Phloretin affects the fast potassium channels in frog nerve fibres

The effect of phloretin (20-100 M), a dipolar organic compound, on the voltage clamp currents of the frog node of Ranvier has been investigated. The Na currents are simply reduced in size but not otherwise affected. Phloretin has no effect on the slow 4-aminopyridine-resistant K channels. However, the voltage dependence and time course of the fast K conductance (g _K) is markedly altered. The g _K(E) curve, determined by measuring fast tail currents at different pulse potentials, normally exhibits a bend at –50 mV indicating the existence of two types of fats K channels. Phloretin shifts the g _K (E) curve to more positive potentials, reduces its slope and its maximum and abolishes the distinction between the two tpyes of fast K channels. The effect becomes more pronounced with time. Phloretin also markedly slows the opening of the fast K channels, but has much less effect on the closing. Opening can be accelerated again by a long depolarizing prepulse which presumably removes part of the phloretin block. It is concluded that phloretin selectively affects the fast K channels of the nodal membrane. The results are compared with similar observations on the squid giant axon. Offprint requests to: H. Meves     

Crop uptake and leaching losses of15N labelled fertilizer nitrogen in relation to waterlogging of clay and sandy loam soils

Summary Ammonium nitrate fertilizer, labelled with¹⁵N, was applied in spring to winter wheat growing in undisturbed monoliths of clay and sandy loam soil in lysimeters; the rates of application were respectively 95 and 102 kg N ha⁻¹ in the spring of 1976 and 1975. Crops of winter wheat, oilseed rape, peas and barley grown in the following 5 or 6 years were treated with unlabelled nitrogen fertilizer at rates recommended for maximum yields. During each year of the experiments the lysimeters were divided into treatments which were either freelydrained or subjected to periods of waterlogging. Another labelled nitrogen application was made in 1980 to a separate group of lysimeters with a clay soil and a winter wheat crop to study further the uptake of nitrogen fertilizer in relation to waterlogging. In the first growing season, shoots of the winter wheat at harvest contained 46 and 58% of the fertilizer nitrogen applied to the clay and sandy loam soils respectively. In the following year the crops contained a further 1–2% of the labelled fertilizer, and after 5 and 6 years the total recoveries of labelled fertilizer in the crops were 49 and 62% on the clay and sandy loam soils respectively. In the first winter after the labelled fertilizer was applied, less than 1% of the fertilizer was lost in the drainage water, and only about 2% of the total nitrogen (mainly nitrate) in the drainage water from both soils was derived from the fertilizer. Maximum annual loss occurred the following year but the proportion of tracer nitrogen in drainage was nevertheless smaller. Leaching losses over the 5 and 6 years from the clay and sandy loam soil were respectively 1.3 and 3.9% of the original application. On both soils the percentage of labelled nitrogen to the total crop nitrogen content was greater after a period of winter waterlogging than for freely-drained treatments. This was most marked on the clay soil; evidence points to winter waterlogging promoting denitrification and the consequent loss of soil nitrogen making the crop more dependent on spring fertilizer applications.     

梭曼等胆碱酯酶抑制剂对猫膈神经单纤维电活动的影响

在麻醉猫,经推动脉注入梭曼、VX,沙林及乙酰甲胆碱引起呼吸中枢严重抑制的剂量分别为0.5—1、3、15、2001μg/头;但在无麻醉、箭毒麻痹、人工呼吸并用药物保护循环的清醒猫,VX用量要增加十多倍,沙林用量增加2～8倍,棱曼用量不变。在严重抑制剂量的给药早期,梭曼使34.8％动物较早地出现膈神经单纤维放电加强,其每次吸气放电的冲动频率由20～30Hz增至50～80Hz,冲动个数由15～25个/每次放电增至40～60个/每次放电,兴奋持续短、迅速转入抑制且不易自动恢复;VX和乙酰甲胆碱使100％动物出现显著的放电加强,其冲动频率由20～30Hz增至70～130Hz、冲动个数由15～25个/每次放电增至60～80个/第次放电,兴奋持续时间较长、转入抑制慢但自动恢复较快;沙林使76.9％动物出现放电加强,其他表现类似VX。三种胆碱酯酶抑制剂和乙酰甲胆碱共使33/52根单纤维放电发生时相变化。结果表明:梭曼对呼吸中枢作用最强、沙林次之、VX最弱且更似乙酰甲胆碱。     

Morphometry of muscle fibre types in the carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Summary Ultrastructural parameters of muscle fibre types of the carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) were measured and compared with their contractile properties. In red fibres, which are slower than pink fibres, the relative length of the junction between the T system and the sarcoplasmic reticulum (T-SR junction) is smaller and the Z lines are thicker than in pink fibres. Pink fibres have a smaller relative length of T-SR junction than white fibres from the axial muscles. The two types of red fibres present in carp muscle also differ in their relative lengths of T-SR junction. Significant differences in the relative areas of the SR were not found.The relative volume of myofibrils in red fibres is two-thirds that in pink fibres, a difference that is not reflected in the maximal isometric tetanic tensions of these types. Red fibres, which are less easily fatigued than pink fibres, have larger relative volumes of subsarcolemmal and intermyofibrillar mitochondria. Small pink fibres have a larger relative volume of subsarcolemmal mitochondria than large pink fibres, but have a similar relative volume of intermyofibrillar mitochondria. Small and large pink fibres differ in the relative volumes of their membrane systems, but have similar relative lengths of T-SR junction.     

棉纤维细胞伸长生长与过氧化物酶和IAA氧化酶的关系

棉纤维细胞于开花当天从棉胚珠表皮上发生,随即开始伸长生长,星S型生长曲线。棉纤维细胞的可溶性蛋白、过氧化物酶活性和IAA氧化酶活性同伸长生长的关系不大;而离子型结合的细胞壁蛋白质含量、过氧化物酶活性和IAA氧化酶活性同棉纤维细胞的伸长生长关系较大,表现在棉纤维细胞快速伸长期活性较低,而在伸长生长停止时出现活性高峰,同棉纤维细胞的伸长生长有负相关现象。     

The ultrastructure of the sinus gland of Carcinus maenas (Crustacea: Decapoda)

Summary The sinus gland of Carcinus maenas consists of the swollen axonal endings of the neurosecretory cells of the major ganglia and acts as a storage release centre for the membrane bound neurosecretory material. These neurosecretory granules fall into five different types based on size and electron density. Their contents are released by exocytosis of the primary granules or smaller units budded from the primary granules.I thank Professor E. Naylor for his constant advice and Professor E. W. Knight-Jones, Department of Zoology, University College, Swansea, for the provision of laboratory facilities. I am grateful to the Science Research Council for the financial support. Finally, I thank the Electron Microscope Unit, Southampton General Hospital, where the work was completed.     

Histochemical characterization of myotomal muscle in the roach, Rutilus rutilus (L.)

A histochemical study of the myotomal muscles in the roach revealed three main muscle regions: red, intermediate and white. These were distinguished on the basis of glycogen content, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and myofibrillar ATPase (mATPase) activity. Except for the red fibre region, none of these described regions is homogeneous. The principal new findings are the toniclike fibre, the presence of a transitional zone with two fibre types, and the mosaic organization of the white fibre region. The significance of this type of myotome architecture in relation to the locomotion of the species is discussed.     

Approximate digestibility of fibre for a graminivorous caterpillar

Final instar Persectania ewingii (Westwood) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) were fed seedling Triticum aestivum L. for 2 days to determine the approximate digestibility of the cell wall and cell content fractions. Cell wall content was estimated using a micro-analytical neutral detergent fibre technique. Approximate digestibilites of neutral detergent fibre, neutral detergent solubles and dry matter were calculated for individuals and pooled samples. P. ewingii larvae digested a small but significant proportion of the fibre ingested (13–21%), higher than that previously reported for herbivorous insects. The micro-analytical and previously used macro-analytical techniques produced similar estimates of digestibility although both techniques have inherent shortcomings, the latter requiring the pooling of samplex and the former limiting the number of replicates during chemical analysis. Differences in the amount of larval frass collected during the feeding trial (corrected for consumption) explained much of the variation in digestibility values, while there were no effects of larval mass, overall consumption and total frass produced on digestibility estimates. These results confirm that plant cell contents are the major source of nutrients to larval Lepidoptera although there is some chemical disruption of the plant cell wall.     

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