Insect infestations, incidence of viral plant diseases, and yield of winter wheat in relation to planting date in the northern Great Plains

Planting date effects on arthropod infestation and viral plant disease are undocumented for winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L., in South Dakota and the northern Great Plains. Winter wheat was planted over three dates (early, middle, and late; generally from late August to late September) to determine the effect on abundance of insect pests, incidence of plant damage, incidence of viral plant disease, and grain yield. The study was conducted simultaneously at two sites in South Dakota over three consecutive cropping seasons for a total of six site yr. Cereal aphids (Homoptera: Aphididae) were abundant in three site yr. Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), bird cherry-oat aphid, was the most abundant cereal aphid at the Brookings site, whereas Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), greenbug, predominated at Highmore. Aphid-days were greater in early versus late plantings. Aphid abundance in middle plantings depended on aphid species and site, but it usually did not differ from that in early plantings. Incidence of Barley yellow dwarf virus (family Luteoviridae, genus Luteovirus, BYDV) declined with later planting and was correlated with autumnal abundance of cereal aphids. Incidence of BYDV ranged from 24 to 81% among 1999 plantings and was < 8% in other years. Damage to seedling wheat by chewing insects varied for two site-years, with greater incidence in early and middle plantings. Wheat streak mosaic virus, spring infestations of cereal aphids, wheat stem maggot, and grasshoppers were insignificant. Yield at Brookings was negatively correlated with BYDV incidence but not cereal aphid abundance, whereas yield at Highmore was negatively correlated with aphid abundance but not BYDV incidence. Planting on 20 September or later reduced damage from chewing insects and reduced cereal aphid infestations and resulting BYDV incidence.     

Are Frontal Cognitive and Atrophy Patterns Different in PSP and bvFTD? A Comparative Neuropsychological and VBM Study

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTD) are two clinicohistological entities that share a severe prefrontal syndrome. To what extent do the cognitive syndrome and the location of the underlying brain atrophy unify or segregate these entities? Here, we examined the clinical and radiological patterns of frontal involvement and the neural bases of the cognitive dysfunctions observed in the Richardson form of PSP and the behavioral variant of FTD (bvFTD). The cognitive profile and grey and white matter volume of PSP (n = 19) and bvFTD (n = 16) patients and control participants (n = 18) were compared using a standard battery of neuropsychological tests and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), respectively. Analyses of correlations between neuropsychological and morphometric data were additionally performed. The severity and qualitative pattern of cognitive dysfunction was globally similar between the two patient groups. Grey matter volume was decreased in widespread frontal areas and in the temporal uncus in bvFTD, while it was decreased in the frontal and temporal lobes as well as in the thalamus in PSP. We also found an unexpected involvement of the frontal rectal gyrus in PSP patients compared to controls. Correlation analyses yielded different results in the two groups, with no area showing significant correlations in PSP patients, while several frontal and some temporal areas did so in bvFTD patients. In spite of minor neuropsychological and morphological differences, this study shows that the patterns of cognitive dysfunction and atrophy are very similar in PSP and bvFTD. However, executive dysfunction in these diseases may stem from partially divergent cortical and subcortical neural circuits.     

Mutants of Rhodobacter sphaeroides lacking one or more pigment-protein complexes and complementation with reaction-centre, LH1, and LH2 genes

The photosynthetic apparatus of Rhodobacter sphaeroides is comprised of three types of pigment-protein complex: the photochemical reaction centre and its attendant LH1 and LH2 light-harvesting complexes. To augment existing deletion/insertion mutants in the genes coding for these complexes we have constructed two further mutants, one of which is a novel double mutant which is devoid of all three types of complex. We have also constructed vectors for the expression of either LH1, LH2 or reaction-centre genes. The resulting system allows each pigment-protein complex to be studied either as part of an intact photosystem or as the sole complex in the cell. In this way we have demonstrated that reaction centres can assemble independently of either light-harvesting complex in R. sphaeroides. In addition, the isolation of derivatives of the deletion/insertion mutants exhibiting spontaneous mutations in carotenoid biosynthesis provides an avenue for examining the role of carotenoids in the assembly of the photosynthetic apparatus. We show that the LH1 complex is assembled regardless of the carotenoid background, and that the type of carotenoid present modifies the absorbance of the LH1 bacteriochlorophylls.     

The mitochondrially encoded "phantom ATPase" of S. cerevisiae. II. A heterogeneous mitochondrial ATPase population in situ.

Summary The mitochondrial ATPase from a PHO 1 mutant (OLI 2, PHO 1, OLI 4 region on mit DNA of S. cerevisiae) was further examined. A new purification method using Lysolecithin instead of Triton allowed us to solubilize and separate a heterogeneous ATPase population from PHO 1-mitochondria: the major abnormal fraction had extremely low oligomycin-sensitivity (but normal specific immunological reactivity), while a minor normal fraction (representing about 20% of the initial mitochondrial ATPase activity) had high sensitivity and affinity for oligomycin.Moderate urea treatment of PHO 1-mitochondria leads to partial loss of ATPase activity and a concomitant increase of oligomycin-sensitivity, suggesting that a heterogeneous ATPase population exists in situ in the mitochondrial membrane: part of the major abnormal ATPase fraction is selectively inactivated by urea, producing a concomitant enrichment in the initially minor normal ATPase fraction.If the minor normal ATPase fraction is the only one capable of in vivo ATP synthesis, the deficient but oligomycin-sensitive cell growth and oxidative phosphorylation in vitro are readily explained.Further structural studies are under way to ascertain whether the minor normal ATPase fraction is strictly identical to the wild type, in which case PHO 1 is a regulatory gene, or not, in which case PHO 1 is a structural gene.     

Using evolutionary information and ancestral sequences to understand the sequence-function relationship in GLP-1 agonists

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone with therapeutic potential for type 2 diabetes. A variety of GLP-1 sequences are known from amphibian species, and some of these have been tested here and found to be able to bind and activate the human GLP-1 receptor. While little difference was observed for the in vitro potency for the human GLP-1 receptor, larger differences were found in the enzymatic stability of these peptides. Two peptides showed increased enzymatic stability, and they group together phylogenetically, though they originate from Amphibia and Reptilia. We have used ancestral sequence reconstruction to analyze the evolution of these GLP-1 molecules, including the synthesis of new peptides. We find that the increased stability could not be observed in the resurrected peptides from the common ancestor of frogs, even though they maintain the ability to activate the human GLP-1 receptor. Another method, using residue mapping on evolutionary branches yielded peptides that had maintained potency towards the receptor and also showed increased stability. This represents a new approach using evolutionary data in protein engineering.     

Nitrate reductase activity in the course of cucumber leaf ontogenesis

Nitrate reductase activity in the leaves of young plants of cucumber.Cucumis sativus L. cv. Bílská, as determined bothin vitro andin vivo and expressed in terms of fresh weight, gradually changes in dependence on the ontogenetic development of the plants, reaching its maximum before full expansion of the leaves.     

Decreased Electroconvulsive Shock-Induced Diacylglycerols and Free Fatty Acid Accumulation in the Rat Brain by Ginkgo biloba Extract (EGb 761): Selective Effect in Hippocampus as Compared with Cerebral Cortex

Abstract: The effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) treatment (100 mg/kg/day, per os, for 14 days) on electroconvulsive shock (ECS)-induced accumulation of free fatty acids (FFA) and diacylglycerols (DAG) was analyzed in rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus. EGb 761 reduced the FFA pool size by 33% and increased the DAG pool by 36% in the hippocampus. These endogenous lipids were unaffected in cerebral cortex. During the tonic seizure (10 s after ECS) the fast accumulation of FFA, mainly 20:4, was similar in sham- and EGb 761 -treated rats, in both the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. However, further accumulation of free 18:0 and 20:4, observed in the hippocampus of sham-treated rats during clonic seizures (30 s to 2 min after ECS), did not occur in EGb 761-treated animals. The rise in DAG content triggered in the cortex and hippocampus by ECS was delayed by EGb 761 treatment from 10 s to 1 min, when values similar to those in sham animals were attained. Moreover, in the hippocampus the size of the total DAG pool was decreased by 19% during the tonic seizure. At later times, DAG content showed a faster decrease in EGb 761-treated rats. By 2 min levels of all DAG acyl groups decreased to values significantly lower than in sham animals in both cortex and hippocampus. This study shows that EGb 761 treatment affects, with high selectivity, lipid metabolism and lipid-derived second messenger release and removal in the hippocampus, while affecting to a lesser extent the cerebral cortex.