Meiofaunal responses to nutrient additions in a Mediterranean stream

1. The effects of a moderate addition of nutrients (twofold N and threefold P) were examined during a 2‐year period to determine the response to nutrient addition in a meiofaunal community inhabiting sandy patches in a Mediterranean stream. 2. The pattern of meiofaunal assemblages exhibits a high degree of intra‐ and interannual variability. This pattern alternates between periods of hydrological stability and disturbances, such as floods and droughts, which is a characteristic of Mediterranean systems. 3. A before–after–control–impact (BACI) design was used to determine the outcome of the addition by comparing an upstream non‐enriched reach with an enriched downstream reach. Analysis of the study data by means of a nonparametric permutational procedure (permanova ) showed that fertilisation had a significant effect. Density and biomass values increased in the most abundant meiofaunal groups, including microcrustaceans, oligochaetes and chironomids. Microcrustaceans were the dominant group in the permanent meiofauna. 4. We also examined differences in microcrustacean secondary production in both reaches. Ostracods and cyclopoid copepods increased their secondary production in the impacted reach as a result of the nutrient addition. 5. Our study demonstrated that moderate nutrient enrichment can affect the biomass and production of stream meiofauna, but it is still unclear whether this effect was because of autotrophic or heterotrophic pathways.     

Existence of a Novel Hemagglutinin Having No Protease Activity in Vibrio mimicus

The protease elaborated by Vibrio mimicus is known to possess hemagglutinating ability to chicken erythrocytes, the well-known HA/protease. A non-protease hemagglutinin (HA) with strong agglutinating ability towards rabbit erythrocytes was obtained from 32 hr culture supernatant of a pathogenic environmental strain of V. mimicus. This HA (V. mimicus HA: VMHA) appeared stable at relatively higher temperature and agglutinated the erythrocytes from rabbit, guinea pig and mouse but not the erythrocytes from chicken, bovine, horse and sheep. Simple sugars, metal ions and chelating agents failed to inhibit the activity of VMHA. The activity of VMHA was found to be sensitive to digestion by proteolytic enzymes including HA/protease. These results provide evidence for the existence of novel HA other than HA/protease in V. mimicus.     

Roles of Subunit NuoK (ND4L) in the Energy-transducing Mechanism of Escherichia coli NDH-1 (NADH:Quinone Oxidoreductase)

The bacterial H⁺-translocating NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (NDH-1) catalyzes electron transfer from NADH to quinone coupled with proton pumping across the cytoplasmic membrane. The NuoK subunit (counterpart of the mitochondrial ND4L subunit) is one of the seven hydrophobic subunits in the membrane domain and bears three transmembrane segments (TM1–3). Two glutamic residues located in the adjacent transmembrane helices of NuoK are important for the energy coupled activity of NDH-1. In particular, mutation of the highly conserved carboxyl residue (_KGlu-36 in TM2) to Ala led to a complete loss of the NDH-1 activities. Mutation of the second conserved carboxyl residue (_KGlu-72 in TM3) moderately reduced the activities. To clarify the contribution of NuoK to the mechanism of proton translocation, we relocated these two conserved residues. When we shifted _KGlu-36 along TM2 to positions 32, 38, 39, and 40, the mutants largely retained energy transducing NDH-1 activities. According to the recent structural information, these positions are located in the vicinity of _KGlu-36, present in the same helix phase, in an immediately before and after helix turn. In an earlier study, a double mutation of two arginine residues located in a short cytoplasmic loop between TM1 and TM2 (loop-1) showed a drastic effect on energy transducing activities. Therefore, the importance of this cytosolic loop of NuoK (_KArg-25, _KArg-26, and _KAsn-27) for the energy transducing activities was extensively studied. The probable roles of subunit NuoK in the energy transducing mechanism of NDH-1 are discussed.     

Identification of amino compounds synthesized and translocated in symbiotic Parasponia

We investigated the synthesis and translocation of amino compounds in Parasponia, a genus of the Ulmaceae that represents the only non-legumes known to form a root nodule symbiosis with rhizohia. In the xylem sap of P. andersonii we identified asparagine. aspartate. glutamine, glutamated significant quantities of a non-protein amino acid. 4-methylglutamte(2-amino-4-methylpentanedioic acid). This identification was confirmed by two methods, capillary gas chromatography (GC) electron ionization (El) mass spectrometry (MS) and reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of derivatized compounds. In leaf, root and nodule samples from P. andersonii and P. parviflora we also identified the related compounds 4-methyleneglutamate and 4-methyleneglulamine. Using ¹⁵N₂ labelling and GC-Ms analysis of root nodule extracts we followed N₂ fixation and ammonia assimilation in P. andersonii root nodules and observed Label initially in glutamine and subsequently in glutamate, suggesting operation of the glutamine synthetase/glutamine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase (GS/GOGAT) pathway. Importantly, we observed the incorporation of significant quantities of ¹⁵N into 4-methylglutamate in nodules, demonstrating the de nova synthesis of this non protein amino acid and suggesting a role in the translation of N in symbioticParasponia.     

Biological rhythms in birds — development, insights and perspectives

The aim of this review is to show that probably the internal clock of precocial birds is imprinted in the prenatal period by exogenous factors (zeitgeber). The activity of organ functions occurs early during embryonic development, before this function is ultimately necessary to ensure the survival of the embryo. Prenatal activation of some functional systems may have a training effect on the postnatal efficiency.The development of physiological control systems is influenced by endogenous and exogenous factors during the late prenatal and early postnatal period: epigenetic adaptation processes play an important role in the development of animals; they have acquired characteristics which are innated but not genetically fixed. As a rule, the actual value during the determination period has a very strong influence on the set-point of the system. This will be explained using the example of thermoregulation.It is shown in detail that it seems to be possible to imprint the prenatal development of circadian rhythms by periodic changes of the light-dark cycle but not by rhythmic influence of acoustic signals.Altogether, there are more questions open than solved concerning the perinatal genesis of circadian rhythms in birds. Topics are given for the future research.