Recherches Cytochimiques sur la Microsporidie Nosema bomycis au cours de son Développement chez le Ver à Soie (Bombyx mori)*

RESUME. La Microsporidie Nosema bombycis, Protozoaire parasite agent de la pébrine du ver à soie, a étéétudiée cytochimiquement à la fois en microscopie photonique et électronique. Les examens ont porté sur la détection et la localisation des acides nucléiques (ADN et ARN), des polysaccharides, de la phosphatase acide, au cours des différents stades du développement dans les cellules de I'hôte (du schizonte à la spore). Les principaux résultats concernent les observations relatives aux polysaccharides et à la phosphatase qui ne sont détectés qu'au stade de la spore et ne sont pas observés au stade du schizonte. Les polysaccharides sont présents au niveau du sac polaire, du filament polaire et sur la membrane cytoplasmique; la phosphatase acide est localisée au niveau du sac polaire, du filament polaire et dans la vacuole postérieure. SYNOPSIS. Nosema bombycis, agent of pebrine disease of silkworm, was studied cytochemically, using both light and electron microscopy. Presence of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), polysaccharides, and acid phosphatases was demonstrated and localization of these substances was determined in various stages of the parasite (from the schizont to the spore). DNA and RNA were detected in all these stages. Polysaccharides and acid phosphatase were found in the spore but not in the schizogonic stages. Polysaccharides were detected in the polar cap, the polar filament, and the limiting membrane of the cytoplasm of the spore. Acid phosphatase was found in the polar cap, the polar filament, and the posterior vacuole.     

环境光对哺乳动物昼夜节律和大脑功能的影响

昼夜循环对人类和其他动物的生理和行为有着巨大的影响。光照条件能影响动物的视觉成像,并通过向大脑中的生物钟中心发送信号来调整生理和行为的节律。环境光向生物钟传递信号的系统包含了一个复杂的神经递质复合体-受体-第二信使系统。在夜间曝光能迅速启动下丘脑视交叉上核中大量相关的早期基因。此外,许多白天活动的物种,通常都是在光照条件下获得认知。本文综述了环境光对哺乳动物睡眠、生物节律、大脑认知能力和基因表达等生理和行为方面的影响。     

Short-term acclimation of the photosynthetic electron transfer chain to changing light: a mathematical model

Photosynthetic eukaryotes house two photosystems with distinct light absorption spectra. Natural fluctuations in light quality and quantity can lead to unbalanced or excess excitation, compromising photosynthetic efficiency and causing photodamage. Consequently, these organisms have acquired several distinct adaptive mechanisms, collectively referred to as non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) of chlorophyll fluorescence, which modulates the organization and function of the photosynthetic apparatus. The ability to monitor NPQ processes fluorometrically has led to substantial progress in elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms. However, the relative contribution of distinct NPQ mechanisms to variable light conditions in different photosynthetic eukaryotes remains unclear. Here, we present a mathematical model of the dynamic regulation of eukaryotic photosynthesis using ordinary differential equations. We demonstrate that, for Chlamydomonas, our model recapitulates the basic fluorescence features of short-term light acclimation known as state transitions and discuss how the model can be iteratively refined by comparison with physiological experiments to further our understanding of light acclimation in different species.     

Light response in seedlings of a temperate (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus petraea</Emphasis>) and a sub-Mediterranean species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus pyrenaica</Emphasis>): contrasting ecological strategies as potential keys to regeneration performance in mixed marginal populations

In order to understand better the ecology of the temperate species Quercus petraea and the sub-Mediterranean species Quercus pyrenaica, two deciduous oaks, seedlings were raised in two contrasting light environments (SH, 5.3% full sunlight vs. HL, 70% full sunlight) for 2 years, and a subset of the SH seedlings were transferred to HL (SH–HL) in the summer of the second year. We predicted that Q. pyrenaica would behave more as a stress-tolerant species, with lower specific leaf area (SLA), allocation to leaf mass, and growth rate and less responsiveness to light in these metrics, than Q. petraea, presumed to be more competitive when resources, especially light and water, are abundant. Seedlings of Q. petraea had larger leaves with higher SLA, and exhibited a greater relative growth rate (RGR) in both SH and HL. They also displayed a higher proportion of biomass in stems (SMF), and a lower root to shoot ratio (R/S) in HL than those of Q. pyrenaica, which sprouted profusely, and had higher rates of photosynthesis (A_n) and stomatal conductance (g_wv), but lower whole-plant net assimilation rate (NAR). On exposure to a sudden increase in light, SH–HL seedlings of both species showed a short period of photoinhibition, but fully acclimated photosynthetic features within 46 days after transference; height, main stem diameter, RGR and NAR all increased at the end of the experiment compared to SH seedlings, with these increases more pronounced in Q. petraea. Observed differences in traits and responses to light confirmed a contrasting ecology at the seedling stage in Q. petraea and Q. pyrenaica in consonance with differences in their overall distribution. We discuss how the characteristics of Q. petraea may limit the availability of suitable regeneration niches to microsites of high-resource availability in marginal populations of Mediterranean climate, with potential negative consequences for its recruitment under predicted climatic changes.     

Structure of 7S seed globulin from Phaseolus vulgaris L. in solution

The structure of the 7S globulin from Phaseoulus vulgaris L in dilatue solutions has been studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), by quasi-elastic light scattering (Q ELS), by circular dichroism spectroscopy (c.d.), and by precise density measurements. The molar mass, the radius of gyration, the volume, the maximum dimension and the diffusion coefficient were determined as M = 1.45 × 10⁵ g mol⁻¹, R_G = 4.05 nm, V = 300- nm³, L = 13.0 nm and D_20,w⁰ = 4.5 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹, respectively. The molecule has an asymmetrical shape with the dimensions 12.5 × 12.5 × 3.75 nm. The secondary structure of the 7S globulin is characterized by a small portion of -helical structure (14%) and a marked content of β-structure (18%).     

Inversion of gravitropism by symmetric blue light on the clinostat

Gravitropic stimulation of maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings resulted in a continuous curvature of the coleoptiles in a direction opposing the vector of gravity when the seedlings were rotated on a horizontal clinostat. The orientation of this response, however, was reversed when the gravitropic stimulation was preceeded by symmetric preirradiation with blue light (12.7 mol photons·m^–2). The fluence-response curve of this blue light exhibited a lower threshold at 0.5 mol·m^–2, and could be separated into two parts: fluences exceeding 5 mol·m^–2 reversed the direction of the gravitropic response, whereas for a range between the threshold and 4 mol·m^–2 a split population was obtained. In all cases a very strong curvature resulted either in the direction of gravity or in the opposite orientation. A minor fraction of seedlings, however, curved towards the caryopsis. Furthermore, the capacity of blue light to reverse the direction of the gravitropic response disappeared with the duration of gravitropic stimulation and it depended on the delay time between both stimulations. Thistonic blue-light influence appears to be transient, which is in contrast to the stability observed fortropistic blue-light effects.This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.     

Stomatal response to humidity in sugarcane and soybean: effect of vapour pressure difference on the kinetics of the blue light response

Abstract. The effect of atmospheric humidity on the kinetics of stomatal responses was quantified in gas exchange experiments using sugarcane ( Saccharum spp. hybrid) and soybean ( Glycine max ). Pulses of blue light were used to elicit pulses of stomatal conductance that were mediated by the specific blue light response of guard cells. Kinetic parameters of the conductance response were more closely related to leaf-air vapour pressure difference (VPD) than to relative humidity or transpiration. Increasing VPD significantly accelerated stomatal opening in both sugarcane and soybean, despite an approximately five-fold faster response in sugarcane. In contrast, the kinetics of stomatal recovery (closure) following the pulse were similar in the two species. Acceleration of opening by high VPD was observed even under conditions where soybean exhibited a feedforward response of decreasing transpiration (E) with increasing evaporative demand (VPD). This result suggests that epidermal, rather than bulk leaf, water status mediates the VPD effect on stomatal kinetics. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that increased cpidermal water loss at high VPD decreases the backpressure exerted by neighbouring cells on guard cells. allowing more rapid stomatal opening per unit of guard cell metabolic response to blue light.     

Kolmogorov-type competition model with finitely supported allocation profiles and its applications to plant competition for sunlight

A Kolmogorov-type competition model featuring allocation profiles, gain functions, and cost parameters is examined. For plant species that compete for sunlight according to the canopy partitioning model [R.R. Vance and A.L. Nevai, Plant population growth and competition in a light gradient: a mathematical model of canopy partitioning, J. Theor. Biol. 245 (2007), pp. 210–219] the allocation profiles describe vertical leaf placement, the gain functions represent rates of leaf photosynthesis at different heights, and the cost parameters signify the energetic expense of maintaining tall stems necessary for gaining a competitive advantage in the light gradient. The allocation profiles studied here, being supported on three alternating intervals, determine “interior” and “exterior” species. When the allocation profile of the interior species is a delta function (a big leaf) then either competitive exclusion or coexistence at a single globally attracting equilibrium point occurs. However, if the allocation profile of the interior species is piecewise continuous or a weighted sum of delta functions (multiple big leaves) then multiple coexistence states may also occur.