Déterminisme de la couleur des hôtes parasités par Trichogramma fuentesi

Résumé A Cuba, les oeufs h?tes parasités parTrichogramma fuentesi Torre (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) deviennent soit noirs, soit marrons. Une série de croisements entre Trichogrammes a permis de montrer que le déterminisme de ce caractère est sous la dépendance d'un locus portant deux allèles: Bh, dominant, confère une couleur noire à l'h?te; bh, récessif, confère une couleur marron. L'allèle bh étant plus fréquent dans la région orientale de Cuba, la plus chaude, nous avons suivi l'évolution des fréquences des deux allèles dans des populations expérimentales polymorphes placées à 23 °C et 30 °C. Dans toutes les conditions testées, bh a été désavantagé par rapport à Bh, sauf à 30 °C lorsque sa fréquence initiale était élevée (90%). La température n'explique donc certainement pas à elle seule le maintien du polymorphisme à Cuba.

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In Cuba, during its larval development inside its host egg,Trichogramma fuentesi turns its host egg either black or brown. Crossings carried out between the two forms ofT. fuentesi allowed to show that this character is determined by one locus with two alleles: Bh, dominant, colours the host black; and bh, recessive, colours the host brown. The bh allele is more frequent in the eastern region of Cuba which is also the warmest, than in the western region. We studied the evolution of frequencies of the two alleles in different experimental polymorphic populations at 23 °C and at 30 °C. In all tested conditions, bh was at a disadvantage by comparison with Bh, except at 30 °C when its initial frequency was high (90%). Thus, temperature alone should certainly not explain the maintenance of the observed polymorphism in Cuba.

     

Recognition of messenger RNA during translational initiation in Escherichia coli

The structural aspects of recognition by E. coli ribosomes of translational initiation regions on homologous messenger RNAs have been reviewed. Also discussed is the location of initiation region on mRNA, its confines, typical nucleotide sequences responsible for initiation signal, and the influence of RNA macrostructure on protein synthesis initiation. Most of the published DNA nucleotide sequences surrounding the start of various E. coli genes and those of its phages have been collected.     

Sucres insaturés fluorés

Treatment of 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-α-d-ribo- and xylo-hexofuranos-3-uloses with (difluoromethylene)triphenylphosphorane and (chlorofluoromethylene)-triphenylphosphorane gave unsaturated, ramified halogeno sugars in good yield. Treatment of the chlorofluoromethylene derivatives with lithium aluminum hydride gave stereospecifically the corresponding fluoromethylene derivatives with inversion of configuration at the double bond. The configuration was determined by ¹h- and ¹⁹F-n.m.r. spectrometry.     

Influence de l'intensité et de la longueur d'onde de la lumière sur le rendement des radicaux libres dans les semences de tomate et de carotte

Influence of light intensity and wavelength on the yield of free radicals in seeds of tomato and carrot.
Seeds of tomato ( Lycopersicum esculentum L. cv. Gribovsky-1180) and carrot ( Daucus carota L. cv. Santanet) were irradiated by continuous light of different wavelengths (white, blue, green, red, far-red and He-Ne laser) and different power density. Free radical output was measured using Electron Spin Resonance spectra (ESR). The dependence of the content of free radicals (FR) on the light power density was established. The yield of FR in the seeds irradiated with monochromatic light of the same power density was inversely proportional to the wavelength. The ESR spectra showed maximum absolute number of FR for white light. Successive irradiations gave cumulative effects on the output of free radicals in both directions: increase by the action of white light and decrease by the action of red and far-red light. The contact of irradiated seeds with steam decreased the amount of FR.     

Downhill protein folding: evolution meets physics

Proteins can be redesigned to fold downhill on a free energy surface characterized by only a few coordinates, confirming a principal prediction of the 'energy-landscape' model. Nonetheless, natural proteins have small but significant barriers. Spectroscopy and kinetics reveal potential biological causes for activation barriers during protein folding: evolution against protein aggregation and for protein function.     

Seasonal Variation of Ichthyoplankton in a Western Caribbean Bay System

The plankton of Bahia de la Ascension was sampled monthly, from August 1990 to July 1991, to ascertain ichthyoplankton composition, abundance, and seasonality. These data were used to assess the inferred function of the bay as spawning and nursery grounds. Fifty-one families, 66 genera, and 53 species of fish embryos and larvae were identified. Engraulidae, Clupeidae, Labrisomidae, Callionymidae, Gerreidae, and Gobiidae comprised 81.5% of the larvae captured: the remaining 18.5% included several coral reef fish families. Greatest mean fish egg densities were recorded between December and April, 341–246 per 100m³, suggesting a major spawning period. The monthly mean density of total fish embryos and larvae showed two peaks: one in late dry season (June), dominated by newly hatched engraulid, and a second (December) during the cold-front season with high densities of preflexion labrisomid and engraulid embryos. When labrisomid and engraulid embryos and larvae were excluded, densities peaked in the rainy season (July to October). Gerreidae and Callionymidae were significantly more abundant in the rainy season, while Labrisomidae and Gobiidae in the cold-front season. The highest embryos and larvae richness was observed in August during the rainy season with mean value significatively greater than those from cold-front and dry seasons. The occurrence of high egg densities and the wide range of embryos and larva stages are evidences that Bahia de la Ascension is a regionally important spawning and nursery ground for marine fish. Because this study covered partially the marine ecosystem of Bahia de la Ascension using convential gear, we suggest to conduct further research for have a full understanding of the importance of this bay for fish recruitment.     

Effect of grazing on community structure and productivity of a Uruguayan grassland

Grasslands and their grazers provide some of the most compelling examples for studying the relationship between diversity, productivity, and disturbance. In this study, we analyzed the impact of grazing-induced changes in species composition and community structure upon the productivity of a grassland in the Campos region, Uruguay. We compared three treatments: a continuously grazed area, a 9-year old exclosure to domestic herbivores, and grazing-simulated plots inside the exclosure, which were clipped so that their standing biomass resembled that of the grazed area. We studied the community composition of the grazed and ungrazed situations, and determined biomass and above-ground net primary production (ANPP) of the three treatments during 1 year. Grazed plots had higher species richness and diversity than the exclosure. Grazing resulted in the replacement of some cool-season, tussock grasses by warm-season, prostrate grasses. ANPP was 51% higher under grazing than in the exclosure, but the grazing-simulated plots inside the exclosure were the most productive treatment, 29% higher than the grazed plots. Thus, two components of grazing effect may be postulated for this grassland. The structural component resulted in higher ANPP, probably due to the elimination of standing dead biomass. The species composition component resulted in lower ANPP once the structural component was controlled, probably due to the shift to warm-season phenology and prostrate habit. Our findings contrast with a similar experiment carried out in the neighbouring Flooding Pampa region, which suggests that the relationship between grazing and community structure and function is difficult to generalize.     

Real-time MRI and articulatory coordination in speech

This paper describes the real-time MRI technique and its use for the study of speech production. The two major problems, (i) the simultaneous recording of the MR images and the speech signal and (ii) the synchronisation of the images and of the speech signal, are addressed. Measurement accuracy on real-time images is evaluated by comparison with similar measurements on static MR images.