Reduced muscarinic receptor plasticity in frontal cortex of aged rats after chronic administration of cholinergic drugs

Age-related differences in muscarinic receptor plasticity were observed in young, adult and senescent Fischer 344 rats (3, 9 and 27 months old, respectively) following the chronic, intracerebroventricular (ivt) administration of a cholinergic agonist, oxotremorine, or antagonist, methylatropine. After three weeks treatment of young rats with ivt oxotremorine, the maximum number (Bmax) of 3H-QNB binding sites in frontal cortex, determined by saturation experiments, was reduced by 27%, with no apparent change in the affinity (Kd) of 3H-QNB for the muscarinic receptor. Conversely, chronic ivt methylatropine administered to 3 month old animals caused a 29% increase in Bmax with no significant change in Kd. Adult animals showed a somewhat lesser degree of muscarinic receptor plasticity (16% down-regulation after oxotremorine, 22% up-regulation after methylatropine). However, 3H-QNB binding parameters in frontal cortex from senescent rats were not significantly altered following identical treatments with oxotremorine or methylatropine. Thus, muscarinic receptor adaptation to chronic, cholinergic drug administration was impaired in aged animals. This reduced receptor plasticity with aging could have important implications for the long-term drug treatment of elderly patients and for the therapeutic efficacy of cholinergic drugs in age-related neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.     

Inheritance of parthenogenesis in Poa pratensis L.: auxin test and AFLP linkage analyses support monogenic control

 Gametophytic apomixis in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) involves the parthenogenetic development of unreduced eggs from aposporic embryo sacs. Attempts to transfer the apomictic trait beyond natural sexual barriers require further elucidation of its inheritance. Controlled crosses were made between sexual clones and apomictic genotypes, and the parthenogenetic capacity of (poly)diploid hybrids was ascertained by the auxin test. A bulked segregant analysis with RAPD and AFLP markers was then used to identify a genetic linkage group related to the apomictic mode of reproduction. This approach enabled us to detect both an AFLP marker located 6.6 cM from the gene that putatively controls parthenogenesis and a 15.4-cM genomic window surrounding the target locus. A map of the P. pratensis chromosome region carrying the gene of interest was constructed using additional RAPD and AFLP markers that co-segregated with the parthenogenesis locus. Highly significant linkage between parthenogenesis and a number of AFLP markers that also appeared to belong to a tight linkage block strengthens the hypothesis of monogenic inheritance of this trait. If a single gene is assumed, apomictic polyploid types of P. pratensis would be simplex for a dominant allele that confers parthenogenesis, and this genetic model would be further supported by the bimodal distribution of the degree of parthenogenesis exhibited in the (poly)diploid progenies from sexual x apomictic matings. The molecular tagging of apomixis in P. pratensis is an essential step towards marker-assisted breeding and map-based cloning strategies aimed at investigating and manipulating its mode of reproduction. Received: 13 January 1998 / Accepted: 19 January 1998     

Plasma oxytocin concentrations in cyclic mares and sexually aroused stallions

An experiment was conducted to measure plasma oxytocin concentrations at 4 different stages of the estrous cycle in 11 pony mares. Plasma oxytocin concentrations (muU/ml +/- SE) were found to be higher (P<.01) on day 2 of estrous (39.8 +/- 12.5) and day 5 post-ovulation (33.1 +/- 12.0) than on day 10 (2.3 +/- 1.6) and day 15 post-ovulation (6.8 +/- 4.1). A second experiment was conducted to measure jugular plasma oxytocin concentrations before and after sexual arousal in six pony stallions. Oxytocin concentrations (muU/ml +/- SE) were higher (P<0.06) after sexual arousal (50.5 +/- 8.9) than before sexual arousal (23.8 +/- 2.9). These data suggest plasma oxytocin concentrations may be associated with ovarian function in mares and with sexual behavior in stallions.     

Hydrophobic channels in crystals of an α-aminoisobutyric acid pentapeptide

The crystal structure of the pentapeptide p-toluene-sulfonyl-(α-aminoisobutyryl)₅-methyl ester (Tosyl-(Aib)₅-OMe) has been determined in the space group P$\text{I}$. Pentapeptide molecules are folded in the 3₁₀ helical conformation and packed together, so as to yield a hydrophobic channel with a minimim diameter of 5.2 Å. The channel contains crystallographically disordered material. This structure provides a model for channel formation by hydrophobic peptide aggregates and should prove useful in studies of alamethicin, suzukacillin and related Aib containing membrane channels. Triclinic (P$\text{I}$) crystals of the pentapeptide are obtained in the presence of LiClO₄ in aqueous methanol, whereas crystallization from methanol alone yields crystals in the space group Pbca. The conformations of the peptide in the two crystal forms are very similar and only the molecular packing is dramatically different.     

草地早熟禾无融合生殖现象的研究

本文应用石蜡切片和子房整体染色透明法研究了草地早熟禾(Poa pratensisL.)的无融合生殖现象,结果表明,草地早熟禾的胚胎发育分为两种类型。一种是由孤雌生殖形成胚,即卵细胞分裂较早形成幼胚,少数胚囊中的一个或两个助细胞也分裂较早,同时形成幼胚,但两个极核并不融合,三个反足细胞明显增大。由孤雌生殖形成胚的约占观察总数的66%,其中3%为双胚,仅一个是三胚。在成熟种子中也有两个成熟胚并生的现象。另一种是形成胚和胚乳,约占34%。34%中形成种子有两种可能的途径,一是通过有性生殖形成种子,二是由孤雌生殖形成的胚和极核受精形成的胚乳共同组成的无融合生殖种子。本研究还首次观察到早熟禾完整的双胚囊结构。     

A genomic assessment of population structure and gene flow in an aquatic salamander identifies the roles of spatial scale,barriers, and river architecture

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Stimulation of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase by products of phosphatidylinositol metabolism catalyzed by phospholipase A2

Products of phospholipase A₂-catalyzed hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol, lysophosphatidylinositol, and unsaturated fatty acid are very effective stimulators of a partially purified bovine brain cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase. More than 10-fold of calcium-independent stimulation can be achived by lysophatidylinositol or oleic acid. The degree of stimulation is comparable to that by calcium-mediated calmodulin. The other lysophospholipid which shows comparable stimulation is lysophosphatidylserine although at a higher concentration. Diacylphosphoglycerides are inactive. Kinetic studies showed that lysophosphatidylinositol, like calmodulin, increased the V_max without affecting the apparent K_m for adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic phosphate (cAMP).     

Fungal endophyte infection increases tall fescue's survival,growth, and flowering in a reconstructed prairie

Grasslands in North America are increasingly threatened by land conversion and ecological degradation, prompting restoration efforts to increase native plant species diversity and improve wildlife habitat. A major challenge is the removal and management of nonnative invasive species such as tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceus), which has a symbiotic association with a fungal endophyte (Epichloë coenophiala) that modifies its ecological interactions. Using transplanted clumps of the cultivar Kentucky‐31, we tested the effects of endophyte infection on tall fescue's survival and performance (tiller production, flowering, and basal area) for 5 years in a central Kentucky reconstructed prairie. We predicted that endophyte infected (E+) clumps would have increased performance compared to endophyte‐free (E?) clumps. Overall, E+ clumps had greater survival, tiller production, flowering tiller production, and basal area, but not reproductive effort (proportion of tillers flowering) as compared to E? clumps. However, survival and trends in tiller number and basal area over the 5‐year period suggested experimental tall fescue populations were in decline in the reconstructed prairie, although the E? population declined more rapidly. Our study provides evidence that endophyte infection improved tall fescue's growth and survival in a postreconstruction plant community, at least in the early years following reconstruction, and may increase the invasive potential of this nonnative species in prairie restorations.     

Selection of Kentucky Bluegrass for Drechslera poae Resistance under Greenhouse Conditions

Resistance to leaf spot and melting out caused by Drechslera poae was evaluated in eight cultivars and seven breeding lines of Poa pratensis under greenhouse conditions. The results obtained in this study were compared with levels of resistance scored after natural infection under field conditions during 1994–1997 in sun and shade lawn maintenance, as described before. It was found that resistance assessed in the greenhouse as leaf spots in the three‐leaf seedling stage 10–14 days after the first inoculation (assessment I) and resistance assessed as severity of melting out on the crown 56 days after the first inoculation (assessment IV) showed the highest repeatability with the scores obtained in the field under sun and shade conditions during 1994–1997.