Replication of ColE2 and ColE3 plasmids: Two ColE2 incompatibility functions

Summary We have identified and localized two incompatibility determinants (IncA and IncB) within a 1.3 kb segment of ColE2 sufficient for autonomous replication. The IncA determinant is localized in a region shorter than 250 bp and expresses incompatibility against both ColE2 and ColE3. The region which determines sensitivity to the IncA determinant seems to overlap with the region specifying the IncA determinant. The expression of the trans-acting factor(s) specifically required for replication of ColE2 interferes with expression of the IncA determinant against ColE2 but not against ColE3. The IncA determinant might be at least partly responsible for the copy number control of the plasmid. The IncB determinant is localized in a 50 bp region (origin) which is sufficient for initiation of replication in the presence of the trans-acting factor(s). The IncB determinant is specific for ColE2 and seems to be due to titration of the trans-acting essential replication factor(s) by binding.     

Basal ppGpp level adjustment shown by new spoT mutants affect steady state growth rates and rrnA ribosomal promoter regulation in Escherichia coli

Summary This work describes an approach towards analyzing the regulatory effects of variation of guanosine 3,5-bispyrophosphate (ppGpp) basal levels in Escherichia coli during steady state growth. A series of strains was derived by mutating the spoT gene (which encodes the major cellular ppGppase) so as to obtain systematic increments in ppGpp basal levels. These strains differ genetically at the spoT locus and, in some cases, also at the relA locus because of the severity of spoT mutant alleles. Measurements of ppGpp revealed a ten-fold range of basal levels during growth on minimal medium. The empirical relationship between ppGpp concentration and growth rate is a simple linear inverse correlation. Tandem rrnA ribosomal RNA promoters, present on a multicopy plasmid, are shown to be differentially regulated over this range of basal levels. The upstream P ₁ promoter activity shows an inverse exponential relation to ppGpp concentration whereas the downstream P ₂ promoter is only weakly affected. We conclude that there are systematic regulatory consequences associated with small changes in ppGpp basal levels during steady state growth that probably are part of a continuum with more dramatic effects observed during the stringent response to amino acid deprivation.     

Effect of biologically active plants used as netst material and the derived benefit to starling nestlings

Summary The European starling Sturnus vulgaris preferentially incorporates fresh sprigs of particular plant species for use as nesting material. Chemicals found in these plants may act to reduce pathogen and ectoparasite populations normally found in nest environments. The present experiments were performed to test this Nest Protection Hypothesis. In the fild, we experimentally determined that wild carrot Daucus carota, a plant species preferred as nest material, effectively reduced the number of hematophagous mites found within nests relative to control nests without green vegetation. Chicks from nests containing wild carrot had higher levels of blood hemoglobin than chicks from control nests. However, there were no differences in weight or feather development. In the laboratory, we found that wild carrot and fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus, (also preferred by starlings as nest material) substantially reduced the emergence of feeding instars of mites, while garlic mustard, Alliaria officinalis, (commonly available but not preferred) had little effect on the emergence of mites. We infer that preferred plant material may act to inhibit feeding or otherwise delay reproduction of mites, thereby reducing risk of anemia to developing nestlings.     

Prey selectivity inEuseius tularensis [Acari: Phytoseiidae]

Differences in responsiveness to potential prey and pollen were tested in the facultative predator,Euseius tularensis Congdon. Following isolation without food for 16 h, adult female mites were observed with one of the following potential foods: pollen ofMalephora crocea (Jacquin) Schwantes,Scirtothrips citri (Moulton) 2nd instar larvae,Tetranychus pacificus McGregor nymphs and ♂,Panonychus citri (McGregor) nymphs and ♂,E. hibisci (Chant) larvae, andE. tularensis larvae. Responses were compared using the proportion of encounters that resulted in consumption. This proportion was highest when pollen was encountered, followed byS. citri andT. pacificus. Consumption was much lower in response toP. citri and congeneric larvae. WhenS. citri larvae were encountered a 2nd time, 1 to 2 h after the initial capture and consumption, responsiveness increased to a level equal to the response observed with pollen. These results suggest thatE. tularensis is a more effective biological control agent of citrus thrips (S. citri) than of citrus red mite (P. citri).     

Annual plant life histories and the paradigm of resource allocation

Summary Much of life history theory follows from the idea that natural selection acts on the allocation of resources to competing and independent demographic functions. This paradigm has stimulated much research on the life histories of annual plants. Models of whole-plant resource budgets that use optimal control theory predict periods of 100% vegetative and 100% reproductive growth, sometimes with periods of mixed growth. I show here that this prediction follows from the assumption of independence of the competing vegetative and reproductive compartments. The prediction is qualitatively unchanged even after relaxing important simplifying assumptions used in most models. Although it follows naturally from the assumptions of the models, this kind of allocation pattern is unlikely to occur in many plants, because it requires that (1) leaf and flower buds can never simultaneously be carbon sinks; and (2) organs that accompany flowers, such as internodes and bracts, can never be net sources of photosynthate. Thus while resources are doubtless important for annual plants, an exclusively resource-based perspective may be inadequate to understand the evolution of their life histories. Progress in research may require models that incorporate, or are at least phenomenologically consistent with, the basic developmental reles of angiosperms.     

The effect of time-varying mortality and carbon assimilation on models of carbon allocation in annual plants

Summary Models of optimal carbon allocation schedules have influenced the way plant ecologists think about life history evolution, particularly for annual plants. The present study asks (1) how, within the framework of these models, are their predictions affected by within-season variation in mortality and carbon assimilation rates?; and (2) what are the consequences of these prediction changes for empirical tests of the models? A companion paper examines the basic assumptions of the models themselves. I conducted a series of numerical experiments with a simple carbon allocation model. Results suggest that both qualitative and quantitative predictions can sometimes be sensitive to parameter values for net assimilation rate and mortality: for some parameter values, both the time and size at onset of reproduction, as well as the number of reproductive intervals, vary considerably as a result of small variations in these parameters. For other parameter values, small variations in the parameters result in only small changes in predicted phenotype, but these have very large fitness consequences. Satisfactory empirical tests are thus likely to require much accuracy in parameter estimates. The effort required for parameter estimation imposes a practical constraint on empirical tests, making large multipopulation comparisons impractical. It may be most practical to compare the predicted and observed fitness consequences of variation in the timing of onset of reproduction.     

The regulatory status of the fixL- and fixJ-like genes in Bradyrhizobium japonicum may be different from that in Rhizobium meliloti

Summary The cloning, sequencing and mutational analysis of the Bradyrhizobium japonicum symbiotic nitrogen fixation genes fixL and fixJ are reported here. The two genes were adjacent and probably formed an operon, fixLJ. The predicted FixL and FixJ proteins, members of the two-component sensor/regulator family, were homologous over almost their entire lengths to the corresponding Rhizobium meliloti proteins (approx. 50% identity). Downstream of the B. japonicum fixJ gene was found an open reading frame with 138 codons (ORF138) whose product shared 36% homology with the N-terminal part of FixJ. Deletion and insertion mutations within fixL and fixJ led to a loss of approximately 90% wildtype symbiotic nitrogen fixation (Fix) activity, whereas an ORF138 mutant was Fix⁺. In fixL, fixJ and ORF138 mutant backgrounds, the aerobic expression of the fixR-nifA operon was not affected. NifA itself did not regulate the expression of the fixJ gene. Thus, the B. japonicum FixL and FixJ proteins were neither involved in the regulation of aerobic nifA gene expression nor in the anaerobic NifA-dependent autoregulation of the fixRnifA operon; rather they appeared to control symbiotically important genes other than those whose expression was dependent on the NifA protein. The fixL and fixJ mutant strains were unable to grow anaerobically with nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor. Therefore, some of the FixJ-dependent genes in B. japonicum may be concerned with anaerobic respiration.     

Compensatory growth in shoot populations of young white pine trees

Summary White pine (Pinus strobus L.) trees have shoot populations composed of subpopulations of terminal and lateral shoots. I tested whether the subpopulations would show compensatory (increased) growth when separated from each other. Ten-year-old white pine (Pinus strobus L.) trees growing under an oak (Quercus) overstory were untreated or treated in winter by removing either all terminal, or all lateral buds (10 trees per treatment). Growth was compared between control and treated shoot subpopulations. In the 1st year, shoot-length frequency distributions were similar between control and treated subpopulations. There was significant compensatory shoot elongation (mean of 1.5 cm per shoot) in both treated subpopulations. In the 2nd year each subpopulation produced both terminal and lateral shoots. Shoot-length frequency distributions were similar, but shifted toward longer shoots in treated populations. Shoot number, mean length and total shoot length were greater in treated populations. The increased growth in treated subpopulations was due both to differences in parent shoot length and to compensatory shoot production and elongation.