The role of humans in the diversification of a threatened island raptor

Background  

Anthropogenic habitat modifications have led to the extinction of many species and have favoured the expansion of others. Nonetheless, the possible role of humans as a diversifying force in vertebrate evolution has rarely been considered, especially for species with long generation times. We examine the influence that humans have had on the colonization and phenotypic and genetic differentiation of an insular population of a long-lived raptor species, the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus).     

1H- and13C-NMR spectroscopic studies of lipid extracts of the red algaGracilaria longa

Lipid extracts of the red algaGracilaria longa were studied by¹H- and¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. Peaks in the¹³C-NMR spectra attributable to sterols, chlorophylls and carotenoids allowed free and acylated cholesterol, chlorophylla and lutein to be identified as the most abundant components of these classes. A content of 0.5 ± 0.1 μmoles of total cholesterol/g wet alga was estimated from the¹H-NMR spectrum, which also allowed the determination of the phosphatidylcholine/total lipid molar ratio (9.5 ± 0.5%). The¹³C-NMR spectroscopic experiments provided information on the position of the double bonds on the fatty acid residues. A comparison between NMR spectra of lipid extracts obtained for wet and dried alga showed that the alga undergoes both a dramatic peroxidation and some glycolipid degradation during the drying process.     

Analysis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii histones and chromatin

Chromatin spreads made from isolated nuclei of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii show the beaded fibers typical of eukaryotic polynucleosomes. Micrococcal nuclease digestions confirmed the presence of nucleosomes with a repeat length of 189 base pairs, essentially the same as typical mammalian cells. Basic nuclear proteins extracted from isolated nuclei or chromatin with 1 M calcium chloride and 0.3 M hydrochloric acid are resolved into seven major components by electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). These seven components were subjected to qualitative peptide mapping with V8 protease on SDS gels for comparison with the major histone components of calf thymus. Finally, the C. reinhardtii basic nuclear proteins were fractionated by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography and their amino acid composition determined. From these studies, we conclude that C. reinhardtii has a full complement of the five histones with properties very similar to those of both higher animals and higher plants.     

Constitutive expression of FosB and its short form, FosB/SF, induces malignant cell transformation in rat-1A cells

We have established Rat-1A cell lines constitutively expressing c-Fos and the two products of the fosB gene, FosB and its short form, FosB/SF. The expressed proteins in the different stable transfectants have been characterized by immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation analysis. Our results demonstrate that constitutive expression of FosB, like the constitutive expression of c-Fos and, to a lesser extent, FosB/SF, results in cells that grow to increased saturation densities and have the ability to grow in an anchorage-independent manner. Most important is the finding that expression of these proteins augments the tumorigenic potential of Rat-1A cells. These results show that both forms of FosB have a stimulatory effect on cell proliferation.     

DNA repair investigations in nine Italian patients affected by trichothiodystrophy.

Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by brittle hair, mental and growth retardation, peculiar face, ichthyosis, and in 20% of the reported cases photosensitivity. Cellular photosensitivity due to the same genetic defect present in xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XP-D) has been described in several patients. Nine patients with clinical symptoms diagnostic for TTD have been identified in Italy to date. We report the results of DNA repair investigations performed in cultured fibroblasts from these patients and 8 TTD parents. Survival, DNA repair synthesis and RNA synthesis following UV irradiation were all normal in the 8 TTD heterozygous cell strains. Among the 9 TTD-affected individuals, normal cellular UV sensitivity was observed in the 2 patients without signs of clinical photosensitivity. In contrast, the other 7 TTD cell strains showed a notable reduction in UV-induced DNA repair synthesis (UDS) levels, ranging between 40% and 5-15% of normal values. Complementation analysis indicated that in the repair-deficient TTD cell strains the genetic defect is the same as that present in XP-D cells. The biochemical heterogeneity of the XP-D defect in TTD patients characterized by different degrees of defective UDS results in different patterns of response to the killing effect of UV light in non-proliferating cells.