Ultrastructural Observations on the Origin and Differentiation of Somatic Cells during Gonadal Development in the Frog Rana nigromaculata

The process of gonad development in the frog Rana nigromaculata was observed using the electron microscope. The gonadal medulla was formed by the proliferation and displacement of the epithelial cells within the primordial gonad, and a distinct continuity was observed between the cortical and medullary cells. Sex differentiation of the gonad occurred directly from the sexually indifferent primordial gonads. In the rudimentary testes, the continuity between the cortical and medullary regions increased closer, and the intermingling of cortical and medullary cells was evident. The inner region of the cortex developed into a cord-like structure and subsequently differentiated into rudimentary seminiferous tubules. The medulla differentiated into the testicular rete and efferent duct. In the rudimentary ovaries, the cortex and medulla were separated and the ovarian cavity was formed in the medullary region. In the cortex, the cortical cells surrounding oocytes which had reached the diplotene stage, differentiated into follicular cells. The intrusion of mesenchymal or blastemal cells derived from extragonadal regions into the cortex or medulla was never observed. These findings do not support Witschi's cortico-medullary antagonistic theory of sex differentiation.     

Use of Hybrids between Xenopus laevis and Xenopus borealis in Chimera Formation: Dorsalization of Ventral Cells

The combination of Xenopus borealis and X. laevis provides an excellent cell marking system. The potential availability of this system for chimera formation has also been suggested. However, eggs and early embryos of these species differ in size and the fusion of blastomeres of different sizez results in some disturbance in arrangement of blastomeres of a chimera. This disturbance was avoided by use of embryos from X. laevis eggs fertilized with X. borealis sperm, instead of X. borealis embryos. The cells of these hybrids could also be distinguished from the cells of X. laevis.
The fate of animal ventral cells placed in the dorsal region was followed by making a chimera by fusing a right lateral half of an 8-cell X. laevis embryo with that of an 8-cell hybrid embryo. The animal ventral cells in the "dorsal" region were found to become "dorsalized", giving rise to a lateral half of dorsal axial structures. This observation explains a previous finding that the replacement of dorsal cells by ventral ones had no effect on embryogenesis in a composite embryo.     

ADAPTIVE FORMATION OF NITRATE REDUCING SYSTEM IN ANABAENA CYLINDRICA

1. Changes in capacities for reducing nitrate, nitrite and hydroxylaminecaused by provision or depletion of various nitrogen sourceswere investigated with a nitrogen fixing blue-green alga, Anabaenacylindrica, and adaptive nature of these reducing system wasdemonstrated.
2. It was found that, under light-aerobic conditions,nitrate-and nitrite- reducing systems were induced by nitrateor nitritebut not by N₂ ammonia and glutamate. On the otherhand, theactivity of enzymes pertaining to hydroxylamine reductionwasstimulated equally by nitrate, nitrite and N₂. The latteractivitywas suppressed markedly in the presence of ammoniaor glutamate.
3. Adaptive formation of nitrite reducing systemis completelyinhibited by chloramphenicol, a potent inhibitorof proteinsynthesis. No formation was also observed under theanaerobiccondition or in the dark.
4. On the basis of thesefindings, a tentative scheme for pathwaysof nitrate reductionand nitrogen fixation in Analaena cylindricawas proposed.

(Received August 22, 1962; )     

Induction of nitrate and nitrite reductases in Anabaena cylindrica

Induction of nitrate and nitrite reductases in Anabaena cylindrica(FOGG strain) was investigated. At various stages of algal growthin the presence of nitrate or nitrite, the levels of these enzymeswere determined using cell-free preparations. Nitrate and nitritereductases were induced by the respective substrates. Nitratedid not act either as an inducer or as a repressor of nitritereductase. ¹This work was supported by grant No. 8814 from the Ministryof Education ²Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tokyo MetropolitanUniversitySetagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan (Received June 18, 1970; )     

A new apterous sawfly from Sulawesi, Indonesia (Hymenoptera: Pergidae: Perreyiinae), and the pleural origin of the ventral region of the sawfly mesothorax

Abstract. A new pergid sawfly, Cladomacra taoi , is described from an apterous female collected in Sulawesi, Indonesia. This is the third species of apterous sawfly ever described. The sawfly was discovered under bark of a log, where it was standing over a batch of eggs. A comparison of the greatly modified mesothorax of the new species with that of alate congeners has shown that the ventral region of the winged sawfly mesothorax is pleural in origin.     

Elimination of a specialised facultative symbiont does not affect the reproductive mode of its aphid host

Abstract.  1. Microorganisms that manipulate the reproduction of their hosts through diverse mechanisms including the induction of parthenogenesis are widespread among arthropods.
2. The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum , shows a variation in its reproductive mode, with lineages reproducing by cyclical parthenogenesis (obligate alternation of parthenogenetic and sexual generations each year) and others by obligate parthenogenesis (continuous asexual reproduction all year round). In addition, the pea aphid harbours, along with Buchnera the primary aphid endosymbiont, several facultative symbionts whose prevalence differs among host populations.
3. The possible influence of a Rickettsia facultative symbiont on the reproductive mode of its host was tested on two pea aphid clones by comparing the response of infected and uninfected individuals with the same genetic background to conditions that typically induce the production of sexual morphs.
4. No significant effect of the Rickettsia infection was found on the type of reproductive morphs produced (sexual vs. asexual) or on their quantities for the two clones.
5. However, the Rickettsia had a detrimental effect on the fitness of its aphid host, in apparent contradiction to the high prevalence of this symbiont in some host populations. It is suggested that this negative impact may disappear under specific environmental conditions, transforming a parasitic association into a mutualistic one.     

INSTABILITY OF MESSENGER AND RIBOSOMAL RNA IN A GLUE-PROTEIN MUTANT OF Bombyx mori

The mucous glands of Bombyx pupae secrete glue proteins which attach deposited eggs to the mounting sheet. A mutant of a dominant gene, named no glue (Ng) , produces nonadhesive eggs which have a low capacity for glue-protein synthesis. In the present study it was shown that the mucous glands of Ng silkworms showed rapid degradation of mRNA as well as rRNA during development; this may cause the low capacity for glue-protein synthesis in the mutant organ. In contrast, the mucous glands of normal silkworms showed a significant increase in content of RNA's until the maximum rate of glue-protein synthesis was achieved. The degradation of RNA in the Ng mucous gland was inhibited by actinomycin D injected into the body fluid. Thus it is supposed that the Ng gene codes for a presumptive controller RNA, which would be the mediator of RNA instability in the mucous glands of Ng pupae.     

A historical meta‐analysis of global terrestrial net primary productivity: are estimates converging?

Net primary productivity (NPP) is one of the most important ecosystem parameters, representing vegetation activity, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystem services. To assess how well the scientific community understands the biospheric function, a historical meta‐analysis was conducted. By surveying the literature from 1862 to 2011, I extracted 251 estimates of total terrestrial NPP at the present time (NPP_T) and calculated their statistical metrics. For all the data, the mean±standard deviation and median were 56.2±14.3 and 56.4 Pg C yr^–1, respectively. Even for estimates published after 2000, a substantial level of uncertainty (coefficient of variation by ±15%) was inevitable. The estimates were categorized on the basis of methodology (i.e., inventory analysis, empirical model, biogeochemical model, dynamic global vegetation model, and remote sensing) to examine the consistency among the statistical metrics of each category. Chronological analysis revealed that the present NPP_T estimates were directed by extensive field surveys in the 1960s and 1970s (e.g., the International Biological Programme). A wide range of uncertainty remains in modern estimates based on advanced biogeochemical and dynamic vegetation models and remote‐sensing techniques. Several critical factors accounting for the estimation uncertainty are discussed. Ancillary analyses were performed to derive additional ecological and human‐related parameters related to NPP. For example, interannual variability, carbon‐use efficiency (a ratio of NPP to gross photosynthesis), human appropriation, and preindustrial NPP_T were assessed. Finally, I discuss the importance of improving NPP_T estimates in the context of current global change studies and integrated carbon cycle research.