Allometric growth and adaptive value of exaggerated body parts in the larvae of Gratiana spadicea (Klug) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

1. Larvae of tortoise beetles present exaggerated body parts in association with an abdominal shield, which is made of faeces and exuviae that are deposited on the urogomphi throughout ontogeny. Growth trajectories and scaling relationships of these functional structures associated with the shield, if any, are unknown. 2. This study of Gratiana spadicea first tested, under field conditions, whether there is adaptive value associated with the shield regarding protection against predation and sunlight. Then, under laboratory conditions, the growth trajectory and allometric relationships among body parts were investigated, including scoli, individual and apparent furcae, and shield. The influence of food deprivation on the development of these structures was also determined. 3. Findings from previous studies were confirmed, suggesting that the adaptive value assigned to the shield is related to protection against predators. The present study demonstrated for the first time that the shield acts as a parasol in cassidines, decreasing the exposure of their larval body to sunlight. The scoli and apparent furca are exaggerated structures of G. spadicea, the development of which involves allometric growth and greater energetic investment (positive allometry) during ontogeny. There was proportionally less energetic investment for somatic construction of individual furca (negative allometry) due to the accumulation of the exuviae. 4. The possible consequences, in terms of developmental costs and survivorship benefits associated with the evolution of such exaggerated structures, are discussed.     

Vision-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Inactive HLA-B27–Associated-Spectrum Anterior Uveitis

We investigated the vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) in patients with HLA-B27 associated anterior uveitis (AU). The study was conducted in 2012 at the ophthalmology department of the University Medical Center of Groningen. We included AU patients who were HLA-B27 positive and/or were diagnosed by a rheumatologist with an HLA-B27 associated systemic disease. Sixty-one of 123 (50%) adult patients participated. All patients filled-out the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), social support lists and an additional questionnaire for gathering general information. Medical records were reviewed for clinical characteristics. Analyses were conducted on various patient and ocular characteristics. We compared our NEI VFQ-25 scores with those previously found in the literature. Our main outcome measures were VR-QOL scores and their associations with various general patient and ocular characteristics. We found that the NEI VFQ-25 mean overall composite score was 88.9±8.8, which is relatively high, but lower than that found in a normal working population. The mean general health score was 47.4±20.8, which is lower than in patients with other ocular diseases. Patients with a systemic disease scored significantly lower on general health and VR-QOL, compared to patients without a systemic disease. Patients with a depression (6/59 (10%)) frequently had ankylosing spondylitis (5/6 patients) and they scored significantly worse on VR-QOL. We concluded that patients with HLA-B27 associated AU have a relatively high VR-QOL. However, the presence of a systemic disease is associated with lower VR-QOL and general health scores. In addition, depression is associated with a lower VR-QOL.     

Large-Scale Conformational Transitions and Dimerization Are Encoded in the Amino-Acid Sequences of Hsp70 Chaperones

Hsp70s are a class of ubiquitous and highly conserved molecular chaperones playing a central role in the regulation of proteostasis in the cell. Hsp70s assist a myriad of cellular processes by binding unfolded or misfolded substrates during a complex biochemical cycle involving large-scale structural rearrangements. Here we show that an analysis of coevolution at the residue level fully captures the characteristic large-scale conformational transitions of this protein family, and predicts an evolutionary conserved–and thus functional–homo-dimeric arrangement. Furthermore, we highlight that the features encoding the Hsp70 dimer are more conserved in bacterial than in eukaryotic sequences, suggesting that the known Hsp70/Hsp110 hetero-dimer is a eukaryotic specialization built on a pre-existing template.     

Population cytogenetics of aphidicolin-induced fragile sites

Summary Chromosome fragile sites are inducible by aphidicolin in cultured human lymphocytes. To assess the frequency and distribution of these common fragile sites in the general population, a cytogenetic survey was performed on 126 subjects, 59 males and 67 females, whose age ranged from 1 day to 72 years. Common fragile sites, induced by aphidicolin, were widespread and showed a remarkably different sensitivity among individuals; age influenced the overall frequency of fragile sites. Moreover, both age and sex seemed to modulate the expression of specific fragile sites. In our population, the most common fragile sites were: 3p14, 16q23, Xp22, 6q26, 1p31, 4q31, 1p22, 7q22, 2q33, 3q27, 2q31, 7q32, 14q24, 10q22, 5q31, 2q37, 6p21.     

Thaimycins,new anthelmintic and antiprotozoal antibiotics produced by Streptomyces michiganensis var. amylolyticus var. nova

Summary A new microorganism, isolated in our laboratories and identified as Streptomyces michiganensis var. amylolyticus var. nova is described.Thaimycins can be obtained by submerged fermentation of this microorganism on a suitable culture medium.Three new related compounds, thaimycins A, B and C have been obtained and characterized by their physical and chemical properties.Data on the antiprotozoal and anthelmintic activities in vitro as well as in vivo are reported.