The stoichiometry of the Ca2+ pump in human erythrocyte vesicles: modulation by Ca2+, Mg2+ and calmodulin

Active Ca2+ uptake and the associated (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase activity were studied under the same conditions in an inside-out vesicle preparation of human red blood cells made essentially by the procedure of Quist and Roufogalis (Journal of Supramolecular Structure 6, 375-381, 1977). Some preparations were treated with 1 mM EDTA at 30 degrees to further deplete them of endogenous levels of calmodulin. As the Ca2+ taken up by the EDTA-treated inside-out vesicles, as well as the non-EDTA treated vesicles, was maintained after addition of 4.1 mM EGTA, the vesicles were shown to be impermeable to the passive leak of Ca2+ over the time course of the experiments. In the absence of added calmodulin, both active Ca2+ uptake and (Ca2+ + Mg2+)-ATPase were sensitive to free Ca2+ over a four log unit concentration range (0.7 microM to 300 microM Ca2+) at 6.4 mM MgCl2. Below 24 microM Ca2+ the stoichiometry of calcium transported per phosphate liberated was close to 2:1, both in EDTA and non-EDTA treated vesicles. Above 50 microM Ca2+ the stoichiometry approached 1:1. When MgCl2 was reduced from 6.4 mM to 1.0 mM, the stoichiometry remained close to 2:1 over the whole range of Ca2+ concentrations examined. In contrast to the results at 6.4 mM MgCl2, the Ca2+ pump was maximally activated at about 2 microM free Ca2+ and significantly inhibited above this concentration at 1 mM MgCl2. Calmodulin (0.5-2.0 microgram/ml) had little effect on the stoichiometry in any of the conditions examined. The possible significance of a variable stoichiometry of the Ca2+ pump in the red blood cell is discussed.     

Infant Mortality Risk and Paternity Certainty Are Associated with Postnatal Maternal Behavior toward Adult Male Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Sexually selected infanticide is an important source of infant mortality in many mammalian species. In species with long-term male-female associations, females may benefit from male protection against infanticidal outsiders. We tested whether mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) mothers in single and multi-male groups monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s Karisoke Research Center actively facilitated interactions between their infants and a potentially protective male. We also evaluated the criteria mothers in multi-male groups used to choose a preferred male social partner. In single male groups, where infanticide risk and paternity certainty are high, females with infants <1 year old spent more time near and affiliated more with males than females without young infants. In multi-male groups, where infanticide rates and paternity certainty are lower, mothers with new infants exhibited few behavioral changes toward males. The sole notable change was that females with young infants proportionally increased their time near males they previously spent little time near when compared to males they had previously preferred, perhaps to encourage paternity uncertainty and deter aggression. Rank was a much better predictor of females’ social partner choice than paternity. Older infants (2–3 years) in multi-male groups mirrored their mothers’ preferences for individual male social partners; 89% spent the most time in close proximity to the male their mother had spent the most time near when they were <1 year old. Observed discrepancies between female behavior in single and multi-male groups likely reflect different levels of postpartum intersexual conflict; in groups where paternity certainty and infanticide risk are both high, male-female interests align and females behave accordingly. This highlights the importance of considering individual and group-level variation when evaluating intersexual conflict across the reproductive cycle.     

Diversity,Community Composition,and Dynamics of Nonpigmented and Late-Pigmenting Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria in an Urban Tap Water Production and Distribution System

Nonpigmented and late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) have been reported to commonly colonize water production and distribution systems. However, there is little information about the nature and distribution of RGM species within the different parts of such complex networks or about their clustering into specific RGM species communities. We conducted a large-scale survey between 2007 and 2009 in the Parisian urban tap water production and distribution system. We analyzed 1,418 water samples from 36 sites, covering all production units, water storage tanks, and distribution units; RGM isolates were identified by using rpoB gene sequencing. We detected 18 RGM species and putative new species, with most isolates being Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium llatzerense. Using hierarchical clustering and principal-component analysis, we found that RGM were organized into various communities correlating with water origin (groundwater or surface water) and location within the distribution network. Water treatment plants were more specifically associated with species of the Mycobacterium septicum group. On average, M. chelonae dominated network sites fed by surface water, and M. llatzerense dominated those fed by groundwater. Overall, the M. chelonae prevalence index increased along the distribution network and was associated with a correlative decrease in the prevalence index of M. llatzerense, suggesting competitive or niche exclusion between these two dominant species. Our data describe the great diversity and complexity of RGM species living in the interconnected environments that constitute the water production and distribution system of a large city and highlight the prevalence index of the potentially pathogenic species M. chelonae in the distribution network.     

Cardiac myoglobin deficit has evolved repeatedly in teleost fishes

Myoglobin (Mb) is the classic vertebrate oxygen-binding protein present in aerobic striated muscles. It functions principally in oxygen delivery and provides muscle with its characteristic red colour. Members of the Antarctic icefish family (Channichthyidae) are widely thought to be extraordinary for lacking cardiac Mb expression, a fact that has been attributed to their low metabolic rate and unusual evolutionary history. Here, we report that cardiac Mb deficit, associated with pale heart colour, has evolved repeatedly during teleost evolution. This trait affects both gill- and air-breathing species from temperate to tropical habitats across a full range of salinities. Cardiac Mb deficit results from total pseudogenization in three-spined stickleback and is associated with a massive reduction in mRNA level in two species that evidently retain functional Mb. The results suggest that near or complete absence of Mb-assisted oxygen delivery to heart muscle is a common facet of teleost biodiversity, even affecting lineages with notable oxygen demands. We suggest that Mb deficit may affect how different teleost species deal with increased tissue oxygen demands arising under climate change.