Adaptation by hot spring phototrophs to reduced light intensities

Photosynthesis was measured by the ¹⁴C method on natural as well as low light adapted populations of Chloroflexus (a photosynthetic bacterium) and Synechococcus (a blue-green alga) from hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming U.S.A.), to test the ability of these phototrophs to photosynthesize at a variety of light intensities. The herbicide 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea (DCMU) was used to distinguish uptake of the blue-green alga from that of the photosynthetic bacterium, while measurements of chlorophyll a and bacterio-chlorophyll c served to quantitate the standing crops of these organisms.Natural populations of Synechococcus were found to be slightly inhibited by full sunlight intensities (summer values can surpass 90000 Lux), whereas the Chloroflexus populations were not. Populations of both phototrophs subjected to reduced light intensities through the use of neutral density filters were found to adapt to low light, and then become severely inhibited by high light intensities. Adaptation to various light regimes may be an important ecological phenomenon to the survival of these hot spring phototrophs.     

Changes in glycolytic enzyme levels and isozyme expression in human lymphocytes during blast transformation.

The levels of each of the glycolytic enzymes were observed to exhibit a parallel increase of 200 to 300% when human lymphocytes were stimulated to undergo blast transformation. A series of electrofocusing and electrophoretic studies was utilized to assess the isozyme distribution of the glycolytic enzymes during blastogenesis. Hexokinase (pI = 7.40), glucosephosphate isomerase (pI = 9.35), and enolase (pI = 8.30) existed as single electrophoretic components and were unchanged during blast transformation. Phosphoglycerate mutase was observed to exist as two isozymes (pI = 5.80 and 6.63), which were also unchanged by blastogenesis. Aldolase, which was present as two electrophoretic forms in lymphocytes (pI = 9.25 and 8.75), exhibited a shift in the relative content of each. In addition to the lactate dehydrogenase isozymes at pI 9.50 and 7.60 found in lymphocytes, lymphoblasts contained isozymes with pI values of 7.30, 7.05, and 5.85. Although glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase was present as a single electrophoretic form (pI ? 8.0) in both lymphocytes and lymphoblasts, the association of the enzyme with actin produced electrophoretic artifacts with lower pI values. Phosphoglycerate kinase, which appeared as a single form in lymphocytes (pI = 9.00), was present as two isozymes (9.00 and 8.74) in lymphoblasts. Similarly, pyruvate kinase (pI = 8.73 and 8.50 in lymphocytes) exhibited additional isozymes (pyruvate kinase, pI = 7.60 and 5.85, and triosephosphate isomerase, pI = 5.20) as a result of cell transformation.     

Stability constants of metal complexes of phosphonoacetic acid

The antiviral drug, phosphonoacetic acid (PAA), forms stable complexes with Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺. Stability constants of these complexes were determined in aqueous solution (0.15 M in KNO₃, 37°) by potentiometric titration. Mixed ligand complex formation of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ with PAA and glycinate ion, and with PAA and histidinate ion, was studied. In a theoretical model for blood plasma, PAA affects the distribution of Mg²⁺ and, to a lesser extent, Ca²⁺.     

Oogenesis in Fundulus heteroclitus: I. Preliminary observations on oocyte maturation in vivo and in vitro

During the breeding season, the ovary of Fundulus heteroclitus contains follicles of all sizes up to around 1.8 mm in diameter and continuously ovulates eggs (1.7 mm) into the ovarian lumen. Vitellogenic follicles appear to extend up to 1.3 mm, while those larger than 1.4 mm are undergoing hydration concomitant with maturation. If feeding ceases, vitellogenesis appears to stop and maturational stages flush out of the ovary. Refeeding causes reappearance of maturational stages. A culture procedure was developed for dissected F. heteroclitus follicles and a size range (1.3–1.4 mm) was defined which responded to added hormones by undergoing the same maturational changes (germinal vesicle breakdown, fusion, and peripheral detachment of oil droplets, appearance of activability) as occurs in vivo, although the extent of hydration was not quite as extensive. Ovulation, however, did not consistently occur in vitro. Both 11-deoxycorticosterone and progesterone are potent inducers of maturation in vitro, with median effective doses being 10–20 ng/ml. Hydrocortisone is about one-tenth as active. Human chorionic gonadotropin promotes maturational changes in about 25% of the follicles over a broad concentration range (1–100 IU/ml). The environmental and hormonal mechanisms which influence oocyte maturation in teleosts are discussed in relation to our findings for F. heteroclitus.     

Disturbance of larval orientation in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) by microsurgical removal of endocrine centres

The larvae of S. frugiperda showed differences in orientation depending largely upon their physiological states. A preference for wet conditions manifested itself in the orientation of the penultimate instar larvae, whereas the larvae of the final stage exhibited preference neither for wet nor for dry conditions. However, the ‘light level’ proved to be of prime importance in the final stage, such that it drove the larvae almost exclusively to the dark, while it appeared to be of secondary importance in the preceding stage where the larvae only responded photopositively if deprived of the humidity-preference.Microsurgical removal of the medial neurosecretory cells in the pars intercerebralis resulted in a preference for dry conditions in both larval instars concomitant with an appreciable increase in the total water content of the larvae. The normal situation could be easily restored by implantation of some active cells. Allatectomy failed to alter the normal preferences of the final instar larvae, whereas it induced a humidity-preference in the larvae of the penultimate stage, a response exhibited normally by intact larvae of the final stage. This result might suggest the implication of the morphogenetic hormones in some way or another in the control of larval response to the ‘humidity level’. However, photopreference in both larval instars appeared to be genetically controlled.     

Use of the Airfuge for analysis and preparation of receptors incorporated into liposomes: Studies with the receptor for immunoglobulin E

A Beckman Airfuge has been employed for studying the interaction between lipids and the receptor for immunoglobulin E (IgE). For analytic experiments, samples were applied underneath a discontinuous sucrose gradient. After a 30-min centrifugation in a fixed-angle rotor, liposomes floated toward the top of the gradient whereas unincorporated receptor-IgE complexes remained at the bottom of the tube. Liposomes with incorporated receptors were also efficiently separated in the ACR-90 preparative rotor. These methods of "Airfuge flotation" can provide useful adjuncts to more traditional methods for density-gradient centrifugation especially when rapid analysis of small samples is desired.     

Solubilization and assay of an hepatic receptor for the haptoglobin-hemoglobin complex

Hemoglobin released into the bloodstream is tightly bound by haptoglobin. The resulting complex (HpHb) is promptly cleared from the circulation and accumulates in the liver. A binding protein with a high affinity for HpHb has been solubilized from an acetone powder of rat liver and freed from an endogenous inhibitor by passage over a column of immobilized hemoglobin. An assay procedure has been developed whereby the bound HpHb is selectively precipitated by polyethylene glycol 6000. Employing this assay, the binding reaction was shown to be linear and saturable with respect to the ligand. In contrast to several previously described receptors for glycoproteins, the carbohydrate moiety of haptoglobin did not appear to participate in the binding of HpHb by the soluble receptor.     

鼎湖山主要森林类型植物胸径生长对氮沉降增加的初期响应

在林地分别喷加0、50、100和150kgNhm^-2a^-1,研究鼎湖山马尾松林、马尾松荷木混交林和季风常绿阔叶林乔木层植物胸径生长(年增长率)对增施氮的响应。结果表明,不喷加N,马尾松林、混交林和阔叶林胸径年增长率分别为4.84％、4．09％和2．99％;外加氮对植物胸径生长的影响因森林类型和植物种而异。马尾松林和混交林,低氮处理(喷加50kgNhm^-2a^-1)没有对胸径生长产生明显影响,中氮处理(喷加100kgNhm^-2a^-1)则分别增加了77、8％和105．6％。外加氮处理均使阔叶林胸径年增长率下降,低氮、中氮和高氮处理(喷加150kgNhm^-2a^-1)分别比对照(不喷N)低36．8％、28．5％和41．0％。这表明外加氮处理促进马尾松生长,但抑制大多数阔叶树种生长。     

浙江天目山国家级自然保护区三种鹿科动物舔盐行为比较

矿物质是野生动物食物的重要组成部分,对于个体的生长、繁殖、扩散和种群数量的增长具有重要作用(辛国省,2010;Zhao et al.,2013;曾小琴等,2016).有蹄类动物在一年中的特定时间段舔食土壤,主要倾向于靠近地下泉水、树木根部附近、与河流接壤的悬崖(Henshaw and Ayeni,1971;Coutur...