Regulatory and molecular properties of citrate synthases from methylotrophs

Abstract Gram-negative methylotrophs contain a high- M _r'large' citrate synthase. Gram-positive methylotrophs, on the other hand, contain a 'small' citrate synthase. These differences in M _r coincided partly with differences in NADH sensitivity. Citrate synthases from obligate Gram-negative and Gram-positive facultative methylotrophs were insensitive to feedback inhibition by NADH; only the enzymes from Gram-negative facultative methylotrophs were inhibited by NADH.     

Effects of habitat fragmentation on provisioning rates, diet and breeding success in two species of tit (great tit and blue tit)

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of forest fragmentation on the ability of parent birds to provide their young with an adequate food supply. To examine whether prey population densities of the great tit (Parus major L.) and the blue tit (P. caeruleus L.) vary between study areas in different forest size classes we compared provisioning rates and chick diet and related these parameters to breeding success. We filmed 217 nests over two breeding seasons and collected data on frass fall as a general estimate of caterpillar availability. Nests which were attended by none or one parent only during filming (n = 46) were excluded from the analyses. In both years and for both species feeding rates were highest in the smallest fragments and lowest in the large forest. There was also a suggestion that differences in feeding rates between areas vary between years. We found no consistent tendency for prey size to change with forest size, although both species brought slightly smaller prey items to the nest in the smallest forest fragments and feeding rates correlated negatively with prey size. Caterpillars were the main item fed to nestlings, in both species. We found no evidence to suggest that either frass fall or the proportion of caterpillars in the diet varied with forest size. There was also no correlation between mean frass fall and the total number of caterpillars brought to the nests, in either species. Breeding success, as measured by clutch size, brood size, fledging weight and fledging success, did not differ between the small fragments and the large forest, in either species. There was also no relationship between provisioning rate (as concerns volume of prey fed to nestlings and the quality of chick diet) and breeding success parameters. In conclusion, this study does not suggest suboptimal foraging or breeding conditions in small fragments compared to a nearby large forest, for either species. Received: 23 June 1997 / Accepted: 29 December 1997     

Stomatal response to humidity in a sugarcane field: simultaneous porometric and micrometeorological measurements*

Abstract. Gas exchange data obtained with wellventilated leaf cuvettes provide clear evidence of a stomatal response to leaf-air vapour pressure difference (V). In contrast, remotely sensed leaf temperatures with specific assumptions regarding canopy boundary layer characteristics, have been interpreted to mean that stomata do not respond to V. We address this apparent discrepancy in a sugarcane field by simultaneous application of a single-leaf, porometric technique and a whole-canopy, Bowen ratioenergy balance technique. These methods indicated significant stomatal response to V in well-irrigated sugarcane. Stomatal responses to V in the field were obscured by strong covariance of major environmental parameters so that opening responses to light and closing responses to V tended to offset each other. Low boundary layer conductance significantly uncoupled V at the leaf surface (V_s) from V determined in the bulk atmosphere (V_a). This reduced the range of the stimulus, V_s, thereby reducing the range of the stomatal response, without indicating low stomatal sensitivity to V. Stomatal responses to V_a may be smaller than expected from V response curves in cuvettes, since V_s rather than the conventionally measured V_a is analogous to V in a well-stirred cuvette. Recently published conclusions that remotely sensed canopy temperatures are inconsistent with stomatal response to V may be based on erroneous estimates of canopy boundary layer conductance and thus of V_s, use of air saturation deficit rather than V to express evaporative demand, and investigation at higher levels of evaporative demand than those eliciting maximal stomatal response.     

Fungal flora of the digestive tract of 5 species of triatomines vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi,Chagas 1909

A study of the mycobiota in the digestive tract of 5 important species of triatomines, Triatoma brasiliensis, T. infestans, T. sordida, T. pseudomaculata and T. vitticeps, was made. The digestive tracts of 164 adults and 535 nymphs of those triatomines were studied and 393 fungal strains were isolated.The genera with the greatest number of species were Penicillium (19 species), Aspergillus (17 species) and Acremonium (5 species) and the most frequent species, in decreasing order, were Penicillium corylophilum, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium fellutanum, Cladosporium herbarum, Penicillium waksmanii, Aspergillus awamori and Paecilomyces variotii. Among the isolated fungi, we found species that are recognized as entomopathogenic and pathogenic for humans and animals.This revised version was published online in October 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

紫球藻的培养与利用（综述）

紫球藻为单细胞红藻,其细胞富含红藻多糖、多不饱和脂肪酸(主要为AA和EPA）及藻胆蛋白等高价值生物活性物质,在医药和精细化工领域有广泛的应用前景。本文综述紫球藻的生物学特性、生物活性物质、培养与培养特性等方面的研究概况。     

散斑壳属Lophodermium spp.ITS区的序列分析

在国内首次对散斑壳属两个代表种的rRNA基因内转录间区(ITS区)进行了克隆测序,并与Genbank中已有的有关序列进行了比较。发现散斑壳属种间的遗传差异明显高于种内的遗传差异,这与形态学分类相符合,表明ITS区序列分析与形态学鉴定相结合的方法用于散斑壳属的分类研究是可行的。     

Identification of a chemically induced point mutation mediating herbicide tolerance in annual medics (Medicago spp.)

Background and Aims: Sulfonylurea (SU) herbicides are used extensively in cereal–livestockfarming zones as effective and cheap herbicides with usefullevels of residual activity. These residues can persist beyondthe cropping year, severely affecting legumes in general, andannual medics in particular, resulting in reduced dry matterproduction, lower seed yields and decreased nitrogen fixation.A strand medic cultivar, Medicago littoralis ‘Angel’,has been developed via chemical mutagenesis with tolerance toSU soil residues. Identifying the molecular basis of the observedtolerance was the aim of this study. Methods: Two F₂ populations were generated from crosses between ‘Angel’and varieties of intolerant M. truncatula, the male-sterilemutant tap and the cultivar ‘Caliph’. Genetic mappingwith SSR (single sequence repeat) and gene-based markers allowedidentification of the trait-defining gene. Quantitative geneexpression studies showed the activity of the respective alleles. Key Results: Segregation ratios indicated the control of SU-herbicide toleranceby a single dominant gene. SU herbicides inhibit the biosynthesisof the branched-chain amino acids by targeting the acetolactatesynthase enzyme, allowing the choice of a mapping approach usingacetolactate synthase (ALS) gene homologues as candidates. SSR-markeranalysis suggested the ALS-gene homologue on chromosome 3 inM. truncatula. The ALS-gene sequences from ‘Angel’and intolerant genotypes were sequenced. In ‘Angel’,a single point mutation from C to T translating into an aminoacid change from proline to leucine was identified. The polymorphismwas used to develop a diagnostic marker for the tolerance trait.Expression of the mutant ALS allele was confirmed by quantitativeRT-PCR and showed no differences at various seedling stagesand treatments to the corresponding wild-type allele. Conclusions: The identification of the trait-defining gene and the developmentof a diagnostic marker enable efficient introgression of thiseconomically important trait in annual medic improvement programs.     

Stomatal control of transpiration from a developing sugarcane canopy

Abstract. Stomatal conductance of single leaves and transpiration from an entire sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid) canopy were measured simultaneously using independent techniques. Stomatal and environmental controls of transpiration were assessed at three stages of canopy development, corresponding to leaf area indices (L) of 2.2, 3.6 and 5.6. Leaf and canopy boundary layers impeded transport of transpired water vapour away from the canopy, causing humidity around the leaves to find its own value through local equilibration rather than a value determined by the humidity of the bulk air mass above the canopy. This tended to uncouple transpiration from direct stomatal control, so that transpiration predicted from measurement of stomatal conductance and leaf-to-air vapour pressure differences was increasingly overestimated as the reference point for ambient vapour pressure measurement was moved farther from the leaf and into the bulk air. The partitioning of control between net radiation and stomata was expressed as a dimensionless decoupling coefficent ranging from zero to 1.0. When the stomatal aperture was near its maximum this coefficient was approximately 0.9, indicating that small reductions in stomatal aperture would have had little effect on canopy transpiration. Maximum rates of transpiration were, however, limited by large adjustments in maximum stomatal conductance during canopy development. The product of maximum stomatal conductance and L. a potential total canopy conductance in the absence of boundary layer effects, remained constant as L increased. Similarly, maximum canopy conductance, derived from independent micrometeorological measurements, also remained constant over this period. Calculations indicated that combined leaf and canopy boundary layer conductance decreased with increasing L such that the ratio of boundary layer conductance to maximum stomatal conductance remained nearly constant at approximately 0.5. These observations indicated that stomata adjusted to maintain both transpiration and the degree of stomatal control of transpiration constant as canopy development proceeded.     

Effects of biocontrol agents on lipid and protein composition of Indian mustard seeds from plants infected with Alternaria species

Field experiments were carried out with Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Cv RLM 1359) to investigate the influence of biocontrol agents on seeds from plants infected with Alternaria blight. The biocontrol agents viz, Trichoderma harzianum, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilis were applied as seed treatment/seed treatment coupled with spray on 30 and 60 days after sowing of seeds in experimental fields. The plants treated with different biocontrol agents were more developed than non-treated plants throughout the experiment. Biochemical analysis revealed that application of biocontrol agents resulted in increase in lipid and protein content in seeds from treated plants. The proportion of various lipidic fractions i.e. phospholipids, glycolipids and sterol content in seeds increased with a corresponding decrease in total glycerides. The proportion of 18:3, 20:1 and 22:1 fatty acids increased while that of 18:1 and 18:2 fatty acids decreased in seeds with application of biocontrol agents. There were both qualitative and quantitative differences in the banding patterns of albumin and globulin proteins after application of biocontrol agents. The data suggested that biochemical alterations in the host induced by treatment with biocontrol agents could be associated with defence mechanisms and enhanced growth of the plant.     

Mate guarding in relation to seasonal changes in the energy reserves of two freshwater amphipods (Gammarus fossarum and G. pulex)

1. We assessed sex‐specific seasonal changes in major energy storage compounds (triglycerides, glycogen) in Gammarus fossarum and Gammarus pulex collected from the field, with respect to their reproductive activity. 2. The dynamics of stored energy followed a seasonal pattern in both species and sexes. Moreover, over a 4‐year period, these changes were independent of the year in which they were investigated. Stored energy reached a peak in late winter, but was depleted in late summer and early autumn, coinciding with the reproductive periods. 3. Triglyceride (annual mean ± SD) accounted for 79.7 ± 11.9% of the total stored energy and was responsible for the seasonal pattern. In contrast, glycogen contributed a lesser percentage (20.3 ± 11.9%). Over the study period, the amount of stored energy ranged between 0.39 and 4.08 kJ g^?1 dry mass (triglyceride: 0.19–3.69 kJ g^?1 dry mass; glycogen: 0.14–0.80 kJ g^?1 dry mass). 4. In both species, the energy reserves of males were drastically depleted shortly before the cessation of precopulatory mate guarding in the field, thus offering a bioenergetic explanation for the reproductive period in these two widespread species.