Specific labelling of the active site of the phosphate translocator in spinach chloroplasts by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonate

Phosphate transport across the chloroplast envelope is rapidly inactivated by the amino-group reagent 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonate. Subsequent exposure to [³H]NaBH₄ leads to an incorporation of the trinitrophenyl moiety into envelope membrane preparations. From the membrane proteins only a polypeptide with 29000 dalton molecular weight is labelled. The inactivation of phosphate transport and the incorporation of radioactivity are both specifically reduced by the presence of substrates.The results lead to the conclusion that a polypeptide with a molecular weight of 29000 dalton and containing a lysyl residue at the substrate binding site is involved in the phosphate translocator function.     

Alterations in the lipid content of rat palatal epithelium during carcinogenesis

Summary The hard palates of 150 female albino rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain were painted 3 times a week either with the fat-soluble carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) for 11 months with inhibited secretion of saliva or with the water-soluble carcinogen 4-nitrochinoline N-oxide (4NQO) for 8 months with intact salivary secretion. Specimens were taken regularly from the mucosa of the hard palate, and the content of lipids in the epithelium was studied histochemically and biochemically during the carcinogenesis.Changes in the lipid content could be observed histochemically as there was a focal loss of lipid stainability in the epithelium during the more advanced stages of carcinogenesis with severe epithelial dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and early invasive carcinoma.The biochemical method used (TLC) could not, however, verify the histologically observed changes in the lipid content of the epithelium, probably because the changes were very local.The investigations have been performed with financial support from Maggie Stephens Foundation, Colgate-Palmolive Limited and from the Swedish Dental Society.     

The neuropeptide VIP regulates the expression of osteoclastogenic factors in osteoblasts

Osteoclast formation is controlled by stromal cells/osteoblasts expressing macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), crucial for osteoclast progenitor cell proliferation, survival and differentiation, and osteoprotegerin (OPG) that inhibits the interaction between RANKL and its receptor RANK. Recent data have strongly indicated that the nervous system plays an important role in bone biology. In the present study, the effects of the neuropeptide vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), present in peptidergic skeletal nerve fibers, on the expression of RANKL, OPG, and M-CSF in osteoblasts and stromal cells have been investigated. VIP and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide 38 (PACAP-38), but not secretin, stimulated rankl mRNA expression in mouse calvarial osteoblasts. In contrast, VIP inhibited the mRNA expressions of opg and m-csf, effects shared by PACAP-38, but not by secretin. VIP did not affect rankl, opg, or m-csf mRNA expression in mouse bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). The effects by VIP on the mRNA expression of rankl, opg, and m-csf were all potentiated by the cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor rolipram. In addition, VIP robustly enhanced the phosphorylation of ERK and the stimulatory effect by VIP on rankl mRNA was inhibited by the MEK1/2 inhibitor PD98059. These observations demonstrate that activation of VPAC(2) receptors in osteoblasts enhances the RANKL/OPG ratio by mechanisms mediated by cyclic AMP and ERK pathways suggesting an important role for VIP in bone remodeling.     

European springtime temperature synchronises ibex horn growth across the eastern Swiss Alps

Direct effects of climate change on animal physiology, and indirect impacts from disruption of seasonal synchrony and breakdown of trophic interactions are particularly severe in Arctic and Alpine ecosystems. Unravelling biotic from abiotic drivers, however, remains challenging because high‐resolution animal population data are often limited in space and time. Here, we show that variation in annual horn growth (an indirect proxy for individual performance) of 8043 male Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) over the past four decades is well synchronised among eight disjunct colonies in the eastern Swiss Alps. Elevated March to May temperatures, causing premature melting of Alpine snowcover, earlier plant phenology and subsequent improvement of ibex food resources, fuelled annual horn growth. These results reveal dependency of local trophic interactions on large‐scale climate dynamics, and provide evidence that declining herbivore performance is not a universal response to global warming even for high‐altitude populations that are also harvested.     

Joint evolution of predator body size and prey-size preference

We studied the joint evolution of predator body size and prey-size preference based on dynamic energy budget theory. The predators’ demography and their functional response are based on general eco-physiological principles involving the size of both predator and prey. While our model can account for qualitatively different predator types by adjusting parameter values, we mainly focused on ‘true’ predators that kill their prey. The resulting model explains various empirical observations, such as the triangular distribution of predator–prey size combinations, the island rule, and the difference in predator–prey size ratios between filter feeders and raptorial feeders. The model also reveals key factors for the evolution of predator–prey size ratios. Capture mechanisms turned out to have a large effect on this ratio, while prey-size availability and competition for resources only help explain variation in predator size, not variation in predator–prey size ratio. Predation among predators is identified as an important factor for deviations from the optimal predator–prey size ratio.     

Observations on Bostrychia radicosa comb. nov. (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta)

Only two genera in the Rhodomelaceae share the morphological character of transverse division of periaxial cells into two or more tier cells in which the pit connection is retained between the lower cell and the axial cell: Bostrychia and Rhodolachne. One species, Rhodolachne radicosa Itono, has been reported from mangroves, a common habitat for Bostrychia. Many collections of an entity similar to Rhodolachne radicosa have been made from localities around the Indo‐Pacific. Culture observations show a Polysiphonia‐type sexual life history in Malaysia and New Caledonia isolates that produce self‐compatible bisexual gametophytes. The New Caledonia isolate also has unisexual gametophytes. An isolate from New South Wales (Australia) reproduces asexually through successive generations of tetrasporophytes. The Thailand isolate has successive generations of mixed‐phase tetrasporophytes. The tetrasporangial stichidia also bear male spermatangial sectors, but female structures are lacking. Western Australia and Madagascar isolates do not reproduce in culture. Molecular evidence, based on sequencing of the rbcL and the large subunit ribosomal RNA genes, shows that these isolates belong to the genus Bostrychia. Low molecular weight carbohydrate analysis reveals high levels of digeneaside in all isolates. The sugar hexitol sorbitol, an osmolyte characteristic of Bostrychia, occurs in all isolates, whereas the Madagascar and New Caledonia isolates have very low levels of dulcitol. Molecular, low molecular weight carbohydrate and morphological evidence show that Rhodolachne radicosa belongs within the genus Bostrychia. We transfer Rhodolachne radicosa to Bostrychia radicosa (Itono) West, Zuccarello and Hommersand.