The influence of tapioca on the growth,the activity of glucoamylase and pigment production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Monascus purpureus</Emphasis> UKSW 40 in soybean-soaking wastewater

The present study evaluates the usefulness of tapioca starch as additional carbon source for the growth of Monascus purpureus in soybean-soaking wastewater (SSW). The result revealed that M. purpureus grown on 2.0% (w/v) tapioca starch in SSW produced significantly (P < 0.05) higher amounts of biomass and production of the pigments (OD₄₀₀ and OD₅₀₀) when compared to those grown on glucose-or maltose-containing media. However, the glucoamylase activity of M. purpureus grown on the tapioca-SSW medium was not significantly increased when compared to those from the glucose-containing medium.     

Salmonid Opsin Sequences Undergo Positive Selection and Indicate an Alternate Evolutionary Relationship in Oncorhynchus

Positive selection can be demonstrated by statistical analysis when non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions occur more frequently than synonymous substitutions (dN>dS). This pattern of sequence evolution has been observed in the rhodopsin gene of cichlids. Mutations in opsin genes resulting in amino acid (AA) replacement appear to be associated with the evolution of specific color patterns and the evolution of courtship behaviors. Within fish, AA replacements in opsin proteins have improved vision at great depths and have occurred in deep-sea species. Salmonids experience diverse photic environments during their life history. Furthermore, sexual selection has resulted in species-specific male and female coloration during spawning. To look for evidence of positive selection in salmonid opsins, we sequenced the RH1, RH2, LWS, SWS1, and SWS2 genes from six Pacific salmon species as well as the Atlantic salmon. These salmonids include landlocked and migratory species and species that vary in their coloration during spawning. In each opsin gene comparison from all species sampled, traditional dN:dS analysis did not indicate positive selection. However, the more sensitive Creevey–McInerney statistical analysis indicates that RH1 and RH2 experienced positive selection early in the evolution and speciation of salmonids.     

氨基酸对于Monascus ruber生物合成Monacolin K影响的研究

在Monacolin K发酵中添加氨基酸后发现较高质量浓度的氨基酸高度抑制了Monacolin K的产量。0.1 g.L-1的D-甲硫氨酸在发酵第4 d添加可以提高产量30%以上,而L-甲硫氨酸则没有此功能,D,L-甲硫氨酸因D-甲硫氨酸的关系也有一定的增产效果。以甲硫氨酸代替蛋白胨作为主要氮源,则抑制了polyketide途径的前期步骤,因此严重抑制了色素及Monacolin K的生产。另外,发现1 g.L-1的L-苯丙氨酸的添加时间越早越有利于Monacolin K的生产,在起始时添加发酵单位可达135.9 mg.L-1,可能是因为L-苯丙氨酸经过脱氨后,可以进入polyketide途径从而促进了Monacolin K的生产。     

Reduction of the chloroplast membrane system caused by disorders in early stages of chlorophyll biosynthesis

A chlorophyll-deficient xantha mutant of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was examined with respect to development and structural organization of the chloroplast membrane system as affected by disruption of early stages of chlorophyll biosynthesis in the light. The analysis of early chlorophyll precursors showed that the mutant is unable to synthesize 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) in the light. The disorders in early stages of chlorophyll biosynthesis arrested the development of chloroplast membrane system at the stage of vesicles and single thylakoids. The accumulation of 2–5% chlorophyll in the mutant was related to the formation of light-harvesting chlorophyll-a/b-protein complexes I and II, whereas pigment-protein complexes composing reaction centers of photosystem I and photosystem II were lacking. It is concluded that the chloroplast membrane system in the mutant with impaired 5-ALA synthesis is incapable of development and is even reduced upon long-term growing under light.     

Experimental evidence that egg color indicates female condition at laying in a songbird

The signaling hypothesis of eggshell coloration in birds isbased on the assumption that females of species with blue-greeneggs signal their phenotypic quality to their mates throughdeposition of the antioxidant biliverdin as pigment. Egg pigmentationmay be an expression of the condition of females at laying orof genetic linkages between egg color and female performancevariables. We have supplemented 16 pied flycatcher, Ficedulahypoleuca, females with mealworms before and during laying andcompared the mass and color of their eggs as measured on theday of laying to those of 16 control females with the same nestconstruction and laying dates and clutch sizes. Supplementedfemales laid significantly heavier and more intensely blue-greeneggs than control females. Egg blue-green chroma was significantlyassociated with the amount of biliverdin in eggshells. Egg color,and thus biliverdin content, is an expression of female conditionat laying.     

Study of selective feeding in the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris by HPLC pigment analysis

Food selection by the marine cladoceran Penilia avirostris was studied in the field by HPLC analysis of phytoplankton marker pigments and in the laboratory by microscopic measurement of cell removal. Comparison between pigment composition in natural phytoplankton and in P. avirostris showed that P. avirostris preferred diatoms, cryptophytes and chlorophytes, and ignored prymnesiophytes and dinoflagellates. Peridinin, the marker pigment for dinoflagellates was found in P. avirostris only when the dinoflagellate populations were dominated by Prorocentrum. Pigment degradation rates ranged from 13.73% for alloxanthin to 36.62% for chlorophyll a. Clearance rates measured in the laboratory provided further evidence of strong preference for diatoms and cryptophytes, and avoidance of dinoflagellates. Microscopic counts suggested that P. avirostris was feeding on prymnesiophytes, although ingestion of prymnesiophytes could not be confirmed by pigment analysis.     

Ultraviolet B screening potential is higher in two cosmopolitan moss species than in a co-occurring Antarctic endemic moss: implications of continuing ozone depletion

Concentrations of UVB (ultraviolet B) absorbing pigments and anthocyanins were measured in three moss species, over a summer growing season in Antarctica. Pigment concentrations were compared with a range of climatic variables to determine if there was evidence that pigments were induced by UVB radiation, or other environmental parameters, and secondly if there were differences between species in their pigment responses. Significant seasonal differences in the potential UVB screening pigments were found, with the two cosmopolitan species Bryum pseudotriquetrum and Ceratodon purpureus appearing better protected from the potentially damaging effects of ozone depletion than the Antarctic endemic Schistidium antarctici. B. pseudotriquetrum accumulated the highest concentration of UVB screening pigments and showed positive associations between UVB radiation and both UVB absorbing and anthocyanin pigments. The negative associations between water availability measures and UVB absorbing and anthocyanin pigments also suggest that B. pseudotriquetrum is well protected in the desiccated state. This could offer B. pseudotriquetrum an advantage over the other species when high UVB radiation coincides with low temperatures and low water availability, thus limiting physiological activity and consequently, active photoprotective and repair mechanisms. As these pigments could act as either direct UVB screens or antioxidants, the results suggest that B. pseudotriquetrum is best equipped to deal with the negative effects of increased exposure to UVB radiation due to ozone depletion. The most exposed species, C. purpureus, has intermediate and stable concentrations of UVB absorbing pigments suggesting it may rely on constitutive UVB screens. Anthocyanin pigments were more responsive in this species and could offer increased antioxidant protection during periods of high UVB radiation. S. antarctici appears poorly protected and showed no evidence of any UV photoprotective response, providing additional evidence that this endemic is more vulnerable to climate change.     

Flavonols and an indole alkaloid skeleton bearing identical acylated glycosidic groups from yellow petals of Papaver nudicaule

From yellow petals of Iceland poppy, besides the known flavonoid gossypitrin, seven kaempferol derivatives were isolated. In addition to kaempferol 3-O-beta-sophoroside and kaempferol 3-O-beta-sophoroside-7-O-beta-glucoside, known from other plants, the mono- and dimalonyl conjugates of the latter were identified by MS and NMR spectroscopy. Structure analyses of a set of co-occurring pigments, the nudicaulins, revealed that they have the identical acylated glycoside moieties attached to a pentacyclic indole alkaloid skeleton for which the structure of 19-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-10H-1,10-ethenochromeno[2,3-b]indole-6,8,18-triol was deduced from MS and NMR as well as chemical and chiroptical methods.     

Physiological and Optical Responses of the Harmful Dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama to a Range of Salinity

The responses of division rate, cell volume, cellular carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), cellular pigments and optical characteristics to changes in salinity were examined in the dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama. The physiological and optical characteristics of H. circularisquama were significantly affected by changes in salinity. When cells were exposed to different salinities, they exhibited physiological acclimation by adjusting their cellular properties associated with growth. This could be a beneficial tactic for ensuring proliferation and limiting damages induced by adverse environmental factors. The results of this study could be essential for assisting in the development of growth models for H. circularisquama.     

Xanthophylls are key constituents of semi‐synthetic diets for continuous breeding of Pieris brassicae without food plant

Semi‐synthetic or fully artificial diets are well established in culturing laboratory insects on a large scale. In Pieris brassicae L. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), a published semi‐synthetic diet supplemented with sinigrin, a chemical label of cruciferous plants, is well accepted by the larvae but the adults fail to produce offspring; continuous breeding, therefore, requires the addition of cabbage powder to the diet. We set out to identify essential substances to eliminate the need for cabbage in our long‐term mass culture. The studies revealed that the dietary difference, which becomes most evident at the adult stage only, is because of a severe lack of carotenoids in the cabbage‐free version. This was uncovered in larvae, fed cabbage‐supplemented diet, that respond to blue light of sufficient intensity by high cuticle melanization on pupation; larvae fed the carotenoid‐deficient sinigrin‐supplemented diet fail to respond in this way. Males were found to be more sensitive than females to blue light in this respect. The essential substance mediating this photo response was found to be lutein and/or zeaxanthin, two abundant xanthophylls of green leaves. β‐Carotene was only marginally active. These xanthophylls are known to serve as precursors to the synthesis of 3‐hydroxyretinal, the exclusive visual chromophore of lepidopteran insects; retinal, derived from β‐carotene, is not (substantially) used by these insects. In conclusion, the absence of flying and mating activity in the adults from the sinigrin diet may indicate visual deficiency owing to a lack of a specific structural class of carotenoids in the larval food. Our results enabled us to formulate a semi‐synthetic diet that allows continuous mass rearing of P. brassicae without cabbage at any stage including oviposition. In addition to the key constituents sinigrin and xanthophylls, this superior diet includes tryptophan, as methyl ester, and α‐tocopherol.