Advances in maize genomics: the emergence of positional cloning

Positional cloning has been and remains a powerful method for gene identification in Arabidopsis. With the completion of the rice genome sequence, positional cloning in rice also took off, including the cloning of several quantitative trait loci. Positional cloning in cereals such as maize whose genomes are much larger than that of rice was considered near impossible because of the vast amounts of repetitive DNA. However, conservation of synteny across the cereal genomes, in combination with new maize resources, has now made positional cloning in maize feasible. In fact, a chromosomal walk is usually much faster than the more traditional method of gene isolation in maize by transposon tagging.     

Caenorhabditis nematodes colonize ephemeral resource patches in neotropical forests

Factors shaping the distribution and abundance of species include life‐history traits, population structure, and stochastic colonization–extinction dynamics. Field studies of model species groups help reveal the roles of these factors. Species of Caenorhabditis nematodes are highly divergent at the sequence level but exhibit highly conserved morphology, and many of these species live in sympatry on microbe‐rich patches of rotten material. Here, we use field experiments and large‐scale opportunistic collections to investigate species composition, abundance, and colonization efficiency of Caenorhabditis species in two of the world''s best‐studied lowland tropical field sites: Barro Colorado Island in Panamá and La Selva in Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. We observed seven species of Caenorhabditis, four of them known only from these collections. We formally describe two species and place them within the Caenorhabditis phylogeny. While these localities contain species from many parts of the phylogeny, both localities were dominated by globally distributed androdiecious species. We found that Caenorhabditis individuals were able to colonize baits accessible only through phoresy and preferentially colonized baits that were in direct contact with the ground. We estimate the number of colonization events per patch to be low.     

Equilibrium and Ion Exchange Characteristics of Potassium and Sodium Accumulation by Barley Roots

Potassium ion and Na⁺ influx and efflux rates into and from excised barley roots are compared with the maximum capacity of accumulation. Potassium ion and Na⁺ influx and efflux involve a cation exchange that is independent of simultaneous exchange of the accompanying anion. These exchange fluxes depend on the concentration and cation composition of the solutions from which they originate. Selective differences between K⁺ and Na⁺ fluxes are sufficient to account for a cationic distribution within the roots that differs markedly from that of the external solution and that persists for extended time periods. The accumulation maximum is a cation exchange equilibrium with the cation influx and efflux rates approaching equality. The equilibrium level is independent of the individual cation fluxes and the external solution concentration. It is a finite quantity which appears to be determined by the internal anion concentration including accumulated as well as endogenous anions.     

Docosahexaenoic acid is selectively enriched in plasma phospholipids during pregnancy in Trinidadian women--results of a pilot study

The fetal demand for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has to be satisfied by the mother. We determined the fatty acids in maternal plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), triacylglycerol (TAG) and phosphatidylcholine (PC), in a cross-sectional study of non-pregnant (n = 10), pregnant (n = 19), and postpartum (n = 9) women. There were lipid class-dependent differences in plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations between groups. During pregnancy, DHA was most highly enriched in PC, about 230%, with more modest enrichment for linoleic acid (LA) and arachidonic acid (AA), and no enrichment of alpha-linolenic acid (alpha-LNA). There was relative enrichment of LA, AA and alpha-LNA in TAG, but not of DHA. There was no specific enrichment of any PUFA in the NEFA pool. These data accord with the suggestion that the enrichment of alpha-LNA in TAG and of DHA in phospholipids reflects hepatic regulation of n-3 PUFA metabolism which potentially enhances the delivery of DHA to the placenta.     

Immunolocalization of hyalin in sea urchin eggs and embryos using an antihyalin-specific monoclonal antibody.

Monoclonal antibodies were raised against purified cortical secretory vesicles (CVs) from the eggs of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. One of the monoclonal antibodies (MAb 69-10, an IgA) was shown by immunofluorescence labeling of intact and detergent-lysed CVs to be directed against a CV content antigen. Immunoblot analysis of CVs revealed that MAb 69-10 bound to a major CV polypeptide with an Mr similar to that of hyalin (i.e., 300,000). MAb 69-10 was subsequently shown to bind to purified hyalin prepared from S. purpuratus and to cross react with hyalin prepared from Lytechinus pictus. Immunogold labeling on thin sections of unfertilized S. purpuratus eggs showed that hyalin was localized to the electron-lucent portion of CVs. This result is in agreement with the labeling pattern obtained by Hylander and Summers (Dev Biol 93:368-380, 1982) using polyclonal antihyalin antibodies. In fertilized eggs and later-stage embryos, hyalin was observed to be located on the external surface of the embryo. MAb 69-10 should be useful in studies of the structure of hyalin and its function in morphogenesis.     

Carolina Chickadee (Aves, Paridae, Poecile carolinensis) Vocalization Rates: Effects of Body Mass and Food Availability under Aviary Conditions

We evaluated the effect of body mass and several environmental factors on vocalization rates of Carolina chickadees ( Poecile carolinensis ) housed in an aviary. Two different nonsong vocalizations (tseet and chick-a-dee) and song (fee-bee fee-bay) were recorded. Food was delivered from a feeder and three different levels of food access were presented to each bird: 10, 40 and 55 min/d. Two scales of body mass were measured: 'dawn mass' and 'focal mass' (mass during a focal observation divided by dawn mass). Across all birds, there was a significant negative correlation between both nonsong vocalization rates and body mass (both dawn and focal mass) and the effect of mass on call rate was greatest for days when food was relatively abundant. Nonsong vocalizations were also given at higher rates when food was limited (10 min/d) than when food was more abundant (40 and 55 min/d). No changes in call rates with time of day were observed. Overall, song rates were substantially lower than nonsong rates. Unlike nonsong rates, song rates were highest in birds that had relatively high dawn mass. No significant correlation between song rates and focal mass was observed, and no significant correlation between song rates and time of day was observed. Finally, vocalizations from nonfocal birds had little effect on vocalization rates of focal birds. Our results suggest that nonsong communicative signals are more important for birds facing energetic stress, while song is more important for birds that are not energetically stressed.