Effects of lithium and potassium on recovery of solute uptake capacity of Acer pseudoplatanus cells after gas-shock

At concentrations of 10-^?3M, Li⁺ inhibits the recovery of solute uptake capacity of Acer pseudoplatanus L. cell suspension cultures after gas-shock (i.e. after rapid exchange of the atmosphere in the culture flasks for ambient air). It also reduces solute uptake capacity of cells having already attained high rates of uptake during recovery from gas-shock. The effects of Li⁺ are much greater in cells which have been cultivated in 7 mM K⁺ solution than in cells cultivated with higher K⁺ levels (19 mM). Increasing K⁺ concentration during recovery reverses the effect of 10^–3M Li⁺ and, with sufficiently high concentrations of K⁺ (≥ 10-^?2M) during recovery, the solute uptake capacity of the fully recovered cells can even become greater than that of the control, at least for the low values of substrate concentration (here sulphate 10-^?5M). Since Li⁺ does not affect the time course of solute uptake measured over 15–20 min, it is thought that it interacts with the synthesis and turnover of the solute uptake machinery of the Acer pseudoplatanus cells. Thermodynamic analysis of the flux data also supports the hypothesis that Li⁺ inhibits the biosynthesis of specific sites of solute permeation, but it does not rule out the possibility that K⁺ interferes rather on the forces acting on the transport of the considered solutes than on the catalytic structures of permeation.     

The genus Sarcostemma R.Br. (Asclepiadaceae) in Madagascar

The Madagascar! representatives of the genus Sarcostemma are investigated. All Malagasy material studied can be assigned to four taxa. S. viminale ssp. viminale occurs in Madagascar as well as on other islands along the African coast and on the African mainland: the other three species are endemic to Madagascar. All four species occur in the southern, arid part of the island, to which S. decorsei is endemic. S. membranaceum and S. elachistemmoides are new. All species are described and illustrated and a key and distribution maps are presented.     

2nd World Congress of Herpetology

Abstract Natterjack toads (Bufo calamita) form metapopulations consisting of interacting local and temporal breeding assemblages. The gene flow between simultaneously reproductive local populations is limited at the adult stage to about 2% roaming males and around 20% of females. The gene flow between temporal populations breeding successively at the same locality is based on about 0–15% of males and 0–29% of females reproducing in different temporal breeding assemblages. The annual mortality rate of males ranges between 50 and 60%, corresponding to a maximum life expectancy of about 7 years. The main cause of local extinction is always deterioration of the habitat, namely destruction of the breeding habitat or a dry climate.     

Ultimate Fate of Rod Outer Segments in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium

To investigate the degradation pathway of rod outer segments (ROS) in vivo, we injected gold-labeled ROS into the subretinal space of rabbits using a pars plana approach. Histology and electron microscopy performed on the specimens 72 hr after ROS injection revealed that the retina over the injection site was reattached, the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells were intact, and gold granules were localized inside melanin granules and melanosomes. These results indicate that, in RPE, in vivo degradation of ROS is associated with melanosomes.     

Solute Uptake of Acer pseudoplatanus Cell Suspensions during Recovery from Gas Shock

When the ambient atmosphere of Acer pseudoplatanus cells in suspension culture is rapidly changed by opening the culture flasks and gently stirring (‘mild gas-shock’) or by filtering and suspending in new medium (‘strong gas-shock’), drastic modifications of the rates of leucine, methionine, glucose, adenine, sulphate and phosphate uptake are observed. Following the gas-shock, rates of uptake rapidly decrease within a few minutes. Subsequently the rates increase again to the intial level within several hours. The uptake of potassium, which is known to be passively distributed between the medium and the interior of many plant cells, at least at high external concentrations, is apparently independent of gas-shock. The shock and recovery kinetics are similar for all solutes investigated (except K⁺), in particular for different solutes studied in double labelling experiments with the same batch of cells. At the maximum of the after-effect of shock, i.e. at minimum rates of uptake, uptake shows a highly reduced dependence on temperatures. Gas-shock probably inactivates, denatures, structurally alters or releases membrane macromolecules engaged in transport. These molecules are then re-synthesized and re-incorporated into the membrane during recovery.     

Survival and development of five species of cyclopoid copepods in relation to food supply: experiments with algal food in a flow-through system

1. Cyclops spp. generally develop and grow during favourable food conditions in spring and undergo a diapause in summer, while Acanthocyclops robustus, Mesocyclops leuckarti and Thermocyclops crassus develop and grow in summer when they face poorer food conditions and more competition from Cladocera. Since nauplii are the bottleneck in copepod development, we tested the hypothesis that Cyclops abyssorum and C. vicinus nauplii have higher food requirements for survival and development than the nauplii of A. robustus, M. leuckarti and T. crassus. We also tested survivorship and development from hatching to adulthood. 2. Survivorship and development of the copepods was studied in a flow‐through system using five concentrations of the phytoflagellate Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in the range from 1 × 10⁴ to 4.5 × 10⁵ cells mL^?1 (approximately 0.5–22.5 mg C L^?1). 3. Nauplii of both species of Cyclops died at intermediate to low (C. abyssorum) and low (C. vicinus) food concentrations, while nauplii of A. robustus, M. leuckarti and T. crassus survived at all concentrations. 4. The negative effects of low food concentration were also reflected in development. In C. abyssorum and C. vicinus, development duration increased at low food concentration while development was much less affected in A. robustus and T. crassus. Mesocyclops leuckarti was intermediate between Cyclops spp. and A. robustus/T. crassus, with an increase in development duration at the lowest food concentration. 5. Our results support the hypothesis that summer diapause in Cyclops spp. has developed as a strategy to avoid a food bottleneck for nauplii.     

Pain as a Cause of Aggression

Aggressive behavior can be elicited by aversive stimuli as anunconditioned reflex. Electric shock, heat, physical blows,and intra-cranial stimulation are among the stimuli which willelicit fighting. Various characteristics of the stimulus—suchas frequency of presentation, intensity, and duration, in thecase of shock—and of the environment in general, influencethe rate at which pain-elicited fighting occurs. Characteristicsof the animals—such as sex, age, sensory impairment, species,and social experience— also influence the occurrence ofrespondent aggression. Aggression can be conditioned according to both the operantand the respondent paradigms. Since both operant and respondentaggression can occur concurrently, interesting interactionsresult. Depending upon a number of variables, respondent aggressionexerts a disruptive influence on social behavior controlledby aversive stimuli. The interference of aggression with behaviormaintained by aversive stimuli may cause us to revise our opinionof the efficiency of aversive stimuli in social situations. Although pain is probably a source of human aggression, furtherresearch with infra-human animals, as well as actual researchwith humans, should elucidate the relationship between aversivestimuli and aggression in man.     

Effect of the Androgen-insensitivity Mutation on a Cytoplasmic Receptor for Dihydrotestosterone

A mutation which confers insensitivity to androgenic hormones causes a great decrease in the ability of kidney cytoplasmic receptors to bind dihydro-testosterone. This results in a lower nuclear uptake of the steroid.