Aggressive behaviour of female prairie deer mice in laboratory populations

Prairie deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii), living in asymptotic laboratory populations established two years earlier, were observed for agonistic responses to conspecific intruders. In the first experiment, intruders of six age-sex classes were placed into 10 of the populations for 10 min. The sex of the intruder did not influence the behaviour of the residents, but juveniles elicited more aggression than did adults. A second experiment revealed that female residents were responsible for almost all of the attacks upon juveniles. Experiment 3, in which the responses of pairs of deer mice to juvenile intruders were recorded, demonstrated that the aggressiveness of a female was enhanced by the presence of a male. In the final experiment, females were observed to be highly aggressive during the first few days after giving birth. The aggressive behaviour of the female deer mouse may have greater significance for population dynamics than that of the male.     

Stimulation of gastrin secretion from the perfused rat stomach by somatostatin antiserum

The effect of a high capacity somatostatin antiserum on antral gastrin secretion was examined in an isolated vascularly perfused rat stomach preparation. Infusion of somatostatin antiserum diluted 1:1 and 1:9 with Krebs buffer solution produced significant increases in gastrin secretion throughout the period of infusion. Neither infusion of somatostatin antiserum diluted 1:99 nor infusion of control rabbit serum had any effect on gastrin secretion. The data indicate that antral somatostatin excercises a continous restraint on gastrin secretion in the basal state.     

Material transport within specialised ciliary shafts on Rhabdopleura zooids

Summary The surface of the Rhabdopleura zooid is ciliated. The cilia of the cephalic shield and tentacles have paddle-like swellings of the shaft. These swellings are usually about 0.6–1 m in diameter and most frequently found in the distal 1–2 m of the ciliary shaft. Others are found in other positions along the length of the cilium and it is suggested that at least some of these swellings represent material transport within the cilium.Paddle shaped cilia are probably more efficient than normal cilia in moving water and food particles. If these cilia are involved in the building of the tubular coenecium then their distribution suggests that the tentacles as well as the cephalic shield are actively involved in tube building.I should like to thank the director and staff of the Marine Biological Laboratory, Plymouth, for collecting the material and the generous loan of facilities during the preparation of the material. Mr. R. Moss provided skillful technical and photographic assistance     

Rat and human embryo and post-natal sera contain a potent endogenous competitor of estrogen-rat alpha-fetoprotein interactions

A highly active inhibitor of the binding of estrone and estradiol-17β to rat alpha-fetoprotein is demonstrated for the first time in embryo, immature and adult rat sera as well as in fetal and adult human sera. The competitive character and the narrow specificity of this inhibition effect is shown. The major compound responsible for this activity is isolated by successive column Sephadex LH₂₀ and thin layer chromatography : it is characterized as a nonpolar, nonphenolic, dialysable and thermostable substance, unreactive towards anti-estrone and anti-estradiol-17β anti-bodies. The possible biological role of an endogenous non-estrogen ligand of rodent fetoproteins is discussed.     

Group mating among Norway rats II. The social dynamics of copulation: Competition,cooperation, and mate choice

The social interactions within groups of Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) had a strong impact on the individual pattern of copulation which, in turn, affects sperm precedence and the probability of implantation in this species. Males alternated uninterrupted ejaculatory series, augmenting each others' copulatory investment. Females took turns mating after receiving an intromission, collectively potentiating the males' copulatory behaviour; increasing the number of oestrous females increased the number of intromissions and ejaculations achieved by each male but did not affect the amount of copulation experienced by each female. These turn-taking patterns within each sex provided the opportunity to change partners and permitted the emergence of different sex-typical patterns of copulation. Furthermore, the dominant male contributed more intromissions and tended to give each female more ejaculations than the subordinates did. Dominant males were also more likely to inhibit the subordinates' sperm transport. Females competed among themselves for the opportunity to mate with a male as he approached ejaculation and were likely to protect more of the dominant male's sperm transport than the subordinate male's.     

The sequestration of Ca2+ by mitochondria in rat heart cells

Rat heart ventricular cells, purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation, were incubated in the presence of 1.3 mM CaCl2. After 20 min incubation, samples of the cells were lysed in medium containing 0.3 mM digitonin, ruthenium red and EGTA, and a mitochondrial fraction was isolated at intervals thereafter. Extrapolation of the mitochondrial 45Ca2+ contents to zero time enabled the endogenous 45Ca2+ to be estimated at the time of cell lysis. The lysis conditions yielded essentially complete release of lactate dehydrogenase from the cells, but caused negligible damage to the mitochondria as judged by their retention of glutamate dehydrogenase, and their ability to accumulate and retain Ca2+ in the absence of ruthenium red and EGTA. The data indicate that about 13% of total cell Ca2+ only may be mitochondrial in vivo.     

Interaction of fertilizer regime with host-plant resistance in tomato

The effect of fertilizer regime on trichome- and lamellar-based resistance in the wild tomato species, Lycopersicon hirsutum f. glabratum C.H. Mull accession PI 134417, to three insect pests of tomato, the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta (L.), the colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), and the tomato fruitworm, Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie), was examined. Increasing the rate at which NPK fertilizer was applied, from 1.8 to 19.6 g/plant/week, reduced the trichome-based resistance of PI 134417 to M. sexta and L. decemlineata by lowering both the density of type VI (sensu Luckwill, 1943) glandular trichomes and the amount of 2-tridecanone contained in the tips of these trichomes. 2-Tridecanone is a toxic methyl-ketone responsible for glandular trichome-mediated resistance in PI 134417 to M. sexta and L. decemlineata. A similar increase in the application rate of NPK fertilizer reduced the lamellarbased resistance of PI 134417 to L. decemlineata and H. zea. The meachanisms for this reduction of resistance are unknown, but may be related to improved nutritional quality of hosts at higher fertilizer regimes.     

Lan-1: A Human Neuroblastoma Cell Line With M1 and M3 Muscarinic Receptor Subtypes Coupled to Intracellular Ca2+ Elevation and Lacking Ca2+ Channels Activated by Membrane Depolarization

The LAN-1 clone, a cell line derived from a human neuroblastoma, possesses muscarinic receptors. The stimulation of these receptors with increasing concentrations of carbachol (CCh; 1-1,000 microM) caused a dose-dependent increase of the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). This increase was characterized by an early peak phase (10 s) and a late plateau phase. The removal of extracellular Ca2+ reduced the magnitude of the peak phase to approximately 70% but completely abolished the plateau phase. The muscarinic-activated Ca2+ channel was gadolinium (Gd3+) blockade and nimodipine and omega-conotoxin insensitive. In addition, membrane depolarization did not cause any increase in [Ca2+]i. The CCh-induced [Ca2+]i elevation was concentration-dependently inhibited by pirenzepine and 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide, two rather selective antagonists of M1 and M3 muscarinic receptor subtypes, respectively, whereas methoctramine, an M2 antagonist, was ineffective. The coupling of M1 and M3 receptor activation with [Ca2+]i elevation does not seem to be mediated by a pertussis toxin-sensitive guanine nucleotide-binding protein or by the diacylglycerol-protein kinase C system. The mobilization of [Ca2+]i elicited by M1 and M3 muscarinic receptor stimulation seems to be dependent on an inositol trisphosphate-sensitive intracellular store. In addition, ryanodine did not prevent CCh-induced [Ca2+]i mobilization, and, finally, LAN-1 cells appear to lack caffeine-sensitive Ca2+ stores, because the methylxanthine was unable to elicit intracellular Ca2+ mobilization, under basal conditions, after a subthreshold concentration of CCh (0.3 microM), or after thapsigargin.     

Effect of glucose on protein phosphorylation in rat pancreatic islets

Isolated rat pancreatic islets, incubated in the presence of extracellular ³²Pi to steady state ³²P incorporation into cellular phosphopeptides, were exposed to glucose for 10 min. Glucose (16.7 mM) significantly stimulated the phosphorylation of six phosphoproteins with molecular weights of 15,000, 35,000, 49,000, 64,000, 93,000 and 138,000. Mannoheptulose (16.7 mM) markedly inhibited glucose-stimulated phosphorylation of these six phosphoproteins. This protein phosphorylation might be important in mediating glucose-stimulated insulin release.