Population dynamics of the potato tuber moth on processing tomatoes in Israel

The potato tuber moth (PTM),Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a major pest of processing tomatoes,Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. (Solanaceae), in Israel. The larvae penetrate the tomato fruit through the stem end and present a serious threat to crop quality. Foliage and fruit samples were taken in nine commercial tomato fields located in Israel's three main tomato growing areas, two of which are potato growing areas as well. PTM was not found where potatoes were absent. Potato harvest in nearby fields was found to be the most significant factor affecting seasonal trends in PTM population density in tomatoes. All four larval instars were found in foliage on all sampling dates. Significantly higher proportions of first instars were found during the population density increase which followed potato harvest. Damaged fruits did not contain first instar larvae, indicating that PTM never undergoes complete development within tomato fruit. Fruit damage levels at harvest were positively correlated to the peak mean population densities on foliage and the date they were observed. In tomato fields not adjacent to potatoes, infestation was first observed at the edge of the field. Both before and after the potato harvest in nearby fields, population density at the edge of the field was significantly higher than at the center. In tomato fields adjacent to potatoes, no significant differences were found between population densities at the edge and center before the potatoes were harvested. After the potato harvest, population density at the center of tomato fields was higher than at the edge. Deceased, October 1988     

Autoradiographic Distribution and Characteristics of High- and Low-Affinity Polyamine-Sensitive [3H]Ifenprodil Sites in the Rat Brain: Possible Relationship to NMDAR2B Receptors and Calmodulin

Abstract: We have studied the regional distribution and characteristics of polyamine-sensitive [³H]ifenprodil binding sites by quantitative autoradiography in the rat brain. In forebrain areas ifenprodil displaced [³H]ifenprodil (40 nM) in a biphasic manner with IC₅₀ values ranging from 42 to 352 nM and 401 to 974 µM. In hindbrain regions, including the cerebellum, ifenprodil displacement curves were monophasic with IC₅₀ values in the high micromolar range. Wiping studies using forebrain slices (containing both high- and low-affinity sites) or cerebellar slices (containing only the low-affinity site) showed that high- and low-affinity ifenprodil sites are sensitive to spermine and spermidine, to the aminoglycoside antibiotics neomycin, gentamicin, and kanamycin, and to zinc. Two calmodulin antagonists, W7 and calmidazolium, also displaced [³H]ifenprodil from both sites. Other calmodulin antagonists, including trifluoperazine, prenylamine, and chlorpromazine, selectively displaced [³H]ifenprodil from its low-affinity site in hindbrain and forebrain regions. High-affinity [³H]ifenprodil sites, defined either by ifenprodil displacement curves or by [³H]ifenprodil binding in the presence of 1 mM trifluoperazine, were concentrated in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and thalamus with little or no labeling of hindbrain or cerebellar regions. This distribution matches that of NMDAR2B mRNA, supporting data showing that ifenprodil has a preferential action at NMDA receptors containing this subunit. Low-affinity [³H]ifenprodil sites have a more ubiquitous distribution but are especially concentrated in the molecular layer of the cerebellum. [³H]Ifenprodil was found to bind to calmodulin-agarose with very low affinity (IC₅₀ of ifenprodil = 516 µM). This binding was displaced by calmodulin antagonists and by polyamines, with a potency that matched their displacement of [³H]ifenprodil from its low-affinity site in brain sections. However, the localization of the low-affinity [³H]ifenprodil site does not strictly correspond to that of calmodulin, and its identity remains to be further characterized. The restricted localization of high-affinity [³H]ifenprodil binding sites to regions rich in NMDAR2B subunit mRNA may explain the atypical nature of this NMDA antagonist.     

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SGE1 gene product: a novel drug-resistance protein within the major facilitator superfamily

Several pleiotropic drug sensitivities have been described in yeast. Some involve the loss of putative drug efflux pumps analogous to mammalian P-glycoproteins, others are caused by defects in sterol synthesis resulting in higher plasma membrane permeability. We have constructed a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain that exhibits a strong crystal violet-sensitive phenotype. By selecting cells of the supersensitive strain for normal sensitivity after transformation with a wild-type yeast genomic library, a complementing 10-kb DNA fragment was isolated, a 3.4-kb subfragment of which was sufficient for complementation. DNA sequence analysis revealed that the complementing fragment comprised the recently sequenced SGE1 gene, a partial multicopy suppressor of gal11 mutations. The supersensitive strain was found to be a sge1 null mutant. Overexpression of SGE1 on a high-copy-number plasmid increased the resistance of the supersensitive strain. Disruption of SGE1 in a wild-type strain increased the sensitivity of the strain. These features of the SGE1 phenotype, as well as sequence homologies of SGE1 at the amino acid level, confirm that the Sge1 protein is a member of the drug-resistance protein family within the major facilitator superfamily (MFS).     

Phytochrome inhibits the effectiveness of gibberellins to induce cell elongation in rice

Red light controls cell elongation in seedlings of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in a far-red-reversible manner (Nick and Furuya, 1993, Plant Growth Regul. 12, 195–206). The role of gibberellins and microtubules in the transduction of this response was investigated in the rice cultivars Nihon Masari (japonica type) and Kasarath (indica type). The dose dependence of mesocotyl elongation on applied gibberellic acid (GA₃) was shifted by red light, and this shift was reversed by far-red light. In contrast, coleoptile elongation was found to be independent of exogenous GA₃. Nevertheless, it was inhibited by red light, and this inhibition was reversed by far-red light. The content of the active gibberellin species GA₁ and GA₄ was estimated by radio-immunoassay. In the mesocotyl, the gibberellin content per cell was found to increase after irradiation with red light, and this increase was far-red reversible. Conversely, the cellular gibberellin content in japonica-type coleoptiles did not exhibit any significant light response. Microtubules reoriented from transverse to longitudinal arrays in response to red light and this reorientation could be reversed by subsequent far-red light in both the coleoptile and the mesocotyl. This movement was accompanied by changes in cell-wall birefringence, indicating parallel reorientations of cellulose deposition. The data indicate that phytochrome regulates the sensitivity of the tissue towards gibberellins, that gibberellin synthesis is controlled in a negative-feedback loop dependent on gibberellin effectiveness, and that at least two hormone-triggered signal chains are linked to the cytoskeleton in rice.Abbreviations D darkness - FR far-red light - GA₃ gibberellic acid - GC-SIM gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring - R red light This work was supported by a grant of the Human Frontier Science Organization to P.N. Advice and organizational support by Prof. M. Furuya (Hitachi Advanced Research Laboratory, Hatoyama, Japan) and Prof. N. Murofushi (Department of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Japan) is gratefully acknowledged. Seeds of both rice cultivars were kindly provided by Dr. O. Yatou (Institute for Radiation Breeding, Hitachi-Ohmiya, Japan), and the antiGA₁ Me-antiserum for the radio-immunoassays by Dr. I. Yamaguchi (Department of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Japan).     

Evaluation of the Sensitivity and Specificity of Polymerase Chain Reaction Test Kit,AMPLICOR Chlamydia trachomatis

The sensitivity and specificity of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kit, AMPLICOR Chlamydia trachomatis, were examined by the use of purified elementary bodies (EBs), cells having inclusions containing reticulate bodies alone and 20 clinical isolates. The numbers of EB and inclusion of C. trachomatis at the detection limit were determined to be approximately 2 to 4 EBs and one inclusion per assay, respectively. No reaction occurred for C. psittaci and C. pneumoniae. All clinical isolates were positively reacted in the PCR assay.     

解离增强镧系元素荧光免疫分析灵敏度的改进

为提高解离增强镧系荧光免疫分析(DELFIA)的灵敏度或信／噪比,进行了一些重要的方法学研究．观察到了对于不同的铕量,荧光响应和信／噪比都随着增强液体积而明显地变化．对于确定的铕量,存在一个最佳体积,且铕量越小,其最佳体积也越小．实验中选择最佳体积是重要的．研究了增强液制备技术,发展了微滴定板条有效的清洗和干燥方法,使本底荧光明显降低．     

Effects of light and temperature on seed dormancy and gibberellin-stimulated germination in Arabidopsis thaliana: studies with gibberellin-deficient and -insensitive mutants.

Effects of light and temperature on gibberellin (GA)-induced seed germination were studied in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. with the use of GA-deficient ( gal ) mutants, mutants with a strongly reduced sensitivity to GA ( gai ) and with the recombinant gai/gal . Seeds of the gal mutant did not germinate in the absence of exogenous GAs, neither in darkness, nor in light, indicating that GAs are absolutely required for germination of this species. Wild-type and gai seeds did not always require applied GAs in light. The conclusion that light stimulates GA biosynthesis was strengthened by the antagonistic action of tetcyclacis, an inhibitor of GA biosynthesis. In wild-type, gal and gai/gal seeds light lowered the GA requirement, which can be interpreted as an increase in sensitivity to GAs. In gai and gai/gal seeds light became effective only after dormancy was broken by either a chilling treatment of one week or a dry after-ripening period at 2°C during some months. The present genetic and physiological evidence strongly suggests that temperature regulates the responsiveness to light in A. thaliana seeds. The responsiveness increases during dormancy breaking, whereas the opposite occurs during induction of dormancy (8 days at 15°C pre-incubation). Since light stimulates the synthesis of GAs as well as the responsiveness to GAs, temperature-induced changes in dormancy may indirectly change the capacities to synthesize GAs and to respond to GAs. GA sensitivity is also directly controlled by temperature. It is concluded that both GA biosynthesis and sensitivity to GAs are not the primary controlling factors in dormancy, but are essential for germination.     

华虻小叶神经元运动敏感性的研究

用电生理细胞内记录的方法记录了１０个以上小叶神经元对闪光、运动光斑及运动光栅刺激的电生理反应特点,结果表明：（１）小叶神经元对闪光刺激具有特征性反应,细胞对给光和撤光刺激都会表现出不同程度的去极化和超极化,反应的波形不随闪光时间的改变而改变,两次去极化之间的时间间隔与闪光刺激的时间长度成线性关系;（２）小叶神经元对运动光斑的运动速度非常敏感,而对光斑的运动方向的改变却不敏感,尽管有的细胞存在一个能使反应的变化更快的优势方向,但并没有明显的运动方向选择性;（３）小叶神经元对运动光栅的响应频率受光栅的空间频率和运动速度的双重调制,与光栅的运动方向无关。     

Electrical responses of the marine ciliate Euplotes vannus (Hypotrichia) to mechanical stimulation at the posterior cell end

Electrical responses upon mechanostimulation at the posterior cell end were investigated in the marine hypotrichous ciliate Euplotes vannus. A new mechanostimulator was developed to mimic stimuli that are identical with those involved in cell-cell collisions. The receptor potential hyperpolarized by 18–35 mV within 12–25 msec, reached a peak value of -62 mV with a delay of 4–9 msec after membrane deformation, and was deactivated after 50–70 msec. Cirri were stimulated to beat accelerated backward. The corresponding receptor current exerted a similar time course with a peak of 2.4 nA. The shift of the reversal potential by 57.6 mV at a tenfold increase of [K⁺] ₀ identifies potassium ions as current carriers within the development of the receptor potential. An intracellular K concentration of 355 mmol/liter was calculated for cells in a medium that was composed similar to sea-water. The mechanically activated potassium current was totally inhibited by extracellular TEA and intracellular Cs⁺, and partially inhibited by extracellular 4-AP. The total inhibition of the current by injected EGTA points to a Ca dependence of the posterior mechanosensitivity. It was confirmed by the increase of the peak current amplitude with rising [Ca²⁺] ₀ . Sodium presumably repolarizes the receptor potential because the repolarization was delayed and after-depolarizations were eliminated in media without sodium. Since deciliation did not affect mechano-sensitivity, the corresponding ion channels reside within the soma membrane.The authors wish to thank Mr. Norbert Spreckelmeier from the electronics workshop and Mr. Herbert Lutter from the fine-mechanical workshop of the department for their excellent work, Mrs. G. Key and Mr. H. Mikoleit for skillful technical assistance and for preparing the figures. This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 171, C7.     

Heterogeneous Na+ Sensitivity of Na+,K+-ATPase Isoenzymes in Whole Brain Membranes

Abstract: The Na⁺ sensitivity of whole brain membrane Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase isoenzymes was studied using the differential inhibitory effect of ouabain (α1, low affinity for ouabain; α2, high affinity; and α3, very high affinity). At 100 m M Na⁺, we found that the proportion of isoforms with low, high, and very high ouabain affinity was 21, 38, and 41%, respectively. Using two ouabain concentrations (10⁻⁵ and 10⁻⁷ M ), we were able to discriminate Na⁺ sensitivity of Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase isoenzymes using nonlinear regression. The ouabain low-affinity isoform, α1, exhibited high Na⁺ sensitivity [ K _a of 3.88 ± 0.25 m M Na⁺ and a Hill coefficient ( n ) of 1.98 ± 0.13]; the ouabain high-affinity isoform, α2, had two Na⁺ sensitivities, a high ( K _a of 4.98 ± 0.2 m M Na⁺ and n of 1.34 ± 0.10) and a low ( K _a of 28 ± 0.5 m M Na⁺ and an n of 1.92 ± 0.18) Na⁺ sensitivity activated above a thresh old (22 ± 0.3 m M Na⁺); and the ouabain very-high-affinity isoform, α3, was resolved by two processes and appears to have two Na⁺ sensitivities (apparent K _a values of 3.5 and 20 m M Na⁺). We show that Na⁺ dependence in the absence of ouabain is the result of at least of five Na⁺ reactivities. This molecular functional characteristic of isoenzymes in membranes could explain the diversity of physiological roles attributed to isoenzymes.