The last population of the Woodland Brown butterfly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lopinga achine</Emphasis>) in the Czech Republic: habitat use,demography and site management

The distribution of Lopinga achine (Lepidoptera Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) in the Czech Republic has declined from thirty grid squares before 1950 to just one extant population, restricted to a single area of deciduous woodland. A review of historical sites shows that this species used to occur in various types of deciduous woodland with a relatively sparse canopy maintained by coppicing and/or grazing. The extant population inhabits mature woodland with a mean canopy cover of 60% (quartiles 50% and 65%), sparse shrubs and a species-rich herb layer containing plant species requiring dry, warm and nutrient-poor conditions. The larval host plants are the fine-leafed sedges, Carex fritschii and C. michelii. In 2006, the total population contained about 10,000 adults but this may be an over-estimate, biased by male behaviour. Measurements of adult mobility, well approximated by an inverse-power function, suggested that all existing colonies are interconnected by dispersal. Continuing existence of the population depends on two conditions; nutrient-poor conditions for a diverse ground flora and a sparse tree canopy. While canopy closure is gradually increasing, the herb layer is threatened by soil enrichment due to the demise of traditional grazing, litter raking and grass mowing in woodlands. Any future management to favour Lopinga achine should include both measures to maintain a sparse canopy and measures to export biomass, such as raking or mowing of ground flora or, preferably, re-establishment of grazing. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Reduction of 2-Substituted Cyclohexanones by Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

An enzymatic reduction of 2-substituted cyclohexanones mediated by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was studied with respect to the stereochemical course and optical purity of the products. Reduction of ketones 1b-1f resulted in separable diastereoisomeric mixtures of cis- and trans-stereoisomers of 2-substituted cyclohexanols (2b-2f and 3b-3f) having the (S) absolute configuration at the chiral center bearing the hydroxyl functionality with high enantiomeric purity. Reduction of ketone 1a yielded mixture of cis-(1S, 2R)- and trans-(1R, 2R)-stereoisomers (2a and 3a) with lower enantiomeric purity. Changes in the nature of the C(2)-substituent affect the stereochemical course of the biotransformation. However, they significantly influenced the enantiomeric purity of the products. The diastereoselectivity of the process was studied as well; high diastereoselectivity was observed with the substrates 1a, 1e and 1f.     

The phosphatase activity of the isolated H4-H5 loop of Na+/K+ ATPase resides outside its ATP binding site.

The structural stability of the large cytoplasmic domain (H(4)-H(5) loop) of mouse alpha(1) subunit of Na(+)/K(+) ATPase (L354-I777), the number and the location of its binding sites for 2'-3'-O-(trinitrophenyl) adenosine 5'-triphosphate (TNP-ATP) and p-nitrophenylphosphate (pNPP) were investigated. C- and N-terminal shortening revealed that neither part of the phosphorylation (P)-domain are necessary for TNP-ATP binding. There is no indication of a second ATP site on the P-domain of the isolated loop, even though others reported previously of its existence by TNP-N(3)ADP affinity labeling of the full enzyme. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-anisotropy measurements reveal a considerable stability of the nucleotide (N)-domain suggesting that it may not undergo a substantial conformational change upon ATP binding. The FITC modified loop showed only slightly diminished phosphatase activity, most likely due to a pNPP site on the N-domain around N398 whose mutation to D reduced the phosphatase activity by 50%. The amino acids forming this pNPP site (M384, L414, W411, S400, S408) are conserved in the alpha(1-4) isoforms of Na(+)/K(+) ATPase, whereas N398 is only conserved in the vertebrates' alpha(1) subunit. The phosphatase activity of the isolated H(4)-H(5) loop was neither inhibited by ATP, nor affected by mutation of D369, which is phosphorylated in native Na(+)/K(+) ATPase.     

Development and characerization of cell lines from subhuman primates

Summary Seven epithelial cell lines derived from kidney and 20 fibroblastic cell lines deriving from lung, heart, muscle, kidney, and skin tissue of five rhesus and six African green monkey fetuses have been established and propagated in culture. Four epithelial cell two fibroblastic cell lines resumed cell multiplication after a period of growth decline, and these lines developed cytogenetic changes and growth characteristics of cells capable of unlimited growth in vitro. Sixteen of the fibroblastic lines derived from lung, heart, muscle, or skin were characterized by a finite life consisting of a period of active cell multiplication, followed by growth decline, senescence, and cell death. Fibroblasts derived from lung appeared to have the greatest growth potential in terms of total population doublings, and fibroblastic lines from rhesus monkeys were usually capable of more doublings than similar lines from African green monkeys. All fibroblastic lines were predominantly diploid during active growth from passages 1 to 30, but several lines developed karyological changes preceding or during growth decline and senescence. All lines tested were found sensitive to a number of human viruses. All tests on these cells for microbial agents and for tumorigenicity have been negative, and the have been preserved by freezing without loss of properties. These cell lines may be useful as standardized substrates in studies requiring nonhuman primate cells. The research upon which this publication is based was performed pursuant to Contract No. NIH-69-100 with the Division of Biologics Standards of the National Institutes of Health.