously. The incidence of natural infection was greater in older mice, but there was no obvious mouse strain difference except for higher incidence in athymic nudes. There was no evidence that the organisms passed the blood-brain barrier. Some isolations, especially from nudes, may have been extraneous contaminants, as these were fewer when the mouse skulls were sterilized with ignited methanol. M. pneumoniae was not isolated from the brains of 14 hamsters which had a respiratory infection after intranasal inoculation nor were ureaplasmas isolated from the cerebrospinal fluids of 12 marmosets with a natural oropharyngeal infection. The aetiology of M. pneumoniae encephalitis in man is discussed.     

Color test for the measurement of antibody to T-strain mycoplasmas

Purcell, Robert H. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, Md.), D. Taylor-Robinson, D. Wong, and R. M. Chanock. Color test for the measurement of antibody to T-strain mycoplasmas. J. Bacteriol. 92:6-12. 1966.-A metabolic inhibition technique for the measurement of antibody to T-strain mycoplasmas was developed, based upon the ability of T-strain mycoplasmas to metabolize urea with the concomitant production of ammonia, and the ability of specific antiserum to inhibit this ammonia production. Phenol red added to the medium served as an indicator of pH change resulting from ammonia production. Specific antiserum to T-strain mycoplasma T-960 was prepared. The T-strain organism was shown to be serologically distinct from the recognized large-colony mycoplasmas. Antibody to mycoplasma strain T-960 in human sera was demonstrated with the metabolic inhibition technique.     

Toad radiation reveals into-India dispersal as a source of endemism in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot

Background  

High taxonomic level endemism in the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot has been typically attributed to the subcontinent's geological history of long-term isolation. Subsequent out of – and into India dispersal of species after accretion to the Eurasian mainland is therefore often seen as a biogeographic factor that 'diluted' the composition of previously isolated Indian biota. However, few molecular studies have focussed on into-India dispersal as a possible source of endemism on the subcontinent. Using c. 6000 base pairs of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, we investigated the evolutionary history and biogeography of true toads (Bufonidae), a group that colonized the Indian Subcontinent after the Indo-Asia collision.     

The effect of reducing and other agents on the motility of Treponema pallidum in an acellular culture medium.

The maintenance of Treponema pallidum motility was investigated in an acellular medium based on T. pallidum immobilization test medium. The acellular medium contained cysteine, glutathione, thioglycollate and dithiothreitol as reducing agents and had a redox potential of -275 +/- 25 mV at pH 7.3. In an atomosphere containing 3% O2, motile treponemes survived four times longer when calf serum and bovine serum albumin were added to the medium. The selective omission of glutathione and, particularly, thioglycollate prolonged the survival of motile treponemes almost fivefold. In addition, stored medium, in which thioglycollate had become inactive, sustained motile treponemes for longer than did freshly prepared medium. Thus, thioglycollate is toxic for the organisms. It may be omitted from the medium because low redox potentials can be achieved without it.