Responses of the teleost pituitary (goldfish,eel) to deionized water

Summary The cytological responses of the pituitary gland during adaptation to deionized water (DW) were investigated in the goldfish and the eel. In both teleost species, a stimulation of the prolactin (PRL) cells could not be detected, although the levels of blood electrolytes (Na⁺,Ca²⁺,Cl^–) are reduced in the eel. PRL cells appear less active in DW-adapted eels. A striking stimulation of the PAS-positive cells of the pars intermedia occurs in both species after 3 weeks and, in the eel, is still present after 11 weeks. Cell and nuclear hypertrophy, mitoses and a well-developed endoplasmic reticulum are observed. MSH cells are partially degranulated when pigmentation is affected; a reduced activity of MSH cells is evident after 11 weeks. The amount of neurohypophysial tissue is reduced. In the goldfish and the eel, during adaptation to DW, an unknown factor secreted by the PAS-positive cells of the pars intermedia appears to play a more important role than the secretion of PRL. These two species are able to survive in fresh water without the pituitary. The control of the PAS-positive cells by external sodium or calcium is discussed.     

Structural relationships between parenchymal and stromal elements in the pars intermedia of the rat adenohypophysis as demonstrated by extracellular space markers

Summary The pars intermedia (PI) of the rat adenohypophysis was studied by light and transmission electron microscopy after conventional staining as well as ruthenium red staining, and after systemic injection of horseradish peroxidase. The studies disclose a complex and constant system of two channel types (Type I and Type II channels) formed by PI cells with specific relationships to a very rich nerve supply, to each other, and to a stellate cell type proposed here to represent an element of neuroglia. The channel system could perform a function in the movement of fluids and solutes within the PI which is virtually avascular in the rat as well as in other mammals.Supported by the Medical Research Council of Canada Grant # MA6445We thank Mr. J. Jones and Mr. A.R. Morris for their expert technical assistance     

Endemism,palaeoendemism and migration: the case for the ‘European endemic’, Mallomonas intermedia

The Synurophyceae is a well-supported clade of ecologically important heterokont algae found largely in freshwater planktonic habitats worldwide, whose members have cell coverings consisting of species-specific siliceous scales overlapped in a highly organized manner. Many synurophytes have been described as endemic and are found only in specific regions of the world. A thriving population of the European endemic, Mallomonas intermedia, was discovered in a remote desert pond situated in the Virgin Valley, Nevada, USA and in a stratigraphic sequence from the middle Eocene fossil locality known as Horsefly in British Columbia, Canada. Both North American finds were closely compared with populations from Europe, confirming the identifications. Before these discoveries, this species was recorded from numerous waterbodies exclusively in Europe, but was lacking from hundreds of sites examined from other continents. Its presence in western North America during the warm middle Eocene confirms that historically this species had a significantly wider distribution and may be best classified as a palaeoendemic. Additional species uncovered from a second fossil locality that are closely related to M. intermedia further support the presence of this lineage in North America during the Eocene. The living population in northern Nevada presents an enigma. Does this remote desert population represent a remnant population that has gone undetected until now, or is it a recent arrival from an unknown region by an unknown vector?     

Species-specificity of monoclonal antibodies recognising Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens

Abstract Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens are not easily distinguished, making it difficult to assess their roles in disease. This study examined the specificity of three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for these species. Differentiation between P. intermedia (13 isolates) and P. nigrescens (24 isolates) was by the electrophoretic mobility of their malate and glutamate dehydrogenase enzymes or by DNA homology grouping. All P. intermedia reacted strongly with mAb 40BI3.2.2 whereas P. nigrescens strains did not. Monoclonal antibodies 37BI6.1 and 39BI1.1.2 recognised all strains of both species but most P. nigrescens reacted weakly with mAb 39BI1.1.2. Monoclonal antibody 40BI3.2.2 therefore recognises an antigen specific for P. intermedia but not P. nigrescens and provides an easy and reliable means of distinguishing between these species. Three vaginal isolates identified biochemically as P. intermedia had enzymes with mobilities corresponding to neither P. intermedia nor P. nigrescens . These isolates were not recognised by mAbs 39BI1.1.2 or 40BI3.2.2 and may represent an undescribed taxon within this group of organisms.     

Variation of Breeding Systems in Populations of Caragana intermedia (Leguminosae ) in Maowusu Sandy Grassland

Maowusu sandy grassland locating at an ecotone between typical desert and typical grassland contained several landscape ecotypes or elements where Caragana intermedia Kuang et H.C.Fu naturally distributed as a dominant species in shrub ecosystems. Based on a phenomenon of gene segregation of open-pollinated seeds within each plants similar to Mendel's segregation in F2, a study on testing the breeding systems of populations under 4 landscape ecotypes was conducted. Statistical data showed its availability in estimation of breeding system parameters when isozymes were used as genetic markers. Nei's genetic differentiation GST among 4 ecotypes in Maowusu was estimated at 0.07 from lap loci close to a GST =0.076 reported in the authors' laboratory. The results indicated that breeding systems of populations gradually changed from total outbreeding to partial inbreeding when water conditions worsened. Therefore, the former RAPD data, especially the cline of frequencies for a few polymorphic DNAs in different landscapes can be partially explained by gene fixation caused by selfing or inbreeding probably induced by drought. It was difficult to assess breeding system parameters by using one dimensional SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of seed proteins of C. intermedia simply due to a difficulty of genetic analysis of seed protein subunits.     

Gibberella intermedia C2转化4-雄甾烯-3、17-二酮的研究

甾体化合物具有独特的生理活性,已被广泛应用于抗炎、利尿、免疫、避孕及抗癌等领域。近些年,生物催化与转化在甾体药物中间体合成中发挥的作用日益强大。为了能够合成一些具有潜在价值的新型甾体化合物,以实验室菌种库中保藏的一株Gibberella intermedia C2为研究对象,选取了雄甾烷中一种有广泛用途的化合物4-雄甾烯-3、17-二酮(简称雄烯二酮,AD)为底物进行生物转化。转化液经提取分离,最终获得2个转化产物,经结构鉴定分别为15α-OH-AD和11α,15α-diOH-AD。转化机制研究发现,G.intermedia C2先将底物的15位羟基化生成15α-OHAD,再将其11位羟基化形成双羟基产物。赤霉菌能够特异性、有序地完成对AD的两步羟化反应。此外,通过工艺优化,确定了羟化4AD反应的最适工艺参数如下:发酵培养基的初始pH 6.5,装液量30ml/250ml,底物浓度6.0g/L,转化温度28℃,摇床转速220r/min,转化周期为84h。此时,底物AD的摩尔转化率达到81.5%。     

Ultrastructure of the anuran pars intermedia following severance of hypothalamic connection

Summary The ultrastructure of the pars intermedia of Rana catesbeiana tadpoles was studied following isolation from the hypothalamus, in vivo after sectioning of the pituitary stalk, and in vitro after implantation of the pituitary into a piece of tail fin. Both experimental procedures were followed by rapid and sustained skin darkening. Pituitaries from normal light and dark adapted tadpoles served as controls.In 4-hour disinhibited glands, melanotrophs revealed hyperactive Golgi bodies, colloid vesicles (1–2 microns) in close proximity to axon terminals, and no apparent loss of secretory granules. At 24 hours extracellular colloid adjacent to axon terminals was found, and extensive arrays of RER appeared in the melanotrophs. Obvious granule loss from secretory cells occurred within a week, by which time the cytoplasm was occupied by large cisterns of SER and RER and abundant free ribosomes. Dense core vesicles (600–900 Å) in aminergic nerve terminals disappeared shortly after isolation of the pituitary from the hypothalamus, and only decreasing numbers of translucent vesicles (200–300 Å) were found.The functional significance of these changes is discussed, with particular emphasis on the mode of acute hormone release.This study was carried out in the Department of Anatomy, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. I am greatly indebted to Professor Berta Scharrer and Professor William Etkin for their sponsorship, guidance and encouragement. Warm thanks are due to Mrs. Sarah Wurzelmann and Mr. Stanley Brown for their technical assistance. Support from U.S.P.H.S. grants NIH-NB 00840, NIH R01 Am 3984 and NSF Grant 12353 is gratefully acknowledged.     

Coaggregation between Prevotella nigrescens and Prevotella intermedia with Actinomyces naeslundii strains

Abstract Using a visual coaggregation assay, 43% (6 of 14) of Prevotella nigrescens and 50% (4 of 8) of Prevotella intermedia strains coaggregated with Actinomyces naeslundii strains which represented the six Actinomyces coaggregation groups (A to F). For both species, coaggregation occurred most frequently with A. naeslundii strains from coaggregation groups C, D and E. No coaggregation was observed with Actinomyces israelii , Actinomyces odontolyticus or six oral Streptococcus species. Coaggregation was not inhibited by lactose, saliva or serum. Pretreatment of Prevotella strains with heat, SDS and proteinase K abolished coaggregation when the treated cells were added to untreated Actinomyces strains. The same pretreatment of the Actinomyces strains had no effect on their ability to coaggregate with untreated Prevotella strains. Pretreatment of all coaggregating P. nigrescens strains with trypsin abolished coaggregation, whereas the coaggregation ability of the P. intermedia and Actinomyces strains was resistant to trypsin pretreatment. Pretreatment of the strains of both Prevotella species and the Actinomyces with periodate abolished coaggregation in all cases. These results suggest that the Prevotella strains each possess a protein coaggregation adhesin, which for the P. intermedia strains is resistant to trypsin, that interacts with a non-protein receptor on the A. naeslundii strains.     

Lipase and acidic phosphatase from the psychrotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens: Two enzymes whose synthesis is regulated by the growth temperature

Abstract The characterization of a protease inhibitor produced by a strain of Prevotella intermedia is reported in the present study. The protease inhibitor was secreted into the culture medium during the exponential growth phase and was also present in significant amounts in the periplasmic space. The inhibitor was active against a wide variety of proteolytic enzymes, including the trypsin-like activity of Porphyromonas gingivalis . The inhibitory compound, a heat labile protein, was isolated by non-denaturing preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, using concentrated culture supernatant as starting material. The exact functions and the ecological roles of the protease inhibitor produced by P. intermedia remain to be determined.     

Decoupling subgenomes within hybrid lavandin provide new insights into speciation and monoterpenoid diversification of Lavandula

Polyploidization and transposon elements contribute to shape plant genome diversity and secondary metabolic variation in some edible crops. However, the specific contribution of these variations to the chemo-diversity of Lamiaceae, particularly in economic shrubs, is still poorly documented. The rich essential oils (EOs) of Lavandula plants are distinguished by monoterpenoids among the main EO-producing species, L. angustifolia (LA), L. × intermedia (LX) and L. latifolia (LL). Herein, the first allele-aware chromosome-level genome was assembled using a lavandin cultivar ‘Super’ and its hybrid origin was verified by two complete subgenomes (LX-LA and LX-LL). Genome-wide phylogenetics confirmed that LL, like LA, underwent two lineage-specific WGDs after the γ triplication event, and their speciation occurred after the last WGD. Chloroplast phylogenetic analysis indicated LA was the maternal source of ‘Super’, which produced premium EO (higher linalyl/lavandulyl acetate and lower 1,8-cineole and camphor) close to LA. Gene expression, especially the monoterpenoid biosynthetic genes, showed bias to LX-LA alleles. Asymmetric transposon insertions in two decoupling ‘Super’ subgenomes were responsible for speciation and monoterpenoid divergence of the progenitors. Both hybrid and parental evolutionary analysis revealed that LTR (long terminal repeat) retrotransposon associated with AAT gene loss cause no linalyl/lavandulyl acetate production in LL, and multi-BDH copies retained by tandem duplication and DNA transposon resulted in higher camphor accumulation of LL. Advances in allelic variations of monoterpenoids have the potential to revolutionize future lavandin breeding and EO production.